Aren't You Tired Of Japan Yet?

Aren't you bored going to Japan every year? I get asked this question a lot nowadays. Well, just like Malaysia, there are plenty of places in Japan that we have yet to visit. If we are not tired of Malaysia, why should we be for Japan?

Then, the other question I got asked is: you just went to Tokyo, right? There was one time a guy asked whether I've been to Hiroshima and another person chipped in that I couldn't possibly been to Hiroshima yet. Come on now people, just because we never follow a tour group, doesn't mean we can't go to many places. As long as there are public transport, we can go anywhere.

Both Zaini and I have our wish list of places we want to go in Japan but yet to be fulfilled. Zaini wants to visit  Rebun Island and I think a visit to Sado Island would be awesome.

Last week, I spent some time looking at photos of us vacationing in Japan. A recap of some of the places we went to:

Tokyo is a must for every trip and usually served as our base if the places we want to go is doable as a day trip - Kawasaki, Karuizawa, Gala-Yuzawa were all done as a day trip. Here I was at Tokyo Dome.

We love Kyushu and made trips to the Island twice. Our trips to Kyushu saw us going Arao in Kumamoto to visit all the Ultra Heroes at Ultramanland (you can also visit Mitsui Greenland which is next to Ultramanland while you are there), a short visit to Beppu and Kagoshima, an overnight trip to Huis Ten Bosch theme park in Nagasaki and meeting up with a blogging friend in Moji in Kitakyushu. If you refer to the map below - we've pretty much covered the North, South, East and West of Kyushu island but of course there are so many places there that we want to visit if we get the chance.

 Map from Free World Maps

Raimie at Arao Station in Kumamoto.

Raimie and Zaini at Beppu Station, famous for its hot spring resorts and Kagoshima-Chuo Station.

At Huis Ten Bosch Station and Mojiko Station. Huis Ten Bosh is a Dutch style theme park complete with canals and windmills. Even standing in front of the station makes us feel we are no longer in Japan, what with the magnificent ANA Hotel JR Huis Ten Bosch dominating the view.

I simply love the Mojiko station architecture which was the main reason I wanted to stop at Mojiko before making our way upwards. The station of a Renaissance style is designated as an important cultural property. A visit to Mojiko Retro is highly recommended here.

A visit to Hiroshima would not be complete without a stop at the Peace Memorial Park. Here's Raimie at the Atomic Bomb Dome. There's also a Peace Park in Nagasaki, the second city after Hiroshima to be destroyed by an atomic bomb.

We also went on a short ferry ride to Miyajima. Tame deers that will follow you if you have food in your hand or if you smell like food (we saw a couple of deers that kept sniffing at a fellow tourist's butt), beautiful maple trees and of course the floating torii gate. Be warned though - you will be one of the many, many tourists - local and foreign alike, visiting the island.

Himeji Castle as our backdrop. Himeji is famous for the Himeji Castle, considered to be the most beautiful surviving feudal castle in Japan. A short walk away (about  15 minutes) from the Himeji Station or you can opt to take the bus there.

Perhaps we should make a longer stop in Kyoto; the heart of old traditions and culture of Japan, but truthfully we are not really big fans of visiting temples and shrines and I much more prefer a visit to the local market than the temples.

A day trip from Osaka to Kobe was a fun time for Raimie. Kobe was the film location for the Ultraman Mebius and Ultraman Brothers movie released in 2006.

Osaka - a gastronomic paradise! We even brought back a box full of foodstuff bought here back home. Here, there's another place to please any Ultraman fan located in Yao. Whenever we were in Osaka, a visit to Tsuburaya Jungle is a must for Raimie!

A day trip from Tokyo to Gala-Yuzawa for Raimie to have some fun in the snow and a shopping trip for me in Karuizawa.

In front of Kanazawa station. In Kanazawa, a visit to Kenrokuen which is one the three most beautiful landscaped gardens in Japan is a must. On our two visits to Kanazawa, we had the fortune of experiencing rainy days that somewhat hamper our plans to sightsee the city extensively.

We also made a journey to a small town of Terai, Komatsu just so that we can visit Ultraman Stadium. That's Raimie and Zaini walking along paddy fields en route to the Ultraman Stadium. There's a bus stopping directly in front of the stadium, but we like to do things the hard way because we got to sightsee more that way.

Last year, we went to Nyuto Onsen and here, we were playing by the shore of Lake Tazawa. Another visit to the place is on the cards for this year.

Lastly but not least, a trip to Aizu-Wakamatsu for our ride on a steam locomotive to Niigata. It was really a scenic train ride and we enjoyed it immensely.

Where would we be heading to next? We are limiting our trip to the Tohoku region for this year's trip. But even now, we are having headaches because even in one region there are so many sights and things to visit and do! So, how can we ever be tired of Japan?

My Groceries Bills Are Too High!

Well, I can't really complain when the stuff I buy are mostly imported stuff. Plenty of the stuff in my kitchen are those I won't find in my Mom's kitchen, that I can say. Actually, when my siblings came visiting on a short notice, I will most likely not serve them a typical Malay style cooked food because my kitchen is not stocked with typical Malay food items!

These are the stuff I really need and will be stocked up in my kitchen. Japanese short grain rice, miso paste (instant), gochujang, kimchi, bottles of shoyu, tsuyu, sesame oil, worchester sauce, packets of instant furikake, dried wakame, sheets of nori, cheese - sometimes I think when people look into my fridge and in the kitchen, they will not think it's a Malay family kitchen!

My shopping lists do cause a serious dent to our monthly expenses, but then what fun in life if one cannot eat what one loves, right?

I sometimes feel guilty about the carbon footprint caused by consumers like me who wants imported food so we try extra hard to compensate and be more carbon footprint friendly in other ways; by using less energy at home, less fuel for our car, recycling, etc. May not be enough, but we try.

Mom, Can We Go To UltramanLand?

Raimie has been asking us to go Ultramanland when we go to Japan in September. The problem with this request of his is that we are planning to visit only the northern part of Honshu this year and Ultramanland is located way below, in Arao which is in Kyushu!

Raimie had visited the Ultraman theme park twice already; in 2007 and 2008 and I know he enjoyed the visits tremendously. He got to see so many Ultra Heroes there.

And since I'm in the mood of posting old photos of us vacationing in Japan, here are some photos of Raimie with his heroes in Ultramanland.

When we told him that it's too far for us to travel all the way to Kyushu, he asked whether he can go to Ultraman Stadium instead. Ultraman Stadium is located in Terai, Komatsu in Kanazawa. Another hard reaching place to get to. I think only hardcore fans like us would make the trip to Ultraman Stadium!

The Shitamachi Museum In Ueno

A trip down memory lane with this post, sparked by my previous post and a photo tag. Dedicated specially to EastCoastLife.

I will definitely have a post (or two!) about Shitamachi Museum on our trip in September, but 5 months seems such a long time to wait, so let me indulge you all with some photos we took at the museum in 2006. More info on the museum can be found here.

First off,  how to get to the museum. The museum building is rather nondescript so you might miss it even if you walked right in front of the building.

The fast food restaurant is a McDonald's. The Police Station is a small, one man police box or "koban" at one of the entrance to Ueno Park. Getting there is pretty easy.

Now, I'll just let these photos do the talking. Enjoy!

I'm enjoying putting up these photos and looking at Raimie when he was just 4 years old. My, how time flies.

The Shitamachi Museum is not a big museum and you probably spent about half an hour browsing the two floors of the museum, unless of course you are like us and can't resist checking out every single display and having a blast taking photos.

Entrance fee for adults is a mere 300yen. All the exhibits have both Japanese and English info printout and there's even volunteer guides to guide you around the museum. If you are planning to spend a day in Ueno - why not make a stop at Shitamachi Museum too?

Photo Tag And I'm Playing For A Change!

I got tagged by A Z Haida, of Look Again blog which I had been following for a few years now.

Like her, I don't normally do tags but I couldn't resist this one from her. Not when she put it this way :

"I hereby challenge (ehcheh) these 8 to do this tag...
5) Lina (bet it's going to be Japan-related photo)."

I do admit that we have more photos of us in Japan than any other places in Malaysia. My 8th folder is of our photos in Japan during Summer 2006. Almost 4 years ago.

The tag requires me to:

1) Go to your photo files…Select the 8th photo folder.

2) Select the 8th photo in that folder.

3) Post that photo along with the story behind it.

4) Then challenge 8 blogging friends to do the same!

So, here goes! Yosh!

The Story: 

This photo of Raimie was taken in summer 2006. It was Raimie's second trip to Japan and we were there for a week, for the sole purpose of going to Ultraman Festival (Ulfes) in Ikebukuro. Because of that, we just stayed in Tokyo and one of the places we went to, apart from Ulfes was the Shitamachi Museum in Ueno.

Being in the museum was like being transported to the era of Oshin, a woman who lived in the Meiji period. The Japanese drama Oshin was aired on TV in Malaysia when I was in primary school and everyone I know stay glued to the TV screen watching this drama of a strong woman who persevered during hard and tough times. Oshin serves as a symbolic figure for perseverance, showing that a person should never give up - even in the most difficult times.

Anyway, back to Shitamachi Museum. Shitamachi which meant low city; is the name for the low-lying parts of Tokyo. This museum is dedicated to looking at the lives led by millions of  men and women over the years in the area spanning from the early Meiji to late Taisho-eras (1868-1923). The museum has interactive displays which meant you can touch and play with all the exhibits.

An elderly guy who volunteered at the museum taught Raimie how to play the Japanese toys that were on display and before we left the museum he gave Raimie a little koma spinning tops made out of old magazine pages and toothpicks.

Here in the photo, Raimie was happily poking around in the blacksmith's home.

For our trip in Sep 2010, I plan to bring my friend to this museum. Even if you don't care much of the history of lives of Japanese of yesteryears, being in this museum makes good photo op.

I'm passing the baton to 8 others:

1. Cindy of Blank Thoughts. She's expecting her first baby soon. She made Osaka her home but she is back in Malaysia for the time being.
2. Kozue of Oh Tazawako, Where Art Thou? Hardworking to promote Tazawako and its surrounding area, I completely understand if Kozue can't play this tag. :D
3. Shida of shidafzan. A friend of mine since college, we used to be roommates too. She just started blogging  with blogspot, after years of using fotopages. She's one of few people left who still call me by a boy's name.
4. Nick of Anything goes. He blogs because he can!
5. Su of I Lookup As I Walk. A Malaysian, she is currently raising her family in Japan and giving support to her hubby who is pursuing his studies there.
6. Evan's Mom of A Little Boy's Blog.  A proud mom of two sons in Bogor, Indonesia.
7. Yatie of Sawanila. She just gave birth to a beautiful baby.
8. Bengbeng of My Longkang. See great photos and read about his life, Benghui's and the people around him in Sibu.

No pressure though. Have fun!

p.s. It might take me sometime to inform all those listed that they've been tagged.

Prepaid Card, A Convenient Payment Option While Travelling

Travelling around Japan, Zaini and I did not really use our credit cards, but we found convenience in using Suica & PASMO prepaid card for certain transactions.

Suica and PASMO cards can be used to pay the fare for virtually all trains in Tokyo and can be used for JR trains, subways and monorails, buses and can be used for purchasing of items at convenience stores, kiosks and restaurants in and around railway stations not to mention at vending machines too! A very useful and handy card to have with you.

Our Suica & N'Ex card that we got upon arrival at Narita Airport. We saved a thousand yen because by just paying 3,500yen, we get to board the N'Ex train from Narita Airport (cost 2,940yen to get to Tokyo Station) and 1,500yen in e-money (& 500yen as deposit). The card makes a nice keepsake too, don't you think?

The lovely thing about this card for returning tourist like us, is that Suica can be recharged and reused an unlimited number of times and only be void if not used for 10 years. I don't think we wait for that long to make a return visit to Japan.

There is no child Suica & N'Ex card for children so for Raimie, we got him a PASMO card.

Raimie with his Kids' PASMO card. 

Raimie's card is a named card so we can get it reissued if Raimie lost his card. Make sure you buy a Kids Passmo card for your children to ensure the fares deducted will be child's fare.

Purchases made with our Suica & PASMO cards - tickets to museums and even drinks from the vending machine. We even bought our lunch with this card.

Topping up was a simple matter for us, because we can just head to the nearest train station and top-up the card at the machine there. Easy peasy and sure beats fumbling for cash paying for our sandwich at a station's konbini or buying bottled water from the vending machine.