happy happy 2009...?

3 and a half months late, but Happy New Year I guess. This is, after all, my first post for 2009.

I think I've gone missing far too long for anybody to be still following up here, but anyway just to let everybody know: I'm still alive and kicking. University life is pretty harsh, but it hasn't killed me just yet.

I wonder how everybody else has been doing too. If you still remember this blog, or use this to keep in touch with me, do drop me a comment so I can find out about your lives these days!

Okay then, I think it's back to the books. Just wanted to put up a short post to tell the world that this place isn't about to die just yet.

眠れない！！！

最近、よく眠れない。多分、いつも家でずっと何もしてないのせいだけど、でも本当に困ってる。もうすぐ新学期の始まりし、授業はほとんど朝から、早く治したい！

ということで、この夏休みはもうすぐ終わる。もっと休みたっかたのにな！できれば、自分の人生がひとつながーーーい休みにしたい。（笑）なんかリラックマみたいな感じ、あれすごくない？

じゃぁ、また寝てみたい。そういう時は「がんばる」って、なんか変よね。

お約束 part 2

More pictures, this time about school:

This is the school I was sent to, it's located in quite a nice building in the Takadanobaba area.





The many students and teachers I met in school. I'm going to be a little unoriginal here, and say they were all nice people to befriend. Yes, they were really nice, I wasn't being sarcastic at all.

I'd definitely want to go again...if I had the means to of course.

お約束

Since there still seem to be people reading, I guess I'm going to put up some pictures then...

The area around Ikebukuro Station's East exits. My place was about a few minutes walk down this street. Lots of stuff to do around here.


Ramen restaurant on the West side of the station has apparently learnt from Miyajima and put up informative signs for waiting times. There wasn't any queue though...


Sunset viewed from the 60th floor observatory deck at Sunshine City, about 3 minutes from my place.


Paid a visit to Yasukuni Shrine this time round. It's a very beautiful place, and it's a real shame that it'll probably be more well-known for its controversy rather than it's beauty. To be honest, I never really felt comfortable while I was there, but take away what it's associated with and I think it could be a great place to rest one's mind and body.


The Budokan was holding a boxing event (with two world title matches no less), and I was lucky enough to pop by. I didn't have the cash for tickets though.


I was also fortunate enough to have been in Tokyo when a new subway line opened. The Fukutoshin Line seems to be last new line to be opened for quite some while, and I managed to take a ride from Ikebukuro to Harajuku.

Also made another trip to Yokohama (sponsored by the language school), but all I got were really blurry pictures of night scenery.

More school-related photos to be up soon then!

wassup everybody

Sorry to have kept everyone (although I'm half expecting the number to be zero now actually) waiting for this long-awaited second post of the year LOL. Hopefully you've all been alive and kicking while I was away.

I actually went to Japan (Tokyo to be exact) again during this looooong period of absence, having been sponsored by the university to attend a summer language course. When someone sponsors you to go on a holiday (LOL I know I'm supposed to be studying there but come on...-.-"), I don't think you should ever say no.

That being said, I didn't really do much touristy stuff this time, since I'd already been there last year. So I ended spending waaay too much time in front of the TV at the share-house that I stayed at, with Japanese TV being the stuff of legends that we all know of.

I think posting pictures might be a good idea, but since I'm skeptical about readership on this blog, maybe I'll wait to see if there's any response for it. For now, I'm just too lazy (^.^)>

it's the festive season again

We've just had the Christmas festive season not too long ago, but now we have the Chinese New Year looming ahead! Hopefully everybody will have a wonderful and prosperous Year of the Rat.

I don't really have anything interesting for now though, so I guess you're going to have to check back again. Hopefully it'll come soon, after this page is updated frequently...

happy counting down to the new year

Thought I'd squeeze in a post before the year ends, apparently there has been a complaint that this blog isn't being updated frequently enough...

Hopefully it's been a fruitful year for everybody, as it has been for myself. Of course, don't look back on the year too much, when what we have to deal with are the things that are yet to come!

A very happy new year in advance to you then!

アジアの頂点到着

おはようございます。夢じゃないよ！

lost in translation

Studying 2 foreign languages at a time is seriously no joke. It gets even worse though, when you have tests for each language within a fortnight of each other. I was studying for the JLPT test on 2 December earlier in the afternoon, and now I'm having to block out all my 日本語 and concentrate on belajar Bahasa Indonesia, karena hari Rabu dan Kamis saya ada ujian di siswa.

All of this is giving a major headache, and we're not really into the exam period as yet....

雨の話

今日と昨日は久しぶりの雷雨ですね。涼しくなってほしいな！

ちなみに、寝ると言えば、雨の日は最高じゃない？

the pains of growing old

Was on my way home from school earlier, when I came across this elderly lady who had seemingly lost her way. Turns out she was headed to Bedok, so I accompanied her until we reached Bedok station.

The old lady had a serious problem remembering things though. We were making some small talk to keep ourselves occupied for the long journey, but she couldn't remember anything for more than 5 seconds. We ended up talking about the same things throughout the train ride. Come to think of it, I wonder if she remembered how to get home from the bus interchange.

Alzheimer's Disease setting in perhaps?

ちょっと写真を撮った。。。

久しぶりの自分の写真です。そうだよ、最近こんな様子になった。(^.^)

髪、長くなったんですね。

back to school

And not getting used to it just yet. Still haven't developed a habit of doing readings, checking for homework, and stuff like that. In fact, there have been days when I didn't turn up at school at all! (Thank god for webcasts I guess...)

But hopefully school will turn out fine in time.

どうでもいいだから。。。

今回はコーラだった。次はきっとスプライトでしょう。(笑)

anything will do

今日はルートビールだった。

thanks for trying, but...

I was on my way home in my dad's car when someone called the radio station for a dedication.

Now, this girl had the sweetest voice you'll ever hear, but then she uttered the darnedest thing you'll probably hear this year.

"I'd like to say hi to my sister, and wish her a belated happy birthday because it's tomorrow."

We were both bawling in laughter after that.

what do you do on a rainy and stormy night?

Quick question: Are these two mating?

thoughts on kyoto

Kyoto is a city so rich with history, that with so many temples and buildings preserved from the time of the samurais, it feels like a throwback to 15th century Japan. Until you look down and see the hordes of people with their latest digital cameras in hand, that is.

The city has so many ancient temples that it'd really be a waste of effort trying to list them down one by one. However, they are all deserving of a visit or two, which is probably the reason why many people flock to Kyoto again and again. It is simply a very pretty city, and even with the introduction of modern conveniences, is still firmly protective of its heritage.



This is not to say though, that Kyoto doesn't have its share of post-modernistic buildings as well.

However, any visitors planning to cover Kyoto on foot should be warned: this is a BIG city, in terms of size. Kyoto maps are printed such that the places of interest seem close to each other, when in fact the distance in between can easily take half an hour's walk. Bicycles should be the preferred method of getting around.

thoughts on osaka

I finally got a taste of the Shinkansen service when I travelled to Osaka from Tokyo. It's something that everybody should probably try at least once in their lifetimes, taking high speed trains.

Back to Osaka though. It's probably a little unfair to say this, but from a sightseeing perspective Osaka is very much the Kansai counterpart to Tokyo, albeit with older infrastructure and amenities. It also has a seedier part of town (I happened to stay in a business hotel there in case you were wondering), with its fair share of strewn rubbish, run-down shops and homeless people. These are probably reasons why many tourists spend a larger amount of time in neighbouring Kyoto.

However, what really gives Osaka its unique flavour is its people. They are loud, brash, and funny as well. Kansai, and Osakan in particular, humour is very much appreciated all around Japan, and it seems innate amongst its inhabitants. They are quick to warm up to people, provide many interesting answers and opinions, and perhaps most importantly, are always welcoming you to another helping of drinks!

This is probably the only city that I visited that you could have a company CEO coming to a very basic lounge in a small business hotel just to lounge and make friends. I even got invited to lunch at one of the many curry rice chain stores he owns across Japan, and was personally sent off at the train station by him as well! Now THAT's what I call hospitality.


Osaka is also home to 2 of the more interesting escalator rides in the world. One has you look as if you're suspended in mid-air 37 floors above the ground, while the other looks as if you're on the stairway to heaven.

thoughts on yokohama

(Been a little sidetracked the past few weeks, pardon me for my usual tardiness! :P)

Yokohama is slightly over half an hour by JR trains from Tokyo (on an express service, all-stops trains take about an hour), but has a very different feel to its much larger counterpart. However, it can be argued that Yokohama IS in fact part of the Tokyo area itself, since the two areas merge seamlessly in the Kanagawa area.

The port city is probably most famous for its Chinatown, and its many Chinese food stalls and shops that sell treats of the highest quality. However, it is also ridiculously tacky, and is more akin to a Westerner's opinion of medieval China than you'd expect from a country in our part of the world.

Besides Chinatown, Yokohama also has a waterside promenade in Yamashita Park. This is pretty much Yokohama's answer to Tokyo's Odaiba island, although it wasn't built on reclaimed land. Families come here to relax and enjoy the view of the Minato Mirai area directly opposite the shore, and there are a few buskers around to lend a slightly bohemian feel to the place.

Yokohama is a more relaxed city compared to the madness of Tokyo, and perhaps will be a good breather for those who are looking to escape the capital, but still want to have the conveniences that only a big city can provide.