Soon~

Packing of our things for moving are

80% done and in another 10 days

we are leaving Freebell for カーサA.

This 1 year has been so fast and

enjoyable. Simply attending a language

school, taking tests that are

"confirmed-passes" if you study

what you need to~
+ a lot of free time to see a bit of Japan.
•I love WINTER most•

Have also passed the JLPT N3 & N2

within 8 months.

But... those certificates don't

prove much about your Japanese skills.

Reading, listening still fine, our speaking skills still sucks !

It's our problem. We don't speak

Japanese at home and we have no •Everyday•speak•only•Japanese•to•friends•

I am afraid to think of

what-hell-it-will-be

during the 1st month of university

when it starts in April...

• But no escape •

Anyways we like this apartment- Freebell a lot~
Within the city, with nice sunlight,

spacious and ghost•free...

View outside our living room

window : SHINKASEN !!
Our • FIRST HOUSE • that is

out of Fred's dad's pocket.

A lot to repay him next time !!

Am excited about the move,

rural area, lesser nuisance...

When we go home late, we see many

drunken Salary men on the streets

making a lot of noises...
And there is adult business behind the station~
& Pimps standing on the streets too~

Apart of moving,
another thing I am looking forward to

is pottery making~

Always wanted to try and this time we

will be going with the class teacher to

the same town we went with Japanese

friends last summer, TOKONAME...

And also more outings with friends...

After this term, they will be returning

to their countries and what are the chances of meeting again ?

Thy are moving on,
So are Him, ME & U •

Rare dish in SG~

May I introduce to you my favourite

"CHINESE FOOD" in Japan.

It's a common dish in every

CHINESE RESTAURANT and mostly

run by CHINESE..

This is the most spicy food

( Level 2 out of 10 )

I can find here...

Above is MA PO TO FU with rice and with noodle.

And it is a set lunch for 1 person !!

Both in FULL sizes !

We had that shock the first time we went,

and so the 2nd time, we ordered a set to share...

About $11.50 which normal that amount

can only buy you 1 meal.

+ it comes with a complimentary coffee

Fred and I dont drink COFFEE at all,

but since it was free, I tried it with milk.

And... I realised that I could like COFFEE !!

But that doesnt mean I will take that liking further..

Not good to relay on it to stay awake !!

Surprise texture

Justin sent another chocolate

which he got from a ski hotel in FURANO....

There are still many many many many

places in JP I do not know of

but the postcard he sent tgt with the parcel,

was so 大自然。。。

He was there to SNOW BOARD

and to travel across HOKKAIDO too....

I wish I could try winter sports too.... !!

At this count, he has definitely seen

and experienced a lot of

Japan than me !!

Plus after he come back from SG,

he will be going on a JAPAN TOUR !!

One of the prefectures is NAGOYA.

But they have planned it on the day

when I have gone back to SG..

He'll discuss with his friends.....

so we might be able to meet ...

The only only only time I remember

speaking to him was

during SEC 1... haha !!

But I can tell he's a generous

and genuine person !

上京回来了。。。

I drew my curtain and I am looking at the snow

dyeing this city white at this very moment...

Tropical me most enjoyed season is WINTER ...

I have not gotten enough of snow yet ....

Why doesnt Singapore deserve snow ?

My country men would love the view too

Anways,

Reached Nagoya at 630am this morning..

An incident:

At about 4 am, during the third break,

I was awakened and saw a girl trying

to step on my foot rest.

I thought she was reaching for the

overhead compartment so

I watched her doing that for about 4 s

Lights were not on and visibilty of 10%

Fred saw her leg and he thought she was me and

reached out to stroke her leg, wooooo....

I was puzzled and when I said

" What is she doing "

Fred finally opened his eyes

and then tapped her leg away...

She then realized she's trying

to go over the

wrong person and said

"Oops, I'm wrong" ( In japanese )

If she manage to cross over me,

she would probably be surprised

to find herself sitting on Fred...

OMG.... So blur or blind...

And then we continue to sleep...

SO,

6 hrs bus ride to TOKYO was bearable.

But reaching TOYKO at 6 am +

made us felt a bit lost...

4 days 3 nights trip and the most enjoyable day

was Friday, when we went to DISNEYLAND..

Other days were spent going to

the same places we went 2 years ago...

Not very exciting but we had many good buys.

I also enjoyed the food better...

Not JAPANESE FOOD but

KOREAN FOOD & AMERICAN JUNK FOOD.....

The only things that are expensive

in JP are food and transport.

If you come at the right time

( changing season periods )

and go to the right shopping places

( not Takashimaya, not Matsuzakaya )

JAPAN is in fact very affordable....

I also recommend a very economical

hotel chain call TOYOKO INN....

They give free breakfast and

beauty products samples....

Plus with me, it's good-buy shopping !!

ZARA, forever 21, trendy clothes,

boots not above 1000yen = $16 ....

But to be honest, I have enough of CITIES,

let's go strawberries plucking in country sides.......

New place

Industrial-look is my kind of dream house.

In another words, I think I like

concrete slabs, or polished smooth cement.

Exactly like this parking space.

Today, we went to a property agency

to look for an apartment nearer to NUA.

Shortlisted a few we seen online prior

to the visit but we didnt decide on those

in the end. After looking at the interior of the houses,

we think we were sure which one we wanted..

This apartment has concrete wall at the living hall !

Fred says it reminded him of the school

since NUA looks more or less like an industrial park...

The kitchen and bath room at the other end.

Will be moving in before we leave for SG in March.

It's a rural area but near to the Train station and

about 20 mins to the city. So I think I am happy

with the place.

Btw, the agent looks like Ekin Cheng but

with styled-wavy hair,

business suit + pointy leather shoes,

he does look like

the pimps on the street too...

日帰り旅行。。。

D A Y T R I P T O

T A K A Y A M A , G I F U

No more snow in Nagoya,

so we had to go out of this area !!

Gifu connecting to Aichi ( UP NORTH ),

is colder and they have ski parks too !

I read about an open air museum

called HIDA NO SATO, located at Takayama-shi of

GIFU on a magazine. That's the only winter

attraction featured on the magazine, so

I decided on going to this place !

1030 - Board the bus

1125 - Short break / Bought lunch

( 2 Onigiri ) and juice !

After about 90 mins, snow was in sight !!

Towns and farms in W H I T E !

1310 - Reached the

TAKAYAMA STATION.

Bought combi of the Bus tic & Entrance tic

1340 - Board the bus to the musuem

1350 - Reached HIDA NO SATO

- FOLK VILLAGE

YEAH, snow, the actual purpose we

were there.

The attraction of this place is the

houses seen in the background..

It's a museum that displays houses

of the ancient

japanese hertiage.

Some are preserved-houses of the

EDO period in 1700s

All houses can be entered, but

shoes have to be taken off

if you wish to step on the laquered floor...

For memorial of 2011-01-29

Everytime we see this machine that dispenses a

medal, medal holder, stamping service,

we will make one for keepsake ....

Hands got so frozen after playing with snow in

my acrylic woven gloves ! Above is a rest place

that keeps visitors warm with burning charcoal...

1510 - Left the museum and walked

towards the Crafts experience centre.

Chose the one I would like to try doing -

SARU BOBO

With the guide of a teacher +

a bit of glueing, stitching to the 65% done

craft work and

It's done. This is a baby monkey that was first made

in prayer for happy marriage and safe child delivery...

1550 - had some time to kill before the bus comes,

On the way to the Folk village, we saw a temple and

wonder what religion it was, so we walked towards the

building.

A 20 mins walk

Passed through the golden gate, climbed about 4 storey high

of wide spiral stairs and it led to the way to the temple...

We went in but, still could not tell what kind of the temple

it is. They have essences of Buddhism and Islam....

At the final doors, a sign board says :

No Photography inside the shrine of SUZA.

We didnt proceed further so I shall search online soon....

The view in front of this majestic shrine

Fred's saru bobo + cold butt

1649 - Took the bus back to

Takayama station

1700 - Dinner at a recommended

restaurant on the map

Not my kind of palate, but Fred's fav !!

BBQ

1800 - It started snowing and

it's 1 more hour before the bus leave

for Nagoya.

I had to do my SNOWMAN !!

But I got extremely tired after doing the body of the

snowman, so I gave up....

Did a 2D one instead, still a snowman....

1900 - Board the Bus home !!
A 2.40 hr journey became a 3:40 hr one !

Snow clearing trucks were deployed to clear the roads...

2245 - Reached home, Tired !

I am satisfied for this winter already,

does not matter whether it snows

again or not

In FEB : It's disney trip to T O K Y O !

真的是不买白不买。。。

I heard that it's not going to snow again in Nagoya.

That's so sad !

I have not done a

S N O W M A N . . . . . .

yet ...

No snow but no-disappointment sales are going on everywhere.

Anything and everything related to winter season is slashed by at least 50%...

Ever since I came to JP,

I have gotten a Legging Fetish.

The thicker ones are reduced to the price which

you would hate yourself if you dont grab them.

Claires sale is even better.

A portion ( Big portion )

600 yen and above items are selling at 300 yen

and

300 yen and below items are selling at 100 yen

I am still thinking about the sale after I reached home.

" Must go back "

" Must go back "

" Must go back "

And I got a pair of high heel boots too.

Looks good but quality.......

Worth the price, only 1000 yen ( $16 ) after discount...

Made in China and I think I might slip in it !!

It's not as cold as the first day we reached already.

Shops are selling S P R I N G wear already too.

So I really do not know why I am still

looking at things used in Winter....

Seasons never end !!

Preparing for the next winter already !!

White town old coffee

Finally !

This trip was extended by 7 days

because Freddie Paddi fell sick on

the day we were supposed to fly back.

Flight changed and changed again...

And we have missed 6 days lessons already...

Not worried but... More to catch up !!

Although I like to stay in SG longer too,

I was looking forward to going back to

see snow !!

It will be the first time in my life....

This morning plane landed and its was snowing.

Powder snow ...

B I G

*:..｡o○☆ﾟ･:,｡*:..｡o○☆

H A P P I N E S S

Checked out my plant the first thing

we arrived at the lobby...

It's life is up. It was a fruitful life ~

命が終わってしまう。。。

I shall harvest them, keep the seeds

and plant again when I feel like to..

A tomato dropped on the ground,

I picked it up and squeeze it,

A N D

a worm dropped out...

It was dead fortunately, otherwise

I think I will scream if it wriggles in front of

my eyes... YUCKS !!!

Slept a bit, went out for dinner,

and on the way back,

Even outside a place that we

never bother to take picture at,

the view was so WOW,

It's white every where,

I wish my family, Fred's parents,

Pin and pirl, friends

can see it....

All I could think of :

White every where !!

I was late in experiencing Winter.

Hokkaido was already snowing like

crazy since 2 months ago....

LOVE WINTER ( it's the first day, might change )

I described this first encounter-

like in a

S N O W

G L O B E

Many more to play in the snow,

Let it snow, Let it snow, Let it snow ~

Flight home tomorrow~

LAST DAY -

Fred said this many months ago

" When my mother is here, let's try this "

So the time is here,

and we tried it today.....

Nice ambience,

Their cakes were nice....

But seemed like a

difficult business

at its location....

Tomorrow morning,

I will bring Cherry to the lobby again.

It's the third time she's in

the hands of others....

Finally turned ORANGE ～

I hope they wont be eaten

by cats or plucked

by neighbours !!!!!

To 打ち上げ会 ！！

Oh Yes,

Everything that should be done

for this term is over !!

UNIVERSITY ENTRANCE EXAM,

JLPT TEST,

SCHOOL'S TEST ....

We still have another 4 months before

we enroll in NUA,

Japanese proficiency is still a

problem !! SIGH...

Anyways, I dont think I am able to pass the

JLPT N2, another SIGH...

Result will be known next year, Feb....

I'll just take N1 when my japanese standard

is like japanese, hopefully....

There shouldnt be a problem with School's test.

Result will be known tomorrow and

after tomorrow, we will not be going

to school anymore until we return

in Jan..... No permission granted though....

Soooo,

Fred's mother and grandmother will

reach this Thursday,

and next Friday, we will be home in SG !!