Wednesday, October 29, 2008

HUH? Where did they come from?

139

Fortune number of the day!

*shock 100%*


WHERE DID THEY COME FROM?
139 visitors totally pawned the day I post my entry on Innit.

What's です?

Still in the state of confusion. So confuse that I have to delay my bedtime to immediate post this. This is a BIG deal for someone who procastinate in her updates. I demand a recount! Yeah right, as if. =P

Who are you people? Show yourself!

Come to think of it... I'm kinda scared.

*in a tiny voice* Really, who are you people?

*in an even tinier voice* Please come visit again. XD


Tuesday, October 21, 2008

A Japanese Summer: Chapter Two (ii)


We're Off To The Farm!



Before we began, I must say this has got to be the prettiest entry ever! The scenery is simply breath-taking! The first picture up there kinda set the bar on what to expect below.


*******

Now, before I've ever set foot in Japan, never did I thought I would love Hokkaido. In my mind, Hokkaido offers me nothing much but awful cold snow and mouth-watering seafood. Quiet, peaceful and boh... ring! Which was mind-boggling for me to see a tour to Hokkaido cost so much more than a tour to Tokyo-Kyoto-Osaka all combined.

BUT! The "returned-from-Japan-me" has changed. *cough cough* So kua-jiong right? But it's true. I sooo wanna go to Hokkaido again! And this time at a colder climate *grumbles about summer* though winter still scares the hell out of me. But the air, the view, the nature, the culture, not to mention the whole biggy "other half" of the island that we have neglected *much due to our ignorance and silliness in thinking Hokkaido is boring* is waiting for our return. To sum it up...


HOKKAIDO SAIKOU!
北海道最高!

And no, I'm not getting paid to promote Hokkaido. Though, at this point I'll probably be that suspicious too. *sigh* I wish. But this just goes to show how sincere this post is. HAHAHA...


*fast forward*


Continuing from where we left off from the morning after. We packed and we left the hotel without breakfast. Gotta catch the train again!

We're off to the farm!

And of course, you don't ride the modern bullet train to the farm. You ride the old fashion locamotive. So cute, right?



Took a picture outside of the train before it depart.


BARBECUE CAR

*shrugs*


Though I did feel a tinge of kepanasan during the ride because no air-con mah. So at times like this, you need the
POLAR BEAR CREAM PUFF!


Snacking on the train. Hehehe...

Here we go again! The View!



Maaa... live version *dreamy eyes*




Cubbie took the picture from the train at one of the stops. No idea what she's selling but we don't even see that here right? Such a scene only reminds me of baseball games where a guy shouts out "hot dogs, delicious hot dogs!" going around the stands. Not that we have them here but tengok all the ang moh show, so got brainwashed since young.



Finally we have arrived! That is our very colourful Barbeque Car we ride on. Macam primary students going on a school trip no? Heee..



Lavendar Farm Station!


Hiyalish Lesson 101: Budget Trip Advisor 03
This very station and the ride here is only available during Summer. Yup! Only this specific time of the year that you get to enjoy this ride to this station which is an estimate 5 - 7 minutes walk to the farm. Other times, you'll ride the normal train and reach a station 25 - 30 minutes away from the farm. That's a looooooong walk people. LOOOOONG!



Helpful linkie: Scroll down till you see the Furano & Biei Norokko-go with the image of the colourful train



FARM TOMITA
And "Aweee.... pweetty" session began!

Pweeetty!


Pweeeeeetty!!


Pweeeetty scenery pweetty me! HAHAHA.. kulit muka tebal betul.


Must lah proof that I am truly standing at Farm Tomita.


Also to proof that I was not there alone. LOL. Pweeetty x 2


Every picture is like standing in front of a backdrop.


*______*


Cubbie took picture of me...



... so I took picture of her also loh. Sama-sama.


******

Flowers are pretty.

Though capturing life amidst them are even more lovely.

Beeeeeesss.... Buzzzz....


And buzzzzzz somemore....


probably the most rewarding of the lot...


LOL. And so it did turned into a school field trip on flowers and insects after all.



*******



It looks so English looking neh. That's another unique feature of Hokkaido I guess. The food served here is more western than any part of Japan. Hmmm... now for more Lavender goodness!



Lavender Ice-creams!


Honestly... lavender taste like.... detergent! HAHAHAHA... imagine the washing liquids you bought in the supermarket with lavender scents. That's exactly how it taste! No kidding. I ate an ice-cream that sorta taste like washing detergent. *swt*



And as if that wasn't enough...



I ate my lunch with that same taste in my drink as well. Brocolli my favourite! Told you it's pretty westernised here. ^^;;



The only "Japanish" thingy here is the people!


A true Japanese boy there for you. Cubbie tookie many "people pictures" but we are not the people in those photos. o__O



One last shot on the prettiness of the entire place.


*sigh*


Lovely!


We spent the entire afternoon at Farm Tomita. After covering the entire area with some extra time left before our pick-up, we just sit back and relaxed and enjoyed the view of the entire place. =)


Just before we left we spotted something BIG!


DOGGY!!



And just to show how big doggy was.
That's Cubbie right there with it.

BIG!


Had a short conversation with the owner with lots of awkward smiles and all since he only understand half of what we said and vice-versa. Cubbie attempted to comment on how the dog's fur is as white as sheep and the guy ended up insisting that it's a dog and not a sheep. -.-;; As if we don't know how to differentiate between the two. Still, we made it through the small talk. Though it was more like I was there attempting to talk to him while Cubbie continues to pat and play with doggy there. Hahaha... eh... if I stand there diam diam beside uncle very awkward mah, and not nice also. Furthermore, we were the first two Malaysians he have ever met and talked to in his life. Yup. Therefore what we said and did was his first impression of how nice Malaysians are. HAHAHA... in which I hoped we did a good job. Not too shabby I would say so myself.


Finally our pick-up came. We were expecting Tetsuya-san but instead it was Mrs Tetsuya who came. Uwah... and Mrs Tetsuya drives fast as we went on a ride through the countryside, seeing nothing but the mountain range until we finally reached our home for the night, Akane-yado.



Akane-yado


Just like its description on its website:
Akane-yado is a small inn that was reformed from the private house.So we have no spacious room and luxurious stuff. There is no private bath and toilet in the room. But Akane-yado is located in very beautiful place.You can enjoy a grand view of Tokachi mountain range and colorful fieldsfrom your room. You can also have a homely dinner and breakfast with a lotof vegetables. Conversation with the other visitors after the supper will make your trip good memories.





And indeed it was true. Our room might be very simple but once again, the view from the window is something...


... I wish I can wake up to every morning.


Oh! And we bought pudding from the farm earlier and attempt a mood shot of the "buddies". That's round 2 of Japan love for puddings. And nope, they're not lavender in flavour. XD

And remember the description about conversation with other guests in the house. We did just that over dinner!

The couple behind us was from Taiwan while the other couple which arrived to the table later was from Hong Kong. So we were splitted right in the middle between the two, me talking in Mandarin to the Taiwanese and Cubbie to the Hongkies in Cantonese. Yup, we got praised for being well... multi-lingual. Cheers to being a Malaysian! *big big smile*

Oh and on another note, don't ask me why is Mr Taiwan doing a "Loser" sign in the picture. *shrugs* We really wonder... hahaha...



We step out to the vast open space to enjoy the night breeze. Cubbie came ready with her binoculars and went into "astronomic" mode. It was happiness 100% for Cubbie as she went on and on telling everyone about the stars and constellation that night. Yup, we were all there, even Joe-san, our very humble host of the house.



Cubbie's piece of artwork. =)


Note: We went to bed very very content that night.




Good morning Furano! *dreamy eyes*



I miss the place already.


Farm life with internet connection is the life for me. XD



Guess who greeted me in the morning while doing my "big" business in the toilet?
*cuteness 100%*



Breakfast was yummy and yes the portion was big. It always will be so in Japan. We left directly after breakfast to catch the train again to our next destination...




...of Polar Bears and Odd Balls alike.



Sunday, October 12, 2008

An Update Not!

A delay in my weekly update.
Be back by Tuesday!
Edited: I know I said Tuesday but I've been staring at pretty phones for hours every night. Someone distract me away from pretty things so that I can sit down and concentrate in finishing my post. *sobs*

Saturday, October 04, 2008

A Japanese Summer: Chapter Two (i)

HOKKAIDO SAIKOU!



It couldn't get more Hokkaido-ish than the picture above. I can see at least three 北海道 (Hokkaido) all over one building. And the main board reads Hokkaido's Sapporo Beer. *points to the one with the biggy star* I know because I bought a can home for dad. *grins*

Now now. Remember last post we were still in Tokyo? *nods* Woke up before 5am to catch the train down to Hokkaido. Here's the scary news. It takes almost 10 hours to get to Sapporo, Hokkaido. Yup, it's a day worth of journey even with the bullet train.



Ekibens!

The return of Hiyalish Lesson 101: Budge Trip Advisor 01
Ekiben is derived from the word eki (meaning: station) and bento (meaning: lunch boxes). Thus, ekiben is lunch boxes sold in train station.

My First Ekiben in Japan!
On top of it is my Japan Rail Pass aka Super Pass and my ticket.



The wonders of the Japanese culture. Ekiben prepared in the wee morning at 2.12am and expires 13 hours later at 3.12pm. *nods*


QUIRKY JAPAN



Lookie at what's inside. It suppose to contain 30 different types of ingredients that should provide me with all the nutrients I need. *points to the pink paper I stuffed under the box* That paper has the break-down of every single detail you need to know on what you're eating. *shrugs* Aiyo, I not Japanese I Malaysian. I makan sedap and kenyang sudahlah. XD




Train sampai! Double decker bullet train wei!!


CANGGIH JAPAN

But but... itu bukan train kami lah.



We get second best train. LOL. No complains.



And off we go!




THE VIEW!



Don't believe still picture is it? Let me repeat again then.


THE VIEW!




Nyek nyek nyek... Cubbie filmed train conductor at work.
Hensem tak?


Hensem not your type?


No worries.


Cubbie also film train attendent at work.
Pretty tak?



After changing a few trains, get on a subway, walk walk a bit with a map in hand. Gua sampai sudah petang loh.



Marks Inn Sapporo. Our Very First Hotel in Japan! My first online booking! Which reminds me I haven't wrote a review as requested. *sigh* Buat advertisment a bit dulu, booking done through here. *clickie*

The funniest thing is, Marks Inn Sapporo is the only place we stayed with the most English name to it. Come'on Marks Inn woh! Right? You would have expect a Mr Mark who knows English serving you at the reception. YET! It's the only hotel that has receptionist that don't speak English. DOT!



Our hotel is nicely located by the river. ^___^



After checking in, put our backpacks down, rest rest a bit we go out to hunt for dinner with one aim in mind:

SAPPORO RAMEN YOKOCHO


So we walk and walk till we reach Susukino, the town area. *cough* Susukino is also famous for one other thing.



See picture of girls on billboards? Yup. It's also sorta like a... red light district *mumbles* But Japan is very equal in this business. Because there's equal service for men and women in this manner. *grins* That's where Cubbie's super camera goes into action.



ROLL FILM!





See see the smart dressing men all over the place. See see men holding cards approaching guys and also gals. See see! How openly they do it. They mind their business, we mind ours. *nods*




So after loosing our way and our temper, we finally found the place.

It's really true you know, a hungry man is an angry man. It was really frustrating not being able to find the place we want even though we were already so hungry and yet even more frustrating to give up and eat at some other place. -.-;;


RAMEN YOKOCHO
a whole street of little ramen shops

We have no idea which to enter. This alert obachan noticed and came calling us. Pandainya buat business. The ramen was okay okay only. I'm really not a person that takes a big bowl of only one taste. *nods* I need variety to makan punya. So ramen don't work well for me. ^^;;

BUT WE WERE HUNGRY! So habis juga. XD

Hiyalish Lesson 101: Budge Trip Advisor 02
When a bottle of 500ml water cost at least 100yen (approximately RM3.20), try get FREE water whenever you can. i.e. you paid 1000yen for a bowl of ramen and water is free. Be smart and courteous and ask if you can fill you bottle with water. There, you just saved yourself from buying a 100yen worth of water. Therefore, your ramen secretly cost only 900yen. XD




Macamlah a bowl of ramen is enough to feel my stomach. Hee... That's me lining up for Takoyaki.



And that's them making my takoyaki.






It really really can't get more Hokkaido-ish than this! I hearts this song so much that I still humm it at home nowadays. See see, that goes another two guys approaching *cough cough* "business", if you know what I mean.


Ho-Ho-Hokkaido


One last shot for the night.
Crescent moon. Susukino's Night View. =)


Back to the compact hotel room.



Remember what I said about tiny toilets? The hotel has the same compact toilet. LOL. I suspect its a few inches wider because I didn't knock my arms to the walls as often when I bathed in the hotel toilet. Never the less, tiny.



That's Cubbie getting all comfy.
The room had no closet. LOL. So you see our pants hanging up high on the wall. ^^;;


Repeat after me.


TINY.

Supper!



Supper includes dessert! *__*



Now, I still don't quite understand why Japanese love pudding so much but honestly, they're everywhere. Believe me, you. Pudding the staple dessert of Japan. *shrugs*



After makan, we lie in bed and watch some Japanese TV before calling it a night.



Next: Vin and Cub off to the farm!


Read Also:
A Japanese Summer: Prologue
A Japanese Summer: Chapter One (i) Arriving in Japan
A Japanese Summer: Chapter One (ii) A Day Out in Tokyo