乾杯! (Kanpai)

After the delicious Sio Ramen, we continued our adventure in Takadanobaba. We went back to the Weekly Mansion to meet up with the others and from there walked around the area to try to find a place where we can drink. We finally found a place with the help of a local. We were asked if we wanted to sit upstairs in a private room because the main bar was full. The private room was really nice but we found out later that there was an extra service charge (400円 per person) for drinking there.





The two drinks I had were really good. Unfortunately I don't their names because it was all written in 漢字(Kanji) but here are the pictures of some of the drinks that we had.



This was after I mixed the blue and red liquor into the drink.



Yeah! 乾杯!




ROUND 2:






The alcohol content in the drinks was low because I didn't feel tipsy like I usually would after one drink. It's also not really expensive- about 410円 per drink.

We decided to head back to Weekly Mansion afterwards because we were undecided about what to do. We passed by ポプラ, the convenience store near the Weekly Mansion where some of us bought more drinks. Both Beau and I were not fans of beer but for some reason we both bought one each. It had 7% alcohol and was honestly quite horrible tasting. On our way back, we decided to go back to Kati's room to play 終極密碼 (zhong zi mi ma) a number guessing/drinking game that has been popularized by Taiwanese game shows. Not wanting to drink our beers anymore, Beau and I mixed our beers into a "cocktail of death" as the forfeit of each round.

I know this sounds kind of evil but it was super fun watching other people drink up all of our shitty beer. The expression on their faces: Priceless.

がんこラーメン (must try ramen place in Takadanobaba)

Last night, a couple of us decided to hang out around Takadanobaba. It was somewhat on impulse that we decided to go to がんこラーメン (Ganko Ramen). The restaurant is about 20 minutes walk from Weekly Mansion (where we are staying). It was raining quite heavily and when we got there, we saw that it was a small restaurant covered in a black tent with a gigantic bone hanging on the outside. It looked dark from the outside and we were all a little suspicious at first because none of us wanted to be the first one to try to open the door. When finally we decided to go in because it was silly to just keep standing in the rain, we saw that the restaurant is really small and can only fit 5 people. Luckily, our group was exactly 5.



The price of the ramen (700円) may be higher than some other places but this place is the real deal. You really have to come to this place if you are in Tokyo- the ramen is really really delicious. The owner recommended the Sio Ramen (with hot chicken oil) so we all ordered the same thing. The pork was so tender, it felt like it was melting in my mouth and the soup base was so tasty (especially when you add the minced green pepper to the soup). Just one word to describe it: Wow!

If you are in Tokyo, don't miss out on this ramen place. Needless to say, I'll be back there a couple more times while I'm still living in Takadanobaba.

Orientation at ICU

I was a little lazy after arriving in Tokyo but since today is Saturday and I have more time to rest, I'm backlogging some of the things that happened this week. We had an orientation at ICU on Thursday and for all those who are going there to study, well lucky you because the campus is really beautiful. The whole time I was there, I felt a little closer to nature. I could smell the grass and hear birds and crickets as I was walking around the campus. I heard that it's really beautiful when the cherry blossoms bloom so I'll definitely be back to see that in April. Here's a picture of the campus in the summer. Beautiful isn't it?

プリクラ! (Purikura!)

Today is also my first Purikura experience here in Tokyo. I still remember NeoPrints machines- probably the first generation of these photo booths. It's been about 4 years since my last Purikura in Singapore. The machines in Tokyo are so advanced that they can even email two of your favorite shots to your cell phone. Amazing right? And they cost only 400円 (US$4.50) -definitely much cheaper than those in Singapore and US.

If you are thinking why my eyes look kind of weird, well... it's because the machines have a special feature that makes your eyes bigger. Personally I don't really like it cos my eyes look fake. Plus it doesn't really help my eyes that much. Even with that function in the Purikura machine, my eyes STILL look small!!

Here are two of the shots. (^-^)

First impression of Japan

I arrived safely in Tokyo on Tuesday. The immigration officers were lenient on me and allowed me entry into Japan with my one-way ticket and tourist visa. I had my ferry ticket to S.Korea just in case but they never asked to see it.



The airport and the trains were very efficient and convenient. I managed to change some US currency for Japanese Yen at the airport but the rates now are really bad. It was US$1= 75.4 Yen. I heard from Asuka the exchange rate a few months ago were US$1= 95 Yen.

I took the photo below while we were riding the Skyline from Narita Airport to Takadanobaba Station (where I'm staying). The Shinkansen was really fast and comfortable. It is no wonder that Japan has one of the best transportation in the world.



I thought I will have quite a bit of cultural shock but so far I feel strangely at home. This is partly because parts of Tokyo seem like Hong Kong and parts of it feels like Singapore. There is still a language barrier but most Japanese are really friendly and helpful. I use broken Japanese- bits of Japanese words that are not coherently put in a sentence. I have a few favorite phrases- ありがとうございます、大丈夫、またね！、どういたしまして、どうぞ。

Some of the people here try to speak to me in Japanese because I can pass off as a Japanese even though I personally don't think I look like one (it might be my small eyes). I hope that I don't come across rude because I can sometimes say the wrong things with my limited Japanese.

日本料理はとてもおいしい！(Japanese food is super delicious) I ate some delicious ramen with Asuka before I checked in to my apartment and just now I ate some super fresh sushi with Laurel, another EAP student on the ILP program. It only cost me US$6. After eating the sushi here, I wonder if I'll ever want to eat sushi in the US.





As I'm blogging this, I am watching CSI Miami in Japanese- it is really entertaining and the high-pitch voice actress has a normal voice in this Japanese dub of the series. Yeah!

My jet lag is actually a good thing. I am now sleeping at 11pm and waking up at 7am. Finally, I have the schedule of a normal person.

I'll also try to remember taking pictures of the food before I start eating. I just can't help it sometimes.

Ready, set, Go!

I'm now waiting to board my flight. It was a little sad as I wave goodbye to my family and boyfriend at the departure gate but I'm excited to explore and go on an adventure in Japan.

Will set foot in Japan in 10.5 hours. Bye SF!

Things always work out for the better

Earlier I was complaining about Keio's inefficiency in issuing COE to its students and causing us a lot more trouble since we have to enter as tourist when we arrive in Japan. Well, it now seems that this is a blessing in disguise because I am able to buy a JR pass. The JR pass is an affordable way to travel around Japan only for tourists who have a "temporary vistor" stamp on their passport.

The 7-day JR pass seems quite expensive at first (US$353) but I heard that if you buy a roundtrip Shinkansen ticket to Osaka or Hokkaido (somewhere really far from Tokyo), it will already cost you $300 so $50 more seems like a really good deal. Here's the website for all those who are interested. http://www.histravelonline​.com/jrpass/

If I had received the COE in time to apply for the student visa, well, then I wouldn't have been eligible to use the JR pass. I ended up buying a one-way refundable ferry ticket to S.Korea as proof that I am leaving Japan within 90 days. I read on many forums that some flights might not let you board the plane if you don't have proof of leaving the country as specified by your visa.

I'll update my plans to explore Japan with my JR pass. 2 more days to the start of my adventure in Japan! Nervous but really excited!

FUNKY MONKEY BABYS「ちっぽけな勇気」

Flores sensei sent the link of this song to my Japanese 1C class. I really like this song and my goal is to memorize the lyrics so I can sing it in karaoke! The rap part will be really hard because it's so damn fast.

I wasn't able to copy the lyrics in this post so see the link below for the lyrics of this song.

http://music.goo.ne.jp/lyric/LYRUTND52628/index.html

Countdown: 13 days to go

It's less than 2 weeks to the date of my departure and there seems to be still a lot that I have to do. My parents, being the concerned parents that they are, want me to pack almost the whole house with me to Japan- clothes (for all the 4 seasons), blankets, pillow, a pot, utensils, mug, bowl, shoes...etc...

I don't really want to overpack but I think they have a point that I'll need a blanket and pillow and probably a small pot to cook. I am also thinking that taking so much with me will make it hard for me to travel if I decide to go to other countries after my program ends. It feels like deja vu since I went through the same thing when I was moving from SF to Irvine last August. It was on hindsight that I wish I didn't packed so much. I want to pack only the necessities for my year in Japan but everything seem like a necessity right now. I don't really want to buy things I could have gotten from home especially since the US$ is so weak in comparison to the Japanese Yen.

Well, there's not many days left before my departure so I better do a little more packing before I go to bed tonight.