| LONG OVERDUE |
[Mar. 12th, 2008|11:04 pm] |
yes yes i know i havent blogged in a couple of weeks. but that just means ive been doin way too much stuff to keep up. haha
anyways ill keep this as short as possible coz really i cant be bother writing thesis length blog posts but the longer i leave it itll just get longer and longer before i post. (yes that makes sense...in my head)
ok picking up where we left off last time. found a cool ramen place not too far from uni. (i lie, it is DAMN far, its like 30 min walk) but its heaps cheap for some not too shabby ramen. 200 yen. awes. also went out to gusto's for western food for the first time in japan. wasnt too bad, but i miss REAL food from home. (btw im typing this by following the photos on facebook. so you should too)
ok next album. went to kyoto to meet mr. tom, steph's dad. was good fun, got to see kyoto tower, got some cool photos too. had mass sushi and udon. there was also a lot of tezuka osamu tributes and museums. (the creator of astro boy, and kimba the white lion) considered the father of manga and anime. got a photo with black jack in front of the museum. was pretty cool. first time in kyoto too.
ok then that weekend, karaoke. yep, again. we go like EVERY week its retarded. but SO fun. i got a picture of the karaoke machine which totally kicks every other countries butt. mainly coz it has flashy colours and lights.
also headed to osaka jou (temple) and the sakura trees had just started to bloom so got some wiked photos again. really awesome coz we got to climb to the top of the temple and look over osaka city. was so beautiful. AND oh man creepy old man came up to us and kept talking to us about nothing. and then insisted he take photos of us with our cameras. OH and other creepy man who was taking pictures of brittany, georgie, kana and rie. HE was creepier coz he used his own camera. but all that aside, it was a REALLY nice place.
HEAD LINE COZ THIS IS A HUGE HIGHLIGHT OF THE POST: SWEETS PARADISE
probably every gaijin's dream. ALL YOU CAN EAT SWEETS (plus some savouries) for 15 dollars. (1500yen) that is NOTHING. and we friiking eat till we burst. i swear i couldnt walk properly afterward. but SO worth it. oh man the jelly was SOOOOo good, it was like lychee flavoured, the kind you get in jelly cups. and they come in little bowl portions, i was downing them like shots. there was cake, cookies, ice cream, everything you could think of. oh man i swear we probably put that place out of business. but they made us wait for like 45mins for a table, so its their own fault.
afterwards to help us digest we took a ride on the karansha (ferris wheel) so we got to see all of osaka again, from the middle of the city area. so you bet i got some awesome pictures again. cant really describe but, but the city stretches on FOREVER, its so cool. just look at the pictures. oh and we took some purikura (the photo machine thigns that u doodle on) relax its just the first time this trip. im spreading it out so i dont get sick of it.
righto so the day after i made my teh-ya-ki soup, the bean curd and spare rib soup i used to have at home but it didnt really taste the same. but hey i tried.
so then that week we went bowling in makino, probably bowled the best game ever, like, 5 strikes in one game. but anyways, the shoes are given to you BY A VENDING MACHINE. you go to the size you want, and put in 300 yen, and out pops your shoes! so cool!
day afetr we went down to hirakata city and hung out at ring, a place where u pay by the half hour to stay there. theres pool, karaoke, manga, darts, ping pong. pretty much ping ponged it up with keisuke and man, probably the most exercise i did all this trip. (it was kinda tiring but its mainly coz i havent done ANY exercise.) but yeh, the others decided to be hardcore asian and play pool but oh wells, good time had by all.
ANOTHER HIGHLIGHT!
shakeys pizza, ANOTHER ALL YOU CAN EAT for about 1500yen, this time it was pizza and pasta. nothing special tastewise, but the sweet pizzas were awesome so mainly hooked in on those. they had a custard pizza with marshmellows. so good. so yep, ate till we almost burst FOR THE SECOND TIME in 2 weeks. no wonder im getting fat while im here.
aight, that weekend, KARAOKE AGAIN. this time aws heaps fun, more fun that usual, but really cant describe other than photos so just check them out. i didnt get to take a lot so just look at the ones other ppl took and tagged me in to see more.
AWESOME HIGHLIGHT HERE! NEW JESUS LIFEHOUSE LOCATION
aiight so on sunday jlo (jesus lifehouse osaka) had the first service in anew venue, a lifehouse in shinsaibashi. and man, we got to hook up all the band equipment and we got to jump and scream like church should be! american team was there too so got to meet some cool people. the hall looked really cool lighting wise etc, so yes another reason to check the pictures. after we finished decided to play a little football in the street, not a good idea, since josh managed to knock over bicycles in a domino effect, which i had to fix. plus kazuki kicked the ball, it bounced of the building and almost hit an old woman, oh man. BIGGEST GAIJIN SMASH EVER.
alright, last event that happened before today. last night went to nara to see a ritual at a temple. monks burn a huge ball of branches on the end of a pole to burn evel spirits. they run with the poles around the temple and spin the balls so all the embers fly off in different directions. was really interesting. got some really nice pics when i figued how to use the extended exposure function on the camera. oh and there are MASS deer in nara. they just roam the streets around the temple. SO random. but oh well. and man had to climb a massive hill to get there. least it was all downhill on the way home.
OK thats enough for now, going to kyushuu for spring break next week so more photos and a new post then, HOPEFULLY. |
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| (no subject) |
[Feb. 24th, 2008|08:28 pm] |
yeah, it hasent been as exciting as most weeks. but still interesting things happening.
most of the week was spent doing hmw and studying for tests. but had a fun filled weekend. friday went to a house warming party for the girls at church. photos on facebook. met a whole not of new people and looks like next week is gonna be FILLED with karaoke everyday.
most interesting day would have to be saturday though, when we went to KOBE! chinatown of japan. and was SO random coz theres chinese peoplw who moved to japan, and thus their jap is kinda chinese. we couild tell. haha. but had awesome stall food. again photos on facebook. but man the stall food, gyouza, (grilled wonton), butaman, (pao), including a black butaman, check the pics. fresh fruit, ebi dango (prawn toast balls). aside from that it was really nice, we saw the earthquake memorial and the port. took us about 1 hour to get there though, and cost about 10 bucks. but oh well. was awesome.
then sunday night was sushi night thanks to maya and keisuke. it was SOO nice, salmon, avo, egg, tuna, pork, cucumber. all temaki sushi, i.e. roll it yourself. all was good until okasan came in and ruined our fun coz of the stupid seminar house rules. as if visitors cant eat here.
just chilling atm, watching cars with dave, steph and eri.
in need of drinkage. so thirsty. |
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| BEST DAY EVER |
[Feb. 17th, 2008|09:29 pm] |
oh man...today was the BOMB shiznit. but to be in keeping with chronological order i shall leave todays happenings to the end of the post. so you can either skiip down to the bottom where everything turns CAPITALS and full of excitement or u can hang out and read the whole thing in suspense until u hit the climax.
ok so if uve seen my msn nickname youve deduced i am a pocky whore. yes the plethora of flavours available has caused me to completely spazz out and buy most of the flavours available. pictured in my facebook is a small selection of the wide spectrum available here in the homeland of pocky. in that photo is included the super famous green tea pocky, a special edition dessert pocky (strawberry flavoured) and then a 10 pack of the normal chocolate pocky. ok enough on pocky, not really worth a whole paragraph in the big picture of things. so stop. now.
last week had korean dinner night thanks to min! who came over and cooked us all a something korean udon-y noodle something. which was mega karai (spicy) but still awesome. managed to down my portion but some of the other guys not used to spicy food were struggling. haha lucky min made the "mild" version rather than the original in korea. photos on facebook for those interested.
ALRIGHT day after that was karaoke night. the first one in osaka for me. and MAN karaoke in japan fully OWNS any other country. even the dodgy cheap one we went to has a portable touch screen tablet to search for your songs. and if theres a few of you, theres also a book guide to every song in the system arranged alphabetically by song name, artist name, ANIME THAT ITS FROM, GAME THAT ITS FROM, etc. of course using the facilities available we busted out a few naruto and bleach theme songs. haha. also sang a few good classics like backstreet boys, britney, stuff u gotta do at karaoke. also tried tong hua but being the only one who knew the song and also not being able to hit the high (majority of) notes, it was quickly skipped. new karaoke favourite is ここしか咲かない花, meaning the flower that only blooms here, a song by a jap boy band. haha. the karaoke place was 1000yen per hour for nomihoudai too (all you can drink) which made getting up to sing easier for everyone. but also left a couple of the girls totally smashed, and one of them being a depressed drunk, was a lot of work getting her home.
OH that day was also valentines day, which is totally boomtastic in japan. girls give guys chocolates on valentines day! not only to the ppl they like, but to ALL the men they have close contact with. so thats friends, colleages, students (thats right i got chocs from the teachers) and it was a totally awesome day. but then in return theres white day, which is exactly one month from valentines day where the men are supposed to repay the favour 3 fold in value. SIF. and according to min, theres black day in korea where people who didnt get ANYTHING eat black noodles. coz they are unloved. so were gonna give black noodles to min on white day. heheh.
been goin good with jesus lifehouse tokyo, had cell on wednesday with a couple of the other aussie guys and was really cool. one of the girls we met is leaving osaka to continue her study in melbourne. marie, oh man shes probably the coolest japanese person i know. mainly coz she speaks english with an AUSTRALIAN accent. yes! that automatically makes her the coolest japanese person in my books and an honourary addition to the australia crew here in kansai. (we are a formidable force) anyhoos for her farewell we went out to karaoke. yes, went to karaoke AGAIN, the very next day after we went to the dodge one. this other one was a lot more professional but the space was mega small. but we got to hang with marie bafore she left and MAN can she sing. pulling out some kelly clarkson and avril lavigne, course sometimes she didnt know the lyric and would read them. the japanese phonetic equal of the english coz thats what she would read faster. its funny to know that "shinsu yuu biin go-n, ai kan buri-su fo- za fa-suto taimu" sam and andrew were there, a couple of aussies from jlh, sam being from perth too which we totally bonded over. and oh man, the train home that night was the most packed id ever seen, so had to take a photo, currently on my facebook.
ok on to the best day ever.
UNIVERSAL STUDIOS JAPAN
OH MAN IT WAS SOOOOOO AWESOME. and even AWESOMER that we got in for half price thanks to some random korean hookup from min. OK so theres just the mass rides we went on in order. look these up on my faebook, it was so damn FUNNNN
first ride: the HOLLYWOOD DREAM rollercoaster
ride count: 2 rating: 5 stars
the BEST rollercoseter ive been on ever. with coils in the track, a huge drop at the beginning and if ur not too busy screaming, actually takes you outside the park entrance and around the park for a very scenic tour. if that aint enough, you can have music pumping through your seat while you ride. your choice of rock, rap, classic rock or jpop. but oh man, secont time round it started to snow while we were on it and the feeling of having snow whizz past your face while ur careening down a 10m drop is totally unbeatable.
second ride: the TERMINATOR 3D
ride count: 1 rating: 3 stars
yep its one of those put on ur goggles for the 3d show things. but it wasnt without this SUPER DRAMTIC japanese woman who does a little skit introducing you to the company that makes all these machines who was heaps funny and totally crazy. i wonder how she can do it so many times a day. the show was pretty cool, liquid metal scorpoins reaching for your face is not somethign you see everyday, but on the flip side ur just sitting in ur seat watching all this action happen. but at the end the floor does drop like 30cm for the action packed finale.
third ride: the AMAZING SPIDERMAN
ride count: 1 rating: 5 stars
ok so this was another put on ur goggels for the ride deal. but MAN its SO WORTH IT. ur in this little car that actually moves around like a mini roller coaster, but theres huge screens which with the 3d makes u look like ur being flung around by the bad guys (green globlin, doc oc, and a few others i didnt know) and then spiderman saving you by also fliging you but u of course land in web. the best part would have to be the part where u get thrown up in the air (according to the story) and ur actually freefalling towards the pavement until at the last second sipderman makes a web that u land in safely. and it actually feels and looks like ur falling and u feel the bouce back of the web catching you. so damn cool.
LUNCH BREAK:
pizza and pasta which was the BEST pizza and pasta i have tasted in japan. it acutally TASTED like pasta and pizza. so well done to the universal studios faux italian restaurant. course it did cost about 10 bucks for a slice of pizza and half a bown of spag (i split with a friend) but oh well. it was cold outside and warm food was WELCOME.
fourth ride: BACK TO THE FUTURE the ride
ride count: 1 rating: 4 stars
similar to spiderman, but no goggle action. it was in a simulator kinda thing with about a 180degree field of vision in front of us. so this ride included us speeding through hyperspace into a volcano, being eaten by a dinosuar, being almost crushed by falling ice colums in a frozen cavern etc. the ride was pretty flawless, minus one star on rating for 90 min wait for 3 min ride. longest wait in the park. boo.
fifth ride: JURASSIC PARK the ride
ride count: 2 rating: 4 stars
yes we went on a log flume IN WINTER. idiots i know. but it was so fun and we are such idiots that we did it twice. plus point for being able to buy ponchos for 300yen before getting on the. minus points for boring lead up to finale, including random "megasaurus" with CLEARLY broken neck. plus points for t rex attack finale and giant drop including photo taking on the way down. minus points for getting wet and being cold. but really was fun.
sixth (final) ride: JAWS
ride count: 1 rating: 4 stars
ok so this is ur average boat ride gone wrong. you start with a live tour guide, yet another japanese person who has to keep up the dramtic energy over and over again. so we're heading out on a tour of the cove, we turn the corner when sos radio signals crack over the radio, we see a ship go down and jaws circling us next. luckily our tour guide was showing us a working replica of an antique rifle which she then ahd to use to try and take jaws down. kudos to her acting skills, she convinced me and we totally joined in the fear and excitement. course i was sitting on the side that jaws REPEATEDLY kept coming up against and it frikking spat water at me. so the entire ride is the struggle between the tour guide and jaws, halfway through she haphazardly shoots an old fuel reserve and it blows up. with REAL FIRE. which was soo warm we used it to warm up. then the finale is her luring jaws near an old power generator and he bites a wire, gets shocked, fried, and the tour guide is still shooting it. in the end we make it back to the wharf and all is ok.
so thats the gist of whats happened today. BEST DAY EVER IN JAPAN SO FAR. that was a lot of typing so will end here.
till next time. |
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| IT SNOWED YESTERDAY |
[Feb. 10th, 2008|10:56 am] |
but its not snowing today, actually its kinda sunny. which is totally RETARDED coz i decided not to go out today and instead went out yesterday. OH WELL. theres some pics of the snow on my facebook so check them out. yes, was totally tripping out coz never seen snow before. and it was CRAZY snowing, not like faux snow that was happening a few days ago.
ANYHOOS. so yes been to heaps of places recently, and spending WAY too much money. one day went to gion, the traditional hub of kyoto where i was hoping to find some geisha but it was late arvo and it was cold and i guess the geisha dont come out in the cold. boo, sissys. so that day was a bit bust but oh well.
OH man found the BEST ramen place just outside hirakatashi station which means that its just a 10min bus ride away. WOOT. pics on facebook of the ramen which totally poons all other ramen so far.
went down to osaka the next day, and wandered around this GIGANTIC electrical department store. LOVE THEM. its like the size of sim lim tower, but its all one store. and there are so many adverts in so many different colours you dont need drugs to trip out, just head down to one of these stores. bought a bag and a pair of shoes. trendy red and blue nikes. WOOT.
cant rmb if it was that night or not but soon after we went to kappa zushi. the kaiten sushi (what those conveyor belt sushi places are called) that had the shinkansen that brought you food!!! see facebook for videos. was so awesome and really CHEAP. quality nothin spesh but hey. went to another kaitaen sushi place in osaka before kappa and the first one totally pooned the other one in quality. was SO good, but plates were about twice the price. but its OK coz it was heaps filling and only spent 1000 yen to be heaps full. (10 bucks ish)
had steamboat and dimsum for chinese new year eve dinner. in true china spirit. although we were in japan so we couldnt really yum seng without being thrown out. damn noisy gaijins (foreigners). but it was ALL YOU CAN EAT dimsum and steamboat. for 3500yen (about 35bucks) which we totally made our worth. it was all you can drink as well so there was NO problem in making our money back. oh and that place had the trippy automatic toilet which there are pics of on facebook.
schools started too, class is pretty alright, im taking some REALLY fun units, but unfortunately all the other people who also do them are the typical tryhard japanese people who read every manga possibly written and think theyre japanese because of that. but im not like that. right? but oh man, the uni cafeteria has such good food all for under 500yen pretty much. thats so awesome especially for a poor student like me. unlike the ref which will cost you a bomb for a filling lunch. but in tandem with that, there is a MC DONALDS on campus. which is sooooo wiked coz its self serve and its also a wireless hotspot. plus its MACCAS. on CAMPUS.
the other night we went down to shinsaibashi, another big area in osaka city. where all the host clubs are for all you ladies looking for a good time. and oh man, busking quality in japan is SO much better than oz. they all have pre recorded tracks and sell cds and stuff. imagine the folksy random instrument couple that plays in perth city, take away the random hippyness, add a bit of j-pop and BAM. japanese buskers. oh and dinner that night was the bomb as well, a bit of everything japanese; pics on facebook.
found a church yesterday as well, jesus lifehouse osaka. started in tokyo, only just recently branched into osaka. actually run by a bunch of aussie people (including a girl from perth! but shes north so errr) and a few local who also help in translating the message. and we sing bilingual hillsong songs. haha was so awesome. the stand in jap is really easy to learn. wanna buy the bilingual cd recording they did in tokyo.
soo all in all, settling in well. running out of money FAST so gonna chillax at home today. try to save some moolah.
toorah. |
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| PHOTOS OF OSAKA. first few days |
[Jan. 31st, 2008|09:43 pm] |
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Day 1: Arrival at KIX (Kansai International Airport)
The "relaxation lounge" i stayed the night in upon arrival. 3800 yen for 9 hours of recliner chair, internet, manga library and free hot drinks.
 Breakfast of Champions: tempura and grilled salmon with miso soup on the side Days 2 and 3: Around Kansai   Buildings Around Kansai  Brittany modelling some BIG ASS fruit. How you like dem apples?  PERFECTLY IDENTICAL strawberries. seriously.  "bikkuri ramen" literally surprise! ramen. surprise coz it costs 180 yen. about 2 dollars. |
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| 2 days in |
[Jan. 31st, 2008|06:10 pm] |
oh man its cold here, my nose is going to fall off.
apples are huge, i swear theyre genetically enhanced. theyre the size of melons. in all respects of that word. and strawberries are all the same shape, colour, size etc. its crazy. but i love it.
and i love my roomate who brought kaya. kaya toast this morning was the bomb.
units got confirmed today. popular japanese culture and manga and anime: japans image carnival. awesome :)
been walking HEAPS. everyone walks everywhere. i swear ill lose weight by the time i go home. woot.
ivan i want my shirt and remote. damn it.
love keizu denki: the electrical store near uni. love mos burger. love japan maccas. love the international atm at uni. love 99 combini (the 99 yen 24 hour convinience store). love bentou place near house. love heater in house. love that i can say "i forgot to wear a condom" in jap. love aussie friends and all their random slang. love british friend and all his random slang.
loving it. |
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| greetings from osaka! |
[Jan. 29th, 2008|12:03 am] |
hello! ok so decided to at least try to update this blog to tell / show you guys whats the happy haps in nihon land. so yep just landed at kansai international airport. btw for you perthians im 2 hours ahead so take that into account if you want to call / skype me. which you should.
side note: there will be minimal punctuation in this post because im typing on a japanese keyboard and the symbols are all over the place. eep.
anyhoos, so yes it was (and is) 3 degrees celcius here, quite a change from the humid monsoony days in sg. and on the way here stopped by hong kong for the first time and damn that airport is confusing. and the people arent nice. as opposed to the immigration people at kansai. this friendly old man of an officer was checking my immigration card and more power to my jap, i managed to convey to him that i was an exchange student from australia and did not know the address of my uni where i was staying. and he was heaps nice about it so GOOD!
am currently at the relaxation lounge at kansai international airport chillaxing the night away until im picked up tomorrow at 9. this lounge is pretty awesome. i pay 3800 yen (about 50 bucks i guess) for 9 hours stay. this includes free hot drinks, a couch, net usage (with optical transfer cables apparently), a manga library, and internet tv, all in the comfort of a single provate booth. pics to come soon.
so yea...as i sit here, sipping my green tea i shall leave you now, at the start of what hopefully will become a chronicle of my escapades in osaka.
oyasumi! (coz i really need to sleep but ALAS cannot) |
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| i can only imagine - mercy me |
[Aug. 23rd, 2007|09:16 pm] |
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"...surrounded by Your glory, what will my heart feel?
will i dance for You Jesus? or in awe of You be still?
will i stand in Your presence? or to my knees will i fall?
will i sing, Hallelujah? will i be able to speak at all?
i can only imagine..."
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