Autumn - 夏 - あき

Whee...Autumn is finally kicking in....
yesterday 27-21 degrees
today highest 23 degrees! woohoo! COOL.
machiam outdoor aircon again. Now this is why i am in J-Apan.

30 min to knock off...volunteer class coming again, time to start speaking up! hehe!

Still typing my draft for Mount Kitadake climb last weekend...it was a memorable experience cuz of the great scenery at the peak!! Pictures coming!! =P

Mount Kitadake - A log of my second mountain hike in Japan Part 1

About the Mountain:

• Kitadake (北岳) is the second tallest mountain in Japan.
• The height of Kitadake is 3193 meter above sea level.
• It's located at Yamanashi Prefecture (山梨県).
• Kitadake is located along the stretch of mountain range called Minami-Alps 南アルプス (Southern Alps)
  

Pre-Climbing Ritual

• Wednesday, 21st of Sept

Went to work as usual, ramen dinner, played Bishi-Bashi with JR and Tshush at MORES Kawasaki and completing it on one token each. Volunteer class at night, our own group Japanese lessons at night at Mister Donuts. Drank too much kopi lor. I took out my climbing stuff and left it on the floor as i needed the bag for work the next day. Slept at 4++am.

• Thursday, 22nd of Sept

Woke up at 7.40am, feeling like a zombie. Worked (or rather, was surfing and doing my timing chart at the same time) till 6pm, went for dinner at MatsuYa, went to shop for some last minute stuff at MORES and then cycled back to the dorm with Tshush. Reached home 8pm, did some packing till 9.30pm and went to sleep. The previous night of sleeplessness helped the insomniac in me.

• Friday, 23rd of Sept

Woke up at 2.30am, getting my stuff ready and putting on my Gatsby Clay (Ultra Tough) and my smell good stuff, hehe. Put on my fav holiday tshirt (a yellow Nike Dry-Fit) that i wear on the first day of every holiday. Put on my brother's Nike Running Shoes (to climb a mountain...oh...sorry bro, its kinda in a bad shape...haha). Went down to meet the rest at 3am, waiting for our rental car that shaonan collected. Waited 20min before we set off to Tsurumi, to pick up the girls. Tshush, Shaonan and Me in the car, Chee Keong, Augustine, James in the other car.

We picked up the girls and SN drove all the way to Kofu Station to meet up with the other car. Around 5.45am. around 2.5 hours ride. The other car got lost and we only saw them at 7.00am. In the meantime, we went to walk around, toilet breaks, bought drinks and food at FAmily Mart (something like 7-11) and to eat MacDonalds breakfast. We all rested in the car until they came over to the carpark. (pretty boring log so far huh...hehe)

Both cars then drove up part of the mountain to the carpark at 夜叉神峠...we then had a rather noisy toilet break, all thanks to some spider in the girls toilet. Jas had to go watch spider for Fiona. haha. We took a 45 min bus ride to the start of the trail because the roads are impassible for passenger cars. It is restricted to only busses and taxies. Con money? i think its because of the roads, pretty narrow. We also travelled through numerous tunnels that are so small, it looked like it fits the bus just nicely. 820 yen poorer by the way. Luckily i got a seat with Augustine. The bus was quite full with all the haversacks and people. 2 people also came up the bus with their mountain bikes. The destination, Hirogawara (広河原), the starting of the trail.

We reached the starting point of the trail around 11am, a bridge that crosses the river coming down from the mountain. Starting at an elevation of around 1520m i believe, we have 1,672m to climb. Total hiking distance covered is around 10.7km. Mt Fuji, we only had to climb 1472m ONLY. hehe.

The beginning of the route was through some trees, like in a forest in Bukit Timah Hill. Then we meet the river, and followed its path upwards. The river provided alot of photo taking opportunities with its various falls and rock. The scenery was nicer once we got out of the woods, where the valleys and mountains are in plain view. The fauna and flora were ,sad to say, inadequate. I was expecting more colours than this. Perhaps it is autumn now, I should be greatful that its not all stones and bare trees. The trees are still green by the way, showing no signs of yellowing. The flowers however, are few. The gradient at the beginning was good. Not steep. It was comfortable.

Halfway up, we met some people, from Belgium and Japan. One guy stayed so close to us at motosumiyoshi, he was like saying "why bother to come all the way up here to meet up?". As they departed, they warned us of rain/strong winds at 3 pm/am i dunno. hehhee. Nevertheless, we still moved on without putting on our raincoats.

The pathway to the top of the mountain is not entirely clearly demarked. Sometimes we reach a rocky area, wondering which was the right way. Of course, some nice people before us actually took the effort to mark out the right path with some red/yellow spray paint. Drawing arrows denoting the direction to go. Thanks!! it saved us on many occasions. Especially when i was thinking "are you sure this is the path?? its all rocks upwards"...only to find the arrow pointing straight up. haha. okay, not that tough, as long as we stick to the route, dun miss our footing at the side of the track, which i think is not possible if you are not drunk, you wun fall off the cliff.

Walking up the slope, though easy at the beginning, is not meant for your regular grandpa and grandma. Its tough actually. Maybe we are unfit. hehe. But i was already perspiring alot when we were just a tenth of the way through. As we walked further up, the challenge starts. No more are the paths nice and walkable. Some small climbing is necessary to get to the next walking path. Its not dangerous or hard to do, but just would have preferred to walk all the way up instead. hehe.

The rain came down on us halfway, we were starting to see clouds passing through us. Probably at a nice height already. we thought. It was cold. We started to put on our first layer. and a raincoat. It was a light rain compared to the one we experienced on Mt Fuji. No wind. Short. We were actually wet on the inside due to perspiration and condensation, rather than the rain. Honestly i do not remember much of the details on the way up. Most of the time, we were just climbing and climbing, rocks after rocks, path after path. I was just tackling the most immediate obstacle and such. The scenery was nice, with the valleys and mountains. By right, we could have seen Mt Fuji, but i din take notice. We were in the woods for quite some time. Berries we saw. Red. but dunno if poisonous.

Alternating woods with open spaces, this hike was more interesting than Mt Fuji. The first batch of people, CK, James, SS, Ron, Richard all went up the mountain first. They were faster. While the rest of us, TTT, YH, SN, F, J and me took our time. J was experiencing chest pains along the way. Poor thing. Can see she was pretty run down.

The walk was tiring when we first start off from our rest. maybe we need to get used to the little oxygen up there. After a while, when we gained momentum, it was fine.

At the last stretch of the journey, people were just saying "look, the hut is in front". which is of course a bluff to encourage everyone.

Followed by 7h 18min of climb later, we are at the hut.

The time was around 6-ish pm, or something, and it was dark already. The stars were out in full bloom. It seems like i am in an omnitheatre, with all the stars staring down at us. The milky way was also present at the top of our heads. Awesome. We straight away went into the hut seeking shelter from the cold and also to get our empty tummies filled. Surviving on Snickers Bars throughout the journey, i was feeling pretty famished. We went in to find the people over there

The 800 yen bowl of ramen did its job.

/******* 17th April 2006 ********/

Hmm...it seems eons ago when i typed this. I think its time to publish part 1. Wanted to complete it first...but i guess there wasn:t time once my real project started. Anyway, I have absolutely no idea what happened after that. Need to see my photos for a recap. Hehe. Hope u enjoyed part 1. Photos will be up in Part 2 =) Ja Ne.

The other days i owe my readers:

• Saturday, 24th of Sept
• Sunday, 25th of Sept
• Monday, 26th of Sept

Another Sleepless Night

Lesson 47/48 Japanese.
4 cups of Mister Donuts Coffee later...
Took out the stuff required for Mt Kitadake climb...
a sleepless ivan rows about the bed once again...
thinking...
about my primary school, japan etc...haha....weird huh....

The concrete carpark, the principle office, the staff room, the library,
the aircon-control system (i was a librarian), the dentist...etc...
walked over to the computer...
Watching japanese TV at 4:11 am...
girls in bikini...*change channel*
News....Koizumi....
Climbing mountain in 2 days...
i need my sleep...*cough cough*

Character, Halfword and Word

LORD CHESTERFIELD (1694-1773) -- English statesman

"Mankind is made up of inconsistencies, and no man acts invariably up to his predominant character. The wisest man sometimes acts weakly, and the weakest sometimes wisely."

Mushroom Soup

"All that is gold does not glitter; not all those that wander are lost."
- J.R.R. Tolkein

Confucius sayz...

Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated.

Nuf said. =)

Charlie and the Milk Chock Factory

Wan a review?
Go here. Hehe. Well, Its an interesting show, which brought me back to the kiddo days, when we were forced to read books stuffed at the back of the class during Reading Period. The RD series of books like The Witches, BFG and, my fav, Matilda provided the food to my imagination. well. sorta. CATCF is quite an interesting read at that time, but perhaps my english sucked. It wasnt as nice as Matilda. Doesnt help that i totally love magic. CATCF's magic...erm...ain't that engaging.

Overall, its a refreshing show for a terrible day of coughing and working.
full of colours, faces as fake as cartoon, and meaningful morals for kids and adults. Like one of my jap trainer always say..."be nice". Though i think he meant "be comfortable".
well, at least it brought back some memories of my childhood ambition...to conquer the world. haha.
in the business sense of course! hehe

OIOI Sale

Last weekend, a few of us, James, Tshush, Winz, Damien went to the sale at Yokohama.
Took a train there, then change to a shuttle bus. Funny that they gather the people at a part of the building, and then lead the people to the bus once the time is up. yawnz so far. hehe

They brought us to something like an Expo sale...everything everywhere in a large room.
We first went to the wallet section next to the entrance. Paul Smith, JPG n such. Bought a white card holder for 4000 yen. hehe. Then we walked around the clothes section, trying out all the jackets for the cooler seasons.
i tried out a few before settling on one that is 9000yen. it was 30000 yen leh. hehe.
anyway, its pretty nice, plus, its Jap, cuz there is this belt thingy at the back. hehe.

next stop is the sports section, where tshush n winz bought a limited edition shoe by Nike, that comes in a suitcase, tshirt, PS2 game and a serial number. 6000yen.

Next, watch shop. Went to take a look at the watches there. James was pointing out that the Casio was a good buy. Thinking hard. 21,000 yen. Thats $320 bucks for G shock Titanium. A lot of hesitation later, we walked off. Going through the clothes section and wallet section again. James bought the JPG wallet, with colourful streaks...would have bought it if i had more cash...but nah. Met damien who said the one that he targetted disappeared after he walked one round...

the rest went out after that, leaving me and james in the expo choosing our clothes and wallets. then. we went back to the watch section. hehe.. the rest is history. maybe i should have gotten an IPOD NANO though...hehe... anyway, its selling for 40,000yen outside, 620 bucks i think...so why not...if i like it, i wear it, if not, sell. at a profit. hehe. Its the last one in the showcase. Plus, i am in the mood to spend. hehe.

after which, we went to eat some chinese food at a restaurant with pretty good decor. This time its Ma Poh Tou Fu. Pretty nice, not too spicy, and there is Xi Chuan Cai...i miss that...hehe...850 yen. hehe. Then went back, and watch my Twin of Brothers show, and tried to sleep for the day. Little do i know, my cough got worst, so i had MC on monday. hehehe. COOL. actually its worst now as i type this. Just bought my cough mix yesterday on yuhui's recommendation.

Did i tell you it was election day on Sept 11, Koizumi won majority with his postal reform. Though i wun get to see it happen in my stint here. Now i know what those boards with numbers on them are for. To put the candidates' pictures. Not for our snowball target practice. hehe. That was last year by the way. We actually went through 2 elections. heh.

so here i am on a lousy day at work, staying in the office till 6pm doing nothing but japanese and, finally, work.

had an earthquake drill today too! hehe. Wat did we do?

*alarm*

"An earthquake occurred", said the PA system in japanese.

"wheroihweihrwoiehraiher", said the PA system in japanese.

*people starts to put on their yellow construction worker helmets and take out their pre-prepared hankerchief and towel to cover their mouth n nose.*

"weriohweirh" said the PA system in japanese.

*people in charge of the evacuation said something*

"wiejriwerjiw" said the PA system in japanese.

*people disappeared.* i was day dreaming. Suddenly, when i woke up, everyone was gone.

"did they go down without me??, cannot be...so fast!", i thought.

but i looked around and could see NO ONE in sight. OH NO. "i am left behind??", i said to myself.

then, i saw a leg sticking out of the table next to me. "GAWD. i better duck under the table too."

sitting under the table, i finally realised that i need to get shorter. The space under the table hardly fits me!
and my helmet. hehe.

"ierjiwejwrwerjpower", said the PA system in japanese.

*peeping next door, monkey see monkey do.*

we stood up and listened to the in-charge say something again.

then we all walked down 6 floors (phew) to the ground floor, using the side stairs. Autumn is coming, its pretty cooling now. 26 degrees max with cool wind. Thats a drop of 5 degrees since yesterday.

Walking down slowly, i see the nonchalent effort of the people to evacuate. Then when my 2nd-in-charge saw the fireman, he hurried into a run. I followed.

We jogged to the quadrangle, or rather, a half sized tennis court for practicing your racket skills. like school children, we were timed. each floor reported strength to the central guy, and a speech is given by someone i never seen before. then the fireman gave his speech, which was louder and audible, but he was talking about earthquake here and there...dun understand. but i can sense that he is trying to say WE ARE SLOW...WALK FASTER NEXT TIME ELSE YOU GET YOUR......watever. then. its over in 15 min. we walked back up to the office and in 5 min, we took the lift down again. LUNCH TIME. hehehhe!!

(Lunch was at the ramen shop at MORES. yummy. )

betta end my story.

Beach Boys and Gals

How to spend a weekend in Japan?
Be a beach bum.

Drafted on June 29 2005. 2312h.

Shaonan, Jasmine, Fiona, Yuhui, Me.

Traveling for ard 2 hours to the Onjuku beach by train, we arrive at a small train station the size of one carriage. There was no gate, just a guy over there manually checking your EziLink card (SUICA Card actually) and asking for payment of 1800+ yen...ouch. Total is 2200yen...about 33 bucks for one way ride from home to the beach. Thats 66 bucks for a weekend at the beach. After all this is Chiba. Enough of the maths. =)


The weather was good. Sunny with lots of wind coming from the sea. First stop, settle the growling tummy. We found a shop selling pretty nice Ebi Burger. Thats prawn burger. hehe. Too bad a glass of WATER only comes with the Katsu Curry Rice. Or i would have ordered one after my rice. This shop's deco quite alright, has this beach house feel, colourful, n lousy furry furniture. hehe.

After buying our necessity (read: Ice Cream) from the shop opposite, we proceeded to the beach.

First thing, wats the camel doing on my beach! It was low tide, with the camel, it really looked like the desert. The strong wind from the sea literally creates a constant cloud of sand (a foot high) flowing inland. Trying to lie down and have a nice tan is as good as being air-sprayed by CaSiO2. SAND. Amazing how good my memory is for some seamingly stupid stuff.

On the right, there are some wooden huts/house/store/building/structure, that looks pretty much like where Beach Boys was filmed. In front, the sea, with its waist high waves. On the left, more beach with some boat house and mountain and a fishing port of sorts. Its lovely. A big piece of beach with very little people. (probably not the peak at all).

What did we do? With sandals as goal posts, Fiona guarding her own goal, Yuhui guarding the other, Shaonan as a free agent, me with Yuhui, Jas with Fiona, tackling, using a ramp made of sand to score, pushing, shouting, taunting, sand eating and kelonging, we played BEACH SOCCER! But before that, we tried to play beach volleyball. WHoa it was tough. With windspeed reaching 100kmph(okay exaggerated), the ball was pretty hard to keep up in the air. The ball's trajectory wasnt as predictable. It was really sucky. The best we could do was 4 consecutive. haha. sigh.

Deciding that we aren't progressing well with Vball, we started venturing to the sea. Bad move. The water was so cold! Okay, i did start to play around with SN..wrestling each other to the icy water. Its a guys thing perhaps. Splash. and it was ooookay. Pretty much as cold as bathing in the army barracks at night. Splish Splash.

Beach volleyball needed a little ...

==== Continued after 2 mths... ====

okies. i forgot what i wanted to say. hehe.

After some crazy water activities, Fiona went up to the beach, and we all followed the great pig inland for more beach
volleyball. Well, the water woke us up or something. We finally could achieve about 20 passes before some idiot, could be me, dropped the ball. hehe. Beach volleyball is tiring, so i supposed we went to get a tan. ard 3pm.
when the sun is NOT at the top. Suntanning was tricky. Gotta remmeber to turn over. Applying our spray on Coppertone suntan lotion(1500 yen), we slept or i just laid there for the next hour or so. It doesnt help that the sand keeps coming onto us floating on the breeze, like a sand dune in the desert, ever so threatening to bury us in the ...pretty good sand i must say. hehe.

Next thing i remember, we were out taking pictures. Shaonan went pretty far away, leaving the rest of us just sitting there, enjoying the big breeze. Ah. Fiona did play with her big scarf in the wind, holding the scarf up, letting it catch hold of the strong inland breeze. Unfortunately, the image of a model in the wind was quickly replaced with another cuter image, as her scarf decided to smack itself flat against her face and body. hehe.

More photo taking later, the sun was setting, Shaonan was back, and we went to take a group picture, asking a Japanese couple with a damn cool Remote Control 4WD Monster Truck running in the sand. Not exactly a very good photographer they are, but we appreciate their help! hehe! Many takes later, we took our shadow shots, as suggested by Jasmine i guess? She loves to take shadow shots of herself. Kyoto Silver Temple..hehe..i remember.

We went back towards the mainland for a shower, only to realise all the onsens are closed! Onsens/Ofuros are something like communal baths. Its an important place for us during our trips because, sometimes, the bathrooms in the youth hostels/dorms we stay in are in pathetic condition, or, we want to sleep out in the public/beach/bench/train station/24h eatery. yadda yadda. hehe. So we paid 500yen = $7.80 for a shower in a concrete room, with shower curtains only as barrier (but hey, we've seen it all..haha) and the ability to see the girls' shower room...ROOF. what were you thinking. after cleaning ourselves, off we go for dinner.

On the way back to the train station, there is this 中国料理店　（Chinese Food Restaurant in Jap). Take a look at my dinner below. Check out the oil in the dish. In Japan, Chinese Food = Oily food. IMO. They were closeing, but at the prospect of 5 customers throwing money for oily rice, closing time is changed a little. hehe. We were pretty tired from all the activities, sitting there stoned. waiting for our food. Food came, everyone tried everybody elses food. A standard procedure in our group's dining culture. We tried to stay as long as we could. Even when the main door was locked, we sat there. Because, we have no where to sleep. Alas, we had to go, but before that, everyone went to the loo. Using the loo was pretty tricky. First, it was unisex. Secondly, there was 2 urinals, and a seated one. So. proper planning was required for the girls not to peep at us doing it. =P

Being shoved through the back door, back to the rural road, there is nothing alive within 50 metres of us. ok. exaggeration. but it was pretty dark and quiet. This place wasnt developed for the night life crowd. (Oh. there is a pub in the middle of this whole ulu(rural) place. wonder who goes there.) The chinese restaurant auntie did ask where were were going to stay. "we dun know", we replied. As planned, we headed for the beach for some star gazing and fireworks. As we reached the sandy beach once more, we saw that the other Japanese had the same idea too.

Being summer, the Japanese like to set of/watch fireworks. We purchased ours at a convenient store near us. (I did actually) hehe. Fireworks are sold cheap and many youths like to set them off at the beach or any park nearby my dorm, creating a rackus. Walking around the beach in the dark cold night, with the moonlight blocked by the passing clouds, we settled to rest on an...Emergency Helicopter landing pad. Well, it is raised, provides a clean surface to sit on, and if any copters were around, WE WILL RUN. hehe.

Well, we decided to do some star gazing first. Spreading out our groundsheets, we sat around in our windbreakers, feeling cold, but enjoying the stars. Shaonan was explaining all about the different stars, the stories behind it, and we located a few. Using red torch to reduce glare, we were reading text from his astrology book, and star charts. The stars were very clear. Since its pretty rural, no street lamps around us, it was perfect. Found the dipper, orion and some others which i cannot remember. As the night wears on, Yuhui n me took a trip to the loo. Leaving the 2 other pigs and shaonan,they slept abit. It was pretty cold. 1-2 hours later, the sky got cloudy and we decided to set off the fireworks i had bought earlier and move inland.

Its been 26 years since i last set off fireworks. Yea. 初めて。 My first time. Burying the tube of fireworks in the sand at an angle away from us, everyone standing 10 metres away from me, as though i stink, i used my lighter to light up the...watever you call it. Click Click. Stupid wind. Then Shaonan came and help block the wind. hehe.
Sparks flew like those bombs you see on TV cartoons. we ran. Sparks approach base of tube. Boom. Boom. Boom. I want you in my room. And spend the nig....hehe. I miss that song. A few fireworks emerged from the tube. First, it was a like a comet with trails. After which, when it reached the peak, it burst, like a flower blooming. Number one. more of the same calibre continued from there. Different colours. Not anything near the might of National Day Fireworks, but heck, it was set of by ME! hehe.

After setting off all our fire works, we worked on our sparklers. With a camera on a tripod, recording in video mode, we were playing around and acting infront of it. it was hilarious. Creating circles of light, sparkling each other, running to get the fire going in the wind and failing to set some new sparklers on fire. There was lots of running and jostling and karate kicks(??). All on video. =P As the fire extinguished, and the sparks diminished, we went back inland for shelter.

As the night wears on, it got pretty dark. We settled on the first shelter we saw. A pavilion sort. As we put our things down, we noticed that the wind is blocked, its not that cold. BUT. there were bugs on the benches. "NEXT SHELTER", we thought. On arrival of the next shelter, again there was bugs, but a lot less. I flicked a few away before i set on my bench. In front of me, at my foot was a mess of ants getting the remains of some poor insect. Its better than nothing. A shelter is a shelter. I sat and the rest too cleared their benches and sat there. Shaonan got a hammock. and tied it to the posts. There was 2 benches. Bench no. 1 taken by me. Bench no.2 taken by the girls. I must have stank. We tried to sleep as it was already like 3am in the morning. 4.45am or so, we were to go to the beach to catch the sunrise.

Sleeping was a problem when you have ants crawling near you. Not to mention, people who drive by always slow down to take a look. (Its a country side kinda thingy i guess. never see someone sleep in those shelters.) well, every car that drove by, fiona would wake up...or so she says. I say every two. hehe. cuz i was pretty much awake. I dun want people to do anything funny near us. Some guy came over to ask for directions in Jap. Being a non-local, i just spoke some english and off he went. Its not fun to be approached at the wee hours of the night, not if you cannot tell if the person is drunk or not. Anyway, 3 girls sleeping sitting position, lying on each other, or head down like Sadako. Should have taken some photos if i wasnt that tired. I was getting bored. To the point i was guessing who was snoring away. Turned out to be....*censored*. Ahem. Feeling cold, i went to take a walk. Since fiona or someone was awake, i think. Those damn machines sell only COLD drinks. Usually there are hot coffee or soemthing. I walked so far as the train station to find a hot drink. None avail. Even the 24 hours convenient store was closed. (its 23 hours by the way. we missed the small notice.) Saw a lited up room with coin operated washing machines and was so tempted to sleep there on the bench, in the shelter, in the warmth. hehe. Can't leave those others behind can i?

a whole night of sleeplessness. 4.45, woke everyone up. Walked to the beach. Sunrise......not from the sea. From the mountains behind. damn. Took some parting pictures and we walked to the convenient store again for breakfast.
we ate at the bench opposite the road, and as expected, the bench was full of those creepy crawlies too. So we stood. a truck with a gas tank came in front of us, the driver alighted, took a flexible pipe as thick as a lamp post, and pumped gas into a box of the nearby shop. So thats how they get their gas. hehe.
after eating, we all went to the station and decide whether to go home or not. However, everyone was thinking whether to go back or not, since we had such a terrible night in the cold and were quite exhausted. Standing there in front of the souvinier shop for 10 minutes, we decided to toss a coin. HOME says the first toss. BEACH. HOME.
so we went home. On the way back, though, everyone was like..."erm, actually i dun mind staying leh". pengz.

And so ends my first trip to the japanese beach. The End. Finally i must add. hehe.


Photos Galore:

The station, the 4 other pigs walking towards the beach,
the museum next to the beach, notice the arabic theme, and me at the beach. with some idiot at the background playing with dogs.


















Place we had lunch, pretty nice decor for a rural place like this.



















Crossing the bridge to the beach, not many people, cuz summer just started. But i heard its crowded during the middle of summer. Less cold perhaps. hehe.


















The beach houses, like those we see in The Beach Boys.
The sea and our shadows.


















Me. In the morning after the night out.
me. With the camel statues in the middle of the beach.



















My chinese food. CHECK OUT THE OIL. But delicious. in moderation.


















going back to the beach after overnighters to get a glimps of the none existant sunrise. hehe.

Around Japan In A Month & A Half

Hi guys n girls, most of you probably thought i gave up on this little blog of mine...paiseh (embarassedly sorry)....i know some peeple have been checking this place out once in a while..sorry!! =)

Now, what the heck have i been up with? Well, the first weekend that started this whole load of holidaying was,

Week of:

1. 25/26 June - 2D1N Onjuku Beach Trip. (1.5 hours train ride away)
2. 2/3 July - Karaoke/Basketball/Iai? (Kawasaki)
3. 8-10 July - Jas's BD. Chiong Roppongi n Karaoke/Basketball? bad memory. :p
4. 15-18 July - 2D1N(?) Climb Mount Fuji. (3 hours by train away?)
5. 23/24 July - Go 1D Onjuku Beach Again
6. 26-31 Jul - 6D5N Hokkaido Trip (1.5 hours flight away?)
7. 6-7 Aug - Karaoke/Basketball?
8. 12-15 Aug - 4D4N(?) Izu Trip (6 hours drive)
9. 20-21 Aug - Classical Concert at Muza Music Hall (Kawasaki)
10. 27-31 Aug - 5D5N Fukuoka, Nagasaki, Hiroshima, Miyajima Trip. (20 hours by train: never again)

Green means trips further than an hour from home base. hehe. (Red on the map below are those places listed here. Orange ones are those i have been to before these.) (Aiyah, forgot to add where i am based. hehe. Roughly close to Tokyo (the circle-star). Me do it later in the night.)

Feeling as of now: EXHAUSTED

.

So you see, kinda like conquered most of Japan in 10 mths. hehe. It also helps explain why i MIA-ed (Missing in Action) for a few weeks. hehe. Apologies.

I'll finish up some of the draft blogs in the coming weeks, about the trips i had and what happened these few weeks. Then i will move on with my life. Kidding.

ah...did i mention a beach trip to Atami at Izu this Saturday? if there is enough people going that is. hehe.

15 min to work end. Yeap, there is pretty much nuthing to do in the office. Finished my research n pacing myself for the deadline. KFC dinner? hehe.

P.S. Yes, terribly broke after all these trips. My allowance came approx 1 mth late some more. Left with 400yen (S$6) in my pocket with electricity bills unpaid on pay day. craps.