Off to Sydney soon... lalala

31 Mar 11 - Heading to Sydney tonight to attend a wedding party. Pretty excited about it for a few reasons (not listed in order of importance):

(a) I get to leave Japan (Don't get me wrong. I still love Japan and do feel safe despite all the radiation fears and the persistent aftershocks. Dakara (However), it's good to take a break and go on a mini holiday. Hoping to finally get some authentic Chinese cusine.)

(b) My first-ever flight alone (It's pretty late in life to embark on your first alone flight but better late than never. A little nervous despite my ripe old age. Hope everything goes smoothly and I get to Sydney in one piece with everything in tact.)

(c) Weddings! ( I love attending weddings, especially those of couples who look simply adorable together. Can't wait to see the bride decked out in all her pretty gowns.)

(d) Meet-ups (Finally get to see dear ones from home. Miss them)

(e) Holidays are always exciting!

Lalala.... another hour to go before I begin my drive to Akita Airport. Waiting...waiting...waiting.


(Separate note):

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO THE TWINS!!!! Sorry I missed your celebration. Love u always!!!

Can you guess what 八百屋 refers to?

八百屋  = (eight) (hundred) (house) = Historical building???

Make a guess and see if you got it correct.





Ans: vegetable store/ green grocer (look for the answer here)

And in case you are wondering, it reads やおや (yaoya).

Life's returning to normal *kana*

26 Mar 11 - Been a while since I updated my blog. Just been busy I guess. Well... actually more like I was lazy. Took a bunch of photos which I plan to upload eventually and keep thinking that I should update my blog only after I have sorted out my photos. However, I'm extremely horrible when it comes to sorting stuff so I guess the photos will just have to wait.

Had a pretty fun Saturday. Went to Yokote for lunch. Tried the "Yokote Burger", a fairly new joint which opened near the Yokote station. Tried the premium Japanese beef cheeseburger and it was amazing!!!! So amazing that greedy me ordered a second burger. Second time round I had the pork cheeseburger which was tasty but not as good as the beef one. Felt really greedy about eating two burgers at one seating but I was really hungry and I just wanted to treat myself. (Not that I had done anything out of the ordinary for me to wanna pamper myself.) The rest of my company had cakes instead; and those looked amazing too. 

After a satisfying lunch, we went to the AEON in Omagari. It's finally open again!!!! Also, most of the petrol stations are open as well. (Petrol's really expensive though.) While AEON is operating at shorter hours, like all the other shops in town, I do see this as a sign that life is slowly returning to normal. Managed to get all my shopping done too. Was initially planning to drive up to the AEON mall in Akita City instead to get all the necessary stuff for the Sydney wedding. That would have a costly trip because of the amount of petrol I would have to spend to and fro.  Glad I managed to get the dress, the accessories, shoes etc all in a day. Love shopping, especially when I don't have to foot the bill.

Had a lovely dinner with Shiori too at the hamburg place near G.U.  Was fun catching up and the food at that little cafe was simply oishii. Took a stroll back after dinner to walk off my three hamburgers, and that was really enjoyable too. One positive thing from this mini petrol crisis was that I rediscovered my love for walking. Miss all the after dinner strolls I used to have back in Singapore. The good thing about strolling at night here is that the air is really cool so you don't get all hot and sweaty. Also, there are very few cars at night and the street lights are far and few. This way, you get to enjoy fresh crispy air, as well as a quiet stroll under the stars. Simply lovely. Makes you feel much closer to Mother Nature.

(Kana = I think in Japanese)

Onigiri for school lunch tomorrow

15 Mar 11 - My first full day back in school after the 9.0 earthquake hit Japan last friday. School seems pretty much the same except for the following:

• All the corridor lights were switched off to save power;
• Instead of using the regular heater in the staff room, we switched to a smaller one;
• No milk was delivered today because the highway roads were disrupted; and
• Due to the shortage of food supplies, the school lunch company will be providing us with onigiris instead (starting tomorrow).

Thinking of taking the bus to school instead of driving just so as to save petrol. Don't wanna be stuck in my apartment without any means of transport if something major does happen. This means I have to get up 45 minutes earlier and walk for a good 20 minutes to the bus terminal. Hope it does snow for the next few days.

Long queues for petrol, empty supermarket shelves, no torchlights or candles

14th Mar 11 - Three days after the worst earthquake in Japan's history. The petrol stations began operating yesterday after the power supply came back. Almost immediately long queues started to form in front of all the petrol stations. There are three petrol stations within walking distance from my apartment and in just three hours of operation, all of them had run out of the regular petrol. When my car pulled up at the pump, I was told that I could only purchase the premium one. Super expensive but glad I did it. When I walked past the petrol stations today, only one had any petrol left. The long queues were still there though, because aside from petrol, people were busy filling up their kerosene containers too. 

Long queues for petrol at the last petrol kisok which still had  supply

Only diesel left

This petrol station sold everything within a day

Yup, kerosene is still very much a necessity for Akita residents because the weather is still really cold. It snowed on friday and there were light flurries on saturday. While the days are longer and warmer, the temperature still falls to 3-4 degrees in the night and stays at 6-7 degrees in the day. When the power supply was cut for two days, most of us barely got any sleep because we were all freezing our butts off in our homes. 

I popped by the supermarkets too. Been forewarned that food supplies will take a while to reach us because all the ICs have been disrupted by the earthquake and most resources are being channelled into recuse efforts in our neighbouring prefectures. Went by a few hardware stores too - trying to find a decent-sized torchlight or a battery operated hp charger. Didn't manage to find any. All were sold out. In the end, I settled for a mini LED torch which operates on batteries and bought a pack of batteries too. (Had to be kiasu and grab some first. Batteries were selling out fast too.) Didn't manage to find any big candles or tealight candles too ;'(

These shelves used to be filled with natto.
Guess Japanese really can't live without their natto. I really dislike it.

All the frozen food items have been removed from their shelves.

You can barely find anymore instant noodles left.

More empty shelves

My accident - My thought process is really different I guess

4th Mar 11 - Was on my way to school when my car skidded and I crashed into the metal barrier along the road. Thankfully, despite it being the rush hour, there weren't any cars behind me and the car in front of me was way ahead. It was pretty scary. One moment, I had control of my car and the next moment, I lost it. I tried tapping the brakes but my car didn't slow down. I tried to steer myself away from the barriers but somehow it just made my car go even faster. It wasn't fun at all. 

For one, my K-car felt really light when I lost control. I was afraid that it might just flip over like how many K-car horror stories told it. I also wasn't sure how well my car will survive a head-on collision because I know that K-cars are made of softer metal which accounts for its cheaper price tag. 

Well...somehow my car made a 180 degree turn (which means I'm facing oncoming traffic) and I managed to stop the car only by crashing into the barrier. The speed wasn't too high so I survived the incident without a scratch. This comes the strange part. I didn't get out to check the damage to my car. Neither did I stop to check that I was okay. First thing I did was to reverse my car and drive off. Why? Because it was an one-way road and an accident would mean I would hog the road and this would result in a traffic line-up. And because this road is like a minor express road, I had to drive for a good 10 minutes before I could exit and turn into a combini to check my car. Even then, after I parked, my first reaction was to dig for my hp and call my school to say that I would be late. Only when my teacher asked about the state of my car and my well-being, did I get off the car to check on it.

Guess my logic flow pattern does seem to be different. Attached my pictures of my car and the accident site. One of my teachers looked at the car and commented that my car looked like it was crying. Rather apt comment :)

My signal lights left out but they still worked.

See the cracks on the bummer :'( and that person in pink is not me.

The barrier survived it w/o any battle scars unlike my poor K-car

It wasn't even a sharp bend. I just happened to hit an icy patch ;'(

Thankful for my dear ones

Been an eventful two weeks. Started off with a minor accident while driving to school last last friday, followed by my first visit to Sendai, and the worst ever earthquake in Japan. Feeling kinda of tired by all these excitement. While it wasn't necessary for these to happen for me to know that I'm loved but it's sweet to know. Thank you!

Kitto Katsu aka きっと勝つ Board for my sannen-sei

The high school entrance exams are taking place next week and all the sannen-sei students looked stressed. Most of them stay back after school to mug and their visits to the staffroom to check their answers or to seek clarifications have risen.

Took some pictures of the Kit Kat (きっと勝つ) board I made for them. Hope they all manage to make it into the high schools of their choice. Ganbatte ne! Just one more week to go!

I know I should have cropped the pic but was too lazy.



Added some inspirational quotes from some famous personalities



Isn't it amazing how much Japanese you can
understand because you know Chinese?