運転免許 ga hoshi desu!

20 June 2011 - I woke up at 6:15am this morning despite not having to go to work today. Was planning to get up at 6:45am but my nerves were all jittery and I was way too nervous to sleep in or to laze in bed. Why? Today's the day I'm attempting to get my Japanese license and I'm freaked out. I hate driving tests. In fact, I hate driving too. When I first got informed that I needed to drive in Omagari, I was asking if I could get around using a bike or public transport instead. When I was told firmly that I would HAVE TO drive due to the infrequency of the public transport, the huge amounts of snow we get in winter and ba ba ba... , I was miserable. I even considered if I should just not go to Japan.

Anyways, I'm getting distracted. So, I got up early and left my place at 7:20am so as to reach the driving centre (located in Akita City) before 9:00am. Got a little lost along the way but thankfully, the ever-reliable and knowledgeable Bec was there to help. Reached the centre just in time to register for my written test and spent much of my morning just hanging around the centre waiting. Got to wait 30mins before I could take the test and after that waited another hour before I could get my results. Waited 20mins before I could take my eye test and another 50mins before I could walk the driving course. 

The only driving test centre in the prefecture

A shot of the driving course from the 3rd floor

 To convert my license, I had to take a driving test within the driving course. While I was thankful that there was no on-the-road test, I was still freaked out especially when I was told that I would have to memorise the route. WHY??  Isn't it bad enough that I have to deal with the butterflies in my stomach? Now, I got to remember the route, as well as, the "tips" to securing a license. Ahhhhhh...

So, I spent 40 mins (from 12:00pm  - 12:40pm) walking around the driving course to familiarise myself with the route. It was really hot and uncomfortable but it did make me feel better about the test. I still failed though T.T. I was so nervous that I failed the test within the first 10 seconds. HOW?? I somehow forgot that it was a single lane road and I drove into the lane with the oncoming traffic in my attempt to make a right turn. Yup. I know it sounds ridiculous but it's true. Ahhhhhhh....

My driving route for the day

Check out the rest of the driving routes

The guy in white is walking the course too.

All the obstacle courses are surrounded by these intimidating looking poles

I managed to continue on with the test and it was good because after the test, the instructor pointed out all the mistakes that I have made. This was really useful because there were stuff I did which I thought was fine but apparently not. So... I'm going to have to attempt the driving test again and hopefully I'll miss on my next try.  Wish me luck!

<Kit Kat corner> 

I managed to find Cheese Kit Kat at the snacks vending machine in the driving centre :) Can't wait to try these. Don't they look interesting?

My Cheese Kit Kat!!!

Insert the coins and just open up the box you want to retrieve your snack.

Found some Bitter Strawberry Kit Kats too (They melted in the car though. My bad!)

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?

Yokohama ストロベリー チーズケーキ (Strawberry Cheesecake) Kitkat

The Strawberry Cheesecake Kitkat, as well as the Ani Tofu Kitkat are the regional Kitkat flavours for Yokohama. Compared to the Ani Tofu flavour which had a more distinct taste, the Strawberry Cheesecake flavour was less satisfying. Don't get me wrong, it's still tasty and there was a tint of a fruity flavour but you can't tell it's strawberry and there's no cheese taste at all. Was hoping for a stronger flavour.

On the whole, it's an interesting omiyage to bring home with you but it's a winner in terms of its taste. If you are in Yokohama, suggest you pick up a box of Ani Tofu Kitkat instead. In case you are wondering why Ani Tofu and Strawberry Cheesecake flavours are supposed to be representative of Yokohama, it's because Yokohama is a port city and hence one of the first places in Japan that was exposed to foreign culture through foreign trading vassals. And hence, these two "foreign-imported" flavours were chosen.

KitKat Mission 2011

Been stumbling upon lots of amazing (some are weird) Kit Kat flavours and I have decided that I will attempt to try all these "interesting" sounding Kit Kats in this year. Better to do it now while I'm still in Japan rather than to buy them from the Japanese supermarkets back home. These special edition Kit Kats cost twice as much in Singapore.

First up, I bought a packet of the mixed Kit Kats meant for Oshogatsu. As part of the Oshogatsu (New Year) celebration, Japanese eat red and white mochi. Hence, for the Oshogatsu Kit Kats, we have white chocolate Kit Kats, as well as the regular ones. What I found really interesting was the message box at the back of the Kit Kat wrappers. You are supposed to write your wishes in the box before you ate them and at the current moment,  Kit Kats are really popular amongst students. "Kit Kat" sounds like "Kitto Katsu"/ きっと勝つ (which translates into "you'll surely win or in broken English "win without fail"). According to my JTE, another popular snack is this Pocky-like biscuit sticks named "Toppo" aka "Top the class/exam". Gave all of my 3rd graders one of these Kit Kats and got them to do a wish board ;). Going to take a pic of it soon!

Second, I came across these "Mixed Juice" Kit Kat while shopping at Supercenter. Was a little apprehensive about this flavour but they tasted surprisingly good. The chocolate had a fruity smell which was really pleasant and it wasn't too sweet. They came in a cheerful orange colour too :). Handed some out to my teachers and they fell in love with this flavour too.

Next, I bought these "Annin Dofu" aka Almond Tofu (one of my favourite chinese desserts) flavoured Kit Kats in Yokohama. Apparently you can only get these from Yokohama because Almond Tofu is a Chinese thingy and Yokohama has the largest Chinatown in the whole of Japan. I was pretty surprised to find out that Almond Tofu and Mango pudding are really popular sweets in Japan. I still prefer the Hong Kong dim sum ones I get back home but the ones sold in the supermarkets are rather decent too.  As for the Kit Kat, I didn't really enjoy them. They taste ok but not great. Eating almond-flavoured chocolate is not my thing >.<