Golden Week surfing!

YES! Finally I did my surfing trip. This week is what the Japanese call the "Golden Week". For those who don't know what it is, it is a week where 4 national holiadys fall very close to each other, so we get most of the week off. For more info click here. So after checking the internet for clear weather, we decided to embark on our surfing trip to Kugenuma (湘南・鵠沼海岸) which was in the Shonan area known for surfing. Best thing is that its only an hour away from where I live. Glorious Sun!!

There were people waiting for the waves, playing volleyball, enjoying the sun, no bikinis though, its still under 20 degrees here.





And here's a picture of me suffering in a wetsuit, its so tight I can't breathe, help...


Despite aching muscles and wind-burned face, and a hole in my pocket, it was pretty fun. It was definitely more difficult than wakeboarding. It took so much effort to just get out far enough to catch the waves. Push, heave, pull... the experts make getting on the board so easy man... its all a lie. But, when you do get on it and ride the wave, its awesommeee..... breeze in your face, standing above everyone still paddling in the water. Sweet.

Slack.

Aikido Club

Just an update, I've joined the Aikido club here in my school. The clubs here are very, very, very different. Firstly, they have practice 4 days a week, and any other free time they have between lessons, they will come to the club room. The club room is stacked bottom up with mangas which people leave there even after they graduate!

Secondly, they have a very clear seniority system. This is what I don't like. After being here for only 1 week, I'm already pretty sick of the segregation, but its just a reflection of the Japanese society where seniority plays a very important part in daily lifestyle, explaining why there are so many ways to phrase a sentence depening on who you're talking to. Plain form, polite form, keigo, etc... Keigo itself has different level of politeness. Well, it just needs getting used to, but I sure am getting alot of practice for changing between the forms. Nice.

However, its so tiring, both the prysical training and the mental exhaustion from trying to understand what they're saying to me in Japanese and trying to reply in a way they can understand, sigh!

Slack.

The misleading coin

As the title suggests, this is THE misleading coin. This ¥500 coin is actually worth about $6.70 which can get you anything from a nice sushi meal to a Big Mac meal in Tokyo. The problem lies with it being a coin. And in Singapore, I don't put much emphasis on coins as a coin in Singapore can't get you a proper meal yeh? Unless you live on bread.... So, I tend to spend this coin often, not realising that... I'm spending alot... haha...okie I'm crapping...



Slack.

I haven't really mentioned the reason what I'm doing here in Japan, so I'm going to do a brief summary of what I'm doing here. NOT to get a Japanese girlfriend, NOR to buy porn. I'm currently doing a research program at Tokyo Institute of Technology, concurrently with my SEP. Its tiring but its really an experience because you get to play with multi-million dollar equipment, and research in an environment that is very conducive. Why? Some of the top tech firms are in Japan, and they've plenty of money... hehe... meaning you get to use the newest and most advanced equipment! And... the Japanese are work horses... But, I must admit, there're other benefits of doing an exchange program like this in Tokyo. hehe...

Here's a few pictures of my office, my table and the wonderful view out of the window. =)




They held a welcome party for the new Year 4 students and me last Friday. At first, the lab environment made me feel alienated. Japanese are not very sociable to begin with, and the fact that I can't speak Japanese well, made them reluctant to talk to me. Sigh... but I guess alot of booze and nice food makes everyone sociable.



My boss, the new secretary and me!


Trying to get the new secretary drunk.


They managed to get one of the secretaries superrrr drunk...


That's my tutor on my right, they assign a master's student to every newcomer in the lab to facilitate us with admin matters and orientation.


My China friends and me!


And my Korean friend... last year pHD student... damn...


And me being really drunk.

Living the Japanese way... RICH Japanese way

This weekend, the school organised a nice little trip out of crowded Tokyo for us. Away from Rush hours (simply stifling I tell you), away from shockingly pretty girls and my SUPER hardworking lab mates, we arrived at peaceful and serene Tochigi prefecture.




Starting off, we had an open-air BBQ... oh yeh!... with the sakura and serene lake in the background... and falling sakura petals falling into your cup of tea. Btw, the Japs use 2 words to describe the scene of falling sakura petals... 风流! haha...



Me helping to setup the pit.


A few other Ysep students and our host families.


Not just vegetables... there were nice big slabs of meat... pity I didn't take a picture of the meat.


The teacher in charge and my Momma!


Now... here's where the life of a Tai tai starts. See the lady to my left in the picture? She drove me here in a posh BMW, the Volvo behind is hers too, and so does the fantabulous house behind us. Wait till you see what was waiting for us in the house.


In the house, there was were nice little cups of aromatic coffee welcoming us. Together with the afternoon coffee were biscuits, strawberry cakes, hazelnut rolls and pomelo cakes, all made by the host! haha... tai tai life here I come!


Next, we went over to the host family for Tee the Thai exchange student. The nice little Japanese genkan (area near the front door to put you shoe) had an interesting shoe.. hmm.. Gucci made shoes?


This is the host's living room with a nice little stove in the corner. Its not used for cooking though. Its like a fireplace. The picture below is the chimney.



This picture is of Tee and his host. She's a very famous Japanese writer! Anyway, notice the nice little plates holding the young bamboo shoots? They cost 50 bucks apiece because its handcrafted by a well-known potter. The serving tray she's using is a specially designed Ainu wood tray, etc etc...



So after all the afternoon tai tai tea.. and coffee... it was finally time for dinner... wait.. but we just ate? Ah heck, lets eat more... My host brought me and my room-mate Yan Chao to this nice cozy sushi restaurant. Yummy.



Oh by the way, sushis in Japan all look like this... not the icky, tiny pieces of fish you find in Sakae sushi... Oh a plate of 2 sushis don't cost much here by the way. Only S$2 a plate.


This.. is what we call ootoro sushi. ootoro is the most expensive part of the tuna fish. A plate of it can cost around ¥6000 or 80 bucks! Well, couldn't really find out what's so great about it. Zannen.


Ok I have to sleep now. Gotta wake up early to go find a nice suit tomorrow. Continue with the tai tai adventures some other time.

Slack.

My handphone

My handphone was only ¥1!! And its not like the $0 buys you can get in Singapore. Here's some of the things I like about it.

This is how it looks like from the front. Plain, shiny and white.



The interface is simple, plain and very user friendly with the normal things you can find in any phone around the world like making a phone call, sms, surf the net, play music, currency converter, calculator, dictionary, translator, yadda yadda...



Here's the amazing part! Watching TV! In my room, there's no TV but now I don't need one. Neither do I need to bring a TV along with me on the train. On the way home from school (which ends at 8pm!), I will miss my favourite variety show... but with this nifty thingy, I watch it on the way back, despite being squashed amongst erm 1million people... nvm, not important. The thing is, this thing is awesome...



Swiveling the screen, and placing it flat against the keypad turns it into a full 2.5 inch TV, small maybe, but the reception, clarity and sound is awesome, better than TVmobile... hehe...



So you might think this thing must way a ton, have short battery life and make you look like you have an erection? Nope, it only weighs 152g, has great battery life, I think 3 hours with the TV on bah... never tried, and look, its thinner than the bottom half of my Mac! Hee...



Slack.

O-Hanami!

Before I came to Japan, I was wondering: "What's all the hype about Sakuras??" Well, the answer to that, cannot be given to you really. You have to experience it for yourself. All I can say is that its really pretty and... "Good things don't last long". Here are some photos!





Nice photos of sakura in my school. Nicer than NUS...



Japanese appreciating flowers: Hanami



How it looks like close-up






Slack.

Meticulous

–adjective 1. taking or showing extreme care about minute details.

In Japan, even the dogs live a good life.



For the Japanese, from head to toe, you can see their meticulous nature. Nicely clipped nails, plucked eyebrows (for men too), well trimmed snobs of facial hair, well-pressed shirt and coat, polished shoes. Colours match too! Image is very important because it determines the type of person you are.

An example: Before I came to Japan, I took my class 2 license at Ubi driving center. It took me 7 friggin hours to get my license becuase of some inefficient dumb system, you know what I mean. Over here, when I was applying for my foreigner pass, it only took me 15mins. Why? Not becuase there were less people, but because, the moment they realised there was a growing number of people waiting, they opened 2 new counters! And they were patient, efficient and courteous, apologising for every minute they had to make me wait. In addition, they added nice counters on the queue number board to tell you how many more people are waiting before you. Nice little things like that makes you feel happier waiting. Hmm... did I mention the pretty girls you could look at? hehe... Below is a picture of the form-filling table. Notice the clock there to inform you of today's date?



2nd example: I waited 4 friggin hours for donuts at the Donut factory in Raffles City. Mind you, there was only erm... 25 pple in the queue? Take a look at these photos.




200 PEOPLE IN THE QUEUE!! I counted. The queue takes all but slightly under 2 hours. Besides, as you enter the shop, they'll happily give... serve, you with a freshly made donut (warm and yummy!!), and apologise profusely for making you wait... 25 people -> 4hrs, 200 people -> 2hrs. Kick me... why do I wanna stay in Singapore?

Slack.

I'm home!!

Yes, its greatfully heartwarming to hear the nice cheerful "Ohayougozaimasu" the minute I got off the plane, then the escalators that carefully warns you to be careful when you are near the end of the travellator in case you were half asleep from your tiring flight. Buying breakfast from a bread store, the gorgeous lady at the counter, regardless of how busy she was with the morning crowd, greeted me good morning with a brillant smile spread across her face, returned my change, and with a slight bow, SINCERELY thanked me for patronising the store, then wished me good day. Evrything is just so nice. The weather is pleasant. The people are nice. Speaking of which, my tutor accompanied me for lunch, gave me a treat, showed me to my hostel, helped to carry my friggin heavy bag... how cool is that?! Which graduate research tutor in NUS would render that kind service... to a foreigner?! nice!

The place I'm staying at is an awesome place. You'd be amazed how Japanese squeeze 2 desks, 2 cabinets, 2 wardrobes, a chest of drawers, 2 beds, a toilet, a bathtub, a kitchen, a gigantic fridge a lounge area, microwave, washing machine and even a kitchen cabinet... all into 40 square meters (the size of a double bed dorm in Eusoff)!!




Slack.