http://weblog.xanga.com/YQtravelling/667937885/friday-july-25-2008-folk-museum.html

Went to 007 with YT, C and Z.

Finally bought Ouran comics

10 ouran comics at 2,300 yen. pleased

Lunch

Someone’s lunch

cute board at train station

Got a ticket for Aug 9. Leaving Fukuoka at 9:39am and arriving in Himeji at 11.54am.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Himeji_Castle

http://weblog.xanga.com/YQtravelling/667938443/july-26-saturday-omatsuri.html

thanks to Moe and Sakiko with yukata wearing

 

 

 http://weblog.xanga.com/YQtravelling/667939695/july-27-sunday–lavendar-bus-tour.html

blue berry farm

Peach farm

cute boy with bug (and girlfriend)

beer can!

Lunch

Souvenirs

sunny!

 

Super fantastic Japanese drugstores

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

went with Wawa around the city using the 1,000 pair all-we-can-ride bus pass

Got my reflective JR pass. all i can ride!

 Fireworks during summer is a custom for the Japanese. It’s a time to dress up in your yukata and sit on the ground, making your behind ache

train station

Lunch

Ho-chan the cuter cat also in pic

Meri at background

another make-your-own-meal party at Sakiko’s place

return tickets to school and home

coffee flavoured!

 

 

Hot cakes with butter (from a tube!) and syrup

Warning, a long entry with boring details.

Got the tickets for the egypt exhibition from okaasan. The ticket is only valid until July 31 and other than today, I would not have time to go.

Today’s breakfast was pasta. Considering how little time okaasan had to prepare, the spaghetti was very good. It was al dente and even had some mushroom as toppings. Oishii~

Took extra time at the train stations to take pictures of the prices for travelling on trains and subways.

And since I will be going to the museum, which is quite far, I bought a one day subway pass at 600 yen.

Today’s teacher was the one who inspired fear (who I find not so frightening today). She was in class earlier than the other teachers usually are.

J brought a shirt with a signature of a baseball player.

 SoftBank HAWKS is the local baseball team. I’ve never seen a baseball match before, but it sounds exciting. Perhaps I maybe able to go… I only have less than two weeks here. Yikes!

Today’s class was an essay class. The title is <Japanese Language and fill-in-the-blank>. I  thought mostly in Chinese and wrote something similiar in Japanese. No wonder my Japanese has not improved. tsk tsk.

It was really really sunny during lunch time. I didn’t feel like I have much of an appetite, so I bought these: small bottle of cafe au lait milk, cream puff, and Japanese sticky rice cake with red bean paste filling. All of this costs 322 yen, around RM10. faint

Then it was popular culture class. We learned about comics. Yeah yeah yeah! And were shown BL and moe stuff. ha ha ha

After class, YT who was planning to go to Tenjin, went with us to the museum too.

The train to Meinohama was quite packed when it reached our station. We had to stand for a while before there were seats. Then we reached Meinohama station.

It’s a great station with underground shops. My station is just empty! Wawa took us to the book store. And Ouran’s Hikaru and Kaoru are on the cover of their weekly comic mag.

Now a short explanation of Japanese popular culture’s <Comic> sub-theme. The usual comics that you might be familiar with, those palm sized books, are called singles. Before comics are published in single format, each chapter is published in a weekly mag. Weekly mags are as thick as phone directories, see below

But the paper is a light paper so it doesn’t feel like you’re carrying a dictionary around. In one weekly mag, you have around five artists’ different stories that are on going. And different stories are published on alternate weeks. And if your story is popular enough, and you have enough chapters, your comic chapters are released in singles.

Isn’t Japan amazing?!

And I also bought a guidebook to Kyoto at 840yen.

Had other choices of guide books but this one had a spread of <The tale of genji> museum and other related info. Just *had* to buy it for Genji’s sake.

But to my horror, when I read it on the way back. The museum is closed from renovation from July 28 to Sept 3. NOOOOOOOOOO! So disappointed! sob. but it’ll be an excuse for me to go to Kyoto and then Uji in the future. v(^_^)v

Back to the day’s event. After comic buying, we went in search of a kimono shop that was having a sale. We found it in the end, but the things there didn’t attract my attention and their obi look ugly. Bought nothing in the end.

Then we walked back to the train station, Wawa decided to go back to her place because it was near five and her host mom takes her out around that time.

Off YT and I went to the museum. It was a 15 minutes walk from the subway to the museum. On the way, we asked a girl where the museum was and she pointed to the wrong direction. We saw another map at the wrong direction and it showed the museum was near where we were. Then we asked another group and finally found the place.

The museum lobby is huge.

They had a miniature yamakasa parade, so cute

The egypt exhibition had so many stuff and explanation. I find the embalming part the most fascinating because it’s gross.

It was past six by the time we finished. And off we went to see the Fukuoka tower.

On the way, we passed the city library. It is super big! Like a stadium, not a library! And this is only a corner of the place

Near Fukuoka tower, I saw rkb, a broadcasting station which shows MAOU and other shows. They had HUGE posters of MAOU and I tried to take my own picture with them. I hate the glass’s reflection!

 

Then I peeked in the building because visitors need to register when they go in. They also have large posters there. I want!

Fukuoka tower is tall. hmm…

On the way back, I took YT in the wrong direction. and at last, we found the right direction and had to walk a long long way back.

There was a Donkihote right at the entrance of the subway station. I bought the perfume I’ve been thinking of for some weeks. 1,880 yen only!!

Then we took the subway back. YT went to Tenjin’s BIC CAMERA while I stayed on back to my station.

Got back at 8:15pm and okaasan took us to a ramen shop called “STAMINA RAMEN”. They had lots of comic there but no customers. Despite having no customers, the tonkotsu ramen I had was good. Pork fat floated on my soup that I couldn’t see the bottom. Sounds gross but it’s yummy!

Then we went to Trial for some shopping. I have a feeling I might cycle there one day before going back. I love the bike.

Then home we went with ice cream.

 

Rides taken on subway
Hakozaki Kyudaimae – Meinohama   320
Meinohama – Nishijin 200
Nishijin – Kaizuka 290
TOTAL: 810 yen

Yeah!

*it’s been a week since I’ve updated the blog. so looong. so lazy*

Woke up at 6am because slept at 11pm last night. French toast for breakfast with vitagen flavoured yogurt.

There was no language class today as we’re having our Japanese culture trip in the afternoon. There was pop culture class though, but it starts at 10.30am. Went to the school lib to update my blog and to bid for modules.

Today’s pop culture class is our mid-term exam. THe prof said he only gives A’s or B’s, so it didn’t mattered how well you write (according to me, anyway).

We watched a short film called <Yasashisa no kuni>. Sypnosis:

I wrote something really crappy. I’m a bit worried for my last year in university if my writing is this terrible.

FInished early and went for lunch. Had soba instead of udon for lunch. I conclude that udon is tastier as noodles for a soup dish.

After lunch, everyone waited at the international student centre for the culture trip. We talked about howw our host families are very eager hosts and sometimes read a bit too much from what we say.

For M, she accidentally said, “Oh, my friend went to a waterfall.” And she realised they were looking over maps and saying, “waterfall… waterfall…” Oh no!

My example would be when I said, “How I wish to see a field of lavendar.” after seeing some lavendar plant while walking the dogs. I expect okaasan to say, “That would be lovely.” but  okaasan went silent for the rest of the journey. Is she thinking abuot Hokkaido??! I didn’t mean that seriously!!! IN the end she found a day trip to a lavendar field. Thanks!

Be careful of what you say!

Then around 1pm, we went on our bus and off to Dazaifu.

HY had this cool thing to use as tripod, one end goes to your camera, the other to be screwed onto a bottle

A quick history of Dazaifu. It used to be the centre of government for the Kyushu region during the Nara and Heian period. Around year 1000, if I’m not wrong. And as it’s closest to Korea and mainland China, people travel to and from Kyushu to the Asian continent through somewhere there.

ON the bus, HY showed her tripod. The metal is screwed to your camera while the rubber yellow part is fitted over those regular bottle caps. And then you’ll have a water bottle tripod. Super cool!

We reached Dazaifu after about 40 minutes. Our meditation was in an really old temple. Back in the old days, this was one of the three places to go if you want to be “certified” as a monk.

#will continue once I’m in the mood, for the time being, will post only photos

Some very old wooden statues

YT and I half ran to the Kyushu National Museum because we only have less than two hours before it closes. We showed our Kyudai student card and explained that we were foreigners taking classes in Kyudai. The lady at the counter called someone, and I thought she was going to charge us the normal 420 yen, instead of the high school and uni student 130 yen. Oh my money.

But it turns out, we were given free entrance to the museum. And the audio guide thingy was lent free of charge too. I heart Kyushu National Museum.

My current favourite way of taking photos: reflection