Turning Down Invitations

Invitations..

That is what I get almost every week.. From drinking at Japanese Bar (居酒屋 Izakaya) (even though I can't drink alcoholic drinks), eating out at some restaurants near Ikebukuro campus or even invitations to some events like going to Ueno Zoo and watching baseball match at Jingu Stadium.. and I had to turn down all of it..

Saying "Sorry, I can't go" is not the hardest part for me, explaining the reason why is the hardest.. From "I already made arrangements with a friend", "Got tonnes of homework" and the usual phrase "I'm tired"..

I wish I can tell them that I'm not a normal exchange student, I'm on a very tight budget and I do not have the luxury to spend my money for other things like entertainment or eating out (but I managed to do it sometimes though)..

I hope they can understand my situation.. Sorry guys for turning down your invitations..

After the Earthquake 地震後 Jishin Go (PART 2)

Continuing from part 1 (please forgive me for the gap between the last entry and this one),

Besides the uncomfortable and not-so-safe feeling at most of the time, the earthquake made me in some kind of stress since I didn't expect to see those things happened, especially in Japan.

I can say that food was a little hard to find after the earthquake, well, not all of it but foods like rice, bread, meat products and instant ramen, since many people did panic buying.

Meat section at Big A,

From Ryugaku 留学 - Jepun

No more Ramen..

From Ryugaku 留学 - Jepun

and no more rice too!

From Ryugaku 留学 - Jepun

Bread shelf,

From Ryugaku 留学 - Jepun

Oh, when I think about it, the feeling of uneasiness will creep into me.. Hu.. Knowing that even though you have money but you can't buy anything.. :|

Besides food, train services was badly disrupted too.. No more Express or even semi-Express trains! Only Local trains and it ran at interval of 10-15minutes.. In the pictures below you can see how long the queue was,

Taken from way outside Shiki station (my friend and I gave up and we went back to the dorm),

From Ryugaku 留学 - Jepun

From Ryugaku 留学 - Jepun

Finally, in order to return to Japan, I have to get the Re-entry Permit (再入国許可Sainyuu Koku Kyoka). So, I went to the Saitama Branch of Tokyo Immigration Bureau with my friend. We queued for nearly 10 hours in the cold only to be disappointed when we were told to return the next day due to the planned blackouts!

From Ryugaku 留学 - Jepun

From Ryugaku 留学 - Jepun

Then, everything went well and I went back to Malaysia on the 19th of March using Singapore Airlines.. At that time, I left Japan with a heavy heart since I'm not sure if I can return to Japan.. :'(

After the Earthquake 地震後 Jishin Go (PART 1)

When the earthquake happened, I was in my room surfing the internet.. It started slowly and I thought it was fine since I`ve experienced it before but when it got stronger, I left my room. Scary.. and sometimes when I think about it, the feeling of unsafe and worrying all the time will come back to me.. Until now, small earthquake (or can I still call it aftershocks?) still occur.

In this entry, I just want to share what I had to face after the big earthquake,

Well, when it happened, electricity, water and phone line was cut off.. Got back electricity and water at around 2am on 13th March.

We were asked by the dorm manager to stay at the dining room and candles was not allowed in our rooms.

From Ryugaku 留学 - Jepun

From Ryugaku 留学 - Jepun

Then, representative from International Centre came and we were given free dinner,

From Ryugaku 留学 - Jepun

Since it was so cold in the dorm, we were also asked to warm ourselves at the nearby Daiei. We saw how bad the earthquake was on TV,

From Ryugaku 留学 - Jepun

After electricity went back, we still can't use the lift..

From Ryugaku 留学 - Jepun

With all the aftershocks, I decided to sleep at the dining room with my friend..

Even though damages was minimum in Shiki, it brought many inconveniences..

*to be continued in part 2 ^^

Back to Japan 日本に戻った Nihon ni Modotta

Hi everyone, its been a while (more than a month since my last post).. Did lots of things while I was in Malaysia and what I enjoyed the most there was eating.. From KFC, McDonald`s, delicious home-cooked meals made by my grandmother to Japanese food like Ramen and Yaki Niku (I can`t really eat those in Japan).

To be honest, I`m not that eager to come here again since I felt very comfortable in Malaysia but that`s not all, since a service provider here made me pay for something (even if I couldn't stay there until August).. Hmm.. So, I`m here :) Everything looks normal here except some rises in food prices but I think I can cope with it.

Boarded Malaysia Airlines (MAS) flight on Saturday (23.4) at 11:30pm and arrived at Narita Airport at around 6:40 am (local time).. Encountered some problems at MAS counter due to the overweight of my check-in luggage. Initially weighted at 29.2kg, I had to take some things out, then it became 24.6kg. The picture below was taken in Japan,



From Ryugaku 留学 - Jepun

The flight was a little boring with little choices of movies and the service was quite dissapointing. What was good about it was the breakfast, I enjoyed it ^^



From Ryugaku 留学 - Jepun
Then I went back to Shiki using trains and it was a tough one.. Hu.. Hope everything is going to be okay..

From Ryugaku 留学 - Jepun

I'm back! ただいま！ Tadaima!

Good morning from Malaysia!

Arrived here on Sunday, 20th March from Narita via Changi.. Everything was so last minute and I still can't believe I'm in my home.. There was no plan to go back but since my family insisted, I just had to go back..

Preparation to go back was so tiring that I'm still tired now.. Had to apply for the Re-entry permit (再入国許可 Sainyuukoku Kyoka) and queued for 8hours in the cold.. But I was made to come back the other day because of the planned blackouts..

Bought my flight ticket on Thursday and it was the cheapest (64,440 yen) using Singapore Airlines.. Arrived at Changi Airport at around 4.10am and boarded connecting flight to Kuala Lumpur at 8.35am..

I will tell more about it later.. That's it for now :D

Snowing 雪が降ってきた Yuki ga Futtekita

I'm still facing the internet connection problem in my room.. - - So, I will call the ISP again as soon as I can. Before this, I thought there was something wrong with my laptop but there's nothing wrong with it because now I'm using it in the Main Library in Ikebukuro and it works fine with the library's LAN..

Back to the main topic, I saw the weather forecast yesterday that there will be scattered flurries today but didn't have high expectation.. Well, just glad it snow again but I don't really like the cold.. Hehe..

Woke up early to go to Sunshine City with a friend to find a gift for my sensei.. Took us 2 hours to decide on what we want to buy and went to a convenience store and bought a bowl of instant soba (with tempura) for lunch,

From Ryugaku 留学 - Jepun

Then, went to the Main Library, maybe I will stay here until closing time, still need some time to finish reading National Geographic.. ^^

Here is some pics around Rikkyo's main building and the dining hall,

From Ryugaku 留学 - Jepun

From Ryugaku 留学 - Jepun

From Ryugaku 留学 - Jepun

From Ryugaku 留学 - Jepun

Lately, the temperature difference is kind of too much for me because yesterday was not that cold (around 16'C during the day) but today, temperature suddenly drop to around 4'C.. Hmm.. I hope I will not be sick.. :)

Internet connection インターネット接続 Intaanetto Setsuzoku

It`s frustrating when one can`t have a smooth internet connection.. Yup.. That`s me.. The problem started from Sunday.. I can still access the internet but the connection will always cut off suddenly and the worst part for me is I can`t tweet! - -"

Been an active user of Tweeter since a few months back, the unability to tweet is kind of nerve wrecking.. You see, I can view Twitter and the tweets from other people is up-to-date but when I tried to tweet, it just went grey for a long time..

Called my ISP yesterday.. They said I`ve used too much bandwidth (they said the bandwidth limit is 100GB).. Yup, that`s right.. They said it will take some time to recover..

Since it`s spring holiday and I can`t afford to go anywhere, I just stay in my room and surf the net.. Well, of course, not all the time but when I did surf, I usually will watch some movies (online streaming).. I admit it`s my bad but I still find it unfair to punish me with a very unstable connection.. Unlike in Malaysia, where the bandwidth limit is just 20GB (for P1 Wimax) per month and after exceeding the limit, user will have to surf with a reduced connection speed.

Now I`m typing this entry in Niiza Campus Library.. I just hope the connection will be normal again.. :)

Rapid Express Train 快速急行の電車 Kaisoku Kyuukou no Densha

I might as well post another entry before going to sleep.. Hehe..

At last! Managed to snap pics of Tobu Tojo Line's Rapid Express train on 24th February.. I was on my way to Ikebukuro to buy some Halal meat and got excited when I saw the notification board.. Rapid Express train will arrive at 6:31pm! ^^

From Ryugaku 留学 - Jepun

Rapid Express train is actually TJ Liner (TJ ライナー TJ Rainaa) train, a train service from Ikebukuro that stops at only a few stations all the way to Shinrinkouen (森林公園) and Ogawamachi (小川町). It skipped Shiki too and only stop at Fujimino (ふじみ野) after Ikebukuro.

Train arriving at Shiki station,

From Ryugaku 留学 - Jepun

The interior of the train is different from the normal one..

From Ryugaku 留学 - Jepun

Since it's a Rapid Express, it only stopped at Wakoushi (和光市) before arriving in Ikebukuro.. Took 18minutes for the trip from Shiki to Ikebukuro.

Ghibli Museum ジブリ美術館 Jiburi Bijutsukan

Going to Ghibli Museum is one of the weirdest thing I did.. Why? Because I only watched 2 Studio Ghibli's movies before going there and obviously I didn't really know most of the displayed items, characters or animations..

Since I only watched My Neighbor Totoro (となりのトトロ Tonari no Totoro) and I Can Hear the Sea (海が聞こえる Umi ga Kikoeru) before going there, the only thing I want to see is Totoro.. ^^

Now, back to the topic, I went there on 20th February with my friends.. I think the ticket price is reasonable and worth it.. Only cost 1000yen but you have to buy it in advance. My friend bought the tickets for all 12 of us at Lawson convenience store.

From Ryugaku 留学 - Jepun

The official name for the museum is 三鷹の森ジブリ美術館 Mitaka no Mori Jiburi Bijutsukan or Ghibli Museum, Mitaka.

From Ryugaku 留学 - Jepun

From Ryugaku 留学 - Jepun

Rikkyo's students group trip to Ghibli Museum, :)

From Ryugaku 留学 - Jepun

We must refrain from taking any pictures in the building, so, I only took some pictures while I'm outside.

We were greeted by a big Totoro doll near the main gate.. So cute!

From Ryugaku 留学 - Jepun

Then we went to the rooftop to see a robot (I don't know what the robot is at that time),

From Ryugaku 留学 - Jepun

Omelette fried rice (nasi goreng pataya in Malay) for 1000yen (RM38) per plate? I'll pass.. Hehe..

From Ryugaku 留学 - Jepun

As there was too many people in our group, we split into 2 groups and end up walking back to Mitaka station separately..

This is from the other entrance,

From Ryugaku 留学 - Jepun

Walking back to Mitaka Station,

From Ryugaku 留学 - Jepun

It was a nice experience but it doesn't mean much to me at that time. Based on my friend recommendation, I started to watch Studio Ghibli's movies a few days ago.. As of now, I've watched 6 movies after the trip, below is the list:

- Spirited Away 千と千尋の神隠し Sen to Chihiro no Kamikakushi

- Kiki's Delivery Service 魔女の宅急便 Majyo no Takkyubin

- Howl's Moving Castle ハウルの動く城 Hauru no Ugoku Shiro

- Laputa: Castle in the Sky 天空の城ラピュタ Tenkuu no Shiro Rapyuta

- Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind 風の谷のナウシカ Kaze no Tani no Naushika

- Whisper of the Heart 耳をすませば Mimi O Sumaseba

After watching those movies, I was like, "So, that was Yu-Baaba from Spirited Away in the showroom.. and Calcifer from Howl's Moving Castle!" "The robot on the rooftop is from Laputa: Castle in the Sky.." and "Jiji, the black cat is from Kiki's Delivery Service!" Haha.. Even though I only knew what I saw a few days after the trip, it's still okay I guess.. Well, good night ^^V

Ueno Park 上野公園 Ueno Kouen

Good evening everyone.. ^^ I have a few entries I want to post, so, I will try my best to do it.. After the snow fall, there's quite a number of things I did.. Went to Ueno Park, Ghibli's Museum in Mitaka (三鷹のジブリ美術館 Mitaka no Jiburi Bijutsukan) and boarded the Rapid Express (快速急行 Kaisoku Kyuukou) train to Ikebukuro. So, for this entry, I will write about my trip to Ueno Park on 16th February..

From Ryugaku 留学 - Jepun

Actually I didn't have any plans to go there but since it was very near to the place I went for part time job interview (McDonald's Ueno Park), I decided to take a walk through it to get to Ueno Station's Park Exit (上野駅の公園口 Ueno Eki No Kouen Guchi).

A nice park and I really can't wait to go there in Spring to see sakura :)

Near this statue, there's an explanation board with the title 敬天愛人 Keiten Aijin. I don't know what it is actually. Hehe..

From Ryugaku 留学 - Jepun

This building is situated near the statue,

From Ryugaku 留学 - Jepun

Next, there's the Tomb of Shogitai Warriors,

From Ryugaku 留学 - Jepun

Explanation of it is available in the following pic,

From Ryugaku 留学 - Jepun

From Ryugaku 留学 - Jepun

I would also like to introduce a street performer group I found performing at the park, it's GちょこMarble (G Choko Marble).. Click here to view their blog.. They did some balancing acts with their wooden chairs and what I like the most was the yellow balloon trick. ^^

From Ryugaku 留学 - Jepun

From Ryugaku 留学 - Jepun

From Ryugaku 留学 - Jepun

As I walked further, found the Statue of the Imperial Prince Komatsunomiya Akihito,

From Ryugaku 留学 - Jepun

From Ryugaku 留学 - Jepun

Next, I found Ueno Zoo! Well, only managed to snap the pic of the entrance though.. Will try to go there someday..

From Ryugaku 留学 - Jepun

Before leaving the park area, I visited Toshogu Shrine situated near the zoo entrance,

From Ryugaku 留学 - Jepun

From Ryugaku 留学 - Jepun

From Ryugaku 留学 - Jepun

And finally, reached Ueno station and went back to Ikebukuro.. :)

From Ryugaku 留学 - Jepun

A few days later, I received an e-mail from McDonald's Ueno Park.. They said they can't hire me because I will return to Malaysia in August.. Darn it! I should've just lie to them (I don't think it is right to lie but I will have to after this.. If not, it is hard to get a longterm job *Took advice from a Japanese friend)

Snowman 雪だるま Yuki Daruma

Sorry for the late update.. Got caught up with something last week.. Was so busy and tired after I went for 3 job interviews.. Hu.. What a tough week.. Well, this entry is about the day after the heavy snow on Monday i.e. Tuesday 15th February..

Woke up early that day to play with snow.. At first, planned to go to Marui City near Shiki station but end up playing right at the back of the dorm..

Made a snowman and snow woman.. haha! and had snow fight with my friend.. And again, I just want to clarify that I'm sucked at aiming.. ^^

From Ryugaku 留学 - Jepun

From Ryugaku 留学 - Jepun

From Ryugaku 留学 - Jepun

From Ryugaku 留学 - Jepun

From Ryugaku 留学 - Jepun

Such a short entry, not in the mood to update my blog actually.. Hope you enjoyed the pics :D