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

Heavy Snow 大雪 Ooyuki

One of the happiest day in my life!!! Snow fell unexpectedly tonight.. and a heavy one too! I was in the dining room, watching drama.. Then, around 7pm, I saw snow falling outside.. I was like, "Really?" Quickly grabbed my camera and took this pic from dorm's entrance,

From Ryugaku 留学 - Jepun

And street was covered with snow, even my Japanese friend said it was kind of rare for snow to accumulate on streets,

From Ryugaku 留学 - Jepun

From Ryugaku 留学 - Jepun

Took this one at a small park near Shiki station,

From Ryugaku 留学 - Jepun

And this one, near Shiki's Marui City,

From Ryugaku 留学 - Jepun

Here's the best part.. Playing with snow!!! Hehe..

From Ryugaku 留学 - Jepun

From Ryugaku 留学 - Jepun

From Ryugaku 留学 - Jepun

The street in front of my dorm,

From Ryugaku 留学 - Jepun

And here's a pic from my balcony (as of 10:01pm),

From Ryugaku 留学 - Jepun

Had a super great day! ^^

Sleeping Difficulty 睡眠障害 Suimin Shougai

Been having sleeping difficulty since I arrived here.. Yup, that's right, since September.. I will always lay on my bed for a at least 1 hour before I can sleep.. Sometimes if I have any important things to do the next day, I will take some medicine 2-3 hours before going to sleep..

The worst I've faced so far was on Sunday night.. Laid on my bed at around 1am but until 4.30am, I still can't sleep, so, decided to wait for 40minutes so I will not miss my early morning prayer at around 5.10am.. and been awake the whole day, I only have 2 times of short nap until yesterday's night.. I slept at 11pm yesterday.. And woke up at 12.30pm today.. What a nice feeling but I'm still tired, to be honest..

Got a job interview today at Tobu Store (東武ストア) at Kami Itabashi (上板橋) at 3.00pm.. Went well I think.. Learnt from past experiences.. Really hope I will get the job.. :)

Snowflake スノーフレーク

Snow is still falling (as of 6:50pm).. :)

It started to fall heavily at around 2:30pm,

From Ryugaku 留学 - Jepun

What made me excited is snowflakes! Before this, I didn't know that we can see those flakes with our naked eyes.. When I went for a walk, those flakes fell on my gloves and I was like, wow!

From Ryugaku 留学 - Jepun

From Ryugaku 留学 - Jepun

From Ryugaku 留学 - Jepun

From Ryugaku 留学 - Jepun

Can't stand the cold in my room, so, now I'm in the dining room.. It's warm here.. Hehe..

Snow (at last) やった、雪だ！ Yatto, Yukida!

Good morning.. Woke up early this morning (around 7:40am) just to see if there's snow falling and yes, there is.. After waiting for quite a time, finally I can see snow falling for the first time in my life.. ^^ Born in a tropical country with lowest temperature (in my hometown) is around 23℃, snowing is of course, impossible.. Even though snow in Tokyo and the nearby prefecture didn't accumulate (it tends to melt when reaching the ground), I'm still fine with it.. Hehe.. *In a thankful mode..

Pic from dorm's entrance,

From Ryugaku 留学 - Jepun

Wet street,

From Ryugaku 留学 - Jepun

As of now (10:19am), snow is still falling and expected to last until late afternoon.. :)