29 Jan 2011: Sneak peek into the pictures of Mt.Fuji's Yamanakako and Lake Kawaguchi 富士山の山中湖 and 河口湖 (Unprocessed original edition)

It's Saturday morning, it's 5:45am, it's cold. It's insane for a bunch of photographic enthusiasts to go out to catch Mt. Fuji Sunrise. Yes, and I was one of them.


Believe me, it's a mixed experience all in all. Best explained by the taste of a sip of Tequila sunrise. My body is warm and comfortable with layers of clothings. Yet, my hands are frozen and numb, very soon my feet and toes sent the same signals to my brain. Worse thing is, we set up the tripod, and wait and wait, sky is bright, but the sun is not in sight!

I kept running back and forth of the car to warm up the body, and rushed back to stand beside the tripod. Finally, the sun! Good morning Uncle Sun! You're overslept ~ a bit ~ but glad to see ya finally!

Here is a site along the Fujiyama Panarama Line, so called "Lake in the Center of the Mountain" 山中湖. We found some nice spots, thrilled, hopping back and forth to change lens, and got some really nice stuff!

And then off we drove to another site for yet another view of Mt. Fuji, basically called the Swan Lake, coz' it has all the little boats for rent to see swans in the lake...

Not to mention the hill top panaramic view, spectacular! Facing this view, seeing it through camera, I'm speechless, short of words to describe what I saw..."It's stunning, awesome.." I said more than 10 times...

We also drove by the Lake Saiko coz' it's the first day of the Winter Festival there:

Another nice spot is Kawaguchi 河口湖, in the right time of the year you can actually see the "diamond Fuji", where the shadow of Mt. Fuji falls exact right in front of itself on the lake, creating a diamond shape. Winter is not the time for it, but still we managed to get some Mt.Fuji reflections on the lake, here you go...

Finally, after our late lunch at 3ish, we rush for the final round - Sun set!

This trip is truely madly enlightening. I had loads of free time in between, where I'm in the car, along the coastline, on some grassfields, to think. Yes, I reckon coldness and nature do have great impacts on humans, especially at times when work is busy and life is running faster than you wish it to. Coldness cleanses your mind and nature pours spring water into it. Truely stunning and overwheming!

26 Jan 2011: Settling in

Today is the 4-month anniversary of me living in Japan.


People has been asking me "Are you settling in well?"


So I think when your answers to most (if not all) of the following questions are YES, then you're pretty sure that you have been settling in a place, or nearly there. Well, these 10s are the once that pops up instantly at my brain, hmmm anything else?


1. Do you have stuff laying around your sofa/dinning table?
2. Have you stop buying electronic appliances, or plates or cups etc for home?
3. Ikea is no longer where you spent your weekends in?
4. Are you having dinner outside with ppl instead of alone?
5. You no long bring a local map around, or even google-map as much?
6. Do you listen to music and reading novels while commuting, instead of listening to the station announcements?
7. Your phonebook is having Japanese names, and/or numbers.
8. Are you able to give some comments on observations from the local culture? How ppl dress, drink, smoke, behaves?
9. You've got a credit card in local currency.
10. Do you know more than one routes of trains going from one place to another without reading the train-map?




Apparantly my answers to them are all YES! So thanks to everyone who have been reading my blog, showing cares to my activities, pampering me with chats/mails, going out for dinner with me, inviting me to drinkies/coffees, visiting me in person even...You are awesome, I love you all!

22-23 Jan 2011: Snowboarding in Echigouzawa

OK, so how about the ski trip, second one in my life and first one in this month.
The ski hotel and resort is in Echigouzawa 越後湯沢, Joetsu 上越, Niigata 新潟.

Let's start with the sweet part first.
Decided to take a formal lesson, which is proved immediately to be a right decision.
The trainer is very structured, we managed to do heel-side and toe-side. And after a few practice on my own, I did 2 hours of up and down a 200m slope. Fun time!

Now comes the bitter bit, well, not entirely sad, I'd say, it's thoughts provoking...
First let's see the scenaries ....

The snow and the stunning views outside the antique style hotel windows...somehow striked me with solitaire, not just once, but several times.

Facing the window, in deep thoughts, someone asked me if I have anything I can't let go at this time if I die. The reply is silence. Actually I can't think of any. I'm spoiled by mum and sister and relatives and friends who loves me very much. I mean, for them, it's different kinds of love to give and to take, but definitely not something to die for, if those who have been in love understands. Yes, the word "in love" really speaks for itself. I lived "with lots of love" now, it seems, but some part within, the "in" part is missing...like a hole that needs to be filled up with something of proper density...
 
Then, I realised that, so far, in my life, I am always doing right things, fulfilling expectations of parents and society...Haven't really done anything wrong to match my own desires, hahaha.

Finally I found another bottle of wine, which is very Zen, nearly bought it, huh:
The best interpretations from me is, "You found life in death and that'll make you rest in peace..."

This snow trip is really inspiring, I feel so tiny in the snow land, so easy to get lost without trace..."vulnerable" is a better word I guess...
Afterall, I am happy where I am generally and most of the time...now is a present. 

"So what inspires you lately?"