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Monday, January 10, 2011

09-10 Jan 2011: Izu Strawberry Picking and Onsen trip

Strawberry (ichigo) picking AND eating in Izu 伊豆, facing Mount Fuji, and then a day in Shuzenji (修善寺温泉) area in Izu. What a relaxing long weekend!

I just bought this bottle of Wasabasco (Tabasco made with Wasabi flavor)

The Shuzenji 修善寺 area is very zen, there's a line that I've long known and today it striked me again.

一期一会

Japanese reading: Ichi-go ichi-e; Meaning:

"Treasure every meeting, for it will never recur."

Thursday, January 6, 2011

06 Jan 2011: Salute to 2010!

Salute to 2010!

Am trying to give a little self-reflection on each year since long. This year has been very very special and significant for me, well, none of you would argue with me on that right? Therefore, I really would love to share my thoughts, with you npw at start. Hoping to, not just let you know more about me, but rather, to inspire some of you to do the same and think, feel, munch (whatever), and recap what you had been through in 2010, and next steps ahead in 2011... (sorry this sounds so like the usual project manager). Key is to always plan something and expect some others in life!

Hope you hear me ~

It started off with the Standard Chartered Marathon as usual, was my 8th Year in the 10K race! Still the same old me, running without much practices, finishing it with sore muscles and knees afterwards, haha.

And fast forwarded, this year is filled with "First", rundown as follows: First permanant job in Tokyo First apartment rented in Tokyo First time to have tax/insurance deducted from my salary before pocketing into my account First time to live alone abroad (well in Sydney where I studied I am always having flatmates) First time to "build" my own bookcase and cabinet (100% by hand with primitive tools) First time to hang onto my netbook without buying new PC for over 3 months (IT folks you know what that means huh) First time to spend my Christmas Eve on a fully packed tour coach, eating takeouts and NO wines! First time to spend Christmas on snow, on a snowboard First time to hike on a slope fully covered with snow First time to use my bump (with the protector) for over 500 (uncountable) times within 2 days (to do the safe stoppings)

To be honest, I am very proud of myself, although getting frustrated sometimes with new cultures, new home, new lifestyle, new job, new friends etc...I'm generally coping well and settling in.

Looking back, no regret. The line I gave to most people before I leave Hong Kong 3 months ago, is encashed - "I might feel freaking lonely, definitely frustrated, totally fed up with lots of new things I'd come across but, I won't regret."

Carpe Diem, the key is to Seize the Day, live life to it's fullest, take chances, and be at your best! Think Happiness and Joy will roll in automatically...

Sunday, January 2, 2011

01 Jan 2011: Yoi! Happy New Year - 2011!! Happy Bags FYI

My first new year in Tokyo as a resident! Today is so special for me, and my sister is also here so I won't be alone! We decided to go all the way to Gotemba Premium Outlets (御殿場) to experience the authentic Japanese new year atmosphere...

Apparantly we were late in buying tickets, seems like some locals really go there EVERY year. ALL bus tickets are sold out! So we gotta take the JR train from Shinjuku to Gotemba station, which was 95mins of duration and Y2800 per person...quite doubling the bus fare. It'd better be worth it, Happy Bags (福袋) we are coming!!!

Yo we woke up at 5:45am and arrived Shinjuku at 7:00am and the JR Odakyu "Romance" Car is departing at 7:20am sharp!

In fact, Gotemba is in Hakone (箱根)...So in short, we are closer to Fujiyama (Mt. Fuji) in Gotemba than in Tokyo!

OK, let's switch back to the shopping scene - here you go -
Gotemba Premium Outlets ~

People are all so early, there are long queues in nearly all the famous brands that offer Happy Bags, so to say, really a spectacular shopping mood! Luckily, we did do a bit of research on the outlets' shops. Most of them offer Happy Bags, so we have to prioritise. Juli picked Anteprima and I couldn't finalise one...until I reached there, Burton (yes, I was queueing at the above queue for 1 hour before I get my Happy Bag)!!

So we both got our Happy Bags as wished and then the rest of the day is just to check out the other shops...And ended our shopping day at 5ish, the Happy sunset ~

You maybe curious, wouldn't they put "rubbish" in the Happy bags? Well, I won't comment on that as everyone have different definitions for crap in mind and I totally respect that, hahaha. However, after our 1one whole day research, we arrived at the following 1-2-3 Happy Bag Shopping Guide (just our 2 cents to share, yeah):

No.1: Don't Choose the cheapest bag
If they came in different prices, say Y10,000, Y20,000, Y30,000. Usually in this case the cheapest one won't have much REAL good stuff. Why? Simple, higher price means more room for price cut/bargains. Like, when a Y10K bag contains Y20K goods, then at the same shop, a Y20K one will usually contains Y50-60K of stuff. See the exponential relationship there?

No.2: Only buy if you like the brand very much
It's likely that you won't need 100% of the items in the bag. So the goal is ultimately to get at least 1-2 items in huge bargains. And that you won't mind get extras from the same brand.

No.3: Always check current discounts for the brand in the outlets
If the shops are offering big discounts already, you'll be better off just choose from the shops' shelf instead so you guaranteed to get what you want with good prices. Simply not worth to take the risks of blind items from a Happy Bag in this case. Agree?

Indeed, some Happy Bags are not really very attractive so it really takes some care to choose which one to get and which not to...finally, we have the follows:

1. Anteprima - Hangbag, Handbag accessories, Leather Notebook, Notebook refill (Bag Tag: Y21,000 -> Bag Total Value: Y100,000+) Yes! This is the most valued Happy Bag for 2011 we have chosen!!

2. Burton - Ski 1+1 Jacket, T-shirt, Sunglasses, Wool handgloves, Wool Beanie (Bag Tag: Y10,000 -> Bag Total Value: Y60,000+)
3. Swatch - 2 Swatch 2010 special edition watches (Bag Tag: Y5,000 -> Bag Total Value: Y10,000)
4. Franc Franc - Air humidifier (Y13000 in the shop), fur pillow, fur slipper, rabbit doll, 2 towels, Champagne shower gel, storage box (Bag Tag: Y5,000 --> Bag Total Value: Y15,000)
5. Body Shop - Shower Gel, Body Cream, Body Scrub, HandCream, Shower sponge (Bag Tag: Y3,150 -> Bag Total Value: Y6,000+)

Finally apart from Outlets, Department stores in town, you can also get Happy Bags online, I've purchased the Adidas Shoes Happy Bag from Rakuten (http://www.rakuten.co.jp) at Y5,250 as a test, and got it delivered to my place on 2 Jan 2011 morning, very on time! And surprise! The shoes are very very trendy and we can't really expect more for Y5K! 2 pairs of shoes! and the black one bears the 3-leaves label!!!

So hope you liked what I liked as above, and wish everyone who read this a very Happy and Healthy and Properous 2011!

"Let's fill our bags with happiness everyday.

Stay cool and be happy!"

Saturday, January 1, 2011

31 Dec 2010: New Year's Eve!

We hopped off to Tsukiji 築地 to see the market in the final day of 2010.
Heard about how crowded it'd gonna be, but nothing like seeing it for real! Superb!

Then, lunch No. 2 ~ Shabu Shabu in Shinjuku!
Venue: 木曽路新宿三丁目店 / http://r.gnavi.co.jp/g084625/

FINALLY, for dinner to welcome 2011, since my sister is here, we decided to treat outselves super nice and lux food for NYE, shabu shabu at HOME, again, yes, again!

The menu - 10 Points Super Dinner:
1. Wagyu 黑毛和牛 x100g
2. Wagyu 山形和牛 x100g
3. Wagyu 夢牛 x200g
4. Fugu 河豚 x200g
5. Clams
6. Prawns
7. Crab legs
8. Oysters
9. Sashimi x3 types
10. Lots of Vegies

The temptations:

Note ~ each piece of beef is serial numbered...

27-30 Dec 2010: Recap on Juli's visit

First few days we have great fun eating out with friends.

27 Dec 2010 ~
Venue: Hikkuri Sushi 江戸前びっくり寿司恵比寿店 / http://r.gnavi.co.jp/g403410/
Our all time favourite, also have Fugu 河豚 this time!