First time on a real beach in Japan

The task is simple, to arrange the candles into patterns and light them up at night. The hard part, we have to work under the hot sun… In fact, this festival was just started last year, and we are lucky enough to be the 2nd batch to experience it.

Starting to arrange the candles

Friends from China, undergoing different training program

Other groups candle patterns

Still summer, freaking hot…

Task completed

Cheer-leading by local kids

Main event starting soon…

Starting to light up the candles

Hawaiian dance performance by the locals

Scene in the dark

Magnificent view along the beach

People of different cultures gathering at the same place

The light of hope, that belongs to us…

End of this week’s weekend activity. Next week will be having another test, again… Yet, life here is still very enjoying, where we get to experience different festivals occasionally. Hope this can help me to survive for the coming 6 months.

Till then ~~~

Joke of the week: If u guys realize, I just got my first hair cut in Japan, and have been the “main funny topic” among my batch mates here since then. Well, at least there’s still something I can do to make people laugh… haha.

Doutonbori

The schedule has been quite packed recently, and I can hardly put this plan to work. Have been planning for this one day trip since my last visit to Osaka. Since the exam was over, why not?

This time, I am a lone wolf wondering on the street.

Osaka is one of the largest cities in Japan. There are so many interesting places here, and it is even interesting to know how they are able to build them and preserve these historical spots in this highly packed city area. My one day journey began from here:

1. HOUZENJI TEMPLE

(Rinku Town Station  —> [Nankai Line] —> Namba Station)

This is one of the famous shrines here in Osaka. It is not a very big shrine, but is famous for its unique Mizukake Fudo, a moss covered statue. People normally visit the shrine to pray and spread water to the statue for prosperous business and fulfillment in love.

Houzenji Temple entrance

Mizukake Fudo Statue

2. TSUTENKAKU TOWER

(Namba Station —> [Sennichi-mae Line] —> Nippombashi Station —> [Sakaisuji Line] —> Ebisucho Station <Exit 3>)

Also being known as the “Heaven Reaching Tower”, the Tsutenkaku Tower was built in 1912, and has undergo a few major reconstruction since then. The height of the tower is about 103 meter, and was one of the highest towers in Asia at that time. The main attraction here is the city view from the observatory deck at the height of 91 meter, and the Billiken statue, guardian of the tower as well as God of Happiness.

The Tsutenkaku Tower

View from the observatory deck

Billiken, statue of the God of Happiness

3. SHITENNOJI TEMPLE

(Ebisucho Station —> [Sakaisuji Line OR walk through Den Den Town] —> Nippombashi Station —> [Sennichi-mae Line] —> Tanimachi 9 Chome Station —> [Tanimachi Line] —> Shitennoji-mae Yuhigaoka Station <Exit 4>)

One of the very famous Buddhist temples here. The Shitennoji Temple was built by Prince Shotoku in the 6th century to honor the four heavenly kings. Each of the pagoda has its own uniqueness and serves for traditional rituals.

Shitennoji Temple entrance

The temple tower

4. OSAKA MUSEUM OF HISTORY

(Shitennoji-mae Yuhigaoka Station —> [Tanimachi Line] —> Tanimachi 4 Chome Station <Exit 9>)

If you wanna know more about Osaka history and evolution, this is the perfect place to be. The Osaka Museum of History has a vast collection of information of Osaka since its discovery. Each floor contains illustrations from different era, starting from the Daikokuden of Nara Period  to The Water City of Edo Period.

Osaka Museum of History

Some of the miniature models of traditional village

5. OSAKA MARITIME MUSEUM

(Tanimachi 4 Chome Station —> [Chuo Line] —> Cosmosquare Station <Exit 1>)

Originally, Osaka was well known as port and hub for maritime transportation. In history, people from various corner around the world had gathered here for goods exchange and exploration. As a result, different cultures have been brought and integrated into Japan’s tradition. One of the renowned traditions is the knowledge of ship building.

Osaka Maritime Museum

The Osaka Maritime Museum contains information on the evolution of ships building knowledge since ancient time. The materials, tools, skills, etc are presented here and you might be amazed to know how people of olden time were capable of building such huge sea vehicles with very limited resources.

The museum built on the sea, with an underwater passage connecting it to the land

The unique roof pattern

Pirates of the Caribbean …???

Naniwamaru, a life-size replica trading ship

Miniature model of ancient Osaka Harbor

6. WTC COSMO TOWER OBSERVATORY

(Cosmosquare Station —> [Nanko Port Town Line] —> Tradecenter-mae Station)

Here comes the interesting part, the evening view of Osaka City from the WTC Cosmo Tower. This 55-story sky scraper has a height  of about 256 meters, and is the second tallest building in Japan. The building houses offices from companies from various countries, and an inverted pyramid shaped observatory deck is built at the top for tourists visit.

WTC Cosmo Tower

Fountain at the ground floor

In fact, this is one of the famous spots for wedding dinner… romantic~~~

Artificial island

Large scale artificial islands are very common in Japan. They are used as harbor, residential area and even as international airport. It is amazing to know how they actually build something that big on the sea, which requires advanced technology and high maintenance cost. One of the jokes that we heard recently from our admin officer is that, one of the reasons Japan economy is fluctuating recently is because they “poured too much money and resources into the sea“.

7. UEMEDA SKY BUILDING “FLOATING GARDEN” OBSERVATORY

(Tradecenter-mae Station —>[Nanko Port Town Line] —> Cosmosquare Station —> [Chuo Line] —> Honmachi Station —> [Midosuji Line] —> Uemeda Station <Exit 5>)

Undoubtedly, this is the spot I favored most from my whole day exploration around Osaka City. The fantastic night view of Osaka City !!! Too bad I don’t have a better camera to capture it.

Miniature model of the Uemeda Sky Building

The Uemeda Sky Building is the seventh tallest building in Osaka (about 173 meter), and comprises of two towers connected by escalators in between. It is a famous landmark in Osaka for its magnificent city night view.

View from the top on the “Floating Garden”

Glowing bits on the floor

Anything in white glows

One day, you will be standing here, with me…

That’s the end of my day trip, 7 places in one day, adventurous and get to use what I’ve learned in class (with the most frequently used being AYFer’s “すみません，もう　一度　お願いします” ). Kinda rush actually, walked a lot and very tiring, which is why I chose to travel alone.

Now updates, my request to join my proposed professor has been accepted. At the moment still don’t have much detail about the coursework, but the organization in charge of our university placement is in the process of planning a meet up for me with the professor. Hopefully everything will be fine.

Till then ~~~

It’s been almost one month I arrived here, and it was like already very long for me. Never had I imagined that I would be able to land my foot in this country for my entire life. But here I am, getting to know people from various countries, learning lessons together, shopping together, sing K together, bla bla bla… Life is good and I have already get myself adapted, at least for now.

Class has been getting faster and faster, everyday attending full day Japanese language class, not to mention tonnes of homework to be submitted and quizzes on the next day. Despite the busy schedule, everything here is interesting. To us, it’s pressuring to speak in Japanese; but to the teachers, it’s pressuring to communicate with us in English as well. So both parties are working hard to adapt to each other.

Recently, we are in the process of applying for another scholarship to continue our post graduate study. Well, I gotta admit that I was being ignorance last time to say that I am not going to do my Master here. Have been consulting with a few people here regarding this matter. It’s is interesting to know that the education system here is totally different from my country, which is one of the main reasons that changed my mind. Somehow, the university here can provide me with what I want for my future, for my family, and for her.

Presently, I am being rejected by two professors already (ya, serve me right for talking big last time… haha =P). One which is going to retire soon, while the other is not accepting international students.

Last night just got a ray of hope from another new professor from a quite well known university in the field of engineering. At the moment, he hasn’t given me any confirmation on my acceptance yet, but invited me to pay him a visit at his laboratory. Hopefully everything will goes smoothly…

Till then ~~~

She is our super kawaii Nagai Sensei, one of the dedicated teachers taking care of us here in this Japanese Language training program.

For some unavoidable reasons, she decided to leave us here and continue with her new life.

Though it’s just three week you are here with us, your guidance and lessons will never be forgotten. We pray hard for your well being and your future endeavor. Take care there and we miss you.

Special thanks to Mario-san for the video clip…

Bon is a Japanese Buddhist custom to honor the spirit of one’s ancestor, while Odori simply means dance, a dance to show one’s gratitude towards his/her departed ancestor. In these days, this festival also serves to gather family members together and has been celebrated during summer in Japan society for more than 500 years.

Ya I look funny in Yukata

With some of the villagers

Bon Odori

Some of the traditional games

“Evil spirits” around…

It’s nice to get to experience this type of cultural festival first hand. In fact, we joined the crowd for their traditional dance. Too bad didn’t get to take some photos when dancing, but I don’t think you guys wanna see me doing it anyway…haha.

Cheers !!!

One of the villagers explained how it should be done

Ya you heard it right… the noodle really flows.

And our job is to catch it with chopstick before it drops out from the other end of the bamboo tube.

Notice the guy behind me ?

With some Korean students from other training program

Looks familiar…?

Definitely not Kenari…

How bout this…???

Toyota Passo

So… ??? Which is original? Malaysia’s or Japan’s…?

At Rinku Town Station

Water front view near the castle

Somehow similar to Singapore’s

Will definitely come to this spot again during autumn

In front of the castle gate

Leftover skin of insect

A historical spot in the center of the city

Arrival at the castle

Posers…

View at the top of the castle

Our task was to get photo of this – the “Shachihoko”, guardian of the castle

Miniature model of Japan war era

In front of Osaka Museum

After accomplishing the task, we proceed to Osaka shopping paradise. One of the famous spot is the Den Den Town, which is famous for electronic gadgets and appliances.

Who dares to step into this shop ???

Notice something missing ???

Frankly speaking, one day is just not enough for us to explore the whole city. There are still so many interesting places in this city which I yet to visit. Without hesitation, I managed to get myself another one day pass yesterday at the station. Now in the process of planning my next trip there.

Til then~~~

Classroom

Group lecture and discussion room

As advised by our AYF 14th-batch seniors, 7 months of training over here is just too short, so make use of every moment we have as meaningful as possible. My first shopping at Rinku Town with fellow  AYF 15th-batch mates:

Me and Raymie, our papa of 15th-batch

The Seacle

Rinku Premium Outlet, lots of branded clothes here

Err guys, we are supposedly not allowed to take photos there, but who cares…haha

Taijiri Town visit with fellow AYF 15th batch

Morning market

This town is famous of producing sweet onions, so they actually build an Onion Sanctuary here

Kasuga Shrine, the biggest shrine in the town

One of the temples in Taijiri Town

Tatami room – Visit to the cultural museum

Not sure if I’m doing “seeza” (proper sitting method) correctly

Our very friendly tour guides – otoosan, okaasan and Yamakawa-san

Orientation with 14th-batch sempai’s (seniors)

(from left) Sue, Siew Fang, me and Karen, AYF Malaysia 14th & 15th batch reunited

Our kawaii (cute) Nagai Sensei (teacher)

The handsome Kurihara Sensei…

… and the pretty Izumimoto Sensei

BIG FAMILY – Reunion of AYF 14th and 15th batch

One of the things I realized is that the teachers here in Japan have very good sense of responsibility and close relationship with students under their care. Some of the sempai’s actually told us that their professors took really good care of them and arrange most of the things nicely, making their master course study here more convenient. In fact, our sensei’s and staffs here actually join us in the karaoke session til night !!!

Karaoke session with the sempai’s

Our funny and crazy sempai’s

Cha-cha dance… ??!!

Sempai’s teaching us their “Nobody” dance, guess we have to come up with our batch dance as well

Unfortunately, we are being told that this will be The Final Batch of AYF Students. Due to some budget restrictions and political changes in Japan, the government decided to end this 15-year training program. It is a sad truth indeed, but there’s nothing we can do bout it. So all we can do now is to appreciate every moment we have here and continue the spirit of AYF.

Til then…