Firt Meal on New Year

On the 1st of new year, I give the present to myself by going to eat cake buffet. The cake buffet (ヶーキ　食べ放題）　is the famous thing that we should do in Japan. It is really delicious. I searched on the internet with my friend and decision to go this place because there are 30 kinds of cake for tasting. Wow! It locates on the top floor of 25-floor Metropolitan Hotel near to Ikebukuro station. Wonderful panorama view!! The buffet price is approx. 1500 Yen per person but it is approx. 300-400 Yen per piece if we buy in the shop outside. It is worth to eat as much as we want even it is suffering in the last dishes. Let's see and slobber!

Tokyo Disneyland (28 Dec 05)

I have a good chance to visit "Tokyo Disneyland". My Thai friend asks me to escort her in joining this trip. She knows one Japanese guy, Nori, who used to be an exchanged student in SIIT. Nori invited Koji who is his juniors in his university and Koji just came back from Thailand by being exchanged student in SIIT. I think I am quite familiar with his face when I met him. After we knew the fact, I think that world is really round. Koji invites his girlfriend, Aya jung, who is a cute japanese girl and really nice. Her job is kindergarten teacher and she really is a generous teacher for kids.
We spend a whole day in Disneyland with various playthings and a lot of fun. Those friends are very kind to me and being the good guides even they used to visit here many times.

Oh..! I finally reached Disneyland.

Christmas Eve in Yokohama (25 Dec 05)

On Christmas day, my Thai friend who has been study in Nagoya for about 1 year visits me during New Year time. We meet in the morning at my accommodation and go out to travel around. Yokohama is the place that we decided to visit. We would like to go to Kare musuem (curry museum) but we have to ask others on the way to be there. Finally, we reach there at noon. Actually, the purpose of the museum is offerring the visitor to eat curry foods. They have trivial history about curry in Japan including old TV advertisement. Since we would like to taste as much style of curry as possible, we then visit two shops and order different kinds of food. The taste in the first shop is quite nice but the second shop is oishigunai (not delicious) even it's the famous shop.







After lunch, we take the train to Sakuragicho-station and take a bus to visit Yokohama Bay Bridge. It is the one of beautiful bridges in Japan. Yoko (side) + Hama (seashore) is the important harbor city. Today is the lucky day for us, we can see Fujisan (Fuji Mountain) from the beautiful bridge by having yokohama city at the foreground. We knew that only some day we can see Fujisan but normally he is so shy and hides behind the haze.


We go back to the central of Yokohama city again. Today is quite crowded because it is a Christmas day and most couples go out to have a date and dinner. Unfortunately that I don't have anyone beside me except my friend :(really only friend): However, it is better than walking and having dinner alone. We decide to have Italian dinner in Cappriciosa restaurants in Yokohama Landmark Tower, the skyhigh building. The taste is quite good but we cannot eat all because we ordered when we are starving.

Hiroshima Trip <13-15 Dec 05>

During 13-15 Dec, I visit Hiroshima for a joint seminar in Hiroshima City University. Okumura lab offers to pay the expenses for air-ticket and hotel including giving the remain pocket money (about 6,000 Yen) from total 40,000 Yen budget for each person. I just spend my own money for foods and transportations.

We take a flight at Haneda Airport (the newest airport of Japan) to Hiroshima. It's going to be the time for boarding but there is a problem for me. In the security checking area before entering the gate, the security girl ask about "pass-su-con". I thought that she want me to show passport but luckily I bring it too. I try to find passport in my bag but I cannot find it, where I kept my passport? It seems very exciting at that time, I almost move everything including my clothes, my socks, etc. out of my bag in order to find the passport. Takamura sung, a lab member, tell me that "pass-su-con" is "electronic device". Then I pick up my notebook computer and ask that "korewa desuka?". Oh.. actually, "pass-su-con" is "plasma computer". When I look back behind me, there is a lot of passengers waiting for security checking. Oh.. damn am I. I have to pass the metal checking machnie too and it's beep. I have to take of my belt and my shoe. She doesn't touch the passenger as in Thailand does :( Finally, I pass through the gate and can boarding at the last group. Oh.. Very tired!




After landing by ANA airline, we go to the central of city by airport bus limousine. We keep the stuffs in the hotel and looking for "Okonomiyaki", a famous Hiroshima food which we can call Japanese Pizza, shop for having lunch. There are a lot of Okonomiyaki in one building. We just walk pass shop by shop for surveying how famous of each shop. Finally, we sit at one shop. It's quite different from Okonomiyaki as I used to eat in Thailand. For our menu, every egg that is used for making Okunomiyaki is a twin egg yolk! Wow, terrific both the show for cooking of owner and taste. Let's come to try by yourself.




We go to the world heritage that is the remained thing after atomic bomb. We also visit the atomic bomb memorial musuem. Luckily that it has Thai audio guide. The emotion after you visit the museum is about the loss and depress. It's very terrible if you see the people who was attacked by bomb.

In dinner time, Okumura sensei and other lab members come to join. This is the restaurant that serves real Hiroshima food. Main dishes are Kaki (oyster) and local fishes. You can see from the pictures. After check bill, we almost get shock because the price for each person is about 8000 Yen. Even real Japanese, they think that it is very expensive (totamo takai desu) dinner.



In the next day, we go to Hiroshima City University for joint meeting. Unfortunately that all presentations are held in Japanese language, I just roughly get the clue what their researches about but not deeply in detail. The university offers an Italian lunch for us but as you know about the Italian food, it is the same all places in the world. We go back after 6.00 p.m. and have dinner in the central of city. We order a lot of food but the price of each dish is not greater than 390 Yen (a campaign of this restaurant). When we pay the bill, they just let me pay only 1000 Yen because I'm guest! Oh.. very generous friends. We go out the restaurant and continue to eat ramen at the near shop. It is Japanese style to eat in many places with many kinds of food in one meal, I just know. Actually on the first day, they went to eat Okonomiyaki again after expensive dinner, but I made an excuse to return hotel. Tonight, they invite me to one room of the member for drinking. They buy a champagne and tasty cocktails, but I don't bring anything because I don't know. They ask me to join when we already reach hotel. We talk about many things including some secret topics :) I just know that they are the scuba divers also. They got the license in Philippines and had many dives. Hope that we can dive together once in Thailand.





On the last day, we travel to "Miyajima", an island near to Hiroshima. It has a shrine (sarn-jao) on the sea. It is one of the 3 most important sightseeing places of Japan. It has nothing. just the architecture of stilts in the mid of sea. We walk in the shrine and I take a fortune telling paper even I cannot read though. They translate to me and said many things, I remember just one fortune tell that "if i love anyone, that one will love back to me". Oh.. lucky. We have lunch in one shop. Another famous dish of this city is "A-na-go" (conger eel) with rice.
This is my first time in eating eel :o We also eat some local sweets, and buy local souvenirs. We go home by ferry the same means as we came here but different way. We catch the train and the bus to the airport. We return Tokyo safely but I did mistake again by getting on the express train which is not stop at the station of my apartment. I have to take the returned local train back from Yokohama. Hahaha.. funny and tired.

Cooking Skill Improvement <7 Dec 05>

This morning I wake up very early because I have my first Japanese class at 9.00 a.m. It's quite late to join them this time because they already passed 15 chapters from 25 chapters. I cannot catch the lesson well but it's better than not joining.
After having class I have lunch in canteen of univ. It's cheaper than eating outside but still costly (399 Yen for simple meal). After that I have to go home early about 2.00 p.m. because I made an appointment with Nong Toon (a brother who I stay with) to bring me to district office for making an alien card. After finish, N'Toon go to work but I go to shop in the supermarket nearby. I bought lots of stuffs for cooking tonight. Today I have shrimp which cost about 390 Yen for about 15 pieces, not too much expensive!

My skill of cooking is improved rapidly. Today I have fried broccoli with shrimp and fried pork plating with bread flour and mizo soup. Luxurious !!

Welcome Party <6 Dec 05>

Today I am so please because the Okumura lab members gave me a welcome party. They prepared everything by taking a train to Nagatsuta (2 stations from Suzukakedai campus) and buy foods, beverages, and snacks for the party. In the evening, I don't know when and where the party will occur. Tamura sung (the one who sits in front and wears eye glasses) is the manager for this party. He sent mail to me the day before party to ask whether I'm free or not for today. He just gave a rough information that they will have a welcome party for me. I noticed mail in the late night and reply back to him. Even it's not too long for prepration, they suddenly disappear after the evening class for seminar and I didn't get any information from them. I just keep sitting on my desk and wait for someone to inform me something.


About 7.00 p.m., they returned to the lab and bring those kinds of stuffs. Ohh.. it is very beautiful and delicious foods and very special for me too. They cannot speaek English well but try to talk and explain everything to me. It is a topnotch welcome party that I ever have. We need not to go outside and spend a lot of money. We can entertain within the lab and everyone helps to clean the garbages after the party. We also drink a little of alcohol though. They all share 1000 Yen each except me, but at the present Tamura still cannot collect his money back from other members yet.
Thank you very much for all of them :) How's about my Japanese friends' looking?

Lost in Ueno & Kabura nani? <5 Dec 05>

It is today that Ajarn will go home. Before we seperate, we go shopping near Ueno station. Some cool stuffs there. Lots of nice shirts, sweater, coat and expensive scarf (19,000 Yen burburrey brand). Well, I don't want to spend my money for that when I have to use my money for surviving here. Just take a look desire to have it. I also found the supermarket that sells food under that building. It's time for me to buy stuffs for cooking. I get rice (Japanese rice is chubby but small), sausages, eggs , porks, ketchup, mizo paste. Cost is quite high, it's about 5-10 times comparing to Thailand. 300g of pork is about 500 Yen = 170 THB. The big problem is oil, I saw the bottle that looks like oil both its shape and color. I confirmed it again with the cashier but unfortunately she cannot speak English at all, just keep speaking Japanese (but she looks cute na). Therefore I take it, but after I meet with Ajarn again he said that it's a kind of vinegar. Oh.. my god, I waste my money. So I ask him how to say oil in Japanese on the way to the station that we will seperate. I got it "kabura". Its sound like caburetor that we use in the car engine, so I map with it. We seperate very quickly because Ajarn has to catch the coming train. Oh.. now I'm lonely and have to encounter everything by myself.

I walk back to the other Ueno station for taking the train to tsurumi (my home). It takes several minutes to know the direction and ticket price from here to tsurumi (station of my home). I buy it and get into the train system. Ahh. I saw the sign but it doesn't say anything about tsurumi. It writes about the terminal station. That one is quite familiar to me, so I take that way. After pass two stations, I got shock because it's not the correct way. This way is the way that I used it on the first day to hotel but I don't intend to use it now. So I bring a lot of my stuffs and get off the train. Change the direction and return to the correct way.. Finally, reach my home station.. Wow.. how smart (or stupid) I am? We have to learn from mistake so we can memorize it quickly.

On the way to my home, I stop by some supermarket to buy oil. The vender is a guy who wears whiskers. He looks like Yaguza from movie. However, I have to speak in Japanese now. "Kabura arimasuka?" (Do you have Kabura?) He silences for a sec and I ask again. It seems that he's so confusing and ask me back "Kabura nani?" (What is Kabura). Oh.. god damn bless me, what's wrong with my Japanese? I have to use my body language and say cooking cooking and oil oil like foreigner want to buy something from local Thai. He finally knows what I mean and bring me to the oil and say "korewa abura desu". Ahh.. actually, it is "Abura" not "Kabura. I made a mistake again. The bottle of oil looks like the one uses for bathroom cleaning but i know it from color and attached picture. Just one litre of oil costs me 450 Y uh... muscular.
Today I cooked the food by myself at the first time in Japan as shown in the pictures. Very Very delicious na even it's the simple food. I can make the mizo soup which is quite similar taste to Japanese style too.

Ok.. very late night now it's about 2:00 p.m. Time to sleep.