wat i miss abt Japan...

- talking in mixes of Chinese, English, Japanese & Teochew with my fellow Singaporean mates
- finding ways to scrimp and save every single yen
- cooking ramen together, with an occasional 加料 of egg, meat or vege
- eating and watching tv in the dining hall together
- nightly meetings in the room & everyday gossips
- bathing together! =P
- sharing a huge watermelon, which Kajiwara-san bought for us
- our “穷” hanko (stamp) used in managing our shared funds
- the kind souls of Shinkin bank and all the “救济品” they gave us
- saying “Itte Kimasu” and “Tada Ima” everyday when leaving and returning to dorm
- the silly-looking high school boy mi & tsepeng met on the way to Yokogawa station every morning
- being able to bitch abt ppl's looks openly on the street cos they wun understand wat we say =P
- all the nice ppl from ANA Hotel
- following Tateishi-san ard everywhere
- my first homestay family
- shopping in Hondori, Tokyuu Hands & Daiso
- being surrounded by mountains and having so many colourful flowers ard
- seeing all things in colourful and cute Japanese words
- kawaii Japanese children and adorable doggies

interesting things in Japan...

- Language
majority of the Japanese speaks only 1 language, which is of course, Japanese! they did learn some English in school, but without practise, it's really CMI. so whenever they hear tt we Singaporeans can speak both English, Chinese and also Japanese, they will be very impressed and amazed.


- Japanese Food
altho there r quite a lot of variety of Japanese food available, but the basic stuffs r the same - sticky rice with some reddish plum or yellowish fruit, meat, miso soup, prickled vege, etc. otherwise it'd be ramen or udon, which r basically noodles in soup. delicious as they may be, eating these everyday made mi v sick and tired.


- High School Uniform
the school uniform is really wat is always found in manga and anime - navy blue or white sailor uniform for girls and all black bottoned shirt and pants for guys... so cute and nice-looking! they usually hv the same bag too, i.e. black carrier, but girls will decorate it with lotsa cute keychains and lil soft toys.


- Kindergarten uniform
on the other hand, the lil kids will be found in yellow hats and hard case backpack, usually in red or black. really super adorable!


- Pretty Babes
walking along Hondori, the main shopping district, can see lotsa 辣妹! Japanese girls really know how to dress up. Wear so stylishly (usually in many layers), then make-up thick thick (with lotsa mascara), a fashionable hairstyle (brown with curls most of the time), plus a pair of girlie heels and a girlie bag. really pretty~ all look like models!


- Keitai, aka Handphones
Japanese handphones, or Keitai, r so colourful and nice! Flip phones are the in-thing nowsdays, and they r often quite big in size cos the the big LCD screen. these phones r supposed to be everything-in-1, aka phone, camera, email, internet, etc etc etc.....


- Formal Business
cute and colourful as Japan may be, when it comes to business, it's a simple black and white. work wear often involves formal suits or uniforms, complete with black leather shoes or heels. Meeshi (biz cards) r often exchanged.

- Bicyles
with so many long long roads, a common way to get around is by riding bicycles. adults ride to work and youngsters ride to school. as such, the pavement is divided into 2 segments, 1 side for walking and the other for bicycle!


- Welfare State
with an aging population, Japan really cares for their elderly and young ones. for instance, we often come across a traffic commander directing human traffic at the bottom of an overhead brigde. cos in the early morning, many lil kids will cross the bridge to get to school, and the bottom of the bridge is the bicyle pavement. so to prevent accidents, a person to direct the traffic is put in place. signs of "Careful of Kids running across the road" r often seen too.


- Toilet
there r generally 2 types of toilets in Japan - conventional squatting style or modern sitting style. the squat one is really lok kok, with no raising platform one. yet the sitting one is really high tech, with buttons to warm the seat, produce "music" i.e. flushing sound, and sending out jets of water to wash buttocks!


- Vending Machines
true enuff, there r lotsa 自動販売機 ard in Japan, with drinks and cigarettes ones being the most common. drinks r usually 120yen per bottle.


- Garbage
Japanese ppl r v environmentally friendly. a piece of garbage has to be classified as either combustible (paper stuff) or non-combustible (plastic stuff) and thrown in the respective bins. these r also not many rubbish bins ard, as compared to Singapore.


- Unhealthy Entertainment
Pachinko, a pinball sorta jackpot game is a popular activity. Many Japanese can be seen sitting in front of the rows and rows of machines, indulging themselves in this money-throwing and mindless recreation. Pornography is a common thing, with uncensored magazines filling up the magazines section openly.


- Early Daybreak
the sunrise in Japan is super early as compared to Singapore. i often wake up in the morning, think it was already 8am due to the glaring sun, only to realise tt it's only 5am!!


- Early Closure
Most shops in Japan close by 8pm. So early!! Dun hv much time left to shop after work, so we often hv to rush our shopping. their train and bus service also end quite early at abt 10 or 11pm.

- Land of Nature
Although Japan often gives the impression of being modern and high tech, outta the city area, most parts r actually still quite greyish, rural and traditional. there r padi fields and various farms ard, as well as shrines and temples, and with lotsa green green mountains in the background.

I miss Japan!