CNY in Kobe 2008

***As the Chinese New Year is coming, here's a past entry about how I spent my 2nd CNY in Japan, when I was still teaching in Kobe!*** (31/1/2011)

-= CNY 2008 =-

祝大家鼠年有“鼠”不完的富贵，
找到“鼠”于自己的幸福!

*～* 2008年2月7日 - 大年初一 *～*

woke up early to go Sannomiya check out some department stores and then went to my main destination of the day - Nankin Machi!


南京町春節祭 - the closest thing to CNY atmosphere i could get in Kobe.


so many people on that day... all trying to catch a glimpse of the Chinese legends characters parade. (it was basically Japanese people dressed up in Chinese wayang costumes and walking in a single file along the streets)


i took a picture with KUNG-FU PANDA!
after which, of cos, i went to work. (no CNY holidays in Japan...)


*～* 2008年2月8日 - 大年初二 *～*

woke up even earlier to prepare bento and pick up Whai, who was going to bunk in my room for 2 nights. we then went to HarborLand to meet Inoue and his junior Hide.


thanks to Whai for bringing mi so many CNY goodies from Singapore!


V-day decor at HarborLand


lunch at びっくりドンキー


with Doraemon in Mosaic Garden


Purikura - cheap and fun!!!
i had to leave by 1.30pm for work while Inoue brought Whai to other places in Kobe. at night, Whai was supposed to come my school to join Boss, Jess and mi for supper but she lost her way and we had a frantic time searching! luckily we finally found each other and went to Gusto in Tarumi.


*～* 2008年2月9日 - 大年初三 *～*

got up slightly early again to make bento and rushed out to Sannomiya cos Inoue had messaged mi the night before to join him and his friend for lunch. unfortunately, it was snowing heavily that day (the heaviest snow i had ever seen in Kobe so far) and as a result, Inoue was stuck in traffic and couldn't meet mi in time. i ended up walking around Sannomiya by myself and ate lunch alone before going off to work.


snowy scene just outside Sannomiya station
(but no, the snow didn't accumulate! hiaks...)
in school, i met Boss's friend Mashi whom I hadn't seen for 1.5 years since our last trip to his place in Hiroshima. C, who just returned to Osaka from Tokyo, also visited. after lessons, all of us went to Ichiban-Daiko for supper.


C, Mashi, Boss


drawn using C's new Sony camera!

*～* 2008年2月10日 - 大年初四 *～*

woke up super duper early this time... at 4am!!! cos Jess and I were supposed to meet her friend Fidel to go snowboarding at 5am! had to let Whai lock the door by herself when she left and put the keys into my postbox. paiseh... =P


finally reached Hachi Kogen after a tiring 6-hour drive
(slow traffic due to heavy snow and many people on a Sunday)


it was my first time to a real ski area... everywhere was all WHITE!


so many skiers


Jess under the coaching of our snowboarding instructor, Fidel!


made a little snowman while lazing resting =P


on the lift back


snapped a lot of pics during the 10-min lift ride... the scenery was just so beautiful!


i did manage to snowboard a little by the end of the day! yes i do mean a little =P


Fidel, Jess & Mi


one more together with Fidel's friend Asuka, a really cool lady
after snowboarding, we wanted to go to the nearby hot spring originally, but it was jam-packed with people too. in the end, we only had dinner somewhere before Fidel sent us back. really tiring day! but i definitely would like to try snowboarding again someday.


*～* 2008年2月11日 - 大年初五 *～*

finally a day when i could sleep in a little. no work today cos it was Japan's 建国記念の日. had an Okonomiyaki party at home with my housemate Aki and 3 of her friends. it was also Inoue's last day in Kobe/Himeji before going back to his hometown Hiroshima, so i invited him to join us.


getting ready for the party


our 2 chefs of the day - "Goma-chan" & "Akiyama-san"! hee...


Okonomiyaki in both Osaka & Hiroshima styles


party of 7 =)
i was supposed to meet a Jay-fan friend in the late afternoon at first but finally i cancelled it and accompanied Inoue to Nankin Machi instead, cos he wanted to see Lion Dance (it was the last day of CNY events there). Jess went together with us and later Aki joined in too!


saw the long dragon at one end of Nankin Machi


and then the lion dance in the center stage
(yes it was very crowded again. just look at the number of policemen!)


Inoue and Aki drew a fortune lot each


then we went to a game center and played Mario Kart, etc!


of cos, we took purikura again!!
(lucky Inoue is always surrounded by pretty girls. haha...)


cow innards rice to end off this relaxing, simple, yet very fun day!

*～* 2008年2月12日 - 大年初六 *～*

back to work again after the long weekend (2-day holiday is considered long for mi). it was also the 2nd Tuesday of the month and as usual, we went to Mu-Hen after lessons for half-price beer!


a total of 15 people turned up - the highest turnout ever!


mi & 2 students


us, drunk =P

so that was my 6 days of Chinese New Year. not exactly the typical new year but at least it was a period of fun and meeting up with many friends! ＼(*＾▽＾*)／ ♪