DAY 1: WE ARE OFFFFFF.....

i is at changi airport. i wan to sleep. but i cant sleep. cos i cant sleep on planes. ryan will sleep. ren en will sleep. ben will pretend to sleep. josh will steal ben's food. lim jason will sleep. ang yu ming will definitely sleep. YESH! my virgin post! wooooos. josh.

weikai.

day -1: December 18 2008

Guys it's unreal...we're jetsetting off to a country we barely know for 12 days, and I don't know whether you'll enjoy it as much as i did or not...but my guess is that you will :D

I've packed all that i wanted to pack, prepared all the necessary documents that needed to be looked at...and i'm stil deciding between bringing the guitar or the laptop, but i'm much more inclined to bring the guitar at this moment haha.

Me and Ren En did some calculations yesterday, like how much everything will cost without personal expenditure....and it comes up to 144500 yen........144500 yen....
..................................................144500 yen........................

-by the way, that's equivalent to 2.4 sth thousand SGD-

OMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGMGOMG .... I DON'T HAVE ENOUGH CASH!!!!!!

so it's certainly nice to know that we will end up dead broke (or at least i will) on the day before we set off.

I am so gg to make this trip worth it for all of our sakes!

by the way, here are the trip details for those of you who didn't receive it over msn. Basically if your momma/papa is worried about what we're doing and they need to contact you immediately but your phone is off (i wonder why?) then the following set of details will be useful:

________________________```O ........____________________________________
Contact Details:

People
Josh Quah(81287625)
Benjamin Lee (96577423)
Jsaon Lim (96190135)
Ryan Lau (91597179)
Ang Yu Ming (96274265)
Ong Wei Kai (98361726)
Ong Ren En (96374794)

Hotels
K's House Tokyo (backpacker's hostel)
20-10, Kuramae 3-chome, Taito-ku, Tokyo, Japan 111-0051TEL +(81)-3-5833-0555; FAX +(81)-3-5833-0444email : tokyo@kshouse.jpDuration of Stay: 19 Dec to 26 Dec

Morino Lodge
4692-3 Wadano,Hakuba-mura Kita-azumigunNagano-ken Japan399-9301
(81)261-85-9098
Email:info@morinolodge.com
Phone:Matt - (81) 90 9380 8817Craig - (81) 80 3127 1878
Duration of Stay: 26 Dec to 30 Dec

Flight Details:
Departure
Date: Dec 19, Friday, 6:00AM
Flight no.: NW 20
Departs from: Changi T1, check in at row 12
Arrives at: Narita, Tokyo, Japan at 1:50PM (JPN time) Dec 19
Arrival
Departs: Dec 30, Tuesday, 5:50PM
Flight no.: NW 19
Departs from: Narita T1, Tokyo, Japan
Arrives at: Changi, 1:00AM (Terminal only to be confirmed 2 hours before arrival)

___________________________that's all folks!______________________________

see you at changi,
josh.

And she dances along, pulling my heart on the string of her melody

ok, about the new format and background... i changed it 'cause i needed to fit the new widgets. if any1 has a better idea to fit them in into a nicer background, pls go ahead cuz i'm still a noob at this.

I changed the music to someone quite known in Japan: a singer called Angela Aki. I like her vocals and how the piano goes with it, it's good stuffs...

And about the background, I'm sure you're wondering who the f@ck is in the background. Well, I fell in love with a certain sport called Figure Skating while in Japan, 'cause they show it on TV alot and Japan produces world class figure skaters, so it was quite interesting (interesting= omoishiroi).

I like watching the female figure skaters: not because of their looks, not just because they are wearing tight suits and raising their legs on the ice every now and then, but because they are just so beautiful to watch when they perform their routine. The grace. The poise. The grit to come back after falling on the ice. The polished technique. I think figure skating is one of the most womanly sports I've ever seen (after syncro swimming lol) ... and when you see them dance along to the music of their routine, i bet you will think the same too :p

So anyway, there's this number 1 world championship skater who's from Japan by the name of Mao Asada and her performances are really superb..hence the title of the post.



This is one her best performances, where she came back from a potentially embarrassing fall to win the title..i was absolutely blown away by it.. and guess what. She's only 18 years old.

lol, enough of this gushing! I get carried away by things like this so easily..nights!

Josh.

General Tips

decided to put in some general tips as you make your preparations to go Japan in December; I'm not an expert or anything, but these are some suggestions based on my 10 day experience:


1. WEATHER: on the last day, temperatures were 5-10 degrees, according to the weather segment on the news...and it did feel like 5-10 degrees haha..the temperatures keep dropping everyday, so things are looking frosty in Japan. I uploaded a weather widget for info to see how things are turning out (this one is pretty optimistic compared to the news lol)..so anyway, you might want to wear 3-4 layers there (5 will make you look like a rolly polly). I personally think our extremeties are more important (your ears, toes, hands, nose), so do bring your scarf/beanie/toe socks/whatever.

2. MONEY: i totally agree with what the banker said; 2.5k is probably enough, with an extra 500 for 'emergency' purchases (like that 'awesome' magazine you just have to wank, err i mean get.)
FYI, on day 1 when I reached narita, the rate was 1 SGD=Y58.22 ... a week later, i was in town, and passed by a ginkoh (bank); the rates showed 1SGD=Y54.sth ... so please don't change in Japan unless you want to get screwed over.

ATMS (the ones i've seen) do not accept most Singapore cards which run on Cirrus, Maestro, and Plus networks...i didn't even see Mastercard there, so i guess my debit is useless at ATMS. There was Visa, but word of caution: when you draw money from Visa, you aren't drawing from your account, but the Visa credit network. This comes with a fee, and it follows their exhange rate, so you might get screwed over. Again.

Most stores and restaurants do not accept cards as a way of payment (except for the departmental stores like Takashimaya or Mitsukoshi); cold hard cash is still the way to go in Japan...

3. EXPENDITURE: food wise, you'll most likely spend 700-1000 per meal, depending on how hungry/greedy you are, and at best, you'll spend 1.5k on a meal...but if you do that, people like me (and the rest) will notice you have a lot of cash to spend and will sponge off you :p .

Things there in general are defintely more expensive than in Singapore, so be careful what you buy. you can find good bargains for clothes and cds at small stores (i saw a section in a cd store -Tsutaya- offering some cds for 500 yen a piece, so that was pretty good stuff) ... hope i can find those 500 yen bargain stores, that'd be great. Shoes, in particular, are cheaper there compared to Singapore. Ok, by shoes, i just mean the skate shoes and running shoes. Don't bother about the leather ones. They're probably way out of your league in the money and fashion department.

4. COMMUNICATIONS: It's damn ex to call or message from there...that's what my parents and common sense told me ... buti dunno the rate, so can someone put that up? thanks..

phone cards are the way to go i think...I currently have 3 phonecards, courtesy of SIA who passed it to me when the flight was delayed, so i think i'll use that...i'm not sure how the pre-paid card works (from what wei kai told me, the singtel ones don't work in Japan)

the two biggest (and i think only) comms providers there are NTT Docomo and Softbank. Singtel users, you can just dial *121*65 # for a cost-saving call.

Think of communicating by email? don't bother: lan cafes charge pretty highly for the time (usually it's a min charge of 400 for the first half hour followed by 200 for every 15 min) ... bring your own laptop there, or free load from other people laptops cuz the hotel provides free wireless.

5. LANGUAGE: Ok, this is pretty fun. I'm sure i told some of you guys already, but the Japanese do not have a good command of English. So if you want to speak English to them, keep it simple and say it slowwwwww....same goes if you want to communicate in Japanese as well. I highly recommend learning a few japanese phrases (e.g. Sumimasen, Toire wa doko? --where is the toilet?) for your own convenience. I'm furiously trying to pick up a little Japanese everyday now.

Other than that, they have this funny way of speaking English called Engrish :p ... it's like English with a Japanese accent (they are actually English-imported Japanese words, so it's not cuz they speak horrible english). like when i wanted to ask for an apple pie, i had to say "Arpul pie?" or sth like that.

6. SOCIAL CUSTOMS: Body Emissions are regarded as RUDE.....what do i mean by that? well, you know how in Singapore we see those ah peks at the kopi tiam digging their nose and flicking the treasure around? well, no one does that in Japan. No farting either. It's not acceptable in ANY context ANYWHERE. lol. No loud ringtones on trains...and i've heard loud ringtones anywhere else in Japan either, so keep that obiang freestyler ringtone to yourself, thank you.

Bowing to them in appropiate situations is polite, and so is saying sorry. yep. Rowdy behaviour on the streets? unheard of over there. hmm, that's all i can think of for now.

7. Transport: ok, this is not just for ben and yu ming.. subways are the way to go around in tokyo, in hakuba, i think the bus will suffice, you just need to open your mouth and ask. it's relatively easy to navigate once you get the hang of it, the challenge is navigating the streets on foot...

If you are being groped on the train, the 'right' response is to grab the guy/girl's hand and hold it up high for everyone to see, and shout 'hentai (pervert)!!!' or sth like that (the first pt i read in a travel book, the shouting part comes from me)

when getting on a bus, you get in from the rear door, unlike in singapore, where you enter from the front door. Also, you get in first, then pay afterwards. I think this shows how much Japanese trust their customers, unlike in Singapore, where there will for sure be some cheapo who does a ride-and-run.

Alright, that's all from me! (and Jason, where the peeppeep did i get a name like CHIEF planner? lol)

ONE of the planners,
Josh.

Advice from the banker

hi guys.. Worried abt the japan currency? feel that is always going up, never down? Dunno when is the right time to change your money? No fear cause The Banker is here..

From The Banker's professional point of view, now the japan currency is indeed a lot (really a lot) higher than 3 months ago. However, like what The Chief Planner has once mention in his speech Japan=Josh , the general amount we decided b4 the 'Crisis' is still sufficient to last us the entire trip. Aheh.. Most of you must be thinking, 'come on so whats the general amount?' If you are one of those guys that means either you have been sleeping through all our discussion or thinking about how to make Lightstrike a better company..

Even if you are one of those people, dun have to panic or msg the Chief planner cause im here to clear your doubts and question today.

The comfortable amount to bring to Japan is 2.5 k.
However, The Banker will advice u guys to bring .5k more for safety purposes and also just in case u see something u really like and want to buy but dun like the excellent rate provided by the experience Banker which is by the way (18 Sing to 1000 yen).

For those who have not change your money yet, i will advice you to study the currency graph 1st b4 going down to the money changer. Its even better if there is a money changer right below your house then you can help us monitor the changes in rates. Personally, im still waiting for the right moment. I will post the link at e top right of the blog. You guys can use the website as a guide b4 gg down to change. U guys dun have to wait for me as i still want to wait. For those of you who think that you have a better website, please feel free to change the link. For those of you who still have other questions to ask, can either comment on this post or shout at the chatbox on e side.

PS: Just in case you all still do not know who this intellectual, experience and professional Banker is, he is none other than Mr. Lim Jason. Most say that he is also very handsome but i personally think that inner beauty is more valuable, thus i didnt want to mention that.

Exhausted

I didn't really feel it till now, but the exhaustion set in during dinner...it was like as if a blanket wrapped around my brain and making me feel really heavy. I guess it's the change of climate from Japan to Singapore.

I was just walking around Orchard after dinner, and i realise how much of a foreigner i feel in this country. I never really fit in with the culture here, and I hate the fact life here is so damn suffocating for young Singaporeans: the expectations, the struggle to excel in what you're really passionate about versus the pressure of society and economy. And the fact that everyone just accepts the flow because it makes things easier, and when someone tries to walk a different path, people go 'ooh' and 'ahh' but deep down they think you're a loser for choosing such a hard life 'cause money is all that matters most to them.

I guess you can say I'm a Japan fanatic, or I'm just being escapist, or unrealistic, and i should fit in and get on with society like everybody else. It's been a dream since young to go to Japan, nurtured over time in between watching programmes like Japan Hour with my Pa, spending hours trying to find that indie anime no one's really heard of instead of popular titles like Naruto and Bleach, reading about their culture, stuff like that. And when i finally spent 10 days in Japan, learning about their culture walking the streets alone at night, immersing myself in the wonder of their scenery, silently observing the Japanese customs and their way of life...and it's way exceeded what i dreamt of.

Sure, Japan is a busy place, and Tokyo even busier than Singapore, and there are not-so-good aspects to their culture as well...but truth is, the 10 days i spent there, i felt more at home than any other place i've been..maybe except my bedroom.

I want to write a song about it but i keep choking up when i try to think of the words...it makes me feel too sad. But life still moves on in it's silent and sometimes surprising way, and I will make of what i can from it.

OH WHAT THE HECK, I'm going there again in ...9 days time? haha...

Josh.

and now, for a breather...

back! it feels good to be back, but it feels awful to leave japan also..i've fallen in love with that country!! woo....

and the flight back was HORRIBLE....the worst flight i ever took..and what's more, it was an A380....

it started off with a 3 hour delay cuz of some generator problem..fucking hell...then after that, the WHOLE FLIGHT was like, UP and DOWN and UP and DOWN cuz there was so much turbulence...the seat belt sign was practically on for the whole trip and the pilot kept making the announcement for us to return to the seats cuz the turbulence was so bad...my ma puked into a bag, and i nearly did as well...

and to ADD to that, there was this family with 3 babies creating hell on the plane with so much crying and whining and screaming...arughhhhh....ben, i bet you would have puked 10 times alrd, and i'm not exaggerating...even some of the air stewardesses couldn't take it and puked ....

My pa said the people at the back of the plane feel the turbulence the most...and looking at the flight manifest, our plane:
2 engines + small plane + most of the seats at the middle towards the back....

Shit.

Bring more bags ppl,
Josh.