The Yearbook 2008 Pictures

Sorry for the long absence. My laptop broke down and at the moment i have to resorted to using the university's computer lab. Kinda sad though and feel a bit depressed especially when i consider the age of my laptop. It has only been 9 months!!!

Back to the title above, Today we had a photo shoot for IPSP students. That means the International Peace Studies Program Students!! Really had a wonderful time. After the photo shoot, some of us went to the sakura lane in IUJ to take some more awesome pics. Will be posting the pictures from my last holiday pretty soon. At the moment - please enjoy some wacky and half bloom sakuras in Yukiguni (Snow country).

Fuji san!!! Marvelous trip to Kawaguchiko.

In my Spring holiday trip with my sister, we spent 2 days one night to Kawaguchiko - the base of Fuji Mountain. Usually its a one day affair but we decided that it is cheaper to stay in Kawaguchiko rather than Tokyo as well as the fickle weather that might make the mountain invisible to us.

We stayed at a female dormitory in K's House Mount Fuji. As it is newly opened (just a bit more than a year), the facilities are good even though we have to share bathroom and toilets with others. It is also comfortable. The best part would be that the guests receive special price for the onsen behind the hostel. With the exception of the first picture of K's House, all of the pictures supposed to have Fujisan as the background. Nevertheless, some of the pictures could not capture Fuji in its magnificence. My sister blame it on my camera even though i just bought it for 4 - 5 months ago. Anyway - thats all for the day. Have a safe trip!!!

A day in Yoyogi Park - Harajuku Rocks!!!

Totally in love with Yoyogi Koen (Park) in Harajuku. Went there on Sunday noon and was amazed with the crowd in the area. The performances were awesome. Ranging from band performances to drum beatings as well as comedic shows, the Yoyogi Park certainly brought to live by all its denizens. The pictures above is the one that i liked most when i went to Yoyogi koen. They were really good. I enjoyed the performances very much. Unfortunately i could not understand very much their songs or even the flyers that they gave out to the crowds.

Check out their website if you could understand Japanese!! The one wearing the 'moo' outfit is so totally cute : )

http://scapegoat.vv.cx/
Band name is scapegoat.

Asakusa and Kabuki!!!!

My sister and I started our holiday by visiting the Imperial Palace in Tokyo on Friday. There was a big crowd on the day we choose to have our tour. Thankfully i have booked it early online.
Definitely a place to go especially when you consider that it is free and the place is so beautiful and serene!! Unfortunately the sakura has not blossom at this stage and we only saw the buds of sakura.

The second picture above was taken at Asakusa near the temple and the row of stalls. Thank goodness this is the second day and my sister was thinking of logistic problem of lugging around shopping bags to Kyoto and Osaka. We managed some restraint and only bought some Daifukus as well as cute key chains!!

The first picture is taken in Kabuki - za, a kabuki theatre near the Higashi Ginza subway exit.
We actually came here on Saturday night only to find out the timetable i copied a several weeks ago have changed and we missed the last act. So we make our way again on Sunday morning to watch kabuki for an hour as it would take us half a day if we choose to sit for the whole show!!
It is pretty slow for me but my sister seems to enjoy it very much. Nevertheless it was interesting and the costumes alone made it worth watching!!

More postings to come on my holiday!! Please do not get too tired of it : )

Sakura in Ueno - promoting starbucks

My spring holiday finally comes to an end. It was a very exhausting holiday as i went to Tokyo, Kawaguchiko, Kyoto and Osaka all within 1 and a half week. It was the great Kanto Kansai Marathon!!! From Osaka, i stopped at Tokyo before getting on the train to come back to Niigata.
It turned out to be a very good decision as the sakura was blooming beautifully in Tokyo.
Went to Ueno park to enjoy the sakura scenery. Would be posting more updates on my recent spring holidays!!!

Urasa Elementary School Visit - February 2008

Urasa is a pretty small town. The nearest town with department stores is Muikamachi. It takes about half an hour of bus ride from our university. So there is a need to find an alternative for entertainment especially if one does not want to burn his or her pockets too deeply since transportation is very expensive. One of my favourite activities is school visits. Basically its a visit to neighbouring schools arranged by the schools themselves to give their students opportunities to learn about other countries as well as practising english with the graduate students.

The children are so cute and very energetic. After studying on dark matters such as issues on international conflict resolution as well as genocides, it is very refreshing to be reminded that mankind are not that hopeless. That we as a human are born free of sins and the subsequent events form our thoughts and morals. Now, if only there is a way to ensure that these hideous and atrocious ideas such as ethnic cleansing, tortures, rapes and many more crime are being prevented. Sometimes, we do live in such a sad world.

The above picture ws taken in the Urasa Elementary School's Gym. They are so 'kawaii'.

Trip to Zenkoji and Obuse Town - Fall 2007

I went to the Zenkoji and Obuse Town in neighbouring prefecture, Nagano during Fall term 2007 with the UMEX members. If I am not mistaken it was on 4th November, a day before my mid term examination for Global Governance of Human Security subject. However, even though studying and preparing for the exam was important, i gave in to temptation and joined the visit to Nagano-ken. Of course, to appease my guilty feelings, i brought along the notes for the particular subject as I was planning to read it on the bus. The trip took 2 hours to go to Nagano-ken and another two hours to come back to Urasa. Nevertheless, it remained in my bag as I was too busy enjoying the conversation with everyone.

Zenkoji could be considered is one of the many famous temples in Japan. Rather than elaborating the history and significance of the place which everyone could find in other websites, i prefer to remember Zenkoji for its beauty. The building is very nice and its architecture was wonderful. However, after several months having visited Zenkoji, the things that i remembered the most are the trees and flowers. The garden was magnificent. The pictures above which consisted a lot of green were taken while i was in Zenkoji. As for the ghostlike figure, it is one of the window display in the Obuse Town where we stopped to get some shopping done. It is one of my favourite although at a first glance it kind of look scary. The other picture is of the ice cream shop in Obuse Town. Really had a nice time eating ice creams in Zenkoji as well as in Obuse Town. In fact i did not even eat lunch or the proper equivalent of lunch as i only ate 3 ice creams for the whole day. I did wonder how I survived that day though.

Anyway, if you want to know more about Zenkoji, just follow the link below.

http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e6001.html

For those who are curious on what happened to my mid term, there was no need to worry. I got 29/30 for that particular mid term. I am quite amazed at myself. Maybe the trip to Zenkoji acted as a stress reliever that allowed me to perform to the fullest of my potential. I don't really know. However i do not plan to make it a habit of going to tours and such a day before important exams.

Firewalking Festival at the Hakkaisan shrine

Speaking of the colour of green, one of my most interesting experience during Fall 2007 in Niigata was attending the Firewalking Festival held at Hakkaisan shrine. It is based on the shinto religion and the locals basically pray for good harvest.

Most of the students attended the festival as the university provided free transportation to the Festival site. Besides the firewalking ceremony, the festivals also consisted of rows of stalls selling food, drinks and snacks and i ate my first taiyaki here.