Tuesday, September 30, 2008

Why oh y?

how i really miss the sun, the deep blue sea and great moments i had in Okinawa ><

The last day of September means the final day of vacation for me ><
And tomorrow the first day of school, i've got a presentation ! 
what a "good " way to start off my new semester wtf ><
this presentation thingy is keeping me nerve recking!!
i just hope everything goes well tomorrow~
on the other hand, i wanted to update my Okinawa asap
but have to wait till i'm over with this freaking task >< 

Sunday, September 21, 2008

when i step foot in Hokkaido....

I'm back from my Hokkaido trip like 3 days ago 
and i intended to update ASAP  
but with all the unpacking, cleaning and working,
i got really drained out.
Still, i'm back on my feet again and ready to update about the trip ^^
Plus, i 've got another trip coming in 3 days !!
Destination- Okinawa ^Q^. i'm heading to the beach ~~

******************
Day 1
our flight was scheduled at 2:55pm so we went for lunch,
in buffet style at the hotel where my girlfriend  Joanne works part time


thanks to my girlfriend Joanne for the wonderful meal ^^


while we were strolling at the airport,
we spotted this poster!!
it's them >O<>


before departure, we had some camwhore session~


 on board the plane and it will be another 2 hrs before we landed.
Btw, 2hrs of flight was the same distance as going to Seoul, Korea 
that we went last year.


A view from the top when we were close to landing


we are here ^^
 ~ Welcome to Hokkaido ~


in the train heading towards hotel


so another session of camwhore ><

 Arriving at 
-Hotel Sheraton Sapporo-


Checking-in at the front desk


as there were a few group of people ahead of us,
so we just have to wait.


Tada~ our room on the 19th floor with a great view ~


With a big TV !! which i can't live without wherever
i go.


Our first visiting place 
-Sapporo TV Tower-


Finally dinner time ^^
it was already past 9 and were the only customers left
so we had the place all to ourselves!!


we were starving like hell!!


dinner for the day: Hokkaido's specialty and must try
~ Soup Curry ~
it's different from all the curry that we had before 
and you even get to choose the level of spiciness.
the vegetables tasted so fresh and sweet and i even managed to finish the pumpkin
which i avoided all the time.


thumbs up from all of us.
wish they have it in Osaka as well..

Seems like this place is kinda of famous,
visited by some of the Japanese singers such as Bonnie Pink and Hajime Chitose.


Day 2

we had to wake up at 5am to get ready as we wanted to be
 first on the tour bus that we'll be joinig for the day.


First stop arriving at the Asahiyama Zoo which had the most visitors in Japan from 
all over the country.


feeding time for the seal which was so adorable.
as the crowd was awful even on weekdays, 
i had to be in line under the sun 3omins before the show started ><


 my favourite animal for the day: lesser panda
So so adorable ><


i think i was the only one enjoying myself in the zoo
while my 2 girlfrinds got fed up because of the crowd ><


but they found another way to spend the rest of the free time
-camwhore ><


that was me behind busy enjoying my ice-cream.
i had a total of 3 of these during my whole trip.
People who love milk like me would definitely love these 
because it's really rich in milk ^^

 
one of my favorite pic for the day of my girlfriend P-chan. 


next stop, we got to enjoy the scenery and fresh air of Hokkaido.


the greenery with  cooling wind breezing, i felt the peace in my heart


we had some break time with their local speciality, lavender flavored ice-cream.


pretty flowers ^Q^


another view from the bus.
unfortunately, we miss the blooming season of lavender which just ended in Aug.


Final stop for the day was this place called Ningle Terrace.
this spot is famous for Drama shooting as well.


we stepped into this jungle with all these cute little houses around selling
unique handicrafts.


Day 3

we had a early start as well and our first stop was 
the famous little Sapporo Clock Tower.


it's located in the middle of this busy street in Sapporo city.


the clock is still working after more than 100 years!!
Amazing~


Next stop, the former Governer's Building of Hokkaido,
standing elegant in red^^


we were allowed to visit inside the building, for Free
which i thought was very generous of them ><


everything in the building was such an antique,
old but pretty.
 

3rd stop- Hokkaido University


Another school with beautiful landscape 
how envy of me ><


felt like having a stroll around the neighbour ^^


good looking buildings everywhere


here's the statue of the first headmaster of this school who made famous
the line of "Boys Be Ambitious"


moving on next was the city of harbour, Otaru


this railway was said to be one of the first in Japan
but it is not in used anymore.


found anything interesting in the fountain ?


A stroll along the old warehouse street.



the old warehouse across the river are no longer in use.
instead they were turned into restaurants and shops, which i think is kinda unique


one of the highlight of the trip was making our very 
own "music box" !!


we decided to make one as wedding gift for our Japanese teacher~


we were all so fully devoted into making it the one and only.


Tada~i think we spent almost 3 to 4hrs from choosing
the music to creating the design and deciding the material
but it was all worth it ^^
and the experience was priceless~

we were so proud of ourselves *^^*/


we got back to Sapporo for dinner where we reserved a place for ourselves


this would be my second most expensive meal after Kobe beef ><
it's a course meal with a little of everthing in it.
actually there were a few item missing from this pic.


And this is Joanne's course, also a few item missing from this pic.
she had a total of 9 different dishes while mine was 13.


Can't wait to dig in after a long and tiring day ><


last but not least, we ordered dessert but i finished most of it.
well, my girlfriends were being generous to offer their share for me, actually.


a group pic before we left the place with our tummy all fillled up.


while heading towards the subway, we realized how wide the underground was!!!


i was in shock that i took a leap in the middle of the place
while getting weird stares around 
*o^/


in the train, the only empty seat left was the priority seating and 
after a long day with sore feet, she decided to give her legs a rest while
Pchan look on instead of joining in. At least she got the seats all to herself ^^

Final Day 


time to say goodbye to Hokkaido and my girlfriend on our final day
but out holidays are not over yet 
and i'll be seeing you again in 2 days~



i didn't shop much from this trip.
only a few straps and my favorite chocolates and caramel ^3^
the square box on top with picture of potato chips covered in chocolate is a must buy for me~
*************
it took me so much longer than i thought to finish this post ><
and the longest i've done so far~
the pictures here are not even close to a qurter of it and
i sure had a hard time choosing them.
but i'm so glad that i went on a trip with my besties
cos we only get to do this at this very moment 
and i'm gonna cherish the memories for a very long time~
also, i think the 3 of us make a perfect team and 
i know i can count on them whenever, wherever ^^