this is UDON, but no ordinary UDON!

it is SUPER BIG and the soup base is western based.

very interesting !!!!! SOOOOO BIG !!!!!!!!! ><

nice pudding !!!!!!!

with the bear that i like !!!!

how cute !

i LOVE the cakes in japan, it is the most beautiful i have EVER seen!

the ones in HK and Taiwan also pretty, but talk about 量！ you cannot beat japan, just about everywhere you go the cakes are just YUMMY and SUPER ATTRACTIVE!!!!!!!!!!! ><

this is the cake that i bought, for someone special.

this is the earphone that i bought, i guess it still works. ^^

but since i received my new ipod so i do not have to use this again.

on SEPT 11

this is the BELATED small b-day cakes that i receive from a very kind person here. he got b-day cakes for EVERYBODY in this guesthouse … can you believe this??? how incredible ><

but i received this not because of our friendship, but because he is just a super kind person for everyone.

he tries to warm everybody’s heart while many people always got deserted, like me.

but i really really REALLY hope, next year, i will not be receiving NOTHING from my b-day, i think it is cruel.

and SUPER DEPRESSING!

this is one of the small cake.

this is the other one.

another angle.

on SEPT 12

but i guess GOD still have some blessings on me.

i received this at my door 2 days after my everybody-forget-birthday.

inside, it was the VERY VERY VERY thing i wanted this year …

でかいリラックマ ＞＜

LOVE this …

but even so, what does that mean?

to the person that gave me this, this 気持ち might only last till the end of this year, or till he find someone that he wants.

寂しい。

while it was still hot, there was an event that took place, it was called “Final Fantasy Show”.

i guess it is a paradise for all fans that LOVES final fantasy, no matter which series that got them started, FF is unique.

i thought it applied to a certain someone, too, so i invited him, but got turned down immediately … how harsh.

so i had to go there by myself.

the very first day, it was all full. well i arrived late so they said it was already full so i could not enter anymore. and there were already hundreds of ppl ahead of me.

then, the next day i went a little earlier, lucky i got in … sooooo tough. i guess because it is … free.

i did not go there because it is free, it is because i had soooo much interests in FF.

Final Fantasy 8, was the very first game that i played and got SUPER stunned by the graphics and love stories that was in it.

the background atmosphere, the music, stunned me!

and of course, the best part yet is, “the asian feel”, ちょうどいいsize, no more ONLY blue, green eyes or bulky ugly man, made me sick.

i love CHOCOBO and many many other CUTE LOVELY side characters.

FF8 was my きっかけ in US, i guess.

while i was in the States, wondering what else is there for me, in the US, realizing i had already reached the limits, … then my lovely brother introduced me to this game … and i played on PC, i only had 1 question myself,  “what the heck i was doing in the USA???”

while nothing there really was my taste, include the very person that stayed with me every single day.

食べ物のpackagingから、人間まで、全部。

残念ですね 。。。

Sometimes passing out tissues works!

Before work today one day, I saw a few women passing out tissue from a cooking school. I had always wanted to try cooking school and a free cooking lesson was the perfect way for me to give it a shot. After my trial lesson, I was hooked. So I decided to buy a six lesson cooking course plan. Unfortunately I only made it to four lessons, but I made some amazing meals.

You can see with your own eyes!

If you’re like me, it can be intimidating to walk into a building with a Chanel, a Comme des Garcons, and other luxury shops. The shop staff are better dressed than I am, and I know they know that I’m not going to buy anything. But the Gyre building, in the Harajuku/Omotesando area right next to Kiddyland, is worth a visit for window shopping. The building has a beautiful spiral of escalators and a wide glass ceiling that make it worth going to the top floor, plus a collection of design shops including the MoMA store that no one will give you the side-eye for just browsing through. The basement makes it feel as if you’re outside again, with a view to the skylight along with plants and long wooden benches, where visitors can eat pastries or other delicious treats they’ve bought from the bakeries there. There’s also a little supermarket with foreign groceries, including my precious chips and salsa, for us foreigners missing a taste of home. If you’re in the Harajuku area, try to steel yourself to walk past the Chanel and into the larger building, and enjoy this little design oasis.

Where I come from, I’m used to being able to find things out easily on the internet. If I want to know where all the grocery stores are, or the nearest bike shop, or where to get keys made, all I have to do is search. But Japan has lots of things that I like to call secret shops. For example, what looks like a narrow alley in my neighborhood transforms during certain hours of the day into a ragtag but wonderfully cheap produce store. I can’t figure out what their hours are, but if I manage to come by at the right time I can get a bunch of bananas bigger than my head for 200 yen, or a big stack of apples for the same, or plenty of other fruits and veggies that would be ten times that price at the regular, easy-to-find grocery. There’s also what looks like a house in my neighborhood, but with a strange front door made of frosted sliding glass… but the reason becomes clear in the evening, when the doors are open and a big ‘Ramen’ flag hangs over it in the evening. So in your neighborhood, or in any part of Tokyo that might otherwise seem a little sleepy, I recommend just wandering sometimes, popping down streets that might not seem to have anything interesting. You never know what you’ll find.

Fall brings one of my favorite Tokyo events: Vegefood Festa! A celebration of vegan food (no meat, fish, dairy, or egg), it’s the one time of year where I can order any food, buy any piece of clothing, or buy any beauty product and know it has no animal ingredients. Almost all the food is healthy, and all of it is definitely delicious, so no one has to feel bad about eating too much. If you missed it this year be sure to go next year! http://www.tokyo-vegefest.com/english.html

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Laziness

I’m sure if  I counted the number of people who took the stairs and the number of people who took the elevator or escalator more people would take the stairs but it’s still surprising to see the pure laziness of people. I’m not talking about the elderly or injured but apparently able bodies young adults who just kick back and enjoy the ride.

Move, get out the way!

People generally stand around or near the door even if there is space in the middle of the train. Many people also hesitate to move to allow others to pass freely, and then some highly clever ones, just stand there. Who cares if you’re trying to get out.

What’s the rush?

Rushing to get a seat! Rushing to change trains to be the first one in line! Rushing to get on the escalator…to just stand there!

Do I smell?

Many people move away from you if there is an open seat next to them. People will go to great lengths to get a “good” seat.

Toilets

Toilet flushing sound so I can’t hear you pee! Do people really care about that? Oh yes. The Japanese do!

The Japanese Shuffle

It’s when people run around pretending to work when they’re not really doing anything. Go to any government office to witness the Japanese shuffle or your local convenience store.

Japanese English

Why don’t the Japanese just stick to speaking Japanese instead of butchering the English language in an attempt to sound cool? I’m convinced that Japanese will eventually become English with a Japanese pronunciation.

I can hear you!

Something I don’t understand is people talking about me right in front of my face. No matter how you rationalize such behavior, it is rude. I have more respect for others than to assume that they don’t understand my language.

a deodorant

i am no big fan of disney, 一生行かなくてもいい、あんな type.

けれど、to have some type of graphics on a “deodorant”, that is a new idea.

only in japan. geez, the deodorant package in US is sooooo boring …

however, they are super cheap … i think i prefer that.

relax bear toy.

the cover.

the inside content without fully open.

the one on the left is the little bag for the fan.

the one on the right is the fan before being opened.

main content – the opened fan, but it is all wrinkly.

as you can see, these are all not made in japan, not super official.

quality not as great. and that is also the reason why you can buy it soooo cheap in the supermarket.

i dont think i am going to get them again.

a very cheap 財布.

my old one is torn up, and cannot hold “changes” safely anymore.

very troublesome.

i had been looking ALL around everywhere, hoping i can get a cheap pretty one. but it was hard. always not really what i want, and the price is just completely ridiculous.

and there you go, where i live, the station, the 2nd floor of the Tokyu Supermarket, it looks so crap from outside and it actually had something THIS sweet, for sale.

not the appearance that i super fall for, it is the … price.

1000 yen, and the inside is SOOO functional! very very nice inner function design. really useful.

i have not 1 single complain for this 財布。

a close up of the cheesy logo. haha.

the inside, wow, all you need for a 功能的財布.

really, cannot ask for more.

ださくない！

i had this with my lovely roommate in a Family Restaurant.

a very cheap one, not expensive and it taste good. ^^

with a person that i am very comfortable with.

a closeup.

and it really taste great!

since i came to japan, i started to eat some greasy food.

don’t know why. the greasy food in an Asian country sounds less greasy for some reason. haha.

this is ALSO GOOD!

it is BIGGER than i thought.

it was delicious.

when i had no job, i feel bad to even go to this cheap restaurant.

but now, you can say i have a job, even though my relations with the boss is going super sour.

i finally, for the 1st time, think this restaurant is … cheap.

after i have been paying 10,000 visits to the expensive stores around here.

haha.

a closeup.

it was all good.

i love my roommate. eating with her is peaceful and full of innocent feel.