An ex-journo and former techno phobe from Singapore living in Tokyo, I worked in print media for six years until I moved countries in 2006 and used the Internet as a way to have a viable, mobile career. Now, I'm a blogger on the go who runs an online beauty biz from wherever I might be. I never thought I would ever morph into a web chick - but here I am.
...The ups and downs of expat life, trailing partner issues, food, travel, and Japanese culture. It's a way to keep in touch with friends back home and all over the world, plus it's a corner for me to showcase my work. But really, I'm just a restless spirit looking for great adventures and fabulous food.
I must say that of all the places I’ve visited in Japan, Sado Island came in first as being the most quaintly quirky.
There were the usual stuff like temples and pretty gardens:
But there were some off-the-wall sutff here…
Damn, those T-shirts just make me wanna laugh! They were so fabulous and we were totally rockin’ them on Sado Island.
Like all places in Japan, there is something or some food that is unique to the area (can be anything from apples to wasabi to animals) and Sado Island’s mascot is the rare toki bird that is part of the ibis species.
I wish I could show you a photo of a real toki but they were hidden away from noise and prying human eyes because they are an endangered species — seen and treated much like pandas. Tokis have trouble conceiving and have Chinese names like Yan Yan and Ying Ying. Apprently, tokis are also exchanged as diplomatic gifts between Japan and China.
If you’ve travelled around Japan abit, you would notice that a whole industry of tourist souvenirs will be built around the said mascot, and my oh my, were there tons of toki things.
FYI, toki also means time in Japanese. So time is toki…get it, get it? *Groan*…
Don’t worry I didn’t buy any of this tourist crap. But I did buy this: Sado Island 100 per cent pure sea salt.
I love making food and am a bit of a health freak so good unrefined salt would tickle my culinary geek bone. There were kelp and ume (sour plum) flavoured salt — probably great for accompanying tempura — but they were a bit too Japanese for what I cook at home.
Our trip was very well-planned and mapped out almost to the hour but the salt shop was something we stumbled upon.
It was super old school and only one guy was part of the whole salt assembly line…
It was wood-fired — damn!
And there were buckets of salt lying around.
Next to the salt shop was a famous rock formation called fu-fu (means couple)…
And it was fitting for our friend who was getting married.
I couldn’t resist striking a pose in front of this Sado Island icon.
To be continued…
My friend was going to move to San Francisco in mid-July, and she just got engaged, so a hen weekend holiday to Sado Island was organized in her honour.
Sado Island is one of those tucked away places that maybe gaijins would be more attracted to exploring — for the very fact that it is a lot less crowded and has a more untouched feel to it. It’s also not a convenient location (subway -> shinkansen -> overnight hotel stay -> ferry -> Sado Island) which would not lure your average Tokyoite.
Like all hen parties, this one was unique in its own right, complete with identical T-shirts and number tagging. I was sanban (number three) — there were eight of us in all — as we joked that we were like a tour group, and so, “marked” attendance before we set off to another location (ichiban, niban, sanban, yonban…). Corny, I know! LOL!
The T-shirts caused an absolute riot wherever we went — the locals would ask us why we wore the same T-shirts and were curious that there was such a thing as a hen party which is a something that doesn’t exist in Japanese culture. People just got married without any grand send-off because the wedding itself is probably a big enough party, I reckon.
Isn’t this gorgeous?
Sado Island is just off the coast of Niigata, by the way, and is about two hours on the shinkansen from Tokyo and another hour on the Jetfoil ferry (highly recommended as it’s the fastest way to get there).
I’ve never been part of such a big group of women travelling together and I must say it was one of the best times I’d ever had.
Blogging has been a bit slow because I’ve been in the Whitsundays and Brisbane. I just arrived in Sydney yesterday afternoon so I can finally use my iPad like no tomorrow.
The Internet connection on Daydream Island in the Whitsundays was pretty patchy so those of you following me on Twitter or Facebook got a coupla updates from me.
Though I’m totally stoked by having a new iPad, I’m a bit frustrated that I haven’t quite figured out how to easily upload images and put them up onto Wordpress which is the blogging platform I use. I can’t cut and paste URL links from Photobucket either and need to painstakingly rewrite the HTML code for each photo.
But I can email and take care of Beauty Box from afar so that should be good enough for now.
Anyway, what’s going on with me? I’m sniffling from having too much dairy the night before (dairy causes mucous and stomach upsets for me) and waiting for the kangaroo to finish up his work so we can go running at the Centennial Park in Sydney.
The hunt for the perfect wedding location is still inconclusive as we love almost all the places we have seen. We decided that a poll is in order for our friends and family but I can only work on that when I get back to Tokyo, seeing that I need to download a suitable plugin to make that happen and it seems a bit too challenging for my iPad. Gosh i make it sound a bit useless, don’t I?
In the meantime, I’m happy to be out of hotels for now. We are putting up at Mrs Kangaroo’s home and it feels nice to be whizzing up green smoothies and juices in the kitchen. “Babe, is that what life’s all about? Food?” asked a bemused kangaroo.
To be honest, I am happiest when I’m healthy but I am truly enjoying being back in Oz. I cracked up inwardly when our jet-skiing instructor said this: It’s all over, red Rover. – to mean something is doomed to fail. And how to have a deadpan face when doing a wind-up (to have a dig at someone seemingly serious).
“Naps are only for old men, honey,” I said, when the kangaroo mentioned he wanted to lie down after our action-packed day of sailing in a catamaran. He looked indignant then realized it was a wind-up and laughed. Gotcha.
Alrighty, I have to go walk Mrs Kangaroo’s dog, Pixie, because she is out playing tennis. This is quite a different type of post for me and hope you are enjoying it as much as I did writing it.
Will be back soon for more picture-less posts…
Two weekends ago, I headed up to Suwa, Nagano for a birthday party at a lodge — that always means loud music and lots of food and booze in the middle of nowhere. I’ve developed a soft spot for such lodge stays because they are so much fun.
On a Friday night, a bunch of us zoomed up from Tokyo to our friends’ apartment and we chatted till late. It certainly felt like a holiday, especially when we were greeted by this:
To be served breakfast not made by myself was such a luxury. The spinach with crumbled sesame seeds and ponzu sauce was my fave.
Unfortunately it was quite rainy but I actually enjoyed lazing around in my friends’ living room till it was time to shop for food and head up to the lodge for the party.
If you follow me on Facebook or Twitter, you will know that I have been slowly training for the Tokyo Marathon next February. I know, the application process hasn’t even started and I’m telling people I’m running it.
Well, I’m fairly confident of getting it even though it’s a lottery-style selection process, because word has it that all foreigners who apply for it will get it, like all.
Most guides or experienced marathoners will tell you three to four months is enough to train for a marathon. I would have to agree it is enough if you are consistent and careful with your running schedule.
So why am I starting to train now? In fact, I made up my mind in January and have been on the look out for half-marathons or other long distance running events to take part in. Taking off by yourself on a 20km run can be a bit dull, plus I wanted to get used to the whole process of Japanese marathons — from the application process to getting to the location.
This is a continuation of Part 1 of my ultra-fun US trip in April – May this year….
#6 Hanging out in Harvard Square
By coincidence, we were in Boston on May Day, and every year, there’s a May Fair at Harvard Square so we did a sticky beak (that means to go take a look in Aussie slang).
This was a chalk-drawing event for a charity but I forgot which. It was amazing that all these people came out to draw colourful creations on the road in the sweltering sun.
I spotted two pugs….awwwww….Did I mention I have a fixation on pugs? The kangaroo: are you reading this?
As a trailing partner, I do get some amazing perks like travelling to exotic places with my road warrior kangaroo. It wasn’t easy leaving work behind but it was worth the stress and preparation. From mid-April to early May, I flew from Tokyo -> SF -> Las Vegas -> NYC -> Boston -> NYC -> LA -> Tokyo. Aren’t I lucky? Here are the top 10 highlights of my trip:
#1 Got to meet up with my gorgeous gal pals
We gossiped, gaggled, and ate good food together. I also ran, did yoga, watched Broadway shows, checked out an art exhibition — all in the company of my gal pals. Sigh, those were some good times.
#2 Hugged the tallest tree in the world
From San Francisco, we drove to Las Vegas and stopped by the Sequoia National Park to say hello to the tallest (and oldest) tree in the world, General Sherman. It is more than 3,000 years old and it was mighty impressive.
So, I finally made it to Gotemba’s Premium Outlet Mall — by far one of the most talked about outlet malls in Japan. I think it’s not so much that it is so different from its other branches but it’s the one closest to Hakone, which is a hot spot for onsen-loving Tokyoites.
A friend from Singapore was in town and you know Singaporeans love to shop, much like the Japanese, so we made a trip down.
We headed to Hakone the following weekend after our Yamanashi sojourn. Now, several friends told us that Hakone is a truly romantic destination for a wedding and I’ve got to agree.
There’s a quaint and rustic charm about Hakone but yet it’s built for city dwellers who just come over for a quick getaway. No fear for those who don’t drive because Hakone is extremely well-connected in its public transport system. Besides the bus, you can take the ferry, train, and ropeway to get around this mountainous hot spring hub.
