3 Months in Japan

Many of my friends have left Perth for a 2-week-holiday as school holiday has started. Some of them will not go back to Japan because they still worry about radiation.   Yet they all say “I envy you…” when I told them that I will be watching New Year’s tv show in Japan while snuggled in kotatsu and eating mandarin (mikan).  Kotatsu, mikan, cat and snow… it is a typical scene of Japan’s winter.

Friends ask me how long we will be away, and I answer “3 months. But D only stay for 2 months”  Then they all say “ONLY 2 months?”   … To think about it, 2 months is a pretty long period.  D will be able to speak Japanese maybe!  Then I realize, Hiro and I will be there for 3 months and 3 months is even longer than 2 months.  What are we going to do in Japan for 3 months?!

We do shopping, yes, and going out to eat, yes.  But we can’t do that everyday for 3 months.  3 months is long.  Hiro will look different after we come back here. What will we do?

… Well, it will snow from around Christmas in my hometown, so we will probably stay at home most of the time.  Daytime is short in winter in Japan, as the sun rises around 7am and sets around 4~5pm.  I can imagine myself being in kotatsu most of the time  We will play with snow, go grocery shopping at nearby shops, watch DVD, and eat a lot of food everyday.  I go catch up with friends, let my grandparents play with Hiro, and take lots of photos.

I think this will do.  3 months may be not too long after all…  I hope D and I don’t forget English!

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Getting Away to JK

It’s almost the end of August!  These days I can’t tell what date it is everyday :p
About 1 month to go before our trip to Jakarta. Hmmm, to think about it, it will be about 1.5 years since my last holiday outside Australia. I haven’t left Perth since I found out I was pregnant, and I didn’t want to go back to Japan while Hiro was small because I was worried that he might get sick and also about radiation in Japan.
1.5 yeas is not really a long time, but I really feel like I need to go somewhere for a change. I’m glad that I decided to fly to Jakarta this time.

I’m the type of person who sometimes wait and wait what I want to do…. until it explodes. For example, I don’t normally shop for cloths or bags, but one day it explodes and I buy many things. So, I don’t buy any cloths, bags, or shoes in Perth – just wait until I go back to Japan. In Japan, I shop like I’d never shopped before… Everyday is shopping day. I’m afraid this Jakarta trip will be the same. I hope I don’t buy too many crap over there.

One thing I’m looking for is getting massage.  Another is FOOD.  I love Indonesian food….  Probably not everyday, but I definitely enjoy eating it once in a while.  I also love the convenience of things and variety of food they have over there, as well as the price.  I miss the chewy shaomai with peanut sauce!

It’s been since my weeding in 2009 to go to Jakarta.  It’s about time to miss those delicious food.

Since we will be there for only 1 week, I think we will be just eating and getting massage most of the time.  I hope Hiro will be ok there.  Although it’s D’s hometown, I’m still not 100% comfortable being there.  Bit scary about people and also hygiene.

I will plan what to buy and to do in Jakarta which I can’t do or buy in Japan – and, I want to buy some souvenir to my family too  They’ve never been to Indonesia.

We got our tickets!

We got out tickets… finally.

First, we were thinking to fly with Malaysian Air as I found a very good price at H.I.S. Travel.  It was $210~ + tax ($780) return!  Less than $1000 from Perth to Osaka is very very cheap.  Besides, Nov ~ Jan is high season.  I called them up to ask the details such as transit hours.  The flight time is good too – leave Perth afternoon, and arrive Osaka in the morning.  Transit hour was just 1~3 hours, so it’s good too.  But, the thing is that the ticket was open for only 35 days, which means we have to come back to Perth within 35 days.  I wanted to stay in Japan longer, so I didn’t take it.

Next, I again found a good deal at H.I.S Travel.  It’s JAL (Japan AirLine) flight, and is $235~ + tax ($804) return.  It’s just above $1000 so it’s not bad at all.  And, it’s JAL so I thought it flies direct to Osaka.  I called them up to check what the deal is.  Then, I found out that it wasn’t a direct flight – there’re actually 2 transits and we need to catch 4 planes…  Fly domestic from Perth to Sydney, then move to international terminal, fly from Sydney to Narita, then take domestic flight from Narita to Osaka.  Hmmm, even though Australia and Japan are familiar places for us and we won’t worry about what to do at the airport, but again, we have Hiro and I don’t think transiting 2 times is going to be a comfortable flight. So, I didn’t take it either.

And, as I said on earlier post, my sister-in-law offered her mileage at Garuda to us.  Why she doesn’t use the mileage is because she can’t use it for the flight from/to Australia (for some reason).  So, we can’t use the mileage for the flight from/to Australia either.  We could buy 2 tickets separately – a flight from Perth to Bali, and from Bali to Osaka, using the mileage on the flight between Bali and Osaka.  But, there’re some concerns…  Firstly, we don’t trust Garuda because it delays often.  Secondly, we didn’t really like Bali airport from our terrible experience (post), and I thought there’s no space to relax with Hiro.  Toilet was dirty too…  Thirdly, we will have to fly with Garuda between Perth and Bali too, otherwise our luggages won’t directly go to Osaka/Perth.  I checked Garuda flight details between Perth and Bali, and found out that the connection to the flight to and from Osaka is really bad.  We could pay and use the lounge at the airport, but we’re not sure if it’s really a good plan.  Sister-in-law asked us to fly from Perth to Jakarta, then stay at either airport hotel or her house, and on the next day we fly from Jakarta to Bali, then Bali to Osaka.  I didn’t like it because there’re so many flights, and we will need to buy 3 tickets!  And, I wasn’t 100% comfortable with using her mileage too. So, although it was a very generous offer, we didn’t take it.

Then, we thought why not buy that Malaysian Air cheap 35days open ticket from H.I.S for D (as he can only stay in Japan for 1 month anyway), and buy a standard fare tickets for me and Hiro. The standard ticket wasn’t so expensive considering it’s high season.  We called up H.I.S to reserve our seats first. Then we were really going to go with it.  But, D wasn’t actually 100% happy with the flight schedule… The cheap ticket only applies for the flight departing Perth before Nov 23 (or around there), which means D will have to head back here before his birthday (as this ticket is only open for 35 days). And, he will also miss spending Hiro’s first Christmas and New Year’s Day together.  Hmm… now what?

Then, D found that Cathay is not that expensive either. He checked the fare on the dates he wanted to fly, and it turned out that total for three of us is actually about same as the one with Malaysian Air. Most of all, with Cathay he gets to stay his birthday, Christmas, and New Year’s Day in Japan with us . The flight time and transit are good too, arriving Osaka in early afternoon. Flight between Perth and HK is around 7.5 hours, and between HK and KIX is around 4 hours.  So, in the end, we decided to fly with Cathay and reserved our seats.

Now, thinking that we will be in Japan in 4 months, my head is busy planning our homecoming trip!

It’s winter, so seafood is its season!

And, I’m definitely eating one of my favorite food – Japanese omu-rice with demi glace sauce!

And, we will probably take break a lot at Misdo, McDonald’s, Mos Burger, and other fast food chains between shopping….  Can’t wait!

Japan Trip

Hmmm… my head has been so busy thinking about the flight to Japan.  I was originally thinking to fly with Hiro and D, three of us all together and come back to Perth all together, but now I’m kind of thinking to stay in Japan little longer with Hiro.  D has to come back to Perth after 4 weeks or so due to his work.  D and I always flew together all the time when we went to Japan, or anywhere, but I think just 1 month is bit too short for me this time.  Besides, I’m not working now so I can basically go anywhere outside Australia for as much as I want!

The biggest concern is, this time we have Hiro.  I have no idea how it’s going to be…  If he stays quiet or sleeps on the plane all through the flight, it’d be great.  But, what if he keeps crying…?!  And, if I stay in Japan longer, I have to fly with Hiro by myself on the way back…!  ….. I already feel tired by just thinking about it.

It might be much easier if there’re direct flights from Perth to Osaka, but there is not, so we have to transit somewhere:  we fly to another state in Australia and fly directly to Osaka, fly from Perth and transit at another country, or fly from Perth and transit at Narita then take shinkansen (bullet train) to my hometown.  Thinking about a transit with Hiro is already a big headache to me, but I have to think which method is the easiest for us.  Oh, and, the cost also matters.

Then, D’s sister offered us to use her mileage at Garuda.  I wouldn’t think about flying with Garuda with Hiro because of our terrible experience (post), but she told us to fly with business class.  We still have to pay the difference, but after getting the quotation from her travel agent it’s actually cheaper than paying economy flights.  I’ve never flew with business class before!

We are still thinking about it though…

There’re more concerns and things I keep thinking about, like, what if Hiro gets sick in Japan, etc etc…   but who knows?  Maybe nothing bad will happen and everything may go smoothly.  Now I will just think about good stuff, like , what we do in Japan,  what to buy in Japan, what to eat in Japan, etc etc!   The damage from the earthquake (post & post) is not fully recovered yet, but I hear things are getting well, so I hope I can enjoy delicious seafoods there too.

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What to Eat in Japan, and Where?

When planning a trip to Japan, you might wonder where the best tourist destination is.  It totally depends on what you want to do there, and when you are going.  But, anywhere you go, one of the highlight of the trip will be experiencing delicious Japanese food.  Here  is a list of places and foods Japanese people enjoy when they travel within their own country.

Hokkaido Island

As the biggest prefecture in Japan and having many farms across the island, Hokkaido has many speciality food that are locally produced.  Dairy products, lamb meat, potatoes, corns, and seafoods…  There are so many choices of food to explore in Hokkaido, but Ramen Noodles (Miso Ramen in Sapporo, Shio Ramen in Hakodate, and Sho-yu Ramen in Asahikawa), Jingisukan (grilled mutton dish prepared on a convex metal skillet), crabs (Zuwai, Taraba, Ke-gani), Jaga-Butter (baked potato with melted butter), Soup Curry (Japanese curry with soupy consistency and lots of Hokkaido vegetables), Kaisen Donburi (sashimi donburi), Nama Caramel (raw caramel) are the must to try.  And, there’re well-known brand beer breweries such as Sapporo Beer and Asahi Beer (both originated in Hokkaido).  Even if you don’t drink beer, I recommend to visit beer gardens – they serve lots of local foods and they are cheap.  Although it’s not a Hokkaido beer, I’ve been to a beer garden inside the Kirin Beer brewery and I enjoyed all-you-can eat for almost all the foods I listed above.  Unlimited crabs and meat…. and of course freshly brewed beer.

Main Island

As a main island there are 34 prefectures and each prefecture has its own speciality food.  For example, Ise Ebi in Mie prefecture, Kobe beef in Hyogo prefecture, pickles in Nara prefecture, and Hiroshima-yaki in Hiroshima prefecture.  But, I think Kyoto, Osaka and Aichi prefectures have the most unique foods to enjoy.

Nagoya in Aichi prefecture is famous for Tenmusu (rice ball with tempura), Kishimen (flat udon noodle), Tebasaki (deep-fried chicken wings immersed in sweet sticky sauce), Miso Katsu (pork katsu with sweet red miso sauce), and An-kake Spaghetti (spaghetti with starchy tomato sauce.  The foods there are very well-seasoned, and thick taste.

On the other hand, Kyoto offers very traditional, thin taste foods.  The finest dining experience is kaiseki, a set meal where every course has been planned out to compliment and balance the others. Tofu foods are also famous in Kyoto, and is one of my favourite Kyoto food.  There’re some Japanese style restaurants offering a set menu of tofu foods, and that’s one of the food I recommend if you want to experience Japan!  And, don’t forget the sweets. You’ll probably find many cafes almost everywhere in Kyoto, offering some traditional Japanese sweets (wagashi).  Matcha green tea sweets are the most popular among all ages.

Osaka’s speciality foods are, needless to say, Takoyaki and Okonomiyaki. Some people say that you’ll find takoyaki shop every 3 minutes in Shinsaibashi and Nanba, the centre cities of Osaka.  They are more like take-away food, but there’re many eat-in takoyaki/okonomiyaki restaurants as well in Osaka offering a wide selection of menu items to choose from.  A takoyaki restaurant I’ve been to had more than 30 takoyaki menus.  Fugu and Kushi are also nice food to try.  Kushi is a skewered and deep-fried food, and the experience of deep-frying and eating the various foods at your table in a Kushi restaurant may be fun.

Shikoku Island

Shikoku, meaning “four countries”, has some famous speciality foods too.  Sanuki Udon in Kagawa prefecture, Katsuo-no-Tataki (seared raw bonito eaten with special tangy sauce along with garlic slices and condiments) in Tosa prefecture, and Mikan Orange in Ehime prefecture.

Kyushu Island

Kyushu island has unique food items thanks to Nagasaki port.  This port in Nagasaki prefecture was the first port where a foreign ship arrived in Japan in 1550, and the only port where trade with foreign countries was permitted during Japan’s period of isolation.  Nagasaki prefecture is famous for Chanpon (noodle dish with white soup, thick egg noodle, and lots of seafood/pork/vegetables) and Kasutera (Japanese sweet sponge cake).  I must say Chanpon is one of my favourite food in Japan.  Kyushu is also known for a wide range of Sho-chu.  Especially, Kagoshima prefecture is famous for Potato Sho-chu.  The sho-chu is very strong alcohol, and people in Kyushu are thought to be strong drinkers.

Okinawa Island

As an island located in the South, this prefecture has tropical climate and very unique culture.  You can read about this place here, but the famous Okinawan food are  Go-ya chanpuru, Rafuti, Mimigaa and Saataa andagi. (non of them sound like Japanese, are they?)  Awamori (alcohol made from rice) is also famous Okinawan item.