..::My Secret Love Affair::..

Hakata Ippudo Ramen - A Ramen Lover's Paradise <3 (Fukuoka Part 2)

2009-08-19T15:10:00.024+09:00

If you've been following my blog you would remember me mentioning about a great ramen place in Fukuoka. Well...Ramen Lovers, this is it! This entry is all about that great ramen place I've been talking about ^_^

When we arrived in Fukuoka we didn't know where to eat. So Reid rang his friend and asked for suggestions of where was the best place to eat in the Tenjin area and she recommended that we go to Ippudo. Ippudo is located in Tenjin near KFC and Mont Blanc :p right across from the Iwataya department store. Just ask around when in Tenjin. Everyone knows where it is.

Ippudo in Tenjin, Fukuoka

It's a small place with one counter seating area and about maybe 4-5 rows of long tables and benches. The place gets really busy during peak times so be prepared to wait in line for a table and to share tables with other people. But trust me, it's worth it!! Ippudo is the best ramen place I've ever been to so far! The ramen here is to die for! I'm already drooling and dreaming of the day that I'll get to have a bite of their exquisite ramen. There aren't any branches here in Okinawa *cries*. However there are branches throughout Japan like Tokyo and Osaka.

Once seated this is the set-up you will see at your table

On the far left you can see a container with goma (sesame seeds) in it and you can use it to grind the goma. I love it in my ramen. Then you have your sauces. Towards the left are two jars. One is filled with pickled veggies and the other with bean sprouts marinated with spicy hot oil and sesame. It is soooooo good!! I can practically eat the whole jar :p

Deb Deb trying to decide which ramen to order
There are only 3 types of ramen to choose from.

I ended up ordering the Shiromaru Classic

The Shiromaru Classic

Tonkotsu base ramen is what Fukuoka is known for. Apart from that they have their own type of ramen noodles. I like these noodles better. They are much thinner than the other ramen noodles that I'm used to. Oiishi!!! =^_^=

Reid ordered the Ippudo Karaka-men

Ippudo Karaka-men

The next one is the third choice of ramen - The Akamaru Modern

You see the red/brown little ball in the middle of the ramen bowl? Well Reid thought it was umeboshi (pickled plum) and told me not to get it because I don't like it. And as you can see from this menu it is rather ambiguous and does not mention if it is umeboshi or not :p Oh and I later (back in Okinawa) learned that that little red sticker meant that this dish was the most popular one. I did observe people ordering more red ramen bowls :p

Aaaah...it was sooooooo delicious the ramen!!! As Reid always says, "It was scrumptious!!" Anyways, we loved the ramen soooo much that we decided to come back the next day for dinner again!!! LOL Yeap, it was THAT good!! Hey after all Ippudo is owned by the King of Ramen himself - Shigemi Kawahara and Fukuoka was the birthplace of Ippudo ^_~

The next night I ordered the Karaka-men instead and the Karaka-men actually comes with a side like this. It's a slice of pork, half a boiled egg, rice and a sheet of nori. Sigh...sooooooooo good. Love love love it!

We also ordered gyoza!! YUMMMMM I LOVE the Hakata gyozas though because the size is perfect!! Bite-size!! So it's really easy to eat

The story behind the Hakata bite-size dumplings

Fukuoka is also well-known for mentaiko. Mentaiko (明太子) is the marinated roe of pollock. So I thought since we're here in Fukuoka why not try the things that it's known for apart from Ramen ^_^

So we ordered this Mentaiko Rice. Mentaiko is the red stuff in the middle

Reid and I didn't like it though. It was salty and tasted 'fishy' to me :p Hey at least I tried it! :p

Oh and ONLY after we made all our orders I found a detailed English menu that describes and explains in detail the story behind each and every dish sold at Ippudo...

Well you remember Reid thinking that the red ball in the middle of the ramen ball being umeboshi? Well it wasn't!! Fail!! Epic Fail!!! LOL It is actually umami-dama ("flavor savor ball") after reading the detailed info. But I already ordered my ramen!! Now that I knew it wasn't what I thought it was, I was DETERMINED to try it!!

And yes you guessed it, we went to Ippudo AGAIN!!!

Akamaru Modern ^_^

Oh and this was the "umeboshi" hahaha - Umami-dama ('flavor savor ball')

Reid and I are nuts about this place. we ended up going to Ippudo a total of 3 times during our short 4 day trip to Fukuoka. It was just THAT good! Oh and I also bought take home souvenir packs of those ramen noodles. They come in a small box with the uncooked ramen noodles and packets of soup mix. It still tasted AWESOME!! Of course not as good as when you eat it there though. Plus the take home pack is a little complicated to make @_@ I gave some of the take home packs to Akane as well and she loved it too and wanted to visit a Ippudo branch when she went on a trip to Tokyo!

If you LOVE ramen, I definitely recommend you to try Ippudo if you ever get the opportunity to. Oh and good news for those living in the United States. There is an Ippudo branch there. Yeap you heard me right. It's the first international branch that they have so you don't have to fly all the way to Japan just to try it *wink* - you'll just have to fly to NEW YORK! :p that is if you aren't from there hehe.

I don't know if the New York branch is as good as the ones in Japan though. But hey if you get the opportunity to try it or if you have already tried the one there, let me know about it! ^_^

A big warning though:

Once you've tried the Ippudo ramen

No other ramen will taste as good anymore *sigh*

For more information about Ippudo, check out their New York branch website:

.:: Ippudo New York ::.

Frozen Rape...

2009-08-11T12:37:00.007+09:00

I was at the local supermarket San A the other day with my friend Akane. We were walking at the frozen food section when I spotted this...

FROZEN RAPE...
At first I thought I saw it wrongly and maybe it was meant to say frozen grape but when I got closer to it and picked it up, sure enough it said frozen rape. To me, it was the first time that I've heard of or seen of this before. So my initial reaction was that I thought it was pretty weird and wrong naming something frozen rape @_@ but at the same time thought it was pretty funny too.

I showed it to Akane and she was shocked. She was like "Why.....??? Why do they call it that???" She said it was called 菜の花, nanohana in Japanese and didn't know what it's called in English.

As you can see here in this pic, it just looks like frozen green veggies. Akane said that if they are left longer to grow, they bloom into yellow flowers. I did a bit of google and found out that it's actually rapeseed leaves. Rapeseed is also known as oilseed rape or canola. I know canola but didn't know that it was a variety of rapseseed until now (-_-)" The leaves and stems of the rapeseed are edible and is similar to bok choy. And I guess most of us know of it as 油菜 (yóu cài) in Chinese or yau choy in Cantonese.

Anyways calling this frozen rape sounds really strange and wrong...they should've called it frozen rapeseed leaves or something like that...

Well here you have - Frozen Rape brought to you by Uni Foods for your smile (^_~) If you didn't get that, look closely at the pic above :p

Mont Blanc Fukuoka - My Kinda Place ( Fukuoka Part 1)

2009-08-05T09:26:00.020+09:00

If you remembered, I went on a trip to Fukuoka a few months back. Never got the chance to blog about it though so here I am now writing an entry about it :p

I loved Fukuoka. Lots of things to see, do, SHOP and of course EAT!!! I just wished that we had more time to explore Fukuoka though...maybe next time ^_^

On the first night that we were there, after having a great dinner at one of the best Ramen places I've ever been to (keep an eye out on my future entries, I'll definitely be posting an entry about this place. Ramen Lovers, you can not miss this post!! :p) we were just walking around Tenjin (the main area in Fukuoka, where all the shopping centers are *wink wink*) that we discovered this gem - Mont Blanc Fukuoka.

The entrance to Mont Blanc

Mont Blanc is a little bakery shop/cafe hidden in between a row of shops. I think it was next to KFC...Mont Blanc can easily be missed if not for it's bright little entrance. So make sure you keep an eye out when you're next in Tenjin for the MB insignia on the glass door for Mont Blanc.

Deb Deb getting excited looking at all the yummy goodies and having a dilemma because she doesn't know which one to choose!!! She actually secretly wishes that she could have a bite of each and every single one of those goodies :p

They have a great selection for you to choose from

There are tables and chairs and they serve hot and cold drinks too so you can eat-in or take your treat home ^_^ The seating area is really small with only 4-6 small tables and can get busy. Definitely not a place to go to with a big group of people. Groups of 4 are alright but anything more can get really crowded and you may not be able to find any tables or seats available.

Attention to detail: The ice cube is spherical ^_^

I really like the place though, small and cozy - a great place to just hide from all the hustle and bustle of the city life and just relax and chill with a nice hot cup of tea and a slice of cake/pastry ^_^

My tea set. You get a nice little set-up when you order tea

I don't really like drinking coffee but absolutely love tea. I definitely recommend ordering their tea. This tea was soooo good. Perhaps one of the best I've had. Been trying to look for the same brand but have not succeed. They sold boxes of the tea bags but I didn't buy any. I thought that I could find it at the store...regret now...

Reid ordered a coffee instead. He said it was good too

I like these brown sugar cubes too. Didn't know the brand. If not I'd definitely be buying it.

Reid's Banana Cheesecake
Sooooooooo goooooooooooood!!!

I settled for this Strawberry Cake ^_^

Mmmm...Oishii~~~~!!! \(^o^)/

We loved this place sooo much that we went back to Mont Blanc again the next night ^_^ I could go there all the time! Wished we had a Mont Blanc here in Okinawa!

This time I got the Roll cake - yummy yummy

Reid got the Mont Blanc (the store is named after this dessert so we had to try it. After all wouldn't that be their specialty? ^_^) It was pretty good.

Oh and Reid also ordered this. I don't remember what it was called. It doesn't look very appetizing but it's actually really really good!!! It's kinda like bread...it's served warm...I'm drooling just thinking about it. Yum yum ^_^

Good Ballerina Gone Bad

2009-07-30T14:29:00.032+09:00

I did a shoot a few months ago with Jyllian (Photographer) and finally got my cd from her during the weekend. I really enjoyed working on this shoot. It is probably one of the most fun shoots I've ever done.

The Concept:
Jyllian came to me with this concept that she had - "Good Ballerina Gone Bad". She wanted to capture a dreamy, organic, whimsical feeling through the images. Which would be the good ballerina. This concept was shot in the morning time for natural light. The good ballerina concept is then contrast with an edgy ballerina look which is dark and mysterious. This would be the bad ballerina. This concept was shot at night.

The Shoot:
We shot this all in one day. I did my own hair and make-up for both sessions. Both Jyll and I worked together leading towards the shoot on wardrobe. Since the first part of the shoot was to be shot in the morning in natural light outdoors, the weather was paramount. We were really worried about the weather. But it turned out great! ^_^

The Good Ballerina Concept:
We met early in the morning and headed off to our first location. It was just a little piece of land covered in tall grass by the side of the road. People who were driving were stopping and trying to catch a glimpse. Must've been weird seeing someone dressed in a white tutu dancing about amongst the grass LOL.

I look so serious here haha

Different color version ^_^

After shooting at this location for sometime, we headed off to our second location at Nakagusuku Castle for the rest of our shoot.

Each image reminded me of a dream as I would frolic through the grassy fields. I was in another world...all dreamy...embracing nature, my surroundings and my character...

We tried the 'blow the dandelion into the wind' concept that you always see in photos and movies LOL gosh it is much harder to capture than they make it. They always make it look sooo easy...but we tried for sometime...didn't really work haha

It was so hard standing on this tree...it was sooo slippery and I kept slipping down.

We finished shooting the first session by the afternoon and I headed home to rest and get ready for the second session in the evening.

The Bad Ballerina Concept:
I went over to Jyll's house to shoot the second session. We started off in her living room.

Black & White version

After that we headed outside her house to a back street by her house and finished the rest of the shoot there on the street.

I love this shot. It's so cool! The light is actually coming from the headlights of a passing car.

Jyll and I both agreed that it brought back memories of when we were young wanting to be ballerinas. I definitely enjoyed playing one for the day! ^_^

For more info on Jyllian and her work check out her website:

..:: Jyllian's Website ::..

Jakkepoes - A Pancake House in Yomitan

2009-07-24T09:43:00.023+09:00

A little update:
Oh wow...I can't believe it's been a few months since I last updated my blog. I'm soooo...sorry for the delay. I've been so occupied with other things in my life but yeah I can't believe how fast time flies. I've been in Japan for over 6 months now...guess time flies when you're having a great time...

I also went on a vacation to Seattle for a 7 day Alaskan Cruise, got to explore several different ports in Alaska and even got to visit Victoria (British Colombia) then the final part of my vacation was spent in Hawaii. It was an awesome vacation!! One that I'll always cherish. It was my first time visiting the United States & Canada ^_^ I'm still debating if I want to blog about that vacation. Hmmm...we'll see how it goes *winks*

On with the post:
My friend Akane is so awesome. She's always taking me around Okinawa and helping me out when I don't know where to find certain things that I'm after. She's always recommending places that I can go to shop at that I can find the things I want or great places to go to eat. Without her, I would never have known of the many great places to eat at. Thank you so much Akane~~!!!

I've noticed that there are a lot of places to eat that are tucked away hidden amongst back roads and residential areas...places that you wouldn't think to find a restaurant/cafe hidden there. But it's usually in these areas that you'd find places that are more interesting and unique compared to the other more commercialized areas. Thanks to my friend Akane, I get to discover all these hidden treasures.

Last Monday she took me to this little place hidden amongst the residential buildings in Yomitan called Jakkepoes. It's just a little white single story building. Kinda like a house that's being converted into a restaurant/cafe

The big sign in the front so you won't miss it

If you love pancakes, you will love Jakkepoes as pancakes is all that they serve. They have several varieties of pancake dishes to choose from and serve both savory and sweet pancakes for those with a sweet-tooth *wink wink*

Inside Jakkepoes

The place is really small with just about 5 - 6 tables and can get busy even during weekdays usually around peak time (12-2pm). Apart from that, the great thing about Jakkepoes is that the pancakes are made fresh as you order. That is the reason why if it is busy, it may take sometime for the food to be served.

A sign reminding customers that it may take sometime for the pancakes to be served

But definitely worth the wait! Once you get a taste of these light fluffy pancakes, you'll know what I mean ^_~ They just melt in your mouth *drools*

Jakkepoes' Menu

And yeap they have an English menu so that's always helpful especially if you are like me, still unable/learning to read Japanese =^_^=

The ambiance of the place is simple, clean and pure ^_^ Well that's the feeling I get when I'm there.

And now what you've been waiting for...

Eye-candy of the yummy pancakes!! :p

..:: Chilibean Pancakes ::..
Chilibeans with sausage and shredded cheese and whipped butter. The chilibeans are sooo good... *drools*

..:: Berry Pancakes ::..
Mixed berries with whipped cream drizzled with chocolate sauce & sprinkled with icing sugar. Yummmmm~~~ ^_^

These were the two dishes that we got when Akane took me to Jakkepoes. We both couldn't decide whether we wanted something sweet or savory so in the end I suggested that we both ordered one dish each and then share so that we could both have some of each. It worked out PERFECT ^_^

I also ordered a hot chocolate. It wasn't that great though...it just wasn't thick enough for me...

We went there on a weekday during lunch time so it was pretty busy there was a constant flow of customers. I enjoyed the pancakes so much that I decided to take Reid to Jakkepoes during the weekend. This is what we ordered:

..:: Meat-lovers Pancakes ::..
Bacon, spam, sausages and eggs with whipped butter

..:: Meatball Pancakes ::..
Meatballs in white sauce with corn. Pancakes and whipped butter. This is real good too. The sauce is like a cross between corn chowder and white sauce ^_^

I was worried that it would be packed since it was the weekend but we went there around 2pm and it wasn't busy at all just us and another table. I guess it's because it wasn't peak lunch time anymore.

I'll definitely be frequenting this place a lot. There's still a lot more pancakes for me to try *wink* So if you are ever craving for pancakes definitely check out Jakkepoes for their homemade light fluffy pancakes! I definitely recommend them. All the pancakes that I've tried so far have been divine ^_^

For more information regarding opening times, how to get there and menu, check out their website.

..:: Jakkepoes Website ::..

I <3 Häagen-Dazs

2009-03-31T10:07:00.037+09:00

I just got back from my awesome trip to Fukuoka, Japan. Loved it there. Will post entries regarding my trip soon. I was actually suppose to post this entry before my trip but for some reason I was having so much trouble trying to upload the pics last week so I didn't manage to post this entry until now. So sorry for the delay...Gomen ne~!! So here's the entry from last week ^_^

While we were at Ryubo (department store in Naha), we walked past a Häagen-Dazs store and I was drawn towards the store's plastic display of ice creams in particular the cookie sandwich ice cream. I pointed it out to Reid and he suggested that we pop in for a little snack! :D hehehe.

The cookies & cream cookie sandwich that caught my eye

Well normally I'm not really into ice cream. I LOVE cakes, cookies and pastries but for some reason I never really ever crave ice cream. It's not that I don't like it, it's just that if I had a choice I'd definitely choose cakes, cookies and pastries over ice cream. BUT I won't ever complain if there's ice cream with my cake, cookie or pastry :p

Before Japan, I've never really had Häagen-Dazs...maybe during one of my holiday trips to Malaysia and Hong Kong I did try some but it was too long ago for me to really remember. Having tried a few different Häagen-Dazs ice creams here in Japan, I gotta admit that I heart Häagen-Dazs! It's so YUMMY!!! I've definitely converted to an ice cream lover now. Häagen-Dazs is that good that I've decided to write an entry entirely on just Häagen-Dazs! :p

Why don't we have Häagen-Dazs in Australia???! :( I know we definitely don't have any stores in Queensland..not too sure about the other states/cities but I'm pretty sure we don't have Häagen-Dazs stores in Australia (correct me if I'm wrong). As I wasn't much of an ice cream lover back in Australia, I'm not sure if we can get Häagen-Dazs back home...I think I've seen them in some stores..don't really remember where though LOL

Häagen-Dazs has got to be my favorite ice cream now!! It's not too sweet..texture is great..ah..just PERFECT!! I'm not sure if Häagen-Dazs customizes it's ice creams to suit each of it's market though because I've noticed that Japanese people don't really like overly sweet food unlike what we have in western societies. I love Häagen-Dazs ice cream because I feel that it's not too sweet but still rich but not like overly rich where it gets sickly if you know what I mean.

So at the Häagen-Dazs store, I of course got myself the cookie sandwich that caught my eye :D

Cookies & cream ice cream in between 2 pieces of crunchy cookies

Yummm....absolutely divine...LOL Reid took this funny pic and I thought it was perfect to show all of you how divine it was...looks like an ad huh? LOL :p

Uh huh this is how it feels - heavenly, warm and fuzzy and sparkly LOL (just mucking around on photoshop :p)

It was really good but the only thing I didn't like was that the cookie was really hard so it was really difficult to bite into especially as a sandwich. Reid got himself a strawberry cheesecake ice cream. It was soooooooo YUM!! ^_^

I definitely recommend getting this instead of the cookie sandwich. It has pieces of cheesecake and pieces of the crunchy cookie that's used in the sandwich so it's much easier to eat

And now introducing the Dolce series of Häagen-Dazs ice-creams. These are like the premium ice-creams YUM~~!!! It's like the actual cake or dessert but ice-cream style (I don't really know how to descibe it but just know that it's heavenly!! :p) The Dolce series is my ultimate favorite range of Häagen-Dazs ice-creams.

Reid just surprised me one day by bring home one of these little goodies for me and from then onwards, we've been hooked on these LOL I'm not sure if the Dolce range of ice creams is only available in Japan (let me know!)

Dolce Blueberry Cheesecake
It has a biscuit base and the middle is filled with blueberry sauce

Dolce Tiramisu
It has cocoa powder on the top and layers of cake

Dolce Gateau au chocolat

Dolce Millefeuille
It has layers of puff pastry

There are still two more ice creams from the Dolce range that I've yet to try. I'm still trying to hunt for them. Maybe they were just for promotional period and I missed out?? T_T I hope not!

Dolce Mont Blanc

Dolce Creme Brulee

Then there's also the crispy sandwich ice cream range from Häagen-Dazs. I LOVE these too! They are ice-cream coated in chocolate in between two crispy wafer like pieces forming a sandwich.

Panna Cotta & Raspberry

Caramel

Custard Pudding

Green Tea & Kuromitsu (brown sugar syrup)

Then of course there's the ordinary ice-creams ^_^

Green Tea

English Milk Tea
I LOVE this one. Very interesting flavor. But if you love milk tea like I do this is definitely a great treat! It tastes exactly like English milk tea. YUM!

I think I had a Mocha ice-cream one too but Reid ate it before I had the chance to take a pic of it. Well so far these are all the ones I've tried so far. I aim to try each and everyone of the available flavors hehehe. Will post more pics when I do.

Oh yeah and you can also watch the Japanese TV commercials for the ice-creams I've been talking bout here http://www.haagen-dazs.co.jp/brand/cm.html

Enjoy!

Trash Bag Couture & Ryubo

2009-03-27T14:11:00.016+09:00

Ok, part of this post is more catered towards girls hehe - great contrast from my last post about cars but hey I gotta balance it out right? Keep it fair :p

I've been doing a few photoshoots here in Japan. I was really fortunate enough to work with a talented American photographer Eboh Ajeroh last month. I absolutely adore his work and hopefully I'll get to work with him again sometime this year.

When I was back in Australia doing photoshoots, I usually had make-up artists/hair stylists doing my hair and make-up for me. It was much easier back home as I knew where to find and look for them. However when I moved over here to Okinawa, Japan I don't really know anyone that does hair or make-up. There just aren't many MUAs (make-up artist) on the island. Maybe there are heaps of Japanese MUAs but I just need to network more and get more connections. Anyways for this reason, I had to rely on myself to do all my hair and makeup for all my shoots.

I use makeup all the time but never really did anything fancy or crazy, it was just always simple basic makeup. So I started experimenting with the different colors that I had and tried to create different looks and thanks to the internet and Youtube I was able to learn heaps of makeup tips. Youtube is a great resource for how-to videos.

NOTE: Please click on images for a better view

The result from the shoot
Hair & Make-up by me ^_^

Trash Bag Couture

The outfit that I'm wearing here is actually made from trash bags! The top is just a clear trash bag over a black bra and the bottom skirt is a black trash bag stuck together with sticky tape. It was so much fun and was really interesting! Oh and the white wig I've got on kinda reminds me of Lady Gaga...

What do you think?

Lady Gaga

More pics...

Since I was starting to do my own makeup for my shoots I had to start shopping for some different colors to add to my collection. In particular I was trying to look for deep red lipstick which was required for another shoot (I'll post up an entry about it once I get all my pics from the photographer). I was just browsing through all the makeup section in the Japanese stores like Jusco and San A and observed that they didn't really have dark colors. Most of the colors for eye shadows and lipsticks were more towards light bright colors with lots of shimmer ^_^

So I was talking to my friend/tutor Akane and told her what I was looking for and she said that Japanese people prefer bright natural colors that's why I wasn't able to find what I was looking for. However if I wanted to buy darker colors I would have to buy it from Western cosmetic brands. Unfortunately the Japanese stores here in Okinawa do not stock high-end western cosmetic brands - the only ones available are brands like Maybelline, Revlon, Rimmel (brands that you usually find at the chemist). But even so, with those brands, the range of colors are still catered towards the Japanese taste.

So for you girls that ever move here to Okinawa and need to find western cosmetic brands, head over to Ryubo department store located in Naha city ^_^ Brands available there are Chanel, Christian Dior, Anna Sui, Clinique, Estee Lauder, Shiseido, Shu Uemura (Japanese brand but not available in other Japanese stores here on the island). Very limited I know...but it's better than nothing. There just aren't much options here in Okinawa it's a different story in mainland Japan though. Just make sure you stock up all your makeup supplies before you head over here if you prefer western cosmetic brands.

I found my red lipstick at Dior ^_^
I'm glad I learned the word 'akai' (red) from my tutor the week before. Made communicating with the sales assistant much easier LOL

Also bought myself some nail polish from Anna Sui - gahhhh!! I wanna collect all the different nail polish colors from Anna Sui!! Love how it smells

I'll be going to Fukuoka on the 16th-19th of April! So excited can't wait! I heard that Fukuoka is well known for Ramen so yeah stay tuned. I'll definitely write an entry or two regarding my trip to Fukuoka when I get back.

Also, my next entry will be about Food :p so do check back for it ;)

Drag Star 2009 - Cervini Mustang vs Ferrari Modena 360

2009-03-23T19:31:00.045+09:00

Hey everyone really sorry that I haven't been updating my blog as often as I had hoped. I've been busy recently...and for those of you that were waiting to find out about the race, I'm so sorry that you had to wait for a week for it. I'm gonna try to update my blog more often now.

I was really excited about going to the drags as it was my first time and it was also nice to be able to watch Reid's friends drag. Although I know nothing about cars!! Heck I can't even drive!! *shame shame* LOL so please forgive me if I make any mistakes in references to the cars and so on.

For some reason the the few days leading up the event was really cold including the day of the event itself..it was probably around 10 degrees. People said that it was the last cold of the season before it started to get warmer. I guess it's somewhat true as it's starting to warm up a lot nowadays. We had to leave by 7am in the morning and I had sooooo much trouble trying to get up because it was just such a cold morning!!

NOTE: Please click on the pics so that you can have a better view

The poster for the event

We arrived there around 8.30 am. Basically all the cars are lined up all along one side and the tracks are in the middle (view pics to have a better idea of what I'm talking about). The morning starts off with everyone getting their cars ready then followed by a meeting of all the drivers. By 10 am they were doing one or two practice runs. After that it was the qualifying rounds to determine who was going to race against each other in the tournament.

The Cars

The Track

And here is some eye-candy ^_~

Chevrolet Corvette Stingray
Toyota Aristo

Josh's Toyota Mark II. He won 2nd place for his division. Grats Josh!!

Skyline R32 GTR

Inamine's Skyline R32 GTR. This car is super fast!!

Ken's Skyline R31 GTR. He won 3rd place for his division. Grats Ken!!

Here's the starting line. Take a look at the cars in this pic...

Yeap, even Volkswagen Beetles drag too. It's really cute watching them go as well as other small Japanese cars.

Me - watching the drags and trying to stay warm. Brrrrr!! It was so cold in the morning. The weather was really crazy though...one minute when the sun is out it gets hot but when the sun is hidden the strong winds get chilly. Everyone was constantly battling between putting on their coats or taking it off. It was just one of those where you'd have your coat on and it would get hot then when you decide to take it off, the sun decides to hide behind the clouds and it gets cold! Grrrr!!

Oh yeah and I also got to try some American pastries LOL - Hostess HoHos & Twinkies!! It was alright but a little too sweet for me.

Here's some of the highlights of the drags

For the rest of the day, the tournament was going on as usual when all of a sudden a random Japanese guy pulls up in a bright yellow Ferrari!!! The Ferrari was creating so much buzz at the event and everyone was just flocking towards the car snapping pics.

The sexy Ferrari Modena 360. Ahhh....such a sexy car!!

Hey I couldn't resist! I HAD to take pics with the sexy car too!! :p LOL The pics of me here are really bad though due to the strong direct sunlight creating harsh shadows. Not at all flattering!!

Then everyone started to wonder if the Ferrari was going to race or not. I was excited! I wanted to see the Ferrari in action. One of the organizers knew that Reid's friend Kevin had a Cervini Mustang so he came over and asked Kevin if he was interested in racing against the Ferrari (Kevin wasn't even participating in the drags that day). We were all like "Go for it Kevin!! It's gonna be a great show!" so the race was on!!

So who won?

Mustang Cervini vs Ferrari Modena 360

Interesting race wasn't it? It was probably the quietest race of the day. I LOVE how the Ferrari just glides across so 'elegantly'. Most people were expecting the Ferrari to win LOL. I felt really sorry for the Ferrari guy though because after the race no one was paying attention to his car. Everyone was just flocked around Kevin's Mustang. LOL poor guy. Well for me that was the highlight of the day!! So much fun! And good on Kev for beating that guy!

Introducing Kevin's sexy Cervini Mustang

Nago Cherry Blossom Festival

2009-02-20T13:31:00.025+09:00

It's been quite sometime since my last entry..about a year actually LOL but I've decided I'm gonna restart writing my blog again. This way I can keep all my friends updated on what's happening here in Japan.

One of the biggest things for me is the opportunity to view Cherry Blossoms. When I think about Japan, cherry blossoms are one of the things that come to my mind. The cherry blossoms usually bloom in Okinawa during mid January and can extend to March. During this period of time, people will go "ohanami" (cherry blossom viewing).

However, things are a little different here in Okinawa compared to mainland Japan like Tokyo. For one, the cherry blossom trees are a slightly different species. I was told that the cherry blossom trees here are from Taiwan. They are bright pink in color and are much heavier and tend to just fall off the trees as opposed to the ones from mainland which are much lighter in color and 'float' off the trees.

This is what they look like here in Okinawa

Apart from that in mainland Japan, families, friends and colleagues usually have picnics under the cherry blossom trees whereas in Okinawa, things are more festival like. It is more common for Okinawans to go for a drive in the country and view the cherry blossoms from their car. There are also cherry blossom festivals carried out throughout this season in different parts of Okinawa. This year we went to the Cherry Blossom Festival at Nago. It was about an hours drive.

Me mucking around with my camera during the drive.

Rolls and rolls of colorful stalls are set up along the roads of a particular area that is full of cherry blossom trees. The stalls consist of game stalls and food stalls. Most of these stalls sell pretty much the same thing. There is also a stage whereby there are performances and music so it's really festival-like.

See the colorful stalls on the right of the pic? The whole stretch of road is just lined up with these stalls.

This is what I'm holding in my hand - a strawberry covered in candy and sugar. Close-up of what the stalls look like. They pretty much sell the same things like yakisobi, yakitori, okonomiyaki, takoyaki, chahan, hot-dog and fries etc.

Here you can see people cooking at the stalls.
We had this grilled scallop and chicken from the stall operated by the Marriott Hotel. I know the pics don't look that appealing but it tasted good though!

At the end of the stretch of road and stalls, is a hill with a flight of stairs all the way to the top. All along the hill are cherry blossom trees. Very pretty!

Here are some pics...
Half-way to the top of the hill, Reid tried to take a decent pic of me but we failed. It was just too windy!

At the very top of the hill is a little shrine. We prayed or made a little wish by first putting monetary offerings into the box. Next, ringing the bell once and bowing twice followed by clapping twice in prayer and thinking of your wish. End by bowing once. Although I don't practice the Shinto religion, it was nice to take part in the ritual.

Here's a video of how it's done

How-to-pray
by japan4000

I was really surprised that I managed to make it to the very top and back down with my high-heeled boots! LOL (^_^)

Yummy yummy SUSHI

2008-02-08T04:45:00.003+09:00

One thing I LOVE about being in Japan is the FOOD!!! :p hehehe and of course one of my fav is SUSHI – yum!

Without question, sushi here in Japan is so much better compared to the ones back home in Australia. Even the expensive top end sushi restaurants (Note: I’m only referring to the Gold Coast & Brisbane :p) can not compare to just an ordinary sushi bar here in Okinawa! I guess all the ingredients are so fresh that’s why the sushi here taste sooooooo good. Normally when I have sushi back home I tend to steer clear from all the raw fish ones however here in Okinawa, that’s all I eat! The fish just melts in your mouth…yum yum…my fav chutoro and otoro (fatty cut of tunas). I’m so hungry now just thinking about it! :p

Oh and another thing that I thought was so awesome when I first got here were the ready made sushi rolls that can be purchased at the convenience shop like Lawsons, Hot Spar, Family Mart which are equivalent to a Seven Eleven or Night Owl. Back in Aus whenever I buy a ready made sushi roll, the nori (seaweed) is always soggy and soft sigh…

In Japan, they’ve invented a clever way of packaging these sushi rolls so that the nori maintains its freshness. What a genius! Whoever invented it deserves an award for it!

For 180 yen, you can buy one of these and because of the way it is packaged, the nori stays fresh and crunchy!

Step by step of how to open one of these sushi rolls. Starting from top row left to right.

After having one of these packaged sushi rolls, I don’t know how I am ever going to pay AUD$2.00 for a sushi roll back home >.<>

Seijin No Hi - Coming of Age

2008-01-18T15:16:00.002+09:00

Every year on the second Monday in January, young adults celebrate the coming of age. Turning 20 in Japan is important like turning 21 in the US and turning 18 in Australia, it signifies a new era of rights and responsibilites - adulthood. In Japan, turning 20 means legally becoming an adult in the eyes of the law thus being able to vote, drink, smoke and even marry without their parents' consent.

The day starts off early with girls getting ready with hair appointments and getting dressed in their furisode kimono. For many young adults this celebration marks the first time they "officially" wear traditional adult clothing. The first part of the day is usually the more formal public ceremonies followed by private parties or celebration at restuarants.

Unfortunately this year, I forgot about seijin no hi so I missed seeing the young adults all gathered at the city hall. I would have loved to see the girls all dressed up in their pretty kimono and hairstyles... I was lucky though as we were waiting to see 'National Treasure' at the movies a group of young guys were roaming around American Village celebrating and cheering. It was quite a spectacular sight watching them cheer and all dressed up in the traditional hakama. Unfortunately I didn't get to take pictures but lucky enough I managed to have this one pic with the boys. Maybe next year I'll get to see the girls in their kimono ^_^

Before heading off to the movies Reid took me to this really nice little burger place by the beach - Sea Side Jet City Burger's. I loved it there. The atmosphere and ambience was really nice especially sitting out doors facing the ocean... Really gives the whole tropical island sort of feel. Nice place to just chill.

I had the Hawaiian Burger set. It was sooooooo good!! I finished the whole set on my own ^_^. Portion size is perfect for me. Not too big and not too small. However for the guys or people who are really hungry the portion size may not make you 100% full however it'll be enough to satisfy your hunger. Also I think this is a great little place to go on a first date hehehe...

Countdown 2008 & New Year's Day - Okinawa Style

2008-01-03T23:37:00.002+09:00

New Year's Eve

The night started with us picking Kevin and Kana at the airport.

They got in around 10.45pm then we headed over to Ole Bar in Matsuyama to countdown the new year!

The bar provided everyone with cups of soba noodles. Kana told me that is it tradition to have soba noodles on New Year's Eve.

Five minutes to midnight, the MC started to get the crowd ready for the countdown. Everything was in Japanese so I didn't really understand but once it was 12 midnight everyone cheered and wished each other Happy New Year. At this point, Japanese drinking songs were being played and the crowd sang along to the songs and cheered and drank. Too bad I don't understand Japanese as I would imagine that it would be so much fun singing and drinking to those songs.

Ole Bar ran an arm wrestling competition both for males and females. It was fun to watch especially watching the females arm wrestle. Both Kana and I were encouraging each other to participate in the competition LOL!

New Year's Day

Around 2am New Year's Day, we all left Ole Bar and headed to Naha Shrine for food and games!There were lots of people at Naha Shrine. I loved it! There were plenty of food stalls and game stalls. My fav is the Yakitori, which are chicken pieces on skewers on a hot fire grill... YUM :p

Once we climbed a couple of flights of stairs to the shrine, we tossed money into the shrine and clapped our hands twice, closed our eyes and made a wish.

The boys then were playing games trying to win prizes for the girls. Lets just say after a night of drinking, it is amusing to watch the boys play hehe...

Iron Man and Stealth Man = inside joke hehehe :p

New Year's afternoon we went to the Futema Shrine. It is tradition to visit the shrines on New Year's and to buy 'Omomori' which are like good luck charms. There were all sorts of charms. Good luck charms for the house, car, relationships and study to name a few. We made a wish again like the one we did at Naha Shrine. Before making a wish it is tradition to cleanse your hands first with water.

You can get your fortune told too for a 100 yen sort of like a fortune cookie but more detailed. You pick a fortune out of a box. Once you've read your fortune, you tie it on ropes like shown in the pic below.

After visiting Futema Shrine, Reid took me to a nice little restaurant for some Okinawa Soba! Yum~~ ^_^

I had the 'San Mai Niku Soba' set (top right hand corner). It is pork with vegetables on rice and Reid had the 'Tonkatsu Donburi Soba' set (bottom left corner) which is fried crumbed pork with egg on rice.

During my stay here in Okinawa, I've noticed that in a lot of restaurants there's this button by the table that you press when you are ready to order and it goes ping-pong when you buzz it.

I'm loving my stay in Okinawa!! It is different from mainland Japan though...it's more laid back and easy going pretty much like the Gold Coast. It is great experiencing life in Okinawa, Japan. I'll tell you more about my trip in my next post.