I went on a bus trip organised by my university to Nikko, Tochigi recently. Nikko (日光) is a city in Tochigi (栃木) prefecture and is famous for its beautiful landscapes and shrines. The bus ride was 3 hours from Tokyo and my back and butt was hurting like mad from the cramped seat.
The first stop was to world-famous Nikko Toushou-gu (日光東照宮), which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
To be honest, I'm not exactly a fan of shrines but 日光東照宮 was really architecturally beautiful. The shutterbug in me went on a mad rampage! Everything was so scenic and serene.
Finally at the entrance of the shrine.
The 鳥居 (Torii), which marks our entrance into a Shinto shrine.
Here it is! Nikko Toushou-gu!
More random pics.
I don't know why I love these rocks so much. Haha XD.
Lunch!
We also viewed 中禅寺湖, Lake Chuzenji.
And 華厳の滝, Kegon Falls, which is an infamous waterfall for suicides (!!!).
I shall end this post with a photo of a yummy ice-cream topped with red bean paste!
Recently there is a ウチカフェ (Uchi Cafe - Home Cafe) boom in Japan. Uchi means 'Home' and Uchi Cafe simply means having some friends over for coffee or tea at home hahaha. With pretty cups and sweets of course!
I had some friends over at my apartment today for our Uchi Cafe!
My friend Yuko-chan brought Maccha Latte and Azuki (red bean) milk! Very yummy!
And these from Lawson!
Had this too! Oreo-flavoured cafe au lait!
Yuko-chan!
And I finally got my TV! 19 inches and perfect size for my room!
Ever since I landed in Japan, I didn't watch TV at all. All I watched were variety shows on Youtube and this was the longest time I had gone without watching TV.
Chanced upon this awesome makeup tutorial on Youtube by Audfaced. It is inspired by Bellatrix Lestrange! I love AudFaced's unique cinematic approach in the tutorial and it gave me goosebumps!
AudFaced is such a brilliant artist and photographer! I hope to dress up as Bellatrix Lestrange for next year's Halloween!
1. Officially registered my new address at the City Council
2. Got my National Health Insurance card with new address
2. Registered for a bank account at Mitsubushi bank
3. Paid my rent for the month of December
4. Ate the Carbonara burger at McDonald's (haha)
5. Watched Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 movie!
It's sad and depressing but I LOVE it! The movie follows the book quite accurately and it was awesome to see the parts that I read in the novel being translated into real-life action scenes.
Hermione got featured twice in this banner, but I think Bellatrix Lestrange is the STAR! She's FIERCE!
At the box office.
Movie tickets in Japan are so costly! It costs about 1,800yen to watch a movie. That is like SGD28! But on Wednesdays, ladies can watch movies at a discounted price of 1,000yen (SGD16). Yes it is still rather expensive compared to Singapore, where movie tickets cost SGD8 on the average, but hey, it's TOKYO!
Regretted buying this lousy churro. Gimme back my 300yen!
I thought the cinema seats in Japan must be cramped and small for tall people like me (I'm 1.78m), but it was surprisingly comfortable and spacious! The back of the seats are high enough for movie patrons to rest their heads and the rows are sloped in an angle to ensure that no one is blocked by people in front. And plenty of leg space!
Each seat had their own little light to illuminate the seat numbers. Of course these lights are switched off when the movie begins.
Before the start of the movie, there was a staff to announce the name of the movie and remind patrons to set their mobile phones to silent mode.
I teared several times during the movie. I couldn't help it, I'm just so emotional these days. It was sad to see characters dying and the whole tone of the movie was just so depressing! And oh DOBBY! Poor Dobby!
I have mixed emotions about Part 2. I can't wait to watch it but at the same time, I don't want it to end! I can confidently say that many of us grew up watching HP, and the magical journey is going to end soon! Nooo!
Anyway, since we are on the topic of movies, here is another movie that I'm eagerly waiting to catch.
GANTZ!
Going to sleep now cos I gotta wake up super early for a day trip tomorrow!
