tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2912286416068908597Thu, 05 Jan 2012 23:26:40 +0000John in Japan on the JET Programmehttp://j-hat.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.com (John Nguyen)Blogger116125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2912286416068908597.post-3056128288114287891Sat, 08 May 2010 01:16:00 +00002010-06-10T10:57:57.435+09:00After a few days experiencing the busy, urban, city-life of Singapore, we hopped on a bus to cross the border to explore the jungles and beaches of Malaysia. We crossed into Johor Bahru and snaked our way up the coast to the sleepy coastal town of Mersing, the coastal gateway to many of Malaysia’s outlying islands. We were headed to the biggest and most beautiful island on the Eastern coast of http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/AdventuresOfJ-hat/~3/fVfJ9MBlec0/ocean-sand-tioman.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (John Nguyen)0http://j-hat.blogspot.com/2010/05/ocean-sand-tioman.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2912286416068908597.post-3907458631603308191Wed, 05 May 2010 23:57:00 +00002010-06-10T10:56:41.099+09:00With the first hint of spring in the air and the cherry blossoms beginning to bloom, it’s the perfect time to take a step back and appreciate Japan for what it offers… five consecutive days of holidays and a chance to leave Japan and travel abroad. In other words, Golden Week is upon us once again! Last year took me on adventures throughout Hong Kong and China. This year took me a little further http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/AdventuresOfJ-hat/~3/pWMXdFjKRa8/to-equator.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (John Nguyen)0http://j-hat.blogspot.com/2010/05/to-equator.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2912286416068908597.post-2869413422007744347Mon, 05 Apr 2010 08:12:00 +00002010-04-22T14:50:24.230+09:00In a last-ditch attempt to experience Winter before it - and I - leave Japan I revisited Fukiage onsen, the small mountain onsen I went to last year for a short weekend of snowshoeing and outdoor adventures with outdoorsy, like-minded friends. Last year consisted of an epic snowshoe hike up Maetokachi-dake in gale-force blizzard weather (ok, not quite) and an amazing snowboard through untouched, http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/AdventuresOfJ-hat/~3/iAZ7_UYBaoY/fukiage-adventures.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (John Nguyen)0http://j-hat.blogspot.com/2010/04/fukiage-adventures.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2912286416068908597.post-8852205685977779182Mon, 22 Mar 2010 04:32:00 +00002010-04-22T13:52:06.555+09:00After missing two seasons, I was finally able to see my first Japanese baseball game! In Japan, they take their baseball seriously. Baseball is a serious sport. Sapporo’s baseball team is called the Nippon Ham Fighters. Notice the clever company advertising subtly inserted into the team name? As a bonus, everyone receives a free stick of ham from their sponsors upon entry! I’ll be honest, http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/AdventuresOfJ-hat/~3/6yAGDkekEl4/everybody-loves-ham-fighting.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (John Nguyen)0http://j-hat.blogspot.com/2010/03/everybody-loves-ham-fighting.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2912286416068908597.post-8042494640982448707Mon, 08 Mar 2010 12:47:00 +00002010-04-22T14:54:41.306+09:00Part 4Continuing our road trip of Eastern Hokkaido, I took her to all the natural locations of Eastern Hokkaido I’d explored in the Summer but had yet to see in the Winter. The first, beautiful view of frozen Lake Kussharo was enough to stave off the wind that battered us from all directions. Following the shore around Lake Kussharo brought us to Sunayu with its Nessie-like mascot, Kusshie. In http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/AdventuresOfJ-hat/~3/URsWubHcT_c/winter-out-east.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (John Nguyen)1http://j-hat.blogspot.com/2010/03/winter-out-east.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2912286416068908597.post-2593449441609961029Sat, 06 Mar 2010 09:15:00 +00002010-03-18T17:42:19.217+09:00Part 3A few weeks later, Eliza came out of of the city again to spend the weekend exploring more of rural Eastern Hokkaido. The first place we went after picking her up from Asahikawa was Sounkyo gorge, an onsen town nestled deep in the mountains, to catch the tail end of the Sounkyo Ice Waterfall Festival. In the middle of winter, on a frozen lake an ice castle magically springs to life (http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/AdventuresOfJ-hat/~3/BdoTruWrbdo/like-disneyland-on-ice.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (John Nguyen)0http://j-hat.blogspot.com/2010/03/like-disneyland-on-ice.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2912286416068908597.post-7995068927390978793Sun, 28 Feb 2010 06:54:00 +00002010-03-18T15:00:22.191+09:00Part 2When there isn’t a festival going on, it’s always a good idea to throw one yourself! This year was the 3rd Annual Queens of the Drift Ice (here's what happened last year), a time to showcase Eastern Hokkaido’s famous 流氷 (ryuuhyou), or drift ice. It’s a good reason, and usually the best time of year, for those who live in other parts of the island make the long trek out and explore Abashiri http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/AdventuresOfJ-hat/~3/dYUVEpFK2S4/queens-of-sea.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (John Nguyen)1http://j-hat.blogspot.com/2010/02/queens-of-sea.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2912286416068908597.post-4555440544773540054Tue, 16 Feb 2010 05:20:00 +00002010-03-18T15:01:08.616+09:00It’s been a busy past few months; Winter just flew by, it seems! The sun sets later, the snow is melting (in between random spurts of blizzards) and it’s undeniably, no matter how much I try to deny it, turning into Spring. With the imminent changing of the seasons, I’ve been trying to enjoy the remaining days of Winter before it evaporates, leaving the green buds of leaves, blooming flowers, andhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/AdventuresOfJ-hat/~3/NmztFcL6SWY/fantastical-24th.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (John Nguyen)0http://j-hat.blogspot.com/2010/02/fantastical-24th.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2912286416068908597.post-7607930171772529626Mon, 08 Feb 2010 01:41:00 +00002010-02-09T07:18:01.451+09:00I've written before about the Japanese inventing sports and making them "softer" or more easier to play, but there's one sport they've changed and pushed it above and beyond, inventing rules, equipment, and expanding this one-time childhood activity into international winter 'sport'. I have to admit that it's pretty brilliant, and having participated in a tournament last weekend, I'm all for http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/AdventuresOfJ-hat/~3/YzH23kYKF0g/yukigassen.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (John Nguyen)3http://j-hat.blogspot.com/2010/02/yukigassen.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2912286416068908597.post-2684947546164538318Sun, 31 Jan 2010 12:33:00 +00002010-01-31T21:37:02.723+09:00The next thing Eliza and I did was to make a Winter visit to the Yamabiko waterfalls, a short drive outside of Maruseppu. I'd been to the falls two summers ago soon after arriving in Japan. As impressive as the small, quaint waterfall was then, it was even more impressive as a frozen column of ice! The road leading up the falls is closed in the Winter so we had to park and walk a short twenty http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/AdventuresOfJ-hat/~3/H772SDKDNoY/yamabiko-icicle.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (John Nguyen)0http://j-hat.blogspot.com/2010/01/yamabiko-icicle.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2912286416068908597.post-8266557895504296915Tue, 26 Jan 2010 12:09:00 +00002010-01-26T22:25:30.994+09:00Eliza came up last weekend to visit me in Eastern Hokkaido so the first thing I did was take her to Cha Cha World. It's a funky, castle-shaped toy museum that I've always driven past but haven't been to. I've heard from others who've been there that it's only worth going to once. I'm not sure if it's because I had lowered expectations, but the museum was awesome! I highly recommend it.First of http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/AdventuresOfJ-hat/~3/xrpJo5zeTJ8/toying-around-cha-cha-world.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (John Nguyen)0http://j-hat.blogspot.com/2010/01/toying-around-cha-cha-world.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2912286416068908597.post-1262662606555163022Mon, 25 Jan 2010 12:02:00 +00002010-01-26T18:14:44.750+09:00For lack of a better title, this is what I did all Winter vacation. I'm a bit behind at posting this, mainly due to things cropping up over the past few weeks (ie. laziness and lack of motivation), but later is better than never. That and I've suddenly gotten a burst of creative inspiration to write blog posts again, so I've grabbed my keyboard to catch some brain waves before they recede back http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/AdventuresOfJ-hat/~3/4lnKGR_Ox3c/i-went-snowboarding.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (John Nguyen)0http://j-hat.blogspot.com/2010/01/i-went-snowboarding.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2912286416068908597.post-8845774677075605511Thu, 21 Jan 2010 00:48:00 +00002010-01-21T09:55:59.308+09:00Ok, so this post isn't about any adventures I've had in Japan, but about an awesome Japanese band I've discovered. They're aptly named 'GReeeeN' with four e's for members in the band, all dentists from Fukushima who make music as a hobby. I first discovered them after continually hearing the same song called "Kiseki" in my schools, in stores, and on the radio. It was pretty catchy and I liked it,http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/AdventuresOfJ-hat/~3/_yWy8iHpJgs/greeeen.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (John Nguyen)0http://j-hat.blogspot.com/2010/01/greeeen.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2912286416068908597.post-545130397520788177Mon, 18 Jan 2010 09:29:00 +00002010-01-18T18:40:45.259+09:00Today, I've officially decided to finish my last year on JET. I was split 50/50 for a long time, considering the economy back home and how difficult it is to find jobs, but after weighing the pros and cons I decided it was best for me to return home. I think when I initially came to Japan I knew I was only going to be here for 2 years. Now having decided not to do a 3rd year, I feel it was the http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/AdventuresOfJ-hat/~3/cMwYQblPP3w/returning-to-canadaland.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (John Nguyen)0http://j-hat.blogspot.com/2010/01/returning-to-canadaland.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2912286416068908597.post-7874698240275828535Sun, 03 Jan 2010 01:50:00 +00002010-01-04T21:45:21.350+09:00I've been in Japan for over 17 months and I thought I'd see everything.. that was until I ran across this gem in Asahikawa. Fulfilling the stereotype that you can get anything out of a vending machine in Japan, the Egg Haus delivers! It's exactly what you think it is, a wee building that sells eggs out of vending machines. You can even get sauce to go with your eggs. The only thing that struck mehttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/AdventuresOfJ-hat/~3/_RcGBSlnH_4/egg-haus.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (John Nguyen)0http://j-hat.blogspot.com/2009/12/egg-haus.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2912286416068908597.post-3878284248765604557Sun, 27 Dec 2009 14:20:00 +00002009-12-27T23:06:55.456+09:00To me, "Christmas" means spending time with family. It means eating a Christmas dinner of turkey, ham, mashed potatoes, stuffing, gravy, veggies, and cranberry sauce. It means opening presents on New Years Eve after dinner. It means being in that all-encompassing festive atmosphere during the Christmas holidays and having warm memories of Christmas from my childhood.This being my first Christmas http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/AdventuresOfJ-hat/~3/GhAbTxAHZbg/happy-christmas.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (John Nguyen)0http://j-hat.blogspot.com/2009/12/happy-christmas.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2912286416068908597.post-5707201928278040636Sat, 26 Dec 2009 01:48:00 +00002009-12-27T11:24:17.617+09:00This is my 100th blog post. w00t! I wonder why no one's told me to shut up already?..http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/AdventuresOfJ-hat/~3/zFPBT6icGFs/100th-post.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (John Nguyen)0http://j-hat.blogspot.com/2009/12/100th-post.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2912286416068908597.post-7517754384778579650Sat, 26 Dec 2009 01:44:00 +00002009-12-27T22:56:55.990+09:00I had my first semi-harrowing adventure in Japan after going on a backcountry snowshoeing trip gone bad. The 13 of us - 11 JETs and two guides - who signed up for the "Hokkaido Backcountry Xmas Party" trip had no idea what was in store for us. We were looking forward to a short, breezy snowshoe trek to a rustic cabin where we'd settle in for the night and have a Christmas party. The next morning http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/AdventuresOfJ-hat/~3/1KCW5uquJpI/lost-in-woods.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (John Nguyen)1http://j-hat.blogspot.com/2009/12/lost-in-woods.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2912286416068908597.post-1064830835720720776Thu, 17 Dec 2009 00:54:00 +00002009-12-17T09:57:13.314+09:00A few weeks ago was the annual Gather-all-the-Hokkaido-JETs-in-Sapporo-and-party weekend - otherwise known as Mid-Year Conference. Last year we (meaning HAJET, of which I've wholeheartedly become a part of) decided to hold a Winter Ball during Mid-Year conference, which turned out a big success. This year we tried to double up on that success and hold the event again.. with an 80's twist. http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/AdventuresOfJ-hat/~3/W5YsC1WHv18/rockin-winter-ball.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (John Nguyen)0http://j-hat.blogspot.com/2009/12/rockin-winter-ball.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2912286416068908597.post-151710504177499482Wed, 18 Nov 2009 02:11:00 +00002009-11-24T13:41:10.468+09:00I recently had the good luck to visit something I've been dying to do since coming to Japan - stay in a Love Hotel. These types of hotels are scattered all throughout Japan (even in small, seedy towns or where there's demand) and are infamously known, as the name suggests, for making love in. What makes them even more conspicuous is the ability to rent them by the hour, so you can quickly get in http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/AdventuresOfJ-hat/~3/zSmbQSORYMU/love-hotels-101.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (John Nguyen)1http://j-hat.blogspot.com/2009/11/love-hotels-101.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2912286416068908597.post-3115882217823452588Fri, 13 Nov 2009 11:01:00 +00002009-11-18T10:34:22.692+09:00Snow has finally hit Japan! Well, northern Japan at least. It had been carpeting the mountains for the past few weeks but it's only just recently reached the ground (without melting). We got 20cm of snow in one night with a forecast for a whole lot more. Look!So yeah, I'm pretty excited because it means my love Yuki-chan is back and I can ride her all Winter. No you sickos, "yuki" means snow in http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/AdventuresOfJ-hat/~3/yefGXNFMgSc/yuki-bonanza.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (John Nguyen)0http://j-hat.blogspot.com/2009/11/yuki-bonanza.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2912286416068908597.post-2765554867418122522Wed, 11 Nov 2009 11:44:00 +00002009-11-11T20:56:45.250+09:00What do you get when you combine ghosts, pirates, vampires, samurai's, street fighter characters, Jack Skellington, Bat woman, cross-dressing maids and Care Bears blended together for a few hours of all-you-can-drink at an izakaya topped with karaoke? The best Halloween ever! This year, I spent an awesome 4-day weekend with good friends under the neon lights of the Susukino district in Sapporo. http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/AdventuresOfJ-hat/~3/Kt-I7TYPfj8/halloween-shenanigans-in-sapporo.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (John Nguyen)1http://j-hat.blogspot.com/2009/11/halloween-shenanigans-in-sapporo.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2912286416068908597.post-1850622219739695677Fri, 30 Oct 2009 00:41:00 +00002009-10-30T10:01:47.478+09:00I remember when I was kid and going out trick-or-treating, trying to compete with my brothers to see who could get the most pillow case full of candy in one night. Some years we'd have a good haul and have to drop a full pillow case back home to grab an empty one, and other times my mom would drive us in the van with the side-door open so we wouldn't need to walk from house to house. Those were http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/AdventuresOfJ-hat/~3/Hl4yBg3kQH8/bringing-halloween-to-japan.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (John Nguyen)0http://j-hat.blogspot.com/2009/10/bringing-halloween-to-japan.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2912286416068908597.post-125281396138240332Mon, 19 Oct 2009 12:25:00 +00002009-10-20T06:42:37.218+09:00Just when I thought my hiking was done for the season, I got an invite to hike another mountain with my friend Georgie a few days ago. This time of year, mid-Autumn, has already seen us with a light dusting of snow on the lofty mountain peaks so we decided to tackle a mountain slightly closer to the sea, Mt.Nikoro, at a breezy 829 meters. It was a short, brisk hike taking us three hours to reach http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/AdventuresOfJ-hat/~3/hrAvRT98Cak/old-man-of-nikoroyama.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (John Nguyen)0http://j-hat.blogspot.com/2009/10/old-man-of-nikoroyama.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2912286416068908597.post-7781721802028686300Wed, 14 Oct 2009 00:57:00 +00002009-10-25T08:26:46.748+09:00I'll be honest, I don't like zoos. They're depressing. A couple of weekends ago I paid a visit to the Asahiyama Zoo in Asahikawa. A few friends from Takikawa wanted to visit the zoo so I met them there with my friend Nikki. We walked around on an emotional low (I wasn't the only one to dislike zoos) to see the animals on exhibit in their cages, like glass displays of exotic pets. The most saddesthttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/AdventuresOfJ-hat/~3/sIyfdsDE10Y/i-went-to-zoo.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (John Nguyen)3http://j-hat.blogspot.com/2009/10/i-went-to-zoo.html