There are bad movies, good movies and then there are great movies. Toy Story 3 is, in my books, among the greats. And it has been a long time since I last saw a great movie.

Now that Andy has grown up, the toys family has gotten smaller. Isn’t that’s how it’s like for all of us. Toy Story is amazing because it’s not just a movie for kids, but rather a movie for the kid in all of us. If you haven’t seen it yet, I highly recommend it. If you’re one to get emotional during movies, you might want to bring a hanky along. ^^. I heard a few runny noses during the show.

Just out of curiosity. What happened to your old toys?

I love kids. Probably just a little bit more than I do my Apples. Hence I didn’t mind her trying to take a byte out of my iPad. ^^.

She was mesmerized by the iPad. Don’t know why, but she kept flipping it around to see what behind. Thanks to the solid build, my iPad withstood every single one of her gentle touches/pounding. Two apps she liked were the piano app and a koi pond app. The koi pond app produces some nice ripples and sound effects when the screen is touched. Kept her occupied for a while.

Have kids? Do you let let your kids play with your iPad? I know of folks who let their cats play with the iPad. ^^.

She’s so cute. I tried taking back my iPad, but she kept pulling it from me. ^^.

Baby’s first Apple.

It’s nice to get away from the city once in a while. Having been in Tokyo for quite some time, I recently long to explore areas outside Tokyo.

So we rented a car and set our navi to Enoshima! (Navi or ナビ refers to the car navigation system in Japanese.)

There’s something about driving that beats taking local transport. ^^. Sure, you have to deal with parking, but it makes many other places more accessible. Whenever I go out of Tokyo, it’s always by car. Makes me want one too…

Grilled scallop please. ほたてバター焼きください！

Getting a driver’s license in Japan is an expensive affair. Might cost you 2 arms and 2 legs. If you don’t fancy losing those parts, it’s probably around ¥300,000. Includes driving school, tests etc. I’ll put it in perspective – that’s quite a fair bit more than what a fresh undergrad in Tokyo makes in a month on average.

So, if you’re coming from elsewhere, get your license there first. Depending on where your license comes from, converting might be as simple as getting a translation and taking an eye exam.

I converted from an Australian license. Easy as pie. If I were to convert from my Malaysian license, they would probably make me take a driving test, fail me thrice before giving me a Japanese license. ^^. Of course I’m only pulling your leg. If you’re a safe driver, you’ll probably get through the first round. Good luck!

My Japanese friends in Sydney often told me that getting a driver’s license in Australia was much more affordable than back home.

Got sidetracked talking about driving licenses. Anyway, Enoshima is an island. A rather small one in fact. 4km in circumference, perfect for a day trip. It’s linked to the mainland by a 600 meter-long causeway.

If you were to take a train to the area, you’ll probably have to walk yourself across. I reckon walking across might be faster than queuing in traffic.

Lots of shops in the area. Fresh/frozen/dead seafood.

The weather was perfect that day. Hence the crowd. It was my first time there, but I guess it’s always this crowded on weekends?

When you’re living overseas, it’s important to experience as much of the culture as possible. There’s not much point in studying/living overseas if you’re only ever going to commute between school/work and home. Experiences will give you new insight and help develop you as an individual. Don’t be afraid to explore. Just don’t touch the bad stuff.

Sometimes people do ask me if I’ve experienced any culture shock when I first landed in Japan. Have you experienced culture shock?

Being able to study and live in Japan was a great opportunity and I saw it as my next adventure. I wanted to fully experience Japan and absorb all the good bits. I had no time to be in “culture shock” and you shouldn’t too.

I came to Japan on a Monbugakusho Scholarship. It was a scholarship awarded by the Japanese Government. My tuition was all covered and I had a monthly stipend. It was a great opportunity and, although I have been know to complain about the bureaucracy, I’m forever grateful to it.

I studied at Keio University. Don’t know if you have heard of it. ^^.

For those who have emailed me about study opportunities in Japan, Keio offers international graduate programs in their school of science and technology.

You might want to check it out if you’re thinking of furthering your studies. Moving to another country is a big decision. Make sure you think through it carefully.

If you do plan on going ahead and applying for a place in the IGP program at Keio, you will have to find yourself a supervisor. Here’s a link to some of the professors who can supervise international students and what they do. Maybe you’ll find something to suit your interests. Don’t let the videos fool you though, most of those professors are fluent in English.

Oh no… there I go babbling away again… let’s go back to Enoshima. Here’s a series of pictures of a young girl washing her hands before entering the shrine – a common practice before entering a shrine in Japan.

Here you have people making rounds around the a stargate. ^^. If you walk through it in a particular pattern, all things bad will be sucked into a wormhole and pooped out somewhere else. Unfortunately, I don’t know where this somewhere else is…

Knowledge is money. I appreciate the subtlety.

This deity isn’t getting alot of attention.

For the lonely, this is where you write and hang your heart’s desires. Priests will collect it at the end of the day and send it via smoke-mail to the ears in the heavens.

Wouldn’t it be nice to live around the area? Beaches, the open sea, a tourist attraction right at your doorstep… I wonder how it feels.

I wouldn’t like to live right in the middle of the shopping area, but the apartments in the back look pretty comfy. Don’t you think? All you need next is a surfboard. Go for a surf before work. Sure beats jogging.

There are 2 ways up the island. One could work the stairs or pay a little and make the stairs work for you.

I guess the residents here must love the open sea. Have to find out how much yachts cost in Japan. I don’t suppose the berthing fees are as high as parking fees in Tokyo.

The map of Enoshima. Pretty small island right?

Have a potted rose at home. Back then, decided to buy a whole pot instead of just a few stalks as a present. I thought my responsibilities ended when I handed it over…

I ended up being bara-chan’s (薔薇ちゃん) sole caretaker.

You grow anything at home besides your hair and fingernails? ^^.

There’s an observation deck right at the top of that simple tower. Enoshima is a pretty cool date spot too if you haven’t already noticed.

That hut on the left serves soba. Gotta give it a try next time I’m there.

Here’s a simple question. What are boats called in Japanese before they invented katakana? Because when you say “fu-ne”, it brings to mind a huge ship. Not a simple 2-3 or 4 seater boat.

Do you know what boats were called in medieval Japan?

It’s a pretty nice view from the top of the observatory. It was extremely windy when I got up though – a gorilla pod will probably be more stable than a tripod if you’ve planning on making a time lapse video from here.

You should be able to see Mt. Fuji on a clear day from here.

Stopped by here for lunch. Enoshima-tei. Why here? Was featured on TV. ^^.

I wanted to have with “nama-shirasu don” (生しらす丼), which is the raw version of the tiny fish. But they didn’t manage to catch any today. Ended up with this boiled version. The “nama” version is gray, fresh from the sea. Was pretty disappointed when I was told they didn’t get any today. So I went with the next best thing! Enoshima is pretty famous for “shirasu”. It’s something you definitely absolutely must try.

The orange thing on the right is called “ika no shio-kara” (イカの塩辛). Simply put, it’s squid soaked in its own guts. I like it. I can just have that and plain white rice and I’m content. ^^.

Not many Japanese are a fan though. Been told that my eating habits are more Japanese than most Japanese!

I highly recommend the “shirasu don” instead of this.

We had a great view of the sea from where we sat.

I think we sat there. Exactly where they filmed a scene for “Otoko wa tsurai yo” (男はつらいよ). “It’s tough being a man”.

In addition to squids, I like octopuses. You too?

No one was selling locks, so I wonder where they came from. All filled with “boy ♥ girl” messages. Maybe we should put up a store selling locks! Buy a lock and you can use any of our 200+ permanent color markers to publicly profess your devotion and lock it in! Sounds like a good business model? ^^.

T’was a great weekend getaway. Can’t wait to visit Enoshima again. Maybe next time, I’ll drop in at the Aquarium.

How can someone work like this?!?

江ノ島の江之島亭で食べたしらす丼！おいしかったよ！

Ate this whitebait donburi at a restaurant in Enoshima during the weekend. Yummy.

Was on set during the filming of Culture:Japan. Culture:Japan is a brand new Japanese TV program directed by Danny Choo. His very first!

I also contributed to the show. Made the opening visuals. Felt a sense of accomplishment watching my work on TV. ^^.

The show is very much about Japanese pop culture. Danny is preparing his daughters for the show. When will Nikon start manufacturing DSLRs that size?

It was my first time inside a TV studio. Have you been in a TV studio? I don’t think going to NHK studio park counts. ^^.

Girls from Weekly ASCII, a popular Japanese tech magazine, also at the filming.

Fujiyasu-san was the executive producer in-charge to the show.

Voice actress Satomi Sato who does Ritsu from K-ON! was Danny’s co-host. Do you watch K-ON?

The final product was shown last night 9pm on Tokyo MX TV. Were you watching? ^^. I know people were discussing the show over at the twitterverse.

If you’ve missed it, you can find out more about the show at Danny’s blog.

I wonder…. anyone with a link to it on the internets?

That little face on the bottom left corner… was it there before?

There’s a ton of 顔文字 to start using in your emails. ！(◎_◎;)

Some of us like Apples, some of us like Sonys. No reason why we can’t all get along right? ^^.

How many Sonys can you spot in this photo?

The (東京六大学野球連盟) Tokyo Big6 Baseball League consists of Keio, Waseda, Hosei, Meiji and Rikkio. All famous universities in Tokyo.

Before I forget. Let me just plug this in.

The Graduate School of Science and Technology at Keio has an international program if you’re looking for an opportunity to further your studies in Japan. There’s also a scholarship possibility too. You can also find out more about some of the research labs at Keio’s YouTube channel if you’re interested.

Anyway, this is by far, my favorite photo of the match. ^^. It’s not of baseball, but rather of a Keio ōendan (応援団) member. An ōendan is a Japanese version of a cheering squad. There are both male and female members. Female members are more or less like their counterparts in the US, with the sexy outfit and all. Male members are dressed Men in Black.

The championship match today is held at the Meiji Gingu Baseball Stadium.

Keio’s has a huge flag.

Beer ladies making their rounds.

Keio’s warming up on the field.

WAHHHHHHHH!

Both teams warming up. Waseda’s in white.

Asahi beer this time.

The match begins with a humble bow.

Where’s the half naked guy?

The Waseda supporters.

They have their own oendan and cheerleaders too.

See the ball fly!

Do you think it was a hit?

There were definitely more Keio supporters that day.

Keio cheerleaders as seen from Waseda.

I snuck into the Waseda oentai. The designated Waseda supporters section. Wasn’t in my Keio colors that day. ^^.

Keio cheerleaders.

People just like having their photos taken. ^^.

Teamwork.

Waseda pitchers threw some very fast balls. 140-150km/h.

Victory! 慶大優勝! Keio University’s Victory!

It was my first time at a baseball match. I sort of know the rules, but have never been a huge fan. We don’t really play baseball in Malaysia, Singapore and Australia. Do you play baseball? Or at least know the rules?

When I wasn’t out and about snapping photos, I was on the edge of my seat throughout the match. Won’t forget the feeling I felt when we hit our first home run. It was exhilarating!

We won 6-4. It was a tiny lead. When 2 strong teams square off, the difference is usually very small. Maybe that’s why it was so exciting towards the end. You never know when the tide will turn.

Have you been to a live baseball match? Or do you even like baseball?

Found another comic strip to follow. ^^. Tell me you can’t not relate to that!

From Geek and Poke.