tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-45885554455109484182012-01-29T00:45:04.679+08:00QQhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08064567758259083347noreply@blogger.comBlogger216125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4588555445510948418.post-48108643060873795912012-01-13T22:06:00.005+08:002012-01-13T22:40:19.779+08:002012-01-13T22:40:19.779+08:00

It has been a while since I last did research on my travel trip. Miss those days, when I go on a mini trip every 2 weeks. :PWhen researching on my next trip to Taiwan, it suddenly dawned upon me that planning a trip in Japan is actually easier than that of other countries.Here's why:Easy availability of tour busesIn almost every city, there is mini tour bus that brings passengers around all the

QQhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08064567758259083347noreply@blogger.comhttp://qqsandbox.blogspot.com/2012/01/why-i-miss-planning-trips-in-japan.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4588555445510948418.post-83186883846992178722011-10-08T22:47:00.006+08:002011-10-09T00:07:17.421+08:002011-10-09T00:07:17.421+08:00

Time flies! It's already 2 months back home! :)But I still have this naggy homesickness feeling... missing my 2nd home... Japan. Like when I first went over, I first missed the people, now the food, and next the environment and my life there. But that's a whole other reverse culture shock story to tell another day.So now, I turn to my comfort food, which has changed as well. I now go on a search

QQhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08064567758259083347noreply@blogger.comhttp://qqsandbox.blogspot.com/2011/10/finding-japan-in-singapore-makan-trail.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4588555445510948418.post-55963923109076095672011-09-15T00:42:00.013+08:002011-09-16T00:48:37.222+08:002011-09-16T00:48:37.222+08:00

Great surprise when I went for lessons today. We received free invitation passes to the World Runway fashion event. World Runway is an international fashion contest among 8 countries. And Singapore is one of them too!The 8 countries are:SingaporeJapanUSAUKItalyFrance RussiaBrazilEach country will send 5 models to compete, and according to the rules, the competing models must be influential

QQhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08064567758259083347noreply@blogger.comhttp://qqsandbox.blogspot.com/2011/09/giveaway-tickets-for-2-to-world-runway.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4588555445510948418.post-56816980763968469272011-08-30T01:01:00.004+08:002011-08-30T02:00:10.874+08:002011-08-30T02:00:10.874+08:00

Almost forgot that I wanted to do a top 10 series for my Japan adventure too, following my first top 10 posts in the Tiger year. So, what are my readers most interested in, in terms of living/ working and travelling in Japan? *drum roll* in descending order... 1. How do I prepare for the JET interview? Not surprising... the most popular post is about how to join the JET program, since "QQ's

QQhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08064567758259083347noreply@blogger.comhttp://qqsandbox.blogspot.com/2011/08/top-10-faves-from-qqs-adventure-in.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4588555445510948418.post-65985649148050346692011-08-18T22:41:00.006+08:002011-08-20T16:44:26.143+08:002011-08-20T16:44:26.143+08:00

After a hiatus, I am back at school again. This time, I'm attending the preparation course for JLPT N1 examination. Yup, I have finally decided to finish the JLPT challenge, and try the highest level, N1. But then, the course at Ikoma Language School had already started since April, so I am joining halfway. Gotta work hard, else I think it will be very difficult for me to pass. :( Hoping that

QQhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08064567758259083347noreply@blogger.comhttp://qqsandbox.blogspot.com/2011/08/back-to-night-classes.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4588555445510948418.post-76571109512852705312011-08-14T14:54:00.003+08:002011-08-14T15:05:27.504+08:002011-08-14T15:05:27.504+08:00

The first name I had for my blog is "QQ's Sandbox" as I would like it to document with my life experiments, my life experiences, the little knick-knacks, knocks, triumphs in life. But to say it in layman's term, I was probably a mere lifestyle blogger. Pretty random topics, mostly about my interest, photography trips. Then came the dream, "QQ's Adventure in Japan", and the blog lived up to its

QQhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08064567758259083347noreply@blogger.comhttp://qqsandbox.blogspot.com/2011/08/transition.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4588555445510948418.post-23746779546922450832011-08-14T13:09:00.011+08:002011-08-14T17:05:45.635+08:002011-08-14T17:05:45.635+08:00

Hokkaido! The second most popular honeymoon destination among my friends. Actually, Hokkaido is also my ideal honeymoon spot as well, since as you know, I love Japan. LOL Hokkaido and Okinawa. Both are separated from the main Japan island, and need air flights to reach, yet, Hokkaido still feel very much like Honshu really. Very different from Okinawa, which really felt like overseas. Food and

QQhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08064567758259083347noreply@blogger.comhttp://qqsandbox.blogspot.com/2011/08/summertime-in-hokkaido.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4588555445510948418.post-42368599264939639492011-07-30T10:34:00.008+08:002011-07-30T20:08:07.525+08:002011-07-30T20:08:07.525+08:00

Last day, in my house. Last day, in my little town.Tomorrow, I will embark on my last trip on JET to Hokkaido, and then back to Singapore, officially. I shall blog about my Hokkaido trip from home, my Singapore home then.Seriously, time flies. One year just flown by, just like that.And to me, it all sums up to one word- DREAM.It is a dream come true for me,I finally had a chance to live and work

QQhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08064567758259083347noreply@blogger.comhttp://qqsandbox.blogspot.com/2011/07/last-day.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4588555445510948418.post-29397511001517059922011-07-30T10:06:00.007+08:002011-07-30T20:09:09.315+08:002011-07-30T20:09:09.315+08:00

Yes, I finally made a trip to Osaka! Osaka always had a special place in my heart, as I met my first helpful Japanese there when I lost my train ticket. ;)Capturing Osaka Castle and its reflection in the early morning ;)If you are like me, and took the night bus to Osaka, do visit the Osaka Castle as your first stop. Candy and I really enjoyed our morning photoshoot at Osaka. And Candy wasn't

QQhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08064567758259083347noreply@blogger.comhttp://qqsandbox.blogspot.com/2011/07/little-korea-in-osaka.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4588555445510948418.post-79171083382196636772011-07-30T09:54:00.005+08:002011-07-30T20:06:38.870+08:002011-07-30T20:06:38.870+08:00

On 24 July 2011, 12 noon (Japan time), Japan has officially crossed the analog border and stepped into the digital era. All television broadcasts, (other than those in the Tohoku earthquake affected areas) be it via CRT TVs at home or the navi-cum-TV in the cars, have gone digital.Actually even before I came to Japan, I have already heard of this analog-to-digital change. So the government have

QQhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08064567758259083347noreply@blogger.comhttp://qqsandbox.blogspot.com/2011/07/stepping-into-digital-era.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4588555445510948418.post-67922199817737533792011-07-25T09:28:00.010+08:002011-07-25T09:51:14.095+08:002011-07-25T09:51:14.095+08:00

This is my current challenge. How to keep my apartment sparkling clean, free from all garbage for the new owners of my home, and also for the impending apartment check, which... very cleverly is set after all garbage collection dates are over.Maybe, I need to explain the context to my Singaporean readers, as you may be wondering what's the big fuss over it. I can easily just packed in a big trash

QQhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08064567758259083347noreply@blogger.comhttp://qqsandbox.blogspot.com/2011/07/what-happens-when-garbage-collection.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4588555445510948418.post-46524168184922280672011-07-18T14:33:00.005+08:002011-07-18T14:54:20.742+08:002011-07-18T14:54:20.742+08:00

Last Saturday was my school's baseball match, together with all the teachers and Year 1 students, we went to the local baseball stadium to support our baseball team. It was a really interesting experience! 大开眼界！1. Going BotakThe entire baseball team, including those on the benches (especially Year 1s who are not included in the competitions yet), had a haircut. Everyone went botak! This probably

QQhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08064567758259083347noreply@blogger.comhttp://qqsandbox.blogspot.com/2011/07/interesting-japanese-culture-of.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4588555445510948418.post-17017555252752932752011-07-12T17:36:00.008+08:002011-07-12T17:48:07.251+08:002011-07-12T17:48:07.251+08:00

It's official. I simply hate the 梅雨 (tsuyu) season and mostly.. the spiders that comes with it.As a tropical gal, I know how to coexist with bug life throughout the year, since we have summer all year long. Or so I thought.I was so wrong. Wait till you get to the rainy season in Japan, also known as tsuyu in Japanese. The bugs are ever so energetic in this season.Probably because they missed out

QQhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08064567758259083347noreply@blogger.comhttp://qqsandbox.blogspot.com/2011/07/what-i-hate-most-about-japan-spiders.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4588555445510948418.post-22000182989380319212011-07-09T21:50:00.007+08:002011-07-25T09:16:11.929+08:002011-07-25T09:16:11.929+08:00

KTV is probably the 3rd thing I missed most after I left Singapore. Surprised? Japan is the so-called motherland of KTV or karaoke. This very popular hobby originated from Japan. So... how can I not have KTV-ed since I came in last August? Yup.. all the way until my last month in Japan did I had my first Japanese KTV experience. ♫♫♬ So how different is Japan's KTV from Singapore's?On and off I

QQhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08064567758259083347noreply@blogger.comhttp://qqsandbox.blogspot.com/2011/07/ktving-in-japan-vs-singapore.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4588555445510948418.post-14793838492293971312011-07-09T21:16:00.002+08:002011-07-09T21:37:26.043+08:002011-07-09T21:37:26.043+08:00

Wow.. time flies.. It's now into the 6th season!This year the theme of N.E.mation is "N.S.: From Father to Son". The team with the winning animation clip based on the former theme will win a trip to DreamWorks Animation in USA!Very attractive indeed!

QQhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08064567758259083347noreply@blogger.comhttp://qqsandbox.blogspot.com/2011/07/nemation-is-here-again.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4588555445510948418.post-12867963110795064952011-07-03T17:16:00.004+08:002011-07-07T07:54:35.030+08:002011-07-07T07:54:35.030+08:00

Often, new Japanese colleagues would ask me if I was originally from China, after I self-introduce myself as a Singaporean Chinese. I would usually explain that I am born in Singapore, so my nationality is Singaporean, but my race is Chinese.But sometimes, they will still have a puzzled look.At that time, I didn't quite get why they are puzzled. To me, birth country = nationality, and that was

QQhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08064567758259083347noreply@blogger.comhttp://qqsandbox.blogspot.com/2011/07/nationality-birth-country.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4588555445510948418.post-61221703404670913312011-06-24T22:10:00.009+08:002011-06-25T08:31:50.901+08:002011-06-25T08:31:50.901+08:00

By coincidence, I came across a TV program special, 『がっちりアカデミー』, on how Japanese wives manage the household finance. It was so interesting that it triggered my urge to blog about it.Before I came to Japan, I heard from friends, that the Japanese wives typically controlled the finances at home. Husbands will hand over their salaries, and wives will then give them allowances.It is a bit hard for me

QQhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08064567758259083347noreply@blogger.comhttp://qqsandbox.blogspot.com/2011/06/how-japanese-wives-manage-household.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4588555445510948418.post-51897357424927444222011-06-21T21:48:00.008+08:002011-07-10T21:09:29.367+08:002011-07-10T21:09:29.367+08:00

Gosh.. don't you wanna jump in that swimming pool and enjoy the skyview from there? Imagine a cityscape view from 55th storey! The Skypark swimming pool (I will calling it skypool, for short, here)... 良いなあ。行きたい！Being away from Singapore, meant that I was quite behind in terms of Singapore news and updates. Mm.. which shouldn't be an issue if I have religiously kept myself updated :P I am pretty

QQhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08064567758259083347noreply@blogger.comhttp://qqsandbox.blogspot.com/2011/06/i-want-to-swim-in-that-skypool-too.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4588555445510948418.post-27976320703837985652011-06-19T21:09:00.007+08:002011-06-24T23:22:06.545+08:002011-06-24T23:22:06.545+08:00

可愛いね！This is the theme song for the Japanese drama マルモのおきて, currently my favourite jdrama for this season. It is a very heartwarming series about a single guy adopting his friend's twins. After his friend had passed away, the relatives decided to raise the twins separately, which broke the hearts of the twins. After the twins ran away from their respective homes one day, the guy, Marumo, adopted

QQhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08064567758259083347noreply@blogger.comhttp://qqsandbox.blogspot.com/2011/06/blog-post.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4588555445510948418.post-87800544475402330532011-06-19T15:48:00.003+08:002011-06-19T16:28:35.779+08:002011-06-19T16:28:35.779+08:00

Do you have days when you suddenly craved for BBQ meat? I usually get such attacks after watching 嵐 TV programs as they like to feature yakiniku. *drools*The place where I go to cure my craving is... none other than 牛角. It is a famous yakiniku (grilled meat) restaurant with many franchises across Japan, and even has outlets overseas like USA, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Indonesia, and even.. yes... even

QQhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08064567758259083347noreply@blogger.comhttp://qqsandbox.blogspot.com/2011/06/satisfying-yakiniku-craving.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4588555445510948418.post-65473064770934897402011-06-19T15:04:00.004+08:002011-06-19T15:37:19.514+08:002011-06-19T15:37:19.514+08:00

Back to blogging some helpful tips for JETs or any foreigners planning to stay/ work long term in Japan.Counting down to the last few weeks in Japan, I am now busy with the 'uprooting': packing, discarding, cancellations, farewells etc. And of course, it includes cancellation of NHK subscription of the television fee.Cancelling is pretty easy.1. Call 0120-151515 (toll-free) or 050-3786-5003 (9am-

QQhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08064567758259083347noreply@blogger.comhttp://qqsandbox.blogspot.com/2011/06/how-to-cancel-nhk-subscription.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4588555445510948418.post-59885249421415585052011-06-12T15:41:00.005+08:002011-06-12T16:16:29.310+08:002011-06-12T16:16:29.310+08:00

Most of us when we visit Japan, we will cover packed these places in our one-week trip- Tokyo for shopping & Disneyland; Osaka for takoyaki and their genki culture and Kyoto for the historic streets and temples. If you love the back-in-olden-days-Japan look in Kyoto, then you will love these places too. Takayama 高山 This town is gradually becoming a popular tourist spot. I have been there twice, 4

QQhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08064567758259083347noreply@blogger.comhttp://qqsandbox.blogspot.com/2011/06/if-you-like-kyoto-you-will-like-these.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4588555445510948418.post-77040858306141826262011-06-11T22:38:00.003+08:002011-06-11T23:03:23.825+08:002011-06-11T23:03:23.825+08:00

Today is International Yarn Bombing Day! It is kinda of like 'guerilla bombing' the town with yarn crafts. It also marks my virgin yarn bombing experience... mmm... well not exactly... haha.. as I didn't prepare any crafts to yarn bomb, but pretty much just tagged along the group. :PTogether, we yarn bombed Hamamatsu, starting from Hamamatsu station.This is our favorite! 似合うね！Then we walked to

QQhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08064567758259083347noreply@blogger.comhttp://qqsandbox.blogspot.com/2011/06/yarn-bombing.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4588555445510948418.post-80274869914374173602011-06-05T11:52:00.006+08:002011-06-05T12:17:02.370+08:002011-06-05T12:17:02.370+08:00

By far, I think I have been spending more time at Sugarpot, a cafe which I have just discovered recently, than my most fave cafe, Milou. Here's why... Found out the reason? Yes... the cakes are so yummilicously cute! 超可愛い！The chef's recommendation is:Depending on seasons, there different flavours for the teddy bear puffs. This is the orange flavoured one, during winter. I have tried the

QQhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08064567758259083347noreply@blogger.comhttp://qqsandbox.blogspot.com/2011/06/sugar-goodness-from-sugarpot.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4588555445510948418.post-19483184435041765522011-05-28T12:36:00.008+08:002011-05-28T19:56:04.999+08:002011-05-28T19:56:04.999+08:00

Teddy bears! For the longest time, I have been wanting to visit a teddy bear museum, especially the one in Jeju, because... of Goong, the Korean drama. That was love at first sight for me, with the kawaii teddy bears dressed as my favorite korean drama characters.Though I have yet to visit the teddy museum in Jeju, nor the 4 or 5 others in Seoul (there are really many teddy bear museums in Korea!

QQhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08064567758259083347noreply@blogger.comhttp://qqsandbox.blogspot.com/2011/05/do-you-know-theres-teddy-bear-museum-in.html