Weekend at Yuzanso Onsen, Kyoto

Lobby

Room:

The outdoor bath and the view of Lake Biwa (not visible in this photo is the shower area next to the tub)
Don't worry about getting naked outside because nobody can see you due to the height/location of your room

[Accommodation Plan]　Please enjoy Muslim-friendly dinner and breakfast "This plan is for Muslim."
1 "Sanyaso Room (with open-air bath)" Total  49,680JPY    
　　　男性 24840JPY * 1person(s)
　　　女性 24840JPY * 1person(s)
　　　*male 1person(s) female 1person(s)  Total  2 person(s)
[Optional charges total] 300JPY  tax included (1)Bathing tax (02/24)　　300JPYｘ1

Food:
Dinners are served quite early at Ryokans because after dinner you are supposed to relax either by bathing in the onsens/ getting a massage/ having drinks at the bar etc. We chose to have dinner at 6pm. You will need at least 1.5 hours to get through the whole course. Take your time and ask your server if you are not sure how to eat/ prepare certain dishes. They are super friendly and will go out of their way to help you out.

Each guest/group has their own dinner space so you can relax in private in the dining area. Make sure to come to the hall on time as they set the table according to the time you asked for during check-in.

So much food! Really take your time so you can enjoy each course.

Breakfast menu

We liked the furikake (seasoning to sprinkle on rice) so much that we bought a bottle at the ryokan's gift store!

Service:

Service was amazing. As soon as you check-in, a personal greeter will guide you to your room and explain the layout of the ryokan. They will ask you what time you would like dinner and breakfast to be served. Make sure you arrive on time because each room gets their own private dining area but space is limited so they use a timetable to make sure everyone has a place to eat. If you have any questions, ask your greeter and they will happily guide you on everything.

Notes

1. Have your shower before getting into the hot tub/ofuro.
2. You are allowed/expected to wear the provided cotton robes(yukata) while on the ryokan grounds with the provided slippers.
3. You are not allowed to wear anything in the shared onsen bath tubs. No one is looking at you. Everybody is busy relaxing themselves.
4. Yuzanso provides POLA toiletries which I adore! I have facials at POLA's beauty salons and use some of their products as part of my daily regimen. 
5. I booked 3 months in advance. I suggest booking at least 1 month before your date to avoid disappointment. 

Review : I loved our stay and am already planning on coming here again during the winter in 2018!

Yuzanso's official English website : http://yuzanso.co.jp/f/e/
Information on the Halal menu : http://www.yuzanso.co.jp/english/muslim/
Book here http://www2.489ban.net/v4/client/planinbound/list/customer/yuzanso/lang/4

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My Trip to Taipei, Taiwan

National Theater and Concert Hall

Period : 13th - 16th August 2016

★ Flight : Jetstar
Price → JPY46,100 for 2 people with no add-ons
KIX - TPE 12:15 - 14:25
TPE - KIX 14:05 - 17:40
Review → The check in was smooth and the flight itself was okay. Crew were friendly and polite. We took off and arrived on time both ways.

★ Accommodation : Taipei Sunny Hostel booked through Agoda
Price → JPY 13,244 for Twin Room Ensuite Bathroom
Review → The room was comfortable and clean. The staff/owner was very friendly. It sits opposite a park with access to a train station 2 minutes away. Great place to stay.

Sign up to booking.com with this link and get JPY1,800 as a reward!

★ Schedule
Let me start off with I loved Taipei! I tried so many kinds of vegetarian dishes that were tasty and drank so much bubble tea! Also, I should have been more prepared for the walk(hike?) up Elephant Mountain. It was blazing hot and I was wearing skinny jeans, not the best workout gear. The view from the top was worth it.

We didn't manage to go to Tamsui but everything else went as planned

★ Extras
Book Taipei 101 tickets online to skip the long lines.

There aren't that many Halal places in Taipei but there are lots of vegetarian restaurants that sell so many kinds of dishes very cheap. Lots of mock-meat (made from tofu) cooked a hundred ways. Just search for vegetarian/vegan on Google maps or ask your hotel/hostel staff for recommendations.

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Transferring money to different countries? Use Transferwise ! Great rates, low fees, fast service. Get JPY500 off your first transaction through my link.

Gifu University's 65th Annual Festival

On the 2nd and 3rd of November, we had our annual fair. The Malaysian students here opened up a stall where we sold mee goreng, satay, kebab and roti canai. It was a huge success thanks to everyone chipping in and so much fun!

We only had the booth for a day, though, because we weren't lucky enough during the lottery draw. 

By around 3pm we had already started packing up and were probably one of the first booths to do so. Yay!

Here are some photos from the event, including my scary face next to a moster-like thing. Till next year! 

Summer Holidays Yay!

Holidays = Legit reason to take as many photos as humanly possible 

My finals are over and so is the first half of the third year of my Engineering degree. My family are coming over and will be spending Raya with me in Osaka. I'm going to take them on a 10 day long adventure of Japan.

I hope everyone has a wonderful Summer.

Neko Manma, Cat Cafe in Nagoya

Last Sunday, on our way back from the camping trip in Shizuoka, we stopped at a cat cafe in Nagoya. We actually failed to locate this place at first and only managed to get here after two tries.

Cat cafes are very much a legit thing in Japan. You can find them much easier in larger cities such as Tokyo and Osaka to name a few, but that doesn't mean that they're not available in smaller towns too. 

The one we went to was called Neko Manma(ねこまんま). Here is the link to their site; Neko Manma.

The cafe's sign board

 It costs ￥750 for 30 minutes and includes an all-you-can-drink bar. You can stay in there longer if you wish at a rate of ￥100 for every extra 5 minutes. If you're not wearing socks, a ￥100 fee will be charged to equip you with slippers.

The owner explaining the rules to us. You can see the cats they own on the wall.

Everyone playing with the cats

A poster explaining the cats' name and behaviour

The drink bar

Catwalk

The white one is so FLUFFY!

This was in the Female Cats Room, the Male Cats Room is next door

One of the male cats. He is huge! Like the size of a human 2 year old

You can see how big the cats are by comparing them with the humans next to them LOL

Cats galore!

Excuse the crappy pictures. I couldn't be bothered to dig around for my camera so all this was taken with my lowly iPhone 4S.

Newest Addition To My "To Buy" List : Maxi/Long Skirts

I've already bought a few of the cotton dresses that I talked about before; here. Now the next item that has caught my eye are colourful maxi/long skirts. They just seem so appropriate for Summer, all bright and happy like that.

I searched at Rakuten for any pieces that might fit the bill and I came across a few that really made me want to press the "Place In Cart" button. I'll survey for a little longer then make my mind up on which skirt I want the most.

Here are some samples of what I've found.

1. This one is only ￥1500(RM45) and look at all those beautiful colours. Weeeeee~~~

2. If those colours are bit too bright for your liking, I also found these. They're only ￥1000(RM35). They're a bit more soft colour-wise compared to the ones on the top, right? The cut is also a little looser.

3. The orange skirt really caught my attention. These are also ￥1500(RM45), I think. So pretty!

Hmm...so many to choose from and I'm still not done surveying the rest. Hehehe (>.<)

A Day Out in Nagoya

Last week during Golden Week, I met up with a few friends in Nagoya just to meet and catch up. Nagoya is a beautiful old city. Just because it's old doesn't mean it can be vibrant and modern at the same time too. I definitely recommend anyone thinking of travelling to Japan to come here, even for a day. There are a lot of attractions, see Nagoya Info Website. The site has all the information you'd need.

Every time I come here, I'll have dinner at a famous Unagi(eel) restaurant that's located in the mall above Nagoya Station on the 8th floor(or was it the 7th?). It costs around ￥3000 per person. A tad on the expensive side, but seriously so freaking worth it.

Here are some photos I snapped while walking about with my friends.

Makanan wajib kanak-kanak Malaysia di Jepun. Sedapnya!

Nagoya Castle

Beautiful hanging flowers that I don't know the name of

The park right next to Nagoya Castle

At Oasis21 with the Nihon Terebi Tower at the back. Lights up beautifully at night

Kau hingat New York je ada Central Park? Nagoya pun hado ok!

You guys can make a day stop to tour Nagoya as you're on your way to Tokyo from Osaka or vice versa because it's in the middle of those two places.

Spring Trends of 2013 in Japan

1. Coloured Trench Coats

After attending a friend's solemnization at Tokyo Camii Mosque, Yoyogi, Tokyo we all headed to Ginza for the wedding reception. After that was done, I took a stroll down Ginza looking at all the shops. I noticed quite a few stores, both Japanese and European high-end brands, carrying coloured trench coats. Open most magazines this month and you'll probably see this trend too. I like it. The colours add a playful touch to the structured jackets.

The collection at Honey's. Retails at￥3990.

The link for the coats above : here

2. Denim & Chambray Tops

Also adorning many a mannequins this season are the versatile Chambray and Denim tops. The denim tops are a bit thicker than the chambray but would be totally appropriate for the early Spring weeks seeing as how it's still pretty chilly at that time.

I got the above top at The GAP today. They were having a sale. It was originally ￥4400 but I got it for ￥2900. It's light but opaque enough that my inner wear won't be peeking through. I got this in L even though I'm usually a S/M because I wanted it to have a very casual and airy look to it.

Check out celebrities rocking this trend below. Gives you an idea of how to style them yourself.

3. Army Green Anorak Jackets

Popped into Forever21's Ginza outlet and this caught my eye. I'm big on embellishments and I have a soft spot for studs and spikes specifically. Again, I saw a lot of mannequins with this on.

This particular top is from Forever 21. Retails at ￥4580. Click here.

Kobe 神戸

I went to Kobe during my Winter holidays but I only stayed a short while so I didn't really have time to sightsee all the spots but I'm sure I'll come again.

View from my hotel room. Concrete jungle!

 All the buildings look kind of 70ish, right? There's something retro about them. I love that they have the slanting thing going on.

Making our way down to the bay area

 Get off at Kobe Station and Harborland and the Mosaic are within walking distance. Since we came during Winter, the roads were lined with pretty little lights illuminating our way there. There's also a decently sized underground mall at the station. I saw quite a good selection of restaurants and there's also a 10 meter tall water display. I rode up and down the escalator that runs beside it just for the heck of it.

Kid's play place

At the pier/bay area(?). So pretty!

 We got here around 4pm so it was still light but we only had to wait for a bit before the sun set and this beautiful night scene came on. The spiky rooftopped building reminds me of Minangkabau houses. Maybe the architect has some Minangkabau in his blood, who knows?

Partial view of deck at the Mosaic and the cruise ship

 I wanted to take a ride on the cruise ship but we couldn't make it in time because we were too busy eating our faces off. The ride lasts for about an hour and cost ￥2100 per person. A schedule is available at the white mini steps in front of the Mosaic's deck (you can see it in the picture). The last boarding time is 7:20pm.

The ferris wheel 

 I had to ride on this as soon as I saw it. There are two kinds of gondolas; the normal one(￥700 per person) and a see through one(￥800 per person). We took the see through one. The view from up top was beautiful. You don't get to see too far out, though. I was hoping there'd be some heating inside the gondolas, there wasn't. Sad face. Cold bum.

It was really cold, by the way. I know it's Winter and cold is normal but I thought that Kobe being in the South would be a bit warmer, it wasn't. Luckily, the wind wasn't too strong or I would have frozen my butt off.

Yes, please!

 For dinner, we went to the Fisherman's Market. Apparently, it's really famous among Malaysian students studying in the Kansai area. It's an all you can eat buffet restaurant. Costs ￥2580 per person, includes drinks. The food is mainly seafood, as you can guess from the restaurant's name. There are salads, cold meats, soups, spaghetti, pizzas, crabs, popcorn, cakes, ice creams and lots more. Definitely worth it. Best part is that there's no time limit! The crabs they serve are huge and tasty. I also loved their smoked salmon and salad bar.

Bye bye, till next time.

After leaving Kobe, I headed for Okayama!

Mito's Kairakuen during Autumn

Last weekend Angela and I wanted to go see 紅葉(kouyou = autumn colours/maple) at some mountains that were an hour away from our place but then the weather app said that it would rain soon so we decided to go to Mito's Kairakuen(偕楽園) instead. 

I don't think I've ever been here during Autumn. I usually come during Spring to see the Sakuras and I've been here a few times during the Summer. Anyways, we weren't expecting much since to us the Kairakuen is more of a Sakura place and not so much a  kouyou place.

We were delightfully shocked to be greeted at the front gate of the gardens with a row of tall, golden trees. They looked magnificent. The leaves matched my yellow peplum-looking-but-actually-Revel-cut top, which I'd been eager to wear but just haven't found the right time to do so. So stocked!

The above scenery looked so much more awesome because the night before it had been raining so the leaves had fallen and made a gorgeous golden carpet on the ground. Just look at all those beautiful shades of yellow and orange!

My OOTD :)

I took the above picture because it looked like that photo of that place in the ocean where the two different coloured waters meet but don't mix with each other. A beautiful gradient of yellow to orange to burnished browns.

The red leaves on this tree were so eye catching I had to have a photo of it.

There's Angela at one of the look out points in the gardens. From here you can see a good portion of the other side of the gardens, which are huge, and the huge lake in Mito too. Just above Angela's head you can the roof of one of the historical buildings in the garden. I think the entrance fee for that is ￥200.

This looks so Japanese, don't you think? I love it. This part of the garden is near the East Gate, I think. From here you find your way to a bridge that connects this part of the garden with the one across the street from it.  In that garden there's a もみじ谷(maple valley) which is a winding path that has Maple trees hugging it from both sides. At night they light up the place for a more romantic feel.

Entrance to the Kairakuen is free. From Mito station take a bus towards the Kairakuen(bus stop 4). You can buy a day pass for ￥400 which lets you ride the bus for as many times as you like (within certain areas) and they give discounts for the entrance fees of a few places like the Art Museum and such.