You told me who I am.

This entry was originally titled the “the Way of my Wild Wild Heart” until I realised that my heart has been tamed and guided long ago by Jesus Christ. Every epiphany is carefully planned and realised through his perfect timing. Recently, the need for personal time seems to be growing. And it is affecting me in many ways, especially in the area of serving. So please pray hard for me to be able to continue to make wise and discerning decisions.

Today’s tuanqi was very good. Somehow during tuanqi, I’ve more often than not be able to properly articulate my deepest thoughts. And I thank God for that current bit of wisdom to push the boundaries of the thoughts even deeper, and open up another new world of possibilities and growth for me.

I came back from Tokyo yesterday, and I’m missing my sister’s presence already too. The entirety of it. We can squabble and scold, but as I sit down on this chair typing away, I missed the warmth of her “Kotatsu”, her laptop and those fresh strawberries, mushrooms and orange juice that I happily drank as I typed my first entry in Japan out. We had more than our fare share of good memories… =) I love you Jie.

I loved today even though I was very busy straight from the morning with tuiton and jap class that I didn’t even have time for lunch. Caught up with a few people today, especially the church peeps. Seeing familiar faces do make me very happy. Heh… And yeah. Although I was not the first to know, and I’m still a little bit caught back his decision to leave for overseas studies, after every single detail of the happennings in my life for the last three months, I am prepared to live out my life independently and to the fullest, not to compete but only to complement with the possibilities of wonderful shared memories ahead. Gambatte my dear friend. You never disappoint.

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Now is the part about my Japan trip. Decide to condense my entries because there is too much to talk about, while some things are still more “bon appetite” when kept to myself, to quiet savour and enjoy. Nonetheless, I hope my dear friends will like the pictures and the stories that I’m posting for this entry. This entry will include only the first 6 days of my trip.

There are certain parts of this trip that I enjoyed greatly or touched me deeply. One of the part of this journey is the “road trip”. Jie rented a car and we drove out to other places.

We travelled for more than 500 kilometres in two days, and we covered natural areas that are “so not Japan”. I enjoyed the weather, the sunsets, the lining of the trees and many other simple pleasures of nature and most of all, the company of my family. The scenery is so breathtaking that it made me very emotional, and I nearly cried as I stood in awe in the depths of nature’s beauty at its purest, and the undeserved opportunities to experience it. Experiences like this bring me closest to God, as I never cease to stop marvelling at the artistic merits of His hands.

 

Even with the amazing GPRS system on board, nothing would be possible if Jie did not know how to operate it. Thank You for your hard work! *hugz. I love the way where we paused whenever we desired, so that we can take pictures and enjoy the view for what it is. What a beautiful place, yet so little people around to spoil its surroundings. It made me felt like the winner of a national lottery. =) Oh! And I thought the toilet in the middle of nowhere on the mountains was very interesting, not to mention a life-saver for Pa. Haha!

This is a still active volcano in one of the prefectures (think it is Gumma). I’m sorry I cannot fill in the actual details of names of the places because they are currently in my Mom’s computer, but I’m sure the pictures are enough. Personally, I feel that this volcano is many times more beautiful than Mount Fuji which is not overhyped in my opinion. The scenery of mountains and trees reminded me of my trip to Canada when I was in sec 2. This place felt more European than Japan. It felt great to unlock secrets like this.

What is Japan without its Onsens? They are so therapeutic. The above is a private Onsen that my family got to use f0r two hours at this small hotel called “Hanaitchi” (the best that I’ve stayed in for its facilities and service) in the mountains at a height of 1000m above sea-level.  The fireplace shown in the second picture is real and it is really warming when you sit around it. My first experience of a real fireplace. =) And in weather that went below between  zero degree Celcius to 5 degrees at night, the heat was really really a blessing. The food at Hanaitchi was great too! But I shall give food its own entry next time. Too many pictures and too many stories to tell for that.

More pictures of the beautiful scenery that we enjoyed along the mountain trails. Thanks to Jie again who did her homework with guidebook and internet. =)

I’ll like a bathtub with a gorgeous view like that. =)

The area that we were travelling in on the two day road trip was also a residential area for the trip. The rich would buy holiday homes here and come here during the summer. Most of the houses are very pretty and have Western influences in their architeture. Above is a house that I’ve caught with my camera while in the car.

Japanese house owners are very creative with their hands too! Spotted these two wooden carvings of antelopes outside one of the houses on the mountain trail. I love them. =)

At the “Owner’s Hill” hotel where we stayed in for our second night, they have an onsen that is opened to outsiders since there were only four rooms in this boutique hotel. Haha… This ticketing machine for the outsiders is very funny with its phrasing for adult and children. =)

The view from inside the onsen at Owner’s Hill is really good even though it was nowhere near the one that I’ve liken to paradise in Hokkaido. Top top view… It makes me sigh just to think of it the remotest bit.

The Japanese are ardent supporters of conservation. It can be seen by the extensive network of recycling bins around the country, even in the suburds. The bins are divided into either paper, pet bottles, glass ware and plastics or combustible and incombustible items. Reuse and Recycle!

I was very lucky to catch the views of a Sakura tree in bloom although the season is still two weeks ahead. A result of global warming perhaps… but I truly enjoyed the view! The Sakuras are so pretty… and this is only one tree. Imagine when the entire street bloomed with Sakura when the season finally arrive!

One of the touching moments during the road trip was our journey to Yokohama to visit an old university friend of Mom, Mei Chi Chi San. It was an unplanned part of our trip. Our families had a gathering, and it was really nice to see my mother walked hand in hand with an old friend of more than 30 years. Very very touched… It made me paused and wonder in amazement. In a modern world of rapidly passing relationships, such moments are really simply unable to describe… I’m really happy for Mom and Mei Chi Chi San. =)

We did not go up the Tokyo tower when we returned from our road trip. But we walked around its basement. The tower is really pretty at night!

Ok! I’ve reached the end of my entry. Am very sorry if you have spotted any piece of bad grammar but I’m typing this entry with my last ounce of strength. But hope you like this sharing.

Just in case I don’t do an entry on the food in Japan in the near future, here are two teaser pictures of a wonderfully tasty (pork and chicken) meal patty and a Japanese tofu dish.

Have a great Sunday my friends. =)