Autumn in Kyoto

Hi all, long time no update! I'm doing well, recently I've been kinda busy with writing my final thesis on my major and with school events, trips, etc, but I'm enjoying the last few months at uni so much.And this is a quick update - About a week ago I visited Kyoto to see 紅葉(red leaves) with my friends at uni. It was my first visit in 2 years and also it was the first time for me to visit there in autumn. The view of the red-colored trees and mountains in Kyoto were just amazing, and I think autumn is the best season to visit Kyoto. I'd like to show all the photos that I took in Kyoto here, but it seems like it's gonna take forever to upload all of them(and I'm too tired to do that right now) , so here I'll just give you a link for a short video showing the highlights of my trip that I edited last week(I think some of you have already watched this though). Please check it out!


Here's the link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PeLwqqzD-G8


Hope you enjoy it:)

My Recent Foto Gallery

Alriiiiight, so, it's been 2 months since I got an iPhone 4. I've been so addicted to my new phone that I can't think about backing to any normal Japanese mobiles. At first I found it pretty confusing to use it cause it was quite different from my former one, but I've already got used to it.Now I can connect the internet pretty smoothly anytime & anywhere, and also it always gives me the correct directions even when I get lost, which helps me a lot. 
And what I've been addicted to lately is editing photos with my iPhone. With some great photo applications, you can easily make photos artistic.Since I just found loads of photos that I've taken & edited with my iPhone so far in my hard disk, I'm gonna show you some of them in this post.Enjoy!

A market in Tsuruhashi / Osaka.

Best.Ramen.Ever.

At the park near my house.

A bunch of muscat that my grandma's neighbor sent us.

In the restaurant.

The Pumpkin's

A blue sky.

Taken w/ Canon EOS kiss x4 and edited by Tiltshift(iPhone application)

 A fall festival held at a shrine in my neighboring city on Oct 14. The performance was just amazing.

Beautiful sunset.

Don't judge things just by their appearances, just try it.

Cute monkeys!I love the idea!

And I love Chinese foods.

 So. Much.

Ohhhh, so many photos!!!!

Which one did you like the best? ;)

Goodbye summer 2010(Though it's way too late)

Whoa - it's been far too long since I wrote last! My last update was on the 16th of August, so it's been almost two months. Sorry for not posting for so long, I was just too busy to writ.....
No, I'm kidding. I admit. Actually I had much time for the past few weeks, but I was just too lazy. I'm so sorry!And thank you for still being readers of my blog. !!! :D


Well, as the photo above shows, it's been officially fall in Japan. Until several weeks ago, it had been so hot and muggy that I couldn't sleep at night.But recently, it's getting cooler and cooler and sometimes I feel chilly even for long sleeves.
Also, my long summer vacation ended a week ago, and then my last uni semester started.  Looking back on my long summer vacation which lasted almost 2 months, I think I didn't do anything but work. Especially during August, I worked like a horse from morning to night - because I had to! I am currently working out  a plan for my graduation trip to Australia during next Jan-Feb, which has been my motivation while working.Now I guess I can afford the flight & my stay at my friend's in Australia for some weeks, so if everything goes well my financial problem will be solved. So now I'm thinking it's time to organize my trip - I'm so excited!! But I just don't know what to start with. Though I'm not sure if I told you before or not, this is gonna be my first trip abroad. And I'm going there alone until I catch up with my friend in Canberra. I guess it might be the first time to organize such a big trip as this all by myself. So, right now, I don't even know how to get a passport, nor how to make a reservation for my flight.There's still much time until next Feb, but it's getting closer steadily.So excited, but a wee bit worried. Though it's gonna be just a few weeks' stay, I'd like to make my trip a great one. So...what am I supposed to do next?! D:


As for my school life, there's only less than half a year left before I graduate. So, I've been trying as many things as possible while I am still a student.I decided to write a thesis on my major though it's not required for my graduation. Besides, I'm going to participate in the university festival which is held next month. I'm also planning some small trips in Japan with my friends at uni.And parties. drinkings.Wow, so many events!!:D


And English. My TOEIC score is getting better, but since I didn't speak English at all during the long summer holidays, my speaking is clearly getting worse. I seriously need someone to speak with in English. Luckily, the new exchange students have just arrived in Japan, and last week I met some of them for the first time.They are all so nice! I'm already really looking forward to spending some time with them and I'll do my best to improve my English.Oh and of course, I'll keep this blog and writing about my last uni life. Wish me luck!

iPhone 4

Okay so, I finally got an iPhone. It took me just 3 weeks to get it after I ordered it.

Its been only 2 days since I got it, but I totally love it already!

     

What I find most useful for me about this iPhone so far is the map application.I have a horrible sense of direction, but with this app I feel like I'm never gonna get lost anymore haha!

Anyway, since I have not got used to using it yet, I have so much to explore about this iPhone. If you have any recommends about its applications, pls lemme know! :)

A super - large summer sweet!

Whoa, I've been so active in blogging these days! 

Good thing, right? ;)

My university's cafeteria has a special dessert menu which is available during summer only.

We decided to try it the other day - It was my first time in my uni life!

   

Here it is!

     

It's a super big "goldfish bowl parfait"!!!! 

3000 yen(≒ 35 USD) / one bowl

It's well known as the unique dessert of my uni, and also it's pretty hard to get one - 'cause the number of the bowls sold per day is limited to 7. Every day, before the time when they start selling them, there's a long line of students who are trying to get it! 
We managed to get two of them!! How lucky ;)

              

Okay, let's get the party started!
　　　　
　　　　

The parfait consisted of vanilla ice cream, whip cream, some chocolate bars, some pieces of cheesecake, strawbelly jam, corn flakes, some fruits, and more. They were sooo yummy! Since it was such a hot day, we enjoyed them so much.
     

       

However, the less the remainder got, the more we got tired of it. 
      

It was too much even for the normal 10 people. Apparently, we were too silly to get two bowls...O.o 
      

   

My senpai struggling to finish them up after we all gave it up lol
          
   

Conclusion and warning:It's impossible and so reckless(or sometimes it could be even dangerous) to try to eat them all only by yourself, unless you are a glutton or a food fighter. Haha!
    
Alright, so, any challengers? 

The new Hayao Miyazaki Movie 2010 - The Borrower Arietty

      
Last Sunday my mom and I went to see 借り暮らしのアリエッティ(Karigurashi no Arietty English title:The Borrower Arietty), the new movie by Studio Ghibli.
  
Well, first, my impression. - It was pretty good, I think. Before I saw it I heard from some of my friends that the story was too simple and not so dynamic for Hayao's movies. Well, I do agree with them, but still, personally, I like it. To be honest,in his movies for the past few years, there are some parts where I still find a little bit hard to understand because they are too creative and complex. Compared with them, I think this story is quite simple and easy to understand for anyone. Plus, not to mention,the background images were so amazingly beautiful. You might notice that this movie includes some scenes that look just like the scenes which appear in other Ghibli movies.

And one more thing that I like of this movie - the music. I just love the theme "Arietty's Song" by Cécile Corbel. It's such a peaceful song and her voice is so beautiful!!
      

     
It was so great seeing this movie because I had been really looking forward to seeing it for a long time.I've never missed watching Ghibli movies at the theaters - when I was a kid, my late grandfather would take me and my sister to the theaters everytime a new Hayao movie came out. If I was asked what kind of movie I like the best, Hayao movies would easily be ranked as top.Especially I like My Neighbor Totoro  Which Ghibli movie do you like the best?　
  
Another reason why I was so excited for this movie is that I've loved this story since I read the original story "The Borrowers", written by Mary Norton, when I was a kid.The story of the small people living under the floor was a great shock for just a 6 or 7 year-old girl and it made me believe that they would sure exist in my house as well.The movie was originated to the book faithfully, and I enjoyed it a lot.
  
Well, I better stop telling about the movie around here...for those have not watched it yet. I have 2 more movies I'm going to see in this summer - Toy Story 3 and Inception. My friends say they were both amazing, so I'm really excited right now  Please don't tell me the stories!!!  lol

Fireworks!!

In Japan, it's the season of summer festivals right now. Since last weekend, a lot of firework festivals have been held in many places in Japan, and this season will last until around the middle of August. 

Personally I like seeing fireworks very much. Not only the fireworks itself, I also like the atmosphere of the festival. A lot of people wearing Yukata(a casual summer Kimono), the tasty smell of foods coming from the street stalls, and so on.  

I've already been to see fireworks at two places, one was last Saturday in Okayama,where my uni is, and the other was held last Sunday in my hometown, Kakogawa. Both places were so crowded with thousands of people, but since one of my friends had kept a good space for us in advance, we could view the fireworks from a pretty good position.

   

It's hard to take photos of fireworks...I took more than 100 photos, but 90% of them were completely blurred

    

   
I like this one :)
   

    
I heard this year's fireworks display was scaled down compared to the last year's, but still, it impressed me a lot.
   

    
There were so many stalls along the riverside. I got a skewer of grilled chicken and fried noodles, and had them watching the fireworks - Yum!!
   

The night view of Okayama Castle - Gorgeous, isn't it?

I also took a video! 

I've got one more fireworks display I am going to see, which is on next Saturday. I'm really looking forward to it!!

Summer has come!

Yes! As the title shows,it's officially summer here in west Japan! 

It's been so freaking hot lately,which makes me feel just don't wanna go outside my house.These days I have been forced to wake up very early at like 6am,due to the heat and thousands of cicada's cry - they are soooo annoying! 

Well, today's photos that I would like to share with you are from our mini trip to the world of sunflowers. I'm not sure if I've told you in this blog or not, but viewing/arranging flowers is one of my hobbies. I am currently learning Ikebana(Japanese traditional flower arrangement) at uni, so if I have time I'd like to share with you some of my works in another post soon. When I tell someone about this, they usually get surprised,but I just don't know why lol. Do I look like the last person who would have such a girly hobby?? :( 

Anyways, I like sunflowers the best of all flowers. 兵庫県佐用町 Sayo-cho in Hyogo pref., the place we visited this time is located about 2 hours away from my place by car, and is known as one of the largest sunflower fields in Japan.Especially this place has become very popular rapidly since last year, mainly because it got seriously damaged by the heavy rain attacked this area around this time last year.Despite such a serious damage, people living there never gave in, and made a great effort to keep their tradition of growing and displaying sunflowers.These people's efforts have moved a lot of Japanese people's heart and thus the name of this place has become pretty famous. 

Click the photos below to view the larger version:)   

                         
There were millions of sunflowers all around, and a lot of tourists were enjoying viewing them/ taking photos of them.
           

   
Beautiful, aren't they?

     

   
I always try my best to take good photos like professional photographer's with my own digital camera, but... hmm, maybe I need to get a better one.^^;
    

    
It literally looks like the sun
    

   
My current desktop wallpaper :)
      

     
Most of them were taller than I(I'm 165cm tall)!! 
    

  

After the flower viewing, we went to eat ホルモン焼きそばfried noodles with boiled piece of pig innards, which is well known as the special food in this area.It was so amazingly delicious.Yum!

     

  
This area is also known for its beautiful view of Japanese traditional streets and houses. 
   

  
Some people call this area "the second Kyoto".
    

    
Since it was such a hot day,I wanted to play in the river - just like them! 
    

Except for the sweltering heat, I like summer very much. I've got many upcoming events from the end of this month through to the middle of August - fireworks, summer festival, small trip to some places, BBQ, drinking with my friends, etc. Hooray,eventful days! 

On the other hand, this summer is also a great chance to make enough money for my first trip abroad(I'm currently planning to visit my Aussie friend who lives in Canberra,during the next spring vacation)So I need to work very hard while I have many free time. Recently I've been working from morning to night as a teacher at a cram school.I'm always totally exhausted after getting home in night,but when I think of my trip to Australia, it makes me motivated. 

Anyhow,this is gonna be the last summer in my school life, so I'd like to try my best to make the best memories ever!