it was a school holiday for me today so i went out to kagurazaka to take some photos… unexpectedly, it turned into a one day drama tour!

i woke up at 08:30 and left my dorm around 09:30 after having breakfast

i had lunch at ryotei 鳥茶屋, a traditional japanese restaurant ^^ this restaurant had 2 shops, one is a smaller one geared towards visitors and tourists, and the other one is more formal and traditional, mainly visited by kagurazaka locals, but both of them are well-known and very popular! nino ate at this restaurant too, when he was filming the drama >w<

i ordered their most popular dish, the 鳥すき御膳 tori suki gozen ♥

miso soup. it tastes a bit different from all the other i’ve tasted – as expected from a traditional ryotei!

main dish <3 rice with chicken, vegetables, konnyaku and mushrooms!

appetizers that i didn’t eat, except for the hijiki

dessert <3 japanese jelly flavored with yuzu

salad with vegetables and tomatoes

vegetables with various beans

it was really delicious! to be able to eat a set meal from a traditional ryotei at the price of 1500円, i think it’s well worth the money! i went to the smaller shop though, because i didn’t realize there were two of them.

i found the original restaurant after more walking about and right in front of the entrance of the restaurant is…

♥♥♥ the stairs featured in the drama 拝啓、父上様 haikei, chichiue-sama! the stairway where ippei met naomi for the first time, when she dropped a box of red apples

i bought a red apple too, from the fruit stall at the bottom of the stairs! it’s huge!

self-timer and a tripod. i wish there were two of me, so i can take photos of myself the way i want them to look like T_T

the coin laundry used by ippei in the drama. here, i met two korean girls from waseda. i saw one of them holding the bag given to us during orientation and talked to them. it turns out that one of them, called hae-na, is a nino fan as well! she dragged her friend along with her on a haikei, chichiue-sama tour!

we went to bishamonten temple and wrote our wishes on an ema board! the whole place was flooded with arashi-related messages!!! ♥

then we went to canal cafe to have something sweet! canal cafe is also an important place featured in the drama!

i had a gelato+sorbet cup, with vanilla and strawberry

hae-na ♥

i really like the atmosphere at the cafe! the sunset is really pretty too ♥

i want to come here again~♥

my membership card finally arrived!

and everyone was right, it’s ugly ;o; the pamphlet is pretty though ♥_♥ i hope i’ll get the photo album as well *crosses fingers*

i’ll be going to saitama prefecture tomorrow to visit a junior high school… i’ve packed my things, i only hope i haven’t forgotten anything! *crosses toes*

i received the most awesome parcel from encik helmi at tourism malaysia just now *O* i was actually sleeping, and then i heard niji (my cellphone ringtone hahah), which woke me up. turns out the delivery man was downstairs with a parcel for me! i went downstairs to receive it and boy was i surprised!!!

a parcel that was way bigger than i’ve expected!! it was really heavy too :O

i opened it to find…

all these!!!

i am really touched ;w; thank you so so much! this was way more than what i was expecting, seriously!

pin badges as well!

now i have to figure out a way to lug them all the way to saitama… i think i can only choose two booklets for each student and give one whole set to the school… i am absolutely NOT able to carry all this by myself

terima kasih, encik helmi!

i went to asakusa today with tsu to watch the 東京時代祭り tokyo jidai matsuri parade! i’ve had it noted down in my planner before coming to japan it was really cold today though, i was freezing my toes off! i wish i had an overcoat or something… *makes reminder to buy one* most of the 200+ photos are up on facebook but i’ll put up my favourite shots here!

the parade started at 13:45. i left my dorm at 11:00, reached asakusa a little before 12:00, and then proceeded to grab a front spot and waited!

welcome to asakusa

random fangirl moment :p

one of the cuter police cars. i’m still looking for the mitsubishi lancers and subaru imprezas…

i like taking photos of myself in reflective surfances

two shot

obligatory self-shot

one of the official event photographers

i like this shot a lot

the gorgeous colours!!! ♥ ♥ ♥

i love her costume ;w;

see how biased i am?!

*O*

close up of my outfit today

i love the swans too! (or are they cranes?)

meiji-inspired outfits for volunteers who were looking after the kids in the parade!

a tengu (japanese goblin). i’m mesmerized by the costume!

one of the ladies who was in the ooku parade

lower ranked goblins lol

hahah he was really cute, posing for all the cameras

i love this dancer! she looked really sweet and graceful!

i even spotted a foreigner in the parade! she looks somewhat mysterious to me very beautiful

a serious expression

adorable 7 gods of fortune!!! ♥

he even had matching eyebrows lol

geisha and maiko parade

SHINSENGUMI!!! ♥ ♥ ♥

okita souji leading the parade ♥

close-up

crysenthemum throne crest

ending of the parade

one of the rare moments you can take a photo in the middle of the road in japan

every foreigner’s worst nightmare : food menus on the wall with no pictures whatsoever

a very late lunch around 15:30 sanma!

i flipped my hair to the back lol otherwise i’d be eating my own hair! quite satisfied with my kitsuke today but my collar needs work. practice makes perfect!!!

on sunday, i went out with the intention of watching boku no hatsukoi wo kimi ni sasagu, but the tickets were all sold out ;_; so i went to sunshine city to take a look at the saiyuki festa ♥

i really, really want to watch this!

cute maids promoting crepes

came across this poster of maharaja mode at sunshine city

saiyuki festa 2009!!! my fangirl heart jumps in joy ♥

paper stands

costumes used in the drama adaptation

hakuryuu in jippu form! i want to sit in it~

^w^ it looks really uncomfortable though!

what’s your flavour?

the stuff i bought! i was so tempted to buy so many things…

i took photos of some of the pages from the pamphlet!

my favourite page ♥ !!! *0* tenpo is beyond hot *blissful sigh*

so pretty omg ♥

hothothothothothothot *O* ♥

i bought gaiden badges i only want the tenpo one but it comes in a set of two, so i had no choice lol… but it looks pretty cool together though! biel biel biel

i bought a set of 4 clear files with gaiden illustrations ♥ i love gaiden!!!

they had stickers printed with orange paper planes for visitors to jot down messages for minekura-sensei… i took a few extra copies as souvenirs ♥

on halloween last saturday, i went for the traditional baseball match between waseda university and keio university! i was really excited because it was my first ever live baseball game ♥ i went wearing the waseda baseball uniform and cap >w< even though we lost, i had a lot of fun, cheering and singing my lungs out! i can't wait to go for the spring game! ♥♥♥

it was a clear, sunny day, albeit a little chilly

pathway of gingko trees, looking like it came straight out of a manga/drama scene

with angel and alicia (i’m not sure of the spelling, sorry!)… who has soo much in common with me ♥ she’s also a nino fan, by the way

lovely, lovely sophia!!!

totally random

it was 500円 per ticket

upon entering the stadium!!!

the field

some of them came in costumes, for it was halloween lol

our signboard… i’m really sorry but waseda bear really looks retarded XD

cheerleaders and ouendan members hyping things up!

this guy was really, REALLY enthusiastic! he was screaming his lungs out hahah

cheerleaders! i love their windbreakers ♥

they have a lot of energy o_o

my lunch

it took me a really long time to eat my bento because i kept getting interrupted by the random cheering and singing T_T

our huge, huge flag!

line up of our players

i love their hair ribbons

and the game starts!!!

ouendan leader watching over the match in concentrated silence

cheerleaders in action ^o^

even the band members got into the action!

a really cute couple who came in gakuran and waseda’s graduation caps :3 i want one!

so cute!

ouendan member holding up a cue card with lyrics

trying to self-cam… i’m quite satisfied >w<

a sad ending for us they tried so very hard though!

you can see the love in the students, who sang the school song with their arms around each other, full of pride!D

the match ended around 4pm

i love the uniform! so cuteeeeeeeee

seriously, we love waseda

kids from waseda junior high school and high school they’ll grow up to be waseda university students someday!

before leaving the stadium, another photo!

the sky was really clear and the moon could be seen clearly

the sunset was really, really pretty too!

the ceramic tiles on the platform floors at the shinanomachi train station has a baseball motif on them!

i’ve been proud to be a malaysian on many occassions, but now that i’m in a foreign country, i can truly feel it.

i’ve been chosen to participate in a 2-day-1-night cultural exchange in saitama on the 7th and 8th of november, where i’m required to talk about and make a presentation about malaysia to japanese high school students. i didn’t bring anything that i can use to introduce malaysia (except a flag) so i sent an email to the embassy in tokyo to ask if they have anything i can use, like pamphlets or brochures.

i got a reply as such :

Saudari Elaine,

Thank you for your e-mail dated 26 October 2009. The Embassy is pleased to learn about your active involvement in cultural exchange programme in Japan which will not only help in promoting Malaysia but will provide you with a good opportunity to expand your knowledge and experience.

2. Regarding your request, the Embassy has very limited number on pamhlets and and materials on Malaysia. In this regard, I wish to advise you to put up your request to Tourism Malaysia Tokyo. Kindly contact Encik Helmi Sumilan, Deputy Director, Tourism Malaysia in Tokyo at helmi@tourism. gov.my. You may wish to indicate the type of brochures, their quantity, your address and contact number and preferred mode of delivery. Thank you.

“1MALAYSIA, RAKYAT DIDAHULUKAN, PENCAPAIAN DIUTAMAKAN”

Ahmad Rozian Abd. Ghani
Menteri Penasihat
Kedutaan Besar Malaysia
Tokyo, Jepun

i was really impressed! he’s really helpful and friendly, but i was a bit disappointed to find out that the embassy didn’t have anything i can use, so last night i emailed the deputy director of tourism malaysia tokyo instead. i got a reply from him this morning :

Dear Saudari Elaine,

Thank you for your email dated 29/10/2009. Re to your request, we will prepare necessary and relevant pamphlet and brochures in English and Japanese for you. Are you able to come to our office in Yurakucho, Tokyo or do you prefer for us to send it to you via delivery service? Kindly advise.

Regards,
HELMI SUMILAN
Deputy Director
Tourism Malaysia

*O* mission accomplished! i’m really, really impressed with the people working in both offices :O they were more helpful/friendly than i thought they would be, and they were quite quick with their replies. i’ve just replied him, requesting for the materials to be sent to me through delivery service because i have classes daily on weekdays. i’m looking forward to his reply

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