Hong Kong

Thanks to my boss, I had a chance to visit Hong Kong last month for business trip. I didn't have much time to take time and enjoy Hong Kong at my own pace, but it was quite a satisfying trip navigating around my way in Hong Kong. Since I spent most of my time around Tsim Sha Tsui, the photos were taken around that Tsim Sha Tsui and Central.

Sushi Dai

Sushi Dai (寿司大) is a very very popular sushi restaurant in Tsukiji Fish Market. You probably have heard the name in many guide books before. This place is not only famous among foreigners, but among locals as well.

Kawasaki Digital Kowloon Walled City

Kowloon Walled City was an ungoverned settlement in New Kowloon, Hong Kong. The city was famous for its criminal activities that even the police couldn't do anything about it. The city was controlled by Triads and had high rates of prostitution, gambling, and drug use. The city was demolished in April 1994. Despite of that, its famous still persists in literature, video games, and movies.

While the city no longer exists, you can experience a little bit of the city, in Japan, in a place called Digital Kowloon Walled City.

Kawasaki Halloween Parade 2013

Halloween is a big event in Japan. It's the time when thousands of Halloween lovers to dress up and roam the street with their best costumes. You will be able to see anything from super sexy to bizarre.

Kawasaki Halloween Parade is one of the biggest Halloween Parade in Japan. The Parade was around 1.5 Km long nearby La Citadella shopping center and there were Halloween themed decorations and shops around to make it more kawaii lively.

Ishiteji

Ishiteji ( 石手寺 ) literally means the Stone Hand Temple, is one of the Shikoku 88 temple pilgrimage. The Shikoku Pilgrimage (四国遍路 ) or Shikoku Junrei (四国巡礼) is a famous 88 temples pilgrimage to honor Buddhist monk Kuukai on the island of Shikoku, Japan. The Ishiteji is temple number 51.

While I was in Matsuyama, I visited this temple on my free time. Unfortunately, I couldn't explore the whole temple because I needed to go back to my Hotel to prepare for Shimanami Kaido trip. A shame, but I managed to explore quite a bit.

Meguro Sakura

Meguro is known as one of the best spots to watch the Sakura, especially the Meguro River. The view of sakura trees lining up on both sides of the river is beautiful. There is also a pedestrian only areas where you can take a very pleasant walk under the sakura trees. A very lovely place. However, there are also a lot of people who avoid this place because it can gets very crowded especially during weekends. Lucky for me, I live very close to the river. I could go there in the morning when there are less people, so I could enjoy the gorgeous view all for myself. And believe me, nothing beats running under the sakura trees in the morning. Happiness.

Shimanami Kaido - Part 2

The second part of the Shimanami Kaido. We're going to continue where we left off, and that is the Ikuchijima Island, the most interesting island compares to others.

I forgot to mention this before. Before crossing to Ikuchijima Island, make sure to stop by at the rest area and eat the Hakata Salt Soft Ice Cream. It's delicious and some people actually come far away to the island to eat the ice cream. There is also one in Hakatajima Island, but it was closed when I passed it (Hakata S.C. Park).

Shimanami Kaido

Shimanami Kaido was the main reason why I went to Shikoku. A few months ago, I had an urge to experience something different, something unique, something challenging during this year. I finally decided to take a journey biking along the Shimanami Kaido.

So what is this Shimanami Kaido ? Shimanami Kaido ( しまなみ海道 ) is an expressway which links the main islands of Honshu and Shikoku through a series of bridges and 6 islands ( Mukaishima, Innoshima, Ikuchijima, Omishima, Hakatajima and Oshima ). The best part about it is that you can travel the Shimanami Kaido by bicycle. Cycling is a very popular way of experiencing the Shimanami Kaido. The bicycle route is well maintained, and there are lots of sign pointing you to the right direction so you don't need to worry about getting lost.

The beginner normal bicycle route is about 70 kilometers long. With a little bit of push, you can travel the route within 8 hours. Along the route, there are plenty of places you can visit such as temples and museums. I ended up cycling up to 100 km long. It was quite tough, but a very rewarding experience.

Usually people starts from Onomichi ( Honshu ) to Imabari ( Shikoku ), but I decided to go the other way around from Imabari to Onomichi. Click here to see the route that I took.

Due to the amount of photos, I will split the post into two.

Matsuyama Castle

Matsuyama Castle (松山城) is definitely the best Castle I've been in Japan. The castle stands proud above the hill, right in the middle of the town. This castle is one of the preserved castle. It is still original, with a little bit of repair here and there because of the fire long time ago. It also offers you a gorgeous view of the city from the top. There is also a place where you can dress up as a samurai inside. And for non Japanese speakers, rejoice ! All of the history and description have very good English translation. It is a very impressive castle.

Matsuyama

There are four main islands in Japan: Honshu, Hokkaido, Shikoku, and Kyushu. Shikoku ( 四国 = Four Countries ) is the smallest of the four. It is considered to be the forgotten island among the four. People rarely go to Shikoku. Guide books don't bother mentioning about this island. Even my friend questioning my decision to go to this island.

Let me tell you that Shikoku is Japan's hidden gem. There are lots of thing to do here. Some of them are pretty wild, but if you like outdoor, nature, adventures, and willing to spend some time to venture into the inner part of this place, you will be rewarded with amazing scenic views, natural beauty untouched by human.

I only had a few days off to enjoy the island, but I definitely want to go back to Shikoku again.

I will split the Shikoku review into separated posts, starting from Matsuyama.

Teuchi Udon Kuukai

Last month I had a chance to visit to Shuunan City in Yamaguchi Prefecture for business trip. The city itself doesn't offer any interesting sightseeing spot, however the city does have a lot of delicious food to offer.

One of them that I really want to introduce is the Teuchi Udon Kuukai (手打うどんくうかい), the best udon that I've had eaten so far.

Oshino Hakkai

Oshino (忍野) is a small village in Yamanashi Prefecture. The village used to be a lake called Lake Utsu (宇津湖). Lake Utsu used to be the biggest lake surrounding Mount Fuji. When Mt. Fuji erupted around 800 AD, the lava from Mt. Fuji split the lake into two, Lake Yamanaka (山中湖) and Lake Oshino. Later, the lake Oshino dried up, but the eight spring (pond) still remain and they are called Oshino Hakkai (忍野八海).

The spring waters are underground water that flowed down from Mt. Fuji. When the snow melt into water from the top of Mt. Fuji, it got filtered down the mountain through layers of lava, traveling for over 80 years to finally spring at Oshino Hakkai, resulting a very pure, clear water.

The purity of the water is the proud of the locals. It is said that the water is one of the best waters in Japan.

Ryusenji Temple Meguro Fudou

There are probably exist a few thousands of temple and shrine in Japan. It's quite to easy find a temple or shrine close to where you live. One day, I was taking a walk around Meguro and I was surprised to find the Ryusenji Temple (滝泉寺) there. It is also commonly known as Meguro Fudou or Meguro Fudouson (目黒不動尊). It turned out that the temple is one of the oldest of it's kind. It is also the 'Black' temple of the Five Colors of Fudou (五色不動) : White (白), Black (黒), Red (赤), Blue (青), Yellow (黄).

Fuji Shibazakura

I first set my eyes on Fuji Shibazakura Matsuri two years ago, right after I went to Hitsujiyama Park Shibazakura. The harmony between mount Fuji and Shibazakura are so mesmerizing that I promised myself that I will definitely go to this place. Last month, I finally able to visit this place. Unfortunately, the weather was not perfect. No blue sky and a bit cloudy. A shame, but nevertheless it's still a gorgeous place.

Doraemon Museum

Japan has so many interesting museums, from Ramen to Gyoza museum, from Parasite to Dinosaur museum, and from Bandai to Ghibli museum. Regardless of your age and interests, you will be able to find some museums that are worth the visit. For Doraemon's fans, the Fujiko F Fujio Museum is definitely a place I would recommend.

The Fujiko F Fujio Museum, also known as Doraemon Museum, was first opened on September 3, 2011. The museum is still new and a bit small, but it has its own charm, especially if you're a big fan of Doraemon.

20th Anniversary with Danbo

Danbo !! <3

Sakura Shinjuku Gyoen

My favorite season, the Sakura Season, is here. A couple of years ago while I was still living in Indonesia, I really had no idea why people always making such a big deal about Sakura. The whole idea of enjoying flowers kinda felt like a stupid and girly idea back then. Only after coming to Japan, I could truly understand the joy of watching flowers and Sakura immediately became my favorite flower. And during this time, I would feel really bad if I don't spend time blogging about it. :D

Tonki - Tonkatsu Restaurant

Tonkatsu, deep fried pork cutlet, is no doubt one of my favorite Japanese foods. Why, oh why, does fried food taste so delicious ? Tokyo offers lots of Tonkatsu restaurants. The most famous one is probably Wako, a nationwide chain Tonkatsu restaurant. However, when we talk about personal recommendation, there are two places I would recommend. One is Katsukura in Shiodome, and the other one is Tonki in Meguro.

Seaworld Orlando

There is always something fascinating about the sea creatures and Seaworld is a good place to learn about them. It has a little of everything for everyone. The penguins, the sea lions (I love the show !), the polar bears, the manta rays, Shamu, Kraken (roller coaster), etc. Just be careful that you might get wet. :)

Wonhobby Broadcast International

At the end of each Wonder Festival, Good Smile Company usually has a live broadcast called Nama Wonhobby. Last Sunday, for the very first time, they started an English version of it called Wonhobby Broadcast International Ver at Good Smile Tetsujin Cafe in Akihabara. The broadcast was hosted by Danny Choo and Ferlyn Yoshimi using Nico Nico Douga. I was impressed how they both managed to pull it off without taking a break at all for more than four hours. No toilet break either !

The broadcast managed to reach 5000 viewers and 70000 comments. Impressive numbers. The broadcast also had Aki Takanori (Good Smile Company's Big Boss), Akiyama-san (General Manager of Good Smile Company), Digitaro (Nitroplus' Boss), and Matsuura Hiroaki (Sanjigen's Boss).