Kokura Wasshoi Summer Festival 2012 (第２５回わっしょい百万夏祭り) - Part 2

5th August 2012

Initially, I planned to go to Kokura on 4th August only because the activities that day seems more interesting. However, it was way better than I expected, so I decided to go for the second day celebrations too. On that day, I went to Kokura at the afternoon, since it was still early, I went to Riverwalk Kitakyushu りバーウォーク北九州, a multi purpose complex with beautiful curvy shaped building. It is a shopping area too. One can view Kokura Castle 小倉城 from the upper level at Riverwalk. 

View of Kokura Castle 小倉城 from Riverwalk

After all the shopping, me and my colleague went to the Komoji Dori 小文字通り for Sunday Parade サンデーパレード. It was around the same with 4th August Welcome Parade. Nevertheless, it was fun too.

Sunday Parade サンデーパレード

Kokura Wasshoi Summer Festival 2012 (第２５回わっしょい百万夏祭り) - Part 1

4th August 2012

My colleague told me about this Summer Festival in Kokura, after reading about it, I decided to go with him. We took normal JR train from Nakatsu to Kokura, it took around 1 hour. Once reached the Kokura Station 小倉駅, there were performances related to this festival. The dances were very energetic, fun and with some Japanese traditional moves. I like the one with children, very cute! After that, we left the train station and went to the designated area. There were more performances. It was very happening with all the people and stalls selling all sorts of things. 

The afternoon performances (わっしょいＹＯＳＡＫＯＩ北九州２０１２)

The afternoon performances in Komoji Dori (わっしょいＹＯＳＡＫＯＩ北九州２０１２)

♥ Google+ Photo Editing Tool

Frankly speaking, the reason I uploaded my photos to Google+ was this blog. I needed a space to store all the pictures because the space in my Picasa was full. However, now there is another reason for me to use the Google+ , I just found out that there is a photo editing tool in Google+. I felt that it was quite a decent photo editing tool. I am not the kind of person with high expectation on the photo editing software. As long as it does the job, I am fine with it. Plus, I do not possess high skill in using all the software. "Easy" and "free" are very important for me.

Photo uploaded to Google+ Album → Click on the "Edit Photo"

There are 4 portions, namely "Basic Edits", "Effects", "Decorate" and "Test".

For "Basic edits", it consists of "AutoFix", "Crop", "Rotate", "Exposure", "Colours", "Sharpen" and "Resize". Well, it is definitely more than Facebook, the only photo editing tool on Facebook is "rotate". I did not use all these functions though.

The Photo Editing Page

The one I love is the "Effects", there are a lot to choose from, I like the "Daguerreotype", "Polaroid* Plus", "Black and White", "Lomo-ish" and "1960s". For the "1960s", one can choose to make the corners of the photo round. So convenient compared to Facebook, have to edit before upload. 

The photo was edited under the "Effects" → I use the "Daguerreotype" and  click "save"

While for the "Decorate", one can insert "Doodle", "Fake beards", "Crowns & Tiaras", "Masks", etc. It was fun to play with and very user friendly. While for "Text", to add text of course, there are more than 40 text fonts to choose from, pretty good selection. 

Ah, all my friends are in Facebook, so for the moment, only the photos for the blog will be edited in Google+, while the other photos will be edited traditionally for Facebook.

Well, I knew that all of these can be done with the iPhone apps or Android apps, but I am still a computer kind of gal. I want big screen, keyboard and a mouse. Hahahah!

Heatstroke - Summer 2012

Read news about JR bullet train delayed caused by driver suffering from heatstroke and more than 20000 people taken to hospital for heatstroke. It was so unbelievable to me. I mean, Malaysia is a tropical country, but I had never heard of anyone hospitalised due to heatstroke. But, it was big in Japan! (^_^;)

There were advertisements in TV on how to stay cool, malls and supermarkets stock a lot of 'cool biz' products, even my company website has a notice on "how to avoid heatstroke". 

For me, the ways to avoid heatstroke are

1. wear loose clothing
2. stay indoors when it is not working day
3. if I have to go out, I will go out after 6pm
4. drink water (plenty of it!)

2 weeks ago, I went to a summer festival in Kokura 小倉わっしょう百万夏祭り. There were a lot of people and I saw some government officials handout something to the public. So, I went over there (busybody!!) to see what was that.

officials raising banners to remind people to prevent heatstroke

Vending Machines in Japan 日本の自動販売機

One of the very common sights in Japan is the vending machines. You can find it everywhere and anywhere, even in the middle of a jungle or mountain. Within walking distance from my apartment, there are 3 vending machines. All drinks. My apartment area is residential area (low density type), so initially I thought that it was too much, however, it is not too much! I actually saw people coming out from their house and bought a bottled drink or can, finished it, threw the bottle/can into recycle bin and went back to their house! I was so surprised! The drinks from the vending machine are not cheap, it starts from 100 yen to 160 yen (depends on the brand or type). The same bottle in a supermarket will cost from 65 yen to 120 yen only. I will only buy from vending machine when I was travelling or outstation.

vending machine 自動販売機

席绢的《盛莲传说》系列

忘了几时开始读席绢的小说了，可是我一直都很喜欢她的作品。后来，网络小说的横行，我又爱上了穿越时空的小说。那时我每天都到图书馆上网（相当年，wifi还不是那么普及，学校宿舍没得上网），就为了追看那些好长好长的网络小说，有一部小说我还追了差不多两年呢！后来，我还成功让我其中一位室友成为小说迷。可是，另外一位室友认为这些网络小说家还不够火候，还是那些已经集结出书的小说家的书比较好看。她认为已经集结出书的小说家的故事大纲比较成熟，当然编辑也功不可没就是了。后来，我对网络小说的热诚也慢慢的退烧了。刚开始看的时候是蛮新鲜的，可是看久了，就会觉得千篇一律。所以又看回一本本的小说了，另外我也没有耐性一篇一篇的追了。

席绢的《盛莲传说》系列真的好好看，是穿越时空的小说。从《墨莲》，《第二》到《男帝》都让人爱不释手。这是一个讲述为了二千多年前为了避免从母系社会进化到父系社会而带来的战争，盛莲国的神巫族（后来的花家）逆天而行，以自己的性命，施了一个神秘的禁咒-千年咒愿，让世界和平。为了维持千年咒愿，男人身上开始有了莲花图腾。图腾一共有五种颜色，用来区别出男人的力量的品质和利用他们的力量，维持着那个咒愿的运转。其中，受到最差的对待的是身上长了墨莲的人，他们没有生育能力，被剥削，被当成社会边缘人。

Type "symbol" Using Japanese IME

After the "♥", I think it is better to make a table for easy reference.

For the PDF version of the list of Japanese IME characters, please click here!

First, the table is for the brackets, colon, etc. It was amazing with all the variances one could make with the punctuation marks. After changing to the Japanese IME, just type the "keyword' and the rest of the symbols will come out!

Many Uses of Japanese IME Symbol

Keyword	Symbol
（	［（「{〈[〔《＜【『｛(｢≪
）	］〉｝》』】＞≫〕}｣）」)]
［	[｢〔(｛{〈《「『【＜≪［（
］	」》〉｝］〕）｣}])≫＞】』
｛	「［《『[{〈｢（〔｛(≪＜【
｝	〕≫＞】」〉］）｣}])》｝』
「	『「《〈｛［〔（｢{[【＜(≪
」	〉≫＞】』》｝］〕）｣])」}
－＞	→
＜－	←
＜	「《〈｛(『【〔（＜≪｢［[{
＞	】）］》〕」』＞≫〉｣])｝}

"One Piece" Puzzle

I bought mini puzzles from a hobby shop. The main reason I bought it was the end products looked so nice on the wall in that shop! The puzzles theme are "One Piece", a famous Japanese Anime. It is about a pirate, Luffy who inspired to find a treasure called 'Once Piece' and become the next pirate king. Along the way, he organises and leads a 9 member crew named Stray Hat Pirates. Bounties were offered to capture all of them. The puzzles are in the form of bounty poster. Very interesting!

mini puzzles, frames & tapes

Completed Puzzle!

When I went to Miyajima, I found this Hiroshima only "One Piece" puzzle, so I bought it, adding one more to my collections. This was kinda easy compared to the bounty poster, the bounty poster is more difficult due to the colours and the similar 4 sides.

bought this in Miyajima, limited only in Hiroshima prefecture (広島限定)

The Hiroshima only "ONE PIECE" puzzle - with the torii 鳥居 and deers

Next, maybe I will challenge the larger size puzzle!

Amazing Fireworks at Miyajima 11th August 2012 宮島水中花火大会

Initially, I planned to go to Korea for summer holiday. However, my colleague who was crazy with everything Korea told me that it was not convenient for me to travel alone there. She said that it is safe to travel alone, but if I wanted to eat the Korean cuisine, some restaurant will need at least 2 persons and the transport fee will be too expensive alone. So, I abandoned the idea after I could not find anyone who want to go with me.

very amazing fireworks display!

100 Yen Shop 百円ショップ

One of the most well known shops in Japan is 100 yen shop. It can be found in almost any town. Most of it are owned by Daiso or Seria. Daiso is easier to find, but Seria has a range of products that are more beautiful or delicate. Initially, I got a lot of my stuffs in 100 yen shop. However, after that, I found out that it is actually not that expensive to buy from the supermarkets, sometimes, it is cheaper with higher quality.

For example, handkerchief sold in 100 yen shop is around the same with the handkerchief sold in Rocky which cost only 40 yen. It is the same with socks, there are more varieties at supermarkets, sometimes cheaper or on par with the 100 yen shop. However, it is convenient to buy in the 100 yen shop. Plus, they have a lot of stuffs that are so cute that one cannot resist the temptation to own it. Although at the end, it will end up in the junk.

Saving Electricity in Summer

Summer is here in Japan. I feel that it is hotter than Malaysia and my apartment is a heat collector. I can feel the heat wave. So, stand fan alone is not enough to cool me down, I had difficulty in breathing. I had to use air conditioner, albeit with some guilty conscience. Not only it wastes electricity, it pollutes the environment with the green house gases. I blamed it on the apartment design though.

So, for the air conditioner, I set the temperature at 28 degree Celsius. According to some websites, for every 1 degree Celsius down, the electricity consumption will increase by 3 to 5 %. Of course, I use the combination of air conditioner and fan to cool down the room.

After the Japan 311 earthquakes, whole Japan faces decrease supply of electricity after the nuclear reactors were closed for maintenance and inspection. So, the government and the power utility companies encouraged people to save electricity. One of the solutions is to have ‘green curtain’ to cool down the indoor temperature.

green curtain outside a building (it was bushier a month ago)

10 Things To Do In Japan

After living in Japan for more than one year, I am thinking about the ‘must do’ stuff while being here.

1.    Eat Sushi (回転寿司)

If you have the money to splash, you can choose the very high end sushi shop with minimum expenditure around 30000 yen per person (RM1200 / USD 380). If on budget, one can choose the conveyor belt sushi shop (of course, there are expensive type too). I prefer the 105 yen per plate type shop, one can eat until very full without worrying about the bill. Once, I went to a not so cheap conveyor belt sushi shop (the price range from 105 yen to 1005 yen per plate), I kept counting how much I have eaten, so it minus out the joy of eating. 

2.    Speak Japanese

When in Rome, do as the Romans do. So, in Japan, one can try to speak Japanese. Even a simple Arigatougozaimasu ありがとうございます (thank you very much) will make people happy.

Strong Wind in Japan (3rd April 2012)

strong wind!

http://archive.japantoday.com/category/national/view/kanto-workers-urged-to-go-home-early-ahead-of-typhoon-strength-winds/comments/asc/id/2229476

I still remembered in the old Cantonese TVB drama, everybody would rush home after typhoon alert. I was still a kid then, the only thought that came to my mind was "how nice, can go home, don't need to work!". So, when my company HR personnel briefed me about the rules and regulations for Japan factory, I was surprised to hear that unless there are no train services, normally it will be work as normal even if there are typhoon, earthquake, etc. Well, it was true though. After one and a half year here in Japan, I never got that kind of holiday.