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Friday, August 12, 2011 @ 9:44 AM
YAT - 6 Aug
 On the sunny Saturday morning, we went to join in the celebrations at the Sendai Tanabata Festival. The shopping street was lined with gorgeous paper ornaments of varying colours and dazzling designs dangling down from the ceiling.
My room mates and I managed to snap a photo within the short time we were given at the festival :)
 Afterwards, we moved on to Mitsui Outlet Park. Being on a tight schedule, we were only allowed one & a half hour for lunch and shopping. Some of the outlet stores had really good discounts, but I didn't manage to shop much around the area. The park also has a beautiful ferris wheel! If possible, I'll like to visit Mitsui Outlet Park again :)
 Our next destination was Sendai Airport. During the tsunami, the water that filled the airport had reached 3.02 metres in height, as shown by the blue band on the pillar in the photo below. Post tsunami, the airport has been more or less restored and has since resumed its operations.
 What is most heartwarming at the airport is the messages of goodwill and encouragement being put together by well-wishers. Adorning the airport walls, the collages really showcase the support that everyone has for Japan. Be it the messages on the sunflower petals or the strings of precisely-folded cranes, they all convey hope and encouragement to the people in Sendai :)
Next, after a 3plus hours bus ride from Sendai Airport, we arrived at Kinugawa Onsen Hotel. There, we had our luxurious Sayonara party, Japanese style. Even the dining hall (with its tatami mats and art pieces) oozes Japanese charm. 
 Here's a group photo of the [B]est group - having fun Like A Boss!
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Thursday, August 11, 2011 @ 5:43 PM
YAT - 5 Aug
The next day, we made a trip to Rikuzentakata, one of the worst hit regions in Sendai by the 11/3 eearthquake and tsunami. As our bus drove along the roads, the scenery gradually changed to reveal the damage rendered by the disaster:
 
After collecting our protective gloves, masks and goggles from the volunteer centre, we went to the site we were assigned to and began with our volunteer work. Our task - to clear the mud that had clogged up one of the major drains. In the short two hours which we had at the site, we worked hard to clear the mud. Nonetheless, two hours wasn't sufficient for us to complete the task; we didn't even finish clearing half of the entire drain's lenght.
Looking back, I believe the volunteers in Rikuzentakata must have been stretched both physically and emotionally in the arduous clear-up mission. Yet, the task on hand is still and will continue to be an uphill one, judging from the extent of destruction. I hope that the volunteers will keep their spirits high and face the challenge bravely, and surely, the beauty of Rikuzentakata will be restored soon :)
 After the volunteer work, we headed to Naruko Kanko Hotel. Its a really pretty and cozy ryokan - its the hotel which I enjoyed the most out of the 5 we stayed at. Not only was the room spacious, we had a pretty view from the window too! (but my apologies, I forgot to take a picture)
 Together with the Japanese students, we enjoyed an awesome dinner plus karaoke session. My favourite dish has to be the barbequed crab (not show in below picture)! The shabu shabu would be the second best dish of the night, followed by the sashimi.
Food, friends and fun = an amazing summer night that I'll always remember :) 
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@ 11:35 AM
YAT, 4th Aug
On the second day, we visited the Hiraizumi Chuzonji Temple. To me, the visit was a breath of fresh air - literally. The temple is actually a UNESCO World Heritage and being surrounded by greenery and sunshine, the area was really pretty. Quite a number of us decided to try out the omikuji, which was really accurate for most, myself included.
After lunch, we headed to Akita International University for interaction with the students. At AIU, the students read international liberal studies and are proficient in multiple languages. To my surprise, AIU is a really cozy looking school. Its library, though small, has a gorgeous design that really makes one want to stay there and study hard! :)
   Thereafter, we went for the Akita Kanto Festival. In summary, it was good food, fun with friends and an exciting parade of lanterns (:
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@ 1:22 AM
YAT - Day One (3rd August)
Hi all! I'm back from Japan :) As promised in my previous post, I shall share about what happened over the awesome 6 days of the Youth Ambassador for Tohoku Programme (YAT) !
Allow me to start from the flight. It was a really tiring 7 hour flight from Changi Airport to Narita Airport. I felt kind of queasy during the flight; thankfully the in-flight entertaintment was to my liking and it kept me occupied from experiencing total motion sickness. After reaching Narita airport and taking a slight breather, we had to take a 5 hour bus ride to Sendai. And yes, the time we spent in Sendai is characterised by long bus rides, but nonetheless awesome time spent on the bus chatting with the other YAT participants.
Finally in the evening, we reached Sendai and had our first interaction session with the Japanese students at a Mini Tanabata making workshop. My group was assigned to make a kinchaku, which resembles a purse. It serves to remind people to be frugal and not spend extravagantly. As a handicraft lover, I enjoyed the session. But come to think of it, making the paper ornaments one by one sure is a time consuming process. The teachers at the workshop must have spent a lot of time making the large-sized ornaments that lined the streets during the Sendai Tanabata Festival, and I really admire their dedication and commitment :)
Next, we went to Sendai Kokusai Hotel for our dinner reception. It was a pleasant night after the tiring travelling because of the delicious food (in particular, I really enjoyed the salmon) and an interesting play on the characters of the Sengokujidai.
 After checking into ANA Holiday Inn Sendai hotel, my group met up to visit the convenience store nearby for ice-cream! Ice-cream never fails to melt away feelings of tiredness, doesn't it? So there, my first night in Sendai ended on a sweet note :)
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Wednesday, July 20, 2011 @ 8:29 AM
わくわくします!
Hi Jap Club! This is Shiyun, your 09exco secretary here :)
This blog hasn't been updated for quite a while already, so here I am to share with you about this programme which I am embarking on - the Youth Ambassador For Tohoku Programme (YAT). I'm really glad to have been selected as one of the 100 ambassadors for Tohoku. During our club's Japan Cultural Trip last year, we only toured within Tokyo due to time and bugdet constraints. And so, when a teacher of mine informed me of YAT, I didn't hesitate to apply for it. I'm sure the trip will be well-rounded one - not only will we be experiencing the Tanabata Festival in Sendai, we will also be doing volunteer work and visiting Tokyo University to interact with the students. That's a whole package of Sightseeing + Community service + Cultural exchange, all within 7 days! Now I really can't wait :) With 13 days left to strike out on my calender, I've been keeping myself busy with learning Japanese! I've always wanted to pick up the language, and now this trip serves as motivation for me to start on my reference books again. And 13 days means ... ... im less than 2 weeks away from delicious udon, sushi, ice cream and tempura! I'll be blogging about my experience in Tohoku again! ^^v |
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Thursday, June 10, 2010 @ 11:10 AM
Hello Everyone! Long time no see! Or read. Whatever. Anyway, I'm just here to say that the origami pictures are up, and that you can see them here: Origami - Random in pink Yeah, I'm lame enough to name them after stuff like rhapsody in blue, so what? nyah! Anyway go have a look, they are quite un-sucky (surprisingly) in my opinion, but then again, I made them, so meh, I MAY be biased. Or self-deprecating. Or both. AT THE SAME TIME. Yeah, that's all, tata. Really. that's all. SHOO!!! -insane madman |
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Tuesday, May 25, 2010 @ 11:45 AM
Guess who!
The pictures for the session held last week, on 18 May 2010. :) Baby/toddler photos will be followed by their recent pics!
  Alex!   Amanda!   Bernie!   Erika!   Huai Xi!   Kenwin (with Masamune)!   Petra!   Shi Yun!   Wan Xin!   Wen Shuo!   Xinyi!   Yilin!   Yu Le! Photos are in alphabetical order btw. And remember to tell me if you're going for the chalet on 4-5 June! Don't want to go also must tell me so that we won't buy extra food. The CIP thing will be at Marine Parade Family Service Centre. Everyone will have to go for 2 sessions which are 2 hours each. CIP hours will be awarded. So uh, tell me if you're free on the 3rd or 4th week of June hols. Thanks. :D Yu Le Labels: Club Photos |
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