Monday 27 April 2015

Miharu Takizakura in Fukushima Prefecture



I've always heard from friends who were from the countryside that there is nothing there compared to the city. I did not want to disagree because I've never lived in the countryside before. But now that I've been visiting the countryside more often for the past few weeks, I can honestly say, the countryside has things that the city would probably never be able to have.

For the past few weeks of my travel, I've been travelling by car. Since I was there for work, my boss was the one who was doing the driving for hours (kudos to him!). I was able to see more things and enjoy the sceneries around. I must say, the sakuras were much more beautiful since there aren't buildings in the background.

While being in Fukushima, I was able to try out painting a traditional Japanese doll and learn a little about the meaning behind it. I also visited the top 3 must visit sakura viewing sites, Miharu Takizakura. It was so beautiful! I loved it. I'm so glad to be given s chance to see this. I wouldn't be able to see this if I stayed in Tokyo. Tokyo doesn't have something as magnificent as this! It's nice to get out of the city once in awhile and enjoy the simple things and enjoy spring!

Check out this video to know more about my adventures there. This time round, I went to Fukushima with Gen, another fellow Singaporean reporter and Roy, a reporter from our neighbouring country, Malaysia.

If you're interested, check out ASEAN Japan net TV's: HomepageFacebook for more updates!
If you enjoyed this series, don't forget to give it a 'like' and subscribe to their youtube channel for future updates.:)

xoxo,
C.

Tuesday 21 April 2015

I went to Fukushima Prefecture!

Driving to Fukushima Prefecture
As I was born and raised in a bustling city, it has always been one of my dreams to visit the countryside. Sometimes, I want to escape to the countryside because it seemed quiet and slow paced. Since I am in Japan, I was able to do that. The air was fresh and I was able to be closer to nature than ever before. I made it a point to not look at my cellphone that often. It was mainly because I was there for work, and was trying to save battery. (My cellphone battery never lasts!)

I just came back from Fukushima Prefecture a few days ago. I was only there for a day for filming so I couldn't explore other places. The trip was short but definitely memorable. I was very lucky to be able to paint my own traditional Japanese dolls and visit a top 3 must visit cherry blossom viewing sites. I think the cherry blossoms in the country side looks so much better than the ones in Tokyo. I guess it's because there is too many people around to really enjoy the scenery.

I've made a post sharing some photos about my trip to Fukushima Prefecture on the ASEAN Japan net TV facebook page here.
I've also shared some personal off-shot photos on my other website, Mongira. It is a joint website project I'm doing with a few of my college friends. We'll be sharing more photos and contents there so do check it out and like our facebook page! :)
The new video about it would be out really soon so look forward to it!

I'll be going on a few more trips before my spring break officially ends. It's going to be tiring but memorable. I'll probably have more photos to share as well! Look forward to them. (^^)

Until then, I'll write again soon. C.

Sunday 12 April 2015

What's Japanese Hanami?



Spring, one of the most anticipated seasons in the world. Perfect weather and beautiful sceneries everywhere. Like I've mentioned before (like a millionth time), I've never done Hanami in my life! But this year is slightly different. This year is about going outside of my comfort-zone (more than usual) to mingle with the crowd and socialise with actual humans instead of 2D anime characters. With that goal in mind, I went for a Hanami with a group of uniquely awesome people.

Earlier this month, I went for a hanami with the AJNTV reporters. We didn't just have our own hanami to fully understand the real meaning behind hanami. We also went out to interview Japanese and foreigners about what they think about Hanami and why they do it. Throughout the process, we met wonderful people and learnt quite a lot about Japanese cultures from the eyes of foreigners and Japaneses. I had great food, great scenery and an extremely fun time during the hanami with the rest of the AJNTV reporters! To be honest, I think hanami is a great time to enjoy nature, food and the company of your friends.

Don't just take my word for it, the video above would do more explaining. Oh! The video also includes the cute and dorky side of the reporters so this video would be quite the feast!

Check out ASEAN Japan net TV's: HomepageFacebook for more updates!
If you enjoyed this series, don't forget to give it a 'like' and subscribe to their youtube channel for more updates.:)


xoxo,
C

Sunday 5 April 2015

Spring break = Hanami

Hanami - 花見
4th April 2015

Hey there! It is currently spring in Tokyo, Japan. I've completed my finals and it's the start of the spring breaks! (hooray!) Since my first year in Japan, I had never went to a hanami or visited the parks to look at cherry blossom trees. Even after I entered college, I didn't have to chance to do hanami with my friends either because I have finals during the time sakuras are in full bloom. I couldn't understand the hype about Spring. I couldn't understand the beauty of cherry blossoms/Sakura. But, this year was different. I felt the beauty of sakura in Japan and understood the meaning behind Hanami. I think I'll probably never understand the meaning behind hanami and cherry blossoms in Japanese culture if I had not done a research about cherry blossoms for my cultural anthropology class. It's definitely something I'd recommend people to do if they are in Japan during this period.

For the past few days, I've been visiting the park and joined in with the Hanami activities with the locals. The view was magnificent! I love it when the wind blows and the sakura petals starts drifting down to the ground. It's just like the scenes from animes. No, it was better because I was there in person to witness it.

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I've also officially completed my Spring semester for college. I'm now down to my last final semester which begins in May. Congrats to my lovely friends who graduated in this semester! I'll see you guys during the graduation ceremony!

Since I was so busy last semester, I didn't have a chance to write about my trip to a tropical greenhouse with my fellow photography club members. Never fear, I've made a video about it! I'm not in the video because I was busy filming so... Yeah! If you enjoyed it, please give it a thumbs up. :)



Until then,
Good bye.

PS: I'd recommend anyone who's interested about Sakura and its symbolic meaning in Japanese culture to read this book. It was an interesting read.