夢❀

on a mission

2012-05-27T18:56:00.001+08:00

canmake 02. chanel emerville. loreal sahara treasure.

integrate brow pencil. lancome bb. lancome sunblock. hada labo bb cream. lancome lip creme in 395.

Yumeko did a Makeup Meme post that got me looking through my stuff. So this is a rather edited version of the makeup used this week... and it's also an attempt to finish up most of the products in the pic before opening new items (fingers itching).

I don't own an enormous makeup collection but I already have no idea how it's going to be possible to finish all the eyeshadows... One face and yet so many pretty things I'd like to try. Cosmetic companies need to miniaturize all their products. Hah!

Miyajima 宮島

2012-05-24T20:22:00.001+08:00

Miyajima 宮島 done. Striking it off the top 3 三景 views of Japan :D I've a never ending list of places to in Japan, which only gets longer with every new spot google throws up at me. Anyway back to this little island off Hiroshima, it's really charming minus the tour groups of course. Plus there are deer on the island :):):)

If you don't have a JR rail pass and you're not planning to walk around Hiroshima city (if you prefer not to pay for most tram rides, it's very walkable), then do get a free pass from the any of the tram conductors or tourist info centers. There are 1/2 day options with different combinations of hiroden tram, matsudai ferry and miyajima ropeway (up Mt Misen). We took the Miyajima 2 day free pass which allows for unlimited rides on all 3 transport systems. Very worthwhile as a return ticket on the ropeway is ¥1800 and the pass itself is ¥2000. Using the local pass, take tram #2 to Miyajimaguchi station (takes about an hour) and from there board a Matsudai ferry to Miyajima (10min ride).

Noh performance at Itsukushima Shrine 厳島神社

Way too solemn and slow paced for my liking, much prefer Kyōgen.

Found a random shrine with a coin operated fortune dispenser (!!) while walking through Momijidani Park to Miyajima Ropeway station. Map said 10 min walk. Don't believe it. Every map and their ETA I've seen must have had people speed walking or running while timing. Kind of forgot about the free shuttle bus. Stupid us.

Momijidani station - Kayatani station - Shishiiwa station

Sorry. You're still not at the summit of Mt Misen. See the peak on the left? Spot the structure at the top. That's another 30min walk (so the map says). No thanks. Not after a week of walking everywhere and with an epic cycling journey to come.

Settled for Shishiiwa Observatory with a stunning albeit slightly foggy view of the Seto Inland Sea and the islands (Hi Shikoku! We'll be seeing you in a bit).

Saving the best series for last.

Torii with the receding tide at late morning. Itsukushima Shrine was dry by then.

Torii at noon.

Came back on the second day just for the sunset (the usefulness of a pass lol). It's very peaceful at that time with most people off the island by then and lots of the shops are closed.

If you look at the top left of the torii, there's a small patch on the roof which we totally did not notice until we watched the news a few days later with the giant torii all covered up in scaffolding to repair it. And repairs will only be completed mid June. Unbelievable timing and luck we had, a few days later and it would have been an almost wasted trip.

MIyajima has much more sites to offer but we were only interested in visiting the 3 above. Maybe next time I spend a night on the island and take my time to explore :) Oh and stuff myself with oysters. They are OHSOGOOD, fresh, succulent and large goodness.

Oyster face.

"my grandfather building"

2012-05-23T01:32:00.001+08:00

Singaporeans (any other countries?) will know this classic "your grandfather's [road/place] ah" phrase -- it's essentially used as a sarcastic remark at arrogant people or road hoggers. So it was pretty hilarious to spot this graffiti at Tanjong Pagar (it's around CBD area), totally made my day.

Hiroshima 広島

2012-05-21T22:21:00.001+08:00

Arrived at Hiroshima 広島 Station bright and early at 630am after taking the JR Chugoku overnight bus from Kyoto Station. Ticket is ¥5000 one way and bus leaves at 9+pm, the journey might be long but think of it as saving one night of accommodation and paying a third of a shinkansen ticket. It wasn't as bad as I imagined, on the contrary the seat was comfortable enough and we did manage to catch some shut-eye.

The only problem with getting in so early is that nothing except conbinis are open :[ So we took the hiroden down to our business hotel to drop off our luggage (best agoda deal ever! SGD$70 each for TWO nights) and headed to Peace Memorial. Had a breakfast of konbu onigiri (really miss it now) and hot tea while sitting near the A-Bomb/Genbaku Dome and watching students and office people go about their morning. We actually headed to Miyajima afterwards but that will have its own post :)

Visited Hiroshima Castle 広島城 on the second day, it is unfortunately a reconstruction as the original like many other buildings, was destroyed by the bomb. The castle ground park is pretty and there is a shrine within the grounds as well. Covering the area and the main tower won't take more than 2 hrs. The museum within (most castles have one) serves as a reminder that Hiroshima has more history than just that from the 20th century, as large as the impact was.

Had a pretty damn good meal at this italian cafe bar. ¥1000 lunch set for a petite soup, pasta, dessert and coffee. Except I forgot to take note of the name. All I remember is that is near Parco and on a small street opposite a Mario Dessert shop on Hondori.

instagram-ing

2012-05-21T01:29:00.003+08:00

Instagram is seriously addictive (goes to show our voyeuristic and exhibitionist nature) since it's sort of like blogging with photos only. Username is _adeline , do drop by and say hi! And since we are all visual creatures, here was how my week went :) It was nice to get out of the house to meet up with people versus lazing around at home, though the hot weather is really starting to drive me crazy.

I hope you had a good weekend too!

Heian Jingū 平安神宮

2012-05-17T18:11:00.001+08:00

Heian Jingū 平安神宮

Ok, so this one is a bit of a cheat. We went to the ticket entrance area, took one look at the map of the humongous inside grounds and decided our poor feet had enough of walking for the day so these photos were taken in the outer sanctuary.

Keeping traditions alive :)

Special pink omikuji おみくじ for sakura season --- at an additional ¥200, I think.

Did I mention this was a 15 day trip? ;) At this point, this was our last day in Kyoto and halfway into our vacay.
Next up, Hiroshima!

a canopy of pink

2012-05-14T21:27:00.001+08:00

Philosopher's Path 哲学の道

Stunning sakura covered pathway starting around Ginkakukji and ending at Nanzenji in north Higashiyama.

Three bears and a fishing pole in front of a craft store. They look a bit sad :(

So many cute little zakka stores and cafes along the way as well as painters laying out their wares. Bought two postcard watercolour prints from one of them, pity most don't sell their original paintings.

With such a beautiful display, do it the Japanese way. Sit on one of the many stone benches and have your bento lunch or onigiri snack. When was the last time you stopped to enjoy and soak in the scenery?

Kinkaku-ji 金閣寺 + Ginkaku-ji 銀閣寺

2012-05-12T01:47:00.001+08:00

Kinkaku-ji 金閣寺, does not need any introduction aside from the fact it is really the most blinged out structure I've seen. Pretty, but so in your face. Covering the area takes less than an hour, much shorter than I expected.

Ginkaku-ji 銀閣寺 on the other hand, does not follow it's namesake of being a silver pavilion and makes a modest contrast with the gold pavilion. It would have probably been more blinding than Kinkaku-ji if it was covered in silver. That said, the grounds are much nicer to walk through, with the sand garden and a hill overlooking the temple.

Fushimi Inari Taisha 伏見稲荷大社

2012-05-09T22:35:00.001+08:00

Fox shaped ema for writing prayers or wishes

Only two stations away from Kyoto Station, Fushimi Inari Taisha 伏見稲荷大社 is

"...known as the headquarters of all the Inari shrines nationwide, said to total 40,000. The shrine is believed to have been built in 711 by one Hata-no-Irogu... The shrine is sacred to Uka-no-mitama-no-kami [Inari] who presides over the five cereal crops and was originally worshipped as the god of foods and agriculture, but later as the god of commerce and fisheries as well." - JNTO

Foxes (kitsune) are considered to be messengers of Inari, hence the hundreds of stone foxes everywhere and they always come in pairs, a male and female.

The famous vermillion toriis that seem to stretch on forever. From the main shrine it's 4km to the top of the mountain and supposedly takes 2hrs assuming you're just walking and not stopping to take photos or to snack.

Turn around to look back and you will have a different view from the front. Inscribed on the back of each gate are the donator's name and the date of the donation. The pathway changes to steps most of the way after this stretch which can get a bit tiring on the knees (gosh, I sound like a geriatric now).

The aim for most visitors is to reach Yotsutsuji intersection which is halfway up with a view of Kyoto, thereafter the road splits into three with a circular route to the summit and down. The poor panoramic stitchup was NOT taken at Yotsutsuji (the view is blocked by a lot trees and it's only half of the above), we found a secret spot while taking a different route back down ;)

To the left of the torii at the entrance of Yotsutsuji is a flight of stairs leading to one of the many shrines on the mountain, walk through the shrine to the other end towards a rather inconspicuous pathway. A short while in, there will be a clearing with this amazing view of the city.

Walk further down and you will reach this somewhat abandoned and worn out looking area. It was honestly a bit creepy with no one but us two girls and a whole lot of stone foxes. There was that air of mystery when the wind blew and the sakura petals fell and swirled around; I was half expecting a fox to pop out.

sakura yuki

The very long path down... completely different from going up. Passed a carpark in the middle of nowhere (they have to get food up the mountain right), a whole lot of trees and no one but us. Eventually we were walking through a residential area (some really big houses!) and well, was kinda lost. But logic prevailed, just walk down and we'll eventually hit the main road. Hah!

This unconventional detouring happened to us quite a bit during the trip. We walked down a winding road in settling darkness on Mt. Yoshino after missing the last tram, this walk at Fushimi and then at Miyajima. Fun times :D

The plus point of taking this trail is that what you see will be different (albeit the amount of trees) and it's easier to walk down a slope than steps but you will end up in a completely residential area with no signs to point out where to go. So if you want to head back to Fushimi Inari, turn left walk straight and you'll walk pass Tōfukuji 東福寺 along the way which is near to the train station stop before JR/Keihan Fushimi Inari station.

Totally recommend visiting Fushimi Inari Taisha for a half day trip, if you're brave enough, go in the late afternoon to make the descent at dark. I'd be too scared to do that even though the main pathway is lit.

Running [Unstoppable]

2012-05-09T01:59:00.001+08:00

Interrupting the Japan travel posts for an utterly riveting ad by BBDO Toronto for the Canadian Paralympic Committee done in one take with no special effects. If this isn't a motivation and inspiration to get off the chair and RUN then I don't know what is.

Definitely looking forward to the London Olympics!

Arashiyama 嵐山

2012-05-07T21:25:00.001+08:00

Made a short half day trip to Arashiyama 嵐山 which is slightly far out on the west side of Kyoto. Didn't explore the area much with the overcast sky but I think I would prefer visiting during autumn versus sakura season, as pretty as it may be.

Groups of elderly people painting beautiful watercolours of the scenery are quite common elsewhere. I've no skill in drawing or even sketching but it's something I'd like to pick up (and frustrate myself along the way... or maybe I could arm twist C into complimenting the squiggles). Photos may be able to capture a moment in an instant but nothing can express more emotion and beauty than a painting.

Boat rides along Hozu river.

Seriously, even the bicycles in Japan look better/cuter.

I am so biased.

Sagano bamboo forest.

If you're in Kyoto in December, visiting it during Hanatouro is apparently a good time.

Tenryūji 天龍寺.

UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of Kyoto's Five Great Zen temples (google just told me). Gorgeous garden and landscaping especially with almost all the flowers in bloom and the giant weeping cherry blossom tree :)

loving Kyoto ♥

2012-05-06T02:41:00.000+08:00

I have a new favourite city, 4 days was just not enough :) Welcome to Kyoto!

Woke up bright and early at 7ish at Ise and caught the 0850h limited express train to Kyoto. In between we had to transfer trains at Yamoto-yagi station, different platform different train in 4 MINUTES with luggage. The thing with reserved seats limited express tickets is, it's only valid if the train you are transferring to is within a half an hour window. If not you'll have to pay extra on the next limited express or take a express/local train. So we decided to risk it ;D Really thankful to the oji-san who seated us in the carriage near to the stairs leading to the next platform!!

Yasaka Shrine 八坂神社

One of the few admission free places and open 24/7. Lovely when the lanterns are lit up at night :)

Totoro ♥♥♥

Kiyomizu-dera 清水寺

Was more interested in the view than the actual artifacts in the temple... and walking through Sannenzaka and Ninenzaka with all the little shops (albeit some touristy ones) in quaint traditional pre-war houses known as Machiya 町屋/町家.

Gorgeous sunset seen from the Ryōzen Kannon 霊山観音 carpark lol. We were walking through on the way back to Maruyama Park after Kiyomizu-dera.

Maruyama Park 円山公園

The main entrance to the park is through Yasaka Shrine and since it was hanami season, the streets were lined with stalls selling street food (yakisoba, takoyaki, okonomiyaki, grilled ikai...the notsohealthy stuff :D) , drinks (beer from the tap! お酒を飲みたい) and classic fair games (shoot that can!).

Best night ever. Excellent weather, sakura light up, street food and a really good atmosphere of slightly high (or perhaps already drunk) Japanese to people watch.

Lamenting the sad fact we can't do the same in Singapore:

1. too damn humid and hot

2. ant and fly infested.

And so that was how we ended our first day there :)

On a side note, we were really glad about arriving early into Kyoto. Since we had only made a booking the night before, our hotel for the night was at Gion (right next to Yasaka) which is a really good location for exploring Higashiyama. Got in and left our luggage with them and headed out for a nice lunch at Gion (awesome vegetarian meal btw). Finished at about 2pm, walked around a bit before going back to check-in while at the same time wondering what was up with the close to a dozen helicopters in the sky that weren't there an hour ago.

Turned out this was what had happened one block down from our hotel. Horrifying to say the least. If we had taken a later train or if we had taken another 10-15 mins before leaving the hotel for lunch... who knows. We knew in the afternoon that the street was closed off and multiple sirens abounded but we had no idea how severe the accident was until watching the news (thank goodness for learning the language) at night.

Really thankful to the big one up there for our timing.

Kyōto 京都 in Spring

2012-05-02T00:43:00.001+08:00

Yukatas and kimonos were worn in abundance and simply gorgeous.

Probably the only kind of couple dressing that I'd approve of. Hah.

Spring + sakura + Kyoto = best time to see traditional wear :)

Ise Jingū 伊勢神宮

2012-05-01T08:00:00.000+08:00

Ise, located in the Mie Prefecture is slightly off the regular tourist track but no less famous with the most sacred Shintō Shrine in Japan, Ise Jingū 伊勢神宮. The best way to get there from Osaka is via Kintetsu Railway from Namba station, taking about 2hrs on limited express to Iseshi station.

Isuzu River

Unlike Singapore weather forecasters (you know it's really just predicting the degree of heat or whether it'll rain, and they can still mess it up), the Japanese counterparts are damn spot on in their forecasts. They even give the time and percentage of when it will rain and stop. So, the day after Nara we headed to Iseshi with rain which lasted thewholeday. Talk about a real dampener.

Unfortunately, there aren't many photos since rain+dslr = not a good idea, and we only went to visit the inner shrine Naikū 内宮. Iphone photos aren't great but it's better than nothing.

One of the many little shrines connected to Naikū

The shrines at Ise Jingū are architecturally different from the usual vermillion shrines we tend to associate with and are refreshingly simple with wooden structures, thatched roofs and gold accents. Some might call it plain but hey, if they've been rebuilding the main shrine every 20 years in exactly the same style since 692AD then that is how they are truly supposed to be like.

Do consider stopping by Ise Jingū if you are planning to visit West Japan next year as 2013 is the next completion of the Naikū rebuilding, with the Shikinen Sengu there will be a lot of ceremonies, performances and festivities around October. Not to be missed since the next round is in 2033!

Uji Bashi bridge

Walked to Oharai Machi おはらい町 and Okage Yoko-chō おかげ横丁, omiyage and food areas near the entrance to Naikū, for a late lunch with their local speciality; really yummy thick udon noodles in sauce. Honestly, at that point, anything hot in that miserable rainy cold weather would be have been welcomed.

Initially the plan was to stay 2 nights (1st night in a hippie guesthouse and 2nd night in a ryokan onsen) to cover the outer shrine Gekū 外宮, Meoto Iwa 夫婦岩 and Iga Ninja Museum (don't mock the ninjas k), but we gave them up for an extra day in Kyoto (best last minute decision ever and yay! to flexible travel partners).

Would I visit Ise Jingū again? Yes, I'm a sucker for wide open areas with nature, clean fresh air and beautiful subtle architecture amongst towering cypress trees. It's 10x nicer than Meiji Jingu (I could go there everyday) nature-wise, except of course Meiji Jingu is next to Harajuku & Omotesando ♥♥♥ while Ise is kinda out of the way.

But I'll definitely be praying for good weather when I next visit.

Nara 奈良

2012-04-29T03:41:00.001+08:00

Welcome to Nara 奈良, former capital and home to more deer than you'll ever see elsewhere.

Covering the main points in the city of Nara takes less than a day, hence most people do it as a day trip out of Osaka or Kyoto. Plus getting there takes less than an hour, either by JR or Kintetsu. We had the Kintetsu Rail Pass which was happily fully utilised and proved to be a real money saver for us.

Tōdai-ji 東大寺

One of the UNESCO sites we visited located within Nara Deer Park.

Most of the deer have their antlers sawed off so seeing one with theirs growing out is rare... and as with most tourist places, very helpful maps and directions are located strategically with the red dot 'you are here'.

Creepy rundown shrine we didn't dare enter.

Hi Bambi.

For ¥150 you get a pack of deer crack or senbei 鹿せんべい which will attract a dozen of them to you in 10 seconds flat. Feed them or else be like the group of school kids that ran away with deer fast on their heels.

手水舎 temizuya/chōzuya

手水の使い方

右手で柄杓を持ち、左手をすすぐ

左手に柄杓を持ち替え右手をすすぐ

柄杓を持ち替えて、左手に水をため、口をすすぐ

再び、左手をそそぐ

最後に柄杓を立てて、柄を水でそそぐ

Present at Japanese temples and shrines, the water is used to cleanse the mouth and hands in order to purify oneself before entering. There is a set of steps to follow, better shown here. Personally, I don't partake in it due to hygiene reasons but it's always interesting to observe visitors across all ages doing it.

Torii at Kasuga Taisha 春日大社

Known for the hundreds of stone lanterns and dozen or so shrines within.
*
We headed to Yoshino 吉野 from Nara since Mt. Yoshino is famous for sakura, imagine a mountain of pink and green. Except after taking the tram up to the base and walking up to about halfway... we gave up. Partly because the sun was setting but mostly due to we were a few days too early for Yoshino. While the rest of Kansai was in full bloom, it was mostly a view of very dark pink unopened buds against green. Sad face.

And so we ended our first day back in Osaka with kareraisu and salarymen at 9pm.

slowly does it

2012-04-25T22:11:00.001+08:00

Mini torii ema at Fushimi Inari Taisha 伏見稲荷大社 unedited

Listening to Every Little Thing while trawling through and attempting to edit 850+ photos is a rather daunting task... which will continue tomorrow. For now it's deciding on how to condense everything into bite size pieces and jotting down memories before my senility catches up!

Japan

2012-04-25T03:50:00.000+08:00

Kyoto 2012

Amazing.

If I could simplify all the experiences, that would be it. But life is much more multi dimensional than just a word and I do hope to share bits of the adventure later on.

Those on my fb & instagram would have seen the above earlier, so please excuse the repeat, but it really is one of my favourite photos and sharing never hurts :)

日本は大好きだよ。

2012-04-07T01:18:00.001+08:00

Extremely thankful to the weather that our travel dates and 桜満開 are going to coincide.

お酒と花見 here I come!

2012-04-05T23:46:00.001+08:00

It's been a long time since I've felt this sad.

chin up

2012-03-09T00:41:00.003+08:00

this week, I

1. finally burned the bridge

2. booked a plane ticket + 8 hotels for crazy tripping

trying to push the twinge of regret and sadness away;

I can't move without closing the door first

let's move forward and without taking any steps back

pretty packages

2012-03-05T00:33:00.000+08:00

Glitter-fest + sheer colour.

Lovely packaging, not so great product.

I'm such a sucker for pretty things.

❀

2012-02-26T17:34:00.000+08:00

いつもいつも。。。

いつまで？

❀

春がもうすぐ来る。

2012-02-25T00:24:00.000+08:00

all in the small details.

retail therapy

2012-02-20T22:05:00.002+08:00

Ah the perils of online shopping with enticing discount codes and free international shipping. ASOS ♥ It's been awhile since I've indulged. Only just realised the similar colours I picked... oops. Can't wait to receive them in the mail along with my Paul & Joe eye glosses :)

Retail therapy is satisfying. Now it's just the waiting!

post-op

2012-02-19T00:05:00.001+08:00

my pink IV plug :P

and no, I did not ask for it.

thankfully, GA was a piece of cake with barely any side effects

slept a lot, had way too much milo and kept getting woken up every freaking hour because of the malfunctioning pressure cuff

oh well,

10 day mc ftw.