It’s these moments when you have a full appreciation of what it means to be Canadian. Playing host to the 2010 Winter Games, I hope Canada has left a lasting impression on the world. I know it has left an incredible impression on this entire nation! We may not have the highest medal count, but I think we’d take 14 gold medals any day. ^_^

So many great moments during these past few days. I think I’ve become such a sap going teary-eyed from just about everything. Figure skating gold for the Chinese pair was just stunning. Of course, the first gold medal for Canada by Alex Bilodeau on the moguls. Such a humble guy and so deserving of his medal. Then watching the battle between Kim Yu Na and Asada Mao. Canada’s newest hero, Joannie Rochette scooping up the bronze in honour of her late mother. Can’t forget the gold medal game between Canada and U.S. I was holding my breath (as with the rest of Canada) during the overtime play. So glad Team Canada delivered! What an amazing run for Sidney Crosby!

I should take a moment to mention how spiffy Canadian athletes look at the games. Those moose sweaters are awesome! Even all the volunteers and workers looked so sharp with their outfits! Thank you for making the lumberjack look cool again. *Thumbs up*

Watching the Closing Ceremonies now. I see moose antlers! Canadians really know how to poke fun of themselves. The mime fixing the hydraulics glitch was too funny. So glad Catriona Le May Doan had her chance to shine.

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Well, we’ve shown the world what we’re made of. It’s time to party now! GO CANADA GO!

EDIT: I’m so sorry but I need to add this in. The beavers and flying moose!!! That was a spectacular performance. They were right on with the mounties and hockey clichés, and just when I was wondering where my beavers were, out they came! I love Canada. =)

二月過得很快，眨眼就完了。這段日子比較忙，沒有時間update這個blog。真的很抱歉！

前一排忙於搞嘉穎個fan gathering。今次由我一個負責，所以壓力很大。忙了４日總算可鬆一口氣。雖然今次時間比較短，但好開心再一次同Kevin見面。不知道下一次會在那時候呢？希望今年年低可以返香港。^_^

I was invited by my Japanese sensei to a 新年会 (New Years Party) today. It was held at a cultural center about 20 minutes from my house. At first I was kind of worry what sort of party it was going to be, but it turned out to be a lot of fun!

There were a lot of families with small children inside. The kids were so cute! I mostly stayed close by my sensei and a couple of classmates. There were activities for kids stationed throughout the building, so we participated in a few. The best one was the かるた (playing card) game. We already choose the easiest version, which was the Anpanman set. I thought I was doing really well until a couple of kids joined in our game. Nothing like having a bunch of kids beating you to seriously wound your ego!

There were other things like 紙相撲 (paper sumo) and 福笑い (similar to pin the tail on the donkey). Also things like tea ceremony demonstration, calligraphy workshop and kimono dressing. There was also a お餅つき (rice cake pounding) demonstration.

We toured for about an hour before heading off to the kitchen to find food. They had カレライス (curry rice) and お雑煮 (ozoni), which is a New Years dish prepared with rice cake and soup. Everything was really yummy! My only complaint was that the portions were so small!

Anyway, I really did have a lot of fun today. However I realized when I left that I didn’t even speak a word of Japanese the entire time! Hehehe, I will try harder next time!

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BTW, in the origami corner, they were teaching us to fold tigers. Here is my version. How does mine compare? =P

Disclaimer: I swear this is the last vacation entry I’m going to post for the next half of year. Unless of course my favourite newscaster comes to Canada and by some miracle I can teleport myself to Vancouver. Please bear with me. I need to finish this before I seriously forget everything I did back in November.

So voilà~ I present you the last entry: Hong Kong

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It’s been almost two years since I last step foot in HK, however when we landed at the airport, everything seemed exactly like how we left it. We took a late flight from Tokyo, arriving in HK close to 10pm. First order of business was grabbing our luggage and hailing a cab to Kwun Tong. Our first taxi driver turned us away cause we had too much luggage. Luckily the second taxi driver had elastics to close his trunk because we ended up piling everything in the back. The ride was less than an hour so we got to Kwun Tong close to midnight. After lugging everything up, we called it a night and headed off to bed.

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The next day we slept in a little later, then made our way to Chai Wan for tea with our grandparents. I had forgotten what it was like to be back in Chai Wan (a really really dingy part of HK). Everything is so small in comparison to Toronto! Also in my grandparent’s apartment, there’s only one toilet (whereas we have three in our house). Not to mention the fact that there wasn’t any running water to work the plumbing!

Yeppers…that’s what it feels like to be back!

We went for tea nearby, then uncle took us out to shop at Tai Koo. Originally I had wanted to go to Causeway Bay, but because someone drank too much tea at lunch, we needed to stop to locate a washroom. Hence we got off earlier at Tai Koo and decided to stay at the mall. There wasn’t much to do after spending all my money in Japan, so we went and saw a movie to pass time. Unfortunately MW was already out of theaters, so we couldn’t catch Tamaki. *Tear* Later that night we went for thai food before heading back to Kwun Tong.

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The second day we made plans to go for tea with PoPo at Hang Hou. We picked her up from the nursing home and headed over next door. It was only my second time going for ‘飲茶’ in HK and it was already more than enough for me!

Afterwards, we took a bus over to apm for some shopping. Since I didn’t have time to get my nails done in Japan, I decided to splurge a little at the mall to get them done there. However, it was obviously a mistake because the girl took more than two hours! We were late getting home to Chai Wan for dinner with our grandparents, but they were very forgiving. After dinner, uncle finally took us to Causeway. We spent time wandering around Times Square and saw the Christmas decorations out front. Later we went to a Haagan Daaz and ended up stuffing our faces with ice cream. Yum!

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Thursday was our only ‘free’ day to ourselves. We started off at Wan Chai in the morning so I could browse through Design Gallery. Later we made our way to Central for 鏞記 roast goose. We ended up going around in circles in Central before we found the restaurant, so it was nearing 1pm when we finally got seated inside. My sister and I both ordered a bowl of 瀨粉, then a plate of veggies and half a roast goose. It was so yummy! However, I didn’t really like having to 搭臺, so it was a little awkward when there were three other parties sharing the same table.

Afterwards, we headed off to the Sino Centre in Mongkok. I never knew this place existed! But of course, since we just came from Japan, we pretty much bought everything we needed over there. However, I did get a good deal on the Arashi 5×10 CD promotional poster. Only $20! Sweet!!

We didn’t have anything planned afterwards, so we went and found a karaoke place to kill time before dinner. I was surprised that Neway had a few Arashi songs, plus the actual PV for Ashita no Kioku! However, their Japanese song selection was quite dismal, so having one PV was not enough to redeem their reputation. LOL! We ended up just putting the song on repeat. =P

Later on, I made plans to meet up with a few online friends for dinner. Agnes and I decided to meet in front of the Sino Centre. I was surprised she was able to find us right away cause we had no idea what each other looked like! We walked a couple blocks to a Chiu Chow restaurant nearby, where I met Nancy and Alice. Everyone was so nice! I was so happy that I had the chance to meet new friends on this trip!

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Friday was our last full day in HK. We started the morning at Central where we met uncle and headed over to Long Ping to see the giant buddha. It was actually a nice day out, so we had a great view from the cable cars. (That, and because we paid extra for the see-through seats!) It was really warm too and so I was sweating as we made the steep climb to the buddha.

After touring the top, we went back down and had lunch. Then we made our way over to the Wisdom Path. I ended up more excited feeding wild puppies on the path than actually being ‘enlightened’ on the path. Heehee. However when we reached the summit point, it was really beautiful.

Afterwards, we ended up back in Central. My uncle took us to different famous restaurants, including 麥奀雲吞麵世家 for wonton noodles and 蘭方園 for HK style tea and french toast. I wanted to eat more, but I had to leave room since we were going for dinner with my grandparents at night. After making it back to Chai Wan, we all went out again, along with my uncle’s girlfriend for dinner. Dinner was really nice, but it was sad having to say goodbye to my grandparents.

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The flight the next morning was early in the afternoon, however we got all our bags ready and were out the door by 11am. After getting checked in, we had Café de Coral for the first time on our trip. I was so disappointed because there was no 焗豬扒飯! (I had been craving it the entire time we were there!) Taking in the last bits of HK, we finally boarded our flight and were on our way back home to Toronto.

I think it was nice ending our vacation in HK. It was way more relaxing than trying to squeeze in the last bits of Japan and nearly missing my flight. I hope my grandparents will stay healthy and that I’ll be able to visit them again in the future. Goodbye last remnants of my wonderful vacation!

~Fin~

It was certainly the best weather we had during our two week stay in Japan. The sun was out, it was warm (for Tokyo standards) and all the leftover fall colours made it absolutely breathtaking strolling down the old streets of Kamakura.

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We started the day at Shinjuku Station where I met Yuka and Junko before boarding a train to Kamakura. The ride took about an hour, and we were chatting about everything from Arashi to HK films. Later along the way we met Masako, then finally Eri at Kamakura Station. They had already planned the route for the day, so I let them lead the way.

It was really warm outside as we strolled in Kamakura. I was still wearing my winter coat, but I had to take it off after walking for 30 minutes. We made our first stop at the Daibutsu. I was really excited to finally see this symbol of Kamakura, but when I got there I found out how small it actually was! (Considering it was built in 1252, it must have been a feat in its times!) We walked around the building and even went inside the Daibutsu. Then of course we took a few photos before leaving.

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Afterwards it was nearing lunch time, so we headed back to Kamakura Station. It seemed like we were in and out of the station a lot during the duration of the day, so I kind of forgot where everything was in relations to another. Hehehe. However, Junko was right on top of things, and I was glad to have a tour guide around Japan for a change. =)

On our way to the restaurant for lunch, we passed by Kamakura beach and I snapped a few shots. The beach was sooooo beautiful. I think I could have spent the entire day there if we didn’t have such a full schedule!

We finally made our way to the inn(?) for lunch. It wasn’t exactly an inn, but not exactly a restaurant either. It sort of resembled a house. The inside had enough room for 5-6 tables, while the outdoor patio served another 7-8 tables. The restaurant is located off a side street in a quiet residential area. It’s one of those places you’d never find unless you knew to look for it. However I was surprised at how popular the place was, because the lineup outside was huge. But since Junko is so meticulously organized, she already made reservations in advanced. =)

I learned quickly that the place is a popular soba house. Everything on the menu was soba. (Well, not like I could actually read the menu, but it seemed like all the options Yuka listed were soba. Heehee.) I ordered a duck soba since I’ve never tried it before. When it came I was surprised at how fresh and chewy the noodles were. (By chewy I mean chewy in a good way.) I was very impressed by how well the duck went with the soba. For 1,800 yen a bowl, it was pricey, but well worth what we paid for.

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After lunch, we headed off to the next attraction on our list, Enkakuji. The Buddhist temple was huge in comparison to the ones I’ve been to before. There were lots to see when we got onto the grounds, so we started following several trails to see the buildings. I ended up taking a lot of pictures inside. Later as we were heading out, we decided to see the final attraction - the Great Bell, which is the largest temple bell in Kamakura. Unfortunately, it is situated up a hill, which meant climbing a huge staircase to get to the top. I was already getting tired at the halfway point, but I made it to the top. It really had a gorgeous viewpoint from above. I ended up getting a fortune slip (おみくじ) and I must have been really lucky cause I got the best fortune! 大吉 Daikichi!!

Afterwards, we made our way to another temple nearby, Meigetsuin. It was about a 20 minute walk away, but the weather was still sunny, so it was another leisurely stroll to the temple. Meigetsuin is a lot smaller in size than Enkakuji, but it was still beautiful inside. Meigetsuin is also famous for its hydrangeas, so in the summertime the entire temple will bloom with them. I think I will have to visit that spot again in the future!

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We ended up strolling down the main shopping street in Kamakura. It was so lively everywhere we went! There were vendors selling a variety of things in the market. I was greedy and wanted to try everything, so we ended up in line for Japanese sweets. =P

The last attraction we visited was Tsurugaoka Hachimangu, which is a Shinto shrine in the heart of the city. There was a huge torii gate at the entrance and the whole area was bustling with activity. There were also many kids dressed in kimonos, as it coincided with Shichigosan. We toured the inside and I snapped a few shots before we headed off in search of food again. Heehee.

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Junko reserved a spot for us at a traditional Japanese teahouse. Apparently the teahouse was formerly owned by a famous Japanese author named Osaragi Jiro. We were seated inside with a full view of the courtyard. The sun was starting to set, so it seemed like a perfect way to wind down the day’s activities. We all ordered traditional tea, which was served with these beautiful, hand-crafted sweets. The tea was soooooo bitter, but the sweets helped even out the taste. The lady who served us was surprised to see foreign visitors in the teahouse. She ended up taking a picture of us which is now displayed on their homepage. =)

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The teahouse was the last thing we did in Kamakura. Afterwards we all headed back to Tokyo for dinner. I told Yuka I wanted to try oden, so she took us to a very casual sit-down restaurant right by Tokyo Station. I was a little surprised by oden. I mean, if you really think about it, all that it is is food that’s been left sitting in a soy-flavoured broth all day. I’d categorized it as ‘iffy‘. However, if you stick with daikon and fish cakes, it was relatively safe to eat.

Anyway, after dinner we decided to grab a coffee so we could chat a little longer. Eri had to go since she lives in Nagoya, so we said goodbye to her at the station. The rest of us walked around the underground shops in Tokyo Station were they sold merchandise from all the TV stations. Afterwards, we managed to find a Starbucks that was still open, but I was seriously starting to fall asleep by that time. However, I had to stay awake because Yuka and Junko were translating some Arashi articles for me from the magazines that Yuka had purchased. (Yuka is sooooo sweet! She even dropped off a couple magazines as a present for me at my hotel before I got to Tokyo!)

It seemed like the night was drawing to a close afterwards. I think everyone was starting to feel exhausted from all the walking we did in the morning. So we all bid farewell at the station and went our separate ways.

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I am so grateful to all of them for taking the time to plan and organize everything in Kamakura. They were all so meticulous with the details. I didn’t have to do a single thing! (Well, not like I could have helped with much anyway, LOL!) I know I would have never found any of the restaurants by myself if they hadn’t done the planning beforehand. I’m going to have to pull twice the effort if they ever come visit me in Toronto! (Luckily I don’t think Toronto is high on the list of tourist attraction spots.) Heehee. Once again, Yuka, Junko, Eri, Masako and Yumi - とてもありがとうございました!