Friday Macha: Tannan and Matsubara City

Matsubara City. Not many foreigners know about the existence of this city since it doesn't have any tourist attractions. But it's my second home, where i lived for around 6 months, graduated from high school and met many amazing friends. It's also where I cycled around and walked my dogs a lot during my free time. 

Matsubara City is situated south of Osaka City. By Kintetsu Line, it's one and only one train station, Kawachi-Matsubara station  is 20 minutes from Tenouji. Tenouji is 15 minutes away from Yodobashi Station, Osaka by Midosuji Line. In total, it takes around 40 minutes to go to Osaka from Matsubara, including time taken for train transfer. 

This is the map of the subway lines in Kansai Area of Osaka. The red line is Midosuji Line which has Yodobashi Station. As you can see, it's super duper convenient to travel around Osaka using the subway lines. You can use any line and end up at the same place in Osaka. The difference between these lines is the stations, hence travelling time. 

Then we have the complicated yet convenient JR lines that connects Osaka to Nara, Wakayama, Kyoto, Kobe and Kansai Airport. 

I'm sorry I can't find the Kintetsu Railway map, so i can't show you the line connecting Matsubara City to Tenouji. 

I stayed in a neighborhood called Tannan, situated right next to Mihara Ward and Tanjo neighborhood, It's mainly a residential area with paddy fields, small shops, convenience shops, factories and coffee houses in Tannan. Surprisingly, for a city girl like me, I found and still find Tannan very entertaining because it's a whole different ambiance to me. Plus, it's safer for me to cycle around and explore neighborhoods. I've cycled over to Mihara Ward many times to check out the houses and shops there. 

My home.

A view of Tannan from the balcony.

Tannan Community Hall in front of my home.

Paddy fields in Tannan.

Among the house in Tanjo, the neighborhood next to Tannan.

Sunset view in Matsubara City from the balcony of my house.

Walking the dogs around Tannan.

Outside a departmental store near Kawachi-Matsubara Station.

The main road of Tannan.

It took me around 10 minutes to cycle from Tannan to Kawachi-Matsubara station. The road I took is just a long straight road, so I didn't get lost easily. To go to my high school, Matsubara Senior High School, I would have to pass the train station and go straight to Miyakehigashi, which is where my high school is located at. By bicycle, it takes me 30 minutes from my house to my high school, hence I could afford to wake up at 7.30am. 7.30am is considered quite late in Japan. By 6am, it's already bright and sunny.

From Tannan, I can cycle to all directions, 360 degrees. Hence I would end up either at Kawachi-Matsubara Station, Mihara Ward, Kita Ward, Higashi Ward, Matsubara City Office, Miyakehigashi and anywhere along the way. So, I can say that it's a pretty strategic place since I can easily cycle to almost anywhere in Matsubara City.

I would say that Matsubara City is more of a residential area, unlike Osaka City with its bustling streets and shopping centres. There are actually tons of schools in this city itself. A few entertainment and shopping centres to avoid its residents from boredom; offices, hospitals, clinics, police stations, post offices, restaurants and shops for convenience. Nope, there is no cinema, sadly, so you have to travel to Tenouji or Namba to watch movies. 

Matsubara City Office usually organizes events to bring the community members closer to each other. One of the major events is Matsubara World Fiesta. My high school is actively involved in this event because 2 exchange students are sent to this school every year, hence allowing cultural experience sharing. The main reason this event is organised annually is that there are many foreigners staying in Matsubara City. Since it's convenient to travel to Osaka City yet affordable to reside at, why not? The World Fiesta provides tons of opportunities for its community to mingle around with foreigners and learn more about other countries. 

I'll talk about my experience when I participated in Matsubara World Fiesta in another post. :)

For your information, if you want to be a resident of Matsubara City, permanently or temporarily, you can handle the official documents at the Matsubara City Office. It is near the Matsubara Central Hospital, 5 minutes bicycle ride from Kawachi-Matsubara Station.

Address: Japan, Osaka Prefecture, Matsubara, Ao, １丁目１−１

Contact number: +81 72-334-1550

Get Your 'Fat' Facts Right

Fats. Lipids. Triglycerides.
I see them as unhealthy.

I can never understand why would a slim person, let alone a thin one, thinks that he or she is still fat? I know many people, mostly girls, who think this way, hence leaving me racking my brains to find out which part of their bodies have extra chains of fatty acids and glycerol.

I see my friends posting pictures of mouth-watering food. Then the captions would be something like: 'Yummy dinner with X. Ohmygawd, fatty me.' or 'Dinner is making me fat. Fat again.' And I would look at their profile pictures and say, "Thin as a stick and you call yourselves fat? So what makes me? Obese? And the obese people? Extremely dangerously horrifyingly obese XXXXXXXXXL people?"

There are those who compare themselves with slim idols and would say, "I wanna be as slim as her!!" And I would go, "Woman, where the hell is the mirror?! Aren't you slim enough?!"

I'll be honest. Why think this way? Before I continue, I know I may offend some people but I'm going to be honest and I want to share with you about my thoughts on this ridiculous mindset.

First of all, ask yourself what is the meaning of fat? Scientifically, fats are triglycerides, made from the esterification between one molecule of glycerol and three molecules of fatty acids. Fats are categorized as saturated fats and unsaturated fats. Commonly, fat means you're big, round and you've got layers of lipids in your body. You're not fat if you have small bulk of fats. You need fats to protect your organs and aid your body thermoregulation, for your information. Fat means your weight is disproportional to your height - you're too heavy for your height. Ignore the scientific definition.

Don't look at the mirror because clearly your eyesight has failed your brains so badly! Go weigh yourselves and get your heights. Now calculate your Body Mass Index (BMI) and check if you are overweight, fat, normal or..........UNDERWEIGHT. If you are normal but still think you are fat, readers please, open your eyes and for your own sake, start admiring your beautiful selves! It's even worse if you think you're fat when you are actually underweight! You're practically standing at your own graves.  

I know, being super slim (in other words, thin) makes you look good, pretty and sexy. But does your body feels the same way? And I mean every cell, tissue, organ and system in your body. Your mind and brain may tell you that you look gorgeous this way, but I can assure you that your body is begging you to save it from malnutrition.

Being super slim also means: 'Yay, my boyfriend says I've grown thinner! My friends are envious of my figure!' But does it also mean, 'Yay, I am healthier!'?

Now, it's not wrong to be slim AS LONG AS you have THE HEALTHY BMI, THE HEALTHY WAYS OF BEING SLIM and THE HEALTHY MIND. Take a look at J.Lo and Beyonce. Hands down to these two gorgeous women. I'm not talking about their looks but I'm talking about their attitude in being FIT and HEALTHY. Yes, the right words that everyone should own: Fit and Healthy. How they maintain such fit and lovely figures, it amazes me. They eat whatever they want, then they burn those calories away by regular exercises without pushing their bodies off limits. Yes, they do diet but its healthy diet instead of starving themselves. The result: they don't grow fat, neither do they lose so much weight.

I have a friend who had a little fats here and there. Yet, her positive thinking and attitude are simply inspiring. Instead of wanting a thin body, she just want to get a healthy weight and fit body. I see her eating food high in calories but she eats them in the RIGHT amount. She exercises almost everyday to stay healthy and tone down the fatty areas. Whether slim or not, she isn't embarrassed to flaunt the beautiful body God gave her. Personally, I think that she is not as slim as those female Kpop stars, but she's got the curves at the right places. To some people, having curves is just another bad luck thing, I have no idea why. Her confidence and pride in her body actually makes her look even better than those thin-wannabes. A few days ago, she achieved her goal by practising positive habits. And I can bet that she is going to maintain this healthy figure instead of continuing to reduce her weight and end up as anorexic.

What I'm trying to say is that be proud and feel good about your body. To the slim ones, just maintain your figures. Don't go any thinner because you're killing your body. To the thin ones, eat more please. Get out from the underweight world! I know there are people with ridiculously high metabolism and can't grow any fatter, but do your best to be healthy. To the fat and obese ones, including me, don't feel demoralized. Take it as a challenge to be healthier. While in the process, dress properly and confidently and I promise, you will look gorgeous.

It's important to get healthy figures for our own sake, not for the sake of wanting to be as slim as our role-models. Most importantly, don't over-compare yourself with others. It's bloody unhealthy! You'll just feel depressed and throw yourself into committing the anorexia mission. Get your ideal figure (AND I BLOODY MEAN HEALTHY AND FIT FIGURE) by being positive. Don't end up hurting yourself. 

And I'm going to start my own mission. I have a tummy screaming for attention, flabby arms and fat thighs. But I'm not going to feel miserable and all, go on an extreme murderous diet and scold myself for being fat. No. I am gonna eat the right way and burn those fats. I not only want a healthy figure, but a healthy body for a healthy future. A healthier me. Go healthy!!! 

Cheers!!!

Friday Macha - Hanami in Early Spring

I love early spring. Not only it has a cooling and pleasant weather, it's also the peak of Hanami.

Hanami '花見' means flower viewing. Hana 花- flower; Mi 見- see. Many people commonly know Hanami as cherry blossom viewing. Cherry blossom is also known as sakura 桜. Just admire the picturesque scenery created by the cherry blossoms, whether from far or near. From far, the clusters of sakura trees look like clumps of pink or white clouds whereas from near, you can feel the personal touch of God's creation by having a close-up view on single blossoms.

My first Hanami was during my orientation programme in the Osaka Youth Hotel. My liaison person (an AFS volunteer who is in charge of my welfare and communication with AFS) brought me to my high school to meet up with my host family. Walking around 10 meters away from the hostel, I saw the sakura trees for the first time. It's not considered as cherry blossom viewing because honestly, I walked past the trees in the speed of light, only managing to capture a few pictures.

The second time I went for a real Hanami was thanks to the AFS tour around Osaka city. We had a mini dango picnic under the blooming cherry blossom trees, with the Osaka-jo (Osaka Castle) standing majestically behind them. Cherry blossoms are especially beautiful in combination with castles, temples and shrines.

My host family also brought me to a park nearby for Hanami. I was actually surprised to find the park crowded with families who were having picnic while admiring the beauty of cherry blossoms from a near distance. Some of them even  lied down and gazed dreamily at the flowers, lost in their own thoughts. I think the Japanese really appreciate the blessings of nature that it has become a tradition, part of their culture, to spend time with loved ones by enjoying nature together. And you'd be even surprised that the park was as clean as ever even after everyone had gone home. They actually cleaned up the junks, unlike those irresponsible people who can't even throw rubbish into nearby dustbins.

Popular spots for Hanami and admission fees:
Tokyo:

1. Shinjuku Gyoen (10 minute walk from Shinjuuku Station, 200￥)
2. Ueno Park (A few minutes walk from Ueno Station)
3. Sumida Park (A few minutes walk from Asakusa Station)
4. Meguro River (Near Nakameguro Station)

Osaka:

1. Osaka Castle Park
2. Kema Sakuranomiya Park (Near Sakuranomiya Station)

Kyoto:

1. Philosopher's Path (Between Gingakuji Golden Pavilion and Nanzenji Temple)
2. Maruyama Park (Next to Yasaka Shrine)
3. Arashiyama (Northwest of Central Kyoto)

Kanazawa:

1. Kenrokuen (15-minute bus ride from Kanazawa Station, 300￥)

Nagoya:

1. Yamazakigawa Riverside (10-minute walk from Mizuho Undojo Higashi Station)
2. Nagoya Castle (Short walk from Shiyakusho-mae Station, 500￥)
3. Tsurama Koen (Tsrama Station)

Fuji Five Lakes

1. Northern Shores of Kawaguchiko (10 to 25-minute bus ride from Kawaguchiko Station)
2. Chureito Pagoda (15 to 20-minute walk from Shimo-Yoshida Station)

Himeji:

1. Himeji Castle (15 to 20-minute walk from Himeji Station, 600￥)

Hiroshima:

1. Miyajima (45-minute ferry ride from Hiroshima Jetty near Hiroshima Station)

Fukuoka:

1. Fukuoka Castle (5 to 10-minute walk from Ohori Koen Station)
2. Uminonakamichi Seaside Park (Near JR Uminonakamichi Station, 400￥)

Hokkaido:

1. Matsumae Park (Matsumae Town)
2. Maruyama Park and Hokkaido Shrine (5-minute walk from Tosai Subway Maruyama Koen Station)

If you don't really have time to visit these places, don't worry too much. There are tons of sakura tress around Japan, even at the small streets in small towns. Or, just simply ask the locals for the nearest park which has sakura trees: "Hanami ni ikitai desu ga, sakura no hana ga atte moyori no kouen wa doko desu ka."

And yes!!! Spring is arriving!!! 

Hearts

Right now as I am typing as fast as I can, Valentines Day will be over in 4 minutes.

As usual, everyone posted about their Valentines Day; the coupled ones would go all lovey-dovey while the single people would either complain or boast about being forever alone like a boss.

How I spent my Valentines? Dress hunting with 2 dear friends. It was enjoyable when we had to run around searching for the right dress for each other and ourselves. In the end, one of us found the perfect dress and my, it is seriously beautiful!! And it wasn't really expensive judging from the good quality cloth used and the lovely design.

Here's a sweet song and MV by K.Will specially for all you lovely readers!! :) Valentines over now at my place, but Happy Valentines Day!!!



6 years and going on. And it will always be you.

Growing Love For Braids

I am in love with BRAIDS! HAIRSTYLES WITH BRAIDS!!!

Back in primary school days, my mum would sometimes either tie the normal, bamboo or braided (or is it plaid?) ponytail for me. I used to hate the braided one because I somehow associated it with the Chinese man braided ponytail during the olden days, those dynasties and all. It's like as if one could slap others with that kind of ponytail.

Who knew that a simple braid would go through evolution and create so many beautiful and unique hairstyles?

I've been watching a Youtuber by the username bebexo who uploads her own tutorials on hairstyles, fashion and make up. I especially love her hairstyle tutorials because she explains and shows the steps very clearly. Feel free to visit her Youtube channel yeah! :) She's got some wickedly awesome braided hairstyles!

Yay!!! I finally found a few braided hairstyles for Orientation Ball!!

Dying Love For Kpop

I don’t think I've told you why I began to lost interest in Kpop. Well, maybe still a fan but not too fanatic like how I used to be. I am still an Inspirit, Elf, Beauty and KissMe. 

Truth to be told, I was let down by the Kpop idols during their performances in KBS Gayo Daejun 2012. Thank God that the event had sound system malfunction; hence we could see who the real idols are. Idols are said to have the ability to live up to their status. But most of them failed to show that ability. I’m not going to mention their names for the sake of their fans. I’m sorry to say but some of them don’t even have good vocals, just that normal singing which everyone else can do the same. Or they weren't even putting in effort to sing well, which is even worse because clearly, idols are supposed to work hard to meet expectations.

Since I am an Elf, I’ll share my disappointment with you. Super Junior, which won tons of awards, was the most miserable group to perform. Seriously, I didn’t see any effort from the members. Their performance was so lifeless, only to be saved by Kyuhyun and Kangin. Even Yesung or Ryeowook didn’t make full use of their vocal talent. Donghae only relied on the faulty sound system, wasn’t much of a help either. Either they are giving up or SM Entertainment loves screwing up with too much techno music. I’d rather have SHINee win those awards instead.

Kudos to the real idols – SHINee, K.Will, Ailee, Hyorin, Nell, 2AM, TVXQ and CNBlue. Now, these are people who showed good professionalism by putting in so much effort to prove that they have got impressive vocals and live performing ability. The rest of the ‘idols’ only relied on the sound system. Lip sync, we call it. Only this time, it was faulty lip sync.

There was a huge debate going on among the Kpop netizens. One side argued about the disappointing performances while the other side defended their favourite groups by giving excuses such as the idols were on tight schedules and had not enough rest or the companies weren't paying much attention on them, so they were bored. Wow!! Simply wow! If that is the case, why are they even called idols? Yeah yeah yeah, they are after all humans who have limited ability to do their best. Yet, the problem is, they weren't even trying! 

Take a good example of SHINee and TVXQ. SHINee’s Sherlock is one of the songs with the toughest choreography and requires the strongest vocals. So how did SHINee manage to bring the stage down with an explosive Sherlock performance? TVXQ is still shadowed by their breakup with JYJ. Nevertheless, they focused well on their career and performance. Not even a single excuse used to take a break and slack.

If my idols are not even trying for the sake of their fans, why should I even try to go crazy about them? Before you start labeling me a traitor, as a fan, I prefer telling the truth and criticizing my idols’ mistakes instead of defending them by giving them more excuses to slack even more.

My Chinese New Year

A typical welcome to Chinese New Year (CNY) in my life in Malaysia is usually started with the loud fire crackers and fireworks around my neighborhood at midnight, followed by a little bit of rolling in bed the next morning, then some last minute CNY clothing before a stressful journey to my popo's place.

I have 2 grandmothers. One of them is staying with me and I call her nenek which means grandmother, in Malay language. She's a pure Chinese by the way. My other grandmother stays with my uncle and I call her popo which means grandmother, in Chinese language. She is also a pure Chinese. A journey with nenek, especially during CNY is always stressful because she would be forcing everyone to follow very, very, very old yet forgotten weird traditions and nonsensical beliefs. Too nonsensical that most of the times, nenek drives us up the wall. And today, like any other first day of CNY, my father and I listened patiently to my mother trying her best to stand whatever nonsense coming out from nenek's mouth.

Thank God, the stressful journey was short and hopefully, will be that way. Most of my relatives have gathered at popo's house, entertained either by my nephew Aidan or by KBS channel. It was lively and merry but not as much as during our complete gathering once. Some of my relatives are still in Australia, Singapore and went visiting elsewhere. But still, one has to be thankful to Him for each family member is still breathing in His care.

Popo didn't cook her delicious vegetarian dish this year because she's too tired. So my uncle bought vegetarian food instead. Somehow, there was a miscommunication and I thought that I couldn't eat the food (which I could actually!!!). Sigh. I was staring longingly at the roasted vegetarian chicken, wondering what did I do wrong to not being able to savour my favourite dish. I think I'll attack the vegetarian shop nearby to heal my broken heart.

My cousin who recently came back from her vacation in Seoul gave me some nice souvenirs. Do check out her lovely blog Reaching Out, Reaching Up on her Seoul trip, makeup product reviews and more.

Every year I remind myself that CNY is not about the red packets and food. It's all about spending time with loved ones, just like any other festive seasons. I remember I used to look forward to receiving bursting red packets when I was little. As my cousins and I grow older, we find that those red packets aren't bursting anymore. At first, I was filled with disappointment. Then, I took a good look at each of my elder relatives to have a moment of realization. Within 10 months while I was in Japan, so much has happened in my family that sometimes, things are beyond recognizable. One thing led to another that now, everyone looks so old, tired and run-down. And there I was, being selfish, thoughtless and ignorant to problems my relatives had and have. Overwhelmed with regrets, I learnt that money is not everything, neither it is the meaning of Chinese New Year. Family is everything. God's precious gift to us.

Happy Chinese New Year everyone!!!

p/s: Like my braided ponytail or whatever you call it? ;)

CNY wish from my husband. I feel the love.