~Hokkaido trip part 2~

Now where was I..Oh yeah,after a long blog,don't expect me to cut down on this one..hehe..I want to finish it before I forgte every juicy boring little details..Here goes

25/08/2006
I had my first taste of Hokkaido Nattou(fermented beans),mushroom miso soup and Umeboshi here for breakfast.It was great!I didn't know that one can put mushroom into miso soup.After breakfast our first program of the day is a visit to a primary school.

大中山小学校.This is the first outta four schools I have visited during this entire trip.The sensei of this 4year4th class wa a really funny lady and really made me feel at ease in her class..We had some games there and I was lukcy enough to be able to fulfill the 'mission' given.Meaning,palying yo-yo(easy job),something like batu seremban etc.They even sang 2 songs for me and I in return taught them how to sing the first song that comes into my mind.."Rasa sayang heh,rasa sayang sayang heh..Heh lihat nona jauh rasa sayang sayang heh.."After that there's this autograph session where I had a taste of what a celebrity is like..hehe..Signed about 40 to 50 autographs..^_^

Next we had 座禅体験(Meditation) in a temple..Its pretty simple actually,we have to sit crossleg yoga-stlye,form a pyramid like with your knees on the ground and your butt on the cushion,with our palms forming an oval and put down to your legs,heads down without closing your eyes and look straight downwards 45degress 1meter in front of you.In case you were wondering why we shouldn't close our eyes,it is said that when you do so,you'll have more wandering thoughts and cannot focus even more..So Zen eh?

After that it was farming time!!We thought we will be going to the farm,to pluck the green peas etc so all the gals had all their 'anti-tan weapons' on..Seems like we think too much,we were only ask to pluck the peas from the chpped down branches.Didn't even had the chance to step into the farm..Damn..See how the clean the peas?After that you just have to boil it and it tastes great with sprinkled salt..

This time however,we get to step into a farm..After the pea plucking session,we manage to get our hands dirty by digging up potatoes!!Hurray..Errm,I sound a bit exaggerating huh?What to do,city gal,never been to a farm before...I cannot help feeling frustrated that all I dug up was tiny little things whereas others have dugged up real huge potatoes..hmmphh.Its my first time wearing clothes I usually wear to shop down to the farm and also first time trying on the heavy boots to the farm.No choice,the sun is scorching hot..

We ended our day there and I head home with Aratan.We had 2 guest today so we had another nice dinner.We had 冷やし中華(cold noodles)、しめさば(frozen fish,its really nice and eaten raw),had freshly dugged up potatoes with butter,corn etc.I can tell you,nothing tastes better than fresh farm food.After that we had a small karaoke session at home but the melodies where ages ago that the only song I know how to sing was..Country homes...bah...

26/08/2006

Another splendid and hearty breakfast to start off the day.Potato miso soup,Umeboshi.ham+ egg+ huge juicy tomatoes,corn and grapes..Its the day where we have no activities whereby we have to interact with our host family.First we went to a farm where I saw Spinach,tomatoes and cucumber plants in Vinyl house.(Glass house?No more...)

The thing about small town people is that they have the 'jiran tetangga' thing and soon,we found ourselves with 2huge baskets of tomatoes and cucumbers..So nice...

When I got home I got a suprised called from May Ching.I was really really suprised and was glad to hear from her.Seems that she's doing fine too and had a made a visit to Hakodate hill for the night view of Hakodate city.

Well after that we took off again,this time to 城岱牡場(Shirotai ranch).Its a hill next to the place we stay and the view from the hill was also splendid(again I was overjoyed because I wanted to go to that place earlier after reading it from the pamphlet we recieved.How nice of them to fulfill my wishes without me asking them or letting them know about my desires..Lucky)The view there was indeed splendid..I would ahve enjoyed it more had it not for the scorching sun.I forgot to mention,on my first few days there,The weather was killingly hot,not at all like we were in Hokkaido..There goes my fair skin.Oh well...

Next up,we made a brief stop at a temple.My Ojiisan is a 天理教(a type of religion) master so we head there for his ceremony..

Had lunch there and we helped to clean the window panes..What?You think food is free???^_^

After a long drag at the temple we went to 五稜郭公園(Goryoukoku park).This place is unique for its pentagon shape park.Here we strolled for awhile and we had another ice cream.The trees here are a beauty.

Next up,a place call Trappistine..Its Hokkaido's earliest female church.Or so I heard,anyway,guys are not allowed in here in the earlier days..

Love the architecture...

We made a brief stop at the beach and saw a lot of seaweed washing up the shore.(we are in Hakodate now by the way)The beach is nothing compared to Malaysian beach.The waters are murky and the sand rough..Oh my..We saw a statue of a person quite well known there who composed a haiku..

Tired out little Kazu drinking water from the fountain by the beach...

Next we went to a place called 旧函館区公会堂,a place built due to the foreign influence from other countries.(Hakodate is a port you see)The whole builing is yellow in colour,I myself find it 'biasa',but oh well,its a tourist spot so..

We went up Hakodate hills again.This time at 4.56pm.Its is said that no private cars are allowed after 5pm but we lied and said that we stay there,thus..Up we go..Yeehaaa..There,we saw the most beautiful sunset ever and stayed on to see the nightview of Hakodate city...Here's a glimpse with my cheap digital camera and amateur skills..The sight was really breath taking...

Its not cloudy!!hurray....Nice right nice right???

AFter the spectacular view,we got down from the hill for dinner.Went to a place call Cowboy department store for 食べ放題(eat-all-you-can buffet).The best thing about this buffet is...WE have 焼き肉(Roast meat).WE ate a lot there,including seafood,roasted various meat including beef,lamb,pork..Oh my God,I ate so much that I almost puke..Vowed never to go to these kinda buffet anymore.It was pretty cheap too,only 1000yen per person.Nice eh Hokkaido?Things are cheap and nice..Anyway,got home only to be welcomed by a skyful of stars.Learned about the Nothern star etc by my Obaasan.The clear starry night of Hokkaido just provided the best ending for the night.Counting my blessing again.....

27/08/2006

Another day with the family..Had 焼肉(roast beef),fresh tomatoes,tofu miso soup for breakfast before we head out for our destination of the day.A festival in Hakodate..It was scorching hot!!!Our host family didn't tell us we were going to be outdoor the entire day so I prepared no long sleeve shirt,no cap,no sunblock.This is the one day that I got burned thouroughly...Gosh.It was cooler soon but the sun was shining brightly and I was tanned in no time..in this festival there's a bazzar selling used goods(mistly clothings) and I got myself a 300yen jacket.Its in very good condition anyway I don't see why not.I joined ina lucky draw with the family too and was the only one outta the 6of us to get a prize.It was a autographed baseball.( I gave it to a Taiwan friend of mine later on as she was a fan of baseball)

At night,dinner was on me and Aratan.No we did not buy them dinner,we made them dinner.I made a lousy attempt of cucur though but Aratan was great with her 餃子(wanton).It tastes great!!!!I was too happy munching her wanton to care about my cucur..Its not that bad actually..hehe

28/08/2006
After a nattou,smoked salmon breakfast,we head off for the events of the day.First up,another visit to a primary school.This time however,its a very small scale school compared to the first one we went,with the total of students...ready?65only..Here,we had games and then I went in to the first year and second year student's class.

It's also my host family's granddaughter's class so I bonded quite easily with them.(pink shirt gal on the lest)Went in with Ang Ji Heoun,a Korean,and there we got to know each other better..Had lunch there after making a cute kimono phone strap..

We made a brief stop at 山川牧場(Yamagawa ranch) and tasted the ice cream there.The ice cream there is famous all around Hokkaido due to its freshness of the milk.The ice cream is made straight after milking the cow.Imagine the softness and the deliciousness..

Budak kampung yang tak pernah ambil gambar dengan lembu..kekekeke.

Next up,park golf..Everyone has heard about golf,but park golf?It got me curious..The club of this sport is wider and huger than the club of the normal golf and there's 9holes in one par.I was paired with a Taiwan gal Lin Ya Sei and there a new friend is made...There's 3pars altogther so by the time we finish them off,we were all tired off..

Adjacent to the park golf course is 流山温泉(Nagareyama hot spring).After a tiring sport,what's better than to strip it all off (do I sound horny?"^_^) and immerse ourselves in a hot spring?This time however,its a smaller scale hot spring compared to the one my host family took me and I managed only a 10min soak here.Its very hot that's why..Unlike the first one where there's an array of different temperature hots springs to chose from.Unique architecture though..

Back home our Obaasan again prepared some unique dishes for us.This is call おしるこ(Oshiruko)(its rice paste plus sweet red beans) where the Japanese only eat it during the New Year.Its sticky yet unique,quite nice I must say.Along with it is おぞに(Ozoni) using the same rice paste but its cooked in a clear salty soup.We also had もちやき(mochiyaki)again rice paste,but wrapped with seaweed and burnt.Imagine only one rice paste but have different ways of preparing,each with its unique taste.Salad abd again corn,ingredients all fresh from the farm,we received them quite often from neighbours..So nice..End of part 2