We will sub-title this post as 'Jalan saja. Bila tah lagi' part A
. . .
So, we left our hostel to go look for USJ, Food, and Data Line.
Buzz asked the Drop Inn receptionist earlier where we can buy a data line and the lady told her that for sure to find them at Osaka Station. because it's a main stop place where every convenient needs at.
So, to Osaka Station we went.
Once there,
pasal kami masih trying to get our bearing, we couldn't get anything right.
endingnya, kami ke Information coutner tah saja, betanya.
Lesson Learn no. 2: Jangan Malu Betanya. When in doubt, ASK.
mula2, the Information lady told us we could buy the data line at their counter but they said they only accept payment via credit card. We only have cash! so we asked her where we can buy the data line and she very kindly show us the direction to the place where we could buy the data line.
Lesson Learn no. 3: READ! and don't assume labels and signs. Most labels in Japan has English.
EXIT signs there are in Yellow color. So, when the lady told us the name of the place we should go (Umeda something), I was looking for a purple label. I don't remember if she showed us a map with purple logo or something but I was looking for a purple colored label.
BUT luckily for us, I read the label the second I could not find the purple colored ones.
and true enough, the Umeda was mentioned on the Yellow colored label.
Remember I mentioned EXIT signs being Yellow? I guess thats why we both skipped the Yellow Labels.
hahaha macam, udah ku pikir kan balik, memang pun ke Umeda atu EXITing the Osaka Station, so that is why the label is in Yellow.
So, follow the labels direction lah kami after that.
We bought our data line and our next destination was Universal City Station, where the Universal Studio Japan is at!!
I suggested to go there was because I don't want to get lost the next day, our actually day going there.
and also, I just couldn't wait for the next day!
first glimpse of my home.
bought dinner
got lost on the train back to our hostel. we decided to eat dinner first before we both pengsan, deprive of food.
seriously, it is not like Singapore. Japan is seriously a bigger country and Osaka is like, sub-big size city.
eating my bento sushi.
I bought two coz aku tamak.
MUAHAHAHAH!
I finished both, don't worry. not wasting food.
these two cost around JPY500 and JPY600 each. consider expensive lah since aku bali atu around Universal (outside the theme park) area.
this drink is delicious! actually bought at the 7eleven near our hostel.
Lipton Peach Tea
ada Milk Tea flavor which aku nada took picture of! like what?!
menikmati banar rah ku tu sampi lupa kan menggambar.
After dinner, we went to this Tenjimbashisuji Shopping Street.
supposed to be famous.
but when we got there, most of the shops were closed.
and I remember reading somewhere about Friday nights is the night out for the men in Japan, like after work thingy. I couldn't remember the detail well and I malas to search the article now. I'm guessing, that was why most shops were close early, since kami pigi atu at around 9pm++ almost 10pm.
Sekali round saja kami dsana ah...after that balik tah kami, we were so tireddddd and kaki almost fell off already at that point.
we needed to rest well for the next day's adventures.
although I remember we didn't left the lounge area until it was pass midnight. hahaha
. . .
we sub-title this post : New Experience
. . .
We 'partial' check-in at our hotel, Drop Inn Osaka. well, actually, bukan hotel.
it's an hostel.
coz we sleep in bunker bed and eat at the lounge and share bathroom with others.
I didn't take proper pictures of our stay there.
I think cBuzz ada make video of it.
I only took pictures of where I sleep.
The place was surprisingly ok.
the rules weren't that tight.
we stayed for 2 nights and those two nights were a challenge.
coz we stayed in a dorm like room; for about maybe 20 females (yes, separated dorms for male and female. but they also have Japanese style bedroom for 4 people.) and at around midnight, people kept coming and out of the door non-stop. our bed was facing the main door, which must be kept shut at all times, thus the opening/shutting door was very noisy.
nasib kami ngaleh. and I was surprised with myself jua. Usually, I don't sleep well in new places, but i think I slept well from midnight till next morning.
anyway, once we finished our 'partial' check-in ( I said 'partial' because we couldn't get to our bunker yet. they only available at 4pm. it was only 1pm or 2pm when we check-in), I asked whether we can use their shower area, and was SO glad we could, so our next mission was to clean up and freshen up.
bathroom area was just as photographed on Agoda.com
individual shower area, ada doors with locks.
we could bring our luggage into the shower area (coz ada extra not-shower space) and can still change baju inside without having to go out and be conscious about people looking.
After that, we were feeling a little lighter and decided to rest arah the open lounge/common room.
since our last meal was dalam kapal at around ...pokoknya couple of hours before kami land at 9am, I decided we celebrate my bday early and eat the cake.
butt
too bad
i wouldn't know that it was a mousse type of cake.
and it was out of the freezer for more than 6hrs by that time.
Kesian the cake.
but lapar punya pasal, kami ngap! je
We stepped out of the place at around 3pm and when we were to left our luggage at the counter (coz we were told our bed balum ready till 4pm kan), the receptionist said 'you can check-in already' and although I made this -_- (physically shown or not), I was just glad and we both naik the lift once again and go to our dorm and left our luggage before we ventured out in search of Universal Studio Japan.
and food.
and bali data line.
. . .
Lets sub-title this post as 'Lost'
. . .
As soon as we landed, we both looked for toilet first.
coz our body wasn't cooperating well with us.
hahahah
Once that settled, we both were tired and all our plans actually thrown out of the window.
seriously.
we were looking for the Japan Railway office/counter to exchange our passes when we were approached by the airport police officer.
kami dua tarus nebes
coz we both pakai tudung
maybe ia pikir kami terrorist!
but he said it was just a random security check and we tried to be calm. we ended up asking him where the JR counter was and he helped us.
We did the exchange, and since we were sorta given a free hotspot wifi password thingy, we forgot our intention to buy the data line at the airport.
so basically, we left the airport, board a JR train that would bring us to our hotel, 'blindly'.
(sorry buzz, but I don't have train picture on the first day. ^_^v)
I said 'blindly' because, once we were on the train, the internet was not at all stable (coz, durh! its a moving train) and we couldn't get proper map to our hotel.
and of course, once we arrived at our next station (supposedly 5 mins walk from that station to our hotel) and we were extremely lost.
both tired. both hangry (hungry and angry HAHAHAH).
We first asked help from 7eleven employee. he showed a map, but that was not much help coz we don't know Japan, let alone their local map.
sekali, one last resort, literally dragging our tired feet, cBuzz decided to tanya hawker Machi selling cold drinks. I waited for her in front of a parking area where it was limbu (sheltered from direct sunlight) coz Japan weather was still hot when we got there. like, if Brunei is hot, Japan is hotter. I got sunburn.
anyway, while I waited, this paci, the parking carer (i think), approached me and tried to help. we both don't speak each other's languages, but what touches me at that moment was how nice he was trying to help eventhough we couldn't really communicate.
a few minutes into it, then came a passersby, we called him 'Uncle' (coz he was a lot younger looking than the paci), and the paci asked him for help too. Lucky for us this uncle know English!
thus, the uncle helped next. he followed the map the 7eleven gave us at first, but after we got lost again, cBuzz suggested he called the hotel and asked for direction. He called, and found out the map was wrongly given to us and very kindly, he helped us walked to our hotel!
We were just thankful! and said thank you to him a lots of time! nasib kami tau cana cakap 'thank you' in Japanese. LOL
At this point, we already regretting our neglect of buying the data line at the airport.
INTERNET IS IMPORTANT PEOPLE!
especially tempat baru.
Lesson Learn no. 1; bali data line before anything else!
. . .
Seminggu Kemudian~
hahaha
Life is so busy right now and my lazy-o-meter isn't helping either.
Butt
Here goes my so-called Japan Trip journal ...thingy..
Day 1.0
Day one wasn't really in Japan yet, coz we were using Singapore Airline, hence we had a layover in Singapore first before we fly off to Japan.
We left Brunei on 8th Sep at 11:55am and arrived in Singapore at around 2pm.
Our flight to Japan from Singapore was on 9th Sep at 1:25am.
as mentioned on the previous post, our layover was more than 12hours!!!
I tell you, my anxiety level was unbearably high!
for some reason, me and Buzz had matching color baju.
telepasi! seriously, we were both so busy before the trip, we didn't have time to discuss baju.
Anyway, to pass the time, we spent our time playing playstation game at Terminal 2 of Changi Airport.
this part is too bad; I didn't take picture.
but the place was over the Koi Pond area.
Google it.
hahahah
Lupa ku nama game nya. It was Japanese base/theme/backstory (coz ada Samurai and map Japan ..thingy), adventure, missions to finish, etc. I suck at it but at least it got my mind away from my nerves. coz seriously, my nerves were everywhere!
~Fast foward~
We boarded plane to Osaka, Japan on time and as we were settling down, one of the cabin crew approached me and asked if I'm 'Miss Awana' and I said 'No' with a smile and continued talking sama cBuzz. until the lady once again said to me 'Is your birthday tomorrow?' then aku te-klik and nodded yes, she greeted me and long story short, She said they had a cake for me which she will give to me once we landed in Japan.
Malu ku!!!
Aku tau sapa punya angkara!!!
I was/am grateful, of course!
but!
argh!
malu ya amat!
After that, no more surprises and before long I was off. coz I was dizzy/nauseated. I couldn't really sleep. I kept waking up every other hour wishing we landed already ahahah inda penyabar~.
the next hundred times I open my eyes, the cabin lights were on and we began our descent to Japan.
. . .
a/n:
once again, Thank You to my kazen, Ka Tin for the advance notice to your fellow cabin crews!
. . .
3 more days and it would be a month since my last post.
Hi guys!
I am back! and I just got back from my Japan trip yesterday too.
before I post anything about the trip, lets get a few 'Lesson Learn' out of the way.
1. you might want to study your flight time before you buy them. Ours had a layover of over 12 hours before we finally fly off to Japan and thats another 8 hours. THE WAITING WAS UNBEARABLE!
2. buy data line, rent pocket wi-fi, etc at the airport when you arrived. utmost important!
We didn't. and it was hard trying to find our hotel without the internet. we didn't even have a map. and none of us can read Kenji! nasib ada a paci and an uncle sudi to help us lost ladies. ahahaha
3. you might want to check the nearest train station (if thats your main transport) to your hotel AND place of destination. It might say on Agoda that "20mins from this destination to that destination" In reality, we stayed at a hotel that was 5 to 7 stops away from our wanted destination. *ketawa sampai keluar air mata* its not even funny.
4. Jangan malu bertanya. Kalau inda tau, tanya. If you didn't ask, the answer will always be 'No'.
Just ask, When in doubt, ask. People in Japan are very helpful. Some are more friendlier than others but they still help. You may look dumb to them but hey, you're a visitor. you don't live there. you are bound to not know about stuff. What I like about Japan is that even when they do not speak English well, they still try their hardest and best to help you. its very touching.
5. I don't know about you but my best choice for footwear was my Fipper, the currently famous flip flop in Brunei.
I wore shoes the day I fly to Japan (8th and 9th), and then when I was in Universal Studio Japan (10th) and lastly, I wore it at Disneyland (12th). the rest, I just slipped on my flip flop. remember when I mentioned about how our hotel was far away from the train station? yeah, I walked a lot and I'm telling you now that I never walked so much in my life! thus my feet hurt like hell hence the wearing comfortably of the flip flop.
I might be missing some more points but
I think that is all for now.
I will add some more in the next post if I came across one along the way.
Until next time,
ciao~
. . .
