Day 14 (27/2/12)- Aargh!!!

     12.15..again.. wow, I'm really getting used to waking up late.. haha.. just kiddin.. I took my shower and prayed Zuhur.. oh.. when I said that I woke up at 12.15, it doesn't mean that I didn't prayed Subuh.. I slept back, that's why..

     Anyway, I was arranging my stuffs when out of the blue, my sister asked me to cook lunch.. What?? I don't even know how!! I mean, I'm still learning... Anyway, I was thinking of cooking fish curry but she said she had already eaten curry yesterday. So, she suggested that I cook fish with soy sauce (ikan masak kicap).. Great.. How should I know how to cook that?? Hmm.. So, I tried cutting the fish first.. OMG! The water from the pipe was damn cold.. seriously.. my hand hurts.. Never knew that cold water can be really painful.. and to make things worst, I don't know which one was the soy sauce.. Hello~ this is Japan! Everything's different.. And I can't even read the labels!

     With hesitation, I threw in the ingredients.. my sis came to help with the soy sauce and voila! My first dish in Japan: ready.. But still, I got the vegetables to prepare. I asked her if she ate the stalk (batang) or not.. then she replied "Of course.." So, I cut it big.. but then, she said, "potong la kecik2!! Mne ade org mkn besar camtu! So I replied, "Manalah atin tau..atin kan jarang makan sayur.." (Oops.. Kantoi sudah).. and then she replied, "patutlah banyak jerawat..~".. yeah.. I admit that I HATE to eat vegetables but at least I had the effort to try and eat them.. I admit that my face is not as clean as hers.. I admit that my face is full of pimples and scars.. people around me usually talk about my full-of-pimples face.. So, I'm kinda used to it.. but it doesn't hide the fact that I hate it when they do that.. yeah...I know that I'm not that pretty as them, but they don't have the right to judge my face.. It's not like I'm the one who wanted my face like this.. Allah did this for a reason.. but I know and I believe that it'll cure someday. It takes time and I had to be patient.

     As I was cutting the vegetables, maybe because I was so slow and she's hungry, she said, " Lambatlah! Potong sayur pun lambat..tepi!" So, in the end, she did it herself.. I don't know why she's always saying mean things to me.. But if she's with her friends, wow! She totally transformed into an angel.. *I'm rollling my eyes*

     For example, yesterday, when she went out to send Kak Sarah and Kak Atiqah to the station, she left her laptop switched on because when she comes back, we would watch Little Mermaid 2 together.. My mp3 ran out of battery so I charged at her computer. When she came back, something went wrong with her computer.. The sound won't come out..even the music can't be played. And so, I was the one to be blamed..

     She said “ Kalau dah restart balik pown still tak boleh, ni smua salah atin!” WHAT??? She accused me because she said that I might have done something to her laptop or maybe it was because my mp3 had virus or something.. But then, when she restart the computer, everything went back to normal.. So it wasn’t my fault after all.. but, she didn’t apologize for her accusation towards me.. Aigoo.. What a sis..

     After lunch, we went out to a shopping mall.. Kak Fahmey went with us. There, we went to this restaurant that sold EXTRA LARGE ice cream.. I bought one normal-sized caramel sundae.. yumm~ I also bought a lot of things at the 100 yen shop and also a t-shirt at the place where I perform my Maghrib prayer (inside the changing room).

     On our way back, we stopped by at Mbak’s house, an Indonesian family.. She had three children; Natasya, Kiki and Ubai. They were still small and Natasya is the eldest. I got really jealous because Natasya can converse in Japanese really well.. Well, maybe it’s because she went to the school here.. duhh..

     We reached home at about 9. We watched Lemonade Mouth (great movie) while eating hotdogs with cheese on top and strawberry with milk.. Then, I arranged my stuffs and went to sleep.

Day 13 (26/2/12)- Separate Ways~

     I woke up when I felt someone shook me slightly.. I'm not sure what time it was cause my watch and hand phone ran out of battery. I was kinda blur at first, trying to remember where I was..because the night before, I dreamt about my old school.. So, I was kinda confused because I was surrounded by unfamiliar faces.. But as seconds passed, things started to make sense. I remembered about coming here yesterday..

     So, we prayed Subuh and recited Al- Mathurat before Kak Z. continued her tazkirah yesterday. Then, we packed our things out of the room and went for breakfast. At about 8.50 a.m., we started our next slot.

Breakfast

     We played games first. A weird game actually.. Everyone had to pick one question from the box and answer it. We had two rounds and my questions were " What is the first thought that came to your mind when you hear about Malaysia?" and "What is the most favourite dish that you love from your mom's cooking?" It's a game that helps you to know one's personality better I guess.. Well, through this game, I know that I learnt one thing.. My sister shows her love for her siblings by BULLYING them.. hmm.. interesting.

All the seniors I met..

Kak Saff

      Then, we had the 'tafsir' session again by Kak Atiqah and current issues (Palestine and Syria) from Kak Sarah. After a while, Kak Nad took over and shared with us about Tafsir Fi Zilalil Quran. After all of that was over, we finally had to say our goodbyes..that is, after lunch. We took one last picture together and went on our separate ways~

Lunch

    It felt good to be back home. In the evening, Kak Sarah and Kak Atiqah, who had been staying at Kak Diha's house (before returning to Tokyo tonight), came to visit us for a while but Kak Atiqah went back early as she was tired but Kak Sarah stayed.. she eventually ended up sleeping until Maghrib. Well, as for me, I finished reading Hlovate's novel (finally!) and took my shower.

     For dinner, we decided to eat outside together at Kashmir, a Pakistan's restaurant. Together; me, my sis, Kak Diha, Kak Akmal, Kak Mek, Kak Sarah, Kak Atiqah and Kak Bib... It felt soo good sbb meriah giler!
I ordered Cheese naan and chicken kalahari..

Cheese Naan and chicken Kalahari

      With a full stomach, we went back home. Before I went to sleep, I watched Little Mermaid 2.. haha (x de keje)..

   
   

Day 12 (25/2/12)- New friends~ (^^,)

     Today's journey was kinda different. I woke up for Subuh first and went back to sleep.. After a few nightmares or should I say 'morning'mares, I finally woke up at 10.20 or so~
   
     I took my shower and waited..and waited.. waited for my sister to come back. she said she went out for a while but I don't know for what purpose.. While waiting, I read Hlovate's book.Again.(still hadn't finished) and I don't know why I'm being so helpful; I helped my sister with the laundry. After a while, she came back and told me that she'd helped a few of her friends to go to the usrah place first.. Oops! Forgot to mention bout that. I'll be joining a programme for two days; starting from today.

     So, we went straight to Kak Diha's house and prayed Zuhur there while she was busy preparing her things.Then, we dropped by Kak Ayu's house..seems like there's a little feast though I don't know for what occasion..but at least I got to eat my breakfast + lunch there.. I managed to meet her friends there.. Kak Fahmey, Kak Ayu, Kak Syu, Kak Mek, Kak Akmal and I can't seem to remember the other one. Kak Ayu  lives in Japan (she's not a student). She has 2 kids, one to-be-born baby, and a Chinese/Japanese-looking husband.

At Kak Ayu's house

     The food was DELICIOUS! I ate roti canai (homemade) and the fried chicken..yummy.. There was also nasi kerabu (blue rice) but I don't have the courage to eat that one. It looks weird~

     After all the eating, we went straight to the usrah's place. They called the programme 'Daurah at Toyama'.
My first impression about the place: WOAH~ The place was covered with snow.. I mean, literally white, just like in the movies.

Walking towards the entrance

All covered in snow

The entrance

Excited!!

     Kak Saff was the first person that I met. She led us to the room. I was really nervous because I'm the youngest there and I felt like an intruder barging in cause all of them are students studying in Japan, and I'm just a visitor.

     But when I saw these people's faces, I felt relieved The atmosphere didn't feel too intense. The first slot was about the meaning of Surah Al-Adiyat.. It was really interesting because Kak Atiqah Zailan explained it clearly.. Then we had a game. We had self-intro's first and we had to mention our favourite colour.. Then, we were divided into two teams. I was in team 1. The game went like this: A curtain was placed, dividing the 2 teams. Each team must submit one person in front of the curtain. Then, when the curtain falls, the quickest person to guess the other representative's favourite colour wins. It was really frustrating for me at first because I can't possibly remember all of their favourite colour at once! So, in the end, our team lost..

     After the game, we prayed first and had a short 'tazkirah' by Kak Z. Though it was short, it left great meanings. She reminded us about this heart disease that most human have. EGO.. yup.. I had that.. A BIG one actually.. When I was in MOZAC, I got easily frustrated when my friends won't even listen to my advice when it comes to " jangan couple.. couple tu kan HARAM.." What Kak Z. said really kept me thinking.. We can't expect people to change when we told them to..the 'hidayah' comes from Allah.. Why should I be sad? Was I any better than these people? When I get frustrated, it shows that I really THOUGHT that I was better than them because I don't do those 'couple' thingy.. Now THAT is ego.. The feeling when you're thinking that you're better than someone is NOT GOOD.. It can ruin your 'iman'..

     After the session, we had dinner. Although it was pretty delicious, my stomach felt like it will burst anytime. The food quantity was a bit too much for me but I can't waste it.. Not in front of these good people here.. So, like it or not, I cramped in all the food.

The menu for today..

Delicious..

      Then, we were divided into smaller groups. I had a session with Kak Sarah about "Interaction with Al-Quran".. Because we finished early, we camped around the 'Dumbo' (heater) and watched YouTube on Kak Sarah's phone.

While waiting for the others to finish,
 I took a photo of this mountain goat..
Scary + cute~

    When all the groups had finished, we recited Al-Mulk and had a sharing session on what we had experienced today or what we wanted to share. It was a very heartwarming moment as everyone had their own stories to share and the others listened. I like that feeling.. It felt like umm.. a big family.. At about 11, we started making our own beds and slept. It was a long day but I was satisfied.

Preparing my bed~

I thank Allah for giving me such great opportunities to experience things like these~

 

Day 11 (24/2/12)- AEON in Japan (0.0)

     I woke up first today. something to be & to be NOT proud of.. It's a good thing that I woke up 'early'. Earlier than my sister that is. The fact: I woke up 10 minutes to 12 noon.! Crazy?? Yeah.. You could say that.. I really don't know what gotten into me these days..Aigoo~

     After shower, I prayed and ate yesterday's food + my very own dessert.. yumm.. delicious ^.^ It's very easy to make. I just had to add in milk..and voila! A strawberry flavoured pudding~

     Then, Kak Diha asked us to go out with her. So at 2.30 p.m., we went to AEON (Jusco in Japan) a.k.a J.J.. It triggers memories you know..cause I used to go outing at Jusco during my school days~ huhu (I'm not a school girl anymore) We went to Daiso (100 yen shop) and I brought some stuffs for me and friends.. Then we prayed Asar in the changing room again. I'm gettin used to this method.. 

The parking lot was full with snow..
I nearly slipped..

I'm at the AEON!!

     Anyway, after that we went to a shop where they sell electrical stuffs.. I didn't buy anything though.. only Kak Diha did.. but still, I got something in my mind that I wanted to buy.. a headphone. It would be easy for me to hear song when I'm wearing my scarf (tudung). but then, there wasn't enough time so we had to go.. :( Bye bye headphone..~ We prayed at the parking lot then went on our way to AEON..

     The night went on. My sister got hungry so we decided to go back to AEON to eat. On our way back to AEON, we saw this big sign board of a shop that says 'food court'.. Happily, we went to the parking lot..you know.. "food court"?? it mean's there's food.. the weird thing was, of course there's food.. uncooked food though..*sigh. It's umm..kind of a supermarket. In Malaysia, when it says 'food court', it means there are cooked food.. I guess maybe different countries have different ways to interpret the terms..


     At AEON, we ate at a french restaurant, "Capricciosa".. we ate a crab pasta and seafood pizza..

Kak Diha (left) and my sis (right)

Me (left) and Kak Bib (right)

Crab pasta

Seafood pizza

     On our way back home, we stopped by at Kak Akmal and Kak Mek's house. They'd just moved to the new house so I was just butting in to say hello~

Day 10 (23/2/12)- I'm Doomed! (-_-#)

     The tension in the air because of yesterday's fight lessened a bit when she took me to karaoke with her. It was raining so I borrowed her blue umbrella (the small type, the one that we can fold and it has a cover). So, I walked happily, though I'm not excited to sing (x pasal2 lagi lebat karang hujan turun..) I was having a sore throat, not in the mood to sing, but I sang anyway.. For 2 hours! And there was only a few English songs, the rest were all in Japanese.. (nasib baek la ade blaja basic jepun.. klau x, mmg bosan la weiyh.. x dpt nak nyanyi pape..)

Walking through the rain

     I had a really good time, but it didn't last long. Remember the blue umbrella that I borrowed from my sister?? Yeah.. the cover was missing. I was pretty sure that I'd put it on the table but I guess it had fallen off because it wasn't there before we went out of the karaoke room. And, the worst part was that I only realised the fact that it was missing when I reached home...
   
     Before I continue my story, let me explain a bit bout my sister. She really HATES it when people can't take good care of her stuffs. I mean, I hate it too but at some point, she reacted too much, you know. For example, I borrowed this one novel from her. Then, I accidentally ruined the BOOK MARK.. I repeat, the BOOKMARK.. not the novel.. (terkelepet sikit je kowt..bukan nye hancur jadi belacan pown..) But then. she got really angry, changed into HULK (women version, as if), and used profane words at me.. (Ape la! BOD**! x pndai jage brg org! $%#@!! and $#@%!!) and in the end, she told me to buy the sequel for the novel that I borrowed.. WHAT THE??? So, get what i mean?? (if u're reading this sis, sorry.. I'm just telling the truth..don't get mad.. PEACE NO WAR..hihi)

Hulk!! (I can't find the woman version
though).. Hahs!

     So, you could guess how I ended up that day.. She did not scold me like she used to though.. But we had this kind of a cold atmosphere between us..it lasted the whole evening.. *sigh* So, I ended up reading the "Contengan Jalanan" and playing games on my phone while listening to mp3.. My sis was busy doing her homework at first, but she eventually ended up sleeping until Maghrib.
   
     After maghrib, she cooled down a bit. We ate dinner as we watched 'How to train your dragon' (it's my third time) before she shooed me away from her. So, that's how my day ended. I went to sleep early that night. *sigh again*

How to train your dragon

Day 9 (22/2/12)- Sushi ^.^

     I woke up really late today..Again. Because I overslept, my head hurts + dizzy.. haha.. yay me~ I took my shower and then dressed up, ready to go out.. My sister brought me to the sushi shop!! I ate A LOT.. 6 plates of sushi, 1 peach juice and 1 vanilla ice cream.(my stomach hurts after that) Umm.. But, guess what? My sister ate about 3x more than me.. Wow.. is she even a human?? haha.. just kiddin..  then, we went out to buy stuffs.. (food,shower gel, etc)
   

Salmon sushi

Can't remember what this is..

hmm.. *something* fry..

ta..ta..takoyaki..  the outside is cheese
sauce while the inside is octopus

     Owh.. before that, while we were on our way to the sushi shop, I saw children playing snowball fight. It's nice to see that they enjoyed themselves.. even the teacher played too. (I was just guessing that he was the teacher.. He looked WAY to old to be a school kid)
   
     After shopping, we went back home and I continued reading "Contengan Jalanan".. Until Maghrib. Then I recited Yassin with my sister before watching one of Studio Ghibli's movies, Arrietty. After the movie ended, my sister showed me a lot of You Tube's artists and their songs.. Sam Tsui, Kurt Hugo, Maddi Jane, etc. Can't remember all of them..
   

One of Studio Ghibli's production

     At a bout 11, we had umm... kinda supper.. Naan Cheese.. haha.. Not really good if you're on a diet. We ate while watching Fruits Basket (an anime) ep 6. Then *(sigh), I had a small fight with my sister that TOTALLY spoiled my mood.. I always get in a fight with her bout small and petty things. I'm not going to explain the details..the thought about it just makes me angry.. (-_-#)

Day 8 (21/2/12)- Laze around much??

     One word. AMAZING. That was the first thought that came to my mind when I stepped out of the bus. All I saw was snow. Thick, blankets of snow. Everywhere. But it seems like the workers must had done a great job by shoveling it nicely at the side of the road, so that it would not block the way.

The first snow that I saw

Blankets of snow

    We waited for an hour for Kak Diha (my sister's senior) to pick us up at the bus station. Then, we went straight to my sister's house. I packed out a few things while my sister went to shovel the snow that was covering her parking area.. While she was busy with that, I ate maggi.. (I was STARVING man~)
     

The maggi that I ate

     Then, I took my shower and washed my clothes. After all that was done, I started reading Hlovate's "Contengan Jalanan". Not long after that, my eyes felt so heavy so I slept.. for 3 hours.. While I was sleeping, my sister's been settling things with the new house owner.
    
      I woke up with a start.. I had just remembered that I haven't prayed Zuhur yet and it's nearly Asar.. My sis still hadn't came back so I panicked. Why? Because I don't know where the kiblat is! Silly me.. I forgot to ask her before she went out! After a few minutes struggling with the new phone (borrowed my dads'), the attempt to call my sis failed.. I nearly gave up when the door suddenly opened..and there she is! Thank God.. Luckily, I made it just in time before Asar came.
     
     The rest of the day wasn't much of a thrill. I tried to read my email but her lappy was sooo slow.. I struggled 2 hours but I finally gave up on that.. After maghrib, we ate fish curry for dinner and watched Puss in Boots.. the movie was great.. hilarious I say..
    
     After the movie, we skyped home.. We talked to dad cause mum always slept. So that's how I ended my day. I still need to explore the new phone that dad gave me (I'm just borrowing it..)

Day 7 (20/2/12)- Toyama, Here I come!

     Waking up at 10.30 didn't made me feel any better. I had dreams last night but I can't remember what it was about. But my body felt tired.. Seriously.. My feet were swollen because I walked a lot these past few days. I read Percy Jackson and the Sea of Monsters for 20 minutes and then took my shower. ( I'm a BIG fan of Rick Riordan).Then, I started to pack my things. Tonight, I'll be going back to Toyama (my sister's place).

     Basically, I did nothing but read today. At 2 p.m., we went to the post office because my sister had to post a package back to Toyama. Then, we stopped by at a stationary shop selling cute stuffs. I intend to buy this one fancy notebook (I just love to buy notebooks) but I guess it would just make my bags heavier.

Chiba's sewer cover.. Every place has a
 different picture

The flower's near the train station
changes every season

Japanese people love to recycle

The houses in Chiba, Tokyo

     So, I walked back to the house and continued reading Percy Jackson until it was about 5 p.m. and slept just for a while before I prayed Maghrib. Then continued reading.......

     Before that, Kak Fatirah told us a story about a suicide case that happened at Midoridai Station (the station I used everyday). The person got hit by a train and got dragged (maybe) until it was around Kak Fatirah's area, that was about meters away (trust me, I walked to and fro everyday).. The body was shredded to pieces.. Eergh~ When she told the story, I felt the goosebumps.. Why would this people ever kill themselves??

The train station

     Okay, so that night, we were sweating like crazy.. Why?? Don't misunderstand.. It's not bout the suicide  story.. It's because we were running back and forth, crossing the roads in order to find the right bus. And after 45 minutes, we managed to find our bus!! (pheww.. so glad that we did.. I was about to cry because I can't stand the pain in my foot and arms anymore.. Hello!! I had to carry my 16kg of luggage bag!) At 11.25p.m., we departed.. Bye bye Tokyo.. 

The luggage on the right is mine..

     6 hours and 30 minutes on the bus made my body ached. I got the back seat and I can't see the front view. Bored and tired, I went to sleep. At 5.30 a.m. or so, we prayed on the bus. 

Day 6 (19/2/12)- AsImO~ 0.0

     I woke up at 9.30 today and ate rice+ masak lemak ikan+ vege+ eggs.. Then, at about 11, we went to Odaiba.. Specifically, we went to Miraikan, National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation. There were loads of BIO stuffs.. (brain, neurons, cloning), environmental, astronauts, ISS ( Sheikh Mudzaphar was there too!) and also peoples' innovation+ experiments.

Odaiba

Shiekh Mudzaphar

      The most exciting part was that I got to see Asimo!! The robot was super damn cute.. It walked and danced~ OMG.. Can't believe I've fallen for a robot! haha.. And because of my 'love' towards to Asimo, I even brought a key chain of it. hehe
   

Asimo~

Keychain

      Before that, when we were at the 5th floor, an earthquake happened again. The floor shook and most of the people there were confused as I was (at first). Then they were like " Aaa~ Jishin desune.. ( Ahh~ it was an earthquake)" and they walked around normally.. Guess it happened all the time in Tokyo because the people here seemed used to it.
   
     After Miraikan, we moved on to Palette Town. It's a place for shopping. There was a Toyota Showcase so we decided to drop by. W.O.W.. There were many elegant and luxurious car.. How I wish to have my hands on cars like these one day.. Fighting!
   

Palette Town

One of the cars at the showcase

     After browsing through the shops, we stopped by at one of the clothes outlet to pray. Prentending to try on one of the clothes, we prayed in the changing room.. It was really to find a suitable place to pray. There's no mosque or 'surau' nearby. So, we HAD to do that.. Gomen ne~ (felt guilty to the clothes outlet)
   
     Tired and hungry.. Our thoughts were full with food.. So, we went to an asian reastaurant, Mangrove Cafe. I ate clam+mushroom+seafood.. Thank God that I could finish all the food (with a little help from my sister of course).. I can't eat all of that by myself! The quantity was too large for my small stomach.

     While waiting for the food to arrive, the music suddenly switched to a birthday song. Huh??? What the?? Out of the blue, a waitress brought out a small birthday cake to the couple at the next table. She said " O tanjoubi omedetou (Happy Birthday)!!" And the whole restaurant clapped for them.. Wow.. the people here were so supportive.. The girlfriend actually planned a surprise birthday cake for her bf. Aww.. So sweet~

      Before we went back, we ate crepe at Crepe Ojisan which was marvellous and went back to Midoridai. 

Blueberry Crepe

Day 5 (18/2/12)- Journey to the top~

      Today, I woke up late.. really late.. At 12 noon.. haha.. told ya (well, I slept back after the Subuh prayer of course).. I was really tired after that trip to Disneyland yesterday. For breakfast, I only ate chicken soup. It's kinda windy today and the house rattled a bit.
   
     Also, at about 2 p.m., the floor shuddered. My sister was praying at that time so she acted normal. And I thought," Owh, maybe it's because of the strong wind, I guess".. Only after my sister finished praying that she told me that it was a small earthquake. OMG! It was my first time experiencing something like that because Malaysia is a free earthquake zone. It only lasted for about 10 seconds and the second one happened about 15 minutes later, for only 5 seconds. Normally, people would feel scared.. but as for me, I felt grateful because it's a once in a lifetime experience! Truthfully, I did a silent prayer before, hoping that I could feel at least a small earthquake when I came to Japan, and I did. Allah has answered my prayer..
   
     So, today, we went out late; at about 3 or 4 p.m. We went to Kaminari-Mon, Asakusa. My sister told me that Arashi (a Japanese boy band that I liked) had a studio there but we didn't met them.. Anyway, Asakusa is a traditional town that has big temples. There were loads of small stalls where I could buy souvenirs but they closed early and I didn't have the chance to buy anything. So, I just went to the temples, took some pictures and we're off to Tokyo Tower.

At the train station

One of the stalls 

At the entrance

On the road

Pretty isn't it?

In front of the temple

     Tokyo Tower, a popular spot in Japan is located near Akabanebashi Station. We had to walk for about 10 minutes to reach there. There, we bought the tickets and went up the tower.The total height of the tower is 333 meters but we only managed to reach the half of it (I guess) because it's under construction. I bought some souvenirs up there because the things were so nice and pretty, so was the scenery.. All the lights managed to form a beautiful pattern from up there.. There's also a see-through floor! SCARY.. I'm afraid of heights, really, but I always overcome it by doing something that involves heights..,like this.. Weird huh?
   

Miniature TokyoTower

Pink Tokyo Tower

The beautiful view from the top

Tokyo Warm Light

    Before we went up the tower, I got the chance to eat at Baskin&Robins.. It's my first time because the price is so expensive in Malaysia.. Excitedly, I ordered strawberry ice-cream sorbet. YUMMY~
   

Yummy!

My sis

     After the tower trip, my sister got hungry so we went to a Japanese restaurant and I ate soba mee with tempura..the bowl was soo EXTRA BIG and I'm not used to eat LARGE food.. so, I did not manage to finish it.. What a waste~
   

Excited to eat..at first

Trying hard to finish it..

     On the way back, we went to the wrong station.. So, we reached home at 12 midnight.. Tired and sleepy.. but I can't sleep yet.. I took my shower and prayed.. So I ended sleeping at about 2.48 a.m...