Click here if you would like to read an overview of my 3 months wwoofing experience in Japan Kagawa is famous for UDON! The udon there is so chewy and it cost only about 350 yen! Normally i can only buy food from the convenient store with 350yen, so it was really awesome to be able to sit down in a nice food store and enjoy a bowl of delicious udon. The best udon i had was a from a store called 吾里丸 located at 1 Chome-3-12 Miyawakicho, Takamatsu, Kagawa Prefecture 760-0005. Their famous butter udon is so tasty! Love it! I've been to Takamastsu a couple of times with my Kagawa wwoofing host, but in terms of sightseeing, i only spent an afternoon touring around. My wwoofer friend and I rented a bicycle from the underground bicycle rental station for just SGD$1.50. The best thing is that there are such stations everywhere in the city and you are allowed to return the bicycle to any other stations. This, plus the fact that there are bicycle tracks everywhere, makes cycling around Takamatsu really convenient and enjoyable. Besides riding around, we also window shopped at the shopping street located right outside Kataharamachi Station, and went to the famous Ritsurin Park (Entrance fee SGD$5.50). The garden was indeed huge and beautiful! I think it will be even prettier in Autumn or Spring with all the Autumn leaves and cherry blossoms. Damn i want to go back there! I wanted to go Mount Yashima too, i heard you'll find a very spentacular view from up there, but i didn't have enough time to do so. Well, i'm heading back to my Ayagawa wwwofing place soon; i'll definitely find a chance to get there and share with you guys more about it.
That's all i have for now. :)
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Click here if you would like to read an overview of my 3 months wwoofing experience in Japan. This is truly the warmest family i've seen and the most comfortable wwoofing place i've stayed. Wwoofer has their own mini apartment with a bedroom, kitchen, and living room, and it's super clean! They usually take in only 1 wwoofer each time though, but you won't feel bored at all with their 2 adorable kids around. The family owns a couple of Mikan (orange) and momo (peach) farms. So my main duties was farming related stuff like harvesting mikans, adding fertilizer to momo tree.. I also helped out with some craft work mainly lackering and painting wood. Work starts at 9am and ends at 5pm everyday, with 1 hour lunchbreak at 12pm. Sunday is off day for all of us. What i looked forward most to everday was dinner with their family. The host's wife is such a great cook! i probably did gained some weight when i was there. Sometimes after dinner, i will play board-games with their daughters or watch movies with them. Their house is located just beside the sea and the host love surfing, so you might get a chance to surf with him or even get him to teach you! The weather wasn't that good at the time i was there, it rains a lot and there was even typhoon. During raining days, we usually stay in the house to do some admin work (cutting and folding flyers etc). Their place is also not too far away from a famous beach in Shizuoka called Miho no Matsubara, which is known for it's magnificant view of Mount Fuji. I took the challenge to cycle there during one of my off day. It took me 3 whole hours to get there! But i didn't get to see mount fuji because it was too cloudy, such a pity. I did had a very good workout though. It has a pretty nice view at the top. After Miho no Matsubara, i continued cycling for another 1 hour to get to Kunōzan Tōshō-gū Shrine, one of the well-known shrine in that area. What i didn't expect was that i have to climb 1159 steps to get there. Hiking was the last thing i wanted do after 4hrs of cycling. But i did it anyway. For my other rest day, i joined the family to attend a once in a year town sport day event. It's so nice to witness the town member's effort in organising regular activities to encourage people to exercise and eat healthy. I really love such community involvement thing. I even join in to play some of the games, it was hilarious. Everyone in this family treated me like one of them. Even though the grandpa and grandma can't speak English, they still try their best to communicate with me through body language. The host used to be a wwoofer in New Zealand so he clearly understands the kind of experience wwoofers hope to get. He never once stop putting himself in my shoes, asking if i needed rest, or if i am bored doing the same task etc. He also helped me planned an superb transportation route to my next wwoofing place which enables me to visit Fujinomia on the way without costing me a bomb. This family inspired me so much on how i would like my future family to be like. I highly recommend anyone to wwoof at this place.
Click here if you would like to read an overview of my 3 months wwoofing experience in Japan. I'm a huge fan of waterfalls, so when i found out about how gorgeous Shiraito Falls is, i just had see it. From my host place (Shizouka Wwoofing) at Mochimune Station, i took a train to Fuji Station and then transfered to Fujinomiya Station. It took me 1hr 13mins, and cost about 970 yen. From Fujinomiya station, i took a bus to Shiraito Fall which cost about 620yen 1 way. There are lockers at Fujinomiya Station which cost about 500 yen each. The tourist information is right below the train station, opposite the bus station. You can get the staff there to tell you exactly where to catch the bus. It takes just about 20mins to get to Shiraito Falls. The first thing you will see when you arrive, and then.... The first massive waterfall, and then.... Japan being japan, there are nice pavements and stairs there; barricages too for safety reason. It feels so different from my waterfall adventure in Vietnam. haha. Yes, you can see Mount Fuji from there. I heard it's even nicer in Autumn, when the leaves turn orange and red. There is another place in Fujinomiya that i was very keen to go - Lake Tanuki, but i didn't have enough time. Fujinomiya is definitely a place worth exploring, i probably only touch the very surface of it. I hope you get the chance to explore around the area or even hike mount fuji ;)
Click here if you would like to read an overview of my 3 months wwoofing experience in Japan. Fujino is located just an hours by train from Tokyo (about SGD$17). I didn't know that it is a Transition Town till i was there. How fortunate that I had gotten myself into such an interesting town. The permaculture centre of Japan is also located there! I felt really lucky to be able to join a tour conducted by the Founder, Mr Kiyokazu Shidara himself, around the permaculture farm. If you would like to find out more about The Permaculture Centre of Japan, do visit my friend Olivia's blog, she wrote a very detailed entry about it. Being in a transition town and meeting Olivia, a fellow Singaporean and an environmental activist, who happened to be wwoofing there too, made me believe in the Law of nature and unity. This whole japan trip in fact, with the climax at Fujino, made me realised that we are all connected and that every action we make creates a ripple effect in the universe. Well i should probably share about it in another entry, let's get back to the main topic. Fujino club was my last wwoofing place and i stayed there for a month. The good thing about wwoofing there (besides it being located at a very interesting town) is that YOU ONLY HAVE TO WORK FOR 6HOURS! haha. That's the standard wwoofing regulation but most places requires wwoofer to work at least 8 hours. At Fujino Club, work starts at 9am and ends at 4pm (there were only a few occasion where i had to work longer than that due to some event functions). What's more, the owner of Fujino club provides 2 free onsen tickets per week to every wwoofer! The onsen is just 7mins walk away. How awesome?! The only not so good thing is that the wwoofer's accomodation is not that well-insulated, so it gets really cold especially in Winter. But i hope they are doing something about it now, it seems that they were planning to do something about it when i was there. A little more about the Job scope.. Fujino club has 3 main operations - Korean Restaurant, farm, and guest houses. We usually work at the farm on weekdays and restaurant on weekends and public holidays. At times we also had to clean the guest houses and wash and dry the bed sheets. The little green house where we helped with transplanting. Weeding... I also helped with harvesting, washing and packing produce. They grow their own tea leaves and sell them too. Here's a picture of one of their guest house, caravan style with a bbq pit. Many people from Tokyo comes to Fujino on weekends to get a breather. As for restaurant work, i usually helped prepare side dishes, pre-heat some of the pre-made meals, and of course lots of washing and cleaning. It gets extremely busy on sundays and public holidays, so it can be kinda tiring, but i love working in the kitchen, so it wasnt such a pain for me. Fujino club holds a Morning Marche event twice every month where farmers of the town come by to set up booths to sell their produce. It's their way of showing encouragment to the young farmers by offering them more opportunities to sell their food. Another interesting thing about this town is that there's a Steiner School there. That's also one of the main reason why many families, especially from Tokyo, decided to move to Fujino. '
The town is also well-known for it's artwork, you can find an art scupture every few kilometres there. Many artists live in Fujino and you can even get a chance to visit their art studio to learn some basic art skills from them. The people at Fujino Club are extremely warm and friendly and each one of them seems to have a very interesting story behind why they choose to move to this town and their dreams. If only i could understand Japanese, which i'm currently working very hard on. Hopefully one day i can get back there to have a deeper conversation with each of them. :) I definitely recommend you to wwoof at this town especially if you are interested in things like Transition town and Permaculture. Click here if you would like to read an overview of my 3 months wwoofing experience in Japan. I took the chance to visit Tokyo as well as Mount Takao while i was wwoofing at Fujino. TokyoTokyo is just about 1 hr train ride from Fujino. On my way from Fujino to Tokyo, i stopped by Showa Memorial Park. I took a train from Fujino station to Tachikawa Station which cost about 500 yen. I decided to visit that park because I read that it's very beautiful. Perhaps i was there at the wrong season, because it seems just alright for me.. But i do like the free art exhibition there. After spending just about an hour and the half there, i took a train to Yoyogi Station to see the Meiji Shrine Honden. What i like about this shrine is that you have to walk through a long walkway sounded by trees to get to the main shrine. A place filled with nature in a big city. I like it very much. From Meiji Shrine i walked about 20mins to Takeshita Street which is a famous street for teenagers. I then went on to Omotesando for more shopping. It was getting cold in Japan so i needed to buy more clothes. There were a lot more places in Tokyo that i wanted to explore and i thought i will be able to on the day before i fly off to Taiwan. But i was too overwhelmed by all the messages i was getting after my 10days of mediation retreat, so i ended up staying at the hostel instead. haha. But i'm pretty sure i'll get to explore Tokyo again someday. Mount Takao I was asking the Fujino Club staffs where i should visit during my off day and one of them suggested Mount Takao. She said it has a great view and i'm a sucker for pretty scenary. It had been awhile since i last exercise, so i thought that some hiking will be good. I took a train from Fujino Station to Takaosanguchi Station which cost me about 370yen. There are a couple of trails to get to Mount Takao and the most popular one is trail 1 because cable car and chair-lift are available after a short easy hike and there are a lot of resting place. But if you do not intend to take the cable car or chair-lift, i do not advise you to hike up from trail 1. Instead, try hiking up from trail 6 and down from trail 1, which was what i did. When i went down by trail 1 route, i realised how steep it was, and i met so many people who were going the opposite direction panting so badly. It must be really tiring. Trail 6 in my opinion, wasn't tough at all, and it's surrounded by trees, and runs along a stream. You can even see a small waterfall there and there's a part where you have to cross the stream, therefore getting your shoes just a little wet. But that's what real hiking is about isn't it? I highly reccommend you to try that route. It took me about 2hrs to hike up and another 2hrs down (including visiting some temples on the way down) Some kids i met on my way, they were having some kind of school trip. So adorable. Even kids can do it, so can you! This was the toughest part, but when you see this, it means you are reaching the top. Below are pictures taken on my way down: It was such a great hike for me! I highly recommend you to go there, especially if you love nature.
Click here if you would like to read an overview of my 3 months wwoofing experience in Japan) Yokohama is the first place of my Japan trip that i paid for accomodation. haha. I was deciding between taking a day trip to Yokohama during my off day at Fujino Club or to go there after Fujino. I decided on the latter because there's just too much that i wanted to explore in Yokohama, 1 day trip will definitely not be enough. And also becasue it's slightly cheaper for me to get to Chiba for my mediation retreat from Yokohama as compared to Fujino. I stayed at an AirB&B place titled Yokohama 8mins train/wifi shibuya shinjyuku koyasu. It's a shared room and it cost be SGD$55 for 2 nights. The place is pretty decent, with washing machine and dryer available. It's just about 5mins walk to the nearest train station (Koyasu Station), so it's pretty convenient. I explored Yokohama area on my first day and Kamakura on my second day. There are many nice shopping area at Yokohama, i specially love the Red Brick Warehouse, i'm not sure if it's because i've been in Japan for too long, so i kinda miss some western architectual and stuff, or simply because i feel that Yokohama is such a culturally diverse place. I explored Yokohama area mainly by foot (to save money haha). I walked from Yokohama station to Minato Mirai (25mins walk) for some shopping and then headed to the Red Brick Warehouse which was just about 10mins away. Between the above 2 location, you will pass by the ferrywheels, and also another british-like shopping and dinning place called Marine & Walk, which is also kinda cool. The nightview of Yokohama is very pretty, just like Singapore. You can get a good view from the balcony of the Red Brick House. I then walk another 15 to 20mins to Yokohama's Chinatown, which is one of the biggest chinatown in Japan. Kamakura Kamakura area is where you will find all the beautiful shrines and temples, as well as old street. There's so much to explore there, i wish i had more time. I took a train to Kamakura Station and visited Tsurugaoka Hachiman-gu. I love how different Kamakura is incomparison with Yokohama. It felt like i time travelled back. I then walked about 20mins to Hokokuji Temple, the pictures of the bamboo garden attracted me there but i was a little disappointed at how small the place is. I think it cost about SGD$5 to get in. I then walked back to Kamakura area to have a tour around the shopping streets, and then headed to Kotoku-in, where the famous big buddha statue is. It took me about 25mins there by foot. Well, you dont have to walk that much if you don't like to, there are buses available. I dont think it's that expensive. I just like to walk slowly and observe the things around me. The Kotoku-in was the last destination on my list, but I saw on the map that it's pretty close to the sea, so i decided to continue walking down to have a look. I'm so glad that i did because it was so beautiful! There were many other places that i wanted to see at Kamakura such as Meigetsu-in Temple, Kencho-ji, as well as Enoshima, the little connected island, but i didn't have enough time. Well, I still prefer to take things slow and relax than rushing from one place to another trying.
Yokohama is such a nice place :) Click here if you would like to read an overview of 3 months wwoofing experience in Japan. It was about 3 years ago when I first heard about Vipassana 10 days mediation retreat from a lovely American Couple that i met in Yogyakarta. They were such a happy, warm, and friendly couple that gave out so much positive vibe. They shared about the 10 days mediation course that they attended and i was rather shocked about it, "10 days of no talking, just eat, sleep, and mediate? How can one take it?" I said, and they laughed. That's was how I felt back then. I knew nothing about mediation except that it can help one to concentrate better and probably sleep better.
Then about a year ago, i heard from my dad that my Mongolia Internship Boss, who is someone i respect a lot, takes the time out from his busy schedule to go for this 10 days Mediation Retreat once every year. It must be something about this mediation retreat that brings out positiveness of the people who attends and practice it. Then, i told myself that i should definitely give it a shot when time prohibts me to. While i was preparing for my Japan trip, searching for places to Wwoof at, i had a hard time securing a place at the very beginning of my trip. I had about 2 weeks of free time and I didn't know what to do. Then, the 10 days mediation retreat came into my mind and i started researching about it. There are 2 Vipassana Mediation Centre in Japan, one at Kyoto and another at Chiba. I registered for the one at Kyoto, but it was full and i was placed on the waiting list. I didn't get it in the end, so i decided to go for the one at Chiba instead. For every overseas trip, i always try to challenge myself on something new. I didn't know what to expect from wwoofing then, so i thought, if i want to ensure that i'll gain something out of this Japan trip, let the mediation retreat be it. Since it was something that i always wanted to do but just didnt have the courage to do so. I have been looking forward to the mediation retreat ever since my application got accepted, but at the same time, i fear so much that i wouldnt be able to go through it. Never in my life have I tried not speaking or having eye contact with anyone for 10days, have absolutly no contact with the outside world, and sit for hours without moving (which is something i am extremely bad at because of my back condition. I'm always fidgeting!). The night before my mediation retreat, when i was at Yokohama, i even had fever (my goodness), i was so worried that i couldnt attend the course. I popped some panados and down about 5 bottles of water, hoping that i will get well the next day, which i did, thankfully. When i arrived at the mediation centre, i had the chance to interact with a couple of participants, who was also having the same feeling as me. It was really comforting to know that i wasn't the only one and that we are in this together. The course officially started the next day and the whole place was in silence... I dont think i should share in details exactly what I've went through during that 10 days as it's better for you to not know too much. So in summary, the first few days was extremely tough, i kept dozing off. My mind couldnt stop drifting off, and my leg hurts so badly. But i keep pushing myself, constantly reminding myselfs about the teacher's teaching "keep a balance mind", and perserve through the pain. Finally, I felt it... At that moment i understood everything that the teacher said and i felt extremely clear about all the confusions that i had with my life and how i should deal with them. It felt so good and i was so happy. But you know, life is all about changes, when there is up, there's down. The last few days was very tough for me too because i had a hard time focusing. I kept thinking about all the people i wanted to share my experience with and how i think it would help them. haha. Well, all i can say is that the 10 days mediation retreat was a life-changing experience for me. I'm still trying to mediate at least 1 hour everyday, even though it's a lot harder to focus being back in the reality, but i'm pushing myself everyday and i'm not giving up on it. I've also been monitoring my behavior, observing how different i am now as compared to before. There are 2 main things that i hope to overcome, one is my cravings for snacks and two is my fear for insects. haha. Ever since the retreat, i haven't been snacking as much as before, which i am really very thankful about (if you know how much snacks i eat everyday, especially in Japan when you can find delicious cookies everywhere, you'll be shocked). I sincerely encourage everyone to give this 10 days mediation retreat a shot. It's international and non-religious based. It's simply a very logical and effective technique to help people lead a happier life. Date: 31 Oct 2016 - 17 Nov 2016 I already been to Taiwan last year with my mum, i didn't expect myself to be going there again so soon, but the opportunity came, so why not right? Since we toured the Northern and Central Taiwan previously, i mainly focused on the south this time round. Cities that I've visited: Total Expenditure: SGD$1452.42 Transport: $467.62 (including one-way air-ticket from Toyko to Taipei at $138.68, and $154.94 from Kaohsiung back to Osaka. By Scoot. Food: $284.90 (in which $63 is on alcohol) I partied a little with the friends that i met at Kaohsiung. Shopping: $87 Accommodation: $294 Attractions: $11.90 Miscellaneous (Gifts, haircut): $63 Adventure (Diving): $244 Most Memorable Experience:
It’s always nice to be able to see my overseas friends again. My Taiwanese god brother, whom i met last year when i traveled taiwan with my mum, works at Paper Plane Hostel, a new hostel that has very comfortable beds, high-tech facilities, and excellent service. The cheapest dorm only cost about TWD$450 per night with delicious breakfast included if you book directly from their facebook page. I stayed there for about a week in total, hanging out with my brother and his friends at night, going for supper, listening to live music at a bar, and KTV too. I had so much fun with them that it was so hard for me to leave. It's always the people that makes a trip so wonderful. Always.
Getting my bike license in probably one of the best thing that i did last year. It's so nice to be able to simply rent a bike and go wherever i want to. The route to Lavender Cottage at Xinshe is so pretty! It has lots of curves which makes it rather dangerous but extremely fun to ride on. Initially, i wanted to ride from Taitung to Taichung, i heard that 南橫公路 is extremely beautiful. Unfortunately, there was a landslide just before i went Taiwan, so the road was close and it will probably take some time to be fixed. Somethings to note when riding in Taiwan:
If you love sea turtles like i do, don't miss this place. Xiao Liu Qiu is known as the turtle island in Taiwan. I spotted about 8 turtles during my dive. The water viability was above 20m, absolutely fantastic! Way better than my dive in Kenting, if you are considering between those two. Favorite Food
Overall, I had a wonderful time in Taiwan. After 3 months volunteering in Japan, it was nice to finally take a short break.
The 2 main things that I wanted to do in Taiwan was diving and riding. I did both and it was way better than expected. I feel rejuvenated now and I’m ready to start working hard once again in Japan. I’ll be writing about my 3 months wwoofing experience in Japan soon. There’s just so much to write about, please give me some time. Stay tuned! :) Click here if you would like to read an overview of my 2 weeks vacation in Southen Taiwan Kaosiung was my first destination. There wasn't a flight from Tokyo to Kaosiung, so i had to fly to Taipei and i took a bus first from the airport to Zhong Yi Station (SGD$3) and then a train from Zhong Yi Station to Kaohsiung station (SGD$35). The cheapest way from Taipei to Kaosiung is actually by bus, but it's a little more complicated from the airport and it was already rather late in the afternoon, so i took the train instead. I stayed at Paper Plane Hostel 紙飛機高雄青年旅館, a new hostel that has very comfortable beds, high-tech facilities, and excellent service. The cheapest dorm only cost about TWD$450 per night with delicious breakfast included if you book directly from their facebook page or website. This is truly the most comfortable hostel that I've ever stayed in,. Places that i went in Kaohsiung :
Overall, Kaohsiung to me is a very artsy place. I had the such a wonderful time there because of my lovely friends. Please say hi for me to them if you happen to be staying at Paper Plane Hostel ;)
Click here if you would like to read an overview of my 2 weeks vacation in Southern Taiwan. We were contemplating between Green Island, Kenting, or Xiaoliuqiu. I decided to go Kenting because Green Island is too far and I read online that diving in Kenting is awesome. But i was wrong! Diving in Xiaoliuqiu is so much better and I am so glad that i eventually still manage to find time to go there. But Kenting has it's own beauty too. We took a shared taxi from Kaohsiung to Kenting which cost about SGD$18 both ways. I was told that it's only slightly more expensive than bus, and so much more convenient. We stayed at 彩虹波浪 Rainbow Wave 衝浪背包旅店, pretty decent hostel that cost about SGD$34 for two nights. Good location, good breakfast. The rooms could be cleaner though. We rented a motorbike for SGD$34 for 1.5 days. It was really nice touring around Kenting. Places we went on our first day:
We wanted to go Guanshan to see sunset, but because my 2nd dive took longer than expected, we couldn’t make it in time. Thankfully I still manage to see a very nice sunset from my dive site. Here are some of the food stalls that we were recommended:
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