JTW (Japan In Today's World) Students & Tutors

haha... for all those that wanna check out the people that i'm constantly with and the available tutors (buddies) that we all have this post serves that purpose! BUT let me first warn you that what you see on these pages may not represent the actual person well enough. Many of then look much better then in the photos. haha...

ok, the top two pages are the international students that i'm staying, living and enjoying all my time with! this bunch of individuals are really interesting and everyone's so nice and fun!!. I now officially have Good pals from Japan, Korea, China, London, Geogia, Germany, France, US, Taiwan, Hongkong and Thailand!! woohoo international network!!! =) Plus with different groups i tend to speak different languages! like with the HK ppl - Cantonese and the Chinese - Mandarin and most of the rest - English and i'm even learning some korean! (to Mabel - Anyoung! and jal ja!). haha... omoshiroiiiiiiiiii!!! (interestinggggggggg)

   

And this two pics are the tutors that are assigned to us! =) For all those that wanna check out the kawaii gals and the handsome guys in japan, this is for ya! (again... the pics you see do not really fully represent them - MANY look MUCH better!!! hehe)

Some of us have got really good tutors while others just hit the jackpot on the 'crappy tutor list', and that 'others' would include me.  =( My buddy is officially MIA... he won't even answer my calls... so irresponsible! Anyway, i'm lucky i dun need him! haha, i can just follow those better tutors and my friends and settle that stuff that i need to settle =).

On the whole! i'm really having fun here!!! woohoo!!! haha... BUT!!!!! of course i super miss my friends in SINGAPORE... if only all of you can just fly over now and we can have SOOOOO much fun here! HAO XIANG NI MEN OH!!!!!! =( remember to chat whenever you peeps see me online okie!!! we'll web cam all the way!!! haha =) cya peeps soon! then we can KTV and makan all together again!!! =) HUGS ALL!!!!

Taking the Bus in Japan!! =)

Woohoo haha... to all those that have been waiting for me to FINALLY do some blogging, here it is =) haha... sorry for the long wait. it was mainly due to the fact that i do not have INTERNET in my room and all the time that i am actually online is spent chatting with friends! haha... (ACTUALLY ALSO coz i'm having too much fun here lah!!! wahahahaha) =)

ok, this is my first blog using "Windows Live Writer" (recommended by YiXia). i hope that it will turn out good coz its so much easier to use then having to upload photos individually to blogger. =)

Yeap now to my experience with the Buses in Japan, as i mentioned, i said that i would do a post on the buses and how they work so this short post will serve that purpose and of course be a test for the new medium i'm using haha... =)

Me waiting for the bus to arrive! =) slacking away!!! haha...

The bus stop right outside my Hostel (Kaikan).

Pics of the board at the bus stop!, its actually quite interesting as they have the timings that each bus is expected to arrive everyday. thus they have this long list that is segregated into (1)normal weekdays, (2)Saturday and (3)Sundays & public holidays =)

This is how it looks inside he bus. There are not that many seats and all of those in the front are single seaters. Only the seats at the back of the bus are double seaters.

In comparison to Singapore, you board the bus from the back door! =)... and instead of paying once you get on, you first take a ticket from this red machine you see above. (Ticket is the blue piece of paper). I only realised after wanting to take this picture that you can only take a ticket when the driver opens the door! =) thus the difference between the two pictures above (one has the ticket sticking out!)

From there you next have to monitor this big board of numbers at the front of the bus!. if you can see, my blue ticket has the number 12 on it and i will need to use this number and compare with the fare changes on this board. As the bus moves further off, the red digital numbers will increase gradually and the number that is shown when you finally reach your destination will be the amount of YEN that you need to pay! =) quite an interesting system. But the more interesting thing for me is coming up next! haha...

This blue machine you see here is right at the front of the bus! haha... and it is a COIN CHANGER!!!! =) in EVERY BUS HERE!!! so damn interesting!, i was shocked at first when someone used it, this really makes it convenient for you when you do not have any coins to pay for the trip. How is works is that you either slot in a 1000yen note or a 500yen coin and the machine then dispenses the same amount of $$$ in coins for you... from there you then use the coins to pay... haha... although it is an interesting system, BUT sometimes when many people have to change the coins, alighting the bus will tend to take longer... and standing and waiting can be rather lachey...  =)

And finally! i reach my University (KYUDAI)... =)... this is the bus stop directly outside my Uni!.

This is actually one of the few times that i will be taking a bus to anywhere in the vicinity. Once i get my bicycle! i'm totally cycling everyday! Each trip to my uni by bus costs about S$4 (FOUR SINGAPORE DOLLARS FOR A 15 MINUTE BUS RIDE!!!!) CRAZYYYYYYY it's so ridiculously expensive!!! I'm definitely going for the buy a bike at about a $100 and ride for the next 6 months!!! haha.. okie then i'll end my post here! =) Ja mata!

My First Day in JAPAN!!!!

Once we moved my luggage into my C206, and the Kaikan Office Staff checked the room with me to ensure that everything was in order, my buddy brought me to a department store to purchase whatever I was lacking or needed. And the GREAT thing is that this department store is directly OPPOSITE my hostel! Haha… I just cross the overhead bridge and I’m there, less than a few mins walk! So super convenient! AND guess wad the name of the department store is……….., “JUSCO” (like Justin’s company!!) as if it was made for me! Wahahaha… Check out the pics! =)

CUP NOODLES GALORE! wahaha... all kinds, types and flavours!

My first Purchase! =) bought soap shampoo and some other stuffz

These counters are just after the cashers, everyone actually brings their stuff and then proceeds to pack them on these counters. Interesting and really efficient way to handle crowds! =)

Pictures of JUSCO from one side of the bridge

eh... haha the over head bridge

And the entrance to my hostel! haha its really LITERALLY opposite my hostel! so convenient!

Let me just cut in here and properly introduce my Buddy!. His Name is “Hikaru Miyazaki”, male, age 22 yrs, a 4th Year Law Student. Currently Single and looking for a gf, those gals the find him cute, just drop me an email @ jusdomain@hotmail.com wahaha… like pimping… anyway, here’s his photo, =)

After shopping, we realized that it was still early so we decided that my buddy should bring me to the University to check out the place. Pics below! =) Travelling to the uni was another new experience for me as it was the first time I was going to take a public bus in Japan! The procedure is rather different from Singapore and I promise to get pictures and post exactly how it goes asap!

In general, Kyushu University seems rather old and it's individual facilities are actually small in comparison to SMU, like for example its library is only 2 stories high and each floor is rather small. BUT the university in a whole is split into 5 major sections and I have not really explored it all so I think it’s still too early for me to judge. But all-in-all, the feel of the place is great and I look forward to getting some work done there. =)

Me at the entrance of the sch (its actually the side entrance)

The main area where all my lessons are expected to be held!

Here's the entrance of the Internation student Centre (ISC)
Maps of my campus!

The side entrance of my school! =)


More maps of my school haha...

After a tour of the sch, my buddy then brought me to a nearby store – “Don Ke Ho Te” (they call it Donkey in short haha!) and this store was like a mini Carrfour! It seemed to have everything, from food, to bath stuff, to electronics, dvds, shoes, watches, bags, clothes, and all packed into a single level small shop! Haha… it was like I kept reaching a turn in the shop only to see more stuff! =) the wonders of japan!! Being able to squeeze so many things into a small area! Woohoo! I’ll definitely visit it again! =). In addition, I’m adding some unique pictures! haha

Above are the pictures of DONKEY! =)

And the unique pictues that i'm talking about are below! haha this is reallu going to interest the guys! =) In japan each store has this "under 18" area, and they have all their adult stuff inside haha... obviously... being OVER 18, i went in and took some pictures - Most probably not supposed to be... haha... who cares...! Inside they have costumes, toys and dvd etc haha... unique ah! =)

Once we were done, Hikaru walked with me to the nearest bus stop, we arranged to meet up the next morning at 11am Japan time at Kyudai (Kyushu Daigaku – Kyushu University) and I took a bus back to the Kaikan myself.

The day was not over for me as I still needed a few things to purchase, and I actually wrote up a list before walking over to ‘JUSCO’ to get some of the stuff I needed before heading back to Kaikan, for a bath and an early rest from a LONG tiring day!! =)

WOOOHOOOO!~!!!! that ends my first day at IN JAPAN! wah... =)