This Guy Will Soon Go Back To Malaysia

"This guy will soon go back to Malaysia."

Notice by his father from Japan.

Japan: Bye-bye! Yuri

My dear Yuri,

While you were still playing with your train,

we had already left with the plane.

Even though you had put on your pants to look for us at the neighbours' house,

we were nowhere to be found.

You might be wondering,

"Where are Ah Ma, Da Bo and Da Da Gu?".

But after a few minutes,

you would forget about us

as long as you had your toys with you.

And you knew we were going to meet again.

So, even though I failed to turn you into a spiderbaby,

which I had successfully done with other children,

I still have the future years ahead to train the smarter you. But I will not have many years left to carry the heavier you...

Japan: Last Dinner At "Murasaki"

For our last dinner in Japan, Emi suggested "Murasaki". She used to hang out with friends at another branch during her university times.

We walked along a corridor

to get to our private dining room.

The place reminded me of a tea house in Batu Pahat where I had spent afternoons chatting with my secondary school mates many years ago.

All the items were displayed on the long menu.

After more than ten days of burdening my stomach with big individual bowls of rice and "ramen", it was just nice to have small portions of snacks to be shared among us.

Next to our room was probably a group of typical Japanese male employees who were gathering after work. Not only we could hear their loud talk, we could also smell the cigarettes. As "Murasaki" also served alcoholic beverages, these guys were also drinking no doubt.

We had not visited many tourist spots but had tried a lot of restaurants. Each restaurant allowed me to know the Japanese culture better.

Our stay in Japan came to and end with this dinner.

Next year, will we gather again somewhere?

Japan: Ordering Rice From A Vending Machine

It was over 2pm. Hungry stomachs were craving for food while tired bodies were eager to rest. The best solution was to rush to a 24-hour-operating fast food restaurant. The nearby "Nakau" came to Ah Yu's mind.

As soon as we entered the restaurant, close to the door were two vending machines.

Having seen vending machines everywhere in Japan, I assumed they were for selling drinks. This time, I was wrong. They were for ordering menus and dishes!

Each button with a picture and a price represented a dish or a set. After we had chosen our dishes, Ah Yu pressed the buttons. Next, he inserted the corresponding money into the machine slot and collected the change and the tickets. Then he passed the tickets to a staff member who sent the order to the kitchen.

What an idea to save cost in employing staff to take orders and payments!

Since our meals were not directly dropped from the machines, we had to wait a little while for our meals to be prepared at the kitchen. The bar counter was empty at that hour. Working individuals had already returned to their companies.

Only our strange combination of Japanese-Malaysian-toddler-housewives-and-on-leave-employees family members were enjoying our food which was served quite fast.

This Japanese chain restaurant was specializing in both rice topped with meat and noodles.

I had my first meal with beef "gyudon". Pink pickled ginger added a nice colour to the rice.

I did not specially favour beef. But I just liked to try something that I did not cook or eat often in Malaysia.

It was very tasty. The next day, when we had lunch at a food court, I still ordered the same dish accompanied by a salad and a soup.

Seng had already had "gyudon" a few times for breakfast earlier. He was going to have to hard time at home in Batu Pahat where Mum would never buy any beef...

Japan: Outing To "Shiki No Sato" Garden

During our stay in Moriya from early June to mid June, there were only two days with abundant sunlight. The first sunny day was a Sunday, Ah Yu brought all of us to Mount Tsukuba. The other day fell on a weekday. As Ah Yu had gone to work, Emi drove the rest of us to "Shiki no Sato" garden.

We had bought our breakfast from a bakery on the way, so we had a picnic under the shelter.

Behind it was a windmill

which circulated on a stream.

The water flowed to the lake inside the garden,

which created a beautiful landscape.

After our arrival, more visitors came in.

Most of them were golden-aged Japanese who had ample time to spend in appreciating the nature,

capturing it with colour pencils.

or telling old stories at a quiet corner.

Compared to those people, this abandoned boat looked more lonely.

This place is so famous for its irises that the Iris Festival is held there annually in the middle of the year.

It was a pity that we would have left Japan. Nevertheless, it was already a blessing that we were able to enjoy flowers in full bloom, especially those who reminded me of my trip to France during the same season last year:

the hortensias

and the irises.

This time, I had another thing to remember: Yuri in his blue T-shirt and pants could have turned into a flower and merged into the garden.

Japan: From Tarts To Buns

I like to have bread for breakfast. I grew up with white bread of traditional coffee shops. In France, I discovered many types of loaves: baguette, croissant and other types of bread, which contributed to my then chubbier cheeks. Now in Melaka, wholemeal bread, white toasts, "roti canai", etc. keep me energetic to climb up the stairs to the 13th floor at city campus.

In Japan, while I was enjoying the typical breakfast which consisted of rice, I still desired something made of wheat flour. One evening, we went to a bakery to buy bread for the next morning. After that, we entered the supermarket next to it. Inside was a bakery department which was promoting their buns with different fillings. I was so happy to help myself with the free samples that I temporarily put aside my habit to abstain from bread at night.

Later one day, Emi drove us to another bakery. It looked French from outside especially because of the terrace.

There was a nice display of a variety of bread.

Some buns with toppings looked like cute animal faces. Those ideas were most probably from Japanese creative brains.

While the French people liked to be served at a bakery, we Asians preferred self-service.

After tasting a few types, I loved the ones with bacon and chopped potatoes filling most.

The day before our return, we bought bread again for the next morning. It was a stall with the title "Vie de France" at the food court of Moriya railway station.

The best-seller there was also Emi's favorite: buns with apple and cream cheese filling. I also picked other buns with bacon and spinach filling.

While tasting those buns, the memory of the French cuisine, especially the tarts, returned to my mind. But in fact I had never seen similar buns in France. Finally, I realized that the Japanese had simply converted the French tarts with topping into buns with filling, using almost the same ingredients, to suit the Japanese teeth.

Back to Malaysia, I found bread with delicious fillings. However, I began to think of those buns in Japan.

Maybe after all, I miss bacon.

Japan: Touring 100-Yen Shops

Ping who lived in Johor Bahru was the first one to tell me about "Daiso" in Melaka last April.

If three years ago, I just settled down in the new house, I would have got very excited to shop for household items. Now, the opening of this store where goods were imported from Japan and mostly sold at RM5 each would not motivate me to drive more often to Bandar Hilir.

But Ping whose studio was already crowded with decorative items still spent a lot of time and money during her first visit there. I thought after that trip she should be satisfied with this outlet.

Before our departure to Japan, Ping handed over a list to us, asking us to do the shopping on her behalf. Since I was not keen, Mum passed it to Ah Yu later, who fixed it on the refrigerator with a magnet. When we went out for meals, he would arrange a stop at a "Daiso" outlet.

This largest franchise of 100-yen shops had more than two thousand stores in whole Japan. So we easily found several outlets in and around the city of Moriya.

At first I helped to search for items which Ping could not find at "Daiso" Melaka. I started to get bored with exporing one "Daiso" after another while Ah Yu was still trying his best to fulfill Ping's request.

When we met her at Skype, she would ask, "How is the preparation of my list?" which made us smile, thinking of ourselves as servants of a shopping addict sister.

For her sake, we also went to a 100-yen store "Seria" owned by another company. Next to it was a 1000-yen shop which had been closed down.

There I finally found treasures for myself: rice bowls.

So, next time if you come to my house for a meal with rice, you will have a choice among my Chinese plastic bowls, Dumex ceramic bowls and Japanese 100-yen bowls.