Strawberry Picking and Irago Tour

After a week long of gloomy weather, it was really nice and sunny today that I did 3 rounds of washing! I have been really good today~putting the house in order! We have been camping in the living room since winter started and now I'm getting a bit tired looking at the house..,that most of the time is messy...with futons, blankets and pillows right in the middle of the house! Nak masuk tidur dalam bilik, it's freezing cold in there, and daytime, Umair will want to have his nap, so I have to keep the futons handy in the living room!-Sigh!- Anyway, today with the house straightened up, and the laundry neatly folded in the closet..,it has been a productive day! So now, I could sit here and update this blog of mine! hihi!

Last Saturday, all of us the Malaysian ICTs made a day trip to a strawberry park somewhere near Toyohashi and made a tour around Irago Peninsula after that. Kak Mimi and family jumped in the ride with us in our Estima (don't mind the rim please...I knowww it's ugly! We are in the process of changing it by the way!)and Asmah and family went in Zura's car. We left home around 9 a.m and after 80 km of travelling, we arrived at the Atsumi Seaside Floral Strawberry Farm approximately 2 hours later. I was definitely excited off-course! Been waiting for this trip for ages! This is us upon arrival at the farm~posing with the car first! Hihi!The strawberries were really huge and sweet!!! Puas hati sangat-sangat coming here!We forgot to take along Hershey's Chocolate Dip with us, so we just had to make do with the condensed milk supplied at the farm. Not that it wasn't sweet enough actually...,it was just for the fun of it! It was weird for me actually... I never knew that you eat strawberry that way here in this country! Normally in England, we used to eat it with whipped cream...that too, supplied by the farm! We spent about an hour eating and snapping pictures at the farm...sampai sakit perut! Tried to eat as much as we could so that it would be worth it after paying 1500 yen (RM60) for the entrance fee. After eating about 10 strawberries, i was already full...dah ler buah besar2, ...macam mana nak sampai 45 nie? (that was our target actually!), tapi memang tak boleh! After eating the 11th piece, I memang rasa cam nak muntah dah! maybe because we dipped them with condensed milk kot! I forced myself anyhow eating the smaller ones to make it 15, so at least it came up to 100 yen sebijik! Okay laa kan! hahha! This is us at the vegetable patch (cabbage, broccoli, spring onion mostly)..Along the way to the Irago Crystal Porte, we stopped for a picnic lunch near a Colza field, (we brought some packed lunch~left overs from last night's soto dinner actually!)~while snapping pictures around the brilliant yellow meadow. Spring is definitely here! Some local tourists stopped by for some pictures as well...probably amused looking at us having a picnic there!~Dorang datang for snapping pictures jer, kitaorang siap picnic lagi kat situ!

At the Crystal Porte..,we just took a stroll along the beach to the light house. What began as a pleasant stroll turned out to be quite an 'adventurous' one actually!
As we went around the cliff, the wind suddenly became stronger and we felt like we were pushed by the wind to fly! We couldn't even walk straight! I had to hold on to my scarf (otherwise, memang terbang ker laut laa jawabnyer!), and everyone's hair was going in every directions! It was just lucky that there was no big waves coming to us~otherwise we would have been miserably wet and cold!
After the windy excitement, we continued with our journey to a small mountain nearby...to see a kincir angin that stood alone on that hill! (There were so many of them in that town, but there was only one up the hill).
On the way home, we stopped by for dinner at a Japanese restaurant before calling it a day!

Jibusaka Revisited

Last Friday, Nizam came back early from work and we headed straight to Jibusaka Highlands Toyota owned Log Cabin Resort for an overnight stay. We went together with Hamidi and family, and Norbert & Agnes (our Philipino neighbour). After 2 hours journey from Toyota Shi, it was already dark and really chilly (0 degree Celcius) when we got there. At the first glimpse of snow, we were already clapping our hands and got really excited...(somehow this year, kat Toyota Shi snow tak turun as much as it did last year! Sekarang sakura dah bud out dah pun...and it is still February!). By the time we got to the resort gate it was snowing heavily when we were fixing the tire chain. We were even more elated! The girls came out from the car, jumping up and down in the snow while snapping some pictures while the guys were freezing cold fixing the tire chain for us to climb up to the cabin!
We checked into a different cabin this time but the interior of the house is exactly the same as what we had the first time we came here last winter. I was really happy off course! Both the house and the interior was really beautiful!
It was really nice and warm inside the house but the view outside, though it was miserably cold and chilly, it was breathtaking...even at night time! I was just so overwhelmed! Looking through the windows, I kept wishing that if only we could have stayed longer and I could enjoy the house and the view nicely. Somehow, log cabins and snow makes me feel melancholy like you know..?! i don't think I could ever get enough of it. Reminded me so much of my first taste of log cabin and snow in Canada when I went on an exchange programme before...
It was just a wish off-course! itu pun nasib baik that we got the booking handed over to us by Kak Mimi. Thank You Kak! (She changed her mind about going there as she was going to Hakuba). Bookings can only be done 2 months in advance, so you could imagine how difficult it was to get the reservations! Any cancellations would totally be so sayang!!!
After having a macaroni soup dinner, we had some cheesy popcorn (courtesy of Agnes) before it was time for bed. Norbert and Agnes had the room upstairs and the rest of us occupied the room downstairs. The guys had fun camping in the living room. All nice and cozy, sampai Zura and I boleh jealous jer tengok!
The next morning, we had tuna sandwich for breakfast and some macaroni soup left over for breakfast. After some picture taking sessions again around the house, (this is Umair enjoying the fresh winter air by the way!), we checked out at 10a.m and headed next door to the ski park. We only had fun playing with the sled though. It was especially nice to us looking at how much Umair was enjoying himself sledding with his Daddy... sampai menangis nangis tak nak balik! After a couple of hours at the park, we headed home. It was at 3pm when we arrived home in Ekaku and called it a day..

Shirakawa -Gou, Japan

I was watching this TV programme one day when they showed this cluster of thatched roof houses..,and I thought they looked very pretty and unique. By chance a couple of weeks later, Nizam was scrolling down the internet on interesting places to visit in Japan and came across the site about these thatched roof village. Apparently, there are quite a few of this kind of village in Japan but we chose Shirakawa-Gou as it is the biggest in Japan.
It is situated in a remote mountain region, and was designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1995. It is famous for its gassho-zukuri thatched roof houses characterized by their almost 60 -degree steep roofs. This is to keep snow from accumulating heavily on the roof tops in winter. Shirakawa-Gou is one of the heaviest snowfall areas in Japan. So, on the 25th of October, we had a chance to make a day trip with Kak Mimi and family to the famous thatched roof village. Initially we planned to sleep over, but there was no vacancy at the local inn at all.
We had a nice stroll in the area, trying to feel how it was like living there back then some 300-400 years ago... In some houses, there are some descendants living there..,now making money from us visitors..,collecting fees to view the interior of their houses..!The view was breathtaking..,though my legs were screaming in pain covering the whole village on foot, it was all worth it! We had some beautiful pictures taken, and thanks to Kak Mimi who has a knack with the camera, we would forever engrave that lovely moment in our memory!Quote:-
From Toyota-Shi, train rides to Shirakawa-Gou is both expensive and difficult. If you were to take a train there, you have to get down at Takayama Station, and take a bus and make a U-turn to Shirakawa Gou. Train fare is 5000yen one way.
If you take a bus there..,you have to go to Nagoya first.Between Nagoya (Meitetsu Bus Center near Nagoya Station) and Shirakawa-go there is one bus per day. The bus is operated by Gifu Bus and runs only from April through November. The travel time is roughly three hours,
and the fare is 3500 Yen one way. The Japan Rail Pass is not valid on this bus.
The other option is you could also sign up for a package bus tour (with meal i think!)at the travel agency.

Oidani Sasayaki Camping & BBQ

So finally we had our camping as planned. Last Saturday we departed from Ekaku around 9.30am and reached there at Oidani Sasayaki Campsite about noon. Before that we had a short stop at Oasis rest area for brunch. The menu was Mee Hoon Goreng. It was just a quick stop as everyone of us couldn't wait to get to the river at the camp! After another hour of travelling and paying 2900+400yen toll at the Gujo- Hachiman toll gate, we reached the destination safely. The place was absolutely beautiful...,with rolling hills as the back drop and crystal clear river looking so very inviting for us to splash in on a hot summer day. After checking in, we chose our futon (mattress) from the rental shop at the reception house for us to sleep on, as they only had tetami bunk beds in the room. That had cost us 200yen for the rental. This is how it looked like inside the reception house:-Then, we unload all the things out from the car and put into a bull cart like trolly....with Umair chucked in there as well!!! and off to our number 8 little challet. One thing though, they didn't have any wash room in there, so we had to make do with a common toilet outside! I guess, that's the only set back that I have for the place. I was hoping that Umair doesn't poo poo while we were there...and he didn't! He only did it when we got home the next day...phewww!!!

The guys had immediately started on the fire for the bbq then, while we the ladies were left to settle down and prepare the rest of the food....and there were so much food!!! As for the kids, they were engrossed playing at a park nearby, as well as in the tent that we had put up next to our house... For the first round, this is what we had...Miso Chicken, Parsley Sage Rosemary &Thyme lamb...courtesy of Kak Mimi... beef, rojak pasembor, salad, sweet corn and Watermelon.

Then it was straight to the river and splassssshhhhhhhh!!!!! Sejuknyer air diaaaaaaaaaa!!! It was really like having a bath with the cold water from the fridge!!! It was okay with me though. I had a dip in the water anyway. Umair was absolutely happy splashing in the water! First time mandi sungai, he was shivering cold, tapi still nak splish splash splish splash lagi. This is Daddy and Umair shivering cold...,and Mummy plak, tak puas mandi lagi, but had been called to get out dah!After our prayers, we continued bbq-ing for the second round...while savouring Anne's sinfully yummylicious brownies...OISHIII sangat sangat nie..!!!!...The guys were doing all the cooking...and we the ladies just sit back and eat! For the second round, we had Tandoori Chicken, Lamb, Yakisoba (yellow noodle)- absolutely delicious-Thank You Chef(Hamidi and the gang)! One thing though, I couldn't forget looking at the guys how busy they were cooking it...there were 2 of them holding and washing the beansprouts..,and another one was washing the noodle...,and there was another who was busy chopping the cabbage..,like, my oh my! what a 'big' task eh?! Kak Khadijah and I were laughing to ourselves looking at the busy bee at work! hahaha!!!Compliments to all of you though! It was truly yummy, and I couldn't had enough..,only that my tummy had very limited space to eat so much!..and there were so many things to be eaten and savour!!! There was also some salad with Sesame dressing, and fruits. Kak Mimi cooked rice and vegetable curry, but none of us could fit them into our tummy anymore!!! by the time the moon came out, the kids started coming tagih janji to play bunga api with them. So out came all the bunga api stock. Kak Mimi, Anne and Sany brought some, so there were plenty to play with! We all had fun. Well, the children did. We the adults just had fun watching how thrilled they were playing them. Umair was sleeping though. Too tired from swimming in the river I suppose!..but he woke up half way through maybe because of the noise. He was looking thrilled at the firework on display, but of course i would let him play yet!!!
I went to bed at 12 that night...,i had wanted to stay up and hang around with them, but unfortunately, I was down with angin and a splitting headache. What a bummer!
Good thing it was all gone in the morning, and I could enjoy a little bit more.
Daddy and Tham was the first one to start on the fire for the breakfast...after a good morning stroll that is! I was left in the cabin waiting for Umair to wake up. This is Daddy preparing breakfast for us...sausages and burger with cheese!

Umair enjoying his pineapple cut fruit while waiting for daddy preparing breakfast:Sausages/Hotdogs ready to be served!!! Dozoooooo.....!!!!and burger sandwiches...and scones...courtesy of Anne..THANK YOU ALL for being such a good sport, cooking and baking wonderful yummylicious food stuff that I couldn't had enough!!! For Kak Khadijah and family, THANK YOU for sponsoring us with a very huge watermelon, peaches, pineapple and grapes!!! We love you all so much!!!!
After filling in our tummy, we headed to the river again for a good bath....so to say...but it was freezing cold that we had to cut short dipping in there!

Home time at last, after packing up, loading our things back into the bull cart trolly and after a few last minute picture snapping sessions, we checked out from Oidani Sasayaki Campsite with sweet memories tucked in our mind...