I’ve decided to migrate all my posts to my other site, SCIFIHUN.COM so from now on, go there! I’m keeping stuff here just in case so you can find your way around but for all recent posts:

GO TO HTTP://SCIFIHUN.COM

Cheers

I’ve been giving this a lot of thought for the past few weeks and I have decided to combine my SciFiHun blog and my Poor Dreamer together into one. I don’t have enough time to post in both ie differntiating what goes where and whatnot. Plus, with my imminent trip to Japan, all my posts will be going to Poor Dreamer.. what shall SFH do? Hrm.. and a lot of my craft projects are scifi related anyway so.. might as well. This way, I can also just put my vids up onto one YouTube channel. Deal?

Tell me what you think.

After a not too long wait, I received the Japan Rail Pass! Just an exchange order to be exact but almost like the real thing! hehe.. also received my global sim card and I have been set up with a global number. My Cliq should have the frequencies so I can use my phone in Asia but I revived my LG KF900 (aka Prada II) to use. It was hell but I got it. Finally.. it was just a very expensive paperweight til yesterday.

Yatta! Ok that concludes todays mini-post!

Spent a whopping $337 yesterday on the JR 7 day pass. I will be using this pass to go from Tokyo to Kyoto and Osaka (and back) – definitely worth the money! Otherwise, I’d be spending.. maybe double on train tickets? One of the perks of being a foreigner/”temporary visitor”!!

Purchased my ticket from STA Travel once again – it was actually cheaper than if I got it from JTB (I think that is the travel agency…?) shipping was also free. YES! I love free! And not cause I’m Asian! LMAO.

The JNTO map gave me some useful information, one of them was a small segment on the Rail Pass. There is more than one option for the pass apparently! Since I’ll be using it extensively, purchasing the pass that covers all their rails was the way to go. But if you know for a fact that you will be visiting only a particular area, maybe getting one of the regional passes is a better buy. Click on photo to see. The website to go to check out coverage is: http://www.jtb.com.sg/ExploreJapan/JRPass.aspx

I received the map when I entered into the JNTO’s “Japan 2010″ contest. I didn’t win. The people who have visited, had pen pals, and knew about farming/agriculture won. Le sigh. Well… I’M GOING ANYWAY SO THAT’S OK! (Man this post is so ADD, sorry. I know I’m not being coherent so let me gather my thoughts and I will give another post on mobile usage later today.)

Alright, just to reiterate what you need to know before purchasing the pass:

• have “temporary visitor” stamped on your passport
• has to be YOUR NAME on the pass
• you only get an exchange order, to get JR pass – trade in the EO at Narita airport or any rail station to get the physical pass
• have your passport ON YOU when you trade it in (duh)
• CAN ONLY BE PURCHASED OUTSIDE OF THE UNITED STATES
• you lose it – TOO DAMN BAD! (I will probably duct tape mine to my leg the entire length of my stay…. maybe )

YATTA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

OK I’m going to stop bouncing off the walls now.

From Narita Airport, there is a variety of options. The following have hubs/counters located in the airport so you can go there and arrange your travel.

(JR East homepage screencap)

Keisei Line:

• Skyliner (1-2 per hr): approx 70 mins and 2,600 yen to get to Shinjuku station
• Tokkyu (3-4 per hr): approx 103 mins and 1,190 yen to Shinjuku station

JR line:

• Narita Express: number of departures per hour depend on destination.. to Shinjuku, it is approx 1 per hr, takes about 85 mins and costs 3,100 yen
• Suica & Nex IC card is a good deal for foreigners – more on this further in the post. BUT they are available for purchase in terminals 1 & 2 AT Narita (no reservations) and can only be purchased with a non-Japanese passport

Other:

• Limousine Bus (3-6 per hr): takes 80-120 mins dependent on traffic and costs 3,000 yen

(NEX screencap)

I decided on going with the Narita Express and furthermore, on getting the Suica & Nex card deal. Here is why: they offer you a damn good deal (prices talked about are for the ordinary car, not first class). Typically, a NEX ticket is going to cost you about 3,100 yen.  For 3,500 yen, you get a one way NEX ticket AND a Suica card (card used for subways and trains around Japan) that is preloaded with 1,500 yen. So you get something worth 4,600 yen for the price of 3,500 yen. If you get round trip, your savings increase but since I am staying for more than two weeks (the roundtrip NEX ticket expires by then) I will just be purchasing one NEX and Suica package. All I have to do later is just swipe that Suica card whenever I go on the subway and can add in money into the card, so I don’t have to fumble for money all the time. Makes it easy. Just don’t lose it!!! Not only that, it can be used for buses and for purchasing goods in convenience stores and the like. Once you are done and ready to leave Japan, you can return and get a refund on the remaining balance on the card.

(NEX & Suica package deal screencap)

Basically… that is it.. NEX and Suica it is for me! I will be able to use the Suica card when I go around via subway and buses to and fro.. and also for when I go to Mt Fuji! The card is available for use on JR East lines..

Been researching where to stay in Japan where it’d be comfortable and CHEAP while still being secure.. hotel rooms were NOT an option ($$$$). Hostels are cramped and since I plan on having a lot of luggage.. well.. not gonna happen. There is a company in Japan that goes by “Sakura House”.. and they offer dormitory, shared rooms, guesthouse, and apartment accommodations specifically for foreigners.

My experience thus far with communicating with them has been pleasant – their staff got back to me quickly and I have reserved my bed (waiting on Jen to reserve hers).

Breakdown after the jump.

As I said before, Sakura House offers dormitories, shared rooms, guesthouses, and apartments.

Dormitories:

1. 4-6 people in a room, similar to hostel setting
2. cheapest option of them all

Shared rooms:

1. 2 people to a room
2. You both share the room and the common area
3. Prices are reasonable
4. Other person can be a friend or previous tenant, AKA unknown to you

Guesthouse:

1. You get your own room
2. You share the common area
3. Prices are more expensive than shared room
4. Can hold two people but prices are higher and a futon is provided for number two if you’re not a couple

Apartments:

1. Do I really need to explain?
2. Your own space – room, kitchen, bathroom, shower, etc
3. For as many people as you wish is my understanding
4. Most expensive option of all

I’m definitely going with the shared room option because:

1. Privacy – rooms are locked and I’m rooming with my friend
2. We each get our own bed vs getting a guesthouse and one person gets a bed and another the futon (unless we reserved a tatami room then that is a moot point)
3. Sharing common area is fine by me
4. Pricing is reasonable though I’d love something cheaper (wouldn’t we all?)
5. Better than a hostel really. Hostel per night is ~$40 x 42 nights equals $1680 vs ~$840USD (45k yen X 1.5) AND did I mention privacy??

There is the math for ya… and can I just take a moment out to rant… WHY THE FREAKING HELL HAS THE USD BEEN DEPRECIATING SO MUCH?? HMM???????????????? 80 YEN TO 1 USD?! ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!?!?!?!?!!?!? AM I GONNA BE PAYING $3 FOR SOME RAMEN NOW??? GARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR! ::end rant::

^Sakura House Homepage

So.. once my best friend reserves her bed, then we are set for a place to stay. A note though – for the shared rooms, guesthouses and apartments, I understand you need to be occupying it for a minimum of one month as well as giving them a 30 day written notice before you vacate. Here is the link to Sakura House. Here is the link to their Twitter.

Peace yo.

It was a 10 inch Durian and Coconut cake from a Viet/French bakery. *salivates*

On to other things…

*bangs head on desk*

I am just too dang busy. Somebody adopt me please?! Jerry Jones? Oprah? Balancing work, personal life, filming/editing for SciFiHun has got me pressed for time. But hopefully after all the setbacks I’ve had with my first tutorial on SFH, it will be smoother from now on. Currently encoding and waiting to upload to YouTube!

I have two favorite Holidays – Halloween and Christmas. And y’all know I enjoy crafting so I wanted to make my costume.. well.. I still haven’t started and the big party is tomorrow… *cries* I have the materials for the headpiece but I just need to… put it all together… nicely? AND what to wear?? >___<

I will post photos sometime on Sunday or Monday of the party so you’ll get a chance to see how it turned out..

AND THEN MORE PLANNING FOR JAPAN! *whoops*

Here is the link to my other website: http://scifihun.com

Please visit!

Then, went to Houston to see the mister. Had a great time with him, and found I can be a capable law student if I weren’t so lazy.. haha. And visited with his friend John and his wife Summer, who is also gorgeous. We went to Hobby Lobby and somehow spent 2.5 hrs there but you know.. it IS Hobby Lobby! Haha

And THEN.. I’ve been working on my Dalek Girl 2.0 dress.. and filming. Check out scifihun.com to read up on what I’m doing there.. no need repeating the same info in two places, right?

And I leave you to some more photos.. while I go update scifihun.com Will be making some changes/more plans to my Japan trip so I will update again this week!

Click to view slideshow.

Aki Matsuri is the Japanese Fall Festival. This year, the DFW Japanese Association held the festival in North Dallas/Addison area and… I might’ve attended. OK I did, but I didn’t have a ninja outfit to wear to sneak around in so I made my own yukata. O_O Huge undertaking for someone without a working sewing machine neh? Yup.. all by hand.

Hmm… I originally wanted to put together a video of the “making of” my yukata but since I was sooo pressed for time (started on it Friday night, the festival was Sunday morning) I ended up not doing it. Just happened to take a few  photos on my phone. I did however, take video at the festival also but it was also a fail. Why? My video editor is the Adobe Premiere Pro and my files were Quicktime .mov and somehow… it wasn’t a supported file. I’m sure I can convert and etc but I don’t have time for that right now. Le sigh. So I’ll just recount my festivities and bring on some photos, k?

Making of my obi… O_O

The huge crowd there at the festival.

Yoyo Tsuri game.

My bento lunch.

My finished yukata and the goldfish I won!

From the beginning: Thursday, I went to the fabric store and hunted high and low for a fabric I liked with an acceptable pattern and lightness. Went home, washed, dryed and ironed the whole 5.5 yds I bought. Had my brother help me hold down the pattern as I cut it. Friday after work, I begin the tedious task of figuring how to piece it all together.. and so I began. Had to handsew the whole dang thing because my sewing machine has loose stitches from the bobbin or the thread from the bobbin will get completely tangled up and rip my fabric, so…. yeah. Sewing by hand is a beeeeee. Anyhoo, went to bed around 1AM after attaching the two front panels to the two back panels, the two sleeves and half stitching the sleeves closed. Do recall these things are like, 6 feet long so they’re mighty loooooong stretches of fabric thus requiring many, many stitches and I don’t do wussy stitches, no sir. They’re the sturdy kind. Woke up in the morning to run some errands with my sister and to pick up fabric for the obi. Procrastinated til 2:30PM when I said to myself, wow you suck and continued sewing. And ironing. There was a gawdawful amount of ironing involved, esp since I chose fusible interfacing. T_T Made my collar, the obi band, obi bow, fake strings and hooks for it, attached everything together, “hemmed” the sleeves and entire length of the yukata.. finished at 2AM. Of course I didn’t work non-stop then. I’m ADHD remember? So I had a TV show (old school TVB show Hap Hak Hang aka Hiep Khach Giang Ho starring Tony Leung) running in the background, snacks surrounding me, and made bento lunches for myself and two Jens for the festival in between all that sewing. BTw, before I retired for the night my mom goes, “Wow, you look like crap/haggard. How’re you going to go have fun tomorrow?” Me: “I’ll just take a shower.” LMAO!

Day of the Aki Matsuri Festival – Sunday September 26, 2010. Woke up, showered (ahha), and put on my face. Dressing in yukata at my friend Jen Ws. It was a beeeeaaauuuutiful day. Jen M and I got dressed in our yukatas and Jen W was decked out in her Sixh punk outfit. We looked cool I must say. Got to the festival no problem but it was very windy and chilly. Perfect ushering in for fall I suppose.

We walked around, viewed the games, looked at the adorable children running around in their yukatas, and had lunch. Afterwards, we went to play games ourselves. Jen M played Yoyo Tsuri. Its a game where there are balloons with a bit of air and water in them attached to some string floating in a tub. They give you a rolled piece of paper with a paperclip hook on the end so you can fish the balloon out and win it. Then we got in the ridiculously long line to play Kingyosukui. Thats the cute one where a ton of goldfish are in a tub and you have to scoop them out with a little paper ladle. I caught three but one jumped out of my bowl. Got some cotton candy, took some pictures and etc… it was a good day! Made some sushi for my sis when I got home… had some pho ga. Good day, good day.

Here are some more photos for your viewing pleasure. There are repeats.

Click to view slideshow.

Funny story, afterwards, I had many friends message me on Facebook saying Hey, I saw you there.. my initial response? Well why didn’t you say hi??? Hahahah

Kaiyukan translates to “Playing In the Sea Pavilion” – cute!! Off the website, they said that they were focusing on the “Ring of Fire” and “Ring of Life” (Pan Pacific region). I think that is interesting.. so let me recap what I gathered from my research and give you the link to their official website (in English) at the end.

Info:

• Located in Osaka, Japan
• Opens 10AM – 8PM
• Admission is ~$24 for adults and ~$11 for children
• For the most part, credit cards are accepted. Types though, vary from shop to shop in the Tempozan Village. My advice: cash is king.

Stats:

• 15 tanks for 15 regions
• 11,000 tons of water (O__O)
• 30,000 specimens reppin’ 580 species
• ~80 shops
• GIANT FERRIS WHEEL

Exhibits:

• Aqua Gate: appears to be a tunnel shaped tank overhead so you’ve got fish swimming all over you?
• Japan Forest: don’t ask me what  a forest is unless you’re from 2,000 years into the future and a forest has been reduced to mythology because it ceased to exist due to mankind’s greed and thoughtlessness in destroying the Earth.. then I might tell you
• Aleutian Islands: sea otters!
• Monterey Bay: mimics wildlife off the coast of California
• Gulf of Panama: tropical rainforests and…. sloths!
• Ecuadorian Rain Forest: “deep in the heart of the Amazon” they say..
• Antartica: penguins of course!
• Tasman Sea: dolphins!
• Great Barrier Reef: coral reefs! and butterfly fish… oooo!
• Pacific Ocean: the largest tank in there… with.. WHALE  SHARKS!
• Seto Inland Sea: varieties of fish and has octopus!
• Sea of Finless Porpoise: like cute little dolphins they say
• Coast of Chile: hmm.. sardines.. not too sure that’s exciting..
• Cook Strait: sea turtles! yeahhh
• Japan Deeps: giant crabs! eeep!
• Floating Jellyfish: 12 of the 600 species of jellyfish are showcased here.. i think jellyfish are pretty.. especially the ones with the lights.. O_o
• And the Kaiyukan Gallery: just an exhibition room

Non-Aquarium things in the Tempozan Harbor Village:

• Tempozan Marketplace: has tons of foods, goodies, and amusements apparently
• Tempozan Giant Ferris Wheel: Uhm, need I say more?? One of the largest in the world. THE WORLD.
• Naniwa Kuishinbo Yokocho: It’s a food theme park… get your grub on!
• Suntory Museum: Has IMAX 3-D, fine art and design galleries, gift shops
• Santa Maria Cruise: CRUISE HELLO! to see Osaka Bay and such.. prices range from $30-$90 depending on day/night and dinner or not.. too bad they suspend services in DECEMBER when I’m going to be there! T____T

Well there you have it… my summarized version of the Kaiyukan Aquarium.. and I haven’t even been yet. You just wait when I do get to visit, you’ll get tons of photos and videos and even more witty remarks. Aren’t you excited??? *crickets chirp* Ah I don’t care, I think I’m witty! *huff* Click on this here for the link to the Kaiyukan Aquarium website in English! Woot woot!