Autumn Story In Japan 2013 – Traditional Japanese Tea and Dessert @ 春日荷茶屋

After visiting Kasuga Taisha (Kasuga Grand Shrine), we settle down at a traditional tea house (春日荷茶屋) nearby for traditional Japanese green tea and dessert, and of cos to rest our tired feet after walking on the stone pathway for the whole morning! 😀

The menu in Japanese but they do have English menu with photos as well.

The green tea is nice and fragrant. The dessert is some jelly-like jelly with peanut powder and sweet sauce which I don’t really fancy. 😛

This is sorta a fruit cake. Not too bad but nothing too fancy. Nonetheless, I do enjoy myself relaxing in this tea house, looking at the light drizzle outside, and immersing myself in the very traditional Japanese ambience of the tea house. 🙂

FT Island FTHX 6th Anniversary Concert Singapore 2014!

It was FT Island FTHX 6th Anniversary Concert yesterday and I was super excited and anticipating it! OOTD for the concert, rocker style with skull nails, skull rings, skull necklace and earrings! Heh!

Look at the skull nails! It’s actually nail stickers but don’t really last because the tip peel off after the concert last night. 😀

Banners were given by the fan club to almost everyone to be held up during the concert at certain songs! The one at the bottom ‘영원히함께 영원히사랑해’ means ‘永远在一起, 永远爱着你’ and the one in black means ‘Always With You’. So sweet. 😀

Waiting to enter the concert venue and I can feel the excitement climbing up!

This was the set list yesterday! So much more great songs than before and less of those cheesy Korean love songs which they used to sing cos of their idol image! Indeed, they have changed successfully to a rock band!!! Not idol cos you don’t see one saying ‘fuck’ all the time. And I really love them so much.

Hongki can sing and he can sing very well, much more well than some CN**** or May*** band. The atmosphere that the band create is also damn rockish and the music is good, not to the standard that I would expect as like Larcenciel or One Ok Rock but I know they will be one day! They are different from all the other Korean boy bands, therefore please don’t stereotype on FT Island.

Hongki is filming a drama now and he needs to juggle between concert tour and filming that he does not even have time to rest. So I could see that he looked quite tired yesterday but still he gave his very best with almost no glitches.

He was exclaiming that he had grew older and his energy level seemed to have been lower too and he felt tired easily. And I can’t help but exclaim the same for myself! I was so tired and body aching after the concert which I was not like that 2 years ago!

Anyway, Hongki was cute when he asked ‘I am so tired. Are you all ok?’ We shouted ‘Yes!!!’ And he said ‘Oh fuck! Very strong!’ Awwww~~~~ that’s him! So being himself and no image to care about at all. Lol!

Some songs that I really got mesmerize by him yesterday were ‘Beloved, Black Chocolate, Severely (cos he sang it with only Jonghoon’s piano), Madly (which sounds better in live), Love Sick (which was changed to a rockish style), Memory, Always With You, Revolution.’ Songs that I would like them to sing but did not are ‘Life, Beautiful World, Try Again’. Oh well, blame it on the short time!

Oh oh! And Jonghoon is so handsome in real person and totally charming! No wonder he’s my favourite guitarist cos he plays well and looks good! Heh.

Now FT Island had returned to Korea as they flew back immediately after the concert, and Hongki resumed filming without resting this morning. Hope I’ll see them soon again! 🙂

Autumn Story In Japan 2013 – Kasuga Taisha (Kasuga Grand Shrine)

We need to walk a long way along the 春日大社参道 to Kasuga Taisha and it’s all stone path.

Kasuga Taisha is famous for its lanterns, which have been donated by worshipers. Hundreds of bronze lanterns can be found hanging from the buildings, while as many stone lanterns line its approaches along the way.

Deers can be seen along the pathway too! They are looking too innocent and cute, and some are secretly hiding behind the stone lanterns looking at me. 😀

Finally we reach Kasuga Taisha! It’s some festival on that day but as my Japanese is quite limited, I only know it’s some 20th something going on?! Hur. So there’s this sorta flea market set up which sells various home-cooked Japanese food. We buy some to try and it is good! Especially love the Oden!

Kasuga Taisha is Nara’s most celebrated shrine. It was established at the same time as the capital and is dedicated to the deity responsible for the protection of the city.

Kasuga Taisha was also the tutelary shrine of the Fujiwara, Japan’s most powerful family clan during most of the Nara and Heian Periods. Like the Ise Shrines, Kasuga Taisha had been periodically rebuilt every 20 years for many centuries. In the case of Kasuga Taisha, however, the custom was discontinued at the end of the Edo Period.

These are ema for couples. I guessed, from the heart shape of the ema and the contents that are written on them. BTW, further into the shrine requires entrance fee and since my friend is not interested to pay for entrance, we just walk around the free area. Plus it is really crowded!

Cute little Japanese boy! Due to the festival, a lot of Japanese dressed up their children to visit the shrine. And this little boy is dressed in such a beautiful piece that I can’t resist but take a photo with him. He is so kawaii that he also show a peace sign when I show mine while taking the photo. 🙂

Lovely deers loving each other. 😛

The deers are so near to me that I suddenly thought of taking a selfie with them. All is good when the deer turn it’s head all of a sudden and nearly smack onto my face if I didn’t react in time by moving back! Lol! And so end up with this photo of the deer looking as if it is kissing me. Wah~~~ And an auntie subsequently copied me by also taking a selfie with the same deer. Opps. What did I bring upon the deers?! >.<

Autumn Story In Japan 2013 – Nara Park – Kofukuji and so much Deers!

Once we arrive, we first go to the tourist information area to get a map and the uncle serving us is so friendly to tell us how can we stroll around the park in the right direction. 🙂

Nara Park (Nara Koen) is a large park in central Nara. Established in 1880, it is the location of many of Nara’s main attractions including Todaiji, Kasuga Taisha, Kofukuji and the Nara National Museum.

The park is also home to hundreds of freely roaming deer. Considered in Shinto to be messengers of the gods, Nara’s nearly 1200 deers have become a symbol of the city and have been designated a natural treasure.

The Eastern Golden Hall and 5-Story Pagoda. Kofukuji used to be the family temple of the Fujiwara, the most powerful family clan during much of the Nara and Heian Periods. The temple was established in Nara at the same time as the capital in 710. At the height of Fujiwara power, the temple consisted of over 150 buildings.

Today a couple of buildings of great historic value remain, including a five story pagoda and a three story pagoda. At 50 meters, the five story pagoda is Japan’s second tallest, just seven meters shorter than the five story pagoda at Kyoto’s Toji Temple.

This is the Southern Octagonal Hall of Kofukuji.

Writing all my wishes on an ema and hanging it at the Southern Octagonal Hall. I really love the idea of ema and almost never miss the chance of writing on one whenever I visit Japan. 😀

Aren’t these deers cute!!! Hui Ping is so afraid of them and that explains why every photos of me with deer are taken from afar. Hur!

Even though these deers are surprisingly tame and they do look cute and innocent, they can be aggressive if they think you will feed them. So we did not dare to feed any in case they come chasing after us! 😛

I am obviously happy to meet the deers!

Cute deers pole!

We spot this super cute giraffe theme van at the park! Hehe.

Next is Kasuga Taisha but it’s a duper long walk to it! And a lot of walking on stones ground.

Pretty autumn scenery along the way to Kasuga Taisha! 🙂

Autumn Story In Japan 2013 – Taking the Kintetsu Railway to Nara!

We take the subway line from Gojo Station to Kyoto Station and transfer to Kintetsu Railway to Nara. We have pre-purchased the tickets at the Kintetsu Ticket Office on the first day and by the way, JR pass does not cover Kintetsu Railway. 🙂

This is the mascot of Nara at Kyoto Kintetsu Railway Station. Heh.

There’s a big family mart within the station and we buy some snacks and drinks to munch on the train later (look at the plastic bag in my hand). In Japan, we are allow to eat on train and sorta a kind of culture that I really love, and so I have to enjoy such privileges as much as possible. If you eat on train in my country, you will get fine big time. 😛

The snacks and drinks that I bought. Super love the dark chocolate milk drink. It comes in such a nice and convenient packaging, I thought.

Anyway, we actually get on the wrong car no. and sit on an auntie’s seat! Luckily, she is nice and explains to us where’s our car no. At the very last minute, we rush down and run to the correct car no. 本地に緊張ですね!

Isn’t this too cute!!! And it’s very yummy and chocolate-ly but not too sweet! Thinking about this now makes me craves for it so much. 😀

Selfie of us in the train! The journey takes about 45 minutes or so to reach Kintetsu Nara Station. We are excited to meet the deers or rather, only I am excited. Lol!