10 Day Trip To Gotenba Pt. 2

We spent the next few days exploring the Fuji Five Lakes (actually only 1 lol) and Yeti Snow Town. To explore Fuji Five Lakes, there’s a 2 day pass that you can purchase which gives you free bus rides around the lakes. We explored the lakes on day one and went to the Fuji Q Highland (an amusement park) in day 2.

When we got to the first lake we visited, we stopped by the mini restaurant and souvenir shop. My friend bought that charcoal karage just because he never had one. It tastes like any normal karage with a more burnt flavor, I guess.

Yamanaka literally translates to ‘middle of the mountain’. This is the only lake we really visited since we had some trouble and ended up wasting most of our time searching for food. This lake is the 2nd most developed after Kawaguchi Lake.

There were rental swan boats where we use our feet to pedal. Each session lasts for 30 minutes and our legs were sore by the time we finished, but the experience was worth it.

While we were in the boat, swans started following us everywhere, which terrified us lol. It turns out that one of my friends bought mixed peanuts from the convenient store for his snack and the swans were going after it. We ended up wasting half the package just to feed the swans, they’re really pretty, though.

The next day, we went to Fuji Q Highland, a famous amusement park. I’m personally not a amusement park person since I get dizzy and nauseous from rides quite easily. To be honest, I think I went there just to try out ice skating because I’ve never experienced it before. It was really terrifying, though. I fell so many times to the point my arms and butt hurts. Nonetheless, it was really fun because it’s the only time where the five of us could enjoy our time in the amusement park together.

Skiing … is more horrifying than skating

We went to a ‘snow town’ named Yeti several days after the amusement park. We got the transport, admission, and rental package for 6600 yen, which is quite expensive for me but cheap for my American friends. I had zero experience in skiing and snowboarding so my friend told me to try ski first because it’s easier.

That’s a lie.

Ski is freaking difficult and scary as hell. It’s like sliding down the mountain to your deaths with nothing but poles (which doesn’t really help me to stop).

I fell down a lot more during skiing than skating. It was hard to get up on my own, too, since the boards were really hindering. After going down the slope once, I had enough and decided to call it a day lol. It’s a waste of money, I know. But at least I’ve given it a try.

Asians are not made for skiing. Lol.

10 Day Trip To Gotenba Pt. 1

The picture of illumination above is taken at Gotenba Station, which is the main station in the city of Gotenba in Shizuoka prefecture. The town itself is not big, it looks even more countryside than Beppu, but you can see Mt. Fuji from this place almost every day.

I went to Gotenba for my winter vacation along with my other 4 friends from university. We stayed at one of my friend’s relative’s house since they’re running a restaurant in the nearby resort. Our trip lasted for 10 days, but it’s actually 8 days if you don’t count the trip for going and going back.

The silhouette of cameras from inside the shop

We spent our first few days exploring the city. We entered this coffee shop that was located right next to the station just because we’re itching for something to drink. The interior really surprised us since it was full of vintage photography tools and pictures.

The owner turned out to be a professional photographer. He asked us a lot of questions about us. Maybe it was because us foreigners looked really strange? Lol. Anyways, he’s a really nice old man. He even took a group picture for us and shared some photography tips!

I just realized now that I’ve never really taken any proper photos of the resort near the place we stayed. I brought my polaroid camera so some days I’m just so focused on using it I forgot that my phone camera existed. The picture above is the tunnel illumination in the resort. The photo didn’t turn out nicely because I forgot to turn on the exposure button lol.

Christmas tree. Taken with exposure + mode.

We passed this Christmas tree so many times but still forgot to take a picture of it with our phone cameras.

There’s a beautiful bakery right in front of where the Christmas tree was located. I think I almost go there every day during the trip to grab some bread for breakfast. They have assorted jams and even honey. The canned bread caught my attention in particular. They’re so cute … but looking at the price made me refrain.

I love drinking yuzu for winter not just because of the taste but the effects they bring. It helps with throat problems, too, so I figured why not buy one. The price wasn’t bad either. I tried it once I got back to Beppu, and damn, I regret not buying more because it tastes so good!

Caramel latte from the cafe in the resort

There’s a huge circus-like tent beside the bakery which has a lot of street food. I got myself a kishimen just because my friend recommended it to me. It’s so good, though. I wonder if it’s because I’m too hungry? Haha. Other than that, they have yakitori stalls and also a shooting game stall. The place is always so crowded at night time, but it really has a nice cozy winter atmosphere. I wish I had taken more pictures, sigh.

Well, that’s about it. I’m ending the first post here since I don’t want the post to be image heavy. I’ll be posting about the Fuji 5 Lakes and Yeti Snow Town on the next one!

Late 2018 Wrap Up and Hello 2019

I haven’t been posting anything ever since my last post because I was so busy during both school and winter vacation. I went somewhere for the first time during winter break since my friends invited me. I spent both Christmas and New Year there, too. There were hardships, of course, but there were times I felt so grateful to have my friends beside me.

To be honest, my Christmas and New Year felt really anticlimactic. Christmas felt like any other day except that my American friends are constantly on phone with their relatives lol. I slept through New Year’s Eve because I was a bit sick. Before I knew it 2019 came.

It felt like 2018 never came to an end.

As usual I don’t really put up a long list of resolutions for a new year but there are some things I would like myself to improve this year:

Be kinder and stronger
More patient
Less selfish
Hold back on expenses
Live a healthier life

I knew that my attitude didn’t really change much back from 2017. I tried being more patient and understanding with people but it feels so hard for me to do so. I even threw a fit during the vacation just because some of my friends made a stupid decision (at least in my view). Now that I think about it, I’m acting extremely childish and I should’ve been able to handle that situation in a better way.

I feel that I’m butchering my health more and more each year. I used to cook so frequently but recently, I’ve just been eating out and reaching out for instant food because I’m so busy and lazy. I did try out tennis, and now I’ve started to bike when I do groceries, which is good. But I think I still need to put more effort in it.

And, well … expenses. My bank account just got drained after the vacation since I spent so much on food and transport and souvenirs. I think I am not going home to Indonesia this year so I probably can get a part time job to gain money and experience. Hopefully.

While 2018 has a lot of ups and downs, I hope 2019 will be better than that. I hope that all of us would be able to fulfill those by the end of the year.

Preparing gifts

I think this might be the first time I’m genuinely excited for Christmas. It’s also the first time I’m going all out in wrapping and picking presents for my friends. Last year, I wouldn’t have even thought of giving someone else a present or even writing a letter to them. Haha. I’m a little happy that at least my circle of friends that I really care about is growing even if it’s just by a little bit.

I find it hard to pick presents for my friends since all of them are guys, especially since one of them gave me a fountain pen last year, which really surprised me. I mentioned that I’ve always wanted a fountain pen to him randomly when we were browsing the department store a long time ago. But I never expected that he would remember that conversation even to the point of getting the exact same brand of fountain pen I had shown him.

So yeah, I’m really in a deep pressure lol. I feel like I need to at least return something to him. I’ve been trying to catch hints of what he wants but I couldn’t get any so far… For now, I’m eyeing a keychain of an anime character that he likes. The problem is it won’t get released until the end of December… Sigh. I’m not expecting any gifts but if he does get me one on Christmas, I can’t possibly say, “Oh, sorry, I couldn’t buy you a gift yet because it hasn’t been released!”

This is the gift that I got for another friend (not the fountain pen guy). I originally bought a gift set of this for my mom and bought an extra box to get qualified for free shipping. It turns out that it has a really pleasant smell and it hit me that my friend would love this since he had mentioned that he loves the aroma from the tea ceremony room at the university. I already opened the plastic packaging since it had a price tag then I just rewrapped it in a pretty wrapping paper from the book I bought last time (picture on the header).

It took me quite some time to finish the wrapping and letter just for one person. The process of doing it was really fun, though. I haven’t really done any arts and craftsy stuff these days so doing it was really nice. I’d like to continue for my two other friends, but for now, I gotta secure proper gifts for them first.

Review: Hand Stitched Leather T

I ordered a handmade leather cover for my Hobonichi weeks last month and it arrived just yesterday, 3 weeks after the seller shipped it. I purchased the Weeks cover from this Etsy shop for 35 euros after watching a review from a Youtuber the other day. The leather looked so nice in that video so I decided to get myself one since the price was rather affordable and it was free shipping.

Unfortunately, as you may have noticed, the package arrived in a bit deformed shape. There was another plastic wrapping made by the Japan post office and a little note stating that the package had arrived drenched so they had to dry it off for some time in their office before sending it to me. They even apologized that they had to send me the package in that state. I mean, it’s not their fault the package got deformed anyway lol. Japanese companies are so good with customer service, I swear.

It’s a bit hard to notice, but you can see the signs of the wrapping paper got wet on the right side.

I was a bit relieved that the leather cover itself had sustained no damage from the water seeping through. Tanya (the seller) even included a bonus key holder. The leather smelled so nice and I love how thin and floppy the leather is. I thought I could just ignore the damaged package since the product was alright until …

There was a chipped part of the leather on the backside of the cover! My heart sank a bit when I discovered it. I’m fine with scratches on the leather but a chipped part … Sigh.

Other than the chipped part, the interior of the cover seemed fine. There’s a tiny stain on the upper left part but I guess complaining about it wouldn’t change anything lol.

The planner fits perfectly inside the cover. It closes nicely too. When I made the order, there was an option whether I wanted an elastic closure and pen loop and I didn’t opt for it since I don’t want to drill a hole on my cover. Based on the Youtube reviews, you could also request specific designs such as secretarial pockets on the sides. I didn’t ask for any either this time and I kind of regret it. Haha.

Overall, I think the product is well made. But I guess I’m a bit disappointed with the cover because of the chipped part and stain since I had high expectations from reading the shop and Youtube reviews. I originally thought of ordering another cover for my other planners if it had turned out great, but I guess I’ll put off that idea for now.

Stationeries from Classiky

I got myself an early Christmas gift this year. This time I purchased everything from the online website of Classiky, which is a Japanese ‘antique’ store. Most of the items there are hand-crafted. They have an array of items besides stationeries as well. I think they also do shipping outside Japan if you’re planning to buy in bulks.

Alright, onto the products!

The first and biggest item I have here is their popular wooden toolbox. I’ve seen a lot of people use their smaller versions to store their stamps and little accessories but I decided to get the bigger one as I needed space for my new washi tapes.

You can take the tray out if you don’t use it. There’s also a clip in the inner lid so you can bring your small notebook around with you. I personally use the tray for my stamps since it fits perfectly fine.

I like how they don’t put their branding anywhere visible outside the box but instead they engraved their details on the inner part of the lid.

Next up, we have the tiny bits of the purchase. I bought two ceramic plates and 4 sets of washi tape. Let’s go with the plates first.

This is not Classiky’s original but a collaboration with a maker named kata kata. They have a series of animal-haped plates and I like the whale the best for it’s huge and long size. I actually got this for my mom since I know she’ll love these kind of things to display it in her kitchen.

I also got the cat-shaped one. I chose the smaller version of it since the whale one is big enough already. The small ones can be used for side dishes or just simply a place to put your keys and other small things.

3 of the washi tapes are Classiky’s original (if I’m not mistaken). I love how simple and vintage their design looks. The one with the white wrapping is made in collaboration with Shun shun (I love how all the maker’s names are repetitive). At first. I thought it was a bit expensive but it turns out each roll has a whole damn lot. It’s so much thicker compared to my normal 100 yen Daiso tapes and I feel extremely pleased by the amount!

Grid set, old book set (1), old book set (2), and Shunshun’s from left to right respectively.

All of the tapes above are really beautiful. I especially love Shunshun’s for the cute designs. I’ll probably post a sample of these tapes sometime in the future lol.

I got to excited unwrapping everything I forgot to take a close of picture of the note they stick on the wrapping for this drawstring pouch. Basically, they sent me this pouch as a little gift for purchasing their products. I’ve never received a freebie from purchasing anything (except skincare, I guess) so I was really excited! I love their shop so much!

Alright, that basically ends this long image-heavy post. I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed receiving and unwrapping them. If you are interested in purchasing Classiky’s products from outside Japan, I believe there are some resellers out there that carries their products as well.

Until the next post!

More stationery bits: Letter book and stamps

I actually purchased some of the items here this month but decided to save it because I thought I’d purchase some more, but I guess not lol. Financial problems.

First we have this beautiful letter book that I found in Amazon. I originally discovered it from MyLifeMits video from her CuteThingsFromJapan haul. The price was so expensive in their website so I thought I’d search for one in Amazon and turns out they’re 1000 yen cheaper!

I really love the patterns they have in this book. I feel like it’s almost a waste to use them. There are total 50 patterns in this book and each pattern has two pages. They’re perfect for letter writing, crafting, or even wrapping!

Beautiful stamps from 小島印房 (Kojima Inbou)

Next up is stamps! I got these three beautiful plant stamps from Kojima Inbou’s online shop. They’re pricey, but for a good reason. The detail and quality are top notch and I had trouble picking which stamps to go for. In the end, I picked the bamboo, eucalyptus populus, and hyacinth (from left to right, respectively). They were hand-packaged really beautifully but unfortunately, I was too excited when I received it and didn’t get a chance to take their pictures lol. Maybe next time.

Next I got these very detailed stamps from KNOOPWORKS, also from their online shop. Price-wise, they’re a bit more expensive from Kojima’s but they’re really beautiful in their own way. I can see myself using these stamps faithfully in my journal in the future.

That’s it for my small purchase this time! I really wanted to shop more but I really should stop myself from constantly purchasing these things. Ugh.

Trying to be at least active and failing

Image from Pexels.com

Two of my guy friends were in tennis club. One has been playing ever since he was small and one just joined 2 weeks ago. I wasn’t interested in joining when they invited me at first because I suck at every kind of sports and tennis seemed pretty hard. But I gave it a try anyway and I was right. I sucked so bad at it.

Aside from not exercising for two years straight, I also used to play badminton in middle and high school. My habits of hitting the ball late, flicking my wrists, not moving so much in the court let to the disaster when I joined the tennis club practice. It felt so much different. The ball was heavy, the racket was heavy, I can’t really on my wrist and had to use my entire body weight to return a ball.

Heck, I can’t even hit it. It doesn’t even touch my racket. Lol.

What’s worse was there were several other new members and they all knew how to play already. So I was kinda stuck in the middle of people who actually knew how to play. And when the ball came to me, I just missed it completely.

I was instantly demotivated.

I really hated this side of myself. The instant I couldn’t do something, I automatically thought, ‘Ah, I’d never be ever to do this in my whole life,’ when in fact it really took a long time for other people to be able to do the things I can’t do in one try.

I just lack the will to try. I get disheartened too quick. I quit too easily.

I really want to continue doing tennis but right now, I just find the reason and willpower to. Maybe it’s just not for me. Haha.

Well, at least I tried.

Hobonichi, Traveler’s Notebook, and other accessories for 2019

This post is image heavy.

For the past several posts, you know I had a huge dilemma for which planner/journal I should get for 2019. I knew I said that I wouldn’t get a Traveler’s Notebook. Surprise, surprise. I did. (If you knew me, you should’ve seen this coming.)

Hobonichi

I really like the quote for 2019 but I got sick of it really quick because almost every unboxing video on Youtube had their users reciting the quote over and over again lol. (My fault for watching too many unboxing videos.)

I went back to the ‘Original’ version of the journal instead of getting the ‘Avec’ split version because I’m planning on using the book for writing purposes only. I probably won’t decorate every single page like I used to do lol. I’ll simply use it for a daily journal, no more no less.

Also, as you can see, I decided not to get any cover this year because I got the Blue Traveler’s Notebook instead. I’m going to reuse my tori to hana cover from this year for 2019. I also got myself a box of fountain pen ink refills and refills for my favorite jetstream pen. I got 2 clear cover-on-covers. One for my current tori-to-hana cover, one for a just-in-case cover. (You’ll never know.) Hobonichi used to give out these covers for free when you purchase a cover + book set, but not anymore, so they were on sale.

This year’s freebie is a paperweight. It’s quite heavy (duh) and I think it’s really nicely made but I don’t really use it. Maybe I’ll just put it on my desk for a little decoration. I’m glad that Hobonichi decided to make a useful freebie for 2019. (I don’t even know where my dice and toaster plate went.)

To be honest, the pen contributes a lot to my decision making this time lol. If they had came up with a flashy colored pen again, I might have skipped purchasing Hobonichi for next year. Hey, don’t judge me. You know I’m a sucker for cute and pretty things.

Traveler’s Notebook

Yes, yes, I know I said I won’t be getting a TN for now but I kept changing my mind every now and then and in the end, I got it. I decided that this would be my to-go planner for uni.

If you purchase the normal set, you’d get the leather cover, an extra band, and a pouch. But since I got the 2019 Diary Pack, they added an extra freebie of decoration stickers. Also, the inserts that came with the cover is not a plain one, but a weekly spread instead. (The set with monthly is also available separately.)

Weekly spread view. The book is split into two.

I don’t have a pencil board for the passport sized notebook, yet. So I decided to get one this time. I fell in love with the colors and design. And the gold foiling! It’s just gorgeous!

And etc.

I dropped by Hirose to get them. The stamp is not the best quality but they’re good enough for journaling on blank pages. I also got two different sizes of black ink pads (don’t ask me why, I don’t even know). They’re not the cheapest and I’ve only tried the VersaCraft for now, but I really like the quality. I originally tried searching for the ink pads at Daiso but couldn’t find any. So, yeah.

Huxley Cushion Unboxing + First Impressions

Stylekorean had Huxley products on a 50% discount so I thought I’d try out the (not so new) cushion they released back then. It was really pricey without the discount so I couldn’t get it, but this time it was only ¥2250 and my current cushion is almost done so I thought why not?

I will start the post with the unboxing pictures followed by my impressions last. Click here to jump into the impressions.

I must say, the packaging is really extra for a cushion. It opens up just like a new iPhone box lol. The cushion case sits right on the top of it. Isn’t the color just pretty?

The cushion filling (it’s not a refill because the cushion case is empty) and the pouch is seated below the first compartment.

So within this box you get: 1 cushion case, 1 cushion filling (with the puff inside), and 1 cushion pouch.

When I took off the seal the first thing that came into my mind was, “Whoa, what a waste!” The amount of foundation (what do you call the cushion contents, anyway?) stuck on the seal was tremendous I feel like it’s a waste to just throw the seal away.

First Impressions

The cushion gives a cool sensation upon application, which is nice, but the coverage is almost non-existent. I’m not surprised by it, though, since the description clearly said that this cushion only claims to give ‘lightweight coverage’. But even for my light blemishes, you need to add another layer to cover it properly. So this cushion is clearly not for people who want to cover up their heavy blemishes/acne.

I wouldn’t recommend it to anybody because of the price, though. Also, they don’t give the best results if you’re looking for a cushion with heavy coverage. ¥4500 for a ‘lightweight moisturizing cushion’ is not worth the money. There are many alternatives out there with cheaper price and equivalent or even better results.

So yeah, unless you have a goddess-like porcelain skin and lots of money to spend, then you better skip this. As much as I love Huxley products, I don’t think this is a good one. (Even though I really love their work on the packaging for this.) They should just stick to their skincare range since I think that would a better thing to focus into if they want to develop their products further. I mean, they don’t even sell a separate refill. I guess that means they’re just making this to rake in more money from packaging-loving people. They’re not expecting people to buy the whole cushion casing + pouch again once the cushion itself ran out, right?