Passionate about Japan!

This blog has been created in an attempt to channel all that restless enthusiam I have for all (ok most) things Japan! Going to Japan has always been my lifelong dream and I finally got to step foot on the Land of The Rising Sun in Oct 2008. This was the start of many trips to come as I just can't get enough of the food, culture, nature in this part of the world.

I cannot recall when this fixation with all things Japanese began. Probably it was from my first japanese yukata when I was a little girl. It was made of a silky material and I think I should still have it stashed somewhere in my numerous cupboards. I think it really took off when Singapore started airing the "Japan Hour" series which made me a faithful viewer for almost more than a decade now. And not to worry if I miss an episode, coz the kind folks at Channelnews Asia have summarised every episode down in words on their website www.channelnewsasia.co/japanhour which come complete with pictures, websites of the attractions / accommodation featured and archived entries of previous episodes dating as far back as Jan 2008! If only the episodes came in DVD's but then it would defeat the purpose of the show because it is constantly updated with new places and new promotions for that season. But it would make a great pictorial keepsake of the breathtaking sights, sounds and eats of such a bountiful country blessed with (shizen)nature's great gifts.

For my Oct 2008 trip alone, I returned with well over a 1000 pictures in my digital camera just from this 8 day trip. It was partly due to the fact that I wanted to buy everything in every shop but that would have been impossible to carry back. So I took numerous pictures of lovely things to have but did not buy. Thank god for technology coz I would be broke if I had to develop that amount of film in a stack of phot albums. I collected so much paraphernalia from this trip in the hope of scrapbooking them along with the best photos into an album . But the amount of work is just daunting and I have yet to completely catalog all the photos taken. It was as if i was walking and snapping pictures every other moment of the trip. As I reluctantly packed my bags on the last day and left the bustling city of Tokyo after my virgin trip to Japan, it only fuelled me with even more determination to visit all the other parts of Japan with a vengeance. I have to express my deepest gratitude to my equally jap-crazed gal pal who planned the itinerary for this trip and made free and easy touring in Japan seem like a possible feat after all.

I will try my best to update this blog as often as possible and load up as many pictures as I can from my 2 trips. Just to share with you what has caught my eye in those heavenly days of carefree shopping and sightseeing. It will also include any Japanese events, brochures , maps, websites, restaurant reviews all things related to Japan. I hope to be able to look back at this blog as a time capsule of my wonderful memories, experiences and thoughts about Japan. I shall also include tips, websites,books,magazines,blog links that I have used to plan my free and easy itineraries. I am in no way affliated to any tour agency or japanese organisations. This is just my way of sharing the passion I hold for all things Japanese!

Nihonjifully yours
Kumo-san