My Ideal Japan Winter Vacation - Liburan Musim Dingin Ideal di Jepang

Must visited country during holidays that's in the list? Japan! Among the countries I want to explore which are France, Korea, Australia, USA, UK and Japan, this cherry blossom country ranked first. Why? Obviously because I grew up with Japanese cartoons and comics or known as anime and manga. Vacation in Japan will surely be a very pleasant experience and not forgotten. Especially it will be more exciting in winter months, as there is no snow in Indonesia. I can imagine what I would do if  I got the opportunity for a vacation in Japan while it's snowing.

Negara yang masuk dalam ‘list’ yang wajib dikunjungi saat liburan? Jepang! Dari banyak  negara yang ingin saya jelajahi di antaranya Perancis, Korea, Australia, Amerika Serikat, Inggris dan Jepang, negara bunga sakura ini menempati peringkat pertama. Alasannya? Tentunya karena saya dibesarkan bersama kartun dan komik Jepang yang dikenal juga dengan nama anime dan manga. Liburan ke Jepang pasti akan menjadi suatu pengalaman yang sangat menyenangkan dan tidak terlupakan. Terutama jika berangkat pada bulan-bulan winter seperti saat ini pasti akan lebih seru lagi, karena di Indonesia tidak ada salju. Saya dapat membayangkan apa saja yang akan saya lakukan jika kesempatan untuk berlibur di Jepang saat bersalju tiba.

One place to visit is the onsen or traditional Japanese hot spring. Feel the cool hot bath while enjoying a snowy evening in the outdoor onsen, just sit back and relax in the indoor onsen, or why not try both to get different moods.

Tempat yang wajib dikunjungi yaitu onsen atau pemandian air panas khas Jepang. Saya ingin merasakan sejuknya berendam air panas sambil menikmati suasana senja yang bersalju di onsen outdoor. Sekedar merilekskan diri dan berbincang-bincang di onsen indoor juga bisa jadi plihan. Atau coba saja keduanya untuk merasakan mood yang berbeda.

Shirahone (Outdoor) Onsen

Hirayunomori (Indoor) Onsen

Feeling refreshed, I'll usually be hungry . Eating a meal in winter will enhance the luxury and awesomeness. Imagine, tasting the chewy noodles while sipping hot savory light broth of shio ramen can keep me warm.

Setelah badan segar, biasanya perut jadi lapar. Menyantap hidangan di musim salju akan semakin menambah kemantapan dan keistimewaannya. Bayangkan, merasakan kenyalnya mie sambil menyeruput kuah panas yang light dan gurih dari shio ramen dapat menghangatkan badan. 

Hakodate Ramen dengan Kuah Shio

We can also find Oden, which often enjoyed during the winter and is easily found in convenience stores. Probably a sort of what we call  'suki'  in Indonesia, hot soup with a variety of 'edible stuffs' such as boiled eggs, daikon (a type of radish), fish-cake , tofu and more. Just look at the picture below.

Ada juga Oden, makanan yang sering dinikmati saat winter dan mudah ditemukan di convenience store. Semacam ‘suki’ mungkin kalau di Indonesia, sup panas dengan macam-macam isian seperti telur rebus, daikon(sejenis lobak), fish –cake, tahu dan masih banyak lagi seperti gambar di bawah.

Oden

After a big meal, now's time for dessert with tea. Japan is famous for its green tea, so I'm really eager to join a tea ceremony. Aside from a formal one, enjoying a sip while eating mochi or cake in cafes should be in the list too.

Setelah makanan berat, sekarang saatnya dessert sambil minum teh. Jepang sangat terkenal dengan teh hijaunya, jadi saya ingin mencoba merasakan upacara minum teh. Di samping minum teh dalam acara formal, minum teh sambil makan mochi atau cake di café juga harus masuk hitungan.

Menikmati Matcha di Kuil Kamakura

Dessert Matcha di Morinoen Tea Shop, Tokyo

Delicacies usually leaves distinctive impressions when we go abroad. But, I also have this habit to make a personal memory with songs during a trip. I'll certainly put Japanese songs in my mp3. Recentyl I'm obsessed with utaite, especially songs from Ito Kashitarou, Rib, Kano, and there are also other artists such as Ayumi Hamasaki, Kanon Wakeshima, and Hanae. No reason to worry about running out of  background musics on the road. I may not understand Japanese, but the tune is enough to tell the meaning and the singer's feeling. Sometimes I browse for the English lyrics, and they really have beautiful and touching meaning about romance even the sekai /world.

Tidak cuma makanan yang bisa meninggalkan kesan khas, saya juga punya kebiasaan untuk membuat memori personal dengan mendengarkan beberapa lagu tertentu selama perjalanan liburan. Lagu yang saya siapkan di mp3 nanti tentunya lagu Jepang. Saya sedang tergila-gila dengan utaite, terutama lagu-lagu yang dibawakan Ito Kashitarou, Rib, Kano, dan ada juga artis lain seperti Ayumi Hamasaki, Kanon Wakeshima, dan Hanae. Bisa dipastikan saya tidak akan kehabisan stok background music saat jalan-jalan nanti. Walaupun saya tidak mengerti bahasanya, tapi nada-nadanya sudah cukup untuk menyampaikan maksud dan perasaan si penyanyi. Kadang saya juga suka browsing liriknya dalam bahasa Inggris, dan arti liriknya sangat indah dan menyentuh mulai dari suasana romance sampai tentang sekai/dunia.

Ito Kashitarou menyanyi sepenuh hati

Rib

Kano

Momentum by Ayumi Hamasaki yang suasananya super winter

Kanon Wakeshima

Hanae, pelantun ost Kamisama Hajimemashita

While snow's here, don't miss playing snowball fight and making snowman. It may sound cliche, but with more people joining it will be really fun. Capture every moment by taking pictures and selfies. I also want to take pictures while wearing a kimono in the middle of the snow. It's so gonna be a cool material for the social media.

Mumpung ada salju, jangan lewatkan perang salju dan membuat boneka salju. Walaupun terdengar cliche, pasti menyenangkan kalau dilakukan bersama banyak orang. Abadikan tiap momen ini dengan berfoto ria atau berselfie. Saya juga ingin berfoto sambil memakai kimono musim dingin di tengah-tengah salju. Dijamin pasti fotonya keren kalau diunggah ke media sosial.

Boneka salju di Jepang, sasuga Japan!

Kimono di tengah salju~

Last but not least, step your foot on anime shops! It's not one identic stuff to do in winter, but hey we're talking about Japan here, so I guess this should be in the intinerary. You don't have to buy something, just looking around and take some pics is fun too. Certainly if I were there, I wouldn't forget getting a plush doll home, some keychains or phone straps of my favourite anime characters like Nyanko sensei from Natsume Yuujinchou, or other anime characters from Gintama.

Hal terakhir tapi tidak kalah penting, mengunjungi toko-toko anime! Mungkin tidak identik dengan musim salju, tapi karena kita berbicara tentang Jepang jadi saya rasa ini harus dimasukkan dalam itinerary. Tentunya tidak harus membeli sesuatu di sini, sekedar melihat-lihat dan mengambil beberapa foto juga cukup. Yang pasti saya tidak akan lupa membawa pulang plush doll,  beberapa gantungan kunci atau gantungan hp karakter anime kesayangan saya seperti Nyanko sensei dari Natsume Yuujinchou, atau karakter dari anime Gintama.

Akihabara yang dikenal sebagai pusat berkumpulnya otaku

Kawaii anime figures

Gachapon! Masukkan koin, putar, lalu ambil prize nya secara random.

Merchandise Nyanko Sensei

Looks like something's missing from the list I've written above. Yup! Don't forget to ski at Gala Yuzawa~

Hmm, kalau dilihat sekilas daftar kegiatan liburan musim dingin di Jepang yang sudah saya tulis di atas sepertinya ada yang kurang. Yup! Jangan lewatkan ski di Gala Yuzawa~

Gala Yuzawa

Gala Yuzawa is one of the places recommended for tourists who want to experience the excitement of winter holiday in Japan. This ski resort is only 77 minutes by shinkansen from Tokyo station. Reaching this "snowy wonderland", you don't have to change trains, because shinkansen will directly drop you at the Gala Yuzawa Ski Resort. Make Gala Yuzawa one of your destinations when going on vacation to Japan.

For more information visit:

Official website  :       http://www.jp-rail-id.com/products/gala-yuzawa/

Facebook page   :       https://www.facebook.com/id.jprail

Gala Yuzawa merupakan salah satu tempat yang direkomendasikan bagi para turis yang ingin merasakan kegembiraan liburan musim dingin di Jepang. Ski resort ini hanya berjarak 77 menit dengan shinkansen dari stasiun Tokyo. Mencapai “snowy wonderland” ini tidak perlu mengganti kereta karena dengan shinkansen bisa langsung tiba di Gala Yuzawa Ski Resort. Jadikanlah Gala Yuzawa sebagai salah satu tujuan wisata kamu apabila berlibur ke Jepang.

Untuk informasi lebih lengkap dapat mengunjungi:

Website resmi  :        http://www.jp-rail-id.com/products/gala-yuzawa/

Facebook page :       https://www.facebook.com/id.jprail

berpartisipasi dalam “My Ideal Japanese Winter Vacation” Blog Competition [5] 

JR East (Tokyo Rail Days) Official Website

Click to find more :
https://www.facebook.com/id.jprail
http://www.jp-rail-id.com/

JR East (Tokyo Rail Days) Official Website berpartisipasi dalam “My Ideal Japanese Winter Vacation” Blog Competition [5]

Last Holiday : Melbourne day 4-5 + OOTD

Hello, butters. Long time no see, but here I am again to tell you more about my holiday in Melbourne. So there's gonna be two days on this post as always, but there's not much on day 4 as we decided to take a break that day. 

Day 4 : Resting day

It was Sunday, so we went to church. It was a small church in the suburb, and it was exciting to attend an english mass at a church abroad. Although, I didn't quite understand the sermon, it was an interesting experience. After church, we spent the whole day relaxing at home.

Day 5 : South Yarra, Southbank, City

First thing first, before starting today's trip. Outfit of the day! And I took some pictures with my sister, so today's ootd is featuring my sister, haha.

What I wore : 

• Stag Necklace
• Leopard blouse
• Rubber skater skirt
• Striped bag
• Fisherman shoes

FYI, I like making weird faces.

Today, we went to Adriana Zumbo at Claremont st, South Yarra for a quick breakfast. The cakes looked really heavenly there, the pastries made me drool so much too. At last I fell for their Zonut which stands for Zumbo cronut and I ordered chai latte to accompany this loveable pastry.

The interior was unique. The walls were made of some kind of mirror and there was these neon lights read Adriana Zumbo. So, the mirror kinda gave off a futuristic(?) reflection of the lights which was really cool.

Colourful macarons! With plenty choices of flavors and they're quite cheap too.

Moving to their cakes specialties.

They look really wonderful and unique, but also quite pricey for a slice. 

And, pastries! Love 'em so much, those shiny, and doff, and glittery pastries, lol. The pastries are quite cheap and they're filling too.

And, here are my breakfast. Zonut and chai latte.

 

The zonut was heavenly, because you get to tast 2 kinds of filling. On the left side was probably some vanilla cream and the right side was strawberry filling. I love them both. While for the chai latte, I think it lacked some chai (to my taste bud, though).

After the sweet brekkie, we walked our way to the southbank. I think this place is like a business complex, but there's also a shopping centre near it. We're going to DFO, a shopping centre that offers a variety of stuffs from stationary to fashion pieces with a nice price. Again, I didn't take many pictures there, because I enjoyed myself too much window shopping and a little shopping, lol. But, I did take some pictures at the business complex. The weather was too good to not enjoy the moment and take any pictures.

A couple of pictures I took at DFO.

After some quick shopping, we went to the city to sit for lunch. We chose a vietnam restaurant and ordered fried spring rolls and some phos.  Those spring rolls were really good, but I'm not really a fan of the pho, though.

Righ when we're about to finish our meal, guess what. We could see people running down the street from inside the restaurant, then I remembered that the day before, a friend told me that "Running Man" is coming to Melbourne. Quickly we paid for the food and went to check out what those people were running for. Then, after spending some minutes running and looking around without any ideas if it was really "Running Man", we stopped at this alley and look to the right, and this was what I found. Haha, I was like oh my god, oh my god. I was too excited to actually saw not just one but two kpop artists! They were too real! Although I'm not really a big fan of them but I enjoy watching "Running Man" and I really love Rain's singing and his acting in "Full House". And also this was the first time I met celebrities that I like! I was only 1 meter apart from them. Too bad I didn't speak Korean. Nevertheless meeting Kpop artists like this was quite exciting, with all the running and sweating, haha.

Okay, I think this is all for today. I hope you feel excited too, reading this post. Thanks for visiting my blog, and please look forward for the next post. Next holiday's post we're going to Gold Coast for several days. See you, butters.