Sounkyo to Lake Akan

This is my last night in Lake Akan and it's a very beautiful place! The weather is so much better than Sounkyo... phew!!! Will be posting more photos taken the last couple of days to keep my relatives and frends updated... in case the next few hotels do not have internet access...

Sounkyo

Photo taken in Sounkyo... Back was aching from sleeping on the Tatami. Western style suits us better...Or are we getting old? hahah

The dinner in Sounkyo... the food is great! but it was even better in Lake Akan.

Ok, on my way to Lake Akan now. There's a direct bus and it's very convenient... look at the frozen lake we passed by... gosh!

Lake Akan

After close to 4 hours, we reached Lake Akan. My colleague just came to Hokkaido a few weeks ago and recommended Akan Yuku no Sato Ryokan. Even though it is the most ex accommodation of our 3 weeks in Japan, it's completely worth it!!!! Service was good, room was spacious and view was great!!!

Finally arrived in Lake Akan & staying at Akan Yuku no Sato.... & we got upgraded to a room facing the lake! Wow!

Look at the view from my room....

Buffet dinner is part of the package and the selection is soooo wide.... jap, chinese & italian food!

Food, food & more food

Went for a trek in the morning... took us about 2 hrs & it was great exercise!

Not as cold as it seems which is great... ice has started to melt today, 9th Dec 2009.

No idea what is this....

Squirrels can be seen along the trek... but too bad, we din manage to see any deers or bears...

Lake Akan

This picture doesn't do justice to the scenery... you have to be here to experience it for yourself. We were told that by Jan, the whole lake will be frozen and you can play with snowmobile on it!

Some photos of the trek...

Anyone can tell me what's inscribed on the monument?

Oh yah... there's still vocanic activities in this area and you can smell the sulpher in the air.

Shadows of AudRich!

Okie... time for me to hit the hot spring again. There are two in this hotel, with v elaborate facilities.... one on level eight and the other on level one.... both with great views of Lake Akan.

A Very Cold Sounkyou

This is the hotel outdoor spring but imagine it covered in snow... wanted to take a picture but everybody is in their birthday suits...

This is our hotel... Sounkaku Grand Hotel

It's damn freaking cold in Sounkyo!!! It was raining when we arrived, and on the 2nd day it started snowing non-stop... and it got worse on the 3rd day. Apparantly there seems to be a snow storm. A picture tells a thousand words and the pictures speak for themselves! Once again, I am ever thankful for the new pair of boots I bought.

We stayed at Sounkaku Grand Hotel, and the outdoor hot spring is great. Imagine your whole body soaked in the hot spring while your head is exposed to the extreme cold... and the snow carassing your face.

The hotel is located within the Daisetsuzen National Park

The snow and wind are so strong that the cable car to the top of the Mt Kurodate has been cancelled

The cable car which we din get to take.

We were excited when we came across the Sounkyou shopping mall... but it consists of numerous shops which happen to be closed!


The scenery at the Daisetsuzan National Park is actually very nice... but we only manage to cover the area which is about 15 mins away from the hotel. Wanted to go to a waterfall which is within 30 mins of walking but the hotel staff gave us a look which suggested that it wasn't a wise thing to do.

In the end, there was nothing much to do cos of the heavy snow, and we din have a car (fortunately we din drive cos the snow was so so so heavy!).... we completed another 4 episodes of a taiwanese drama! haha... so much for my promise to cut down on drama during my wedding speech.

Day 3 - Beauty of Biei & Asahikawa

Biei

Have read so much abt the beauty that I told Xian-jun that we must go there during our stay in Hokkaido. First impression of the place is that it's a very quiet town. As the tour bus does not operate during winter times and cos I can't cycle to save my life, we decided to hire a cab for 1 hr just to see the many trees along Patchwork Road. The view is breath-taking!! For photo-enthusiasts, this is definitely a place to visit. But perhaps not during winter time hahaa..it's more worth taking the bus....not just in monetary sense, but one can visit more places, eg 拓真馆, Christmas Tree, Philosopher's Tree along the Panorama Rd. (But it was quite lucky we took the cab cos otherwise we won't know which tree is which....they all look the same, regardless how beautiful they are ..oops haha)

Along the road near the Seven Star Tree. Xian-Jun showing me how high he can jump....

Another nice shot of the row of trees near Seven Star Tree

Tree of Kinship...Doesn't the 2 taller trees at the side look like the parents to the smaller tree in the centre? This is my personal favorite view in Biei...

Mild Seven Hills

Asahikawa

As we are setting off for Sounkyo the next day and there is a free hotel shuttle from Asahikawa, we did not stay the night in Biei...(phew...it's too quiet and peaceful for me lor...I am still pretty much a city gal 哈哈). Our hotel for the night (Asahikawa Terminal Hotel) is directly next to the JR station, and super worth the money!!! 6000 yen per room per night and got internet in the room, which allowed me to watch 宫心计 at night...hahahaha. But other than that, this is not a place I'll come back again as there isn't much to see except the zoo....=P

Random shot along the street of Asahikawa

Dinner at a not very typical 居酒屋, but the sushi and yakitori are yummy. Btw the red fleece turtleneck is my first purchase in Japan!! It's from Uniqlo and cost only 1000 yen!! Love it!

Wore my leather boots which I got from HK a few yrs ago, but realised it's more fashionable than practical and it's miserable to have cold feet!! Hahahhaha it's a great reason to buy this pair of boots (3500 yen). The inner of the boot is lined with fur and is really comfortable!!!!

Mister Doughnuts..where we had our breakfast the next morning before setting off for Sounkyo. Looking forward to the hot spring le...

Day 2 in Hokkaido (Otaru & Sapporo)

When we open up the curtains and looked out of our room (Rm 0607...in case wanna buy 4D when I'm back haha), the whiteness of the surrounding struck us immediately! Wow...it snowed during the night...so romanticcccccccc.......

After a simple buffet style breakfast, we wrapped ourselves up like a 'penguin' again and get mentally prepared to brave the cold. After barely 200m from the hotel, we started to feel that walking in the snow is perhaps not as romantic as we imagined ahhaha....cos the snow had started to solidify into ice and it was sooo difficult to walk ard, esp since we have to take care of the ex and heavy alpha A700 (Side story...for those who still rem, I brought a lousy canon S3 to Japan last yr only to find that the camera was spoilt and I could not take any photo of beautiful Japan....never will I make the same mistake again. Hence.....poor Xian-Jun have to lug it ard for me...hee......).

We slowly walked to the Venetian Glass Museum, Kitaichi Glass Gallery and some musical box shop, which were located abt 30min away from our hotel. But along the way, there were many small shops which we could run into whenever we feel cold. The most satisfying shops were definitely the various pastry places where we could sample the delicious cookies and chocolate. The Japanese are really generous.....U'll never see such big pieces of cakes/ cookies for people to try in Spore!!

In the afternoon, we took the JR to Sapporo. What a vibrant city!! Kinda regret not staying here during my 7 days in Hokkaido. But well.....it's a reason to come back to Hokkaido in future. Enough said.....let the photo speak for themselves.

** Note: No time to edit yet.......haha......the real thing is def more charming.

Day view of the Otaru Canal. A different kind of charm compared to the night view.

The Musical Box Shop cum Museum. The moment you step into the shop, you can hear
music from all the little music boxes and see many Venetian Glass Lamps. Magical place...worth a visit.
Very tempted to buy a lamp for my bedroom...but vetoed by the husband who refuses to carry it back.

The above 3 photo are taken at a cafe in Kitaichi Glass Gallery. I nearly went crazy
here cos the merchandise are sooooo nice..unique...and expensive. Sob!
Ended up only bot some glass accessories...but still fairly happy. The cafe atmosphere is to die for...for photographers.

Night view at the Sapporo Beer Museum. The museum itself is not that spectacular.
But the sample beers were very cheap and the dramatic evening sky made the surrounding grounds
look like somewhere in Europe.

White Illumination 2009. It's a yearly event where the streets of Odori Park (Sapporo) is dressed up with Christmas Lights. Enjoyed the view tremendously from the TV Tower (700 yen) and
the underground shopping (@ Aurora Town).

Day 1 in Hokkaido!!

We have finally embarked on our 3 weeks adventure in Japan!! First destination is Otaru/ Sapporo where we had a flavor of how COLD Hokkaido is!!! Even though we wore 3-4 layers of clothes and walk loads each day, we still can't get acclimatised....oh well! Who's complaining! It's so exciting to be here!!

Cos Xian-Jun is worried abt driving in the snow, we decided to take a

3 Day Hokkaido Rail Pass..Good also la..cos we can sleep on the trains ehehe...

Quick summary of what we have done so far before going out to brave the cold again...

The husband claimed 2 business savers tix on SQ to Kansai Airport (not me oki...cos as a law-abiding engr working in DSTA, we are not allowed to claim krisflyer points when we fly overseas haha).....first time we were able to sleep so well on the plane and my colleague Heng arranged a special menu, which consisted of lobster thermidor for moi..and Ribeye Steak for the hubby....Must buy nice nice present for him for making this arrangement for us!!

By mid day, we reached Otaru where we walked abt 10min to reach Hotel Nord. It's a quaint building and the room is big by Japan standard and breakfast is included! It is also strategically located next to the Famous Otaru Canal.

We quickly chuck our luggage in the room, equip ourselves with 2 more layers of clothes and went out to explore. Managed to find the location where many beautiful photo of canal was taken. Even though we didn't bring along our tripod, we took some decent photo!!

It's only abt 5pm...but the sky is already so dark.....

winter sure comes early in Hokkaido...

What's next? Of cos food time!! As it was too cold to walk too much, we quickly settled into a BBQ restaurant next to the canal. hehe...But the food was good!!!!! The baked sushi rice was crispy and fragrant...the snow crab was sooo fresh (with a tinge of saltiness)....the pork was tender and melts in the mouth...What a wonderful start to the vacation......

The Day I become "Mrs Chin"

21 Nov 2009 is one of the most memorable days in my life.....It marked the day I become "Mdm Lam/ Mrs Chin", instead of "Miss Lam"...and I am called "Auntie", rather than "Jie Jie" in the eyes of children!! Hahahah...Still shudders at the thought but still very happy to finally be married to the man I've been with for the past 7 years!!

There were so many things to be happy about that day that I just have to share!!!

1) Even though I am not used to being the centre of attraction (you see...I was never an attention-seeker LOL), I thoroughly enjoyed being fussed at that day!! My mummy woke up early to prepare a nice breakfast and splurged on a diamond tennis bracelet for me, which I love!!! My dear hubby being so sporting during the tekan session (Xian-Jun, I am gg to post those supplementary card applications k? Don't you dare cancel them behind my back hahahahah)!!

2) My cousins and sis also surprised me with a photo montage which showed our childhood photo and their well wishes.....I must confess that I was very very touched by it. But due to protests from some of them, I shall not share it on the blog. =) They also created the above montage from the photo taken that day...super efficient!! Thumbs up!! (I can't wait to see the photo taken by William Chua and video prep by Sean le...........)

3) When we reached Rasa Sentosa, I was told that our room is upgraded to a Presidential Suite, rather than just the usual bridal suite......WOWWWWWW.......the room was bigger than my Tampines HDB!! Though it was only for 1 night, I savoured the feeling of indulgence...

4) Was also very happy that my friends (in particular the jie meis, xiong dis, helpers on that day and my emcees) were so supportive. Heard that Mr Wan was running up and down to ensure that the emcee rehearsal is doing well, the ang bao box (which he decorated for me) is in place....and the flower bed (which he also created for me) where the wedding bands are placed are nicely set up. Touched beyond words..........Dear frens, if you all ever need my help, I'll definitely be there!

5) All in all, just happy that everything went well and everyone is happy........Now I shall be able to focus on my honeymoon planning.....hee...........

Special Cast for the Big Day

Xian-Jun and me are the more last laid back kind of people until we suddenly realise that our wedding is in 3 weeks' time!! (I know I know...we are quite jialat...) Anyway, below is the cast for the big day. Special thanks to all for the help!!:

Groom to be: Xian-Jun
Bride to be: Audz
Jie Meis: Peijun, Lijun, Tassie, Kaiting & Xueting......a dear fren pulled out at the last min coz of work commitment...wail wail....
Xiong Dis: David, Sebby, Youxiang, Derrick, Wil & June (guys, my JM and me won't give u all a very hard time...don't worry...wink wink)
Emcee: Haoran (who helped me made the corsages too. Thanks dear!!)
Other helpers: Vivian, TNT, Jason
Photographer: William Chua
Video: Sean Seah
Band: A little dream
Pre Wedding Photographer: Tinydot
Bridal Studio: The Wedding Present
Cheongsam: Ted Collection
Flowers: Fleurlicious

Of cos, we must show our appreciation to our family members, who helped a great deal during the past few mnths!!

Hugs & Kisses XXOOOXXXXXOOO to all!!!

Wedding Admin Details!!

Dear Frenz,

For those who are attending my wedding dinner, thanks so much for coming!!! Xian-Jun and myself are most honoured. As you saw from the wedding invitation, this blog is where I'll post photo and updates on the big event of the year (to me anyway...hahahah). So stay tuned for the latest admin details!!!

1) Location?: Rasa Sentosa (ROM @ 630pm Barnacles Lawn & Dinner @ 730pm Pavilion Level 5)

2) Do I need to pay to go into Sentosa?: Pls REMEMBER to bring the wedding card on that day for free entry into Sentosa for yourself and your vehicle.

3) Dress Code?: Dressy Casual + Bright colors....meaning feel free to dress in whatever makes you comfortable. We wld like to make it a cheerful and laid back event.

4) Any Reasons to be there early?:

- If possible, we would like it if most guests can come for our ROM at 630pm (Barnacles Lawn). - Can enjoy the sea breeze, drink some alcohol and c me in a cute frock

- Dinner can start earlier too!

5) Sentosa so ulu....How to get there??: As carpark lots are quite limited at Rasa, We will provide buses at the following locations...
- Carpark at Blk 90 Pipit Rd @ 520pm (why here? cos it's my place la...hahah....easier for relatives to gather)

- City Hall Mrt (Capitol Centre) @ 520pm & 620pm

- Juring East Central Rd (Beside taxi stand) @ 620pm

- Boon Lay Mrt taxi stand @ 620pm

Email us at audrich_wedding@yahoo.com if you got more qs. We do know that it is more troublesome to go Sentosa and hope to seek your kind understanding.

Samples of My Pre-Wedding Photo

Was quite bored yesterday and went to my pre-wedding photographer (Yuh Sin from Tinydot Photography)'s blog. I got a really pleasant surprise when I saw my own face there!! Interested frenz may go to http://www.tinydotphotography.com/blog/ to check out the pictures. If nice, must tell me nice hor...if you find that it's not nice, well, it's ok...you may keep your opinion to yourself =p haha...

Simply love the colors he chose, which is soo dreamy and romantic. The casual shots also very nice right??? It's so xian-jun and me (err...in case you don't know, we are beach bummers and avid permanently amateur golfer). No regrets going to YS...just hope can get the album in time since we are abit last min....

Counting down, it's just slightly more than a month before my wedding!! OMG...still have no settled so many things. I gotta be more focused man!!

My first, and hopefully not last, karaoke experience with Mr W

I've known Mr W for years...impression of him? ......gentlemenly, nice, big appetite(??), cute are some of the words that will pop into my mind immediately. I wld never ever have expected to see a super fun and spontaneous side of him last night while we were at the Ten Dollar Club.

*** Side track a little, just to recommend Ten Dollar Club, a small scale karaoke located at Chinatown. For merely $10, one can sing for the whole night, with unlimited soft drinks!! What more can one ask for? Besides better sound system? haha...***

Oki back to Mr W...the fact that he sings chinese songs is already such a surprising discovery, let alone the fact that he can sing more songs than me (though I still think I sing slightly better than him)!! ***Can imagine the scandalized look on my face at this point in time?*** But it's great fun trying out new songs and singing as many duets as I like with this good friend. Plus it was so amusing to see him jumping ard the room as he sings songs by May Day.... Thanks for helping to cheer up an otherwise blue Monday. Let's do it again another time k? ..Just don't force me to sing 无言的结局 again...

DSTA Xingers (not Zingers...)

I think I started playing basketball when I was in Pri 6!! That was also when I started to shoot up and became one of the tallest girls in class. With more and more school work and other ECAs occupying my time in Sec School, I also gradually stopped playing. Unfortunately, I stopped growing too....haiz........been wondering if there's really any difference if I had continued, but guess there's no point thinking abt history ahha...

Anyway it's been a longgggggggg time since I last watched a game. So when my colleag jioed me to support our company's team, I happily went along (of cos the fact that they are playing at the court practically opp my house played a huge role). Although our team lost, we had a great time cheering the team on and "cursing" the referee who missed so many fouls!!! x*&D*SU)(DU@

Xingers!!! You guys did a great job!! All the best in the coming games!!

(Left) 3 of our team resting after a vigorous first half of game
(Right) Ee Ling and me playing ard.....and finding that we are more photogenic than the players.

(Left) JT showing his prowess. Go go go!!
(Right) Both teams showing sportsmanship at end of game. Oooh this is my fav part.