ちびっこエイゴトーク

Have you ever been to Tokyo Dome City? Have you played the roller coaster there? For the first time in my life, I had my roller coaster experience there! The roller coaster is called “Thunder Dolphin”, and it was very scary. I tried to open my eyes every time, but it didn’t work. I sometimes closed them by reflex. My friend, who is used to ride on various roller coasters, admitted that Thunder Dolphin is one of the scariest roller coaster in Japan. Not only extremely fast, the rail is also located pretty high so it increases the frightfulness. After the ride ended, my entire body was trembling and I could barely feel my hands. I had to hold onto my friend to walk down the stairs for a few minutes….. but after that, we just laughed it off! It was a such contradicting experience: horrific yet fun and addictive. To people who want to challenge themselves in riding these kinds of attractions, I recommend you “Thunder Dolphin”! It’s very worth it.

Besides action figures, I’m also interested in the world of sneakers, especially casual shoes. The picture on the left is the new shoes that I just bought several weeks ago, when they were on sale. The simplicity and the comfort as I wear these shoes has blown my mind. The price are not too expensive either, around ¥10000 after sale. The midsole of these shoes are so soft that you are not going to get frustrated even after hours and hours of traveling with these. The colour-way is simple and not overcrowding the shoes. I will definitely walk around with these shoes more often than any other shoes that I have.

I’ve been obsessed with action figures since I was in junior high school. Not only they look cool, but they also reflect my obsession with superheroes, especially in movies. I save and invest some money on these figures to decorate my table. However, I am still far away from being a hardcore collector, since I really don’t want to spend a lot of money and making this routine as a hobby. They are all posable with several jointed limbs, so you can move them and change their position in whatever manner or fashion you like. Isn’t that interesting? Don’t get too addicted though, it might be dangerous for your wallet.

Do you know that Shinjuku Station is the busiest station in the world? Yes, the busiest one among any other stations that ever existed. Besides the fact that Shinjuku is also a busy city, it provides 53 train platforms for the passengers to transfer between each train. Approximately 3.64 million people are served by this station per day, isn’t that crazy? This station is also big that even I often get lost, no matter how many times I’ve visited this majestic, hectic station. So, whenever you have to stop by at Shinjuku Station, make sure you read all the signs and directions, or ask somebody if you get lost because trust me, you don’t want to get lost in this sea of people.

You won’t experience the true Japanese culture without visiting this place. Purikura (プリクラ), which you can find at most places in Japan, is Japanese typical photo booth where you can take pictures together with your fellow friends, family, or even by yourself (I don’t suggest you do it alone, though). It originated from a Japanese video game arcade industry by Sasaki Miho in 1994. However, this is not an ordinary photo booth that you can find anywhere else. Purikura lets you pick your own filters, decorate even with a stylus pen to make it prettier/uglier (whichever you like)! Most of the themes are girly related, so you might predict the customers of this typical photo booth. I went here once with my friends from Indonesia, and we took a picture together. Fun fact, it took us longer to edit those photos than taking them. Nonetheless, the result was magnificent and fabulous.

To be honest with you, I am that one guy who doesn’t really like winter season, especially when the wind is blowing strong. One of the reason will be my dry skin. I used to have a really dry skin since I was a kid, even until now. Body skin, however, is not my worst problem. That will be my lips. As the weather gets really cold and windy, my lips get dry easily and will eventually crack. If it gets worse, it will crack and might bleed out. And let me tell you, that hurts a lot. You won’t look good either, right? That’s why, I consider this picture on the right as my best friend during winter, so-called lip balm (リップクリーム). This lip balm is oily and good to fight your soothed sores or cracked lips. It also has menthol/mint flavour which I like and give that nice cool sensation to my lips.

I took this picture when I was in Starbucks Reserve Roastery, Japan. As soon as I saw this aesthetic display, I took out my phone immediately. Tea, especially in Japan, is the most commonly drunk beverage and an important part of Japanese food culture. They have a lot of flavours like strawberry, green tea, butterscotch, and many others that I can’t mention one by one; you name it. It’s simplicity and authenticity explain why I love this type of beverage so much. The fragrance that it releases, the flavour, everything. It is so famous and well-known in Japan that they even have their own Tea Ceremony (茶道), where it involves the ceremonial preparation and presentation of matcha (green tea).

Who doesn’t know Starbucks, right? You can spot this well-known coffee shop in almost every places, even 3-4 Starbucks in one building. It is so famous, and is one of the precursors of any coffee shops that currently exist. What I love about Starbucks is that they have their own roastery that we can visit and enjoy, so-called Starbucks Reserve Roastery. They do have one in Japan, and in my opinion the most beautiful Starbucks Reserve Roastery anywhere. Designed by the famous Kengo Kuma himself, no wonder this majestic building attracts a lot of tourist not only because of the food, but also the architectural design as well. It lies in Meguro City, Tokyo, approximately 12-minute walking from Naka-Meguro Station. You can see the authentic coffee maker, how they roast their beans, their bakery, and many other things you can’t see in a regular Starbucks Coffee shop. All of the foods and drinks taste so good! Last month was the first time I visited this place, but definitely not the last!

Chinese New Year is different from the kind of new year we usually celebrate in the beginning of each year. However, it is still well-known to most people in a lot of countries. Japan itself? Yes, they do commemorate Chinese New Year, yet it’s not a big celebration that you can see on the streets. Chinese New Year is celebrated at different date every year, since their calendar system differs from our normal one, and in 2020 it will be celebrated in the next 2 weeks, precisely on 25th of January. Interestingly, they will have different animal that will represent each year, starting from mouse, house, dragon, snake, monkey, and many others. To be exact, there are a total of 12 animals as in the picture below. Next year is going to be the year of mouse, and this thing will repeat every 12 years.

Last year when i was here traveling to tokyo i had a wonderful experience together with my mom, we prepared delicious sushi together with a sushi master, it was incredible! I remember at the beginning it was difficult to understand what he said, because I didn't speak Japanese at the time and my mom didn't understand English, so I had to translate whatever the teacher said, it was very strange haha! however it was a beautiful experience that I recommend to anyone and at the end we had the possibility to eat the sushi that we prepared!!

One of my favorite places here in tokyo is odaiba. The beach, the shopping mall, the rainbow bridge make everything so magical and it almost seems to be in the United States. I have often been there with my friends, to have a drink or to eat or to take a walk in the beach, it is very relaxing. it is also nice, for example, to take some pictures and maybe make other people believe you are in New York City (my friends believed it haha) if you have never been there I recommend it for sure!

One thing that really struck me when I arrived in Japan is the kindness of the Japanese people. here people are very cordial and friendly, respectful both in the workplace and in the street, it is truly exceptional. In Europe people are often rude and not very friendly, while in Japan almost anyone answers you with a smile and politely. I will certainly miss this Japanese way of life when I return home, but it made me understand how important it is to be kind to others and I am sure that from now on I will try to smile more often also in Europe!

One of my favorite cities in Japan is Nara. I was there last summer with my mom for a day, and it was a beautiful experience. I loved the "Shika" a lot, they are very sweet animals and they follow you everywhere! it's cute! In addition, in Nara I loved the temples and all the history behind it. Every corner of this city contains a lot of history and years of tradition, it is truly fascinating. I hope to return soon and to be able to give another greeting to my beloved deer.

I wish all my readers a happy new year. I hope you have enjoyed some holidays (for food and joy). I have been on vacation in Italy, I have visited my family and my friends and honestly I could not wish for better, I love my country and my family.

Hello everyone! I would like to say a warm happy new year 2020! Hope you guys are having a great time wherever you are and definitely looking for a better upcoming year ahead of us. Wish you all nothing but the best, and enjoy your holiday while it still lasts! :)

This is one of my interests of all topics. Artificial intelligence, or A.I., is undoubtedly the most progressing branch in computer science. Seeing how the world of I.T. has advanced in these current days, development of A.I. could be very useful and handy in the upcoming future. Doesn’t it look interesting? It looks exactly like a human being! It also acts just like us, even though it’s not perfect yet. You can find this human robot’s appearance in National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation or Miraikan (未来館) in Odaiba District. With advanced technologies, it can do amazing stuffs, even talking in different languages as well. Isn’t it amazing? I would like to have one for my own, to be honest.

Chinatown is a term used in every country for a place where you can feel true Chinese cultures, even though you are not in China. Japan also has its own Chinatown, that lies precisely in Yokohama Prefecture. Only 1 hour away by train from Tokyo, this place offers a lot of things that you can enjoy as a local or tourist. Ranging from Chinese souvenirs, drinks, foods, and many other stuff that you can buy, you definitely won’t regret coming here! I personally really like this place since they have foods with authentic flavours that other places in Japan don’t have. This also reminds me of home as well, where my mom usually cooks the same type of foods. The prices are not that expensive, so they are all definitely worth it. You will be guaranteed with an extraordinary time and experience in Yokohama Chinatown, that being the best place to get to experience Chinese cultures, hands down.