Land of the rising Sun

Takaisin turvallisesti kotona Japanista. Tulin kotia reissusta torstaina illalla.

Ajattelin että kirjottelen nyt oman kokemuksen perusteella että mitä kannattaa tehä ja mitä ei kannata tehä jos olet menossa Japaniin. Ja ihan vaan itselle helpotukseksi voisin kirjottaa tämän vain englanniksi niin ei tarvi alkaa kahella kielellä koko hommaa selittämään. : )

So I'm back safely at home from Japan. I came back from the trip on Thursday evening. 

I thought I'd write a bit from my own experience about what you should do and not do if you're going to Japan. And just to cut myself some slack, I'm going to write this only in English so I won't have to do this whole thing in two languages. : )

Okay, so the journey to my goal of reaching Japan started a long, long time ago. I have wanted to go there since ten years ago, I turned twenty on the 8th so, the beginning dates all the way back to when I was about ten years old. My parents made a promise to me that when I graduate from upper secondary school they would pay for my trip to Japan as a graduation gift. So that's where this whole thing started.

On the plane!

My dream of finally stepping on the land of the rising Sun finally came alive on the fifth of April this year, 2014. The group of family members that were originally supposed to go with me to Japan reduced to being just me and my mother, and so we made this unforgettable trip with just the two of us. I suppose our dogs are pretty darn happy that dad stayed here with them so we didn't need to take them to someone else's care while we were away. 

We first took a plane from Oulu to Helsinki and then another plane from Helsinki to Nagoya, Japan. The flight from Helsinki to Nagoya took about ten hours, during which the 4th day changed to the 5th day of April. When we arrived in Japan we first had to wait a bit over an hour for the immigration check, since the lines were quite long. Just in case you didn't know they take your picture and fingerprints when you land into the country, also you need to present your passport and landing card, which you're most likely given on the flight to Japan. I was very, very tired when we arrived to Japan as I hadn't slept on the entire flight, nor really the night before. So I was pushing more than 24 hours awake. At the immigration check there was a bit of a hurdle; for some reason, I'm not quite sure if it was the machine or what, but they weren't able to get clear fingerprints from my index fingers. It took some good ten minutes, a change of machine and some confused laughter between me and the officer before we got the prints, not from my index fingers, but rather my middle fingers. But hey at least the officer praised my Japanese language skills!

After the immigration check was done we headed for the baggage claim and from there to the customs. At the customs they simply ask that you show the customs declaration that you most likely have filled out on the plane. The officer checked that the sheet of paper was all good and then asked us where we were headed in Japan, probably a standard question. At first it was a bit hard to understand him as he was speaking English in a heavy, heavy accent, but when I started to speak to him in the best Japanese that I could he also started to speak Japanese. Oh boy was it so much easier to communicate with him in Japanese. He was quite surprised at my skills of Japanese, praised me and laughed at how he didn't quite at first believe that I have never studied Japanese nor have I ever been in the country before. 

The train ride to Nagoya

When we were cleared to go, we started to look for the train that would take us from the airport, which is on an island by the way, to the mainland and to Nagoya's city center, where the train station would be. It wasn't all too hard to find the right place and to buy the tickets from the counter. So from the airport we made our way to Nagoya's center by train. The station we arrived at was large to say at least. It took us a few moments of confusion to find the right place to go to change our railway passes. As a side note it took us about two hours of waiting in line before we made it to the counter to change them, not fun at all. With the pass we got on a train for Kyoto, which was our planned destination. Using the railway-system is very simple and it doesn't take too long to figure it out. 

Unfortunately I'm not a big traveler, since I get sick on transportation most of the time. Needless to say after being awake for more than 24-hours straight, after flying on two planes, which one of  had some nasty turbulence, not eating much during all that time and after already taking one train ride, I was pretty damn sick by the time we reached Kyoto. No joke, I was gagging through the rest of the evening. Getting on a taxi was a bit of a struggle; the first taxi was too small to fit all of our luggage into, and the second taxi-driver had no idea where he was supposed to drive us. Again knowing Japanese came in handy, since the driver wasn't able to read from the map where he was supposed to go (Latin letters) so I explained to him what area the hotel was supposed to be at. He then called the hotel number and asked for detailed instructions and after he verified the location with me the trouble was over. It took a while to get to the hotel but as soon as we were there it was a huge relief.

View from our Kyoto hotel's window

Our hotel room

The hotel itself wasn't terribly big, but it was very nice and comfortable. The room was neat and not too crowded. The staff wasn't very skilled in English but my mother, who also isn't all that skilled in English (sorry mom, you know it's true) was able to manage just fine and relay everything necessary to the staff. The hotel was located near some big temples and not quite in the center of the city, but within a very reasonable distance from the center. 

 We spent two nights in Kyoto and while we were there we saw some temples and the Kyoto's imperial palace. I got to taste takoyaki and dango's while we were there.

From Kyoto we made our way to Tokyo via Shinkansen (bullet train). The distance between the cities is something like 500 km according to my knowledge (which isn't always reliable, so don't take my word for it) and the train ride took only a bit over two hours. We did catch a glimpse of Mt. Fuji on our way to the big (enormous, ridiculously huge, way too big to comprehend) city, Tokyo. The weather in Tokyo was much, much warmer in Nagoya, where having a trench coat wasn't too much at all. In Tokyo a skirt, stockings, a tank top and a sheer blouse were too much. 

I'm not going to sugarcoat it; our hotel in Tokyo was not good. The room was TINY, the bathroom drapes smelled so bad (I'm known to have quite a strong sense of smell) they made me want to puke and we had one bed, as big as my own at home. Although, I do have to admit we were pretty close to everything, so the price in relation to the location of the hotel was appropriate, I guess... Our hotel was in Chuo-city and Ginza was just about a five to ten minutes walk away. The main train station was about a seven minute walk from the hotel and there were Family Marts, Lawsons and other 24/7 stores at a short distance. 

Sexy outfits from the hotel

In Tokyo we saw Shibuya (very briefly), Harajuku and also Akihabara, Ginza was the place we most frequently visited since it was very close to the hotel. Again I have to tell you that the public-transportation system in Japan, especially in Tokyo is extremely effective and easy to use. And if you get lost, which we did when we first arrived in the city and were trying to find a hotel, someone is bound to come and ask you if you're okay. Shout out to the woman who was on her way to work, who stopped to help us and even called the hotel for us so we found the right place! 

I didn't buy ANYTHING from Harajuku, Shibuya or Akihabara, even though I was more than prepared to spent all the money I had taken with me to Japan. The reason why I didn't buy anything was definitely not because there wasn't anything to buy or that there were no options as to what you could buy, no. The reason was the exact opposite; there was way too much of everything. I tend to be the type of person who has a hard time deciding what to buy and if I can't make a decision I usually just don't buy anything, which is what happened in Japan. I bought shoes from Ginza, that's all that I bought on the entire trip if we don't include the little things I bought from the airport's duty-free shops. The price-range for things is much the same as it is Finland if not more expensive, naturally depending on what you want to buy and where you're going to buy it from. From example Ginza is an extremely expensive part of Tokyo and most of the shops in the center of Ginza district carry high-end brands like Luis Vuitton, Prada, or Chanel. 

After two nights in Tokyo we left via another Shinkansen back to Nagoya, where we stayed at a airport hotel. The next morning we hopped on a plane back to Finland and we flew over the Kara and Barents sea, with gorgeous views through out most of the flight. In Helsinki we got on another plane which took us back to Oulu. Dad picked us up from the airport and here we are. Back home again. 

 Am I so fulfilled with that trip that I'm not planning on going back to Japan? Hell no. I've already started to consider going back there hopefully within five years from now. I saw a lot, but there is still so much more to see. Much more things I want to try out.

But to sum it up a little bit here's my advise to you, if you're ever planning on going to Japan!

1. You absolutely CAN manage there with only English. It might be a bit challenging at times, but it's not impossible AT ALL. Do I recommend learning Japanese before you go there? Absolutely. A little Japanese can take you a long way and most of all the locals will sincerely appreciate it. It does make things much easier.

2. DO NOT think that you will be able to go there for anything less than a week and see everything. No, you can't. It's impossible, seriously, no. Definitely do not try to go to more than one city in a week or less. We made that mistake and honestly I do feel a bit disappointed of how little we got to see there since we were in a rush all the time. One city is more than enough entertainment for at least a week. Anything more than one city in a week, and you'll just rush through everything and you don't really get to see much. Next time I'm going to Japan I plan to go there for at least a week, preferably longer than that.

3. The price-tags won't exactly make you sigh in relief of how inexpensive things are. Japan is a pricey country, but you are paying for quality (at least in my opinion). A good tip that I learned when it comes to eating out is to follow where the salary-men and office-women are going. Usually they go to reasonably priced restaurants with good food. 

4. Think carefully about what you need with you, paying in mind when you're packing that as far as I'm aware the customs are very tight in Japan. Do some research about what you can and cannot bring with you, for example some over the counter medicine is not allowed there, so look things up before you go. You do not want to get in trouble at the customs even though the people there are extremely kind. 

5. Manners. Being a foreigner will excuse you from a lot, but knowing your manners and a bit about the culture there won't hurt. The people in Japan are ridiculously well mannered, they are very kind and I'm sure that they'd like to be treated in the same way.

6. GET THE RAILWAY PASS if you're planning on travelling to mare than one city. It'll be worth he money. The cost of going from Kyoto to Tokyo via Shinkansen costs more than 10 000 yen (I think the price is more than 100€ in total without the pass). The railway pass paid itself back more than once and it was very easy to use, also you always get reserved seats on a train. GET IT! 

That's all I have to share with you guys about my trip there. It was a beautiful country and I'm certainly planning on going there again! I have quite a bit of video footage from the trip (mostly us walking around) and I'm going to try to make a single video out of those at some point and then post it for you guys to see. 

I'm gonna start preparing for the entrance exams to Oulu's university in the following days and I'll try to study quite intensely all the way to the exams which are on the 19th and 20th of May. So there's about a month of studying ahead of me and on top of that I have a job interview on Wednesday. I had to do some small changes to my hair to make it more appropriate for applying to jobs, so I'll show you my new haircut and color next week. 

I'll try to update regularly through this month even with the studying and stuff, but I wouldn't be surprised if there's a shortage of posts. 

See you next week!! <3

Douburu cheezyceeki

Matka Japanini vaan lähestyy lähestymistään ja alkaa jännittään aika älyttömästi koko homma. Tätä reissua on ootettu pitkään ja nyt ku se vihdoin on tapahtumassa niin täytyy vaan toivoa että omat odotukset ei oo liian korkealla. Tässä nyt sit tulee muutamien viikkojen tauko merkinnöissä, mutta päivittelen sitte ku oon kotona että miten reissu meni. Toivottavasti saan myös videon siitä aikaseksi kuvien lisäksi. : )

My trip to Japan is getting closer and closer and I'm getting pretty damn nervous. I've waited for this trip for a very long time and now that it's happening soon I just have to hope that my expectations aren't too high. There's going to be few week break from updates, but I'll post when I get back about how it all went. Hopefully I'll have a video and not just pictures to show you guys after it. : )

Viime viikonloppuna tosiaan laitoin hiuksiin uuestaan punasen hoitoaineen, millä sain kirkastettua tätä mun hiusten väriä. Mää tosiaan yleensä ku laitan sen hoitoaineen hiuksiin annan sen istua päässä niin kauan ku vaan mahollista ja sitte pesen sen pois niin kylmällä vedellä ku mitä iho kestää (aka. mitä hanasta tulee). 

Last weekend I put the red hair-dye-conditioner into my hair, which made my hair color brighter. I usually leave the conditioner on for as long as I can and then when I wash it out I'll use as cold water as my skin can handle (as cold water as I can get the shower to go). 

Keela oli täällä yötä tuossa pari päivää sitte. Katottiin taas vähän Gaki no Tsukaita, Hannibalia ja tehtiin ruokaa. Käytiin myös yöllä seikkailemassa, joka on oikeastaan jo perinne, täällä villissä urbaanissa luonnossa, jossa jostaki syystä katulamput menee kiinni klo: 23.00 ja on kiinni oikeastaan koko yön. Hyvin hyödylliset katuvalot, pakko sanoa...... Noh oli ainaki mielenkiintonen kävely ku oli kirkas tähtitaivas ja oikeastaan ainoana muuna valona tähtien lisäksi oli tuo mun puhelimen taskulamppu. Varsin virkistävä kävely, täytyy kyllä sanoa. Suosittelen yöllisiä kävelyjä, kunhan tosin on joku matkassa tai sitte että joku tietää missä päin meinaat kävellä. Kaikkialla ei oo ihan niin turvallista ku mitä esim juuri tässä kunnassa. 

Keela stayed over a couple days ago. We watched some Gaki no Tsukai again, some Hannibal and made delicious food. We also went on a nightly adventure, which is pretty much a tradition now, in this wild urban environment, where for some reason the streetlights go out at 23:00 pm and are out for pretty much the rest of the night. Very useful streetlights, I must say...... Well at least it was an interesting walk as the we only had the night sky full of stars and the flashlight from my phone as our light-source. A very refreshing walk, must say. I highly recommend night-walks, though you should make sure you have someone with you or that someone know where you're going to be walking. Everywhere isn't as safe as this town is. 

 Keela toi mulle ihanan kaualakorun! Ah se on niin älyttömän ihana <3/ Keela brought me a gorgeous necklace! Ah it's so incredibly gorgeous <3

uu ja tässä peruukki joka tuli postissa! uu and here's a wig that I got in the mail!

See you next time! Bye bye!! <3

Curly deer

Niinku jo lupailin viime viikolla niin tälle viikollekin on video tarjolla. Videon lisäksi kuvia ku viime perjantaina meikkailin normaalia enemmän. Kengät on vieläki jossaki, missä lie, piti eilen vihdoin alkaa kyselemään myyjältä että missähän ne mahtaa oikein viipyä, alkaa jo jonkin verran ärsyttään ootella niitä ku tilasin ne jo reilusti yli kuukausi sitte. : /

As I promised last week I have another video to post this week for you guys. I also have some pictures of a makeup look that I did last Friday which was a bit different from the usual. The shoes are still wherever, I have no idea where, yesterday finally I had to contact the seller and ask what's taking them so long, I'm starting to get mildly irritated to the waiting since I ordered them well over a month ago. : /

MOTD:

Viime viikolla mainittin ne curlformersit, jotka tilasin. Testasin niitä ekan kerran viime sunnuntaina ja sitte uuestaan tiistaina ja tein niistä sitten samalla videon. Ne mun mielestä on todella, todella huiput kihartamaan hiuksia ja ne kiharat kestää kauan. Ehottomasti suosittelen tilaamaan eBaystä tai Amazonista knock-off -tuotteet, koska ne "aidot" maksaa aivan käsittämättömän paljon ja ne ei oo yhtään sen kummemmat ku nuo. 

Last week I mentioned the curlformers, which I ordered. I tested them out for the first time last Sunday and then again on Tuesday, when I also made a video about them. I think they are a really, really good way to curl your hair and the curls last for a long time. I'd recommend that you order the knock-off ones from eBay or Amazon, since the real ones are way too pricey and aren't really different at all.

First try

Viime viikonloppuna käytiin ostamassa mulle uus kevät-takki ja housut sitä Japanin reissua varten nii ei tarvi lähteä ihan vääränlaisella varustuksella sinne niihin keleihin suhteutettuna. Molemmat löyty sopivasti Vilasta. 

Last weekend we went to by me a new spring-coat and pants for the trip to Japan, so the clothes that I'd take there wouldn't be way too off for the weather there. Both items are from Vila. 

Tänä viikonloppuna varmaan virkistän tän mun värin nyt sitten Directionsin "Vermillion Red" ja "Tulip" värin sekotuksella. /This weekend I'm most likely going to refresh my hair color with Directions "Vermillion Red" and "Tulip" mixture. 

See you next week! Bye bye!! <3

Magenta magenta tulip rubine

Tälle viikollekaan ei kengät vielä kerenny, alan jo huolestua että missä päin maailmaa ne mahtaa seikkailla, mutta onneksi mulla on muuta tälle viikolle tarjolla! Kenkien sijaan tällä viikolla on video siitä ku värjäsin hiukset uuden värisiksi.

The shoes didn't make it to this week, I'm starting to get worried as to just where on Earth they are adventuring, but hey at least I've got something else in store for this week! Instead of shoes I've got a video of how I dyed my hair to a new color.

Elikäs musta-punaset hiukset muuttu magentan punaseksi tuossa maanantain ja tiistain aikana. Päätin viime viikon loppupuolella että värjään ne nyt jo, vaikka alunperin oliki tarkotus värjätä lähempänä huhtikuuta.

So the color of my hair went from black-red to magenta red on Monday-Tuesday. I decided to color my hair now last week, even though my original plan was to dye them closer to April.

Niinku videosta jo näkyyki niin mää eka otin värinpoiston hiuksista, jossa oli vaalennus mukana. Se oli päässä 40 min. Sitte pesin sen pois ja pistin toisen blondauksen päähän ja se oli kans sen 40 min. Sitte ku olin sen pessy pois niin laitoin hopea-sävyttävän hoitoaineen päähän kymmeneksi minuutiksi.  Mun hiukset oli sellaset vaalean oranssit tässä vaiheessa. Sen jälkeen sit löin ekan kerroksen tuota Directionsin "Tulip" ja "Rubine" sekotusta päähän hoitoaineen kanssa. Se oli yhteensä noin. 2h verran hiuksissa ennen ku pesin sen pois. Ekan kerran jälkeen mun hiuksista kuulsi vielä läpi oransseja sävyjä joistaki kohtaa ja muutenki se väri oli liian pinkki mulle. Tiistaina sitte pistin toisen kerran sen saman sekotuksen punasia päähän ja se oli päässä suunnilleen 4 tuntia. Sitte ollaanki tässä värissä mikä nyt on. Henk.koht. tykkään tästä tosi paljon. Mulla on tulossa Directionsin "Vermillion red" värejä kaks kappaletta joita sitte sekotan tuohon mun yhteen purkkiin tuota "Tulip" väriä. Veikkaan että niillä sitten ku joudun niillä tätä väriä ehostamaan niin menee hiukset enemmän sellaseksi oranssipohjaseksi punaseksi ku nyt.

As you can see from the video I first put on a color-remover, which had bleach in it. I had that on my hair for 40 min. After washing it off I put in another bleach an that one was on my hair for 40 min also. Then when I had washed that bleach out I put a silver-toned conditioner on for 10 minutes. My hair was a light orange-color at this point. Next I applied the first application of Directions "Tulip" and "Rubine" mixed with conditioner. That one I had on my hair for approx 2 hours before I washed it out. After the first application my there were still some orange tones visible from some parts and the color was too pink for me anyway. On Tuesday I applied the same mix of reds to my hair and I had that on for about 4 hours. And thus we have the color that I have now. I personally really like this color a lot. I'm getting two jars of the Directions color in "Vermillion red" which I'll then mix with the "Tulip" color and start to use to revive the red color as it fades. I'm pretty sure my hair will get toned to more orange-based red with those color than they are now.

Sain nyt itelle knock-off curlformersit, mitkä varmaan koeajan nyt viikonloppuna. Koitan niistäki tehä videon sitten. Että niistä on sit enemmän puhe ens viikon merkinnässä. Toivottavasti ne damn kengätki tulis sillon.

I got the knock-off curlformers, which I'll most likely test out this weekend. I'll try to get a video out of that too. So I'll be talking more about those in the next week's update. Hopefully the damn shoes will be here too by then.

See you next week! Bye bye! <3