Yesterday was a bit shocking that even my former boss messaged me to ask, “What’s happening with the world?!”
Looks like a case of mental health illness issue rearing its ugly head. Again. News from Japan say that the assassin is an unemployed former military (Japan’s equivalent of navy) and he killed Shinzo Abe on the basis that he believed Abe is involved with an organization (which news reports say religious) that this assassin hates.
He told investigators that his mother had become bankrupt after spending her money to support a religious group, according to Japanese newspaper Mainichi Shimbun, which cited police sources. He said his family fell apart because of his mother’s obsession with the group, and he targeted Abe “out of resentment,” Mainichi reported.
Mental health issues are taboo topics in Japan, a country that values conformity so much. Psychiatric therapy is almost unheard of there. That’s why you have a lot of hikikomori there and suicide rates are some of the highest in the world.
It’s just sad.
I brought the girls today to their friend’s house so I owned the rest of the day. And of course I spent it sleeping and cuddling with the cats. Slept probably for three hours.
Kimchi is so cute!
My cats, my children, my relatively comfortable and quiet life make my heart full. I am complete.
I am complete.
As I wrote in my Instagram post today, I fear nothing these days.
Revelation of John 4:5 “From the throne came flashes of lightning, and rumblings and peals of thunder, and before the throne were burning seven torches of fire, which are the seven spirits of God”
One of those seven is Michael the Archangel, the guardian of Israel, who is also my guardian angel.
Together with God’s promise in Psalm 91 and this archangel, I am forever protected. ❤️ I have no fear. 🔥
I am loved and protected. I fear no evil. Many times my ass has been saved from sure disaster.
I used to fear expressing my spiritual beliefs because J scorns it. He doesn’t believe in God, I think. Now, I don’t care anymore. I’m very free to do, express, and believe in whatever I want.
My faith was just tested now but the archangel is looking after me.
This is the one of my two favorite views at Himeji Castle Garden. I tried the wet-on-wet technique and it’s hard reining in the colors running down the paper. It doesn’t help that I’m only working on a 5×7 watercolor paper.
Sketch and wash. Art and photo by CallMeCreation.com Wet-on-wet. Art and photo by CallMeCreation.com Almost done. Art and photo by CallMeCreation.com
I’ll let this dry and I’ll see later today if I need to fix some parts.
I learned an unhealthy but delicious food hack from a friend via her Instagram post. I copied this instant noodle hack and wrote my own. It was interesting.
THIS IS A GAME CHANGER. I got this from (name of friend) and this does not taste like Lucky Me Instant Chicken noodles!
First, you grate one clove of garlic in a bowl, then add the seasonings, one raw egg, onion leeks or green onions or whatever you have on hand, pepper, and a dollop of mayonnaise (Kewpie for best results 襤). Mix it all.
Cook the noodles in boiling water until al dente. Pour the boiling water into the bowl of the mixed mush that you have and let it rest until your egg is cooked. Add your noodles and top it with bok choy.
It’s as creamy as Ramen Nagi and the raw garlic was ❤️.
I’ve been watching June Xie of Delish because she has so many food adventures with her budget eats. They’re labor intensive but you gotta do what you gotta do if you have a limited budget
Even here in Manila I can’t do the USD 25 a week challenge. I spend like PHP 725 (USD 14.50) on veggies alone for a week. Adding fruits mean USD 20 a week.
So yeah, planting vegetables is the way to go.
I’m dying to have an hour in an onsen. I’m thinking if I could risk a trip to Lasema in Makati tomorrow as they just opened the hot tubs for public use. I could have the Karada chiro-massage combination then dip in Lasema.
Or book a 3-hr treatment in I’m Onsen Spa for the same price. Their website says their hotel facilities are closed.
Or I visit my chiropractor, Dr. Ken Sison, in Makati then proceed to Lasema. He cured my back pain after 6 sessions 10 years ago after giving birth to my twins.
My spine and lower back have missed him…
It’s about time that I pamper myself to the hilt. With all the bullshit I’ve been through, yeah, a spine adjustment, hot tub and a massage are just right.
I remember spending one night and an entire morning in onsens one spring holiday in Kansai. I’ve never felt so clean in my life after spending the night in Kinosaki.
From the train station, I walked along the main road of this quaint little town that has been a destination for those seeking comfort from hot spring baths for more than 1,000 years. Photo by CallMeCreation.com
I booked a ryokan there and arrived at around 5-ish I think. I was shown to my room and how to set up my futon.
Photo by CallMeCreation.com Macha and a rice cake welcomed me. Photo by CallMeCreation.com I changed into a yukata provided by the ryokan and flipped-flopped on my wooden sandals to try one or two of the seven old onsens.Photo by CallMeCreation.com Like this one. It was lovely. Temperature was dropping to 16-15 degrees Celsius while the water was around 40-50 degrees. Photo by CallMeCreation.com The ryokan didn’t serve meals so I went to the nearest kombini to buy a bentodinner. For a kombini dinner, it was good. Photo by CallMeCreation.com I went out again in my yukata and geta to experience the cool and quiet night. During the hanami festival this river would have been lovely, with sakura bursting along the banks. Photo by CallMeCreation.com
Before retiring for the night, I had another hour at my ryokan’s own onsen. I felt so clean!
So for tomorrow, I just want to spend an entire day treating myself to a spa or just pamper myself with whatever wellness procedure I can have ❤️
Before I start talking about my terrible sense of direction, I learned today that my daughter, Twin I, ordered a kalimba from Shopee (via cash on delivery) using the money she earned from doing her chores. My daughters are learning to work for things that they want. The problem is a kalimba is hard to tune. I know how to tune stringed instruments by ear but a kalimba is a different animal because it’s a small idiophone so it’s harder to detect the smaller changes in notes.
Photo by CallMeCreation.com
I needed an app to help me with the tuning. And to tune this thing, you literally hit the prongs with a metal hammer either at the top end (to lower) or at the bottom end (to push it to a higher note).
Photo by CallMeCreation.com
What’s odd about this kalimba is that it only has the major chords. The origin of the kalimba is an instrument from Zimbabwe that was exported to Brazil (called mbira in Brazil). That instrument didn’t follow the western tuning (western octaves) and this modern version was converted to follow the western octave. So you can only play the songs here that use the major chords (no sharps and flats here).
Now about that sense of direction…It’s a miracle that I can travel on my own, go out to provinces in foreign countries and go back home alive. I remember when I was in Amanohashidate I got lost trying to reach the other side of town. I didn’t want to cross the sandbar so I assumed I can take the bus to cross to the other side of town but almost ended up going to Ine, a far off fishing village 15 km away.
So first of all, I took Kyoto Tango Railway line at 5 am and it took me 3.5 hrs from Shin-Osaka station to reach Amanohashidate. It was a nice way to see the countryside.
On the way to Miyazu, Kyoto Prefecture. Photo by CallMeCreation.com
From the main station before Amanohashidate you have to take a one-car train. It was like a train ride to nowhere.
Photo by CallMeCreation.comPhoto by CallMeCreation.com
I arrived there at 8:30 am very hungry and looked for a place to eat. I found a hole-in-the-wall eatery that served ramen for JPY 800 a bowl.
Ramen for breakfast. Photo by CallMeCreation.com
After that, I searched for the way to the viewing deck to see one of the top 3 best views in Japan, according to my research. There was a tram and there was a chair lift. Of course I chose the chair lift because I court danger. And you only live once so why not?
Yes, the chair lifts are just like that. You hold on to dear life. No freaking seatbelts! Photo by CallMeCreation.comI don’t know how the hell I was able to take a photo with one hand while the other hand was clinging to the chair post. Photo by CallMeCreation.com
And I traveled all the way from Osaka Prefecture to Kyoto By the Sea to see this view.
A narrow sandbar that divides the town of Amanohashidate. Photo by CallMeCreation.com
I don’t know…it was pretty for sure but a bit underwhelming. I have seen better views in my life and I have traveled far and wide within the Philippines and there are a couple of views here that can rival this. Anyway, my boss in Tokyo marveled at how I was able to visit this when she herself hasn’t been able to check this out. I stayed at the lookout area for an hour or so and explored the park to make my hours-long journey worthwhile.
I can ride a bike on that sandbar to reach the other side of town but it was hot and I didn’t want to get tired so I took the bus and figured I can stop by the Motoise Kono Shrine and walk to the other side of this sandbar.
The only problem was I didn’t know what the entrance to the shrine looked like. So on and on the bus went. And then all I saw was the sea.
I checked Google map. I was staring at Asoumi Sea, which was not part of my plans. Photo by CallMeCreation.com
There was a couple at my back and the guy was speaking in mixed English and Korean. I asked the guy if I missed the stop to the shrine. He had this horrified look on his face that told me I committed a grave mistake. He told me we were already on our way to Ine, that fishing village at the edge of Kyoto Prefecture. There was no train there and this was the last bus.
He told me to get off the bus immediately to catch the last bus back to Amanohashidate train station. He spoke to the driver in Nihongo to tell him I took the bus by mistake and I need to catch the bus on the opposite side.
Perfect timing, when I got off the bus going to Ine, the last bus going back to Amanohashidate was just arriving. I thanked my guardian angel and took a great sigh of relief. But when I got off the bus, the train going to Kinosaki (in Hyogo Prefecture) was leaving the platform. I was just one minute too late! Damn those very prompt Japanese trains!
So I took my chance and looked at the trains that were leaving the station. I figured I could get another local train to Toyooka or an express passing by Toyooka.
By 4 pm I was on my way to Kinosaki where I had booked a night’s stay in a ryokan with its own onsen. I left the rest of my luggage at my hotel in Osaka for safekeeping so I don’t have to lug it while traipsing around from one prefecture to another.
Thank God for my JR Pass that let me ride all trains that I want.
One of my sources in Vietnam has been inviting me to visit them and their sites in Hanoi and I said Vietnam will be my first stop next year if the company travel ban is already lifted. I just don’t know when that will be but normally my travel-heavy months are February (after Lunar NY) until June.
I suddenly remembered that I used to travel heavily before for work and for holidays.
I miss riding trains to nowhere. I don’t like planes. If I would go to Hokkaido, I will take the shinkansen to Hakodate from Tokyo using JR Pass. Because the travel to your destination is half the fun. Although that will eat up 4.5 hrs of my life but that was not that so different when I traveled from Osaka to Kinosaki (with a stop at Amanohashidate). I get to see the countryside.
My train card. Photo by CallMeCreation.comThe Hikari from Osaka to Himeji. Photo by CallMeCreation.com
I recommend buying JR passes outside Japan since it gives you unlimited rides on the express and ordinary JR lines. Nationwide. This enabled me to travel to four prefectures in 8 days. It was exhausting but oh so worth it.
Of course, when you’re in Himeji, you go to Himeji Castle. Photo by CallMeCreation.com
I went to Osaka in May 2018 and used it as my base when I traveled in different parts of Kansai region. I went to Hyogo Prefecture to visit Himeji Castle, the fortress of Toyotomi Hideyoshi. The ownership of it was transferred to an ally of Ieyasu Tokugawa after the Battle of Sekigahara.
Inside Himeji Castle. Photo by CallMeCreation.com
Basically these castles are just fortresses and are just series of halls. The nightingale floorboards (they creak loudly when you step on them so that guards are alerted when ninjas are there to ambush the castle) are ever present. I first encountered these floorboards some years before in Nijo Castle in Kyoto–the base of Tokugawa’s reign until the restoration of the Meiji emperor. As far as Japanese castles go, Nijo is unimpressive since it’s not that high but its significance was huge during the Tokugawa shogunate.
The view from the top-most floor of Himeji Castle. Photo by CallMeCreation.com
This is the reason why they build high. You can see from a great distance if you’re going to be attacked by your rivals. It was exhausting climbing all the way to the top because the halls and stairs are made to confuse intruders/ninjas. It took me an hour to snoop around inside the castle but I spent three hours in the adjacent gardens where I contemplated about my life. Just because.
Himeji gardens. Photo by CallMeCreation.comChado. Photo by CallMeCreation.com
I tried to have a crash course in chado (tea ceremony) in one of the cottages within the Himeji gardens for JPY 500.
Tea ceremony in progress. Photo by CallMeCreation.com
And I enjoyed the gardens some more. I had lain on the floor of that shed in the bamboo “forest” of the garden and rested my weary soul. I decided that I can no longer take my situation back home and I should get out of that soul-destroying situation somehow.
Another section of the Himeji gardens. Photo by CallMeCreation.comNight travel. Photo by CallMeCreation.com
I didn’t book accommodations anywhere in Himeji since it was just an hour or 1.5 hrs away by Hikari from Osaka so it was ok to take the train back even though it was already late. My food choices, however, were limited since my hotel was not in the center of Osaka like near Dotonburi and the nearest restaurant wasn’t that spectacular. But I loved my hotel in Osaka because it was just 70m away from the nearest train station, right across the street is a Life Supermarket where I can buy bento dinners or lunches. The hotel also has microwave ovens and common coin-operated washing machines and dryers so I never ran out of clothes. It also has an onsen at the basement which I loved.
Hotel Wing International Select, Higashi, Osaka. Photo by CallMeCreation.com
I want to be somewhere right now. Ride the train to nowhere.
This is not a sponsored post. I spent my own money to test this product.
I was in the middle of the hustle and bustle of Dotonburi shopping district in Osaka last month (more of that in future blog posts), wondering what I would bring home from my 8-day trip. I was suddenly pulled out from my deep reverie when I saw rows upon rows of cosmetic/pharmacy stores dominanting the area. I don’t know why is that.
Then I saw lots of Chinese customers with huge plastic bags of cosmetics pouring out of these stores onto the street. Looked like panic-buying to me.
There you go. Mystery solved.
I went looking for the Biore tinted sunscreen SPF 50 to replenish my stock because I knew it would be cheaper in Japan than in Manila (and yes, they were half the price). The sales ladies in that cosmetic store didn’t speak English but one rep from Shiseido did. I got nervous. Shiseido is expensive and I cannot afford them and I have trouble turning down good sales people.
She asked me what do I need? Uhm something with high SPF but not heavy on the skin because the sun in the Philippines is harsh but it’s too humid to wear heavy sunscreen. Ah! I know what you need, she said.
The she demonstrated to me how to use Prior, the spray-on BB foundation with SPF 50. Prior is a brand of Shiseido that is cheaper than their premium line, she said. They have several shades of the BB spray-on foundation but she figured my shade is “natural”. She was right.
And she totally convinced me that I wouldn’t be able to live without this product. It’s that good!
I road-tested it the next day when I went to Okayama Castle and wore a kimono. The make-up in this photo session was mine, no touch-ups. To think I had been walking a couple of km that day and had been exposed to the sun before this photo shoot. The BB foundation held up really well (actually, for the entire day).
So now I will demo to you the “before and after”.
I have splotchy fair skin (because of some disaster with my first wart removal). Plus I’m nearly forty years old.
A bit dull
Spray the BB foundation on the sponge (also included) so you can evenly apply on your face.
I now have a freckle-free, glowing skin.
And to show you how little make-up you need with Prior, I just applied Maybelline Color Show eyeliner in black, a little pencil for the brows, and a lip tint for the next photo below.
I’m so in love with this product that I bought two bottles. I hope they last me a very long time because I would only be able to go back to Japan next year.
It’s not available outside Japan, I think. I keep searching for it online but I always end up in Japanese sites.
It has already been a month and it seems like the bottle still has a lot of the stuff inside. Methinks this will last me 6 months since I use the product sparingly to avoid looking like a clown.
I bought also Prior SPF 50 sunscreen in case the BB foundation runs out before I come back to Japan.