This blog is part 2 of my trip back to Australia this April. This time, I’ll be talking about my favourite place in Perth, Rottnest Island.
I talk about Rottnest at Global Cafe very often, so you might already know about it if we have met before.
Rottnest is a small island about 30km away from Perth. It’s very famous for a few things, but mainly its extremely beautiful beaches and an animal called a ‘Quokka’.
When people go to Rottnest, they usually hire a bicycle and ride around the island, visiting the different beaches along the way. I do this every time I visit the island too!
Rottnest is a special place for me (and many other people from Perth) because I have been visiting Rottnest since I was a child.
I love the beach, and Rottnest has some of the best beaches in the country.
My favourites are called ‘The basin’ and ‘Little Salmon Bay’. The Basin is great for snorkelling, and Little Salmon Bay is great for swimming and relaxing.
I went to Rottnest with my Dad in April and we had a great time. My dad loves the beach even more than I do!
First, we had lunch at the famous Rottnest Bakery. Then we cycled around the Island and visited 4 different beaches, then sat down at the hotel restaurant with some Fish’n’Chips and a beer. I’ll hold these memories for many years to come.
Earlier I mentioned the ‘Quokka’. They are often called “The happiest animal on Earth”!
They’re a really cute animal, very famous for smiling.
Quokkas can be found in a couple of places in Western Australia, but mainly on Rottnest Island. They have no major predatorson Rottnest, so they are extremely friendly and not afraid of humans at all! They walk around on the street and will often walk up to people to say ‘hello’! You aren’t supposed to touch them or feed them though.
‘Quokka selfies’ have become pretty popular lately. I’ve never taken one before, but I’ve seen lots of them before, and the quokkas always look really cute.
If you go to Perth, Rottnest is definitely a must-visit place!
If you have the time, I definitely recommend staying there for 1 night. There are different types of accommodation ranging from cheap to expensive.
If you don’t have the time, you can do a day-trip which is still very fun. Take the early ferry to the Island and the latest ferry back to the mainland to get the most out of your day.
I was in Australia for a whole month, and my day on Rottnest Island was definitely the highlight of my trip. I really miss Rottnest so I hope I can visit it again sometime soon!
Hi everyone, It’s been so hot! How are you coping with the heat?
It’s been three months since my boys started going to the nursery and we have finally got used to our new lifestyle.
Recently we went to Karatsu for the weekend. We wanted to go around this time partly because my husband will soon be transferred to Tokyo…
It only takes an hour and a half to get to Karatsu by train. Taking the train is nice because you get to see the beautiful ocean view.
Toshi, my older son, likes playing in the water, especially the sea, so the main purpose of this trip was so he could play at the beach and take it easy, and we could all spend some time together.
As soon as we checked in at Karatsu, we headed to the beach. The water was a little murky and the sea was rough. It was very different from what we saw on the train. We were a little disappointed, but Toshi ran and ran along the water’s edge and seemed very happy. It was only the second time for Toshi to see the sea so he didn’t have any expectations. Even though I was knackered from carrying Aoi, my younger son, and our baggage that still made me smile.
After we left the beach we strolled through the arcade in the downtown area and then went back to the inn.
At the inn, we took a bath and enjoyed a nice meal in our room. Toshi loved the big bath because I’m sure it felt like a pool for him.
In a Japanese-style inn, the staff comes to the room and sets up the futon for us after dinner.
An elderly lady came to our room. She was very nice and let Toshi help her set up the futon and the sheets. He got so excited and loved doing that.
The next day after taking another bath in the big family tub, we went back to the arcade to let Toshi have a soft-serve ice cream. When we went there the day before, Toshi licked a giant size soft-served ice cream replica. For some reason there are many of them in the arcade, Toshi got very crazy and wouldn’t stop licking them… So we decided to come back to let him have a real one.
After that, we visited a different beach from the day before and had lunch at a hotel with an ocean view.
We took it easy and headed back home after that.
After we came back, I asked Toshi what he enjoyed the most, and his answer was that he enjoyed swimming in the big bath and setting up the futon with the old lady.
Hmm, did we really need to go all the way to Karatsu?
I recently went on a little adventure during my day off, and thought I’d share it with you.
I live in Atago, near Muromi station. Every day when I travel to work, I need to cross Muromi Bridge. When I cross it, I can see Fukuoka Tower to the left, and a mountain range to the right. I’ve always wondered just how far away those mountains are, and whether or not I could climb them!
On my day off, I decided I would get on my bicycle and ride in the direction of the mountains and see what happens!
I was a little worried because my bicycle isn’t exactly…good. I bought it for 1000 yen about 8 months ago! But, luckily, there was no problem.
Anyway, I set off at 9:00am. It was a beautiful day.
I followed Muromi River to get to the mountains. I had never been this far downriver before, and I saw lots of really beautiful places near my house.
It turns out the mountain isn’t as far as I thought it was! It was only around 7km from my house.
I didn’t even know the mountain’s name! But, when I got there, I found out it was Mt. Iimori.
Now, I had NO experience climbing mountains, so I did not know what to expect.
It was a lot of fun to climb Mt. Iimori, but it was pretty tiring. It was also pretty hot outside, and I was covered in sweat.
During my climb, I met a really nice lady who was resting near the top. We had a conversation (in Japanese) about Australia and where I was from.
A couple of minutes later, I finally arrived at the top of Mt. Iimori!
The view of Fukuoka was breathtaking. Absolutely beautiful.
I also met 3 more people at the top of Mt. Iimori, two ladies and a man. The 2 women were resting at the top, and they greeted me when I arrived. I sat with them, and we talked (again, in Japanese) for about 40 minutes!
We talked about all sorts of things. Australia, Japan, Fukuoka, jobs, dreams etc. They were some of the nicest people I have ever met in my life!
A man arrived later, from the other side of the mountain. He seemed to be a hobby climber, and said he was climbing two more mountains later that day! I was amazed, because he was around 60 years old, but still very fit!
He offered to take me to the other mountains with him, but I had to politely decline because I was a bit sick on this day and didn’t want to overdo it.
Anyway, after saying goodbye to my new friends I began my descent. It was much, much quicker going down, but a little dangerous. I don’t have mountain climbing shoes, so I almost fell down a couple of times!
I was really tired during my journey back home, so I went really slowly, just admiring the beautiful scenery of Fukuoka.
I’ve decided that from now on when I have a day off, I’m going to ride my bicycle somewhere in Fukuoka I haven’t been before, so you can expect more blogs from me in the future!
That’s all for today, I hope you enjoyed reading!
I’ll have another チャリ adventure blog for you in the future!
It’s been a long time since my last blog. I was too busy with study and I kept forgetting to write them.
I recently returned to Australia to change my Visa. I arrived back in Japan about twomonths ago.
For my first blog since coming back to Japan, I thought I’d tell you all about Australia. I was there for a whole month, so I have lots of photos to show and stories to tell!
This blog is all about my hometown, Fremantle. (or Freo as us locals say!)
I was only there for a day during my trip, but I was able to visit some of my favourite places.
Freo is famous for a few things. Number one is the restaurants! Freo is well known in Perth for having some of the best restaurants in the state, especially Italian and Asian restaurants.
My favourite restaurant in Freo is a place called “Taka’s Kitchen”. It’s a cheap Japanese restaurant in Fremantle’s food court.
It isn’t super high-quality or expensive. It’s cheap, normal food.
But, I’ve been eating at Taka’s Kitchen since I was 4 years old! So, it holds a special place in my heart.
I was really happy to eat there again. It tasted really nostalgic!
For the rest of the day, I just walked around Fremantle, seeing some familiar places.
I went to a place called “The Roundhouse”, which is small building that was used as a prison in the past.
My last destinations were the “Esplanade Park”, a park close to the harbour, which is Freo’s most popular spot for families and “Little Creatures”, my favourite brewery/bar in Fremantle.
It really did make me happy to visit my hometown again. I hadn’t seen it in two whole years!
I love Fukuoka, but I do miss Perth and Fremantle. I hope I can go back to visit again sometime soon.
Hello, everyone! It’s getting hotter and hotter, isn’t it? Today, I want to talk about my foreign country tour guide training program trip in Taiwan. I hope you enjoy reading about my episodes and experiences in Taiwan.
~Relationship with Japan~
It only takes 3 or 4 hours to travel between Japan and Taiwan, which makes them popular destinations for citizens of both countries to visit for work, studies, and sightseeing. I guess many Japanese people think Taiwan is pro-Japan. Actually, I was helped a lot by many Taiwanese people during my time in Australia on a working-holiday Visa but why are they Pro-Japan? I heard a story from my Taiwanese friends. A long time ago, Japan won the war and occupied Taiwan. The occupation was not ideal for Japan because Taiwan at the time was underdeveloped. Japan helped to develop it by building schools, hospitals and aqueducts, and Taiwanese didn’t forget the gesture.
Regardless of the past, Taiwan has generous, helpful people who cherish their friendships deeply, and a lot of interesting culture.
~Sightseeing~
Taiwan had a 1 year “military system” for men, but people who were born after 1992 are only drafted for 4 months of basic training. But there is still a place where we can see real soldiers in Taiwan. This place is called “Tsuonrietu,” which used to be “Taiwan Gokoku shrine.” This place has a building that was built to commemorate those who died during war. Two guards, who passed difficult examinations and strict training, are always standing guard in front of the gate. Every few hours, the “changing of the guard” takes place. Their moves are so synchronized that they look like mechanical dolls. It is amazing!
There is a place in Taiwan that the movie “Spirited Away,” a big hit in Japan, was based upon. This place is called “Chiufen.” The place looks almost exactly the same as the movie. It is located near a big, famous goldmine. After the war there was less and less gold in the mine until it was eventually closed. It was left untouched that way for many years. Due to “Spirited Away” and the artistic style of the area, “Chiufen” has enjoyed a renewed popularity recently. It can be enjoyed both during the day with the beautiful, natural scenery that surrounds it, and at night because of the brilliant show of lights that illuminate it.
Two hours away from Chiufun, “Danshui” is famous for its landscape. Watching the sunset from on top its famous bridge is especially beautiful. There are many souvenir shops and restaurants near the bridge.
I think the “night market” is one of the most famous things in Taiwan. I went to “Shirinieshi,” one of the biggest markets in Taiwan, with rows and rows of stands. They sell clothes, food, games and much more. I would recommend “Taachiipai.” It’s a huge, tasty chunk of fried chicken. I have never seen anything like it! I took a picture to compare its size to my face…this is what they call “giant” size!
～Foods~
Actually, this country is famous for “Peking duck”. I’m sure Peking duck is from “Peking” but in Taiwan you can eat it for a much cheaper price, and it is almost the same as in Peking. I went to Taiwan for the first time when I was in my early 20’s. When I found out that Peking duck was going to be served for dinner, I was excited, but I was shocked to see the duck roasted whole! But the taste was great…
I went to “family mart” in Taiwan to see what it’s like. It was basically the same as the Japanese one, but I found an item that was very different from the Japanese version. It was a type of “Oden.” The soup was really dark, and the eggs were still in their shells! I didn’t have time to buy it, but i’m including a picture, so if you ever visit Taiwan you can check it out. I did eat “Instant Ramen” though. It was like “Raou,” and the price was almost 200 yen. It was written in Chinese, so I might have made it wrong, but it wasn’t that good anyway. But I did find many delicious-looking “Instant Ramen” in the guide books that you can try.
Speaking of Taiwanese food, pineapple cake is a really famous pastry. The texture is crispy and there is pineapple jam inside it. You can find this cake everywhere and it’s actually quite cheap but it still tastes great. Unfortunately, I can’t tell you which sweets shop is the best, but the famous shops that appear in the guidebook are really great, even though they’re a bit expensive.
Since May and June are the best season for sightseeing in Taiwan, try to visit around that time if you ever get the chance to go!
Recently I have been writing a lot about foreign countries, so next time I will tell you about “Kyoto,” one of the places I love in Japan!
I am from Nevada. Most people I talk to at Global Cafe have never heard about Nevada, or at least don’t know where it is. Nevada is a state in America, on the west coast, right next to California. Most or all of Nevada is a desert and very dry. By the way, dry is much much better than the humidity of Japan!
Nevada is probably best known for a famous city. The sin city. Las Vegas.
Nevada was the first and only state, until the 1990’s, where gambling was legal. This is the reason Nevada, and Las Vegas in particular, became the center of Gambling in the U.S. In America, gambling has a bad image, and is associated with debt, drugs, gangs, etc… all of the guilty pleasures. My image of gambling is different.
I was born and raised in Nevada, so for me gambling is common, everywhere, and boring. I have no interest at all. In fact, it is something my parents did sometimes for fun so that makes it especially uncool! In my hometown there are slot machines everywhere. At the convenience store, the supermarket, the bowling stadium… everywhere. Every time I visit home, the rows of machines in the airport terminal greet me and remind me of my childhood. To me gambling is boring.
My parents used to go out on friday night to a casino to relax and have some fun. They would go play the nickel machines (gambling machines that cost only 5 cents to play). I guess my mom was really good, because every week she would bring home cases (one case is 24 cans) of soda that she won. I guess cash is not the only thing you can win.
There is a responsible way to gamble. You give yourself a limit, perhaps a hundred dollars, and you play that freely without worrying about money. When you lose all that money, you have to stop. If you have enough self control to stop yourself, you can enjoy gambling. If you can’t stop, and you play past your limit, you have a problem and you should never gamble!
As for me, I have gambled once. When I turned 21 years old, I went to the casino, put a quarter in the machine, and one second later lost it. Is that fun? I don’t know. I have never felt the desire to go back. I don’t like throwing away money…
The first time I came to Japan many years ago, I was in the Airport and I needed to use the bathroom after the long flight. It was not what I was expecting.
I entered the bathroom and the first thing I noticed was that it was so clean. Much cleaner than almost all public bathrooms in America! And it was bright. My image of public bathrooms in America is dark and dingy. I went to use the toilet, but I was surprised to see the door to the toilet stall stretched from the floor to the ceiling! This was very strange!
Perhaps if you have traveled abroad to America, you know that the toilet stall doors and walls aren’t that big. They only go from your knee to your shoulder. If you want to see if someone is using the toilet, look down and you can easily see their feet. If they are standing up, you can see their head as well!
I have seen movies where someone is trying to hide in the bathroom. Because the door is so small, they can’t just enter the stall, they also have to stand on the toilet and crouch down so that their feet aren’t visible under the door.
Another common story is that someone using the toilet runs out of toilet paper! What do you do? You ask the person on the toilet next to you to give you some toilet paper. They just pass the toilet paper under the wall. There is plenty of space.
Another problem is that if someone on the outside crouches down onto the ground, it is easy to look under the door. Or if you are tall enough, you can look over the door as well. I am a guy, so this privacy invasion has never been a problem for me, but maybe it is different for girls?
This small door might sound strange. I do think the Japanese style is much better. However, the first time I used a Japanese bathroom and I closed the door, I felt very claustrophobic. The room was too small and I could barely move. What happens if the door locks and, for some reason, I can’t open it! I’m stuck! In America, I will crawl under the door. What should I do in Japan?
Hello everyone!! It’s already May. I guess many people have started a new life since April. My family has started a new life since this April as well.
My two boys, Toshi and Aoi have been accepted to a licensed nursery and I am back at Global Cafe now. We are trying our best to adjust to a new environment and a new life style but it’s not that easy..
Since my second boy, Aoi was born last summer, I’ve been crazy busy and realized how hard it is being a mum of two boys. Thinking back on when I only had Toshi, my elder son, I think I was very naive because I thought having one child and having two are not so different and having one more child would make things only a little bit harder. Now I have realized I was so wrong.
Before Aoi was born, it was relatively easy to manage everything: my work at Global Cafe, looking after Toshi and house chores. Toshi spent his weekdays at a nursery and he was a very easy boy to look after. Toshi was just a cute, small, adorable and easy boy for me.
Nowadays there is a trend that “a mum should enjoy herself and never give up anything for her kids” and I think I interpreted it to my own advantage and didn’t really understand what raising a child was.
So when Toshi started acting funny seeking attention from me or being rebellious and insistent toward me just after Aoi was born I didn’t know how to handle him. He has become a small monster with more of his own personality and I was not ready for it at all.
It was good that I was on leave from the cafe and I could take some time to reflect; how to deal with my kids, especially with Toshi, what should be prioritized in my life or how I can balance and manage everything in my life.
Another good thing was that my husband took paternity leave from work and did lots of house chores and took care of the children. It was nice not only because he helped me but also because we could share the very precious moments of the first few months of our newborn baby. Newborn babies grow very quickly and I guess many dads in Japan miss that precious short time and don’t see their baby’s everyday progress. By sharing work at home and taking care of the children together, my husband could appreciate how joyful and at the same hard raising children can be.
Working at the cafe is so refreshing and makes me happy. I get to see so many of our regular customers. Senior customers at the cafe are very, very active. Some senior customers are studying English very hard and taking English proficiency test, and another customer is even going abroad to do volunteer work. They are really inspiring.
I also like to see young people trying hard to learn English. They encourage me too. There is a young customer who has started his own business recently or who is going abroad to study.
Also there is Global Cafe staff who gives me energy to keep me going. All of them are super positive and nice!
Of course it’s my sons who drive me the most. When I drop them off at the nursery in the morning there is still a bit of tears from them and I cry too. But I know they can do it and learn a lot there so I just have to believe in them and try my hardest!
Annyeong haseyo, everyone! The Pyeonchang Olympics and Paralympics were exciting this year, weren’t they? They were really moving! In 2020, they will be held in Tokyo, Japan. I expect that it will be a very exciting time for Japanese people.
Did you know that I’ve traveled to Korea before? Unfortunately, it wasn’t for the Olympics, but it was still amazing!
My trip wasn’t for business; I was there with my friend, on vacation.
We traveled to Seoul by air. Since Korea is very close to Japan you can find many cheap flights, which makes it easy to get there. By the way, Korean airline jobs (especially cabin crew positions) are very popular among Korean people, so the requirements to work at an airline are very high. The cabin crew is so beautiful even on local flights because of this! Anyway, it took less than an hour to get to Incheon Airport. Incheon Airport is incredibly big and sophisticated, but since it`s quite isolated, we had to take a train to get to the main city. Well, at least the view from the train was nice. We stayed only 2 nights but we had a great time. Seoul actually is not that big. I think this is a good thing – it makes it easy to visit the main tourist spots. The aims of this trip were to enjoy food, sightsee and buy cosmetic products.
I was surprised that there were so many Japanese people. I almost thought I was in Japan! There were many Japanese signs on trains, shopping malls, etc. because many Japanese people visit, I guess. Myondon is the most famous town in Seoul; many people who work in Myondon can speak Japanese fluently. I’ve heard that many people who work in Myondon can speak not only Japanese but even Chinese.
On the street, some people handed out sample face masks in front of their shops, similar to how Japanese people hand out “tisshu pakku”. When we showed interest in the samples, rather than simply giving them to us, they succeeded in getting us to enter the store by asking, “We have lots more inside, why don’t you take a look around for a few minutes?” I was attracted by their beautiful skin, and before I knew it I was leaving their store holding shopping bags filled with their products. There were so many skincare shops. By the way, according to my friend, local people usually don’t go shopping in Myondon because the products there are more expensive than in local shops.
Actually, the Korean people who I met in Australia took great care of their skin. They would often use face masks, and sometimes they would even take some thinly sliced vegetables and put them over their face. I met an Australian guy who had a Korean wife. He complained that his wife always took their daughter to the hospital just because she got a pimple:)
I was curious to see how Koreans take care of their skin in the hospital, so we went to see a dermatologist in the city. We were taken to an examination room and a doctor used some tool to pop our pimples… and it HURT! We groaned but the doctor didn’t care! After that, they put medicine on our bleeding faces, and then we washed up at a sink. I thought my skin looked a little bit more clear..? The salesperson from Myondon, the doctor and my Korean friends all said the same thing: “The most important thing to keep your skin beautiful is to have quality sleep, eat lots of vegetables, and exercise.”
The food was great, healthy and reasonably priced; I ate everything from meat to sweets. But the food was so spicy! I finally realized why this country loves spicy food – they put spices in everything! We could find kimchi everywhere and when we went to the supermarket, we could find many kinds of “Shin” ramen. I was interested in their kind of tea as well. There was everything from sweet “yuzu” tea all the way to regular barley tea. This country has a big tea culture too.
How about “Traffic”? In Korea the traffic lane is on the right, so the Korean people I met in Australia had a hard time switching to the left lane. They would say, “It was a little hard when we started to drive here.” Also, Koreans tend to drive a bit aggressively in general. I thought they drove too fast. Some of my Korean friends told me, “You must be careful when you cross the road in Korea.” One of my friends’ parents passed away in a car accident so I think it`s an important thing to always keep in mind.
I definitely want to visit Korea again. It was comfortable and enjoyable for me. We are actually going to start a new Korean language class at the cafe starting this April. Let’s learn Korean language and more about the culture together!
I really want to talk about Korea more, but I am going to finish here today. Because everything I’ve written here is my own subjective opinion, I really hope you can see it in person, then you can confirm for yourself whether what I’ve said is true. As one of my friends says, “Seeing is a thousand words!”
