The world's biggest Kaleidoscope
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Toshiba Pavillion
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The Mitsubishi Pavillion
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The Singapore Pavillion in World Expo, surprised that it has a queue, and this place sells chicken rice how about that
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Aichi & Hokkaido

Came back from Aichi on Tuesday and yes, it was hot and crowded but then it was definitely worth the visit...
well at least i had a been to a world expo wahaa... I visited a lot of countries pavillions, had African food for lunch and Bulgarian food for dinner. France pavillion impressed me the most.

Anyway Singapore pavillion was decently done and it seemed to be quite popular among japanese since it even had a queue...

But the highlight of the day was Toshiba pavillion for me. First they take a picture of your face, then withing minutes, the map your features to a computer and walla...
You appear in animated flim almost immediately, that's quite cool...

Ok now I have reached Hokkaido, spending the night at Sapporo, somehow after reaching here, I feel much more calmer, maybe it's just not as crowded and stressful as Tokyo...

Time to go travelling....

Ok, it's time to run havoc in Japan... I will be going to World Expo tonight. In case you people don't know what is the world expo, just check this out.
Well I would probably try my luck at some of the big corporations pavillions like sony, toshiba, toyota to try to see some really fancy new technology. Of course I would want to visit Singapore pavillion, everyone's whose been there has been giving rave reviews on the place.

Well, I am officially depressed before the start of my journey. All only because I look at the modules I am taking back home gives me stress. The only few things that are making me happy is seeing my dad and yuting, and of course get to drive again. Evaluating my past 4 months here, it may sound strange, Japan is actually less stressful than Singapore, but to be fair, I am here as an exchange student which basically means I am stress-free when it comes to academic work.

To sound euphemistic, Singapore has prepared me well for a short stint in Tokyo. The fact is Singapore is no less stressful than Tokyo. 2 hours of commuting are common in Tokyo, but I am sure when I go back to Singapore, anywhere outside 1 hour is considered far.

Well, at least I am looking forward to getting my ass to the beautiful Hokkaido, see you people later!

Well almost the whole class...
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End of Term

Finally I have reached the end of lessons in Keio... sad and relieved at the same time... now it's time to do some travelling, but also to say goodbye to some of my friends.

Keio is so much more relac than NUS, think NUS lives up to it's reputation of one of the most difficult universities to study in...

So my Japanese class went out together for a drinking session and karaoke, except for a French guy, Italian girl, Korean girl, Chinese guy who were either sick or busy, it was actually a good attendance of 14/18.

The German girl is a singer in a rock band,and when she does Japanese songs, you definitely can't tell that she's non Japanese.

So though our class doesn't interact much during class, however we all got together well at the end. We weren't tooo studious and boring a class, but everyone puts in effort in learning good Japanese. And I love my class for it's diversity...

Singapore, M'sia, HK, China, Taiwan, Korea, Turkey, Ukraine, France, Italy, German, American, Austria, Finland... my god, heard that we are the most diverse class in the whole school...

When will we ever stop making weird records?

SINGAPORE : As part of Nanyang Technological University's (NTU) 50th Anniversary celebrations, 536 first-year undergraduates got together and broke the world record for the largest number of blind dates.

electronic paper?

TOKYO : Japanese researchers showed off a bendable electronic paper that uses almost no power whilst displaying images, making it useful for advertising on buildings and vehicles.

Electronics maker Fujitsu said the electronic paper was the first that can preserve images in vivid color and without distortion when they are folded or bent.

It said the paper has an image memory function that means it has no need for electricity other than a minimal amount when changing the picture.

WOw, as i said, japanese don't invent space shuttles, or nuclear energy. They are the ones who gave us rice cookers,karaoke, LCDS, and now electronic paper. Think which of these have actually made your life better...

SINGAPORE : Japan's Foreign Minister Nobutaka Machimura will make an official visit to Singapore on Tuesday at the invitation of Foreign Minister George Yeo.

This will be the first official visit by Mr Machimura in his capacity as Foreign Minister.

Mr Machimura last visited Singapore in August 2002 as Acting Secretary-General of the Liberal Democratic Party.

Mr Machimura will call on Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, Foreign Minister George Yeo and Defence Minister Teo Chee Hean.

Aiyah, confirm ask Singapore to support Japan to get into Security Council. That's what Japanese politicians are all thinking about now, talk their way, buy their way through
But anyway, this foreign minister is quite a zai guy, wonder how the newbie George Yeo would cope

100 minutes of fireworks, I would be going to another one in Hokkaido, alvin, you lucky dog... I would bring you to another 100min fireworks
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Fireworks

Sorry no pics for fireworks, decided to steal from Tomoko(Sorry if you are reading this, lend my your picture ok?)(And now i realise she just took it off the official website)

It was crowded, but we chose a decent spot that wasn't too bad, laid a groundsheet and had a little picnic there with my friends. Well you may think, fireworks only what... ya, in Singapore fireworks is a 10 minutes affair, over here, it's a 100 minute affair, so we can afford to do pasar malam.

One of my happiest outings with my class and friends, and the ironical thing of the day was, all the non-japanese girls were wearing kimono, while all the japanese weren't. Anyway if not for the stupid last train, I would have hanged out till late, so i missed out karaoke with my friends. darnz....

For Singapore, we scream and shout when there are fireworks somehow in Tokyo region (with the nearby prefectures)alone (not to mention the whole Japan) they hold over 100 fireworks display over the summer. So for people who really love fireworks, i think you should come over to live here

Woo hoo, waterfall!
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Hear no evil, speak no evil, See no evil
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I somehow like this picture alot
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Tosho-gu
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World Heritage
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Nikko

Seriously this is one place to visit in Japan, though it's a bit far, like 3 hours from my dorm but i set off early enough and reached back at dorm 10pm.

The main attraction is 東照宮(Tousho-gu).For those who know a bit of Japanese history, this place is the tomb of Tokugawa Ieyasu, a general many centuries ago. It was built of his grandson Tokugawa Iemitsu (I think, correct me if i am wrong) and it costs 400 million US dollars in today's terms.

It's definitely a place worth visiting for all it's nature and shrines and temples. Highly recommended! That's why it's a world heritage site.

To think of it, there are 11 world heritage sites in Japan, and I have gone to 6, (Nikko area, Himeji castle, Kyoto, Nara, Hiroshima A-dome, Itsukushima Shrine) 5 more to go. Something that I would want to complete in this lifetime. Japanese have a saying of 3 scenes of Japan, (日本三景)(Itsukushima, Amanohashidate, Matsushima), and i have been to all 3.... lovely collection of memories in Japan....

Nikko pics imagestation 372-402

Yes i am serious....i am not joking
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Anybody wanna study in United Nations University? Wonder if they give Scholarship with a bond, I don't mind joining them
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Nice glass building in Aoyama... Prada has a boutique inside
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Crowded Takeshita street
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Takeshita Street
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Cosplayers slacking around
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Cosplayers
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Meiji Shrine
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Spending time with myself

Finally i finished most end term reports and an irritating test yesterday, and finally able to spend some time with myself. So I took a 4 hour walking course near Shibuya. Tried to jio some friends along, some were living too far, those living in dorm still has lotsa school work to take care off, but it's nice to spend some time wandering around. 33 degrees today, not the best day to go out, but at least it is not raining like the past few days.

First to Yoyogi park, just lotsa people singing and dancing in the parks, we don't see that often at home. Then to Meiji Shrine, just another shrine just bigger and nicer, and a 10 min walk from the gate to the inner shrine

So a lot of cosplayers just gather around there and they just talk cock, japanese youngsters, sometimes i really think that they have nothing better to do. Then just around the corner is Takeshita Street, just another fashion street, with lots of people walking around.

Near Omote Sando, another high class area, with all the boutiques arranged along the street, I stopped nearby for a dessert in Yoku Moku, pretty famous in Japan for its confectionary.

Well i spent a nice day with myself, and i only spent 840 yen ($14)on the dessert for this whole trip cos' i mainly did walking no transport costs involved... well some pictures... or go to my imagestation pics 363-371 for all of them

2nd class student

Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew said there was something missing in Singapore's system and the country's best often did not go to the universities here.

Hi there my friends, most of us have just became 2nd class students.

Mr Lee said as Singapore's universities attract the best faculty and students from the wider region, especially China and India, they can then become world-class institutions

There are times I would just like to tell my Japanese friends. I am not a smart Singaporean student, cos' the smartest go to the States and Britain. Or should I tell them not to come to NUS, cos' even though we are ranked top 20 in the world, you people would end up interacting with not the smartest Singaporeans. Please go to the States and then talk to the Singaporeans and Americans there, cos' they are the smartest

Well look on the bright side, at least NUS can say that NUS is not going to suffer from inferiority complex from now on....are we not the brightest students in Singapore? Ya maybe not the best, but the "best" are going to serve their term in the government sector after they graduate, while I try to get into Goldman Sachs or Lehman Brothers

The Minister Mentor, who was presented with the NUS Eminent Alumni award, also suggested sending Singapore's scholarship students first to NUS or NTU, and then abroad for their postgraduate studies.

Another way is to twin courses so students can spend time at a local university, and at a top university overseas.

hmmm, how many years of bondage would the scholars have to go through then in the govt sector. Since the market rate is 6 years for overseas studies, 4 years for local. If rojak together, then that makes it 5 years of bond. Or if you do honours in Singapore then 2 years of Masters, that makes it (2/3 X 4) + (1/3 X 5) = 4 1/3 yrs
maybe I am wrong, the smarter people in MOE would make a optimal calculation.