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Day 4: Chilling out and being interviewed

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So the main reason why I visited Tokyo again was because of an interview by a Japanese major company for their staff magazine. I am not allowed to disclose any information right now but hey, I can post my "selfie" first! The interview took like an hour or so with me sweating profusely because of the walk from the station to the office. (I hope my photos turn out fine...)

Day 3: Tokyo Disneyland Halloween special 2014

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October was still freakin HOT when there's sun! So if you are going to Disneyland on a sunny day (except for Winter), bring a cap or something!!! My friend and I were both horribly bad at waking up early so we ended up arriving late (like 11.30am) at the park. By then, queues for all the popular rides had become very long. For tips on getting fast passes, etc. you might want to check the following Tokyo Disneyland survival guides here: http://tdrexplorer.com/tips-for-dealing-with-massive-crowds-at-tokyo-disney-resort/ http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e3016_tickets.html http://www.themeparkinsider.com/flume/201308/3624/

Day 2: Nissin Cup Noodle Museum at Yokohama

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I am definitely not into a cup of nothing nutritious for 343kcal but my friend was. So we went to Nissin's Cup Noodles Museum at Yokohama to spend our rainy day there. In fact, many fans thought that I would be stuck at my hotel because of typhoon but its strength had decreased dramatically and became a heavy rain instead. Having stayed at Tokyo for 3.5 years and experienced typhoon a couple of times, I learned to always check JMA a day before for a more accurate weather forecast. Thank you all for your concern! ^^

Day 1: Sakura Hotel Ikebukuro Review

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I finally have some time to blog about my 9-days Japan trip (12-21 Oct) for work and holiday so I decided to start with my budget hotel review. It definitely feels good to be back after I left there for a year!

Coffee on the go in US, Japan and Singapore

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I do miss the can coffee in Japan. There are ridiculously small but really good! On the other hand, lesser and lesser coffee shops are using plastic bags now in Singapore. Maybe because they know it's not good for health? My lovely coffee with bread~

Beer and drinking custom in Japan

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Yup everyone has to drink beer in Japanese parties, even just a tiny sip. I personally prefer sweet wine and mixed juice+alcohol such as: レモンサワー (Lemon Sour: Shochu with soda and fresh lemon juice)、ゆずサワー (Yuzu Sour: Shochu with soda and fresh citrus) and カシスオレンジ (Cassis Orange:  Mixed orange juice with Creme da cassis, which is a sweet dark red liqueur made from blackcurrants). These cocktail mixes are usually served with ice. Many women also like to order 梅酒 (Umeshu/plum wine) and it is served with either ice (ロック rock)or soda water (ソーダ soda) in Japan. ---------- Sake 酒: Often referred to as Rice wine although the fermenting process is closer to beer. Shochu / Shouchuu 焼酎 : Distilled spirit from barley, sweet potatoes, buckwheat or rice, etc. Typically contains higher percentage of alcohol content. It is also often mixed with soda and fruit juice to become Chuhai 酎ハイ. My favourite is with lemon or grapefruit :P Cheers :P

Trompenaar's Sequential Time vs Synchronous Time

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Based on Trompenaar's dimensions of culture:  Sequential Time vs Synchronous Time (How people manage time).  http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/seven-dimensions.htm Although Japanese are deadly punctual for meetings, they are quite vague when it comes to setting up deadlines in business setting. For example to finish a certain thing by a certain date... and not to forget that we have no idea what's going on at Fukushima... Previous cultural dimensions: Collectivist and Individualist Neutral and Emotional Universalist and Particularist Specific and Diffuse Achievement and Ascription

Leaving your belongings behind in Japan

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Of course, it is always a good idea to not let your bag out of your sight unless there's really nothing important inside...

The Birth of Eva, Kopi and Matcha at Japanese Association Singapore

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I usually give talks (20-25 mins or so) as part of a program for festivals or at bookstores. But this was the first time that it was just me, yup, JUST ME alone to sustain a 2 hour session consisting of a 45mins talk, 10 mins demo and 15 mins QA session. The venue is far from shopping malls and their restaurants only serve Japanese Association members. So people who came were really there for my talk only.

What to do when it gets too hot

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This is the original version... but the haze in Singapore became heavy today... (from fires in Indonesia) so I changed it to this: I guess we need air-con anyway...