my first Chinese New Year in Japan

Another sunny but cold sunday in japan. But what is so special today is... CHINESE NEW YEAR!!! today is CNY eve, the day when the whole family sit together and have reunion lunch/dinner. what we call Tuan Yuan Fan. Guess my friends and family in Malaysia now are busy for cleaning and preparing for praying (welcome the god of money at about 12am). then of course the most important time - Fire Crackers Time.... ( though it is illegal in Msia... hehehe...)

Japanese dont celebrate CNY, their biggest celebration is on 1st Jan. that`s why i still have to work tomorrow eventhough it is Nian Chu Yi (first day of CNY). : (

Luckily, I am still managed to celebrate CNY and eat Tuan Yuan Fan with my friends in Japan... ^^ although I am far apart from home....

there were total 11 of us. (start from right and counterclockwise: the okashi Nantha, the majime Alfred (from Sg- sorry that only can only see half of your face... :p), the kirei Vendy, the hansamu Terry(from Macau), the suaiqi Wang(from China), the... ano ne... baka Mikan, the shinsetsu Lorna (from Sg), the hajimete Vjay, the omizu soonlee, the cutest peggie! )

here i am!!! ^^


we made about 8 dishes. included a very deliciuos Fish Curry made by Nantha. he is really superb in cooking! getting more homesick after ate his curry.. huhu.... then we also had a healthy ABC soup, Marmite Prawn made by Peggie. which the marmite was purposely sent by air post from Msia!!! yummy.. yummy...



another dish is a very chinese style Fu Yong Chao Dan (egg with big onion), the egg in Japan is very fresh and delicious. the golden yellowish pork (behind the egg) is butter pork which made by butter, egg yolk and pork (i modified from the butter prawn which i made before). i think if i used a chinese wok instead of pan it will taste better. ^^ besides that, we also had Bah Kut Tea ( but used chicken instead of pork), a vegetable (Xiao Bai Cai)... i didnt manage to take the picture of the dishes because we were too busy with EATING!!! hehe..



after the meal, we ate some CNY cookies which is an authentic Msia cookies. yes, it is a must-have item in CNY!


after that, we went to Chinatown in Yokohama (station of Ishikawacho) with the hope of can experience some CNY atmosphere. but... a little bit dissapointed because couldnt see the Lion Dance or hear the CNY`s song... neither. mb i expected too much... hehehe

anyway, it is a very typical Chinatown. the buildings, the landmark, the restaurant all loooks very `Chinese`... that`s the reason of the name of `Chinatown` i guess.... :p

got Big Pao somemore!! hahaha... 360yen is about RM10... i didnt buy it because i doubt its taste can beat the taste of a home-made Bao or not...



me and Lorna (from singapore). finally we found the display of a Lian Dance... better than none.. hehe



In the sameday, while we were eating Tuan Yuan Fan in Vendy`s room, my dormitory master knocked the door. Initially, I thought we were going to scold by him (maybe we are too noisy or what...) but luckily, actually he just wanted to inform me that my parcel from Msia was reached. he was so nice!! I were so surprised. The photo above: the things my family sent to me... which let me felt the arrival of CNY! thanks and love ya! By the way, i also received a Pinky CNY card from lynnwey, thanks dear! it is my first CNY card in Jp!! haha...



yeah..mm.... is time to decorate my room... HAPPY CHINESE NEW YEAR!!!



just now i received something very special from a special friend... Sim, you had surprised me!!! thanks a lot!!! ^^ i think the cost of stem is more expensive than the pack of milo right?! hahaha...

place where im staying

I am staying at in TOSHIBA Teraya dormitory ( Tsurumi, Yokohama). it is a girls dorm. for the guys they stay in the other dorm which about 10min walk (Creare TOSHIBA Nakadai Dorm).

Yokohama is quite near to Tokyo. by train is less than 1hour. In the map, the place called Kawasaki is my future work place. only one station away from Tsurumi station (place where i stay). Actually currently im still under training which we learn Japanese in Toshiba Training Center placed in Shi-yokohama. everyday 8.30am till 5.ooam. (quite long huh... ><) i only will start working in April/May 2009. ^^ let`s see some photo of my dormitory!!

view from my room 226... we are watching the same sky no matter where u are.... : )

my room which my name is writen there in english and Japanese Katagana.

Ang Ley Kim and アン　リーキム　^^

once open the door, you will see a walkway... right handside is storage, left handside is toilet.

yaya.. this is my room. with a cute pinky bear (there is a story about how i got this bear... will tell u in another post) and also a kaeru (frog) which i brought from Msia (given by a cute n good friend) hang on the string from the lamp . actually there is a purpose for the string... easy for me to switch off the lamp when im laying on my sweet bed... hehe.. zzzZZZzzzzz....

on the floor is my little daidokoro (kitchen). the right hand side is toaster (toshiba brand.. hehehe...), middle is my tabemono (food), then square white colour metal is a small refrigerator.

every night before i sleep i will have my bread ready in the toaster, then in the early morning about 6.30am after woke up, i will heat it up then eat with milk and banana... time-saving method... hehe.. and mom said: healthy breakfast is very important!! :p

the dorm is provided us the washing machine and dryer machine which we can use anytime. いいですね！very good!




this is a very important place!!! which is my favourite place too. a commom kitchen where i can make my meal. normally during weekend i will cook and my friend (peggie-san from USM/ Seremban). weekday also we will try to cook if have time and energy.

Initially, eating japanese food was exciting and had good appetite. i even took the photo for each meal we had... but after 2months here, i started miss malaysian food and home made food very much. nasilemak.. bahkutea... laksa.... roti canai... huhuhu..... : (



the area around my dormitory....


the streets which i have to walk by everyday to go to the train station (Tsurumi station). about 15 minutes walk... my shoes and heels get `exhausted` very fast because everyday i have to walk at least 30min (dorm to/from station) and 30min (station to/from training center). :/

outside the station there are a lot of bicycles. i am planing to buy one to park here too! so i can save money fr my shoes. ^^

Seiyu is a supermarket which i shop for my daily stuff. it is located right outside of Tsurumi Station. is very convenient. u know what, i found MILO!!! my favourite energy drink! it is about RM15 for 250g. quite expensive huh.... but is ok, now i still have stock. i brought 2.5kg from Msia... haha...

here is story about the place i stay... next time i will talk about my traning/ work place i guess.
have a nice day! ^^