Shibuya 109 (涉谷109)

For some personal matters, I went to Shibuya today. After lunch, I went to Shibuya 109 - a famous shopping center at Shibuya where you can see a lot of Kogal (Kogyaru?) fashion . The saleswomen dressed very pretty and sexy and always smiled at you. I spent time walking around the shops and found a lot of lovely clothing which you can buy only in Japan even though it is marked 'made in China'. I found one Hello Kitty shirt and bought it. It is designed so cute and I'm going to give it to my friend's kid. :-)

Traditional Chinese Medicine (中医)

I'm a fun of OZ Magazine and like to read its articles related to women's health. I found that Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) is getting much more and more popular in Japan. A lot of Chinese medicine are being introduced and used in Japan for women's health. I'm actually taking Chinese medicine now to keep healthy. It won't help immediately but slowly and slowly you will feel the effectiveness and there is less side effect. I'm quite happy that it's now getting easier and easier to purchase TCM without going back to China.

我喜欢读日本的OZ杂志, 尤其是关于女人健康方面的文章. 我感觉中医在日本越来越受到重视和广泛应用. 对于健康保健, 中医有着举足轻重的作用. 很多人越来越意识到这一点. 我本人就经常服用中医药来保健. 虽然没有西医药效果显著但是中医药的副作用小, 对女人的身体非常适合. 一辈子不服药当然最好但是在非常难做到! 多了解一下中医对自己还是有帮助的. 我很高兴现在不回国在日本也可以买到中药.

Odaiba VenusFort (台场维纳斯城堡)

I went to Odaiba VenusFort today with my friend. I'm actually very family with this place as I have been there uncountable times - I'm living very close to Odaiba and that is why i always choose to go there for shopping and eating. Venusfort Pre Bargain started end of last month and tomorrow will be the last day! Many brand goods are on 30%-50% sale. We stopped by the Bulberry store but it doesn't offer any sales. The prices compared with Gucci,LV,Fendi and etc are cheaper. A lot of Chinese and Korean visitors are shopping there. I guess it's cheaper buying in Japan instead of in China and Korea as there is no tax included (?)

Tickets to France

Japanese Yen is getting weaker and weaker, especially against EURO. I'm also too shocked to know from the travel agency that just an air ticket from Tokyo to Paris (direct flight) now costs around 13,0000~18,0000 Yen due to the rising prices of fuel oil. The oil surcharge for the round trip to France is around 40000 Yen-/person. Ooooouch!! I also read news that the high increase in crude oil prices is affecting the travel industry not only in Japan but also in China. My husband suggest we wait for a while till the price goes down a bit. But I really want to go next month as I have been looking forward to it... Sorry, I just booked the tickets!

最近欧元升值对日元已快突破1EUR=168Yen. 现在去欧洲旅游确实不是好时机. 在加上燃油价格不断上涨. 从日本飞巴黎的机票燃油价格就要花四万日币. 前前后后单纯一张飞机票就要花十几万! 我得好好计划一下如何安排这次旅行. 希望七月初欧元对日元能降一点. 但是可能性很小...

7.0-magnitude earthquake hit Northern Japan (日本发生7.0级地震!)

A powerful earthquake hit the north of Japan's main island this morning. The epicentre was in Akita prefecture. In Tokyo, we also felt the shaking when the quake occurred but not much affected. Japan is one of the world's most earthquake-prone countries and we have experienced many of minor tremors during the past 10 years. However the quake like this is quite rare. There is already a lot of rumors that there will be a big one(7.0-8.0 magnitude) in Tokyo within the next 10-20 years. Scared...

今天早上日本本州北部岩手县发生了7.0级地震. 我们在东京也感到很明显的震感. 日本是地震大国. 我们在日本呆的十年里已经经历了无数次大大小小的地震. 虽然已经习惯了但是一直生活在一个地震国家有时候是感到有一些恐怖. 很多地震专家已经预测东京在未来的十年到二十年之内会有七到八级的大地震. 真的好可怕...

Schengen Visa (欧盟签证)

I went to France Embassy Tokyo this morning to get my Schengen Visa. it took me two weeks to get it. With this visa, I can visit Schengen countries (currently 24 countries have joined) . For your reference, below are the documents that I submitted to the France Embassy. Hopefully it can be of help to your case. :-)

. Certificate of employment (in English)
. Travel itenerary which is issued by the travel agency such as JTB, HIS and etc.
. Certificate of overseas travel insurance (it can be issued by the travel agency)
. Bank account statement
. Passport
. Alien registration card
. Two color photos (35ｘ45mm)

For more details, please also visit below URL:
http://www.ambafrance-jp.org/article.php3?id_article=1160#sommaire_1

今天到法国大使馆去领取了欧盟签证. 从申请到签证批下来花了两周时间. 去欧洲旅游最好办一个欧盟签证, 这样你可以一次去很多的国家. 以下是我办签证所递交的所有材料. 仅供大家参考. :-)

. 在职证明 *英文版
. 旅行社出的旅游日程表 *英文版 (住的宾馆地址, 联系电话号码要注明)
. 海外旅游保险 *旅行社出

. 银行的存款证明
. 本人护照
. 外国人登陆证
. 彩色照片两张 (35ｘ45mm)

Red lobster for dinner last night! (品尝美味奥洲龙虾!)

As usual, I went to JUSCO to buy food yesterday. I happened to see lobster imported from Australia were on sale! One cost 1000 yen and two together only cost 1800 yen! Lobster in Japan is very expensive food. I have never had it in Japan though I had a lot when I traveled to the North America. Without any hesitation, I bought two - one for me and one for my hubby. We cooked it in a Chinese style and the lobster tasted so yummy! We were both very satisfied with the dinner last night. :-)

昨天去家附近的超市JUSCO买菜, 超市正在促销奥洲产的龙虾. 一只只要一千日元. 两只才一千八百元. 在日本龙虾是很高级的食物. 一般的日本普通老百姓是吃不起的. 我们在日本也没有吃过龙虾. 以前去北美和奥洲的时候吃过很多. 出于价钱的便宜, 我毫不犹豫得买了两只. 老公以前在加拿大生活过, 做香葱爆龙虾可是老手. 不错, 他做的味道确实很好. 真好吃!! 在北美龙虾是家常便饭, 可在日本和中国就成了有钱人的山珍海味.

Aakasaka Sacas (东京赤坂Sacas)

My friend and I went to Aakasaka Sacas for lunch today. It is a newly developped area in Akasaka. Similar to Roppongi Hills, you can eat, shop there and the TBS (Tokyo Broadcasting System) is also located there. We had lunch buffet at JIM THOMPSON Table Thailand Akasaka. Food was delicious with good service. We had a walk to TBS after lunch and spent some time there watching the currently showing movies.

今天和朋友一起去了赤坂新街“akasaka Sacas”. Sacas为“樱花盛开”的日语发音. 它是一个新开发的商业城. 和六本木一样, 赤坂有很多高级俱乐部、一流的日式餐厅. 有名的TBS电视台也在此. 我们在那里吃了一顿泰国自助餐. 味道很好而且餐厅服务很周到. 午饭以后我们散步到TBS, 看了一下最近在上演的电视剧. 遗憾的是我们没有看到任何艺能人.

No Reservations (美味情縁)

Recommended by my friend, I watched the DVD 'No Reservations' today. It is about the life of a top chef acted by Catherine Zeta-Jones changes when she becomes the guardian of her young niece. Really it's a good movie! I like the phrase 'Life isn't always made to order'. I used to want to be a perfect career woman - do my job to perfection but ended up getting sick. We have to accept that life isn't getting better each day, then it's time for change! This movie is not just a love comedy but also a one full of life philosophy. Catherine Zeta-Jones is a wonderful actress and i like her movies very much. If you still haven't got a chance to watch it, have a watch. :-)

朋友推荐我看一部DVD叫'美味情縁'. 英文名叫No Reservations.看完以后感触很深. 觉得自己的性格太像电影里的主人公KATE. 无论在工作还是在生活上对自己要求很高/是一个完美主义者. 一旦遇到挫折和不顺的时候就非常苦恼不能自拔. 人生不是一帆风顺的. 要学会改变自己. 任何时候都要对生活充满信心!!

Hakone Kowakien Yunessun (箱根小湧园森林SPA温泉乐园)

As planned, we went to the Hakone Kowakien Yunessun. We tried more than 10 different kinds of spa such as The God's Aegen Sea, Turkish Hamam, Japanese Sake Spa, Green Tea Spa, Coffee Spa, Wine Spa and etc. - Very fun!!

终于去了箱根小湧園的森林SPA温泉乐园, 它提供二十多种露天温泉, 上帝之海, 古罗马浴池, 土耳其浴池 等等. 我喜欢那里的露天温泉. 第一次体验了咖啡温泉, 緑茶温泉, 日本酒温泉, 香槟酒温泉,感觉非常不错! 大家有机会一定去试一试!

Rainy Season （梅雨）

June is upon us and I can feel the smell of early summer. However the rainy season (梅雨） is already under way in Tokyo . It's raining this whole week...

日本的初夏总是有梅雨伴随. 今年的梅雨似乎比往年又提早了一些. 绵绵细雨让人心情舒畅不起来. 我喜欢蓝天白云, 风和日丽...真想这个时候离开东京去一个阳光灿烂的地方. 是的, 应该让自己High起来!