Hokkaido Pics: Recovered

Allow me to share some of the few good pics recovered from my busted memory card. These were the ones I took during my visit to Hokkaido, an island north of Japan. Regularly, the place is covered in snow, but summertime converts it into one vast grassland (cultured). The place is known as Japan's milkland, where there are more cows than people.


The farmers in the area are rich, living in European-inspired mansions. I was told they are a pampered lot, receiving hefty subsidies just so they would continue farming.

But the place, devoid of human hustle and bustle could become so lonely. One's nearest neighbor is at least a few kilometers away and the people are just so engrossed with work that there really is not much time for fun and bonding. Definitely, not the place for someone like me, who finds busy Tokyo melancholic.

Creatures in the Flower Park

I first saw the fallen angels ... resting beneath the tall trees that seemed to fence the large flower farm. I asked permission to take their picture, but before I could even make a few decent clicks, the other tourists rudely took my frame. I was not in the mood to serve as their official photographer so I decided to wander afar.

Luckily I met other interesting creatures, mostly on their way to wherever home must be. Why they were there (halloween is a goods two weeks ahead), I really had no idea. But since they were good photo subjects, I really didn't care about the why. I just decided to harass some of them.

These amiable characters indulged me ...

Naruto?

The Little Red Prince

Hansel & Gretel's Lost Sisters

Cinderella's Cute Stepsisters

The Kitchen Samurai Guard

Las Tres Musketeras

... finally..

The Green Sisa

He he. My apologies for the corny names. I honestly just don't know who they were mimicking.

Tsukuba: Just Another Bus Tour Post

For the nth time, I joined a Filipino organization in a bus tour - this time in Japan's science showcase, the city of Tsukuba in Ibaraki Prefecture.

Our first stop was the Tsukuba Expo Center which greets visitors with an impressive 50-meter high full-scale model of the Japanese-made H-2 rocket. Once inside, we were exposed to many Japanese inventions, like the ocean floor investigative submersible and the modern nuclear reactor model.


And of course, could one talk of Japanese science without mentioning robots? Meet two of them - my new friends whose names I forgot, hehehe.


The Expo Center also boasts of the world's largest hemispherical dome for a planetarium. There we were re-introduced to the stars and other heavenly bodies, reminding me of the days in the province when we would scour the skies to form the constellations.

Our next stop was an orchard for the requisite fruit picking - this time pears. On the way to the farm, I spotted this cemetery by the mountain.


Third stop - a large flower farm. The vibrant colors charmed me but somehow, there were other creatures there that grabbed my attention. But I am reserving the pics for my next post. :-)


And finally, we went to the peak of Tsukuba Mountain via cable car. We were tired, but the beautiful sunset was enough to soothe our nerves. Twas a great way to cap a day.

Fantasy Baths, Anyone?

Have you ever fancied soaking yourself in red wine?


Or "sake" (Japanese wine), perhaps?


Hmm, coffee?


How about tea?

These baths may seem too exotic for your taste, but a resort in the mountains off Tokyo hit the jackpot when it started making these ideas come to life. Patrons just kept pouring in despite the fact that it was pretty obvious that the pools were not designed to accommodate a deluge of people.

Probably, in the dead of winter or some other off days, the place could be a haven for respite and royal pampering. But at the time we were there, a long weekend was in the offing. The place was totally jam-packed! Almost every square foot of the pools were occupied, so all we managed to do was try to take quick dips in each of them.

But despite the migraine-inducing crowd, it was admittedly still an experience to treasure. Everyone felt like kids again - awed by something odd but exciting. We wished we could have really soaked up, but we had to give way to the others who were similarly anxious to check the experience.

Anyway, the regular pools are also there, ready to embrace you like the prodigal son.

RETHINKING BAGUIO

I had another "quickie" travel over the weekend, this time to the City of Pines. My last visit was probably about 2 years ago, and clearly many things have changed since then.



Traffic is evidently heavier (it can take you minutes to traverse Session Road), the climate's warmer and there is definitely more pollution (read: smog). In short, Baguio is exploding!

I guess it's time for lowlanders to search for a better, more pristine summer hideaway. Baguio just cannot accommodate the steady inflow of tourists. The place may not be as comfortable and as cosmopolitan as Baguio, but we'd certainly appreciate some place that will not exacerbate the stress in our already harassed lives.

Of course, Baguio still keeps its old charm. The question really is how long will it last?

I don't know, but with so much commercial activity plaguing the area, will attractions like the Strawberry Farm (below) sustain their freshness and cool atmosphere? Not in the next few years, I'm afraid.

Busy, Busy ...

For good boys like me (ahem!), regular days are filled with nothing but home-office-home travels. Boring. I have become so used to this uneventful routine that my recent out-of-town trips seemed like a local Amazing Race episode. Taxing indeed, but the change of pace and environment was, to say the least, gratifying.

That's why I had a short blog-leave. It's just now that I have settled again and found time to face the computer. Hay buhay. So many things to do, so very little time.

Nothing extraordinary came out of these travels though. But I'd be glad to recount them here, for posterity's sake. This, in a nutshell, was how the travels went:

First stop: Manaoag. February 24, 2007

We've been planning this pilgrimage for some time now. And knowing how important our concerns were, there was really no entertaining reasons to back out. So even if there were only three of us, we proceeded as committed. Mahirap na. Baka samain.:-)

We just took the early morning bus going to Dagupan. We were planning to just take the jeep to Manaoag. But luckily for us, good friends took care of our transportation to Manaoag and back.

The church was not full when we were there. Well, it was twelve o' clock midday. And it was a Saturday.

After the Mass, we went to the petition area. And as the candles burned, we prayed like never before. As fervently as we could.

Like litigants in a court proceeding, we pleaded our cases. We silently cited the merits of giving us the blessings. We even probably muttered promises. But we were cognizant of the fact that everything depends on the great Judge, and the most we could do is beg for mercy. For the best results. And at no other time ... but now.

From Dagupan, we went to Malasiqui, Pangasinan where one of my companions had her roots. We braced for a bumpy jeepney ride, but again, luck smiled on us. Our hosts volunteered to bring us there. Ang yabang tuloy namin. Inihatid kami ng luxury car.:-)

But something funny happened on the way to Manila he he. We realized there were no airconditioned buses passing Malasiqui at the time we were waiting. Determined to go home that night, we took a regular bus.

Result? Na facial kami ng sandamakmak na alikabok -- at me kasama pang blower ng hanging galing sa labas!

Next stop: Cebu. February 28 to March 1, 2007

We went to Cebu to conduct a lecture. Everything went fine, except for my failure to see the City again in its full glory. We were there just overnight. And as I tried searching my phone for possible contact persons, I realized most of my friends are no longer there. Wala akong mahihila!

Ending. We spent our spare time in - of all places, the mall! Corny.

Last stop: Tagaytay City; March 2 to 3, 2007

This was supposed to be an office planning conference but we knew better. It was actually more aimed at fostering camaraderie and bonding among the employees. So we did just that.

Locked in our rooms, we watched a video of some magic show somewhere via the laptop we brought and at the same time watched Final Destination on TV. Of course, while the madness was on, Fundador was being served. Viva los Indios! :-)

Test of Faith

Ginawa naming Divisoria ang Davao kahapon.

We had to fly in mid-morning and fly out early evening. We were to conduct a lecture in between.

We reached the training center past noon. There were still three speakers scheduled before us. We were getting worried we will not make it to the 6:45 flight.

"Trust God", sabi ni Gary, isang kasama namin. He was to talk after us pa! "Madami ng nangyaring ganito na nalusutan ko."

Mahaba ang lecture at maraming tanong sa mga nauna. We promised, iiksian namin ang amin. One hour, at most.

Eksakto. Tapos kami ng mga 5:10. Salang kaagad si Gary. "Ano gusto nyo, fast or quick? Basta mabilis lang to", yabang pa niya sa participants.

Pero 6:00 na, nagkukuwento pa rin siya. Di nya nakikita ang time-out sign namin.

Tumawag na kami sa mga nauna na sa airport. "Ano pa'ng ginagawa nyo dyan? Andito na ang eroplano!"

Walang kaabog-abog, lumayas na kami. Aside from Gary, me isa pa siyang kasama na magsisimula pa lang. We had no choice but to leave them both.

Ang masama, pinagamit na sa amin ang sasakyan na dapat para ke Gary (mas bosing kasi sya, he he). Ni-request na lang namin ang guard na ihanap sila ng ibang masasakyan.

Pagdating sa airport, we realized, niloko pala kami ng tinawagan namin. Kararating lang ng plane!

After a few minutes, dumating sina Gary. Gusto sana namin, pero di na kami nakapagtago.

Nakangiti siyang lumapit sa amin, sabay sabing, "You did not trust the Lord!"

Guilty, your honor . . .

Chinese Acrobatic Show