autumn leaves

Autumn had arrived and its time again to witness the leaves changing color called here as kouyou (紅葉). For the past 3 years, I never really went out of Tokyo to view the Autumn leaves. The view in Yoyogi, Ueno and a number of parks here are more than enough for me to see the beauty of autumn. Until last Tuesday, my Indian colleague Hemanth told me about having a trip this weekend to Shosenkyo in Yamanashi prefecture to view some kouyou. I told him I would love to go to experience kouyou on a grand scale. Then come Saturday (good thing weekend work didn't push through), me along with Hemanth, Gap and Xu - a chinese colleague, met at Chuo line of Shinjuku station. It was very unfortunate that the Chuo rapid line was suspended on that day. Meaning we have to take the local train and then make some multiple transfers along the way. We left Shinjuku at around 8:30 and arrived at our initial destination Kofu at around 11:30 am. Quite a long journey indeed but we enjoyed chatting along the way which made our trip appeared to be shorter. From Kofu station, we need to ride a bus for 1 hour to get into Shosenkyo-our destination for the day. Upon arrival, our stomach was already grumbling so we decided to eat lunch first before starting the hike.

Houtou - vegetable stew with udon noodles

Preparing to eat the local food delicacy of Koufu

After lunch, we started our hike and went to the top via ropeway. I had hoped it would be as exciting as the ropeway in Hakone as you can see in Pia's blog - but it was not. Although the view when going up to see Shosenkyo's beauty was a real breathtaker.

Reaching the top, we moved around and was lucky enough to have a very clear sky to be able to see the majestic Mt. Fuji. Below are some more pictures I took at the peak of Shosenkyo. It was really beautiful seeing the view on top.

Mt. Fuji

After around 1 1/2 hours on top, we decided to go down and see other beauties that Shosenkyou has to offer.

Momoji - Red Maple leaves

Beware of wild bears

We decided to finish our hike around 4:30 p.m to catch the next bus going to Kofu station at 4:40 p.m. Unfortunately, we failed to catch it and have to wait for another 40 minutes for the next bus. In Kofu station, we decided to take the bus instead of the train going to Shinjuku. It was a 2 hours 10 minutes-trip but it was worth the ride since we were able to sleep soundly as compared to taking the trains which will make us transfer stations a number of times. Before we left the station, the bus driver informed everyone that we might expect some delay depending on the traffic we'll have along the way. Time of departure was supposed to be 7:10 pm and time of arrival in Shinjuku is 9:10 but we left around 7:13. Time we arrived at Shinjuku? 9:12! I was surprised that even the bus in Japan is also very efficient and right on the clock!

Overall, the trip was really nice! Houtou tastes good and made me really full for the day. Shosenkyou's nature is a real breath taker with special mention to Mt. Fuji's peak, falls, Arakawa river and rock formations. However, we haven't able to see its full potential on Autumn as the leaves are not all in kouyou mode yet. Nevertheless, it can't count out the overall beauty of Shosenkyo-considered to be one of Japan's most favorite scenery.

Pictures c/o my W995 and Gap's DSLR Camera.

a day with the ultimate tennis goddess

Around end of September, there was a mail from our HR that they'll be giving away tickets for Toray Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo which was sponsored by our company. All we need to do is write a short mail to them and say something about our intranet website. Unfortunately, I read the mail late in the afternoon and the deadline of the promo was over. I then asked my colleague Vivek if he was able to participate since I know he plays tennis and a big fan. He told me that he wasn't interested since it's a woman's match but if I would like to watch I should ask Gap because he just won finals tickets for two! Then I immediately went to him and asked if he already has someone to go with. Then he said, no one yet. I just found out eventually that he invited Vivek first and I was lucky that he declined. :D

Having secured my finals ticket, I then checked out the list of players participating in the game and found that one of them is ultimate tennis goddess Maria Sharapova! I told Vivek that how I wish she could reach the finals so that we can see her in person. He said that it will be unlikely for us to see her because of the other great players competing in the tournament. Maria Sharapova had just came from an injury and had since fallen down in world rankings. Considering the Williams sisters and many top-seeded players, she doesn't stand a chance according to Vivek. Still, me and Gap kept our fingers crossed hoping that Maria would be able to compete in the finals.

Then 2 days before the finals, I checked out the latest news about the tournament. I was a bit ecstatic to find out that Maria is still competing in the quarterfinals and most of the seeded players had already lost! The following day, I learned that she pulled it through to the finals! I showed the news to Vivek and told him that God answered our prayers. He kept on laughing and asked me to give him the ticket instead. It was really fun teasing him that time knowing that we'll be on an awesome treat seeing the tennis goddess Maria Sharapova playing on the next day!

To cut this blog short, I will just let the picture speaks of what happened in the finals match.

Oh my....here comes the goddess...:D

Preparing for opponent's return

A failed service...due to Gap's camera :P

Jelena Jancovic - one of the fittest and toughest tennis player around

Jancovic: "Hey chief, can I still play?"


Sharapova: "Sorry for your wrist injury, it could have been a great match..."


joyful with her victory

Lovely Maria, receiving her 1st tournament championship after 18 months

As an added bonus, there was a doubles finals match featuring Alisa Kleybanova / Francesca Schiavone and Daniela Hantuchová / Ai Sugiyama in which the former team won. Daniela Hantuchová was also a sight to behold despite of not playing on top of her game. It could have been a great exit match for Ai Sugiyama should they have won.

You can watch the finals match of Sharapova and Jancovic here.

iphlip

Reading thru my previous posts, it appeared that I wasn't able to properly introduced myself (as if i have readers...ehehe). Anyway, might as well do the introduction now. I'm Philip from the Philippines, living and working now in Tokyo, Japan. Just like every Filipino searching for greener pastures abroad to provide a better life to his family (as well as to the extended ones... :D), mine is also the same. I have been here for over 3 years now but still enjoying everything this country has to offer. It had provided me a very big room to grow both as an individual and as a professional. Hence, I am really grateful to have this awesome opportunity.

Now on a lighter note, I'm a true-blue basketball and Manny Pacquiao fan (only as a boxer just like any other Filipinos...ehehe) , I enjoy going out with friends, reading random stuffs, watching TV series, documentaties and movies, traveling, strolling, running, having cheesy conversations with my fiancee and learning new things in life.

As to the iphlip as my pseudo here, I just thought of playing along by combining the prefix of internet and pun of my name Philip when being pronounced quickly. Hence, the iphlip ;D

Ohisashiburi!!

Ohisashiburi! Meaning "It's been a long time" in formal japanese. Informally, "Hisa Bisa" will mean the same thing. October had passed and I don't have even a single entry in my blog! I got so filled up with a number of activities and blogging still takes time for me so I decided to put it on the back seat for a while so that I can do some other stuffs. Until I saw Pia's blogs....it reawakened me! It reminded me of what was my intention when I started this and gave me a new motivation to continue blogging again. Thanks Pia! Now I'm back and will try to update my blog site of the things that I have done in the past month and the new things coming into my way now. Makes me feel excited again!

one-stop thrill rides

Fuji Q Highlands will surely treat you to all the thrill rides you could imagine plus the bonus of having the majestic Mt. Fuji at the background. Unfortunately for us, it was too cloudy when we came last Monday but it was indeed the most thrilling ride experience I've ever had...at least as of this time.

First Stop: Dodonpa - the fastest roller coaster (172kph) in the world until 2003 but still the highest acceleration at launch time until today. It felt like going back to the future ala Michael J. Fox riding this one!
Waiting time: 5 hours
Ride: 1 minute

2nd Stop: Pizza-la's Tonde Mina - this one really scared the hell out of me until the moment I rode it. After being tossed for a few times, I felt the hang of it and started to enjoy every single moment of the ride. It was really fun being tossed around like a pizza dough!
Waiting Time: 2 hours
Ride: 2 minutes

3rd Stop: Fujiyama - was once the world's tallest roller coaster(259 ft) and had the largest drop (230 ft) during the 90's. It is also the 3rd longest (6,709 ft = 2,045 m). Lots of drops and curves makes the word thrilling an understatement!
Waiting Time: 2 hours - thanks to Yanna and Neil for queueing while we were on Pizza-la :D
Ride: 3 1/2minutes






























4th Stop: Zola 7 - like a primitive version of the Buzz Light Year ride in Disneyland. The most surprising ride we had since we just realized that it was an enclosed roller coaster after finishing the shooting game!
Waiting Time: 30 minutes
Ride: 3 minutes

5th Stop: Cups and Saucers - the ride that completes our thrill for the day! The icing of the cake! ehehe.
Waiting Time: 10 minutes
Ride: 4 minutes

















There was one roller coaster we failed to ride because of its very long queue. Parks closed at 9pm but this ride was closed just before the clock hit 3pm. Eejanaika is the world's 2nd 4th dimension roller coaster. I will definitely ride this one when I come back next time.





















































Last but not the least, the ride I could not imagine of riding yet - PaniClock. I feel a very inconvenient stomach just by looking at the riders.























By the way, have I told you how scared I was?! Or is this an understatement?!

my 1st yoga class

After months of hibernation and having too much love handles, I finally hit the gym again today. Whew! Such a feat! I have to congratulate myself for that! I hope I can continue :D I was planning to do some cardio and muscle training but I found myself in the middle of a Yoga class. I just can't resist the charm of the yoga instructress when she started to invite us ;-P I asked her if beginners can join and she said it's perfectly fine, although it might really hurt if you're not used of stretching. Not minding the hurt I can get because of the experience, I decided to go. I was surprised when I entered the room since I was the only male participant but there's no more turning back!

Considering it was my first yoga class, fairly big love handles, no regular stretch exercises and the Nihongo instructions, it was pretty difficult to follow. I had to cheat once in a while and look at the front mirror if I'm doing the right thing. :P Thankfully, the instructress was a bit considerate and did some of the difficult positions beside me (*wink*). Overall, I enjoyed the class. It was quite relaxing and made me realize how Yoga can really help you with a lot of things with your mind, body and spirit. Meditation, proper breathing, balancing, posture, increase flexibility etc. The experience was great! Although my joints are still aching now...Ouch!

30D b4 30Y

Well, not exactly...this should have been posted yesterday. Gheez! Am gonna be 30 in a month's time! I felt that it is true that when you have gotten into this age, you want to take a look back into your life and evaluate the things you have done. The victories, triumphs, success are very sweet to look back but the disappointments, frustrations, lost opportunities, failures, defeats are a bit bitter - though it can be a rich-source of motivation to make our lives better. All of these make me who I am today. Some of which, I'm very satisfied. Some, am not happy. There are many things in which I could have done better. Some things I should have tried but never did. I admit, I'm a little bit lazy and passive with some things in life that I failed to accomplish anything. If I could have just put a little more effort, then things should have been better and different now. The good news, I know it and I can do things the other way. Still, there are many things I just don't want to do. Such a stubborn! :P

Anyway, let me share this quote by the Red Queen in Lewis Carroll's Through the Looking-Glass, "It takes all the running you can do, to keep in the same place". Applying it to life, we can put it this way, "We should continuously nourish our growth to stay in the game. Otherwise, we'll be left out if we do nothing". Continuous improvement is a way of life. It's up to us to decide if we will make that concious effort to take that extra step and accept the challenge. - What am I saying here? :D

Wait! Before I end this entry, the Red Queen also said that "If you want to get somewhere else, you must run at least twice as fast." How's that?

lots-of-omiyage

I was delighted to receive several Omiyages today. 3 from Stockholm, Sweden c/o Chito and Jorge - chocolates, a coaster and a bottle opener; 1 from Okinawa c/o Gap - Chinsuko and 1 from Kyoto c/o Shirai-san - Tagasode sachet . The chocolate tastes really sweet and nice. I should have some again tomorrow as there are still left since the other guys weren't around today. :P The coaster and bottle opener is a good combination to think that Sweden is a beer loving country. Chinsuko tastes similar like other Filipo traditional sweets such as polvoron. while the Tagasode sachet is an incense pouch that can be used as a home fragrance. It was a trade of my Philippine Jeepney given to my team as my omiyage when I came back from the Philippines. Omiyage as always is well-appreciated! :D Thanks guys!

on top of Tokyo...

After attending the mass today at Yotsuya, I thought of dropping by at Takashimaya Square in Shinjuku to buy JLPT application form. As always, I ended up exiting at the wrong side of the station - Shinjuku station has over 200 exits! :D After strolling for some time and finding my way back to the right exit, I read "Tokyo Metropolitan Skyscraper District". Then I remembered that the "Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building" has an observatory that offers a free view of Tokyo city. Changed plans, I went to the skyscraper first to enjoy the freebie. There were two observatories - North and South, I went to both. :D The disappointing part - It was raining! Although I have a good look of the whole city, I wasn't able to see the mountains that surround Tokyo. I was just surprised how big is the Meiji Jingu Shrine combined with Yoyogi park, it is indeed a forest within the city! iPhlip will definitely come back here, maybe on a more sunny day or on a romantic evening with my W2B. :)

Japan's future

Japan will decide their future today, 30th of August 2009 when the general election takes place to determine their next leadership. It is widely expected that the opposition Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) will take over most of the seats in the House of Representatives which designates Japan's Prime Minister by defeating the ruling coaltion Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and New Komeito Party. Still, most of the Japanese remained a bit skeptical if they are ready for a new leadership. Who wouldn't? After 54 years of rule, they had took Japan on top of the world (well, almost) but somehow had let them down for some time these days. Although, LDP had appealed to the people that it will just take a little bit more time for them to get the economy back on track. Hontou ka? That's the big question, most of the Japanese have in their mind today. iPhlip's take....DPJ to win - They have a big chance of luring people on their side as they share the sympathy of the public ! Well, let's see in a couple of days/weeks....

JLPT challenge!

98 days to go before the Japanese Language Proficiency Test (JLPT) and I still need to study about 2000 words and around 300 kanjis to prepare for the Level 2 exam! Plus the special grammars of course! Whew! It's make or break for this year as it will be a different game starting next year - It will be changed from 4 levels to 5 levels. Glad that my sensei is pushing me hard to pass this year's exam. She believes in me so help me God! :D

Whack!

I'm so glad to see the book "A Whack on the Side of the Head" lying on my mailbox when I got home today! I bought it from Amazon last Thursday after reading Steve McConell's "Code Complete 2". He recommended "Conceptual Blockbusting" in his book to improve a Software Engineer's creativity but when I browsed thru other related books, I found "Whack" very interesting; plus it has greater reviews. I just hope I made the right decision to buy this one and that this book can help me unleash the creative juices from my head! This would be fun! Can't wait to turn the 1st page...

Not my cup of tea?

I've been thinking of blogging or writing a journal for quite some time but i just don't feel i can express my thoughts very well. Anyway, might as well try it. This really isn't my cup of tea I guess but maybe by doing this once in a while, I can improve and get to like it. Maybe it could also help me organize my thoughts. :P Besides, it would be interesting to know some time in the future what events have taken place in my life and what were my thoughts back then. This would be exciting! The adventure starts today...a month before my 30th bday!