shabu-shabu

Dinner time at some all-you-can-eat shabu-shabu place on the way to Osaka

hmm...I wonder what this piece of greeen looking thing is.....seaweed for taste?

Some of the condiments

Eeny Meeny Miney Moe....which one shall I choose?

One for each! erm...some....sauce and the flavourful sesame sauce. I poured a little too little....just to test the taste.

Muahaha...yummy pork slices. The minced meat in the bamboo is chicken.

Just look at it~ pretty no????

....and this red looking on is the beef. I didn't try any, but it looks pretty.

This is what happened to the soup when you eat share your table with 2 uncles!!! They turned it into chinese steamboat!!!

^_^!!!

oh well.....at least everything tastes yummy! Just keep the pork slices and minced chicken meat coming~!!

Walked around for a bit after dinner and I spotted the famous japanese school bag! They're called "Randoseru" which is derived from the Dutch word "Ransel", meaning backpack. All elementary school kid must have one and it costs a BOMB!! But it will last time for 6 years, till they enter high school....

.....and even after that, it'll still remain in good condition. That's how durable these bags are.....and they weight quite a bit too! Imagine carrying the bags with books in them. Mind you, these are a MUST for them. Girls normally use red and boys will pick black.

The one below cost about 35,000yen which means RM 1, 330!!!! If you want more fancy looking ones or some brand name, it can cost from 50,000 to 120,000yen.... OOOMG~ *faints*

No worries about having the same colour even though the design is the same.  Look at the choices~! According to our guide, the japanese government designed the bag specifically for the children so that they could maintin proper posture which would not harm their backs even when they are carrying heavy books. Plus they have little knobs at the side for you to hang your bentos. How convenient!

While on the bus, I spotted elemetary school kids walking home after school and the scene was really sweet. One of the boy was on crutches and one of his leg was wrapped in plaster. So his fren carried his school bag for him and walked side to side next to him. So sweet~~~

I've seen so many students waiting outside their schools with their bags on this trip and they looked so cute! Then I wondered that this was what I never got to experience. I've always wondered what it would be like to walk/ cycle to school with my friends the way they did. It's so nice that their country is so safe that even small children can walk to school by themselves and be independent.

I shudder to think of what would happen here in Malaysia. No parents in their right mind would allow such a small kid to walk alone like that. Even just crossing the roads would be too dangerous. Yellow light seems to mean "step hard on your accelerator" while pedetrian crossings mean "score points if you knock any pedestrian off the crossing" and red light means "honk at the stupid fella who pushed the button for it to be red just so he could cross!"

Plus I've always had a thing for japanese school uniforms! Always wishing that my school uniform wasn't so boring!! I wanted to try the gakuran / military inspired uniform or the ever popular sailor suite!!! I'm now too old for any of that~!! I graduated from high school like.....so many years ago!!