Monday, August 24, 2009

Overcoming Inferiority Complex

This was a long awaited holiday.
Much of 2008 was like a gush of wind that left no prints and no impression. It was a year that I wished more pleasant things would have happened in my prime 20s.
So I made a promise to myself, if I were to stay in Malaysia and drool over the life of almost all my friends earlier in my life who has gone out and settled down in greener pastures, I have to do something to overcome the inferiority complex.
A good holiday a year is a must.
This year's choice is: Japan.
A land of rules and regulations.
A land of beauty and perfection.
As much as you think your parents are responsible for how you look like now, they pledge to differ. From the simplest form of disguise with layers of wrapping for gifts to perfect picturesque landscape and city scenery, they have succeeded in creating near perfect outlook of everything to their definition of beauty. And boy, I am impressed on how much they can do! Everybody in the society puts a foot into making this happen too! A perfect society.

So perfect that they declared the imperfects are not welcomed from the underachieving nations such as Malaysia. It took me one month to gather all documents from a resident friend in Japan, 3 separate letters from my employer, statements from banks and a guarantee from my friend in Japan that any crime will be charged on her if they can't catch me to get a bloody visa to enter the country! She was expecting a baby in 2 months from my visit. I am honoured to have her trust. "No unnecessary visits to Japan" in the future is definitely going to influence my choice of holiday destination in the future.

A land of dream come true for women!
Japanese women are best depicted by sakura, ah yes...the famed sakura in Japan.
They are so soft and gentle, so pure and perfect. The petals wither in the winds yet stay strong and in perfect composure for each picture taking sessions. So fragile outwardly, but willful inwardly.
The most intriguing fact is that Japanese men pass all of their monthly wage to the wife, with the wife issuing the man a monthly salary to spend. The rest is up to the discretion of the woman where and how she'd spend the money. It's mind boggling how this practice went on for centuries until now. But yes, you'd know the answer if you ask me whether it's on my wishing list, muahahaha!
Then again, rumours also state that it is common to find men having extra-marital affair. I'd rather earn my own gifts then...


Japanese men? well, let's put it this way, the food is more interesting! :)
I know, the film stars are ever so enchanting, it's just not the case in real life.
The impression I got was drunk middle age men in coats getting back from work in the train and subway everyday, while reading hentai in the train.
The maguro you see in this pic (forget the men), leads us to food.
Obviously the highlight of the trip!





This was the best meal of my trip.
Yummy!!
The best sushi I have ever had in my life. After this meal, the feeling was like a wholesome meal of nasi kandar. No more food for the day.
Just to make sure you guys reading this don't miss out the fun :P, the tuna, salmon, salmon roe and uni (sea urchin), is topped with fresh hairy crab from hokkaido. Ah, I had to wait for 1 hour in the queue to get into a cramped tiny sushi parlour for this beside the tsukiji market. From the looks of it, I am sure you can understand that it was worth it! This was as fresh as 1 hour old!

The last tree with sakura blossoming was found by this lucky girl before she headed back to the daily bore of work.
Ok, honestly, I don't mind going back to this place for holiday when Air Asia flies to Hokkaido.
I am just hoping that with my previous good track record (except spending a lot of money there, which obviously cannot happen *grin*) in the country, obtaining a visa would be easier the next time.