Sushi, Sake, and Shenanigans: An Adventurer's Guide to Japan

Konnichiwa cungpret aka kacung kampret...

Guess who's back to writing again? Yep, it's yours truly. 

And let me tell you, this piece is gonna be as trashy as ever. No deep meaning, no profound insights, dan pastinya gak akan ada pesan moral di ending karena gue bukan polisi moral. So feel free to read if you're up for it. But hey, if you're not interested, you know how to get your ass out of here hahahaha.

I had a year-long writing hiatus and my creativity decided to take an epic vacation too. But time flies super fast, suddenly it's April already! Like, how did that even happen?

So, in the early days of 2019, I managed to do a couple of cool things just for myself. And guess what? One of them was ticking off a major item from my bucket list, I finally made it to Japan! 

It had been a solid five years of blood, sweat, and tears working with Japanese folks, and finally went to the land of the rising sun. I still can't believe it!

Usually, I only write about cool stuff when I've just experienced them. At first, I wasn't planning on writing about this Japan trip because I thought it was gonna be dull, you know? (bakalan dibully sama wibu nih gue). But turns out, there were so many exciting stories during my time in Japan, and on top of that, I was being terrorized every single day by my this motherfucker slash my bestie from high school, her name is Cindy, aka Mami, who went to Japan with me.

*masih woles*

*udah mulai ngegas, antara 'mana blog' sama 'mana goblog'*

*Gak sabaran banget anaknya buset!*

*akhirnya semangat lagi*

*tapi sikurangajar ini tetep gak sabaran*

*Kalo gue sedot ubun-ubunnya dosa gak si?*

*this writer is running out of patience* 😣

But thanks to her, I finally write this. If it weren't for her, I probably wouldn't be writing this at all. Let's hope I remember the sequence of the trip... or at least some of it! 

So, here I am, doing my usual thing, writing this blog at the office, during work hours. I've got MS Word minimized on my computer screen, strategically positioned in front of Outlook to give the illusion that I'm swamped with work. But man, it's a constant battle. Just when I'm in the writing zone, my boss gets all possessive and goes like, "Hey, Cheche-san, you got a moment?" or "Can you come to my office, Cheche-san?" And then I'm bombarded with tasks A, B, C, D. I mean, I'm not getting paid to write shit on my blog. So, naturally, this blog keeps getting pushed back because this corporate slave needs to work her ass off in office, to plan another vacation.

"Sok sibuk lo. Jijay!*

Alright, let's cut right to this trip. We went from February 11th to 17th, 2019. I was with Cindy, the one I mentioned earlier, and Gina, my friend I've talked about before in Maldives blog, along with her boyfriend, Juniar, or as we casually call him: Bang Juned (who played the roles as Gina's bf, a cameraman, bodyguard, and navigator).

*Left - right: Gina, Selena Gomez, & Cindy. 

Bang Juned yang motoin*

On February 11th, we flew from Jakarta to Osaka. We arrived at Kansai (Osaka Airport) in the middle of the night, and we were super excited when we got there. It was my first winter experience! Osaka was a freezing 6°C at that time. Luckily, Cindy and I were already wearing our coats from Jakarta, kayak orang udik, (In our defense, kita terpaksa pake coatnya karena udah gak muat lagi di koper).

Since we arrived in the middle of the night, we decided to crash at the airport, just like some lost souls.  It was kind of funny and sad, being stranded at the airport just like in the movie "The Terminal." But who knows, maybe we'd meet our soulmates there, like Tom Hanks and Catherine Zeta-Jones did. Gue sedikit berharap ketemu cowok Jepang premium macem Reino Barack gitu, cakep, kaya raya, kenal tiga bulan tau tau ngajak taaruf.

*Lalu diberakin Syahrini*

Turns out there were tons of broke af tourists like us hanging around at the airport, and the waiting area was packed with people. After wandering around and filling up on snacks from Lawson, we finally found a place to crash. Speaking of Lawson, Lawson Jepang tuh beda sama Lawson Indo. Di Indo rotinya Lawson cuma Sari Roti doang sama kayak Alfarmart. Onigirinya juga gak jelas isinya ikan apaan. Jajanan Lawson Jepang murah dan seru. Semua yang mereka jual enak-enak banget, gue gak peduli yang gue makan halal atau nggak, kalo lagi di negara orang gue emang mendadak suka yang haram-haram. Maafin Baim yawlah...

Eating out in Japan can be pretty expensive, like a minimum of 1000 yen per meal, which is around IDR 130,000. But don't worry, selama ada Lawson perut lo bakalan kenyang. Lawson di Jepang jaraknya kayak Alfamart di Indonesia, ada setiap berapa meter, tapi karena jajanannya asik, gak kerasa setiap gue jajan di Lawson gue kalap dan bisa abis 80 – 100 ribuan juga. Jajan di Lawson doang beneran bisa bikin gue miskin.

Oh, because who needs a stable financial future when Lawson has a lifetime supply of onigiri and katsu, right? Priorities, people!

Done with Lawson, we looked for a place to sleep. We managed to find a few empty seats, hoping to get some rest until morning and wait for the train schedule. Well, forget about getting any sleep because it was so darn noisy. Right next to me, there was life size TV, blaring some Japanese commercial about selling pots. The volume was cranked up to the max, it felt like I was in a Dolby Atmos theater, seriously, it drove me crazy! 

No wonder it was the only empty spot among all the waiting areas, people were avoiding it because of the noise. I was a bit hesitant to sleep there too, considering I had my luggage and a massive bag with me. Gue tau sih Airport di Jepang aman, tapi kan isinya gak orang Jepang doang. Tau-tau pas gue bangun koper gue digeret orang kan Selena Gomez repot.

By 4 AM, we woke up. In the name of Instagram flawlessness, we couldn't afford to skip a shower. They said there's a public bath in Kansai that costs 500 yen, but you only get 15 minutes to bathe. Talk about a quick dip!

*I was shocked*

Dammmnnn dudeee, 15-minute shower? At home, I only wet my hair for 15 minutes! And what if we're not done in 15 minutes? Do they just cut off the water? Or you have to fork out another 500 yen. Nuts! Taking a shower costs 500 yen, and that's without a towel, by the way. You have to pay around 100 yen extra just for a damn towel. Jeezzz...!

Since we're the cheapo and misqueens, we definitely didn't want to spend more money for a drip of water. So, me and Cindy ended up sharing one room at the same time, even though we'd have enough time if we each had our own.

*Ini penampakan kamar mandinya, muat buat berdua. 

Dapet gambar dari sini*

And through this blog, I want to announce a significant achievement: we managed to shower and shampoo in just 3 minutes! Seriously, 3 minutes for the both of us, which technically means 1.5 minutes each. The timer was ticking, and what we scared the most was that the water would suddenly shut off while we were showering. That wouldn't be funny at all. So, in the end, we hurriedly competed for the faucet. I mean, I'm not sure if you can really consider it a proper shower, but at least our body got wet, soap was involved, and our hair wasn't too greasy aka lepek shaayy.

The timer showed that we still had 11 minutes left, so I used that time to brush my teeth and change clothes. Well, in 15 minutes, I managed to look at least presentable.

With fresh-smelling hair, neat and civilized outfit, we hopped on the train heading to the hotel. We arrived at the hotel around 8 am, but we could only drop off our luggage because the check-in time was at 3 pm, and check-out in Japan is at 11 am. 

BHAIQUE! 

According to the itinerary, our first day in Osaka was supposed to be a visit to Osaka Castle, one of the oldest castles in Japan. It was just me and Cindy who went to the castle, while Gina and Juned headed to Universal Studio Japan. Not much to tell about our time at the castle, but we sure took a ton of photos.

After visiting the castle, we headed to Kuromon Market for lunch, a kind of traditional market that sells just about anything, but mostly food.

A week before my trip to Japan, my CG was also in Japan, and when he was in Osaka, he told me that I had to try the legendary strawberries at Kuromon. As he put it:

When he sent me the photo, I immediately zoomed in. Was it really 1500 yen? I quickly opened a converter and dammnnnn, one strawberry costs around IDR 190k. That's insane! It's even more expensive than my shower! So, when I was at Kuromon, the prices were indeed in that range, but let me tell you, the taste was super sweeettt. It's totally different from Indonesian strawberries, even the ones served in five-star hotels, tetep aja rasanya kayak strawberry Lembang.

According to my CG, "all fruits in Japan are sweet 'cuz they grow them with great techniques" Mungkin kebon strawberry di Bandung perlu copast tekniknya san san nih biar gak asem kayak muka mantan kalian 😂.

They also sell legendary melons. Unfortunately, I didn't try the melon, but they say it's incredibly sweet compared to the melons we usually buy. Buying strawberries was already a real struggle for a broke ass like me, and don't even get me started on melons! Those things are just ridiculously pricey. But you know what? My curiosity got the best of me, so fuck it, I went ahead and bought them anyway.

*bahkan yang lebih mahal banyak*

*apalagi yang ini, convert sendiri deh, emosi gue liat harganya* 😑

To keep my sanity intact during the vacation, I had to indulge in some good food. Like, seriously, I can't survive on Lawson alone for a whole week in Japan. So, me and Cindy decided to check out this seafood place. They had everything like snow crab, grilled oysters, sashimi, baby octopus, you name it. Not only was it delicious and served in generous portions, but it was also cheaper than those damn overpriced strawberries (although those were sweet and tasty). It was a satisfying feast at Kuromon Market. If I ever get the chance to visit Japan again, I'll head straight to Osaka and make a beeline for Kuromon Market.

After strolling through Kuromon from one end to the other, I started feeling drowsy and all of a sudden, it was already 4 PM, and we hadn't slept properly yet. I mean, I'm paranoid about getting sick whenever I go somewhere, so I absolutely need to get at least 2-3 hours of sleep before heading out again. Luckily, the hotel wasn't too far from Kuromon, but damn, it was getting colder as the evening approached. In Osaka, it was around 4°C, freezing my tropical butt off. I felt like I was trapped inside a giant refrigerator. 

You know what, it's not the snow that makes it cold, it's the freaking wind. Osaka wasn't snowy, by the way, but the wind was crazy, not like a hurricane or anything, just annoyingly cold. Then we hurried back to the hotel to check-in. And Gina and Juned were done at USJ too. They only managed to go on one ride because the lines were insane, and they were also sleepy as hell. They paid a million for practically nothing, poor thing.

*sakiknyo tuh disiko*

Finally got to hotel, checked in, and all we wanted to do was crash and recharge our energy for a night out in Osaka. I ended up sharing a room with Cindy, obviously, I mean, who else would I be with? Bang Juned? Jangan gila deh. Anyway, when we got to the room, we got a problem. We were freezing our butts off and had no clue how to switch on the heater because the AC remote was all in Japanese. Like, seriously, who designs these things? No English, seriously?

After a few minutes of fiddling around, we finally managed to figure out how to turn on the heater and went to sleep. But guess what? When we woke up, we were sweating buckets because the heater was cranked up way too high. And the drama continued because we couldn't figure out how to lower the temperature. It was so dumb, I can't help but laugh when I think about it.

Goblok banget deh itu, ngakak kalo inget kelakuan kita berdua saat itu, udah banyak makan salmon pun kalo default settingan otaknya bego ya bego aja.

.

At night, we headed to Dotonburi, which was super close to our hotel. Dotonburi is a shopping district with loads of cool spots and restaurants. One iconic thing in Dotonburi is the Glico LED sign. I still don't get why this Glico sign became such a big deal and even turned into some kind of Osaka landmark. Every tourist takes a photo there, and there's even a long line for it. Why travel all the way to Osaka just to take a photo in front of an LED sign?

*Eehh tapi gue ikutan juga ☹*

After taking some basic selfies in front of the Glico sign and finally posting them on Instagram, we started looking for a place to eat. We searched for restaurants recommended by food bloggers. One of them was Motomura. Motomura is one of those must-visit spots or must-eat foods in Japan. They specialize in katsu, because nothing says Japan like katsu, right? I don't know why their katsu managed to attract a huge crowd of people wanting to eat there. Believe it or not, the line was insanely long and lasted for hours. I got a bit annoyed because the line seemed endless. I was starving, and I almost gave up and looked for a Yoshinoya instead, but I was too curious. If the line was that long, the food must be good. Aaaanddd... it was soooo gooooddd. It felt like they fried it with some secret magical weed or something. It was mind-blowingly tasty. You just have to try it yourself, cobain aja deh pokoknya daripada gue bacot disini bahas katsu doang satu paragraf. 

After eating and doing a bit of shopping, we headed back to the hotel because the next morning we had an exciting trip to Shirakawago, baby!

So, apparently Shirakawago is one of the snowiest places in Japan and has the largest snow forest in the world. I'm not the type of person who does a lot of research before going to a place. I just go with the flow because I'm ready for anything and I want to enjoy the surprises that may come along the way. Well, it's actually more of ignorance, cuma denial aja. Honestly, I didn't know much about Shirakawago before, and I hardly ever heard of it because most of my friends who visit Japan and want to see snow usually go to Hokkaido.

It took us a 4-hour bus ride from Osaka to Shirakawago, but the journey wasn't boring at all. The bus was comfortable, and we had a local guide who speak Indonesian because he had lived in Surabaya for a long time. The 4-hour trip didn't feel long because the views on both sides were absolutely breathtaking.

Since it was going to be my first time snow experience, me and my friends went all out with extra thick clothes. We were totally overdressed, wearing layers of ultrawarm clothing and, of course, coats that could withstand the cold and wind, because we thought that Shirakawago would be colder than other cities in Japan. But when we got there, it was kind of funny. We were actually sweating and overheating. Can you believe it? Turns out we were wearing too many clothes, so Cindy ended up taking off a few layers. As for me, I couldn't do that because I only brought a small bag, and the clothes wouldn't fit.

Shirakawago wasn't as cold as we expected, even though the temperature was -2 degrees, which should have been colder than Osaka. We were super excited. It was our first time seeing snow, and we acted all like a kid.  

*ini kenapa gue kayak yeti anjir*

The iconic thing about Shirakawago, besides the thick snow and the village surrounded by forests, is their traditional houses called gasshō-zukuri. Apparently, the roofs are super strong because they have to withstand heavy snow during winter. Like, seriously, those roofs are built to take on a snowpocalypse or something.

That's pretty much the only insight I got about this beautiful village. We didn't have much time there, arrived around 11 in the morning and had to be back on the bus by 3 in the afternoon. But after a while, it got a bit boring. Once you've got a few cool photos, what else is there to do? We headed back to the bus, took a nap, and by 7 in the evening, we were already back at the hotel.

I wasn't really in the mood to go anywhere else because the next day we had to wake up super early and head straight to Kyoto.

Turns out, the journey from Osaka to Kyoto only took 15 minutes because we took the Shinkansen. For those who don't know, the Shinkansen (as of when this blog was written) is still the fastest train in the world, reaching speeds of up to 300 km/h. It's insane, right? But paying 1500 yen for just a 15-minute Shinkansen ride is just... yasudahlah 😢

Originally, we were planning to take a regular train, which would have taken about an hour. But hey, when else would we have the chance to ride the Shinkansen while we're in Japan? We hopped on the train, tried to find seats, and bam! Just two seconds after sitting down, we arrived in Kyoto. Sad, huh?

*Shinkansen situesiong, interiornya kayak pesawat deh*

Man, I did something dumb in Kyoto, like really dumb. So here's what I thought: if Shirakawago, where it was snowy and all, wasn't that cold, then I figured I wouldn't need to layer up in Kyoto anymore. I mean, I thought I was getting used to the cold after just three days (acting all high and mighty, berasa udah akamsi). It turned out to be freezing cold, no doubt about it. But little did I know, different city, different level of coldness, even if the temperature was around 4 - 6°C.

*outfit in Kyoto, frozen head to toe but posing as if  we still managed to look somewhat okay*

In Kyoto, I only wore one heattech layer, a semi-summer dress, and a not-so-thick coat that would still make me sweat if I wore it in Jakarta. The problem was, since it was a day trip, we didn't stay overnight, and it wasn't practical to lug around our luggage to the castles and temples we wanted to visit. We had to store them in lockers at the train station. So, when I started feeling cold, I couldn't just unpack my suitcase and grab an extra coat because we had already walked quite far from the station. And to make things worse, it started snowing in Kyoto, adding to my misery. My head was fine since I always wore a hat, but everything below my eyebrows was frozen!

In Kyoto, we visited the Arashiyama Bamboo Forest, which I think it was dull. If you have limited time in Kyoto, I'd say skip it, seriously. After that, we went to Fushimi Inari Taisha, where you can take the basic orange-themed photos to spice up your Instagram feed. But don't expect it to be easy to get good photos there; it's always crowded, and you have to be smart about finding the right timing to capture a shot without too many people in it. We also visited some shrines around the area, took more photos, and wandered around to find food. That's pretty much it in Kyoto. 

But I must say, I really liked the city, it's like Jogja. The food is affordable, the atmosphere is different with big cities with lots of trees and mountains, which makes it really chilly. I'm not a fan of concrete jungles, so if I had to choose my favorite city during my time in Japan, I'd say Kyoto. It's the kind of city where I can picture spending my old age with Nicholas Saputra, you know. Idaman banget gak si? 

After a tiring day in Kyoto, we headed back to the station to pick up our luggage and catch the bus that would take us to Tokyo.

We took an overnight bus to Tokyo, so we slept on the bus. The journey from Kyoto to Tokyo took 8 hours, just like Jakarta to Jogja. If we had taken the Shinkansen, it would have only been a 4-hour ride, but the tickets are so expensive, almost like Jakarta to Tokyo plane tickets. The bus was really comfortable, it even had a cover for sleeping, like a baby stroller.

Haha, well, sleeping on a bus can be a mix of funny and uncomfortable. But as comfortable as it may be, nothing beats sleeping in a comfy bed, wrapped in blankets, while being hugged from behind by Jonatan Christie, shirtless. HAHAHA.

*Lama lama ini jadi blog stensilan*

We got to Tokyo at 7 in the morning. Man, Tokyo was freezing cold, even colder than Osaka and Kyoto. The wind was extreme, seriously! Just like in Osaka, we arrived early in the morning, so all we could do was drop off our luggage at the hotel and wander around Harajuku until the evening. And guess what? I repeated the same dumb mistake in Tokyo (I never claim to be smart, but this was really dumb). So, from Jakarta, my suitcase was already overpacked. It was filled with coats, which is why I was already wearing one at Soekarno-Hatta Airport because it wouldn't fit inside the suitcase. Even though I brought a big bag, it was full with five pairs of shoes, but in the end, I only used two of them. I got into habit, always overpacking whenever I go somewhere, and usually, half of what I bring goes unused. And here's the funny part: despite knowing that my suitcase and bag were already full, I ended up buying two more coats in Harajuku. I mean, I could have squeezed in a few more clothes or tried stuffing them inside my shoes, but no, I decided to buy those thick, bulky coats anyway. And Cindy is even dumber, she bought a big and heavy coat too HAHAHA. It felt like the weight of it could be half of her body weight, and her suitcase was also full. In the end, we had to buy an extra baggage because of our dumbness, and the price made us feel sad, but oh well, what can you do?

*mungkin aku butuh ini gays* 😐

We got back to the hotel around 3-ish, took a shower, and in the evening, we went to Shibuya to meet Hachiko. Typical tourist stuff, you know, gotta visit all the touristy places. Sometimes, when I go to mainstream spots, I feel like the locals are silently judging us. It's like when we see people taking pictures at Monas in Jakarta, and I can't help but make fun of them, calling them "alay". Maybe that's how the Japanese people feel when they see us taking pictures with Hachiko.

*Posing with Hachiko-san*

*No offense ya, gue sebagai orang Indonesia yang tinggal di Jakarta bangga koq punya monument bersejarah di pusat kota, ada emasnya lagi, ya tapi kalo disuruh di foto disana gue mikir-mikir lagi. Hehehehehehehe*

I was so happy in Tokyo because I got to meet my former boss, boss super baik that I shed tears for during the farewell party a few years ago. I also bumped into my friend, Pajay, the one I featured on my Maldives blog. He was there with his clients in Japan. Since we happened to be in Shibuya at the same time, we met up briefly before I had to meet my boss at the station. 

My boss invited me to dinner, and I initially invited Cindy to join us. But since we didn't have much time left and she hadn't bought any omiyage yet, I ended up going alone to meet my boss in Ginza. Cindy went shopping, while Gina and Juned were caught up with their jastip stuff in Shibuya

*Shibuya dari gua hantu*

So, I finally arrived at the station where I and my boss were supposed to meet. Turns out, I got there earlier, and I was relieved because it would've been awkward if my boss had to wait for me. My boss invited me to dinner at this fancy rooftop restaurant, kinda like Skye in Jakarta. Oh, by the way, I haven't been to Skye, but I've been to Ce La Vi in MBS Singapore, hahaha, sumpah ini gak penting bgzt! From the window, you could see the entire city of Tokyo. But if it weren't for my boss, that place would've been too old for me, filled with middle-aged men like my boss, around 45-ish. I felt so out of place. You know why? Because our table faced the mirror, so we had our backs to the other people. And when I accidentally glanced behind me, a group of Japanese om om were all staring at me, not even trying to hide it, it was so obvious! I'm pretty sure they thought my boss was taking some Philippine escort girl to dinner (every time I travel, people always think I'm Filipino for some reason ☹). But whatever, I don't know them. If I were an escort, I'd be staying at the Peninsula or some fancy ass hotel in Tokyo.

Sambil minum sake tipis tipis, we talked a lot, mostly about work. I secretly hoped my boss would get assigned to Jakarta again. I initially thought we'd only meet for like two hours, and then I'd still have time to go back to Shibuya and buy some omiyage or souvenirs. But, damn, we ended up talking until late at night. It was fun, though. However, we had no choice but to leave because the last train was at midnight, and my boss lived in Yokohama, which was quite far from downtown. 

The next day, we spent the whole day at Disneysea. At first, I was thinking of buying souvenirs at Disneysea because they usually have cute Disney stores, even though they're more expensive compared to other places. But turns out, I didn't get a chance to buy anything there. Disneysea was ridiculously crowded, even crazier than Disneyland. We spent the whole day and only managed to go on three rides. I mean, seriously? Maybe it was because we went on a Sunday, but I think no matter which day you go, the lines at Disneysea are just insane. Can you believe we waited for four hours in line for Journey to the Center of the Earth? WTF! Waiting for four hours for a ride that lasts only five minutes, it pissed me off. I was kind of fed up with it, to be honest. I think I prefer Disneyland instead. But at the time I thought Disneysea is only in Japan, why bother going to Disneyland? Besides, I've been to Disneyland before, so I thought it was a good opportunity to visit Disneysea while I was in Japan. But seriously, I don't want to go back to Disneysea ever again, even if someone pays for me, unless they buy me a FastPass, you know, the ticket that lets you skip the lines! 

After finishing the Journey to the Center of the  fuckin' Earth ride, we felt like zombies. We hadn't eaten since morning, and by the time we got out, it was already 4 p.m. Before heading back to the hotel, we rushed to find a restaurant inside Disneysea. I wasn't too thrilled about eating inside because it's overpriced and the food taste like crap.

It was almost sunset, so we hurried to the train station. We had to rush back to the hotel, pick up our luggage, and head straight to the airport. Our flight was at 11 p.m., but the distance from Disneysea to the hotel was quite far, and from the hotel to the airport too. We didn't have time to buy souvenirs, so we had no choice but to buy them at the Duty-Free. The prices there were a bit higher than in Shibuya or other places, but hey, I had no excuse anymore. I had to buy souvenirs for my friends and family.

After settling the souvenir business, checking in our baggage, waiting for the gate to open, boarding, and then sleeping for 6 hours on the plane, we landed in Kuala Lumpur at 7 a.m. Since our flight to Jakarta was in the late evening, we still had some time to wander around KL. We went to the Twin Towers, then to Batu Caves, and took a break in a mall. But after just 4 hours in KL, we got bored and didn't know what else to do. After finding something to eat, we finally decided to head back to the airport and wait for our flight to Jakarta.

We landed at Soetta at 2 a.m., and I was incredibly tired and sleepy. The next day was Monday, and if I didn't have a morning meeting, I would've extended my vacation. I would have pretended to have diarrhea, and my boss would definitely buy it. But no, I didn't want to neglect my responsibilities. ANJAY!

*Literally netijen's reaction rn*

I only slept for 4 hours, my body was completely worn out, but I had no choice but to wake up and go to the office. Nyari duit susah amat yak 😭

Well, that's more or less the story of my recent trip to Japan with my friends. Words can't express how happy and grateful I felt for being able to visit four cities in Japan in just 6 days. Winter isn't really my thing, but being there made me appreciate the little things, like the warmth of sunshine. It's something I don't always appreciate back home. But seriously, ever since experiencing winter, getting some sunlight feels like such a blessing. Don't imagine it being the same as noon in Jakarta or Bekasi though.

I'm so happy, but also having a hard time moving on. Even though I came back broke, seeing my credit card bill almost gave me a heart attack because turns out this vacation needed a lot of money, especially for buying coats. It's tough being a tropical person, you need to start from scratch if you want to go on a winter holiday. I've never been this broke after returning from previous trips, the recovery period seems incredibly long.

As a closing note, like in my previous blogs, I want to say a big thank you to all the sponsors, Mas Maher, Mbak Silka, Nay, Fia, Edo, Nadira desu, Ana-san, Putri alias Dewi Sanca, and Ayi alias Mentri Keuangan, and whoever I didn't mention, I truly appreciate your support from the bottom of my heart. I'll never forget this, thanks a million!

Windes kesayangan, thanks for covering my tasks while I was away. Your help means the world to me, and I can't thank you enough.

Cindy, my bestie and my mommy, I never thought we'd get along so well in Japan, even though we used to fight a lot in high school. But there, we were like Bona and Rongrong, gue Rongrong-nya, lo Bona-nya. Gue terharu juga lo udah rela motoin sampe jungkir balik, thanks a bunch of oats, Mam. XO.

*totalitas*

Gina, Juned, thanks for always being my amazing traveling buddies, selalu seru, selalu GILDAAAA, I had so much fun with you guys, please pergi bareng lagi ke Jepang, spring 2020?!

*Mam, lo itu liat kemana sih? Kzl bat gua*

Ciao!