Sakura 2019

رَبِّ هَبْ لِي مِنْ لَدُنْكَ ذُرِّيَّةً طَيِّبَةً إِنَّكَ سَمِيعُ الدُّعَاءِ

“Wahai Rabbku, berilah aku dari sisi Engkau seorang anak yang baik. Sesungguhnya Engkau Maha Pendengar doa”. (QS Ali Imran:38)

Doa yang memiliki makna sangat dalam khususnya untuk saya. Setiap kali membaca ulang ayat ini pun, pasti membuat tertegun, mengingat kembali perjalanan yang mengiringi doa ini. Doa yang tanpa lelah selalu diulang dalam lirih dan tangis berserah sambil terus menerus merayu Allah. Muhasabah kisah Nabi Zakaria a.s juga turut menjadi penyemangat untuk terus memanjatkan harapan pada-Nya yang rahmat-Nya tanpa batas. Cukup berkata “jadi! maka jadilah”.

Jangan pernah berputus asa dalam berdoa karena jika tak dikabulkan di dunia, tentu Allah sudah menjadikan doa kita tabungan amal di akhirat. Sesungguhnya terkadang bukanlah hidup kita yang senantiasa kekurangan, namun hati kita yang tak pandai bersyukur. Semoga Allah menjadikan kita hamba yang pandai bersyukur.

Catatan Personal : Buku Brain Rules for Baby

Saat mulai usia kehamilan trimester pertama, saya menyadari banyak hal yang menjadi pr untuk saya pelajari terkait mendidik anak. Tentunya selain bekal ruhiah dari Al-Quran dan Hadits, penyeimbangan pola pendidikan berdasarkan pengetahuan dari sudut pandang psikologi anak juga penting untuk dikaji. Satu hal yang menjadi prinsip saya dalam menentukan buku apa yang saya pilih untuk menambah ilmu tentang pendidikan anak yakni saya menginginkan membaca buku yang memberi saya landasan berpikir kritis terlebih dahulu disertai kajian dari sisi scientific. Kenapa? karena saya percaya jika membahas tentang manusia, setiap orang punya karakteristik unik tersendiri, bahkan dalam satu keluarga pun dapat memiliki anak-anak dengan kepribadian yang berbeda meski berasal dari gen orang tua yang sama serta pola asuh dengan lingkungan yang sama. Belum lagi jika berbicara tentang faktor lingkungan yang seiring bertambah dewasanya anak, memiliki andil makin besar dengan perkembangan anak karena makin banyak waktu yang dihabiskan di luar daripada di rumah.

Maka dari itu tidak ada istilah ‘satu cara terbaik untuk mendidik semua anak’ dalam kamus saya. Buku dari John Medina ini menjadi pilihan sebagai buku pertama yang saya baca karena dari awal pun penulis sudah menekankan bahwa dalam buku ini tidak akan menemukan debat kusir mengenai metode terbaik dalam pola asuh anak, melainkan semua argumen akan dikembalikan lagi kepada hasil penelitian mengenai pola perkembangan otak dari publikasi jurnal terkini yang ada. Namun tetap kesimpulan yang didapatpun bukan berarti kita dapat mengatakan secara gamblang bahwa a menyebabkan b (a caused by b) namun a memiliki hubungan dengan b (a linked to b). Tentunya dengan berlandasan bahwa perilaku manusia itu suatu objek yang complicated karena banyak faktor yang mempengaruhi. Jika anda mencari buku yang memberikan landasan berpijak untuk mengkaji secara objektif teori-teori pendidikan anak, serta memberikan gambaran dari sudut pandang sains tentang bagaimana tahap pertumbuhan otak manusia terkait erat dengan pola perilaku manusia sejak ia bayi hingga dewasa, maka buku ini adalah yang anda cari!

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最終講義 (Saisyuu Kougi) : The Last Lecture

Minggu ini menemani suami napak tilas ke kampusnya dulu. Kali ini tujuan utamanya menghadiri kuliah terakhir mantan sensei pembimbing saat program Master di Universitas Tohoku. Dalam budaya jepang, hubungan para anggota lab sangatlah erat, sebuah inner (naka) 中 circle. Dimana jepang mengenal konsep inner dan outer (soto) 外 circle. Tak heran hubungan senpai (senior) dan kohai (junior) pun terbangun erat. Saling bantu dalam dan di luar studi (Bahkan teman dan senpai lab suami ada yang datang ke resepsi pernikahan kami di Semarang).

Kuliah terakhir ini dihadiri semua mantan anak didik Sensei sejak awal beliau memimpin lab. Sebuah penghormatan terakhir kepada orang yang berjasa atas salah satu momen penting dalam hidup yakni bekal studi sebelum memasuki dunia kerja. Salah satu keuntungan memiliki sensei yang terkenal di bidangnya yakni akses networking eksklusif karena banyak anak didiknya yang sudah sukses memimpin perusahaan dan juga dana riset yang besar. Sensei sudah seperti Bapak pengganti selama merantau. Teringat kisah suami saat pertama kali jadi mahasiswa exchange yang baru belajar baca huruf hiragana dan katakana, kemudian ditanya hobinya apa oleh sensei. Maksud hati menjawab apa, yang keluar malah 掃除します(souji shimasu) alias bebersih. Tentu semua orang heran, dan akhirnya merespon ‘wah rajin ya’. Akhirnya baru ngeh salah kosakata kemudian. Beliau pula yang mengajarkan cara memegang sumpit yang benar, dan banyak pelajaran kehidupan lainnya.

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Halal Restaurant in Kamakura

Name: Kajiya

Website: http://www.kajiya-jp.com/en/

Location: Kajiya

Hello! Here we meet again for another halal restaurant review in my blog. You can find other halal-restaurant related articles under the tag ‘halal’ in this blog.

Now we will visit Kamakura. Located in Kanagawa Prefecture. You can reach it by taking 30 minutes ride on Yokosuka Line or Tokaido Line Train from Yokohama station. It is well-known with its historical-temples and also the giant Buddha statue. After strolling around the area, you can stop by in one of restaurant which offered halal menu for Muslim visitors. The name of the restaurant is Kajiya.

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Kesedihan dan Kesenangan Datangnya dari Allah

(Sebuah catatan dari kajian yang diikuti penulis)

salah satu wasiat agar kita tidak menjadi orang yang merugi, dalam surah Al-Asr ayat 3 disebutkan yakni:

إِلَّا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ وَعَمِلُواْ ٱلصَّٰلِحَٰتِ وَتَوَاصَوۡاْ بِٱلۡحَقِّ وَتَوَاصَوۡاْ بِٱلصَّبۡرِ

kecuali orang-orang yang beriman dan mengerjakan kebajikan serta saling menasihati untuk kebenaran dan saling menasihati untuk kesabaran.

Semua orang tak lepas dari permasalahan di dunia. Namun pasti ada kalanya kesenangan datang. Seperti itulah hidup. Di antara kesedihan itu, Allah pasti beri kita hiburan. Begitu pula di antara kesenangan kita itu, Allah beri sedikit ujian.

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Cheap Tour Package for Foreigner Living in Japan

I love travel to new places. It has been 6 years since I first set my first foot step in Japan. During those years, I have travel to 17 prefectures, 30 prefectures left in my list if I want to well-round those numbers. I visited those prefectures during different occasions. Once I got a paid-educational trip from my graduate campus. Most of the occasions is for personal purpose, because whose graduate student didn’t need a break from the research deadline?

Usually I always plan my trip by my self. It is because I assume I could found cheapest transport and hotel in different websites. If I took a tour package, the travel agent will charge service fee and therefore the price will not be cheaper than personal-arrangement type trip. That was my assumption though.

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Halal Restaurant in New Sapporo Chitose Airport Hokkaido

Name: Donburi Chaya

Location: Domestic Terminal Building 3F

Open: 10.30 – 20.30 JST

We close our babymoon trip in Hokkaido with a seafood treat for our self. Lucky for us, the restaurant is located exactly inside the New Chitose Airport. Therefore we didn’t need to battling with the cold weather. Yaiy!

Actually I am not really interested because we has just ate lunch around 4 hours before. However my husband convinced me to give it a try because It is Hokkaido! Seafood is a must have menu here. The ambience of the restaurant is very cozy and modern. We sat directly in front of the chef.

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Best Halal Ramen in Hokkaido

Name: Houryu Ramen

Location: Google Maps

Ever wondered a bowl of halal ramen with Michelin star award? Yes, you could try it in Hokkaido. It is originally established in Hokkaido. Located in the heart of Sapporo city, you could reach it easily since it is only walking distance from Sapporo station. The name is Houryu Ramen. You should be careful because if you search for Houryu Ramen in Google Maps, there are several stores with the same name in Sapporo. The only store that served halal menu is the flagship store.

It is a small restaurant with 6 seats in front of the chef’s kitchen and 3 tables with 4 seats each. Only 18 seats available. A small one but once you have tried the ramen soup, you could understand why many people love to spending their time queue even in the middle of winter season. Me and my husband were lucky enough that we do not have to queue once we arrived in the doorstep of the restaurant. The waiter saw my hijab and directly ask ‘halal menu?’. This is one of advantage wearing hijab. It shows the identity of a moslem and people around you will directly understand what to served for you.

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Praying Space in Sapporo

Prayer Room Entrance in Ishiya Chocolate Factory

Sapporo is one of the most moslem-friendly city in Japan from my experience. It is really easy to finding halal restaurant and also praying space. I was visited two areas in Hokkaido: Sapporo and Otaru. Both has a great impression for me.

First, we will talk about Sapporo. Once you arrived in Sapporo Station, you can directly went to the high-end mall ‘Daimaru’ located nearby exactly beside the station. The praying room located in the 3rd Floor. One thing that surprise me, even they listed the praying room sign in the floor guidance directly after the upward escalator. Therefore you can easily find the praying room. It has spacious space separated for men and women. They also has wudu bassinet for each men and women. Please do not forget to write down your name in the attendance list, therefore the Daimaru could knew that the facilities has been used by many moslem visitors and very important for us. Since it is located nearby the Sapporo station, you can easily reach it anytime. You can roam around the cities and while you pass the intersection area in Sapporo station, you can pray there. Enjoy your traveling time hassle-free and not have to worried when the praying time come.

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Authentic Halal Okomomiyaki in Hokkaido

Name : Fugetsu Tanukikouji 2chome

Location: Google Maps

There is only one halal okonomiyaki and takoyaki restaurant in Kanto area. I am not yet have a chance for visiting it. Therefore once I knew there is one halal okonomiyaki restuarant in Hokkaido, I decide to put it on my itinerary. It is located in quite small entrance. It is on the 2nd floor. You should find it directly after the staircase.

We arrive there around dinner time. Luckily only one group consist of three people queue before us. One elderly man approached us while we are waiting. The appearance is so comical. He has a bald head with chubby cheeks and also big body posture. He welcome us and hand out a name card. He speaks a little bit of English. Turns out he is the owner of the restaurant. The name card also very interesting, one side has his photo when he is 22 years old. The other side has his caricature figure. The funny thing is if you ever find the caricature usually exaggerate the appearance of the objects, this time the caricaturist drew exactly the same figure as the real one. Trust me, his appearance is exactly look like this picture below:

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