Awalnya saya berpikir Tokyo jadi tuan rumah Olimpiade enak dong. Fasilitas transportasi dan olahraga udah mumpuni. Tidak perlu heboh seperti Palembang yang sampai bangun LRT. Saya bangga sih kini kota kelahiran saya yakni Palembang tumbuh pesat infrastrukturnya. Salah satunya berkat ambisi Gubernur Sumatera Selatan kala itu yakni Bapak Alex Noerdin yang nekat menyanggupi menjadi tuan rumah berbagai event baik berskala nasional maupun internasional. Mulai dari PON, SEA Games, Asian Games, dan beberapa event lainnya. Maka dari itu ketika mengetahui Jepang menjadi tuan rumah, saya jadi bertanya-tanya apa yang perlu Jepang persiapkan ya?
Ternyata saya keliru. Masih banyak hal yang bisa ditingkatkan. Contohnya gerbang otomatis di peron kereta ini. Nilai proyeknya tak main-main. Tujuannya? Supaya gampang membuat teratur antri karena tahu dimana pintu kereta berada. Selain itu untuk keselamatan juga tentunya. Selain sudah makin banyak alfabet bertebaran tentunya untuk penunjuk jalan. Fasilitas untuk difabel juga dilengkapi.
Bahkan Jepang mengimpor beberapa virus tropis, termasuk Ebola untuk diteliti sebagai tindakan preventif agar tidak terjadi virus outbreak saat pelaksanaan Olimpiade. Masih ada sisi menarik lain yang akan saya share dari persiapan Olimpiade. Nantikan ya 😉
Tag: jepang
Taman Bermain Anak Gratis di Jepang
Rumah-rumah di Tokyo umumnya kecil karena harga lahan yang tinggi. Jangan khawatir bagi yang punya anak, taman bermain umum terdapat di mana-mana. Minimal jalan kaki dari rumah pasti akan ada taman. Itu untuk area bermain outdoor. Kalau cuaca tidak mendukung? Tenang, di tiap RT ada taman bermain indoor. Tak hanya area yang luas, di tempat yang disebut jidoukan ini bahkan diisi berbagai pelayanan gratis terkait tumbuh kembang anak. Konsultasi laktasi, gizi, dan sebagainya
Kami cukup beruntung karena lokasi rumah persis di seberang taman kota. Fasilitasnya mulai dari halang rintang untuk usia toddler ke atas, mini outdoor gym untuk anak usia 1-3 tahun, kolam pancing, museum rumput laut, bahkan ada pantai buatan dengan pasir putih. Kalau yang di foto ini adalah perosotan panjang sekali. Orang tuanya juga bisa ikut menemani.
Semuanya dibiayai dengan uang pajak penghasilan untuk kecamatan. Ada dua komponen pajak, satu yang dibayarkan ke negara, dan satunya lagi dibayarkan ke kecamatan sesuai domisili. Nah termasuk pesta kembang api yang pernah saya posting, itu salah satu pemanfaatan uang pajak. Semaksimal mungkin uangnya dipakai agar warga di kecamatan itu bisa mendapat hiburan secara berkala. Konsep pajak per-kecamatan ini bagus untuk ditiru menurut saya. Membuat disiplin laporan kependudukan karena benefit kesehatan anak, voucher imunisasi, dll diberikan oleh kecamatan. Jadi kalau tidak lapor pindah alamat, otomatis semua fasilitas bebas biaya dari pemerintah juga akan terhenti.
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.
Continue reading “最終講義 (Saisyuu Kougi) : The Last Lecture”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.
Continue reading “Halal Restaurant in Kamakura”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.
Continue reading “Cheap Tour Package for Foreigner Living in Japan”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.
Continue reading “Halal Restaurant in New Sapporo Chitose Airport Hokkaido”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.
Continue reading “Best Halal Ramen in Hokkaido”Praying Space in Sapporo
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.
Continue reading “Praying Space in Sapporo”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:
Continue reading “Authentic Halal Okomomiyaki in Hokkaido”Hokkaido Itinerary
I am so excited to start 2019 with an opportunity to visiting Hokkaido. This is my first time and has been on my bucket list since long time ago. Hokkaido famously known for their high quality corps and seafood products. You can find many products in the supermarket where it stated ‘from Hokkaido’, although the price is slightly more expensive nevertheless people still want to bought it. If it is not because the good quality, then I do not know for what it is.
Honestly, this trip is part of my babymoon. After quite long journey fought PCOS, through the ups and downs, we realized that we deserved a reward. Therefore we decided to give it a shot although it is only inside Japan and this time the itinerary is quite flexible considering my pregnancy at that moment. Our main goal is enjoy the nature as much as we can and also not forget to mention eat at many halal restaurants which you could not find in Kanto area. You can find the detail itinerary here.