[Kenneth1704] A Photo A Day 2015 (Mobile Version)

[Kenneth1704]

#70
Japanese Obsession with Collectibles
[2015/03/11]

BG Info: Somehow over here, things with collectibles create higher sales record. The current fad is the "Yokai Watch" plastic badges that you can get when you buy bottled drinks. Heard from people that Yokai Watch plastic badges have a total of 24 kinds available, and some varieties are "rarer" than the others. I am not collecting any of it, will just see who wants and give it to them later on. The Rilakkuma looks so comfortable here.

 

[Kenneth1704]

#71
Overseas Delivery
[2015/03/12]

BG Info: The only way to deliver parcels overseas is through the use of EMS in Japan. EMS is known as Express Mail Service over here and this is already the cheaper alternative. Although there are other couriers available, too many hidden costs inflate the base price of sending one parcel. EMS goes by a few fixed sizes for boxes, and the the calculation of the weight for the parcel. The previous times I used EMS to send things back home, it reached within three days. I would say I am very contented with their postal services.

 

[Kenneth1704]

#72
One Piece Tower (Theme Park)
http://onepiecetower.tokyo/
[2015/03/13]

BG Info: One Piece Tower is opening today! This Theme Park is located at the base of Tokyo Tower, which will include their own restaurants, merchandises, and amusement facilities. Advertisements have been up since forever but I did not really notice it because they are placed at the super crowded areas of the train stations. Every time of the day you have a lot of people walking pass and you just feel like getting out of the place as quickly as possible. Today I manage to see the whole billboard in the morning when there was nobody at the train station yet.

 

[hjbyeo]

#71
Overseas Delivery
[2015/03/12]

BG Info: The only way to deliver parcels overseas is through the use of EMS in Japan. EMS is known as Express Mail Service over here and this is already the cheaper alternative. Although there are other couriers available, too many hidden costs inflate the base price of sending one parcel. EMS goes by a few fixed sizes for boxes, and the the calculation of the weight for the parcel. The previous times I used EMS to send things back home, it reached within three days. I would say I am very contented with their postal services.

Content is understated! It's blardy good!

 

[Kenneth1704]

Content is understated! It's blardy good!

Hahahha.. Oops. But it is damn expensive still. Despite it being one of the cheapest option around.

 

[Kenneth1704]

#73
Kumamon Extermination
White's Day
[2015/03/14]

BG Info: Kumamon was impaled by Edward "Whitebeard" Newgate on White's Day. It totally looked like the booth owner did this to attract people to his booth.

 

[Kenneth1704]

#74
Alcoholic Society
[2015/03/15]

BG Info: The alcohol is cheap. I learned that alcohol can perform miracles on decision making. Their society is so largely dependent on alcohol, it is difficult to ignore this powerful key to make your life easier. For example, if there is a decision to be made and it is to your disadvantage, buying some classy wine as gift to the decision makers can sometimes change that "no" to a "maybe" or even a "yes". It is how screwed up as it is.

 

[Kenneth1704]

#75
Drawer Key
[2015/03/16]

BG Info: The drawer key that we have. In fact, they have been too safe and just produce 4 keys for each drawers. Each of us in the company owns one drawer for us to keep our laptops and other things, and it comes with 4 keys. Personally, I only used two keys. One of them in my bag as a spare key and one is attached to my staff pass for daily usage. I just quietly keep the other two spare keys in the drawer (when we are not supposed to). In event that anyone has lost all 4 keys, they would need to break open that drawer to retrieve the content, then they will have to issue you a new drawer.

 

[Kenneth1704]

#76
All Batteries, Fall In!
[2015/03/17]

BG Info: Something that I used to hear during my time in the Army. In Artillery, we do not have platoons or companies. We go by batteries. So we have this battery, that battery. Expectation of how batteries should fall in is depicted in this photo. :bsmilie:

 

[Kenneth1704]

#77
Portable Charger
[2015/03/18]

BG Info: At first I thought changing to new phone with greater capacity will allow me to use my phone from morning till evening after work at one charge. But it seems that after a year, regardless of what the battery capacity is, it will start to drop. Currently, from morning to afternoon, it will hit about 50% and I will need to leave it to charge in the office before heading home in the evening. Sometimes, I get too busy running around and there is no time to charge my phone at all and looks like this is the only solution. This portable charger is already 2 years old. Looks like I need to look for new one soon.

 

[Kenneth1704]

#78
Speed Tracking of Returned Parcels (Prohibited Items)
[2015/03/19]

BG Info: I sent some items back home to Singapore. In my haste and it was late in the night, I absent-mindedly put in a can of aerosol spray shoe polish. I forgot it was prohibited to send by mail parcels and I would need to check it in my luggage instead. So, after a few days, my parcel got bounced at the airport and they had to trace back to return my parcel to me. When the postman came with my parcel, he explained that the process to get the postage refund would take up to 2 to 3 months after filling up an application form. He was a junior and could not really explain the processes clearly and there were many steps that he was not clear as well. Just nice, a senior postman was in the area doing his rounds and came over to see what was the commotion about. After understanding the situation, the senior postman said to me, "Since the postage has already been paid and accepted, you are still sending the parcel right? Why not, you just open the parcel now and remove whatever that is prohibited and reseal the package? We will take it back for sending right away. In this way, you can still send your parcel, and you need not wait for a few months for the refund process". The junior postman stared at him wide eyed and could not find words to comment on what just happened. I agreed with the senior guy and removed the shoe polish right away, and seal it back. True enough, my parcel took an overnight flight that same day and it is already back home in Singapore. Sometimes, we need to have people who can come up with creative solutions to solve problems. I think Japan needs more of this kind of people who can circumvent their rigidity in terms of work processes.

 

[Kenneth1704]

#79
Payday
[2015/03/20]

BG Info: Company Payday is on the 20th of each month. If 20th is a Weekend, then it will be the Friday before the weekend. If 20th is a weekday public holiday, then it will be the day before the public holiday. That is how the company policy is. Most used bank here is Mizuho Bank because it is biggest in Japan, as it claims to be. As for me, my bank account has lots of limitation. It is not possible to do any internet banking with this account at all and I would have to go to the ATM to perform the operations. The limited operations are: checking balance, deposit, withdraw, ATM Transfer.

 

[Kenneth1704]

#80
Omikuji
[2015/03/21]

BG Info: Go to a shrine, and pray for good health, fortune, luck, etc. At the same time, there is the Omikuji going for 100yen each at most shrines. From the Omikuji, you can get a few kinds of status, namely, great fortune, fortune, bad fortune, great bad fortune. What goes next has many different kinds of practices. The first part is same for all, when you have anything bad, tie the Omikuji to the strings and it will bless you with the good things while preventing the bad things from happening. The second part is those who receive the good fortunes. Some people believe that you have to tie the good fortune to the strings for it to come true, while some believe you have to bring home the good fortune. It is just confusing; different people, different practice.

 

[Kenneth1704]

#81
Walkers' Heaven
歩行者天国
[2015/03/22]

BG Info: This practice can be seen on weekends in both Ginza and Akihabara. The main roads are closed for a few hours to facilitate pedestrian traffic in the area. That is to say, no bicycles are allowed as well. They have patrols all over the roads who give warnings to anybody who is on their bicycles. You will need to come down from your bicycle and push instead.

 

[Kenneth1704]

#82
The Passing of a Great Legend
Rest In Peace, Mr Lee Kuan Yew
[2015/03/23]

BG Info: This morning, our mood took a downturn as our founding father of modern Singapore passed away. You have made great impacts on our lives. Without what you have done, we will not be who we are today. Thank you very much for all that you have done. My condolences to the family.

"I have no regrets. I have spent my life, so much of it, building up this country. There's nothing more that I need to do. At the end of the day, what have I got? A successful Singapore. What have I given up? My life."
~Mr Lee Kuan Yew~

 

[Kenneth1704]

#83
Serenity by the riverside
[2015/03/24]

BG Info: Many times, we are so rushed in our daily routines that we forgot to slow down and appreciate our surroundings. Took a walk after lunch around the area to the riverside where I do not see anyone around. It feels so quiet here compared to the main road just a street behind. The sun gleaming, the river flowing, all of nature taking their own course. I particularly like the sun glare reflection from the left side of the photo.

 

[Kenneth1704]

#84
Open Sesame
[2015/03/25]

BG Info: No, those are not the elevator buttons. These buttons are found on the train doors. For some trains that operate out of Tokyo, you have station that no one will board or alight, so to conserve energy and effort, the passengers press the buttons on the particular door they are at to open so they will be able to board that particular cabin. In summer, this functions to keep the train cabin cool while in winter, it prevents the cold chilling winds from invading every single cabin.

 

[Kenneth1704]

#85
Morning Bath
[2015/03/26]

BG Info: The best thing to do waking up in the cold morning is to take a hot bath and soak in the Gora Onsen. The hostel owner was telling us that the onsen water has not been diluted at all, unlike many touristy areas where many people are not used to the minerals and might have allergic reactions. They do not dilute or add anything to the onsen water, so you can actually see that the water is much more thicker and more viscous.

 

[Kenneth1704]

#86
Childcare's Picnic
[2015/03/27]

BG Info: The weather is so good, the sun is so warm, the childcare's cute little kids are having picnic at the park!

 

[Kenneth1704]

#87
Hello Kyoto
[2015/03/28]

First time coming to Kyoto. This is the start of the 9days Kansai tour. Arashiyama, Kyoto, Osaka, Nara, Kobe, Himeji, USJ, here we come!