Welcome to the last day of September. 

To be honest, I don't want to believe (and probably everyone too) that 2021 is only three months away. I also don't think that we've been facing coronavirus for two years.

"How are you?" This question is not for pleasantries. But, the question is really to ascertain whether the person we are asking is okay .

From the deepest of my heart I hope that the whoever is reading this post, all of us, are always fine. Aamiin.

For me, 2021 is... (sorry I can't describe more, except crying while writing this). Sound lebay? LOL. I don't care. I just can say, "My feeling is mixed!" 

We moved three times this year:

1. Inter-country: from Japan to Indonesia on March

2. Inter-province: from Jakarta to East Java on April

3. Inter-island: from Java to Sulawesi on May

If you ask me what it's like to move amid pandemic, the answer is jumbled, inexplicable.

Perhaps, moving before pandemic was a common thing. Many people did. But, everything is different when Covid-19 comes. Going to somewhere, especially for the purpose of moving, becomes so complicated. It is not only physical that must be prepared, but also mentally. 

That's why, I will never get tired of thanking ALLAH. Just because of ALLAH's power and strength we can still be here like now, we can still breathe to this day. ALLAH is so kind. He knows that we still have many sins. Therefore, ALLAH still gives us the chance to be a better person.

I'm sure everyone survives in their own way during this pandemic. Honestly, I don't know what else to write. There are a lot of things on my mind about the current situation that I can't explain. But I believe that Allah knows even before I tell. All I can say now is I hope we can do the best in the three months remaining of 2021. Hopefully 2022 will be better. Don't forget to support each other.

Light rain had been greeting us when we arrived in Kobe Harborland Station. We didn't wait for the rain to stop. It seemed like it was going to rain even harder. So, we chose to head to our main destination, Anpanman Children's Museum, while enjoying the surroundings. 

Oh yeah, It was our third day in Osaka. First day, we strolled arround Dotonbori. Second day, we visited Universal Studio Japan. All of them are still in Osaka. And the third day, we went to another prefecture. Yeah, Kobe is a part of Hyogo Prefecture. However, they are still in the same region, Kansai.

Kobe Anpanman Childrean's Museum is easy to access. From hotel we were staying, we headed to Yodoyabashi Station. It took only 500 meters on foot. We went to Umeda Station by Midosuji Line. It needed about two minutes. Umeda-Osaka station is like a gateway. So, if we want to go to other prefectures like Kyoto, Hyogo, etc, we have to come here first. Then, by Kobe Line, we went to Kobe Station. We took about 30 minutes. Last, from Kobe Harborland to museum, we reached it 5 minutes on foot.

Our decision to go to the museum without stopping by was exactly right because the rain was getting heavier when we got there.

I was grateful I could take this photo in the middle of the rain before entering the museum building.

Hi, Anpanman. Nice to meet you.

In Indonesia, Anpanman may not be very well known, except for those wo really idolize him. But in Japan, who doesn't know Anpanman. I'm sure all Japanese people, especially children, are familiar with this fictional character. Anpanman is a superhero who has a head shaped like an anpan (Japanese sweet round bread filled red bean pasta). His job is to protect the world from the onslaught on supervillain named Baikinman. 

In Japan, Anpanman Children's Museum is located in 5 cities. They are Sendai (Tohoku Region), Yokohama (Kanto Region), Nagoya (Chubu Region), Fukuoka (Kyushu Region), and the place we visited when we traveled to Kansai... KOBE (Kansai Region).

Kobe Anpanman Children's museum consists of two floors. First floor is shopping mall and second floor is museum. We don't need to buy an entrance ticket to get into the first floor. It's free. But, in order to enter the second floor, we have to buy a ticket.  

And... here's our adventure there.

Anpanman souvenir that is only available in Kobe.

The trash can is so cute. How I can't fall in love. :D

Welcome to the Anpanman's World.

Taka's trying to make a fire.

Taka was selling ice cream.

Donburiya.

Taka was pretending to control the machine.

Happy cooking.

What were you looking for?

Byee, Anpanman. See you next time.

We returned to Osaka in the evening using the same route as when we went to the museum. Taka said he was so pleased. Alhamdulillah.

Source: Wikipedia

I watched this film a long time ago, before I became a mother. The genre was a family drama. RDJ’s character (I forgot what his name here) is still the same as in the previous film although he was in different genre. Yes, he was still a sarcastic man.

I watched this film from the point of view of the father and son’s relationship which was rigid, cold, and distant.

They love each other, but they also hate. Yes,  love and hate at the same time. They admire each other, but they are reluctant to admit.  

Love and affection make confused sometimes. Those are hard to say and express. There are also those who deliberately show otherwise. They choose to be hated by someone who they love. Dunno why. It is also absurd.

And the another fact, sometimes the complicated relationship between parents and their son/daughter is because of very simple thing.

Like in this film, for example. RDJ, who has become a very successful lawyer, still needs validation from his father. Everyone knows RDJ is a respected lawyer. But, It still doesn’t make him happy because his father seems to look down to him.

Honestly, his father was very proud of him. But, he just couldn’t and (didn't want to) express. 

I learned from this film that a child will be a child though he/she has grown up and has reached his/her dreams.

Melanjutkan catatan perjalanan seminggu di Kansai saat kami masih tinggal di Tsukuba September tahun lalu, kali ini yang ingin kuceritakan adalah pengalaman menginap di Hotel Sosetsu Fresa Inn Osaka - Yodoyabashi. Ya, di Osaka, Hotel Fresa Inn tersedia di beberapa lokasi, namun yang kami pilih saat itu adalah yang di Yodoyabashi.

Proses booking hotelnya relatif cepat, hanya sehari sebelum keberangkatan. Suamiku memesan via agoda. Kalau ditanya kenapa kami memilih hotel tersebut, pertimbangannya masih sama dengan yang aku tulis sebelumnya bahwa selain faktor dekat tidaknya dengan stasiun serta fasilitas umum lainnya, harga yang sangat bersahabat juga tidak boleh diabaikan. Setidaknya, setahun yang lalu sih masih sangat terjangkau di kantong kami, ada diskon mayann gedeee. Alhamdulillah.

Kami tiba di hotel menjelang petang karena memang mampir-mampir dulu ke beberapa tempat sesampainya di Stasiun Shin-Osaka alias enggak langsung meluncur ke hotel. 

CAPEK! Itulah yang kurasakan setelah sampai hotel. Ingin segera berendam rasanya. Yups, kami semua harus mandi sebelum jalan-jalan lagi menikmati Osaka di malam hari. Sepulangnya gimana? Ya, mandi jugaa, berendam. Selama tinggal di Jepang, aku termasuk rajin mandi secara bisa berendam untuk menghilangkan pegal, enggak perlu pijet. Mandi berendam seolah udah umum dan bukan sesuatu yang wow. :D

Anakku say hello dengan mainan yang ada di kursi. Suamiku ke Mbak-mbak resepsionis. Aku selonjoran di kursi, merasakan nikmatnya duduk setelah ngukur jalan. LOL.

Buatku, kami, memilih hotel yang dekat dengan konbini adalah sebuah "keniscayaan" saat ngebolang. Seperti Hotel Sosetsu Fresa Inn Osaka - Yodoyabashi ini misalnya, begitu kami ke luar, cuzz... bisa langsung meluncur ke konbini terdekat.

Menuju lantai 3, tempat kamar kami berada.

Seperti inilah "penampakan" kamar yang kami pesan.  

Hal yang paling aku sukai saat menginap di Jepang adalah... selalu ada baju ganti jadi kita enggak perlu mikir bawa baju buat tidur, bisa menghemat bangett.

Jepang memang ahlinya memanfaatkan space, seolah enggak boleh ada yang tersisa. Bukan kali pertama, aku melihat hal ini di penginapan. Salut, deh.

Lihat, kan. Kami ngebolang seminggu cuma bermodalkan ransel, dong. Itu udah mencakup semua kebutuhan dunia akhirat ibaratnya. :D

Untuk kamar mandi, aku lebih suka di dormi yang aseli berkarakter Jepang ketimbang yang ala-ala barat seperti ini meskipun sama-sama bisa berendamnya.

Tidak seperti sebelum-sebelumnya, di edisi menginap kali ini, kami memilih plus sarapan juga. Tenang, kami memilih yang aman kok. Kokinya juga tahu dengan "penampakanku" yang seperti ini harus diberi makan apa. :D

Didominasi oleh IKAN, dong.

Maaf ya ada penampakanku yang belum pakai apa-apa (bedak dan teman-temannya).

Berhubung kami ngebolang dengan pakaian yang itu-itu saja sementara di sisi lain kami jelas harus menjaga kebersihan dan kesucian pakaian yang dipakai, maka hotel dengan fasilitas ada mesin cuci koin seperti yang kami pilih. 

Bisa ditebak, yang paling sering kami pakai adalah coin laundry dan vending machine.

Sudah terkuak, ya. Inilah salah satu rahasia kami bisa ngebambong cukup lama, tapi bisa bawa tas ransel aja. Ya, ini. Tiap hari, kami cuci, euy.

Ada hal yang tidak bisa kulupakan saat menginap di hotel ini. Di suatu malam, sepulang jalan-jalan, telepon kamar berdering. Awalnya kaget karena kok ya tidak biasanya. Makin kaget karena suara si penelepon menggunakan bahasa Indonesia dengan logat native. Ketika kami kemudian datang ke bagian resepsionis, nama petugasnya JAAWAAA bangettt. Maaf, aku enggak bisa sebut demi privasi beliau, huehehe. Rupanya, beliau memang orang Indonesia asli yang sudah tinggal di Jepang belasan tahun. Masyaallah. Tidak ada yang kebetulan di dunia ini meski pertemuan tersebut tentunya tidak pernah dibayangkan dan direncanakan. Kami sempat ngobrol sebelum berpisah.

Sepi? Saat aku menginap memang lagi sepi. Adanya pandemi jelas sangat berpengaruh.

Berharap suatu saat nanti bisa ke sini, semoga beliau masih ada.

Sampai jumpa lagi.

Tiga malam, kami tinggal di Hotel Sosetsu Fresa Inn Osaka - Yodoyabashi. Secara keseluruhan, kami puasss. Pelayanan yang ramah, fasilitas yang lengkap, plus bonusnya... bertemu orang Indonesia yang bekerja di sini karena suatu hal. :D

Sotetsu Fresa Inn Osaka-Yodoyabashi

2-4-10 Koraibashi, Chuo-ku, Osaka-city, Osaka 541-0043 Japan

Masih kuinget kata-kata Bunda April beberapa waktu yang lalu intinya, "Kayaknya status-status Mio nanti akan dipenuhi dengan segala sesuatu berbau Manado," lol 

Yaa, gimana yess, aku mah mempraktikkan salah satu peribahasa Indonesia yang bunyinya, "Di mana bumi dipijak, di situ langit dijunjung," atau kalau versi bahasanya Tom Cruise, "Do as the locals do!" 🤣 Beda arti, tapi maknanya serupalah ya. Intinya kita harus bisa beradaptasi di mana pun berada karena emang itu salah satu cara untuk bertahan. Aku sendiri percaya bahwa semua manusia memang dianugerahi kemampuan tersebut sama Allah. Alhamdulillah.

Di postingan kali ini, aku masih belum akan melanjutkan cerita ngebolang seminggu di Kansai seperti yang sudah tersaji di tulisan-tulisan sebelumnya. Tapii, aku akan nggedabruzz tentang salah satu cara makan yang dulu kerap kuanggap aneh dan maaf bahkan mungkin enggak tertarik, tapi sekarang biasa bangett malah kalau enggak ada serasa ada sesuatu yang kurang.

Hapakah gerangan? Mungkin terdengar receh, tapi bagiku luar biasa dan bisa dibilang sebuah pencapaian mengingat perubahanku bisa 180 derajat. Bagaimana tidak, duluuu bangett aku kerap mengernyitkan dahi dan bertanya ke diri sendiri, "Emang enak?" atau "kok ra umum yak!", ealahh... lha kok sekarang malah semacam ketagihan.

Yups, aku baru sadar... setelah tinggal di Manado bahwa... makan pisang goreng plus sambel roa itu... ternyata enak dan menimbulkan sensasi tersendiri. Perpaduan antara manisnya pisang plus pedasnya sambal menghasilkan efek kejut yang tak biasa di lidah. Ehm, sepertinya memang harus merasakan sendiri baru kemudian percaya karena aku pun dulu termasuk tim yang berpikir bisa-bisanya pisang goreng dicampur sambal. :D

Tapi, itulah Indonesia. Budayanya kaayaaa. Enggak terkecuali masalah per-pisang-an seperti inii. Aku jadi ingattt salah satu teman yang baru pindah ke Jatim. Dia berkomentar, "Kok bisa sih orang-orang suka banget rawon kan penampakannya gitu," :D Aku enggak menyalahkan kok alias mewajarkan banget komen demikian. Sebagaimana aku yang awalnya juga bertanya-tanya bagaimana bisa pisang dicampur sambal. Bagiku, hal tersebut makin menyadarkan akan makna perbedaan adalah sebuah keniscayaan. Toleransi adalah koentji! Kalau toh sekiranya tidak sesuai dengan apa yang kita yakini, tinggal skip. :D

Pertama kalinya kumakan pisang + sambal roa adalah saat kami ke Danau Linow Tohomon. Udara yang dingin plus hujan membuat kami tergoda untuk memesan sepiring pisang dan kopi. Pasangan yang cocok, bukaan. Namun, ternyata yang datang enggak cuma dua item tsb, melainkan ada tambahannya... SAMBAL. 

Sempat Googling (terniat bangett), ada beberapa sumber yang bilang kalau pisang goreng plus sambal inii asalnya memang dari Manado. Konon, orang Minahasa duluu memang sangat suka mencocok pisang goreng di sambal roa. 

Setelah aku merasakan sendiri di gigitan pertama, ehm... MasyaaAllah endeuzz. Sejak saat itulah, aku jadi menyukainya. Menurutku, sambal yang paling cocok ya emang sambal roa. :D

Bagaimana, tertarik juga? Atau, bahkan sudah sejak zaman prasejarah sukanya, aku sendiri yang ketinggalan. LOL.