A new Hong Kong-style cafe in town! 源元食堂 (Minamoto HK) in Osaka, Japan.

I'm seriously loving the fact that my plea for Hong Kong foods have been answered! Low and behold - another cha chaan teng (茶餐廳) has entered the chat!

Just in case we need a refresher for those new to my blog, a cha chaan teng is basically a Hong Kong cafe that offers cheap eats. These are usually opened all day, serving a variety of different set meals on rotation depending on the time of day. It's like a McDonalds but with rices and noodles - not potatoes and burgers. For breakfast, a HK cafe would offer soup noodles and toast sets. Lunch would be heavier stir fried rice and noodle dish sets. Dinner will include lunch offerings plus stone plate grilled meat sets. It depends on the cafe though, but most cafes follow this type of style.

I actually have a comprehensive list of Hong Kong foods in Japan (not limited to cafes), so please check it out if you want to try any of these places in Kansai or Kanto near you!

https://www.kansaibeyond.com/hk-japan

Anyway, back to this place! I found this place out of pure luck when I was going through instagram. The Japan HK community seems really tight knit and supportive of each other, so it's not usually that hard to find a indirect link to a store or shop.

You can purchase food through this ticket machine like a ramen shop.

To my utmost surprise, it was actually REALLY close to Namba. I immediately wanted to try it out.

But unfortunately they only open from 11:30 to 17:30 and not for dinner, so it's been hell trying to find the time to go... since I can't go after work. Bah.

And I honestly wish they did.

Their food is actually really good!!

I tried their satay beef instant noodle (you can customize it and change the noodle type, and also add toppings like an egg or luncheon meat), milk tea and their egg tarts.

The food did take quite a while to come out, as we did have a full house at the restaurant during golden week, but it was worth the wait! The highlight is the egg tart. They sold for 280 yen each, but they are all freshly made. Best of all, it's the cookie crust egg tarts. Many egg tarts are made with pastry puff recently but I definitely prefer the cookie crust egg tarts - which is a more traditional type that's harder to find.

The milk tea is milkier than I'd like. I personally still like the one from Hong Kong Keshyoku more as it has more tea taste though it may be more bitter for some people.

Otherwise, a solid new addition to the Hong Kong cafe scene here!

I hope they can do well here.

Have you been here yet? What are your thoughts? Let me know!!

Jonan-gu Shrine in Early Spring (Photo Blog)

Hi, today I just wanted to share with you some photos I took in Kyoto at Jonan-gu. They have a huge plum garden with tsubaki flowers (yes, like the shampoo brand!). It was my first time there and I was genuinely surprised at how photogenic it was!

It is a bit of a trek from the closest Keihan station.

15 minutes walk! Let's gooooo...

There wasn't really much along the way to see. The area was very residential along main stretches of road that connected two toll roads. A few love hotels for drivers who need a place to... well.. rest. lol.

And soon, we were at the entrance.

Since everyone was trying to get a glimpse of the garden on a weekend, there were LOTS of people. Staff warned people to keep their distance and to be careful walking through with the amount of people inside. And there was a loudspeaker on repeat telling visitors that there's no toilets once you head inside.

Through most of the path, it was mostly this busy. But the good thing is that the path gives everyone a good view and great angles to photograph without seeing the crowd. It was only around this part of the garden that you wouldn't be able to photograph without having people in your pictures.

My other photos were very must free of people:

Well... other than taking a selfie of myself of course:

I look tired and angry because of crowds, I promise. Not because of the beautiful scenery haha.

Anyway, this other section is really the main event:

Absolutely stunning garden if you can time your visit correctly. I highly recommend coming here. It's definitely crowded but unlike other attractions and spring viewing spots, you can still get lots of great photos here without other tourists in your way!

"You're Just an ALT and You Always Will Be"

When I first started my journey in Japan through Interac, lots of friends were glowing with envy. I'm finally going to Japan. The place were all anime is alive and there's so much to do and see. My closest friends were genuinely happy for me. I'm finally going to spread my wings and live away from my overprotective parents. Finally.

It really was a dream. I did so much here in the span of just less than a decade. I traveled all of Japan and saw so much incredible scenery and experienced so much of the country.

The job itself was... mediocre.

It really was. I simply go to work just to sit around in the staff room, preparing for English classes or pretending to do something meaningful like walking around the school, chatting to students in broken-ass English (realistically it's Japanese once they find out you speak Japanese). When I had classes, I follow the Japanese teacher into the classroom and I act happy to teach a bunch of students who really don't give a damn about English. Students who are told they NEED to learn English for their University entrance exams. Students who can read words in English a normal native English speaker don't even use, memorize the meaning but have no idea how to even use it in a sentence.

Of course, you get a few who do want to learn English. A few in the bunch who are planning ahead and can see a future where they can use English. Or maybe they actually have a dream to live abroad.

Those are the students who really make the job a little bit brighter each day.

There's also a selected few who don't really care for English, but are at least willing to chat to a foreigner. Some who are curious about your life outside of Japan, even though English might not be something they want to learn. You'd hope that you can sow seeds into their minds for the future - that Japan isn't the only place they can thrive.

But when there are no students who care, the world around you becomes an empty cave. Echoes of Japanese teachers around you, working away, genuinely busy with their homeroom classes. If you're lucky, a few teachers may too, take an interest in your life. Maybe they want to see the world too, just as you do. Maybe they're tired from working and planning lessons, and wants to chat with you. In Japanese, of course. If your Japanese isn't good at all... well, then echoes in the cave are just that. Echoes.

That is the life of an Assistant Language Teacher (ALT).

This was a job I did for almost 7 years.

It got extremely repetitive. I was bored. I wanted to do more. I was tired of teaching the same classes, if I got to teach at all. Most of the time the classes were cancelled due to schedule changes. Or maybe they don't need the ALT in the class today since they're doing a test.

I was tired of not being told about some rules they've decided at school until the very last minute. I was tired of decision being made about my English classes but I didn't even know this was even up for discussion. I was tired of being told I could do something, but last minute be told it was "maybe too difficult to do now".

I wanted more.

I wanted more responsibilities and control over my classes. I wanted to be involved in the decision making.

And I thought I got that now that I am a homeroom teacher at an elementary school, but at every turn, I am always reminded that I am simply an ALT and nothing more. In fact, I only received more responsibilities but none of the benefits of a normal teacher. It's almost better to just... go back being an ALT. At least then I had more time for myself, my friends and my family.

Now no one cares for my lessons, and I have to deal with student problems and parent problems. I have to deal with working with micromanaging busybodies, and overwork just to keep parents who don't want any responsibility for their own child happy.

I know some of are questioning whether your existence as an ALT is better.

Maybe not, but I promise you - moving up to be a a normal teacher isn't better either.

Find a job in a different career you love. Or stay in ALT for an easy, relaxed life. You will only regret working in the environment I work in now.

Fuck it all, really.