Warming up and gearing up!

Good day and Assaalamualaikum to my readers (if there's any, LOL!)

It's been almost 4 months since I left Japan. Life in Perak is pretty mundane since I don't have much to do nor many friends left in my hometown. It's quite puzzling coz I don't have much friend in Japan either but my weekend was always busy! :) I didn't mind joining strangers doing activities or having a good day by myself, going to the cinema, shopping or even retreat at a resort! On the contrary, I can't do much by myself here coz it feels weird even to go for a jog by myself. I keep reminding myself, I must change the mode back to my Japan life. Talk about procrastination....

I'm going to write down what I did so far. At least I won't feel so bad of myself. LOL.
1) Finished unpacking 8 boxes of stuffs that I shipped from Japan. It took me 4 months! :(
2) Bought my new car after convincing the bank with my Japanese pay slip.  Teehee! :)
3) Bought a new mattress for my poor back. A freaking thick and expensive mattress.
4) Attended the 4th Being Me Muslimah Convention : Love, Aisya in Putrajaya. This time it's just me. No friends.
5) I've said Tokyo Dome in Dec'14 was my last one, but it happened that I went to see my boys again in KL after much persuasion from a friend. Oh! when will be my last..huhuhuhu..
6) Paid deposit for Europe Tour in Jan'15. Will be with 20 total strangers for 14 days. You go girl!!
7) Registered for 'Jom Kurus' weight loss program in this Sept with my colleague.
    Target : shed those excess kilos before my Europe trip and take gorgeous pics! #vain
8) Volunteered for my company's CSR activity : Science Project with school children. It was so much fun! :)
9)  Received an invitation as a guest contributor to write about halal in Japan from a travel and lifestyle blog Have Halal Will Travel (HHWT) based in Singapore. How cool is that! :D

There's a lot more to do and to achieve but being in a sluggish state that I am right now, I won't achieve much if I don't make a change fast. I was watching an Islamic TV programme while typing this entry. 2 of my favourite motivational speaker was on it. (Dr. Fadilla Grine and Prof. Madya Dr. Harlina Siraj). I'm gonna write some of their word of wisdom here and may it be a reminder for me in everything I do.

Be good emissaries for Islam. Be useful. Be a human being who can bring benefit to others.

Strive for the ultimate reward from Allah SWT in whatever you do rather than reward from human.

Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) said : "The believer is like rain, where ever he goes is goodness."


XOXO,
-Tim-

Good to be back! (^_^)

Pursuit of Happiness

If you ever feel down or distressed, remember this du`a’ (supplication):

 

اللَّهُمَّ إِنِّي أَعُوذُ بِكَ مِنْ الْهَمِّ وَالْحُزْنِ وَالْعَجْزِ وَالْكَسَلِ وَالْبُخْلِ وَالْجُبْنِ وَضَلَعِ الدَّيْنِ وَغَلَبَةِ الرِّجَالِ

Allahumma inni a’udhu bika minal-hammi wal-Ḥuzni wal-‘ajazi wal-kasli wal-bukhli wal-jubni wa ḍala’Īd-dayni wa ghalabatir-rijal.

O Allāh, I take refuge in You from anxiety and sorrow, weakness and laziness, miserliness and cowardice, the burden of debts and from being overpowered by men. [Bukhari]

Japan Life : Enquiry about working in Japan

Salam from Malaysia!!
Just came back a week ago, and my stuffs haven't arrived yet from Japan. Huhu!
I want to share this email that I received last month from Adam (bukan nama sebenar..hihi) who will be undergoing his Industrial Training in Kanagawa soon. He wanted to know some know-how for Muslim working in Japan, hopefully it can benefit you too!

On Saturday, March 14, 2015, fatimah shamsuddin <fatimah-shamsuddin@hotmail.com> wrote:

Waaalaikumsalam WBT.

Hello Adam. Sorry for my late reply, I was quite busy coz I'm going back to Malaysia soon.

I was so surprised but honoured to receive your email.I will try to answer your questions as per my experience though it might not be suitable with your situation. As you know, I lived in Kyoto so I am not familiar with Kanagawa area. But if you look at Japan map, Kanagawa is very near to Tokyo.^b^

So here it goes!

1. When I googled Kanagawa, it stated that it is the main manufacturer of pork - should I be bothered with it?

Err..I don't think you should worry too much...Maybe in Kanagawa, they have variety of pork menu compared to other places, but that's all. My advise is:

- When you want to buy food at the supermarket or 7-E (konbini), etc, make sure to check the label carefully. If there is kanji like  豚 (ぶた）,  ラード (lard), ショートニング　(shortening),  just don't buy it.

- If you are eating outside, ask the cook first..."Sumimasen, syuukyou no tame ni, o'niku, doubutsu abura, aruko-ru, o'nuki dekimasu ka?" (Because of  religious reason,  can you not add any meat, animal oil and alcohol?) If they say yes, then just read bismillah and makan..:D. The rest is tawakkal.

2. I am still able to have halal food, right? (I might get a personal room during my internship, so I might be able to cook my own meal)

Of course! I'm sure there'll be 1 or 2 halal groceries shop where you can buy frozen halal meat, etc. But if you can't find any, you can buy online from www.baticrom.com. Their office is in Tokyo. You can order from their website and they will deliver to your house in 1-2 days! My advise is, as soon as you settle down in Kanagawa, try to locate the nearest Muslim centre, masjid or muslim community as soon as possible. That will help you to adapt fast!

3. Is Japanese employees ok about us having to perform prayers while working? How do you usually perform solat during work? Can we perform jama' & qasar?

Did you informed your employer about the things that you need when you apply for the internship? Like solat, muslim friendly food, culture, etc..

If you haven't, please do so before you come to Japan! Before I came to Japan, I made a list of things that I will need, the do and don't as a Muslim, etc..So I never faced much problem at work. My lunch time is from 12pm-12.45pm. I normally eat until 12.30, and the balance 15min I will do my Zuhur prayer. My boss let me use the filing room to do my prayer. My advise is, set a fix time for your Zuhur prayer everyday (jgn tukar2..) so that your collegue will also be aware of it. We must show good example and we can't be as "suka hati" as in Malaysia where people can go for prayer time as they like. Then you can do your Asar after working hours. About jama' & qasar, I don't do it on a normal days, only when I'm on a long journey business trip/travelling. Sometimes, I also faced problems such as stuck in long meeting, couldn't find proper place for solat when I'm on the go, etc, etc..in this case I will do jamak, but not qasar bcoz it's not related to the distance (~90km). Sorry I can't explain much about this..it is better you read the explanation from an ustaz..like Dr. Maza, UAI, etc.

Have you heard about nomikai (飲み会）or drinking party?? In Japan, it is common for co-workers to go for drinkign alcohol after work. If you are going to one, tell them you can only drink non-alcoholic drink. Orenji jyusu kudasai! :D. I go to nomikai all the time because it is the nature of my work. At first, I hesitated to but a friend advises me during the nomikai, try to 'selit' about Islamic values. Example, why Islam forbid us to drink alcohol and eat pork, why Muslim have to pray 5 times a day, and any other things..Japanese people are really interested to know about Islam! So this is the chance for you to explain to them. :D  

4. My Japanese proficiency is weak (N5 passed, N4 failed), do I need to work on my Japanese language? Can I survive in the work environment with that level of proficiency? (Please be honest, so that I could prepare myself early! T^T)

I will be honest with you. There is a HUGE difference between laymen Japanese and bussinese Japanese (sonkeigo). I have only JLPT level N3, and it is NOT enough for me to survive in my line of work. I work in the Purchasing Department, so we deal with Japanese suppliers in JAPANESE. (-_-).   I would have packed my bag and balik kampung long time ago if I don't have the google translater with me 24-7. Huhuhu.

BUT! It depends on the nature of your job as well. Some of my friends don't even have JLPT, but they can managed bcoz they uses mainly English than Japanese (system engineer, overseas sales, etc). If you are in enginering, please try to learn the common terms, machinery terms, parts and material name in Japanese. I keep a small note book to jot down  when ever I don't understand a Japanese word. It helps me to memorize faster.

Last but not least, if you face any difficulty in Japan later, don't be shy and ask for help! You cannot survive being a loner..(though I like travelling alone..hihi.) And do enjoy Japan as well..It is a very beautiful & systematic country, there's alot of things we can learn from them.

 I wish you all the best!!　頑張ってください！

~Kak Tim~

Personal struggle

On some of my cold winter nights in Japan, I would just laid on my bed, thinking of the things that I have achieved so far, in my career and personal life. I think I have achieved quite a lot, though to other people it might seems small. And I am humbly admitting that I've lost a lot too.

There's too many to list out, but the most painful is that I have lost my old self. The one who used to have the will power to say NO to syaitan's whispers. I felt so helpless now. Every time I've sinned, I beg Allah for His forgiveness, but I didn't made an effort to change. I'm seeing people around me becoming better Muslims, which I really envy! They took a longer path than me, but I've failed to stay istiqamah (persistent) on that path. Why do I struggle so much?

 I want to run to ME again, to my 14 years-old self, whom once bravely told the choir teacher that she'll keep her headscarf on, no matter how awkward the choir team might look because of her.

It's cloudy here, in my heart. I'm scared it will turned to black. I want it to be white again, like the precious winter snow.

Japan Life : Winter Holiday in Japan 2014

This is my last winter holiday in Japan. I went travelling all around Japan with a friend from Malaysia. I had to brave the cold, the wicked snow, the high fever and non stopped runny nose for 1 whole week. I can say it was the worst holiday ever for me. There's not much of my photos because I looked half dead. Japan was a bit gloomy and snowy but beautiful, as always.



ODAIBA DRIVE CITY, TOKYO.



GUNDAM ROBOT

HAKONE.

 






BIWAKO VALLEY ROPEWAY



BIWAKO VALLEY SKI PARK





HARRY POTTER WORLD, USJ.








HARRY POTTER WORLD, USJ.




Snowy morning view from 88HIROSHIMA HOUSE.





PEACE MEMORIAL PARK, HIROSHIMA.




TOKYO SKY TREE




TOKYO SKY TREE VIEW

TAKESHITA SHOPPING STREET




OMOTESANDO HILLS SHOPPING STREET, TOKYO.






SHIBUYA CROSSINGS








AKIHABARA ELECTRONIC CITY



2014: BIGBANG JAPAN DOME TOUR X in OSAKA DOME D4

JAPAN DOME TOUR X!! So I finally went to their last day concert yesterday (141123). Initially I didn't really planned to go coz they don't have a new album yet, but so it happened that my JVIP friends have some extra ticket and they offered it to me. Pure luck. Kkkk. \(^_^)/ \(^_^)/

 

Phewww...It's been a long time!! (err..months actually). Wow...My body ached so much and I couldn't wake up this morning! I don't think I can endure a 3-hours standing and jumping to their songs anymore..ahjumma, keman juseyo!! (stop already aunty...) (-_-)(-_-)
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Takoyaki stall near Kyocera Dome. Spot the Bigbang's previous JDT at the back ^b^!

Here's my rough fan account. So many moments, but my memory failed me. Must be due to the band music was way tooooo loud! I couldn't think right. (-_-)

 

 

 

 

 

Update:

This might be my last Bigbang's concert in Japan. I'm still looking for tickets for JDT-X in Tokyo Dome on the 27-Dec, but it's already sold out like freaking SOLD-OUT!! Huhuhu..Oh well. It's been a wonderful experience, this past 2 years in Japan. I think it's gonna be fine.

 

Lately I find it really hard to keep on being a VIP. I see on twitter everyday VIP nowadays really like to compete with who took the best concert picture, who tweet the best fan account, the received most fan service, who purchased the most merchandize, and oh the Bigbang's junior fanwar (cough-winner-cough-iKon-cough-BOBBY-cough). I'm like, demm do we have to compete in everything even though we like the same thing/person??? It's freaking crazy! It takes away the joy of being a normal VIP like the good old time. The VIP who's always broke, who always shares link to free download mp3/concert DVD, the VIP who buys 2nd hand but timeless BB merchandize, yes that kind of VIP. I really missed those days where we share everything, not buy everything! Come on, think of it! It's a freaking money-consuming hobby ever! Their concert ticket itself is ridiculously more expensive than other Japan artist, their merchandize changes with every concert, you always have to buy something to get something (rehearsal pass, send-off pass, fan meeting, etc..). Let's not start with their  solo activities..OMG...   

 

I too, indulged in their concerts in Japan but not their merchandize. Well, I'm a working adult but how the hell did those young VIP could afford to go to every Bigbang concert all around the world?? And their merchandize. OMG. It's really expensive guys! Not to forget events like MAMA, GDA, well anything related to Bigbang. Imagine VIP who comes from not so well-off family, or a young adult struggling to make a living would feel not to be able to experience all of these 'fan thingy'. If I am one of them, I would feel so so small. Huhuhu...

 

Okay, I'm being emotional a bit. But this new fandom culture really made me think hard. I just want to enjoy their music, without stress, without competing. I guess I am really becoming an ahjumma.. (-_-)

Japan Life : Halal Food and Prayer

I believe some of you might wonder how do I find halal food and perform my daily prayer in Japan right? Well, there are a few tricks and know-how that you've got to learn not just in Japan, but in any other non-Muslim countries as well. It's kind of hard at first, but slowly you'll get the gist.

In Japan particularly, the food labels are written in Japanese kanji, so it's difficult to know what are the ingredients. Before I came to Japan, I thought it would be easy to find halal food here since I love seafood so much. But I didn't know that Japanese lurrrrve their "SAKE" or traditional alcoholic drink so much they would add it into everything. (sushi, desserts, sweets, etc). And when the menu says vegetable spaghetti or vegetable curry, you would easily find pieces of PORK in the dish as well. Even after living in Japan for 2 years this still traumatizes me, like what the phish??!! I ordered a vegetarian menu!! Haha, no they didn't do this on purpose. It's just that majority of the people in Japan don't really understand vegetarian food let alone halal food.

Groceries
You could always find halal stuff in the international grocery shop in Kyoto (Ex: Jupiter Kyoto (https://www.kyotostation.com/porta-underground-shopping-mall/ ) but for shopping in the normal supermarket or 7-E, it is advisable to memorize some simple kanji characters such as below :
豚肉 (buta niku) : pork
牛肉 (gyu niku) : beef
鳥肉 (tori niku) : chicken
お酒 (sake) : Japanese alcohol
味醂 (mirin) : Japanese sweet cooking wine (contain alcohol)
醤油 (syou yu) : soy sauce (*most Japanese soy sauces contain alcohol)
乳化剤 (nyukazai) : food emulsifier  (normally derives from animal unless stated as soy-based大豆 or plant-based 植物
ショトニング : shortening (normally derives from the animal)
ゼラチン : gelatin (normally derives from the animal)
ラード (la-do) : lard

There are many more, but basically, I will stay away from products with these kanji written on the packages. I think the most difficult part is the 'nyukazai' thing because they use it in almost everything, especially in their bread and cookies.

On the other hand, if you do not want to go through all those hassles, then you can just shop from below halal online markets. They will deliver everything to your doorsteps in just 2 days, and you can pay them by COD (着払い @ ちゃくばらい@ cyakubara-i) or credit card. The downside is, you need to shop for more than JPY7000 to get free shipping costs.
www.baticrom.com
http://halal-food.jp/

Eating Out
If you are eating outside (other than a halal restaurant), it would be impossible to confirm these details. So what I normally do is I would just tell the restaurant please don't add any meat, animal oil and alcohol AT ALL inside the dish　（肉、動物油やアルコールぬき）. Other than this, I will leave it to God (tawakkal), because Allah knows best. I have done what I could.

Fast food chain (vege and seafood menu)
In case you cannot find Halal restaurants, some of the menus at the fast-food chain restaurant below can also be consumed by Muslims, but they are NOT halal certified. You can find the shops almost everywhere in the Kyoto area.
Sushi-Ro : http://www.akindo-sushiro.co.jp/en/  (kaiten sushi, super cheap! I personally won't take the soy sauce because the ingredient on the bottle shows it contained alcohol)
First Kitchen : http://first-kitchen.co.jp/ (shrimp burger)
Lotteira :  http://www.lotteria.jp/index.php (shrimp burger)
Gusto : http://www.skylark.co.jp/gusto/menu/index.html (corn pizza)
Saizeriya : http://www.saizeriya.co.jp/menu/grandmenu.html
(vege & seafood menu. But you have to ask carefully. They often added pieces of meat/ham in the dishes..)
Vie De France : http://viedefrance.co.jp/index.shtml (bread and pastries, but only the plain types)
Manneken Belgium Waffle :  http://www.manneken.co.jp/ (delicious waffle, but some contained alcohol so please ask)

Also, this website was shared by my Japanese colleague. List of Muslim Friendly Shop around Kyoto (NOT Halal certified) http://kyotomuslimfriend.jp/en/ I have yet to try it though.

But if you do have a choice, I suggest that you go to the halal restaurants where you can just eat heartily and peacefully. Below are very useful website with a list of halal restaurant around Kyoto:
http://kyoto.travel/muslim/en/hotel.html
http://www.mikansjapan.com/food/halal-kyoto.html

Coffee
For those who know me, I am a coffee JUNKIE like big time! I could drink coffee for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. But to know that most canned coffee in Japan contained 'nyukazai' is just mind-boggling! What am I supposed to drink then? Well actually the 'nyukazai' comes from the dairy product, added into the coffee. So if it is black coffee or no milk coffee it's not a problem to drink. But I love my milk coffee so much I'll go crazy without them. Luckily there are some coffee brands that omit the use of 'nyukazai' or substitute it with fresh cow milk instead. There aren't many, but I've managed to survive my daily life thanks to them. Some of the choices are as below:
Coffee shops: Tullys, Doutor, Starbucks.
Canned coffee: DYDO, Blendy, Nescafe, Wonda (caffe au lait), Kirin (Cafe latte), 7-E Hikitate (Esspresso and cafe latte).

Halal Apps/Websites
It's pretty difficult to remember all these things so what we normally do is download halal apps on our smartphones. There are also some volunteer groups on Facebook surveying halal products in Japan to help those who can't read kanji. I normally refer to these two:
http://halalminds.com/
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Halal-Japan/503821533010825
https://www.facebook/com/Serijaya-Indonesia

Prayer Apps
I believe nowadays most people would download prayer apps on their smartphones. I did that too when I first came to Japan (I never owned a smartphone in Malaysia!) and it is very helpful especially when I'm on the go. Some of the common apps are Athan and Muslim Pro. You can download it from below:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.athan
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.bitsmedia.android.muslimpro

Where to pray?
Whenever I'm on the go (traveling or business trip), I would try to do jamak or qasar prayer as much as possible if I have the chance. However, when I'm out shopping or hang out with friends on the weekend, normally I would use the below tips.

1. Fitting room
Just find any shopping mall, grab a pair of shirts and go straight to the fitting room. Nobody will disturb you there unless you are taking too much time. Malls with Uniqlo or GU shop is much preferred. :D

2. Garden or park
When we go out for a picnic or sightseeing, this is what we normally do. We would find a spot under the trees or near the resting area and perform our prayer here. It's a bit open, so there will be a lot of curious Japanese lookers, but if you are with friends it's less awkward.

3. Stairs
Whenever I couldn't find a fitting room at the mall, I would go to the stairs area, spread my praying mat and pray. Big space, fewer people (or no people at all).

4. Breastfeeding room
Haha. I know!! It's not appropriate, but sometimes you just gotta do what you gotta do.

5. Kyoto Masjid
Actually, there is one Masjid here in Kyoto, managed by the Kyoto Muslim Association. It is located in Koujinguchi and you can access it by taking buses no 7, 14 and 205 from Kyoto Station. I normally would go there like once a month. They have a masjid, halal shop, and a halal restaurant (Kyoto Rose Cafe) just a few steps away from the masjid. Please drop by when you visit Kyoto later okay! Here is the website: http://kyotomuslim.net/access/index.html

Wudu' (Ablution)
This could be a problem too because it can be a bit uncomfortable to take wudu' in a public toilet in Japan. The sink will get wet with splashes of water here and there, so I need to dab a whole bunch of tissues for it. Washing my feet while everyone is watching is also, err..uncomfortable.

Nowadays, I will make sure to take my wudu' BEFORE I go out. So when I need to renew it later, if the situation doesn't permit me to take wudu' as per normal, I will not take off my shoes but just splash some water on it instead. This is called 'khuf', one of the 'rukhsah' for us which I read in this book 'Mengenai Solat' written by Ustaz Rohidzir Rais. This blog's explanation is also very helpful:
http://fiqh-sunnah.blogspot.jp/2007/11/055-bagaimanakah-berwudhu-dengan.html

You don't have to splash gallons of water all over your body like we normally practice in Malaysia when taking wudu'. Just spreading the water slowly & evenly onto the skin surface is enough. When I'm at work, I even fill up water into a spray bottle to take my wudu'. Really useful and worry-free! Then again, some of us could care less about Japanese people's opinions, but being the only Muslim in the company with 2000 over employees, I am not that carefree. (May Allah have mercy)

That's it. Finished this post, finally! I hope my humbling experience could be a help to you too. Now I can go and enjoy my Doutor coffee. Mata kondo ne!

P/S: All of this informations are based on my PERSONAL checking and information I got from senpai (senior) who lived in Japan for many years. If you are not satisfied, please contact the shops directly or do your own reconfirmation.