Geraldine's Osaka Diary!

2 Dec 08

2008-12-13T20:57:00.002+08:00

2 Dec 08 - Osaka, Japan to Singapore -.-

Got up at 6AM, went back to my own room to wash up.
Then lugged everything down to the reception area to check out and meet the rest.
Departed for the airport at around 8+AM
And ta-da, we were greeted with the killer staircases once again. T_T
Took the train to Kansai International Airport

Tired people...

My Russ.K cap! xD

Did some last minute duty-free shopping at the airport ㅋㅋㅋ
Bought a Guerlain lipstick for 엄마 and a Dior mascara for myself weee~
Then it was boarding time and...home (not) sweet home ㅠ.ㅠ

Reached Singapore at 4+PM Singapore time.

All looking not very happy xD (Credits: Laoshi)

So that marks the end of our Osaka Training Trip 2008 ㅠ___ㅠ
It was a really fun and unforgettable experience.
I'm looking forward to more CJ overseas trips in future! ^^

1 Dec 08

2008-12-13T20:00:00.002+08:00

1 Dec 08 - Osaka, Japan!

Last free & easy day in Osaka.
Woke up at 10.30AM, got ready and headed out with my girls.

Nike Osaka! It was just nearby our hotel and stupid me searched for it for 2 days -.-

Had breakfast at Macs - Macs had never tasted so good before xD
Then we went to American Village.
After that, Mag & Ricia went off on their own to get their stuff
Yun & I were shopping for guys' stuff so we stayed at American Village with Tracy too.
Got a New Era cap and a t-shirt for my 오빠들~
Yun bought a cap for her 남동생 too
Then we went back to Shinsaibashi-suji where we went different directions with Tracy.
Bought like, 2 pairs of wedges at the 1500yen shoe shop xD
It was crazy shopping the whole day.
We met Mag & Ricia on the way back from Namba, then went to the shop where we saw pretty colorful Nike sneakers (yes, Nike again xD)
I bought the yellow pair, Mag bought the pinkish red pair.
They didn't have Ricia's size, and Yun saw nothing she liked.
Andddd, 6 days in Japan and my Nihon-go improved LOL!
I could ask for size without Yun's help! xDDD
After a whole day of mad shopping, we headed back to our hotel.
Bought bento at the convenience store just downstairs.
There was this really cute looking boy at the cashier hehehe.
So went back up, and camped in Mag & Yun's room to have our bento dinner while watching TV.
Saw SMAP's program and Shingo made Ricia laugh like mad lol.

My shopping loots on the last day itself...

Packed my luggage until 1+AM or so?
Then went to Yun & Mag's room while Tracy went up to Laoshi's room.
Applied facial masks xD Then chatted for a while before we all knocked out one by one...

30 Nov 08

2008-12-12T11:29:00.000+08:00

30 Nov 08 – Osaka, Japan!

The usual routine - got up, washed up, breakfast, then off to OSM.
Had dance lesson (Hip Hop + Street Jazz) first with Akira Miyazaki-sensei
We danced to 'Purple Line' for his class.
I totally love his routine omg.
And when he danced the routine for us to watch, we were all like =O
He's really really good.

After that, we went to change cos it was vocals lessons up next.
We had a lesson with Oura-sensei first, learning the song 'Everything' by Misia.
The techniques she taught were really useful.
We really like her a lot.
After her lesson, it was lesson time with Mr. Na
He taught us how to read music scores using the song '화장을 고치고' by 왁스
But...apart from knowing how to read the lyrics (where to start and where to jump back to etc.), I still have no idea about the rest xD
Okay, it takes time...*nods* xD

Thennnn, it was time for our recording cum audition session.
Super duper nerve-wrecking I tell you.
We were initially supposed to go according to the sequence when we performed in Mr. Na's class, but somehow the CDs got mixed up and I ended up become the first one to go in.
The song I chose for recording was 윤하's '비밀번호486' ^^
They did a sound check first, before the real recording started.
I was super nervous, but when the music came on, I told myself to sing like how I usually do.
And before I went in, I made a note on my lyrics sheet "윤희야 아자!" xD
It worked, and before I knew it, I was done with my song. Woooo~

Yanz and Marisa kapo-ed my camera and selca-ed lol.

Recording for everyone ended at around 7+PM
Then we took photos with the producer, 권민수 씨

And with Oura-sensei & Asaka-san (Credits: Laoshi)

Went back to hotel to freshen up before going out for dinner with Yun, Mag, Tracy, Ricia and Yanz.

Dior!

Then we went walking around since most of the shops are already closed.
We went all the way to Dotonbori

Pretty theatre!

Then we came across this very very pretty hotel called Water Hotel.

And the Dotonbori street sign

Returned to our hotel at around 12+AM
Cos my legs were aching and I couldn't walk any further lol.

29 Nov 08

2008-12-12T01:47:00.002+08:00

29 Nov 08 – Osaka, Japan!

Again, woke up at 6.45AM.
Went down to the breakfast area after washing up.
Day 2 of training – full day dance.

First class was Freestyle + Hip Hop with Takeshi Matsumura-sensei.
We danced to NEWS! xD *sings Happy Birthday*
He told us he choreographs for JE’s artistes like NEWS and Kat-Tun omgomgomg <3
How cool is that! Lol.

When he played the song, he asked if we knew it
And there I was, nodding and saying, “YES! NEWS!”
Totally fangirl-ish xD

He also taught us locking woohoo!
Had lots of fun learning the steps. =D

Ayako Uemoto-sensei was our second dance (Freestyle) instructor for the day.
Her practice session was a total killer xD
Half-squats and head jerking = whole body aching.
The routine she taught us was really nice.

The pretty dance studio with spotlights on.

Last lesson of the day was Hip Hop by Masako Kato-sensei~
I was rather exhausted by that time, but still held on and danced.

After lessons, went out with Tracy to American Village.

Bought accessories, and walked around a while more before returning to the hotel.
Practiced our songs for the recording session
Then went up to Laoshi's room to surprise her with her birthday cake!
So there we were, 16 of us in one room, singing her a birthday song.

Went back to our rooms and practiced a bit more before totally knocking out xD

Final day of training up next...

28 Nov 08

2008-12-11T17:38:00.000+08:00

28 Nov 08 - Osaka, Japan!

Day 1 of training at Osaka School of Music (OSM)!

Woke up at 6.45AM thanks to my super loud phone alarms xD
Washed up, then went to meet the rest at the breakfast area.

Onigiri!

ㅋㅋㅋ...

We met Ms. Asaka outside our hotel and she brought us to OSM!
It's a really beautiful place omg <3
We had a school tour, and I have to say, my favourite spot is the Live Space!

Totally awesome, isn't it? =D

And of course, not forgetting the recording studio!

That's Mr. Na, by the way. One of our vocals instructor!

After the tour, we headed to Bass on Top for our first vocals lesson by Mr. Na!
He's Korean, but stays in Japan.
We all thought he's Japanese until he mentioned he's Korean.
The song for his lesson was SG Wannabe's '죄와 벌 (Crime & Punishment)'
He gave us music scores, and not all of us could read
So we were trying to keep up while he taught.
It was a pity though, because there wasn't enough time for a proper lesson.

Had a short break after his class
And we went to the convenience store next door to grab some bites.
I am so in love with convenience stores in Japan xD
They have EVERYTHING!

And this...

…is TOTAL love!

The milk tea there is like...HEAVEN! <333

So after our break, we had class with Nakai-sensei!
He was really funny, we all like him a lot. (all the 'BREATH!' moments xDDD)
I will never forget what he said - "In class, you're nobody. But on stage, you're the best."
We split into guys and girls to sing 'Hitomi wo Tojite' originally by Ken Hirai.
When we first sang, he said we were just singing for the sake of singing, and we weren't feeling the song.
He said to put emotions into the song, and so we did.
I almost wanted to cry when we sang it again…seriously.
Looking at the emotional lyrics and feeling the song, it really worked.

Headed back to our hotel to prepare for our photoshoot.

We only had like, 15 minutes to makeup so everyone was rushing like mad.
Thank goodness the studio is just nearby.
The photoshoot was a fun experience.
I thought the photographer was cute hahaha.
Not cute as in cute-looking, but in terms of his actions.
Apparently, as what Yun and the rest told me, I shocked the guys with my 천사 smile xDDD

I look super weird here T_T Don't like my hair zzz

After photoshoot, went out shopping hehehe.
We walked to Namba where all the pretty host boys were ROFL.

The food street!
Spot the gigantic crab woohoo.

We stopped by this restaurant and this Korean waiter thought we were Koreans xD
He didn't believe we're from Singapore and kept asking "진짜? 진짜 로?" LOL.
So with his help, we managed to order food without any difficulties HAHA.

김시년 씨 the friendly waiter (the one with double peace signs).
The other waiter just rushed in while we were posing LOL.

Walked on and saw...

Host club signage! xDDD

It's NEWS for Russ.K!

Yes I know it's very messy ;x

Showered and went to bed as it was dance training the next day.
More coming up in the next entry...

27 Nov 08

2008-12-11T16:02:00.001+08:00

27 Nov 08 - Osaka, Japan!

Touched down at around 8AM Japan time, and headed towards our hotel.
It was a rather…difficult journey LOL.
The stairs were a killer. We almost died hauling our luggage up and down the stairs omg.
No pictures on the way cos…I was too lazy to reach for my camera. ㅋㅋ
So we located our hotel, but were told we could only check in at 3PM.
Oh bugger. Left our luggage at the reception area and went out and about.
Stopped by this pet shop nearby and most of them went inside to look at the cute puppies and kittens.
Then we went for lunch…

We totally didn't dare to touch curry rice after this meal LOL.
After lunch, we split up and went exploring our hotel vicinity.
The shopping street is just next to our hotel, and it's super cool.
It's like…Bugis Street but 50 times better xD

We met back at the hotel at 3PM, and finally checked in.
Got to our rooms, unpacked and freshened up.

Tracy & Geral's room…

Yun & Mag's room…feat. Ricia xD

Then…it's officially SHOPPING TIME!

Tracy wanted to try okonomiyaki
So we stepped into this small restaurant

Explored the shopping street after eating, and I SPOTTED THE SANRIO SHOP!

I was so tempted to steal that tree home LOL!
Yeah so of course we went in, and I totally didn't want to leave the shop xD

Saw this when we were in one of the many cosmetics shops around…

It's NEWS! xD Ryo-chan~~~ <3333

Bought a pair of Nike high cuts muahahaha xD

Was deciding between this pair and another one which was white and dark blue, but Maggie said this pair looks nicer so I got this!
And you know what, Japanese have super duper good service.
The shop attendant took a pretty long time getting the shoes in my size, and I thought they had no more stock.
The poor guy ran in and out, up and down thrice just to check and confirm the model number.
I wanted to tell him it was okay if they didn't have my size but ta-da! He re-appeared with a shoe box in his hands.
In Singapore, when we try shoes, we usually take it from the shop attendants then go try it ourselves
But in Japan, ZOMG, they'll motion for you to sit down, then place the shoes right by your feet for your convenience.
So so so cool! I love good service!

The shops close pretty early, due to the season I guess.
So by 9PM Japan time, there's nothing much left to shop.

Returned back to our hotel and practiced singing for training the next day at OSM.
Fell flat on my bed at around 11+PM cos I was really sleepy xD

26 Nov 08

2008-12-10T09:54:00.000+08:00

26 Nov 08 - Singapore

Headed over to Yun's place early in the morning and dumped our luggages and bags there.
Then went out and about to do some last minute shopping + other stuff.
Went back to her place at around 4+PM, burned our demos and minus one tracks into CDs
Then at 6PM, rushed to Square2 for Last For One hehehe.
After the show, went back to her place, did last minute packing then off we went to the airport at 9.30PM.
Met Tracy there, then sat down and waited for Cel老師 and the rest.

Somehow…Ricia reminds me of Uncle Scrooge here ;x

I lost this in Japan… ㅠ.ㅠ

Checked in at 11+PM, grabbed some bites from BK, then it was boarding time!
I took the window seat (exchanged with Fab), and Ricia just had to mention Bram -.-;
Yes Ricia, we all know you love Bram LOL! xDDD

Okay beware of all the unglam pictures coming up xDD

The sky at…5AM(?) Japan time…

Japan from the air! No idea which state/island this is though xD

Day 1 in Osaka coming up soon...