It Was a Year of Many Firsts... A Review of 2019

There aren’t enough words to describe the year I’ve just had, but I’ll try my best. So here it goes.

If there is one theme I’ve noticed (among many) in 2019, it is that it was a year of many firsts. Yeah, I’ve mentioned a lot about personal growth before, but this was worth mentioning because a lot of firsts were because of that growth. The others, though? Not so much. Those were things that were out of my control.

Now, I know that we’re about halfway through the first month of the new year, but I thought it would be a shame not to make a summary of 2019–especially since I have so many good memories from it.

I just don’t think I’ve ever done so many things in a single year, which is a surprise for me. It was not too long ago that my idea of a good time was to stay in my room and avoid everyone.

Don’t get me wrong, I still enjoy staying indoors and having privacy, but it’s no longer the thing I do 90% of the time outside of work. Now, I try to utilize my time as much as possible. Whether it’s sightseeing, cooking, doing chores, studying or whatever else, I try not to waste time. It’s a limited commodity that money cannot buy.

In any case, here’s to 2019.

January

This was the month that I resigned from my job to leave for Japan. Looking back, while I didn’t realise it at the time, I had actually gotten the dream job that I wanted as a teenager. But there I was, leaving it to pursue a different dream, one that is tied to an interest that had been in me since I was much, much younger. A child, even. It’s funny how life works sometimes, huh?

11th January: My last day at work. I was a bundle of nerves, because I hadn’t gotten my visa yet.
13th January: So began my process of saying goodbye to Malaysia by visiting as many places as possible. First stop, Colmar Tropicale and the tropical Japanese garden at Bukit Tinggi with my parents. Both were lovely, but Colmar Tropicale was sorely lacking in terms of decent shops and restaurants.
20th January: Sofie’s belated birthday celebration with me and Hannah.
23rd January: Went for a medical checkup at the hospital, as required by my Japanese school.

February

Photo by melissakartini

I continued the process of saying goodbye to my country, with the added factor of hosting a long-time online friend at my house. At the same time, I continued communication with my Japanese school and anxiously waited for the result of my visa.

10th February: Went to the airport to pick up Pie, said long-time online friend who I was meeting for the first time. I let her stay at my house for the duration of her trip.
11th February: Brought Pie to KLCC, Kuala Lumpur Bird Park, Pasar Seni and back to KLCC again for a night shot of the towers.
12th February: Brought Pie to Batu Caves, Masjid Jamek and Thean Hou Temple.
13th February: Brought Pie on a trip to Cameron Highlands.
14th February: Imran and I brought Pie to Malacca. The heat that day was enough to make anyone faint.
23rd February: Received a special birthday present from the post. Later attended a beauty pageant that my mom’s friend was competing in.

March

Photo by melissakartini

The travelling and hangouts with close friends increased. I also reconnected with some old friends. My schedule was getting more and more packed, and while I was excited about studying in Japan, I was also extremely anxious. It was just such a life-changing decision.

3rd March: Quality time with Hannah and Sofia.
6th March: Flew to Penang with Nadia! Our itinerary: Kek Lok Si, followed by Pasar Chowrasta, Khoo Kongsi, playing with various street art, and Little India.
7th March: Chew Jetty, Potterhead, more street art, Cheong Fatt Tze Mansion, Pinang Peranakan Mansion and Penang Trick Art Museum. A very busy day for me and Nadia!
10th March: Accompanied Hannah and Sofia with apartment viewing.
15th March: Reconnected with an old best friend from primary school.
16th March: Reconnected with some old colleagues. Typing down all of these waves of goodbyes is making me a bit teary!
17th March: Went to Perdana Botanical Gardens, Kuala Lumpur with my brother, Daniel. A very beautiful garden; I would definitely recommend it if you’re into that sort of thing. Later had dinner with my best guy friend.
23rd March: One last hangout with my friends, Hannah and Sofia. ):
28th March: Moving Day. My flight to Tokyo with my family, save for Daniel. We arrived close to midnight.
29th March: Brought my family to Sensoji Temple, Asakusa. Kohei came to join us later at a cafe there. Later, we went to Shibuya.
30th March: Dinner at Ginza with the family.
31st March: Tokyo Station, Meiji Jingu Shrine, Yoyogi Park for a bit of cherry blossom viewing (the crowd was insane!), and finally, Kabukicho with the family.

April

Photo by melissakartini

Everything was such a hectic blur. I was busy travelling with my family, buying stuff for my new apartment and settling in in general.

1st April: Kyoto day! We stayed at an Airbnb close to the Fushimi Inari Shrine. After leaving our luggage at the Airbnb, we went off to check out the city.
2nd April: We visited the famed Arashiyama Bamboo Grove. After that, we explored the city, then Gion a lot more thoroughly.
3rd April: Off to Fushimi Inari Shrine. Since it was cherry blossom season, it was ridiculously packed. Like, humans. Everywhere. We ended our Kyoto trip with another visit to Gion.
4th April: It was back to Tokyo by Shinkansen. My family and I strolled around Sumida and took shots of the iconic Tokyo Skytree.
6th April: Odaiba Day. The Statue of Liberty, the park (loads of tulips were in bloom!), the beach, the sea view, Aqua City, the Gundam statue, etc. After Odaiba, my dad bought a new laptop for me with Kohei’s help.
7th April: We checked out my new neighbourhood. Later went to Ginza.
11th April: My school entrance ceremony. Met up with an old online friend, Cat, for the first time since my trip to England.
12th April: Showed Cat around Harajuku and Shin Okubo.
29th April: My first trip to Tochigi. I was extremely nervous! We arrived at night, and had a bit of time to explore Utsunomiya before meeting Kohei’s friend who once studied in the US.
30th April: Oyaishi Stone Park, then a bit of shopping. Oyaishi was extremely cold down in the cave!

May

Photo by melissakartini

While I had a lot of good experiences in May, I was also very anxious. I had a lot to learn and my Japanese was still very basic.

1st May: A visit to Nikko, which I maintain is the most beautiful place I’ve seen thus far in Japan. I highly recommend it. Here, we visited Shinkyo Bridge, Toshogu Shrine, Futarasan Shrine and Kegon Falls. Unfortunately, we didn’t get to visit Chuuzenji Lake.
2nd May: Visited Sano Premium Outlets. It reminded me of Bicester in England! A very nice place.
3rd May: Went to Ibaraki to check out the aquarium, sushi and the fish market. I would like to go there again sometime, but to see the blue flowers.
4th May: Learned how to make tempura with Kohei’s mom.
12th May: Visited Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden with Kohei. A lovely place, most of the flowers were in bloom.
16th May: “Nomikai” (drinking party) with my then classmates.
26th May: Visited Tokyo Camii Mosque and checked out the halal grocery store there. I was so happy to find a lot of stuff from Southeast Asia.

June

Photo by melissakartini

I spent this month trying to settle in further. My schedule had calmed down a little by this time, so I finally had the chance to adjust. Let me tell you, even after this month, I still wasn’t fully settled in. There was just too much going on.

9th June: Enjoyed sweets at Asakusa, then attended a Vietnam Festival at Yoyogi with my schoolmates.
16th June: Had a leisurely walk around Toshima, Mejiro.
27th June: Another “Nomikai” with my then classmates, though it was more like they drank like crazy while I had a Cola LOL.

July

Photo by melissakartini

This was when Tokyo was starting to get ridiculously hot. I saw quite a number of Japanese people collapsing from dehydration on the trains. It was quite dramatic. Even as a person who was raised in a hot and humid country, I found it uncomfortable being outdoors.

1st July: Won a writing competition. My article was published on my school’s Facebook page!
7th July: Sat for JLPT N4 at a Japanese university. Man, these Japanese kids are rich.
9th July: School trip to Enoshima Aquarium.
21st July: Checked out a small summer festival at Edogawa Zoo. Honestly, it was so hot, it makes Malaysia seem like a country with cool weather.
29th July: Checked out the famed Golden Gai at Shinjuku, where I discovered that posting photos of it online is forbidden. Sad face. Visited the massive Shinjuku Lush store later that night. Loved it.

August

Photo by melissakartini

By this time, I had adjusted somewhat to Japanese life. For instance, I knew where to shop and buying items from the grocery store wasn’t such a huge struggle for me anymore. By that time, I had memorised certain kanji and could buy my usual ingredients without a problem.

1st August: Visited the famed biggest Starbucks in the world at Nakameguro, Tokyo.
2nd August: After escorting a schoolmate to Narita Airport (part-time job from the school reasons), I explored Naritasan. There, I met a Japanese lady who was excited to meet a foreigner who could converse in Japanese, even if it was very basic. We chatted for a bit because she wanted to help me practice my Japanese.
10th August: Kohei and I flew to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Since he has already met my parents and brothers, we introduced him to my cousin and my cats. We later brought him to eat at our favourite restaurant.
11th August: KL Exploration Day. KLCC (Penang Cafe), Pavilion, Chinatown, Jalan Alor, KLCC (for the night view and photoshoot of the towers).
12th August: Essentially Friendship Day, where we met up with most of my good friends. There was a bit of drama in the morning because there was a break-in at the mall my friends and I were about to go to after breakfast.
13th August: Off to Kota Kinabalu, Sabah! Managed a quick meetup with an old college friend.
14th August: My favourite day. We went to Mari-Mari Cultural Village to learn about some of Sabah’s most famous tribes. Once the tour was over, we went to my aunt’s house.
15th August: Twas a time to visit some relatives. After the visit, we went to KK to check out the fish market.
16th August: As a treat for Kohei, we went to Penampang to play with a school of fishes. Our original plan was to bring him to Kundasang, but the weather wasn’t very good. After Penampang, we went to KK to check out the Filipino market and buy some souvenirs.
17th August: Back to Tokyo. Unfortunately, I had gotten sick before the flight so I wasn’t feeling too well even after we landed.

September

Photo by melissakartini

This was the month I had been waiting for quite a while! I was finally going to meet Aini again! Another long-time online friend, but she is the one I’m closest to. The last time I saw her was during my trip to England.

3rd September: Aini and her brother, Saif, arrived in Tokyo!
4th September: Showed Aini around Asakusa and then slept over at her Airbnb. It was my very first sleepover in a very long time and a first with her.
5th September: Aini, Saif, Kohei and I met at Tokyo Skytree, and then had dinner.
7th September: Shinjuku night with Aini and Saif!
8th September: Meiji Jingu and Harajuku day with Aini and Saif, followed by Ginza later at night. This outing ended quickly, however, because of a typhoon.
13th September: Aini and Saif’s Shinkansen drama. Basically, they missed the last Shinkansen back to Tokyo from Hiroshima, and their flight back home was early in the morning the next day. It was about 10-11 p.m. when they realised this. As a last ditch attempt to get home, they tried to race against time by catching a night bus. Added drama factor: They left their huge luggages at my apartment so they could travel light at Kyoto and Hiroshima.
14th September: I woke up at about 4 a.m. and took a taxi that Aini called to the airport, their luggages in tow. First thing I did was smack them upon meeting them at Shinjuku station.
22nd September: Here was to a quick weekend getaway at Tochigi. Went to Nasu Garden Outlet.
23rd September: Went to the Teddy Bear Museum at Nasu, Tochigi. It was the cutest thing ever! They even have a Studio Ghibli floor in the building.

October

Photo by melissakartini

For personal reasons, this was the most nerve-wracking month of 2019. On a non-personal level, though, I was busy studying for the JLPT and and and it was my first time experiencing a national emergency in the form of Typhoon Hagibis. Coming from a country with next to no natural disasters, this was a massive first.

1st October: A long overdue trip to Tokyo Disneyland was in order; not because I had always wanted to go there but because it’s so close to my apartment. Stayed there till night time to watch the electric parade and Halloween-themed firework show.
5th October: Met Mandy (or as I fondly call her, Otouto) during her layover at Narita Airport. Brought her for a quick trip to Naritasan.
12th October: Prepared for Typhoon Hagibis and stayed indoors till after it was over. It was my first time experiencing an emergency in… all my life.
26th October: Received presents!
31st October: Checked out the Halloween event at Shibuya. Loved seeing everyone go all out with their costumes. I think Joker was easily the most popular costume that night.

November

Photo by melissakartini

Autumn was finally here! It was the season that I had been looking forward to the most. I had heard a lot of people say that Japan is beautiful in autumn, and I wasn’t disappointed. Alas, I had to postpone checking out a lot of sights in favour of my studies.

2nd November: Went to Waseda University’s School Festival with my schoolmates and saw Japanese cheerleaders perform. It was amazing. After the festival, we went to a cat cafe. Another first, woo.
3rd November: Went to the Malaysia Fair at Chuo Park. Bought a couple of food souvenirs and met Amy Search. Went to a Halloween party later that night.
17th November: Got on a bicycle for the first time in about 16 years. Rode all the way to Kasai Rinkai Park.
24th November: The destination for the day? Mount Takao. I had been wanting to visit this for ages but didn’t get the chance to till then. Which was perfect, by the way. It was the peak of the autumn viewing season there, and the colours of the leaves were glorious. Loved it.
26th November: Went to Aoyama University before school to participate in a Human Book project. My classmate and I were one of the few English-speakers invited to speak at the event. Needless to say, it was a good experience.
30th November: Apparently, I couldn’t get enough of the autumn viewing season, because I went to Koishikawa Korakuen Gardens shortly after Mount Takao. It is hands down the most beautiful garden in Tokyo.

December

Photo by melissakartini

Exam month and also the month of excessive travel. I did so many things at once that I was pretty exhausted nearly every day–hence one of the reasons why I missed out on writing up one post. I was exhausted, plus I had gotten involved in an accident. Ouch.

1st December: Sat for JLPT N3. Pretty sure I flunked it because I took it earlier than I should’ve. Ah well.
4th December: Went to Rikugien Gardens for autumn viewing reasons.
5th December: Went to Rikugien Gardens for the special autumn viewing illumination event.
7th December: Went on a weekend getaway to Fujikawaguchiko with my schoolmates. Saw Mt Fuji clearly for the first time. At Fujikawaguchiko, we managed to visit Lake Kawaguchi, Maple Corridor, Ninja Village and Oshino Hakkai.
8th December: Reluctantly, I rented bicycles with said friends and then cycled our way to Aokigahara Forest. It was on our way back from the forest that I got involved in a lil accident whereby I got thrown off my bike, sailed through the air, and then chipped my front tooth on the pavement. I also acquired lots of huge, lovely bruises, cuts and other wounds (such as skinned knuckles with the flesh inside clearly visible). Luckily, I had thought fast and quickly protected my head just when I was launched off my seat, else I would’ve been much worse off. Also, not important, but my friend saw a Japanese couple getting dirty close to the forest. Lawd. Thankfully, I didn’t see it, or I would’ve gotten into an accident twice.
9th December: Visited the dentist’s to get my tooth fixed. It was one of many appointments to follow, just for the same tooth.
23rd December: The last day of the semester. Managed to check out the Star Wars Christmas decorations at Maru Building, Tokyo Station before schlepping off to Nikko, Tochigi with my friends.
24th December: Saw snow for the first time. Definitely not a fan of it. We visited Shinkyo Bridge, Futarasan Shrine, Toshogu Shrine (the outside of it lol), the viewpoint for Mount Nantai, and Kegon Falls. I was freezing endlessly as we gained altitude.
28th December: Checked out the fireworks at Odaiba and saw Rainbow Bridge all lit up for the first time.
31st December: Went to Tochigi again, but this time to Utsunomiya. Visited Sano Premium Outlets with a Japanese family.

And there you have it, that’s my 2019. Obviously, I didn’t list everything that happened, but I’ve mentioned most of the highlights. 2019 was a great year filled with a lot of ups and downs, and lots of learning and growing. Great as it was, though, it was extremely tiring for me; I was always so exhausted by the end of the day.

I have no idea what 2020 has in store for me, but I do hope that I will continue on this path of growing as a person. And of course, I hope there’ll be more travel adventures. My time in Japan may be coming to an end soon and I’m getting teary just thinking about it.

Till then, though, I’ll be on the lookout for more things that I can do in this beautiful country. Cheers!