FAQ & Syarat Visa Korea

Hallo~
sekarang tentang visa korea ya~ yang kemarin belum sempat baca tentang persyaratan visa jepang, yuk dibaca dulu disini
pengalaman kemarin waktu bikin visa korea, bener-bener mepet banget nget, masalahnya kena liburan idul fitri dan waktu ke travel agent pada ditolakin semua :( saran aja nih, buat yang mau trip ke korea, jangan lupa perhatikan jadwal libur dan jadwal kerja mereka PLUS, pembuatan visa korea terhitung lebih lama dari jepang (minimal 6 hari kerja) jadi kalau bisa sebulan sebelum berangkat urus dulu itu visa, jangan sampe kemepeten karena persyaratannya pun tergolong lebih rempong dari visa jepang.

Jadi, apa yang dibutuhkan untuk membuat visa korea? (sumber : kedubes korea jakarta )

nah bisa lihat kan, bedanya sama persyaratan visa jepang? 

• Gimana kalau SPT & SIUP nggak ada?

kemarin kendala paling banyak waktu ngurus visa buat temen juga, kebanyakan dari mereka nggak ada SPT dan SIUP, alhasil waktu kita ke travel agent, dibuatin surat tentang pernyataan hilang bertempelkan materai deh. Buat yang masih pelajar, SIUP & SPT memang masih belum ada tentunya, jadi kalian bisa pake punya ortu kalian. Sekalipun punya ortu kalian hilang, kalian tetap harus bikin keterangan hilang bermaterai. terus juga, kemarin buat jaga-jaga kita juga diminta untuk melampirkan fc npwp nih.

• Surat keterangan kerja dan mahasiswa disediakan nggak disana?

Buat surat keterangan kerja dan keterangan mahasiswa ini kalian urus di tempat masing-masing ya, kalau bisa dibubuhkan cap dan tandatangan atasan kalian. Kalau di universitas aku sih kemarin waktu ngurus langsung ditanya buat apa, jadi karena jawab untuk visa, langsung dibubuhkan cap + tandatangan dekan/rektor.

• untuk persyaratan fotonya gimana ya?

nah ini kemarin sempat bingung juga sih, waktu kemarin lihat di web memang gak ada keterangan, tapi dari sananya memang persyaratan untuk foto visa korea 4,5 cm x 3,5 cm, tapi waktu di travel agent kita diminta untuk menyerahkan foto 4 x 6 cm (ya mungkin untuk dipotong), berlatar belakang putih ya~ kemudian juga kemarin diimbau buat foto presentasi muka 60% di travel agent kita

•  berapa biaya buat bikin visa korea?

per Juli 2017 kemarin, bikin visa single entry harganya 544k, multiple entry 1.244k, dan double visa 952k, mahal, memang, tapi sebanding kok sama belanja sampe puasnya disana wkwkwk

• dimana visa download formnya?

nah kemarin nih pengalaman waktu mau ngajukan sendiri, langsung gagal paham sama form yang di download di web resminya karena semuanya berbahasa korea, hangeul pula wkwkwk jadi alhasil karena bahas korea saya tidak se-expert itu, langsung aja deh ngurus di travel agent. Tapi ternyata saya baru menemukan kalau ada form yang berbahasa inggris hohoho jadi kalian bisa download disini di web resminya

• berapa minimal saldo tabungan buat pembuatan visa korea?

Kemarin waktu sebelum ngurus, baca-baca ada yang bilang 10jt, eh tapi ternyata waktu tanya di travel agent kita dibilangin kalau minimal saldo tabungan per orang 35juta

• bagaimana cara membuat surat referensi bank?

nah khusus yang satu ini kalian langsung dateng ke bank kalian masing masing ya, kemarin waktu teman-teman ke bank bri, butuh 2 hari untuk bikin surat referensi bank (selesai hari besok) dan buat bank bca, langsung sehari jadi, dua-dunya kena charge 100k. Jangan lupa, kalau kesana minta surat referensi bank ditujukan untuk kedubes korea di jakarta yaa~ terus, kalau ditanya mau dicantumkan saldo tabungan atau nggak, ini bebas, tapi kemarin sengaja nggak kucantumin biar kalau disuruh nambah saldo tabungan kita nggak usah ganti surat referensi bank yang baru lagi.

Nah buat visa korea, sekian dulu ya, karena pengalaman terakhir kemarin memang nggak apply sendiri, alasannya karena jakarta sangat jauh dari tempat tinggal dan kemarin sudah mepet banget jadi langsung aja deh ke travel agent hehe. Yang mau cari tahu lebih lanjut tentang apply visa korea sendiri, coba baca di blog backpackstory disini 

CARA MENGECEK VISA KOREA

Kemudian, bedanya sama pembuatan visa Jepang, hasil jadi visa korea ini bisa kalian lihat di website mereka, jadi kalian  bisa tahu apakah visa kalian sudah selesai di proses atau tidak. Kalian bisa cek disini, tapi sering error kalau dibuka, jadi disarankan bukanya pake vpn ya.

Terus juga, ini nih, kemarin sempat ada masalah kalau pas dilihat di web kok search data not found, nah ini berarti kesalahan kalian di input datanya. Ikuti langkah langkah ini jika kalian mau input data untuk mengecek proses visa kalian :

1.  Pilih application > Diplomatic office
2.  Select > Paspor no. > input nomor paspor kalian, tanpa spasi ya 
3.  Name in english : Masukkan nama kalian dari Last Name dulu baru first name, middle name

Jadi semisal nih nama kalian ada 3 kata, seperti 'mira wiji lestari' nulisnya jadi 'lestari mira wiji' dan semisal nama kalian ada apostrophe (') tandanya nama kalian bakal dipenggal, daaaan ini pengalaman banget kemarin submit visa korea bareng temen berlima, 4 sudah approved, 1 orang search data not found mulu sampe keringat dingin. Ehhhh ternyata, kalau ada apostrophe di nama kamu jadinya dianggap dipenggal namanya, jadi begini, misal namanya 'emeralda cintya fikrotul mar'ah' kalian nanti tulis jadi 'ah emeralda cintya fikrotul mar' begituu, dan syukurlah akhirnya kita berlima bertuliskan approved dan visa korea akhirnya bisa diambil xD

Jadi sekian dulu penjelasannya tentang visa korea ya, yang mau tanya-tanya bisa silahkan komentar dibawah ini~ See you later~

FAQ & Syarat Visa Jepang

Hallo!

Kali ini edisi bahasa Indonesia karena mau agustusan ya, kidding, karena memang target audiencenya yang ini khusus untuk orang indo, jadi yuk langsung aja 

untuk yang satu ini, aku selalu ngurus di kedubes Surabaya karena memang yang paling dekat dan kata orang-orang paling cepat dan mudah buat ngurusnya (sempat waktu itu ketemu orang Jakarta dateng jauh-jauh ke Surabaya buat ngurus visa jepang, alasannya karena ditolak di kedubes jepang jakarta dan karena urgent, dia dateng ke surabaya dan diiyakan) walaupun gitu, tetap saja kalian harus siap semua berkas dan sesuai syarat buat mengajukan visa Jepang.

Selama ini aku sudah ngurus dua jenis visa jepang, yaitu Visa Jepang Knjungan sementara untuk wisata dan Visa Jepang kunjungan sementara untuk mengunjungi teman. Dua-duanya beda persyaratannya dan harus diakui, kunjungan teman berkasnya lebih ribet jadi kalau memang mau niatan wisata walaupun ada teman disana, langsung aja pakai yang visa jepang kunjungan sementara untuk wisata. Walau begitu, ada keuntungan kalau kalian pakai visa jepang kunjungan sementara untuk mengunjungi teman, apa? kemungkinan besar kalian dapat visa akan lebih tinggi. Alasannya? yuk dibahas bareng-bareng.

Buat kalian yang memang murni mau wisata, kalian bisa mengajukan visa kunjungan sementara untuk wisata dengan persyaratan seperti di bawah ini : (sumber : kedubes jepang jakarta)

Syarat Visa Jepang untuk Wisata

kalau kalian sudah siap semua berkas, kemudian pastikan hal-hal dibawah ini :

1. semua berkas dalam A4 (ya, termasuk fc ktp, ktm, lalalayeyeye)
2. Tidak boleh distaeples, nggak boleh ada lipatan, tekukan (pokoknya mulus)
3. foto ditempel dengan lem 
4. semua berkas disusun URUT sesuai persyaratan. Semua ini penting banget buat dipatuhi kalau kalian nggak mau berkas kalian ditolak bahkan sebelum mengajukan ya. 
5. yang satu ini, entah gimana, tiap kedubes kayaknya bakal beda-beda dan tiap waktu bakal berubah juga, tapi berdasarkan pengalaman terakhir (per Juni 2017) minimal saldo tabungan per orang adalah 30 juta, yang mana nambah 5 juta dari per Januari 2017 yang cuma 25 juta. Karena itu sebisa mungkin diisi yang banyak yaa. Triknya, kalau memang kalian tidak ada uang segitu di tabungan, pinjam dulu ke saudara/teman, terus di print tabungannya setelah itu bebas deh uang mau dikemanakan~ atau kalau jalan-jalan bareng temen-temen, bisa banget uangya dioper terus diprint biar saldo terakhir cukup sesuai persyaratan ^^
6. yang satu ini juga penting, pastikan tabungan kalian jangan ada peningkatan yang terlalu drastis, karena memang waktu pertama kali ngajukan, aku jarang banget pake atm dan begitu diisi banyak, langsung ditanya macam-macam, alhasil ganti pakai tabungan ortu deh yang flow masuk-keluar uangnya lebih masuk akal :')
7. Syarat foto. Yang satu ini harus diperhatikan baik-baik ya, kalian bisa lihat di bawah kriteria foto yang bagus seperti apa. Buat yang biasa pake jilbab, pake jilbab tentu saja gak apa-apa, dan kalaupun memang di ktp/paspor nggak pake, tapi sekarang pake jilbab juga gak ada masalah kok sejauh ini (pengalaman juga dari teman). Oh iya, perlu diingat kalau bisa senatural mungkin ya fotonya, karena pasti disuruh ganti kalau makeupnya terlalu menor + pake lensa kontak warna warni yang nggak normal wkwk
8. Untuk surat keterangan belajar, di kedubes surabaya disediakan sendiri formulirnya dan bisa diambil cuma di loket kedubes, jadi kalian bisa isi sekalian disitu~
9. Jangan melampirkan halaman yang nggak diminta, alasannya karena akan mempersulit proses dan kurang efisien
   
   
   
   

   

   syarat foto visa jepang

    Kalau semua syarat sudah, langsung deh, ke kedubes jepang, pengajuan di surabaya sih setiap hari senin-jumat 08.15 - 11.30. Pengerjaannya minimal 4 hari kerja, meaning kalau kalian ngajukan hari jumat, otomatis akan jadi hari rabunya, jadi kalau kalian mau berangkat, jangan mepet-mepet dan jangan terlalu awal juga (karena masa berlaku visa hanya 3 bulan). Perhatikan juga sama jadwal libur kedubes, apalagi kalau akhir tahun dan hari besar lainnya. 
   
   
   FAQ (Frequently Asked Question)

•  Persyaratan di web kedubes jepang Jakarta sama Surabaya sama aja? 

sama aja kok, aku dua kali pakai persyaratan di web kedubes Jakarta dan waktu disana (di surabaya) juga sama aja~

•  Bagaimana kalau paspor sudah kadaluarsa? Apa boleh ngurus visa dulu baru diganti?

yang ini tentu aja nggak boleh ya, karena syaratnya paspor harus aktif dan seingatku juga minimal 7 bulan sebelum tanggal berakhir paspor (jaga-jaga aja setahun sebelum tanggal berakhir ya!)

• Katanya Jepang bebas visa? gimana caranya?

nah khusus yang ini cuma buat pemegang e-paspor, artinya kalian tidak perlu mengajukan berkas dan persyaratan semua pengajuan visa TAPI kalian tetap harus mengisi formulir dan registrasi bebas visa disini . Yang satu ini lebih mudah dan cepat lagi, karena 2 hari jadi (jadi hari berikutnya).

• Biayanya berapa?

nah yang satu ini ada kabar gembira bagi kalian yang masih pelajar dan S1, karena visa jepang bebas biaya buat kalian. Kalau sudah S2 dan seterusnya tapi tetap bayar ya, biayanya tergolong standar kok (nggak semahal biaya visa korea hiks :( ) Single Entry 370k, Multiple Entry 740k, Transit 90k (per April 2017)

• Waktu ngajukan visa, apa boleh diwakilkan? 

Kalau memang kalian mengurus lewat travel, boleh, tapi kalau memang sendiri, sebaiknya kalian datang sendiri-sendiri karena mau tidak mau pasti nanti ditanya. Kalian bisa baca lebih lanjut tentang pengajuan yang diwakilkan ini disini

• Di form ada tulisan guarantor dan inviter in Japan, apa maksudnya? Gimana kalau tidak ada guarantor dan inviter in Japan?

Nah yang satu ini, berhubung saya ada relasi disana, jadi bisa mencantumkan. Buat kalian yang nggak ada inviternya, mungkin kalian bisa mencoba mengurus visa kalian di travel agent saja, karena dengan begitu mereka bisa mengisi semua berkas kalian yang kurang~ buat yang masih lama mau ke jepangnya, cari teman di jepang, biar bisa ngurus visa sendiri nantinya hehe

• kalau masih pelajar, kolom address of employernya diisi apa ya?

kalau masih pelajar, kolom ini harus kalian isi dengan nama sekolah kalian ya~ kalau nggak diisi nanti pasti disuruh ngisi

• Apa penyebab visa Jepang ditolak?

yang ini aku nggak bisa jawab karena syukurnya, nggak pernah ngalami dan selama ini kedubes tidak pernah memberikan alasan kenapa ditolak bagi orang-orang yang visa nya nggak jadi. Kemungkinan besar alasannya mungkin karena di saldo tabungan, walaupun di kedubes jepang Surabaya biasanya akan diberitahu ketika kalian sampai di loket berapa minimal saldonya, tapi mungkin tidak sama dengan yang di Jakarta. Alasan lain mungkin karena persyaratan kalian nggak lengkap atau mungkin memang bukan rejekinya, apapun itu jangan patah semangat karena masih ada banyak kesempatan untuk datang ke Jepang, so keep your head up! ^^

• Gimana caranya biar visa Jepang diterima?

caranya tentu aja dengan membawa berkas yang lengkap dan sesuai persyaratan dong, kemudian cara lainnya (mitos sih ini) dengan pakai Juminhyo. Nah, khusus yang satu ini memang nggak diminta kalau kalian mengajukan buat visa yang wisata, tapi bakal ada di persyaratan kalau kalian mengajukan visa untuk kunjungan teman. Juminhyo sendiri merupakan surat register kependudukan Jepang, yang mana tentunya cuma dipunyai oleh orang yang tinggal tetap di Jepang. Juminhyo nya sendiri harus asli, bukan scan-an, bukan fotocopy an, jadi ya... harus minta kesana dan dikirim kesini huahaha. Pengalaman sih, juminhyo disana memang dicetak sendiri khusus di pemerintahan sana, dan harus di stempel asli sana ya. Selain itu juga kalian bakal butuh surat undangan jika kalian berniat mengajukan visa untuk kunjungan teman/keluarga. Persyaratan lainnya bisa kalian lihat disini. Yang ini memang ribet, tapi kesempatan buat dapet visanya bakal lebih besar~

Anyway, happy holiday buat kalian yang mau ke Jepang! Jangan lupa baca artikel-artikel lainnya ya~ bisa langsung kalian search di tag : Japan ~ Bon Voyage!

*yang mau tanya-tanya silahkan coret-coret di komentar ya~

Korea AirBnB : Yongsan-Gu

Hello! I'm here again to review my previous airBnB when i was in korea ~
Korea itself is such a shopping heaven! eventhough i thought that i didn't shop that much, but well in reality... i really bought so much things when i was in korea xD specially all dat beauty products and fashion! ( i will review these shopping streets later, okay)
now, now, i will review my stay when i was in Korea ^^

Since this is my first time in Korea, i still didn't know that much about the area and surrounding, but looking from its place, my stay is really strategic! It is located in Yongsan-gu and my reason for choosing this place is because it is really near to station and to the center of the town, and plus it's cheap but the place looks really great, and it has been proved! The host itself is really nice and friendly, eventhough i'm so chatty and have a lot of question, he really helped me so much in the end TwT that's why i'd love to recommend this place ~

Namyeong Station

it is only about 5 minutes to Namyeong station by walk (Namyeong station is really close to seoul station, you don't need any stops if you went to this station from seoul station, and it's like only 2 minutes by train from seoul station to namyeong) and on the way home, you will meet a lot of shops, from 7-eleven, gs25, krispy kreme, and a lot of restaurants! even the house itself is beside and just in front of restaurants, so you don't need to worry about empty stomach xD (the restaurant just beside the house is open until 11 am) and there is nearby cute small cafe called cafe comma ~ and there are dozens of korean restaurant just behind your house ^^

neighborhood, a lot of cafes and restaurant

The way to the house, there is sooo many korean restaurant here!

The Restaurant that is just beside the house (it opens until midnight)

And GS25 that is close to the house ~

The house itself is located in the second floor, so if you have suitcase, you need to bring it upstairs since there are no elevator and the alleyway is small, but after that everything about it is perfect ^^
The house is pretty vast and the amenities are perfect. You got everything you need for (from hairdryer, steamer for ironing your clothes, washing machine, soaps, shampoo, LCD, wifi, laptop, etc) i would say that this stay is the best stay i've ever been in korea! If you look at the photos in the airbnb page, it's true that the place is like that, it's clean and it's perfect ^^

In the kitchen, you will have seasonings, ramen, refrigerator and a lot of kitchen supplies too ~ we have a really good time staying here, we made breakfast and dinner just perfectly because the supplies is just great ^^
I remembered very well that it has 3 bedrooms, thus this stay is perfect for me and my friends because it has a lot of beds. The main bedroom has 3 beds, and the second bedroom has 2 beds, and the last has one bed with makeup table.

In the center, you will have living room and there is lcd and its 'hidden' screen (you can just pull it if you want to watch movie, so it will separate the living room and the space between kitchen) and there are a lot of manga and novels, like really a lot but of course in korean xD i feel like the host really match to my manga taste, it has nishimori hiroyuki's works, gantz, jin, hunter x hunter and so on. I spent the other night reading manga and also novels that located in the first bedroom, i can only read a little since everything is in hangeul x_x

korean books

The bathroom is just fine, it has washing machine and shower ~ there are two bathroom, but in the end we only use one because the second bathroom we use for drying clothes. oh and also, there are so many clean towels to use, so you don't need to worry xD

The entire look of the main room (so sorry, i was completely forget about taking pics of the house xD instead i fool around and made videos that later is unusable for my blog TwT)

There are a lot of air conditioner and fans, that's why this house is really cool eventhough it's summer, and i'm really thankful for that! i dunno why but i kinda hate summer in korea because it has this horrible humidity eventhough it's not raining :( it's not that hot, but oh it's just so humid i hate it (it is way worse than in Indonesia i think, specially in my hometown) it is the kind of humid that makes your face gets oily in second and makes you sweat just seconds after you go outside the house D:

But afterall, my journey and my stay in Korea is great!
If you intend to book an airbnb, please use my voucher here so you can get a discount on your first trip ^^ just click and voila, you'll get 350k IDR discount, good luck!

Airbnb voucher

Japan AirBnB : Takatsuki House

Voila! I'm here again to review some AirBnB i use just last week when i go to Japan (again) hehe. This year surely has been a year of adventure since i travel abroad so much! I went to Japan last January, and decided to go again to Japan (and korea too) this July xD it was such amazing experience because i cannot get enough of Japan!

Last week, my main destination is to visit Gion-Shijo since i really want to see Gion Matsuri, that's why i tried to search everywhere near Kyoto but sadly almost all of it is already booked TwT good thing about Japan is they have super fast train (yeah, go rapid trains!) they are a lot cheaper than shinkansen but ofc more pricey than normal JR trains, but it was totally worth saving your time!

And that's why eventhough i didn't get any stay in Kyoto, i decided somewhere just near Osaka or between them will do, and voila, i got this super great and comfy house in Takatsuki. I'd say that this house is everything that i want and i need because its location is very strategic. It is only about 6 minutes to train station, very close to supermarkets (there are probably a tons of them), very close to shopping street, and also very close to ONSEN (about 6 minutes walk) but still, the area is very peaceful at night ~ so i guess this is the perfect airBnB so far ~

*psst : if you want to book airbnb in japan and have no idea about it, don't forget to read my review and tips for Japan AirBnB here

I have to thanks a lot to Taki-san because he really helped me a lot with all of my question and he really provide us the best stay and information all around. Really fast respond and very understanding, that's why i really suggested this stay to all of you who want to spend the night in Japan just between Kyoto (about 13 minutes with train) and Osaka (about 16 minutes with train) ^^

The house itself is really clean and very neat. Since it is 3 floor building, then you might encounter problems if you want to carry out your suitcase upstairs, but hey, why bother? because you can just keep your luggage downstairs near the bathroom because you don't wanna ruin the tatamis in second and third floor ^^ 

The first floor contain bathroom and laundry room. Just like any japanese house, the bathroom have its ofuro and i really love it since i don't have any back home xD of course there are shower too, but i suggest that you try their ofuro because why not? Near the ofuro is bathroom sinks and washing machine, so you can clean your clothes ~

First Floor : Bathroom and Laundry Room

The second floor contain everything you need, from dining room, kitchen, toilets and living room. The living room is floored with tatami, so you must be careful if you want to put things on top of it. Meanwhile the dining room is just beside the kitchen, and the amenities are perfect (and also the host provide you free instant tea, coffee and water) so you got everything you need to make your own food. The living room is also perfect because it has television and blank paper + pencil colour, so you can write or draw your thoughts just like mine xD (many previous guest write their hellos and goodbyes in here)

doodles for host ~

Second Floor Kitchen and dining room ~ the amenities are perfect ~

Andddd the best view is the third floor ( i seriously love this part!) because it has this classic japanese look. As you can see, the floored is also matted with tatami, and the fusuma sliding doors, and also the view from the window is very peaceful :') when i just got back home really late, i spent my night just looking from the third floor window and saw the peaceful night of Takatsuki. From afar, you can see there are still people who just got home really late and the outstanding banner that read 'ramen' (?) i planned to go to that shop but sadly i have no time to visit it in the end :( please if someone have their chance to go to that shop, do tell me is that really a ramen shop or not xD

Third floor Bedroom and Second floor living room

The view from third floor at night

Meanwhile, since the house is very strategic, in the way home you will meet a lot of vending machines, 7-eleven, mini stop (my favourite!), bread shops (which sell melon breads, yum!), shopping street, cafe and so on. Also, don't forget the ONSEN because OH. GOD. THEY HAVE THE BEST ONSEN EVER. like, ever. because Tenjin Spa (the name of the onsen) is a third floor onsen with a lot of onsen varieties, from 19 c onsen (yeah, you read that right) to 40 c onsen (yeah, you also read that right HAHAH and it burns like, hell) and sauna, and of course their outstanding  ROOFTOP OUTDOOR ONSEN (this literally win my heart) but well, i think i'm going to review it later in my next post~

ministop haul at summer night ~ (since the street is very quiet and peaceful, we just spend the night in front of the shop because our legs are really tired xD)

thank you and see you!
also, don't forget to use my airBnB voucher if you want to stay in any airbnb stay! ^w^)/ you'll get 350k IDR discount ~

Japan Culinary : Coco's Japanese Hamburger

When you look around in japan, mostly their streetfoods are containing seafood, ever since meat price is higher than the rest, only a few will actually sell beef meat. Usually they sell it in restaurants or ryokan, which is sold at a really high price *o*

It was winter night, the clock already struck at 11 pm and we just got into our room in Kanazawa, we're so hungry so we decided to check local foods there. There is no streetfood stalls in sight, but when we take a walk about 5-10 minutes later, we found this fastfood restaurant called COCO'S. The outside looks really neat, and inside is a warm-family-restaurant looking.The cashier and receptionist is located near the front door, so make sure don't just straight go inside, what you need to do first is write your name in the guest book and let the waiter know, you can wait in the waiting seat and after that the waiter will guide you to your table ^^

What's surprising is eventhough it's already 11 pm, there are so much people and family hanging out xD by the time i got to find my table, i realize that the interior reminds me a lot of  the scene from 'tsuki ga kirei'. The tables, the drink bar, also the foods too! *o*

It just look exactly like it xD i didn't get the chance to capture the whole interior, since i was too busy with my food (sorry). Anyway, the menus are wayyy to temptating, i specially cannot get my eyes off their cocoshe x_x Specially the one called 'Strawberry cocoshe with fondant chocolate inside' and ends up ordering it first before i get the main course xD

Strawberry Cocoshe

 The desserts are cheap, considering how they are sooo tasty (it's only 500 yen) and also, it is a perfect dessert after ordering the main course. My choice of main course is Coco's Japanese Hamburger with Grilled Kobe Beef and 6 KIND OF CHEESE inside (yeah, you read that right, 6 kind of cheese) since i asked which one is without pork and wine, and they suggested us this. Yes, it is expensive, but actually it is not too expensive since it use kobe beef .-. It has such a heavenly taste to describe, i really love cheese and beef, and mixing them up with this unimaginable way... is perfect. I love the taste, it is not too salty, not too cheesy, it has the right texture, it is soft but it also still chewy enough to eat.

 If you wonder if this is steak or is it hamburger, it is BOTH of them. This is japanese hamburger, so you won't expect a whole beef sliced and grilled but a mix of meats (sometimes beef mixed with chicken or etc) minced and formed together.

Japanese Hamburger Steak

Italian Smoked Cheese

 meanwhile my brother choose Italian Smoked Cheese grilled beef  soaked in Tomato Sauce. It really looks like vegan steak since it has so many vegetable inside x_x i didn't really like the taste tho xD

Coco's Restaurant

In the end, it was all worth it because it is tasty, it is warm, and plus, it is family-friendly restaurant. It has also doraemon special menus for kids (and it also temptating). It still considered as fast food, but it has a different taste than any othe fastfood i've ever tasted so far~ Also, if you are a maniac of studio ghibli, i happened to found one of their most iconic things in this restaurant : Grave of the Fireflies Candy. I don't know if they also sell it in another restaurant chain, but i bought this in Coco's Kanazawa. Every colour has its own different taste, and it tasted good! You should buy one as a souvenir~

Grave of the Fireflies Candy

Japan AirBNB review & tips : Kanazawa

Staying in Japan can be very tricky specially if this is the first time you ever step in this land of magic and wonderful things. There are only a few people who can speak english (i'd say it's only 30-40% of them) and if you do not know how to speak and how to read japanese, it will be hard specially if you want to travel to smaller town like Kanazawa or Gifu. I have a really bad time communicating with people in Japan, specially when it comes to asking for direction (eventhough i can speak japanese a little) and mostly it's because i have a really bad connection and forgot to rent a pocket wifi, so i was completely clueless and lost, thanks for that.

So! based on my experience, here's a few things that MUST be done before you want to stay and book an airbnb hotel/room in Japan :

• Rent a pocket wifi / at least have a connection in your phone to search maps ( wifi in japan mostly are locked, only in bigger town you'll have a free wifi tho)
• Make sure you ask your airbnb host : HOW TO GET THE KEY, how to find the place ( having an address or GPS sites will not help, really, i found it hard to find house's number in japan, because there's no such thing as street name sign, if there's one, it's only in kanji, hahah +  japan's house's number is so small. like really really small. The best is you ask your host the map how to get there (best if there's picture of it) + the picture of the front house
• If you want to check out late and not wanting to spend a lot of money in taxi, make sure you know your bus time! (my experience is i get there so late and there's no bus to be found and ended up spending so much in taxi)
• If you want to spend less in transportation : search and book a room that close to train station (it will cost much less rather than the one that near a bus stop, and plus, you get around town-to-town easily)
•  READ CUSTOMER REVIEW (this is crucial!) because not all that is written by the host is true x'D sometimes you need to double check in the comment section
• if you want to search for address in maps : japan's mapping system in google sadly is.. poor if you write 'em in alphabet, i've tried this and not all places you can find. Sometimes it will only match if you write 'em in kanji
• find a trusted host : this is not necessary, actually, since not a lot of them are verified and written trusted, but it will be much easier if you can contact your host easily when you need help or urgent matters :D

~ If you do all of that, then i guarantee that you'll have a good time finding your stay~

Anyway, here's my review for my stay in Kanazawa's airBNB hosted by 小百合 ^^

 The place is really comfortable, warm and clean! I really love how the host keep it really traditional and great with such a cheap price (i was staying for 1 night and it only cost 470.000 IDR = 39 USD ) The place is also close to restaurants and tourist attraction ( it is really near to Higashi-Chaya district, the center of geisha's houses ) plus, it's near to Kobashimachi bus stop ~

The house have almost everything to fulfill your need to experience traditional japanese house, it has futon, it has kotatsu, it has its garden, and even, it also has cafe inside it. Even when i'm in the house really late at night, i can still smell the oh-so-tasty cinnamon cake nearby the front door TwT i didn't get the chance to try their cakes and drinks but it sure smell great (^3^)/

Japanese Traditional House

the room (the bear is actually my brother x'D i just couldn't bear his pose in this photo but i still need it, so i cover it with bear instead wkwkwkwkwkkwk)

My room itself is really neat. It has free wifi, and it has a great view from second floor, you can see the nearby neighborhood a bit tho ^^ and plus, eventhough it's floor is in tatami (the rice straw mat ) and the door is  shoji & fusuma (which is really thin and made out from paper and bamboo) the room in winter is really warm because of the heater~ and plus, sleeping with futon is so comfortable ! it's so sad that i get to spend so little time in this house eversince i arrived at 10pm and have to go at 5 am >_<

In the living room, you can enjoy having your drinks in kotatsu, reading japanese book and brochure which is provided in the front.There is also kitchen and small sink nearby the bathroom, you can use it to wash your dishes and make some hot tea~ 

Brochure & Magazines to borrow

The spacious living room

 With a 5 minutes walk, you can find a lot of restaurant near the main road and it opens until midnight too ! (i tried Coco's restaurant which have a really yummy hamburger~ i will do the review next time!)

Front door at winter ~

 Last of all, I HAVE A DISCOUNT which is you can use for your airBNB stay, click below and enjoy your stay, ciao!

airbnb discount code

Madinah through the lens

Madinah, the second most important city for the moslem, known for its generous people back then, ever since the prophet (PBUH) hijrah or travelling from makkah to this town. Madinah, one of the land of haram (meaning that the non-moslem are forbidden to enter this place) located far from makkah (about 400 km away) have a lot of sacred places for moslem, one of them is the grave of the prophet and his closest friend, abu bakar and umar. The grave itself located inside of the nabawi mosque, a super large mosque with its magnificent architecture.

entering the city

local supermarkets (man only)

Niagara : The Journey through Time, Antiquity & Modesty

About two days ago, finally i got the opportunity to go inside the highest building in Asia back to 1890. Very classic, oldies and charming, though it's famous because their reputation as a 'haunted mansion'. The design concept of Niagara Hotel is a blending of Brazil, Netherland, China (yes, their former owner is a chinese named Liem Sian Joe, it was originally functioned as family villa) and Victorian style. With the height around 35 meters, this building was built for about 15 years and completed at the end of 19th century.

 

 

It was an accidental night tour, since my mom is so curious about this place. And we were at Lawang, so yeah, why not? she said. It cost 100.000 rupiah for a tour around this hotel, which means you can go to the restricted area--The 4th, 5th and 6th floor. Why is it restricted? well, the tour guide didn't say anything about it.

Niagara Hotel Room

The room hotel is what i will call it 'dirty and dodgy'. It's actually clean but... well, it looks like they didn't change it until someone lay on it. The lights are dim and gloomy (sorry, but the difference from the photos in their website vs. reality is just a big shame) and i don't think i would spent my night in that room, eventhough i love the architecture.

Part of dining room

Guest Room

Dining Room

 So, what did you got for a 100.000 rupiah tour? You got tea/coffee and... scenery. I'm serious, eventhough it's like it's haunted (well, there are a lot of reports about them) but i think everyone should visit this hotel in the night, because the scenery at the top of the hotel is just awesome. Specially who loves stargazing or night city life photography, the 6th floor is probably the best spot.

You just have to go through the creepy 4th and 5th floor because it's so dark. There's no light in it, so the only light is from our tour guide's flashlight ._. From the 3th floor to 4th floor, there's a metal gate, so eventhough you're staying the night in the hotel, you can't just go to 4th floor without the guide. And that's the start where it gets creepy hahaha, kidding. I didn't experience anything spooky that time :) i'm a skeptic.

The 5th floor and The watch Tower at the top of Niagara Hotel

And not only that, there is actually the watch tower (i called it so, because there's a bench at the top of it) and please wear your jacket because it's so cold and windy in the night :s (and i was wearing short skirts at that time, i have no idea!) You can sit in the top as long as you like, and you can take a photo from the top of it but make sure you tell your tour guide, because you just don't want to make them wait for a long time because it's cold xD

 Well, and that's a brief journey and review through the haunting old ruin called Niagara Hotel in Lawang, East Java. Ciao and see you next journey time~ (sorry, i didn't get much time to write in blog since everything is so busy today :s)

Niagara Hotel