Vue Beach Club, Bali Review

When I asked Vincent (my bff who's currently staying in Bali) to suggest a restaurant with a nice view to take pictures, and particularly not crowded, this place came to his mind!

Vue Beach Club is a considerably new establishment with minimalist and sleek design located in Lv8 Resort Hotel, Canggu, Bali (near Seminyak). It has a modern yet cozy feel with breathtaking scenery as you can see below:

The infinity pool. Not quite sure, but I think it's 100K IDR for a dip.

It was unbelievably HOT in the afternoon (the kind of hot that stings!) and they only had ONE freaking umbrella for the lounge chairs and that couple on the far right got it! T____T So we had to sit pretty far from the pool to avoid the sun.

All blue at Vue! :) Dress and sunglasses from GOWIGASA's next arrival.
P.S. GOWIGASA is launching New Collection VERY SOON on Monday, June 2nd 2014 at http://gowigasa.com/shop/all/all. Save the date, girls~~~(ˆヮˆ)づ♡

Can you believe we took most of the pictures around 5pm (when it wasn't that hot anymore), but it was still so bright!! :O

The more colorful side of Vue (the Cabana).

Had to tie my hair because of the cray-cray wind.

Here you can see how spacious this place is!

People started flooding in around 4-5pm. Maybe they steered clear of the sun too? ^^

You cannot see it, but there is a direct access to the beach where you can play with dogs!! You can also bring yours if you want! #pluspoint

I can't say much about their food since I only ordered Spaghetti Aglio Olio and this Iced Lychee Tea. But both of them were good. I requested the pasta to be extra spicy and they didn't disappoint me. :D The staff were friendly and attentive too! But not the annoying-attentive type lol.

Till next time, Vue!

VUE BEACH CLUB
Jl. Discovery no. 8, Canggu, Bali, Indonesia
Phone: +62 361 8948888
Open hours: 11:00am - 1:00am
Price range: IDR 115,000 - IDR 1,149,000
Cuisines: International
Website: http://vue-beachclub.com/

Elissa Yamada

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Movie Watching with Bolu~♡ WAKUWAKU JAPAN | Listen to My Heart

Few days ago, Bolu and I watched this Japanese movie at WAKUWAKU JAPAN TV Channel (#168).

It is a romantic-drama movie called Listen to My Heart (引き出しの中のラブレター, Hikidashi no naka no rabu retā).

Synopsis

Mao Kubota (Takako Tokiwa) who works as a radio DJ in Tokyo is starting a new program called "Love Letters from the Drawer". People can write down their reserved feeling to someone on a letter, request a song to go with it and then Mao will read the letter and play the song at her program; hoping that the message will reach the intended person. The program was inspired by her own experience when she read a letter from her deceased father; who had always been so hard on her but finally expressed his true feeling toward her daughter through that honest, heartfelt letter.

Review

Watching this movie, first thing that came to my mind was…
The main actress Takako Tokiwa really looks like Cecilia Cheung lol!

They really look alike, right?? Has resemblance, at least. ^^

And of course, talking about Cecilia Cheung, I couldn't help but to bring this up…

YESYES our very own Elle also looks like Cecilia, right??? HAHAHHAHAHA
A lot of people has told her about this too, since she's in elementary school, lol! XD

Okay, now let's talk about the movie!

Made in 2009 where the internet era has begun, Listen to My Heart (引き出しの中のラブレター, Hikidashi no naka no rabu retā) brings up two now-kind-of-already-forgotten medias that played a big role in connecting people back then: radio and posted letters. It brings me back to the time where I would listen to the radio whenever I'm sitting in the car, going back and forth from home to school; and also further back when I had pen pals in elementary school (one of them was my childhood maid who went home to her village because she had to be married. I remember she wrote me a letter on a Little Mermaid paper because she knew I LOVE Ariel ^^).

Directed by Shinichi Mishiro, Listen to My Heart is a movie about a woman's strong dedication towards her career as a radio DJ → that succeed her in spreading her positive energy → which helps a lot of people who have been burying their thoughts deep down in their heart → to finally have the courage to pour it in a letter, → which she will then read out loud in her program, hoping that the significant person somewhere would hear what this person have to say.
Weighing the risk that B would probably not hear what A has put thoughtfully in that letter (e.g. when the letter is being read, B could be doing activities that doesn't allow him/her to listen to the radio / B might be listening to another program / B might not be a radio listener at all), when B actually hears it, it makes it almost magical. A very romantic coincidence, one could say. :)

In this encouraging movie, though, somehow all the messages always manage to reach the intended person (^^;). It's okay, though, a drama is a drama. But I think even if B doesn't get the message:
1. At least A has decided to finally release what has been weighing his/her heart, and that's a good step because it allows A to be honest to his/herself about his/her own feeling; which is not easy because some thoughts and feelings are sometimes better left unsaid or unheard, even to oneself.
2. And for the rest of the radio listeners, it is a beautiful way to listen to another person's heartfelt feelings. Like watching a movie or reading a book, sometimes we can all learn something from another person's experience or story. Like in this movie, some listeners would also hope that the intended person would hear the message. Being able to hope is also a good thing, right? :)

Like Babel and He's Just Not That Into You, Listen to My Heart is also a movie with interlocking stories. There is a taxi driver who came to Tokyo, living a separate life with his son and wife for the sake of earning extra income, a pregnant 30 something woman who decided to be a single mother when the baby comes, a reserved grandfather who doesn't want to move to another town with his son and his family, a boy who's in love with his classmate, a guy who's trying to get permission from his parents to marry an older woman that he loves, and so on. I like this kind of movie. It leaves room to imagine if a character knew that he/she is somehow connected to someone or something. It also makes me wonder about my own life. ^^v

Beside scenes that was taken at cute cafes in Tokyo, there are also a lot of beautiful scenes taken at Hakodate, Hokkaido. It really makes me wanna visit the place someday! Very calm and beautiful and I can imagine how fresh the air would be up there. Ah, Japan I miss youuuuuuuuuuuuu~~~♡♡♡

Thank you, WAKUWAKU JAPAN TV for bringing this movie up. We can't wait to watch another ones! XD

Meanwhile...

Oh no, baby girl fell asleep!

LOOK AT DAT PRECIOUS PAW!! ~~♡

Very well, I shall take my chance...

To take selfies with this cutiecat, please!!!

Okay yes so careful as not to wake her up…...

And that is all, my friend. See you on my next post! ♡

XOXO

Jessica Yamada

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Jess' New Hair Cut ♡

It's been a while since I got a hair cut (last time was on December 2013) and so my hair had become so messy and shapeless(?) when I don't style it. So I went to the salon! :D

Hello, new hair!

Bye bye, ugly hair (soon)!

Salon of choice:

Sugi Purmawan Salon

Taman Kedoya Baru, Jl. Akasia VIII B X no.12, Jakarta 11520 | Ph. +62 21 581 3501 (closed on Monday)

This salon is my mom's favorite and I first went here at 2006 for my *ahem* rebonding (remember that Meteor Garden's Sancai style?) lol. My 2006 pics are not here but this 2008 pic will do:

…because since that 2006's cut + rebonding, my hair had always been like that haha. Before that, it was always short (shoulder length max) and I always tied it up. So THAT 2006 hair cut + rebonding at Sugi Purmawan Salon was the turning point for the tomboy me for becoming the girly me lolol. Hair style really affects your personality, y'know? ^^v

After that, I decided to color my hair, grow my bangs, then it becomes like my today's hair. I knowwwww right? My hairstyle choices are very boring. ^^;;; T_T

Okay then, let's get started!

After getting my hair washed. Aunty y u look annoyed.

Still after the hair wash. Aunty no longer annoyed.

One of many reasons I like going to this home-based salon was that Sugi provided so many (and up-to-date) Japanese Hairstyle Magazines and he himself is an expert in Japanese haircut style. I mean he knows how to layer and all that stuff. Nowadays, though, he prefers using his iPad and a pretty familiar website called Google to let us customers browse and browse our desired look lol. "Magazines was a waste of money," he said, "and hairstyle trends change rapidly. This is a much better way!" lol couldn't agree more. And that lontong up there? Best.

Chop chop.

I told Sugi I didn't want to cut my hair short, "I want to keep it long, but layered for more volume." I also asked him to cut my bangs slightly.

And so he did.

Unlike those sok ide (know-it-all) hairstylists who always end up cutting your hair shorter than you asked for or making your hair look hideous because, "I think this look will suit you best. Trust me!", he always does what he's asked for, or if he thinks some look will suit you better, he will ask for your permission first, because it's your hair, afterall.
(ˆヮˆ)づ♡

 After final hair wash. Aunty no longer there.

Getting my hair styled by Mr. Sugi himself!

…aaand DONE! 

Final Look

I LOVE IT!

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GOWIGASA Oopsy Daisy Knit Sweater, Silky Flare Skirt

Before

After

Okay then, thank you so much for reading and see you guys on my next post~ ;D ♡

XOXO

Jessica Yamada

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Rail Truck (トロッコ / 軌道) | WAKUWAKU JAPAN Movie Review

Elle and I recently watched this Japanese movie at WAKUWAKU JAPAN TV Channel (#168). It is a family drama called Rail Truck (トロッコ / 軌道).

Synopsis

Yumiko Yano, with sons Atsushi and Toki, travels from her home in Tokyo with the ashes of her late husband to his parents' home, a mountain village in the south of Taiwan. Having been raised in the big city, the boys are wide-eyed at the verdant rural scenery...and waiting for them is a Taiwanese grandfather who speaks Japanese.

Yumiko, who married against her parents' wishes, has struggled on in stubborn determination since his death. Her son Atsushi, strongly conscious that in ethnocentric Japan he is ‘different', is in a state of rebellion against both the society in which he has grown up and his mother. In the verdant rural home of his grandparents, who have lived through vast changes in the political landscape and the values that prevail in society, the family rediscovers the bonds that unite it.

Setting out on a journey aboard an old-fashioned hand-powered ‘rail truck', Atsushi discovers a world outside of his family and his school, and is forced to confront the question of what it means to be both an ‘elder brother' and a ‘son'.

Review

Heartwarming as a family drama should be, this movie remind us to our late grandfather. (TᴗT) The grandfather figure in this movie is a disciplined yet loving man, and so our grandfather was. Nostalgia aside, Rail Truck displays the contrast between an urban city life and a modest village life, similarities and differences between Japanese and Taiwanese cultures, a bridge that connects them all, and the bravery to embrace yourself and choose your own path after knowing and making peace with life's bittersweet facts.

The lush green mountain forest and the village that lives in it were beautifully captured, but unfortunately, the emotions in the film weren't. There are several scenes that could have squeeze our tears out, but none were shed that night because…… something was just….. off. It might be Machiko Ono (Yumiko)'s rather emotionless face, the bond between the people that doesn't feel quite right or something else but that's that. It's such a waste, though, because the plot is a rather good one and it could've been a more heartfelt and memorable movie.

We dig the scenes with the boys, though, because they remind us of our childhood. Atsushi (Kento Harada) resembles Jess as a curious, rebellious, protective and choleric (leading) elder brother. The little brother Toki (Kyoichi Omae) resembles Elle's childhood persona, which is an easygoing, happy-go-lucky naive crybaby lol. (≧▽≦)づ♡

Directed by Hirofumi Kawaguchi and based on Ryunosuke Akutagawa's 1922 short story, Rail Truck is a rather fine movie which teaches us to respect the elders, protect and love our family, and above all, embrace ourselves despite being 'different' and be grateful for the choices we have made.

Thank you, WAKUWAKU JAPAN TV for bringing this movie up. We can't wait to watch another ones! :D

XOXO

Jessica Yamada

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