3 Activities You Can Do to Learn More about Japanese Culture (While Enjoying Your Trip)

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Ada banyak hal yang bisa dilakukan saat liburan di Jepang, seperti menikmati keindahan alamnya, mencoba kuliner-kuliner khas Jepang, shopping, hingga belajar budaya Jepang. Di artikel kali ini aku pengen ngebahas tentang 3 aktivitas yang bisa kamu lakukan untuk lebih mengenal budaya Jepang ketika lagi liburan. Sekali mendayung, dua pulau terlampaui. Enjoy your hoilday while learning something new is exciting, isn't it?

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1. Mencoba menjadi "orang Jepang"

Maksudnya dari menjadi "orang Jepang" adalah merasakan langsung kebiasaan, sejarah, dan budaya dari Jepang. As you may already know, kimono adalah pakaian tradisional Jepang yang kainnya terdiri dari berbagai pattern dan warna yang indah banget. Kimono ini juga udah jadi salah satu atraksi yang menarik untuk para turis, makanya juga di Jepang sendiri udah banyak bangetttt tempat-tempat yang menyediakan sewa kimono, biasanya dihitung per jam/hari tergantung ketentuan masing-masing tempat. Aku sendiri juga sempet sewa kimono untuk dipakai jalan-jalan di Bamboo Forest Arashiyama xD

Sebenernya nggak cuma kimono yang bisa bikin kamu ngerasain jadi "orang Jepang". Kamu juga bisa mencoba aktivitas lain yang hanya bisa kamu lakukan di Jepang seperti ikut Samurai Training atau Upacara Teh di Kyoto. Kalau misalnya kamu bingung mau mencoba experience ini dimana, fyi H.I.S Travel Indonesia ternyata nyediain tour gitu loh buat yang ingin mencoba aktivitas ini di Jepang. Untuk jenis-jenis aktivitasnya bisa dilihat di website hisgo Indonesia, dreamers! >> http://www.hisgo.co.id/static/contents/id/Activities-Index.html

2. Mengunjungi Museum

Menurutku, museum adalah tempat yang paling tepat untuk belajar tentang kebudayaan tertentu, baik itu di Jepang maupun di negara lain. Di Jepang ada banyak banget museum, mulai dari museum kereta api, museum ramen, museum toilet, dan lainnya yang tentunya akan menambah pengetahuan kamu tentang budaya atau sejarah Jepang.

Nggak cuma museum yang "serius", Jepang juga menyediakan banyak museum khusus untuk para pecinta anime dan manga. Sebut aja museum Ghibli, Fujiko F.Fujio, Snoopy, dan masih banyak yang lainnya. See, mengunjungi museum jadi opsi liburan di Jepang yang asik, kan?

3. Menyaksikan Pertunjukan Terkenal

Selain mencoba langsung budaya Jepang atau mempelajarinya di museum, alternatif lain untuk menikmati budaya Jepang adalah dengan menyaksikan pertunjukan terkenal yang ada di sana. Sumo adalah salah satu olahraga khas Jepang, yang ternyata menjadi daya tarik tersendiri untuk dimasukin ke dalam agenda liburan. Kalau nggak tertarik sama sumo, masih banyak pertunjukan khas Jepang lainnya yang bisa dicoba, misalnya traditional performance di Gion Corner atau pertunjukan Kabuki.

Nggak melulu harus pertunjukan tradisional, ada juga kok pertunjukan yang modern dan unik banget untuk disaksikan. Robot show di Robot Restaurant, Shinjuku jadi salah satu pertunjukan terkenal yang ada di bucket list turis-turis, lho. 

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Selain 3 aktivitas di atas yang aku rekomendasiin, kamu mungkin punya pemikiran atau cara lain untuk bisa menikmati liburan di Jepang, ya kan? Untuk inspirasi destinasi atau aktivitas selama di Jepang, bisa lho dicek di websitenya H.I.S Travel Indonesia, hisgo Indonesia. Di sana ada juga paket tour gitu juga yang bisa dipesen buat kamu yang nggak pengen repot. Dan jangan lupa, walau lagi liburan penampilan juga harus selalu dijaga biar tetep kece pas difoto + adanya perbedaan cuaca bisa bikin kulit iritasi juga. Coba deh cek Beautynesia ntuk tips-tips merawat kulit atau inspirasi makeup untuk liburan ;)

Review: SOLUSI Organic Renewage Series Martha Tilaar

In my opinion, nice and right skin care is much more important than any makeup. I mean, if you're using the right skin care and your skin + complexion is great, you don't really need to put too much makeup on, right? But I know, find the right skin care is difficult. I myself also still finding "the one". This time, I'm trying the anti-aging skin care from Martha Tilaar, Solusi Organic Renewage Series that Sociolla sent me. FYI, Solusi Organic is the first organic brand in Indonesia! Martha Tilaar is a well-known local beauty company which suggest that all natural and green life brands/products should be certified by Ecocert.

This series contains of Face Cleanser, Facial Wash, Face Toner, Moisture Lotion, and Night Cream. Although it's anti-aging product, it's safe to be used even when you're still on 20s to prevent premature aging, that's why this product is Everysecond Organic Anti Aging Solution. It's also Ecocert-certified and claimed that 99.9% of the total ingredients are from natural origin. 11.5% of the total ingredients are from Organic Farming. 

The main ingredient of this Solusi Renewage Series is Green Grapes from Bali. Beside its delicious taste, grape seed contains rich natural nutrition and the fruit is known as a great antioxidant that's good for skin. Grape seed extract contains rich Oligomeric Proantho Cyanidin (OPC) that has Vitamin E 20x stronger and Vitamin C 50x stronger to keep collagen structure for younger and elastic skin, flavonoids, linoleic acid, and Licorice extract for brightening skin. Now, let's talk about the product one by one ;)

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SOLUSI Renewage Face Cleanser (IDR 250.000)

All the products are packaged in green packaging with brown lid. For the cleanser (and toner) they have this press-to-open lid to prevent the products from spilling. This cleanser is claimed to clean dirt, makeup, and excess sebum from the skin.

This face cleanser has milky texture and natural grape scent. It can be used to clean your face with or without makeup. Apply it on the face, rub it gently, and wipe it clean with cotton pad. I think it works well to remove basic makeup like foundation, cc cushion, even eyeliner. I also try to remove my lip tint and surprisingly it doesn't feel bitter on the lips! Hands down to this cleanser :D Oh, but you need to use another cleanser after this for waterproof makeup.

SOLUSI Renewage Face Wash (IDR 148.500)

After clean your face with the face cleanser, you should wash it off with this Solusi Face Wash. Double cleansing is important to make sure you remove all cosmetics residue or dirt. It's also claimed as a deep cleansing foam to remove dirt and excess sebum.

It has clear to opaque texture and a little bit runny. It doesn't have much foam actually, but I think it does good job in cleansing the face. It feels light and my skin doesn't feel dry after, instead it feels smooth and moisturized. 

SOLUSI Renewage Face Toner (IDR 230.000)

The face toner has the same packaging with face cleanser, so make sure to read first before you use the product. I usually use toner after cleansing the face with face wash to clean the dirt, makeup, and excess sebum in case the double cleansing doesn't work well enough. Actually it can also be used to freshen up the skin imo.

It has watery texture with a little hint of green color and fresh grape scent. I pour the toner to cotton pad first and gently rub it on my face. It feels good and refreshing on skin.

SOLUSI Renewage Moisture Lotion (IDR 250.000)

The next product from Solusi Renewage Series is the moisture lotion. Like the other products, this one also has grape seeds and licoline extract to moisturized and soften the skin.

The moisture lotion is packaged in pump-applicator packaging + clear cap so I think the product hygiene can be guaranteed. 

Solusi Renewage Moisture Lotion has milky texture but richer than the face cleanser. It sure can moisturize without giving any sticky or greasy feeling. Like another product, this one also has grape scent but it's stronger when I pump out the lotion. Thankfully, the scene is gone after I applied it on my face. I used it before applying makeup (cc cushion) and guess what...no breakout!! 

SOLUSI Renewage Night Cream (IDR 300.000)

The last product is their night cream. As you may already know, night cream is really important for the skin care routine because our skin is regenerating when we sleep. Be careful when you open the lid because you may spill the cream out. It's claimed to maintain skin elasticity and slowing down aging process on the skin.

The night cream's texture is the creamiest compare to all the products. It has really strong grape scent which I actually don't like. When I apply it on the skin, it feels rich and a little bit sticky. My skin feels amazing the next morning tho. It's not as oily as I expected it to be when I woke up. My skin is smooth and moisturized.

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Overall, I love this anti-aging product. Maybe because it's natural and organic, it doesn't cause any breakout even on my super sensitive skin. Oh, to be noted, Solusi Organic Renewage Series is paraben free, vegan, 17.5% organic, 99.5% natural origin, environment friendly, no animal testing, cruelty free, and halal.

You can purchase this products from Sociolla and if you use my code SBNLA6BR at checkout, you can get IDR 50.000 off for every minimal purchase of IDR 250.000!

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Pontianak: A Travel Diary

こんにちは~ It's been exactly 4 months since I went to Pontianak, omg time flies. Pontianak is my hometown, it's a capital city of West Kalimantan, Indonesia.  I went there 2 weeks after I came back from Japan, with my still-there purple hair. And being a purple head in a such small city? People stare.

I basically went there to "go home", went to see my grandparents (I live with them until I graduated high school), uncles, aunts. Didn't meet any of my friends tho 💔. I just went back for 2 or 3 days...? It's long weekend; I went there Friday night and back to Jakarta on Monday. Family (pigging out) time it is. Let's get this Pontianak Travel Diary started!

It was Sunday so obviously school is empty, lol. I decided to enter after having ice cream in front of the school (wait for it on the next post!). Nothing much changed, but there is renovation going on in front of the high school building. I did miss the canteen food but it's Sunday anyway :( I took this pic with school gate + teacher office on the background. "Tetap Bersemangat" is my school's motto, means "Keep the Spirit". Is it? Hahaha I don't know the exact saying in English tho.

Taman Alun Kapuas is a park along the Kapuas River, as one of Pontianak's "Waterfront City" project. It's a great place to hang out at evening, there are a lot of street food stalls and you can also buy the food from the ones selling on the boat. Don't litter on the river, please ;)

We can also ride the boat for affordable price (I didn't ask how much tho). I've tried it once, it will bring you along the river, which you can see "Meriam Karbit" (carbide cannon) and Kapuas Bridge. Give it a try if you're visiting Pontianak for the first time.

Taman Alun Kapuas is much more better when I went there. There is this greenery park inside which I loveee so much! It gives you a cool breeze in a freakin' hot weather in Pontianak. And a great spot to take photos for Instagram and blog ;p

My primary school is located across the Cathedral. Actually we can enter the Cathedral but I was running out of time because I need to go to the airport after that, so yeah just took some photos with my cousins because the mural is so cute and well-drawn.

Pasar Tengah was a traditional market but now is swifting into modern market, I think it's because of the huge fire 2 years ago (it was the day I arrived at Pontianak, fyi). I won't talk about the market actually, it's like the typical market out there. One thing I love about this market is that I can find a lot of thrifted clothes here, with extremely cheap price! So much win~ Remember this army green outer in this post? I got it here for IDR 20.000 ($1.50)!

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If you're looking for travel-worthy city, I can't really recommend it for you. But if you're a food lover, Pontianak is the right city, dreamers! It will be too long to cover in one post, so I will write a separate post about culinary/food in Pontianak. Please stay tuned! Jaa ne~

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Warrior

Another quick outfit post! Tee dress will never fail me, fyi. Wore this tee dress from Bershka's men section. I don't know how men are going to wear this piece but it surely caught my eyes. Fierce, I can say. For a not-so-girly girl like me, this piece is perfect, lol. I wear it everytime I don't feel like dressing up. This time I wore it with my GU sandals I bought at Ikebukuro, along with my everyone-has-it Zara yellow sling bag. Effortlessly cool casual outfit, huh? :p See ya on the next post, dreamers~

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5 Tempat Populer di Hokkaido

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Hi, dreamers! Back again with another post related to Japan #JelajahiDuniaBersamaHISGO. Emang nggak bakal ada habisnya sih kalo ngebahas wisata Jepang. Kali ini aku pengen ngomongin tentang beberapa tempat populer di pulau yang terletak di ujung Jepang, Hokkaido. Aku emang belom pernah ke sana, tapi keindahan alam dan juga kuliner di Hokkaido udah nggak perlu diragukan lagi kualitasnya. Aku pernah nyobain es krim rasa Hokkaido milk di Osaka and guess what, rasanya supeeerrrr enak! Creamy tapi nggak bikin eneg T.T Oh I'm craving for it right now. Hokkaido is definitely in my bucket lists, tapi sebelum itu kesampean boleh dong kita mengenal dulu beberapa tempat populernya ;))

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Buat kalian yang suka banget sama taman bunga, guys, Hokkaido is paradise! Ada banyak banget taman bunga di Hokkaido yang indahnya udah nggak bisa dideskripsiin dengan kata-kata. Bener-bener tempat yang harus dilihat langsung dengan mata kita sendiri. Some of them are:

Farm Tomita, Furano

Di Furano terdapat banyak banget taman bunga yang bisa dinikmati, terutama dari Farm Tomita. Farm Tomita sendiri terbagi lagi ke beberapa field yang diisi dengan bunga-bunga berbeda. Salah satu yang bikin aku kepincut banget adalah Irodori fieldnya, yang diisi dengan bunga warna-warni seperti lavender, baby breath, etc. 

Himawari no Sato

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Satu lagi nih, taman bunga di Hokkaido yang wajib banget dikunjungi pas musim panas. As you may already know, musim panas di Jepang cukup identik dengan bunga matahari. Bunga matahari sendiri aja udah cantik banget, bisa ga bayangin gimana indahnya kalau bunga mataharinya ada se-lapangan? Yup, itulah keindahan alam yang disuguhkan oleh sunflower field yang terletak di Hokuryu-cho ini. Kita akan melihat hamparan bunga matahari sejauh mata memandang :") Best time to visit adalah sekitar pertengahan Juli-Agustus, ya.

Blue Pond

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Blue Pond, yang dalam bahasa Jepangnya Aoi-Ike, adalah salah satu tujuan wisata populer di Hokkaido yang menyuguhkan keindahan alam yang sangat mempesona. Sesuai dengan namanya, danau ini punya air berwarna biru cerah. Saat yang paling tepat untuk mengunjungi blue pond ini adalah saat musim panas, soalnya kalo musim dingin tempat ini bakalan ditutup karena banyaknya salju yang turun.

Otaru Canal

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Yes, this is another place I wish to visit in the near future! Otaru adalah kota pelabuhan di Hokkaido, yang terkenal karena produksi ikan herring di Jepang. Salah satu hal yang paling terkenal di Otaru adalah kanal Otaru. Dulunya, kapal-kapal bisa masuk sampai ke tengah kota melalui kanal yang pinggir-pinggirnya adalah gudang. Sekarang, kanal itu jadi objek wisata yang populer di Hokkaido. Bangunan-bangunan di pinggiran kanal telah diubah menjadi pertokoan, restoran, hingga museum untuk dinikmati oleh turis. Pas malam, lampu-lampu dinyalain sepanjang kanal ini- otomatis bikin suasana semakin indah dan *uhuk* romantis. Perfect for a stroll.

Hakodate Asaichi

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Buat pecinta kuliner, wajib banget nyicipin kesegaran seafood Jepang langsung dari pusatnya! Kalau di Tokyo ada Tsukiji Market dan di Kyoto ada Nishiki Market, di Hokkaido ada Hakodate Asaichi (morning market). Pasar ini nyediain berbagai macam kuliner khas Jepang plus makanan-makanan hasil laut yang super fresh dan ga perlu diragukan lagi kualitasnya, dengan harga affordable pula. Pengen makan sashimi? Di sini tempatnya ;))

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Oke, kira-kira begitulah sedikit dari sekian banyak tempat populer yang ada di Hokkaido. Just FYI, beberapa tempat di atas bisa kalian kunjungi melalui bantuan H.I.S Online Booking lho. Hisgo menawakan berbagai paket wisata tempat-tempat populer yang sering dikunjungi wisatawan di Hokkaido (dan juga perfektur lainnya). Paketnya tersedia mulai dari kebudayaan, pertunjukan menarik sampe makanan khas. Kalian bisa mengunjungi website H.I.S Online Booking untuk info lebih lanjut, atau kunjungi langsung page paket wisata Jepang mereka. Sekian, see ya on the next #JelajahiDuniaBersamaHISGO post ;) Oh iya, seperti biasa, cek juga website Beautynesia untuk tips-tips kecantikan dan makeup yang bakal berguna banget untuk trip-trip kamu ke depannya ;D