i've been hokk-ed and tok-ed!

A recent family vacation to japan added to my personal vocabulary chest two verbs - 'hokk' and 'tok'.

Before you start thinking these are from the disputably rojak singaporean singlish, let me tell you 'hokk' means freeze, and 'tok' refers to a (un)cacophonic movement.

Indeed Hokk-aido froze me, and Tok-yo sucked me into its wave of madrush motion, with everyone gliding in a dissonant fashion, yet of the same frequency, wavelength and velocity.

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But generally it was a good trip. : ) Family vacations are therapeutic - you talk, bond and snuggle more with your loved ones, after each is freed from his or her own cycle of commitments back home, each of different frequency, wavelength and velocity.

Some picts, especially for those who were asking! :P

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This is not a toy. This was the plane what brought us from Haneda Airport (Tokyo) to Chitose Aiport (Hokkaido)!

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the wedding chapel at my first hotel in Obihiro has got an exquisite cross in pure white snow, with a subtly majestic backdrop. Not being able to take my eyes off this beautiful contrast with the interior warm curved brickwalls, i was indeed enticed to walk towards the cross, where light (and warmth) dawned in, and suffused the chapel and my soul.

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cruising along sea floes of icy Okhotsk Sea

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After hours of travelling westward from the northeast Okhotsk coast, we reached the romantic harbour city of Otaru which is fronted by Sea of Japan, and we were truly capped by snow!

phin-chimes throughout the whole Otaru Musical Box Museum...

where's my car?????

__________________________________________________care for a glass of cold Sapporo?

eating ramen (la-mee) with mummy!

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"'Being' japanese'..... "

Ooh yes, we always had a lot to eat each day in Japan. *slurps* :p

The beautiful lady in cyan is our tour guide. Always ready with a hilarious joke, that's Monica for you! :)

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From moist snowflakes in Obihiro, to fluffly spherical snowballs in Otaru, to sweeping snow drizzle in Sapporo..... this snow-perience was enough to send a cheeky chill down our spines!

(You can click on http://www.flickr.com/photos/mirabop/sets/72057594061644640/show/ to view more peeks!)