Bench Summer 2011 Ads

Summer is just around the corner...

What can I say about these hot Bench Summer 2011 Ads?

 Angelica Panganiban (ahm, sexy!)

 

Aljur Abrenica (HOTTT!!!)

Jake Cuenca & Lovi Poe (nice scooter huh?:p)

Diether Ocampo (Sexy but I'm not convinced of the mini Panday sword lol)

Dingdong Dantes (Summer? Why so covered?! Take it off! haha)

Enchong Dee (Same thing. Might look better without the shirt on. lol)

Geoff Taylor, Sam Concepcion, Steven Silva, Sarah Lahbati (the wind effect haha)

Gerald Anderson (still HOT even with his shirt on haha! I heart him!)

Georgina Wilson (Stunning! Like a Victoria's Secret model.)

Carla Abellana, Karylle, Iya Villania (would've looked boring w/o Iya haha)

Jake Cuenca and Lovi Poe (again? this time, apple instead of scooter lol)

Jake Cuenca (the ABS!!!)

Kim Chui (She's HOT here. Almost didn't recognize her at first glance.)

Lovi Poe (exhibition or yoga? I'm confused.)

Mara Clara (cute!)

Jason & Melai (sweet! though I'm not a fan hehe)

Piolo Pascual (the ABS also! but I'm not convinced haha)

Rafael Rosel (Talk about gettin' wet! haha SUMMERRRR!)

Carlo Guevarra, Rayver Cruz, John Prats, Ejay Falcon (they actually looked like teens here)

Richard Gutierrez (this looks like an ad for Survivor, not Bench)

Sam Pinto w/ PBB Boys (She's definitely pretty and sexy.)

Shaina & Zanjoe (it's better if Zanjoe's photo is the bigger one, for a better abs view lol)

 Zanjoe and Shaina (Here, it's better to make Shaina's photo the bigger one)

 Paul Jake (HOT! I like the water effect and his facial expression)

So...what can you say?

Suwa City & Matsumoto City

SUWA CITY

Our neighborhood! There are a lot of Filipinos here actually. And I think there are also more adults/oldies than children/youth (based on what I've seen :p). Suwa is popular because of Suwa Lake (Suwa-ko). It has a natural hot spring so during winter, when the lake surface freezes, the lower waters are still warm and circulationg (ref. Wikipedia). Also, besides Suwa, around Suwa-ko are other cities like Chino, Okaya, and Shimosuwa. Here are some of our random photos within the city and the nearby cities:

 game centers are "in" for the youth...and I got addicted to this UFO catcher lol

trying on the massage chair at a gadget store in Chino City

 fitness place (like a clubhouse)

while we dip in the "onsen" or hot spring totally naked, this is where we leave our stuff

and it really feels so good to sleep after the "onsen" and massage

Catholic church run by Filipino community

 Santacruzan of the kids

 my cousin's Pokemon collection. take note: those were bought separately. he used to buy 2-3 pcs at the groceries or toy stores every time we go out. I didn't notice he had this much after 3 months.

 besides his "carry-all" case, he also have this "fighting stadium" of Pokemons haha!

 puppy collection of our family friend in Chino City

 Haircut is way way expensive in Japan. The average rate is around Php700. But it's okay 'coz they were really skilled and very professional. You really get the type of haircut you chose from the magazines.

 somewhere along Lake Suwa is a hot spring to relax our feet

 Lake Suwa freezes during Winter

Lake Suwa on my background

 A tour around Lake Suwa. This ride can also cross Lake Suwa 'coz it even works on water. Cool!

 outside my cousin's work place

 pajama and iPad lovin' at our next-door neighbor's pink living room

attended a semi-formal event

MATSUMOTO CITY

This is where we go if we want a fun shopping experience. It's about an hour away from our place. Our most favorite mall there is Don Quixote 'coz it's full of branded stuff that are quite cheaper. Also, there are a lot of good finds here, and some stuff that are not very common yet really cute.

 Nitori: a shop of furniture and other house stuff

hak yen shop: everthing for 100 yen (lots of good finds in here)

the mascot is Don Quixote

signature watches

 There were also lots of brand new and used signature bags. I almost bought this one but luckily, I was able to control myself haha!:)) I bought a D&G watch instead.

 Ever imagined what if UST's Growling Tiger turns PINK? HOT!!!:))

 Cherry coke

 Guess what our favorite color is! LOL

pretty jewelry case

another cute jewelry case

shopaholics!!!

This is just a happy (though quite expensive) life with my family.:)

My "FIRSTs" in JAPAN: Yuki, Sakura, Onbashira

YUKI (Snow)

In Japan, we live in Suwa-shi, Nagano-ken. It's a province so during winter-spring, it's really cold there and it even snows. Luckily, I was able to catch the last few snow of Winter-Spring transition.

 in the neighborhood

Speaking of snow, we actually went to the Kuruma Yama (Mt. Kuruma) to experience the last day of ice skiing. The ice was about to melt at that time 'coz it's already Spring.

SAKURA (Cherry Blossoms)

Sakura trees actually look boring, not until you see them bloom during the 1st few weeks of Spring. I was there in Japan during the last week of March and the Sakura flowers haven't bloomed yet. They bloomed only in the first few weeks of April, and they fell at around the middle week of May. There's even a Sakura festival where people gather under the long strip of Sakura trees. These trees actually looked good on the sides of the streets, most especially at night 'coz they were lighted up by lanterns. Such a pretty view.

at our neighborhood park/playground

Sakura haven't bloomed yet

at a park with lots of Sakura trees

Tsubaki flowers

 like the other families, we also had a picnic at the Sakura-filled park

ONBASHIRA FESTIVAL

I also felt happy having witnessed the Onbashira Festival which happens in Suwa only every 6 years. According to Wikipedia:

Onbashira (御柱祭) is a festival held every six years^[1] in the Lake Suwa area of Nagano, Japan. The purpose of the festival is to symbolically renew the Suwa Taisha or Suwa Grand Shrine. "Onbashira" can be literally translated as "the honored pillars".

The Onbashira festival is reputed to have continued, uninterrupted, for 1200 years. The festival is held once every six years, in the years of the Monkey and the Tiger in the Chinese Zodiac, however the locals may say "once in seven years," because of the traditional Japanese custom of including the current year when counting a length of time.

Onbashira lasts several months, and consists of two segments, Yamadashi and Satobiki. Yamadashi traditionally takes place in April, and Satobiki takes place in May.

Yes the festival takes place somewhere near our neighborhood. And it was all over the news. People walk up into the mountains to cut the huge trees and they bring these trees down. At times, people get hurt physically as this event takes place. Some even dies. Most of the people participating are oldies but they're really very strong. They even cross rivers while carrying the huge logs. And the best part of all is their costume that looks something like this:

So those were the "firsts" that I have experienced while I was in Japan.:)