Day 3 (30 May 2010) Photos - (6) Check in Yunoko San Kaikan Ryokan Inn
After the Eco Net, we headed to our rest area - Yunoko San Kaikan Ryokan Inn. Upon arriving, though the lobby looked not so new, we were all captivated by the mountain seaview. We quickly went into our room wanting to check out the seaview.

To our pleasant surprise, the room looked so different from the ones we had been staying. It was of traditional Japanese tatami room style. The floor was covered with ryokan - tatami, made from rice straw. In the centre of the room was a table with a box containing a tea set. When it's time to sleep, the table would be pushed aside and matress would be laid out.

There was something interesting about their toilet and bathroom as well. Both were separated. In the bathroom, there was a washing area where one was expected to sit on the stool provided and washed thoroughly before immersing into the deep bathtub. Japanese are very particular about cleanliness so they believed one must ensured to be so thoroughly clean before using the bathtub that the bathtub water can be reused by others in the family.

The toilet system was something we can learn. After flushing, water will flow from the tap above the tank for people to wash hand. The used water would then be used to fill the tank for the next flushing. Very eco-friendly way of maximising water usage!



While waiting for dinner, we immersed ourselves in the beautiful sunset scenery of mountain and sea.

9:28 PM | Category: | 0 comments

Day 3 (30 May 2010) Photos - (5) Eco Net - soap making (DIY) using recycled materials
After Minatama Museum, we headed to Eco Net where we would be learning how to make soap using recycled materials. The place was located in a small town. Along the way, we saw small plots of farming land beside house. It's so different from the HDB flats that we lived in. The "air-con" weather was so nice for the stroll.


Eco Net was a small and quite run-down house that recycle used cooking oil to make soap. Upon arriving, we were greeted by bubbles generated by machine.

;

After the "bubbly" welcome, we sat in a small room for a lesson on the importance of recycling. We were shown a video that demonstrated the different effect of synthetic and non-synthetic detergent on two separate tanks of fish. The one with synthetic detergent died within 2 min where the other with non-synthetic detergent was still swimming around, not really affected.
Non-synthetic soaps can be made from recycled cooked oil.


We had a fun hands on session to make soap from used cooking oil. The steps were quite simple.

1. Add water to caustic soda (sodium hydroxide).
2. Stirred till dissolved.
3. Slowly pour used cooking oil into dissolved caustic soda.
4. Stirred till thickened.
5. Pour fluid into cups to form soap shape.
6. Leave the soap for a month to stablise its acidity.
7. Soap ready for human use.


At the end of the session, we were given a soap each to take home as a memorial of the fun time making DIY soap as a team. Yes, we worked as a team in making the soap and teamwork was very fun and meaningful.

12:33 PM | Category: | 0 comments