Ajisai Japanese Restaurant

Ajisai Japanese Restaurant is near Plaza Pelangi (in the same strip of shops as Furusato Japanese Restaurant, Rosmarino and Clinic Australia).

photo of sushi lunch special

My favorite sushi special

I really like the sushi special in the photo, it includes everything you see except the fried lotus root for I think 18 MYR (super deal ~ US$6). This special might only be available at lunch. I usually get one small item with it and they have some great choices (fried quail eggs, pumpkin tempura?, sushi items etc. – the fried lotus root was actually my least favorite so far).

photo of Interior view of Ajisai Japanese Restaurant

It is my favorite Japanese restaurant with great sushi and good prices and good service. There are really several quite good sushi restaurants, in my opinion, this is my favorite but the others are very close to the same quality and service.

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10th Annual JB Arts Festival, 6 September to 5 October

The 10th Annual JB Arts Festival kicks off September 6th and has events through October 5th.

Performances this year include:

AkashA

photo of Angels of the Hill dancers
Angels on the Hill – Angel Art and Dance Studio is an integrated art school equipped with innovative ethnic dancing skills, combining creativity with spirit and dancing principles. Established in April 2001, the school specialises and promotes traditional and cultural dance in Johor Bahru. They will be presenting 12 different dances, featuring 120 students ranging from the age of 3 to 21.

ASWARA – traditional and contemporary dances Malaysian dance company

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Tera Thai Restaurant

photo of Tera Thai restaurant building

Tera Thai restaurant is in an old house.

Tera Thai restaurant is near downtown Johor Bahru. Still some taxi drivers have a problem finding it – even with an address. It really shouldn’t be hard it is about 2 km away from the Thistle hotel but it in a quiet area with not much else around (it is near Sri Mulia Condominium and to get to Pangsapuri Adamai Condo, you have to pass the restaurant).

photo of beef dish

This was a great beef dish at Tera Thai, but I can’t remember what it is called.

It is a very nice restaurant with a great atmosphere and good service. The food is very good.

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Johor Bahru Old Chinese Temple

The Old Chinese Temple is one of the oldest structures in Johor Bahru. It is located downtown, surrounded by sky scrappers, malls and other temples.

photo of Bells old chinese temple jb

Bells on exterior wall of the old Chinese Temple. Note the turtle at the bottom of the flagpole.

photo inside old chinese temple

The temple is a place of worship and a symbol of unity among Five Chinese Dialect Groups which are “Teochew”, “Hoklo (Hokkien)”, “Cantonese”, “Hakka” and “Hainan”.

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18th Pasir Gudang World Kite Festival, Johor, Malaysia – Feb 19-24

The 18th annual Pasir Gudang World Kite Festival will be held from the 19th of February until 24th February, 2013 (schedule). The kite festival draws enthusiasts from around the globe with competitors from over 20 countries. Videos of kites flying at the 2011 festival:

Video showing some scenes from the 2012 festival:

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Annalakshmi Indian Restaurant in Historic JB

photo of the elaborate doorway entrance to the Annalakshmi restaurant

Entrance to the Annalakshmi restaurant in Johor Bahru

The Annalakshmi is a vegetarian, Indian restaurant that offers good food in an inviting environment with friendly service. Annalakshmi restaurants exist in several other cities including Singapore, Kuala Lumpur and Chennai. They offer a interesting policy of letting you decide what to pay.

The restaurant is located in historic Johor Bahru near many other attractions: Salahuddin Bakery, Masjid India Mosque, Bangunan Sultan Ibrahim, Sri Raja Mariamman Temple, Johor Bahru Old Chinese Temple, Tiong Hua Chinese Heritage Museum, Sikh Gurdwara Sahib and a pleasant stroll from City Square Mall.

photo of the interior of the Annalakshmi restaurant

Annalakshmi is the culinary arts section of Temple of Fine Arts (TFA), an artistic and cultural organization dedicated to serving the society through arts, music and dance. This heritage is seen in the very nice decor.

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Bangunan Sultan Ibrahim

photo of the Bangunan Sultan Ibrahim government building

The Bangunan Sultan Ibrahim is a government building in the CBD of Johor Bahru. The building housed the Menteri Besar’s (Chief Minister) office and the Johor State Legislative Assembly before both were moved to Kota Iskandar.

photo of close up detail on exterior of Bangunan Sultan Ibrahim building

Detail on the exterior of the Bangunan Sultan Ibrahim

Related: Arulmigu Sri Raja Kallamman Indian Hindu Glass TempleJohor Bahru Customs, Immigration, and Quarantine Complex (CIQ)Basketball Courts In Johor Bahru CBDJohor Bahru Zoo

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Arulmigu Sri Raja Kallamman Indian Hindu Glass Temple in Johor Bahru

The Arulmigu Sri Raja Kallamman temple in Johor Bahru (CBD) is an Indian temple with walls covered in glass tiles. This Hindu temple is located in the Central Business District of Johor Bahru. It is a very interesting and beautiful temple. The temple actually was first established in 1922 but the current glass temple was completed in 2009.

Arulmigu Sri Raja Kallamman Hindu Temple

Arulmigu Sri Raja Kallamman Temple, Johor Bahru

Over 95% of the temple is embellished by a mosaic of 300,000 pieces of red, blue, yellow, green, purple and white glass. The centrepiece in the Athma Lingam sanctuary is a lotus for Lord Shiva, on which devotees can pour rose water and perform their prayers.

Johor Bahru is not well known as a tourist spot. I think this temple is a great idea for tourists looking for something to visit in Johor Bahru. It likely won’t take more than 30 minutes, but it is quite captivating and offers something to remember for Johor Bahru.

Arulmigu Sri Raja Kallamman Indian Glass Temple

Arulmigu Sri Raja Kallamman Indian Glass Temple

Village Briyani Indian Restaurant and Danga City Mall are quite close. If you time your visit close to lunch time I recommend eating lunch at Village Briyani (it is walking distance, but a bit confusing to find so make sure you have a clear idea on your map of where it is located – you can call and get directions I would think).

Related: Johor Bahru ZooTourist Stuff in Kuala LumpurBig Lizards in Johor Bahru CBD

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Pasir Gudang World Kite Festival in Johor Bahru: February 15th to 19th, 2012

The above webcast is of the 2011 International Kite Festival at Pasir Gudang, Johor Bahru. The 2012 festival, will run from February 15th to February 19th and is the 17th year the kite fair has been held. This looks like quite an enjoyable event.

Their web site says that last year over 180 international kite flyers from 25 countries came to Pasir Gudang. It also say 100,000 spectators cheer the opening ceremony. That number seems amazing to me. The web site also offers a schedule of events.

There is also a Kite Museum.

I am pretty sure the taxi rate they list on the festival web site it out of date (it would be more now). If you know the buses that can be taken from JB Sentral to Pasir Gudang, please add a comment?

Related: Johor Bahru ZooIslamic Arts Museum Malaysia in Kuala LumporTourist Attractions in Kuala Lumpur

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