Hey you, a lot of things happened in January (good stuff) so I’ve been a little behind with blogging. But basically, a few groups of friends visited Japan and therefore we hung out quite a bit. My closest friends came over too, and seriously, meeting up with them did make me a little homesick. It has been almost one year, after all. When I started this year in Kamakura, I never thought that I’d be having …
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{Japan} Cute Sanrio Boys themed restaurant at The Guest Cafe & Diner in Ikebukuro, Tokyo
What do you get when you imagine Sanrio characters as cute ikemen boys and then have a themed cafe/restaurant that centred around these cute Sanrio boys?! I know I know, it’s hard to imagine… Luckily, the Japanese had done all the imagining for you, so all you need to do is to just stare at all the cuteness and swoon… Note: I love Sanrio. When I visited Puroland, that was one of those “dreams do come …
{Japan} Hidden gem (Part 2): Yanaka’s old town feels with cemetery & cats
Living in Tokyo allows me to explore areas that tourists may not have the time to leisurely do so, like Sugamo or Koenji. Hopefully this will in turn entice you to take a different route when you’re travelling around Tokyo to see things that are off-the-beaten-path. This time, I visited a neighbourhood that’s easily walkable from Ueno, however still tucked away enough from all the hustle bustle of the busy city: Yanaka. How can I describe Yanaka? …
{Japan} Hidden gem (Part 1): Sugamo’s Michelin star ramen & red granny underwears
I’m starting a new series called the “Hidden gem” which will take you through a number of lesser known suburbs in Tokyo that’s worth visiting once you’re done with visiting the popular areas of Tokyo. First off, Sugamo. It’s located on the Yamanote Line just a few stops north of Ikebukuro, so it’s really to get to if you just want to check it out for a few hours. Our visit was mainly for Tsuta the only ramen restaurant …
{Japan} Koenji (Part 2): A perfect evening exploring the hipster neighbourhood, Tokyo
Koenji is a hipster neighbourhood only 15 minutes or so away from Shinjuku, and yet it’s still not too touristy, making it a perfect place to walk and explore on a lazy evening. I highlighted some shops in Koenji part 1 post, so for this second part, expect street view and shop fronts and just random awesomeness. Let’s start… This post will be photo heavy, so be prepared. It’s pretty though, if you like photographs of shop …
{Japan} Koenji (Part 1): Finding random shops in this hipster neighbourhood, Tokyo
I read somewhere that many young people would choose to live in Koenji. It is much quieter than its neighbour Nakano, which is the next stop on the train or you can even walk it. It is also less popular with the tourists than Kichijoji, the other hipster town on the same JR Chuo Line. In some ways, this makes Koenji a much better option for an afternoon / evening stroll… I took so many photos of …
{Japan Life} Reflection: Living the dream in Tokyo
It has been one week since I arrived back in Tokyo after a 2-week “home” trip to Melbourne. In that time, I have reflected heaps (I mean, having 2x 10 hours flights do give you a whole lot of time to reflect on things). So please bear with me as I rainbow-barf all my thoughts out in this blog… Okay no rainbows, but there’s this pretty pastel-coloured sky I saw the other day in Enoshima. So, …
{Japan} Hoot! Fukurou no Sato (Owl Village) Cafe in Harajuku, Tokyo
We visited Owl Village / Fukurou no Sato (武蔵野カフェ＆バー ふくろうの里) in Harajuku, Tokyo in March 2016. I’m sure many of you have heard of the popular cat cafes in Japan. But the new craze seems to be these owl cafes that are popping up everywhere around the big cities. Owl Village is literally a stone’s throw away from the iconic Harajuku Station. If you take the Takeshita exit from the station, just cross the road and turn …
{Japan} Sakura petals & colourful lanterns at Kawagoe Spring Matsuri, Saitama
Last weekend, I visited one last sakura spot with a friend of mine before all the pink turn to green, just so we could take pictures and stuff. Because if a sakura petal falls in the middle of the forest and no one is around to take a photo of it, does it really happen? Ha. We visited Kawagoe, a small town in Saitama that’s only about 1 hour away from Shinjuku. It is a nice old town with …
{Japan Life} What’s life actually like living in Tokyo?
Can’t believe it, but I have now “lived” in Japan for 40 days. FORTY DAYS!!! Not sure if I’d call that an achievement, but it sure feels like I’ve now been here long enough to not call this a holiday. And time sure flies. So before I forget to stop and smell the roses, thought I’ll share a few thoughts on my Japan experience so far with you guys, in case anyone is interested to do the …