SAMI★SPOON

Did you know, Cybercandy don't just stock snacks and sweets from around the world
They also have their own exclusive range, which includes some crazy yet delicious chocolates

I was sent 2 Japanese inspired flavours to try, they are Salty Sakura and Momotaro Peach
The packaging is super cute and bright, I love the inclusion of Momotaro himself on the Peach bar
He is a popular figure from Japanese folklore, though the story does kind of haunt me
I don't know how many times I translated that story in some way or another whilst I was at University haha

I will say though, that I don't like the font used for the Sakura bar
I'd much prefer actual Japanese to be used over this strange faux-Japanese

The packaging is rather like an envelope sealed with a sticker that's relevant to the flavour and theme
Touches like this are super sweet and I really enjoy them ♪

The Momotaro bar is Peach flavoured milk chocolate with pieces of crispy noodles inside

When you turn the bar over you can see just how jam packed with noodles the bar is!

I wasn't sure how noodles would work inside a chocolate bar, but I was pleasantly surprised

They offer a lovely crunch and texture to the bar, and since they're not flavoured

It doesn't feel like someone has coated a Pot Noodle in chocolate (this was my fear haha)

The chocolate itself has a rather mild peach flavouring to it
I find it was more prominent in the after taste, meaning the flavour intensifies with the more you eat

Which is always a good if you're wanting an excuse to chomp down on the whole thing!

Something odd... I was reading the ingredients for this bar on the packet and I noticed Garlic Powder
I wonder where that comes in? Haha, I definitely didn't taste any of it though, so that's ok

It's unsurprising that the Salty Sakura bar is a lovely bright pink!
There was also slight speckles of a deeper pink in the bar which I believe came from the salt

The chocolate is lovely and creamy, I believe a white chocolate base was used and then flavoured
The salt does come through and offers a sharpness but it's not overwhelming (or gross!)
But as for the Sakura, it doesn't really come through for me and it's left feeling rather flavourless
It's really strange because whilst it is tasty, it doesn't seem to taste of anything?

Overall both chocolate bars are really interesting and definitely unique, I think they would make great gifts!

If neither of these flavours take your fancy then be sure to check out the rest of

Cybercandy's exclusive range of chocolate bars here♪

Lazy Oaf Sales are one of my favourite things EVER
I love the brand so much (have done for many moons!) and their sales are always so generous

So here are a couple of items I picked up recently...

Splat Backpack, reduced from £55 to £33
I'd been eyeing up these bags for a while as I thought they looked a decent size for travelling

and with my Japan trip coming up in just 97 days... well I was just looking for an excuse to finally buy one
But I do think this is going to come in very hand for travels and my future education plans!

The drawstrings of the bag are complete with these cute Mickey Mouse style hands ♥

There are still a few backpacks similar to this in the sale ranging from £12 to £20!
Check them out here, I'm tempted to get the leopard!

Rosie O'Burger T-shirt, reduced from £35 to £18

I loved the T-shirt from the moment I set eyes on it, but since I'm trying to save right now
I just couldn't justify spending so much on a T-shirt and luckily my wait finally paid off with the sale!
Had I bought it full price and later seen it in the sale, I would have kicked myself so hard

I just love everything about this top, it's cute, funny and I guess slightly confusing
Which I think is a good representation of my interests haha, a match made in heaven ♥

Shop the Lazy Oaf sales here:Womenswear // Menswear

Does anything catch your eye?

Wow, so on Sunday I turned 25 and it still feels really weird

It was quite a low-key birthday for me too, last year I went to London and the year before Barcelona
But this year I just chilled out, I didn't want to spend a lot of money which could go towards Japan!

Here are the presents I got from my family!
New perfumes, Bloody Mary Metal goods and a lovely crisp ¥10,000 note for my holiday ♥

You will be able to see what BMM item I got in my upcoming collection post, stay tuned

I also had to share this amazing collar clip set from the amazing Betty Turbo

As far as I know this is the only one? I feel so special and boy that girl just lives in my head!!
She really gets me and my weird fashion/art loves hehe, I will wear these with pride

Oh hey, it's me! ﾟ(｡ﾉωヽ｡)ﾟ｡━━ｫ!!
I don't post a lot of "selfies" these days (god I hate that word) so here you go
My hair is actually rather pink but is starting to fade, luckily it still stays a nice colour heh

It's more than fair to say that I have been swept up in the recent Sailor Moon fever!

It's not a show I watched when I was younger, I don't know if it even aired in the UK?
So I can't say this has happened for nostalgia reasons, more... ridiculously beautiful merchandise haha

It's been so hard to resist all of the amazing goods that have been released for the shows anniversary

and here is a rundown of just a few of the goodies I have recently purchased...

Transformation Brooch Compact Set
These are just so darn pretty, they make me feel like a real Magical Girl

As for being used as a compact, I'm not sure they would be my "go-to" item but they make a great display piece!

Die-Cast Charm Set
These are so much heavier than I anticipated and so beautiful too

I am much more tempted to turn these into necklaces instead of using them as keychains
I'd feel much less worried about losing them if they were round my neck instead of on a bag etc

Harajuku Pop iPhone case and Aluminium Home Button Sticker
Of course I bought some phone accessories too!
This particular case was on back order for so long, I never thought I would have the pleasure of owning it

and I thought the home button sticker might annoy me or look odd, but Ialready adore it ♥

Crystal Brooch and Luna Earphones

I was in need of a new pair of earphones and what better excuse did I need for these cuties?

Here's a close up of the brooch design on the earplug part, they are just so pretty!

Now I just need a cute Sailor Moon cable tidy to match these hehe

Icon Prism Notebook and Icon Prism File
Hey, did you know I'm applying to return to University next year?
I thought I'd prepare with some cute pieces of stationary and I absolutely love this print

I totally want anything they release with this style of print on it haha

3 Piece Stackable Bento
This isn't like most bento boxes as the pieces can't fit together to form one easy to carry box

However, that's exactly why I bought them lol, I wanted them to be more like regular tubs
This way I could use them for non-food tasks such as housing all my tiny Nendoroid attachments!

Plastic Plates: Sailor Moon Ribbon, Moon Items and Inner Senshi Ribbons
I just couldn't resist these and I thought they would come in handy for my Snack Blog

and hey, I don't care if I am 25, if you come to my house we're eating pizza off kawaii plates ok?

and there you have it... for now!
I have a couple of items preordered and lord knows I will be stocking up on my trip to Japan

Hope you enjoyed looking at all these pretty items and look forward to others in the future ♪

I've included some links to items where they are still in stock
All the links are to Jbox as this is where I purchased my items

The links are also affiliate links, so if you make a purchase I will get 15% of your order total

in the form of store credit so that I can fund even more Sailor Moon merchandise goodness (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧

Why hello there, long time no blog huh?
Well I got some new Ugg boots today and I thought I should share them ♥

"Uggs, really?"
Yah really!

I have a life long feud with shoes, literally everything rubs and hurts me

Except for Uggs! Ohhh wonderous comfortable Uggs

I felt like I "needed" another pair, especially for my upcoming Japan trip

and I just fell in love with the chain details on these so I snapped them up asap!

These are actually my 3rd pair, I have some regular Mini's in Chestnut Brown
and in London last year I got a pair of Mini Bailey Buttons in Black ♪
I always prefer the Mini style as I have short legs and they tend to flatter me a little better~

Now if only I had an iPhone 6 and liked Pumpkin Spice Lattes
then I could be the ultimate white girl! （＾＿－）☆wink

Hello everyone and welcome to the first post of my Japan Travel!

In case you weren't aware, I was in Japan between Nov 2nd and Nov 17th

Half this time was in Tokyo and the other half was in Osaka!

I guess I should start with a little information about my travels
and to be honest, I almost didn't make it there at all
Whilst in Amsterdam airport for our connection, everything just hit me
and I went into a panic over drive, it was horrible
I managed to calm down and get on the plane and then it hit me again
I wanted to get off, even thinking back about it makes my heart beat faster

The staff didn't let me off, I think they thought it was just flight nerves

I don't think they realised or fully understood that it was so much more
I was so anxious about the whole trip and I didn't think I could do it

So I spent the whole flight just crying and sleeping and it made me very sick
The staff we're super helpful though, even the captain came down to see me haha

They helped me make plans to fly straight back to the UK after landing

But first they let me just have some time in a waiting area once we had landed
and after some time I managed to calm down
I spoke to Rhi about all the things that were scaring me and we went through

them all methodically with solutions and answers, and everything felt OK

So, yay! I did it! ~(●´┏ε┓｀●)
and now I get to tell you all about my amazing holiday in Japan!

We stayed in Asakusa!
I was familiar with the area after staying here in 2009
It's a really nice place to be located during a trip to Tokyo

You really forget that you're in the middle of a countries busy capital
The streets are really quiet (mostly full of elderly people and schools on coach trips)

and the atmosphere is beautiful too ♥

We couldn't check in to your Hotel until 3pm and we had landed in the morning
So we thought today would be a good time to wander around Sensoji, the local temple grounds

This is Hondo, the main building of the site

Can you see the modern buildings in the background??
That's where our hotel was!! Such an amazing location ♥

This is inside of Hondo, it's truly beautiful
I wanted to go inside but since it was the day after Culture Day the place was a little busy
and I didn't want to feel too intrusive on those that were there to prayer
It's easy to forget these stunning buildings are actually places of worship

as their aesthetic is so different to the Churches in the UK!

Rhi's arm makes it's debut as she lights a candle for her recently departed Grandfather ♥

The whole place was filled with the rattling sounds of people selecting their Omikuji
We weren't sure how to use them at first but we found some English instructions and gave it a go...

Though after getting this fortune I really wish I hadn't!! YIKES!!

I randomly remember going to the public toilets after this and they were so clean haha

I know it's a weird thing to remember, but in the UK public toilets are so gross
and as I was waiting for a Western toilet to free up I overheard some other English girls

saying how you can always spot the "gaijin" when it comes to toilet queues haha, so true!

Another smaller temple that was a little closer to our hotel

Here we found lots of Ema tablets which will have been here since the New Year
It won't be long now until these are burned and replaced by patrons for the next year

Another smaller shrine area, near this was a woman cleaning a small golden Buddha hehe
We were also approached by an old man whilst here, he started to point at Rhi's tattoos
and we were kind of worried, as tattoos can be rather taboo in Japan and we were on Temple Grounds
However, to our surprise he started to say "きれいな!!" which means BEAUTIFUL!!
We were so surprised and pleased by such a lovely response and he then asked for some pictures ♥

Thinking back to this still brings a huge smile to my face!

Old meets new
Sensoji is the oldest Temple in Tokyo, originally constructed in 645 CE
and the Tokyo Sky Tree was completed in 2012!

I think this perfect sums up the atmosphere of Asakusa hehe

Kaminarimon, the main Gateway into the Temple Grounds

Did you ever play Pico on Facebook?
There was an area in that game based on the Kaminarimon gate and the Sensoji Temple grounds haha

After wandering around Sensoji for a while we decided to venture out a little more through the small streets

I distinctly remember there being so many places selling roasted chestnuts and of course lots of souvenirs

Of course we spotted some plastic food outside a restaurant too!

Though after being so ill from the plane I didn't feel like I could eat
I just survive on Gari Gari-kun Ice Lollies to keep hydrated haha

We then discovered the Game Center and spent way too much on Capsule Machines
Can you spy the machine for figurines of Dogs taking a leak??

After this we just returned to our Hotel so we could finally check in

and thankfully it wasn't long before our suitcases arrived via Takkyubin too

I should say, that the hotel we stayed in was called the Via Inn Asakusa
and I honestly can't recommend it enough!
Stupidly I didn't take any pictures of our room but it was sooo spacious, especially for Tokyo!!
We had a view of the Temple too and it just felt so special
I honestly don't think I'd stay anywhere else if I were to return to Tokyo, it was just that good
I should really write up a review on TripAdvisor...

So that's all for Day One and I hope you enjoyed this post!
Plenty more to come and I have literally a box full of goodies that I bought haha

Hey everyone, it's time to get rolling with Day 2!
I realised that I really need to get more active with these posts or they will last forever
and I'm pretty worried about leaving it too late and forgetting any details
So FULL STEAM AHEAD!

Our only plan for the day was to head to Roppongi Hills for the World of Tim Burton exhibit
I'm glad this exhibit was being held as I wanted an excuse to go back to Roppongi hehe
I have some fond memories there and it's where I first met one of my Japanese friends
and also being a fan of Tim Burton's work was a help too

On the way to the station in Asakusa we spotted a Dog Groomers!
It was so cute and as I have 3 dogs which need to be groomed I couldn't help but love it

So off we set and on the way we decided we should eat first
(I think I hadn't actually eaten food at this point since the flight from London to Amsterdam)
and I thought "well it's ok, because there's a conbini in Roppongi Hills, I remember it!"

So we went through the station exit which lead straight in to the towers
But apparently things have changed since 2009 and we got so lost in there

Plus there wasn't a conbini to be found!

But I swear there used to be one, I bought Ice Tea there!!

Whist lost we discovered a resturaunt called Eggcellent which really amused me!
It's just a shame I don't like eggs or we could have eaten there
There was actually a few resturaunts within the Tower

but they all had something "wrong" with them
Myself and Rhi avoid lactose so don't like creamy foods and we also dislike red meat
so picking a place to eat wasn't always easy haha

We eventually found our way outside and even out here felt like it had changed
(I swear the spider was in a new spot!)

But after some more wandering we managed to find a Lawson conbini for food

We came back to Roppongi Hills to eat as there was several benches

and omg, I got this Pepsi from a vending machine and it almost killed me
I took one swig and it gave me the worst chest pains I've ever experienced!!
It still freaks me out when I think back to it, like, what the fuck was that?!

Moving on...

The Tim Burton exhibit was on the 52nd floor of this Tower *gulp*
We managed to get a little bit lost on our way to this too haha

Using the lift to get to the gallery was sooo weird as it's an express to the top
You can feel the gravity pulling down on you and it really messes with your ears

Before entering the exhibit is a giant Bulb Boy!
I still can't tell if he's a sculpture or an inflatable?

and here is a very blurry picture of the entrance

Sadly, photographs weren't allowed inside!
I should have guessed as much but we were only told as we entered
My only beef is that I could have left like all my stuff in a coin locker haha

There was staff inside the exhibit so I didn't want to risk taking any pictures
But the exhibit itself was really good and a lot bigger than we had anticipated too!
I thought it would just be a time line of his Filmogrphy but there was napkin sketches
and the dates were so amazing, he had character designs for recent films all planned in the 70's

There was also these HUGE polaroid films, I can't imagine how big the camera must have been
But they were so beautiful and the colouring was amazing too
If you are in Tokyo or planning to go then the gallery is there until January 4th
You can find more information on the official site here (in Japanese)

I really hope that it will tour, it would be so strange if it didn't!

Since the exhibition was so much bigger than we anticipated

this also meant we were in there a lot longer than we realised!
I don't think we had any firm plans for the rest of this day though so it was ok

We decided to go and check out the Donki store in Roppongi
As this was the first one I ever visited during my trip in 2009 and... memories! Hah
I was a little further down the street than I remembered which worried me

as the street you have to walk down is full of guys trying to get women into their nightclubs
But luckily we were safe as I hadn't worn make up hahaha

In my last post I mentioned briefly about my panic attack on the plane
but I forgot to mention that we had a Japanese woman sat on our row
They offered her the chance to move and of course she took it
But when we were in Donki, I totally saw her! I think she noticed me too

and she kind of ran behind a shelf as soon as we locked eyes
That poor woman, I must have traumatised her!!

After leaving Donki we got some more conbini food before heading back
and it's a good job we got to the station when we did, as we got the last train
Time really flew past this day, we never realised how late it was!

*:--☆--:*:--☆:*:--☆--:*:--☆--:*:--☆--:*:--☆:*:--☆--:*:--☆--:*:--☆--:*:--☆:*

I felt like this post was pretty short, especially in comparison to whats coming up
So I thought I would "pad it out" by showing you what I bought from the Tim Burton exhibit
(all other shopping posts will be separate from their respective days)

This is everything I bought, minus some gifts for my Penpal Chinami!

Uzumaki Karinto Cookies and Burton boobie bollybops
(as re-named by Robin! Haha, I love it)
As soon as I saw there was sweets, I just knew I needed them for my Snack Blog
I hope you will join me there for a review and closer look
I'm really curious to find out more regarding the cookies!

A tiny Jack Skellington plate
It's a rather impractical size for eating so I will use to as a display piece

Post Card prints
Sadly there weren't any full size prints of his work, only post cards and clear files
But I guess that's also a blessing as it made getting them home a lot easier!
Not all the pieces on show were available as a Post Card so I chose my favourite 2 of the bunch

and that's it for Day 2!
The next post will include Moomins and brains, I hope you look forward to it

Hey everyone! I'm back again with some more Tokyo Travels
Despite recognising I need to speed up these posts I still haven't managed to do that

But so long as they get posted at all, that's all that matters right?

Thank you so much for all the comments so far too!
I'm glad to hear you are enjoying these posts
and you are always welcome to ask me for more information about places I visit etc

Today's post starts with a visit to the Tokyo Sky Tree

Despite being the start of November they were all ready to celebrate Christmas!
They even had some jazzy Christmas tunes playing inside the mall
which I should point out is freaking HUGE! I don't think you could see it all in one day

We were immediately side tracked by a shop jam packed full of character goodies
So I spent a hefty amount on Sailor Moon and Shin Chan merch here hehe
But you will see that in some upcoming posts!
We were planning to find the Dr Martens store as Rhi was hunting down some shoes
But on the way we found....

PUNYUS!!!

I had heard of Punyus before leaving for Japan

It's a brand created by comedian Naomi Watanabe (as seen above!)
They have great designs and cater for larger sizes too which is amazing

and I was super happy to know I could fit my chubby booty into at least some clothes haha

Inside we got talking to a lovely member of staff who was impressed with my

knowledge of the brand despite being a foreigner hehe

We spoke in some broken Japan-glish about our favourite foods too haha

The art work at the pay area was so cool

I bought the same jumper as worn by our shop staff friend

and she said that made her really happy! Awww, my heart melts hehe
I did take a picture with her but I look too fugly so I won't post it online haha

I just want to live in Asakusa, work in Punyus and be her best friend please!!
I can feel a Punyus obsession brewing deep within my soul
After Punyus we wandered around a little more and accidentally found a Disney Store
So I was able to buy 2 Tsum Tsum plushies for Abi-pop to complete here pyramid of cute!
You can see her blog post about those here♪

Before we knew it, it was time to get some noms
and so we made a point of tracking down the Moomin Cafe!

It took us a while to figure out where it was but we got there in the end haha
Incase it helps anyone, it's on 1F just underneath the JR Train platforms
but you will be better off finding it on a map and don't forget in Japan 1F = Ground Floor lol

We were a little worried as the cafe is really small and there was a queue forming
But it didn't take long to wait at all and in the mean time a waitress brought us a Moomin friend!
She also brought us a menu so we could have our order ready to go before entering

Inside, our Moomin friend with the cutlery
I want one of those spoons sooooo badly!!
I don't remember if they were for sale in the little shop

and if they were I will curse myself forever for not buying one!!

Above our table was a Moomin wreath!
The cafe is just so adorable with Moomins hidden everywhere
It has such a lovely atmosphere and everyone eating there was brimming with smiles

We were given a Hattifattener hat to play with!
In Japanese they are called Nyoro-nyoro, which I think sounds cuter hehe

Rhi with her snazzy new hat!

We chose the special rice sets!
With these you got to choose a character design so I went for the Nyoro-nyoro ♪

and Rhi chose the Moomin!

I'm still not even sure what the heck our food was, all the menus I find online are too small to read

But whatever it was, IT WAS SO GOOD!
The soup I know was Pumpkin as she had told us before we entered
Sadly it was just too creamy for us to handle so we couldn't eat that
and the pasta was Moomin shaped too, all very cute!

These sets were ¥1,150 each, which is under £7!
I can't remember if this included a drink, but still great value

Though I was given the impression that we weren't "allowed" to order more lol
I think it's because our order was taken outside, so we didn't have a menu once inside
and so it made me feel like that was out order complete hah
I might have been tempted to get a souvenir dessert as it comes with a collectible cup

Whilst eating we were joined by a friend!

After this we needed to get our butts to Shibuya, so we returned to the Hotel
and after getting ready we made out way out, forgetting that Shibuya is at the other end of the train line

and that it takes us around 40 mins to get there, agh!
So we were a little late

and I just realised I haven't said what we were running late for!
We we're meeting up with some online friends Alanna and Siobhan (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧

As we left the station we could hear this band playing and they were so good

They had a really old Rock n Roll style and a female drummer! Woohoo!
I used to play drums in High School so I love a good lady drummer haha

Meeting Alanna and Siobhan was so strange, it's like "woah, you're actually real!!"
and also super strange to meet people you know from the UK in a country that's so far away haha

We had decided before my arrival in Japan that we would go to The Lock Up
A horror/prison themed restaurant based in a dungeon!
When we entered, our Police Lady asked who had been bad and we voted for Rhi
when asked what was her crime Rhi said "everything!" hahaha
and we were led to our booth inside a little cave and told to be wary of the monsters!

Fried potato goodness in a pretty cool bag!

Our cocktails, which I'm pretty sure had a weird name translating to "ejaculation"
They came with a syringe of Sambuca and an iced brain!
I was caught up in the fun of the syringe that I poured it all in before realising I hated Samcuba haha

As for the sushi... that's no ordinary sushi, that's Russian Roulette sushi!!
One piece was loaded with pretty much ALL THE WASABI
and guess who lost? *welp*
I don't like sushi much anyway and I hate wasabi, then to top it off I only had Sambuca to wash it down!

Oh my days, just my luck!! Haha

We ordered some fried chicken too that was black!
It was pretty amazing to look at and it tasted pretty decent too, I vote goth chicken for all

We also had some Mapo-tofu which was served in a bowl straight from the depths of hell!
This was so nice but it had some weird seeds in there with a really strong and unpleasant flavour
So we started to make sure we picked those out!

We had a few scares too! Monsters began to break out!
All the lights went down and we were visited by a few escapee's who shot us with their toy guns

Luckily we were soon saved by the sexy police ladies, woohoo! ♥

We thought it would be funny to try and scare the people in our neighbouring booth
So during the monster hype I threw a little ball of paper at them, but they just seemed pissed off
Oooops!!

I also remember at one point a young girl walked past our booth and took a picture of us

I guess she was impressed to see a booth of white girls? Haha
A guy also accidentally followed me in to the toilet
I turned around once inside and looked at him and he just sort of looked confused and shrugged
Then he went into the cubicle and did his business... when in Rome I guess? Hahaha

Siobhan's glow in the dark drink and funky top!

More black chicken, a giant omurice and some Russian Roulette Gyoza!
Though we don't think anyone got the "bad" gyoza, no one seemed to think it was gross anyway haha

I'm really not sure why some people think The Lock Up is a crappy place
I think that so long as you are willing to have fun with the experience it's a great place to go!
I had so much fun and I don't think we stopped laughing the whole time we were there

We were inside for much longer than we though, we were considering where else to go

But realised we didn't have much longer before the trains finished so we settled for some Purikura!

After this we headed back to the Station, where we saw a lot of drunk people lying on the floor haha

We said our goodbye's and I will always remember that Siobhan said to me
"You have lived up to your Internet reputation of being fun!"
I never knew I had such a reputation haha, but it made me smile and feel awesome hehe ♥

So we headed up to our platform and noticed that our train only seemed to be going as far as Ueno
It was also really full, so we were going to wait for another but thought since it was stopping

we should head to the other train line that went to the Sky Tree and go there
But when we got there, the last train had left!!
And by this time, we wouldn't make the last Ueno train either... Ohhh shit!

They say when you miss the last train in Japan you have 2 options
You either stay in a Capsule Hotel or you rent a Karaoke booth
However we opted for the 3rd option... a dreaded taxi!

Taxi's in Japan are expensive and that's why people would rather risk sleeping in a Karaoke booth haha

But we took the plunge and gosh, I think it cost us around ¥7,000 or ¥8,000 (£40ish)

So if you are ever staying in Asakusa and visiting Shibuya at night
DO NOT MISS YOUR LAST TRAIN HOME!!

If you feel like you haven't seen enough of Shibuya in this post then have no fear
We will return there in the next post, I hope you will look forward to it ♪

and yes, we did go to the Sky Tree and not have time to actually go up the tower lol!

Hello again, I'm back with another late Tokyo post!
Since the last entry I've been hit with a horrible cold and our house was broken in to
So I haven't really been able to clear my brain of goop and sit down to blog

I'm getting really worried I might start forgetting details, so I will try pick up the pace
But I am still sick AND I'm moving out soon
So everything is against me haha (*´д｀*)～З

But here we go for a day in Shibuya!

Naturally our day had to start with a little visit to Hachiko!
As a dog lover he will always have a special place in my heart ♥
I can't even watch the Futurama episode based around him without bursting into tears

Shibuya Scramble
This area might look familiar as it's often featured in things to do with Tokyo
It has a lot of zebra crossings in all directions too, it can be pretty scary
But so long as you just walk with the flow of pedestrian traffic you're usually safe hah

Being in the Scramble always makes me get a real Tokyo feeling!

There was a big advertisement screen that was promoting a "Best of" CD for Nakashima Mika
and it was playing the songs she performed for the Nana soundtrack
It was so nice to hear them blasting over the Scramble and I heard people singing along too!

So we spent the day pretty much just shopping haha
Firstly we made a trek to find the Galaxxxy store as there was a T-shirt I wanted to buy
When I was there the staff really liked the top I was wearing by MILKBBI!
I think their styles are so similar and they should totally collaborate some day

Then naturally we headed off to the mecca that is Shibuya 109!
I went on the top floor for the first time too hah, I somehow missed it in the past
I remember seeing a gaijin guy sat on a bench there playing a 3DS too lol, Nintendo memories

Being in 109 was so weird this time though
When I went to Japan in 2009 I was fairly slim and this time I was +4 stone of that weight
and boy, the shop staff sure let me know that I wasn't their "target client"
In one store the staff pretty much pushed me out the way so she could show some clothes to Rhi
It made me feel pretty crappy and I shouldn't dwell on it but I can't help it really
I did my best to just live vicariously through Rhi and all the clothes she could buy hehe
She did buy the cutest crop jumper ever, which I think was from one*spo
and when she was trying it on I collared another gaijin because she had an amazing Hordor guy top haha

After a lot of shopping we started to get really hungry
and we ended up missing out BF2 of 109 and later realised this is where Punyus is

As well as some other shops I think we would have liked, so, derp!

We headed out and were feeling a little bit lost as to where we could eat
There's a lot of cafes and "to go" food places in Shibuya but we wanted to sit down
As we wandered we noticed a little Peko Chan Cafe and thought we couldn't go wrong there

I had some omurice and ebi fry ♥
I just realised I had fries too! They don't seem too common a side dish compared to England haha

I'm craving some omurice so bad right now

After food we decided to just have a wander around, following all the neon lights like moths!
I think we started to go towards Love Hotel Hill though, the ads started to get a little seedy
I'm pretty sure that place offers more than hair extensions...

We also spotted some Gyaru in the wild!!
I tried to speak to the girl wearing Zebra in some broken ass Japanese but she didn't seem interested
I asked her if they were the Gyaru-sa Black Diamond and she kind of just nodded
So maybe they were? I'm not familiar with the members enough to fully recognise them hah

Shibuya Scramble all lit up at night time!
There was a lot of Android adverts around, but I felt like most people had iPhones
I can't help but feel like Android is becoming more of a character in Japan and less of a product

After missing the train last time we gave ourselves plenty of time to get back

But not before stopping at Krispy Kreme...

All those beautiful Japan only flavours ♥

I totally had to try the Green Tea and White Chocolate donut!
It was sooo cakey and it took me forever to eat it, but it was so delicious
I would do horrible things to go back to Japan for another one of these hahaha

Back in Asakusa our train took us to a different exit than usual so we got to see the Golden Poop

We just took it easy this night, had a little wander around and just got some combini food

I wanted to take a cool pictures of awesome combini food
But somehow I took a picture of salad and eggs? What?

Oden looks so good! I just had no idea how to buy it
Did I get to try Oden? Stay tuned to the blog and find out haha

At some point in the day we took Purikura ♥
We also took some with AMAZING derp faces, but those memories are just for us hehe

So another day down and in the next post we will be meeting robots and eating bears

(ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧ See you next time!

Hello everyone!
Check me out with my kind of fast posting

I totally didn't schedule this *ahem*

Today we will be heading to the Otaku Mecca that is AKIHABARA!
Akiba is surprisingly close to Asakusa, only 10 minutes or so on the train
It's so weird to have somewhere so modern close to somewhere so quiet

There was a huge queue in the station to meet this Dragon character
I think he's from an App Game, I'm sure I found it but I already forgot haha

In the station I remember seeing a gaijin family with young children
They were carrying various household supplies including a new rice cooker
I felt a weird spring of happiness when I saw this family, I was so envious of their new life
I hope they will enjoy their time living in Japan! ﾟ(｡ﾉωヽ｡)ﾟ｡━━ｫ!!

I'm pretty sure we got a little bit lost inside the station and it took us a while to find a way out
Larger stations also contain malls and such so it's easy to get lost
But I find Akihabara is a difficult place to navigate too!

We bumped into a robot! His name is Pepper~
He seemed a little confused by our foreign faces and language haha
But the fact that he could actually display confusion was also so impressive!

We eventually found our way out of the station and into the city

We spotted a Gundam Cafe!
I'd have loved to have eaten here but it was closed for a private event
I used to watch Gundam Wing when I was like 15, I really should re-watch it some time!

A Gundam outside the cafe, he had a "do not touch" sign
and I didn't really want to risk him coming to life and shooting me if I touched him!

Next door was an AKB48 Cafe!
Whilst I know the group I'm not really a fan, but their food was adorable
If I remember correctly there was some kind of covert entrance to this place
I guess it's so guys can enter without being noticed haha, ohhh otaku!

Stepping out into Akihabara!
There's so many bright posters everywhere, it's really easy to get confused

Speaking of which, I was confused
I always thought that on the weekends the roads were closed, but they were running normally

Had the cars been off the street, it might have been easier to get around~

I spotted a Super Sonico poster~
The shop beneath her was pretty amazing
It was full of second hand otaku items like figures and duplicate capsule machine toys
There was so much to look at, it seems like a fun shop you could check daily and not see the same stock

The way to buy in there was a little strange
First you needed a little form to fill out, you go around the cabinets and mark the numbers/prices

Then you take it to the till where a member of staff takes your form
I thought they would go around alone to get the items, but you go with them

You tootle around and confirm your items, and you gotta hope no one else has picked it before you!
Then they take everything back to the till for you and you pay!

So if you ever visit this store and are a little confused, I hope that description can help you ♥

GAMERS!
So I kind of learnt about Akihabara thanks to Gamers and the characters below the sign
They are the stores mascots and were originally part of a 4 Panel Comic for the stores adverts
But they eventually got their own series called Di Gi Charat
When I was a teen I once found a Di Gi Charat notepad for sale in Leeds and voila, an otaku was born!

Super cute and huge figure inside Gamers
I've literally just realised the name of her franchise is in the back ground (Show by Rock!!)
Turns out she is from a Sanrio endorsed rhythm game for phones
and next year the series will have it's anime debut... I think I might watch this!

In Gamers we discovered a new and super fun hobby!
Browse pornography sections and freak out Japanese otaku men haha
It's so funny when they come around the corner and are greeted by two gaijin girls
Oh the fear we must has caused in their hearts
But to be fair I don't care if a guy wants to buy anime porn
If I had a boyfriend who wanted to go porn shopping in Akiba I'd be like "Hell yeah let's go!!"
So I do feel bad for embarrassing those guys, but it was still super funny to see their reactions

After much fun in Gamers and geeky shopping we needed food

and where else do you eat in Akihabara but a Maid Cafe?!

Luckily we were very close to a Mai Dreamin' Cafe so it wasn't hard to find one
As we entered there was a performance going on and I think it scared Rhi a little bit haha
It was all just super moe and I could see she was uncomfortable
So I was sure to let her know it's not like this constantly and it wasn't long before it returned to normal

Sadly you're not supposed to take pictures inside of Maid Cafe's so I can't show you inside
Even the maid outside had a little sign asking people not to take her photograph

You are allowed to photograph your food though!

We ordered a Kuma Kare! So freaking cute, it felt mean to eat him
The maid asked what we would like written on our food so I went cliche with "LOVE" hehe ♥
We also had Melon Soda and the memories of it's sweet green goodness make me want to cry

Pricing is so weird in Maid Cafe's, you have to pay a service charge and you must place a food order
But you also get to have an infamous Maid Cafe Polaroid!

I Kumatan'ed my face because I looked like a train wreck hahaha

Even the payment tray was freaking adorable ♥
I think it's supposed to be a mouse but it looks like the Pokemon Marill

This day seemed so short! It was night time before we knew it
Even though Japan doesn't have Daylight Savings, it still got dark pretty quickly

We decided to go and find a department store, it was one I'd seen before
It was an 8 floor department store entirely for Porn and Adult Goods haha
It was surprisingly busy too! I couldn't tell if people were shopping seriously

or in there for the lol's like myself and Rhi haha

Afterwards we ended up in Atre, a more normal department store haha
I wasn't too interested in going inside to be honest but I'm glad we did because...

There was a little Attack on Titan event being held inside!!
I bought a few goodies and as I was picking stuff up one of the staff members approached me
She was talking about a game and I thought she meant the new 3DS game coming out
But what she meant was some of the items I picked were not for sale, they were game prizes

So of course I tried my luck at the game, it was a ball throwing game so I didn't think I'd win
But I managed to get a ball in the slot for a top prize!! Omg yay! ♥
I will show you the prizes I chose in a special post full of the Attack on Titan goodies I bought

This event was actually on tour around some other malls
and it seemed like a hologram/vocaloid of Mikasa would be there at the final event!

After Akiba we returned to Asakusa and decided to have a little night time wander
Even though it was a Saturday night the area was still pretty quiet

My camera isn't the best in the dark but I love the buildings hidden around Asakusa
Near here we also saw a woman wearing a beautiful Kimono
I asked if I could take a photo but declined and said she was very tired
I thanked her anyway and told her to have a goodnight ♥
I didn't want to be a douche and take her photo without permission
and I especially didn't want to be a bigger douche and do it after she said no haha

Panda Mail! ♥

Sensoji at night ♥
I believe we took a lot of our change with us this night
It was rather funny as people approached the offerings box, there would be a clink from a single coin
Then I go up and pour in a hand full of coins haha
I'm terrible at using small change in my own country so using it elsewhere is crazy difficult

There was a few drunk people hanging around here haha
They were being a little loud and rowdy but still not causing any problems

They all just seemed pretty jolly and happy to be hanging around a famous landmark

We went for a little wander down the road to look for a 100 yen shop
But I guess it' not there anymore, or maybe it was closed, as we didn't manage to find it

We did however find the Golden Cow!
I saw this place when I visited in 2009, it was so nice to see him again hehe

I think we went to bed a little early for a change as we were heading to Harajuku the next day!

Hello again and welcome to another Japan post!
I hope you are all still enjoying these, I'm worried I've somehow made Japan boring
I think part of that is from not posting the things I bought
But I wanted to put all those in their own posts
and trust me there is a LOT of those to come!

For now, let's go to Harajuku (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧

When you're travelling to Harajuku from Asakusa you need to change trains in Omotesando
However, it's much easier to just get off in Omotesando and walk down the street into Harajuku!

The street is a little longer than I remembered it being though haha
But it's worth while to have a look at all the expensive designer shops and the interesting people

So what's that building above?
Well that is now known to my friends as "Sami's house" haha
I have no clue if it is actually an important building
To me it looks like a house and if I won the lottery I would buy that place and live there
I love how it's just in the middle of a street full of designer stores, it's Tokyo to a Tee!

Today we were meeting up with one of Rhi's good friends Ayumi and her friend Junko!
Harajuku was a little busy which was total culture shock to us because it was a Sunday

In England everything is closed and super quiet on a Sunday haha

The infamous balloon art at the top of Takeshita Dori
I was pretty bummed when I realised these were plastic and not actual balloons
I mean it makes sense, but I feel as though my life has been a lie haha

Down Takeshita we visited various cool shops
and I spent way too long inside Pet Paradise buying gifts for my dogs
When I was in there two old ladies approached Rhi and said they thought she was Lady Gaga haha

I was able to visit one of (if not the) last remaining W♥C store
If you've followed me for a while you will remember my loyalty to this brand
Sadly the brand is no more, and whilst this store bears it's name, there was no W♥C inside

W♥C actually opened a month after my visit to Japan in 2009 and closed before this visit
So it's really a shame I never got to visit a store, especially in the height of my obsession

We did a lot of wandering around this day, Ayumi was able to take us around other parts

With lots of Used Good/Vintage stores, areas you might miss when being a tourist!

I swear this was outside the Nadia store?? I can't remember
But I was very amused!

There needs to be a job for Japanese stores for someone to double check their English

There was always funny mistakes but a whole store called "Womb" just took the biscuit haha

Junko, Ayumi and Rhi ♥

Sometimes the stores in Harajuku reminded me a little bit of Camden in London

We found a bunch of J-rock clothing stores too, stuff from our teen days heh
Inside H.Naoto there was a guy shopping with his mum

He was head to toe in their clothing and all the staff seemed to know him well
I think it was the first time his mum had gone there with him and she was so funny
She was just all "Oh I don't understand, all of this I don't understand"
Even if she didn't understand the Gothic styles her son enjoyed
I really liked that she still went shopping with him, I'm sure it meant a lot to him!

Just because she doesn't understand, doesn't mean she can't accept ♥

After a while we were all pretty hungry so Ayumi led the way to a Ramen place

It was just a small place tucked away in the side of a building
But they were playing non-stop Kyary Pamyu Pamyu so of course I loved it!!

My ramen, mmmmm
It was so freaking good! I want it again please!

After food we headed down to KiddyLand and then into La Foret to find Swimmer ♥

A Vivienne Westwood store has recently opened in La Foret too

After this, I was just sooo tired
We had planned to go to Ikebukuro, but I just didn't feel like I could do it
This whole week of constant walking was really starting to take it's toll on me

So with a heavy heart I decided to let the girls continue their day and I went back to the Hotel

I went back to the station in Omotesando so had to walk all the way back there

It took me quite a while because I kept taking little breaks to rest haha, my poor legs!

I fell asleep on the train actually haha, luckily Asakusa is the end of the line so I couldn't miss my stop

On the way I was like "hmmm, I might get a McDonalds" and that turned to "Yes, I will get a McDonalds!"
So I went to get a Teriyaki burger, aww yeahhh

Back in the hotel I decided a bath would be a good idea so I could rest and massage my legs

and luckily I had some Levi Bath Salts too!

I spent the evening just doing my best to relax whilst watching Sumo and packing my case

This was our last day in Tokyo so we needed to be prepared

A little peek at the cuteness I bought ♥

Rhi returned home later that night, I was worried she might miss the train!

The girls all went to Ikebukuro as planned and they visited the Namco Namja Town

I was so sad I couldn't go because there was an Attack on Titan event there
But Rhi and Ayumi bought me a gift...

It's a gyoza and... pastry? It's supposed to be in the shape of Levi's cravat haha

It was so odd but very unique and I'm thankful they bought me something from the event

Whilst we were in Japan it was going to be Rhi's birthday

So Ayumi had planned a surprise for us this day too and I felt like such a tool for not going

As she had booked us a table in the Alice in Wonderland restaurant!
I will live forever in regret for going back to the hotel that night but my legs were super dead

and I was really worried I would ruin the fun by being a burden, urp

So, as I mentioned this was our last full day in Tokyo
But there's still a little more left to come before we take the Bullet Train to Osaka~

Merry Christmas Eve my lovelies!
I'm sure you're all super busy with important Christmas things
But I hope you don't mind my intrusion with a Japan Post

This is our last Tokyo post before we shoot off to Osaka
We spent the day in Asakusa, mostly exploring Kappabashi Street ♥

I'm not entirely sure what this dog house is saying but I thought it was cute
I can see it has something to do with trash and flowers?

As you head towards Kappabashi there is an increase of Kappa!
I wonder that made some of these foods Kappa themed? We're they made with Kappa?!

Well probably not since Kappa are sadly not real...

Hey there sexy Kappa!

We went looking for a temple and stumbled upon a graveyard

I actually took a lot of photo's here but I didn't want to post too many on the blog

I'm really sorry if you're sensitive to things like this but the place was really beautiful ♥

Some of the graves were really old but they didn't look a day older than the new plots

They are cared for extremely well and it shows

Inside the graveyard we were so lost in our own little world

It's so easy to forget that you're in Tokyo when you visit places like this

Opposite the Temple grounds was a really old style street

I was absolutely in LOVE with this place ♥

As much as I love Tokyo and modern Japan, I have such a soft spot for older architecture

Another way to know you're on Kappabashi is by the giant Chef Head!
This area is full of restaurant supply stores and its famous for making the plastic food displays

We managed to find some of the stores selling them too, they are so amazing
But I'm sorry to break the news that photo's were not allowed inside

Had they not been so expensive and heavy I would have bought sooo much!

The most artistic picture I took of the whole trip was of this damn cookie cutter and I didn't even buy it!!

We thought today would be a good day to visit the Sky Tree

However, the damn thing is closed on a Monday!! Agh
So we ultimately never got to go up the Tower, such a shame

With not much else to do and a few pieces of hand luggage (we sent the cases via Takkyubin)
We decided to get some food and then head off to the Bullet Train

We stopped by a small Vending Machine Cafe

In these places you use a vending machine to place your order and then it dispenses tickets
You take your tickets to the counter and this is how your food is ordered!
I got a Kare because NOM and also some Inari ♥

Then we said our good byes to Asakusa and headed to Tokyo Station

We were a little worried about buying our Bullet Train tickets

I'd read about it online and Ayumi showed Rhi how to do it on a ticket machine

But when we tried the price didn't seem right, so we risked a ticket desk

and it really wasn't as scary as we thought it might have been
The staff were really helpful and understood us completely, so don't be scared to ask them!

Here is our ticket!
I was sure to take a picture since a machine nommed it at the other end

Our tickets were unreserved, which was another potentially scary thing
But since we were getting on the Train at the start of it's journey we could easily choose our seats

If you were getting on mid-journey you might struggle to find a place to sit

I should also say that whilst the foot area within the seats is spacious
It really would have seen uncomfortable to travel with our suitcases

and there is little to no room for storing luggage on these trains, which makes ZERO sense!
So it's really useful to send your stuff to your next hotel via Takkyubin
We simply asked our Hotel desk if we could send the bags, then we gave them an address

They filled out all the forms for us and we simply paid and were on our way!

If you ever need some advice about using the Bullet Train there is a lot out there

But I am happy to help you if I can ♥

Well since it's Christmas and all I will have a small break from the Japan posts
I've festivities and packing for my new flat to be getting on with!
So expect Osaka posts in the New Year when things are a little bit more settled

HAVE A MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!
*cricket chirps*

Ok, so we're 5 days in to 2015 now and people aren't really celebrating anymore

But the New Year, particularly New Years Eve is quite a triggering holiday for me
It brings back a lot of bad memories and sadly let's my depression get the better of me
So it's taken me a few days to finally get in the spirit and appreciate the New Year

2014 was a huge year for me, but weirdly a very slow year for blogging
I only wrote 37 posts here, I used to write almost 3 times that amount! (゜o゜)
I guess I just haven't had much to share on this blog as I've used a lot of time recovering
Late 2013 I was diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome, putting me on the Autistic Spectrum
So I've had a lot of learning to do and it's hard to teach an old dog new tricks haha

I've also started a bunch of side projects as I didn't feel these would be suited here
Whilst I still don't think this blog has a particular theme, I do still worry about what you want to see
So I took my ventures into Japanese Snacks and a rekindled love of Nintendo Gaming elsewhere

and I'm glad that some of you followed me over there too, thank you!

Highlights of 2014 definitely have to be working with Nintendo for the Tomodachi Life release
and of course going to Japan, that was just such a HUGE achievement for me in so many ways
I've applied to return to University and I'm moving out into my own place very soon
So once I'm set up in my new place, I can give you a tour there etc
and I will also begin my Osaka Adventure posts! There's still plenty of Japan left to show

Until then I want to just thank you all for sticking by me and here's to another year! ~(●´┏ε┓｀●)

Hello and welcome to the first of my Osaka posts!
We mostly spent this day travelling from Tokyo on the Bullet Train

I know I mentioned a little in my last post, but the Bullet Train (Shinkansen) is so lovely
It's a really big and clean train (well, all of Japans trains are clean) and it runs so smoothly

You feel like you're floating the entire way there haha
We took the Nozomi train which is the fastest of all the lines and costs a little bit more

You can pay less, but your train can take a very long time with a lot of stops

Though we didn't seem to spot Mount Fuji on our journey
There wasn't any announcements to sat we were passing by, so maybe our train was too fast?

Here is the front of our train

I had to do a funny run down the platform to get this picture, I was worried it would speed away!

Our only plans for the rest of the day was to get to the hotel
It was really nerve-wracking as I'd never been to Osaka before and we had a new Subway to learn

Even in the Station, there was a stand to sell Takoyaki haha

My memory of this day isn't too strong as we didn't do much in Osaka
We had spent most of the day exploring Asakusa in Tokyo before we travelled hehe
Literally all we had to do was find our Hotel, but thankfully it was next door to our local station

Like, literally next door...

The arrows are pointing to the Station Exit and the Hotel Entrance hahaha

This was really useful!

Sadly though, this Hotel wasn't as nice as the one we had in Tokyo
It upset me more than it should and I spent the night online trying to see if we could move haha

I'm having flashbacks of the terrible pillows too, they were literally filled with beans
They were sooo uncomfortable and made my arm numb?! It was so weird

Since we were hungry we decided to look around the area and find somewhere to eat!

We came across this place, which intimidated us at first as it was just a small independent place
But we had no problems ordering and the staff were super nice too
and even though we were sat next to a group of drunken Salary Men, they didn't pester us hah

We ordered Okonomiyaki and some Gyoza too
Thankfully we didn't have to cook the Okonomoyaki ourselves *phew*

I really loved this place and we stayed for quite some time just because the atmosphere was so lovely
It's such a shame that we never found it again after this night
We're convinced that it was a Room of Requirement!

So that's all for our first evening in Osaka
I'm still worried that I am making Japan seem boring haha
But there's still more to come!

Hello! Welcome back to the Japan posts
They're going to be coming at you daily to reduce my blog backlog
I hope this is ok and that you continue to enjoy these posts

Spotted in Lawson: Kyubey meat buns
Kyubey is the mascot for the Madoka Magica series and looks scary in bun form

Our plan for today was to visit the Pokemon Center!
We didn't visit one in Tokyo as at the time there wasn't really any central stores
(There is now a store in Ikebukuro which is easier to access)

Though the one we intended to visit should have been easy to find
I did a mega derp and lead us out of the wrong Station Exit
So we ended up a bit lost and was approached by a drunk Chinese man
I don't even know if he was trying to help, he seemed just as lost as us haha

But we did eventually find it, and it was inside a giant mall too
We always forgot, that when in Japan you need to be looking upwards!

Being lost had made us hungry so first we stopped off at the Malls food floor

There was a lot of places to choose from but we settled on a Korean place
(which I can't seem to find on their website anymore, maybe it's gone??)

In the past year I've really developed a taste for Kimchi but never really tried Korean food
I trusted Rhi in her recommendation for Bibimbap and it was SO GOOD
Oh man, I really want some now... and some Kimchi!
I think this was one of my favourite meals of the trip ♥

Bellies full, it was time to locate the floor with the Pokemon Center
and make all our childhood dreams come true!

At the time Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire were 10 days from release
The posters to the right showed poll results of people's favourite new Mega Evolution

as well as which game they were going to buy and which starter they would choose

Now, you can't really take pictures inside the Center and I do my best to oblige by these rules
I was also too busy spending ALL THE MONEY to remember to take pictures
But if you're a Pokemon fan you really do need to visit a Pokemon Center in Japan

I remember when we were inside, there was 2 other foreign guys in there
and they gave me a look I was all too familiar with, that judgemental"fake gamer girl" stare
I felt like whipping out my 3DS' and challenging them to a battle right there! Jerks!
I honestly do not feel bad for choosing Pokemon based on their cuteness lol

Here's a sneaky picture I took of the Center after I paid for my goodies
I guessed that after I'd spent between ¥10,000 and ¥15,000 in there they wouldn't mind one sneaky snap
The guy who served me was super cute, he double checked everything with me
Like the cases I bought, he made sure to double check I'd picked up the right size/device style

In front of the lifts here was a small waiting area and it was full of people sat down playing Pokemon
I felt like I had found my people haha, it was amazing!

We had to board here for the novelty!
I was surprised we hadn't seen these more in Tokyo actually
We kept joking that I would have to ring Rhi's mum one night

and explain that she had been arrested for being a train pervert haha

I don't know if I mentioned the trains in Tokyo, we had our picture taken a few times
Peoples methods were quite hilarious but sometimes so obvious!

Our evening plans were simply to explore our local area
I had to take a quick rest stop at the hotel to drop off my Pokemon haul
and also catch my breath a little bit, I think I had a mild panic attack but luckily I was ok

On our way to Dotonbori we saw this cutie pie ♥
She was just walking freely behind her owner but stopped for a picture haha

A lot of dogs tend to be well behaved in Japan and aren't often on leads, which scares me a little
Especially when they're in the cities, I'd be so scared of them near traffic!

Dotonbori!
I always knew of this place in Osaka and it's various other famous sights within
But for some reason I never knew what it was called haha, oops
It's full of shops, arcades and of course lot's of food stalls for Osaka Street Food

One of the three famous Kinryu Ramen shops
These are really popular and were always fulls
But we didn't see the "big deal" as their ramen looked so ordinary
Perhaps it needed to be tasted to be believed?

I loves this giant Octopus holding a piece of Takoyaki, so cannibalistic haha
I never knew until today that this place has a workshop where you can make fake food!
They show you how to make a piece of souvenir Takoyaki, I wish I had known

Kani Doraku is a restaurant with a famous mechanical crab billboard
My picture does no justice to it's size, this thing was HUGE!
There are a couple of imitation crabs but this is the original and his eyes were so funny to watch

I took this picture without even realising the building was in fact a Donki store
I think I even asked on Twitter where the local Donki was and it was here all along!

We continued our journey of the area and ended up in Amerika-mura
There was lots of hip hop inspired stores around here and we felt a little out of place haha

But there was also some great second hand stores full of Jeffrey Campbell

and we even found on purely for rock and lolita brand items
There was also this old school Punk guy, we're not sure if he followed us for a while

perhaps he felt out of place in this "ghetto" place too haha

On the way back we passed through Shinsaibashi and spotted Prisila wigs
I had been trying to remember the name of this place for so long, so I'm glad Rhi spotted it

and she treated herself to a new wig
The staff there were so lovely and they had cards with translations on them which really helped
So if either of us were stuck in a language barrier we could just point to the sentence we needed hehe

I remember the staff there also didn't realise Rhi was already wearing a wig!
They thought it was her natural hair and was surprised when she took it off
I think that's really complimentary, when someone who works with wigs thinks your hair looks real!

The staff also asked me if I was cold because I just had a T-shirt on and it was November
But I am a human radiator haha

The famous Glico man was all lit up!!
The bridge becomes really crowded at night time as people want to take his picture
It's also full of host's and hostess looking for customers
I saw one woman approach a man and ask "You like fun?"
At least I hope that was the F-word she used haha

Dotonbori is so pretty at night time
But it also gets really busy too, for some reason it's a magnet for Chinese visitors
They come here to do Tax Free shopping it seems
Which didn't make sense to use because we always thought China was cheaper?

Ok, so this picture has a story haha

We were just having a sit down and people watching

Then I saw a foreign woman who was wearing rock/punk style clothing
She gave me a little "hello fellow foreign person" nod and smile

and then I saw her boyfriend stopping to take a picture of the Dotonbori street view above our heads
That's when I realised he was the lead singer of the band Trivium!

It was so surreal to just bump into him in the middle of Osaka of all places in the world haha

We weren't sure if it was definitely him at first but remembered the band was in Japan

for a concert with some other Metal bands, and he has such a unique face too
(later checks confirmed, it was him)
and so this picture is the piece of pavement on which we saw some guys from Trivium hahaha

We were sat near a food place and had considered going in but a queue started to form outside

and it wasn't moving too quickly, so we decided to go on a wander to find somewhere else

We accidentally ended up in a seedy Host district

and we feel like Infeccion is not the best name to call your club of sexy men...

There was also a strange man who could tell we were a little bit lost

and he offered us a ride on his bicycle, which had an extra seat made out of foil hahaha
I totally thought it was some kind of portable grill he had

We eventually found somewhere to eat and promptly shit our pants at the tradition menu
The guy took us outside to a simpler menu for us to order, I'm pretty sure we had gyoza

and that's all for our first day in Osaka!
See you next time for a trip to Koyasan for Rhi's birthday~

Hello and welcome back to Japan!
This was a very special day as it was Rhi's birthday
We decided to make sure it was special with a trip to Koyasan

Koyasan is the centre site for Buddhism in Japan (and the world?)
Rhi is a very spiritual person and loves a good temple so it seemed perfect
If you're curious about the history of Koyasan please check out Japan Guide

Our tickets for the day, the trip seemed quite daunting really

Especially since Namba is quite large and we weren't sure where we needed to be
But we eventually found a tourism desk and she helped point us in the right direction

The first part of our journey was by train from Namba to Hashimoto

Beautiful buildings near the station in Hashimoto

We had to wait here for a little while but it was so pretty, we didn't mind
Though we did almost get on the wrong train, luckily the guard noticed our tickets

and he knew we needed the next train, or else who knows where we would have gone

We were soon on our way from Hashimoto to our next stop in Gokurakubashi

In Gokurakubashi there was this beautiful view, I was in awe

and I am pretty proud of my photo hehe

In Gokurakubashi you need to take a very steep Cable Car up the mountain to Koyasan

I remember at one point seeing a sign that said we were currently at the height of Tokyo Sky Tree
A lot of peoples ears were popping from the height, but I seem to handle it well for some reason
I guess it's because my home town has a lot of hills?

Koyasan!
The station here was undergoing renovations
Next year the site is 1,200 years old and they're expecting a lot of new tourism
I can imagine it's going to be super busy, especially since the birthday is during Sakura season

Since our tickets included unlimited buss access we decided to hop on one

We thought it would be best to go as far as we could and simply walk our way back towards the station

You can go further up the mountain, but you need to either drive yourself or hike

and we didn't have the equipment for either of these options!

There was beauty and nature everywhere, we saw quite a few insects too

It was so relaxing and peaceful

Around the site are several stones that differ in design and feature Haiku
I'd love to go back someday when my Japanese is better and try to read these

Within Koyasan are a lot of special hotels where you can stay with the Monks!
We kept wandering in to their grounds, it wasn't always clear what was lodging or a temple, oops

I nearly lost my footing and fell in to this, I would have hated myself for ever if I had!!

One of the very many temples
Near here was also a little store run by Monks where we purchased some Omamori amulets
In their store was another Monk practicing calligraphy, whilst I was purchasing, Rhi was watching him
and they noticed her watching and being super intrigued and I heard them giggling and saying "kawaii"
Rhi was so engrossed in the calligraphy that she didn't even notice haha, it was so cute!!

Another small, Pagoda style temple
At the base you can see some handles, these actually turn around the structure
We're not sure why or what it does, but saw a tour group taking part in the turning

It would have been nice to visit here as a tour group but it would probably be expensive

and I think they might only offer it if you are staying the night with the Monks

I whole heatedly believe that this is where Totoro lives

Offerings at a tree stump
This former grand tree was used in the initial building of the site

There was a few stories about the founding of the site
I remember seeing one by another tree
The story goes that the founder was traveling from China to Japan to locate a place of worship
In China he stood by the shore and threw a seed as far as he could
Then, when he was in Japan, he scaled Koyasan and discovered his seed
and that is how he chose the location for his temples

A small pagoda

In this area was a couple of temples that you could enter, many were closed for the renovations
Inside I became really overwhelmed with the beauty and I just burst into tears
I then lit a candle at a shrine in honour of the friends and family that have stuck by me

and to all those who believed in me during my darkest struggles

Without them I would never have made it on this trip

A pretty wall

I'm not sure if this holds any special meaning, they could possibly be graves

Such beautiful colours
Though after taking this picture I was attacked by some kind of butterfly, aghhh

I really hate butterflies and other winged creatures haha

Of course, Koyasan has a mascot. He is called Koya-kun hehe
I actually bought a little fridge magnet of him for my new place

We found a small building with shrines for children
At other temples had been offerings of Sake but here it was mostly candies

Someone had also left a small dinosaur toy
It made me feel all mushy inside to think that a child had left such a cute offering

We later visited a museum with a tea room
Since they were just about to close I didn't think they would serve us but they did

Green tea and a sweet senbei cracker

I had always wanted to drink in a tea room so this was a lovely way to end a great day

We were really hungry by this point and we hadn't eaten since morning
So we walked back towards the more "town" area with shops etc
There was a few conbini but surprisingly not a restaurant or cafe to be found
We had hoped to try out some vegetarian/Monk cuisine but it seems this is part of the lodging
and it isn't offered elsewhere in the site

We kept holding off from the conbini in hopes of somewhere to eat being a little further ahead
But before we knew it we were running out of road and had to wait for the bus
(You can't walk all the way back to the station, some roads are vehicle only)
The buses were supposed to be frequent but there didn't seem to be one for such a long time
and when one finally arrived, we realised we were somehow going the wrong way hah

We eventually got back to the hotel and we went looking for the restaurant from our first night

But it seemed to have vanished! So we looked around some more
and we eventually found a really small place with a guy making Okonomiyaki
We had a little culture differences in here, the guy wouldn't serve us without us getting his attention

In the West I feel like you don't need to make sure the waiter comes to you, they just do hah

So it was a little frustrating and we felt ignored but once we got settled and had food

then all was ok and I still swear to this day that, that Okonomiyaki had bacon on it
Rhi didn't seem to think it did but I swear it did, THERE WAS BACON I SWEAR

and so ends a very special day out to Koyasan!
I'm sorry I couldn't show you everything, I took around 150 photo's this day

and it was really hard to condense them all down into a readable blog post
Even now I worry that there is too many pictures in here, I hope it's not too long

It's time for another venture into Japan!
I hope you've been able to keep up with these daily catch up posts
I just didn't want my blog "timeline" to start getting too out of whack

Only 2 or 3 more posts to come, but first let's visit Nara

Nara is around 1 hour away from Osaka and famous for it's roaming Deer

On our way to Koyasan we seemed to accidentally follow a guy dressed like this
and then we saw some more by the station in Nara!

The park isn't far from the station and is literally up a straight road
So if you ever want to make this trip, don't worry as it's not difficult at all
But do try get an express train, we didn't and whilst the views were lovely it took a long time

Confirmed: Deers are cute chavs

Just outside the parks are a few stalls selling senbei for you to feed to the deer

We were immediatly approached because of our haul of yummy senbei!

A woman came up to us and was talking about bowing, I thought she meant me so I bowed to the deer

But what she meant was that the deer have actually learned to bow as a way to ask for senbei

and she showed us how to do it too, it was so cute, and many thanks to the kind lady for showing us

They have such cute butts! ♥

They would butt and rub heads with each other and make the funniest little noises when they did so
It didn't seem violent, so I'm not too sure if it was a dominance thing or a greeting?

So cute!!

If you have senbei you are sure to attract a lot of deer!
It was difficult to get away but we eventually found a quieter area for us to eat our own food

My infamous deer selfie!! Hahaha

We decided to walk over to another area of the park
I remember being followed by some deer and they started to butt Rhi because she had a plastic bag
I can't remember if we had any senbei left but they thought we did because of the bag
Rhi tried to pass me the bag to get them away and I responded with a very British
"fuck off love" haha

Of course Nara park has it's own small selection of capsule goods!

What is this, Animal Crossing?!

In the shop I bought a little deer statuette for a reminder of the day

and Rhi got us some matching phone charms too

Around the park are some beautiful buildings and scenery

The vending machines here also have a special donation feature
You can insert money and choose an amount to help care for the deer of the park
I thought this was a very clever way to collect money and I fed the machine a whole bunch of change!

Temple and a pagoda near the park

There was a school trip here this day too, I tried to get in their group photo lol

We stepped inside a colourful shrine and just sat there for a while in the peace and beauty

I think Rhi didn't know the story of Sadako and her paper cranes so I told her the tale
The story comes from a survivor of Hiroshima, we had really hoped to visit but the travel was too much

Another view of the shrine where we sat

After this it was time to head back as we had plans for the evening

We were going to meet up with my Penpal Chinami

I met Chinami online through a Penpal service when I was 15 or 16
We used to send each other lots of letters, swap candy and other presents
and I was finally going to meet her in person!!

In our letters, we always dreamed that some day we could meet and eat Takoyaki together
On this night that dream came true and honestly, I cry a little bit when I think about that
I feel so lucky to have such an amazing friend and to be able to share this moment together ♥

We spent the evening just wondering around Dotonbori/Shinsaibashi
We spoke in a mix of English and Japanese and would point to things and ask "how do you say?"
Chinami said that the word "owl" is hard for her to pronounce hehe

A super cute soap kitty outside Lush (yep, Lush is in Japan too)

We went to the Donki store for one last huge shop, as we needed to pack our suitcases soon
and I was able to get my New 3DS console, you can read more about that here if you want

Afterwards we decided to find somewhere to sit and have a quick drink

and here we are! The checkered shirt crew it seems haha

I am so happy to have finally met Chinami, I felt so at ease with her too

and of course we took some purikura

Ugly faces are the best ♥

and that's all for another magical day in Osaka
Tomorrow we're going to a Castle (not Takeshi's)

(ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧ お帰りなさい!
今日は大阪の城に行ましょう

Welcome back!
Today let's go to Osaka Castle

Before heading in to the Castle we found a rest spot for a little picnic
Here I demonstrated to Rhi by ability to communicate with ducks

Japan is such an interesting place, you have mixes of traditional and modern everywhere
having them be separated by this river was cool, it was like natures own dividing line

Up and onwards to the castle, it was quite the trek to the grounds
I guess that was all part of the design though for the castle's defence

There was some wedding photography near the castle, they looked so lovely
The helpers gave her a little towel to sit on so she didn't get her gown dirty
I'm not sure if these were promotional or for an actual wedding

The castle itself is just beautiful, so well kept, especially compared to some UK buildings hah

Once inside a guide takes you to a lift and recommend you start at the top and work your way down
So you get to start your tour with spectacular views from atop the castle
There was plaques with maps to help you identify buildings too
I spotted the Osaka Jo-Hall which I always remembered from a Dir en grey concert heh

There was a school trip here today too, they all seemed like naughty kids though haha

But when one would walk past they would say "hello!" to us

You weren't allowed to take photo's inside (though some people still did, *tut*)
but I guess you didn't miss too much so don't worry
My favourite part was a scale model of the castle grounds when it was first built

It was interesting because you could see all these old, traditional homes

and you can see with your eyes outside just how much this landscape has changed

The rest of the floors told the history of the castle with amusing video's within 3D models
but they were only in Japanese so it was hard for us to follow
One thing we did pick up on though was that a LOT of Japanese landmarks have set on fire
Mostly due to after effects of earthquakes, which isn't surprising
But it does shock you just how many things have been rebuilt several times!

What disappointed us is that the inside of the castle is completely renovated into a museum
we were really hoping for there to be a room or display showing the castle's original decor etc

So we would kind of say the inside of the castle isn't too worthwhile
However the admission fee is only ¥600 and that's such a small amount so it's unfair to complain

On our way back down the grounds we spotted a mascot!
Everything in Japan has a character or a face haha

There was some food stalls closer to the castle but we made it down to these
Because the ones at the top were selling taco's and when you're in Osaka you don't eat taco's...

YOU EAT TAKOYAKI!

You also eat strangely long fries!
These were so yummy, but it was really windy this day so they got cold really quick

After the castle we decided to try and find Abeno 109

On our way we saw this interesting building, I believe it's an arcade

I can't really remember why we were so set on finding Abeno 109
Maybe to see if we could find some of the things we saw and didn't buy in Shibuya 109?
I know we went to Punyus, but I can't remember if that was the reason why we went... it might be
I bought a couple of things and also a jumper I'd seen in the Sky Tree store

The shop staff in Punyus was so nice too, they must just hire the nicest people
She spoke really good English and thought I lived in Osaka, which I found really complimentary heh

She also told us that the founder of Punyus was visiting the store soon!
Unfortunately it was going to be on our last day and we wouldn't be able to make it
(and I'd have had to spend another ¥10,000 yen on the day to be able to meet her hah)
So it was a shame but it would have been amazing to meet her!

Our plans for this evening were a little boring I'm afraid
Because we were using Takkyubin to send our cases to the airport, we had to send them early

This way you're guaranteed they will arrive in time for your flight etc

and so the impossibility of packing begins!
Oh my days, this was so stressful, I had bought so much stuff
I tried to leave things behind if possible, but I didn't want to be wasteful either
(my mum said to leave all my socks and underwear haha)

In the end we decided the best idea would be to go back to Dotonbori and buy a suitcase
There was a few stores selling them there because of all the shoppers
As I mentioned before a lot of people go shopping there for the Tax Free stores

and when they buy too much, they buy a suitcase to help them carry it all home haha

Before we went out Rhi showed me a video on YouTube called You're a wizard Harry

and I laughed so hard that I thought I was going to die, I just had to lay down in the recovery position
This gave us giggles for the rest of the night
We decided to check out a few arcades whilst we were out

Levi, what happened?

You could win replica Attack on Titan blades

But even if I could fit them in my case, I didn't fancy carrying replica weapons on a plane!

I can't remember if it was this night that we tried to win a plushie of Rex from Toy Story
I really wanted to win him for my brother as Rex is his nickname
But some couple had been trying to win him for a while, and I swooped in for the steal
I'm kind of glad I didn't win though, I think that couple would have murdered me hahaha

We also stopped off for some ramen before buying a suitcase and heading back

We still had the giggles and I don't know why but we started singing Buffalo Soldier
I fell into a tree and Rhi came to get me but it was making me laugh even more
We couldn't stop laughing and thinking back to it still makes me laugh and smile hah

Hey there, are you bored of Japan yet?
I hope not because here comes another post!

Though from the building above, you would think we were in Europe!

Ok, so this day wasn't a very good one for me
I mentioned before that even when we were in Tokyo I was having pains in my legs
and for some reason it really intensified over the night and I couldn't sleep because of the pain
My legs were in some crazy combination of cramp and spasm, it was really horrible

So stayed in the hotel until mid afternoon to catch up on my sleep
I didn't go out until later in the day but Rhi managed to find a temple to visit

I'm really glad she didn't stay in too or I'd have felt disgustingly guilty!

We decided to locate a Book Off store to check out the used games

On our way we were walking behind this sassy old woman
It was kind of funny to see peoples reactions to her behind her back
But at least no one was horrible to her directly, it would have been the other way around in England
and hey, if she wants to dress like a gyaru host then more power to her!!

Since I had only eaten Umaibo that day we stopped off for some food
It was strange to see kare come with veggies, you usually just get the katsu and rice!

In the evening we were meeting with one of Rhi's friends who I also knew on Facebook
But we had a little time before and we found Daiso, which is a ¥100 shop and it is AMAZING

Who would do such a thing? *ahem*

Daiso really is amazing, in the UK we have £1 stores but they're all really cruddy
You usually find really poor quality items in there or end of the line goods
But in Daiso everything is new and cute! There is also so much more variety
You could really furnish a new apartment in Daiso, well not sofa's, but everything else hah

We spent so much time in Daiso that we had to head off and meet Rika before we knew it!

Back down to our faithful Dotonbori ♥
It's a good place for meeting people when you're new to Osaka
You simple arrange to meet by the Glico man, and then hope it's not too crowded hah

Rika took us to a Chinese Restaurant she had recently visited because she knew it would make us laugh

and she was right!!
The restaurant seems very into the idea of fertility

A lot of the decor is slightly hidden though, everything looks rather ordinary until you look up

Instead of ordering meals we just tried a whole bunch of appetisers
It was my first time eating more 'authentic' Chinese food
We discussed the UK's idea of Chinese food and had a laugh over my favourite "OK sauce"
I can't imagine how it was invented, I'm pretty sure it's mostly ketchup haha

We made an offering to the dick shrine but sadly there was no more fortunes left

Rika and Rhi with Glico man ♥

Rika then took us to the OPA Mall, she said that there used to be a W♥C there
I thought it was really sweet that she remembered my love for W♥C
But sadly it's not there anymore since the brand went under, but the mall was great anyway

Swankiss is such a pretty brand, I don't think I could ever pull it off
But I do wish I had bought that ribbon badge with the poodle on it, so cute!

Cool display in one of the stores
I think this was the store that played music by Capsule too

In the mall was a little store called Mars Attacks! which I instantly loved ACK ACK ACK
But they had the coolest TMNT stadium jacket in there, and I wanted it so much
I almost walked away but thought I should at least check the price
and I'm glad I did because it was nearly ¥40,000!!!
So that was that decision made for me haha
(Though I found it online recently and it's half price, but I'm unsure about sizing)

After OPA I left Rika and Rhi as my legs were still hurting and I didn't want to dampen their evening
I got on the train at Shinsaibashi, but I'm pretty sure I never went on a train
I think I just walked down the platform and through the station into the one next to our hotel
They were weirdly interlinked haha

In the station I noticed this Attack on Titan poster!
I didn't realise it was for a magazine or I might have hunted it down
But I over heard a couple calling me an Otaku for taking this picture hahaha

Tomorrows post will be the last in our Osaka adventures
and then begins the momentous task of posting everything I bought when I was out there, oh my

Welcome to not only the last of my Japan posts, but also the last day of January!
I hope the new year has been treating you well so far

and if you're bored of these posts then you don't have much left to endure haha

An interesting building we passed by on our way to Shinsaibashi
We were just so tried and drained by now so we didn't have many plans beyond shopping

I believe this may have been the day we walked past Mitsu and didn't even realise!
When I got back to the hotel I had a tweet from her, and I am so gutted that I couldn't meet her
Some other time my dear friend!

We headed to Tokyu Hands as we had seen a few but never been inside
It's basically a department style store with so much inside!

Check out these adorable cakes ♥
But don't eat them! These are for doggies!!

Japan sure loves it's spoiled dogs, but I can't really judge after buying my poodle her second Kimono

(well the first was a Yukata, but you know)

Our last "real" meal of the trip!
I loved this, the rice was just so damn good, pretty sure I ate it all

But I let my tempura in the broth for too long so it dissolved haha

Our server in here was the cutest old lady, I wish tipping was acceptable

I wanted to give her all the money!!

I believe we went to convert some more money into Yen on this day too

Just to make sure we had enough for the airport etc
I'm pretty sure we tried to use up all our change in the arcade today too
(Today might have been when I tried to win the Rex plushie actually)

I started to get really thirsty and was craving my last Melon Soda!
So we stopped off at a random cafe

There was a minimum charge or something so I ended up with 2 melon soda's but I loved it hah

I wish I had got that pudding or matcha parfait
But I didn't want to risk eating ice cream and ruining the last day with lactose cramps hah

On our way to Donki (of course) we saw this cute pig
I didn't know what it was for, but Ive since been told it's a hostess club for chubby girls!

A terrible picture inside Donki of all the DIY candy kits they had to offer

Luckily we managed to get in and out of Donki before it got crazy busy

They had already set up all the barricades for the queues though and we had to go outside the store
and then work our way back inside to pay, you really couldn't do that in England hah

We spent quite some time sat by the river, just talking about the trip and all the things we will miss
There was a few boat tours on the go too, it seemed rather popular
At one point we saw a low flying plane too and I was like "omg, it's the boat tour!!" haha

Some guy also walked past us with an RC Truck, like he was just taking it for a walk or something

We decided to get some final takoyaki!
I think we had 10 pieces each? It seemed like a good idea at the time haha

But trust me, we paid less for 10 fresh pieces here than we do for 3 non-fresh pieces in the UK

The price difference in food makes me want to cry

Bye Bye Glico man (and Kyary)

Bye Bye Dotonbori!
(and ew, Forever 21 just ruins the esthetic of this place, get out)

Before leaving we stopped off for our final Gyoza
and I met a Billiken, youre supposed to tickle his feet for good luck

I also saw this cute mascot, but she was outside a massage place...

We wandered into a few of the souvenir stores too

OM NOM NOM

Attack on Ankles

Of course there was takoyaki goodies EVERYWHERE!
Rhi bought a plushie charm set for us, one half was a takoyaki and the other was an octopus
She gave me the octopus ♥

We realised we had no pictures of the scary ass clown man thing
As we were taking his picture a guy approached us and asked if we wanted a picture together
But we declined, we didn't want to get to close to the damn thing haha

We had an interesting interaction with the guy though
He was asking us where we were from and he didn't seem to get why people liked Japan

It was so funny as we had been talking about this just before too

How when our Japanese friends said they wanted to visit the UK we were like "why?!"
and now this Japanese guy was acting in that same way hahaha

After this we made our way back to the hotel
When we were in Dotonbori we were so full, then suddenly we got hungry again
So Rhi kindly went to the conbini and picked out so Oden for me!

I had always wanted to try Oden!
It's food famously eaten during the winter in Japan

and we saw it in all the conbini but never had the chance to try it
Sadly though, it wasn't that great, the broth was rather plain, I thought it would be strong
But maybe that's just the way this particular Oden tastes (it was from Lawson)
As for what's inside, let me try and rememeber...

There was some kind of noodles, a type of Surimi (cooked fish paste)
the piece with the stick is Tsukune (ground meat) and underneath is a Kinchaku
(this is a tofu pouch filled with mochi)
Oh and there was rolled omlette in there too for good measure!
But these are just a few of the things you can get in Oden
I would try it again, but maybe from a different conbini to test their flavours

and, that's all folks!
All that was left to do was get up the next morning and go to airport

The train to get there was a bit of a farse
There doesn't seem to be any kind of Skyliner express (that we know of)
and so we had to take a more local train to the airport
the journey was long and I really wanted to sit down but there was never a seat
I would have sat on the floor but someone dropped a drink!

At the airport we picked up our bags from the Takkyubin desk

and crammed in all the final pieces we had bought
Then I got charged for 2 extra bags because I'm a dickhead lol

If you ever worry you will need extra baggage, just book it in advance to be on the safe side
It's cheaper than paying as you board, less stressful and you have peace of mind too

When the plane took off we were just hugging, holding hands and crying
I still cry when I think back over this trip and writing up all these posts has just brought it all back

I have a few regrets, hindsight is a funny thing, but I wouldn't change anything for the world

and boy am I glad I stayed on that initial flight to Tokyo

Until we meet again Japan ♥
また近いうちにお会いしましょう

CYBERCANDY EXCLUSIVES ●

LAZY★OAF

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

IN THE NAME OF THE MOON

UGGLY

TOKYO TRAVELS: DAY ONE

TOKYO TRAVELS: DAY TWO

TOKYO TRAVELS: DAY THREE

TOKYO TRAVELS: DAY FOUR

TOKYO TRAVELS: DAY FIVE

TOKYO TRAVELS: DAY SIX

TOKYO TRAVELS: DAY SEVEN

HAPPY NEW YEAR

OSAKA ADVENTURES: DAY ONE

OSAKA ADVENTURES: DAY TWO

OSAKA ADVENTURES: DAY THREE

OSAKA ADVENTURES: DAY FOUR

OSAKA ADVENTURES: DAY FIVE

OSAKA ADVENTURES: DAY SIX

OSAKA ADVENTURES: DAY SEVEN