364 days later, my year abroad in Japan is about to end in approximately 11 hrs. My hands are shaking as I write this post as I’m overwhelmed with emotion.…
I think it has started to sink in that I’m leaving Japan this week. Almost a whole year has gone by (excuse the dates on my blog, I definitely miscounted…
Here’s a blog post dedicated to all the food I ate while I was in Hokkaido. Well, it’s more a collection of the photos of food that I remembered to…
It’s already the end of August! And what better way to celebrate the last night of summer than by going to a park full of lit candles on a cool…
The second half of the bus tour I went on while I was in Hokkaido took us to Tomita Farm in Furano. Furano in Hokkaido is famous for its lavender,…
Well, technically it’s called Blue Pond (Aoiike) but I think Blue Lagoon is a prettier name. This pond really is a beautiful blue due to the natural minerals dissolved in…
Video links included! This weekend was the Harajuku Omotesando Genki Matsuri, also known as Super Yosakoi. Yosakoi is a traditional sumer dance dating back from Kochi city in the 1950s.…
Our first full day in Hokkaido was first spent at Shiroi Koibito Park (White Lover) which is where one of Hokkaido’s most famous souvenirs is made! Ishiya, the name of…
Our final day in Kyoto ended with a half day bus tour which took us to the most popular attractions. Since we had to catch the night bus back to…
Our third day of our Kyoto trip was spent in Nara, about 1hr and 20mins away from our ryokan. Nara is famous for its main temples, about 8 in total…
Over the Obon holiday week, my brother and I spent a few days in Kyoto. I didn’t realise that it was Obon holiday week, which meant that there were more…
After all that underwater activity, my time in the Yaeyama islands ended and I headed for Naha. The flight between Ishigaki island and Naha city is very short, so after…
My third day in the Yaeyama Islands, Okinawa, was spent pretty much in the ocean. This was the part of my trip that I was looking forward to the most.…
My second day in Okinawa, or more specifically the Yaeyama islands, was spent on Taketomi Island. Only a 10 minute ferry ride from Ishigaki Island, there are frequent trips to…
I’m finally in Okinawa! I’ve been looking forward to this trip for a long time, and I’m so glad to be here. My trip here is divided up into two…
On Saturday I went to my first fireworks festival (Hanabi) in Japan which was held at Showa Kinen Park, Tachikawa. Already in its 56th year, this event is very popular…
Don’t panic!! I’m not leaving Japan for another 6 weeks or so, but for some of my friends this week is their last. I had my last “exam” on Wednesday,…
I’m sure you might be getting fed up of my matsuri (festival) posts, but tis the season for these events and I love going to these festivals as they all have…
Last Saturday was the 25th anniversary of Tokyo Sea Life Park (Kasairinkaikoen), and to commemorate the occasion, entry to the park was free! FREE!! As someone who never passes up…
Today I went to Mitama matsuri, wearing my yukata for the first time! It took me forever to get right, but it was worth it. This is one of Tokyo’s…
With typhoon Neoguri approaching, I decided to head out today before it arrived, just in case I’m housebound over the weekend. I’m an avid fan of Timeout Japan and I’m…
Wow! It’s already July! I can’t believe how fast time is going by – only a couple of months left until I go home (like 9 weeks!) :O The summer…
Similar to the Cherry Blossom Season, Japan also has a Firefly Season which normally occurs around this time of the year in Tokyo (June). I got really excited about going…
This is the second half of my fun filled day last Saturday. Please have look at my previous post if you want to know what I got up to earlier…
Last Saturday was an action packed filled day where I got to see various parts of Tokyo that I don’t normally see. The first stop of the day was Koutsuu…
Despite the rainy weather, I took part in the Kodaira Walking Tour last Saturday, where I got a tour of the local shops and got to sample their products for…
Without further ado, here is my post on the Liebster Award! The Liebster Award is a chain blog award passed around the blogging community as a sweet, simple and encouraging…
It is officially the 1st day of June! That means that I only have two months of classes left, which means my time here in Japan is nearly up. I…
Last Friday I got the opportunity to watch Sumo wrestling at Ryogoku stadium, Tokyo. I managed to get a ticket for 2000 yen ( a ticket purchase mishap – someone…
I am shattered. I just arrived home after walking for nearly 13hrs from Tokyo station, back to the dormitory in Kodaira from midnight until roughly 3pm. It was certainly an adventure…
I guess the title of this blog summarises what I’ve been up to since the end of Golden Week. I’ve been doing a lot more self-studying, excluding classwork/homework, as I’m…
The second place I visited over the Golden Week holiday period was Totoro’s Forest (トトロの森) in Sayama, Saitama. Located just outside of Tokyo, it took less than an hour to…
The first place I visited over the Golden Week holiday was Chichibu, Saitama. One of my customers from the tearoom I work at recommended going to Chichibu as it is…
Next week is Golden Week in Japan, or rather Golden Weekend as I only have next Monday and Tuesday off making it a 4 day weekend. I’ve got some plans…
Located only 50km from Tokyo, Kamakura was the first destination of my family’s trip to Japan. Even though it takes less than an hour to get there by train from…
Often only worn at festivals, a Happi coat is a Japanese short sleeved jacket that has a crest printed on the back, representing the family or organisation you belong to.…
My family came to Japan this week for the first time for a holiday, during my year abroad. I was lucky enough to join them for a few days in…
This is the last in the series of Adventures with Ria, a short summary of her last few days here in Japan. Another thing to do on Ria’s trip was…
WARNING! MORE GRAPHIC PHOTOS IN THIS POST! Today was the Kanamara Matsuri (Festival of the Steel Phallus), which is held every year in Kawasaki at the Kanamaya shrine. I had…
The Spring holidays are nearly over and it’s almost time for the second semester to begin. Although I’ve been on holiday for about 2 months, I’m still not ready for…
Today is my 200th (roughly) day in Japan!! WOW! Already! To celebrate here is a post on my first time in a Maid Cafe and lots of other things. On…
On Ria’s second day in Japan we started off the day by heading to Ueno to Tokyo National Museum. There were so many people out and about in the park…
Here’s the first in the series of Adventures with Ria (AwR)! This week my friend Ria, from London, came to stay with me. It has been an action packed filled…
久しぶりですね！ WOW! It’s been almost 2 weeks since my last blog post! Don’t worry – I haven’t abandoned my blog, but I didn’t have anything interesting to write about and…
Greetings from Sibu, Malaysia! (I know this blog is about my time in Japan, but I thought I’d blog about my time here anyway, otherwise there will be no new…
I’ve been posting less frequently as its been so cold, and the snow has put me off going outside. I had this long list of museums that I wanted to…
Happy Valentine’s day!! To those of you who celebrate this commercial day, hope you’re having a good one!! It’s a rather cold one here in Kodaira as it started snowing…
Twice a year the International department at Hitotsubashi university organises a trip to somewhere in Japan. This semester I was lucky enough to get a place for the trip to…
First of all, Happy Chinese New Year!! I kinda forgot it was this week but I managed to celebrate in my own way by steaming some fish for lunch. Back…
Look at those construction pole holders in the photo above! Aren’t they just super duper cute? I think it’s such a great idea – if you’re going to have something…
