🐰 Usagyuuun Cafe - Bangkok - Thailand ❄️

Usagyuuun is a mix between a rabbit and a mochi and I first discovered this character randomly back in February when my friends and I noticed this crazy dancing bunny in an art gallery, then couple weeks ago while I was in Siam Discovery for a GOT7 event I noticed this crazy dancing bunny again and found out there was a pop-up café in Siam Center dedicated to it so I decided to go check it out.

The Usagyuuun café is so adorable and suitably festive, there are so many fun areas for you to take photos and they even have Christmas costumes you can wear to. The menu is full of delicious drinks, desserts and even takoyaki and some drinks and desserts come with a souvenir cup you can take home, I ordered a fruit soda and tiramisu and got an adorable cup and coaster to take home.

There is also a special gift shop next to the café and also one in Loft in Siam Discovery where you can buy exclusive Usagyuuun merch and every weekend in December until the end of January you can meet Usagyuuun at the café, dance with him and also take part in workshops such as bracelet making or gift wrapping.

It's always so much fun randomly seeing this bouncy bunny and I have definitely fallen for its charms and will try to visit the café again one more time before it disappears, hopefully when Usagyuuun is there so we can take photos and dance together again, also the pancakes looked really good so I definitely need to try them.

What is your fave dessert?

Love & Bunnies

Cate

xoxo

Psssst if you want to see more of my adventures you can support me by clicking the button below

Buy me a coffee and get a shoutout on my SNS

Asian Dramas I'm Watching & Loving!

Since coming to the UK to visit my family I've found I've been missing Asian TV and have been switching off a lot of the western TV I used to enjoy in favour of Asian dramas and variety shows. I think with the cold weather I'm feeling here I needed something bright to watch and although Asian dramas can be quite dark and depressing they always seem to have an element of humour and optimism I can cling to which to me western TV seems to have lost. Also I feel like I need to keep listening to Korean and Thai while I'm in the UK for a while or I'm going to forget everything that I learned and it's a good way to keep myself immersed even when I'm on the other side of the world.

He Is Psychometric

사이코메트리 그녀석

After losing his parents in a fire, Lee Ahn acquires the power of psychometry, the ability to read a person or an object's past through physical contact, and he decides to use it to take bad people down. While he does not know how to control his power yet, he meets Yoon Jae-in who tries her best to hide her painful secrets. Together with his foster guardian, prosecutor Kang Sung-mo, and the latter's colleague, investigator Eun Ji-soo, they team up to solve an elusive case that has been haunting the lives of Ahn, Sung-mo, and Jae-in. When I heard that Jinyoung from my favourite K-pop group GOT7, was the lead in this new drama I was so happy and after reading the plot I knew this would be a drama that I was going to love it's exactly the mix of drama, intrigue and the supernatural that I really enjoy in my KDramas. Jinyoung really exceeded my expectations and lead this drama so well, even if I didn't know who he was I would be really impressed with his acting skills and I really felt for Lee Ahn during those emotional scenes and also enjoyed the funny moments to. Shin Ye-eun, the female lead, was also amazing and I really enjoyed the chemistry the two had as the plot progressed. The drama starts of somewhat lighthearted but by the end of it really packs a punch to the gut so better prepare those tissues it's a great plot which I won't spoil to much but the way everything comes together is so heartbreaking and unexpected, definitely one of my favourite dramas so far this year!

Romance Is a Bonus Book

로맨스는 별책부록

Kang Dan-I (Lee Na-Young) used to be a popular copywriter, but after taking a career break to look after her husband and daughter, she is now divorced, broke and unemployed. Despite her qualifications and experience she struggles to find a job but finally gets an entry level job at a publishing company by lying about her experienced background. Cha Eun-Ho (Lee Jong-Suk) is the chief editor at that publishing company and also her childhood friend but she has been hiding the reality of her situation from him, eventually she opens up to him about the truth of her situation and he helps her get back on her feet as they begin to realise their true feelings for each other. I really enjoyed this drama and empathised with Dan-I and her situation so much, I really loved her perseverance and she gave me a lot of hope for my own situation. Lee Jong-Suk is someone I've been a fan of since seeing W (one of my absolute fave dramas) and While You Were Sleeping and he was just as captivating in this drama. He enlisted just after wrapping up this drama so sadly it will be a long while until we see him again but I will await his return with much anticipation as his dramas are always one of my favourites to watch.

Her Private Life

그녀의 사생활

Sung Deok-Mi works as a curator at an art gallery. She is a huge fan of idol group member Shi-An and secretly runs a fan website about him. After the current boss, Uhm So-hye gets investigated for embezzlement, Ryan Gold becomes the new Art Director of Cheum Museum of Art where Sung Deok-Mi works. After rumours broke out claiming Deok-mi and Shi-an are dating, Ryan suggests that he and Deok-mi pretend to date to ward off Shi-an's fans who threaten to harm her. However, Sindy, another fansite manager of Cha Shi-an, manages to land a job as an intern in the museum to prove that Ryan and Deok-mi are a fake couple, leaving both no choice but to continue the act even at work. Being a not-so-secret fangirl myself I just had to give it a watch after it was recommended to me multiple times by my fellow fangirls and O M G I relate to Sung Deok-mi so much!! We're both fangirls of the same age and our parents are exactly the same (my Mama with her knitting and my Dad is a Geophysicist so his life is pretty much rocks!) and also the struggles we go through to maintain our fangirl life and all those feelings, I adored this drama so much and watching it with my Mama I think she kinda understood my life a bit better. Also ... Ryan ... what a guy ... I honestly wish I could find a Ryan because despite his cold introduction he had a heart of gold and his whole storyline was so heartwarming. I just loved how adorable this whole drama was it was just so much fun and so cute to watch and all the characters were nice people which is rare to see in dramas, so if you're a fellow fangirl or not I totally recommend this drama the whole ending and how everything connected was done so well so give it a watch.

Nightmare Teacher

악몽선생

Han Bong-Gu becomes a temporary teacher after the homeroom teacher of 2nd grade 3 class at Yosan Private High School had an accident and is hospitalised. He is mysterious figure and although the teachers at the school know about him he is not on the teaching staff list. Han Bong-Gu arouses the desires of each students and their dreams become reality but not without some bizarre consequences. This mini-drama web series reminded me a little of the anime The Laughing Salesman and Hell Girl which I have enjoyed watching, each student is lured by the teacher into making their wishes come to but see that all may not be what it seems and their deals go sour. It was a quick watch and each episode is mostly self-contained and not really scary like you would expect from the title, I probably wouldn't really recommend this one unless you want something quick to watch but I did enjoy the concept of the series.

The Secret Message

시크릿 메세지

Haruka is a Japanese woman trying to find the answer to what love is and Woo Hyun is a Korean man who is in pain from his first love but still wants to believe in true love. The story is about two people who speak different language, living with their own broken first love memories and finding love again with each other. Since T.O.P. was released from his military duty I've been wondering what he's going to do next so decided to revisit some of the dramas that he's acted in, which was actually my first introduction to him. This is such a sweet drama and I enjoyed the juxtaposition of Korea and Japan, a Korean man searching for love in Japan and a Japanese woman searching for love in Korea and them both coming together through translating messages to each other. Yoo In-na is also in this drama and plays a very sweet character. Each episode is only 10 - 20 minutes long so it's a quick watch and doesn't take long to get into, despite the length the characters are all presented very well and each play their roles perfectly, i really hope T.O.P. considers acting again in the future as he has such a natural talent for it. This is definitely a drama to watch after a break-up to give you a bit of hope that love is still out there.

What TV have you been watching lately?

Love & Lemon Tea

Cate

xoxo

Asian Dramas I'm Watching & Loving!

I always try to watch a variety of different Asian dramas from different countries but Korean Dramas always seem to appeal to me the most and there are so many great dramas being aired in Korea at the moment I'm finding it difficult to keep up with them all so in the meantime while I'm catching up I thought I would share a few Asian dramas I watched a little while ago which you might like.

Miss Sherlock

ミス・シャーロック

I'm sure everyone already knows the stories of Sherlock Holmes but this series gives the traditional Sherlock stories a modern day, Japanese twist casting females as their lead stars. I've seen a lot of interpretations of Sherlock over the years and while I will admit this wasn't my favourite it was still very enjoyable, the casting of Wato-San and Sherlock was really great and the twists of each case they investigated very interesting. While I'll admit the cinematography isn't as spectacular as other Sherlock series (you know the one I'm talking about) for a Japanese series I found it to be quite modern and they used some interesting transitions which I hadn't seen before in other Japaneses series I've watched, I've mentioned this in the past but I find something very dated about Japanese series but Miss Sherlock had a very modern feel to it. I really liked the very Japanese feel I got from this series, when you think Sherlock you automatically think British but from the Japanese cast to the setting of Tokyo it just seemed to match so perfectly and nothing seemed out of place or forced at all so definitely check it out if you're a Sherlock fan.

My ID is Gangnam Beauty

내 아이디는 강남미인

Kang Mi Rae has been ridiculed for her looks her entire life and believes her looks are the cause of all her suffering in life, she gets plastic surgery in the hopes that she can have a fresh new start (and face) in university and gain the confidence, self-esteem and friendships she's always dreamed of and learn what true beauty really means. Admittedly I was a bit apprehensive going into this drama, not knowing anything about the manga despite it's popularity as I'm not a big fan of this whole being pretty will solve all your problem trope but thankfully this drama shows exactly the opposite, that being pretty is not the solution to your problems and whether your considered a stereotypical beauty or not we all still have the same struggles and it's your heart and your actions that really make you beautiful which is what really matters.

Fabulous 30 The Series

30 กำลังแจ๋ว The Series

Ja, seems to have it all, a successful career, a great social life, and a handsome sweetheart but on her 30th birthday, Ja finds her perfect life changed when her boyfriend who she thought would propose instead breaks up with her, leaving her single until she meets a new guy who's 7 years younger than her. This series is actually based on a popular Thai movie of the same name which I watched a few years ago and really enjoyed so I was excited to see what the series would be like and where the story would go. I initially thought the series would maybe expand on the ending of the movie but instead it followed the same time line and focused a lot on the relationship of the side characters. It's hard not to compare the movie and the series but I will say I preferred the couple in the movie compared to the TV series as I think the TV series focuses too much on comedy so at times it was hard to take them seriously. Overall I would recommend you skip the series and just watch the movie as it's a lot more heartwarming however if you prefer comedy over drama them maybe you would enjoy the series more.

Chicago Typewriter

시카고 타자기

This drama follows the lives of 3 individuals who lived during the 1930's Japanese occupation of Korea, and are reincarnated into the present as they try to regain their memories of their past life in order not to re-live their past mistakes. The way this story unfolded was so heartbreaking but I loved how gradually through the series the story of their past lives became clear and how the people in their past lives were also a part of the present but in different ways, the story is all about making amends for your past mistakes and moving on and the relationship and chemistry between the main characters is just so heart-warming and heart-breaking. The visuals especially for the past lives were very beautifully done and you really felt immersed in that world, I also loved the added 'supernatural' element which I won't spoil but it really added a unique flavor to the drama as well as some much needed humour. I'd definitely recommend you give this one a watch, while the romance is an element I don't think it's the the main driving force of the plot as the friendships of the main 3 shine the most, if you're a fan of mysteries then you may like this one and the ending is a nice conclusion to the story which will leave you feeling satisfied.

Meteor Garden

流星花园

Shan Cai is an ordinary girl of no wealth who through hard work and determination is admitted to the most prestigious school in the country where on her first day she has an unlucky encounter with the F4 who are an elite group of the most popular, smart and wealthiest boys of the school. This drama is a Chinese remake of the Taiwanese series of the same name, which is originally based on the Boys Over Flower drama series from Korea and originally the manga from Japan called Hana Yori Dango. This is a very popular series so I'm sure at some point you will have seen some sort of rendition of it or even seen the original manga or anime, I normally try skip these sorts of dramas as I find them too predictable and dated but Meteor Garden gives us a great modern take on an old trope and I really enjoyed watching this series even though it was 50 episodes long and did seem to drag towards the end. Shan Cai was a really likeable character and I enjoyed watching her development throughout the series and I liked seeing their trips abroad. Dao Ming Su's sister was one of my fave characters to and I loved how fierce she was and how she fought for not just her brother's happiness but Shan Ca to. I will admit the last two episodes were a little strange and disappointing but not unexpected, it was a good watch though and I'm sure they'll be many more Hana Yori Dango interpretations from even more countries in the future.

What have you been watching lately?

Love & Cookies

Cate

xoxo

♫ Playlist: Favourite Kpop in 2018 ♫

I'm often asked if I listen to any other Kpop apart from GOT7 and the answer is of course! Many years ago I used to share playlists of my favourite Kpop songs so I thought as a lot of you have been asking I'd share some new songs. Last year I decided to keep a playlist of all the new releases I liked as I thought it would be a good way to keep up with everyone and remember the year and it's something I'm continuing to do this year. I also added quite few "Non-Korean" releases from Kpop artists on here as the Kpop market is becoming more international with some artists collaborating internationally and starting to spread their wings further afield.

There's over 100 songs to listen to from all sorts of different artists and genres so hopefully you'll find something you'll like or someone new you've never heard of before. There's also many more great songs and artists that came out last year that I'm probably missing quite a few as the Kpop industry is so huge and moves so quickly now it's hard to keep up so be sure to share some of your faves in the comments below.

What was your fave song from 2018?

Love & Music

Cate

xoxo

Christmas at Tokyo Skytree - Japan

Continuing with the Christmas themed posts I thought this time I would take you on a trip to Japan, last year I visited Tokyo around Christmas time and Japan is always that little bit extra with the Christmas decorations and actually lit up the Skytree to look like a giant Christmas tree! I found a bunch of videos I never shared with you all last year so I thought I would edit together a little video to show you just how cute the Skytree looked last Christmas.

Since moving to Asia and experiencing a whole different way to celebrate Christmas I've really started to fall in love with this holiday again and I feel so blessed that over the past few years I've got to spend my Christmas holidays in South Korea, Japan and Thailand, I hope to experience Christmas in many more countries in the future and share my adventures with all of you.

Where would you like to celebrate Christmas?

Love & Cookies

Cate

xoxo

Ryokan Cafe - Chiang Rai - Thailand

Hidden between the rice fields not to far from the mysterious, Wat Rong Khun in Chiang Rai, Thailand lives a little piece of Japan the Ryokan Cafe. The Totoro that waits at the bus stop across the road almost makes you feel like your living in your favourite anime, in fact the whole atmosphere of the place from the decor, to the food, to the green fields that surround it makes it feel like you're not in Thailand at all and have been magically transported to Japan's countryside.

Ryokan Cafe offers much more than food and drinks, you can actually stay there to in their traditional Japanese rooms and there's also a gallery where you can see local artists work and buy traditional Japanese items and organic foods which they grow there.

The food they serve is all homemade and home grown but unfortunately there were no vegetarian options so I settled for a very delicious coffee, hazelnut frappe which came with a scoop of Hokkaido milk ice cream, that alone filled me up so I ended up not getting one of the delicious cakes they also had on offer and my family really enjoyed the food there saying how fresh and yummy it was.

It really is such a beautiful relaxing place and I would love to spend the night there one day at as it's so serene and peaceful there, I really did feel like I was in Japan and not in Thailand at all and I love that all the food that they serve there is organic and homemade, it's definitely worth the trip to see especially if you're a Ghibli fan as you'll feel like you've stepped into the real life version of My Neighbour Totoro.

What is your favourite Ghibli movie?

Love & Sunflowers

Cate

xoxo

Psssst if you want to see more awesome cafes from around the world you can click the button below, buy me a coffee, get treats & a shoutout on my next post

Juku Store Review: Kawaii Japanese Fashion & Accessories

Juku Store, a kawaii harajuku fashion online retailer recently contacted me asking if they could send me a few products for review and as a big Japanese street fashion enthusiast I happily took their offer. Juku Store offers great Japanese fashion at great prices and ships worldwide, you may find a lot of Japanese retailers don't offer international postage so this it's a great alternative to buy from if you want to dress like the highly fashionable Harajuku kids.

My Neighbour Totoro is one of my all time favourite anime and as soon as I saw all their cute Totoro themed t-shirts I knew I had to have one for myself. The design is so cute and there are several to choose from, the material is super soft and comfy to and I love the baggy fit of it, perfect to wear for just chilling around the house or going out searching for acorns...

Juku Store also offers a lot of items for Cosplay and some cute anime themed accessories to, Death Note has always been one of my favourite anime and manga series but it's rare to find things related to it now so it was a nice surprise to see this Death Note necklace which also doubles up as a watch, the perfect accessory to show your love for the series.

In contrast to the cutesey kawaii fashion you can also find some more darker styles and one of my all time favourite Japanese styles has been the traditional embroidery painting style so as soon as I saw this embroidered koi fish t-shirt I fell in love, it's so beautiful and just as beautiful in real life as it appears online, this is one item I will definitely be getting a lot of wear out of!

Even more surprising to me was seeing that they sell a small selection of KPop items to and we all know I'm a big lover of Kpop especially GOT7 so seeing this GOT7 bracelet for sale I just had to, it's the perfect accessory to show my love for them.

I absolutely adore all the items I got and there's such a great selection to suit everyone's tastes, so if you're looking for some great kawaii fashion and cosplay items be sure to check out Juku Store and let me know what you think.

What's your favourite fashion styles?

Love & Boba

Cate

xoxo

Anime I'm Watching & Loving!

It feels like forever since I've had the chance to really sit down and enjoy some anime, lately I just seem to have no time for TV and it makes me really sad as I really love just relaxing and escaping into a different world for a while but at the same time I'm busy for all the right reasons so I can't complain too much. I'm really out of the loop with all the anime news this year but that might be a blessing as it means I can finally catch up on all the old seasons I missed haha, be sure to leave me some anime recommendations though and let me know what you've been watching so I can add them to my watch list for later.

Himouto! Umaru-chan R

干物妹！うまるちゃんR

I finally got round to watching the second season of Umaru-chan after my visit to the pop-up cafe in Akihabara many months ago and I have to say I loved this season just as much as the first, in fact maybe a little bit more as it shows a much softer side to Umaru, yes she's still a lazy, crazy, anime obsessed, junk food eating, otaku but you get to see a different side to her in season 2 and how much she actually cares for her friends and her brother and it's really sweet. This season is a lot more character focused than the first and the side characters all get their own spotlight, I felt like last season it was more about the "fan service" with some characters but this season gives them a bit more backstory and depth and of course there's the typical amusement park and festival episodes which seem to appear in every slice of life anime to enjoy to haha! Umaru-chan is just such a fun series to watch, it's sweet, light-hearted and all to relatable and I hope they'll be more series in the future.

A Day Before Us

연애하루전

A Day Before Us is a webtoon series from Korea about the blossoming of love and those cute tiny moments when you realise you're really falling for someone. I'm so happy I found this on YouTube that I just had to share, it blends my love of anime and KDramas together so perfectly, from the dreamy animation, the soft colours, the heartfelt soundtrack and super sweet characters I loved it all! This series left me feeling so soft and squishy inside but also a little sad, I mean where's my romance already? But wow I had no idea such a thing existed and I want more, it's so cute and I definitely recommend you checking it out, each episode is only a couple minutes long but will leave you with the warmest, sweetest feeling inside.

Sanrio Boys

サンリオ男子

Sanrio Boys is basically about a group of boys who come together through their mutual love of Sanrio characters. I honestly was not expecting to love this anime as much as I did and I thought it would be hella cheesy and full of fanservice which I'm not going to lie it was at times I mean you can't go one episode without that obligatory anime abs or shower scene and of course the beach episode but I ain't complaining, I enjoy the cheese as much as the deeper storylines but back to the point I wanted to make is that this anime really touched my heart. At its core it's about not being ashamed to love the things that you love, about wanting to become better person because of the things that you love and surrounding yourself with people who love and encourage you for who you are, and supporting the things that you love even though they may seem out of the box. My high school days seem like a lifetime ago but this was definitely something I relate with and I love that Sanrio is delivering this message to anyone because who cares if you're a guy who loves Sanrio as long as it makes you genuinely happy that's all that matters.

The Reflection

ザ・リフレクション

The Reflection was an event that occurred worldwide that caused some people to wake up with super powers, some become heroes, and others villains. So this is an anime which was actually created by Stan Lee so I had to give it a watch. The storyline is similar to Heroes and Inhumans and a lot of the characters share the traits and superpowers of heroes I'd seen before but at times it did get quite confusing as many of the characters seems to appear out of nowhere without any motive or backstory, I was still left confused as to why The Refection happened and why only certain people were affected but I won't get to deep it is what it is a simple super hero story about people gaining powers and their choices about what to do with these powers. It's not an anime I would likely watch again but it was still interesting to see this type of anime and of course Stan Lee making a cameo in it to.

Convenience Store Boy Friends

コンビニカレシ 

This is the story of six High school students' and their lives that revolve around the convenience store on their way from school. I initially thought this would be some sort of Clerks style anime but it's actually just a regular slice of life, shoujo romance anime and the "combini" hardly features in it! I wasn't too disappointed though as it's still quite cute and very similar to A Day Before Us in terms of storyline although I did find myself getting slightly bored at the repetitive storylines of the different sets of characters towards the end but it was a anime I could relax and not think too much about while watching, again I probably wouldn't watch it again but if you're a fan of high school romance anime then it's worth checking out.

Don't forget to enter my anime giveaway!

Love & Strawberry Soda

Cate

xoxo

Kawaii Anime Lucky Bag Giveaway!

It's been a while since my last anime giveaway and a lot of people where asking when I was going to do another one so even though my Japan adventures are long over I thought I would host another one anyway in the hopes that I get to go back sometime soon haha! So here's another little surprise anime lucky bag for you to try your chance at winning.

I won't tell you exactly what's in this lucky bag as that's all part of the fukubukuro fun but there's a nice diverse selection of charms, jewellery and gashapon toys included which should please all tastes. So if you want to be in with a chance to win this month check out the widget below for details on how to enter.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

What's your favourite anime?

Good Luck

Cate

xoxo

THE BIGGEST GOT7 KPOP HAUL YOU'LL EVER SEE!!

For the past two years my obsession with GOT7 has grown so much that they've become a pretty big part of my life, they've given me so much strength and inspiration to continue to pursue my dreams and through all the struggles of the past 2 years of me leaving my UK life and starting over again in Thailand with no idea how it would work out they've been there with me forever making me smile and giving me hope through their music and their actions. So to show my support to these boys I did some shopping and I'll admit I went a little bit crazy with the GOT7 merchandise whilst I was travelling but no regrets! Kpop merch is pretty hard to get, especially official stuff so I thought I would share all the amazing things I bought whilst I was away.

I split the haul into 2 parts because there was that much stuff and I also wanted to share a couple thoughts about the concerts and events I've been lucky enough to go to as I realised apart from a few Instagram Stories of me fangirling I've never actually talked about them before. This probably won't be the last of my GOT7 hauls and concerts though as they're currently on a World Tour and I'm planning to support them in as many countries as I can so stay tuned for more of my GOT7 adventures as it's not over yet!

Let me know your favourite KPop artists & don't forget to enter my GOT7 giveaway! 

Love & Birbs

Cate

xoxo

Fashion Haul from Tokyo, Seoul & Bangkok

I've always loved Asian fashion, there's just something that's so fun and unique about it all, so during my trip to Tokyo, Seoul and Bangkok I just had to pick up a few things. Although I've been living in Thailand for over 2 years now I've mostly avoided buying clothes and just wore what I packed in my suitcase to save not only some money for more travels but luggage room! However a lot of the clothes I have are worn out, no longer fit or are no longer my style so this trip was the perfect chance to get myself a whole new wardrobe and stock up on those essentials, especially now I know I'll be settling down in Thailand for a while.

Whilst in Japan I mostly visited the second hand/vintage stores in Harajuku to find what I wanted as not only are the prices generally cheaper but the clothing is surprisingly good quality compared to a lot of second hand stores you can find in other countries, luckily I managed to find a lot of things I loved for really cheap. In Korea however I focused on the more trendy stores which have been made popular by a lot of idols wearing the brands, but as it was winter at the time I was there and I'm living in the land of forever summer I didn't get too much and found myself picking up most of what I wanted back in Thailand. Overall I'm so happy with all my new clothes and I can't wait to start getting creative with them so hopefully you'll see some outfit posts from me in the future!

What are your favourite fashion styles?

Love & Puppies

Cate

xoxo

IGOT7 ♥ GOT7 WORLD TOUR CELEBRATION GIVEAWAY!!

May is a very special month for GOT7 fans especially here in Thailand as not only is tomorrow our boy BamBam's birthday but the World Tour is starting and there will be a 3 night concert happening here in Bangkok next week and YES I'M GOING!! I've mentioned my love for this group multiple times on this blog and if you follow me on Instagram and Twitter you'll know GOT7 is pretty much my life now! So to celebrate I want to give my fellow IGOT7's something special and share the love of KPop because believe me I know the struggle of being an international fan and how hard it is to support your favourite KPop groups let alone see them in concert.

I've been very lucky to find a whole bunch of GOT7 merchandise during my travels (haul coming soon!) and I recently discovered some KPop stores in Bangkok so I thought I would pick up a couple things for you to win and because the World Tour has started I'm going to include some exclusive concert merchandise I picked up when I saw them at Nestival in Chiang Mai and Turn Up in Tokyo.

♥ The Prizes ♥

GOT7 Thailand Tour 2017 Nestival Folder
GOT7 Thailand Tour 2017 Nestival Stickers
2017 Turn Up GOT7 Japan Tour Postcard
2017 Turn Up GOT7 Japan Tour Final Postcard
2017 Turn Up GOT7 Japan Tour Merchandise List
It's Skin GOT7 Aloe Sheet Mask
It's Skin Jackson Honey Sheet Mask
It's Skin BamBam Postcard
JB Postcard
Mark Clear Card
Ahgabong Lightstick Keychain

So if you want to be in with the chance to win all this amazing merchandise, check out the widget below for details on all the ways you can enter and be sure to stay tuned for even more GOT7 and Kpop fun happening on the blog this month!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Let me know what your favourite GOT7 song is & who's your bias in the comments!

Good Luck

Cate

xoxo

Anime Haul and A Walk Around the Tokyo Skytree Pokemon Center

Whilst in Tokyo and Seoul I could not stop myself picking up a few anime goods, as much as I tried to resist, it's just too tempting with kawaii stuff everywhere you look. Compared to my last trip I do think I restrained myself quite well though but I think that was mostly because I only had a few days in Tokyo and although we visited quite a few otaku shops in Seoul their prices were considerably higher than what you can find in Japan, but I still put quite a dent in my bank account...

Most of the things I bought were Pokemon related, after Pokemon Go came out I became obsessed and it's an ongoing joke in my family that if they can't find me I'll most likely be out playing it, which isn't too far from the truth haha! I hope you've been enjoying seeing my hauls so far there will be a couple more coming soon but for now I'm on a spending ban... at least until I can afford my next kawaii adventure!

Who is your favourite Pokemon character?

Love & Squirtles

Cate

xoxo

Studio Ghibli Exhibition in Seoul, South Korea

Whilst in Seoul I noticed there was a Studio Ghibli Exhibition happening in the Sejong Center and as a huge Ghibli and animation fan I had to go check it out. I absolutely loved my visit to The Ghibli Museum in Japan so I was happy to get the chance to go to a different Ghibli exhibition and learn even more about some of my all my favourite animated movies.

Taking photos was prohibited in the first part of the exhibition but it was set up in a similar way to the Ghibli Museum in Japan showing Miyazaki's workplace, sketches and storyboards, I was surprised seeing some of the sketches on display as they just looked like random scribbles that didn't seem to represent anything so it was amazing to think how somehow these seemingly random ideas got turned into these beautiful movies which have touched so many hearts.

Another part of the exhibition was a room full of all the different merchandise produced for the movies and it was honestly life goals! I had no idea there was so many beautiful things made for the movies although most of the things on display are limited edition and long since out of production it was nice to see how diverse and cute all their merchandise is. I always enjoy seeing peoples different collections especially toy collections. Of course this leads me onto the gift shop which was full of beautiful things to but unfortunately everything there was priced a lot higher than Japan and as much as I wanted to buy out the whole shop I decided to just get one special thing so picked up a little Catbus purse to commemorate my time there.

The second part of the exhibition (which allowed photography) showcased Miyazaki's love of flying and air-planes and featured models, sketches and the inspiration behind just some of the many aircraft that have been featured in the Ghibli movies including a spectacular airship from Nausicaa flying over the city which moved and lit up. Although I've watched all the Ghibli movies multiple times I honestly didn't realise before just how many of the Ghibli movies featured some sort of interesting aircraft or depiction flight, it's so inspiring and touching to see how Miyazaki's dreams of flying were reflected throughout his movies

I couldn't find out much about the exhibit prior to my visit, in fact I only managed to find one short post on a Korean website just stating the location and dates so I had absolutely no idea what to expect so needless to say when I turned the corner ready to exit the exhibition and saw a life sized Catbus you can actually play with I freaked out! One of the biggest disappointments I had whilst visiting The Ghibli Museum in Japan was not being able to play on the Catbus because it was only for kids so having this opportunity as an adult was like a life-long dream come true and I really felt like crying. Ghibli movies are so nostalgic to me and bring back that warm feeling of being a child so having this Catbus all to myself to play with was everything I've ever dreamed of more. Of course I took a million photos with it because this would probably be my one and only chance I get to meet the Catbus and I wanted to preserve the memories, in fact while I'm writing this I have the biggest smile on my face, even bigger than the one on the Catbus!

It's the LAST DAY to enter my anime giveaway!

Love & Acorns

Cate

xoxo

FYeahJapan: Where to Find Vegan Food in Tokyo

Vegans and Vegetarians can often have a hard time finding food when they're travelling and one of the most common questions I'm asked is what do I eat whilst on my travels and how to find vegan food. Japan in particular can be a hard place to find vegan food as a lot of food contains meat or dashi, also a lot of Japanese restaurants are unwilling to make substitutions or changes to their dishes but luckily the vegan diet is becoming more popular and there are quite a few completely vegan restaurants with a different variety of foods to suit all tastes, so I thought I would share a few of the vegan restaurants I found during my recent trip to Tokyo.

T's Tantan in Tokyo Station

Ramen is probably the most difficult thing to find a vegan version of Japan as the soup base is almost always meat or dashi based but T's Tantan has you covered as not only is everything on their menu vegan but they sell their own branded vegan cup noodles you can take home with you to. I actually ate here quite a few times the last time I was in Tokyo and because it was just that good I just had to make a trip there to have it again. I've tried quite a few of their different ramen bowls and all are good although the spicy isn't really spicy but then again my spice level is ridiculous! I also really like their soy meat to which is kinda strange for me as the whole fake meat thing kinda freaks me out but I always order it when I'm there. T's Tantan is kinda hard to find as it's actually inside the train station, past the barriers, near the Keiyo AKA Disneyland line but you don't have to be making a trip through the station to get there but you will have to pay about ¥100 entrance fee to get in, which is what I did last time but it's totally worth it for some genuine vegan Japanese style ramen.

Komaki Shokudou in Akihabara

There are quite a few places you can try the traditional style Japanese temple food but one of the most easy and convenient places to go to in Tokyo is Komaki Shokudou which is just a short walk away from Akihabara station. This is another place I ate at a few times on my last trip to Tokyo and had to check out again although I would recommend going early to avoid the crowds as this place can fill up quite quickly and they're normally sold out by late afternoon. The price is quite reasonable to at around ¥1000 for rice, miso soup, a main dish (I normally go for the curry, so good!) and two side dishes and it's really satisfying without being too filling, which is the perfect fuel for a day of nerdy shopping in Akihabara. Definitely check this one out of you're looking for some traditional Buddhist style Japanese food and if you want to bring a little something home with you the restaurant is actually inside a supermarket which sells lots of interesting healthy, organic Japanese foods.

Ain Soph.Ripple in Shinjuku

Ain Soph is actually a chain of vegan restaurants in Tokyo, I've visited Ain Soph.Soar in Ikebukuro and also Ain Soph.Journey in Shinjuku both of which I also recommend but it's their newest branch Ripple I want to give a special mention to because their vegan mac and cheese was out of this world! Vegan junk food is my jam and while I love trying traditional foods of the places I visit sometimes I just want some fries and a burger. I've had a lot of vegan burgers in my time and sadly more disappointing ones than great ones but Ain Soph.Ripple is on the great side and I really enjoyed their chilli cheese burger but the greatest thing is their mac and cheese which I think was the best mac and cheese I've ever had, I honestly could not tell it was vegan as it was so creamy and cheesy and goooood! I would have loved to try out all the other burgers and burritos there to if I had time because they all looked so good but the only downside is that the prices are kinda high for the size of the burgers you get but it's still a good place to indulge in some "healthy" vegan junk food so definitely check it out if only for the mac and cheese!

Soba Noodles at Skytree Solomachi Tabe-Terrace

This place can be found at Tokyo Skytree on the 3rd floor food court above the supermarket and although it's not strictly a vegan restaurant it does have a special vegan menu you can ask for. I wanted to mention this place as it was a new and random find for me and as I mentioned previously finding vegan noodles can be difficult in Japan because the stock is often made with dashi or meat so this was great little find if you like or want to try soba noodles, I also loved that you could customise and chose whatever side dishes you wanted with your noodles and the price was quite reasonable for them to. There didn't seem to be a lot of vegetarian or vegan friendly restaurants in the Skytree so it was nice to have at least one option and a yummy option to, I totally gulped down those noodles after a long cold day of exploring Tokyo and they were super warming and satisfying so check them out if you're near the Skytree and feeling hungry.

What vegan foods or restaurants have you tried out in Tokyo?

Love & Udon

Cate

xoxo