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.
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!
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!
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 lasttrip 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!
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 travelsand 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.
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 KeiyoAKA 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.
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 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!
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?
Whilst exploring Ueno I decided to take pay a visit to Ameyayokocho, a street which is famous in Tokyo for its markets and street food. One of my favourite things to do when I'm travelling is to check out the local markets as it's a great place to people watch and experience some of the food and local culture. On my way to Ueno I passed through some of the traditional Japanese markets and alleyways in Asakusa but Ameyayokocho, or Ameyoko as it's more commonly know, had a complete different more chaotic feel and was unlike any other place I had visited in Japan, in fact it reminded me a lot of the markets at home with all the noise, food and smells.
Ameyoko is like a mini journey through Asia with all sorts of street food stalls offering anything from sushi to tteokbokki to kebabs to pizza there's a little something for everyone to enjoy. There's also so many stalls selling all sorts of different dry foods and candy from all around the world as well as fishmongers, shoes, souvenirs, beauty shops and of course knock-off goods! I enjoyed my walk through Ameyokocho as it was really interesting to experience a different side of Japan I hadn't seen before.
After experiencing some culture and sights of Japan on my first day in Tokyo my second day was shopping day! On my first trip to Japan I noticed a guy at Shibuya station wearing this amazing Hachiko themed souvenir jacket and ever since then I've been on a mission to get myself one so top of my list was a trip to Vanquish in 109 Men's which FYI I think has a better clothes selection than the famous Shibuya 109 so definitely check it out even if you're into more feminine styles because they have some really cute and nerdy stuff BUT first we needed food so we headed over to Tower Records to check out the pop-up Osomatsu-san Kawaii Cafe.
Disclaimer: I know nothing about this anime but Violet is a fan so we had to check it out and it's kinda a rule that when you're in Japan you need to check out as many themedcafesasyoucan! We had to order a drink and a dish each so I let Violet choose the cutest desserts for her photos because I will pretty much eat anything when I'm hungry so I ended up with a matcha cheesecake but it didn't taste like matcha or cheesecake... it had a strange sort of jelly like texture and was kinda bland but it came with fruit so that at least gave it a bit of flavour, the coffee was good though and that's all I really wanted.
Once we were done eating at Tower Records I wanted to get my jacket but on the way noticed a sign for a We Bare Bears event and decided to check it out and to our complete surprise and amazement met not only the bears but Finn and Jake from Adventure Time, The Powerpuff Girls and a bunch of other characters from The Amazing World of Gumball. If you couldn't already tell from my vlog I was super hyped and I took as many random selfies as I could, I kinda love the fact I'm making the same expressions as the bears in these photos even though it wasn't intentional, I was so happy seeing them I just couldn't contain my pure joy and excitement.
During our amazing encounter with the bears we found a shop selling a whole bunch of different anime stuff for just ¥100 so ended up spending a lot longer than we probably should have checking out absolutely every little thing they had and then after way too much browsing we finally reached 109 Men's and I got my jacket YEY! Of course I couldn't go to Shibuya without visiting the famous Shibuya 109 to check out all the cute fashion and BTS pop-up shop, Kpop really does follow me everywhere! We also took some Purikura in their super cute new pastel pink selfie room because you have to do purikura when in Japan, it's the law! After all that shopping we were in desperate need of some more food so decided to get some cheap noms at Genki Sushi before walking over to Harajuku for even more shopping. I totally forgot to vlog the rest of the day as my hands were getting full of shopping bags, I was loosing the will to live and it was already getting dark but if you're curious to see all the things I bought in Japan I will be posting a haul video very soon so be sure to stay tuned for that and even more Tokyo adventures...
What's the most random but amazing encounter you've ever had?
If you're ever in Japan one of the things you have to do is visit a themecafe! As I only had a few days in Tokyo I wasn't sure if I would have time to check out one of the many awesome themedcafes there but luckily whilst shopping in Akihabara and in much need of a refreshment break I stumbled upon a pop-up Himouto! Umaru-chan cafe inside Animate and as a fan of the anime had to check it out.
Animate usually changes the theme of its cafe every month or two so I was quite lucky to be around for the Himouto! Umaru-chan one which was in celebration of the second anime series being released. I absolutely adored the first series and like many otakus totally related to Umaru's character... we're like the same person!! Although I haven't had a chance to watch any of the second series yet with all the travel craziness now I'm home and settled I'll definitely be catching up soon in true Umaru style in my underwear with lots of junk food and soda.
After a day of shopping in Akihabara my energy levels were running low so I was in need of some sugar and caffeine to boost my energy and prepare me for even more nerdy shopping so finding this cafe was like finding a treasure and compared to other theme cafe's I've been to in Tokyo quite reasonably priced with all the desserts and drinks costing no more than ¥700 each, they also had main dishes such as okonomiyaki, omurice, curry, hamburgers etc. for just under ¥1000 however as with most theme cafes in Japan there were no vegetarian options but luckily I was craving something sweet anyway so I went for the the yummiest looking thing on the menu, the pancakes.
The pancakes were served with maple syrup, cream, vanilla ice cream and orange sorbet which are all of my favourite toppings, they gave you quite a big helping to and the pancakes were so soft and delicious they definitely satisfied my sweet cravings. The coffee I got was pretty good to even though I don't normally like sweet, creamy drinks I felt like I kinda had to get a cute one because when in "kawaii land"... but despite all the cream and stuff on top it was still surprisingly a good cup of coffee and more importantly gave me that extra energy I needed to get me through the rest of the day because I was not done with my otaku shopping yet!
Animate were also selling some exclusive merchandise in the cafe so I picked myself up a little towel with an embroidered 8-bit Umaru on it as I've been into cute towels recently and I also got some cute coasters as a freebie of Umaru-chan, Onii-chan and, Ebina-chan, the coasters are all supposed to be random so I was pretty lucky to get different ones of the main characters. My one day in Akihabara was definitely a good one not only did I find one of my "MUST HAVE" toys I got to visit a theme cafe of one of my favourite anime to so I would call that an overall successful nerdy trip to Tokyo.
What anime themed cafe would you like to visit?
Love & Hotcakes
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
My first day in Tokyo didn't exactly go as planned... if you follow me on Instagram and have seen my past stories from my trip you'll know what happened but basically Violet and I had a bit of a mix up with our flight times so instead of her meeting me at the airport she'd actually be arriving the day after me so after some random midnight exploring of Asakusa, shopping in Don Quixote and a sleepless night of stress I found myself awake and not quite sure of what to do with myself so I thought I would make the most of the few days I had in Japan and check out the famous Ueno Park.
Last time I was in Tokyo I didn't get the chance to visit Ueno so I was happy to get the chance this time and experience some of the many things there are to do and see there, I had hoped to spend a bit more time exploring some of the museums around the park but fatigue started to kick in during the afternoon so I decided to just grab some snacks in Ameyokocho and make my way back to apartment for some much needed rest.
I suppose you can call this video my first vlog as it's my first time filming in a commentary style and sharing my thoughts as I have them. I did intend to daily vlog my whole trip to Tokyo and Seoul but by the end of the second day I kept forgetting to film and my hands were so full of shopping it was getting difficult to juggle a camera as well as my phone so I didn't vlog at all after that and instead just shared some clips and snapshots of my day on Instagram Stories. My short vlogging experience was fun though and I definitely want to make more vlogs in the future as it's a really fun way to look back on your day and remember your thoughts and feelings.
Ueno Park is such a beautiful place and it was such a perfect way to spend my first day in Tokyo just aimlessly wandering, relaxing my mind, people watching, exploring Japanese culture and of course eating my fave Japanese snacks. My first time in Japan I felt like a lost puppy but this time I felt a lot more comfortable and I found everyone I met to be super friendly and helpful, it kinda made me sad that I only had a few days in Tokyo but I'm sure one day I'll go back to Japan as there's just so much more of the country I want to see and explore and Ueno is definitely a place I will go back to again if I ever get the chance.
What are your favourite places to explore in Tokyo?
There are so many great places to visit in Tokyo so I thought today I would share a handful of the different places we visited also this will probably be one of my final posts about Tokyo BUT not the last of my travel posts as I still have Kyoto, Osaka and South Korea to talk about as well as my current adventures in Thailand so keep checking back every week...
Tokyo Government Building
If you want a free and awesome view of Tokyo then be sure to head on over to Shinjuku and visit this place, there's also a great gift shop for souvenirs and a tourist information section to help you with your travels.
Odaiba
I'd describe Odaiba as the mini Las Vegas of Tokyo as it has lot's of shopping and entertainment places there all with some sort of random theme but most people, like myself, visit for the giant Gundam which I won't lie it is pretty damn huge and impressive....
It's also a great place to visit at night when it's all lit up so you can get a great view of the rainbow bridge and the Statue of Liberty....
Meiji Shrine
We visited the Meiji Shrine of New Years Eve and it was surprisingly quiet although saying that we were a few hours early so I'm sure it got busier by midnight.
The Meiji Shrine is one of Tokyo's most popular attractions and it's in Yoyogi Park and just across the road from Harajuku's main shopping street so definitely a great area to visit.
Tokyo Imperial Palace
Tokyo Imperial Palace is probably not something at the top of my list to visit again as there's not much to see there seeing as the main palace grounds are off limits to the public but it is a very pretty area.
The gardens outside are nice and quiet to walk around despite being surrounded by high rise buildings and there's lot's of adorable ducks and swans to say hello to, so if you just want somewhere to relax for a couple of hours it's possibly worth a visit.
After out cold and snowy day in Disneyland I packed on the layers for DisneySea although it actually ended up being a pretty nice day which meant pretty lighting for pretty photos and if DisneySea is anything it's super pretty I loved seeing all the beautiful architecture there and even better there were lots of characters out to take photos with, I mean look at that cute dress Minnie is wearing I love it so much.
We actually started lining up for a photo with Mickey but were told he might be being swapped soon with Minnie which I was totally cool with and even more so when she came skipping out in that cute dress, urgh I really want her dress it's so pretty. Then after getting a bunch of photos with characters we headed over to Toy Story Mania to get some fastpasses but they were already gone... we did keep checking back throughout the day but there was always a 2 hour wait so we missed out on that one but I still really enjoyed the other rides, although maybe not The Tower of Terror which had me screaming for my life...
My fave ride is probably Indiana Jones with Journey to the Center of the Earth coming in a close second, I loved those two rides and they kinda have the same theme to and well if there's anything I want to be in life it's an explorer because I love going on new adventures! I loved that DisneySea was like you were taking a journey around the world with all its different themed lands, apparently it's aimed towards the more adult crowd and great for dates... Japan is all about that romance thing!
I mean even Stitch has a date.... me! Ok but seriously l love how we match them in this photo and I adore Stitch as I've probably mentioned several times in my previous blog posts, we found him (and Angel) in the Arabian Coast section hence the cool headgear, Daisy Duck was also taking photos there in a cute Arabian themed outfit but by the time we got our photo with Stitch, Daisy and the Aladdin characters had all disappeared.
The Arabian Coast was absolutely beautiful I loved how authentic it looked and the smell of the curry popcorn was amazing and I can definitely vouch for its deliciousness to and I was so hungry by that point it didn't last very long, I'd pretty much devoured the whole box by the time I walked across the bridge to the Mermaid's Lagoon...
How gosh darn beautiful is this place? I loved DisneySea and the Fantasmic show was probably the best show I've ever seen and a great way to end our day there but of course I couldn't leave without getting myself some Duffy souvenirs even though I'd never heard of him prior to my visit to Japan but he's a pretty big deal there I mean he's even got a whole section of the park dedicated to him and upon our arrival we spotted a Japanese couple not only carrying two really big Duffy toys but also bags, headbands and to top it all off they were pushing a baby carriage full of Duffy plushies, their love for the Disney bear is real!
What Disney Park is your favourite or would you love to visit?
Let's be real one of the main reasons for my trip to Tokyo was for the shopping, I've been a fan of Japanese street fashion for many years and it has definitely had a major influence on my personal style. There is something to suit all styles in Tokyo and it's an absolute haven for people like me who love to dress a bit quirky and enjoy finding different and unusual items so today I thought I would share three of my ultimate fave places to shop in Tokyo.
I have dreamed about visiting Shibuya 109 for many, many years and it did not disappoint as I got so many beautiful things from there although it was complete mayhem on New Years Day there were so many shop girls screamingabout the sales my head was ringing but hey totally worth it and it's all part of the Tokyo experience. Shibuya was also home to my favourite sushi restaurant Uobei which we visited quite a few times. You can even find some great Otaku stuff in Shibuya to at Parco, Mandarake and Animate, and of course no trip to Shibuya is complete without saying hello to Hachiko who was occasionally joined by a cat...
Tokyo Disneyland has been on my travel bucket list ever since I saw photos of my uncle's visit there in the early 90's, I have dreamed about this place almost my entire life so I was SO excited for our visit and I had planned the perfect outfit out and everything and then the day came and the weather was horrible! We had been really lucky with the weather during our time there I had even been joking about it being our "summer in Tokyo" but not this day...
Despite the crappy weather I still had a great time and one of the advantages of a gloomy day is that the park wasn't too full of people in fact it all got a bit magical during the Frozen Parade as during the finale as Elsa was singing Let it Go it actually started to snow and not the fake snow they had been pumping out REAL gosh darn snow how magic is that?
Meeting the characters was MAYHEM you literally just crowded around the characters battling with pushy parents and screaming kids waiting for them to chose you, no lines, no organisation just mayhem I'd never experienced that before so it was quite a shock but we eventually got chosen by Donald YEY!
There was one thing I was looking forward to most at Tokyo Disneyland and that was the infamous Little Green Men mochi, I even googled where to find them (FYI it's the Soft Landing snack stand in Tomorrowland, upstairs, near the exit of the Star Tour ride) and I'm happy to report that they did not disappoint the strawberry one was pure heaven OMG I would fly back to Tokyo right this minute for another one it was just that good!
I tried to do a few different things in Tokyo Disneyland that I hadn't done in the other Disney parks I had visited so I went on a few new rides and I also finally got to see the Electric Light Parade after seeing the photos my uncle took of it back in the early 90's and although it was absolutely freezing it was super pretty and such a great end to our day in Disneyland but our Disney adventures didn't end there as the next day we were going to Disneysea....
>
