FYeahJapan: A Day in Shibuya - Tokyo

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 themed cafes as you can! 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?

Love & BEARS

Cate

xoxo

FYeahJapan: A Visit to the Himouto! Umaru-chan Cafe in Animate, Akihabara

If you're ever in Japan one of the things you have to do is visit a theme cafe! 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 themed cafes 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

FYeahJapan: A Day in Ueno Park - Tokyo

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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?

Love & Dorayaki

Cate

xoxo