A few weeks ago Bristol saw another fantastic Upfest street art festival take place. Upfest is Europe’s largest free street art and graffiti festival, and the event sees artists travelling from all over the world to take part. There was lots of great artwork there, but today I’d like to highlight a few Japan-inspired pieces … Continue reading
Whilst I was in London recently I popped in to see my old colleagues at the Daiwa Anglo-Japanese Foundation and was invited in to see the latest exhibition: Unexpected Stories by Umi Kumano (熊野海). Umi Kumano is a Japanese artist from Fukui, who currently lives in Berlin as a guest student at the Berlin University of … Continue reading
This weekend I went to the UK’s biggest J-culture event HYPER JAPAN at Olympia in London. I was working there, enthusing to the masses about travelling to Japan and what a cool destination it is, and after my shift finished yesterday I hung around for a little while to take in some of the craziness. … Continue reading
And so the final day of my 2015 Japan trip came. 20th December – my birthday – and I was determined to celebrate in style! That morning I woke up to the most gorgeous view of Mount Fuji as the sun rose above the harbour – what an incredible start to the day! I met … Continue reading
After returning from my Mount Shosha adventure on 18th December I decided to explore Himeji a bit more, and went in search of some kind of reward for my morning’s efforts. I soon found what I was looking for: Jidai Cafe. Jidai Cafe is a tacky tourist trap of a cafe serving ninja themed food, … Continue reading
I don’t think I have ever been as giddy with excitement as I was when I stepped into the Kawaii Monster Cafe with my friend Adam on Saturday 5th December last year. I just couldn’t stop smiling and giggling. The Kawaii Monster Cafe was everything I hoped it would be! It’s a place like no … Continue reading
How do you follow a visit to an owl cafe with Japan blogger Jasmine from Zooming Japan? With a visit to another theme cafe, of course! As fans of everything kawaii, neither of us could resist having lunch in the adorably cute Ojipan Cafe in Harajuku. Ojipan (おじぱん) is a Q-LIA character (similar to Sanrio … Continue reading
So, I’m back in the UK now after an amazing month in Japan, and Christmas has already been and gone. Japan was Christmas crazy whilst I was there, with festive tunes playing in every shop, lift and hotel, and Christmas displays everywhere. Everything was lit up, covered in santas and very, very sparkly. Christmas was … Continue reading
Last time queen of kawaii Kyary Pamyu Pamyu (きゃりーぱみゅぱみゅ) came to the UK I couldn’t go to her concert and I was gutted, so when I heard she was returning I knew I couldn’t miss it for the world! My friend and I went up to Camden for the night a couple of weeks ago, … Continue reading
10th – 12th July 2015 saw the HYPER JAPAN Festival, dubbed ‘the UK’s biggest J-culture event’ come to the O2 in London. Having previously been held at venues such as Olympia and Earls Court, the O2 was a new home for this ever-popular event. I went along on the Saturday and Sunday to get my … Continue reading
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