I was really lucky this Christmas and birthday and I received lots of great kawaii (cute) stuff. I’ve already told you about the gorgeous Hello Kitty Liberty Art Fabrics dinner set which I received for my birthday, but here are some of the other things I received… Christmas looked promising from the start: I got some … Continue reading
In my final post about Hyper Japan 2012 Christmas I thought I’d focus on the true spirit of Christmas – shopping! 😉 Hyper Japan was the place to pick up kawaii (cute) and otaku (geeky) Christmas presents this year, and I could have spent a fortune just on presents for myself! Other than the food … Continue reading
Last week’s post was about Rikuzentakata (りくぜんたかた / 陸前高田), so this week I need to start with た (ta). A big thank you to japanaustralia for suggesting Takayama (高山), Takamatsu (高松), Takahashi (高梁), tanuki (狸 / an animal), and taue (田植 / planting rice). In the end, I decided to write about… Tanuki (たぬき / 狸) Tanuki are something you will, without a doubt, notice if you … Continue reading
This weekend I took a trip up to Norwich to visit a friend, and we went to see the exhibition Japan: Kingdom of Characters at the Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts. Japan: Kingdom of Characters is on until 24th June and it’s free to enter. It’s quite a small exhibition, and you can’t take photos in … Continue reading
Last year when I went to the Ghibli Museum in Mitaka, Tokyo, I picked up a flyer for an upcoming Studio Ghibli film called From Up On Poppy Hill (コクリコ坂から / Kokuriko-zaka Kara). The film was released in Japan in July 2011, but by that time I had already returned to the UK. Now, finally, … Continue reading
The 4th annual Terracotta Far East Film Festival will be held from 12th -15th April, hosted by the Prince Charles Cinema in London’s Chinatown. The festival programme includes films from South Korea, China, Burma, Taiwan and, of course, Japan. The Japanese films that will be showing are: 13th April From Up On Poppy Hill [Goro … Continue reading
Last week’s post was about Shibuya (しぶや / 渋谷), so this week I need to start with や (ya). I had a couple of suggestions for topics this week, so a big thank goes to IMissJapan, who suggested “yakisoba”, and Brian, who suggested “yakusoku”. Both were great ideas, but I confess I had my heart set … Continue reading
Last week’s post was about kumihimo (くみひも / 組紐), so this week I need to start with も (mo). I got quite excited when I thought about this week’s topic as I realised I had another opportunity to write about Japanese spirits and monsters. I decided to write about… Mononoke (もののけ / 物の怪) Many of you will … Continue reading
Totoro slippers. So, so, so cute. I caught up with a friend today and received these as a belated birthday present. I was so excited that I had to share them with you all. Not only will my feet be cozy this winter, they will be ridiculously cute! 😀
It’s my birthday today, so I’ve decided to write a very self-indulgent post featuring some of the things I love about Japan. I’ve picked 30 random topics off the top of my head, in no particular order – one for every candle on my virtual birthday cake. 😉 1. Takoyaki Osaka’s favourite octopus balls! 2. … Continue reading
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