When I headed back to my mum’s house for Christmas, she had a surprise for me. We met in Chichester and, before driving to Bognor Regis we made a bit of a detour… to Portsmouth! Tofu Cute, one of my HYPER JAPAN favourites, have just opened their first physical shop and it happens to be … Continue reading
It’s time for Word of the Week again! Last time we looked at a Japanese word or phrase beginning with ‘ha’ (は), and focussed on the phrase 裸の付き合い (hadaka no tsukiai), meaning ‘naked friendship’. This week I’m looking for a word or phrase beginning with ‘hi’ (ひ). A big thank you to the one person who joined in … Continue reading
I’m not sure what happened to July, but time seems to be flying fast and I realised I would have to cook my monthly recipe today or not at all! For a while now I’ve been wanting to try a ‘kyaraben’ (キャラ弁) – a character bento or character lunch box. I always look at pictures … Continue reading
When I was in Japan in 2011 I saw the Tokyo SkyTree standing in its full glory (634 metres), but it didn’t open until May 2012, more than a year after I had left Japan. I love a tall tower with a good view, so I knew I would have to visit the SkyTree on … Continue reading
At Zenkoji (a temple in Nagano) today I spotted these Rilakkuma (リラックマ) ‘ema‘ (絵馬) boards with people’s prayers and wishes on them. Cute.
The other day I shared my latest bunch of Rilakkuma goods with you (A whole lotta kawaii…) but that wasn’t the end of it! At Christmas I was lucky enough to get a few more kawaii Rilakkuma items from some friends who know me so well… A Rilakkuma tissue box cover A Rilakkuma USB stick And a … Continue reading
I am a very lucky girl, and my friends are wonderful people! My best friend in Japan is especially wonderful, and knows me so well. This week I was literally squealing with delight (sorry neighbours!) at the birthday/Christmas box that arrived from Japan. Brace yourselves – this is a whole lotta kawaii… ありがとう to my … Continue reading
Back in January I wrote about the Rilakkuma 10th Anniversary zodiac plushies that had been released, and I never expected to get one – but I did! My lovely friend in Japan sent me one as a surprise, and it’s so cute! This is Sagittarius Rilakkuma (いて座のリラックマ)… He has a little bow and arrow… And the … Continue reading
It’s my favourite Japanese character Rilakkuma‘s (リラックマ) 10th Anniversary this year and, as part of the anniversary celebrations, San-X have released a Zodiac-themed series for Rilakkuma! In the series, Rilakkuma is dressed up as all 12 signs of the Zodiac, in these super kawaii plushies: They’re also available in smaller sizes – the kind of size … Continue reading
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
Haikugirl's Japan 