Bright Life! Bright Life!
Why is Totoro so popular? Is it Ghibli’s magically simplistic yet detailed anime style? The elegant soundtrack drawn from "Western classical, Japanese classical, and electropop-minimalism"? Is it the mesmerising weaving of Japanese culture with humour, entertainment and reverence? Or is it our fat, fluffy Totoro himself with his big ol’ smile? Whatever the reason, Totoro [...]
Kifune Castle was completed and crowned weirdest experience of my Beppu trip; so next up is my scariest, Beppu Ropeway. Just like the castle, you can see the ropeway from many places within the city and, unlike the castle, it’s very very high. Going to the ropeway was a last minute decision, made while eating [...]
The boisterous and bonkers Beppu called me back again and, like a sailor drawn by my siren`s watery call, I obliged. My first trip to the onsen city left me a little bit breathless, very much inspired and desperately searching for the right adjective; eventually arriving at `saturated` due to its applied polysemy. My second [...]
When you visit Kyoto city, Japan’s old capital, you won’t be short of things to see, especially when it comes to temples. You have Higashi Honganji, Nanzenji, Kiyomizu-dera to name a few, and the list of shrines is just as long. One temple that’s worth a visit, especially in Spring or Autumn, is Toji Temple [...]
As mentioned in my previous post my visit to HK took place in October. At this time the unrest taking place was a different level than the unrest that is occurring now. The violence has now moved into the Polytechnic University, in response to the death of a 22 year-old-student. I read about what happened [...]
I did it, I finally got to visit Hong Kong! Granted it was a short one, only one weekend from 12th-14th October, but it was a weekend packed with culture and new experiences. One of my big location goals was the Kowloon region. Anyone who read about my visit to the soon-to-be-closing Anata no Warehouse arcade [...]
Hiroshima, famous to the world as the a-bombed city of World War 2, alongside Nagasaki. Today it is a city of peace and tolerance, welcoming people from all over the world with open arms. The city's culture is rich, both contemporary and reflective. It's known best for it's 'Deer Island' Miyajima, it's powerful A-Bomb Dome, [...]
The last week of June found me exploring the city of Nagasaki once again. If you know a little about Japan, reading the “last week of June” should send alarm bells ringing. For those who don’t know, as I mentioned in my previous post Japan is currently swimming through its rainy season. This meant that [...]
My first time in Japan kicked off with hot humid air, lush landscapes and every Japanese person I met telling me that Japan has 4 seasons. The latter point was very puzzling to me, a Brit, who also experiences 4 seasons. I had thought that 4 seasons was the norm, but the gasps, widened eyes [...]
The infamously cute, colourful, crazy and sensory-overloading Kawaii Monster Cafe is the drugless trip we all need to take. The themed cafe opened in 2015 and I'd been aware of it's presence for a while now. Just like my trip to Anata no Warehouse, I decided to bring my family along to see it too. The [...]