Japan 2016 - Travelling, Aoyama Flower Market and Izakaya

Hi everyone!

It's taken me a while, but I'm here with photos and videos from my Japan trip! Most of these are from my Snapchat, as I thought it would be a good idea for my followers to see what I was getting up to. I'd also like to point out that there are some days when I didn't take any photos (stupidly) or took photos/videos on my Snapchat and forgot to save them!

If you've followed my blog for a while, you'll know that the last time I visited Japan was 2010, so this trip was very long awaited and highly anticipated! The time went so quickly from actually booking it all to then getting on the plane! (6 months-ish)

I was only going to be in Japan for a really short time (5 days, eep!) so I wasn't really able to see and do all of the things I wanted to do, but I managed to have a wonderful time, nonetheless.

So I flew on a Monday, meaning that my holiday didn't technically start until Tuesday.

Just some casual Airport wear - all black everything and brand new, white Adidas trainers!

So on my day of arrival, I had a minor hiccup which left me feeling incredibly stressed for a good solid hour, and ended up in a rushed video call to my parents at 7AM UK time... Not so great. 

After I managed to smooth things over, I ended up sleeping for most of the day because I was so tired. I really don't understand how people can sleep on planes. It's impossible! Next time, I definitely need to drink, or take sleeping tablets and see if it works! I decided to get up and get myself ready, and went out for a few hours in the evening.

I hadn't worn make-up in a few days, so it felt great to slap some on. I headed out to Shibuya, and my main mission was to buy hair straighteners, as my own UK ones wouldn't have worked well with the voltage in Japan. I managed to pick up a ridiculously cheap pair for about Y1200 which sorted me out while I was away. I also picked up a few other small things, like Instax Polaroid film (it's disgustingly expensive over here) and other bits.

I wandered around Donki and completely forgot that Japan has all of these crazy props and accessories for Fancy Dress! I ended up bringing the Squid hat back for a friend.

I ended my evening with some drinks and snacks in one of the Hub branches. They have a few of these dotted around, and they're supposedly the "best" British Pubs in Japan. I had also forgotten that in Japan, you can still smoke inside, so it was weird at first, being asked where I wanted to sit!

The next day, I had arranged to meet with a couple of friends. I had a semi-decent amount of sleep and was excited to get ready and get out into Tokyo properly again!

One of two days that I didn't wear all black! The striped top is actually a body, it's super cute. The weather was cold in Tokyo, but the sun shone so brightly, and it was lovely and warm when you stood still! My scarf is actually a cape, but I like to roll it up and wear it as a huge scarf. It's ridiculously cosy and is great if you're just looking for something to throw on over an outfit, and you can double it up again later when you wish! Excellent.

I met with my friend Mami and we had some lunch. These photos were taken by her, as my phone had died and was sitting in the Softbank shop to charge..(The first of many times this was to happen....) I first met Mami back in 2010, when I was booked in to perform at the very first Hyper Japan event. She's a hair and make-up artist, and has introduced me to some amazing people over the years! She works with a lot of famous magazine models, as well as DJs and also does regular bookings for weddings etc. We went for Okonomiyaki in Shibuya, in a great place tucked right around the back. It was so delicious, there's a reason it's one of my favourite foods!

After lunch, we walked through Center-Gai and she wanted to go inside this small pet shop. If you've been to Japan before, you'll know that these are often dotted around. It's actually kind of sad to see them, as the animals are often very small and young, and I don't know if they come from the best of places or how they are really treated when not completely on show for all to see... 

We walked through to Harajuku and Omotesando and found this great store called Rainbow Spectrum, and of course, I had to take a contrasting photo outside! How cool, with the rainbow!

Inside, they sold so many things in so many bright colours! We found some drawing pads in the store where people had been testing out the pens and crayons that were being sold. We opened one book and found my husband drawn inside! (For those who have followed this blog for a long time, you'll know that me and Mike got "married" in Disneyland back in 2013 - and to those who didn't, now you know, aha!)

We wandered around Harajuku and went to a placed called Aoyama Flower Market Tea House . It was amazing! It's a flower shop that has a small cafe hidden inside a conservatory at the back of the shop. As soon as we walked in, the wonderful smell of flowers hit us, as well as the beautiful decor and merchandising! I'm not a huge tea drinker, I mainly survive on Coffee, but I picked a Vanilla Tea. I think Mami chose a Rose Tea. It was served on this cute little tray, with a small flower in a glass.

Some (bad) shots of the inside of the conservatory. You could also choose to have light cakes and snacks inside, but I think just the Tea was perfect! My Mom would be in heaven coming here!

The displays were incredible, and were all blocked in colour, which made it look so beautiful. As Valentines Day was coming the weekend after, they had made some Valentines displays too. Holidays such as this are normally displayed in various cute ways all around Japan! It's so different to London, I think I prefer it!

An awful photo of me inside the shop, uploaded for your viewing pleasure.

It was getting dark outside, and I needed to make my way to meet some other friends, so we headed out to catch the train. On the way, we bumped into some people dressed up as Setsubun spirits. I didn't have the chance to go to a Temple for Setsubun on my first day, as I was asleep! I'd like to try this some time in the future!

I said goodbye to Mami and headed over to meet my friend Hiromi, and her girlfriend Miku for some dinner. We headed to an Izakaya in Shinbashi.

You may recognise Hiromi as "Hiromin" from egg magazine/Happie Nuts magazine.

We've been good friends since 2010, so it was great to meet with her on this trip! I also met with Miku, who was super cute and so friendly! We went to an Izakaya for drinks and food, and then went to an arcade to take Purikura and play some games.

Hiromi found a wig near the Purikura and put it on, making her look so different!

Sadly, I didn't save any of my Snapchat story from this day :( But I did take one video on my phone!

 

That's all for now. I'll upload the rest of my trip soon!

donc

Bonsoir!

I wanted to let you all know about some exciting news (it keeps coming, I tell ya!) about some upcoming trips that I have to the wonderful Parisian streets of France!

Yep, that's right, I'm going to Paris! I haven't been since 2007/8 when I went on a school trip (lol) but I used to go to France quite a lot with my family via the Eurotunnel and Eurostar. I think my parents really wanted to make sure me and my sister were "cultured" in some way or another and really enjoyed taking us on day-trips to see France! It's so weird thinking that you can essentially be in another country in about an hour! (dependant on the journey type of course)

Photos from the last time I was in Paris...5 years ago! I look so different in that middle picture (on the left!)

Anyway, I'll be going to Paris twice in the next few months, how lucky! But this is going to be pretty awesome too, as I haven't been anywhere abroad this year, with my last two trips abroad being in the late summer of last year! I'll be going first in May with my Japanese friend Yukika, who I met at the end of last year and who is coming to study in England from April-June! She's so cute, and I actually met her through a music artist, after seeing her in a video on YouTube! I started following her on Instagram and we became friends! It's crazy what can happen online!

Here we are at M&M's world!

She has never been to Paris and wanted to go really badly, and after uploading some photos of Tokyo Disney and Disney Sea on her IG, I was thinking "hmm... maybe we should do Euro Disney!" so, yeah! It's happening! I'm so amped to go! I haven't been to Euro Disney, only Tokyo Disney & Disney Sea!

Tokyo Disney Sea '09

Tokyo Disney '10

I really want to wear my Mickey/Minnie ears hat around the park...I hope I don't forget to pack it!! We'll also be exploring Paris for a day, and it will be nice to find souvenirs and things to take photos of! Haha, what a typical tourist! My second trip to Paris will be in July  and I'll be going with the lovely Michelle who runs Roxie Sweetheart and some other really amazing girls, like Ellen from Cyberdog Brighton! We'll be going to Japan Expo which is something I've wanted to go to for a long time, but never really got around to sorting a trip out! I know there was a UK Japan Expo back in 2007/8 but apparently it wasn't very good, and I don't think they've done one since! I've heard so many great things about the one in Paris, so I'm really excited to be going!

Well, of course I'll be sharing photos and videos of my trips, and of course I shall write about them! I hope you're looking forward to these entries! I'll leave you with this really empowering song by Bif Naked, one of my favourite artists! I felt a bit strange today and listening to this really brought my mood up! Enjoy <3 p="">

Horiday

Hello hello!

How are you all doing? Since my last update with my weird no-makeup or eyebrow video, I have lots of photos to share with you, and i'll expand on the mini updates I mentioned in the video.

I'll also update you on some stuff that has happened in my personal life...

First up; I'VE MOVED HOUSE! I'm finally in my new place with Adam! It's a good location as we're really close to a tram stop (ikr, the Tram is so weird but kinda cool!) and we have like 2 or 3 retail parks near us too! We have a huge supermarket, a MASSIVE Ikea (yay) and loads of other stores too, as WELL as being really close to the town centre by Bus, Tram or by walking. Travelling to work takes a bit longer now, but i'm used to having a long journey from when I was still living with my parents so it doesn't really bother me. I can get to London Bridge within 15-25 minutes, which is great for when I start work early in the morning!

Anyways, our new place is quite big too! (Always a plus, as I have so much crap). It's a bit of a weird place too..haha, I don't really want to go into it too much, but it's basically converted space and it means that the rooms are really big. We live with some other people too, but the layout of the place is quite big and everyone generally keeps themselves to themselves so we don't really see them at all, or, ever! We also live with Perry and Maddie, our former flatmates, but again, they live in another room like a few corridors away, so we don't see them every single day; maybe if we go over to see them or vice versa etc.

Our kitchen and bathroom is huuuge too, so lucky!


At the end of the day, we're all happy and settled! Just need to pop to Ikea again and buy MORE units! When our room is finally complete, i'll share a photo or a video!

My next little update, which, is kinda rubbish to be honest... is about me being assualted on the way home from work.... I got hit in the face by a stupid dickhead (luckily not very hard and not punched full on or anything) whilst at the tube station and he caused a massive argument and argh it wass just shit. I had to file a police report, do statements etc, BUT, hopefully they will catch this guy. I don't really want to go over what happened in too much detail as I don't want this entry to be upsetting and boring, but he hit me on purpose, and also out of nowhere, and then tried to actually hit me again whilst Maddie had to hold him back and we told him to get lost... SUCKS. My face really hurt for a couple of days but it's gone away now, and luckily I didn't have to consult a doctor or take any medical leave! Ladies; please take extra care wherever you are, especially if you travel alone! I didn't know, but at London Underground stations, the big white circular "Help" machine actually works with the control room, so if you press the green button on there to speak to a member of staff, it points a camera directly to you from the control room, so the staff can see you and if it's serious, can work out a way best to help you! I didn't realise, but at the time, I was stood right next to one of these machines but didn't notice or even think to push the button...stupid! But now I know for reference, as i'm hoping I don't get something like this ever again!

What was funny is that the guy tried to blame me for him hitting me, and then his argument was that I looked stupid because of the way I dressed, even though I was in jeans and casual wear! This is the first time i've ever had anyone actually physically do something in regards to the way I look. when I dressed in Manba, the worst I ever got was someone from a distant shouting "EWWW!!!!" or hate mail and "death threats" online. Nowadays, when i'm dressed even in the plainest of clothes, I would never expect anyone to throw a torrent of abuse at me, physical or verbal! People make me sick sometimes, grr!

Another update is some photos from the wedding I went to at the end of April! My cousin Eoin got married in Holland - this is a part I need to explain lol, as I get asked it a lot; Some of my Irish family live in Holland, and have done since they were kids so they like, grew up there and can speak Dutch etc, but i'm not any part Dutch, just have family who live there! - So yeah! He got married and it was really nice. The ceremony wes all in Dutch, but hey, it's a wedding right? You know what happens!


Holland was really fun, we used to go there so much as kids but not really anymore, but I definitely want to go back sometime soon, maybe Summer or something! I'll be going to Ireland again this Summer for a mini holiday, which again is weird as I haven't really been in the Summer since I was a kid, or since I went to my cousin's (sister to Eoin) wedding last September! Adam is going to come with me...I hope he likes rural villages! :D

And my last update of this entry isssssss, my holiday to Ibiza! I was really lucky and honored to be invited away to Ibiza with work! The company owner has a gorgeous Villa in Ibiza and we got to spend 3-4 glorious days there! I got sunburnt...lol but I had a great time! We also got to see the brand new Cyberdog store that's just opened in San Antonio!

I'll try to upload my own photos and share them in another entry!
That's it for now, enjoy, and i'll be back soon!

Fáilte

Hello everyone!

I'm going to slowly be returning to the blogging world, and I have some updates and news I want to share with you all too :D First of all, I want to thank you guys for your kind comments on my last blog entry. I've just had this void in my life most recently and I can't really figure out why. Hopefully I'm going to be getting back on track and making the most of everyday :)

This weekend, I'm going to Ireland for my cousin's wedding! I already mentioned it here, which was a little while ago! The time has really flown by since then. I rushed to buy a dress last week and found a long maxi dress - which I've always said I wouldn't wear; 1) I'm SHORT! 2) They're usually gross 3) They're a summer item. We haven't had a summer here in UK, nor in Ireland, where it shall be between 16 and 18 degrees with lots of rain when we go. Fabulous.

fly me to the moon

Hello! I'm writing this blog post from Dubai! Well...Dubai International Airport!
To be more precise, the hotel in the airport!

I need to try and sleep so i'll (try to) keep this entry to a minimum :D Our flight from London this morning was delayed but they didn't bother to mention it until we were in the lounge and waiting to get on the plane! We were due to fly at 8:40 and ended up leaving at around 10 instead....grumpy passengers!! lol

The flight was pretty smooth to be fair and didn't feel like 6 hours at all. I also think Emirates is better than Virgin! The staff were nicer, the plane was nicer, and I feel weird saying this, but the food was nicer too! And that's a compliment, as airplane food is usually gross! They gave us soooo much too! Like, for breakfast we had a fruit salad, a croissant and an apple turnover (not really a breakfast item but it was nice!) and damn good orange juice, and then for lunch we had this chicken curry; which was actually not that good, the chicken was funny so I just ate the rice and sauce lol; wait! and we also had an appetiser for that, of noodles with chilli and prawns which also came with a bread roll and a lemon/vanilla pudding AND bloody crackers and stuff too! Insaaaaaaaaane!

Our hotel is soooo nice! I think its supposed to be like 5 star quality or something!

Anyhow, I must go as I need to catch a few Z's! Dec says hi!

Catch up with you all in Osaka tomorrow!

p.s. yesterday's performance at Hyper Japan! went really well, and I also embarrassed myself on a live Nico Nico Douga internet web stream ;p

p.p.s. thank you for all the comments about my new hair! im glad you like it!

bon vacance

Hello! and almost goodbye! at the same time!

Tomorrow it's the first holiday i've been talking about; the one with my man and his family! It's exciting but i'm kind of nervous at the same time. I get on well with his family, so thats no problem, but like, a holiday can make or break a relationship, so I don't want to go home broken hearted! I know it probably won't happen, but we don't see each other every single day, just when we're able to, which is usually a couple of days in a week when we're not working, and that's great because each time we see each other, it feels like it's been ages, when really it hasn't and I think it makes our relationship stronger :D

We've never argued, so I hope we don't start to! This is the happiest and strongest relationship i've ever had, and I want it to stay that way! Moving on from worrying, last night (Saturday) I met up with the organisers for the Hyper Japan event and some dancers and Nij also. They want some Japanese people to dance on stage with us, so they've got two people and they're both really nice! When the time comes, there will be 2 girls and 2 guys...well, 3 girls and 1 guy haha, and it should be really good! We just need to work out some routines that we'll be teaching, a name for the group and what we'll be wearing! Then we need to get some photos done to show ourselves off and stuff like that to make us look extra special. It's exciting! Meeting them yesterday really reminded me of being in Japan and hanging out with the film crew, who became our friends by the end of the trip, not just people who were there to film us.

Points for this week:
1) This Is England '86 just started airing on TV. It's a 4 part mini series following on from the awesome This Is England film, and from the first episode, i'm already hooked and wanting to watch more!



This Is England (movie) film trailer



Channel 4 promo for This Is England '86

I looove Smell's style! She looked way better in the original movie though:



2)I have new extensions that are made of REAL hair yay! So now I have mega classy 24" extens to play with :D

3)A TV programme has just started on ITV1 called "Surgery School" which features where I work! The first ep. showed one of the hospitals in my trust, St.Helier and had loads of people on there I know and work with all the time, lol it was weird to see our kind of environment on TV...there are 3 more episodes and maybe my place will be on there next!

4)2.5 WEEKS TIL JAPAN!!!!!!

5) I am in L O V E with October egg! All the military, bohe and fur trends! I'm so happy that I have a lot of the stuff i've bought recently as it's all featured in the pages! Scooooore

Not really any photos this post, just videos! Sorry!

I'll speak to you when i'm back from Lanzarote!

...sigh

This sucks. Bad.

Right now I should be in Amsterdam, it nearly being time for the rest of the girls to turn up so I can meet everyone...but no..im at home....

Unfortunately I missed my flight this morning, and im in such an awful mood. Earlier I just wanted to cry and throw everything on the floor and for my Dad to just appear out of nowhere and help me out, but alas, nope. Im independent and I have good time keeping and all that shit, but this just SUCKS MAN.

I got to the Airport with 1hr15 before my flight departed, and about 45 mins before my departure gate closed, and because I didn't have any bags to put on the plane and because I checked in online, I just went through to security. I didn't beep, and my liquids in my plastic bag were fine (which I fretted over all night) but they seized my silver spikey-stud bracelet.

And said "you can't take this, it looks like a weapon". ITS MADE OF PLASTIC! To try and "prove" a point, the guy like, massaged his palm with it and said "yeah, see, when I do this....to my hand....oh" YEAH, FAIL. And they kept telling me that I was going to harm people! Wtf! I have no intention of anything like that, and that doesn't even pop into my mind when I look at that bracelet! The guy said I could either post it home or put it into lost baggage, and then said "by the way, you have 10 minutes to get on your flight"...thanks a lot man.... So I went back through security (not checks) and put it in lost baggage to pick up tomorrow (Sunday) when I came back through and then I went back and had to be re-checked at security AGAIN, and someone in front of me beeped but they thought it was me so I had to be all touched and shit by some gross woman! Wtf!

Yeah, so im also going TO PISS MYSELF and I run out to see that my flight is going from gate 2...okay , so I jump on the trainy type thing that takes you from different gates and go to gate 2 to find out that my flight isn't leaving from there.......!!! WHAT THE FUCK. Luckily, 2 others had also seen the computer screen and we were told a security personel would take us to the aircraft, bearing in mind that the gate has now closed and that the flight goes in 25 minutes.... The guy turns up 20 minutes later, we get to the gate with 2 minutes until the flight leaves and EVEN THOUGH there are people boarding the aircraft and still walking up to it, the pricks refuse to let us on.

The next flight for me after that was 17:00 tomorrow....or I could have gone to Dussledorf at 10:55 this morning but that would have cost me £100 just to "change the flight details on your boarding details", even though a flight costs like £30! Doesn't make any sense! I tell you, the guys at the desks just sit there for entertainment value or something because they can't even answer anything you ask them! Oh, and my bracelet? I had to pay for a DAY's stay in the lost baggage even though it was there for 1hr30....

Im sorry girls...I hope you all have a great time this weekend :(

Good Friday and the Easter weekend

Happy Easter holidays guys!

It sucks, its my bloody 6 day weekend (5 now that its Friday) and I have nout to do! Yesterday I saw my man, but he only stayed a little bit because he went out to see his friends. I stayed up watching OutKast videos and Buffy The Vampire Slayer.....; D

My Friday nights are so dry now! I never do anything :( I remember going out all the time...and now I don't. Which I guess is good for my purse, but it gets boring! And then the weekend is overrrrrrr

Oh! And to update you on the job front - that telephone interview I had for the lifestyle place...the woman was so unreliable and unprofessional, my god. She never contacted me on Monday or Tuesday, and when I emailied her on Wednesday to share my annoyance and such, she said she would contact me at 5:15 that evening. Come 5:15 and nothing! She didn't get round to calling me 'til yesterday at like 2:30 and I didn't get the job anyway; she sent me an email saying that they were "impressed" with me, but oter candidates were "exceptionally better" ... haha. The meeting with the recruitment agency for the Tolworth Tower job went well. I was late though, but only because I got lost! The guy said that they need to stop giving out the directions they send out because they're wrong :z .... the interview itself will take place around the 19th April, so I hope to god I get something..

My computer's internet won't work, so im using my dad's old laptop which he gave to us a couple years back and I subsequently smashed the screen internally whilst playing Tomb Raider so it was a little "out of action" for a while. It also has no "H" key, just a button where the thing used to be. Its very annoying. The internet won't work on the computer, but it will on this laptop so its like wth is going on. All my pictures etc etc are stored on there so I have to resort to using Memory USB if I really want something. There is also no proper language packs as its only Windows 2000 or XP or something so Ive installed the JP ones, but I still can't type in Japanese, only copy and paste, so that makes things a little more annoying.

I must say, I really am liking the new member of HIBISCGYARU, Floz. She's so down to earth and sweet! We all had a great time last weekend trotting around Selfridges and then having a really long, but good, talk in Macdonalds~ I also want to answer more questions!!!!!!
Formspring meeeeeeeeeee