Aoyama Cemetery ♡

This place was so beautiful it made me cry, maybe it was the sheer amount of flowers, how quiet it was and the fact it was such a calming peaceful place, every grave was so well looked after and had lovely flowers placed around it, and the sakura was fully bloomed and beginning to fall slightly with the wind. This area of Tokyo between Aoyama and Roppongi is not somewhere I`d been to before, its  full of offices and large expensive buildings and shops, but this little haven between lovely Aoyama and some of Tokyos big art galleries felt like miles away from the hustle and bustle of Tokyo, I can't wait for the photos from my little film camera to come out! ahh!

& my first trip to try yummy cold pressed juice in Tokyo! yum!

Lots of love! x x x

Part 2 : Further Cherry Blossom wanderings ♡

Shinjuku Goen has to be a feature on my cherry blossom exploring, there are so many types of trees there that even if you go a little bit before or after season there are always so many beautiful flowers to see, this year I timed it just right going a little after the main rush, so many flowers were falling and the late blooming types like the little ball blossom you see below were just starting to fall. I even managed to find a cute little juice bar with a vegan sandwich option super close so was able to take my diary & sketchbook and have a little picnic in the sunshine. I love the constant in places like this of the nature against the harsh grey skies of Tokyo architecture..

Yummy dinner at Commune Omotesando after blossom viewing, fried soy & brown rice veggie plate..

Inokashira Koen, I only made a brief little trip but definitely worth it, its always a good park to go by yourself and wander around in..

Kudanshita..this place literally blew my mind, the amount of blossoms here were seriously insane, my lovely friend was visiting from Kyoto and we wanted to try something different so checked this place out, the blooms stretch all around the edge of the Imperial Palace and I`ve heard at night they light up, sort of overlapping each other like some magical tunnel, if I`m here again in blossom season I will definitely make a trip back!

Finally our biggest hanami day was in a super local area of Nagano, avoiding the weekend crowds we took to a few cheeky street drinks and joined in a local hanami festival. Here is one of my absolute favourite Japanese snacks, which I managed to score from a super local vendor - `Sakura mochi`, salty sakura leaf and yummy azuki beans inside mmm..

Apparently this is the longest stretch of straight cherry blossoms in Tokyo, going all through Nakano..

Lots of love x x x x

Cherry Blossom World Part 1 : Yoyogi, Shibuya, Daikanyama & Nakameguro ♡

Any of you who in any way follow me on instagram (much more frequent than here), will know there are few things (apart from deer and shiny glittery kawaii things of course) that I love more than Sakura, Japan in Sakura season really is something else, and never fails to lift my spirits and make me feel all kinds of magic, this year it was particularly needed after I lost my job and Tokyo can be such an overwhelming crazy harsh place at times. However when the flowers are blooming and everyone gets together for `hanami` flower picnics, and the rivers are lit up with blooms in some of my favourite neighbourhoods, its as if for a few short weeks communities and kind nature are drawn out from every corner, every park or public space is full of people happy to mingle and enjoy the sight of these magical pink flowers, its definitely one of the things I`d miss the most if I move. My flowery few weeks will need a few posts, but heres the first 

Instants of the first hanami with some friends & fun in yoyogi park, yoyogi is probably one of the busiest hanami spots but always super fun,

It was kind of overcast and going dark but you get the sense of the blossoms, and drinking sake from my lunch jar as I didn't have a glass haha,

Full blooms over Shibuya...

In one of my absolute favourite places Nakameguro, the blossoms line the river and are just incredible, particularly at night when they are all a lit up with a rosey pink glow..

& my new favourite toy, little film camera `sakura cam`, its been ages since I did any 35mm film so can`t wait to see the results!

Hope your all having lovely weeks! Lots of love! x x x x

Arashiyama ♡

Finally getting round to my post on this little gem of a place, and living on the memories! Arashiyama was super gorgeous, mainly for the amount of easily accessible nature, the bamboo forest made me feel like I`d stepped back into another world & so at peace, and the place itself with the river running through and the steps up the mountainside to the monkey park at the top was so beautiful, definitely another one of those eye opening spots that remind me how much I love Japan...

100% pure silken tofu ice cream!!!..

Wabarimochi & azuki beans with sweet matcha..(I can`t even...!)

Hope you like! lots of love! x x x