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

Spring vibes ♡

Hello beautiful people! Sorry for again the absence, so much life change & things to think about at the moment, Spring in Tokyo is just starting to get lovely though, and heating up nicely, the sakura will be blooming next week & the cold days are drawing to a close - make way for the crazy heat to ensue! I`ve spent my free time over the last few months taking up lots of new crafting activities, and trying to stay creative in new ways. I found the absolute craft shop of my dreams so am continually creating new hair clips, pom poms and other random bits and bobs. My first challenge was learning Japanese finger knitting with this gorgeous pink chunky yarn, heres some of my recent crafting anyway...& some yummy veggies I`ve been learning to cook♡

One of my favourite vegan cute places ♡

& super cute decor...

Vintage blythe heaven I discovered recently too (so many shops full of second hand blythes - I died) haha

& lastly some spring flowers from a recent appearance in a friends music video ♡

Hope everyones having wonderful 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

A trip back to deer heaven - Nara park 鹿の天国♡

So as to be expected from a super deer lover, no trip to Kyoto is complete without a Nara visit, and this time was extra special for some of the cuties and moments we encountered, Nara is definitely one of my favourite places ever and just being able to be so close to so many of these beautiful creatures is so incredible - so lots of deer spam in this post!!!

Shika rice crackers you can buy and feed the deer with ♡

Matcha kakigori on a bench surrounded by deer!

One of the most magic moments of our trip hands down was the surreal moment when we noticed a deer about to give birth, and then watched the whole thing and him try and take his first steps, I felt so connected to nature (I`m sure its obvious how much I love deer - could barely cope!!)

Such a cute little vegan cafe in Nara, where the kind lady talked us through every ingredient in every dish (in english!) It was again definitely worth another of our trecks to find! Finally I got to try vegan soy okinomiyaki!!! & all sorts of crazy vegetables for the first time!

Lots of love  x x x x