teamLab 城跡の光の祭

For our anniversary, Kohei and I went to Fukuoka Castle, where teamLab, an artist collective group who aim to explore relationships between humans and nature through art, have created “Light Festival in Fukuoka Castle ruins”.

There were various different exhibition areas within the castle ruins, and the trail took you through them all. We spent around an hour walking through the exhibit, and considering it was the weekend prior to the exhibition ending and there were a lot of people, I never felt like I was being rushed through.

Animals of Flowers: Symbiotic Lives in the Stone Wall

One of the most impressive installations projected onto the castle walls. Animals created from petals walked along the walls, which provided the perfect backdrop for such large animals. The flowers began to bud, bloom, and scatter and fade away in a continuous cycle. When people moved closer to the animals, the flowers would scatter instantly and the animals would disappear.

 

Resisting and Resonating Ovoids and Trees

This was designed to give people a heightened sense of awareness of the presence of others sharing the same space. Pushing the ovoids caused the colour it emitted to change, and a sound associated with that colour echoed across Maizuru Park. The changing light from that ovoid resonated out towards other ovoids in the nearby area. 

The trees on the other hand, changed colour slowly, as if they were breathing, creating a magical effect of spontaneous colour waves. You could truly appreciate the beauty looking down from above the castle walls.

Spatial Calligraphy in the Stone Wall 

Designed to offer a contemporary interpretation of traditional Japanese calligraphy, the projections show the depth, speed and power of each brush strokes just like you’d see on paper, but in a much more dramatic way. This area was a huge contrast to the other areas of the exhibition, with less colour and more focus on tradition. Despite this, Fukuoka castle managed to be the perfect backdrop for the fusion of new and old.

  

The thing I enjoyed most about this exhibit was its interactive nature, and visitors were encouraged to touch the ovoids in the park, despite the odd few looking a bit deflated after a hard day. They have a new exhibit in Tokushima in a few weeks which I’d definitely go to if I didn’t already have plans, but I’m keeping an eye out for their next event. If you’re interested in going, keep an eye out too; they currently have other events in Tokyo, Singapore, Melbourne and Paris.

Day tripping to Dublin.

During my brief trip back home this Christmas, my parents and I made yet another of our random day trips to Dublin. It'd be rude not to really, with it being so cheap and a 35 minute flight time, plus it also gave me a chance to see my cousin Charlotte when I wouldn't have otherwise. 

There's something a little wrong about her studying in Liverpool now, hailing from Essex, yet I had to go to Ireland in order to see her.

Two standout places were Bewley’s and Temple Bar, Dublin landmarks in their own right. Charlotte and I treated ourselves to afternoon tea with PROPER scones at Bewley’s, sadly the first and only of scone of my trip. 

We timed it perfectly before the rush and managed to get ourselves seated in a quiet little area upstairs, away from the hustle and bustle, allowing us to fully relax and enjoy each other’s company. My favourite part of Bewley’s without a doubt has to be the décor, and it’s worth a visit even just to go inside to see the beautiful combination of mahogany and stained glass.

 

 

After making Charlotte take the obligatory tourist photo with Molly Mallone, we headed to Temple Bar. Charlotte fell in love with the place and we could have stayed there for hours basking in the live music, obviously accompanied by another Guinness. 

We had a lovely day together, albeit very fleeting, and I introduced to her some of the sights as best I could in the time frame. Next time I go, I hope it can be for a full blown boozy weekend and treat myself to a few more pints of the black stuff.

Surprising the bestie.

A few weeks ago I managed to pull off the best surprise to date. Haruka and I are somewhat used to being apart now, and it’s become easier with time now that we don’t live together, but the fact we’d potentially miss each other in passing this winter was something that I wasn’t going to let happen. For months prior I was scheming with Haruka’s mum, keeping up to date with her plans to return to Japan, all whilst telling Haruka I was “too busy with work” to come and see her. Yeah, right.

My plan played out perfectly. I skyped her like usual so she wouldn’t be suspicious, almost put my foot in it a few times, and gave her ridiculous hints that she didn’t catch on to on the day.

She was clueless, so after bailing from work after 3^rd period, I made it to Kawasaki by 6pm, just in time to knock on the door and leave her in a state of shock before dinner.

Once she’d gotten over the shock (honestly it took until the next morning) it was so nice to fall into our old patterns and spend some time with my second family, the Hattori’s, too. We visited a few new places together during my weekend, so here’s my run down on the places to go.

Alfred Tea Room

“Tea, yes. You, maybe”. With a motto like that, who could resist? This is a definite must-go for tea lovers. Hailing from L.A, there are two shops now located in Tokyo. The one we visited, close to Shinjuku station, gave us some tranquil respite from the craziness of the area.

There’s a variety of milk teas and matcha, things I adore equally, and Haruka will agree it was one of the best we’ve ever had. The matcha was bitter enough, the chai not too sweet and bursting with cinnamon. You can also order from the “fancy pink tea list” if you’d rather have something a little more refined or exotic. 

The store itself fitted right in to my girly pink aesthetic so all in all, Alfred Tea, like is written throughout your stores… “I love you so matcha”.

Cookie Time Harajuku

Mainly for novelty and the smell of baked goods. Right across from Harajuku station, this is somewhere you should visit if your sweet cravings are relentless but you’d rather not wait with hordes of people for some crepes or candy floss. 

Although I didn’t try it myself, there are varieties of milk on tap for you to enjoy with your cookies, along with the most ridiculous milkshakes.  

  

Yomiuriland

Haruka and I somehow always end up at random date locations together, and this visit wasn’t any different. We wanted to find somewhere to look at all the beautiful winter illuminations and instead of heading into Tokyo itself, we settled on a theme park not too far from where she lives. 

 The illuminations were more than I expected, with so many themed areas, constant light shows, illuminated tunnels and a variety of theme park rides and food stalls to add to the atmosphere. The after 4pm pass is also super cheap, so I would totally recommend this place to anyone looking for somewhere in the Tokyo/Yokohama area to see some beautiful illuminations in the winter time.