Summer Sonic 2018

Despite never having been to a festival in my life, I decided to jump right into the deep end this summer, and went to Summer Sonic in Osaka. 

It's similar to festivals back home, and like Leeds and Reading in the sense its line up alternates locations over the two days. However, since they take place in stadiums and outdoor sporting areas both in Tokyo and Osaka, people don't camp overnight.

Haruka and I decided to only go for one day, and we wouldn't have gone if it wasn't for our favourite band, One Ok Rock, announcing their performance. It's been almost 3 years since we saw them together in Manchester, and although I saw them in March too, it was a totally different experience seeing them at a festival in Japan compared to an arena. During their tour, fans were completely reserved with coordinated fist pumping and quietly listened to their singing. This was anything but that. I was bruised and filthy afterwards, but it was definitely the best atmosphere I've ever experienced at a concert.

 

There were five different stages, and luckily all of the artists we wanted to watch were at different times. Such a variety of artists attended so there really was something for everyone; we saw Mike Shinoda of Linkin Park, One Ok Rock, Paramore, Jess Glynne and overheard many others. 

There was also a magical little oasis area in amongst all of the stages, filled with a variety of food stalls and spaces to just chill out. Easily the best place to people watch and eat lemon ramen at sunset, surrounded by palm trees and booming music.

Frankly I dont think I could have handled another day in the blazing heat, but all things considered I did well. My white ass remained wonderfully snow white and sunburn free (thanks to a custom made kaftan courtesy of Simona for that exact purpose) and I didnt get heat stroke, something which I was super stressed about since I got it last year. Needless to say I had no shame and spent the best part of the afternoon wearing the cooling gel strips you put on kids who have a fever. 

 

I do have some standards though. When we were stuck in the midst of a mosh pit, Taka being less than a metre away and my hat flying off, my first instinct was to rip it off my forehead and fling it into the crowd. God knows where it ended up, but I'll be damned if I ever let Taka see me as the girl with a blue sticky strip on her forehead.  

Take a peek at our sweaty as hell after mosh pit picture, it sums the day up pretty well.

Fleeting visit to Tokyo.

Ironically one of my top bucket list locations in Japan, was somewhere I`ve been so close to before but never managed to visit. Kamakura is on the southern edge of Kanagawa prefecture and only a short couple of train rides from Haruka`s house. I visited a little while ago now, on what was definitely the hottest weekend we`d had in a while, and seemingly the start of summer.

We started by wandering the small but bustling street of Komachi-dori which leads straight from the station. We managed to escape from the glaring lunchtime sun into a relatively unoccupied mom and pop soba shop, which to anyone in the know is the perfect summer dish. Afterwards we headed to a super fancy kakigori (shaved ice) shop that even had a limited edition version that looked exactly like hydrangeas, a symbol of the Japanese rainy season. True to form I spilt about half of mine on the table, but what’s new there.

We headed to the Great Buddha in the late afternoon, spoke to a really lovely old man, and relaxed in the shade of the forest for a little while. This is probably one of the most iconic Buddha’s in Japan, but despite that it wasn’t nearly as crowded as I expected, and you only had to walk two minutes away to find some serenity. 

We came across a tiny little senbei (rice cracker) shop and treated ourselves to a huge cracker to share. That I never took a picture of, we were too occupied with eating it. I did buy the most adorable Buddha shaped crackers for Kohei’s family though, and I’d definitely recommend stopping there if you’re in the area. They have an abundance of decorated senbei for birthdays, graduations or even just to commemorate your trip to Kamakura. Imagine those large cookies you can have decorated with icing, but rather it’s a savoury cracker.

 

During my weekend away we also visited some locations in and around the Shibuya/Harajuku area. I finally visited a hedgehog café after wanting to visit one since I first came to Japan. Our hedgehog, Kiki, was super sassy and not having any of it, but we at least got a few cute pictures of him in knitted berets. We just let him chill out and enjoyed our time with them all, despite melting to death because they like a hot living environment. 

We also visited our favourite tea shop (this time in Aoyama) for our fix of fancy flavoured tapioca, and took a trip to Good Town for some doughnuts. Photo credit goes to Haruka for that one. It's the hippest cafe I've been to in a while, with lots of old school American vibes. Strawberry lemonade and lemon poppy seed were to die for, but next time, it’s all about the maple bacon.

Dim sum & the 'ding ding'

During Golden Week I decided to take Kohei on a (very early) birthday trip to Hong Kong. I was super sneaky the night we arrived, and managed to hide any glimpse of the infamous skyline until we visited The Peak. His face was priceless when he saw the lights emerging through the trees while we were riding the tram up the mountain, so ultimately, I think all of my “get your arse into gear, we need to get there before sunset” rants were worth it.

It’s been six years since I went there myself and I didn’t get much of a chance to explore back then, so it was very much like the first time visiting for the both of us. Kohei’s favourite film, that he recently introduced me to, is Forrest Gump, so I couldn’t not take him to Bubba Gump’s while we were there too.

I managed to help him tick off a number of tourist musts – taking the Star Ferry, eating egg waffles, riding the ‘ding ding’, and indulging in a traditional brekkie of macaroni soup. We spent most of our days going wherever the wind took us, all around the city; Sheung Wan, Central, Causeway Bay, North Point, Mongkok, TST and Lan Kwai Fong.

Hong Kong was seemingly having a Kumamoto ALT reunion that week, which none of us were aware of when we booked our flights. We spent one evening with Chloe, Devin, Tiago and Thomas drinking at eyebar, a rooftop bar 30 floors high that looks over Victoria Harbour. We didn’t let the wind and rain dampen our spirits, even if they did saturate our clothes. 

Another evening we met Bilal and Olivia for hotpot, which was an experience in itself. Zero English, food being thrown at us and we all collectively had no idea what was going on. Afterwards we headed to Mongkok to enjoy the hustle and bustle of the markets. Not to mention, introduce them to the joys of the hot drips of water that land on you from the apartment air cons.

Corane and Emily, two of my friends from the exchange programme I did in high school, were the best hosts I could have asked for. They took time out of their busy schedules to meet Kohei and me for the most authentic local lunch ever. We went to a food centre in Sheung Wan, sat on plastic tables and ordered amazing dim sum with the locals. I think Kohei thought he’d died and gone to heaven.

On our final day we ventured into the New Territories together, and after a slightly failed trip to the Mai Po Nature reserve, we instead walked for a little through marshes and farmland all whilst seeing the skyline of Shenzhen in the distance. 

We then headed to the small village of Ho Sheung Heung and treated ourselves to the most delicious soy milk and tofu pudding made by a local company. We also tried some street food outside of the station, steamed red bean pudding on a stick, and some magical coconut sugar thing that I can’t even explain. Sheung Shui station is a sight to behold in itself… due to its proximity to the Chinese border, the amount of people crossing into Hong Kong to buy huge quantities of goods proves to be an interesting people watching occasion.

That evening I met up with more of my friends from exchange, and had the most wonderful time catching up over dinner. We even planned a little reunion trip in Japan sometime, although the logistics of that will probably prove to be a nightmare. Afterwards, we all went to eat dessert, something that I enjoy most about Hong Kong. The nights never end and there are endless opportunities to keep the good company together for a few more laughs. 

That’s something I’m grateful for, the fact that 6 years later we can all meet and act like no time has passed. Until next time Hong Kong, you know I’ll be back.

New places, new faces.

Tomi's Shortbread House
On my way downtown I pass a small, very British looking shop, but most days it's already closed before I finish work. I finally ventured in not too long ago, and I was so glad I did. As I walked in, I was greeted by the sweet Japanese owner who had the most London accent you could imagine. We spoke for over an hour reminiscing about England and she welcomed me with open arms & big hugs.
Today Tsuruya, one of the department stores downtown, currently has a British food fair. I spent my afternoon sampling craft beers, ciders, Welsh cheeses, marmalade & made a visit to the shortbread stand to spread my love to my new favourite baker in Kumamoto. It's nice to have somewhere to go where I can feel a bit of a home away from home, even if it's just to look at some tartan & smell some proper butter.

My new nail salon - Calm Place Palette
Following Okinawa, I had to find a nail place to frequent in Kumamoto, and the one I found did not disappoint! After exchanging numerous pictures I went to meet the most adorable girl ever, and spent my time teaching her some English. She was thoroughly amused by the word "thumb" of all things, and my Japanese is really benefitting from just chatting to her. I left so happy with how they looked, and all of my students love how I have Rilakkuma nails... cue the squeals of 'kawaii' at me daily.
Check out her Instagram @kao_comocomu and await the next designs we'll have in store!


Taiko
I went taiko drumming for the first time with Chloe & Kim, which is probably something you'd recognise being performed at various festivals around Japan. Within two minutes of walking into the room I already had a rather large drum thrusted upon me with no clue what to do. It's actually a lot more difficult than it looks, so we spent almost an hour practicing how to hit the drum properly, the positions they use, and how it all ties together.
The second half was more my thing, when I got given a tiny tambourine size drum and a stick with a ribbon. We began learning a dance that is going to be performed next year sometime, and bloody hell, talk about multitasking to the max! Everyone was so welcoming and even though that is miles away from me too, I really enjoyed it and can't wait to try again. Next time, I've promised myself to not just be aimlessly twirling myself around with a stick in my hand.
  

Kumamoto Sweetie Lady Bears

I know, what a name. I finally bit the bullet and dragged Sheridan along to try out some rugby with me. The girls were all so lovely and despite being a hot mess to say the least, I really enjoyed it! We actually train at the same sports park where the Rugby World Cup venue in Kumamoto is. The only downside is that there's a treacherous 40 minute trek to get there going through rice fields in the pitch black. If I don't blog again, you know I've been murdered by some haunted scarecrow.
I've no idea who saw me, but all the rugby lads at my junior high the next day were nagging me about when I'd come to watch them. This month, my schedule ties in really nicely with theres, so I'll actually be able to go and support them like they want.

In terms of the activities I've chosen, I'm a bit worried for my clumsy self being in proximity of my students. I now play rugby with two students, and go taiko drumming with another. The rugby girls kept it quiet until I saw them in school, cue me feeling like an awful person. My junior high school has 600 students alone, so I have to cut myself some slack when it comes to recognizing my elementary school students which are in utter abundance.
I can see it happening now though:
"Why do you have a broken arm?" "Keito-sensei tackled me."
"Why have you got a black eye?" "Keito-sensei hit me with a drum stick."
Nothing is sacred in this city anyway, since the Chinese whisper culture of what the foreigner is up to is ridiculous. Let's just hope I don't actually injure the kids.

P. Sherman, 42 Wallaby Way...

You should have been able to see where I was going with that. I'm sure I'll make more Finding Nemo references, because when in Sydney, right?

I made the flight to Sydney, and despite the wonderfully confusing nature of the airport, met Chrissie who I was staying with. She lives up in Hornsby Heights, which is pretty much the last stop on one of the train lines before the actual bush... something Chrissie gave me fair warning about. Don't fall asleep on the train alone. With that in mind, I can understand how easily distracted I could get on the trains, purely for the fact I was fascinated by the fact they were double decker. Simple things entertain simple minds.

The next day Chrissie had a speech to give, so I managed to go to (in the loosest way) my fifth university in a just over a year. First it was Colorado, then Keele and Kyoto, and I just managed to push my way into attending a class in both University of South Australia with Leni, and then Macquarie Uni with Chrissie. Needless to say, film and business lectures are definitely not my thing, but it was pretty cool to the differences and similarities the Australian uni's had to Keele.
Across from Macquarie there's a quirky little milkshake place that I'd seen many a time from Chrissie's instagram, so after going there we headed to Manley Beach for lunch. I will admit, on the ferry I saw a dark shadow and did think it was a great white briefly (obviously Bruce giving the whole "fish are friends, not food speech" to his gang), but it was a dolphin. Although part of me was a little disappointed in wasn't a humpback whale like had been in the harbour a few days earlier.
We reverted back to being little children when we got to Manley, deciding to get fish and chip for lunch and sit at the beach. Great idea until we realised how stealthy the seagulls were, stealing a fair few things off Chrissie's fork, much to her disappointment, Karma definitely played a part too, since after all my laughing at her incompetency, the same thing happened to me. We took a nice leisurely stroll along the beach, attempting to take photos of our names in the sand, but true to form that failed too

SATURDAY WAS ZOO DAY. I went with Chrissie, Katy and Chrissie's friend Emma, and it was safe to say that we were all a little bit more excited than we should have been, especially all over the age of 20. We actually parked in the Sydney Harbour national park so we could walk along the boardwalk on the way to Taronga, and we got some pretty good views of the city from there! It was a shame, because both ways the weather wasn't exactly cooperating in terms of us getting a good photo, but we tried at least, and it turned out super cute. We saw lots of different animals, but the highlight for me was definitely the elusive pygmy hippo.

I was so happy that despite Chrissie having work on Sunday morning, we managed to visit so many places. We started in Darling Harbour, a place that somewhat reminded me of the Albert Dock back home. From there we stumbled upon the Chinese garden of friendship, hidden in the middle of all the hustle and bustle Sydney has to offer. I was honestly surprised I'd never even heard of these places before, but I guess when you have the bridge and Opera House to drag tourists in, you don't really need to mention much else. After a really brief walk around Paddy's market (with Chrissie pulling me away from all the cute backpacks, it was like Asia all over again), we headed to Chinatown. We actually ended up in some Korean restaurant since we both loved the fact the other wasn't fussy with food, and it was pretty good. Not a patch on Seoul, but it was pretty close. The fact we got a pitcher of pomegranate soju and stumbled home almost sealed the deal.

The rest of my days were spend doing the infamous Bondi to Bronte coastal walk, where we took some stereotypical American sorority girl pictures on the beach.Chrissie and I don't really get to embrace that side of us much since we've come home from Colorado, so we decided to go all out and start a global sorority gift exchange with each other, which I'm sure will be great until I have to get crafty. My second to last night was spent at the Opera bar, a small venue located right next to the Opera House and overlooking the harbour. Yet again, our luck with wildlife continued as seagulls were loitering everywhere, but it was super cool to be able to have a few cocktails with Katy and Chrissie, knowing I won't see them for a while, in such an surreal location!
Hands down the best decision I made during my time in Sydney was telling Chrissie to take me to all the local places she goes. I would probably never have discovered half of them, but it gave me such a better perspective on what living in Sydney is like. Needless to say, I could happily see myself living there in the future. Although I may just have to spend Australian summers somewhere I'm less likely to spontaneously combust.