Hakata Gion Yamakasa

 So I went to Hakata Gion Yamakasa. Did some snaps, unfortunately the images will upload to this sight, but not to work. Smooth as always. Anyway check out this crazy, and alot of butts!

Today I got sun burn

Can we just take a minute to look at the colour of my legs. I know it was bright, and the white balance is off. But that's just like, how can skin be like that!? Yet my shoulders are burnt to a crisp. Anyway it was hot as hell, I went to a zoo, and because I'm adult now (right?) I went to the botanical gardens half of the park. AND ENJOYED IT, MATURITY UNLOCKED.

So I'm a cat lady now?

So, this internship definately has it's perks. For example Kuerig cat cafe 'the loft'. Yes an inner city fourth floor loft-style cafe. Where they take in stray cats, give them a better life and even let the customers adopt them. Here I spent a lovely afternoon, snapping kittens chatting to an old Japanese guy and eating amazing pasta. Happy girl? I think so.

This is the best European style food I have had whilst here in Japan. The ice tea and aircon where a godsend due to the 33degree heat. I'm still confused as to why Japanese people never seem to sweat. I just can't get my head around it... Maybe that's for another article along with Fukuoka night life - dancing is illegal. Fukuoka vomiting culture- come on now kids. As well as Japanese summer- why is everyone carrying parasols whilst I'm headed to the beach to tan?

Anyway be I want to life in this cafe, hide in one of the lockers and stay forever. Maybe my bonding with that stray cat at Odo park has done this to me. Very tempted to start carrying cat treats around with me all the time. That's not weird at all right?

Odo Park Fukuoka

So my photo's haven't been uploading to my internship site, grrr internet, so tomorrow will head to a net cafe. But I really wanted to post these, just because I really loved this park.

So happy that I get to be working in this medium though. Also I have become a crazy cat lady.

My first cat cafe

Feeling feline... I needed to write about Ikebukuro station, did a little research and it turns out the place is quite a cat cafe hub. I went in search of Nekorokobi, who's website I had seen, but wandering the streets I saw a sign with a big cat face saying 'Neko no mise 2nd branch'. I assumed this being a second branch that it was a popular company with good standards and the likely hood of it being busy would be smaller. Bingo! The cafe was super quiet, absolutely enormous and the cats oh so cute. Whats better than sipping Jasmine tea, reading a manga you can't quite understand and sitting with snoozing cats? Nothing I tells ya! It was a super chilled cafe, it felt far more like a library, which is my kind of place really.

It was also fairly amusing watching some of the Japanese girls who had clearly never interacted with a cat absolutely wetting themselves at everything, ranging from OMG SO CUTE to HOLY CRAP THE CATS ARE RUNNING ACROSS THE ROOM I AM GOING TO DIE. So for those who are anti cats its pretty funny to people watch.

Mori Tower

So, after my first meeting with Japan Tourist I ventured out into Roppongi, renowned for its day time business and night time party culture. However this post is devoid of both of those elements, sorry! I went to Mori tower in Roppogi hills to check out the Tokyo City View and visit the Mori art museum, both of which are spectacular and well worth the 1500 yen to get in. I was fairly early in arriving, around 11am, so the 52nd floor was practically empty! Though the weather wasn't at it's best, the view was still astounding. I plan to visit the Tokyo sky tree at dusk on a sunny day to catch a glimpse of mt fuji on the horizon. 

 

The gallery is of course very photo unfriendly but there was one piece in the 'all you need is love' exhibition by Kasuma Yayoi entitled 'love is calling' which wasn't so photo shy, and thank god for that, because its pretty hard to describe it's awesomeness in words.

 I was really blown away by this exhibition in general with work ranging from Frida Khalo and Salvador Dhali to Asada Masashi and Nan Goldin.


Though these tentacles don't half remind me of the rather dark side of Japanese culture.... *cough cough* 

Meiji Jingu

So, on my first free day (vaguely free of jet lag anyway) I headed up to Harajuku. My body still isn't on the right time yet, so I ended up arriving very early on a rainy Sunday morning, like the rest of the world, Tokyo is a little sleepy come sunday mornings, Harajuku didn't pick up till about midday at which point I was a hot mess from the humid weather!

I didn't get any snaps of Harajuku, though I did see my first 70ish ojiisan in full florescent pink tutu and body suit. Oh Tokyo...

However I did get my tourist on going down to Meiji Jingu, the gorgeous shinto shrine. It seems impossible that you can come from girls in 7 inch platform heels and gogo shorts munching on crepes to a tranquil woods in just minutes.





The shrine is lovely with iris gardens in bloom nearby, decorated sake barrels, and the wooden ema with wishes written on them. Even on a weekend it wasn't overly busy, but waiting for a clear shot of the temple itself is practically impossible!