Korea town and the Ramen museum

Korea Town

Last Sunday I went to Korea Town in Tokyo. 

I think it's my new favourite place in Tokyo! 

It was full of cute Kpop shops and cafes with tons of amazing Korean food. They were literally playing Kpop songs in the street. They was so much merchandise. I had to resist buying so much! Just bought myself a BIGBANG hat and T-shirt.

We found a restaurant that had a special 'BIGBANG' seating area where you can go and eat whilst being surrounded by BIGBANG posters. It was impossible to resist! There were even BIGBANG cushions on the seats! The food was absolutely amazing too.

I was also amazed that they had some TV's in the restaurant and they were playing back to back BIGBANG live performances whilst we ate :D We also found another Korean cafe where we had milkshakes and they were playing BIGBANG and 2NE1 music videos from a large screen projector on the wall. It was awesome!

I was overwhelmed by everything! It was so amazing to be in a place literally full of all the things you like. Cafes playing Kpop are so rare in London. It was great to see it being loved and appreciated.                   Later we walked to Shinjuku and got some purikura. My first time using a real purikura booth in Japan! it was great! 

Ramen museum

Last Monday I travelled to Shin-Yokohama to the ramen museum. The museum is designed to look like Japan in 1958 when instant noodles were invented. There are many different small restaurants inside that sell different types/ flavors of ramen. You can try whichever kinds you like. I wish I could have tried all of them but it was impossible to fit it all in! 

Living the dream!

I'm having so much fun living and working in Japan. My job keeps me SO busy during the week, but it's also the best job I've ever had. It's fun, exciting and you get to work with and meet SO many great people. I crawl into my futon exhausted at the end of each day but still smiling. Another great thing about Japan is how cute everything is! Even the food is cute most of the time! I enjoyed some pokémon themed instant ramen and a Hello Kitty cake this week!

On my days off I am still enjoying exploring Tokyo. I went to Shinjuku and Harajuku again to do a bit more exploring. On Sunday evening I went to a club in Shinjuku with some friends from training. I was about to leave when they started playing 'Fantastic Baby' by BIGBANG. I threw my jacket back off and ran onto the dance floor! (and proceeded to embarrass myself daning! haha!) 

Here are some photos from some wandering in Shinjuku and Harajuku.

In Harajuku we found the Evangelion store with LOADS of merchandise from shoes and watches to cookies and wine! ALL Evangelion themed! 

Spotted a Kyary Pamyu Pamyu sign near the station! Harajuku is such an exciting place. I didn't realise how HUGE it was as well! I haven't managed to explore all of it yet but I've got plenty of time to do it! I'm still amazed by how unbelievably close I am to these places. It's a dream come true!

Even though the weather in Tokyo right now is torrential rain, I am still planning to go to Korea town tomorrow! Korean food and many Kpop goods await! :D

Oh! and I totally forgot. Here's me on Japanese 'Harajuku-kawaii TV' after the Kyary Pamyu Pamyu concert in London! (Skip to 4.48! ) haha! Showing off my Kyary Jewelry by Roxie sweetheart.

Hanami / Cherry Blossoms

Last Monday I went to Ueno park in Tokyo to see the cherry blossoms. Even though it was a bit of a cloudy day, they still looked beautiful. I met up with some other friends from training and we had a nice picnic and had a nice walk under the trees.

Settling in and adventures so far in Tokyo

This is going to be a huge post!

I haven’t had the time or the internet to update over the last few weeks, so here is lots of news (and photos) all in one go!

I visited Harajuku on Sunday 10^th March. I’ve wanted to go to Harajuku since I was about 14 so this was SO exciting! Words can’t even explain! I ate a strawberry ice cream crepe. It was so delicious! I had to force myself not to go back and try a few other flavours! (I must pace myself, I’ve got at least a year to try them all) The shops were all really awesome FULL with cute and quirky clothes. The streets were really busy and it took a while to walk down the whole street.

My favourite shop though was ‘K-IDOL Park’, A Kpop store bursting with Kpop merchandise! I have a feeling I will be visiting there very often. 

We didn’t get to see all of Harajuku so I’ll be going back there to keep exploring. Kyary Pamyu Pamyu’s face was everywhere in Harajuku. Posters, adverts, TV’s, purikura booths and make-up stands. 

The weekend after, we went to Shibuya. We found many cool places including the HUGE music store ‘Tower records’ and the Disney store. ‘Tower records’ was incredible. There was the biggest Kpop section I have ever seen. I once again had to restrain myself! Ended up buying just 2 CDs including Daesung’s / D-Lite’s new solo album (which is really good!) Whilst we were exploring the main streets of Shibuya a BIGBANG truck drove past! It was advertising their new concert DVD, Blasting music from speakers. I literally screamed for joy in the street. Haha! At one point they were also playing Kyary’s new song from some huge speakers in the street. 

We had the most amazing Okonomiyaki in Shibuya where it was cooked on a hot plate infront of us. I had a pork and kimchi flavour one. SO Delicious!

During training hours our group worked SO hard. There was a lot to learn and practice. However, We did get a small amount of time to relax. One evening we went to an Izakaya (all you can drink all night for around £8!!) followed by some karaoke. It was such a fun night. By the time we got home it was 5.30 am!

I travelled to the school where I will be working and my new apartment at the beginning of this week. I unpacked and made the apartment feel a bit more like my own with some decoration!

My first day at work was super exciting and everyone is SO kind and helpful. Being called ‘Katie-Sensei’ is going to take some time to get used to! Lol There is a massive shopping center right across the road from the school so everything I need is so close by. (Including lots of delicious choices for lunch!)

In general Tokyo is SO exciting. I’m not sure everything has quite sunk in yet… Every morning I stand on my balcony and look out and just think ‘wow. I really am here!’ So far I've managed to negotiate the train systems fairly well, but it's such a maze! 

Many more adventures to come! :D

Arriving in Japan!

I have arrived in Japan! On Tuesday I flew from London to Tokyo and the flight was surprisingly good with the best plane food I have ever eaten! The carrot was cut into a flower shape. They were even playing the Korean film 'Masquerade' on the plane with one of my favourite actors Lee Byung Hun in it. When I arrived in Tokyo it was breakfast time. I got an ice cream and iced coffee. It was a pretty amazing way to start my first morning in Japan! 

Currently I am in Omiya and have begun the training for my new job. It's hard work but also really good fun!

Me and the other trainees haven't had much free time yet, but we have made it to the local supermarket which is full of loads of new and interesting things. (Including some kind of sweet Pokemon bread which has so far been my breakfast on training days!) 

We also went for a walk to the local shrine. It was so beautiful and peaceful. We ate out in a restaurant we found around the corner. We had to order from a machine and none of us knew exactly what we were ordering, so we all took a random guess and luckily all ended up 
with delicious meals!

I got my new apartment information yesterday for when I move into Tokyo for the remainder of my stay here. I am SO excited to think of all the adventures I'm going to have! Already I am amazed by the tiny parts of Japan I have seen and I just know this is going to be the most amazing year.

In the next week or so in the time I am not training, I hope to hunt down the local cat cafe and shopping center and even brave taking the metro to Harajuku. 

VISA and Kyary Pamyu Pamyu concert

My VISA for Japan is ready! 

Less than 20 days to go and I am so excited but also starting to realise the serious amount packing I am going to have to do in the next couple of weeks... Deciding what shoes I can take and which pairs I will have to leave behind will be a struggle! haha! (Although I am sure I will end up shopping and buying more shoes when I am in Japan!) In fact... I have a feeling I am going to end up buying a lot of things when I am there!

Last night I was lucky enough to go to the Japanese 'Queen of kawaii' Kyary Pamyu Pamyu's concert in London. It was a really good night, the atmosphere was so positive and everyone was super happy! Kyary has so much energy! Her back-up dancers are also amazing. 

There were many people dressed up in amazing fashion and some in Kyary cosplay. It made me even more excited about visiting Harajuku when I get to Japan. (These are some of the photos I took during the concert.)

I also visited the Japanese purikura booths in London with my friend for a bit of fun. I am going to miss her and all my friends and family when I leave!

xXx

Letters

This week I got a lovely card from the school in Japan where I be working. It was full of very kind welcome messages. I am so excited about meeting everyone there.

I have written a letter as a reply to introduce myself. I was asked to draw on it, make it interesting and explain what I liked about Japan. So I made it really cute with lots of drawings and stickers! Including a drawing of Sailor Moon and Kyary Pamyu Pamyu.