Yayoi Kusama: My Eternal Soul - National Art Center Tokyo

I had only heard the name Yayoi Kusama pretty recently. I knew the more famous sculptures like her pumpkins in Matsumoto and her famous polka dot motifs, and I knew of an older artist wearing eccentrically-colored wigs, but I had no name to put on them. It wasn’t until I was looking through some Tokyo art exhibits that I found out her name.

I knew I had to go. To have the opportunity to see the works of such an important living artist was something I didn’t want to miss. Her showing in Tokyo was only a few months long and if I waited another month, it’d be gone. So, I headed to Roppongi where it was at the National Art Museum.

Mt. Fuji & Hakone 1 Day Tour - Viator / JTB Sunrise Tours

In keeping up with my last post about my mom's visit to Japan, I was still struggling to find new things to do with her. And suddenly, it hit me: Mt. Fuji. We had never seen the iconic mountain before! (Actually, we did once when going from Osaka to Tokyo on the Shinkansen, but that hardly counts.)

I booked a Fuji tour via Viator (this is not a sponsored post) and the tour itself was operated by JTB Sunrise Tours. There were many different options to choose from: lake tours, rope way tours, half day tours, 2 day tours, etc. Even the plan we chose had a lunch and no lunch option.

Starbucks American Cherry Pie Frappuccino

 You know, for as much as I say I don’t go to Starbucks, I’ve kind of been going to Starbucks a lot lately. As I’ve said many times before, I’m a sucker for limited edition snacks/drinks/any kind of promotion that comes out.

However, Starbucks drinks don’t usually catch my eye. They’ve had some interesting sounding drinks, but nothing that I’d rush over to try… Until I saw the American Cherry Pie Frap. Now, I’m not a fan of cherries, but I love pie. And what makes this frap so special is that the dome is made of pie crust!

Cosmo World Amusement Park in Minato Mirai, Yokohama

For Valentine's Day, I planned an outing to Kannonzaki Lighthouse. In return, and as an early White Day adventure, my SO took me to Cosmo World. I've been begging to go since we moved to Yokohama, but we always found something more important to do on the weekends... Then it got too cold... But I was determined to go!

Anime Shopping in Akihabara + Magikarp Taiyaki

I sign up for Reddit gifts regularly. I love getting things in the mail, and I think the whole idea of Secret Santa / sending gifts to strangers in the mail is a really cool idea! So when I saw the anime and manga exchange for last month, I jumped on it right away. I mean, I live in Japan the birthplace of the stuff... And I live less than an hour from the anime mecca Akihabara... How could I pass it up?

Starbucks Seasonal Sakura Blossom Latte (2017)

As much as I hate to admit it, I'm a Starbucks Lover. I love sweets, and I see Starbucks more as a candy shop than a coffee shop. For real coffee, I'll go elsewhere... But to satisfy my sweet tooth, I'll head to Starbucks.

Thrifting in Japan: Clap Hands in Yokohama

After my jaunt to Cosmo World, I decided to take a walk around and check out World Porters for lunch. Since I wasn't super hungry, I decided to take a walk through the different floors. I go to World Porters pretty often (Hawaiian Town!) so I'm familiar with a good number of the shops inside. However, I had never noticed (or maybe I noticed it, but I didn't pay any attention to it) a store called Clap Hands.

Ramen Review - Cup Noodle Premium "Shark Fin" Flavor

Did you know my first Japan blog was actually started in 2012? I was so amazed by the plethora of flavors and brands available that I decided to start a ramen blog where I chronicled all of the different flavors I ate and my opinions on them. (Un)fortunately, the blog is now deleted and I gave up on the endeavor pretty quickly. I soon realized that buying ramen daily when I was paying for school lunch didn't make sense financially.

Even still, I take note of different ramen flavors. Cup Noodle has been experimenting with premium flavors. I saw them on the shelves a few months ago, but always put off buying them. Then, one day, they simply disappeared. I was so sad because I wanted to try the fancier flavors. Luckily for me, they reappeared at the beginning of the month. Needless to say, I grabbed one of the shark fin flavored cups to try for myself. And, in the spirit of my old ramen blog, I decided to do a review on it!

My Japan Bucket List

I think it's so important for everyone to have a bucket list of some kind. For me, it really inspires me and keeps me focused on my life outside of work. Sometimes, I get so caught up in what I do that I forget to have fun. I try to always do something every weekend, whether it's just exploring more of the city I live in, or the station I live by, because I know I'm never going to have this opportunity again. As cheesy as it sounds, I'm trying really hard not to take any part of my time in Japan for granted.

Image courtesy of www.leeabbamonte.com

And that's where my Japan bucket list comes in. A lot of these things aren't necessarily activities I can fit into one weekend, but rather require a three-day weekend at minimum, but it's always here to remind me to always keep exploring. I try to update this list as much as I can whenever I see something new and cool that sounds interesting. If anyone has any other suggestions, let me know and I'll check it out!

Tokyo's First Virtual Reality Arcade

If this is your first time hearing about Tokyo’s latest virtual reality gaming attraction VR Zone - Project i Can, buckle up because it’s a crazy cool ride. I first heard about the exhibit online, and as soon as I read about it, I was sold. I needed to go! Now, mind you, I’ve never had an interest in virtual reality before. I didn’t understand the hype. Yeah, it sounded great in theory, but I didn’t think the technology was there yet to make it completely immersive. So, when I saw the promo videos of women terrified on a plank of wood on the ground, I was curious. Could I actually fall for this?

Short answer: yes, I definitely fell for it.

Now, after experiencing it, I can see how people get caught up in it. However, the graphics are just crude enough to trigger something in the back of my mind to remind me that this isn’t real. However, there were plenty of times when I forgot that and was completely immersed. It had been a long time since I went to an arcade and felt like that. Now, be prepared that this post is quite long. I was so excited, I couldn’t help myself!