Fushimi Inari Taisha (again)

In March, my family came all the way over from the UK to visit me! I was so happy! We stayed in Kyoto for over two weeks. As we were in Kyoto, the first place I decided to take them had to be Fushimi Inari Taisha.

Watermelons, slogan tees and pink hair: recent OOTDs

Where I stayed in Tokyo: Nishi Shinjuku

When I went to Tokyo in March, I went to a hell of a lot of places (Shinjuku at night// Kamakura// Metropolitan Government building// Shibuya and Meiji Jingu// Harajuku), and where we stayed was absolutely perfect.

Shopping in Harajuku

After Shibuya and Meiji Jingu, we continued on to Harajuku.
We braved Harajuku on a weekend but honestly, if you can I'd recommend going during the week. It's pretty crazy at weekends. (Mostly tourists too tbh). We got crepes, and I went into some awesome shops like Nadia Flores en el Corazón, (me), 6% doki doki (unfortunately you're not allowed to take photos inside, so you'll have to see for yourself), and G2?

Shibuya and Meiji Jingu

After we went up the Metropolitan Government Building, we headed to Shibuya. We saw the famous crossing, I had my first Taco Bell (it's good btw) and then we dragged Ryan to go see Meiji Jingu for a bit. I love Shibuya, it feels so 'Tokyo' because it's super lively and filled with fashionable people. Sadly I couldn't convince the boys to go in 109 with me...

WEGO Summer Jfashion haul and try on

It's soon gonna be the super hot and humid Japanese summer, so I wanted to get some cute Tshirts and summery pieces. Of course, I went straight to my beloved WEGO and practically bought the whole store, but WEGO is cute and cheap, so it's ok, right? ;)

View from the Metropolitan Building, Shinjuku

The Metropolitan government building in Tokyo is on every list of 'things you must do in Tokyo' and not without good reason! I honestly can't believe you can get such an awesome view for free! If you're in Shinjuku I'd recommend visiting so much. Side note: there is also an awesome souvenir shop up there with every pop culture thing ever. 

Tokyo OOTDs

Jacket// SPINNS

Shirt// WEGO

Bag// WEGO

Hat// H&M

Choker// WEGO

Skirt// H&M

Boots// Dr Martens

Jacket// SPINNS

Shirt// Bring me the Horizon

choker// WEGO

Backpack// WEGO

Skirt// River Island

Boots// Dr Martens

A really cool hat designer also street snapped me in Harajuku! He said he would send me the photos on IG, but he hasn't yet, I'll have to pester him about it...

The first OOTD was shot in the woods near Takao San, and the second was near Nakano Broadway! There's a tonne of Tokyo content coming up, places like the Metropolitan Government Building in Shinjuku, Kamakura, and some more I'm still writing up, so stay tuned (^O^)/

Thanks for reading (^O^)/

-Amy xoxo

How to kick start your Mornings

I'm just starting back at uni, and that means correcting my nocturnal sleeping habits into something a little more reasonable. Setting a good morning routine is the easiest way to make sure your day goes right, so here's a couple of tips on how to get the best start to your day possible.

Put the kettle on

Have a glass of water

Apparently it kick starts your metabolism, and it's also good for your skin. Bonus points if you chuck a lemon in too.

Get into the shower asap

I actually have a rule that I don't turn the Internet on before I've showered

Make your bed right away

so you aren't tempted to get back in :p

Don't give yourself time to snooze

Set your alarm later, when you know you can't snooze. Uninterrupted sleep is better, and then when you wake up, you know you have to actually get up.

Try and sleep in multiples of 1 1/2 hours

Apparently, Your sleep cycle is approximately one and a half hours, so if you wake up when you're finished with a cycle or in the lightest phase of sleep, e.g after 6 hours, 7 1/2 hours, you'll feel better

Make a to do list for the day

or look at it if you made it the night before 

Pack your bag the night before

(Tbh my bag is almost never unpacked because I keep the same bag) This means you won't have a morning scramble for your keys.You could maybe even pick your outfit the night before.

Work out the minimum time you need to get ready

make up etc so you have enough time, but not enough that you could snooze. Then you have to jump out of bed right away instead of on instagram, bloglovin or in bed snoozing (something that is now reserved for weekends)

You could Even could work some study in there :p

I actually was one of those people that studied in the morning last year....

Try and go to bed and wake up at the same time every day

 it will make you feel so much better as your body will get used to it.

Do you have any tips for mornings? I'd love to know!
Thanks for reading!
-Amy xoxo

What to do in Kamakura

The day after our walk in Shinjuku, we headed to Kamakura. Kamakura is a town in Kanagawa Prefecture that is sometimes called 'The Kyoto of Kanto'. It's a really nice day out! While obviously it doesn't have quite as much to do there as Kyoto, that might actually be a point in it's favour. Kyoto can be a little overwhelming sometimes, and it's packed with tourists (I still love it though). Kamakura has a more relaxed feeling, and the Daibutsu was the only place that was overflowing with tourists. I'm sure it does get busy at weekends though.

How to get there:

Kamakura is about an hour and 1000 yen away from Shinjuku, so it makes a really easy day trip from Tokyo.

What to do in Kamakura:

Go and see the Daibutsu (Great Buddha)

This is the one thing that is pretty much non negotiable- the Daibutsu is a must see and is probably the most famous place in Kamakura. The entrance fee was only 200 yen, and for an extra 50 yen you can go inside the Daibutsu statue itself, too.

The Beach

Kamakura has two main beaches, Yugihama and Zaimokuza. The one I went to was pretty, and the view was really nice there. I bet they are so crowded in summer though!

Hasedera

Hasedera was definitely the standout part of the day for me. It's a temple that's a short walk away from the Daibutsu, and boasts a gorgeous garden with an amazing view of the sea. There was also a cave you could go in! Entry was around 300 yen.

 Hachimangu shrine

Hachimangu is a huge and impressive shrine with a great view of Kamakura and the road leading up to Hachimangu from the top of the shrine complex. When we went, they were just about to complete work on the road, so it should now be lined with trees and lanterns.

Enoshima

Enoshima is also meant to be well worth a visit. Unfortunately I didn't get a chance to go, but it's a small island close to Kamakura. You can get there by the Enoden tram.

Hiking

Kamakura also has a tonne of good hiking trails which we wanted to go on, but unfortunately ran out of time. 

That was my short but sweet guide to Kamakura, I hope you enjoyed it! If you did, why not check out my other travel guides for places in Japan:

Hiroshima// Nagasaki// Kagoshima // Fushimi Inari Taisha // Iwakuni and Kintaikyo

Or check out the Japan tag for everywhere I've been this year so far.

Thanks for reading! 

-Amy xoxo

Tokyo's Nishi Shinjuku at night: Kabukicho, Love sculpture and Hello Kitty

I've been to Tokyo twice recently, once in the spring holiday and once in Golden week. Talk about busy, eh? So I have a tonne of Tokyo content coming up.  It's such a vibrant and cool city, and I managed to do loads while I was there.

The first day I arrived in Tokyo, we went for a little walk round Nishi Shinjuku close to where we were staying, and also had a little walk round Kabukicho too. I saw the iconic 'love' sculpture, the Metropolitan building and some really cute Hello Kitty roadworks. I thought they were so awesome, and they were actually used for the background of a photoshoot in the latest issue of Vivi (one of my favourite fashion magazines). Anyway, it was such a cool area to walk around!

Huge spring Japanese fashion and accessories collective haul: SPINNS, WEGO, Harajuku~

I've been pretty busily shopping away for spring/summer clothes, and I haven't posted a haul in ages, so I thought I'd share it with you guys today. I'll add some pictures of me wearing the clothes if I have one, but I haven't tried on everything yet (oops)

Amemura OOTD

Sunglasses// Ebay

Choker// Amazon

Jumper// Forever 21 Mens

Skirt// H&M

Boots// Dr Martens

I wore this outfit to Amemura the other week when me and Emily went shopping.
When we went into Funky Fruits, they asked to take my picture to put on their twitter :o it was cool, but I ended up looking so grumpy... ah well. I'll include the shirt I bought in my collective haul (which I'm gonna post tomorrow.. finally...)

Thanks for reading!
-Amy xoxo

14 ways to spring clean your blog

Spring has sprung, (although here in Japan it barely seemed to last a minute, cry) and so here I am with 14 big and small ways you can improve your blog this spring:

Eight Months in Japan

Oh April... where did you go? The Sakura tree at uni is covered in new green leaves now, and the weather is heating up too. Last month just whizzed by: I've started back at uni, and although I've got less work than last term (for some unexplainable reason I decided to take 20 credits instead of 15...) I still have a fair bit to do. I've also signed up to the JLPT (Japanese Language Proficiency test) Level N2 so I need to get studying for that... wish me luck!

So, a quick rundown on my month:
I dyed my hair pink again <3

For Golden Week, I went to visit Tokyo~ (p.s. if you wanna be updated more quickly about what I'm up to, head over to my instagram, its just @candyflossoverkill)
I went to loads of different places, like Nakano Broadway and the Kawaii Monster Cafe. (it was beyond amazing) I'll blog about that soon hopefully!


I bought a tonne of clothes, stay tuned for some serious haul posts

It's starting to get hot here (and I hate summer...)

I finally bought a domain for my blog: you can now view this on Candyflossoverkill.com!!
(but it will still redirect you from .blogspot.co.uk, don't worry)

I hit 300 posts! It seems crazy that I'm writing so much lately! Make sure to check out the archives if you've missed any of them, hehe.

I also just finished writing up the trip I went on in February!
Hiroshima city// Hiroshima Travel guide// Where we stayed in Hiroshima// Floating Torii at Miyajima // Iwakuni and Kintaikyo// Inasayama // Nagasaki mini travel guide // Kagoshima and Sakurajima

My Goals for next month: 

• use my weekends to the maximum
• try and go to Osaka during the week after uni more, 
• sleep better and be more healthy
• Plan another visit to Tokyo
• book my flight home to the UK (sob)
• study more!

And of course, I wanna keep up with the daily blogging hype that I've got going!
Thanks for reading!
-Amy xoxo

Productive things to do in your 'dead time'

Do you guys ever have that time, usually on the weekend, when you're soo bored and lethargic, but you don't know what to do? I sure do, so I wrote this quick list of things you can do to be a little productive instead:

1//Tidy and or clean your space

It will make you feel so much better. You could even go konmari and have a little declutter

2// Have a glass of water/tea

If you're dehydrated it can increase the lethargic bored feeling

3// Make yourself a proper meal

Cooking is fun when you're not in a rush! Try a new recipe, or make a huge meal and freeze some portions to have during the week

4// Guitar practise

Or any instrument. Practising a skill is so rewarding

5// Study 

6//Write your blog or journal

Don't have one? Start one! Gratitude journalling is proven to make people feel happier, so go! It's also a convenient excuse to buy ALL THE STATIONERY.

7// Read an actual book

or listen to an audiobook. Time away from a screen is a rare commodity these days.

8//Exercise

It will definitely wake you up and make you feel good. Get outside and go for a walk.

9// Paint your nails or do a beauty treatment

I always epilate my arms when I'm bored, makes me look less like wolverine and also feel pampered at the same time

10// Learn a new skill

Touch typing, calligraphy, anything. Even try learning a language!

11//Create something

Try your hand at something arty. Pinterest is your best friend.

12//Plan something to get excited about

Weekend plans, travel, or arrange to see that friend you haven't seen in forever. 

13// Have a nap

Or, if it's late-ish, go have an early night!

Thanks for reading! What do you like to do in your 'dead' time?
-Amy xoxo

Pastel x Grunge: Summery OOTDs

 Denim Jacket// SPINNS

Choker// WEGO

Sunglasses// Ebay

Skirt// Forever 21

Socks// Primark

Shoes// SPINNS

Shirt// WEGO

Choker// Ebay

Sunglasses// Ebay

Skirt// H&M

Socks// WEGO

Platform Shoes// SPINNS

Shirt// WEGO

Choker// WEGO

Skirt// Topshop

Shoes// Topshop

 Shirt// Crossfaith

Skirt//Forever 21

Choker// WEGO

Shoes// SPINNS

Thanks for reading!

-Amy xoxo