Fall Trip Part 3: Minoo Park

On Sunday the 23rd Jonathan and I went to Minoo Park in northern Osaka. But first we stopped at Namba Station on the way to eat breakfast at Starbucks.

Fall Trip Part 2: Attempting to go to Kiyomizudera

After Daitokuji we headed toward Kiyomizudera to see the night illuminations. It usually isn't open at night, but they have special night hours in the fall.

Fall Trip Part 1: Fall Colors at Daitokuji

Last weekend was a three day weekend so we went to Kyoto to see the fall colors. We left early in the morning and arrived in Kyoto a little bit after 11. First we had to wait in a line for about 30-45 minutes to leave our stuff in the luggage room because of the crazy amount of people visiting Kyoto that weekend. I had known that all the coin lockers would be full so I had looked up alternatives beforehand, but I hadn't expected such a long line! Not fun.

After getting rid of our stuff, we got lunch from a bakery. I had a chicken sandwich and a delicious walnut and banana chip pastry. Soooo tasty!

Jubilo Iwata 10k - 2014

On November 16th, I ran my second 10k race. I ran in the Jubilo Iwata Marathon 10k. I also participated in the same race last year.

 
During the race some photographers took pictures of everyone and there is a website where I can buy them. It's a really neat system because it finds the pictures of you based on your running number. They're really expensive though. :( Just a digital download of one photo is almost 900 yen. Somehow I think I can get one free smartphone download though, so I'll have to see if I can use Jonathan's phone for that.

Futamata Castle Ruins

Last Saturday Jonathan and I biked to Tenryu. Before heading out on our adventure, we got lunch from 7-Eleven.

I had ham and egg salad sandwiches, Pringles, tea (that came with a cute Korilakkuma bottle topper!), and a Snickers bar. The Pringles were dill pickle flavored and we both liked them. They reminded me of when you get a sandwich, chips and a pickle somewhere and the pickle juice gets on the chips.

I didn't take any pictures until we got to Tenryu because we've biked that route several times now. In Tenryu I took a picture of the cute karaoke place!

Tokyo Part 8: Meiji Shrine

I visited Meiji Shrine back in the summer of 2010, but there was a dance performance going on. That was really cool to see, but I wasn't able to walk around and really see the place very much, plus my camera was almost dead then. So this was my first time to walk around and be able to take more pictures.

Tokyo Part 7: Sunshine and Fall Colors in Harajuku

After a wonderful morning at Rikugien, I went to Ikebukuro to buy the red skirt at SI2C in Sunshine City.

Tokyo Part 6: Rikugien Garden

On Monday morning I went to Rikugien, a very nice garden in Tokyo. I visited it once before, back in the summer of 2010, and was glad to finally go again.

Tokyo Part 5: Ikebukuro and Harajuku

After Shibuya, I went to Ikebukuro.

I was amused by the mannequins in the window display of Uniqlo.

Tokyo Part 4: Shinjuku and Shibuya

After Shin-Okubo I went to Shinjuku, which is just one stop away on the Yamanote Line.

First, I headed to Marui Annex, which has many lolita stores.

Tokyo Part 3: Shin-Okubo (Korean Boy Band Land)

When I woke up Saturday morning I was excited to see the sun shining! I ate breakfast at the hotel and then headed to Shin-Okubo, which is Tokyo's Korean town.

Tokyo Part 2: Cat Cafe Nekorobi

After Harajuku I headed back to Ikebukuro to visit a cat cafe called Nekorobi. I didn't have any trouble finding it and was soon in kitty wonderland!

Tokyo Part 1: A Rainy Day in Harajuku

This past weekend was a three-day weekend and I finally went to Tokyo! I hadn't been there since the spring (unless you count passing through to go to the airport). I left a little after 7 and arrived in Tokyo around noon. I dropped my suitcase off at my hotel in Ikebukuro and ate lunch at Becker's outside of the station.

Happy Halloween!

I love Halloween! Costumes are so much fun!!!! I didn't go anywhere for Halloween, but I still wanted to dress up in my lolita outfit. I had planned on buying more stuff for my outfit in Tokyo, but that trip was postponed so I didn't get to do that.