Tag: hello kitty

Exploring one of Japan’s Most Rural Prefectures: Yamaguchi

Motonosumi Shrine in Northern Yamaguchi along the Sea of Japan.

After an eventful day in Fukuoka paying my respects to the frog gods and eating delicious food, I decided to take the bullet train to Yamaguchi the next morning because it was one of the few prefectures I had yet to explore in Japan. Yamaguchi is most famous for Akiyoshido Cave, which is the largest limestone cave in Japan. It is also famous for its blowfish and has delicious seafood you can try.

Other points of interest include Hagi, the old castle town, Beppu Benten Pond, and various bridges and shrines. Though renowned for its scenery, Yamaguchi does not have the best public transport. I would recommend seeing all of the prefectures in Kyushu before coming here because there is much more to do and the beaches and onsen are of much higher quality. That being said, Yamaguchi does have some interesting points that I will be highlighting in this article, and I am grateful I had the opportunity to finally see it!

Getting to Yamaguchi from Fukuoka

From Hakata Station, traveling to Shin Yamaguchi Station on the Tokaido-Sanyo Shinkansen takes around 35 mins and costs 6000 yen. From Shin Yamaguchi Station, you can take a bus or local train to various locations but I would recommend renting a car or taxi to get your time’s worth out of this prefecture.

Yamaguchi also has an airport (Yamaguchi Ube Airport) but it is cheaper to fly to Fukuoka and take the bullet train to reach the station. Once again, I would definitely recommend spending at least a day in Fukuoka and other parts of Kyushu because the atmosphere is better.

When I arrived at Shin Yamaguchi Station, I was actually surprised at how modern it was. I was expecting it to be an extremely rural station and pretty empty, but it had signs that clearly marked the area and I saw a decent number of people commuting here. The most disappointing part was that almost all the shops in the station were closed minus 7-Eleven and a tiny udon shop by the waiting room. I really wanted to try more of the local food but ended up settling for convenience store options because I was on a tight schedule.

I went to the tourist information center a grabbed a map so I wouldn’t get lost. Fortunately there is a cheap bus that goes from Shin Yamaguchi Station to Akiyoshido Cave so it is the best place to explore first. The workers at the information center also informed me that there are a number of taxis you can take from the caves to other locations in Yamaguchi, so that saved me the trouble of trying to call or book one in advance. Though I was initially expecting this to be a challenging day, fortunately everything I wanted to see was accessible even though I did not have a car.

Akiyoshido Cave

Akiyoshido is the largest limestone cave in Japan that’s existence can be traced back to 300 million years ago. It is part of the Akiyoshidai Plateau Quasi-National Park that has a number of phenomenal hiking spots and places to see. Inside of the cave you will notice formations that resemble various parts of Japan such as the Thousand Rice Fields, the Goddess of Mercy, and the “Big Mushroom”. The accessible part of the cave for tourists spans about one mile, and when you exit you will walk through a fluorescent tunnel that takes you through the essence of time. I thought this cave was well laid out, but I recommend Miyakojima’s Pumpkin Cave and Okayama’s Rainbow Cave because they are more interesting to see. However, there are additional places you can explore at this national park if you keep hiking after the exit. I did not have the time or energy to see them all, but please reference the Akiyoshidai Website for more information.

Address: 3506-2 Shuhocho Akiyoshi, Mine, Yamaguchi 754-0511
Entrance Fee: 1200 yen

After exiting the cave, I cut a deal with a taxi driver to take me to the following locations for 20,000 yen. Though this was expensive, this was the most cost efficient way for me to see all of Yamaguchi in one day and I don’t regret it.

Beppu Benten Pond

Beppu Benten Pond is a strikingly clear blue pond near the limestone caves in the small town of Mine. On sunny days that pond appears crystal clear like glass, reminding me of Monet’s Pond that I saw in Gifu. There is a legend that drinking Beppu’s water will extend your lifespan for a year, but since it was raining I did not try it out! There are a number of trout that live in this pond so I decided to leave the magical life-extending water to them. What’s also amazing is this pond’s temperature stays at 14 degrees Celsius all year. On the day that I went, the sunlight made a heart-shaped shadow on the pond which I thought was very special! If you go to Akiyoshido then I would definitely recommend checking this out because it is extremely nearby.

Address: 1578 Shuhocho Beppu, Mine, Yamaguchi 754-0603
Entrance Fee: Free

Motonosumi Shrine

From the pond, I had my taxi driver take me to Motonosumi Shrine which was all the way north next. This was about a 45 minute drive but was extremely worth it because the layout of this seaside shrine was gorgeous. Motonosumi Shrine is an Inari shrine which means it has fox deities and a large number of tori that lead to the offering box. Instead of being on the ground, the offering box is attached to one of the upper beams of the main tori making it extremely unique. It is said that good luck comes to whomever can toss their coins successfully into the box. I would recommend this shrine as the #1 sightseeing spot in Yamaguchi because there are not many others like it!

Address: 498 Yuyatsuo, Nagato, Yamaguchi 759-4712
Entrance Fee: Free

After fully exploring the shrine by the coast (it really only takes 25 mins to see), I had my taxi driver drop me off at Hagi Bus Center where I drank by myself and waited 2 hours for the Hello Kitty bus to pick me up and return me to Shin Yamaguchi Station so I could reach my next destination. Not complaining though, because I was riding in style! Do be mindful of the bus schedules here because buses are truly infrequent in this prefecture even when they connect to the major stations.

Other Recommendations

Other popular destinations in Yamaguchi include Tsunoshima Ohashi Bridge, which connects to a small island called Tsunoshima. If I had a rental car, I probably would had tried to go here, but the island is very rural and does not contain many points of interest outside of one of the oldest Western-styled lighthouses. Kintaikyo bridge near the airport is also very famous for its architecture, but since it was out of the way and I have already seen so many bridges in Japan I decided to skip it. I did not fully see the castle town but I did walk around Hagi while waiting for my Hello Kitty bus and it was interesting enough. Sadly it was raining else I would have taken more photos.

Most articles recommend staying 2 days in Yamaguchi to fully experience it, but I was able to see everything that I wanted in a single day trip. If you are doing a day trip like myself I would recommend choosing 3 spots that most interest you and sticking close to them. Though Yamaguchi is a place that I wouldn’t recommend to people because other rural prefectures like Gunma and Saga have far more to see, I was grateful for what I experience and was even more ecstatic to finally cross this place off my bucket list! When I was done sightseeing I returned to Shin Yamaguchi Station and rode the bullet train to Hiroshima Station because that is where my next adventure was about to begin.

In my next article, I will be exploring a small art island of Hiroshima and also re-visiting Kurashiki. The adventures truly never seem to end and I have been living life to the fullest this year. I cannot wait to see what other wonderful things are in store!

Venturing to the Theme Parks of Awaji Island: Hello Kitty Smile & Naruto x Boruto Shinobi-zato

The great Hokage watch over Awaji Island.

After we had a fantastic stay in Kobe visiting Rokko Island, Chinatown, and Harborland, we decided to take a road trip to Hyogo Prefecture’s Awaji Island—a rural tropical paradise boasting resorts, farmland, and iconic amusement parks. There are also many beaches here that you can use for recreational fishing and swimming. The main reason I wanted to come here was to see the Naruto x Boruto theme park and also go on a whirlpool cruise, which I will detail in my next article. What I liked most about Awaji is that it had a variety of fascinating attractions enjoyable for all ages. I originally debated about solo tripping and taking the local bus around here, but Awaji is best explored by car. Fortunately my friends were on board with my itinerary and we were able to split the highway tolls while having an amazing vacation here!

Getting to Awaji

Awaji is connected to Kobe and Tokushima by bridge so you can reach the island by car or bus. There are no airports or trains on the island making it hard to get around, so I would recommend renting a car. From Kobe we drove about an hour to get to the central part of the island and were able to see quite a lot during our two day stay. I recommend staying 2-3 days so you have enough time to see all of the attractions you want and spend time on the beach.

For more information on the Awaji buses, please see the official Awaji Tourism website.

Naruto x Boruto Shinobi-zato

Naruto x Boruto Shinobi-zato is a permanent theme park that is part of Nijigen no Mori, a forested area of attractions and events on Awaji Island. This theme park originally opened in 2019 but was temporarily closed due to the effects of the pandemic in 2020. It reopened in 2021 and is now fully operational but requires all visitors to wear masks. As an avid fan of the series in middle school, I simply had to go. I really wished I would have brought my Naruto headband I brought from ebay when I was 12 years old, but it is sitting somewhere at my parents’ house in Michigan. When I visit home later this year I might break it out for old time’s sake. Though I’ve moved on to other anime, Naruto will always have a special place in my heart. I really wish I could show my middle school self these pictures so she could see how badass I am in my twenties.

After purchasing your ticket at the door, you will be handed a small sack containing two ninja scrolls. Basically the whole premise is a giant stamp rally where the aim is to find as many of your ninja allies as possible and collect stamps to master ninjutsu. As soon as you enter the park you will be greeted by cardboard cutouts of all the main characters and see the iconic monument of the great Hokage. If this isn’t weeaboo paradise, I don’t know what is! You can line up on either side of the monument to start an obstacle course. We chose the Uzumaki side, but the Uchiha side is also an option. The course was pretty fun and involved light climbing, door puzzles, and had a slide. The hints are written in Japanese, English, and Chinese so we were able to get through them without issue. The weather was really hot so we were sweating at the end, but collecting our first stamp was ever so satisfying.

After the first course we decided to explore the whole entire park. Past the Hokage monument are the Akatsuki, a large statue of Kurama, and a tiny cave area you can walk through. As you walk through these areas, you can hear character voices giving you hints on where to go. If you keep walking you will eventually loop around to the food and souvenir shop near the entrance of the park. You can order ramen, drinks, and sweets that your favorite characters eat from the series. My favorite thing that I saw in the gift shop was the coconut Kakashi chapstick. As a kid I would have absolutely loved this theme park, but as an adult it was fun looking back on all of the memories this series gave me.

Overall I would recommend spending 1-2 hours here. The entrance fee is a bit pricey but honestly the pictures I took here made it worth it. I really liked how they made half of this park an obstacle course so it felt more like real ninja training instead of something with roller coasters because it wouldn’t be as fitting. I would definitely come here for the meme factor if you are an anime fan.

Address: 2425-2 Kusumoto, Awaji, Hyogo 656-2301
Entrance Fee: 3300 yen (basic admission—shows and additional obstacle courses are more money)

Hello Kitty Smile

Originally we tried to enter a pancake restaurant for breakfast this morning, but since it was located near the central resort area it was too crowded for us to enter. Instead we went to get high tea and seafood at Hello Kitty Smile, which turned out to be a super magical experience even better than our original plan!

Hello Kitty Smile consists of a resort with a fancy cafe, seafood restaurant with an ocean view, and museum of underwater themed Hello Kitty characters. We decided to split the high tea set and order caramel lattes which was a great move. I really enjoyed all of the little cakes and Hello Kitty manjuu that they included in the set. For lunch we went downstairs to the main restaurant and all ordered garlic shrimp plates. The portion sizes were absolutely HUGE!! Awaji is famous for its seafood, namely shrimp, and I can definitely see why. I am happy that we were able to have both cute and hearty meals here.

Afterwards we decided to enter the Hello Kitty “Under the Sea” area which contained a lot of projection mapped images similar to teamLab but on a much smaller scale. It was still very fun to experience and there were a ton of photo ops—namely the trippy room filled with Hello Kitty plush dolls. Additionally I loved seeing the vintage car under the neon lights, the sparkly guitar, and meeting Hello Kitty herself! There was also an arts and crafts area for kids with a bunch of carnival games. I could see this as the ideal vacation for young children, but walking around the museum as an adult was fun too. Plus the view of the ocean was simply beautiful. I felt very relaxed here and was happy with what I saw.

Address: 985-1 Nojimahikinoura, Awaji, Hyogo 656-1721
Entrance Fee: 2300 yen

Godzilla Zipline

One of the best things I saw on this trip was people casually zipling into Godzilla’s mouth outside of the Naruto x Boruto Park:

DOOM!

Unfortunately I was wearing a short skirt so I couldn’t partake, but just watching this was absolutely hilarious! You gotta appreciate the strange things you stumble upon on these rural islands. For more information, please see the Godzilla Interception Operation website.

Thank you for reading the first part of my Awaji Island article series! In my next article, I will be talking about the whirlpool cruise, beaches, and my accommodation. Please look forward to it~

Living the Dream at the Sanrio Hotel in Naha City, Okinawa

Less than a week ago I just narrowly escaped the initial Golden Week travel rush that sparked Tokyo’s 3rd emergency state on my way to Naha City in Okinawa. This policy is currently in effect until May 11th urging residents to avoid non-essential travel, but I arrived in paradise just before it occurred! I was fortunately able to follow all of the corona prevention measures onboard my Jetstar flight from Narita Airport at 7:15 in the morning and felt extremely safe. The flight attendants were very attentive and spaced us out as much as possible. The airport limousine had almost no people riding it either so traveling before Golden Week is a power move that will save you not only money but a lot of hassle too.

I should mention that this is not my first trip to Okinawa either—this is actually my second one! The first time I traveled to Okinawa was in 2016 for my 23rd birthday in October. Honestly October has some of the best weather because it’s the dry season but is still warm enough to go swimming. Despite the first day I arrived in April this year where there was rain and heavy winds, the rest of the days I spent here were pleasant. While my last trip focused on engaging with Okinawan culture and sightseeing, this trip was focused on enjoying resorts and scuba diving in Miyakojima. I plan to start a separate article series for my previous Okinawa trip once I finish this one!

This article series will cover my 5 day and 4 night stay in Okinawa. For detailed information on my itinerary and estimated prices for references, please see Super Aesthetic Adventures in Okinawa and Miyako!

Exploring Naha City

As I arrived at Naha Airport after my 3 hour flight, I was greeted by a sign that said “めんそーれ” which I learned means “welcome” in Okinawan dialect. This greeting went completely over my head on my first trip, but since watching the Non Non Biyori Okinawa movie, I totally get what it means now. Don’t be afraid to use it around the locals because they genuinely enjoy it when you try to speak their language.

To reach the bustling Kokusai Street of Naha where all the bars, restaurants, and action is, you can take a cheap monorail and reach it within 20 minutes. This is so convenient compared to traveling back from the Tokyo airports! The monorail does not go up the whole main island but you can take buses or choose to rent a car to get around. On this trip all I needed was the monorail to reach my Sanrio resort, so I was a happy yuru camper. Since it was raining this day I decided to hit all of the bars and cafes and drink some rosé. Here are some of the best places you can explore in Naha City:

Ti-Da Beach Parlor

Ti-da Beach Parlour is a new smoothie cafe that has some of the most aesthetic vibes on the island. Here you can order delicious dragon fruit smoothies and drink them under neon signs and creative interior decor. They also sell jewelry, soap, and various aromas here. It’s definitely an IG worthy spot because I saw a lot of Japanese girls taking pictures here when I entered. My smoothie was beyond amazing and the owner was extremely kind to me. “We love it!!!” is almost an understatement because the taste of this smoothie was heavenly. This place is also extremely close to Tida Beach which you should definitely check out if you have the time!

Address: 2 Chome-7-18 Makishi, Naha, Okinawa 900-0013

Arriving at Kokusai Street & Finding Noteworthy Souvenirs

After having arguably one of the best smoothies of my life, I decided to walk around Kokusai Street until it was time to check into my hotel. The charm of this street is its crazy souvenirs and cozy cafes and bars. You will find everything from bootleg Mario shirts to Habu Snake Liquor to sweet potato flavored curry and everything here is awesome. I found to Okinawa Kirby keychains in the second souvenir shop I entered and immediately bought them. If you know me then you know Kirby is one of my all time favorite characters, and these keychains were only 500 yen so they were a steal! The Pokemon Store in the nearby shopping mall is also worth checking out. It’s smaller than the Pokemon Centers around Japan, but has some custom tropical shirts plus the Okinawan Pikachu plushies that you can only buy here and each season they add new things. You can easily spend 2 hours on this street looking around but everything is accessible by foot.

Access: This street is best accessed by Makishi Station on the monorail.

Hotel Okinawa with Sanrio Characters

Here it is—the main highlight! When this place opened in 2019 the internet exploded with excitement and multiple people tagged me in articles about the Hotel Okinawa with Sanrio Characters located near Kokusai Street so I figured I had to go for the experience. The cheapest rooms here are priced around 7800 ~ 10000 yen per night which is a bit expensive compared to other hotel rooms that are the same size, but who could say no the undeniably cute atmosphere? All 66 rooms here have their own custom design so staying here is definitely worth the price if you are a fan of these characters. After some careful thinking, I chose the My Melody double bed room because it had the most vibrant pink design.

Without further ado, here is video tour of my hotel room:

First of all, I gotta say I deeply appreciated the Sanrio slipper they had laid out for me. I also loved the backdrop of My Melody enjoying the beach. It was so much fun setting up my tripod while drinking wine and taking photos here. I am definitely living the bachelorette lifestyle to the fullest. The room also came with free Sanrio stickers, coasters, and little bags to carry you amenities in. The best part is your room key is made into a membership card with your name on it that you can use again in the future. I loved the VIP status I got here not to mention the huge montage of Sanrio plushies in the lobby. This is definitely the most kawaii hotel on the island and I am completely in love with it.

Address: 1 Chome-2-25 Asato, Naha, Okinawa 902-0067

The only con of the room was that it did not have a bath tub (only a simple shower), but you could fortunately reserve a huge tub on the 2nd floor for free and that is exactly what I did. I felt rejuvenated and relaxed even though the winds were quite strong outside that I broke 2 umbrellas. After the weather calmed down, I decided to walk around town and get some food and drinks!

My Recommended Food Choices

Naha is full of delicious food stands, restaurants, and ice cream stores, but this time I decided to try some of the new vegan restaurants that were added to the island. I am really happy they have added so many healthy options so I can enjoy this food guilt-free!

Vegan Taco Rice at mana

Natural food and snack mana just happened to be the closest vegan restaurant to my hotel so it was the first place that I went to eat. I was delighted to see that they had vegan taco rice on their menu which is a staple food of Okinawa. The rice was full grain and I appreciated the star fruit they added on top! The soy meat was very light on my stomach and overall gave me just the energy I needed to go exploring around the city. I highly recommend this place if you want some amazing taco rice!

Address: 1 Chome-6-9 Tsuboya, Naha, Okinawa 902-0065

Cocktails at Bar Owl

Since bars usually close around 8pm due to the pandemic, I called a few on Kokusai Street that struck my interest and was ecstatic to find that the fancy cocktail place Bar Owl was open! I was the only person at the bar but that was actually a good thing because it gave me the chance to have a wonderful conversation with the owner. He asked me if I was a model since I was lowkey cosplaying Tifa that night, and I laughed and told him I’m more of just a general cosplayer! He then proceeded to inform me of various cosplay events in Okinawa, the most famous being MCCS, which I really may consider going to in the future. Who needs Colossalcon when you can cosplay on an island!?

Anyway, onto the drinks! I asked him to make me something cute and sweet with strawberry, so the first cocktail I got was mostly strawberry and high quality vodka. It was extremely easy to drink so I didn’t realize how strong it was! Not wanting to leave without trying another, I asked if I could have one more and to surprise me. The drink I got was so amazing it was almost beyond my comprehension. It was shaped like the Hungry Hungry Caterpillar and made out of the Okinawan superfood goya, which tastes bitter but when paired with fig it creates the perfect blend of tastes that make it out of this world. The base of the cocktail was kiwi and I was in love with its aesthetic design. I thanked the bartender kindly and vowed to come back again. These fancy cocktails are about 2500 but 100% completely worth it. These are some of the best cocktails on the island for sure!

Address: 1-8-7 Kumoji 2F Kanemoto Sangyo Bldg., Naha 900-0015 Okinawa Prefecture

After drinking the almighty potions, I immediately passed out in my Sanrio Hotel but this was a day I would never forget. Okinawa is just so full of adventure that you really can’t go wrong here. Everyone can find something that they appreciate and enjoy here.

Please look forward to my next article covering my 2nd day in this lovely series and thank you for supporting my journey!

The Best Desserts in Hong Kong: Egg Waffles, Coconut Jelly, and Hello Kitty Secret Garden

Hong Kong is one of the most bustling island countries of the world attracting a lot of international business, tourism, and backpackers like me.  For that purpose, it’s bound to have have some amazing desserts, and in large quantities too!

Right in the center of the city is Oddies Foodies where you can order delicious ice cream and egg waffle parfaits.  Egg waffles are a huge dessert meme in Hong Kong, and are gradually spreading to other parts of Asia.  They are softer and have more of a milky taste compared to regular waffles.  I ordered the cookie dough flavor and was very impressed with how mouthwatering it was!  The chocolate syrup they drizzled over it made it taste even better.  The best part is, you could eat egg waffles for breakfast and dessert!

While I was exploring the night market near Jordan Station, I found a small food stall that was selling coconut jelly out of a real coconut.  I can’t remember the exact name of the stall, but you can find these all over the country if you walk along the streets of the markets.  Compared to jello found in America, this coconut jello was a lot creamier and tasted more like pudding.  In Hong Kong-styled cooking eggs are often used but the taste is never overpowering.  I thought all of the street food I tried was extremely delicious (yet sadly caloric).

My last meal in Hong Kong was a lunch set at Hello Kitty Secret Garden.  I ordered toast, strawberry ice cream waffles, and a cute milk latte:

This was another caloric meal, but it was extremely satisfying.  All of the portion sizes in Hong Kong are much larger than in Japan!  The food is a bit more expensive, but you really can’t go wrong with it because it’s all delicious.  If you are on a budget, I would check the street stalls because they have a lot of variety as well.

Hello Kitty Desserts at EGG & SPUMA

A diner and dessert restaurant called EGG & SPUMA located in the Shinjuku Lumine building serves up some of the most delicious Sanrio collaboration items you’ve ever laid eyes on.  They serve a lot of comfort food like omelettes, risotto, and pancakes on their menu that changes with new featured items each season.  Cocktails and sweet drinks are also available.

I ordered Hello Kitty pancakes topped with apples slices, custard, and whipped cream.  They melted like butter in my mouth and had an extremely soft texture!  I also tried pink lemonade topped with a Hello Kitty donut.  Thought it was an extremely unlikely combination, it was amazing!  The donut was extremely thick and completely covered in strawberry frosting.  The lemonade size was noticeably large compared to most drinks here.  I wanted to try more, but felt extremely full after this!

Overall, I was extremely impressed with the quality of food here for it being part of a theme cafe.  Be sure to try their seasonal pancakes if you ever get the chance to stop by!

One of the Strangest Collaboration Cafes: The Pop Team Epic x Sanrio Cafe

As a person that loves anime and aesthetic food, I have been to many of the strange and unique cafes in Japan.  However, the Pop Team Epic X Sanrio Cafe in Ikebukuro particularly caught my eye due to its hilarious-looking menu items and overall craziness of two unlikely series crossing over!

img_9816

Located in the Gourmet Stadium attached to Ikebukuro Station, this cafe is easy to access and requires no reservation.  We came around 3pm on the Saturday after it opened, and only waited 30 minutes to get in which is a very reasonable wait time.

Once inside, we were presented with this very unique menu including burgers of the Pop Team Epic characters cosplaying Hello Kitty, drinks containing cheese, the classic anime cafe parfait, and my personal favorite–corn on pancakes with an anime face and side of Pompompurin pudding:

The food was definitely very strange, but overall delicious.  I enjoyed the parfait because it had a crepe wrapped around it and also contained some delicious chocolate jello and whipped cream!  I did not have the courage to try the corn, but the pudding and pancakes were very creamy.  I would definitely recommend coming here for some desserts!

There was also a little souvenir shop with buttons, pins, and T-shirts!  I could not resist this adorable keychain of Pompompurin DJing:

img_9820

This cafe is running from February 7, 2019 – April 14, 2019.  As previously implied, I would recommend coming her for the lulz.