May 2014 – Kaori Square Feet

The Trip To Kagoshima: Prologue

Hi everyone!

I’m back from my trip to Kagoshima and I can tell you…there will be lots of posts coming. I took so many pictures, it was ridiculous. It’s going to take awhile to go through them all.

I was initially worried heading into this trip because about a week before my flight, I found mangoes on sale at the super market. And because I love mangoes, I jumped at the chance to buy one. Well, this ended up being a teeny tiny mistake.

Did you know that mangoes and hay fever are a dangerous combination?

I wasn’t feeling 100% from my hinoki allergies already but the day after I ate the mango, my lips started itching. And they started feeling like they were super swollen, like Angelina Jolie’s lips on steroids. Then the itching spread all over my face and neck, getting all red and puffy.

By this time, I’d figured out it was probably the mango so I went to the hospital to get medication. This was two days before flying to Kagoshima and I wasn’t feeling up to a trip at all.

But some how the swelling and itchiness was mildly better by the time I took off to Kagoshima and it got better as the days went on. You could say it was maybe due to the fresh air in Yakushima and all the onsen time I had in Kagoshima. Either way, I ended up having a great time!

Can’t wait to tell you all about it! x

The Golden Week Road Trip: Choshi

Have you ever been to Choshi?

It’s in the northeastern part of Chiba prefecture and has an amazing view of the pacific ocean. Well, it usually does. But when we stopped by on our way back down to Chiba, it was so cloudy that we couldn’t see a thing! Of course, that didn’t stop us from going up to the observatory deck to take a few pictures just so we can say we were there.

I actually liked the view that we had, even if we couldn’t see far.

There are also some other activities going on inside the observatory deck and we ended up working on seashell art. The project itself was fun but the older men and ladies teaching us were the real entertainment. So nice and eager to tell us their outrageous stories.

After that we took the Ken-o-do further down Chiba to drop off our baby sister at her campus. And that was the end of our short Golden Week this year. I’m hoping next year we have an even longer vacation so we can take an even longer road trip somewhere! x

Here are some photos:

The Golden Week Road Trip: Movie Night

The day after our drive up from Chiba, we were back in the car and heading to Costco to pick up things for our movie night.

Living in the city, I tend to forget that in some places a car is a necessity, and not just a luxury. I’ve never had a problem not having a car in Tokyo. Especially when renting a parking lot is so expensive. But every now and again, I like sitting in a car and not have to be squished against hundreds of people on the train.

So with my sister at the wheel, we sped off to Costco. It’s the best place to buy certain things like a box of navel oranges or paper towels by the bulk. We also got a couple (and by couple, I mean a shopping cart full) of other things, too. I totally blame the size of the shopping cart.

Next, we stopped by Tsutaya to choose our movies. Our general rule is, each one of us chooses a movie we want to see. Also, no complaining about someone else’s choice!

I chose The Magic Hour, a hilarious Japanese movie directed by Koki Mitani. My sisters chose Mirror Mirror, the Julia Roberts movie of Snow White, and Iron Man II, because this was the only one we hadn’t seen in the series yet.

We maybe got ice cream, too.

Finally, we headed home to start the movie marathon. It seems like we all like movies with a touch (or depending on the movie…a large dosage) of comedy. We pretty much laughed our heads off throughout the whole night! But then that is what movie nights are all about. x

Here are some photos:

Listening to music and stopping by Starbucks on our way to Costco.

Sippin’ on the new banana frappuccinos…yum!

The drive-thru drinks from Starbucks wish you a safe trip 😀

My sister got the Mango Passion Frappuccino!

Looking through the aisles of Costco.

My sister showing off her skills on the ukulele ;D

Our shopping cart looked like this at the end…not too bad for three girls, right?

My baby sister stocking up on things she’ll use at school.

We ate lunch at Costco and had their ever large slices of pizza.

I can never manage to finish the whole slice…I mean, look at it. It’s bigger than my face!

We got ice cream, too. My double chocolate cheesecake and hawaiian crunch was amazing!

Taking a group sister shot with our ice cream…movie nights are the best!

The Golden Week Road Trip: Chiba

Hello, hello!

How is everyone’s post Golden Week? Or if you’re not in Japan, your regular week? I’ve been dashing around Tokyo lately. May might end up being my busiest month yet.

But before I head off to Kagoshima, I wanted to share a few photos from my Golden Week.

What started off as a sleepover at my sister’s place in Ibaraki, inadvertently ended up being a road trip through Chiba. I know that doesn’t make any sense but let me explain. My other baby sister is currently a university student in Chiba so we drove down there to pick her up. Her campus was gorgeous. It was also quite far…who knew Chiba was such a large prefecture?

But we had a great time cruising up the highway along the shoreline, with Beyonce and Taylor Swift belting out their tunes (we were, of course, their backup singers).

Here are some photos: