Blog: Pittsburgh Double Date: Food

Sorry, I've been so behind and I have so much to post! With school going on, I'm doing more fun bloggable things, but I'm also busy with school and work DX

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First we ate ramen! Pretty much every time I go to Pittsburgh, this is always a stop on my list. The Ramen Bar! It's not really Japanese ramen, but it's still really good

And I'd been having an extreme craving for macarons for a while and couldn't find any in Morgantown (which I now have found at Naticakes!) so we found some at a bakery called Gaby et Jules right down the street from the Ramen Bar

Flavors are: strawberry, rose, and poppy!

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Blog: Japan Day 5 Part 2: Shinjuku Love Hotel

Ok, I want to hurry up and post this post so I can tell you guys about our trip to Yunessun on the last day!

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After our rushed exploration of Koenji, we left and headed to Shinjuku

These were the only cherry blossoms in bloom at that time DX

I love seeing lolitas randomly around <3

And we went to a love hotel called Yuurakuzen 遊楽膳 ♡❤♡❤♡
I wanted to try this one because it has Japanese style rooms

This is where you pick your room.  You don't have to deal with people at all, so maximum privacy!

The ceiling was really pretty and had mirrors

Tea, coffee, and a hot water boiler

I took more pictures of the room and bathroom and stuff, but they are on the memory card in my old camera that was stolen :( After that, we left and went to get ramen near Takeru's house

I have no idea what this building actually is, but it looks like a bright rainbow light up castle 

Of course everyone loves these super cute Hello Kitty construction cone thingies.  I love the cuteness in everyday things in Japan

And I found the website for the restaurant called Haruki 春樹)! [link here]

I love trying to add as many links for the places I go so that you guys can try all of the amazing things that made me fall in love with Japan.  I wish I had done more for my earlier blog posts from my first time in Japan, but I guess it's natural to get better and more organized at blogging with time :)

Next and last of my spring break Japan trip will be about our trip to Yunessun!!

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Blog: Japan Day 5 Part 1: Vintage Stores in Koenji

I took a little break from my Japan blog posts because of the bunch of modeling I've been up to lately, and I didn't have wifi at home, but I do now! =D

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On this day, we were really feeling the time limit start to affect what we wanted to do =/  I'm going to try to post links to the stores' websites/Instagram pages if I follow or can find them, sort of like a Koenji shopping guide!

We began by trying a type of ramen made with milk that is one of Takeru's favorites at a place called Ramen Manpuku (ラーメン万福).  Actually the first message he ever sent me on Line was a picture of this ramen and him telling me about it XD So I was really excited to finally try it (even though it sounded so strange).  It was so good!  I think it's my favorite ramen so far.

I just did a google search of this place to see if they had a website or anything (they do not) and found that RocketNews24 (really cool blog/news about Japan) did an article about it!  I'm surprised since I wasn't able to find out much about it online, and according to Takeru, it's not a super popular place except for with ramen fanatics.

[RocketNews Article]

After we ate, we rushed through the vintage clothing stores.  We spent some time in the first store called Comyu, and talked to the girl who works there, and she goes to the school that I want to go to!  The store is so cute and has a lot of Gunne Sax dresses!

[Facebook] [Website]

Then this store I follow on Instagram! I didn't even realize when I went there until after XD I can't find if they have a website though...

[Instagram]

And here's another one that I didn't realize I followed on Instagram already when I went inside.  They had sooooo many Gunne Sax dresses in this one!  It's called Aileen by GrogGrog

[Instagram] [Website]

This one I couldn't find a website for, but they have a Facebook page.  It's so bright and colorful!

[Facebook]

This one is called Tatouage by Zool.  I didn't get a chance to go inside unfortunately DX But you guys better believe next time/when I live in Tokyo, I'm gonna explore and blog so hard and in detail about everything I can find here!

[Instagram]

And last but not least, the shop I had been planning to go to ever since I discovered it by accident on Instagram a while ago, Fizz! It's actually right above Tatouage. They have a huge, beautiful selection of Gunne Sax dresses!  Unfortunately, I wasn't able to buy any at that time.  They were pricier ones, but for good reason as they were the nicest dresses, good condition, and well taken care of!  I will definitely be visiting this store in the future :D

[Instagram] [Website]

Ok, next post from spring break will be a few more random pictures from Koenji and around Tokyo, and my love hotel trip ;D Also, be expecting my Look of the Day post from my time in Japan

Blog: Japan Day 4 Part 2: Mini Live Show

Took a little break from my Japan posts because of my recent photo shoot, but now I'll get back to them!  This was the second part of this day, day 4.

We started by getting ramen here in Shibuya at a place called 麺屋武蔵 (menyamusashi)!  It's a type of ramen that you dip the moodles into the broth, which is thick and gravy-like, then you add hot soup to the broth so you can drink what's left after you finish the noodles.  I poured the hot soup into my water cup by accident thinking it was to refill the water...I must not have been the first ever to do that though, as the worker guy noticed immediately and got me a new water glass right away, no questions asked or judging looks XD

After that, we ran and took the train to Asakusa to see Takeru's friend and band mate's show!  We were too late and missed her playing though X( We did catch this guy's awesome performance and I got his cd!

After that (and a few drinks) we went and got some more drinks from a nearby conbini, then had our own mini live show near a river with a view of the Tokyo Skytree

This night was so much fun!  There was such a good atmosphere between us all, and the music she played was soooo good!  I wish I had a chance to get to know her better.  She doesn't speak English at all, so I need to get better at Japanese, so I can practice speaking with her.  I think we got along really well, but we had such a short amount of time, and a language barrier. X(  Buuut distance won't matter anymore when I live in Japan, and language won't be a problem because I will get better at Japanese!

That's all from this day <3

Blog: Japan Day 2, Part 1: Around the Area

This day, Takeru showed me around his neighborhood and where he used to go to school.  We even went to some playgrounds he used to play at when he was younger!

This river has lots of cherry blossom trees, but they were just barely starting to bloom.

I thought this was a really cool, interesting story to share that Takeru told me!  Takaido Junior High School was given roses by Anne Frank's father after they sent him their impressions after reading Anne Frank's Diary, and they took care of them and they can be still seen growing here! Here's a link to an article about it that I found, but the link is kinda weird so I hope it works...

I love flowers, and reading Anne Frank's Diary in middle school is what inspired me to keep a diary for many years, which may have even led to why I enjoy blogging so much now!  I'm very forgetful about things that happen in my life (I don't like it, it scares me sometimes), and I love taking pictures, and sharing all of the things that I love and find interesting.  I'm not too fond of writing, but when it comes to memories that I'm trying to keep and/or share with others, the words just flow so easily for me. Anyway, here's the rose plant, not in bloom yet of course

菜の花 (field mustard flowers)

We stopped at a department store that had a little pet store inside it too XD

Then we went to Takeru's favorite ramen restaurant called Makotoya.  You first order and pay for your food using this machine thingy, like many restaurants use.

Then food porn! 

I ate everything....it was tonkotsu ramen, which I hadn't had since the last time I was in Japan!  It's not very common or easy to find in America unfortunately

The guys who worked there were nice enough to let me get a picture with them too!

I think that's all I'll include in this post, but this day didn't end there! I'm going to break this post up into two since this one is already so big and I still have a lot more.