Revenge vs Mt. Fuji

2nd attempt at Mt. Fuji was successful!

(1st attempt blogged here)

It was incredibly draining mentally and physically that I don't plan on ever climbing it again. Super relieved and happy for this experience and that I made it!

A Very Happy Birthday

Showered with lots and lots of love on my birthday!

So blessed!

First Outing of 2012

Walked through a deserted Omotesando station...

and waited for the train on an empty platform.

Walked to Meijijingu for Hatsumode.

2012 is the year of the Dragon.

Omikuji.

I love Meijijingu.

Walked around Harajuku afterwards.

Browsed through racks of colorful vintage clothing.

2012!!

For all my friends back home, hope everyone has a fun and safe time ringing in the new year!

I had a great time with friends and free flow rosé champagne ;)

Wishing everyone a happy, healthy and prosperous 2012!!

xo

My Japan

My friends have started My Japan, a charity photo exhibition. It is a collection of photos of Japan from people all over the world and what Japan means to them. By 'liking' photos through Facebook (Facebook page) or 'commenting' through the website, you are helping out choose the top 50 photos which will be beautifully printed and exhibited to be sold in Tokyo on May 11th. All proceeds from photo sales will be donated to the Japanese Red Cross. Please check the sites for more info, and get involved by sending in your photos, voting and spreading the word! 

Sapporo Snow Festival

2 days after we came back from 90F sunny Phuket, we were off to 20F snowy Sapporo, Hokkaido.

I've wanted to go to the Snow Festival in Sapporo for a while but was never in Japan during it (first weekend of February). Finally had the opportunity to go this year and it was amazing. I was in awe staring at all the sculptures and the beautiful winter scenery.

62nd Snow Festival

Sapporo TV Tower

Ice Slides

The amazing snow sculptures. The details were insane.

Aside from the larger sculptures, there were tons of smaller ones like these.

サザエさん！

You can see how huge these sculptures are when people are standing in front of it.

Lion King

They also had tons of gourmet food stands.

Down Susukino (an area about 2 stops away from the Snow Festival), they had beautiful ice sculptures on display.

Another ice sculpture.

Ice Sculptures are lit up at night.

ひな人形

Coolest smoking space ever.

two zero one one

Happy 2011!

On the 2nd, we went to Meiji-Jingu (明治神宮) for Hatsumode (初詣). This was my first Hatsumode in Tokyo. We went early in the morning so we could beat the crowd.

It was such a beautiful and sunny morning! I love Meiji Jingu because it's in the middle of Tokyo but once you step inside, it's so serene you feel like you're somewhere far away.

Red Bull BC One Tokyo 2010

Last weekend, we went to go watch the Red Bull BC One Championships that was held in Tokyo.

Yoyogi Park.

The line to get in was crazy!

(I didn't realize this event was so huge until I actually got there...)

Entrance.

16 break dancers battling their way to the top.

Neguin (from Brazil) was crowned the champion.

Through the website (linked above), you can check out all the battle videos.

I was never that interested in breakdancing, but watching it live (especially SO close!) was awesome. The championships are held in a different country each year and Tokyo was the first city in Asia that hosted.

Soccer Madness

My sleeping patterns have been a mess since the world cup started. Especially with the time difference between Japan and South Africa.

A couple midnights ago, we went to Legends to watch the USA vs Algeria game.

Oh my god.

Because they were playing the US game and UK game simultaeously, Legends was packed beyond capacity. We squeezed our way to witness...

the incredible 91st minute goal by Donovan.

This was definitely a Hollwood ending to a rather frustrating game.

Yesterday, we went out to Shibuya to watch the Japan vs Denmark game.. which kicked off at 3:30AM.

The 3 goals by Japan were absolutely flawless!

This is what awaited us outside...

absolute chaos, pure fun!!

CRAZY!

Having a little too much fun at 5:30AM. Love it!

Tonight, off to watch Portugal vs Brazil.

Daruma (だるま)

An update on our foodie trip to:

Sapporo, Hokkaido

Hokkaido is famous for ジンギスカン(Jingisukan, literally 'Genghis Khan') which is grilled lamb that originated in Japan but was thought to be a dish Genghis Khan and his army ate during war.

Daruma in Susukino was my first Jingisukan experience.

You grill (fresh charcoal) the lamb meat with vegetables.

The marinade was tasty and the onions were super sweet.. so good!

It was really cold (in June!) so it tasted even better!

And luckily we didn't have to wait.

Tiny store that seats only 16 people but people just keep flowing in!

On a side note,

its a world cup frenzy here because Japan won 1-0 over Cameroon!

and amazingly, US tied with UK thanks to this goal: