Thursday, December 31, 2015

Goodbye 2015, Hello 2016!


Apparently, last year I didn't make a Newyear's post and even though I don't have much to talk about this year I still wanted to wish you all a Happy Newyear! I already made a 'year in review' for my birthday (check it out here), so what is there to talk about? Resolutions for the new year? I've done that in the past, but I won't this time because they either don't happen or I already know they will happen! XD

So instead, let's see what I hope for (besides world peace of course):
♥ I hope Under the Sea will be an amazing event and that everybody will have fun.
♥ I hope my singing project in May will be great.
♥ I hope I can go somewhere on vacation and enjoy it.
♥ I hope I can make many more videos.
♥ I hope I will wear a lot of Lolita and like it.
♥ I hope I can get back into some good manga and anime.
♥ I hope I can pursue my dream of learning a new language.
♥ I hope I will become healthier.
♥ I hope to get better.
♥ I hope that 2016 will be a better year than 2015 in terms of mind and spirit.

Yes, that sounds good.
Of course, thank you as always for reading! All your comments mean more to me than you know! And now, without further ado:

HAPPY NEWYEAR!


Tuesday, December 29, 2015

Summer Tales Boutique Very Merry Christmas Tea Party


On the 13th of December, only three days after my birthday, my friend Katie organised a Christmas-themed Tea Party for her brand Summer Tales Boutique. I had missed the last Tea Party so I was very eager to attend this one. I was very happy to obtain a ticket, since the Tea Party sold out quite fast! Go Katie and Summer Tales Boutique! :3
I had already started planning my outfit in my head when the announcement came that everyone who wanted could apply for the outfit contest. Out of all the applications, five people would be chosen. I decided to try out this time again. And I was chosen! I was so happy~! So now I had to work extra hard on my outfit! ^^
When thinking of Christmas, there are so many themes you can come up with to use for your Lolita coord. Christmas decorations, a Christmas tree, a Christmas angel, etc. I decided to go with… a Christmas gift! Of course I like getting gifts, but making other people happy with gifts honestly makes me even happier! So I decided to make that my theme. I decided I wanted to wear one of my new dresses: Angelic Pretty’s Toy Drops in pink. I bought that dress in Tokyo, so I haven’t written about it on my blog yet. Sorry…^^’ I wanted to wear this dress, because the print reminded me of colourful wrapping paper! I wanted to add bows and pearls and decorations wherever I could, like a big festive present box! I also decided I wanted to add something special to my outfit, so I decided to craft a small present box filled with glitter, which I would sprinkle around during my outfit contest talk. So a couple of days before the event I confiscated our entire dinner table at home with all my craft supplies and started working on my outfit. Not everything went smoothly (the cardigan I had in mind first didn’t match the outfit at all), but in the end I was satisfied. :3
The day before the Tea Party I was getting really down. I always lay out outfit in my head, I rarely try them on beforehand. Somehow I was afraid my outfit wouldn’t turn out well, but in the end everything was ok! I ended up really liking my hair, make up and outfit so all was well. ♥
This was my outfit. I really hope you like it! ♥ These wonderful pictures were taken by my friend Poppy.
☆ Christmas Present ☆
My outfit rundown:
Head piece: Summer Tales Boutique
Glasses: Wego
Blouse: off brand
Cardigan: Baby, the Stars Shine Bright
Jsk: Angelic Pretty’s Toy Drops
Socks: Angelic Pretty
Shoes: Bodyline
Candy canes: offbrand
Gift accessory: handmade
Rosetta: Summer Tales Boutique
Garlands: offbrand
Bracelets: offbrand
Wristcuffs: Angelic Pretty
Rings: Angelic Pretty and Six
Bag: Disney

My mom was kind enough to drop me off at the Tea Party location on her way to something else, so I quickly joined the other guests who had already arrived and were waiting at the stairs on the side of the building to enter. Soon we could walk on and have our names crossed off the list by our host Katie (who looked lovely as always).
I had a bit of trouble finding a seat, since I didn’t want to be in the back of the room (walking around then would be harder). So I ended up at a table to the side with my dear Poppy and Saltje. ♥
I decided to walk around to greet everybody I knew and introduce myself to everyone I didn’t know yet. I had decided I wanted to talk to as many people as possible since I haven’t been to a meeting for a while. It was really nice to talk to everyone and look at their beautiful outfits! ^^
Then it was time to sit down and listen to Katie’s welcome speech.
Katie welcoming everyone to the Tea Party.

Katie also told us about her new collections coming out. It all sounded very exciting!
Together with Saltje and Poppy I went outside to take some outfit pictures. Some other girls joined us too. Everyone looked so pretty. *o*
Saltje, Joke, Poppy and Charlotte. ♥
Pictures by Poppy.

Don’t these girls just look lovely? Saltje, Joke and Charlotte also participated in the outfit contest. Saltje’s hat and Joke’s head dress and dress even lit up!
‘The blue crew’.
Picture by Poppy.

I did take pictures that day, however not that many. That’s why you will see mainly other people’s pictures. I decided for myself I needed to have 100% fun for once, instead of hiding behind my camera all the time.
Lolita paparazzi.

Then it was time for food! Our wonderful chef (and Katie’s boyfriend) had been working day and night to provide all the guests with delicious treats, such as sandwiches, cupcakes, chocolates and even scones with clotted cream and jam (which tasted really good)!
Some of the delicious food!

All the food was so good!
I now want to show you some pictures of the other guests. They were actually taken at the end of the Tea Party, but who cares? Everyone looked amazing on this day, so I had to make a selection. Here come some lovely outfits~!
Liv, Petra, Savannah and Romy. ♥
Pictures by Summer Tales Boutique.

Katie, Cenpai, Evy and a girl whose name I sadly forgot. ♥
Pictures by Summer Tales Boutique.

Willemijn, Marinda, Michelle and Anna-Jorina. ♥
Pictures by Summer Tales Boutique.

Everyone really worked super hard to create the best outfit they could! It was amazing to see. ^^
This picture was just too cute, I couldn’t NOT post it!
Picture by Summer Tales Boutique.

Then it was time for the outfit contest! Whoa, I was so nervous for my speech! Everyone looked so amazing and had great stories. I was the last one! So I told them my story about making people happy with presents and how I incorporated the theme into my outfit. Everyone was really excited and surprised when I started throwing glitter around, haha! x) The voting didn’t take long and soon it was time to announce the winner. It was… me! It was me! *o* I couldn’t believe it (and I still can’t) and I almost cried (I am so lame haha). A really big thank you again to everyone who voted for me, I was and am so happy! Also, if you didn’t vote for me that’s okay because the choice must have been so hard!
But thank you. ;_; ♥
After the outfit contest, we took a group picture in the dark. It was so late already!
Picture posted by Summer Tales Boutique itself, but I agree wholeheartedly. ^^
Picture by Summer Tales Boutique.

The Tea Party was coming to an end, but since I had to wait for my mom to pick me up I had plenty of time to talk some more with people. Finally, my mom came and I said goodbye to everyone. It had been a great day, thank you all so much~! ♥
A last selfie with my dear Poppy. ^^

Thank you for reading~! ☆

Friday, December 25, 2015

Behind the Mask 2015


Merry Christmas everyone! I hope you have a wonderful day (or maybe even two) and that you can spend it with your loved ones. Usually I make a special Christmas post, however I have a few blog posts in line I really want to post before the end of the year, so I decided to schedule this one on Christmas. Here we go! It’s going to be a ‘mainly pictures’-kind of blog post, sorry about that. ^^

You will never hear me say I am a good photographer. ‘Decent’ is a word I would use: I am able to take pictures of people without cutting off their head or feet. So when a few of my friends and organisers of the event ‘Behind the Mask’ asked me whether I wanted to be the photographer for their next event, I was incredibly honoured and said yes! Behind the Mask is a Dutch Lolita event. You are supposed to wear a mask on your face or incorporated in your outfit somewhere to this event. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to attend last year, but this year I did! So on Sunday the 15th of November I headed to Breda. The event took place in a charming venue called ‘the Avenue’. Wooden horses hung from the ceiling above the stairs and the dance hall had a small stage. Slowly, people started to come in. Many of my friends joined and also girls from Belgium and Germany attended, which was really amazing!
The lovely event venue.

I set up my gear and took pictures of whoever wanted. I wasn’t dressed in Lolita myself, as I wanted to feel free to move around a lot. So this time, there will be no pictures of me whatsoever. Luckily, everyone at this event looked lovely so you won’t miss me. ;) Here are some of my favourite outfits. I wish I could have included everyone, but I forced myself to choose~! The theme of the event was ‘Circus Extravaganza’ and it was really fun to see how people had used this for their outfits
Saltje, Poppy & Alexander, Lise, Liv and Marcella. ♥

Naomi, Ami, May, Miriam and Chantal. ♥

Kitch, Bee, Nancy, Hashi Candy and Lunie. ♥

There was also a baroque dancing class! Even though it seemed easy at first, it turned out to be quite challenging. I hope it was as much fun to do as to watch it!
The teacher explained the first moves.

A lot of people joined in, which was great because it really filled the room with dancing people. The sound of the rustling petticoats was really nice. ^^
Some people took the dancing quite seriously!

The music used was also really catchy. It stuck in my head for three days! x) However, it was worth it, because at the end of the class everyone performed their dance together and it looked really cool and elegant!
Dancing in Lolita seems like so much fun!

After the dancing lesson it was lunch time. Sandwiches and salads were served. I think everyone needed their energy, so some food was great!
Time to eat!

Since my picture corner had gotten too dark to take pictures I continued to snap some more pictures of people in the main room. Aaah everyone looked so lovely!
Eline, Sophie, Astrid, Danique and Miranda. ♥

There was also a ‘guess the print’-game and of course the stalls (that I hadn’t mentioned before) to keep everyone busy until the event came to an end. The winner of the ‘Best mas’ was announced: it was Astrid! Then it was time for the group picture!
Event group picture.

After my dangerous adventures of climbing on a table to take group pictures I quickly snapped a picture of the organisers before my camera died.
Organisers Marinda, Katie, Anna, Josine and Renske.

The event was absolutely lovely and it was great to be there, even as the photographer. I hope the guests had as much fun as I had. ^^ Also, we need more masked balls! Masks are awesome! *o*
Behind the Mask 2015.

A big thank you to the amazing organisers, stall holders and of course the guests! You all looked amazing! ♥

Wednesday, December 23, 2015

Hiroshima ’15, Day 6 – The Peace Memorial Park and Miyajima


The next day we woke up quite excitedly because from now on we would be able to eat breakfast at the hotel! It’s the small things that can make you happy. XD We got dressed and took the elevator up to the 15th floor, where we were quickly allowed to enter the restaurant. It was buffet style breakfast! ;_; <3
A waitress guided us to a table next to a big window, which gave us an amazing view on the city and again the Peace Memorial Park. Then we went to pick some things to eat for breakfast. Even though there was absolutely nothing wrong with our store bought breakfasts in Osaka, it was really great to just pile things on a plate and go back for seconds if necessary. I had delicious scrambled eggs, bacon, sausages, baked potatoes, fruit and yoghurt with sauce. I also tried a piece of what I think was cold tofu but it was really
nasty... x)
Hotel breakfast is best breakfast!

After breakfast we went downstairs to our room to change, collect our things and then went on our way. We took some outfit pictures in front of the hotel entrance.
Our outfits of the day. ^^

We crossed the road, walked over the bridge that was apparently part of the ‘Promenade of Peace’ and already arrived at the Peace Memorial Park. The sky was cloudy, but somehow it felt like it was going to be a nice day anyway. We arrived at an open square with a fountain, some statues and shrubberies. We assumed the grey buildings in the distance were the museum. We walked around the square and to the first statue we saw. It was ‘Mother and children in the storm’, a woman holding her children bend over against imaginary wind and rubble. It was quite impressive.
School children sitting around ‘Mother and children in the storm’.

I immediately want to address one small critique about the park: a lot of statues didn’t have a little sign telling you the name of the statue or the subject, at least not in English. This initially disappointed us a little, but later we got a map with all the names of all the memorials. We looked at another statue and after I had checked a map a little further away, we entered the actual park by walking underneath the museum. It was there I spotted a guard and asked for a map. He immediately guided us into the museum to the information desk, that was very nice. :) We quickly spotted just how many memorials there were. The list went on and on and they were all aimed at different groups of people. I thought that was very beautiful.
The map we got with all the memorials.

We entered the park again and just started walking. In the distance we already spotted a familiar sight: a monument shaped like a big stone arch. We walked up to it. It was a really beautiful memorial: the arch was made of a smooth, grey stone and was placed right across from the A-Bomb dome, which you could see right through it. This memorial is called ‘the Cenotaph’. A cenotaph is a monument in honor of someone whose remains are in another location. The Memorial Cenotaph’s shape represents a shelter for the souls of the victims of the bomb.
Elderly people taking pictures in front of the Cenotaph.

Beautiful fresh flowers were placed in front of it and within the monument stood a stone chest. It contains a listing of all the people who died as a result of the atomic bomb tragedy, regardless of nationality. Names are still added to the list as people pass away from diseases that may have been caused by the radiation given off by the explosion.
The beautiful Cenotaph and the fresh flowers in front of it.
You can see the A-Bomb dome in the distance.

In the shallow water gutter surrounding the memorial were plaques placed that read the following texts in several languages:
‘Let all the souls here rest in peace for we shall not repeat the evil’.

Some pigeons were bathing in the water, which somehow was really beautiful. We walked around the Cenotaph, past a flag pole with the Japanese flag and to the Peace Flame, which was located right between the Cenotaph and the A-Bomb dome. My mom and I sometimes said something to each other, but we didn’t talk much. The park had a certain serenity, a certain inexplicable silence. Talking wasn’t needed.
The Peace Flame in between th Cenotaph and the A-Bomb dome.

We walked on and arrived at the Children’s Memorial, a memorial in the same kind of grey stone as the other memorials, which a statue of a child on top of it. The cases around the memorial were filled with colourful decorations made by children and you could pay a small fee to have your own paper crane added to it.
The Children’s Peace monument.

Inside of the stone monument hung a bell with a rope attached to it, decorated with an origami crane-shaped ornament.
The bell and paper crane inside the monument.

Again we walked on and reached the river. The Atomic Bomb dome was just on the other side of it. The fact it was just there, a building I had seen so many times online or on tv, really standing there just on the other side of the water was so surreal…
My mom looking at the Atomic Bomb dome.

We sat down on a bench and just watched and talked. People walked and cycled by as we sat there. A group of elderly people and their caretakers sat down on the low brick wall in front of us and had lunch. A couple of school children sat down on the ground to eat their bento lunches and a group of tourists took pictures of them after asking. My mom spotted a man with a corgi in the basket of his bike and went to pet the little dog (she loves corgis). The idea that such an enormous disaster once took place only a couple of meters away was strange. It’s as if I didn’t really realise while I sat there, but now writing this makes me more and more aware. I am happy to say I have seen the A-Bomb dome with my own eyes.
Taking more pictures of the A-Bomb dome. This building really made an impact on me.

We left our bench and started walking again, following the sidewalk along the river. We spotted lots of different groups of children on a field trip. They took official group pictures in front of the A-Bomb dome. Once the two groups were gone, we walked up to a sign showing the original building that was once the A-Bomb dome when it was still standing. More parts of it were destroyed than I thought. Still, it’s incredible this particular building, that was only 160 meters from the hypocenter of the atomic bomb, still partly exists.
The A-Bomb dome, before and after.

We walked on, up to the Bell of Peace. The name is self-explanatory I suppose. The dome the bell hung in was surrounded by a pond with small fish. It was very pretty. I softly rung the bell as well, the sound was quite beautiful.
The bell of peace.

We crossed the river by bridge and approached the A-Bomb dome. There was absolutely no way to get completely close to it because of the fence around it and the security (thank God), but still we walked right beside it. We spotted two herons casually standing on the walls of the building. Naturally, this building has no significant meaning to them, but it still felt… strange almost.
The A-Bomb dome up close.

We walked around the building, past a group of people reading several folders about peace (I believe) and past a big fountain. Unfortunately, we still hadn’t found one of the memorials my mom was eager to see. She had watched a lot of Hiroshima documentaries back home and one of them featured a group of memorials gifted by several countries including our own. We tried hard to find it and even crossed the road to this strange empty square where we thought it might be located. We never found it.
We decided to give up on our search and walk back to the hotel through a different part of the park. By now it was quite warm, which was nice. We walked all the way back to the Cenotaph, where we spotted a group of people carrying signs sat down on the stairs behind it. They seemed to be protesting against something, but they were all silent. We wondered whether they were protesting against the new military bill? Maybe someone who can read Japanese can tell me in the comments.
The silent protest.

We left the park and went back to our hotel, where we rested for a short while. I just couldn’t stand the fact we hadn’t found the memorial my mom wanted to see, so I looked it up. It ended up being located in Nagasaki and not Hiroshima. x)
Then, we grabbed our things together because we were going on our way to Miyajima! Miyajima is an island not far from Hiroshima. Maybe you have seen pictures of this big, red torii standing in the sea close to the shore? It’s very likely you have actually. That is Miyajima. It has been my dream for a long time to go there, but I always thought it was located all the way at the south of Japan. So when we discovered it’s actually close to Hiroshima I jumped and danced around the house. And so, we went on our way. First, we took the tram to Nishi-Hiroshima. From there, we took a JR train (which was free thanks to our Japan Rail Passes) to Miyajimaguchi.
This train station felt so ‘typically Japanese’ to me. It was wonderful. ♥

The train ride was a bit longer than I expected, however the view was nice and we were distracted by our fellow passengers (two school guys playing a weird game right across from us for example). Finally, we arrived at Miyajimaguchi and got off the train. The sun was shining brightly and the sky was blue, the weather was perfect!
We followed the group of people heading in the right direction, following the signs tot the ferry. To get to the docks, we had to walk into a tunnel underneath the road (which wasn’t that dangerous-looking at all?). Finally, we spotted the two entrances to the ferries. One was JR operated, the other wasn’t. Even though the ferry fare wasn’t that expensive, we could take the JR one for free so we went with that one. The ferry had just arrived so we didn’t have to wait for long.
Waiting to board the ferry.

We entered the boat, found ourselves some nice standing spots and waited for the boat to depart. Some people went to sit inside! There was no view at all there, how boring (haha). Finally, the boat took off!
The boat ride didn’t take very long. The island was a lot closer to the mainland than I thought. The island already looked gorgeous though…
On our way to Miyajima~! ☆

Big mountains rose from the sea and soon I already spotted the famous torii! I couldn’t believe it! I had a hard time containing my excitement, haha!
Isn’t this the most amazing view!? ;_; ♥

Finally, the boat was slowing down and soon we docked. I am not sure what I expected, but our arrival was already different than it was in my head (in a good way, don’t worry)! We followed a path leading from the boat to a big arrival hall, with an information desk, benches and toilets. I went to the toilet while my mom waited and then I went to ask for a map at the information desk. The lady working there was most kind, immediately pulling out a map and pen. She showed me where we were located at that moment, where the interesting touristic attractions were and immediately invited me to a dance performance at dusk. I also asked her for the tides times and she immediately wrote them down for me, which was incredibly helpful. We left the building and started walking in the direction of the torii. It would be ebb tide in a short while, so we didn’t want to wait for too long. Once outside, we immediately spotted… a deer!? Nara, a town not far from Kyoto, is famous for its freely roaming deer, but apparently this is also the case on Miyajima!
You don’t just walk into a deer every day!

However, here you were not supposed to feed them and you could tell these deer were more used to being left alone. One still scared the hell out of me when he brushed against my hand while I was reading a sign. I thought it was a child, okay? XD
We started walking again and followed my map. The island was absolutely beautiful. The wooden houses and little shops were all old fashioned and lovely. Strings with pieces of paper on them moved in the soft wind and everything was just so calm and nice. <3
Miyajima is just so calm and wonderful…

We met the occasional deer and just kept walking along the shore, past lots of stone statues shaped like little temples (as I like to say). Then finally, the enormous torii appeared in front of us. We walked up to the side of the road, which had ascended so we ended up a couple of meters higher than the beach. There it was, the torii. My torii. The feeling I had, standing there looking at it is indescribable. I cannot explain why I have always loved the sight of this particular torii, but here I was looking at it with my own two eyes, reflecting itself in the water around it. It was amazing.
I have no words…

Groups of schoolchildren were taking pictures in front of it. The photographer even pushed a deer in the picture, that was interesting.
We took tons of pictures in front of the torii, while the water slowly moved away from the island. Also, something bad happened. I’d rather not tell you what, I just want to mention it so I can remember it in the future. Sorry. Let’s move on. We took lots of pictures. While selecting pictures for my vacation series, I had a hard time choosing!
At last, a picture with my beloved torii. ♥

When we were finally done taking pictures up on the wall, the water had moved away from the torii for quite a bit. So we decided to walk up to it! We were not the only ones to do so of course, since a lot of people were already taking pictures standing next to the pillars. However, no one had decided to take off their shoes and wade through the middle part of the torii, where there was still water. So, brave souls we are, we took off our shoes, tied them to our bags and walked up to the torii! There was a lot of slimy sea weed, but we remained brave (haha) and walked on, which resulted into great pictures in my opinion!
I really like these pictures!

After taking about 123643 pictures of and with the bright red torii, my mom walked on into the sea until the water reached up to her knees. Since no one else was around, it was quite calming. I followed her and it was quite a nice place, with an amazing view upon the mainland.
The mainland in the distance.

Suddenly, my mom said she had spotted jellyfish! Whaaa, I got so scared! XD I am still not sure whether it was really a jellyfish she saw, but we made sure we got away from there safely! There was absolutely no warning sign anywhere so I guess we’ll never know? So scary though…
We walked back to the shore and sat down on some rocks that functioned as a little bridge to put our shoes back on (wet feet in socks, eewww). Than we returned to the road.
Some of the stepping stones that formed a bridge over the slimy seewead.

We climbed some stairs and sat down on a bench on top of the wall, next to a kind Australian girl. While we cleaned the sand off our feet, we talked a bit with the girl and enjoyed the view. Meanwhile, a deer had snuck up to us and stuck his head right into my bag. He almost ate my map! XD
We said goodbye to the girl and followed the pathway into the island. On our left hand, on top a hill we spotted a tall pagoda and we were curious what it would look like up close. So we decided to climb the incredibly high stairs to find out. It wasn’t a very good idea unfortunately, my poor mom was completely out of breath by the time we were at the top.
The bright yellow pagoda on top of the hill.

The pagoda looked really lovely, however to get inside you needed to pay a fee and take your shoes off and since we were not that interested to see the inside, we decided to walk around it and walk down another set of stairs again. We ended up in a bit of a backside, where there was more shade and some shops.
Walking down the stairs from the pagoda.

A souvenir shop drew our attention and we ended up buying some cute things there: a key chain for me and a miniature torii and a deer statue for my mom.
It was getting later in the afternoon and we decided to walk back in the direction of the ferry. We weren’t planning on leaving already, but walking further away also meant having to walk more on the way back. We passed the famous Itsukushima shrine and we ended up
visiting it!
My mom with our tickets, ready to visit the Itsukushima shrine.

Unfortunately, because it was ebb tide of course so there was no water underneath and around the building, however I did enjoy walking there. The enormous red, wooden beams of the building were quite impressive and the view upon the torii was great, so I am sure it’s even greater while it’s flood tide.
Some sides of the Itsukushima shrine.

We left the Itsukushima shrine again and walked around it, back to the sandy bay of the torii. The sun was slowly setting and we took tons of picture more of the beautiful torii. I didn’t really want to leave, but since our journey back would take quite a long time we had no choice.
I really hope I can one day return to Miyajima.

We headed back in the direction of the ferry, passing through a street of adorable touristic shops. I ended up buying a cute, school trip-like hat, hihi. ^^ We also bought some local delicacies to try later: leaf-shaped cakes with different fillings. Apparently they’re a Hiroshima and Miyajima specialty. We also passed a shop that sold… milk salt ice cream? That sounded so exciting we decided to try it!
Milk salt ice cream!

This ice cream was so good! It indeed had a hint of saltiness and it was so fresh! <3 While we were eating our ice cream, a deer started following us. It was so cute! You could tell the deer were quite independent here: whenever they were fed up with people, they just climbed up a hill. However, this one kept stalking us until we had finished our ice creams, haha.
It was starting to get dark and we went back to the ferry. The sky was painted in red, pink and orange. It was so beautiful…
The beautiful evening sky. ☆

The moon had come out and the view upon the island was very beautiful from the boat. I hope to one day return to Miyajima and spend more time there. It was such a magical place…
We took the train back to Nishi-Hiroshima, where a kind man helped us find the right tram back. We decided to get off at Hondori, at the Sun Mall, to find a place to eat, but that turned out not to be so simple. Hiroshima is very different from Osaka and Tokyo in many ways. Even the neon advertisements seemed less colourful. Finding a restaurant anywhere didn’t seem to be so easy, until I spotted a guy holding a big sign with a menu of a restaurant nearby. Never during our trips did we visit a restaurant based on a menu someone was holding up in the street. Somehow, my mom and I never felt comfortable enough to just take the risk. But the menu the guy was holding seemed so appealing (plus we were really hungry) that we decided to go for it! Go us, taking risks! x) The kind guy smiled at us and showed us the entrance to the restaurant, which was just around the corner. It was called ‘Watami’ and the same menu was placed outside the door as well. We entered and had to climb down a set of stairs. For a moment I was really doubting whether this had been a good idea, when we stood before the entrance in a small hallway. However, we were immediately welcomed by a friendly waitress and she walked us through the restaurant, which seemed to be made up of a maze of small hallways with booths with seats. We were seated in a bigger booth with several tables and soon received a menu (with English texts as well, which really helped). Man, was this menu big! There were sooo many choices! And the prices were really good too. For a moment, we wondered whether this was too good to be true, but it seemed legit, so yay!
Isn’t this menu huge!? *o*

There were so many amazing things to choose from I almost got overwhelmed. x) In the end, my mom and I decided to both get three things and just share. We both got a salad, my mom chose sardines and fried rice triangles and I chose fried chicken and gyoza. We had to wait for a while until we could place our order, because they didn’t hear the bell the first time. Once our food arrived, the whole tale was filled! Especially my mom’s salad was a shock: it turned out to be huge! But since we shared everything and were very hungry, we were quite happy about it. ^^
Some ‘foodporn’ shots. :3

We paid and left the restaurant. We took the tram back to our hotel, where we tried the leaf-shaped cakes and I took purchase pictures. The next day we would head to Kyoto and since it had been a long day, we went to sleep. It had been a wonderful day…
Purchases of the day

And to end this post with, here is the video I made about our adventures in Hiroshima! I filmed a lot and tried to make the best videos I could about our trip. I hope you will like it! ♥
You can find day 6 from 1:23 until the end. Please take a look if you want! ♥


Thank you for reading! ~☆~