Todai-ji Temple and Butt-Biting Deer in Nara

While I did not enjoy getting my butt bit by a deer, it was an experience going to Nara. It was quite far from where we were staying in Kyoto so we made the decision to just visit the Todai-ji Temple and boy did we make a good choice. I had no idea just how harmoniously people could interact with nature, and it was amazing! Kudos to Japan for doing this, as it's not the kind of thing I've ever seen in the U.K. especially when all of the deer were wild...

We started our journey on an extremely slow train where we were surrounded by a boisterous tourist group who could not stop talking. I was so thankful when we finally arrived in Nara, and we instantly hopped onto a bus to take us all the way to the top of the hill to Todai-ji Temple. It was amazing how everything had an English translation - I felt a bit guilty of that I only knew a handful of Japanese phrases that I learnt from anime - so if you don't know a word of Japanese, you'll be fine. We could tell we were in the right place as the number of deer got larger when we went further up, so we hopped off the bus and began our walk to the Todai-ji Temple.

Hyper Japan Summer 2017

So, Hyper Japan was amazing as per (even if the venue was a total maze). I got to see all of my friends, spend money that I should be saving, and took part in the fashion show... I couldn't have asked for more! It took me ages to go to sleep the night before because I was so excited to see everyone.

I wore one of my newest MA*RS dresses that I had worn in a previous outfit post, and did my curls overnight because ain't nobody got time to deal with that in the morning. It was a good thing I did as I was all over the place in the morning and left without a pair of flats. I shrugged it off because I wouldn't be doing much walking, right?

Blippo Surprise Kawaii Bag and Giveaway

Isn't life so much better when you receive cute things? That's how I felt when 'Blippo Surprise Kawaii Bag'* turned up on my doorstep, and I just couldn't wait to show you all what I got. Unlike their Kawaii Box, this bag doesn't involve any subscribing which is great for people like me who don't really want regular boxes, but who loves treating themselves to kawaii goodies every now and then. Blippo has also been very lovely and has given me another bag to give away, so please scroll down to the bottom of this post to enter! 

In the meantime, let's have a look at what was in my lucky pack (also known as fukubukuro in Japan)...

Appreciate the Small Things in Life

Life can be so unpredictable. When you think you've finally found your way and start to feel comfortable, someone pulls out a wobbly jenga piece and it all starts crashing down back to square one. I continuously work myself to exhaustion to try and keep on top of it all until one day I find myself lying in bed staring blankly at the ceiling. 

It wasn't until a couple of weeks ago that I started to reflect my point of existence and I began to open my eyes to the present world around me. In the process of pointless overworking I neglected self care and even more troublesome, I stopped talking to my friends. It was a huge slap of realisation in the face and I hurriedly picked myself up. I thus discovered the reason why it's so important to stop and smell the roses - to appreciate the small things in life.