Moshi moshi!

Hello friends! :)

Last weekend felt as if I travelled a lot, although I didn't get that far away from home. Our dorm's resident assistants organized a tour to Kamakura for us - only a few stations away. Kamakura is famous for its history, being the governmental centre of Japan in the Kamakura period, and for its scenery. Trained guides showed us some temples and shrines amidst the beauty of colourful autumn leaves.

The Engaku-ji temple: Border between the human and spirit world

Chinese dragon with 3 toes: Apparently, those with 5 toes are the most important. Therefore, this one is rather "middle-class"

A place where only monks can enter: It is holy ground and therefore not open to unworthy visitors

This Ginkgo tree is from the dinosaur age!

We saw a bamboo forest for the first time!

This is what treehuggers look like

Beatiful graves and statues can be found all over the Meigetsu-in temple area

Meigetsu-in Founder's Hall

These cave tombs have been built in the Middle Ages. You can see a Buddha figure, gravestone of samurai Uesugi Norikata and a Zen-style incense burner

The legendary 16 Arhats (Buddhists who have reached Enlightenment) are pictured here

Not sure if ikebana

This is supposed to bring luck beside from being just extremely adorable

Bird houses - can you find the squirrel?

A real Japanese stone garden

Wave!

I tried dango for the second time with a sesame sauce - much better!

This stylish tree reminded us of a professor's haircut...

On our way to Tsurugaoka Hachiman-gu shrine (which was once a temple)  - Apologies for pictures looking blurry when it's getting dark

That night, you could actually see Jupiter

Our fabulous group (from left to right): Shogo, Essi, me, Morgan, Alizée, Edna and Chloé :)

While some of us headed home in the evening,  Shogo, Alizée, Essi and I went to eat delicious tempura in Yokohama. A fantastic way to end an enjoyable day!

A glimpse into the hardships of modelling business

If you want to experience culture, then there is nothing better than one of the countless festivals and exhibitions Tokyo is organising frequently. Especially when it's free when you're a foreigner - which applied to the Moshi Moshi Festival, a big cultural event taking place on the weekend in the Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium. Maria and I decided to pay a visit on Sunday.

Unusual ride outside of the festival hall

With food stalls, Mario karts and cosplayers outside, the hall itself was full of musical performances, workshops and souvenirs - exhibition-style. It was loud, full and flashy, but a lot of fun as well. The purpose was not selling stuff as it is often the case, but rather promoting Japanese culture and products for tourists. This is probably why we didn't have to pay for a ticket.

A J-Pop girl band was performing later on this stage (sadly, no photos or videos were allowed)

Smaller stage preparing for a big performance...

Mini tea ceremony with tasty matcha and wagashi (sweets)

What was very overwhelming was that the exhibitors approached you from every side and suggested that you try their thing - mostly dressing up and taking a photo. Then, you could upload the photo and receive gifts: Stickers, vouchers, beauty products and even hoodies. Another reward for our hard work are these cool photos:

Gothic lolita makeover by a Kawaii Monster Café

It was, however, a bit of a shame that we could not try everything offered in only one day, including a calligraphy workshop, a lesson in playing traditional musical instruments and so much more. But we came home with great memories and loads of leaflets, bags and other small gifts we received at every corner. 

That's all on last weekend - stay tuned for the next post about how amazing this week has been. Thank you for reading and enjoy your weekend! :)