Katsushika Fireworks Festival

Blogging about Summer again!

Summer in Japan is a time for fireworks and festivals of all kinds. Most of the major fireworks events occur in July and August. However, things are a little different this year. Many fireworks festivals are canceled due to the 3.11 disaster as some people feel that it is inappropriate to carry on with the usual celebration. But majority of the Japanese people think it is good to go ahead with the usual festivity to bring a little joy to everyone's lives.

So me and my Shanghai friend Q dressed up in our yukatas and headed to the Katsushika Fireworks Festival! 

Me and Q, whom I love very much! 

With our Korean boyfriend K, hee hee hee. 

He is one of the sweetest and kindest guys I know. Miss him loads! 

Purikura before heading for fireworks. It's not everyday that you get to walk around in a yukata! 

Crazy, crazy crowd. 

Took us a while before we could get out of the station.  It was hot and stuffy and we were getting impatient...

...but it was WORTH IT. 

Cos baby you're a firework! 

I will never forget the Summer of 2011. Glad to have spent it with people I love. 

Loot of the Day - From Kichijouji with Love

Wednesdays are my shopping days! I only have one class in the morning, and free for the rest of the day. Last week was shopping at Itoyokado, and today I headed to my favourite town - Kichijouji.  

Loot from Lattice, where all accessories are 315yen. 

Antique-ish accessories are very in trend this season. Got some for myself! 

Postcards from a gallery selling cat motif goods.  These are going up my wall. 

Collection of random postcards. 

Dropped by the drugstore to grab some items for my Shanghai friend Q. 

Picked up some stuff for myself too. 

Canmake Lasting Creamy Liner. 

It's smooth and the colour goes on very easily. I love that the core has a creamy and gel-like texture. Hope it lives up to its name of being 'lasting'. Will put it to test tomorrow. 

I have been looking for a good pencil eyeliner in brown. Wanted to get the Sana Super Quick Hazel Crayon Eyeliner at first, but there wasn't a tester at the drugstore which I could try on my eyes. And it's a tad costly for my budget, so being the cheapskate that I am , I opted for the cheaper Canmake. Hope it's a good choice! 

Got the Mix Eyebrow too. Can also be used for contouring the nose. Cheap at 600yen! 

Bought some cute items from Daichu, a cheap zakka store. 

Some fancy tape, stickers, and a book filled with pretty paper for scrapbooking. 

Pages from the scrapbooking paper collection. 

Love the stickers. 

I am aiming to sleep before 12am tonight. Didn't get much sleep last night. It took me 2hrs of tossing-and-turning before I could finally fall asleep. 

Alright, off to bed! 

Bath Salts Loot

Jogged today and felt sooo good!  Gonna keep it up! 

This post is about bath salts, even though I am more of a shower-person than a bath-person. Personally I think taking a long bath in the tub is a waste of time and also a waste of water. And most of us in Singapore live in apartments with no tubs in the bathrooms, so it's just shower-and-go for us. 

But soaking in the tub is a HUGE thing in Japan. My host-family parents tell me that they have to soak in the tub everyday, even in summer, for at least 10 minutes a day.  It is an important part of the Japanese lifestyle. 

So, since I'm living in Japan, I will embrace the culture of tub-soaking! 

I love the bakkantou (爆汗湯) seires, especially the ones with fats-burning effects.  

I really sweated like crazy! 

Here are the rest of the Bakkantou series. 

The fats-burning ones that I bought. 

Volcanic mud and white mud spa packs. 

For beautiful skin. 

Shichimi (七味 - 7 flavoured chilli peppers) bath salt. 

Bakkantou Cool for summer. 

Newest release. 

Creamy bubble Bakkantou! 

I want to try all of them!  

Oh and this alcohol-scented bath salt is quite a disappointment...

菊正宗 (Kikumasamune) is one of the biggest sake and shochu maker in Japan, and 熱燗 (atsukan) is my favourite way to drink sake. Warmed, that is.  I thought it would be heaven if I could soak myself in an entire tub of atsukan, but...meh, I will just go to the izakaya and drink the real deal hahaha.,  says Alcoholic Meow.