OKAYAMA X NAOSHIMA ISLAND- JAPAN!!!!

KONNICHIWA!!!!! So last month I whizzed off with my little pink suitcase again for a lovely jaunt to Japan!!! This time around I headed to Okayama city so that I could use it as a springboard to check out the quaint old town of Kurashiki and mainly so I could head to Naoshima Island. It's so handy living in Korea as it means it's only an hour and a half or so to travel to Japan~ in fact it takes me longer to get to Incheon airport on the subway from my house than it does to fly to Japan!! One of my missions over this past year has been to explore more of Japan and living so close has given me the perfect opportunity to see the parts of the Japan that have been sitting on my bucket list for so long, waiting to be explored!

Naoshima Island, that lies in the Seto Inland Sea, has been a place that I have dreamed of visiting for so many years!! This tiny little island trimmed with pine trees and sandy beaches is famous for it's contemporary art and boasts an bunch of galleries, museums and public installations. It is also home to a couple of pieces by Yayoi Kusama, who is one of my most respected artists, and Naoshima is famous for her pumpkin on the pier.
The island is home to so many interesting art projects and initiatives and it was really amazing to get to visit and see it all with my own eyes.... so anyway back to arriving in Okayama!!!!

Okayama is a relatively small city and isn't super touristy so it was nice to be able to wander around without the crowds and check out it's lovely castle and famous Korakuen gardens. The weather was slightly warmer than Seoul during the time I was there which was lovely as the plum blossoms had just started to bloom!

I stayed in central Okayama which was great as there were a bunch of old school shopping streets and arcades in the area as well as little cafes and places to eat!! When I was there I took the train to the nearby town of Kurashiki which is full of winding, traditional streets sitting on a canal. 
The place reminded me a lot of lovely Mino!!!
Kurashiki was awesome...little museums, cafes and shops tucked around every corner! There is also a nice shrine that offers views over the town! So many yummy snacks too including black sesame ice cream!!!

A trip to Japan is always, of course, an excuse to indulge in some shopping for goodies!! On this occasion mainly cute stationary, glorious snacks and a mega haul of green tea!!
I was also excited that Starbucks had just launched their Sakura seasonal specials menu so I made sure I got a hefty slice of cherry blossom chiffon cake and a divine 'Caramelly Sakura Choco Latte' every morning!!!
I really took advantage of the glorious sakura goodies whilst I was there.....cherry blossom tea, sakura chocolate, sakura mochi, sakura milk tea, sakura ice cream.....and along the same theme....plum blossom potato chips?!?!?! Made the most of the endless daigaku imo (college potatoes!!)...steaming matcha on tap....and of course the odd taiyaki here and there!!!!

My adventure to Naoshima Island was the part I had been most looking forward to! I took a train out to Uno Port where I eventually hopped a aboard a ferry that sailed out to Miyanoura Port~ I'd been up mega early to travel there so I enjoyed the glorious morning views of sunshine over the Seto sea whilst eating a strawberry jam sandwich up on the poopdeck!!!!! Most incredible start to the day!!
The first thing I spotted when rolling into Miyanoura was the much anticipated Kusama red pumpkin!! I'd been super excited to see this gem sitting in amongst fishing boats and the likes in the port!!!
AMAZINGGGG!!!!

Naoshima is a small island and I actually ended up deciding to take to the island entirely on foot simply because I didn't want to miss ANYTHING, so the bus and bike options were out the window!! So glad that I decided to walk the island because it gave me a change to saunter through the towns and enjoy lovely, long walks past fields, orange trees, along the beautiful coastline and through little clusters of houses en route!! Perfect way to see Naoshima! Oooohh and also....there happens to be a WONDERFUL vegan restaurant on the island which I hunted out...my lunch was AMAZING!!!!There are several large galleries on the island and I opted to take in the 'Art House Project' and Benesse House. There were so many places I wanted to check out but these two were top of my list!!!

The art house project was my favourite as it was collection of existing residential properties in the Honoura district that had been interpreted by Japanese artists.
One particular piece, 'Go-o Shrine' by artist, Hiroshi Suhimoto, was especially interesting as there was a set of crafted glass steps leading underground from the shrine into a chamber. People could access the underground chamber two at a time using a torch to find your way~ it was really incredible!!!

I could talk forever about magical Naoshima~ my time on the island was AMAZING....one of the most memorable and awesome places that I have visited in Japan so far!!! Incredibly beautiful!!! Was so great also to get to see some beaches and sea as living inner city here in Seoul I often miss the seaside!! I was lucky that the weather was perfect! It was just beginning to get warmer and it felt really springlike!!
So instead of rambling on anymore, I shall leave you with a bunch of photos from my Japanese adventure!!!!!!
Love and Cherry Blossoms!!!
Emma
xxxx

JAPAN~ HIROSHIMA & MIYAJIMA!!!

KONNICHIWA!!!! So last week I arrived back in Seoul from a little trip over the water to Japan!! (yes, AGAIN!) That weekend saw the celebration of Chuseok in Korea so I decided to zip away from the crazy National holiday mayhem and take the opportunity to see a bit more of Japan!
So from one extreme to another~ last month in Sapporo was as far north as I've ever been in Japan and this month, the furthest south of Japan I've ever been!!! I've wanted to visit Hiroshima for many years so it was amazing to eventually go and learn more about the place~as you can imagine it's a pretty sombre place but, at the same time it's a beautiful city.
When I arrived into Hiroshima I had scored a room with the most incredible view right across the Peace Park and set on the banks of the river was the A-Bomb Dome building surrounded by endless green mountains. It felt a bit strange to be able to see such a prominent and symbolic sight from my actual bed...but, it felt more powerful opposed to depressing.

When I was over there I split my time between Hiroshima and Miyajima- an island around an hour away. Hiroshima was massively interesting and really intense....I checked out the Peace Memorial Museum and Park, Genbaku Dome as well as Hiroshima Castle... the Museum was incredible...I learned so much that I didn't know about the city, not only about it's destruction but, also it's story about how it was rebuilt to how it is today. The Peace Park is equally as moving with it's Children's Memorial Monument and endless strings of colourful, paper, peace cranes dotted around.  

During my time there I also did some shopping and lots of sampling of awesome veggie food around downtown Hodori!!!! 
My first quest upon arrival was to pick up a box of daigaku imo~ This is one of my all time favorite Japanese snacks... Back when I was living with the Takahashi family in Mino during my artist residency in Japan a few years ago, I would live in hope when I opened my dinner bento that there would be a couple of 'College Potatoes' as they are also known...!!! They are basically fried sweet potatoes coated in sticky, sweet, sugary~honey and black sesame seeds....they are the ultimate snack of dreams!!! 

I also wanted to do some serious craft shopping whilst I was there as the stuff you can pick up in Japan is phenomenal and I had a few necessities I wanted to get for some new pieces that I'm currently working on! Luckily I took a virtually empty case so I could haul back an abundance of pastel pom poms, rainbow yarn galore and various delightful treasures and trimmings...also picked up some Japanese bamboo knitting needles which I'm super excited to use!!! Of course I also made sure I left adequate space to bring half of Daiso back with me as well as an outrageous amount of cute cosmetics, whopper supply of Matcha, couple of juicy new outfits....ooooppps and a few more little ceramic cups which I definitely do not need!
So then it was on to Magical Mijajima~ a National Park set on an island about an hour away from Hiroshima city! I opted to take one of the cute, little green trams that you see trundling around opposed to the train which was really fun!!

The journey was awesome as the trams wind through endless little, old school neighborhoods and villages full of traditional charm before rolling past some hills and the shoreline so it was a really lovely ride to get to the port!
OoooOOO AHOY THERE~ Next mode of transport was a ferry which takes you across the Seto Inland Sea over to Itsukushima AKA Miyajima~ the name basically means 'Shrine Island' and the place is dotted with shrines, pagodas and temples galore!

The scenery was BEYOND breathtaking....one of the most beautiful places I've even been in my entire life and I was lucky that the blue skies were out if full force making it all look even more glorious!!!
Once I got over there I checked out the famous torii gate which sits on the sand meaning that when the tide is in it appears to be floating on the water!!! Then it was onto a bit of temple hopping in the sunshine!!!!

Also there are loads of tame deer roaming around...they are quite brazen and cheeky...my tropical print skirt went down a storm and was chewed to max!! I also had a delicious sweet potato ice cream whisked from my grasp and as I was writing a postcard it was snatched from my hands!!! Super cute though....Bambi central!!!

Right...well I could easily talk all day about this adventure but, this post seems to be turning into an essay when all I was planning on doing what giving a quick speile followed by a bunch of holiday snaps!!! So I'll pipe down and leave you with some photos!!!
Happpyyy Weekend!!!!!!!!!!!!
Love Emma xxxxxxxxxxx