Dancing in a Winter Wonderland

So I've finally had a chance to upload some photos from the past month! My camera broke so these photos are courtesy of my mobile phone (which explains if the quality is a little less than desired haha). The weather has been getting cool, my flatmate told me it was snowing lightly on our roof this morning so I dashed upstairs in my PJ's but it had already stopped, boo! The last time I saw snow was 15 years ago when I went on a High School ski trip haha! Never fear, I'll be getting my dose come Feb when I'm off to Hokkaido for the Snow Festival, yay!

Anyway please enjoy the photos of Autumn leaves Illumination, Kobe Illumination, and Arashiyama Illumination (sensing a theme here?)

It's New Year's Eve tomorrow and I'm planning to spend it drinking Umeshu, eating some delish Japanese food and then singing my heart out at Karaoke (but of course!) Happy New Year everyone!!!

A rollercoaster adventure across Japan...starring The Lindwalls!

So I've been out of action on this blog for a while! But I have a very good reason. My family visited last month for 10 days of trains, planes and overnight buses!!! They hit just at the peak time to view the red leaves of Autumn, which is the biggest event on the seasonal calendar, after cherry blossoms. I'm just going to take a moment to stop and pinch myself...this year I have witnessed both those seasons, how lucky am I!
We spent 4 days wandering around Kyoto, taking in the sites of Fushimi Inari shrine, Tofukuji temple, Ginkakuji temple, Kiyomizu temple and the Gion (aka Geisha) district. We were lucky enough to site a few Geisha's on their way to appointments, a truly Kyoto moment!
Next stop, Tokyo! We rode the overnight bus which was an interesting experience. Basically it's a blacked out bus and the seats have funny visor things that come down over your head to block out light. They make you look like an alien haha! Mum couldn't stop laughing! The ride itself wasn't too painful but we were all pretty wrecked the following day. The Lindwall's needed their nanna naps!
Tokyo was a whirl of trains, people, smells, sounds, chaos! We packed in a lot....Shibuya crossing, Harajuku, Odaiba, Tokyo dome, Fuji Q, Shinjunku and so on! We caught up with my friend's Yuko, Erin and Josh and I even saw FC Five, a super cool punk band!
Before we knew it we were back riding the magical mystery tour (aka overnight bus) to Osaka! Our prayers were answered when the hostel where we were staying (props to Hotel 64!)  allowed us an early check in. We hit the futon's and caught up on the zzz's! After feeling suitably refreshed, we headed into Shinsaibashi to do some shopping and eat some ramen...mmm! We then sussed our Umeda Sky Deck and stumbled across a German Xmas illumination celebration of sorts!
Our last day together was spent wandering around Osaka Castle, a very impressive structure! Before we knew it, it was time to say our goodbyes (waaaa!) and get mum and the boys on their train bound for Kansai airport. Thank you SO much for coming, I love my little family muchly! It was such a thrill showing them the country I love so damn much! We have memories we will cherish forever!