London 2017 - Friday - Arrival

A few weeks ago I visited my first (and also last ;_;) Tea Party Club event in London! I already visited London 3 times before but I didn't remembered that I liked it so much like this year! I definitely want to visit London again! Sooo I will start with a short report about friday, the day I arrived in London. 

Instead of flying I took a train to London this year. For me, flying is always such a hassle with travelling to the far away airport, annoying security check, limited luggage, cramped seats... train is so much easier!
My first ride was with the ICE (german high speed train) and very comfortable like always. But then I had to change to the Eurostar and damn it was the most filthy train I have ever seen D: But I also saw some modern Eurostar trains so apparently not all of them are like this.

I arrived in London St. Pancreas and quickly dropped my luggage at the hotel to go to China Town! I really could need a refreshment so I went to eat Kakigori (shaved ice). The last time I ate this was in Japan and since then I'm craving for it because you can't find it anywhere in Germany! So I was very excited when I found out that you can eat it in London. However this Kakigori was made from milk and topped with looots of Matcha and red bean paste. Because of this it was even more snow-like and powdery than the ones I ate in Japan *o*

Then I visited P2bus, a korean and japanese make-up store. However it was very overpriced, so I didn't bought anything. Then I went to Oxford Street to check out some make-up stores, but I couldn't find anything interesting either.

In the afternoon I met with other german Lolitas in Camden and strolled through the market.

Then it was time for check-in at my hotel. I didn't knew that other Lolita friends from Germany would also attend the event, so I booked a single room at a student home, which is rented out to tourists during the summer breaks. It was interesting to see how students in London have to live (not too bad but also not too comfortable xD).

Thank you for reading,
Miuko~ <3

Garden festival at Eko Temple

Last weekend I visited the Garden Festival at the Eko Temple in Düsseldorf. I knew before that there was a japanese temple in Düsseldorf, but I thought it was more like a room in some japanese-inspired house.

So I was surprised to see that it was actually a "complete" temple with a quite big japanese garden and a few "praying spots" (not sure how to call them). When I stepped on the temple grounds I immediatly felt like I was in Japan.

First we were walking around the garden and then entered a building with an Ikebana exhibition. They had a lot of flower arrangements and they were pretty to look at, althought they might even be more interesting when you know the meaning behind them.

Then we heard the Taiko drums and hurried to see the performance. Taiko is not only a listening experience but also a visual one; you have to see the drummers to really feel the energy!

Afterwards we took the time for a few outfit pictures and then secured a place for the Koto performance.

Koto is a japanese harp and the performance was amazing! I actually applied for Koto lessons starting in october, but I only applied to them because it's the only traditional japanese instrument that you can learn in this part of Germany (I also would love to learn Shamisen, Shinobue or Shakuhachi). But after the performance I felt in love with this instrument as well! They didn't only played traditional japanese music but also more modern pieces.

Then they had a performance of traditional japanese dance. It's the same kind of dance style that Geishas dance and I tried really hard to understand it and see the beauty in it, but both the dance and the music are just not my thing.

Afterwards was a second Taiko performance which I liked even more because it had even more energy (I feel like western Taiko performers play more soft and 'floating' but I like more sharp movements).

Overall I really loved the garden festival and I was happy to see traditional japanese art here in Germany. Of course I also liked it because it gave me sweet memories of my trip to Japan again. I want to visit it again to enjoy the garden with less people and to see the altar and the tea room (which were not accessible during the garden festival).

Btw I was surprised there where more german than japanese people (however mostly old folks) and that we were still stared at because we were dressed in Lolita fashion (this festival was not one of those were you accidently run into or have it advertised in the newspaper).

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The garden festival was not the only thing I did that day.

Before, we met with another friend (because I wanted to buy something from her ^^''') and we went to TenTen café for about an hour. We all ordered iced matcha latte and cake. The latte was like a frappe but less brain-freezing and more fluffy. My cake was citron tarte and delicious as well.

In the evening we went to Relax Café for their special scary dinner menue. The first course was Takoyaki with a spicy fruit sauce, the second was sushi with a spicy sauce and the third one was icecream with candy cotton and a balsamico-garlic-onion sauce. The icecream tasted actually good, however it was too much balsamico and milk products with vinegar does not feel good in your belly after a few spoons ^^'''

Afterall it was a great day and it was nice to spend it with a friend who has similar interests in japanese traditional art and food hehe.

Thank you for reading,
Miuko~ <3