Japanese store

At the Spirit of the Japan festival they had a store that sells japanese stuff there! Such as drinks, sweets, mini anime models, books, manga's etc. all originated from Japan. Most of the sweets and drinks I have never seen before. I decided to buy this Peach flavoured drink seeing as I quite like the sound of Peach flavour but it didn't appeal to me. I thought the flavour was too bland, well it didn't really have much flavour in.

The white bottled drinks are called Calpis which I have tried before at work. I still can't decide whether I like it or not. It kind of tastes a bit milky with a tint of yogurt taste but a bit fizzy with a tiny bit of sourness to the beverage. Not something I'd choose to drink but I'd drink it if there was no other preferences. I do prefer this Calpis drink to the Peach one I tried recently. 

Japanese sweets 

Tea Ceremony

Their tea ceremony looked very interesting and I wish I had the chance experience what a tea ceremony was like. However, just looking at how the table is set up makes it look very traditional and very cultural. I find their pots very elegantly designed and also the use of colour signifies nature. 

I love how the colours gives it an imperfection but at the same time it makes it look beautiful. 

Cherry Blossoms

Blossom trees are very common in Japan. I think they are so beautiful I wish there was more of these in England. There are a few scattered around and I happened to bump into one on the way to the Japanese festival. The colour is so pure and natural. 

Kimono/Yukata experience

Kimono and Yukata are very similar to each other. A Yukata is a more casual type of Kimono made out of cotton and are possible to put on yourself without help. Whereas the Kimono is more formal and almost impossible to put on yourself.

I managed to experience wearing a Yukata for the first time and I really enjoyed my time wearing it! Although the Yukata was a bit too long for my height so the people helping me had to twist the material in a bit which worked well. I love the big wide sleeves, it makes it feel very flowy and traditional. Although it also feels a bit like my work uniform from the Japanese restaurant but this Yukata feels a lot thicker. I found it quite difficult to walk at first but I got used to it after a while and resorted to taking little steps at a time whilst walking. The waist belt is designed with a very nice pattern and the colour contrasts with the Yellow.

Happy White day!

In Japan, a month after Valentine's day is what they call their "White day" which are similar to Valentine's Day. However, Valentine's day in Japan are usually the female presenting gifts to a male as an expression of love. Handmade chocolate is preferred which symbolises "only one".


So for White day, the male who received gifts from a female on Valentine's day are expected to return the favour by giving gifts such as cookies, jewellery, white chocolate, white lingerie and marshmallows.


Sanbai Gaeshi (三倍返し) = "Triple the return" which means the gift should be two or three times the cost of the Valentine's gift. 


I think I'd quite like the idea of a White Day. In my opinion Valentine's Day in England is a bit commercialised and are mainly both the male and the female buy gifts for each other and the male would take the female out. Rather than buying gifts, I think handmade objects means a lot more. I'd like to wait for a month to see what I get in return. 

Spirit of the Japan Festival

It has been 1 year since the devastating Tsunami hit Japan. So the Japanese Society of Leeds University helped to donate money to them by holding this event Spirit of the Japan Festival.

Was a lot of fun being able to say some basic Japanese phrases and meeting Japanese people. I had a lot of fun looking around and joining in on their activities, such as picking beans using chopsticks against a Japanese person. Was quite a challenge, it took me 4 goes to beat him!

As you can see, the beans was very slippery and hard. To win I had to have more beans in my bowl. 

I won him by 1 point in the end.

There are a lot more activities going on in this event such as: 

• Taiko Drummers
• Traditional Shimasen and Koto Player
• Tea Ceremony
• Japanese store
• Calligraphy
• Opportunity to wear a Kimono
• Manga Cafe
• Origami
• Raffles

Authentic Japanese Uniform

So I work at a Japanese restaurant and noticed the style of the uniform are different to the uniforms in English, Italian, American restaurants etc. You don't see many places with uniforms in this style. To me, I think this style reminds me of a Kimono which Japanese people wear for festivals. The long wide sleeves gives it a similar look and you can say this makes it look more of a Japanese traditional clothing. 

The silky material that crosses over the body gives it a flowing effect and also I think the colour plays a big part in this uniform. The colour brown reminds me of the wooden boards that you get in Japanese homes, similar to the one in the background. 

Here's a full length picture of the uniform. The outfit is being held together by some sort of silky waist belt similar pattern to the material wrapping over the body. The sleeve has some Kanji written on there.

I think compared to the English style uniforms, the Japanese style really does make it look a lot more unique.

 Maybe because of my personal taste? Or maybe because I'm in England? 

Whatever the reason, I love how you wrap it round your body holding it with a silky waist belt and having the wide long sleeves. I think the sleeves plays a big part in this Traditional Japanese style. 

I would love to wear a Kimono one day but I guess maybe this waitress uniform is kind of similar to a Kimono?