08. Katsuragi Mountain 葛城山

A day trip with my friend Tily and her flatmates to Katsuragi Mountain, which is about two hours of train of Kyoto. It was such a lovely day and I was really glad to be in the middle of "nowhere", enjoying nature and silence, away from the city.

We walked through the forest for hours, sometimes with difficulty (I was very slow, having an hard time breathing) before finally reaching the top and enjoying a good lunch and rest!

This post is going to be picture-heavy, but I hope you'll enjoy the walk!

The water here was crystal clear!

After more climbing, we arrived to a very mysterious part of the forest, with thick mist and long, black trees.. 

This picture is my favorite of the set. It's the top of the trees, but it reminds me of space. But I think I'm the only one seeing the ressemblance with a galaxy!

Then we finally reached the top, starting to see these famous pink flowers that were blooming at this season- and our first reason to go hiking here!

Tily Tily prepared delicious bentos (lunch boxes) ! 

Omelet, cherry tomatoes, carrot fondue and cucumber salad!

Everything was good and looked cute, she's very good at doing it.

But for going back we rode the cable car!

After this long day, delicious pizza party!

Thanks for reading! (Hope you're not too tired of nature pics!)

01. Osaka - 大阪 Part 1 / Arrival + Game Center

I arrived in Japan the 25th september by Osaka airport, after a very nerve-wracking flight! (17h of travelling while being sick..) But when I realized in the morning that we were about to land, it was magical. Here's the first glimpse I caught of my new country!

My host family made a delicious traditionnal dinner the night of my arrival!

In the morning, I went walking around in the little streets of the city where I was staying- which is in the surburbs of Osaka. It's still hot in september and the sun was strong- besides, I could hear the crickets somewhere..

What surprised me was how Japanese people let a lot of things outside- here's a lovely shelf arranged with plants and decoration, but even more, it seems very normal here to let things in your garden or in the street: bikes, toys, little shrines, statues.. It would be totally impossible in France- the second you'll put something outside and turn your back, someone will steal it, sadly.

I found the cutest bakery ever~ The pan was shaped in little animals and so were the cakes!

And the first thing I did in Japan was.. Going into a Game Center! I had to ehe, and I found a really big one just a few streets away from the station by which I arrived in the center of the city. 

The center itself is a huge building of 7 floors of differents games! You can play traditionnal funny games like UFO catcher, DDR or Guitar Hero, but also arcade games and a lot of simulator games! Either alone, in couple or with friends, it's very easy to spend hours (and cash..) here~

The games stands themselves are all very beautiful, with big screens, lights flashing everywhere and music playing.. But because it was still in the morning, most of these pictured aren't turned on. 

Gunslinger Stratos arcade game

 Blazblue Chronophantasma arcade game

Thank you for reading! Next post will be about fashion shopping!