Autumn and Halloween in Japan + more exploring!

Hello again from Japan, hope this finds everyone happy and well wherever you might be reading from. Halloween events are currently in full swing. In Japan, it seems to be more of a week-long celebration rather than a one-day event. They really go all out, it's kind of insane. In recent years during Halloween, Shibuya has been the place to go. Huge crowds gather to party and drink in the streets, and this year I think there were a few arrests made! It's funny how such a western cultural event has become so popular in Japan. However, here, it seems to have lost any trace of its' origin and is just about who has the best costumes. Seems to be the case with lots of western holidays here...
Last week I had my aunty and uncle here, and they came armed with lots of Whittakers chocolate for me! Only Kiwis will understand the deliciousness that is Whittakers chocolate. Definitely good to have that in my life again! They were staying in Shinjuku, right in the heart of the city, so we began our tour with a quick train ride over to Harajuku. We walked down Takeshita street, and around Omote Sando, before checking out Meiji Jingu shrine. You can't come to Tokyo without visiting Shibuya, so we headed there for lunch before going to Odaiba to go to Oedo Onsen. It was my first time to this onsen, and it was really nice. You hire a yukata, which is like a summer kimono, and you can choose from a few different designs. They have a few different small restaurants to eat at, and there were both indoor and outdoor spas as well as a steam room and sauna. It was a relaxing thing to do, and nice to go somewhere in Tokyo that I'd never been to before too. Unfortunately, I only had one day with my aunty and uncle as they were on a work trip and it was their only free day to themselves, but it was still great to hang out and show them a bit of what Tokyo has to offer.
On Sunday night, I had a leaving party to go to as a few of my good friends will be leaving. Two are moving to Kyoto, and one is moving to France to work as an au pair! It was actually a house party, so the house was fully decorated for Halloween and we chilled out and played games, and ordered pizzas.  House parties are something I miss about my university days, and it's quite difficult to hold them here in Japan as most people live in small apartments. So that was a fun night, but sad to say goodbye at the same time.
On Monday, I ended up heading to Yokohama for the day, eating Chinese food in Chinatown and finding cool cafes in the Red Brick Warehouse. I really like Yokohama, it's a lot less crazy than Tokyo, and you can find some great food and nice cafes, as well as walk along the waterfront. Between Yokohama and Tokyo is a city called Kawasaki and there's not a whole lot there, but there is a gaming arcade called Anato No Warehouse. This is no ordinary gaming arcade. It is cyberpunk themed, and many of  the games are retro!! I don't usually add photos to these posts, because I have a whole Facebook album for that, but I think I need to include these to give you a better idea of what this place looks like rather than trying to explain it in words.

Hopefully these photos give you an idea of the vibe of the place! Very interesting concept, and something that's kind of off the beaten track. I'd definitely recommend it if you're into gaming and arcades. Arcades are a thing of the past in New Zealand, but here they're still really popular. You could spend hours here and spend a lot of money! 

The past few days have been relatively warm, but today is a lot cooler, and winter will soon be on its way. The leaves are also starting to change colour, and I plan to get out an about and see more of that in the next couple of weeks as I'm sure it'll be beautiful. Autumn is probably one of my favourite seasons, along with spring as the weather is just perfect, not too hot or cold and you can enjoy hot drinks and get into the cosy winter fashion. You can also buy lots of seasonal foods like chestnuts, sweet potato and pumpkin flavoured things. Starbucks released 3 different autumn frappuccinos, as well as seasonal scones! Of course, they also had Halloween themed drinks and donuts too. I have a feeling that from tomorrow (1st November) onwards, it's going to be full steam ahead with Christmas decorations and music in all the stores, which I'm excited to see. I hear the Christmas lights are really beautiful here, and the Skytree lights up like a Christmas tree! Here in Japan, on Christmas Day, they eat fried chicken and sponge cakes covered in cream that you can buy from the convenience store, and it isn't actually a public holiday either. The idea of a full roast turkey or ham dinner is quite foreign to them, and they only really give presents to the children. It's definitely something that has been adapted from Western culture, and it's more of a commercial thing as well as an excuse to decorate, much like Halloween.  I can't believe that Christmas is just around the corner, time to get started on the Chrsitmas shopping soon! Some days, it feels like a lifetime ago that I left New Zealand, but other days it feels like no time at all has passed. Will definitely be doing a 'year in review' post when I hit the one year mark in Japan! 

Anyway, I think that's about all I have to update you on, but I'll be back again soon with another update!

From Japan with love,

Hannah. xx