an autumn day: ochanomizu + todai

I’ve lived in Tokyo for about 7 and a half years and I’d never been to Ochanomizu before. My husband had an appointment in the area and I went to meet him. As you can see from the pictures, if you like gingko, it’s the place to be.

We trotted to Yushima Seido, a Confucian temple focused on learning – there are lots of universities in the area.

Then we headed over to Kanda Shrine. It was very busy. Both are definitely worth a visit.

It was quite late by this point, so we headed off for curry at Ethiopia ...

Autumn in Manchester – memories and things that didn’t fit

Manchester came and went in no time. I saw hot weather, freezing weather, rain, sun, blue skies, grey skies, rainbows and lots more. I love Manchester and I had a great time.

A few bits and bobs that didn’t fit.

We went to Bandobust in Piccadilly Gardens. It was nice that everything was vegetarian so we could order anything that took our fancy. We did the lunch menu, 2 dishes for £9.95 – good value and free water. It’s in a really cool space but it was cold and bench seating, so not overly comfortable. Glad we tried it, unsure ...

The Tickled Trout + Brockholes Nature Reserve, Preston

Why was I even in the UK? Well, I was enjoying spending time with friends and family but my big reason was that one of my oldest friends was getting married.

It was such a unique location – Brockholes Nature Reserve in Preston. My pictures don’t do it justice and I also don’t want to infringe on my friends privacy, so I have just added a couple of photos of the scenery. It was such a lovely space and if you are looking for somewhere for a wedding, I think it would be a great choice.

I don’t drive, so I ...

The Spärrows, Manchester

The Spärrows had been on my radar for ages and each time I was in Manchester, I was going to go, then ended up not. This time though, I did manage to go and I am so happy I did. Now, the food was good but the service is where the restaurant shone. I love good service, I think it’s from living in Japan so long and it is quite hard to find in the UK in a lot of places.

It’s a bit of a walk from town – I’d say more Cheetham Hill than city centre, they say ...

federal cafe bar

We’d tried going to Federal Cafe Bar in the Northern Quarter on the Sunday we ended up going to Idle Hands. There was a queue and we decided to try again on a weekday. Well, we rolled up on a weekday and there was a queue! It was also raining that day so that was our punishment for impatience. ‘Patience is a virtue I need’ were words in a song from school that I have obviously not learnt yet… We joined the queue – two groups in front of us and a member of staff came out pretty swiftly ...