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 ...

cloudy october day in Koishikawa Botanical Garden 小石川植物園

posters advertising the Koishikawa Botanical Festival

Autumn in Tokyo this year feels a bit like autumn in Manchester. It’s been cloudy and rainy and cold when it’s usually blue skies with streaming, warm sun. What’s happening?

This Saturday we went to Koishikawa Botanical Garden in Bunkyo-ku. Wed never been before and I was surprised with how wild it was – normally a lot of gardens and parks here are either highly manicured spaces or just grass. It felt like an English park. It was quite busy in the main bit of the park, but if you went off exploring, you could find pockets of solitude. It ...

Japan National Stadium + Jingu Gaien Ginkgo Avenue

Yesterday I had some errands to run in Omotesando. I decided to have a bit of a walk afterwards and headed to Jingu Gaien Ginkgo Avenue (it’s still green but I have been when it’s in all it’s glory – very busy and see below). I then followed the road round to the Olympic Stadium – I’d seen it whilst it was in the process of being built but not finished and it’s beautiful. There wasn’t much else to do in the area, so I got the train home.

The above photos were taken around mid to late November. They ...

harajuku Ikea and shinjuku cat in october

We had to go to the Omotesando Apple shop the other day so we decided to walk down to Harajuku. We did go looking at Eataly but it was just so expensive! ¥1,980 for a margarita pizza? Instead we went to Ikea and had a set each which I think it came to under ¥1,200 for both of us. My husband had fried fish TUNNBRÖD and I had veggie sausage TUNNBRÖD, each served with plant balls and 1 drink. I really like the veggie sausages they do and the plant balls, so I was happy and we managed to get ...

october means pumpkins in tokyo in autumn

Happy October everyone! I don’t think October means pumpkins for most of the residents of Tokyo, but maybe some lost souls out there.

We went to Yumenoshima Tropical Greenhouse Dome, which we have been to before and you can find the post here. Looking back at that post, I’ve taken pretty much the exact same pictures, so maybe just read this one.

It wasn’t empty like last time and you had to reserve a time slot. The photographers were out in FULL force – we saw children being paraded around dressed as pumpkins, witches and Snow White. That’s ...