Memoirs of DenDen

🇯🇵 SAKURA 2023 🌸

Sakura Cherry Blossoms are my absolute favorite flowers in the world. Not only are cherry blossoms beautiful to look at but they are the first sign of Spring. They are the first flowers to bud, bloom, blossom, and fall. They immediately melt my seasonal blues from the long winter season before and bring forth renewal of life and hope. Cherry Blossoms are so temporary as you can catch them for only 2 weeks out of the whole year but they’re always my annual reminder to cherish the fleeting moments of life. This season is the time that I experience the most happiness in the whole year.

Throughout the 10 years that I was away from Japan, I’ve always dreamed of myself returning there during Cherry Blossom season. Therefore I intentionally planned my trip to Japan during peak cherry blossom season to make this 10 year dream come true. Although the peak season occurred 2 weeks before my arrival, I am forever grateful that the blossoms stayed until the very end of my trip. I hope throughout my trip you got to see a glimpse of the beauty of cherry blossoms and why I love these little pink & white flowers so much. I hope you get to experience this magical pink season for yourself one day 🌸♥️

🌸 Memoirs of a Geisha 👘

SURPRISED? I am too! For this Geisha photoshoot, my inspiration came from a student that I work with in the Philadelphia School District who identifies as Trans-male and is an apprentice to a drag king. I once had a conversation with him/them about their transition process and the fears that come with it. Feelings of being unloved, rejected (by friends, family, church, and society), disowned, unsafe, and unable to find a place that they belong. I wanted to go out of my way to show this youth that there is someone who will understand, accept, support, and love them for who they choose to be and that there is a place out there where they belong. Tbh, I experienced a small bit of what my student is going through by doing this drag photoshoot because this is an uncharted territory for me. But it was a beautiful transformation & process and I had a lot of fun thanks to my photographer and make up artist at Cocomo Studios. Even now, I am nervous of uploading these photos onto Social Media but I’m mustering up my strength after witnessing yours, E.D.! E.D., this is all for you! For anyone seeing this post, if you like what you see Shantay you Stay and if you don’t like what you see then you can quietly Sashay Away. よろしくお願いしますー 💖

P.S. The very last photo is a blooper shot. But my photographer and I laughed when I did a duck face. She thought I looked extremely Kawaii and decided to put it in the final edits. It was quite a precious moment between us 😘

🌸 all eyes on me 🪭

🌸 SAYONARA JAPAN 2023 ☁️

The end to this wonderful journey has finally come. Although I ended up leaving in tears this time as well as 10 years ago; I am reminded of how much Japan really means to me and how much I truly cherish and love this country. Japan is where I discovered who I was back 10 years ago and coming back in my 30’s allowed me to connect with myself from the past but also experience a new current Japan with who I am now. This has been such a fulfilling trip especially after 6 months of planning and holding onto these dreams for the past 10 years. I am able to leave Japan with my heart full and I promise that it won’t take another 10 years for me to return to Japan. I love you Japan and please continue to stay beautiful and the place that I love so much. この二週間にお世話になりました。ありがとうございましたー 近藤時までお大事にー ♥️

Also thank you everyone for tagging along with me on this journey. I hope that you were able to see how beautiful Japan is, how wonderful Cherry Blossom season is, and how much Japan truly means to me. Please come visit Japan someday! It’s a country like no other. Its one of the places I will always consider home and will always hold a huge piece of my heart.

🌸 when you make a wish upon a star 🏰

Today is my last full day in Japan and what a perfect way to celebrate the end of my JAPAN 2023 trip with my best Japanese friend, Alisa Watanabe with some Sakura afternoon tea and Tokyo Disneyland. We’ve been friends for over a decade and this was such a lovely way to celebrate our decade long friendship. Thank you for being my lifelong friend for over a decade and I hope we can continue to be friends for more decades to come. ずっと友達になれますようにー

Thank you for making my last dream on this Japan 2023 trip come true!

👧🏻: Alisa Watanabe @alisaheyhey

🌸🫖🍵: Moska by Ginger Garden @moska_by_gingergarden

🏰💫: Tokyo Disneyland @tokyodisneyresort_official

🐇👜: Bedroom Société @bedroomsociete

🌸 shine bright like a Diamond 💎

This journey isn’t what it seems like at first. You may think that this trip is perfect picture but it truly wasn’t all that perfect. Although I planned this trip for 6 months since September 2022, during the trip I’ve had moments of anxiety, frustration, sadness, making mistakes, getting lost, all because things didn’t go as planned. Moments where I almost gave up for the day. But this trip really toughened me up in some ways. Travelling across 5 cities and dragging an extremely luggage ain’t easy. Getting lost many times and missing trains and other quick moments wasn’t easy. But either way, I’ve had the best moments as well on this trip and thus is the perfect trip because of the imperfections to it. Coming back to Japan after 10 years was so worth it because now I see how much of a Diamond I’ve become throughout the years. Although I have only one more full day, I will make sure this trip finishes with a grand finale. I’ll keep shining til the very end!

🏯⛩️: Sensoji-Temple (Asakusa, Tokyo)

🌸🌷🪷🌷: TeamLab Planets @teamlab.planets

🧸♨️🍲: Kuma-Chan Onsen @kumachan_onsen_shibuya

🐕: Hachiko Statue (Shibuya, Tokyo)

🌃: Shibuya Crossing

🌸 BORN PINK TOKYO 💗

Today was definitely one of my biggest highlights on my JAPAN 2023 trip by seeing Blackpink in Tokyo Dome for their Born Pink tour. I originally wanted to go to their Newark concert but wasn’t able to due to their unreasonable pricing on Ticketmaster. But I enrolled on a raffle with YGex Japan and won a ticket for today and got floor base seats. The Blackpink girls were beautiful and sweet and fun. It was like a fun party that you never want to end. FOREVER YOUNG 💕

Plus with Akihabara, this was my first ever maid cafe experience ever and it was an actual better experience than I thought. Originally I thought it was going to be a bit cringy but I actually loved the atmosphere to the cafe and the maid staff were very personable. We talked about NYC and Blackpink. Definitely a fun and Moe Moe experience if you ever find yourself in Akihabara. MOE MOE KYUN~

🍨💗: Maidream Maid Cafe @maidreamin

💖🎤🎶: Blackpink @blackpinkofficial

🐻: Jennie @jennierubyjane

🐿️: Rosé @roses_are_rosie

🐥: Lisa @lalalalisa_m

🐰: Jisoo @sooyaaa__

🌸 oh deer 🦌

Oh Nara Dear, what a great way to end my Kansai (Kyoto, Osaka, and Nara) trip celebrating Nara Buddha’s birthday at Todai-Ji Temple, seeing a traditional Japanese wedding at Kasuga Taisha, and playing with the Nara Deers. It made me really happy that Nara hasn’t really changed much in the past decade and things were exactly as I remembered it. Nara is a place of familiarity for me in the Kansai region because that is where my friends and I lodged in for our first visit back in April 2012 so coming back to Nara was another walk on memory lane. I hope that the next time I visit Nara, it will ever seem unchanging too. Plus seeing Nara send me off with sunshine wrapped up my Kansai trip in a happier note! 奈良市、ありがとうございましたー

🐇👜: Bedroom Société @bedroomsociete

🍱: Hotel New Wakasa @newwakasa__nara.no.yado

🏯: Todai-ji Temple

⛩️: Kasuga Taisha

🦌🌳: Nara Park

🦌🧁🍪: Archaique @archaique_happy

🌸 calm before the storm 🍱♨️

I feel like the past two days in Kyoto has been chaotic and things haven’t not been going to plan. I’ve been making very last minute itinerary changes which can be quite stressful. But coming to Nara and checking in at Hotel New Wakasa has been a pleasant way to end my day. Now that we’re getting to the last arc of my Japan 2023 trip after tomorrow, I’m glad that I get this time to rest and enjoy the present. I can’t wait to see my little deer friends in Nara and hop on the train back to Tokyo. 楽しみ 🦌🌸

🌸☁️: Kumo no Cha (蜘蛛の茶) @kumonocha_kyoto

🪷🏯: Kiyomizu Dera

☔️ Ninenzaka-dori

🦌🏨♨️: Hôtel New Wakasa @newwakasa__nara.no.yado

🌸 It’s my Golden Hour ✨🏯✨

I can’t believe I’m already halfway done through my Japan 2023 trip 😭 I hope you all have been enjoying seeing my trip so far and not getting sick and tired of me yet. Although today is my last full day in Kyoto, it was was one of those days where I woke up extremely exhausted and throughout the day I was frustrated from getting lost and things not going as planned to the point where I almost gave up for the day. But despite of how imperfect things went today, I am once reminded of how fortunate I am to be in Japan again and especially during cherry blossom season. I’m so glad that I didn’t give up in those tiny moments of frustrations and pushed through to see the rainbow on the other side. Through these moments, I’m reminded that being present is a gift from time and it is so more worth than all of the gold in this world. I hope the rest of my trip will proceed smoothly and will be as enjoyable and hope you all stick through with me on the rest of this trip ✌🏻

💐: Mishoryuu School of Ikebana

✨🏯✨: Kinkakuji (Golden Pavillion)

🐉🏛️: Tenryu-Ji

🎍🎋: Arashiyama Bamboo Forest

🐻🍡🍵: Arashiyama Rilakkuma Tea House

🐻🍗: Kuma no Yakitori Gion @kumanoyakitori_gion

⛩️🌙: Yasaka Shrine

🌸 paint me like an Ukiyo-e 👘

So far on this trip to Japan 2023, I’ve planned a lot of this trip with revisiting places I’ve been to before back when I lived in Japan. However, today was the first day of novelties in Kyoto with a kimono photoshoot, Geisha Maiko Odori show, Cat Shrine, and lastly having a Kaiseki dinner for the first time. All were things that I wanted to do as a young 21 year old in Japan but couldn’t due to not having the money to afford them. I’m so thankful now be in my 30’s and be able to treat myself to the things I’ve been dreaming to do in Kyoto. What another set of dreams come true.

Btw I got to see Geisha Maikos in the streets of Gion, Kyoto tonight. Apparently seeing a Geisha outside of a theater in the streets of Gion is a sign of having fortune. Feeling Blessed & Highly Favored おおきに- ♥️

🎎🌸: Gion Kobu Kaburenjo Theater (@miyako_odori )

🐈⛩️: Nyan Nyan Ji (@nekojizo )

🍱🍽️: Gion Mizuoka

🐇👜: Bedroom Société (@bedroomsociete )

🌸 Lost in Kyoto ⛩️

Kyoto is one of my absolute favorite cities in the world because there is none other like it. Kyoto is the epitome of Japanese culture and the city has been pickled to be preserved by time. Today I return to Kyoto with the same awe that I first felt back in April 2012. But this time I already feel more connected with the city. I am so excited to once again get lost in Kyoto and revisit the old and discover new things in this city!

Btw Kansai has some of the best golden hours ever. Today’s sunset in Kyoto was quite majestic. Hope to see more like them while I’m still in Kyoto!

🐇⛩️: Okazaki Jinja

🦊⛩️: Fushimi Inari Jinja

🍽️: Gion Kappa

🌸 Osaka, いつも おおきに (Thank you Always) 🏯

When I first went to Osaka back in April 2012 with my friends, Christina, Jess, Meg, and Hajime; I enjoyed our time there but ended up wishing that I got to spend at least one more day to see more of Osaka. Today is the day that decade long wish was fulfilled. I got to explore Osaka in the way that I wanted to and see everything that I didn’t get to see last time. I even got to revisit Osaka Castle even if I didn’t get to conquer it this time. Now I can leave Osaka tomorrow learning so much more about the city and having a new profound love for it. Maido (Thank you) next and onwards to Kyoto 🐙♥️

🧀🍰: Uncle Rikuro’s Cheesecake @rikuro1956

🦁⛩️: Namba Yasaka Shrine

🗼: Tsutenkaku Tower in Shinsekai

🌕☕️: Moonkery @moonkery.osaka

🏯: Osaka Castle @osakacastle

👘♨️: Solaniwa Onsen @solaniwaonsen

🐇👜: Bedroom Société @bedroomsociete

🌸 大阪、 まいど まいど (Hello Osaka) 🐙

I’ve been to Osaka once back in April 2012 but for only one full day. So when I was planning out my trip, I was very excited to plan 2 full days in Osaka. But for some reason, today was the first day in this trip where things did not go as planned. I surprisingly cried waterfalls on the Shinkansen train, ate 12 Takoyaki balls and a bowl of ramen in the same hour, visited the wrong shrine, got my itinerary wrong due to my brain having major Error 404 moments. But the silver lining for today is that I was able to eat a lot of the famous Osaka street foods like Takoyaki, ramen, odango, yakisoba, and okonomiyaki. Just like the Glico running man in Dotonbori, I’ll either go big or home with Osaka and I plan on going big by making up for my Osaka tour tomorrow. 頑張ります。I’ll do my very best, so please wish me the best of luck 🙌🏻

🐇👜: Bedroom Société (@bedroomsociete )

🌸🍡: Kajitsu no Hana (@kajitsunohana_osaka )

🐙🧶: Kukuru Takoyaki (@kukuru_takoyaki )

🍜🥞: Kushikatsu Yokozuna Hozenji

🌸 a walk down memory lane ⛩️

Today was a day full of nostalgia. Yesterday I stated that I did not feel Home Sweet Home but today I definitely felt an overflowing amount of it. Meeting up with my friend Alisa after 5 years and then visiting the city where I lived for a year back a decade ago hit it home for me. I was reminded of the things that made me love Japan in the first place but also reminded me of the budding stages to my own personal journey of blossoming into the person I am now. What a dream come true to be able to revisit Mishima after 10 whole years. It’s been too long but never too late. ただいま戻りました。 🌸

👱🏻‍♀️: Alisa Watanabe (@alisaheyhey )

🐇👜: Bedroom Société (@bedroomsociete )

🦙🌳: Mishima Rakujuen (@village.mishima_rakujuen )

⛩️🌸: Mishima Taisha

🇵🇪🍟: Latin Restaurant Pica Pau (@restaurantpicapau )

🌸 meet me under the cherry blossoms 🏮

For those who know me, I’ve lived in Japan for a year from 2011 - 2012 to study abroad and it’s the first time that I am returning to Tokyo after 10 years. I expected immediately a feeling of Home Sweet Home after returning to Japan but I haven’t really felt it so far other than the cherry blossoms. But I am very excited to explore past nostalgia and new novelties while I am here for the next 2 weeks. Btw I was very worried that the cherry blossoms were gone by the time I arrived but they’re still here. Thank you for staying til I arrived today. ありがとう桜ちゃんたち 🌸

🌸🌳: 新宿御苑 (Shinjuku Gyo-en)

🐇👜: Bedroom Société (@bedroomsociete )

🌸🎏: 目黒川 (Meguro River)

🌸☕️: Starbucks in Shinjuku Gyo-en @starbucks_j

🐷☕️: Mipig @mipigcafe

🌸🏮: Sakura Street, Shibuya