Home
About
- About Laura
- About the Blog
Okinawa
Travel
- All Destinations
- Japan
  - Google Map
  - Sapporo
  - Nagano
  - Tokyo
  - Yokohama
  - Kamakura
  - Enoshima
  - Fuji + Hakone
  - Kyoto
  - Nara
  - Osaka
  - Kobe
  - Himeji
  - Hiroshima
  - Miyajima
  - Fukuoka
- Taiwan
- Hong Kong
- Thailand
- Bali
- United States
- Puerto Rico
- Advice
Featured
Prints
- Etsy
Contact

anniversary

A year ago today

February 2, 2014

Tiny koi pond in the middle of Kyoto 🥹🎏

✨

✨

✨

#japankoi #kyotojapan #traveljapan #kyototrip #kyototravel #higashiyama #ninenzaka #visitkyoto

•

Follow

Tiny koi pond in the middle of Kyoto 🥹🎏

✨

#japankoi #kyotojapan #traveljapan #kyototrip #kyototravel #higashiyama #ninenzaka #visitkyoto

2 weeks ago

View on Instagram |

1/6

H I G A S H I Y A M A ~ Woke up extra early on my first day in Kyoto and went back to the historical Higashiyama district for a daytime stroll! The streets weren’t empty but they weren’t packed either, so it was a win!!

I walked along the stone-paved Ninenzaka road and captured so many sweet vignettes, my favorites include the Hōkanji Temple pagoda and the most perfectly placed sakura tree 🌸. It took about 20 minutes standing along with other photographers to get the shot with no people 😂 and that was after the original photographer screamed at some people to move 🤣!! #worthit It’s also been one of the most popular prints in my print shop 🥹🫶🏼

Of course I had to stop and grab a drink at the Starbucks that sits inside a converted 100 year old traditional house, with a tatami room!! There were zero seats available 😭, #solotravelproblems but it was fine. I toured the house, took my coffee to go and headed towards my next destination 👉🏼 Ryozen Kannon (again)! Is it me or is it incredibly hard not to revisit the same amazing touristy places in mainland? 😅

Oooh I had no choice but to take full advantage of Instagram’s new 20 photo carousel 😂 so sit back and enjoy this mini blogpost with my favorite DSLR pics 🫶🏼 there’s more where this came from! Let’s see if I follow through 😬 keep me accountable guys!!! ✨

🌸

🌸

🌸

#solotravel #japantravel #osaka #kyoto #kyotojapan #japansolotravel #higashiyama #pagoda #springjapan

•

Follow

H I G A S H I Y A M A ~ Woke up extra early on my first day in Kyoto and went back to the historical Higashiyama district for a daytime stroll! The streets weren’t empty but they weren’t packed either, so it was a win!!

I walked along the stone-paved Ninenzaka road and captured so many sweet vignettes, my favorites include the Hōkanji Temple pagoda and the most perfectly placed sakura tree 🌸. It took about 20 minutes standing along with other photographers to get the shot with no people 😂 and that was after the original photographer screamed at some people to move 🤣!! #worthit It’s also been one of the most popular prints in my print shop 🥹🫶🏼

Of course I had to stop and grab a drink at the Starbucks that sits inside a converted 100 year old traditional house, with a tatami room!! There were zero seats available 😭, #solotravelproblems but it was fine. I toured the house, took my coffee to go and headed towards my next destination 👉🏼 Ryozen Kannon (again)! Is it me or is it incredibly hard not to revisit the same amazing touristy places in mainland? 😅

Oooh I had no choice but to take full advantage of Instagram’s new 20 photo carousel 😂 so sit back and enjoy this mini blogpost with my favorite DSLR pics 🫶🏼 there’s more where this came from! Let’s see if I follow through 😬 keep me accountable guys!!! ✨

🌸

#solotravel #japantravel #osaka #kyoto #kyotojapan #japansolotravel #higashiyama #pagoda #springjapan

2 weeks ago

View on Instagram |

2/6

Kyoto in Spring? Groundbreaking 🌸

Let’s pretend for a second that this trip happened in 2024… and not in 2023 😂!! This was my first solo trip and I felt so damn proud of myself by the end 💪🏼. It’s taken me a whole year to share, so how about you place your vote if you think I’ll manage to follow through with sharing it all! 🤣 My blog is also down for some reason… but maybe someday my camera photos will make it on there!

I flew out of Naha Airport at 1pm and make it to Osaka’s Kansai Airport at 3pm ✈️, jumped on the terminal bus 🚌, then the Limited Express Haruka train 🚃, which ended up being Hello Kitty themed 🥹, bound for Kyoto Station. I arrived at 6pm, dropped off my backpack at a coin locker before hopping on another bus to Kiyomizudera!

I went to📍Kodaiji Temple to see their special spring illumination!! 🎇🏮✨ Went back to Kyoto Station where I may or may not have cried trying to find the coin lockers where I left my backpack 🫠 I realized I left it inside the JR line and I couldn’t find the correct entrance, but I found it eventually!! Ended up buying McDonald’s to-go because I realized my hostel check-in was ending within the hour. I was so hangry and frustrated but I made it with minutes to spare and shoved the food down my throat in the common room before crashing hard.

It was an eventful travel day to say the least! 😅
Solo travel isn’t easy but so fulfilling when you realize how capable you are!! 🫶🏼

More to come
…maybe 🙃

🌸

🌸

🌸

#solotravel #japantravel #osaka #kyoto #kyotojapan #kiyomizudera #kodaijitemple #springillumination #japansolotravel

•

Follow

Kyoto in Spring? Groundbreaking 🌸

Let’s pretend for a second that this trip happened in 2024… and not in 2023 😂!! This was my first solo trip and I felt so damn proud of myself by the end 💪🏼. It’s taken me a whole year to share, so how about you place your vote if you think I’ll manage to follow through with sharing it all! 🤣 My blog is also down for some reason… but maybe someday my camera photos will make it on there!

I flew out of Naha Airport at 1pm and make it to Osaka’s Kansai Airport at 3pm ✈️, jumped on the terminal bus 🚌, then the Limited Express Haruka train 🚃, which ended up being Hello Kitty themed 🥹, bound for Kyoto Station. I arrived at 6pm, dropped off my backpack at a coin locker before hopping on another bus to Kiyomizudera!

I went to📍Kodaiji Temple to see their special spring illumination!! 🎇🏮✨ Went back to Kyoto Station where I may or may not have cried trying to find the coin lockers where I left my backpack 🫠 I realized I left it inside the JR line and I couldn’t find the correct entrance, but I found it eventually!! Ended up buying McDonald’s to-go because I realized my hostel check-in was ending within the hour. I was so hangry and frustrated but I made it with minutes to spare and shoved the food down my throat in the common room before crashing hard.

It was an eventful travel day to say the least! 😅
Solo travel isn’t easy but so fulfilling when you realize how capable you are!! 🫶🏼

More to come
…maybe 🙃

🌸

#solotravel #japantravel #osaka #kyoto #kyotojapan #kiyomizudera #kodaijitemple #springillumination #japansolotravel

2 weeks ago

View on Instagram |

3/6

•

Follow

My participation at vendor events has slowed down immensely this year because working full-time and doing a weekend events is insanely tiring 😵‍💫 but I did sign up for a good one!!

Kubasaki High School on Camp Foster is hosting their Spring Vendor Fair inside their gym next Saturday, April 13! Swipe left 👈🏼 to see all of the amazing vendors that will be there and come do some early Mother’s Day small business shopping!! 💚

2 weeks ago

View on Instagram |

4/6

さくらの日！Sakura Day! 🌸💗✨

My car let me know this morning that today, May 27 is Cherry Blossom Day!! 🥹 I love that the first time I turn the car on a robot lady’s voice tells me what day it is and the holiday… in Japanese of course 😅 but my basic knowledge of the language comes in handy and when I don’t understand the holiday but I catch the word, I’ll Google it!

So I took it as a sign that it was high time this insanely basic reel that has been sitting in my drafts for a YEAR 😂 made it out into the feed. Maybe this will motivate me to post about my first solo trip to blooming Kyoto & Osaka this time last year!

Stay tuned!

#springinjapan #cherryblossom #cherryblossomjapan #sakurajapan #桜吹雪 #さくら #japanspring #springinjapan #cherryblossomseason

•

Follow

さくらの日！Sakura Day! 🌸💗✨

My car let me know this morning that today, May 27 is Cherry Blossom Day!! 🥹 I love that the first time I turn the car on a robot lady’s voice tells me what day it is and the holiday… in Japanese of course 😅 but my basic knowledge of the language comes in handy and when I don’t understand the holiday but I catch the word, I’ll Google it!

So I took it as a sign that it was high time this insanely basic reel that has been sitting in my drafts for a YEAR 😂 made it out into the feed. Maybe this will motivate me to post about my first solo trip to blooming Kyoto & Osaka this time last year!

Stay tuned!

#springinjapan #cherryblossom #cherryblossomjapan #sakurajapan #桜吹雪 #さくら #japanspring #springinjapan #cherryblossomseason

4 weeks ago

View on Instagram |

5/6

I literally have no idea where I’d be without these two 🥹💛✨ Thankful Okinawa, but mostly @austinmaries, brought us together!! Miss you friend 😭

Wanted to post this last year during matsuri (festival) season because we went all out in our yukatas 👘 for the Orion Beer Festival 🍻 and then in February because 🫶🏼 but as you know I’ve dropped the ball on posting regularly on my feed… so here it is now just because!!

💗 I love you guys 💗
@ciera_9 @choobulu

•

Follow

I literally have no idea where I’d be without these two 🥹💛✨ Thankful Okinawa, but mostly @austinmaries, brought us together!! Miss you friend 😭

Wanted to post this last year during matsuri (festival) season because we went all out in our yukatas 👘 for the Orion Beer Festival 🍻 and then in February because 🫶🏼 but as you know I’ve dropped the ball on posting regularly on my feed… so here it is now just because!!

💗 I love you guys 💗
@ciera_9 @choobulu

4 weeks ago

View on Instagram |

6/6