322. autumn breeze

After Osaka, I headed to Kyoto to meet up with some friends.

November 22nd, Tuesday :

I met up with Yoshi for lunch at about 1pm near Shijo station, we went to a vegan cafe and it was surprisingly good.  I haven't seen Yoshi for more than a year, the last time I saw him was in Singapore last year when he was still a part of PALM. It was much easier to talk to him now because I can speak pretty decent Japanese, haha. 

After lunch, we headed to the Bengal Cat Cafe that was just 5 minutes away. It was pretty small but I was pleasantly surprised that the cats were so friendly. I've been to a couple of cat cafes in Japan but the cats are never friendly. I'm pretty sure they get sick of people wanting to pet them all day, so I don't blame them. But at the Bengal cat cafe, several cats came to me as soon as I sat down. 

Two of them actually climbed onto me and there were a couple more cats sitting around me. Happy. The cats at this cafe had cute names as well, they're named after the horoscopes. I thought it was a cute idea.

This is Orion, the most popular cat at the cafe.

We didn't spend too long at the cafe, only about half an hour and decided to go for some sightseeing. Even though Kyoto has a lot to offer, it's always so crowded with tourists. Yoshi wanted to go to a temple but the number of tourists really turned us off. So we only made it to one and I checked into my Airbnb apartment after that. Luckily Yoshi was with me because I had some problems with checking in.

It'll be nice to have a photoshoot at this bridge if it weren't for the people.

Yoshi and I chilled at Starbucks until 7-ish in the evening and I met up with another friend, Yamako at 8. He was starving because he had exams for the entire day so we just went to eat. Most of the restaurants were full that evening since the day after was a public holiday. In the end, Yamako and I went to an Okonomiyaki place that he really likes. We still had to wait for a while before getting a table.

To be honest, I have never had Okonomiyaki in my 3 years in Japan. I'm not a big fan of it but after going with Yamako, I changed my mind. The food was really good and we were just drinking and eating non-stop till 11-ish. It was fun talking to him since we both like music and travelling. I've always admired his devotion to bands because he travels so frequently (and far) to go to shows. 

In the past, I used to think that I was crazy because I would be the only one out of all my friends to travel to attend shows. I felt really alone, but ever since coming to Japan, I've met so many people who are even more devoted than me. It feels nice to have people not call you crazy or tell you you're wasting your money on something that you really love. Music is still a huge part of my life, without it, I wouldn't have met so many amazing people that I can now call my friends. 

November 23rd, Wednesday :

The next day, I headed to Nagoya and arrived at lunch time. KH was waiting for me at Nagoya station and we went for lunch before heading to his band's rehearsal. It was nice being back in Nagoya after two years. I waited for him to finish up and we went for dinner at close to 8. We had miso katsu for dinner. The good thing about meeting all my Japanese friends is that I get to try so much food, haha.

It was our first time hanging out alone, so it was pretty awkward in the beginning. Whenever I see KH, there would always be a lot of people around. In the past, I used to think we wouldn't even be friends but I was wrong, we got along really well. I like how straightforward and honest he is. We ended up talking about so many things, not only about work but music, our personal lives and everything in between.  

It was nice to finally spend time with him after knowing him for so long. I got back to Tokyo the next day and was greeted by the heavy snow. It was freezing when I got back and the roads were all covered in snow. I'm surprised I didn't fall sick because of the difference in weather in Kansai, Nagoya and Tokyo. 

These couple of days were so fun because I was able to hang out with my friends who I haven't seen in a long time. It made me think about a lot of things. My life in Japan is so different from my life in Singapore. Even though there is a language barrier, I do enjoy my life here way more. I like my friends here more. Singapore has never made me happy and I wish people there would stop telling me Singapore is my home because it is not. 

* Lately I have been both lazy and busy to blog, but I hope to finish up all the entries for this year because so many amazing and exciting things happened just in one month. I can't believe there's only 11 days left for 2016. 

321. the pros of con

I was in Osaka during the last week of November for a photo shoot. I have been to Osaka so many times this year that I've lost count and honestly, I'm bored of the city. I didn't bother taking photos but I did explore on my own for a bit.

November 20th

I took the shinkansen down to Osaka, dumped my stuff in my Airbnb apartment and made my way to Hokage. PALM was playing that night alongside some other bands. I actually didn't care much about other bands except for Runner (Kenta's side band) and PALM. Even though I don't listen to PALM, they never fail to put on a good live show. Their energy on stage is just something else and I feel like even young bands today can't achieve that level of "raw power".

20 NOV 2016 at OSAKA HOKAGE #PALMJAPAN #PALMJP

A video posted by PALM (@palmjapan) on Nov 22, 2016 at 3:35am PST

I met up with Kyoko who Laura introduced through text. I was alone most of the time but it was okay. I think I got so used to being on my own now, it doesn't bother me that much when I travel. My photoshoot ended up being really late, thankfully Toshi owns Hokage so I could take photos without having to worry that I'll be chased out of the venue, haha.

After taking a couple of photos of Kyoko, we went to the afterparty at the Hokage's bar. Most of the bands were already eating and it was only us girls left feeling hungry. It's always fun meeting new people even though I am such an introvert.

PALM's photoshoot dragged on till about 2-ish am. Toshi was half drunk doing the shoot, haha. Still had fun with them, though. No matter how old men get, they still act like little boys.

a very drunk Toshi. 

and a very tired Kenta.

*I'm still in the process of editing photos but some of them are already on @sanatoriiiium! 

I only got back to the apartment at 3 in the morning. It was a fun but tiring day for me. I passed out immediately after taking a long shower. 

Even though I do enjoy doing my photo shoots and meeting up with friends, I'm a very private person so I don't really like to post photos of people I know on my social media and even on this blog. I guess my clothing line is going to "show" everyone who my friends are. I still have mixed feelings about it. 

Other than that, my life right now is pretty messed up and complicated. I can't wait for next month cos I'll be back in Melbourne just for two days to watch letlive. and Every Time I Die. I'm more excited about letlive., I have been listening to them a lot lately and it's been a while since I really liked any other band so much.

I have quite a number of things planned out until the year ends. I'm going to get yet another tattoo, hopefully have a nice Christmas and travel some more. In some way, I don't really want 2016 to end just yet but everyone gets like that every year right?

320. the nites of avantgarde, lynch.

I have been dreading to write this post because so much has happened since this show. lynch. is on a hiatus now because something happened to one of the members and it makes me sad to think that this might be the last time I got to see them as a five member band. But let's save the sad stuff for later.

November 15th, 2016.

This was lynch.'s semi-final for THE NITES OF AVANTGARDE tour to promote their latest release. Like I already mentioned, I am not a big fan of this album but I won't miss their shows for no good reason. Their setlist today was pretty good, especially the encore. The encore was perfect actually, it was all my favorite headbanging songs.

They looked so happy on stage that day too. As usual, their MC went on forever because Hazuki is just too talkative. I like how he talked about the stupid pillar at Club Quattro. It really blocks the view of the stage. I could hardly see Yusuke throughout the show, I don't really care for Yusuke but it's nice to see the whole band right?

Today's setlist :

I was really happy they played INVINCIBLE. I thought they stopped playing it judging from the setlists from this tour. It's my absolute favorite song to see them play live because of how different it sounds from the record. Also, AK and Hazuki always look so happy playing this song since it's their favorite to play live. I always, always enjoy this song. 

I still remember how happy I was after this show because everyone's always so nice. I'll post videos from this show (stolen from Hazuki's instagram) because I forgot to save the live photos...

11.15 渋谷 CLUB QUATTRO BEAST

A video posted by lynch. 葉月 (@lynch_hazuki) on Nov 15, 2016 at 5:45am PST

11.15 渋谷 CLUB QUATTRO VANISH

A video posted by lynch. 葉月 (@lynch_hazuki) on Nov 15, 2016 at 5:47am PST

So, onto the sad stuff. It's been hard for me to accept that lynch. might not be a 5 member band anymore. Their future is pretty uncertain but I'm sure they will get through this. lynch. has been a big part of my life for the last couple of years, they are one of the reasons why I keep returning to Japan (because fuckers don't travel out). Going to their shows has always made me happy, even though I am always alone. They're the only band that can make me completely lose myself in their music . You will never see me singing or headbanging or dancing or swaying to any other band.

Their Fukuoka show I went to earlier this year is still my favorite memory. I still remember H holding my hand as I watched my favorite band kill it on stage. Also, I remember H being so shocked when I started headbanging to INVINCIBLE, but he headbanged along with me, haha. ( H is not a fan of lynch. by the way, he just knows I love them so fucking much.)

It's just too difficult to explain how something is so important to you. Music has always been a huge part of my life. So naturally, my favorite band will be too. lynch.'s music has just been by my side all this time, when I "broke up" with someone, when my mom was in the hospital, when I was feeling empty and also when I'm happy.

I have repeated countless of times but no matter what, I will always love this band. I hope that they will return as a 5 member band but even if they don't, I will still continue to support them.

I still remember seeing them for the first time 3 years ago. How happy I was, how complete I felt, how I lost myself in their music.

I hope to see them again, soon.

somewhere, someday,
I want for us to happen again...

319. two weeks

So much has happened in the last couple of weeks, my mind is in a mess right now. I have so many things I want to write about. Last week was crazy busy because I went to Osaka, Kyoto and Nagoya and met friends almost every day. It was also Yuri's birthday on Sunday, so she came over for the weekend.

I was really glad she decided to stay another night because we had so much to talk about. I'm going to visit her again this week, we already planned it some time ago that we'll go to a festival in Chichibu.

Also - I'm pretty sure all my friends know that my favourite band is lynch. Last week, they decided to go on a hiatus because something happened to one of the members. I'm still confused on what to feel about this because lynch. has been such a big part of my life for the last couple of years, it feels a little strange that I'm not going to see them or hear anything from them for a while. I'll write about their show at Shibuya Quattro on the next post and I really hope that that is not their last live with AK.

I've been lazy to blog honestly but there're so many things going on that I have to write it down.

318. double bass

On Monday, I met up with Laura and Mako in the evening for a photoshoot in Shimokitazawa. Shimokita is one of the many interesting neighborhoods in Tokyo, sometimes I get so sick of going to Shibuya and Harajuku because of all the tourists.

I thought Mako suit my label really well, so I asked Laura to contact her. I've met Mako a couple of times at Cyclamen's shows since she's their merch girl, I've always liked her chill vibe and style. Picking out girls who I want to represent my clothing line has been more difficult than choosing guys. It's very important to me that the people I choose are not pretentious and fake.

So, I'm not much of a photographer, it was a little nerve wrecking taking photos of the both of them. I'm really thankful to the both of them for being so patient and even helped me out with some of the settings on my camera. I'm still learning and I'm trying my best to not let anyone who has been supportive of me down.

Polaroids are always fun, I actually enjoy them more than using an actual professional camera. We went to get dinner at a soup curry restaurant after taking some polaroids. It was my first time ever having soup curry. It really made me change my mind about curry once again, curry in Japan at least.

On the way there, we passed by an interesting bar and Mako said it was more Avantgarde, which I actually want to try next time.

I didn't take photos of my food as usual, haha. We spent some time at the restaurant just talking before doing the second photoshoot on my dslr. I'm not going to post any photos from the shoot here, so if you like, please check out my clothing line @sanatoriium on Instagram.

I've always loved the murals on the shutters in Shimokita, but the guys holding fishes has definitely got to be my favorite one. I had lots of fun hanging out with Laura and Mako. Mako actually lives just a few train stops away from me, so I was talking to her on our way home. I finally got to practice my Japanese again after almost 4 months of not using it. I'm happy to know that it hasn't completely gone out the window, haha. Also, very happy to know that she loves Marceline The Vampire Queen (Adventure Time) as much as I do.

Even though it was a fun night, I somehow dropped my keys somewhere in Shimokita and got locked out of my house until the next day. It was really painful waiting for my housing agent to arrive. I finally got home at 2pm the next day and crashed not long after changing out. The last time I got locked out of my house was last Halloween. 

On a side note, since I just bought a new camera and am using it for work, I also hope to take more photos of my life here in Japan. Since I came back, some of my friends have complained that I don't take enough photos - with them or my life here. They even forced me to take photos with them because really, I'm not the type of person to take out my phone and go "let's take a selfie!!!11!!" I swear I am the last person on earth who will say something like that. So I plan to take lots of photos from now on because I feel very lucky to have a chance to live here and have met so many amazing people who I now call my friends.

I'll continue to work hard to achieve my goals and dreams. Thanks to everyone who have been so supportive since day 1. Sometimes, it makes me feel like all the shit I have dealt with in the past was worth it because I wouldn't be as happy as I am now.

317. killing cult, lynch.

Last Friday I made my way down to Yokohama Bay Hall for lynch. I haven't seen them in half a year but I wasn't too excited for the show since I'm not totally in love with their new album. Also, the fact that Bay Hall is in an inconvenient location didn't really help either.

They started exactly at 7pm and I was right about AVANT GARDE making me feel excited. Their setlist wasn't that impressive since they can't play a lot of old songs now but I'm so happy they played EXODUS and AMBIVALENT IDEAL. I was most excited to see EVIDENCE and PRAYER live, both songs didn't disappoint. EVIDENCE is yet another fun song I would definitely look forward to at all their shows from now on.

I'm not a big fan of their new slow songs, PHANTOM and FAREWELL. I didn't feel anything when they played them. I was secretly hoping they play an illusion, which I know is impossible, haha. For me, going to lynch. shows now have gotten a little mundane, I look forward to the after show more which I don't know if it's a good thing.

SETLIST : Yokohama Bay Hall, 4th November 2016

SE. AVANT GARDE
1. THE OUTRAGE SEXUALITY
2. DAMNED
3. GREED (yay!)
4. F.A.K.E.
5. EXODUS (yayyyy!!!)
6. ASHES
7. PRAYER
8. KILLING CULT
9. UNELMA
10. PHANTOM
11. FAREWELL
12. Ambivalent Ideal (yay!)
13. ALL THIS I'LL GIVE YOU (clap clap clap)
14. VANISH
15. NEEDLEZ
16. EVIDENCE
17. LIGHTNING (argh I really hate this song)
18. pulse_
19. PLEDGE

-encore 1-
20. MOON
21. MAD
22. INVADER (yayy!)
23. GALLOWS ( happy headbanging!)

-encore 2-
24. EVOKE

Photos are not mine, I received them in my email. Nonetheless, I still enjoyed myself. There are still so many reasons why lynch. is still my favorite band after all these years. I'm just really happy I'm their fan and not any other visual bands'. I'm still not a fan of visual music,  I have repeated over and over again, only lynch.

I'm going to see them next Tuesday again and this time in a much more convenient location, Shibuya. Can't wait!

11.04 横浜Bay Hall EVIDENCE

A video posted by lynch. 葉月 (@lynch_hazuki) on Nov 4, 2016 at 6:06am PDT

316. beetlejuice beetlejuice beetlejuice

Yuri and I decided to dress up for Halloween back when I was still in Singapore, she saw my tweet about wanting to be Lydia Deetz so she decided to be my Beetlejuice! We both bought our costumes before I got back to Japan.

Unfortunately, Halloween this year falls on a Monday, so we had to dress up on Saturday night. I met up with her in Tachikawa and we had late lunch. We still went to get some stuff for our costumes before going back to my apartment to dress up. It was so fun dressing up, we were watching The Crow on Netflix, listening to music and drinking bottles of beer.

We took longer than expected to dress up because of Beetlejuice's makeup and Lydia's hair. I suck at doing any "dressing up", so Yuri actually styled my hair. I would have put makeup but I have very sensitive skin, so if I get cheap makeup, I would definitely get an allergy (trust me, I have tried and even with expensive makeup I get rashes). We got to Shibuya pretty late and the first thing we did was take purikura!

After purikura, we went to get supper. It was already midnight when we were eating. There were still a lot of people walking around Shibuya. Honestly, the costumes were not as interesting as last year. Last year's crowd in Shibuya was more fun. I feel like this year I had more fun dressing up with Yuri. We wanted to go to Harajuku to take some photos of our costumes but it started to rain, so we had not choice but to stay indoors. By the time we finished our meal, it was already 1am so we decided to go to the bar for some more drinks.

We stayed up till 5am just talking like we usually do, we figured, even if we were home we wouldn't go to bed till about that time so there was no difference with staying out. We finally got home at 6am. I really enjoy Yuri visiting, it just sucks that she lives so far away from Tokyo. Better than being on the other side of the world, though.

We took this at my place before heading out.

The next time I see her will be for her birthday and I'm excited because we're going to watch Fantastic Beasts together!

My November will be very busy but I'm happy. I have so many things to look forward to.

315. honeymuuuun

It's already my third week back in Tokyo and I still haven't written about so many things. I'm backtracking now.

My first week back in Tokyo was spent mostly with Mad and Din. They spent their honeymoon here and I showed them around Harajuku, Shibuya, and Roppongi. I met up with them literally the second day I was back, I brought them around Harajuku. It's always fun showing my friends from home what I usually do here, where I like to go, where I like to hang out. It kind of make us understand each other more I think.

At least, it won't be so difficult explaining things to Mad now because she has already been to the places I usually spend more time at. Basically, I just brought the newly married couple around Cat Street and one of my favorite buildings, Gyre. We managed to find a Japanese Shabu Shabu restaurant serving Halal food, which was pretty good. I forced them into taking Purikura that same night.

On Friday, I brought them to Roppongi. We went to Salvador Dali's exhibition and then slowly walked to Roppongi Hills for Art Night Out. Salvador Dali's exhibition was massive and was definitely worth our 2500 yen, there were so many rooms for his original work, showing how his style evolved over his lifetime. 

Mad and I studied a lot about him back in college during Art History class, so it was fun to go together because we remember exactly which pieces we did research on. It was pretty crowded for a Friday afternoon and no photos were allowed as usual. I was really happy they were showing some videos at the exhibition as well, one was about eyeball slicing which made Mad and I go "OH MY GOD!!! FOUNDATION YEAR!!" Also, I finally got to watch the collaboration with Walt Disney and Dali, Destino. 

Salvador Dali is one of my favorite artists. I pretty much hated studying about Pablo Picasso in college and still do. My favorite artists from Art History are actually Gustav Klimt, Alphonse Mucha, and Salvador Dali.

All of us had a headache at the souvenir store. We took quite some time choosing wisely. Lastly, there was just a small exhibit that we could take a photo with at the end of the exhibition.

After the exhibition, the three of us slowly made our way to Roppongi Hills for dinner. We walked around and waited for a little bit for Art Night to start. There were several artworks places around Roppongi Hills which was interesting, mostly videos, though. Mad and I liked the horses the most of out everything. They were parading outside Roppongi Hills.

We didn't do much after that but chilled at Starbucks. Sometimes I do miss hanging out with Mad because I spend most of my time in Japan. Ultimately, I am happier in Tokyo so I don't  go back to Singapore that often. Or at least, I try not to spend too much time there. It's nice to have Mad finally understand what I'm talking about after her visit to Tokyo.

I met up with her again just for a little on Saturday to introduce Yuri to her. It was fun seeing two of my closest friends talking to each other because they are so different. I love them both for very different reasons. I gave Mad a big tight hug before leaving to Harajuku with Yuri for our photoshoot (next post).

I hope married life is treating Mad well and can't wait to see her again when I visit Singapore. I know that Din will take good care of her, so I have nothing to worry about. I'm just happy they've found each other.

314. pipes & pipes

Been pretty busy since I got back to Tokyo but before I post about my outings with Mad, I feel like I have to get this off my chest because I'm such an introvert it's not even funny.

I spent my entire evening being socially awkward but not in a bad way. I have been in talks with some friends about my new project and I made my way down to Shimokitazawa this evening to check out Survive Said The Prophet's exhibition.

Seeing familiar faces again is always nice, I've missed events like this for the last couple of months when I was in Singapore. Whenever I am in Singapore, I am such a hermit and when I get out of the house, it's with my sister most of the time. So, seeing everyone again here was pretty awkward for me and I froze so many times, I even told my friends "Oh my god, I don't even know what to say now." It does not help with the language barrier. My Japanese has so gotten so rusty, I'm literally saying all the verbs out loud and making my friends guess what I even want to say.

Thank god there were a couple of people who were fluent in English, if not I would have just crawled into a hole.

The exhibition was pretty alright, mostly about Survive Said The Prophet's merchandise. I was looking forward to the acoustic more. I also was pretty surprised to bump into Ryo because I haven't seen him in such a long time. Also, I'm really thankful everyone has been so supportive of me. Yosh even wore my shirt straight away once I handed it to him. I'm still in the talks with everyone, so I will still take some time to get where I want to be. But I promise to work extremely hard, I have to have some faith in myself.

SSTP's acoustic was really good. They're a melodic band, so it's pretty different from what I usually listen to. BUT they are one of the best bands I have seen live in Japan. I only know one song If You Really Want To from their old album, and I like their new song called 3AM. They just released their new album FIXED and are on tour now around Japan.

I think they played a total of 4 songs tonight with a lot of MC-ing (that I don't understand). I managed to only record the first song, also drag to the 1:55 mark to see Crystal Lake's vocalist Ryo, make an appearance, haha. Thanks Yosh for wearing my design!

Tonight was really productive, just a shout out to Yosh, Ivan, and Ryo for taking the time to talk such an awkward me. I'm not always like that but I think it just has not sunk in that I'm back in Japan and my life here is a totally different one from Singapore. LIKE, it's worlds apart. I'm still taking some time to adjust. 

I totally forgot how much of a social life I actually have in Tokyo, to be honest. I just got so used to being on my own for the last couple of months, it's so strange to be in a sea of people again. Adding in culture shock and the language barrier make me such an awkward person. 

313. happiness is...

So, I'm already back in Tokyo and it feels a little strange to be back in my own apartment but I'm sure I'll get used to it. I think I just haven't been away from Tokyo for such a long time for the last three years, so I feel this way. Last week was such an eventful week, I still somehow am thinking about it.

On Friday, I made my way down to Red Dot Museum and met up with artist Sarah Thursday. I have been following her on Instagram for a while now and I use her Hallows bag really often actually. I love seeing her progress on Instagram so it was really nice to finally meet her in person. We could get along straight away and it seems like we have more in common than I thought we would have. We ended up talking for a couple of hours and having dinner together.

Meeting creative people really makes me happy because it allows me to learn from them. It also inspires me to want to create more and work towards my dreams. We exchanged contact info and I'm pretty bummed I can't go to her exhibition because I think it's a cool concept to have it at a Cat Cafe, oh well. My sister will be going on my behalf.

We exchanged stickers too, haha. (The cat is by Hugo and I was lucky enough to get the last one!)

On Sunday was Mad's big day. I have never been to a  Malay wedding before and I think this will be the only chance I get to. So little sis and I made our way down to Serangoon to attend Mad's an Din's wedding. It was a culture shock for both of us and we didn't really know what to do, so we were awkwardly standing around for a good 15 minutes before deciding to get some food.

I haven't had (good) Malay food for a long time so I was really happy eating, my favorite was the dry mee siam and rendang! Also, it was my first time seeing both Mad and Din in traditional Malay clothes, so it was pretty entertaining. I finally saw her in the late afternoon and gave her a big hug. She looked so happy that day, it made me really happy for her as well. Though Din and I have had our differences, I know that he is a good guy and definitely takes care of Mad really well. So I'm happy for the both of them.

I met up with some of my art college friends and it was a tad awkward. I ended up just talking to Sam because Sam, Mad and I used to hang out a lot together. After we graduated, it was always just me and Mad. Sam totally went MIA, but at least I got to see her again.

Honestly, I've never seen all of us so happy in one photo. I used to have depression back in college so I'm always not this happy in all our old photos. I'm just really happy for Mad!

We went home straight after their wedding because I had a flight to catch that night back to Tokyo.

I am now writing from my Tachikawa apartment and I actually can't believe I'm meeting Mad and Din tomorrow to bring them around. I think I have been talking to Mad about Japan for the last five years, so I can't wait to see both of them actually in Japan. 

Being back in Singapore for the last couple of months was really worthwhile. I don't hate it as much as I used to but I still don't see myself living there in the future. I have new projects on the way and I'm so happy with everyone's positive response. I hope my new project really takes off and by then, I think I will be really at peace with myself.

The last couple of months have done me a lot of good and searching for my own voice and I think I have finally found it. I thank everyone who has been so supportive and believing in me, I will work very hard to make everyone proud. Till then...

312. cute without the e

This is the start of my new project, I have been trying to get just the right design and drawing this design over and over again to make sure it'll look good on shirts and I'm really happy with the outcome. This shirt is called Cute without the E and yes, it is named after the Taking Back Sunday song.

Initially, I wanted to name it just cut but I have been talking to little sis about the idea of this new venture and it's safe to say she knows me best. I will not get too much into what this project  just yet, but I'm excited for this. I will have a lot of things to do and people to meet when I am back in Tokyo. 

I've never felt more alive.

Also - thanks to my baby sis for modeling for me. (Most supportive person ever, haha)

311. taste of ink

I spent my entire afternoon today getting two tattoos done at Traditions Tattoo Collective in Singapore. There were 2 guest artists from Seoul, one which I've been following on Instagram for a while now, Hugo.

I've never really wanted any Ghibli themed tattoo until I chanced upon his work a couple of months ago and fell in love with his work. I was lucky enough to get a slot, the owner of the Tattoo Studio told me and little sis that a lot of people were disappointed because they couldn't get any work done by him since he is fully booked. I thank my lucky stars.

So, Traditions Tattoo Collective is located in Holland Village, which made me feel really nostalgic because my dad used to own a restaurant here and this Tattoo Studio is just a few shops down on the same street to where my dad's restaurant was.

The artists at this studio were really friendly and  I spent most of the afternoon talking to them while Hugo was working on my tattoos. His girlfriend Greem, was also working on another customer. I'm gonna sound like a creep but I was admiring her tattoos while she was standing around or watching Hugo do his work. She and Hugo both have a really great collection of tattoos, one of them being from Ildo, another tattoo artist that I really want to get some work from. I don't know what's with me and female tattoo artists but whenever I see them, I'm just all *__*

She was really nice as well, I managed to talk to her for a little bit. Hugo started on my Kamaji tattoo first and it was less painful than I thought it would be. It took about 1 hour and 30 minutes to get it done and I was so happy with it. I was already excited when he posted the initial design a week or two ago on Instagram. I was really mind blown when he finished it, the details and just the general idea of this Kamaji piece is so unique, I'm just like... every cent is worth it. 

I only wanted Kamaji and the sootballs but I really loved that he added the herbs, tags and even the rice bowl that Kamaji is holding.

We took a short break and I gave some of my stickers to the artists. I'm always happy to see artists appreciate my work. The best thing is when they compliment me because it really boosts my confidence. An absolute confidence booster is when the person you admire keeps your work very safely. I always have had a lot of self-doubt especially when it comes to my art. Greem even asked me if I was a tattoo artist and I was like "no no no no". 

My Kaonashi tattoo was actually really painful compared to the Kamaji one because of all the shading but I really love the details and stars Hugo put on him. Also, how cute is the tiny bird on top of Kaonashi?

picture Hugo took on his Instagram.

I left the tattoo studio at close to 6pm and went for dinner before heading home. I live for days like these, where I can talk to fellow artists where we share the same opinions about things and interests. 

There's obviously some ~deep~ reason why I got these tattoos but I won't go into them. But if you didn't already know, Spirited Away is one of my all time favorite films. If not, my absolute favorite Japanese animation film. It was also one of the reasons why I wanted to visit Japan in the first place and now look where we are, I have already lived in Tokyo for the last 3 years.

Also - I have always hated my legs but maybe now I can start loving them a little more. Thank you, Hugo. Thank you to everyone today who made me feel welcomed at the studio. :)

310. in the six five

I admit, I have been lazy on updating this blog. Also because I still haven't bought a new laptop, writing on my old computer doesn't motivate me in any way. Except maybe checking e-mails from time to time. It's been two months since I have been back in Singapore and strange enough, it has helped me get back on track with life. 

The honest truth? I was getting sick of everything in Tokyo. Don't get me wrong, I love Tokyo with all my heart but I'm the type of person who gets sick of things easily. Note that I said things. I don't ever get sick of people who I care truly about.I miss my friends in Tokyo a lot and can't wait to go back to see all their bright faces.

I've been really really productive ever since I got back and am working on a few projects that I'm pretty excited about as I write this. Now, I'm only waiting to bring those ideas back to my second home and see these projects fall through.

This week was fun with little sis, we went to explore some places again and I think I'm going to go back to Duxton Hill one more time before getting on that plane back to Tokyo. 

I stumbled upon Sprout on instagram and I have pinned it on my Google Maps for ages. Little sis and I dropped by Sprout on Thursday for lunch. Sprout is a salad bar, picture healthy good food in a quiet cafe. I really love the decor here and the food is equally amazing. Their cold pressed juices are also really refreshing for Singapore's hot and humid weather. 

Just as I thought I was more than satisfied with everything at this cafe, their washroom also blew my mind. Dream bathroom. 

According to Yuri, this is a Game of Thrones reference. I don't watch it, so I don't know obviously.

Also because I love Johnny Depp.

Little sis and I explored the area after chilling for a little bit at Sprout. She brought me to Cake Spade because she wanted me to try their tofu textured cheesecake. I ordered a Speculoos cheesecake instead. The tofu textured cheesecake is good but nothing beats Pablo for me. 

I always loved this old shop houses.

We still managed to squeeze in coffee at MavRx. Little sis really enjoyed their coffee so I guess it must be good. I trust her taste in coffee. MavRx reminded me of Giracha Coffee in Osaka. The staff were pretty friendly, and we stayed for a little bit before crossing over to Maxwell Food Centre for chicken rice. We tabao-ed (take away/took home) chicken rice home for dinner. 

Also, this week - I went for my first Yoga Class in Tiong Bahru. I thought I would have given up in the first 15 minutes but I managed to pull through. Little sis was proud of me, lol. We went to get some Mee Pok ( a Chinese noodle dish, flat yellow noodles) after cleaning up and of course, cupcakes at Plain Vanilla.

There was a book vending machine outside Books Actually, and I couldn't resist taking a photo. Also that cat mural on the ground was too cute for it's own good.

We went furniture shopping after dessert and paid my god brother-in-law a visit. He's my favorite cousin cos he listens to AFI's Sing The Sorrow when he drives. Also, he watched AFI on their Sing The Sorrow tour in Australia. JEALOUS. 

I love productive days. I get too stressed out sometimes thinking about my upcoming projects but I'm really happy with where my art is heading towards right now. I don't know if I'll still write much from Singapore (because I went to a couple of interesting events but am too lazy to blog about it), but I definitely am looking forward to coming home to my Tokyo apartment in fall.

Till then. 

309. over being under, melbourne

Heaps of entries have been piling up since my last update, I have a ton of things to write about but I'm just too pre-occupied with drawing and planning out some projects. I have been going around Singapore to check out prices to make prints and some merchandise. I hope to see these projects fall through before I return to Tokyo.

As I already have mentioned, I was in Melbourne to celebrate my birthday last month. I didn't do anything special but just went around Melbz for some good food, coffee, relax and unwind. I didn't bother taking much photos either. Melbourne has changed a lot over the last two years and I love it even more now because things are way more convenient. Also, there's an ACNE, COS and so many more clothes catering to my style newly opened.

I think a couple of new malls, many many food outlets have sprung up. The CBD is so busy at night now, it's nice to be out and about. I obviously dropped by my favorite gallery in Melbourne, it's so convenient since it's in the CBD. The exhibition going on last month was Xenoplasm, mostly paintings, drawings and sculptures of monsters.

I thought these guys looked like evil broccoli. 

The exhibition was not really my style but I still enjoyed it. Little sis and I went to too many new coffee places, so I can't remember the names anymore. Nothing beats coffee in Melbourne. We also had some time to go to church, and walk to Fitzroy. There's a lot of new craft stores, cafes and clothing boutiques in Fitzroy now and we spent two afternoons exploring the entire place. Really convenient because it's about a 20 minute walk from the CBD. 

There was also a light festival going on in Fitzroy on the week I was there but unfortunately, it rained on the night we were there and didn't have time to check it out again, these are the only photos I took while we rushed to get on the tram back to our apartment.

Being back in Melbourne was a much needed break from busy Tokyo. I felt much better after being home for a while. I really want to go back to Melbourne in January again for some shows (alexisonfire, letlive., Refused and Everytime I Die)  but we'll see how that goes. 

I've also fallen in love with a hidden book store in Melbourne. I bought a Norwegian folktale book there and can't be any happier. I really love Scandinavian folklore. The building Metropolis bookstore is hidden in has so many gems. The owner of the bookstore was really nice as well, unfortunately no photos are allowed in the store. So click on the link above to check it! Definitely my new favorite place in Melbourne.

This trip back home was a really good one since I got a new tattoo, satisfied my cravings for all of Melbourne's good food and coffee, got to explore new places and just let my mind take a break for a little bit. Now, I'm back with my family in Singapore and surprisingly, it has been good to me so far (minus my non-existent social life here). I have been really productive and haven't feel this good about myself in a long long long time. 

I hope to come back to Tokyo once I'm done with all these projects and I might be coming back later than expected. Of course, the boyfriend has been nagging at me to get back sooner but I really need to do things for myself. Even if that means skipping some shows by my favorite bands, so be it. I'll definitely be back in Tokyo by Autumn. Right now, I just want to concentrate on things here and have no distractions.