Cherry Blossom Adventures

To all my dear friends & family (and readers & lurkers)

All the best for Christmas and the New Year. I hope that you, and your families, have a very happy and safe Christmas.

Love Lulu

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Today marks my 400th post at Cherry Blossom Adventures and over 2 and a half years of blogging.

When I started this blog originally I honestly thought my mum would be the only one that read it but as it turns out it seems to be more people that I originally may not have known in RL (my mum has stopped reading since I returned to Australia though, I am sure she will start again once I return to Japan). I have made so many wonderful friends through blogging and I would not have it any other way. I have taken a couple of breaks over the 2.5 years but I always return with more to say!

I started originally, prompted by an article a friend wrote….her and I used to work together and write/work for the same magazine publishing company (which worked out for neither of us). She is now in Sydney & can be found here (Hi Suzy!) She wrote an article on female bloggers in Japan and it was an inspiring piece which prompted me to start my own blog.

So happy 400th post to me! I tried to think of a way in which I could celebrate my 400th post but unfortunately came up with nothing…not very imaginative of me now is it. So how many posts have you published & in what amount of time?

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Reading the blog posts that came through my reader overnight I discovered that quite a few blogs I read are joining in for Nablopomo challenge for the month of November- the original National Blog Posting Month.

Some of you may remember that I actually did Nablopomo in September as part of my 101 things in 1001 days list. I wasn`t going to sign up for this month but I actually had a lot of fun doing it in September so I have decided to give it another go.

Earlier this week I tossed up joining Nanowrimo (National Novel Writing Month) but decided with all that is going on at the moment I couldn`t devote the time to the project that I want to. That doesn`t mean I don`t believe I have a novel in me somewhere- I am sure there is a brilliant idea floating around up there in my head bursting to come out but I just haven`t reached that point yet!

But, Nablopomo is something I know I can do. So you can all look forward to hearing from me every day this month!

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I have had a couple of strange searches that have led people to my blog of late.

Including

• chikan porn (WHAT??get out of here!)
• chikan forum (why?)
• shirley temple badges Australia (Got no idea)
• pee pee cone (My own fault I guess as I once wrote about the pee cone)
• did people love ray charles? ( I am sure they did- I certainly think he was awesome)
• western chikan groping (Why all this chikan stuff? I wrote about chikans ONCE)
• Jonathon Shampoo Australia (Again, I have got no idea)
• groping on the bus chikan (I was on a train?!)
• harajuku girl (I have about 50 searches for this a month that leads to my blog and another 100 or so cherry blossom searches)

I am too tired and lazy to do a proper post tonight. I did have a haircut today and an awesome massage. Oh and we used fresh herbs from our garden in dinner tonight.

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Ever wondered what you would of looked like way back when? I saw a cool link on Martine`s site here for this very cool site. And well it looked like fun so I gave it ago!

Presenting…1952 Lulu

1964 Lulu

1968 Lulu

1978 Lulu

1984 Lulu

1994 Lulu

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Ages and ages and ages ago I signed up for  reading challenge here which involved reading eight books in eight different categories during 2008 (with an allowance of up to 8 crossovers). Anybody that knows me in real life knows I am a reader…I have always been a reader, in fact my parents are not sure how but I apparently taught myself to read at age 3 and there are photos of me less than a year old pouring through old encyclopedias (and I unlike most babies I apparently wasn`t just trying to eat them).

I am not sure how many books I would normally read in a year but I would have put it at close to 80 (I originally thought more but have now reassessed)

My original list was on this blog post but due to an international move a couple of months ago when I was forced to leave some unread books behind in Japan I had to rewrite my list and take off the books I knew I wouldn`t be able to read this year. And well, last week I finally got around to uploading it to the 888 blog and now less than a week after that I am actually getting around to posting it on here so i am actually quite proud of my time management skills on this!

Here is my list- Those in green have already been read, those with asterix`s are books I owned already when the challenge started and just so you know I have seven overlaps meaning by the end of the challenge I should of read not 64 books but 57 and so far for this challenge I have read 48 I think. I have been keeping track of the books I read since I started journaling again last August but have now put it on my computer (somewhere?!?) since I was constantly forgetting the books I had read already (and it also helps me remember authors I like!)

Ok, enough rambling from me. Here is the list (Really!)

Favourite authors- Chose this category for obvious reasons

1. An offer you can`t refuse- Jill Mansell(Jun)
2. Change of Heart- Jodi Picoult (Jun)
3. Wife for Hire- Janet Evanovich (Cross over-mar)
4. Cage of Stars- Jacqelyn Mitchard* (Jan)
5. Prisoner of Earth- Jeffrey Archer (Cross over)
6. Dear John- Nicholas Sparks* (Cross over- Mar)
7. Lean Mean thirteen- Janet Evanovich (Cross over-Jan)
8. Black Cat- V.C Andrews (Cross over-Feb)

In a series- Chose this category since I have started a couple of different series but need to catch up on them, plus also already had a couple of these books on my shelves

1. Broken Flower- V.C Andrews* (Feb)
2. Scattered Leaves- V.C Andrews
3. Lean Mean thirteen- Janet Evanovich (Cross over-Jan)
4. Fearless Fourteen- Janet Evanovich (Aug)
5. Harry Potter and the Deathly Harrows- J.K Rowling*(April)
6. Skinny Bitch- Rory Freedman and Kim Barnouim (Jan)
7. Key Lime Pie Murder- Joanne Fluke (Jun)
8. Honky Tonk Kat- Karen Kijewski

Read because I moved back to Australia and got new books!- Choose this because had an unplanned mid year move

1. Lessons in Heartbreak- Cathy Kelly (Jun)
2. You Drive me Crazy- Carole Matthews (May)
3. It`s a Kind of Magic- Carole Matthews (Jul)
4. Bad Behaviour- Shelia O`Flanagan (Aug)
5.Tales from the Crib- Jennifer Coburn (May)
6. The Babymoon- Melanie La`Brooy (Sep)
7. The Alibi- Sandra Brown
8. Second Chance- Jane Green

Mystery/Suspense/Thriller- Chose this since mysteries etc are one of my most read style of books, this and chick-lit

1. Bell, book & scandal- Jill Churchill*
2. Chocolate chip cookie murder- Joanne Fluke* (Jan)
3. Strawberry Short Cake murder- Joanne Fluke (Feb)
4. Count Down- Iris Johansen *(May)
5. Dream man- Linda Howard* (Feb)
6. Ricochet- Sandra Brown* (Apr)
7. Open Season- Linda Howard (Apr)
8. Play Dirty- Sandra Brown (Aug)

Chick-lit- What I read just as much, if not more than mysteries….

1. Baby Proof- Emily Giffin* (Jan)
2. You Could Do Better- Stephanie Lehman* (Feb)
3. Marshmallows for breakfast- Dorothy Koomson*(Jun)
4. Those Faraday Girls- Monica McInerney* (Mar)
5. Artistic Licence- Katie Fforde* (Sep)
6. Remember me- Sophie Kinsella (Sep)
7. Certain Girls – Jennifer Weiner (Jun)
8. Wife for Hire- Janet Evanovich (Cross over-Mar)

Young Adult/Children Fiction- Thought I should go back to some books that make me the reader I am today, and also read some other YA fiction that has had a lot of good reviews or awards!

1. Alison- Margaret Watts (One of my favourite books as a teenager- reread)*
2. Dear Venny, Dear Saffron-Libby Hathorn (same as above)*
3. The Book Theif- Marcus Zusak*
4. Gossipgirl- Cecily Von Ziegesar*(jun)
5. Kira Kira- Cynthia Kadohata* (Jan)
6. All American Girl- Meg Cabot* (Mar)
7. On the Jellicoe Road^ Melina Marchetta* (May)
8. Black Cat- V.C Andrews (Feb- Cross over)

Japanese authors/books about Japan- Live(d) Japan so thought I should try to read some more books that have come from here…

1. In Praise of shadows- Junichiro Tanizaki*(Cross over-April)
2. Snow Country- Yasunari kawebata* (Cross over-Jan)
3. Kitchen- Banana Yoshimoto* (Jan)
4. South of the border, west of the sun- Murakami Haruki*(Cross over-Aug)
5. Yakuza moon- Shoko Tendo* (Feb)
6. Goodbye Tsugumi- Banana Yoshimoto (Feb)
7. Losing Kei- Suzanne Kamata (May)
8. Bar Flower- Lea Jacobson (Apr)

Male Authors- I am trying to broaden my reading horizons a little bit and it seems that most of the books I do read are by female authors…Hopefully this will help me get started on my quest to broaden my reading horizons.

1. The Complete Polysyllabic Spree- Nick Hornby* (Feb)
2. For one more day- Mitch Albom*
3.South of the Border West of the Sun-Haruki Murakami (Cross over- read in August)
4. Dear John- Nicholas Sparks* (Cross over- mar)
5. Snow Country- Yasunari kawebata* (Cross over-Jan)
6. In Praise of shadows- Junichiro Tanizaki*(April)
7. Prisoner of Earth- Jeffrey Archer (Cross over)
8. The Kite Runner- Khaled Hosseini (Apr?)

So who else keeps track of the books they read? Or enters reading challenges?! I know that entering keeps me a little bit more focused and ensures I continue to read a little everyday even if it is just while on the train to and from work. I have read more books this year that are not on this list but only about 6 or 7 so as a total have only read about 55 books so far this year.

My favourite books from the list are Yakuza Moon, Losing Kei, Kitchen, The babymoon, Change of Heart, Count Down & The Kite Runner. Have you read any of these books? Which did you like?

So with 9 books left to read before December 31 I am sure I will fit them all in but wish me luck all the same- especially since their are a couple of pretty thick ones left to go!

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I am really really really bad at responding to people`s comments on my blog- I don`t know why because I love reading them.

So for the rest of the month (and hopefully longer) I am really really going to try to respond to my comments. You take the time to write something and I should be better at acknowledging that.

In other news I met with a dressmaker today and she is awesome. She will be doing my dress and the three bridesmaid dresses. Yay!

Now I am off to watch the footy (Go Wallabies!) and respond to my comments on the last post!

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I have been terrible at crossing things off on my 101 things in 1001 days list this past month so am trying to get in the right frame of mind about being proactive for next month so I have chosen September 2008 as my month to do Nablopomo- and post to my blog every day for a month.

I can`t guarantee I will post something of substance everyday but hey, I will try! I guess it is a  matter of getting organized and making sure I leave time to blog everyday (Or at least get my act together and set up posts to be published every day!)

My aim is to get at least one comment on each post I make so you all better help me out with that!

In other news I saw the move “Baby mama” today and it was really funny! I hadn`t been to the movies in what seemed like ages and while there are a lot of good movies out at the moment, my friend Dani, who I went to see the movie with, had seen like ALL OF THEM already! No joke- I have no idea when she has the time to see all these movies but we decided it must be because she is just so much cooler than me* I also think, if Shun and I are going to go out together, a movie with no Japanese subtitles is not really a place we tend to go….cos he would just fall asleep.

*sarcasm is very hard to portray in blog form. Note to self.

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Ages ago Nay tagged me for this meme and I am only just getting around to passing it on!

I thought about this a lot and I want to pass it onto two people whose blogs I love to read because I wanted to choose one blogger based in Japan and another based in Australia because while I started my blog in Japan I am now back in Australia for awhile and I want this link lovin` to cross over onto both countries!

Firstly, a Japan based blogger who I love to read is TJ in Japan - I am pretty sure I found T`s blog linked off perhaps Sara or Nay`s blog or perhaps in the comments of another blog I read. I am a fairly new reader to this blog since she only started blogging earlier this year. I started reading this blog around the same time as Gaijin Wife`s blog. T is a fellow Aussie who blog about her family and life in Japan. Recently she was so kind and sent me translations of her wedding ceremony as she knew I was worried about what to do with our ceremony because there will be people there that do not speak or understand English very well! I do read a lot of Japan based blogs especially blogs belonging to other females with Japanese partners and this is, like I said, one of my favourites! T is coming back to Australia at Christmas time and I hope I get a chance to meet her then as she is from Brisbane too!

And now I am supposed to choose someone from her blogroll who I have never read except she doesn`t have a blog roll and all her recent comments are by people whose blogs I already read! So T if you are reading please link to someone in the comments section whose blog would be on your blogroll if you had one who I might not be reading!

Now, the Aussie blog I choose was also a tough choice! But in the end I decided to pass it over to Enny who I got to see last weekend when she was in town for Jen`s goodbye party! Enny came to Tokyo last year and that is when I got to meet her for the first time! It was awesome and she was very much like her blog! If that makes sense.

I found Enny`s blog through Jen`s blog which was one of my first non-Japan blogs that I read! hehe! Enny, who has recently just gotten engaged to her beau, writes about her everyday life and her family and what I love most about is that her obvious love for her family! She will be celebrating 600 posts soon so you should definitely pop over and give her some ideas for it and also congratulate her on her engagement! I was lucky enough to congratulate her in person last weekend!!!

Enny`s blogroll is quite long and contains a lot of blogs I don`t read so I did inni mini miny mo to choose one and I came up with Oh! How Lovely! ! I have never stumbled onto this blog before during my internet travels but it was a lovely find! Firstly her design is pink! I LOVE PINK so I am now in love! And the best thing about her is she is American which means this little meme will be going across three countries now (It may have already but I am not sure!)- So there you go! Australia, Japan & America. Perhaps she will pass it onto someone in another country! I am all for blogging in the name of international relations! I stumbled onto the about page and it says Jaime (blog owner`s name!) “Just a 20-something in Chicago trying to keep my head above water. Neurotic, over-thinking, shameless celebrity gossip addict, bad tv watching girl with expensive taste and no money but completely adorable, if I do say so myself.” – I will need to take the time to read more of this blog but her most recent post is about how your blog got it`s name so why don`t you head over and let her know how your blog name came about!!!

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I arrived in Tokyo on a rainy March night with way too much luggage and no Japanese language skills to speak of. My great uncles old host student met me at the airport- and she was the only person I knew in Tokyo- although It was technically my first time meeting her. She was kind enough to come to the airport and show me the way to my new home- my Japanese university dorm in Kichijoji.

The bus ride there went slowly and out the window I caught sight of Disneyland and then later, the lights of Shinjuku. I remember wondering why the buildings all had red lights on top. From the highway I also caught glimpses of love hotels although I must admit I had no idea what they were…

Cherry blossom season was starting but I didn`t know that until the next day….

It was after 10 by the time I reached the university dorm- we woke up the land lady (Kanrinin?) and she let us in but visitors were not allowed after 9pm so she quickly asked my friend to leave and there I was left with this little Japanese lady talking 100 miles an hour about how she thought I would be there earlier and how she would have to go through everything with me in the morning. But of course I did not understand her so she went in search of someone to translate- I met several people that night in my very tired state one of whom, Cat, is now my best friend and will play the part of maid of honor at our upcoming wedding!

My first impressions of Tokyo? Confusing, bright and wet. Oh and the toilets were weird although now I just think a warm seat is genius!

But it grew on me, and the first few months were definitely tough because I was constantly relying on people to translate for me. But my love for Tokyo started to grow and surprised me by growing and growing. I never wanted to leave.

And now, I am back in Brisbane, and I miss Tokyo. But I know I will be back before I know it, and then my love of Tokyo will continue to grow. Through each 100 yen store I discover and each cherry blossom tree I stand under and each izakaya I visit- I know that my impressions of Tokyo and Japan will continue to change …….but my first impressions of the city will never be forgotten.

What are your impressions of Tokyo? Did your first impressions change into something else? Maybe you have never been there but have an impression anyway that you might like to share?

This was written as part of the Japan Blog Matsuri-Impressions of Tokyo!  For more information check out this site and this site!

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