J 🌸 A 🌸 P 🌸 A 🌸 N ~~~~ you've stolen my heart!!! We had the privilege to visit the beautiful country of Japan last March - April visiting friends and attending a wedding for a high school friend of ours. This is my first time keeping a travel sketchbook! Japan was so inspiring and exciting I had no problem completing an entire sketchbook during the trip. On a personal note, I've been in a creative slump.. so completing this (and sharing it online) was a big victory for me :)
So thankful I got to travel with the love of my life, my EB, my cafe jr, Stephen 💕🌸💕
I have to give a shout out to my wonderful and supportive husband who was the best travel partner who and let me stop and draw from life (which usually takes me a while, I’m slow). My fellow artists will understand how hard it is to get back in the swing of drawing, especially from life and in front of others.
Drawing Japanese kanji, katakana, and hirigana
Our trip toured a few areas in the main island of Honshu. We spent the first part of our trip in Tokyo; visiting Shinjuku, Mitaka, Shibuya, Kitazawa, Ikebukuro, and Kawasaki. We were lucky enough to get Ghibli Museum Tickets (!!!) definitely worth the hype and stress over getting tickets. Visiting the Shinjuku National Gardens during peak Sakura was one of my favorite moments of the whole trip. I'll be dreaming of pink petal flurries until I return again 🌸
Spending my birthday in Tokyo 🌼💕
Stephen and I spent a few days in Kyoto. Everything was in full bloom for spring, the Japanese potted plant game in Kyoto was making me swoon at every corner! Kyoto was a nice change of pace after the monstrosity that is Tokyo.
2 heads in kiyomizu-dera
Kanazawa and Takaoka: We met up with friends for the wedding weekend. Being in small Japanese towns for this wedding was a delight and definitely a highlight of our trip. My friend Ahlana and I dressed in kimono for the wedding and we ran into sweet old ladies celebrating Buddha’s birthday! I wish we could have spent more time in Takaoka!
Exploring Taito City & the end of our trip:
Japan, I miss you so much already. I’ll be back real soon 🌸
