Things to do in Japan : Takeda Castle 竹田城

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Few weeks back we bought the special JR one day trip to 竹田城 Takeda Castle in Asago district 朝来市 in Hyogo prefecture 兵庫県. It included return tickets by JR train, bus to the castle ruins and Japanese style lunch. Our train was at 9 in the morning and we reached Takeda by 11. There were buses waiting to take us to the restaurant for lunch and then the bus dropped us at the castle from where we had to hike to the top. Takeda Castle was built by Ohtagaki Mitsukage, a retainer of Yamana Sozen, lord of the area in 1441. It has a “National Historic Site” status and the ruins are attracting many tourists from all over Japan as a Japanese movie ‘Anata e’ was filmed there. The figure of visitors hit a record high this year and is expected to rise even further. Takeda Castle is special because of the gorgeous view it presents admist sea of clouds on autumn mornings mainly Sept-Nov (between sunrise and 8 am) when there is a sharp temperature difference between day and night. The effect created by the mist is beautiful and it looks like a castle floating on clouds.
The Takeda Castle Ruins are located on a hill, about 350m above sea level. It’s about 1km to reach the top or you can just take a taxi. It is not a difficult or long hike but better if you dont go during summer months. We had seen everything, taken pictures, relaxed by 1 p.m. and then took a taxi back to the station. There were trains to Osaka but as we had taken the JR package trip we had to wait until 6 p.m. for our train. So we looked around that area which was beautiful and practically empty and devoid of any restaurants or convenience stores. There were a few temples in a line on a street next to the station with a small stream flowing along. Also there was a sake distillery “The Old Kimura Sake Distillery” with a restaurant where we spent some time before our train back to Osaka.
The entire site is often referred to as Japan’s Machu Picchu, after the majestic mountain ruins of Peru.. which I think is a slight exaggeration!! And to be frank the ruins didn’t excite me much. Also I went in summer and during the day so I couldn’t see a site like this but if you are lucky enough to go in autumn you might…

Takeda Castle @ Asago District in Hyogo Prefecture

image via Hyogo Tourism

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Shirt – Bershka, 40$, 2012, also worn here;
Skirt – Uniqlo, 20$, 2011;
Jacket – Fila, gift, 2008;
Shoes – Nike, 121$, 2008, also worn here;
Sunglasses – Zara, 45 $, 2012; also worn here;
Watch – Tag Heuer, gift, 2009, also worn here;
Bag – GU, 20$, 2013; also worn here;

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Takeda Station @ Asago District in Hyogo Prefecture

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マック MAC Red Lipstick “Chilli” Review

Pantene パンテーン Pro-V Aqua Pure Shampoo Review

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Pantene パンテーン Pro-V Aqua Pure is a light-weight nourishing shampoo for hair that feels weighed down. It has clean rinse formula that gently cleanses. This range also has light-weighing nourishing conditioner that nourishes in a light way and rinses away in seconds. They also have a treatment for intensive nourishment with virtually no weight. Since I liked the shampoo so much I am planning to get the others too as well!!

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Well I was looking for a silicone free shampoo for sometime as my hair feels heavy and weighed down and I didn’t want to buy this again, when I chanced upon this in Matsumoto Kiyoshi that is a famous Japanese drug-store and just grabbed it before anyone else can ( they had just two bottles left !!).

It comes in a white translucent plastic bottle with blue writing and a click up swing lid. It is nothing fancy just simple and elegant. It smells like all other Pantene shampoos, nice and refreshing. It is a clear liquid with gel texture. A small amount spreads easily and creates a lot of lather ( just as I prefer in my shampoo ).

It is a clarifying shampoo. It is free of silicones, dyes and parabens. It deep cleanses my hair without over drying it. It leaves my hair soft and shiny and I can easily go without shampooing for 3 days. My hair doesn’t feel greasy for a long time. It doesn’t leave any residue. It makes hair clean and weightless without stripping the moisture. It protects my hair colour too. Although in my case I have just a bit of colour left on my ends ( but whatever!! )

It washes off easily and leaves a nice scent on the hair. I have fine thin hair so most of the cream shampoos weigh my hair down but this one leaves my hair bouncy. My hair feels lighter and I feel that the build-up of my hair products have been cleaned a bit.

Most of the silicon shampoos can build up and make hair look flat. I use this shampoo twice between other shampoos and that works for me. This shampoo works perfectly and at a price of 8$ for 400 ml ..who is complaining??

Trend Alert : Body Jewelry

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Trend Alert!! It’s summer and perfect time to flaunt body jewellery. Body jewelry adds a delicate and feminine touch to any outfit. A piece of body jewelry will definitely turn heads and set you apart from the rest. See Rihanna for instance, every time I see her I am amazed to see how exotic and regal she looks!! Wear a body chain to turn a simple t-shirt into a glamorous one. Lip rings and lip studs are there too, will for sure attract attention to your smile or that new lipstick shade !! I personally like slave bracelets and ear-cuffs. They are my go to if I want to make a style statement. So simple yet can completely change any blah look to a bad ass-one!! So while browsing online for body jewelry I came across “Freshtrends”. I have mentioned this website before, read it here. Well they really amaze me every time with their designs and and their high quality make. Their designs are really unique from what I have seen else-where. The website offers body jewellery in latest trends at reasonable prices. They carry tongue rings, belly button rings and all body jewelry and piercing needs!! They are a leading retailer of most popular brands like Playboy, Marvel and Urbanstar. And on top they have various coupons and offers and free shipping over 19.99 $. So I suggest you go and take a look…
Moral of the story: Body Jewelry is getting more popular and acceptable now. It can easily turn a boring daily look into a boho chic one. But body jewelry is for those who are comfortable in their own skin, always ready to face the spotlight and I dare you to be one!!

P.S. Wore this outfit to dinner at a Chinese place called DIM JOY ディムジョイ which means ” a place to gather ” at Grand Front Osaka. That place is heaven for dim sum lovers!! They even have tomato and mozzarella cheese and shark fin dim sums!! Talk about variety!!

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T-shirt – Monki, 20 $ , 2013, also worn here;
Shorts – Hill Road (Bandra), 15 $, 2006, also worn here;
Shirt – Bershka, 40 $, 2012, also worn here;
Shoes – Aldo, 70 $, 2009, also worn here;
Bag – Armani Exchange, 130 $ ( gift ), 2014;
Sunglasses – Chanel, gift, 2014, aslo worn here;
Slave bracelet – Monki , 10$ , 2013, aslo worn here;
Rings – H&M, 15 $ for a pack of 5, 2013, also worn here;
Watch – Marc Jacobs, マークジェイコブス gift, 2013, also worn here;

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Things to do in Japan : Himeji Castle and Koko-en

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These pictures are two months old ( you can probably guess because I am wearing a sweater!! ) Anyways I went to Himeji in April to see the famous Himeji Castle. Actually since I came to Japan in 2011 I had always wanted to visit Himeji to see the beautiful castle which is a UNESCO world heritage site. It was built in 16th century as a fortress of the feudal load and has preserved it’s original form for 400 years. But restoration work is being carried on the castle’s roof and walls since 2010 and will go on until March 2015. But when someone told us that the castle is open to public we thought to go and check it out anyways!! Himeji is just an hour from Osaka by train. When we reached Himeji Castle we saw that a large scaffold structure was covering up the entire main castle but we could get a good view from a distance. Most of the construction work could be seen and we could go inside certain parts of the castle. Also most other parts of the castle grounds were accessible to tourists. While the reconstruction is going on, you can get good information about the process, and its a good opportunity to see the exterior walls and roof tiles of a castle at such close proximity. So it is not a bad deal after all!!

After visiting the castle we went to Koko-en Garden just next to the castle. It consists of nine separate gardens designed in various garden styles of the Edo period. There is a pond with a waterfall, a tea garden where visitors can enjoy green tea in a tea ceremony house, a pine tree garden, a bamboo garden and a flower garden and some others. Well I was not interested in seeing all the nine gardens so called it quits after an hour ( I get bored easily!! ). Well would love to cover rest of the gardens when I visit Himeji again to see the complete restored castle!! Knowing the dedication of Japanese h~~opefully~~ definitely in 2015!!

Sweater – Zara, 30 $, 2014, also worn here;
Skirt – Zara, 19$ on Sale, 2011; also worn here;
Jacket – Numero Uno, 22$, 1998, also worn here;
Shoes – Converse, 24$, 2008, also worn here;
Bag – Asos, 30 $, 2013, also worn here;
Sunglasses – Zara, 45 $, 2012; also worn here;
Watch – Kate Spade, gift, 2014; also worn here;
Bracelet – Frey Wille, gift, 2010, also worn here;
Ring – Before the boom, 15 $, 2013, also worn here;

They had their staff dressed up as Ninjas!! Wonder why???

The Body Shop ザ・ボディショップ Tea Tree Blemish Gel Review

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I bought The Body Shop ザ・ボディショップ Tea Tree Blemish Gel after I saw someone using it on youtube….also thinking that it would be a concentrated tea tree gel. But no!! It a light tea tree oil gel. It contains lemon tea tree oil and community trade organic tea tree oil from Kenya that contains properties that help fight blemishes and prevent new ones from forming. They are known for their anti-bacterial benefits. It also contains Tamanu oil from Madagascar that has a soothing effect and helps to calm irritation and redness and community trade organic honey to soothe the skin.The Body Shop claims it is targeted care, soothing, instantly cools without over drying the skin. clinically proven to give clearer-looking skin. A handy portable product that soothes, cleanses and combat blemishes. It doesn’t clog or dry the pores.

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It is a convenient portable stick with a lip gloss like packaging with a wand. It is easy to carry around in my bag. The sponge like applicator makes application very easy but I think it’s a little unhygienic as the wand can actually spread the germs when we dab the pimple with the gel and then put the wand back in the container spreading the germs.
It has a light gel like texture. It can be worn under make-up though I have never tried that. I put it overnight but it didn’t dry my pimples. There was a cooling sensation when applied. It didn’t burn or irritate my acne..just did nothing. The only good thing I can think about is it’s tree tea scent!!
It is so small that I could hardly use it for a week…it got over quite quickly. It is an expensive buy at 9 $ for 2.5 ml. But the tube is not even completely filled with this gel and it dries quickly. Fortunately I didn’t pay anything for it as I had some points in my members card. If I had to use my money it would be a different story !!

Things to do in 日本 Japan : 南紀白浜温泉, 和歌山県 Shirahama Onsen, Wakayama Part – 2

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Well if you haven’t read the first part of my Shirahama trip you can read it here. I went to Shirahama which is an onsen town in Wakayama Prefecture in Japan few weeks back. On the second day I paid a quick visit to the onsen in my hotel in the morning. Although our hotel Kawakyu was almost empty they didn’t give us a free late check out :((( So we checked out of the hotel at 10 a.m. and left our luggage in one of those coin lockers provided at all Japanese train stations. We had waffles for brunch and then hired a taxi to take us quickly around all the famous tourist spots and finally drop us at Adventure World. Adventure World アドベンチャーワールド was truly the highlight of our trip but I will be sharing the pictures in a separate blog post. So our taxi driver cum tour guide first took us to Senjokiki 千畳敷 which is beautiful sight of soft sandy rocks that stretch into the Pacific Ocean. You can walk out onto the rocks all the way down to the water. We spent some time there taking pictures and then the taxi driver took us to Sandanbeki. Sandanbeki 三段壁 are 50 meters high cliffs that were used as a look – out point from which swarms of fish and passing ships were easily spotted. 10 minutes is a good time to spend there unless you want to do some souvenir shopping !! After that he took us to a point only known to the locals from where we could have bird eye view of whole Shirahama town and finally dropped us at Adventure World.

P.S.All those rock formations were excellent background for taking outfit pictures and that is what I did!!

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Things to do in Japan : Shirahama Onsen, Wakayama

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Senjojiki Things to do in Japan : Shirahama Onsen, Wakayama

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Sweat-shirt – H&M, 11 $, 2013; also worn here;
Shorts – Hill Road ( Bandra ), 15$, 2006, also worn here;
Cut-out boots – H&M, 50 $, 2014, also worn here;
Sunglasses – Chanel, gift, 2014, also worn here;
Bag – GU, 20 $, 2013, also worn here;
Watch – Marc Jacobs, gift, 2013, also worn here;

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My Smart Price Fashion

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I love wearing heels with any kind of ankle straps. Specially I am all about pairing them with socks these days. Also I am totally in for anything that looks like a bow….be it a belt or my new watch from Kate Spade that I am wearing in these pictures. Not to forget small sling bags or clutches that look so cute without hurting your shoulders. Speaking of straps and bows I came across this awesome website called ” My Smart Price Fashion ” that has so many cute strappy heels and bow belts!! This website has some great pieces and at very reasonable prices. They have the best products across a wide array of categories that include mobiles, electronics, computers, fashion and lifestyle, cameras, books, appliances and personal care. They feature brands from all over the globe. You will definitely fall in love with their huge collection of clothes, shoes, accessories and beauty products. It is the best way to shop with everything you need at one place. I like so many things from their website..it is difficult to show it in one blog post but I have listed ( ~~some of~~ ) my favourite ones.

Well no points for guessing that my outfit has been inspired by these cool key pieces from ” My Smart Price Fashion “. Go check out their website!! Now!!

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Sweater – Zara, 30 $, 2014;
Skirt – H&M, 19 $, 2012, also worn here;
Shoes – 心斎橋 Shinsaibashi, 大阪 Osaka, 20 $, 2013; also worn here;
Socks – Tutuanna, 3 $, 2014;
Clutch – Lokhandwala, 18 $, 2006; also worn here;
Sunglasses – Chanel , gift, 2014;
Watch – Kate Spade, gift, 2014;
Bracelet – Forever 21, 8 $, 2014; also worn here;
Necklace – forever 21, 8 $, 2014;
Rings – Before the Boom, 15 $ each, 2013;

Now here are my favourites…