Mostly been settling in here this past week. There’s a great gym Xcel Fitness that I joined. It’s two stories and has everything and more that you may or may not need in a gym 🙂
How was your 4th of July? Here it was a full house with BBQ and Indian food. I ate some spicy chicken and downed a quarter of a cheese and meat board so I woke up with cramps. That’s what you get when you can’t control yourself hahahhaaa…
I wake up early with Hunter and I enjoy sitting outside thinking about big things and contemplating life. The other morning this deer family walked by… Despite his name, Hunter, he didn’t make an attempt to go and catch dinner 😉
I finally got my hair fixed too. The worn out yellow-blonde with rat colored roots was in long need of some maintenance. I’m so happy with the results!
Taking some walks around the beautiful neighbourhood. I love passing the house with goats 🙂
Edited come content from my last shoot in Mexico…
Today we went to Park City for brunch and walking around….
And Hunter wants you to know he is also doing great 🙂
Next week I’m getting my own casita here. Visiting a plastic surgeon to maybe cut a bit on my droopy eyelids and meeting my friends from SF and a friend of a friend who also is a psychonaut 🙂 #matchmadebyshrooms. Also shooting, working out, and hopefully go on a hike in the mountains 🙂 And just signed up for a ‘dinner with strangers’ experience here in Salt Lake City – exciting!
And that’s a wrap for today 🙂 Wishing you a fabulous week coming up whether you’re working or on vacation!
Puh, finally got a bit settled in in Utah. Last days in Mexico consisted of packing, seeing friends, selling and giving away the last furniture and other things. Also stored 5 boxes at a friends house of stuff I wasn’t ready to part with. So much for clearing out hahhaaa…
Squeezed in some more Botox in face too…
Some last minute shooting that needed to be done. I painted this skirt which I think is awesome! Might be a tad much to wear in public though or what do you think?
Only had left over clothing to wear the last days so my outfits were very fashionable and coordinated! Should’ve just worn the penis skirt hahhaaa….
Hit the gym cause hauling boxes takes some strength.
Had a class of lighting and how to adjust focal points and depth of field with various techniques. I’m going to miss Leo’s classes!
Barbacoa lunch with Angel and his bf and amazing sushi & sake with Milla.
The last minute packing was no joke. I had planned to bring 4 suitcases, but the day before I realized I needed a fifth suitcase. Hunter was as always involved and supervising hahhaaaa…
Julieta who is Hunter’s extra mom when I travel came by and said bye too 🙂
The day before my departure someone picked up the bed and I camped out on the floor like the queen that I am 😉
I got to say that I was pretty nervous about flying with Hunter. I had created scenarios in my head where he escapes and runs around at the airport or in the plane. But I should’ve known better. He was nervous, but behaved so good 🙂
I had read that cats can overheat and you can cool them down with a wet cloth. I had a wet t-shirt and I put on him when he was panting. He also wore a calming collar.
On the plane he stayed in his bag and at the airport he came out and walked around and wondered what’s next…
It was a long day and I’m so happy all went well! Yesterday and today we explored the grounds of our new crib…
Waiting on a French Press from Amazon so been popping by Alpha Coffee for my caffeine. They got such good coffee and a great place to work at too…
Was going to hit the gym today, but the weather was perfect for some outdoor exercise. Went to this beautiful park and ran around bit and threw in some push ups and jump squats too.
That’s what I managed so far. Can’t wait to go hiking. Got a 4th of July party happening this week and friends from San Francisco visiting… How about you? Got some vacation coming up or already on it?
…coming up. My attempts to pack have been so-so. I have a few piles of likes, keeping, maybe keeping, give away… I realize that my ‘keeping’ pile has to be reduced by about 50%. Obviously these go into the definitely-going-to-Utah-pile…
Hunter is not much help in the decision making and we ended up taking a nap on the balcony 🙂
Visited Dr Jorge who injected my veins again. He got some cool gadgets and he let me look through his ‘headset’ where the skin pretty looks see-through.
Hunter also had an appointment with the vet for his last shots before flying 🙂
Hit the gym and trying to show my guns off…
Work, work, work….
Also prepped all week for my ‘going away’/Midsummer party that was this Friday. Great party, and the friends are one of the things I’ll miss the most here in Mexico…
The morning after feeling the aftermath of Mezcal shots and Carahillos hahahaaaa….
My favorite cafe here, Sonambulo, had their 3 year anniversary this weekend so I went by for coffee and chocolate cake 🙂
Last night was spent on the couch with a pizza and Hunter got his share of the ham on the pizza 🙂 Like could you say no to this face?
Now on a break from packing and had to evacuate the cafe because there was an earthquake alarm.
I pretty much sold all of the furniture. Got a lighting class this upcoming week and picking up Hunters paperwork for the flight too. Other than that it’s mostly packing and getting rid of the last stuff, hitting the gym, shooting, and hopefully next Sunday I will be writing to you from Utah 🙂
XXX Puma
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Another week and less things in the apartment. Feels really good to clean out and get a fresh start in a new place 🙂 I’ve done this 3 times before when leaving from Los Angeles to travel for a year, moving from San Francisco to Puerto Rico and then from PR to Mexico. I used to stress so much clearing things out, but I feel calm now and doing little by little… Ask the last week if I’m still as calm 😉
I met Valentina about 2 years ago here in Mexico. She is such a wise and cool chica and I missed her. She’s living in Australia now, but is back visiting here in Mexico. We went to one of my favorite restaurant here in the city, Maximo . The food is always great and the chocolate dessert we had might be one of the best desserts I’ve ever eaten! I just regret I had to share it!
Do you need your coffee too before work?
No caffeine, no work…
Hunter is totally oblivious to any work and mostly just interrupts it… The look ‘not impressed’ written all over his face in the last pic hahhaaaaa….
His travelbag arrived and I’m happy he fits in it. He is a big cat!
Went and got some more laser on my sunspots and got stabbed with Botox. Usually I don’t mind the Botox shots, but maybe cause I had the laser first, it hurt so bad. She gave me this vibrator thing to try distract me from the pain. Hint, it didn’t work!
Guess my favorite color?
What else ? Have 1 episode left of the Bridgerton series and almost done with the 2nd season of Suits. Started reading Count Of Monte Cristo and it seems really good. Ordered boxes and vacuum sealed bags for packing. Shooting tomorrow and having a go-away party on Friday 🙂
Usually I have more selfies, but I guess it was more Hunter this week for the left over pics. He has just started appreciating catnip and gets a bit fired up. That’s about the only time he gets fired up. The rest of the pics shows his most common state 🙂
Oh, and to the Daddies out there, Happy Fathers Day! To the rest, happy upcoming week 🙂
Last week flew by. My friend Dayana took of off for the whole summer, so we grabbed lunch to catch up and say bye for a while… Or ‘until next time’ that is…
Fancied myself up as best as I could and did my thing…
Then Mistress Rose came over and we had some more fun 🙂
And Hunter is on a training schedule now since we’ll be flying in the end of the month. Practising going outside in the stroller and made it halfway out in the harness. He’s airplane bag arrives this week too so I’ll have time to get him accustomed to it 🙂
He needs his rest after his training which apparently he finds tiring… He lives a hard life (not)!
Getting rid of all my furniture and junk I’ve collected here the past three years. It’s a lot. My reasoning often goes: ‘this could be good to save just in case’… Like 3 year old airline tickets. Think I could use them again? People came over on Friday and pretty much bought everything. Luckily I and Hunter still have one couch to sit and sleep on hahahaaa…
This weekend I had a little pop up store for Psychonaut Explorer jackets at my friends cafe Sonāmbulo here. Very popular and people rocked them 🙂
I have amazing fans. This guy came by the cafe and said he knows I like mushrooms. He grows them and gifted me this gummy shroomie 🙂
Sometimes I feel overwhelmed with all the stuff I need to do before moving and the best thing is hitting the gym and exhaust myself!
This week I’m going to sort out more stuff and give away a lot, dinner with friends visiting Mexico, touch up of Botox, shooting and training. Leftover pics from the past week. Like coming home and finding Hunter holding on to a pair of panties 🙂
Last week on Wednesday I took an Uber at 02.00 am to the airport. Tried to sneak out without waking Hunter up, but no luck with that. When I grabbed my bags and was ready to head downstairs, he came out stretching and yawning and walked me to the door.
Sooo tired and happy when it was about time to finally board the plane. I find out that the flight to Houston is being cancelled because the plane is broken. Or I guess in less dramatic terms, has technical issues. Ugh!
There are not many options for flying from Mexico to Jamaica. They tried to find options, but all of them meant staying somewhere overnight and continuing tomorrow. I finally got the brilliant idea to look for a flight to Kingston in Jamaica instead. It wasn’t guaranteed I’d get on it though because it was overbooked. I thought some good thoughts, crossed some fingers, and at 08.40 am I flew to Atlanta instead. Pretty much passed out as soon as I sat down on the plane.
In Atlanta the pIane was overbooked and they started offering money to people to fly the next day instead. Luckily enough people took the offer and at 5.59 pm we took off to Jamaica finally! I think the Atlanta airport had very interesting artwork. Or is just me that has a dirty mind?
Got to the villa around 22.30 and met everyone. Chuck who I met last year from the US. So great seeing him again! Cyril from Sweden. More about him later. Dev from Australia, Alex who is Armenian, Derryck from USA (but grew up in South Africa and lived in Russia among other places) and Rob from South Africa but came from Cayman Islands the next day.
Thursday
Slept good and woke up at 7.30am. I always get excited if I have a pool or access to a beach and feel the need to get in instantly. Afterwards I had coffee and mingling while having a light breakfast.
Around 11am Mama Orah came over to give us a yoga session. If you read my blog last year you already know I love Mama Orah. I believe she’s past 70 years old and she just radiates compassion and you want to hug her which I obviously did 🙂 While the rest of us are in the shade yoga-ing she’s in the sun like it’s nothing! I’m guessing it was about 31 Celsius!
After that it was time for lunch and Marcel was the chef this time too. He cooks the best food and is a sweetheart!
What I like about this retreat is that there’s no stress. You have time to relax on your own or with the group. I love meeting new people, and we were a great group with a lot of interesting stories and experiences on why we all came here. Cyril is a writer/journalist from Sweden who I had only been in contact with on Instagram a couple of times. About a month ago he posted about psilocybin on his feed. I sent him a DM that I had micro-dosed and asked him if he didn’t want to come to Jamaica on a retreat with me. Cyril had been traveling for work and rerouted his return by Jamaica so here we were meeting for the first time.
Around 4pm we were on a private beach for our 1st mushroom dose. A lighter dose and I took 2 grams in a gummy and 1 gram of chocolate.
We all were swimming and a rainbow appears. So cool. I didn’t expect to feel as much as I did, but I had a lot of visuals. The clouds were in 3D layers and I saw geometrical patterns when I closed my eyes. Felt a bit restless and lied down on a towel on my own and let go… When I felt that I was coming out of it I started listening to my music and dancing. Damn, I love dancing when ending my trip. It’s like I release all of the built up and leftover energy. I feel so free and great after… We also had a beautiful sunset on the beach before packing up and headed back to the villa.
Marcel had cooked us dinner and we sat talking about how our trips had been. Cyril and I sat up until midnight because he just has the craziest stories to tell about people he interviewed, wild parties, and wars in Syria and Ukraine he’d reported from.
Friday
The day started with coffee, chilling in the pool, breakfast and then another yoga session with Mama Orah.
After lunch we had individual sessions with Stacey who was our facilitator. She is from Jamaica and very calm and wise. We talked about my intention for the upcoming journey and how much mushrooms I was going to take. There will be a longer and separate post about this because this was probably my most powerful trip ever in so many ways. I finally understand the meaning of “The mushrooms give you what you need, not what you want” and it was so true for me on this trip. This is us getting to ready to take off…
The night ended with Cyril and I sitting up talking about our experiences until 2am. I felt elated and drained after and still had some visions when I went to bed and closed my eyes…
Saturday
One of my favorite things form last year is when we all shared about our trips. This morning was no different. Everyone was curious about each others journeys. Seemed like everyone had a powerful one. Stacey was also around to answer questions and listen to us sharing…
At 4pm it was time to head to another beach for our last dose. I only took 2 grams and felt it in my body, but didn’t really have any visuals. It also started raining so we had to take shelter and it’s different when you are interacting with other people versus just lying down and letting go. I also believe the mushrooms felt I’d received what I needed the night before so now it was mostly relaxing. Witnessed a beautiful sunset before heading back to the villa to chill…
On Sunday we packed up and checked in and Sand & Tan where I stayed last year too after the retreat. It’s a simple hotel right on the beach and it felt good to reflect on the past few days.
My favorite was to just walk out from my balcony and go swim first thing in the morning. There was barely any other people there so we were just journaling, talking, eating and hanging out. I went paddle boarding every day and just laid on the board. Was even able to get one sunset on the water on the board.
Lunch with gang. Anyone else think this sign is funny?
Dinner at the hotel…
Pulled myself together and worked a little. Can’t really say it feels like work when you’re on the beach in yet another beautiful sunset 🙂
Met this artist at the hotel and he painted this mural. I suspect he even might of planted this weed plant next to it 🙂
On the last night the last stragglers visited a strip club. I love visiting strip clubs in different countries. We had a couple of drinks and watched some great pole tricks before leaving and crashing in bed.
My flight was not until 2.30pm on Wednesday so I had time to swim and have breakfast with Troy and John who runs the retreat and Cyril.
The guy who runs Sand & Tan buys fresh caught fish every day from the fishermen…
Had to stop for some great jerk chicken on the way to the airport too…
Made it home and I feel much more relaxed. Something I’ve taken home is to feel more present. Be in the moment. I sometimes do 5 things at the same time, but I think I’m a bit more focused now and able to concentrate on only 1 (or 2) things at the time.
Hunter was very happy about me coming home and talked a lot before he slept glued to my side the whole night 🙂
I think I will have some other exciting news to share in the next few days 🙂 Just finalizing details now wohooo 🙂
The next retreat in Mycelia is June 23 – June 27 and there are a couple of spots left. If you’ve ever been thinking of going to a retreat, I can’t recommend Mycelia enough! Here is how our itinerary looked for the days we were there.
Hope you all will have a great weekend! Got plans? I’m going to polish my notes about the big trip experience and hopefully post it tomorrow. Hopefully getting together with Dayana today before she leaves for her summer travels. Tomorrow I’m helping Astrid with some computer stuff, but will read and relax too 🙂
The blog is looking weird because I’m trying to redesign it. I don’t really have patience for it, so I give it like 10 minutes here and there and not making much progress… But I’ll get there eventually!
Went to Chapultepec park last Sunday for some fresh air. Mostly I was sweating and the whole park is more yellow/brownish than green now because it feels hotter than a Finnish sauna here! Even the dogs had shoes on to protect their paws. Not sure what the goggles were for though…
In the afternoon I finally got to meet Milla’s cat. She claims he’s soooo cute. I’m not totally convinced. He’s no Hunter, but he was playful and fun so that compensates for him being hairless 😉
I had the studio at the school booked and made Ximena patiently model for me while I was trying out different lighting options, settings, patterns, positions etc. So much to figure out and I was totally exhausted after! Here’s a couple of samples…
I got a text from a girl, Sarah, that I met at a wedding in St Barths 10 years ago that she is in Mexico now. I remember her being funny and us getting along so we decided to meet up. At the wedding pre-party I ‘accidentally’ asked the bride’s mom if she liked anal sex (we were all joking around and she was goading me to ask her something shocking) and that almost resulted in me getting kicked out of the wedding. I wrote about it before at another blog I had, anyone here remember the story? Anyways, at the time, Sarah just laughed about it and we actually ended up leaving the wedding and going to a club. So much to catch up over dinner…
Since Sarah is a fitness coach and in great shape we also hit the gym. Great workout and I’m still sore…
We also hit some stores and smoothies…
I always see videos of people’s cats squeezing themself into boxes. Hunter has never been interested until now. I guess this box just fit him perfectly and now he likes to nap in it at times 🙂
Edited this set from the love hotel in Japan, the second set is some of this weeks smuttiness and then me trying to catch a ride on the street 🙂
I have a friend here that is very knowledgeable about all of the many psychedelics. He is regularly invited to ceremonies abroad with tribes of indigenous people. He facilitated a Changa ceremony for me and a friend last year which was amazing. I get all my psychedelics from him. Yesterday I went back and got 2 different LSD microdoses. Popped one right away and felt great rest of the night 🙂
I think this upcoming week will be great. I met a fetish/dom model here last week and she is supercool and this Wednesday we will shoot together 🙂
Meeting a photographer this week that I have asked to shadow/assist to learn more about photography and lighting.
Have more friends coming to town, a birthday party, and hopefully deciding about a moving too 🙂 Utah is the spot now!
OK, going to try design this blog a bit now and maybe next week it will look a bit better 🙂 Or not… My food intake has been pretty healthy this week, but then this Cheesecake happened hahahaaa…
Go be amazing or tell someone else they’re amazing!
I loved being in San Francisco! Familiar places, friends, a wedding. I want to live in Marin County! Took an early flight last Friday so I could squeeze in as many things as possible while there. I was doing well with my healthy eating the week before SF. No chips, refined sugars, or treats at coffee shops. That all blew out of the window as soon as I got to SF. I love clam chowder and a shrimp sandwich to top it off. Salad with that? No thanks, give me fries, hahahaaa….
A common sight in the Bay Area is self driving cars. Next to my Uber this car was just driving itself…
Tried a new coffee spot RÉVEILLE. Pretty good…
I had booked a Genius Bar appointment beforehand. My Mac was overheating and the battery lasted like 5 min. Turns out the battery was pretty much done. Ended up walking out with a new Mac and will use the old one as a back-up 🙂
Then went to my friends house and was served Espresso martinis 5 minutes after I walked through the door. That’s what I call hospitality 🙂 I love coffee cocktails! My night ended with more martinis and we ordered Indian food for dinner.
Stayed at another friends house in Mountain View. In the morning I need coffee like pretty much right away. I threw on my sneakers and walked to my old coffee shop Red Rock Coffee. So beautiful walking through the neighbourhood. So green and everything was in bloom. OK, a little overkill with all the rose photos, but they were so big and beautiful. (I have like 20 more if someone has a rose fetish lol).
After the coffee I painted my face and then drove out to Turlock. It’s 2h outside the city, in the middle of farm lands for almonds and apples. Then you turn in on a small road and arrive at a lavender farm where the wedding was held. It was like a green oasis in the middle of nowhere…
In the beginning of the ceremony the person marrying the couple asked everyone to put down their phones and to actually participate fully in the moment instead of taking pics or videos. I thought that was a really nice initiative. When Salma & Jared finally stood by the altar, the person said, ‘OK, I know you all want that one pic for Instagram, so here is your moment.’ Hilarious! phones came out so fast, including mine, and everyone got their shot hahhaaaa… It was a great wedding as they are one of the nicest people I know and I got to know when living in Mountain View. Here’s a photo of me looking like I’m dressed for a S&M party, and I snapped this pic of S & J when they where taking some wedding photos in the sunset.
Spent the night at an Airbnb in Turlock. On Sunday day I wanted to check out Marin County. First stop was Larkspur. Wow, what a cute little village! Bonus that they had an Equator Coffee there too AND a Swedish cardamom bun that I just haaaaad to have!
From there I drove through Corte Madera to Tiburon. Such a beautiful drive with houses by the water and so green and lush…
Had lunch with friends, pictured here is gorgeous Romina with Lucy, and the view from the restaurant…
I could easily see myself living somewhere in these hoods! Drove over the Golden Gate bridge back to Mountain View…
It was a fast and great trip over all. Almost forgot to show you this cool hat I found while shopping. Obviously had to have it!
On Thursday I visited Tatiana to laser off some sunspots skin bumps or whatever they’re called on my face & neck. I look like I have some skin condition, but doesn’t stop me from going out and it’s healing nicely 🙂
While on the laser topic, I went and injected and lasered my spider veins yesterday. They require constant maintenance and this Dr is super good and my legs look a lot better than before…
Feels good to be back at the gym. Been doing longer and more cardio based workouts. I like switching up my exercises and I hope I will feel more comfortable with running soon. Running is my least favorite thing with burpee broad jumps!
Did some ‘artistic’ work as well 🙂
And as usual Hunter is close by, but he doesn’t care about being in front of the camera as much as I do hahhaaa… He counts the seconds until I release him from my grip!
While on the topic Hunter. Milla came visiting and Hunter was quick to lay next to her and get scratches 🙂
There was a bazar the week before last and I had some stuff for sale. This Day Tripper jacket from Psychonaut Explorer among other things 🙂
I had a friend who had some surgery done and I went to a checkup with her. As you can see I’m great at support taking selfies instead hahahaa…
Other than that I’ve been to school and tomorrow I have the studio booked and I’m going to practice lighting on Ximena. Then me drinking coffee and and a couple of cute doggies I ran into 🙂
Popped a microdose yesterday and was smart and baked cookies before incase I would get cravings 🙂
That about concludes what I’ve been up to. Plan to bake my paleo bread today and maybe visit Milla because she got one of those hairless cats.
Started my week popping by Tatiana and getting my third and final set of NCTF injections. I sometimes wonder how I’d look if I would’ve stayed all natural? No lip fillers, tattooed eyebrows, lower face lift, Botox and whatever other injections I’ve had, and what color would my natural hair actually be? Too late to wonder about that, will just keep injecting, lasering, lifting, cutting and coloring hahahhaaa…
Had to catch up on a lot of work. Custom orders and the regular smut 🙂
As I’ve said before, Hunter likes to be involved and it’s not always helpful. Here he just planted himself in the middle of the shot and we had to take a 5 min break to pet him and finally convince him to pick another spot…
Had another class of lighting. So much fun to learn and it’s amazing how much you can change the feel of a photo with different lighting. We also practiced copying the lighting from different shots. I picked a photo of one of my favorites directors, Quentin Tarantino!
Some selfies from this week. I bought this awesome hair cap from Japan….
And this weeks pics of Hunter. He thought my bra was a perfect headrest hahahaa…
A couple of more shots from my shoot at the love hotel in Tokyo 🙂
Yesterday I came across my mushroom micro-dose pills. Decided to take one. Normally I don’t feel anything from them, but yesterday I felt it kick in. Had a good feeling and then later I got huge munchies and had to order pizza and snacks. Only overdid by a little on the sugar ratio LOL…
I did go to the gym too but forgot to take pics as proof, so you just have to take my word for it. That’s pretty much all I had going for me this week. Next week I have more work, school, and gym planned. How about you?
It’s good to be back, but damn, the jet lag is rough! Been to the gym twice and it feels like it’s the first time ever hahahah… Note to self: don’t skip the gym on holidays! Good to have Hunter jet lag with me, and he likes the Japanese cat treats I bought him 🙂
Anyways, here comes the rest of my Japan trip. Before heading to Kyoto I had breakfast with some people still left in town from the wedding. Not your usual eggs & bacon…
Then jumped on the bullet train that took a little bit more than 2h straight to Kyoto. Not a problem when you bring a few(?) snacks. The breakfast didn’t quite hit the spot.
Guess train rides build an appetite so I got a Wagyu burger for my dinner in Kyoto. Super tasty and it was nice to have something else besides sushi and yakiniku.
Strolled around after and checked out Nishiki Market at closing time. The market is packed with food stalls and other little stores.
Straight for coffee the next morning and starting with Goodman Roaster. Thumbs up!
Then walking in the rain and checking out what Kyoto has to offer. Everyone was on the look out for cherry blossoms. Wherever they were there were always people taking pics. Why should I be any different 😉
Then more coffee and tried Okaffe Roasting Park. Here they don’t rush to make your coffee. It was almost like an art form and there was always some latte art in the milk. Another superb coffee spot!
After a nap I headed back to Nishiki Market to eat dinner. WOW, the amount of people! It came to a total stand-still at moments. Tried some different seafoods and it was amazing!
Finished off with some sake at the room 🙂 Iit’s party-o’clock somewhere in the world, right?
Headed to the famous Fushimi Inari Taisha Shrine the next morning. I knew there would be people and I think half of Kyoto was there at 8am in the morning! Still a beautiful hike up and and lit a candle for family & friends who have passed at the top 🙂
And some things that caught my eye on the walk back…
All the fresh air, the climb, and heat made it necessary for a coffee stop and then a sugary waffle-thingy on top of that…
Walked by a place called Skål which means ‘cheers’ in Swedish. Nothing Swedish about the place. Had to go in and check to make sure. Looked like they had good food so I decided to try it. The portions were really small, and super good, so I ordered a 2nd plate. The guy that took my order and payment looked impressed 🙂
Also found Stumptown coffee at a beautiful outdoor mall, bought a new perfume after a lot of testing, impressed by the selection of kimchi and noodles at the grocery store, bought a seal-vibrator at a sex shop, ate more yakiniku saw more shrines… And bought this superb second hand kimono for $15.
I loved all the great coffee places in Kyoto. For me it was the wrong time to be there as I think it was too many tourists. It was hard to get a table at restaurants at night because everyone was fully booked. I see the charm with the small alleys and maybe I would’ve liked it more if I visited another time…
Decided to check out Hakone on the way back to Tokyo. Wow, this was my spot! This is right after getting off the train and going to my Airbnb.
I was so excited to get a bedroom with the Japanese style where you just unfold a mattress on top of these mats. I sleep better on hard surfaces so this was perfect for me. I had to google about this and supposedly it’s a better way of sleeping for your body and posture. Maybe my future bedroom 🙂
Hakone is famous for their onsens. They are bath houses with hot springs. After I checked in I went straight to one called Tenzan. Wow, it was so nice and I liked it since they had baths outdoors. You put your clothes in a locker. No swimwear needed or allowed. Then you wash yourself and visit the different pools and saunas. It was so relaxing and it only cost $10. No photos allowed from inside so got these from their website. There were more pools, but my favorite was sitting inside the cave 🙂
Starving afterwards and decided to grab food at the restaurant there. I saw there was raw horse meat on the menu and went for the safe bet ordering fish, shrimp and veggies. The shrimps were tiny little things with shell, head, and everything. The fish was tiny too, but good. Maybe not my best meal of the trip but I had some chips and cookies from 7-Eleven after hahahha…
Was supposed to head out and see The Hakone Open Air Museum the next day. While I was having coffee I discovered there were hikes in the area. Opted for a 3 hour hike instead and it was a really nice trail along Lake Ashi.
When finishing I went straight back to the same onsen as the day before. Perfect after a day out sitting in the hot water just relaxing…
I wish I would’ve had more days in Hakone. Smaller and more chill than Kyoto. Not as crowded and there were more things I would’ve wanted to check out. I would’ve done hot springs every day! One can always hope to visit again 🙂 Took the bullet train back to Tokyo while snacking on chocolate shroomies 🙂
Dropped my bags off at the hotel and headed straight to brunch with friends from the wedding… I think I visited the dessert table like 4 times 🙂
The next day I went to a micro pig cafe. They have so many different animal cafes in Tokyo with owls, hedgehogs, capybaras and snakes for example. I started wondering if Hunter would accept a micro pig as a buddy, but I think he’s happy being the only one getting attention so it’s a no 😉 But they were very cute…
A photographer wrote me on IG and asked if I wanted to shoot while in Japan. Why not? Got to put in a little bit of work while travelling 🙂 I wanted to shoot at a love hotel. Basically a hotel where couples can go and hang out, (and more), away from home as many live with their parents. They have them here in Mexico too. You book them per hour. So after cuddling with the piggies I met the photographer at Lapia Hotel and booked a room. You get free popcorn and can pick a costume to wear too. There are vending machines for lingerie and toys too. Very cool! It was a great shoot and the photographer was great. Here are a couple of behind the scenes pics and a couple of shots I put on IG. More coming 🙂
I had initially planned to go to a snake cafe after, but opted to join some friends at a Muscle Girl Bar instead. It is just what it sounds like, a bar with muscular girls. You get a protein shot when you came in and for about $30 USD you could drink as much as you wanted. The girls danced, poured shots in peoples mouths for tips, did pole tricks and pull-ups. There was a whole menu for what you could buy for tips, butt kicking, face slaps, being sandwich between 2 girls (only for girls though) etc… It was a fun experience and the girls were fun.
I was pretty beat and a bit drunk when I made it back to the hotel. Put on a face mask and my April fools joke was that I had adopted this bird I found. I actually found it while shopping for fun stuff for my shoot and thought this birdie would look good on my head 🙂
The last day in Tokyo was spent walking around and I bought some gifts. Walked by the famous Shibuya Crossing, the iconic intersection. Traffic is stopped in all directions where everyone can cross in all directions…
Coffee break and spotted some cherry blossoms…
I got an reservation at Sushi Nakamura for my last dinner in Tokyo. A friend who spends a lot of time in Tokyo and loves sushi recommended the place. It was Omikase style with sake pairing. It was definitely in the top 5 of food experiences in my life! The sushi melted in my mouth. Also the first time I tried uni, but not my favorite. There was so much food ands sake I rolled/wobbled out of there hahahaa…
Needed a boost of coffee before heading to the airport so I relented and made a cup of instant coffee, having to use the free toothbrushes the hotel offered to stir it with. Very classy…
Took the train to the airport and the flight home felt super fast since I slept most of the way 🙂
It was a great trip. I’m amazed how clean everything is. Even the public bathrooms are spotless! No smell, no paper on the floor or drops of whatever (most likely piss on the floor)… And I love the toilets that wash all your holes, fan that dries you and some even had music that you could play for privacy! Also something I’d like for my home! A picture of one of the toilets where the water was filling up from the top after flushing. Or was it for washing your hands? LOL
The train and subways was the same way. No litter or stained seats. People stand aside orderly when you exit and even if it’s crowded there’s no pushing. Maybe due to all the signs they have up…
There’s also no smoking on the streets. There are designated areas, street corners or smoke rooms at hotels and malls. There was a lady who used clothing rollers to clean up the entrance mat at the hotel…
Here comes the usual leftover pics…
Such a beautiful wedding and great to see friends I don’t get to see often. I loved Hakone and hope to explore more of Japan one day.
Hitting the gym in a bit and got Lesha coming over later to teach me some more Photoshop and Lightroom. Got a lighting class this week too and hope my sleep will be back to normal any day now!
