Mention the words ‘Japan’ and ‘travel’ in a zine description and I’ll pretty much immediately press buy. I love reading about other peoples’ trips and especially if they’ve gone to Japan. Whether I discover some new places to add to my list for a return visit (one day!) or just revel in some nostalgia, they’re always awesome. Here’s some recent favourites. Needless to say, I recommend you buy them all – check the links to see more images too.

Tokyo Postcard Zine by burntfeather
Fee was kind enough to send me a copy of this and I’m so glad she did. It’s a zine in the form of a set of 13 postcards and I am so borrowing that genius idea for one of my zines I’ve been struggling with. Each postcard has a full colour photo on one side and some text and illustrations on the other, which all come together to give you an overview of Fee’s trip, including the weird, the good and the bad. I would maybe have liked more text (I always want more text) but it all works really well. Extra bonus – the first 100 copies come with an adorable handmade kitty brooch! Mine immediately went on my bag, where it is dealing well with Glasgow’s awful weather.

Japan In A Collection by MyLifeAsAMagazine
A shopping guide with a difference! And another interesting print choice as it’s made from two folded A3 colour sheets each with one side showing things Jenna bought in Japan and the other side telling you about the places she bought them. It’s really fun getting to nose around someone else’s purchases and there are lots of great shop suggestions covering more than just Tokyo as she also visited Kyoto, Osaka, Nagano, Yudanaka & Hiroshima.

I am a Camera 16 by Vanessa Berry
A more standard zine format (but with a cute paper obi band), this latest issue of I am a Camera is mainly about Vanessa’s visit to Okunoshima – Rabbit Island – a rabbit sanctuary in Japan’s inland sea. Being a fan of bunnies and Japan, I loved reading about the journey and what they found on the island (lots of tiny bunnies!). I definitely want to go there now. As well as Rabbit Island the zine includes some details about the Kyoto part of her trip, plus a Travel Guide segment with tips and info. (also available from Pushpin Zines)

Sho Ga Nai by Heather Bryant
The first in a series of comics about Heather’s trip to Japan. I already bought the second issue about Kyoto a while back so it was good to pick up the first one, which covers Osaka. These zines focus on small moments so don’t expect big adventures or travel guides, but instead enjoy some lovely observations of Japan.

Rakuten has always intrigued me – a shopping site where you can buy products direct from sellers in Japan. It seemed like a great way to pick up those Japan-only kawaii items but it also seemed a little risky dealing with individual sellers. But when I got my new iPhone I couldn’t find any cute screen protectors as good as the one I bought in Japan last year, so I gave it a serious look.

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I’ve been thinking I should start a new Tumblr called ‘things I found while tidying up’. This is the latest thing I found, which I meant to scan in almost a year ago!

It’s a little leaflet I picked up at Loft in Tokyo, showing just a small selection of the bunny-themed New Year designs on offer. New Year is a huge thing in Japan – you basically have to send postcards to everyone you have ever met. You can click through to see it bigger on Flickr.

It may also give you some idea of just how impossible it is to shop in Japan – faced with all these cards and many many more, plus matching rubber stamps and stickers, how can you possibly choose what to buy? It was only the discovery of this leaflet that allowed me to leave the shop without spending all my money.

If I had to choose, these would be my favourites – carrot rocket!

So, it’s finally finished and here is the cover! I’ll be getting the actual zines printed up in the next week or two, but until they arrive you can take advantage of my special pre-order offer. Buy the printed zine for an introductory price of £2 and you’ll get a free copy of the PDF zine sent to your email, with the print zine following on as soon as they arrive here.

It’s very likely the price will rise, as I want a colour cover this time, so don’t miss out! As soon as I have the printed zines, this offer will be removed. You can buy the printed zine in my shop, or if you just want the PDF, head over to pushpin for instant delivery.

As you can see from the shop description, this new version has area guides, mini Osaka and Kyoto guides, fun things to do in Tokyo and some tips for visiting Japan (and page numbers!). Anyone who’s bought my previous guide or my Kawaii Japan book will find some duplication but the majority is all new, though of course based heavily on my free online guide.

It feels really good to have this finished – I can’t wait to get started on my next projects!

Situated in the basement of the Parco department store in Shibuya is Libro, home to a huge selection of books and magazines. If you’re already coveting many beautiful Japanese craft ‘mooks’ (magazine books), you’ll be in heaven, and if you aren’t you soon will be as they’re all so beautiful. Whether you like sewing, crochet, papercrafts, toymaking, gift wrapping or just making your house pretty, you’ll be overwhelmed by the inspiration. It’s not just for crafts though – there are books of all kinds from huge photography tomes to guide books and (Japanese language) novels.

If you don’t read Japanese, as well as the mooks (which are image heavy and full of clear diagrams), you’ll also find racks of awesome Japanese magazines – I’m a sucker for the teen fashion mags like Zipper, which are full of amazing outfits and inspiration. You can also pick up some nice postcards and stationery.

Don’t miss the little galleries and shops on the same floor – there were tiny shops of beautiful ceramics and clothing, while the gallery was showing some amazing dolls and dioramas. There’s also a little cafe if you need a break. And, um, if you leave your favourite hoodie in the bathrooms it will still be there when you come back half an hour later!

As with all Japanese bookshops, you can browse for hours without anyone telling you it isn’t a library so this is a great stop on a rainy day – it may take some time for you to pick out your perfect selection anyway. There’s lots more to find in Parco too including a branch of Muji.

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Pokemon Center entrance. Photo by dhfriar.

Pokemon (or more exactly, Pikachu) was one of my first tastes of kawaii, along with the ubiquitous Hello Kitty. Me and my sister were big Nintendo fans and while their games are generally pretty cute, Pikachu was possibly the cutest thing I had ever seen! As a fully certified Pokemon Master (of the first game anyway), I still have a lot of love for Pokemon, even if I don’t keep up with all the new games – there are far too many new characters to keep straight, unless you’re an 8 year old.

On our first trip to Japan, we hunted up the Pokemon Center, which was then situated near Tokyo Station, and it was pretty awesome to see all the Pokemon themed products and gashapon. This trip, we were faced with the sight of a giant inflatable Pikachu before we’d even got off the train from Osaka, so we had to fit in a visit. We managed it on the way back from Odaiba as it was getting dark and found the whole outside area full of kids and adults alike plugged into their DS games – I’m guessing there are either exclusive downloads at the store, or people meet up to do battle. Probably both!

Inside you’ll find walls of Pokemon products – toys, games, accessories, kitchenware and tons more. Your average Pokemon fan will go a bit nuts. Not being a crazy fan, I checked out some of the products and cool shop displays, had a good laugh at the hilarious Christmas collectible plates and then had a sit down outside to do some people watching.

If you know any Pokemon fans, then you will make their year if you bring them here, or take back a gift. Otherwise, it’s probably of as much interest as a Hello Kitty shop to non-Kitty fans.

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