I just realized that a lot of things had happened already (e.g. Art Exchange, Vietnam trip, etc), and here I am, still struggling on how to finish the Fukuoka blog! HAHAHA!

. ME.

Anyway, rather than letting days slip by, let me just share with you the art g6oodies I have acquired in Fukuoka *insert all the hearts emoji here*.

As I have mentioned in a previous post, I did not let my heart go wild for art stuff during that trip. One of the reasons is, I have limited fund$$$, and well I'll be back in Japan soon, so I'd rather get poor in Sekaido, I suppose hahahah 👌👌👌!

Soooo, let's start:

Yup, these Pentel Fude pens were actually my last purchase (minus the food purchases Hahaha!) at the YouMe Town Mall's grocery. The first time I was able to buy one was in MBK's Tokyu shop in Bangkok, where I was able to get myself a pink and red one. Just like before, I'm here regretting not buying as much colors as possible! But whatevs, I'll be back in the motherland in a jif!

Since I do not speak in Japanese, I have no idea what to call this aside Pentel Pen. Sooo, this Pentel pen was purchased at Daiso for around 105 yen (with tax already), or around Php 50+ or $ 1. Initially, I thought this is a brush pen, unfortunately I was wrong. In the end, I use this as a detailer pen for my clay crafts instead *Thumbs Up*.


Now, this one is my favorite! This Kuretake detailer waterbrush is a gem! Upon checking, there are no art stores in the Philippines that sells this, nor are those online shops! Should they ever sell these, I bet my socks that the price will skyrocket to a Php 200+ SRP, when in Japan I was able to purchase it for Php 125 or $ 3 only! I ended up buying 2 of these, one for me, and one for my best friend, Zai.


At first I thought this was manufactured by Gansai Tambi as well, but after some research, this pearlescent palette is from the Japanese brand, Kissho. During my Yamamoto Bumpodo trip, I was psyched on buying the gold, or starry line palette of Gansai Tambi, which retails for around Php 400 only, which is almost half the price if you buy it here in Manila, however upon seeing these pastel set, I decided to go for this instead. So far, I haven't seen this set yet in The Philippines, however I did see this in a couple of online shops, and they sell this for a whopping $ 25! Lol, no!


Anyway, this is how it looks like! I noticed that the color isn't as strong or as pigmented like the more expensive Finetec ones, and instead the colors of the kissho is more of a sheen glitter, which would look better if mixed with solid colors. In this photo, I used the kissho light blue with my light blue prima watercolor. Another thing I noticed about this palette is the fact that after the paint dries in the paper, the texture feels like the text was embossed! I suppose this just saved me Php 1000+++ on embossing tools hahaha!

The Holy Grail

The first time I saw this in Artillery Philippines' site, I remember almost tearing up at how gorgeous this set is! Eventually, I turned into a crying mess upon seeing that it retails there for almost Php 8,000! I badly wanted this before, but due to its exorbitant price I just let out a sigh and moved on...

... But not in Japan! When I saw this in Yamamoto Bumpodo I freaked out!

Like this.

But what made me even more manic was when I saw the price! It retailed at 9500 yen, or roughly around Php 4,700! Although it is still a bit expensive, I'm already thinking of buying it with a 70/30 chance. But since I saw this on the first day, and figured that I still have 4 more days to survive in Japan, I initially decided to just go back for this. However, after asking Yamamoto Bumpodo's staff if they still have another stock of this Card Captor Sakura Copic set, they told me...


... I know I have to bring out the plastic card. To justify that I made a great purchase, let me show you these photos:

Yup guys, these Copics are just the plain ones, and yet they retail for Php1 7,600! HAHAHAHAHAH, I'm really just justifying that Php 4,800 ain't a bad price for a deal lolololol!.

Soooo, with that I suggest that you guys buy Copic pens in Japan, and yes to saving up for more Art hauls! See you guys in another Art haul soon *wink wink*

Love Always,
Nicole

Yes, and of course I'm pretty sure we have had more steps than indicated.

As I have previously blogged, we booked for an AirBnB experience Temple tour around Hakata. It was fun, educational, and made me feel as cultured as a bottle of Yakult.

Ooooh

Since the tour lasted for around 3 hours, by the time it ended we still have a lot of time to waste. Originally, as per our itinerary (which was not followed to a t) we should have lunch then embark on a journey to Ohori park, where we could feed some ducks and just chill before turning my art-obsessed mode on for Yamamoto Bumpodo  . But like every thing else in this world, the inevitable change happened- and I'm glad it happened.

After the tour, our newfound friend and co-AirBnB Temple Tour tourist, Zain asked us if we would like to check out the Reclining Buddha. Initially, that wasn't part of our itinerary even for the succeeding days, because I thought it's too far, and I have already seen a reclining Buddha back in Bangkok, so what's the fuzz? Hahaha! But seeing how Imman looks intrigued about it, I gave in, and with that the rest is history.

HAHAHA!

The Reclining Buddha is in Nanzoin which houses a couple of temples and shrines. Nanzoin is in Sasaguri, and coming from Hakata it took us around 20 minutes to get there via the JR train line. The nearest (literally just across the street kind of near) train station is the Kido Nanzoin Mae station which looks like those provincial train stations you get to see in Ghibli movies ♥

Here's a 'map' so you can have an idea how far it is from  Hakata station

The fare going to Kido Nanzoin Mae station is 370 yen, or roughly Php 180+.



After passing by the bridge, then a road, you'll see this alley which will lead you to the whole Nanzoin complex.

Origin of the photo here

As you can see in this map, you'll pass by a lot of shrines, and different places that will make you think, "How come every thing I see is beautiful" before you get to see the big reclining Buddha on the topmost part of the complex.

Huji version haha

Normal version lels

Me, after all the ramen.

Upo ng behave

The reclining Buddha of Fukuoka is actually 5 meters shorter than the one in Wat Pho in Thailand. Unlike the one in Thailand, I think this one is made of copper and seems a bit hollow, because we try to knock it lightly, and we hear a faint gong sound. I actually like this one better than the one in Thailand, and I think the main reason is it isn't infested with a lot of rowdy tourists. Here in Nanzoin, you can feel that you are one with the nature, because the place itself is surrounded by lush green trees, and the air is soooo fresh- well, I think the whole of Japan have nicer atmosphere, since they don't have that much pollution unlike in Manila.

After saying our prayers, and checking out every nook of the place, we decided to head over to Ohori park. Going to Ohori park, we returned to Hakata Station, and from there we took the Kuko Line train going to Ohori Koen Park.

Photo c/o Wikipedia

That is the duck situation I was referring to hahaha! Though, there's a 4 seater boat, which is the one we took for a stressful  relaxing pedalling through the huge lake. I decided to seat in the back, and let the 2 boys do all the work hahahaha! I remember that day, we saw a man playing with a violin, then an electric guitar, minding his own business- but daaaayum, he's soooo good! We kept on going back to his location to listen to him play, then every after song we burst into a round of applause, which he responded with a gratuitous bow. Oh how I love Japan!



After Yamamoto Bumpodo, the next moments have been pretty much a blur. All I can remember was eating at a yatai with a couple of people from different countries, then a quick trip to the Canal City mall, and capping it all off with some highball at Nakasu. Phewww!









I badly miss Japan! Can't wait to go back sooooooon

Love always,
Nicole <3 p="">

Hellooooooo friends, and countrymen! These past few days (weeks even), I've been sooooo busy with a lot of stuff, particularly new job, and a couple of travel-related preps. Among the things that have caused me less sleep, and bad nails is this:

Minus the real life macarons, of course =))