Saying goodbye to ℃-ute and my childhood

It’s rare for me to talk about things like this, but let’s do it!

℃-ute! My favourite girl group of all time and one that I’ve followed for nearly ten years. I first discovered them when I was in my first year of secondary school, so it’s pretty odd to think about how much time has passed since that one random song I stumbled on that got me into them. The members are all around my age and it kind of felt like I was growing up together with them, awkward stages and all.

I vaguely knew it would happen someday but at the same time I never thought about them disbanding until they announced that they would this year, after working for 12 years.

So two weeks ago I went to their final concert! And cried. A lot(In my defence so were a lot of people, and the girls themselves) My friend Reira and I went together, and I’m really glad I did because we became such good friends through our common love for these groups in the first place. Being together made the day a lot easier to survive too—we took the first train out and began queueing at the venue from 6am for goods lolIt was hardcore and I got completely roasted under the sun.

That was my first time ever seeing my favourite group live, and the last time. Obviously I wish I could’ve had the opportunity to see them in person much earlier…but at the same time, I’m also sort of glad that this became my one and only live memory of them. ℃-ute disbanded at their peak, so I think I saw the very best of them at the end.

I cried a lot but it wasn’t so much from sadness as they were from being moved by the sheer power of their performances. Also, have you ever been to a concert in Japan? No cell phones, no recording. Just fans and their light sticks and coordinated cheers. It’s a truly magnificent organised chaos and I love it. Goosebumps! I highly recommend it

There’s something about seeing artistes you admire so much in person. There’s something else about watching your childhood come to life for a fleeting moment. I spent my school years watching them, listening to them and occasionally trying to be like them (honestly if it weren’t for ℃-ute I would still be walking around in sweatpants and a centre parting).

Watching this group disband was a little like watching a part of my childhood disappear. But as hard as that is, seeing them move on gave me some motivation to grow up too. So like I said in my last post, I’m going to properly focus on what I like to do

At the end of it, I’m just really glad that I had something I could love and enjoy so much. ℃-ute is always going to remain my favourite

Turning 22!

I turned another year older on June 16! Right in the middle of the year. I’ve always liked how neat that was. Anyway! So I’m 22 now. It’s more awareness than actualisation; there isn’t any real difference except that with every year older I get, I think more and more about what I really want to do. Getting there slowly

I was 16 when I started this blog. It’s kind of embarrassing to read the kind of stuff I wrote back then (I don’t recommend it), but at the same time it’s fun seeing all the differences and also what’s stayed the same.

Like how I’m still drinking fruit juice at restaurants…just in fancy wine glasses. I may grow inevitably older but my love for mango will never die.

This was at the beautiful place my (even more) beautiful friend took me to for dinner (check out her blog!) and it topped anything I’d ever expected for my birthday. Literally, it was way up at the top of the building in front of the Tokyo Skytree.

 

Even the appetisers came arranged on a mini Tokyo Skytree! The nicest, loftiest dinner place I’d ever been to. It was the 31st floor, but I was over the moonConversations and food under the lights in front of the tallest tower in Japan…that was a truly great scene. And everything till then just swelled up into one big mass of happiness. For lack of a better word.

To the friends who wrote me cards, gave me flowers, let me eat my favourite cakes or just simply thought of me in some way—my heart is so full because of you

So. Twenty-two! My goals are cheesy but important. I want to grow up and be less shy, more daring to show the friends around me how much I love them. To smile at people more and be brave about it. I’m so cautious I always end up expressing how I really feel in a long roundabout way (that the message kind of gets lost halfway through), but I’m going to try harder now.

And well the other goal is to study hard I guessAlready almost halfway through university life!

One last thing—I want to be able to blog more intimately and candidly like I used to when I was 16 and just wanted to share with people about my day. I don’t know when I started becoming less carefree about blogging and just churning out post after post about cafe reviews; I enjoy that, but I also miss being a little more personal with myself. A long time ago I made this space online for myself, so I’m going to use it as much as I can!

Thank you for coming to this blog.

Mugimaru 2: Steamed Buns in a Secret Alley

More hidden places! I’m starting to spend my free time just digging these up around Tokyo.

I found this place called Mugimaru 2—a tiny cafe along a narrow alley in Kagurazaka that serves traditional manju.  Lots of flavours and lots of fillings; they’re all handmade by the lady owner and delivered to you straight from the steamer.

The first time I actually walked right past because I didn’t see the entrance shrouded in all that ivy. How’s that for a hidden spot?! It was kind of like a treehouse, but on the ground. What a mysterious feel. You can’t even go inside without crouching so you don’t hit the low door frame.

But once you’re inside it’s a real gem of a placeEverything’s cosy and worn out, with lots of knick-knacks spilling out everywhere. The owner decorates the space with things she received from customers, so it was fun thinking about where it all came from. There’s supposed to be a cat too, apparently, but it wasn’t there that day I went.

This is my favourite bit! A Mount Fuji wall panel, plus a little round table and cushions to make you feel like you’re having tea by Mount Fuji haha.

Like I said last week, the ice cream cravings are starting for real. I’ll trade up my usual tea for a matcha float if it means getting a big scoop of soft serve ice cream in it. The debate is, do I eat my ice cream before it melts or the manju before they get cold?

I ate the ice cream first. But even though the manju did cool off a little while waiting they were still soft and fluffy with some warmth left in the thick bean paste. I just really love anything sweet and squishable. Plus I got a good combination of flavours—uguisu bean paste and chocolate.

I haven’t had this much fun coming to a cafe in a while. Mostly because there weren’t any other customers, so it just felt like I was at home surrounded by plants and rugs and the smell of buns steaming in kitchen downstairs. It’s not the most pristine or modern of interiors, but it’s full of soulI mean, those cracks in the paint don’t come without years of history.