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My daughter just turned 11 last week. She is such a kind soul. She never asks for much and is always so grateful for everything she gets. She is a huge fan of anything Japanese, kawaii style and anime, she literally watches, reads and draws anime every day.
So, I can't afford to take my family to Japan, I wish I could, we went for a little trip in to London instead. My brother knows some great places to see, so he helped devise a little kawaii tour.
We met at Leicester Square and walked towards Covent Garden the first stop being the Japan Centre. We went to the one on Panton Street. The Japan Centre has a mini food hall downstairs selling everything from sushi to ramen noodles and even Totoro and Rilakkuma buns - no we didn't buy one, they are too cure to eat! There is also the shop selling comics, Japanese sweets and food, Hello Kitty bits and bobs and books. It was bustling with people having lunch. A lady was doing Japanese name writing for a donation. Shannon sat down with her, it was lovely to watch, she wrote her name in Japanese with a brush and ink.
Uncle Paul had some ramen noodles.
We walked through Chinatown with all its pretty red lanterns and delicious smells.
The next stop was for bubble tea. Myself and my kids are bubble tea addicts, if you don't know what it is, it is a fruit based cold tea with popping juice bubbles inside (think bath pearls). We stopped at Cuppacha which is down Newport Court in Soho. Soho is the place to go for bubble tea. We all decided we wanted ombre tea - Paul and Shannon had Lychee Dawn and I had the pomegranate one. We didn't realise with the ombre tea- that you had to ask for the popping bubbles as an extra so we missed out! But that said, it still tasted really good.
Next stop was ArtBox on Shelton Street, Covent Garden. Friends of my brother own ArtBox and another shop in Portsmouth called Tofu Cute. It is a little treasure trove full of Japanese goodies including Rilakkuma, Hello Kitty, My Melody, Pusheen and Gudetama. Shan bought a Mochi Fuwa KoroKoro Panda Candy Pink Large Plush, it is as soft as a cloud and she has named her Marshmallow.
Her next treat was a Unicone from the Milk Train. You'll find this cafe along Tavistock Street in Covent Garden opposite the Transport Museum. Be prepared for a queue, it is a very popular, Instagrammable place. The ice creams come in many styles with amazing toppings and a cloud of candy floss around it if you wish. I didn't get a very instagram-worthy shot as she started eating it straight away. Be prepared to pay about £7.
Next we took a little wander through the market and back down through Leicester Square. We had one last walk through Chinatown looking in some of the bakeries and shops.
She had the best day, the sky was blue and the weather was warm. A lovely day out with plenty to see (and eat).
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