Visiting Japan has been a lifelong dream (that still needs to be fulfilled) and I was excited to be invited to the virtual opening party of a new hotel, the Fujisan Mishima Tokyu Hotel in the Shizuoka prefecture. The hotel group was founded in 2001 and has since expanded to 46 urban sites over 12,400 guestrooms. In 2015, five Tokyu brands split into 3: Tokyu Hotel, Excel Hotel Tokyu and Tokyu Rei Hotel to offer three types of hospitality.
The opening party started with a myth busting video about Japan. Many people view Japan as too crowded, difficult, not for me etc.. Japan has over 230 registered traditional crafts and contains one of the oldest ceramic traditions. It also has the most hot springs, natural sources, ski resorts and Michelin star restaurants in the world. Japan exceeds expectations and there is something for everyone, whether you’re a foodie, nature lover or so much more.
The Fujisan Mishima is located just 45 minutes away from Tokyo. Shizuoka is famous for having the most green tea production in Japan, plenty of bikes for tourists and containing many shrines and temples for those that are looking to immerse themselves in culture on their holiday. The Mishima Shrine is a must-see.
The gendered open air baths are the hotel’s top attraction boasting magnificent views of Shizuoka and an amazing place to unwind in.
I was given a first look at the hotel via Zoom which is a first for a hotel opening party. The luxurious lobby offers guests a warm welcome (complete with antibacterial hand gel!). The 14th floor had stunning designs and contained a spectacular open- air bath. This was accompanied with fabulous views of Mount Fuji.
I also got a look at the restaurant on the 13th floor which was clean and polished. The restaurant offers traditional Japanese food and the speciality dish was BBQ cooked in front of the guest and excellent paired with Sake/whisky/beer. Western style meals are also served here so there is something for everyone
Restaurant
Rooms
The suites are substantial and have plenty of space. They also come equipped with flat screen TV’s and monumental bathrooms. The rooms are designed to exhibit beautiful views of Mount Fuji.
Twin Superior
The Family rooms have pink and green hues, representing the cherry blossoms of Japan along with the greenery of Shizuoka. There are traditional Japanese rooms and also Western rooms complete with Katame flooring.
Complete with an Old Japanese style table setting, the rooms combine luxury with an infusion of traditional Japanese culture.
After experiencing the virtual opening party for the Fujisan Mishima, I’m extremely excited about potentially coming to view it in the flesh after I finally do embark on my long awaited mission to explore Japan. Check it out here.
A few months ago everything seemed to change for almost everyone. Our regular lifestyle, schedules and lives in general were changed as we went into lockdown. Although the changes have been made for safety reasons there are still things that we really miss that we wish we could still experience. Pooja, a fellow blogger and I were talking about this and decided to write a post about what we miss most and what we are excited to experience after this lockdown/pandemic is over. The first four are mine and the last four are hers. We hope you enjoy reading the post as much as we did writing it!
Pub Dates
Underrated but I miss cheap and cheerful pub dates where you meet up with friends and get a pint (overpriced if you’re in London, of course) and talk and anything and everything. Bonus point if there’s a pub garden because who doesn’t love a bit of Sun and Sangria. Pub culture is just easy, laid back and chilled which is needed after a long stint of lockdown
Beauty Treatments
There’s a strong chance my eyebrow lady will not recognise me the next time I see her. Or she’ll be speechless when she realises that lockdown pressure culminated in me trying to do my own eyebrows which resulted in a slight disaster. Suffice to say, give me the works (after it is safe, of course). A Mani, Pedi and a facial. Stat.
Food, Glorious, Food
My eyes are definitely going to be bigger than my stomach when all the restaurants open up again. Lockdown has reminded me that I need to be expanding my culinary bucket list and there is are variety of feasts that any foodie can appreciate.
Staycations
International travel is going to be difficult in the foreseeable future as borders will likely stay closed until it is safe to travel. I definitely want to explore more of the UK and see gems like Cornwall and even partake in a road trip to Scotland.
Hugs
I am not someone who is super into hugging or really showing a lot of affection in general but as they say- you don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone. I can’t wait to hug my friends and family and just be around them without worrying about wearing a mask, washing my hands or anything like that.
Travelling
I am really looking forward to travelling a lot more as soon as all this is over and it is safe to travel to other countries again. I even have an entire list of all the places I want to see ready!
Just Chilling
I cannot wait to be able to go out to just relax. Whether it’s to a restaurant, movie, coffee shop or just walking around downtown. I know that I can do that right now but I can’t wait till I can do that without having to put on a mask and avoid other people and keep a distance. Just being able to relax is something I am definitely looking forward to.
Taking the bus
I know a lot of people have a problem with taking the bus or don’t particularly enjoy the experience of taking the bus. I always did though- I thought it was peaceful and I particularly enjoyed longer bus rides because they gave me time to think and reflect. I haven’t taken the bus since the pandemic and honestly I kind of miss it.
What are you looking forward to once normal life resumes?
I collaborated with Pooja G on this post. She is an awesome, helpful blogger and it was lovely to collaborate with her! Check out her blog and her Instagram and Twitter
PSA: The Youtube Beauty Community is toxic af. When I say the Beauty community I specifically mean the US community which includes Shane Dawson/Tati Westbrook/Jeffree Star/James Charles. Yeah I’m talking about that lot, the masters of stirring the pot, but let’s delve in
Tati Westbrook
In May 2019, Tati Westbrook uploaded a video on her YouTube titled “Bye Sister”. This video ‘spilled the tea’ on her friendship with James Charles and why she was ending it.
For context Tati Westbrook is a make up artist, posting beauty reviews and tutorials on YouTube. In this video, she pinpoints the main reason she ended her friendship with James was because he promoted SugarBearHair which is a brand in competition with Tati’s brand Halo Beauty. She also accused him of sexually harassing straight men. Tati announced that she was severing ties with James after his behaviour and failure to appreciate her. After that video dropped, James lost millions of subscribers and celebrities such as Zara Larsson came forward and states James repeatedly pursued her boyfriend which seemed to confirm Tati’s views. Mutual friend Jeffree Star also tweeted this:
People questioned why Tati had decided to come out with these allegations now. It reeked of relevancy and seemed she was more concerned with dragging James down because she felt undervalued by him rather than actually wanting to out him as a predator.
The plot thickens as James first responded with an apology video and then a video seemingly pulling out the receipts and refuting Tati’s claims. James alleged that he had tried to get in contact with Tati on multiple occasions to discuss the fact that he had promoted SugarBearHair. However, she refused to take his calls and reply to his messages which led to him posting his apology on Instagram. He pulled out receipts of him promoting her hair products, meaning her claim of being underappreciated wasn’t true.
As for the claims of James being a predator, James made a statement in his video “I am a 19-year-old virgin. I have never and will never use my fame, money, or my power to manipulate or get any sexual actions from a guy. That is disgusting. That is not me. The fact that Tati brought this up blows my mind”. Tati brought up a specific situation where James manipulated a straight man called Sam. James shared further screenshots with his conversation with Sam showing that Sam stated he was bisexual and after saying he was nervous, James reassured him that he didn’t have to do anything sexual.
There are lots more receipts James pulled out in response to Jeffree Star, Zara Larsson etc so check the video out! After this video surfaced, Tati received backlash and negative comments. She put out a video titled “Why I did It” pleading with the public to stop sending her abusive language, memes and urging her audience to stop picking sides.
The verdict: Trying to cancel an 19 year old because you ultimately felt he was disloyal was never going to end well. Also, accusing someone of being a predator comes with serious consequences and it seemed that Tati did not put out the whole story. James pulling out the receipts painted Tati as untrustworthy. There are some rumours floating around that James could have been lying and edited those screenshots but regardless, Tati should have spoken to James first rather than trying to blacklist him on YouTube.
Next up…
Jeffree Star
American entrepreneur Jeffree Star owns make up brand Jeffree Brand Cosmetics. He is also a former musician. Star has come under fire for derogatory racist remarks. He called make up artist Jackie Aina a “gorilla” and has repeatedly used the N-word. He also said he would throw battery acid on a Black women to lighten her skin. He has also, on many occasions, been misogynistic towards women, yelling the N-word at women in the street, calling Tila Tequila a whore and criticising her for being overt in her sexuality. It’s interesting that Jeffree Star is a well known racist fuckwad as he sported cornrows in 2018. Cultural appropriation even though you’ve been aggressive towards Black people? Wow.
There’s more controversies surrounding Jeffree Star in ths thread: https://www.reddit.com/r/BeautyGuruChatter/comments/bduvox/a_comprehensive_list_of_jeffree_stars_many/
The verdict: Being a racist POS to stay in the spotlight was always bound to backfire. Boycott his makeup. Boycott his channel. Boycott everything.
And finally…
Shane Dawson
The most recent scandal that’s erupted from Beauty YouTube Inc. (not a thing) is Shane Dawson. An YouTuber, Musician, Actor, Comedian, Make up Artist, Shane has garnered a massive following including over 22 million subscribers. His YouTube consists of comedy sketches, popular conspiracy theories documentaries,
Why is he problematic?
He has used ‘blackface’ in past videos as well as using the N word in a previous video. Paedophilic comments have also come up in an old video of Shane calling a 5 year old ‘sexy; and making references to googling child porn. A disturbing clip of him pretending to masturbate to a poster of Willow Smith when was she 11 has also come to light. Tati Westbrook uploaded a video where she suggested that Star and Dawson manipulated her into denouncing James Charles, but that’s a whole other story…
The verdict: Paedophilia is absolutely unforgivable and it sickens me that Shane made these comments. The Smiths came forward and also expressed their horror at Shane sexualising Willow at such a young age. It’s Karmageddon that YouTube have demonetised Shane and Morphe have pulled all Shane’s make up from their product range. Content creators need to stop being so damn problematic and face up to the consequences.
Even more annoying, Shane put out a statement saying he was done with the beauty industry after Tati accused him and Jeffree of manipulating her (Tati, take some accountability for your actions please) to put out her video about James Charles. Hunny, the beauty industry is done with you/ He also went on to call beauty gurus “attention seeking, vengeful, narcisstic” etc in a now deleted tweet.
The verdict overall? EVERYBODY STAN JACKIE AINA
It’s been three months of anxiety, overexcitement, boredom and fatigue. You’re looking for a wholesome way of entertaining yourself during this period of overkill. Here are my top picks for entertainment:
Netflix:
Money Heist: If you haven’t seen this amazing 4 part series on Netflix then what are you waiting for?! Guided by The Professor, fugitives take part in a heist to rob The Royal Mint in Madrid. Captivating and bold, this show has prompted me to think of my own criminal alias, taking inspiration from capital cities like the characters from the show. Delhi sorta has a ring to it, no?
Peep Show: I recently started this show and it’s been curing my anxiety. It’s a British sitcom about two flatmates who try to navigate society while trying not to fuck up. A must if you want to see some OTT comedy and feel better about your life
RuPaul’s Drag Race: The perfect escape from ordinary life, you get to see beautiful drag queens compete for the crown. Lip synching, glamour and hilarious acting challenges, you really get sucked in to the competition.
Too Hot to Handle: This show definitely falls into the category of “Trash TV You Can’t Miss While Scrolling On Your Phone”. Think of it as Love Island on Steroids. A group of single Lads and Ladies are put on an Island with one simple rule: No sexual contact. If they break the rules, money from the prize fund is detracted. The aim of the reality show is to help the contestants form meaningful relationships and genuine connections.
Games
The Sims: I’d downloaded the game last year but never got round to playing it so this was the perfect time. Slightly addicted to making my family a chaotic, backstabbing mess but it’s ok. Spending thousands of pounds on a red gothic bedroom and then barely having a penny left has become the bane of my life but it’s ok, we live vicariously
Pokémon Go: I had a long ass hiatus but I’m back. Going out on walks and tryng to catch Pokémon has become an act of self-care and is really wholesome and motivating
The Last of Us Part 1+2: If you’ve been waiting with bated breath for the next instalment of TLOU series like me then you’ll be overjoyed to discover it is the perfect lockdown fix. Zombies and a captivating storyline make this a cathartic release for the soul and if you’re anything like me, lockdown will make you want to take out your frustrations on some fictiona characters. I would definitely recommend buying the first game if you haven’t played it.
Animal Crossing: So I haven’t purchased this game yet but I had to include it because it’s garnered such a mass following in a short space of time. I’ve heard that its such a calming, soothing game which lets you build your own village and take part in activites like fishing and bug catching as well as meeting other ‘villagers’. I’m gonna put buying this game at the top of my self-care list.
Visiting Japan has been a lifelong dream (that still needs to be fulfilled) and I was excited to be invited to the virtual opening party of a new hotel, the Fujisan Mishima Tokyu Hotel in the Shizuoka prefecture. The hotel group was founded in 2001 and has since expanded to 46 urban sites over 12,400 guestrooms. In 2015, five Tokyu brands split into 3: Tokyu Hotel, Excel Hotel Tokyu and Tokyu Rei Hotel to offer three types of hospitality.
The opening party started with a myth busting video about Japan. Many people view Japan as too crowded, difficult, not for me etc.. Japan has over 230 registered traditional crafts and contains one of the oldest ceramic traditions. It also has the most hot springs, natural sources, ski resorts and Michelin star restaurants in the world. Japan exceeds expectations and there is something for everyone, whether you’re a foodie, nature lover or so much more.
The Fujisan Mishima is located just 45 minutes away from Tokyo. Shizuoka is famous for having the most green tea production in Japan, plenty of bikes for tourists and containing many shrines and temples for those that are looking to immerse themselves in culture on their holiday. The Mishima Shrine is a must-see.
The gendered open air baths are the hotel’s top attraction boasting magnificent views of Shizuoka and an amazing place to unwind in.
I was given a first look at the hotel via Zoom which is a first for a hotel opening party. The luxurious lobby offers guests a warm welcome (complete with antibacterial hand gel!). The 14th floor had stunning designs and contained a spectacular open- air bath. This was accompanied with fabulous views of Mount Fuji.
I also got a look at the restaurant on the 13th floor which was clean and polished. The restaurant offers traditional Japanese food and the speciality dish was BBQ cooked in front of the guest and excellent paired with Sake/whisky/beer. Western style meals are also served here so there is something for everyone
