This was my first time in Japan and I genuinely couldn’t stop saying how pretty everything was—like, straight out of my favourite anime. I started in Osaka, dropped our bags at the hotel (super close to Dotonbori and only about a 5-minute walk from Namba station), and immediately went on a mission for ramen because it was already 1:30 p.m. and we hadn’t eaten all day. It was drizzling, we were exhausted from the red-eye, and to make things more chaotic, I shattered my camera screen—so there’s a bit where I’m literally vlogging on my phone. Day two was Universal Studios Japan day. We were too tired to make it there at 8 a.m., but we had an express pass so I wasn’t stressing too much about Nintendo World. USJ felt like my childhood came to life (Boo is still my favourite), we ate a Mario burger, and basically ran through rides until we left around 8:30 p.m. After that, we headed to Kyoto—got a free hotel upgrade (yay), did a simple room tour, and packed our day with Arashiyama Bamboo Forest, matcha at Kumono Cha, and Ninenzaka. Kyoto felt so quiet and cool compared to Osaka, and one of the meals there was honestly my favourite of the whole trip.