Life Update - Studying 1 year in Japan & my TV appearance ♥

Miss Neko - a German girl living and studying in Japan 
Hi sweeties ♥ ヾ(*'▽'*)
Long time no see ! YES - I'm still alive and have just risen from the
undead(-bloggers). My last post was in 2016 and almost my whole life has changed so drastically in these 2 years. I still do love sharing my adventures in Japan and around the world with you guys, though ♥ So it has been bugging me a bit that I just didn't find the time to write, these past years. I've started to be very active on Instagram though. So if you wanna follow me and see my stories about my daily life, Japan, travelling the world & many exciting things I just have to shout into the void of the internet, 'cause I dont wanne keep it just for myself - heres my Instagram @officialmissneko
I post stories almost daily ♪
Want an update on what I've been doing the last 2 years ?
Just watch the video above (･ω･)☆ 
I have actually been able to fulfill my childhood dream and move to Japan !
I have been living in Kobe, which is near Kyoto and Osaka.There I have been studying at a Japanese University as an exchange student from autumn 2016 until autumn 2017.The German newspaper of my small hometown even wrote an article about my time abroad. I even made the front page : 

It says "Johanna is living her dream in Japan" 

The first page:

Page 2 :

This is at my graduation ceremony from the University in Kobe in autumn 2017:

The two women at the sides are organizers of the exchange program and

the woman on my left was our main Japanese teacher. They were all incredibly sweet to us students and always there for us ~ I think of all my life as a pupil/student
these will be the people I will remember the most throughout my life. They had a great impact on me and I'll always be grateful for that ♥
I'm trying to give back the kindness and help they showed me to the world in my daily life now.

Now you know why I sadly had to take a big break from blogging. I can't describe to you how much work and effort it took to make this dream come true. But I see this as a motivator, you can always make your dream happen somehow ! Just be prepared for the effort it might take and keep your expectations and plans realistic.

Sometimes the days working towards this were incredibly hard, but what always made me happy and not loose my stamina was thinking of this quote by the german philosopher Immanuel Kant: "Ich kann, weil ich will, was ich muss"
roughly translates to: "I CAN, because I WANT what I MUST"
meaning ~ I can do everything I want to do, because I want to do the things I HAVE to do, to get me what I want. If I want this outcome 'A' I also must want everything that will lead me to my goal and see it already as a part of my goal.
At least this is how I interprete it. It made me happy to know all the work, all the MANY paperwork and preperations were already a part of me going to Japan and bringing me so much closer. That helped a lot and not to forget the strong support system I had in my lovely family, friends & my partner ♥ I couldn't have done it without them either.
♪
I was also working a part time Job besides University for about 2 years in a
Japanese-German bookstore: Takagi - books and more
Besides books we also sold Manga, japanese magazines and a lot of anime Merchandise.
So you can guess I really enjoyed my time there and on top of all everyone who works there is really sweet which makes it even nicer ♪

Of course not only the inner me has changed a lot in these 2 years, my sense of fashion has evolved as well. With all these millions of inspirational influences I had, while living in Kobe ♪
♥ Here are a few looks I really enjoyed during the last 2 years :

Pastel Goth Moon Child ~

My personal casual look ~ shopping in Shibuya ♥

Of course I also still followed my passion for Kimono while being in Kobe ♥

Snow fairy Gal at mount Fuji ♪

Casual Winter look ♥ I dyed my hair all by myself in this photo and I can tell you it was such a struggle to do that with only 2 arms (￣▽￣*)ゞ

Romantic Country look ~ Onee-Gal version ♪

I even got this super cute fan-art made by LALYCK.
Thanks so much dear ! (*♡∀♡) I wish I looked THAT pretty *-*

Fills my heart with happyness that this is how you see me ♥

Check our her page, she's such a talented artist !

Doing one of my favourite things in Japan - Thrift shopping in the Book off ♥

Pastel Mermaid ♥ in Harajuku

Liz Lisa x MyMelody look in front of the Osaka Castle. 

I took a million Purikura - of course ! ♥
This dress is also Mermaid themed by Secret Honey and the
cardigain is by Liz Lisa.

When I wasn't learning or working the past 2 years I spend all the free time I had with my lovely friends - old and new ones ♥

With one of my closest friends ♥  aka. V-chan ;D
I had some classes with her at Uni, now she already has a Job in Tokyo.
She also played a big part of me going to Kobe. When I first went to Japan in 2014 I flew with her. She was starting her year abroad in Kobe, at the exact same Uni I went to, 2 years later. The day I left her at the University I was determined - I want to study here too, this was all I could ever dream of.
That gave me motivation for the next years. Thanks so much again for
all the help & guidance ♥

Then there is of course my bestie Bea-chan ;3 ♥

 She introduced me to her passion - Kimono & let it become mine too.
She stayed with when I first visited Japan in 2014. She was living in Kyoto at that time. And also helped me more often than I can count ♥
With my studies ~ but also my life ^^" Thanks Onee-san !

I visited her during my year in Kobe, while she was working, in Bali. We decided spontaneously to spend my summer holidays together. Another huge adventure I might share with you in another entry. I wanted to show a pic of us together in Bali but I found none ?! I must admit since I know her she has been taking hundreds of thousands of photos of me (eternal thankfullness) as she likes photography & just is really nice. So every time we go somewhere I have a thousand photos of landscapes and myself ;_; ups
We need to start taking more than just 1 purikura every 2 years dude !! (ง ื▿ ื)ว

Currently I'm in a long-distance friendship with Bea & Wiebke ;_; 

Which I'm surprisingly used too...as it's the same with my boyfriend since almost 2 years now. But I must say I feel really warm inside, seeing that no matter how far away we're all scattered across the globe I've always felt close to you all and you were still always there with me ♥ you're the best !

Although I'm in a long distance relationship with my boyfriend, we still talk almost every day. He even visited me 4 times during my stay in Kobe.
Briefly - but still ♥ I think that was very kind of him.
He's living in Los Angeles since about 2 years now and I will move in with him there most likely this October ! FINALLY *-*

Like I said I also met many great people & made new frieds during my 

year in Kobe. And I'm glad that I was blessed enough to have been able to get to know so many sweet personalities ♥

Summer festival on Campus 

 Out with the dorm squad ♥ I'll never forget you guys !
Eating my favourite Japanese dish! Okonomiyaki (I eat the vegetarian version).
(They're all wearing paper napkins to protect their clothes - why don't I ??
I have the biggest reason to wear one, as I'm in an Angelic Pretty dress there...what is wrong with me o.O)

With cute Claudy ~ my neigbour & closest friend and ally from the time 

in Kobe ♥ I'm glad you were there during my year ! Wouldn't have been half as great without you ♪  

At the German Embassy in Osaka with Claudy ♪ 

We were invited to an event, but I can't remember what it was exactly.

 At the Tenrikyo Temple in Nara 

With Natsumi-chan & Junna-chan from my exchange uni (＾▽＾)♥
We were the Opa-squad (b ᵔ▽ᵔ)b
'Cause we all liked the shopping center called OPA and I told them
that it's hilarious to me, because it means "Grandpa" in German :D
It's a really fancy, big shopping department all over Japan with the cutest clothes ♥ I think it's as good as Shibuya 109 and really similar. With brands like Liz Lisa, DaTura and Swankiss present .

With the Swankiss staff girls in the OPA in Osaka ♥

 Never wanting to leave Harajuku ♪

Overlooking Tokyo ♥ On the Tokyu Plaza Omotesando

 But one day came the day I had to leave my dear Kobe ♥ .･ﾟﾟ･(／ω＼)･ﾟﾟ･.

 In autumn 2017 I went back to Germany to finish my last semester of University, write my Bachelor's thesis and then finally be finished
and free to go wherever my heart takes me.
♪
So this is what I'm currently doing - writing my Bachelor's thesis and doing a lot of preperations to finally move to Los Angeles to live there with my boyfriend.
♥
I just want to enjoy the next 2 years there and become much more active on social media like Youtube and Blogger. I'll also have a job in the US. but that's a story for another time. I will say right now, I'll be travelling a hell of a lot *-*
Just like I always dreamed of. My boyfriend and I can't really make plans set in stone yet for the far future as his job as a music producer is so spontaneous and you gotta be very flexible, but that suits our lifestyle at the moment. One thing we do know for certain though, before I turn 30 years old we will return to Japan for 1 year at least and I will search for a job during that time, that will promote me a work visa in Japan, like many of my friends and old study buddies have done already.
I would like to stay in Japan then and my boyfriend is quite fond of that idea too, but we will see where life will lead us until that time comes. ^-^

Thats it for now ~
I've already got 2 new entries planned so there's gonna be more frequent updates on here again.
Thanks so much for staying a blog follower all this time ! You guys are the best ♥

Miss Neko in Harajuku: 6%DokiDoki, Crepes & my TV appearance ♥

Hi everybody (^-^)v

This entry will be about my first trip to Harajuku.

My dear followers know that I went to Japan last September

and wow, I seriously haven't even blogged about half the things I've seen
and done there. I've only been there for 3 weeks, but I went to
Tokyo, Kyoto, Kobe, Osaka and Chiba. And yes I had a crazy time table !!
So let's go on with my travelling experience.

Like I said I had a crazy long list of places I wanted to go and one
of them was Harajuku and certain stores there.

My favourite of them being 6%DokiDoki ♥

There I met the super cute staff girl Yuka :

She was so sweet ♥ and by entering the store it seemed as if you'd
just entered a magical wonderland ~♪ I absolutely admire the creativity of
6%DokiDoki's designs. They've also done the stage decoration for the
Kyary Pamyu Pamyu tour that I saw live. My entry about her Germany concert can be found here

The store is located on the 2nd floor (Japanese floor counting system)

 Of course I also had to take some things with me, so
I bought this sweet pacifier necklace :

It totally reminds me of those pacifier necklaces from the 90's,
I used to have lots of those. Well, I always loved this kind of plastic things.
This also somehow was some kind of foreshadowing to my
now full blown love to Melanie Martinez's fashion and
of course also her music ♥

I love the whole concept of her Cry Baby album ♪

These are the other accessories I got at 6%DokiDoki :

These are all rings : 

~♥~

Of course I also did lots of shopping in Harajuku's famous
Takeshita dori ♥ 竹下通り :

~♥~

~♥~

There I also met Shani 

While I was shopping with my friend Bea, suddenly someone was tapping on
my shoulder & it was her ^o^ Telling me she knows me from tumblr.
I was super amazed *o* I think I was following her on some social media
 already, too. She's such a pretty girl *-*
I asked her if we could take some pictures together and after having a
nice talk we parted. I hope I can meet her again one day ♪

Later that evening I had my first Harajuku Crepes ♥

It all lookes so pretty *-* It was super hard to decide !

~♥~

As it was so late already the Takeshita street was really empty and
Bea and I could even sit on top of the stairs that lead to the
Harajuku Bodyline store. We could see the whole street.
It was a really romantic atmosphere up there
(sorry Bea you're my girl when it comes to romantic moments and Valentin
is not there ;D no offense ♥♥♥ I love you both ;3 but you know that)

During one of our day trips to Takeshita dori I also met this sweet girl:

She began a conversation with me as we both carried loads of MyMelody
stuff and wore Ma*rs dresses. We also carried the exact same shopping bag
by Ma*rs (which you ironically can't even see in the photo,
you can see it a little behind my back, the vibrant pink colored thing).

Another super important place on my personal travelling to-do list
was the Harajuku Bridge (Jingu Bashi) near Harajuku station.

Neko's flashback story time - why I love Tokyo fashion :

This was really a childhood dream come true.

Since the day I started wearing Japanese street fashion I've been longing to go there. In 2007 (I was 13) I started loving and wearing Toyko fashion and Harajuku was the 'thing' that got everything started for me. About that time my older sister got me a handbag from her Au-pair year in America. This bag was from Gwen Stefanie's brand Harajuku Lovers.

Back then I didn't know anything about Tokyo street fashion, but I loved Gwen Stefanie's unconventional style and music. Of course I had to type "Harajuku" into google right after getting the bag, 'cause curious me had to see what it was about. When I saw all those beautiful street fashion snap shots mostly at the Harajuku bridge, from Fruits magazine etc. it hit me ♥ 
It was love at first sight.

That day, that very second I decided what I wanted to be in life.

How I wanted to be. I wanted to be a person as inspirational as the ones I saw in those pictures. I wanted to be myself. As free as those people.

Free to wear what I liked and felt comfortable wearing. I've always felt a little different to the "majority" of people concerning my taste in fashion & most other things. Now I saw I wasn't alone. There were actually many people living their creativity freely. This moment felt so liberating. 

You must know I grew up in a very small village where the majority of people are very conservative and "most people" tend to stick very tightly to the social conventions there. So breaking out of those rules was really a big and tough deal in that kind of environment. I've certainly fought a though battle, especially in my school life. Almost every single adult in my life that had some meaning in it or was an authority figure (such as teachers) have treated me with great respect. But as you might guess the children (remember I was 13-18 during the time I'm referring to now) did sometimes treat me very cruel and had a great lack of basic understanding and respect for my actions/appearance- meaning overall me as a person. This made growning up quite tough for me but I don't regret it a single bit.This whole process has shaped the person I am today and I wouldn't change a single thing. I'm pround that I was so strong and stood tall for my passion.

All I did was live what I truly loved ♥ My passion for a culture and it's fashion & phenomena.That is nothing to be ashamed of- I did NO harm.

Unlike lots of them, who did or tried.

Here I am now, an adult who is much wiser and stronger today. Surely still on my way in life like every body else. 
But I must honestly admit I am pround of the person I have become, despite and because of my past.

I'm telling this not to legitimize myself, but for all those girls and boys out there who need to hear this. Like I did when I was 13. There are tolerant people out there. Loving and kind people ♥ Accepting and maybe even admiring you for who you are and what you do.

Never let anybody stop you from turning your dreams into reality !!

The older I got the more people started telling me that they admire what I do, my creativity, my passion or my bravery. This gave me strength. 

After I finished my A-levels and left school for university I got a letter from two girls who also attended my school. They were a few years younger then me. 

They send me a birthday letter for my 19th birthday *-*

They found out when it was and also must have asked for my address at the school's office.
They wrote me that I had been a big role model to them and that I gave them lots of motivation to pursue their goals.They drew cute pictures all over the letter and it was super kawaii and colorful ♥ I must admit I totally cried when I read the letter. I was so deeply happy. 
I said to myself- it was worth it. 

All the suffering, all the fighting for the better. I had survived my school life with even quite good A-levels ;) And all this wasn't for nothing. I always thought if I could at least help or motivate 1 person than I can be deeply happy. And I seemed to have achieved my goal. I motivated you 2 girls.
Thank you so much for that cute letter- gosh sorry, I'm such a cry baby ;)

I'm crying again as I write this. I'll never forget you 2. This letter will always be one of my most precious belongings. This was kind of my pay off from all the suffering I had to endure during my honestly awful school years. It wasn't for nothing. It made me and other people stronger.

I must admit I like to think I was kind of a pioneer at this school.

I cleared the path for future generations, hoping that they would find more freedom and understanding than I did. Or at least I tried my best.

My younger brother who is 17 is now also attending my old school since last year, to do his A-Levels there. And from what he told me it has really gotten more tolerant there among the students. 
I can't say if if was me, or just times changing and getting more modern- maybe both, but it truly makes me happy ♥

~♪~
This summer a German TV station (WDR) even broadcasted
a 5 min. report about me and my love to Japanese culture.
The topic of the report was:  personal fulfillment 
What a perfect coincidence ! 
So here is my first TV appearance : 

Miss Neko's TV documentary - click here for video

(It's in German)

Lets get back to Harajuku :

~♥~

~♥~

In Takeshita street I also went to Closet Child.
There I got my first dress from Baby the stars shine bright :

I'm not really into Lolita fashion myself, don't get me wrong ! I love to look
at it but I'm not really wearing it often or "properly". Let's better not get
started on "the rules". I rather use Lolita as inspiration for my own
fashion thing. I don't wanna be pushed into lables or fashion rules.
For example the lenght of the skirt, just to mentin one aspect...
I don't think my "body type" really allows me to wear Lolita according
to "the common rules" as all the dresses out there (that meet my taste)
are simply way too short for me as I'm 1,78 cm and hence have
really long legs.
But to me fashion is about freedom and the people who
matter know this ^-^
So I just wear what I like 'cause I don't wanna be
"A Lolita" or "A Gyaru" ...etc. I just wanna be me,
inspired and impacted by those and more great
fashion trends & life styles.

I also got some matching bows at Closet Child ♪
The one above fits so well with SPANK! and Fairy kei fashion, I think.

~♪~

I also coincidentally stumbled across a Btssb store later on:

And now for those of you who just can't get enough of
Harajuku & Takeshita dori :

I took this one waiting in fron of the Daiso store =D

This was a cute store that reminded me of
Alice in Wonderland or Emilie Autumn inspired fashion ♥
Rabbits ~ clock necklaces ~ bows ~ a little steam punk ~ all you need
I got myself a grey sweater with a rabbit on it here:

PomPoms were just everywhere in Tokyo that September !
( Not only at Swankiss ;3 those here are about 1$ btw. )

Circle lenses ♥

You can also see it was about to be Halloween ^^

Harajuku station :

My friend pointed out this sign to me and said
"That's kind of you these days ;D"
and she had a point, not only the pink hair but we got asked so much for
pictures. I guess it was not only my hair and fashion but also
my height...remember 1,78 cm. 
It was really hard not to be noticed on the street. Sometimes it was a little
stressful for me but most of the time we had really pleasant talks with some
Japanese people or other tourists, who wanted to take a photo  ^-^
Belive it or not, but I'm actually a quite shy person.
This might sound so contradictory but well, I talk a lot
and I'm also really extroverted, but I also always feel a little anxious around
strangers and love to be unnoticed *ahhh- those blessed moments* ♪
So basically I love to be a tortoise, hiding from people when I'm in my
shy and anxious mode but I also love socialising and find it really easy
to talk and connect with new people.
My personality has always been contradictory.
But I guess I'm by far not the only one ;)

~♥~

Yamanote Line :

~♥~

~♥~

In the train with my travelling Fant ♥

~♥~

You're never alone with travelling Fant ! ♥

~♥~

After all that shopping we treated ourselves to some tea & Iced Coffee.
Can't live without it anymore.
Since I've been to Japan this is my treat after a long day of work at my 
part time job. Luckily we have some Japanese cafés here in Düsseldorf
that sell authentic アイスコーヒー ♥

Tokyo Plaza at Omotesando : 

Yes, they have a tiny forest/garden at the rooftop ♥

 

~♥~

~♥~

G2? shop in Harajuku :
I didn't know it before but I put the store on my list as I read
Kyary Pamyu Pamyu likes it a lot ^^

~♥~

~♥~

~♥~

That's it for today, thanks for reading ! ♥
See you next time (^-^)v nyan ♪