January 01, 2023

♡ Visiting a bunny themed shrine in Kyoto! | Okazaki Shrine 2023 ♡

 Good morning everybun…!

I know I’ve posted this photo everywhere at this point… but I really loved this shrine and wearing a bunny kimono there!

As you probably already know, this year is the zodiac year of the rabbit…!

As I’m hoping that it’ll be a special year, I decided to write a little blog post about this beautiful shrine, as well as discussing my future dreams and goals. I actually wrote a similar blog to this in the past, and some of my dreams actually came true… so maybe it’s lucky?


This is Okazaki shrine in Kyoto, also known as the bunny shrine! I’ve dreamed of going here for years, and finally managed to visit in time for the year of the rabbit. I know that I’ve posted a lot about this shrine, but it really is so beautiful. Rabbits are pretty well known in Shintoism for representing fertility, good luck and intelligence, but they are also known for symbolising the ability to move forward. For this year, I’m hoping that this will be a good sign to keep working hard, and moving towards becoming the best version of myself


This bunny statue was probably my favourite! It reminded me a lot of my late bunny Arthur, who was also lop-eared. I actually brought a photo of him with me to this shrine♡ There were a lot of other rabbit lovers there, it was so sweet…! I’d really love to visit again in the future, and would definitely recommend this shrine to other bunny lovers; it was just too adorable~


When you visit a shrine, there’s always omamori for sale that have various good-luck affects. I ended up choosing quite a few goodies, but my favourite is this adorable pink bunny charm, which is supposed to bring happiness, and also came in a white colour too…! 


During our walk to and from the shrine, it was so wonderful to just take in all the beautiful (albeit a little old and dirty!) sights around Kyoto. I love how in autumn, all the green and orange shades are so vivid and pretty… I felt like I was in a forest sometimes, despite this being a big city! There was so much beautiful nature~


This shrine was also a twenty minute walk away from philosophers walk, one of the loveliest spots to visit in Kyoto I’d visited this exact spot before four years ago, and although it was so beautiful during that springtime with the pink sakura, the autumn colours were still lovely!

Please ignore the trash can… lol

I hope that for 2023, there will be many more happy moments like this. It’s so easy to get caught up in the stresses and worries of life, that (at least for me) I easily forget that even the simple things can bring a lot of joy.Of course, it's not every day that I'm able to rent a bunny themed kimono and then visit a bunny themed shrine, but I want to grow to appreciate even the small things that can bring joy, such as my own bunny shrine at home, or even just seeing cute bunny gifs online, hehe~


Another goal of mine is to try taking a proficiency exam for my Japanese language. I’ve been studying for years, and even will be starting a language course in Tokyo next year, but never took a formal exam…! The reason I'd love to take an exam (and, hopefully, pass!) is because it feels like a huge achievement, and looks great on your cv hehe!
Because of my dyslexia, I struggle with retaining information, and reading text that isn’t broken up into small chunks is difficult for me. I also learn words very slowly, and make lots of spelling mistakes… and that’s just in English…! Despite this, I've worked really hard to improve my Japanese, and I'm determined to become fluent one day.


My final goal for 2023 is to find a job that I really love, and work on building my little online world, especially this blog. I tend to get swept up in my own imagination a little too much, but it would be amazing to have a dreamy and cute life too… I want to work hard to make content that you enjoy viewing, and have a job that is fulfilling and fun…! Hopefully that will be possible in Tokyo; maybe the next time I write a New Years resolution list, it’ll come true?


Thank you so much for reading angel, and I hope your New Years was wonderful. Do you have any resolutions?

Lots of love,

Evie xox♡ 

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