It’s here!

As of today, Love Japan magazine issue 2 is now available to buy in print and is also free to read online! (Although, I’d recommend getting it in print… because it’s a magazine.)
I got my copy earlier in the week and it looks great.

I’ve worked alongside some super talented and passionate people over the last few months and I’m really excited for the world to see the magazine, at last. I designed this issue but also look out for my own article in the Travel section!

Love Japan Magazine Issue 2 is jam packed full of interesting articles and interviews covering a wide range of topics from food, fashion and art, to lifestyle, travel and events.

Our first 20 print orders get a free gift of either a ‘I ♥ Japan’ pin badge, or Japanese food stickers. Click here to make the jump and grab a copy of the mag!

We hope you enjoy reading the magazine as much as we’ve enjoyed creating it!

Kew Gardens

To celebrate sending Issue #2 of Love Japan magazine to print, Emily and I decided to visit the famous Kew Gardens in west London yesterday. Of course we were mostly there to see the Japanese garden and its ten-storey pagoda but the whole gardens were amazing.

There was just so much to see and so much that appealed to me, as well as the Japanese bits: trees, a treetop trail, wood carvings, giant greenhouses, ponds, bridges, bamboo – it was literally the perfect day out for me! Aside from the fact that the weather was really quite dull, we did have a lovely day and I would highly recommend the gardens. I can’t wait to go back again on a sunny day!

The pagoda is about to go through some big regeneration work but it still looks impressive.

Certainly the most authentic Japanese gardens that I’ve seen outside of Japan.

Typically Japanese stone lantern.

And another with a little water feature.

A gatehouse-style structure inspired by a real part of a temple in Kyoto.

Great architectural details.

Raked gravel – an essential in any Japanese garden.

At the top of a giant greenhouse – very warm.

More typical garden spaces.

In the lily pad house.

Looking up at the treetop trail. Scared? Not one bit!

I love being up in the trees.

Minka house – sort of Japanese (a bit like a gasshō house).

Emily taking lots of photographs (on a real camera unlike me with my iPhone).

I love wood carvings.

I did some climbing. My balance is pretty good but I didn’t attempt every single log.

Learning which tree/wood is which.

Emily and I always seem to find peacocks.

The centre of a giant redwood…

…and this would be the width of it.

HUGE!

And just a final reminder of what the pagoda looks like.

Coming Soon!

We are literally putting the final, final touches to Issue number 2 of Love Japan magazine. It will be going off to print very soon. I can’t share much more than the cover at the moment but a complete 88-page print version will be available to buy very soon. Exciting!

UPDATE:

We’ve decided to upload a complete version of the magazine, rather than a snapshot version as we previously thought about doing. We think this issue is just too good to keep only for print! The full magazine will be published online at the same time as print copies becoming available for purchase – which is looking like it’ll be early September. (We had a last minute addition to the magazine that we didn’t want to leave out!)

BUT don’t panic Japan fans, keep an eye on the Love Japan Twitter, Instagram and Facebook accounts over the coming weeks as Emily will be sharing snippets from Issue 2, ahead of its full online and print debut.