Our Kawaii Tokyo (www.ourkawaii.tokyo) was created by Filipino, Tokyo-based, kawaii bloggers Ashley and Kaila because of their friends and readers who are interested about traveling to Japan. Getting tons of questions everyday about Tokyo such as “Where to go?”, “Where to stay?” or even more specific ones like, “How to get tickets for Ghibli museum?” spark their interest to launch Our Kawaii Tokyo. Although it serves as a compilation of answers for many questions about Tokyo and Japan as a whole, Our Kawaii Tokyo is full of creative illustrations and personal experiences.
The concept of Our Kawaii Tokyo is to make the reader feel that he/she have two kawaii best friends living in Tokyo who are very keen to answer all his/her hesitations about traveling to Japan. There are a lot of travel sites for tourists going to Japan but what makes Our Kawaii Tokyo different is the touch of kawaii and sophistication in each post. Since Japan has four beautiful seasons, each one will be highlighted accordingly. Right now, it’s pre-spring time in Japan, most of the posts are designed to fit the reader’s need for this season such as “how to differentiate cherry blossoms and plum blossoms“, “where to find plum blossoms“, “when are the cherry blossoms scheduled to bloom“, among many others.
This project aims not just to help the reader for her future travels but also to make them feel that they’re already there. Giving them a positive outlook that someday, they will also travel / live in Tokyo like Ashley and Kaila. Both of the authors are dreamers and go-getters that intend to make OurKawaii Tokyo a successful book / e-book with many chapters. Our Kawaii Tokyo‘s first book is targeted to be published this 2015.
About The Authors
Ashley Dy (Candy Kawaii Lover)
Ashley has worked for different international brands and big names in the beauty industry such as Lancome, Essie and Maybelline. Aside from writing for her own blog “Candy Kawaii Lover”, she also wrote several Japanese travel articles for Cebu Pacific’s (PH Airline Carrier) SMILE magazine and FilJap, a magazine for Filipinos in Japan.
Few years ago, she also had a stint as a visual merchandiser in American Apparel Osaka. She also participated in Kawaii in Manila 2, where she brought Harajuku fashion in the Philippines. She was also named as the first Kawaii.PH ambassadress along with her active participation in the event.
In Japan, she worked with anan magazine (a top Japanese magazine) as a coordinator bridging different Asian-based photographers, giving them jobs in the said magazine. She was also featured at Nylon Japan magazine for her street style. She’s been invited to several shows such as Nozomi Ishiguro, KBF, alice auaa, etc. for Tokyo Fashion Week as a blogger.
Her most recent achievement is having a published book cover for Banana Yoshimoto’s (Japanese author) “Moshi Moshi Shimokitazawa,” a republished Japanese book in German. It’s being sold in Germany and other European countries from Spring 2015.
Ashley considers blogging as a form of art full of ideas, stories and creativity. For more information, you may visit her blog at candykawaiilover.blogspot.com.
Kaila Ocampo (Rainbowholic)
Kaila is a self-confessed Cardcaptor Sakura super fan and a goal-oriented big dreamer at the same time. She lived most of her life in Manila, Philippines. She moved to Japan last April 2011 and experienced her first earthquake in the land of the rising sun right after she reached Narita airport. Almost 4 years later, she is still alive, kicking, and blogging her dreams in the world of cuteness.
Her main blog, Rainbowholic, serves as an online documentation of her Japan discoveries, travels, and real-life experiences. Kaila has been blogging since she was 14 years old. Her webpage coding & graphic design skills were all self-taught out of pure passion in learning.
Last 2013, Kaila was appointed as the first Philippine Kawaii Leader by NHK World “Kawaii International” program. One of her most prominent blog-related collaborations was her blogger participation in Amsterdam, Netherlands last 2012, wherein she was sent as the only quirky blogger from Asia. She has helped many かわいい independent brands from various countries to be introduced to the world through her work and blog.
Because of her pure love for Japan, Kaila founded “Japan Lover Me” (www.japanlover.me), an informative website and community of passionate Japan culture lovers around the world. She also co-founded “Kawaii Philippines” (www.kawaii.ph) with fellow passionate kawaii leaders in her country, with the aim of spreading cuteness and sprinkling “kawaii” awareness all over the Philippine islands.
In addition, Kaila has collaborated with a local TV station in the Philippines as a producer of mini kawaii lifestyle show segments that were televised from Luzon to Mindanao. Currently, Kaila works as the Creative Director of Japonisme International, a company based in Japan that aims to become the trampoline of homegrown creative talent from Manila to Japan.. and to the world.
At the age of 20, Kaila graduated with a 4-year degree in Bachelor of Commerce major in Advertising Management from De La Salle University in Manila, where she discovered her love for strategic branding, social media + guerilla marketing, and creative brainstorming in implementing effective advertising campaigns.
Kaila dreams of setting up her own kawaii Rainbowholic café (www.rainbowholic-café.com) someday. Manila? Harajuku? Kyoto? We will know in the future.
To get to know more about Kaila’s creative work and kawaii life visions, please check: www.kailaocampo.com.
Our Kawaii Tokyo website: www.ourkawaii.tokyo
Official hashtag: #OurKawaiiTokyo
Email: info@ourkawaii.tokyo
FB page: fb.com/OurKawaii.Tokyo