I hate rain

I spied these Banksy-esque images scattered around Shibuya the other day, with the caption "I hate rain". Some are stickers and some are spray painted. I'm presuming they are the work of a local artist. If anyone can shed some light on them, please do!

A beach run

I went for a run along this lovely beach this morning with my friend Sanna and her sweet dog Ethel. It was beautiful and completely empty apart from the odd surfer or cockle-picker, and a perfect getaway from the noise and heat of the city.

Hot Chip and Bloc Party

Yesterday we went to a "music festival" which was interestingly named "Hostess Club Weekender" - not sure why. It was held over two days, but we decided to go to the one on sunday as Hot Chip and Bloc Party were both playing. It was a fab afternoon/evening, despite the hangover.....

Getting wiggy with it

Everyone loves a chance to don a wig and last night was the perfect opportunity as our friends Rachel and Richard hosted a wig party. It seems that everyone made a special trip to Don Quixote to find that special item.....

Leo Sayer and Nana Mouskouri.

The girls.

Our lovely hosts.

Beautiful flowers

We just received these beautiful flowers from mum and dad for our wedding anniversary. What a lovely surprise! Thanks mum/Robyn and dad/John. x

The end of the day

Last night there was a typhoon with strong winds and heavy rain. We woke up this morning to lots of tree and plant debris lining the streets with many locals diligently sweeping up the area around their homes. The strong winds meant that today was a gorgeous clear day with amazing cloud formations and this is the view from our balcony this evening - pretty stunning!

Two years!

Two years ago today, Neil and I were planning for one of the biggest days of our lives - our wedding day! It was held on 18th June 2010 and was such a fab day. We have many happy memories of it all. 

Last night we went out to celebrate our two year anniversary at a gorgeous little restaurant called Le Japon, two minutes walk from where we live. It's an intimate place, simply decorated in blond wood, and using beautiful pottery items sourced from around Japan. You sit at the counter where the chef, Koichiro Nakada who owns the place with his wife, prepares the most amazing set menu. He uses a fusion of French and Japanese food, but only ingredients that are in season, many of which he harvests from his allotment that day. It was the perfect way to celebrate.

Koichiro prepares the food at the counter in front of you, whilst explaining what he's doing.

Corn ice cream - an unexpected combination and beautifully salty!

Pork tenderloin wrapped in cabbage leaves with a pepper sauce - divine!

Black sugar pound cake and brown rice ice cream - scrumptious!

It was all washed down with a crisp, chilled bottle of Marlborough sauvignon blanc.

At the end of the meal, the chef brought us this very sweet anniversary candle. 

Note the words - "Happy Anniversary 2th"!

Rugby at Gaienmae

On sunday, Neil took me to a rugby game where Japan were playing Tonga at the Chichibunomiya stadium. It was a rather small, personal affair compared to Twickenham stadium, which is the only other one I've been to, and rather more subdued. I'm embarrassed to say that I still have no idea what the rules to ruby are, but I still love watching it and Neil was happy to talk me through it. Sadly Japan lost.....

Hiking at Mount Takao

Mount Takao is known for the hoards of people that descend on the area at weekends, and so when Neil suggested doing a hike there, I was a tad dubious. The route he chose turned out to be beautiful and people-free, although if I'd known it was going to be over 16km long, I may have been a bit hesitant! The morning started out beautifully misty and atmospheric and then broke out into glorious sunshine as the day went on. Needless to say, our legs were in agony by the end, but it was well worth the pain......

Machida shrine sale

I went to the Machida shrine sale/antique market the other day, a lovely monthly antique sale held in the grounds of a shrine about an hour out of Tokyo. I bought some gorgeous fabrics which you can see here, and for some reason, most of the photos I took were of faces......