Bye bye!

Well, it seems that I'm off to England today! It feels sad to leave, but I'm going back for a nice reason as Neil and I will be getting married there in a month! I thought I'd send myself off in true Japanese style by having some dressed up dogs as my final image....

Umbrella hut

It was pouring with rain for most of today, and so the obligatory patterned umbrella came with me - I call them ladies umbrellas as they all use the long style umbrella here, with the curvy handle. Because it rains a lot, they make the umbrellas "fun" to use and many of them are beautifully designed. The one I took with me today was black with bright green dots.

Anyway, when we got to the gallery, we were ushered to a little side room next to the main building, wondered where we were going and soon realised it was the umbrella "hut". It actually looked like Doctor Who's tardis inside and had hundreds of slots to leave your umbrella while you went and saw the exhibition. This is actually very typical of Japan and most shops will have a small version of this, or at least offer plastic tubes to slot your brolly in to keep dry.

Lucie Rie

I went to one of the most inspiring exhibitions I've been to in a long time today. It was a retrospective of the work of Lucie Rie, a potter I had never even heard of until I came here. She was born in Vienna, but fled to England during the war and lived there until her death in 1995, where she devoted her life to creating ceramic works of art that really do take your breath away. I was actually quite moved when I saw it and I'm sure I appreciate the delicacy and work that has gone into the pieces now that I have been studying pottery for a while. Her shapes were so inspiring and the use of glaze simple yet very effective. It was also good to see that some of her early pieces looked a little like my clumpy caveman pieces, so there's hope for me yet...

Prezzie ideas

A while ago I made some framed pictures for Flo and Lila and Morwenna recently commissioned me to do some for her friends' children. Here is the outcome. It could be a new venture for Cheeky Leopard...

Wall hanging

Well, I got busy pretty quickly and here is the outcome! I found some nice bamboo sticks today and decided to use them for my tenegui and to make a hanging for the hallway. I'm actually quite pleased with them!

Tenugui

My latest fad, fabric-wise, is tenugui. I lovingly call them "sweat rags" but they are pieces of dyed cotton cloth that are used for anything from wiping, as a dish cloth, for wrapping gifts, a cover, a wall hanging or..... a sweat rag! They come in all sorts of amazing colours and there is a wonderful shop near me that has a wonderful collection. I have chosen earthy tones (not sure what I'm going to do with them yet) but there are all sorts of lovely colours.

First of all the cotton is bleached, then the fabric is folded into 90cm lengths, with paper patterns mounted on them. They are starched and put on top of each other. When the pattern has been applied, a mound is formed around each pattern to seperate the dyes. The dyes are poured onto the surface of the fabric and are sucked below with a compressor. This will let the dyes permeate the fabric and help produce the design so that both sides stay the same. The washed fabric is then dried in the sun and ready for someone like me to come along and buy a job lot!

My first log cabin

I went to my quilting class today (yes, I've officially turned into a mad old lady!) and did my first block towards a "log cabin" quilt. Not bad! It's called log cabin as traditionally the centre square is red and represents the hearth of the house, then one side is in "cool" colours and the other side is in "hot" colours. It is all sewn by hand, so don't hold your breath for the finished result, I need to do about 40 of these....

Our first Hibiscus!

Green fingers

Last week's warm weather brought out my green fingers, and so Chris and I made a pilgrimage to a massive garden centre in Odaiba. Chris found some feathered friends which he has threatened to use as their new garden feature. I'm more worried about the blow-up doll on the shelf below - it's meant to scare away the birds, but it seems a lot more sinister than that....

Anyway, I made a good amount of purchases, and have a great selection of pots and plants to transform our balcony into a little oasis. Watch this space...

Odaiba

On wednesday we made a journey out to Odaiba, an island of reclaimed land in Tokyo bay. You can get there by subway, but we decided to take the scenic route on the monorail. It is quite dramatic as it snakes around the bay and spirals up to meet the Rainbow Bridge, before making stops at several shopping malls and amusement arcades en route. We enjoyed the ride and then stopped off at "Venus Fort" a gargantuan shopping mall. From the outside it looks like an aircraft hangar, but you step inside and are immediately transported to an "Italian Village", complete with piazza, fountains and Roman-style statues. Even the ceiling is painted to resemble a perfect Mediterranean sky. Apparently the lighting changes depending on whether it's dusk or dawn...

We then got the monorail a few more stops and got off at the beach..... Yes, there is a man-made beach in the centre of Tokyo and there are even volleyball games going on to complete the scene. The only give away that we are in the city is the Rainbow Bridge looming in the background, oh, and a few tower blocks too!

Chuzenji

On monday we decided to take the winding bus trip up the mountain to Chuzenji lake and Kegon waterfall which were created thousands of years ago by a nearby volcano. It was a dramatic ride up the mountainside with 40 odd hairpin bends, and was cool and crisp when we got to the top. Apparently the lake is one of the highest in Japan and is quite beautiful. We decided to take a boat trip round the lake and take it in.

After that, it was a quick stroll to the Kegon falls, with an ice cream stop on the way.... and a quick photo with some bears....

Nikko lunch

For lunch in Nikko we decided to go local and ducked into a restaurant serving yuba, also known as tofu skin. It is made from soybeans and ends up looking like very fine muslin when it's hung out to dry! It is then cut into strips and rolled up to resemble a bandage!

Sounds yummy, no?! Actually, it was and I'm really glad we tried it. We were served about 7 different dishes in quick succession and each one was a variant on the yuba, with a bit of dry, salted fish thrown in for good measure - I couldn't touch that one, I'm afraid...

Nikko Temples

On sunday we went to Nikko for the night. It's been Golden Week here in Japan, a massive national holiday which actually forces people to stop working for a few days and enjoy themselves. Neil deserved a much needed break from the slog of work (he's been working late nights and weekends for weeks now) and we decided to spend most of our time relaxing in the city, but to take off to Nikko for one night.

Nikko is about 2 hours train journey out of Tokyo and a pleasant ride through paddy fields. It is famous for its temples and we were very impressed by the intricacy of them, even though we had to battle through the crowds to see them. After checking into our ryokan (Japanese guesthouse where you sleep on the floor on futons) we spent the afternoon trotting round the temples and taking them in. There was so much to see.

New York Grill

Following the New York theme of the day, we went for a slap up meal at the New York Grill last night and it was fab! It's on the 52nd floor of the Park Hyatt hotel, where "Lost in Translation" was filmed, so we followed in Bill Murray's footsteps by having a cocktail in the cocktail lounge first, listening to some jaaaaazzzzz. We were then ushered through to the restaurant and had a table in prime position next to the window - yay! Needless to say, the view was stunning. For dinner, Neil went for the tuna steak and I went for the Australian tenderloin which were both gorgeous. These were accompanied by creamy mashed potato with garlic flakes, and asparagus in a creamy sauce. It was then followed by a divine New York cheesecake - heaven!

Photography Exhibitions

I went to my gallery meetup group yesterday to see two photography exhibitions and meet new people. The people were lovely and we had a beer afterwards, and the exhibitions were interesting too. One was photos by Jean Loupe Sieff, which I loved. The other was by a Japanese photographer called Morimura Yasumasa. His photos were a interesting, but a bit strange. The strangest thing was that it turns out that the organiser of this meetup group lived in New York for 18 years and lived on my block on East 9th street all that time! We both lived opposite each other at the same time and probably crossed paths many times without even knowing it. What a coincidence!

Fab fabrics

I went to a quilt show yesterday with Jo Ann and Helen. The show was a bit disappointing, but there was much foraging to be done and I bought some fabulous fabrics to play with. Now I just need to decide what to do with them...

What a drag

Last night was a bit of a drag - literally. Suzy invited me along to see the Wicked Sisters at a club in Shinjuku. There was a lot of banter, some good songs and, of course, some fab costumes! The last act, which featured a baby was a little worrying to say the least, but apart from that it was a good laugh!

New Paints

I went to my Sumi-e class on tuesday and the teacher presented me with my first set of coloured paints! Up until now, I have only been allowed to use black and grey. Anyway, we can now look forward to many badly painted pictures of cherry blossom and autumn leaves in technicolour! Watch this space.

Godzilla

I met up with my movie group last night to go and see "Up in the Air" with George Clooney (I know, films are a tad slow to reach Tokyo) which I thoroughly enjoyed. Afterwards, we found this statue of Godzilla. He's actually looking very small and cute, which isn't really the idea, so I decided to make him look more the part. A slight variation on the angle and an artfully situated building in the background suddenly turns him from a cuddly cutie into a scarey, man-eating monster...

Birthday Boy!

It was Neil's birthday on saturday and so we decided to invite our friends Becky and Chris, and their son Edmund round for a curry - cooked by Neil. The food was fab and we washed it down with some sake sprinkled with gold leaf that I had bought in Kanazawa when Laura was here - served up on a Marmite tray. Very classy! I didn't get Neil a cake, but we had candles standing up in chocolate covered strawberries instead - an interesting take on the birthday theme. Then, with some dutch courage fueled by the sake, we rolled out Chris and Becky's karaoke machine and warbled away to Abba into the wee hours. I haven't seen the neighbours since, but plan on keeping a low profile for a while....

Laura's last night

Well, Laura couldn't leave Tokyo without doing a spot of shopping and so on her last day I took her to the meccas that are Loft and Tokyo Hands - wonderful shops that sell everything you could think of. It wasn't until we looked at our watches and it said 7pm that we realised we had spent 5 hours in just two shops!!! How does that happen?! Needless to say, the hunger pangs had started, so we headed to a fab restaurant that my friend Susan had recommended. It is an izakaya and, like many Japanese restaurants, so hidden that you can hardly find it. But it was a real find and the food was gorgeous, as well as the staff. I'll definitely be heading back there. Note wobbly photos....I think we may have consumed too much plum wine....

Japanese maple

We went to the lovely Nezu museum on sunday and spent some time wandering around their beautiful garden. The maple trees are looking lovely and such a contrast to all the blossom we have been seeing recently.

Sunday in Yoyogi park

It was a beautiful day on sunday and me, Laura and Neil decided to head to Yoyogi park and soak up the atmosphere. En route we passed a man riding a bike who had two dogs in his front basket, one of which was a Border Collie! It was such a funny sight seeing such a large dog in a small basket (and managing to stay in it!) that we went up and said hi and he let us stroke the dog. He told us that he was heading to the park to play volley ball and we couldn't quite work out if he was going to play volleyball, or the dog was. It wasn't until about 20 mins later when we passed them in the park and there they were. He would throw the ball and the dog would hit it with his nose! We then went to nearby Meiji temple and witnessed a wedding. I couldn't resist taking a photo of the guests who were kitted out in these beautiful kimonos.

Homeward bound

We then got the late train home and then the shinkansen (bullet train) to Tokyo station. It was my first trip on a shinkansen and very organised and dead on time, needless to say. We were very bemused to see the cleaners go on, do their job and then all come off, line up outside their prospective carriages and then deeply bow to all the waiting passengers before they headed off and we got on the spotless train. Somehow I can't ever imagine that happening in England!

Hilltop temple

Our last visit was to a pretty hilltop temple, a short walk from the geisha district. It was so serene and there was no one else there, so we had it all to ourselves. It was also high above the city, so we were able to gaze down and look at the view.

Geisha district

The next stop was the Geisha district - a beautiful quiet area full of geisha houses, and beautiful shops and restaurants. We visited one of the geisha houses and witnessed a local wedding as the bride and groom headed down the main street, visiting each shop as they went.

Gold leaf

After our experience in the park, we headed to one of the famous gold leaf shops to sample their wares. We were immediately offered green tea with gold leaf sprinkled on top! We got to see how the gold leaf is made and ended up coming out with a few purchases, including some of the gold sprinkles - could work well sprinkled on the sake we just bought...

A local park

Our train didn't leave until late in the day on our final day in Kanazawa, so we were able to fit a lot in. Our first port of call was random and happened to be a little square that we stumbled across. It took our breath away as the blossom was so stunning, so we decided to stay a while and soak up the atmosphere. There was a lovely juxtaposition between a big group of old folk sitting having a picnic, surrounded by lively school children who were all running around and enjoying the beautiful spring day. The children were obviously on a school trip and eager to try out their English on us. We soaked up the atmosphere for a while and were about to leave when one of the old folk came over to us with two steaming bowls of soup! We had sadly just eaten a late breakfast, but realised there was no way we could refuse and it was so sweet of them to offer it to us. So we sat down and slurped up the tasty offering.

Paddy fields

In the afternoon, we took another bus from Wajima, further up the coast towards Suzu. We had seen a picture of some beautiful paddy fields that were on the way there and decided to head off to see them. They were sadly not as impressive as we'd hoped and as the bus dropped us off (with the next one not coming for another hour and a half) we realised we would have a lot of time to kill. It was nice to see the paddy fields and we pootled around on the rocks down by the sea for a while, but we were glad to finally see the next bus coming around the corner.

Sushi in Wajima

After a morning of perusing the market and getting accosted by rather scarey old ladies trying to sell us shrivelled fish, we seeked out a sushi restaurant that Laura had read about. It could have been very easy to miss and was a tiny place, with a bar and a small seating area inside. When we arrived, there was one other person in there, a Japanese lady who had been on the same bus as us. She was very friendly, as were the owners of the restaurant who we presumed were a father and son. We found seats at the bar and proceeded to plough our way through the wonderfully fresh selection of fish they had on offer. It was lovely to choose our pieces and then have them handed to us minutes later, beautifully presented on the bar. Luckily Laura had her guide book with her that translated all the types of fish and we were able to banter with the staff a bit, as well as understand what we were eating, as we chowed down on scrumptious local fish.

Wajima fish market

Our first port of call in Wajima was the fish market which was lively and full of stalls with old ladies flogging dried fish and seaweed, among other scarey delights. At one stall, confirming our fears, we were offered something rather small and rubbery to nibble on. It would have been very rude to refuse, so down the thatch it went. It took a while to chew down and was pretty awful (something fishy with a slightly sweet taste), but we managed it with a smile and trotted off, none the wiser to what it was we had actually ingested....

The Noto Peninsula

A day trip up the coast from Kanazawa to Wajima was fun, although we had to get up way too early to get the bus! Starbucks was our saviour and we got a bucket load of coffee to keep us going. The journey was quite dramatic along the coastline and it was good to get out of the town and see some more sights.

Museum of Modern Art

After that, we went to the modern art museum, which is an impressive structure in the middle of Kanazawa. The main structure is a large round glass building, housing smaller gallery spaces inside, some with permanent exhibitions and some with temporary ones. We decided to be cheap and only pay for the permanent one, but were impressed with what we saw. We liked the "swimming pool". It gave the impression from above that is was a full pool, until you suddenly saw people walking around underneath. The water was sandwiched between two pieces of glass to give the illusion of a full pool. After that, we enjoyed a very tasty lunch overlooking the grounds of the museum.

Kimono designs

We also managed to see a studio that produces hand painted/dyed kimonos which incorporates a 15 step process and takes years to master. Apparently they still sometimes wash out the dyes in the local river, but we didn't get to see that. As you can see, there were some beautiful designs which were very inspiring.

Kanazawa

As you can probably see, it's been a while since my last posting. This is due to the fact that the lovely Miss Laura, a very dear friend of mine, came to visit! It was so lovely to have her here and to share my experiences of Tokyo with her, as well as catch up, reminisce and generally have a wonderful time. She only had a few days in Tokyo before we headed off on a girlie trip to a place called Kanazawa, about four hours away on the west coast. It is known for its food, as well as lots of crafts including gold leaf, laquerware and kimonos and luckily we got to see all of those and managed to fit a lot in. It is known for its park, so we headed straight there on the first day.

Hanami Party

I went to my first Hanami party yesterday. Literally translated, hanami means "flower viewing" and this has become a traditional Japanese custom. Every year, the weather bureau announces the blossom forecast and this year, April 3rd was said to be the best time to see it. From this, hundreds of Hanami parties were organised and thousands of people flocked to parks and rivers around Tokyo to set up their blue tarpaulins, get out the food and drink, and slowly get drunk! I have never seen so many rosy-faced Japanese people in one place! Anyway, it was a fab atmosphere and everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves. I also managed to meet up with some people I knew and have some beers....

More blossom

I was in Tokyo Midtown yesterday evening just as the sun had gone down and the blossom looked stunning. They definitely know how to show it off to it's full advantage and had lit it up with lilac lighting to enhance the colours. Against the deep blue sky and a back drop of lit-up skyscrapers, it was pretty stunning. They had also created an art installation on the ground using hundreds of cut-out blossom shapes sitting on lights that changed colour every few seconds. It was a warm but windy night, so quite atmospheric.

Sakura mayhem

Well finally the Sakura (cherry blossom) is starting to come out and it really is quite spectacular. We live near the Meguro river where there are hundreds of sakura trees that run along each side of the river and every year people flock there to take photos and soak up the atmosphere. There are loads of people with food stalls selling amazing smelling food, and beer to wash it down with, and there are lanterns strung up along the river to really enhance the beautiful blossom. I was there at twilight on saturday and it was pretty stunning. There was also a jazz band set up and they were playing smooth jazz as the sun went down. Not bad!

March morality poster

Well, March is almost over and I thought I'd better include the March version of the "morality posters" you see around the Tokyo subway system. This one seems to be trying to include several no-nos in one go - boozing on the train, curling one's eyelashes whilst on the train, being greedy with your newspaper space, and talking on the phone whilst hunched on the floor. What is the world coming to?! Please note the alien google-eyed people in the bottom left corner. I'm pretty sure they're the ones we should be worried about....

Jug

I went to my pottery class on thursday night. It had been a really horrible rainy day and the last thing I felt like doing was heading out into the dark, damp night. But I was so glad I managed to go to the class as I learnt to make a handle and spout! The handle-making is actually harder than it looks and involves making a carrot shape out of the clay, making the hands very wet and then squeezing the carrot shape through a gripped hand to lengthen and streamline the "carrot" into an aesthetic shape. The trick is to not do it too hard, other wise the lengthened bit breaks off - as I discovered too many times. There is a fine art to the timing as well, as you need it hard enough to be able to attach to your pot, but not too hard. While it was drying, we then worked on our spout. This involves pinching the outside edge with two fingers whilst rubbing the top edge with the forefinger of the other hand - a rather therapeutic movement. I came out with a rather primitive pot, but am strangely proud of it!

Lounge night

On monday night Linda invited me to a Japanese lounge night and I really wasn't sure what to expect. It was held at the club where I went to do the Burlesque life drawing, so was expecting all sorts. It turned out to be an evening of people playing traditional Japanese musical instruments - not something that I would have thought I'd enjoy, but it was actually a great evening and great to get a feel for what is out there. My favourites were the Japanese flute made out of bamboo and the Koto, a beautiful wood and string instrument which sounded like a combination of the guitar and the harp.

First time on a wheel!

On monday I had my first lesson on a pottery wheel and it was fab! Our teacher had organised a lunch party for all her pupils and before we ate, she taught us how to throw (ie make a pot on the wheel). It was very messy and there were a few duds, but I managed to make two pots that I liked and I've decided to do more classes and try and hone my skills. I love the immediacy of it all, compared to doing a coil pot where the process is a lot slower. We then we had to display our favourite pot which was then judged by everyone else while we drank wine and ate lunch.

Rockabillies in Yoyogi Park

On sunday, Garth and I headed to Yoyogi park. We wanted to check out the Harajuku girls that hang out there on a sunday afternoon, but they were pretty tame and there wasn't much going on, so we headed to Yoyogi park where the Rockabillies hang out. I remember reading about them years ago and they are still going, but looking somewhat....tired. It was actually a bit cringeful to watch as it felt like watching a rather sad school disco, but we got some fab photos.

Okonomiyaki

Last night Garth and I went for okonomiyaki, a japanese savoury pancake associated with Hiroshima that is grilled on a hotplate in front of you. We decided to sit at the bar for the free show as the chefs ingeniously concocted these amazing structures out of batter (made of flour, grated yam and water, with egg and grated cabbage), and then a meat of your choice. I had shrimp and Garth had pork and we sat there in awe (drinking a thirst-quenching frozen beer) as they went through the steps. First they mix up the cabbage and batter and place it on the hot plate. They let it sit there for quite a while, sizzling and getting crispy - we were told it would be a 20 min wait. They then top it off with an amazing sauce and a big old squirt of mayonnaise, and then hand it to you, where you eat it directly off the hot plate. Yummy!