Eye on the ball

Well preparations for the St Andrew's Ball are under way. The shoes have been chosen (killer 6 inch heels that I won't be able to walk in, let alone do the Highland Fling!), the clutch bag has been selected (Cheeky Leopard of course!), and the hair has been styled - in true Japanese fashion - an up-do at the local salon. Better get going!

A quick observation

We have always been amazed at how safe it is here in Tokyo. People leave their bikes unchained, knowing that they won't be swiped and if you go to a restaurant or bar, you can leave your bag freely to your side, knowing no-one will run off with it. You can even leave it there when your trot off to the loo if you want! This also means that Japanese people are very trusting.

The other day I was in Shibuya and decided to have lunch at a coffee shop. I had ordered my lunch and my big, juicy sandwich had just arrived when I realised with horror that I have forgotten my purse. I was mortified and very embarrassedly tried to explain in my caveman Japanese, what had happened. The waiter was very sweet and said, "No worries, just leave your phone number and come back later with the money". I was about to jump up and run home to get it and he said, "No, stay and eat. You can get the money later"! I was amazed at his trust in me. Needless to say, I ate the sandwich in record speed and raced home and back again in more record speed, and they calmly took my money as if nothing had happened.....

A new addition to Daikanyama

We live in an area of Tokyo called Daikanyama and consider ourselves very lucky to live there. We have a wonderful selection of shops and cafes to choose from and have the rather smart area of Daikanyama to choose from, as well as the more neighbourhood area of Naka Meguro down the hill, with the canal running though it.

Daikanyama consists of a big development called Hillside terrace, which was critically acclaimed when it was built. For a long time, a piece of land has sat empty next to it, waiting for something to be built. I wrote about this piece of land last year as there was a sunflower "field" planted on it, which you can see here and there is a picture of the sunflowers below. We were dreading a monstrosity landing there in the form of heavy concrete and faceless glass, but they have actually done a nice job and the complex, which is almost finished, has a really nice feel to it. I love the wall formations, and they have landscaped the surroundings really nicely. We look forward to the "Grand Opening", which is imminent.

Before

After

After

The Child Within Us

The relentless rain on saturday was a very good excuse to dip into an exhibition. There was one that I'd wanted to see for a while at the Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography in Ebisu, so Neil and I decided to go.

This is the third exhibition in a series of three, that uses images of children to document our changing world. The images were carefully chosen from over 26,000 photographs, from World War II to recent times. This specific exhibition portrays how images of children during times of war have been used to provoke reaction and emotion in viewers, and was broken up into themes. One theme just focused on children's eyes and the knowing or emotion that seems to emanate from them, but the overriding feel was the innocence of children and their ability to laugh and play, even in extreme circumstances.

A day in the sun

The weather generally this time of year is stunning, with blue skies and sunny days. Yesterday was a major exception where the skies opened and rain poured and poured all day - pretty horrendous. The nice thing is the rain usually only lasts for one day and then the sun comes out again. Today was stunning and v warm, so we ventured out to Meiji Jingu shrine to soak up the rays and the atmosphere. We were lucky to catch some sort of festival going on where the young girls were dressed up in their finest kimonos looking absolutely gorgeous. I was able to get some lovely shots.

November Morality poster

The morality posters just keep getting cuter and cuter and this month's is no exception with a cute little hamster/guinea pig typing away on his mobile phone.......

The captions reads "Please be considerate of passengers around you when using your mobile phone". Quite right!

Kimono Clasp Bag

I did a chirstmas bazaar recently and it was a roaring success. People loved the cosmetic bags as well as the kimono fabric clutches - which I love making! This Japanese lady was looking at my wares and I realised that she was wearing a kimono that would go wonderfully well with one of my clutch bags. I couldn't resist getting a photo of the two of them together.....

Organised mayhem

We went to a party on saturday night and this was the carnage that met us when we went to leave! Naturally, everyone takes their shoes off when they enter a home here, which makes a lot of sense. Luckily it was all rather organised, so we were able to locate our shoes pretty quickly at the end of the night.

Curry and a concert

On wednesday evening I met up with my friends Tatsuya and Arthur to go and see a White Lies concert in Shibuya. Before hand we fuelled up by popping into Go Go Curry, an institution in Tokyo that serves up cheap and cheerful Japanese-style curry and tonkatsu in a vibrant yellow environment. You order your dish via a vending machine at the front door (luckily Tatsuya was able to point me to the right button), it prints out a ticket which you hand to your friendly server, and then 10 minutes later, a steaming curry arrives. Not bad! Oh, and the concert was very good too!

Gusto e Vino

On saturday night, Neil took me out for a lovely birthday meal. We went to a restaurant in Akasaka that had been recommended by a friend and was called Gusto e Vino. Little did we know, we'd be the only ones there that night. Normally, this would feel a bit strange, but it was a wonderful experience.

The restaurant is run by Naofumi Ito, a Japanese chef who has trained in Florence, Siena and Sicily, as well as New Zealand. He's a very outgoing man and eager to tell stories of his travels as well as share tidbits about his cooking. The restaurant consists of one small bar and can only sit about 8 people at the most. The diners sit along the bar and watch Naofumi as he creates these wonderful dishes. Being the only ones there, meant that we got to talk to him about how he makes each dish as well as share in his delights in other world cuisine such as Indian (where he brought out a scrumptious-smelling Indian relish for us to smell). It was a truly unique evening and something I will remember for a long time....or until we go back there again!

This is the restaurant - just one bar.

Naofumi is the chef and has worked extensively in Italy.

Naofumi took this photo of us and emailed it to us yesterday. I'm looking a bit dodgy, but put it down to extreme jetlag.....

October Morality Poster

I made it back just in time to catch October's morality poster and it's so blooming sweet! The animal theme is still in full swing and this time it's an image of a kitten looking in a mirror. The caption reads, in a rather old-fashioned way " Please be aware that applying make-up on the train may be bothersome to others".

The Highland Fling

We went to the 29th annual Higland Games yesterday - as you do when you're in Tokyo! It was held out at Kanda University in Chiba and was a rather random affair, but a lot of fun. There was haggis and fish and chips to eat, ale to drink, as well as all the traditional events that go with the highland games - throwing the weight, tossing the caber, and highland dancing. We were amazed at how many Japanese people were involved and how good they were at most of the events!

Sketches and Paintings from the Edo period

Yesterday I met up with my gallery group and we went to a lovely little gallery out in Itabashi. It's an area I'd never been to before and it was great to go somewhere new. The Itabashi Art museum is situated in a serene park. The crickets were still chirping and locals were enjoying the balmy afternoon.

The exhibition showcased about 40 works created towards the end of the Edo era when Japan was experiencing a huge shift in its visual culture. This was due to influences and techniques from Europe and China. The interesting thing was that the Japanese either didn't understand the way Westerners were depicting subject matter, or chose to keep some of their traditional techniques, so that the pieces ended up being unique works, rather than imitations of Western art.

The exhibition had a really lovely selection, some of scenics, which were beautifully intricate and involved, as well as more scientific/biological pieces. The latter ones were my favourite, with beautiful renderings of fish, flowers and animals. This turtle was particularly impressive and I can see why they chose to use him for the ticket! He was painted onto a traditional scroll and measured about 7 feet high!

Sumo saturday

On saturday we went off to watch the sumo wrestling, a tournament that has been going on for two weeks and ended yesterday. We were up in the gods but still had an amzing view of the intriguing proceedings. The "fights" go on all day, but only really get exciting when the top blokes come out from about 2pm onwards, and it's a lot of fun.

The stadium is massive and if you want to sit near the front, you have to book cushions on the floor. If you're too near the front, you risk getting squashed! The "ring" has a temple-type roof over it and I'm wondering if this is because the area is sacred.

The top wrestlers come out in a dramatic ceremony. Each of their names are read out individually and they climb up into the "ring" in their full regalia, to massive cheers from the onlookers.

While they wait for their turn, each wrestler sits at the side of the ring. Some have their own cushion which is dutifully brought in and out as they need it.

There is a lot of showiness before the fight. Salt is thrown several times and the classic leg lift and thigh slap is also done to great effect.

Once both wrestlers have their fists on the ground (please excuse the copious amounts of bum shots) the match begins.

The matches are often over in seconds, but can be quite dramatic. The loser is the first man to touch the ground with anything other than the soles of his feet.

Sometimes it looks pretty painful - especially when you've got a two ton sumo wrestler hurtling towards you!

Celebration time

In our limited time here in Tokyo, we've become aware of the many festivals that happen over the year. One that I love is the o-mikoshi festival. This is usually held in the depths of August where the humidity is at its worst. For some reason, they are being held later than usual and we've seen many over the last few weekends in our neighbourhood. On sunday we came across this one in the heart of Shibuya. I love them as they are loud, fun and friendly affairs which create a carnival-type atmosphere that usually ends in a huge drinking session. I'm not sure how you get involved, but everyone seems to be enjoying themselves as they carry the portable shrine (this varies greatly in size and is thought to be a vehicle for gods) on their shoulders, chanting loudly. The tradition is said to date back to at least 749 and I hope it lasts for many more years.

Raffles Hotel - Singapore

Last week Neil was in Singapore for work, so I decided to join him for a few days and soak up what the city has to offer. We were lucky to be staying pretty centrally and opposite the famous Raffles Hotel with its beautiful Colonial-style architecture and oases of tropical gardens. My mum was reminding me that we visited Singapore many years ago and the hotel was still surrounded by lush lawns and tropical trees. Sadly this has all now gone and busy roads have taken the place of the serene gardens.

A boat trip - Singapore

One of the first things we decided to do was to hop on a boat trip and pootle around the waterways of Singapore. It was nice to do as the weather was hot and humid and it was good to be out on the water. One thing that struck us straight away was how built-up Singapore was, but also how it had a slight feeling of Disneyland about it....

Night Safari - Singapore

Before we went to Singapore we got lots of advice of things to do from friends who had lived there. A lot of people raved about the Night Safari, so we headed over there on sunday evening for the 7.30 opening time and lined up with everyone else to get on one of the organised trips. I have to say, it was very well organised and beautifully landscaped. Each animal is in an area without railings (there is a very large, deep trench between you and them) and only slightly lit, so that they don't get too disturbed. It was fab to be up close to the lions and tigers (and tapirs have become my new favourite animal - I never realised they were so big though!), but it is still essentially a zoo where animals are kept captive - something that doesn't quite sit well with me.....