It’s this time of the year again where Japan becomes so amazingly beautiful!!! Everywhere those beautiful cherry trees start to bloom and it’s like magic!
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On my way to the Sunshine City in Ikebukuro, Tokyo, I took a pedestrian street and came across this really Japanese shop! I like the way they call it “elegant”. What’s elegant about Hello Kittu?
Around New Year’s Day, Japanese people put decorations, usually made of pine branches and bamboo, at their door. The standing ones are called “kadomatsu” and are presented to welcome ancestral spirits and . The small ones hooked on the doors, called “shimekazari” prevent bad spirits from entering and to invite the Toshigami, or Shinto deity. They are made of straw rope, and other materials such as oranges, ferns or holy.
We moved into a new apartment in Tokyo in order to be better prepared to welcome our little one! The place is fab! It’s so much bigger than our previous apartment… It’s in the same area of Tokyo, a place called “the hill of persimmon trees”. Isn’t it poetic? In fairness a few of the neighboring houses have persimmon trees in their garden, so it probably used to be a hill covered in persimmon trees a few centuries ago!
The entrance of the apartment block; there are then four apartments only in this block, the landlord lives in a beautiful Japanese house beside our block.
The main room, still a bit bare, but we are working on it…
Lovely space for a cup of tea…
Dining area
Kitchen with one million of cupboards!
Bedroom
Today was “Coming of Age” in Japan and the young people of all over Japan who will turn 20 this year had celebration ceremonies with their friends and families. After the official ceremonies, it was easy to spot them in public places like at the Shibuya crossing or riding the train… It was fun to be a witness of their special day! N
Back in November, when my parents visited us, we went for a walk in our neighbourhood around Toritsu and Jiyugaoka. We visited one of the local temples, a tea house and a few shops…
Tea house in an old traditional house
At the temple, flag for the three, five, seven years old
Wooden plates for prayers… These ones are modern ones in anime character shapes
On the path to Tokyo Institute of Technology
Tokyo Institute of Technology
In Japan, when you subscribe to a service, you often receive a thank you present… Here’s what I received when I signed up for a new contract with my phone provider! Isn’t it cute? The best thing is that it’s actually a useful present!
At the weekend, we went for a lunch in our favorite area, Jiyugaoka. On the way we observed the end of autumn… Soon it’ll get cold and dry and I will be dreaming of central heating!
Early November, my parents and I stopped in Osaka on the way back to Tokyo from our trip to the West.
After the beautiful and relaxing trip to the country side, Osaka by night, at the weekend, was quite a contrast! Still I was amazed by the atmosphere of that city!
November and early December is the beautiful autumn season! My parents were visiting early November and we took a trip up to the Nagano prefecture. We were right there for the “autumn colours”. It was a beautiful experience to see those yellow and red trees!
In traditional Japanese restaurants, they use seasonal ingredients to cook fabulous food; they also like decorating the dishes with natural elements such as flowers, leaves, wood, etc. here’s a sample of a beautifully decorated autumn dish…
