Art, Selfies and Fun

Last week was the three day Fall break at Seisen.  Luckily I had friends visiting - Kaye from Sydney and Amanda from Melbourne.  We headed west to eat and explore Kanazawa and Takayama.

Kanazawa was our first stop with a visit to the 21st Century  Museum of Modern Art.

This sculpture by Anish Kapoor in the grounds of the Museum was striking both on a rainy evening and a sunny morning.

Anish Kapoor is also the sculptor of "The Bean" in Chicago, which was also amazing and provided opportunities for reflective group selfies when I was there over the summer.

Tuesday Tower - Toronto

A view to Lake Ontario with Rogers Field in the foreground.  The Toronto Bluejays were playing and could be seen from the Skypod 447 m above Toronto.  Another highlight of my summer vacation.

Sunday Kimono 5

Three ladies (and a gentleman from last week) out and about in Ginza on a Sunday afternoon.

The Walk to School

The street is busy with primary school students walking to school.  They stop and chat and play and race one another, but get to school safely - on their own.  There are specific routes to follow, so they are on one street and the bus is on another street, and little through traffic on this one way street - well foot traffic.

The Lolilpop Man

The walk - or cycle- to school is often the highlight of my day.  The kids walking to school are always so cute and the fact that they walk and walk alone still amazes me, especially in comparison to the "car drop off" culture of Australia.  

How great is it that the lollipop man is wearing a suit?!

How gorgeous are these two girls with their pink randoseru, and yellow caps as they stop to play on the subway grate?!

Hanko

I have a hanko - a personal stamp with my name spelt in Kanji, that I can use to sign documents and generally say " Mary was Here".

Tuesday Towers - River through the Towers

In the summer I loved the opportunity to spend time in Chicago.  The architecture was amazing. Great view through the skyscrapers along the Chicago River from a rooftop bar at London House.

KFC

Kaarage Fried Chicken
Kaarage is the term for Fried chicken in Japanese - think Chicken Nuggets - but tastier and juicer.

An easy and yummmmy take away dinner after a late night at work, and you don't even need to go inside.  Park the bike on the footpath and order at the window. Loving life in Tokyo.

Sunday Kimono 4

A gentleman in his kimono walking along Ginza.

Shinjuku Railyards and Beyond

View over the Shinjuku Railyards from Hotel Century South Tower in Shinjuku.

Memory Lane

Omoide Yokocho, translates as Memory Lane, but is also known as Piss Alley, is a back alley in Shinjuku full of cheap bars and izakaya. It is famous for yakitori - grilled chicken skewers - but I had yummy grilled squid.  It was great to explore this alley with friends (well Gerard's friends) visiting Japan for the Rugby World Cup.

Tuesday Towers - Blue and Red

Blue sky and curved red girders at Tokyo Tower.

After the Typhoon

I wasn't the only one out on my bicycle today. I joined this fellow to look at the waters of the Tamagawa River.  The river was fast flowing, but nowhere near as high as the water marks indicated it had been yesterday.  Tokyo has engineered many flood prevention strategies such as the high dyke walls along the river.  Apparently part of the wall upstream failed and there was flooding in Kawasaki on the other side of the river.
The photo below shows the flattened flood plain next to the river - normally this is used for baseball and soccer pitches.
Happy to see blue sky after the rain (and earthquake) of Saturday.

Sunday Kimono 3

Stylish Sunday shoppers in Matsuya Ginza - a very ritzy department store.

What to do with Washi Tape

So many patterns, so many colours and designs.  Washi tape is a  Japanese speciality.  It is masking tape used to decorate things - not sure what- but the extent of the washi tape display at Itoya was stunning.

Sooooo Many Colours

Sunday afternoon was spent exploring Itoya, my favourite stationary shop in Ginza.  Soo many colour soo many things your didn't know you needed, but really don't need. Great displays. Now which colour pencil???

Waiting for Autumn

Summer seems to be never-ending in Tokyo. There was a pleasant chill in the air this morning, but still a hot day.  Hoping autumn will arrive soon and these ginkgo leaves will soon be golden.

Tuesday Towers - Girders

 Red Girders of Tokyo Tower.

View through the Window

Love the view through the Shoji (traditional paper) doors to the small shady green garden beyond at Okusawa Shrine.

Sunday Kimono 2

A stylish older woman in her kimono, shopping on a Sunday.

Chestnut harvest

Following on from yesterday.  Is this the Dave Mac of Tokyo? Love the cigarette in his mouth  and the fan at the back, as he collects chestnuts.  It seemed to be back breaking work!

Urban Chestnuts

A chestnut grove in suburban Tokyo, discovered on a cycling exploration over the weekend.  It's not quite Stanley.

Family cycling

I love the cycling culture of Tokyo.  How relaxed is this young girl reading her book as her father rides through Sakurashinmachi.

Tuesday Tower - Tokyo Skytree

Another photo of Tokyo Skytree.  It is the world's tallest broadcasting tower and has a changing patterns of lights.