Australians in Ginza

Dinner at Bills to mark Australia Day in Ginza with my friend Fiona who works at TIS (Tokyo International School).  Bills is an Australian chain here in Tokyo that the Japanese absolutely love.  Finished the meal with a brown sugar pavlova with rose water and strawberries - yummmmmm.  Started with a mojito with shiso (a green pungent Japanese herb )  more  yummmm. The restaurant was on the 12th floor overlooking the neon of Ginza.

Snow and Mountains

Snow capped mountains  in Hakuba - good snow on the runs- but was wishing there was more powder - but that may have been too much for my legs!

Another Peony

 A lone Peony in a bowl.

The Hakuba Valley

A lovely weekend on the snow at Tsugaike Koen and Cortina Resort in the Hakuba Valley.  Sunday was a beautiful day with views to the mountains across the valley.  The season has been poor in terms of Japanese Powder -Jappow- but still fun to be on the slopes and in the mountains.

More Peonies

Another obsession - They were truly beautiful!  The winter peonies fuyu- botan at Toshogu Shrine in Ueno Park are forced to bloom early for the New Year as a symbol of good fortune.

Sunday Kimono 11 - Supermarket

Love the colours in this lady's haori - kimoni jacket.  You know you are in Japan when the locals are wearing kimonos at the supermarket - mini mart.

Peony Huts

 The Winter Peony Garden at Toshogu Shrine Ueno Park was a highlight last winter so I visited again on Sunday.  Peonies are truly beautiful and regal flowers - no wonder the Imperial Court of Japan  and the Shoguns valued them as Royal flowers and symbols of good fortune.

The peonies are covered with straw snow fences -yuki gakoi - in a traditional Japanese garden.  In one section there was a zen gravel garden as well - Japanese at there best!!

Peony Love

Close up of a beautiful pink peony. Peony is Botan in Japanese and they feature in art work - paintings, fabric, screens, ceramics. Botan are symbols of wealth, beauty and fortune.

On the Yellow Line

The bright yellow carriages of the Ginza Line make it one of my favourite lines in the Tokyo metro. It is the oldest subway in Tokyo and therefore the oldest metro in Asia and 14.3 km long - starting from Shibuya, G01,  and heading north through Ginza and Ueno to Asakusa, G19.

Wet days

Winter in Tokyo varies between cold and wet and cold and clear.  I am hoping for cold and snow.

Happy New Year for 2020

Happy New Year - the Blog ReturnsJapanese welcome the New Year with a big clean out and with New Year ornaments or charms -  shimekazari and kadomatsu - on their doors.  They usually have straw rope, oranges and some fern or greeney.  Here is one on my neighbour's door and one at a nearby hair salon.

Sunday Kimono 10 - Crane

Blue Indigo

A large pot of indigo leaves, stewing for over three weeks to produce indigo dye for textiles at the Laos Textile Museum.