friends.in.town

friends in town.

dinner at roppongi.

you all waited for 30 min before getting your seats. but it's worth the wait.

the food is reasonably priced and the serving is supersize. most importantly the food is tasty.

 appetizer - some sort of fish/prawn paste wrapped in yuba.

 classic nabe udon with tempura udon... super huge bowl

 another big bowl of udon with modern interpretation and a fusion taste, the taste is a little too heavy for you but it's still delicious...

 your simple but goo-ey cold udon with spring sansei (mountain vegetable) and sakura ebi (cherry blossom flavored shrimps)

 and enjoying a good catch up in mandarin. a language that you have not spoken for a long time, but it's almost your mother tongue so you pick up the words in no time.

and finally some lounging at your apartment, simply because the time in the restaurant is not enough for the catch up of what had happened since you last parted almost two years ago...
so the conversation continues. at home.  with some nibbles, with some ume wine, dutch cheese and saussage.  good books and great conversation...
cheers for friendship in Christ that last even stronger and longer!

happy queen's day to all your dutch friends!

::dear::hara::原::美術館::

your time is running out in tokyo. and you know there are still a few museums and parks that you want to visit. you know you probably won't make it to all of them you have to choose...

today you come to see hara (原).

hara museum of contemporary arts (原美術館). a small and probably off the beaten track kind of gallery museum at kita shinagawa (北品川) neighbourhood. it really is a house that has been converted to a museum.

you love mama bush: one of a kind two.  a glitter and glamorous oprah winfrey type of lady portrait art work.  you admire the blink-blink effect on the canvas.

a special animation that sort of creating an illusion of 3 dimension but with a very bizarre story line. a black and white short film called memo - you have seen this sort of short film many times, in istanbul modern, in MoMa new york, in musuem of contemporary arts chicago,  arts institute of chicago, in most modern arts museum.

a story of suna onna by miwa yanagi, you think it is inspired by the south american legend.

a big eye naughty girl cartoon. actually you came all the way here for her but there is actually only one display about this girl.

there are some sculptures display in different places. 

 you take a break at the very nice cafe d'art over looking the garden. 

  

since you are not that hungry, you opt for an image cake and a cup of coffee. 

the image cake turns out to be a black sesame mousse but in an interesting shape.  a bleeding finger so to speak. and for you cutting the finger and putting it in your mouth is a completely new sensation and experience.

happy golden week!

otemachi.truck.bento

this is the first time you notice some street vendors or your japanese colleagues called it truck bento in chiyoda ward, the square diagonally opposite your client office building.  you saw it from the 8/f toilet and so you decided to check it out at lunch hour.

it's a sunny day anyway...

 there are plenty of terrace chairs and tables for people to lunch under the sun

 and typical tokyo scene where office lady (OL) and salary men queueing up to buy lunch

and there are enough choices to choose from - western to japanese to chinese and even a stall sellings coffee. 

and you and your colleague decided on this - オムハヤシ omuhayashi. it’s a thick demi-glace sauce which often contains red wine, tomato sauce, beef, onions and button mushrooms.

it's a great idea and you actually enjoyed lunching here today when the weather is fine - not too hot, not windy just fine.

the golden week is round the corner.  starting with 29th april as the showa-day and then follow by 3 consecutives public holiday next week.  a friend is visiting you today, you are excited that finally someone "dare" to come to visit you in tokyo. 

kyu.shiba.rikyu.onshi.teien.旧.芝.離.宮.恩.賜.庭.園

hmm.. how come you never know about this park for the last two months.  this park is almost right at your door step.  this is where the shogun meets skyscrappers.  this is how a park looks like when the new and the old meet -- a park with backdrop of high rise buildings.

this place is just next to the sister hama rikyu onshi teien.  and kyu shiba rikyu onshi teien is also just 10 minute walk from your apartment.  it is a lot smaller compare to the sister park but you just feel very cozy. very at home here.

what you love about tokyo is there are ample of parks, gardens, greens not too far from everybody's home, or close to the offices.  you like how you can easily feel the space and greenery without too much effort.

you love to reconnect to nature and tokyo is a perfect place for such - modern yet green at the same time.  you could sit here, have a picnic, enjoy your tea, eating your bento or just sketching, painting, reading, look at the reflection or just day dreaming away...

sakura may have passed her prime time and falling away and the branches of the trees showing green leaves - sign of new life, new beginning.

but azalea is slowly taking her place, showing her faces everywhere in the city, in different colors. she is a lady with character, never afraid to show off her beauties.

and in the meantime other plants are cultivating and waiting for its time and right season to shine...

there is a season for every activity under the sun... you remember the book of Ecclesiastes in your bible.

this is the highest point in the park, a mini hill not that you can see any further but just the idea of pond, hill, bridge unique of any japanese garden

and the contrast of the skyscrapers with the garden greenery, pond andjapanese pine tree is almost surreal

a bustlingg sounds of the city fade away as an air of serenity fills the grounds.  now that your days are numbered, your love and passion for tokyo grow even stronger.

today you love tokyo. you pray for tokyo and you remember the sufferings in tohoku area too.

muji.無.印.良.品

muji. when you first came across this brand in hong kong many years ago, you were like  "what?" 無印 means no mark or no brand in chinese and 良品 means superior quality.
well, you guess muji lives up to the standard as most of their products are simple, minimalist and plain.  muji is like ikea of japan i supposed.  and since you are here, you have been spending quite a bit of money here at muji.

they are almost everywhere, perhaps only the size of the outlet that really matters.  you were at the roppongi outlet quite regularly after the sunday church service.  these are the winter collection but the spring/summer collection is really too good to resist....

you like to view muji from the outside, as the light and interior is always minimalist, clean and comfortable to look at.

muji home - selling everything from bed to linen and spread.  almost like ikea except the line and items muji carries are a lot more zen with japanese twist and design that makes thing easier to use.

at yurackocho branch, this is perhaps the biggest in tokyo. here you find muji to go - caters for all travelling needs.   
meal muji. it has a canteen with its own bakery and selling affordable organic food. you didn't try the food here but you have picked up a few bread and buns for your coming week.  it would be even nice if you could just chill in and do nothing if you were not pressed on time.
well, no brand means good brand at least quality wise.

azabu.juban.kibundou.麻.布.十.番.紀.文.堂

a neighborhood between shiba koen and roppongi, an area called azabu juban (麻布十番).  since you read chinese the name azabu actually means "cotton textile", what a weird name.  right at this area, there are numerous specialty shops and a very vibrant local community atmosphere.  the community are mainly made up by expatriates and local japanese.

you came across a few wagashi stores and decided to walk in to kibundou (紀文堂) to pick up a few wagashi 人形焼 - ningyoyaki.  from the kanji it basically means "human shape pancake".

the ones on sales here are not in any human shape but a modern twist pancake skin with A.Z.A.B.U.J.U.B.A.N imprint. it comes with a few different flavours, and you only picked up two.

one with chocolate flavor custard.  it's really delicious, light and not too sweet for you, a great snack to satisfy sweet tooth or in this case a reward for an extended long walk.

the letter imprints on the pancake skin

and the one with vanilla custard flavor.

you finished both in no time, simply because you were hungry but most importantly they are super yummy, you are thinking of more excuse to go back for more!!

easter.matsuri.イースター.祭り

easter in tokyo. as your pastor put it, the first ever christian matsuri (celebration).  unlike in europe, you already see tons of chocolate eggs and bunnies on sales when you were back in the lowland in march/early april.

well, these bunnies were on sales in a local supermarket in your neighbourhood.  here in tokyo, there is not a sign of easter bunny, not a sign of easter egg, not a sign of commercial on easter.  which is good in a way, after all easter bunnies, chocolate eggs, or color eggs have nothing to do with easter in the first place.  they were all brought in to easter as part of the european traditions.

there may be some chocolate easter eggs today but that because the church uses the chocolate eggs distribution as an outreach to the people in harajuku area.

the church is unexceptionally busy after the 11am service and before the 1pm service starts.  the hall is almost packed up with people... great conversation taking place, people get to know people while enjoying cookies, biscuits and chips...

 in the main hall, the stage for easter celebration is ready to start. a special musical production that is almost as close as the professional production in broadway.  use of talents - voices, dances, multimedia, drama in delivering the easter message and a part screening of the movie "passion of Christ" and the message is strong and clean.  who else ever died and rose again?  only Jesus and today, easter is all about Jesus who died and rose again from dead.  colossian 2:13-14 "God raising you from the dead as he did Christ. when you were stuck in your old sin-dead life, you were incapable of responding to God. God brought you alive—right along with Christ! think of it! all sins forgiven, the slate wiped clean, that old arrest warrant canceled and nailed to Christ's cross."

you are blessed with great weather today, fine and sunny yet not too hot.  you had great conversation and sharing at your local hangout cafe nescafe with your life group members.

on your way home, you feel that harajuku is back to its peak again because the crowds are back and the crossing on harajuku station is almost as busy as shibuya.

you have a rather early day today because there are other priorities to work out. your time in tokyo is running out.

happy easter!!

MoT.東.京.都.現.代.美.術.館

you slept sound like baby last night. you woke up almost 11am and feeling rested and ready to venture out.
rain. tokyo is raining whole day. but that didn’t stop you from going out. you bring along your raincoat, your umbrella, and you are ready for the wet weather.

you visited museum of contemporary arts tokyo (東京都現代美術館) situated at koto ward (江東区), a little out of the beaten track but this museum is worth the visit. the entrance fee is rather expensive 1600 yen for two special and a permanent exhibitions. but you feel reconnected to the arty world again and you were disconnected from the tokyo hecticness for awhile.

 like most of the other modern contemporary arts museums in the world, you expect something interactive, something made from daily items but MoT is not as biazzare as the orther musuem, the displays are functional, innovative and most importanly a strong blend of japanese arts and philosophy expressed in most master piece, especially the two special exhibitions. it's just amazing.

 you removed your shoes, enter into this dark blue room, you spent a very long time here, and you lie down to watch the ceiling or look down to the mirror on the floor (like this man) . it’s such an amazing audio visual display with soft background soothing music and colorful images, flashes and video with japanese elements and a comfy pillow and cushioned floor, that make you almost not willing to leave this room.



 one part of the audio visiual that it gets so colorful and you couldn't resist further, just capture the moment.

 it's not too sharp as the images are constantly moving but you are really inspired!! what a beautiful way to express photos, colors and images....

you saw this art work and you think of your friend - desperate housewife in Holland immediately. she is an desperate housewife full of artistic potential, and she recently expressed the hay fever that she suffers from in a black and white drawing, very identical to these art work.

it's almost closing time and the rain is pouring hard again, so heavy that you decided to stay put for awhile

and you walk down the path outside of the museum building to a cafe for a drink.  and of course you are the last one to leave the museum because there is just so much to see and you just love it.

well, it's late saturday, and you are excited for a special day tomorrow.  easter!!!