atami.moa.museum.熱.海.の.moa.美.術.館.

MOA museum of art (moa美術館) stood highly on top of the hill side with an unbeatable sea view.  at the entrance after the ticket counter is a good 4 or 5 flights of escalator up to the museum itself.

it reminds me of MIHO museum in the kyoto prefecture.  there are different colors of the light illuminating as one take the escalator and some background music playing softly and at the end, a large and spacious dome welcomes me.  just the walk itself is quite an experience. and from this point onwards you have the choice of taking the indoor escalator or do what i did, come out to the open space and walk my way to the museum, and pose to appreciate the wonderful sea view and fresh air outdoor.



moore plaza



the exterior of the museum, it's really very MIHO too, although MIHO is more impressive but right here, i am enjoying the fresh air and sun while appreciate the blue sky, puffy cotton like clouds and sea view.  i feel like a bliss, not a moment that i am not thanking God for a wonderful saturday like this.

clear blue sky and just one barren tree in this picture makes the place very surreal.  very watercolor and very japanese painting like too!

at the top, finally and this photo just shows how high up i am as you can see a little bit of the ocean out there

and as i entered into the museum, this is the view that welcomed me.  again very MIHO yet with a different ways with a different view.



view from the main lobby



for me, just the panoramic view itself already worth the ticket (1400 yen), let alone the collections in the museum.

a noh theater, it still holds seasonal noh performances



golden tea room 黄金の茶室



a golden tearoom replica, this is a rather famous replicas from the imperial palace (i believe) and you probably can't see it clearly but all the tea ceremony utensils are made of gold.

another panoramic view, looking at the castle out there, i am planning my next destination in my mind while i am not even done with the one third of the collection...

the japanese art collections are very rich, likewise monet's water lilies can be found here too.

there is an island at the far side of the ocean.  that is one of the famous island that tokyoites go for long weekend.

imagine this is just the interior of the museum, and i have not yet share about the museum compound yet.

more to come!

atami.熱海

when the weather in tokyo is too cold, i run to "hot sea" , well that is the literal kanji translation of atami (熱海), located at izu hanto, an absolute weekend paradise for tokyoites.  i couldn't find any ryokan or hotel reservation for this weekend, but i woke up in the morning still decided to make my way to hot sea atami.

and on the way to atami, mount fuji (富士山) decided to show his face to welcome me. that was a very pleasant and surprise welcome.  the last trip i took shinkansen from tokyo-kyoto-tokyo two years ago, fuji-san just decided to hide himself then.

up close and personal welcome and big hug from mr fuji

 it was very cold, icy cold in tokyo city, but a quick 45 min shinkansen ride, i am at the comfortable seaside.  a lot warmer and comfortable to walk in the sun.  i took things slowly, hopped on to a circular bus that costs 800 yen for the day.  i visited a few places, from atami baien (熱海梅園) to MOA museum of arts (MOA美術館), atami castle to kiunkoku (起雲閣) and from kiunkoku i walk toward the sea and take the slow stroll along the atami promenade, accompanied by calm pacific sea and walk up hill to atami train station.

again i am having bottleneck in sorting out my photos, so for now i am just sharing a few photos of atami beach front so that you got an idea of the place.

 

at the top as i looking down to the promenade, i really feel that i was at cote d' azur, the french riviera. and it is not wrong to say that atami is the japan riveria and onsen paradise.  i totally understand why all accommodations are sold out on weekends, especially the cold weekend like this.

atami castle at the top of the hill

at the promenade, i look up to atami castle at the top, she is waving at me, oh no... i just don't want to leave yet

atami beach front

i walk rather slowly along the promenade, love the mild sunset and deserted beach.  it's quite and i almost have the whole area for myself and as look to the left where all the hotels and ryokans are located i know why the beach is deserted as everybody is soaking in the rotenburo onsen (outdoor hot spring) somewhere up there and enjoying the view.  i wish i could be one of them but no... i am not staying... i am going home.

moon terrace

supposedly the romantic spot when the moon is lite and the lights are on, should be very enchanting at night.

half way through the promenade, i have to hike up hill, i mean really like 80 degree up hill to the atami train station where i will catch my shinkansen home.

taking this photo while soaking my foot at the foot onsen just outside the station.  the consolation at least.  i think i will come back again to atami.  now that i know this place a little more, i know where i want to stay for a night at least.

more stories on atami to follow in the coming week.

it's sunday again.  time to get ready for another busy week.

have a blessed week!

top.of.the.world

it's a beautiful day here in tokyo, i hope you are enjoying your saturday to the fullest like me too!  i went to atami (熱海) today and spent most of my day there, just came back in time for the "star viewing" event organized by the building management tonight.

while we all take turn to watch the stars using the special binocular, i also take in the superb night view from the top of the world tokyo via my nikon.  thanked God that my nikon did me the justice, the photos came out okay, i won't say great because i should be able to do a better job using dslr.  having said that these are taken without tripod, so a pad on my own shoulders for these results.



the eiffel tower of the east, tokyo tower right in front of me and the sister building mori green hill office tower



all the time at the top, my heart just giving thanks to God for all the wonderful things that He has done for me. 

roppongi hills from a distance, another mori building with a stunning view of tokyo and also house a museum. 

 roppongi hills, i am going there tomorrow for the sunday church service.  it's also my plan to go up to the mori arts museum tomorrow as JLH church is about to move to harajuku starting mid march, from that moment onwards i probably won't make a trip there anymore even though it is just a metro stop away.



at the very end, far back after the red and white steel tower is the tokyo sky tree.  a new landmark that will eventually takes over tokyo tower in terms of height and fame. it's all the way beyond asakusa (浅草) at oshiage (押上)

from this direction, is the view of shinbashi (新橋),  ginza (銀座), chiyoda ward (千代田区) and all the way visible to asakusa and beyond signed by the tokyo sky tree at oshiage.

logo my apartment building, also a mori property

at the point of taking this photo, i suddenly feel like badman robin who always stands at the high place viewing down to the city.  here i am, not badman or catwoman but a blessed one whom spirit is deeply touched with gratitude to the mighty God in heaven above.

tokyo bay at the far end

lastly the look out to beyond tokyo bay and perhaps a little bit of odaiba (お台場).

hipsmatic.hamarikyu

firday, yes, friday!!  since yesterday i have been searching for a weekend stay at atami but with no luck of any reasonable price accomodation.  atami, izu or ito are Tokyoites weekend paradise with onsen (hot spring) and great seafood.  i searched all night and found nothing, not just for this weekend but it seem all places are booked up in advance.  so i guess i have to stay in tokyo again.  not that i am done with exploring tokyo but just the idea of soaking in the hot open air bath with natural water and the kaiseki dinner that follow after the bath Itches me so much.
time passes incredibly fast, both working days and weekends.  so much more that i already in the counting down mode, although i am not done here till march but the fear of not seeing and know this city and country enough just tear me apart.  perhaps i have fall in love with tokyo? i guess so... it was really since last weekend when i explored hama rikyu onshi teien and that moment i really discover the charm of this city, which is something that hong kong cannot give.
anyway, it's friday, i need to keep this short so that i have time to plan for my weekend. it's about time to get my hair cut and to see the ume...
below are a few shots of hamarikyu onshi teien in hipsmatic mode, taken by my iphone.  you probably know i love lomographic but lomo puts me off because it is not digital but on film.  i have no patient to wait for the development of the film which takes days....
hipsmatic is a good substitute.  enjoy!

center lake and tea house

view of the city skyscrapers from the tea house, a mixed of modern and traditional

tatami sitting place where i am waiting for my japanese tea ceremony to start

another view of the tranquil garden and modern scene

stone path - lead my way Lord, and i will follow You, that's exactly what i feel at that moment

some random shots here and there

hina.matsuri.雛.祭.り

in plain term it is called "girl's day", in a more formal term it is called "japanese doll festival".  it is not a public holiday today but if you have a daughter at home, japanese will go home to celebrate this festival like a few of my colleagues left early for home today.

here are some decoration from a wagashi store at ginza

i love the display, simple, elegant and yet japanese...

this is a more old fashion way of display dolls

how about this piece of edible hina matsuri cake?

 

and these specially made by the bakery for this festive...

no i didn't buy any of these cakes.  i did buy some chocolates though but my photo uploader is giving me problem that i cannot upload properly.

it's been extremely cold today and the coming few days, cold but sunny.  other parts of japan are snowing but thankfully not in tokyo.

it's almost weekend and so i bid you good night.

.viva.hina.matsuri.

as.close.as.it.can.be

well, this is not about food or travel post, but this about work.  today our japan cmd paying us a visit at the project site.  he is not tall, dark, handsome or charming but it is the up close and personal experience with a country cmd that thrills me.

full monty of the entire project team, as you can see, ladies have the privilege to be in front seats. we are quite an international team in the japanese setting. this is sort of official photo for some press and marketing purposes.

then we adjourn for lunch, somewhere nearby.

 

i am one of the few selected ones that had the privilege to join him and other executive team for a lunch.  food is nothing too exciting about but it is the conversation that brighten up the entire luncheon experience.  i have never been so close to my dutch cmd but with the japan cmd i am as close as this.

i told him i am going to take a photo and am going tell my dutch practice about this personal experience.  he posed for me.

 

a glimpse of our food, and the lady is also someone made it to executive level, as you can expect in japan society where most women gave up their job or career after they got married and she is the single one. we got along quite well, and she has been pulling strings for me within the company's network, arranging me to meet this and that executives.

it's only wednesday and i am already looking forward to weekend!!!

namagashi.生.菓.子

namagashi (生菓子) generally refers to  snacks served in the japanese tea ceremony. a variation of wagashi (和菓子) that are more elaborate more expensive than the normal wagashi.  i am mad about namagashi since my first encounter with japan.  they are usually unbaked, fill with azuki red bean paste or jelly based normally beautifully crafted according to the season.  in this case late winter or early spring.

this namagashi is called 水仙 or rather daffodil in english, symbolizing the early spring flowers

the innard of daffodil, filled with azuki

another namagashi that i picked up from an old shop nearby to ikegami baien.  it looks more like a berry to me but perhaps it is a spring fruit that i don't know of.  it is made of whole azuki and light gelatin.

an ordinary but yummy salty daifuku 塩大福 from the same shop

 

ichigo daifuku (いちご大福), another representation but fill with strawberry, azuki bean paste and wrap in mochi

spring mochi that i picked up from yanaka, this is by far the cheapest one...

and delicious, i couldn't resist them and just eat them at mos burger after my japanese twist burger ...

also from the shop in yanaka, this is down to earth sweet potato namagashi, so it is not always made of azuki

this is sakura bun - so it is technically not namagashi but a wagashi, taste very much like the dou sa pau (豆沙包) red bean paste steamed bun back home except the lightly salted sakura is added to it.

the innards

these are the namagashi that i am made about, too bad there is no old wagashi shop nearby to where i live nor  can i find on nearby my work place.  otherwise, i would buy one every day and eat them fresh as snack.  whilst in reality i only grab them as i see them wherever i go in weekend.  so it's more like a weekend sweet treats to reward myself from a week of hard work.

the weather is very changeable, it was nice, warm and sunny over the weekend but the since monday we are back to winter, grey and rainy.  but it's okay since i am at work anyway, so it's only tuesday and i am already looking forward for weekend to come.

good night.