ii-ne-kore

ただいま！

it is so nice to be back home. 

we realised 4 weeks is a long time to be on holiday.

it was a great time though, 

and  so very lucky to have such a luxury of time in japan -

soaking, soaking.

some things i saw and did in japan

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MUSIC

the band shows went really well.

how great is the extreme lighting from below stage?

not sure they all liked it, but i certainly did.

you can listen to the songs my pal and kes recorded together here.

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cafe ikanika photo by hiki

MEETING ADORABLE PEOPLE

what an absolute delight to meet

super kawaii hiki!

she showed me the way to my favourite

bonsai store in tokyo -

arigatou hiki!!!

you can see more about sinajina via tokyo green space.

we also visited the beautiful cafe ikanika.

i totally agree with ebony - 

i feel very lucky to have had such a lovely guide 

to a wonderful part of tokyo.

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HOUSES AND INTERIORS

the very first photo and above and below

are some photos of the wonderful tokyo apartment 

we were generously allowed to share

while the band was doing their shows.

i cannot say how much i LOVE old apartments.

this one was in a building maybe 40 years old? not sure.

many delicious japanese breakfasts and meals were produced

from this great little kitchen.

this was a poster on the wall of the apartment. awesome.

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BUYING STUFF AND LEARNING NEW THINGS

one of my main missions

was of course to get some cool stuff.

it is japan!

first and foremost was to dream in the aisles

of the bookstores, new and secondhand.

i show some pictures of one of the first books i got:

flat house life

by arata coolhand

published by marble books

these 'flat houses' are single story and often with garden around them.

they are a kind of western-style layout,

and i love seeing japanese aesthetic in this kind of architecture.

there is a similar boom for old post-war public housing stock,

called 団地 (danchi ). 

it is a 団地ブーム！(danchi boom).

some danchi photos at the end.

there is a bit of a craze at the moment 

in some elements of japan

for these kinds of post-war architecture.

perhaps it is part of a general

nostalgia for pre-bubble showa period?

i like it!

just look at that tiling

simply cannot get enough of japanese kitchens

danchi housing complex

danchi housing complex

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ADMIRING THE CATS AND THE SAKURA

above is a nice osaka salaryman hanami party:)

below are cats also in the sakura action.

at the last is a cat and a vending machine,

in the middle of a busy shopping arcade.

we also saw cats being wheeled around 

in shopping carts in busy shopping strips,

and sleeping soundly connected to leashes 

beside the cash register of a fruit shop.

love it.

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anyway, sorry, a bit of a rambling post back.

maybe i have lost the blog touch...

but it is great to be back,

and i am very much looking forward to 

catching up on some favourite blogs!