Muji

My favourite store! I went in there for Christmas shopping and they had the BEST Christmas gifts. The stuff on their website is only 1/2 of what they have in the stores. The best diaries, stationary, children's clothes. So well designed, better than Ikea.

Malay kampung house

An architect friend who is interested in enviromental house design recommended this page to me. Certainly lots of properties to look for when designing a house.
http://idrinfo.idrc.ca/Archive/ReportsINTRA/pdfs/v12n4e/110780.pdf

Souveniors from Japan

This place to filled with beautiful things - I need to fill up on all the things that will bring back my good memories of living here. Lots of souveniors that I am sure we will always enjoy.

1. A kitchen screen
2. Sewing scissors
3. Wooden battery operated radio (to be used in emergencies too)
4. Cookbook
5. Deer skin purse
6. Wooden jewelery box
7. Crockery
8. Japanese abacus
9. How to knot book
10. Handbags - Black handbag from the Asakusa shotengai
11. presents from friends
12. Umbrella
13. Raincoat
14. Shoes
15. Cute Service vehicles, Trains and Japanese food items fridge magnets

40th Anniversary

We were in Malaysia for the 23rd of November. Papa and Mama's 40th anniversary. They had a party in 'Ming Palace' of Chorus hotel. They had 40 guests and 40 roses to remember this day. We all had a great time.

Tokyo National Museum

On the way to the Tokyo National Museum I saw this, the Burgher's of Calais on a pedestal! at the entrance to the Tokyo National Museum of Western Art.

I was on my way to see the Sri Lanka, land of Serendipity exhibition. An exhibition of statues of buddha spanning the kingdom of the Singhalese. Without going into the details of Sri Lanka's history the exhibition showcased statues of buddha made from the 3rd century onwards. Seeing the oldest statue was 2000 years old, it was surprising to find little change in the image from then till the most recent exhibit, aged 200 years old. All the buddha's looked quite identical until the second revival of buddhism in the emerald isle - when the faces became rounder and the folds in the robes more numerous.

The one my most favourite bronze was a Saiva Saint, Karaikkal Ammaiyar. When her husband discovered he was married to a saint, he left her. Abandoned and devastated she began worshipping Siva. The statue depicts her holding cymbals which she is using while they dance. While worshipping Siva she turns into an ugly old woman. This is the ugly old woman:

Isnt she utterly beautiful and modern?

Trip to the Japanese Alps

When we came to Japan, we wanted to travel the country, discovering it instead of going overseas and this is our big trip. We wanted to travel with Jocelyn so she could share the beauty of it and perhaps give us some confidence with the kanji letters. Stephen wanted to check the mountains out and I love the great big nature.

When we get off the expressway, driving through Japanese 'countryside' is not always interesting. The small towns seem to be all the same, seemingly joined into one with ugly electric wires overhead, combini's, pachinko, fenced up houses with minimal gardens - mostly we see the heavily sculptured larger trees and not the details of the garden which faces inwards towards the house occupants. And this never ends.

It is when you reach a carefully chosen destination that we get inside the beautiful area and enjoy it. Obviously these areas are not easily assessable as within that beauty no one wants to see passing traffic.

We first went to Norikura Kogen then to Kamikochi, the Japanese Alps and lastly Bessho Onsen.

I have posted lots of photos of this trip on Facebook and on Nathan's blog.

Only in Tokyo!

1. Do you see 2 Lamborghini's in one week. 3 in a month. See 1 of the Lamborghini's, 4 Ferraris, 1 Maybach, 1 Rolls, didnt count the Porsches, BMWs or Mercs - in one car park in Ebisu.