Month: July 2014

Where we live

Perhaps not a stairway to heaven but we do have air conditioning and our own room…along with five (yes FIVE) roommates! The girls are all really nice and it’s not as chaotic as you might think…sort of like camping but in a house with a bed. There are two toilets and one shower but luckily not everyone has to leave the house at the same time. Minimal kitchen utensils but that’s ok because it’s kind of like cooking in a dollhouse. No oven either. Karis isn’t usually home for dinner.
We do have a washer and dryer all-in-one which doesn’t work that well. You have to air dry everything which is pretty standard in Japan as electricity is quite costly.
Apparently there’s no housekeeper but they do supply cleaning products (perhaps as some sort of hint?) and toilet paper. The girls told me that the bookers came over and cleaned and bought some new dishes and towels because a ‘mother’ was coming 😉

Yarn Bombing-Tokyo Style…AND the good meals shop

This is about a block away in front of a flower shop. Somehow it’s just so much tidier than the yarn in my country. Just like most things Japanese…small country, lots of people: have to stay organized.

UPDATE: I walk past this place every day. The yarn is actually decorating a stairway up to a restaurant called the good meals shop. They’ve added new yarn (see above). I think it’s the owner’s wife that does the knitting. She was there with their lovely baby today, knitting in hand. The owner/chef passes out flyers every day between 3-4. He gave me three and now recognizes me (not a ton of non-Japanese in the neighbourhood) and just says hello/konnichiwa instead of giving me another flyer. We decided to go and try the restaurant today. It was very yummy and a nice change from sushi and fried things. Check out the menu @: http://flyingcircus.jp/gms/food-gms/

We had the trio of dips (hummus, spinach yogurt, black olive and pine nut), the anchovy garlic toast (in honour of my dad who loved anchovies) and the mac and cheese. Then we went to 7-11 for dessert…Karis flipped when she found the waffle ice cream sandwich…apparently she’s been looking for them. Happy Saturday night everyone 😉

Serious Fashion…

So they’ve got some serious fashion going on in this city. I was walking Karis over to her agency (got lost…THANKS Google Maps) and the number of amazing stores we passed in 15 minutes was astounding: Prada, miu miu, Alexander McQueen, Loewe, Balenciaga, Ted Baker, Issey Miyake, Gucci, Emporio Armani, Chloe, Burberry, Agnes b, Cartier….

And that’s just in this particular area. We live in Shibuya which is very close to Aoyama and Omotesando, and they have even more shops here, not to mention the boutiques within the department stores (think Saks not Sears)! And THE swankiest district ever, Ginza, is about 7 minutes away by metro and they’ve got them there again. (more…)

Finding the Middle Way in Omotesando

First day…so tired and so incredibly hot and probably jet-lagged. There’s a sixteen hour time difference between Tokyo and Vancouver and a nineteen hour time difference from Maui. I was wandering around Ometesando (great shopping area) and came across this little gem. The Zenkoji Temple is just off the main drag. Not sure if it’s a temple or a shrine or both but this is the purification station: This is what you do according to Japan Guide At the purification fountain near the shrine’s entrance, take one of the ladles provided, fill it with fresh water and rinse both hands. Then transfer some water into your cupped hand, rinse your mouth and spit the water beside the fountain. You are not supposed to transfer the water directly from the ladle into your mouth or swallow the water. You will notice that quite a few visitors skip the mouth rinsing part or the purification ritual altogether.