Stones

After the sumo last weekend, Tomoko and I explored a nearby shrine… in the dark!

After being startled by the resident cat who suddenly decided she wanted to be somewhere else, we found a particular stone that Tomoko had been looking for.

It has become a custom for visitors to scrape off some of the stone and keep is as a charm for good health. We obliged, but being dark it all felt strangely furtive! Also the photo isn’t very good…

A few days later, this was echoed across the road from Spiral.

The area is getting a bit of a face-lift and, making the most of the Japanese language’s huge number of homophones, they’ve come up with Au to play off the place name, the verb to meet and the colour blue.

In addition to the new logo (of course!) they had covered a huge area with marble chippings and strung up a load of flags across the side nearest the street. It was catching everyone’s attention and whilst not many people knew what it was about, they were all keen to grab a handful of the stones which we were told had healing properties and were invited to take away with us!

Spiral

After going to Kiyosumishirakawa we went to Spiral in/near Omotesando. I was really keen to see Spiral having already come across their Independent Creators Festival via Ami’s work.

Music shop, coffee shop, gift shop and Lumps and Bumps by lang/bauman in the atrium:

Kiyosumishirakawa

A few days ago a friend took me to see some galleries in the Kiyosumishirakawa area of downtown Tokyo.

Tucked in between a cement factory and a taxi ranch, is a building that houses a dispatch warehouse, a lighting manufacturer and, oh, 3 floors of commercial galleries!

After finding your way past the palettes to the industrially sized lift, you come out in a slightly different world of pristine white cubes! (ie the type of place you’re blatantly not going to be allowed to take any photos…)

There was a real mix of contemporary artists being represented: Japanese, international, emerging and more established. We even came across a Damien Hurst in one of the galleries!

Other than the complete serendipity of walking out of the lift, I think the nicest touch for me was the little reception desk just inside the entrance that just sort of pulled the whole thing together.

www.tomiokoyamagallery.com
www.shugoarts.com
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www.takaishiigallery.com
www.hiromiyoshii.com

observatory

The thing I often find most disturbing about the city ofTokyo is that it just doesn’t seem to have any edges.

Hama-Rikyu Fish Challenge

got it!

sumo

Last year we just missed out on the sumo tournament in Nagoya (I think), but yesterday we were lucky enough to wander over to the sumo district and get some of the remaining tickets.

I’m not going to pretend to know much about the sport, but it was very entertaining and impressive.

They’re all trying to be a little bit higher up in the rankings for when the next tournament comes around.

A few champions will become immortalised in bronze…

… or in scarily realistic plastic effigies.

Hama-Rikyu Gardens

After a few false starts that actually worked out rather well, we made it to the Hama-Rikyu Gardens: a shogun family garden/duck hunting bonanza type place in the past, and now something of an oasis sandwiched between the skyscrapers and the port.

[as ever you can click on each image for a larger version]

We ate good food, fed the cat, snoozed, mingled with the wildlife…

and joined the heads bobbing among the flowers.

My botanical knowledge is somewhat lacking, but I’m going to call these chrysanthemums until somebody corrects me.

The chrysanthemums were a fabulous orange.

Also, I think I found what is probably my new most favouritist building. Here are a few photos that don’t even come close to showing why!

massage chairs at Big Camera

I’m sure every one of these people was merely carefully considering the options for a future purchase…

le weekend

The weekend just gone was a long one thanks to the annual holiday Respect for the Aged Day on Monday.

All three days were great: various people taking me to Hama-Rikyu Gardens, Nihon Minka En and to the sumo tournament. Photos to follow shortly and many thanks to all involved for the little extras that made each day a little bit more special than just joining ranks with the other tourists.

izakaya and…

Last night a friend took me to an izakaya.

The amazingly delicious food,

subdued lighting,

and restrained atmosphere,

were followed by a quick game of pachinko:

Welcome to Japan.