the earth moved at 05.56 today...

here for more information...to me it meant i was woken up by the building shaking a bit...it was quite short and not a biggie...but it moved again a little bit at about 8.45 am!!!

we have no idea what will happen in tokyo if a big one hits...apparently it is long overdue!!!

japan airlines (JAL) and british airways (BA)

i was interested in 2 articles about the above 2 national airlines in my newspaper (the japan times) here yesterday

the news about BA is that 92.5% of cabin crew have voted to walk out over the holiday season...from dec 22nd to jan 2nd

the news about JAL is that one measure by the company to regain some stability has been to propose to retirees to cut their pension benefits...in a preliminary survey 75% have given approval!!!

quite an interesting comparison???

jizobosatusu...

at the foot of tokyo tower is a buddhist temple...zojoji

with a lot of these little statues in the grounds

they're called jizobusatusu

they are the buddhist equivalent of angels

and protect the souls of unborn children

people who have lost an unborn child can dedicate an image

and decorate with bonnets, windmills, flowers, etc

upmarket shopping in ginza...not for the likes of me!!!

tokyo tower...333m high...to be outdone in 2012 by the tokyo sky tree...634m!!!

toyko sky tree info here

more food...korean this time...but cooked in tokyo!!!

chijimi

a kind of pancake

tteopoki

spicy sauce with vegetables and rice pasta

i like cake...all kinds are ok!!!

there are still a few persimmons left on the trees...

 (nakameguro)

i don't like karaoke in the uk...

singing in a huge room in front of total drunk strangers is not my idea of fun...but in japan..it is fabulous...we get our own room with just our group...disco lighting...an enormous selection of songs...a good menu of food/drink all delivered by a waiter!!!

which do you prefer?

over-the-top mikimoto...or minimal applemac???

nice patisserie near oyamadai station...

i chose a polonnaise cake

and a hot milk tea

yummy!!!

the latest hearthrobs for japanese women...

apparently these 4 are the latest craze for middle-aged, mostly married japanese women...this adoration of idols is taken to extremes here with obsessive behaviour like waiting for hours at hotels for a sighting, queueing to get tickets, buying all kinds of spin-off goods like books, pens, key-rings, housekeeping books, passport covers...the list is endless

the korean actor craze has been and still is the biggest craze here..."winter sonata" the korean drama that started it all was shown on tv here in 2002 and the craze for the main actor, yon-sama, continues...he has released books, opened a restaurant here and is the voice-over for an animation version of the drama...women even go to korea for what are called shadowing trips...the women are taken to places where the idol is expected to be...like the gym or cafe...and they wait and wait and wait for a sighting or hopefully a smile

this behaviour is quite interesting to me as i cannot imagine it happening in the uk...of course we  follow celebrities but not to this extent...maybe the japanese are just very very good at capitalising on a product...my own personal theory is that a japanese housewife has a husband who is so busy at work and tired at home, she needs romance and fantasy to interrupt her domestic routine and fill some kind of hole in her emotions

there is no doubt that these guys are good-looking...but i don't think i can wait for hours to catch a glimpse...but...you never know!!!

today's sky...

some familiar faces found in ginza!!!

christmas is coming to musashi-koyama!!!

nice display atsu, ayako, souta, rio & sao!!!

(sorry photo is a bit blurred...my mistake)

mikimoto building 2...ginza...by toyo ito

steel skin so no support columns needed

nice!!!

the comme ca store in shinjuku has a wonderful interior including a sand garden!!!

yesterday i started shodo (calligraphy) lessons...

we rub the stick of black sumi on the block to make our own ink...this is a kind of cleansing before we pick up the brush...i spent 90 minutes trying to control the brush to make horizontal lines!!!

on sunday we also made japanese pickles...

chinese leaves (hakusai)

flavoured with konbu, chilli and soy sauce

konbu = a kind of seaweed

in the sticks of tokyo yesterday...

 still some autumn colours on the hills

(musashi itsukaichi)