20090329

TALES ON THE WALL

v Japonii, kak v drugix mestax, risobat graffiti na stene zapresheno.
no, inogda mozhno naiti takie professionalinie graffiti v tsentre.
eti mozhno smotret na stene nedalko ot SHIBUYA sta.ya dabno eti zamechala, potomy, stho ya vcegda xodila v Univ. mimo eti pictures.
the animals painted on this wall does have unique atmosphere in whole, as if the "weired fairy tale" were unfolding on the corner of the sideway. could be illegal painting, but sometimes thiese kind of public art really entertain us on the streets.
Recently, a huge painting of Taro Okamoto(1911-1996), has been set on the wall of walk-through in Shibuya station.
Kind of..I really felt a sense of fun on this project!
He is a famous Japanese artist for his avan-garde paintings and sculpture.Setting it in open, public spaces such as Shibuya sta. enables us to enjoy art in daily life, indeed. it is said, that about 300 thousand people are using that pathway.
paintings could be enjoyed not only in museums, but more in public spaces, too.

SATURDAY AFTERNOON



IN YOYOGI-PARK, Shibuya

HE SAYS,

Cegodnya, na HARAJUKU, ya nesluchaino bidela odnogo iz nashego samogo izvestnogo lits.
On goborit, " Yes, we can't".
it can be taken in...many ways?

20090328

URBAN OASIS

EVERY year, we have SAKURA Fes. near my office around this season.
"ARK HILLS" , a complex in AKASAKA holds this festival annually, because there are lots of SAKURA trees nearby. (Unfortunately, they are far from full bloom at the moment. )
Basically there are lots of office in the a complex, but cafes and shops,too.
The area is surrounded by greenery, and it makes us forget about restless working for a while.


THESE days, this kind of complex cities, which concern about environment are seen several spots in centre of Tokyo. The area is not only for shopping, but people can enjoy oasis in urban air, feel relaxed little bit. such as Roppongi Hills, Akasaka Sacas ..are also good examples as I think.
Roof gardens are getting popular,too.
maybe only people in narrow crowded capital could think of this idea?

By the way, I really like that people in Moscow often go their cottage in suburban green area on the weekend. In such way, they seem to swich from daily busy mind to relaxed and calm one.
They do have a knack! - that's what I thought.

20090325

CALMNESS

AS I mentioned before, there is a beautiful mosque named "Tokyo Camii & Turkish culture centre" in Yoyogi-Uehara, Tokyo. I have been interested in this place since I was a student, because it seemed very unique to us and I didn't know there are many Muslems living in Tokyo then. According to a staff from Tokyo Camii, there are about 120 thousand Muslems living in Japan. Quite a lot than I expected.


Here is open to everybody, except for praying time.
it is said, that this mosque has been originally built in 1938 by Kazan Turks who had moved to Japan. the reason of their migration was foundation of Soviet Russia in 1917 and it made Turkish migrate to different areas of world. Then some of them also have made their livlifood here in Japan. the bidg was renovated in 1986, so it is nearly 20-year-old.

those who are praying here are business-men, students, or others from Islamic countires including Indonesia, Pakistan, Malaysia, Bangladesh, Tukey and countries in central asia, too.
Japan is often thought as homogeneous country.
But I think it is changing with times for sure.

20090320

SEASIDE WEDDING


TODAY, I had my friend's wedding party in ZUSHI, known as a kind of seaside resort area near from Tokyo. It was raining hard in the morning, but it became bright and sunny when the reception started.


the ceremonial site is located inside the huge area with resort villas and there is even yacht basin! how wonderful if I could spend my weekends in such beautiful places and feel refreshed and relaxed..ZUSHI is only 1hour or so from the centre of Tokyo, then you can enjoy such lovely view.

couples often hold wedding ceremonies at Church here in Japan. there is also Shinto-style wedding, but fewer than at church as I feel.
...Why?
some might say that even if they are not real christians,most of women prefer to hold the ceremony in resort area in romantic mood, not in solemn Shinto-style.

...whatever be the style of ceremony, always good to be in happy mood, and celebrate bran-new start.

20090318

IN A LINE

I like to see people waiting in a line on platform.
especially standing in neat row like a photo above(at Yoyogi-Uehara on Odakyu line).
"IN A LINE" - is seen at busstops, stations, or every scenes in our daily life.

this is pretty ordinary thing to us, but i have realized it is our very unique character after I have lived in Moscow nearly 4 years ago.

There was almost nobody waiting in row at metro stations, bus-stops or other public places. i feel that is complete disorder at the very first time,
but i've begun getting used to it. Moreover, I've realized in that way, society still works, and it is quite OK.
(as well as in Beijing, Shanghai in China)

people tend to think that the society they 're belong to is the only and most common one if they keep living in the same place for a certain period.

but it's not true.
Common-sense in a society is not a common-sence in the neigbor society.
very simple, but sometimes easy to forget about it.

20090314

PIECES of PEACE














THESE pieces of work are all done by dry- lacquer. this weekend, I visited an exbition of my cousin's husband in Yoyogi-Uehara, SHIBUYA.
They are both lacquer workers, based in KANAZAWA, capital of Ishikawa pref. Lacruer is familiar to us as lacquer-bowl often used for Miso-soup in our daily life. Also, it has been used for Buddha statues for many many years.

pieces of work above are all made by using Lacquer.

pretty interesting that all those lovely pieces were born by such an ancient technique, but they look modern,too.
taking over ancient method creates smth new.
(the area where the gallery located is quite calm, even not so far from the centre. Especially, there is a beautiful mosque! named Tokyo Camii & Turkish Culture Centre. great place to know Islam, see inside the mosque.)

fish served ALIVE


SASHIMI, sliced raw fish is our popular food.




i ate raw flatwish in FUKUOKA during my stay. fish in Fukuoka is really fresh, better than Tokyo as I think.

as you see, it is dished up like being alive! we call it "IKIZUKURI"(fish served alive) , that meens slices of flesh having been cut and put back in place.


Uh, it sounds a bit cruel actually..


I feel there is a persistance to "setout" in Japanese food. sometime it is almost like an art, an important factor to finish a dish as an artisan's work.

FUKUOKA with the SPIRIT





THE biggest city in KYUSHU, FUKUOKA is known as the gateway to other Asian cities like Hongkong, Shanghai, Seoul and Bankok.
as for this character, the local government, Fukuoka pref. is powerfully promoting a cultural exchange between the youth of Asia.
the girl above, studying in the art academy had group exbition in TENJIN area.

i like the area TENJIN,the centre of the city.
the Bldg. named " TENJINCORE" is one of the fasion stores in the area.
the atmosphere is almost like SHIBUYA109 in Tokyo.
girls dressing in the latest fashion are everywhere on the street.
it is really lively, full of the spirit!




HANEDA neo futuristic

VO aeroporty Haneda
the busiest airport in Japan.
i often use Haneda on my job. there is a long escalator to get to departure floor in Terminal2. the photo above is a view from there. feel like moving to the neo-futuristic space!

20090308

nonstop SHANGHAI

starbucks everywhere


away from hometown
shanghai girl


laundry path
bamboo scaffold


Na proshloi nedele, ya sedzila v Shanghai. tolko 2-3 hours flight iz Tokio. Boobshe, tam esti absolute energiya lyudei i goroda comogo, kotoruyu ya ne bizhyu v Tokio! pravda ochen dinamichno razvibaetsa. i vce takoe, tolko ryadom s nami sushestbyet..
Last week, I have been to Shanghai.Right before the world exibiton in 2010, Shanghai is really getting lively.
there is absolute energy of people, which is never seen and felt in today's Tokio.
Shanghai is really on the move. Besides, it is interesting indeed, that all these things happen only next to us..

privet vcem, welcome to токио-plus


Привет всем, welcome to токио-plus!
Menya zabut Meifoo, from Tokio. ya 100% yaponka.
na etom site, bydy vam poznakomit raznie litsa goroda Tokio, plus various places(bnytrii, v tom chisle bneshnii Yaponii) gde ya sedzila.
hello, everyone, welcome to токио-plus!
My name is Meifoo, from Tokyo. Im living and grown up in Tokyo.
trying to update and share various faces of my hometown Tokyo, and also other places(abroad,too) where I have been to.
trying to post in English and Russian, to make
everyone easily connect with this site.
words and photo by meifoo
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