Blue Skies . M&D day 2

After a quick brekkie at Pronto coffee, we headed back on the Yamanonte and Toden Arakawa lines to reach Otsuka. We arrived at my dorm to show them around properly and unload some of the bits and bobs brought from Australia. I opened my collection of Christmas present and was a happy little vegemite. My little cousins G and J drew adorable pictures for me, pleading “please come back”. Next we headed to Sakuramiya as my old man was very keen to check out the coffee brew. T-san and K-san greated us all with great delight and we exchanged formalities before each ordering a coffee and cake set. Mum oohed and ahhed over the ambiance whilst playing with the array kaleidoscopes and Dad sat humbly fascinated with K-san's skills behind the coffee machine. Surprisingly, T-san presented mum with a kaliescope she made just for her, Mum was obviously as overwhelmed by the present as dad was with the taste of the coffee. T-san called the owner K-san and twenty minutes later K-san and M (bearing his Australia beanie) greeted us and sat down. For the next hour or so Dad and I drank another coffee while mum chatted with k-san and T-san. We eventually left  after a touching goodbye and Mum and Dad were positively overwhelmed by the generosity and friendliness of everyone they just met. It was a wonderful and fitting way for Mum and Dad to interact with local Japanese for the first time. After travelling on the Toden Arakawa, Yamanote and Toei Oedo lines we reached our destination of a completely different scale to Sakuramiya; the top of Mori Tower in Roppongi Hills. It was a chilly, however crystal clear day and you could see the seemingly endless concrete landscape disappear as far as the eye could reach. Tokyo bay and the distant mountains where in full view. We then whizzed through the Metoblism exhibition as I explained the key ideas and pointed out the key exhibits. Mum and Dad where surprisingly engaged and impressed by the concepts and the exhibition overall. It is a wonderful exhibition however you need two proper visits to get through the information and battle the "museum fatigue". It was approaching half past four and we began our journey towards the Invoice theatre to see the early evening show of Blue Man Group. Pumped! These guys are supremely entertaining and hard to place. Using their trademark PVC pipe apparatus' they pumped out a handful of musical numbers. The show was half a comedic mime always involving stunned but willing audience members and half musical performance. It was a profoundly entertaining, engaging, humorous and skillful show that clearly portrayed these blue men as true showmen. I would definitely not baulk at the chance to see them again. 

A special delivery . M&D day 1

Today was a long awaited and nourishing day. It began by waking up at the crack of noon post a grueling 72 hours at the ASUS helm, clicking away for my university project. My brains cogs spun into gear and I realised I was a little late to meet with the owner of the Sakuramira Cafe down the road. I made myself presentable and dashed out the door. I entered to the delight of T-san and I immediately introduced myself to everybody, ordered a long double espresso and sat down. I met K her husband A and their son M. A could speak good English and we found common ground by sharing our hiking adventures in Nepal. A delivery man entered, whom they all seemed to know well and joined the conversation. After an hour or so, being fed delicious apple pastry, onigiri, receiving gifts and having constant laughs with these generous locals, I really felt quite overwhelmed by it all. To thank my mother for her painting, M made a box set of origami,so I quckly ran home to fetch an Australia beanie to return the gratitude. After another hour or so I left also realising my plans to properly prepare for my parents evening arrival under stress. The next few hours was hectically spent on polishing the travel itinerary and my room. I almost made a huge blunder with the airport express train however my desperate dash across Ueno station saved me. However it was all in vain as my parents flight came in late and they were seated at the back of the plane. As I was waiting in the arrival hall I glared at the televised CNN, realising I hadn't watched English telly since I left Australia. I am not sure whether that's a good or bad thing. Eventually, Big Cam and Mamma Jugs appeared and we warmly embraced. It was mighty fine to see them. We organised ourselves and boarded the Narita Skyliner to Ueno then changed to the Yamanote line to Shimbashi, and after a few bothersome flights of stairs with luggage and getting the analogue train tickets under control, we made it to the hotel. I am so very pleased to be indulging in a spring mattress for the next few nights; my sternum and collar bones can have a rest. We then headed back out and made our way via the JR Yamanote and Toden Arakawa lines to my home in Otsuka to grab my bags and have a bite to eat. However the error in my ways was that the time flew and we had to quickly dash from my room into a cab, straight back to the JR station to not miss the last train at midnight. Luckily we got there and we were on a our way back to Shimbashi with my bags on my back. As I explained to my parents earlier in the evening that the Japanese white collar workers like to hit the drink after work and usually tumble into the last trains. Little did I plan for them to witness it on their first night. There was the obligatory man on all fours spewing his guts out on the Otsuka platform (better out than in I always say) and most of the passengers on the return journey where swaying in a boozy and unconscious manner. We were all famished by the time we got back to Shimbashi and we decided to get the 'gotta try maccas' thing out of the way now to keep things simple. 

So after driving to the airport, two flights, four trains, a tram and a taxi my wide Tokyo-eyed parents made it to Japan.

 

 

Indigo Jam Unit

Sublime Japanese Nu-Jazz outfit Indigo Jam Unit

Hiroshige Ando Museum - Kuma Kengo

On this Christmas eve, B and I decided we would embark on a three hour journey to our professors most highly acclaimed building; The Hiroshige Ando Museum. Starting early and after a long night in front of the screen, we both nodded in and out of consciousness throughout the journey. Nonetheless, the weather was fresh and clear which provided us great views of a a snow capped mount Fuji and surrounding mountainous ranges when our eyes were open. This again immediately sparked my memories of the Annapurna region in Nepal.

It has become increasingly clearer to me just how significant my experience was in India and Nepal.

We finally reached the building in the small town of Bato. The approach to the museum is a key element of the Kuma's design. Set at the foot of a small mountain, the large opening draws you towards the base of the steps towards the towns Shinto shrine hidden in mountain woods. Kuma professed during a lecture last week that his intention was use the museum as a vessel to draw visitors to both the shrine and the exquisite artwork inside. We took various photographs of the exterior and entry foyer for at least two hours. We discussed the detailing, philosophy and play of light like two archi students do...tragic really...however this building really does deserve proper attention. The layering of timber and aluminum slats, large sheets of glass and the exposed steel members make for a highly layered, ephemeral and reflective structure overall. I was pleasantly surprised at how robust , and dare I say crude at times, the structure was up close despite its achieved appearance being relentlessly crisp. Hiroshige's Ukiyo prints were a pleasure to see and building fittingly took backstage where it was required in the modestly sized exhibition spaces. It was getting on mid afternoon so B and I decided to head to the gift shop...oh boy. I ended up buying up big on hand reproduced prints: four of Hiroshige and two of Hokusai. We sat down at the museum restaurant for a delicious buckwheat soba lunch and I went the whole nine yards by ordering the locally roasted specialty coffee as well (Saza Coffee). Damn it was good.

B and I then made our way up the mountain to the Shrine. At this point it was 4:30 and the sun was descending quickly behind the distant mountains. The yellow warmth draped over the roof of the museum and filtered through the tall trees further up the path. It genuinely felt great to be there and the thought of heading back to grey Tokyo was not so appealing. Nonetheless as night well and truly fell we heading to the bus stop and on the way I picked up the last sad looking Christmas cake from a local sweet shop (my desperate attempt to spark some festive spirit). I snoozed all the way back to Tokyo, cheerfully parted ways with B at Ueno and disappeared into the Yamanote line crowd.

Djan Djan

Djan Djan a collaboration between Malian Kora master, Mamadou Diabte, Australian blues (disturbed folk) guitarist-singer-songwriter Jeff Lang and Indian tabla savant Bobby Singh. This footage below is one of great source of inspiration and enjoyment. I find almost nothing better than to be overwhelmed by witnessing masters at work and to see three come together to create something so harmonious is nothing short of spellbinding. The album was actually recognised by the ARIA's last year and won world album of the year.

I have listened to Lang's music for a few years now and he is the main reason I fell in love with the wiessenborn style acoustic lap steel. Lang plays a custom acoustic lap steel made in Ballarat by David Churchill, if you notice in the clip just how big in both depth and width the hollow neck is. This creates an incredible resonating tone. Other great lap steel players I listen to are Xavier Rudd, Ben Harper, Andrew Winton and John Butler.

double espresso onegaishimasu カフェ巣鴨桜宮

I am blessed as a coffee gargling Melbournian to have Cafe Sugamo Sakuramiya literally 2 minutes walk from my dorm. Run by the lovely Kazuya-San and Tomoko-San, the cafe is an intimate single room that embodies a long shared table made from single piece of lumber. The harmonous color scheme of sakura pinks, sand, DeStijl green and natural timbers is warm and homely. As you open the door you are met with the startling Victoria Arduino Two-Group Semi-automatic Venus Bar coffee machine finished is high polished copper, with accompanying coffee grinder. Oh boy is there no expense spared here. I almost fell over when I first entered. Kazuya-San is the commander of his pride and joy and see the care he takes for each cup and for the machine is evidence of  man in love. Ever since going to Italy, I hardly get milk coffee's anymore so double espresso is my usual order. I am no coffee connoisseur however the Mexican-Ethiopian bean blend is just superb as an espresso. The acidity is low and there is a slight fruity aftertaste. Tomoko-San makes friendly conversation with everybody and also takes great pride in serving her homemade waffles (cheese, ice-cream or maple syrup) or cheesecake. All of which are delicious. They gave me a present the other day I assume because of my frequent business and bringing a friend in a couple of times. Today I returned the favor by giving them one of my mothers beautiful oil paintings, The Billy on the Boil, which was accepted with great delight. Kazuya-San was by his lonesome today and he proceeded to tell me he and Tomoko-San had too much sake last night and he was hung over. Hilarious guy. I look forward to the next brew.

To get there take the Toden Arakawa line (single carriage tram line) from JR Otsuka Station (Yamanote Line). Get off at Koshinsuka station (5 minutes) and walk East for about 2 minutes and its on the right.

Nengajo Making Workshop

I have been a fan of the Hello Sandwich blog since stumbling across it months ago. Run by the kind spirited E, an Australian Artist from Sydney, Hello Sandwich runs spin off craft workshops that are held often for fellow craft lovers to participate in a relaxed, creative and social manner. Thursday night was my first, and would say not my last, Hello Sandwich workshop. The agenda was to create Nengajo cards for friends and family (New Years).

The night didn't begin so smoothly as I was coming straight from university and got off a station too early. After misguided directions from the eager Family Mart clerk I was royally lost and 10 minutes late at this point. After a brief phone call to the friendly Miyuki-chan from Commune Gallery, I ran through the dark streets to eventually find the gallery and enter its refreshing white and pop-color environment. I was then stunned to see that two of the eight people part of the workshop were fellow RMIT people that I met a few years ago. The next two hours was a mix of light conversation, laughter, intense concentration (I can't help myself), and ended with little exhibition of our creations. I had all my model making tools in my rucksack, so I made good use of my blades, tweezers and fine-tip pens. The locals at my table were quietly working away however we spoke briefly about what we do and so on. They were all lovely people. E was a lovely host and enjoyed her obvious passion for Japan and craft.

C and S then invited me along with their two friends to dinner. So we then set off back towards Shimokitazawa station to find somewhere to eat. We eventually found a place which C humorously called Chicken on Pig based on the establishments logo being just that: a chicken on a pig. We entered and for two hours we talked about whacky Japanese idiosyncrasies, guitars, ate chicken and pig, edamame (steamed soy beans), and drank beer. After dinner, I parted with the lovely C and S at Shinjuku, and headed home chuffed with the evenings activities after a stressful and grinding day at Uni.

Hello Sandwiches blog post can be seen here...enjoy;
http://hellosandwich.blogspot.com/2011/12/commune-gallery-nengajo-making-workshop.html

Belevedere Portrait

This is a portrait I did as part of the Peter Corrigan Studio. Three months of my life that pushed my colleagues and I to the brink of our creative and philosophical thresholds. We all spiraled out of control towards a very simple contention of whether architecture is our true life's vocation.

Belvedere Portait, Pastel Pencil on Recycled Cartridge, 410x297mm

Toudai Autumn II

The University of Tokyo Hongo campus this-morning was at its most beautiful state. All the golden leaves where falling illuminated by the very welcome sun. It has been raining most of the week. It was quite the popular scene amongst many amateur and professional photographers. Families and their damn cute tiny tots rustled amongst the bed of leaves.