The last time I was in the Harajuku/Aoyama/Omotesando area it was cold and wet. On this trip, the sun was shining and bathed everything in golden light. Shadows were dense and dancing, and there were covetable bicycles and pretty sights around every corner. So I got a little trigger-crazy.

I need to stop bringing out so many cameras though. Aching shoulder notwithstanding, the juggling really got to me.

Ikebukuro

It was a cold morning.
I sat at the hotel's smoking corner for the free wifi.
Wearing red socks. They kept slipping down.
Decided to buy new socks from IOIO departmental store but it was only 10am.
Ootoya for breakfast? Haven't had the chance to try it in SG.
Yes! It's open.
Had salmon. Was alright.
Sat by window and wondered why such a large group of people was needed to close off the main road. The Japanese do it most methodically. It's like they have a rule book complicating things.
Waiting to cross the road. Drizzling. Two girls discussed in Mandarin how long my hair was.
Holding damp umbrella and wondering if it's okay to spend so much on a pair of socks. But Vivienne Westwood socks come in the craziest designs.
Paid for socks with credit card.
High school marching band! Girls with cute blue capes!
Pictures. 3GS goes black screen. Panic.
Finish taking pictures. Returned to hotel to attempt to revive phone.
100 yen to use the internet.
No phone. Unable to convert yen to SGD, how was I supposed to shop?
Google Apple service centres. Ginza. Which station exit is the nearest?
No way to tell time? What if I miss my flight?
Panic.
Breathe. Mind clears a little. Google black screen iPhone 3GS.
There it is, the solution.
What would I do without Google?
Head towards station.
What's going on?
Lots of people sitting in neat rows on the road, waiting for something to happen.
In chronological order:

Actually there are more of that morning. But the ones on the Golden Half are magical, somehow. They remind me of every single thing that happened - if not for loose socks and a phone blackout, I would have left Ikebukuro before the festivities started. They're like my portkey.

I really like the pictures taken with the 110 Ikimono camera. It makes me feel like I've gone back in time.

Collected the 13 rolls today but I'm really too sleepy to upload them. So here's one for fun first. I'm fascinated by how it looks like one of those colour sketches. I think I might even have once seen a drawing or poster of Omotesando that looks exactly like that.

I didn't realise that I'd taken so many pictures on my 3GS but I did. More than 300 of them.

It's not an astonishing number considering how much there is to capture in a city like Tokyo. But it is a little brow-raising when I factor in the 13 rolls of film waiting to be developed, and the fact that I no longer find a lot of charm in digital pictures.

But I like the camera on the iPhone. It produces pictures that ignite a warm, fuzzy feeling in me. It's not the sharpest chap around. Sometimes it's dreamy, sometimes it's hazy about details, sometimes it captures light so beautifully the resultant picture takes your breath away.

So I keep using it.

This is the view from my first hotel room. Stayed there for two nights. I would off all the lights, curl up on the couch by the floor-to-ceiling window, and stare at Tokyo Tower till I felt cushioned by the enigmatic city.

I wish my kindergarten was like that

Saw a programme trailer on CNA which got me googling.

For this amazing kindergarten. Fuji Kindergarten is located in Tachikawa, a suburban part of Tokyo.

(Images from Tezuka Architects.)

Check out this video on Monocle which will take you through some fun aspects of the school. There are also more great pictures.

My favourites are the slide and the classroom skylights which come attached with ropes that students can climb to get to the deck roof.

Cafe & Meal MUJI

From 8tokyo.com.

Sigh. I miss Tokyo.

Amazing

In May 2005 following a short helicopter ride over Tokyo [Stephen Wiltshire] drew a stunningly detailed panoramic view of the city on a 10-meter-long canvas from memory.

- Official Stephen Wiltshire website

If you don't want to watch the whole video, go straight to 6:49 to see the 10-metre long drawing.

This is my last set of Tokyo photos

After this I'll have to visit again in order to have more photos to blog with.



I went to Asakusa for the sole purpose of visiting the amusement park. But the Buddhist temple Sensoji was very beautiful too. It was a crowded day.

Before I left I joined the people praying at the main entrance and I noticed coins flying over my head and falling with a ting! into some spot far up front. I suppose no one could get ahead and pushing and jostling were simply not done. I tossed a 100 yen coin over everyone too. It was too infectious seeing all those flying coins.

There were many busy streets flanking the temple. I stopped to watch this amazing string puppet show. So many strings were involved and the movements of the puppets so lifelike it was awe inspiring. The man had to stop after each segment to wipe his perspiration so you can imagine the amount of concentration and energy he exerted in orchestrating such tiny, defined movements.

There was a casual eatery next to this show so I sat down for a tendon. Later I learnt that there was a famous tendon place in the same area but that would have to wait for the next trip.

It was an overcast day and the photos are badly underexposed but just to get a feel of it.

And the reason for my being in Asakusa. The old school Hanayashiki Amusement Park.

I thought it over a really long time before I went on the carousel as well. It was embarassing as the only adults on it were supervising kids. But I told myself no one would recognise me and while the Japanese might stare they don't comment loudly and rudely or point, so it would be okay. Super paiseh but enjoyable too.



















The roller coaster was small but fun. I got a lot of stares for being there alone and taking lots of kiddy rides. But it's okay.

I miss Japan.

i miss tokyo

at the imperial palace