Tokyo montage

I don't know how to remember Tokyo by.

The food? - which was fantastic and cheap compared to the Japanese food in Singapore of the same quality.

The people? - who on the surface are so civic-minded and polite but underneath it all, I think they are still human, very much so.

The sights? - at once, old and new, traditional and modern, spacious and cramped.

Perhaps the moments? - when all senses become saturated with novel stimulants that awaken long forgotten awareness.

View of Tokyo from Mori Museum, Roppongi Hills - Tokyo Tower on the right


Busy Tokyo highway as viewed from Mori Museum, Roppongi Hills

Telephone wires in Kamakura

Lantern at Sensoji's Thunder Gate - 340metres to the temple

Torii at Meiji Shrine, evening of New Year's Eve

Shabu Shabu!

Tsukiji Market seafood fare

Sake barrels

Lanterns at Meiji Shrine


Daruma dollsWater purification

Shibuya Crossing - Big Yellow Taxi caught amongst the human traffic

Shibuya Crossing

Big Buddha at Kamakura

Big Buddha at Kamakura

New Year divinations

I am not entirely sure if I just miss traveling or the places that I visit.

Maybe it is true that the journey is more than the destination. But to lead a wandering life, like a vagabond, doesn't quite qualify as an ambition.

Tokyo experiments

Messing around with shutter speed and aperture while on the way from Narita to ANA hotel.





Somehow the pics appeal to me.....

The music of Tokyo

This is a short and simple entry about the three songs I have associated with Tokyo:

Whistle Song - Fantastic Plastic Machine
I was listening to this on the aeroplane radio mix for dance music. It was so familiar and I almost recognised the track but the stewardess had to collect the headphones back. So I spent the rest of the bus ride from Narita Airport to ANA hotel trying to find the song on my iPod cause I was so damn sure I had it. Finally found it!

Clark Gable - The Postal Service
Was watching most of the first season of The O.C. while in Jados' apartment. And for those who watch, will know that Seth's a fan of Death Cab. Same here. I also like his offshoot, The Postal Service. And on the way from ANA hotel to Narita, was listening to Death Cab and The Postal Service. With the rain pouring outside the bus and the words of a song that goes:

I was waiting for a cross-town train
In the London underground
When it struck me
That I've been waiting since birth to find
A love that would look and sound
Like a movie
So I changed my plans
I rented a camera and a van
And then I called you
"I need you to pretend that we are in love again"
And you agreed to

I want so badly to believe
That "there is truth, that love is real"
And I want life in every word
To the extent that it's absurd

With much going on in my mind....the lyrics seems to be about my imagined life. Especially the bit about looking for a love that would look and sound like a movie.

No Rain - Blind Melon
My favourite song in 1993. While most other guys in my school were digging Nirvana, Smashing Pumpkins, Red Hot Chilli Peppers and Stone Temple Pilots, this was the song that really gripped me. And this was also the song that was playing when the aeroplane was taking off from Narita, with the rain continuing to fall....

Atelier de Production et Creation

So I bought my selvage jeans. From apc in Daikanyama, Tokyo. Or should it be Naka Meguro? Anyway...

I think I've gotten enough clothes for the next half year or so...with the pre/post christmas and new year sales here and on my oversea trips, my bank account is screaming at me.

There's also the Threadless Ts that just came in when I returned from Tokyo..

In case you're wondering, yes, if you buy the female apc jeans, the model comes with it.

And while I was in the shop, I caught sight of these beauties. APC collaborating with Nike to produce this classic tennis shoes. Dark grey suede details on leather. And the APC logo on the tongue...

I checked the french website. The shoes are going for 110Euro, same price as the jeans. But I got the two together for much less. More like 165Euro for the two.