do you want to see the world?

Kyoto 京都市

Religion is not in prayer, but in an underlying way of life.

God is not confined in a name, or in a certain way of thought, but in light.

Enlight.

Welcome to Japan.

With mind and arms wide open, alll good hearts are welcome, regardless of their beliefs.

Moving on Up,

...climbing on down. The world is a set of perfectly paired opposites, claimed Parmenides. Each one carefully fitting into self-contained preconceptions of right and wrong. good and bad. Others called it Yin and Yang. Black and White. Good and Evil. But then came those who asked if weight could be weightless and lightness unbearable. Came those who looked at all the shades of grey and the world sprawling within them. Still, in Japan, most of those haven't came around. Conditioned. tagged. pre-defined. Logical. Accepting. Abiding. And Kundera by my side still pondering on this unbearable lightness of being that here, most don't seem to understand. Because they haven't even reached the point of even posing the question. Silent acceptance. On the way to work. On the way from work. In their homes. Outside themselves. Japan is this silent sea of ever-moving unquestionability.

Tsukiji #05

"Return is the reconciliation with life's finitude"

Milan Kundera

Tsukiji #04

Tsukiji #03

Tsukiji #02

Tsukiji

On the Agenda for the weekend

" Welcome home, Man of the house.

Would you like your maid to serve you some tea?

And some therapeutic care?

Please unwind and make yourself at home "

Note to Customers:

PINK : The Maids dressed in PINK offer a higher level of service, such as therapeutic care. They’ll help alleviate all the stresses of the day.

BLACK : The Maids dressed in BLACK AND WHITE specialize in cafe service.

If you require any assistance, please ask

Kaizen #04

For the next couple of days, you can find me (on display) over here

Lost in Translation

...when you come to Tokyo, you can't escape some common place clichets.

Like visiting the New York Bar at the Park Hyatt's 52th floor.

Or sometimes feeling like this:

Roadtrip

Patagonia is the portion of South America mostly in Argentina and partly of Chile made up of the Andes mountains to the west and south and plateaus and low plains to the east.

To the east of the Andes, it lies south of the Neuquén River and Colorado rivers, and, to the west of the Andes, south of (39°S), excluding the Chiloé Archipelago.^[1] East of the Andes the Argentine portion of Patagonia includes the provinces of Neuquén, Río Negro, Chubut, Santa Cruz, and Tierra del Fuego, as well as the southern tips of the provinces of Buenos Aires, Mendoza and La Pampa. The Chilean portion embraces the southern part of the region of Los Lagos, and the regions of Aysen and Magallanes. It excludes those portions of Antarctica claimed by both countries.

Patagonia is where we'll be in November.

Wannabe tourist #02

.::109::.

is a mandatory stop for teenage girl shoppers as well as Tokyotes fashionistas, and therefore, for western guy tourists all the same. Located in Shibuya, it oversees the famous crossroad where millions of ever in a hurry people cross everyday as well as one of our "meetup" points, a coffee called Cheesecake - heaven and home for all things cheeselike.

Life(Style)

...is like Nike's slogan.

(either you do it or you don't)


And that's all there's to it.

(photo: my home's garbage bins)

Moving out, moving on #04

And finally, this morning we moved our bags from the Hotel to our litlle cozy japanese style HOME!

(pictures soon, promise!)

Moving out, moving on #02

Home = 泉岳寺

Due to a rather untrustworthy landlord that wouldn't want to commit on move in due date and other episodes we decided that it was probably best to keep the other house (contestant #01 Sengakuji/Takanawa/Minato-ku)

Located right next door to one of Tokyo's most celebrated Temples my soon-to-be-home oversees a nice little garden and has a warm, sunny typical japanese feel to it.

And almost as soon as I move in, I'll get to watch one of the reenactments of the tale of 47 Ronin - the samurai that committed seppuku after avenging their master, and that now rest in Sengakuji, next to Lord Asano and Kira - one of best know and most appreciated in Japanese history.

photo credits: Stéfan

Moving out, moving on!

changing places
(part I starts tomorrow, part II probably by Thursday)

Strolling down Shibuya #02

photo credits: Yuki

Strolling down Shibuya #01

photo credits: Yuki and Antonio

On the Agenda for the day

Akihabara
(electric town)

秋葉原