phone-call.
God forbid if she was ever allowed to feel any form of happiness again. She had it squeezed dry from her sinewy hair; it dripped off the split-ends along with the residue of shampoo she forgot to wash off in her haste.
But what was she rushing from and hurrying to? What could have been more important that swabbing herself with a sponge and inappropriately fruity shower gel?
The phone was ringing.
Usually she’d let it ring. Ringringringringringringring. Drown it out with the stream of water from the aging shower-head. Sing loudly enough, badly enough, so that the tinny ringing would occasionally sound between verses.
-written on the train, Fukutoshin Line, Tokyo
a brief getaway.
Two weeks ago, when the plum rain (梅雨) was at its height, I went on a week-long trip to the Hokuriku region of Japan with my seniors from Singapore! Most of my photos were captured on my Nikon F50 (what should I name it!) and I haven’t had the time or the money to send the film for developing/scanning so here are some photos from my iPhone. 
Naoshima.
Yayoi Kusama’s Pumpkin, at the Benesse House beach.
Back in February, or was it March, I made a 10 day trip around Japan’s middle kingdom. One of the stops, was Naoshima of Kagoshima Prefecture, famed for being an art-island.
One of the houses in the Art House project. I’ve packed away my Naoshima books (I bought so many!) so I can’t refer to them to find the specific names. I know there’s the internet, but somehow I’d like to flip through the catalogs and read up more information that way.
Another Art House project; this time James Turrell’s (who also has an installation in the Chichu Art Museum) Darkside of the Moon. One of my favourite installations. I have a soft spot for art pieces involving shadows and darkness, as cliche as that sounds.
It was a cloudy day when I went, and for short periods of time, the rain decided to have sporadic bursts around the island, and it was a bit of an ordeal trudging about in the winter wind. But there was something very calming about the island, and the weather. It was full of people, but not crowded and never once did I feel that there were too many people in one place. Walking about the island and discovering places not on the map, visiting the Art Houses, tip-toeing through the two main museums, I felt that I could live here and that I’d love to live here. One day I’m going to come back (next year?) and spend a night or two. What’s the island like at night? How would the outdoor installations feel in the darkening sky?
Sadly my film photos of the island are all gone! They got mixed up with my Miyajima photos so no lovely shots of the teabowl (I had to climb the pedestal — shhhh! — to get the shot I wanted!) or other secret photos!
The full set of photos is here.
8tokyo goodies.
By a serendipitous stroke of luck, I became friends with Yoko, the lovely founder of the equally cute & sparkling 8tokyo.com.
I was invited to dine with a group of her friends, along with Emily from Twitter, last Saturday at a popular yakitori place down in Omotesando/Aoyama. It was awesome meeting everyone — they were all so nice to me even though I was freaking out half the time.
When I met her at her office, Yoko passed me a packet of delightful goodies!
I wonder what’s inside… (I love the striped packaging!)
A cute mousepad with the horses drawn by Naho!
I’m going to pin this onto my Mitsubachi tote! (Also by Naho!)
Yoko also included a guide to Osaka, which I thought was incredibly thoughtful! I wish I had this when I went to Osaka back during Spring Break.
It’s well-designed, with good font-choice and beautiful photographs.
Speaking about photographs, I had the honor of meeting two photographers (Komiyama Yusuke and his wife) and they critiqued my very embarrassing portfolio. I’m usually not easily moved, but hearing them seriously go over my photos and give me advice was very, very nice of them. Thank you so much.
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Replies:
Yuri: Yes please! I’ve fallen in love with Matterhorn’s cakes. Can’t wait to go back again!
Gakugeidaigaku (学芸大学)
Traveling, traveling, I’m always traveling. Coming back to my dorm room in Nishiwaseda makes my other life blurred, and sometimes I just want to stop going to school and just go on a long trip with just a suitcase and my camera.
Lately, I’ve been taking photos with my F50 (5 rolls left undeveloped) and the Camera + app on my iPhone. The latter’s a pretty good app and well worth the money. I get sharp shots on the fly.
My culture class headed to Gakugeidaigaku (a favourite haunt of Hiki and Ebony) for an ikebana and sado class.
On the way to the school, I noticed Matterhorn! A cake shop that was raved about in Hiki and Ebony’s blogs! I dragged my classmates there and proceeded to gasp over the selection of cakes and ice cream.
Their boxes are darling.
I bought a custard choux cream and a mini mont blanc!