It's a very old castle full of priceless Italian paintings, Egyptian sculptures, Greek statues and French Kings' ghosts. It's a mythic museum, a touristic spot and a gathering place. There is always a smell of mystery in the air when you enter it and see the pyramid. As if the aliens were invading the old castle.

When it's warm like this, you can't prevent yourself to look for the water, even when you're walking in the less natural-looking area of Paris. Thanks God, the Seine River is always here for you !
パリは現在、蒸し暑いです。それでいつも川の近くに歩いてみます。

If you like typical French-style gardens, you will love the Tuileries.
(I tried to teach a Japanese how to say this word properly. Mission impossible. If you are Japanese and you read this post, it's a challenge for you...)
Under the sun, it looks like a giant fry pan (I was there, trust me), but this is the kind of place which was born to show the royal power to the world, and five centuries later, it still smells like the perfume of Catherine de Medicis.

この公園、知っていますか。カタカナで書き方が分かりませんが、スタイルがとてもフランスぽいです。今日パリには本当に暑かったですがこの場所の歴史は興味深いですから素敵な散歩ができました。

The Kingdom of Denmark VS the Empire of the Sun... (Tonight - Football - Denmark VS Japan).

Ok, ok, I don't understand anything about football, I don't care about the World Cup, I disagree with the assumption that this big money business may solve the social issues in my society - as if we couldn't do anything against racism, discrimination and violence without winning the cup... In France, football players are treated as gods, and everyone seems surprised when they realize that the guys are totally disconnected with the reality, that they don't even care about the basic values of sport - effort, fairplay, team-spirit.
Anyway. It's easier to like the Japanese team, because everybody says they're not very strong, they're not going to go very  very far, but... but... they fight a lot, they show a kind of tea-spirit any Frenchy should be envious of,;so they make the show, and we like them. That's the difference between cool loosers and uncool loosers. Cool loosers... can win !

And here they are ! Doesn't it remind you an anime broadcasted a long, long time ago ?...

Go, Japan, go !

Yummy !

- French baguette
- Apple bread
- Mini-financier cookies
- Cheese
- Drink yogurt (pinapple - coco)
- Nectarine, cherries, strawberries
- Cappucino

Bon appetit !

In Paris too, you can find large and beautiful parks. This one is called "Buttes Chaumont" and strangely, tourists usually don't got there to have a walk, and that's a pity because it's one of the best parks in the region... The view is beautiful, the grass is green and people are relax.

パリにも、きれいな公園が見られます。ここは十九区のブットショーモンという所です。理由がないけど、環境者が少なくて、とても静かな公園です。でも景色は本当にきれいで、モンマートが見られます。

It's not sunny everyday in Paris, and 300 days a year, our old capital doesn't deserve her name of "Ville Lumiere". But recently, I had the opportunity to walk a lot in a sunny, smiling Paris. I begin with the center : Notre Dame and the riverside around.

大好きな東京が忘れられないけど、パリもとても魅力的な町です。最近良く散歩して、とてもきれいな景色が見られました。
これは本当にパリの中心です。いい天気の時、すばらしいところになります。パリの雰囲気に興味があったら、この場所が好きかもしれません。

Waiting for "The Last Airbender"... let's learn waterbending, sis !

Me and you, waterbenders...

I am spending the summer far from Japan, and more than ever, I need some material to dream. Fortunately my sister rescued me introducing me to the world of an anime which is going to be adapted into a movie next month. Even if the anime is American, the aesthetic is Asian-oriented (but without useless fake-manga style) and it's a pleasure to see how the Westerners can sometimes be inspired by Eastern cultures, images and customs - I had the same emotion watching some Tarentino's movies for example. I have the feeling that in the West, we barely know the Asian continent and its diversity. So I'm thanksful to the people who are interested in the different philosophies hidden behind calligraphy, religions (hinduism, taoism, buddhism...) and martial arts or body disciplines (yoga, kung-fu, taichi, ba gua, hung gar...); especially when they don't try to "do" manga and just focus on creating an original design.

A big plus : the animation is made in Korea... and it's just perfect.
The nation of Fire is supposed to represent the Japanese aesthetic - for me, it looks very Chinese but at the same time, the Japanse aesthetic is based on the Chinese one, so... Anyway, it has been turned into an Indian-style world in the movie.

Many shops in Japan have a French or almost-French name, whatever their link with our sweet France... It is something funny for us to see French-sounding words everywhere in the city, but the language of Moliere is not always perfectly used or adapted to the situation - the well-known brands "Comme ça du Mode" and "Cocue" are the most famous examples. The following shops have been randomly selected during my walks in Tokyo.

Allez, la France, alleeeeez...

CEUX QUI SONNENT JUSTE

Après la pluie...

Enraciné / Eté / Etoffe

Bises / Blonde

Un plus Un / Merci Beaucoup



LES COMIQUES

Le Petit Mec / Les Enfants Gâtés / Mamours

Hop Chou a La creme

LES APPROXIMATIFS

Champ de Herbe / Fleurage Un

L'Air Bon / Laissé Passé

Le Souk Prix d'Or / Robe de Tisse

Musée de Peau

Quatre Heures (c'est un coiffeur...)

LES PERLES

Franche Lippée

 
Un Petit Coeur by Concierge