Sometimes, when you need to remember why you settled so far from your roots, there's nothing like a beautiful skyline. In Tokyo, the best spot to contemplate the glow of the city in the fading sunshine remains Odaiba's beach. Admire the gracious arch of Rainbow Bridge. Watch the stars and the party boats come out. Feel the beauty all around. And remember why you stand there.

Nagano: for me, it will always be the Winter Olympics, an eternity ago, when I was a child. White snow storms on the TV screen; freezing French reporters lost in translation. But in summer, the area of Nagano looks as green as Ireland and smells like holidays. Just as the French countryside I used to go in vacation with my family.

Hello, holidays

It seems that all holidays have these fresh woods and these appealling currents on the way.

Familiar view

Holidays homes too look amazingly the same. There are always logs at the entrance, chairs in the garden and a parasol waiting outside.

No barbecue, no holidays. Special thanks to the brave men of the party who sacrificed their lungs to the charcoal smoke.

And now, something radically different. So far it was the same holidays melody as ever, but the Japanese summer street festivals are adding some exotic spice to the journey.

And last but not least: fireworks! A must-see during Japanese holidays. Just like the sakura season, you never get tired of it...

I'm back in Tokyo now, but summer is not over!!

Lava rocks topped with creamy mist... Apocalypse landscape lost in the Nagano prefecture. Welcome to onioshidashi stone magma park, born from the eruption of Mount Asama in the XVIII Century.

Apocalypse now

I let you appreciate the stunning mix between the green and the black...

New planet

Still so many eerie landscapes to discover in the archipelago...

Ok, this time I screwed up. I missed the azaleas in Mifuneyama (Saga, Kyushu). It was supposed to be covered with flowers (sight). Well, of course it's still beautiful, but... anyway. It's not like I had crossed the whole country in the middle of the Golden Week just to see it... Oh, wait.

Disappointment.

The only pink bush I could find. Damned.

So green, so green... At least it's relaxing...

Fortunately the wisteria saved my day.

Aaaah, Mother Nature and her calendar...

I sware that I don't exaggerate when I say that wearing a kimono is a very special experience. First, this is not the kind of dress you can jump in and forget. Not only you need at least two persons to put it on correctly, but it is like a rigid, heavy, solemnel piece of fabric folded around you. A kimono itself is a very light and smooth sheet of silk, but under it you also wear three or four layers of cotton; scarfs and ribbons to keep it close to your body and a hard, wide under-belt to give the right shape to the obi. Once you're set, you have to keep your back straight, you can't release the pressure on your belly and you need to control your steps, your breath, every single movement. Sounds like hell? Actually, not at all. The kimono does impose a certain discipline, but it also supports you and it guides your behavior. Personally, I just can't get enough. So when a friend of mine proposed me to model for a kimono brand at the Tokyo Design Festa 2014, I couldn't decline.

The French models team - Before

The French models team - After

... Who said "Power Rangers" ? Oh, come on.

I am the Green Power Ranger. Let me show off.

Our Japanese counterparts

In the past, the way the ladies were wearing the obi gave some clues about their rank in the society, their marital status or their position inside their own family. Each obi is a real piece of art, it's really the most impressive part of the kimono.

The way of the obi

Pretty cool, uh ?

But of course, there are still some ways to be foolish in a kimono. You can count on us to add the French touch.

Be young, be foolish, be happy.

Guys, I'am definitely happy to be back in Japan, but amazing pictures of my trip to New-York City are coming soon. Be ready, it's going to be legendary.

How could I have spent 5 spring seasons in Tokyo without paying a visit to Nezu Shrine (Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo) when the tsutsuji (Japanese azaleas) are blossoming? It's just like... like... A herd of pink and white sheeps. Strawberry-vanilla bushes. A matress of colourful pillows. It's so pretty your eyes can't embrace fully the view.

Nezu Jinja

Tsutsuji blossom in Tokyo in April. This year they are a bit later than usual and the first time I went there to weeks ago, there were no flowers on the bushes. But I have been allowed to keep my entry ticket and to come back anytime until mid-May to enjoy the view. Actually, I still have this ticket so I could go again. And I would, if it was on my way. Its is so sweet to stand here, surrounded by so many flowers.

You could almost eat it...

Strong sunlight, small pupils

May I find again many unknown places in Tokyo!

All things must end: this is the yearly lesson of the sakura. Life is as short as beautiful. How can something be so full of life and full of death in the same time?... I will never get used to the sakura "swan song". Every time it moves in my heart. Every time if gives me a greater hunger for life.

Hamarikyu Park, Tokyo

The Japanese colors floating on the blue sky. Pure delight.

Do you want some more? Fine.

Ohanami must go on! The most convenient sakura spot for me is defitely Megurogawa, the thin canal running from Gotanda to Ebisu. It's only five minutes from my office, so I can escape during the lunch break and cry with hapiness in front of these sweet cherry blossoms.

Megurogawa riverside sakura show

And here I go again after work, to enjoy the pink light of the paper lanterns.

Megurogawa by night

Honestly... what else?

Every time, the same emotion, the same amazement. Sakura are just like Christmas: you perfectly know how it looks and how it feels, but you get mad about it every single year. You can't help falling in love with it. You can't help worshiping it. Any park becomes a church to you. And Shinjuku-gyoen is a cathedral.

Shinjuku-gyoen, place of faith

So much beauty on Earth, friends. These sakura make me believe in something greater above us.

I'm a believer

Vegetal clouds

I couldn't be more thanksful to be alive and to get drunk of cherry blossoms. Life is so good.

Shinjuku-gyoen, 10 min. walk from Shinjuku station (Southern Terrace exit) - entry fee 200 yen

I eventually fulfilled one of my most secret desires : visiting Happo-en, the beautiful garden and event-space near Shirokane (Tokyo) by night, when the sakura start to blossom. Check! And it was gorgeous!

Happo-en by night is a fantastic, unreal-looking place with fluo green moss. The young cherry blossoms are shining pearl-white on the dark sky. 

Happo-en, another planet

Sakura Safari 2014 starts here...