Welcome to Jiyugaoka, a trendy location in the Western part of Tokyo, just a few stops away from Sibuya. Beside the many cake shops and tea salons, a real little Venezia is there to give the final romantic touch to the town. With an authentic gondola that cannot go anywhere, because the bridge is too low. Anyway.

Jiyugaoka, the sweet city...

...and the city of sweets (sakura pie).

So many sweet places to discover in and around Tokyo! I can't wait...

Something really amazing is happening this week: it's cold outside. Which means: the sakura are still on the branches, yeah. What is supposed to go back to the dust so quickly doesn't seem to want to leave the place. I am happy that the cherry clossoms decided to take their time this year. Have a look at these familiar visions not far from my place.

By night: Nakameguro

At the top of my "little mountain" (koyama), there is Meguro river. If you follow the stream, it will lead you to Nakameguro and its beautiful lights.

By day : Senzokuike Park

Tow stops away from my station, there is a lake and swan-boats and bamboos and shrines and tuxeducks and everything you need to enjoy the sakura trees even more.

Sakura season is not dead yet!! Enjoy!

Yeaaaah, I know, every year at the end of March this blog is invaded by white and pink cherry blossoms. And I tell you again and again how beautiful it looks, how poetic it is, how painful too - because of this Japanese syndrome of contemplation that breaks your heart when you think of it. And I describe again the sea of blue sheets under the trees, where more or less drunk people are getting drunker, while the falling blossoms mixes in their dark hair. And I complain because the best sakura spots are so packed, you can't even approach them during the week-end. And the weather, strangely, is always warm and kind in the week-days, and turns cold then - and THAT's pretty unfair. Always the same comments, I know. Not very original, I know.

But guess what, I just do what I want, he he he. And if I want to show you AGAIN the shape of cherry blossoms in Tokyo, well, nothing is going to stop me, right. So let's go sakura again!

Wise Sakura in Gaien-mae

Lazy Sakura in Meguro

Show-off Sakura at Roppongi

Drunk Sakura at Yoyogi

Romantic Sakura at Yokohama

Peaceful Sakura at Aoyama

Yummy Sakura in my plate

How can I resist?... Spring has come.

Happy ohanami!

Spring day in Japan! No work! Sunshine! The first sakura are on the trees, strawberries are sparkling under their green leaves, and the author of this blog is insanely happy. Just to let you know.

Last Wednesday, my roomates and I decided to have a one-day road trip to the prefecture of Chiba, just on the other side of Tokyo bay, to pick up strawberries and relax at the farm. Here are a few pictures of this glorious spring day!

Strawberry Farm

Barbecue in the valley

Mother Farm - Vacances a la ferme

Happy time!

 Spring is coming!

In old Japan, the shy and perfumed plum tree flowers (梅, ume) were venerated even more than the gorgeous sakura. With their round blossoms and their sweet smell, they meant the end of the winter, the very first step towards spring. Nowadays, the tradition of ohanami mostly belongs to the cherry trees, but the anonymous blossoming of the creates of the discreet ume provides wonderful opportunitiese to get a bite of spring far from the usual crowd.

Hanegi Park, Higashi-Matsubara station (Inokashira line), Tokyo

The dog days are over, the dog days are gone

Can you hear the horses, cause here they come

(Florence + The Machine)

Intrepid Model Adventure (IMA) is two years old! As we never miss an opportunity to invade the Pink Cow party space at Roppongi, to eat delicious veggie meals, to sing powerful songs and to raise money for Tohoku, well, we decided to do it all again.

In case you are a newcomer on my little blog (welcome, my friend), so you don't know yet about IMA's moto: be the change you want to see in the world. The concept is not new, but its implementation seems to be still confidential in our societies. So IMA people are trying to make it real. We want solidarity, we want passion, we want health and we want team-spirit: let's be all this, let's inspire the society. And so we go volunteering, and so we raise money to help people as far as we can, and so we share movies and songs, and so we light candles in the night to support the pro-clean energies movement. That's it. That's not going to change the world at once, but that's going to change it eventually.

(Picture credits: Yumi Nakayama, Yoshie Nakamura, Isao Kimura)

Chris, Natsu and Noemi on stage for "Man in the Mirror" (Mickael Jackson)

IMA team for our original hymn, "Beautiful Energy" by Mr. Chris Trigger

Just give me a microphone, man

"I'm starting with the man in the mirror / I'm asking him to change his ways

And no message could have been any clearer / If you wanna make the world a better place, take a look at yourself and make the change!"

By the way: we are still there every Friday, in front of the Japanese Parliament, to support the protesters against the nukes. We light candles, and we perform our favorite songs. Feel free to come and have a look, and light a candle at your place to join the Beautiful Energy movement!

The Beautiful Energy Band

 LOVE!

Welcome to Ichihara Hiroko's free exhibit in Roppongi - Tokyo Midtown!

The concept is simple : funny, serious, light, deep, sometimes strange messages painted on the wall, black on white, big and short enough to make an impact... and to have a lot of fun with your friend Miss A. who had the nice idea to bring me there!

Istuninaku Shiawase - Especially Happy.

Kimi Ga Suki Degozaru - I Love You (in archaic, polite samourai language)

Itsudemo, Dokodemo, Dare To Demo - Anytime, Anywhere, with Anyone.

Watashi Ni Wa Hana Ga Aru - I'm Sexy (and I know it)

Bijutsu O Nichijou Suru - I Am an Artist Everyday!

In many aspects, the Japanese poetry is based on the art of striking your mind with a short, powerful, breath-taking sensorial shock. Most of the haiku are like this : a dazzking glimpe of something - a vision, a smell, a sound - that blows your mind. The "distance" with the text is created by the architecture of the kanji : the parallelisms, the graphism, the consistency in the combination of the characters leads you to a second level of reading, more intellectual, less emotional. It is very different from the French poetry (and probably European poetry in general, but I am not a specialist), where poetry is mainly based on metaphores, that is to say the undirect reference to things and concepts - words that stands for something else. And the gap between what is written and what is meant stimulates your imagination : poetry is born. In the French poetry, you are immediatly on distance with things, whereas in the Japanese poetry, you're so close to them that you take it like a fist in your face. Both experiences are so gret that it is really a pity that most of the French people will never get the chance to approach Japanese poetry; and very few Japanese will understand the French one.

I feel so lucky to navigate on both seas. (French way)

The detonation of the haiku and the echo of the alexandrin are ringing in my ear. (Japanese way)

イチハラヒロコ展「期待して当たり前なんだし。」

2013年1月15日（火）～3月24日（日）
11:00～21:00

It's always a shame for me to admit that one of my favorite meal in Japan is yaki-gyoza... because gyoza are not exactly from Japan. But this Chinese dumpling got insanely popular in Japan, and you can find them in any good ramen-shop. I like it so much I could eat it everyday. So when my best Japanese friend Miss A. told me she was a gyoza goddess, we decided to have a gyoza-party at home to celebrate this little gift from heaven. May the gyoza be with you !

First step : mixing the meat and the vegetables

And now, let the gyoza take shape!

My very first gyoza

The French team, focused on the mission...

... and our poor results

Miss A.'s gyoza, so professional

But once it's baked, no one can see the difference !

My personal touch : choco cake and apple crumble

Yummyyyyyyy

Et bon appetit !

Stop kidding: that's winter after all. Oh yes, we spend a sunny December under the gingko leaves and we almost forgot that winter was coming for good... Today, there are 15 centimeters of  thick snow on the streets. Hopefully this monday was a holiday and I could cuddle at home with good food and get out only to have fun like kids with my roomate. Snow is so great when you can stay at home!

Give us a bit of snow and two grown-up adults get back to the spirit of a 5-years-old.

And to warm up : home-made pumpkin and bacon cream spaghetti ! Life is beautiful !

Ok, Chrismas in Japan can not compare to Chrismas in France.

Ok, for some reasons, the Japanese have decided that Chrismas is not Chrismas without nauseating creamy cakes with a few lonely strawberries on the top, instead of fine buches-de-noel.

Ok, I can't stand the sound of "Last Chrismas I gave you my heart" every time I enter a shop anymore.

Ok, the Japanese Chrismas is a kind of winter-style Valentine, and people dream to spend it at Disneyland with their lover. Which is a bit poor-taste, you'll admit.

Ok, whatever they do, the simple fact that my family is NOT in Japan makes the Japanese Chrismas look sad and artificial.

Still... come one, have you seen the lights ?? Chrismas lights in Tokyo are enchanting. They mix with trees just like dew, and it is so beautiful I could cry.

Ebisu

Akasaka

Roppongi

But these little treasures won't prevent me to spend Chrismas in France, with REAL chocolate, REAL Chrismas trees, and TRUE love.

Joyeux Noel à tous !