white xmas

I'm not really into christmas--I'm not christian to begin with, and in this "secular" country, Christmas is targeted more so towards couples, boosted by commercial aims.
So I never really cared for Christmas illumination and what not.
But this year, I saw one beautiful illumination:

It was lit all white and otherworldly.
I could live with this kind of christmas.

tokyo sweets collection

About 2 weeks ago, I've stopped by Omotesando Hills where they had Tokyo Sweets Collection, where there were highly decorated models of cakes, such as the ones below:

As you know, all of these cakes are not real, just models to show the design.
Anyhow, they all look beautiful and yummy.

comme des blue

I stopped by Aoyama for an appointment one day, and I found a serene, blue building:

I've been to this area couple of times, but I didn't realize this cool, futuristic architecture.

I went inside, and I found out that it was Comme des Garçons boutique.

I don't know if this building is new, or it has been here from before, but anyhow, I thought it was kind of a nice place.

indian summer

We had several consecutive warm days, and I wore a pair of short pants that I've bought recently:

I liked the flower prints to add some colors to my autumn wordrobes.

I'm sure they will be good in the spring, too.

maniac kitty

I like Hello Kitty items, but not the popular, cute ones but little strange, funny ones like this below:

This one is actually doing a local traditional dance with a towel wrapped around her head and a coin stuck on her nose!

I admire the Kitty's gut for wearing this somewhat embarrassing costume.

There are various Kitty items only available in certain regions in Japan, so that people buy them for souvenirs.

I bought the below cell phone strap when I took a trip to Yakushima, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, an island off of Kagoshima, and is famous for 7000-year-old cedar tree.

She's sleeping inside the oldest tree in Japan, the real picture of the tree is herebelow:

Recently, I found this cool Kitty below at Yahoo auction:

She's wearing a pink catfish costume, but most of all, she's sticking a middle finger!!!

marronnier gate

Two years ago, a fashion building called Marronnier Gate opened in Ginza.
I didn't think I liked the place, but for some reason, I feel comfortable there, and actually I go there quite often.

Recently the main entrance of the building was decorated for Christmas.

Inside the building are small compartments of stores:

Some of the reasons that I feel comfy shopping at Marronnier Gate are that, unlike big department stores, which control Japanese shopping scene, it is not that crowded even on weekends; the stores in it are fashionable yet reasonable enough not to be too stuck up and stay down-to-earth; and it has Tokyu Hands, a home improvement & lifestyle store, built in from the 5th floor and up.

Well, I still won't admit that I like Marronnier Gate.

deutsch bier

There are many German beer pubs in Tokyo, as you may imagine.
I think most of them are pretty good, though I don't know what real Germans would say.
A new bar has recently opened in Roppongi, and my friend and I went out to try it on our way to the nightclub on Saturday night.
The name of the place is: Franziskaner Bar & Grill.
It serves authentic Franziskaner beers on tap as well as sausages, eisbein, pretzel and other German pub foods.

The bar has a nice terrace outside where there is a screen for viewing soccer games.
It also has a beautiful wall painting inside.

HP is here: http://www.zato.co.jp/shop/shop10.html