Allpress Espresso

I think this is quite a famous roastery for all the monocle subscriber or coffee geek.

Anyway, it is a roastery established in New Zealand and go worldwide to Australia, England, and of course, Japan.

Allpress Espresso

Tokyo Roastery and Cafe

Located nearby the Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo, Kiyosumi Shirakawa station on Hanzomon line. I go there quite often these days because it is in my neighborhood. So nice to have such a nice coffee in walking distance from home. I am in love with flat white and some bread in the morning!

Not only they brew great coffee, but their breads, sandwiches, and plates are also amazing.

Pacific Drive-In

Late spring, early summer, we headed to a seashore not so far from Tokyo. Well, when I say not so far in this case, it took us about 2 hrs with normal train. It isn't far enough to have shinkansen connects to the capitol.

Our destination is the cafe & restaurant called, Pacific Drive-In. Locate just beside the beach, facing the ocean in the Sagami Bay, not really the Pacific ocean. Nice place, nice view, long qued, and the food is not bad either.

iPhone 5S

Tamozawa Imperial Villa

In the middle of April, early spring, the weather has gone totally strange here in Japan. We encountered snow storm in Saitama. I wasn't there but my friends were and the temperature dropped quite a lot as well in Tokyo.

I bought a JR Kanto pass, used it for one-day snowboard trip in Gala Yuzawa and another day to Nikko. Shinkansen from Tokyo station to Ochanomizu, then change to Nikko line. It was raining and unexpectedly freaking cold. We have no certain plan so I just checked out the jepanguide website to see where should we go. I chose this imperial villa because I always have interest in these kind of buildings and it was definitely a worthily visit.

Just a brief, Tamozawa Imperial Villa is a combination of Edo and Meiji period architecture, some part of the residence were moved from Tokyo in 1899. Before that, the building was under Tokugawa family and later became a summer villa for the imperial family. But after the WWII, it was neglected and just been restored and opened to public in 2000.

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Hiroshi Senju Museum

I first known Hiroshi Senju when I was in Naoshima last autumn. There is one of the art house that called, Ishibashi, where his painting was exhibited along the well-renovated traditional house. Hiroshi Senju is a Japanese painter. His famous works are the series of 'Waterfalls'. They were stunning.

Hiroshi Senju Museum is located in Karuizawa, Nagano prefecture. The town itself is famous for its number of summerhouse. It is a summer getaway for the rich Japanese, as for what I've heard. It took less than 1hr and a half to get there (from Tokyo station). The museum was designed by Ryue Nishizawa which is another reason why I really wanted to visit it so bad.

'Senju asked me to create and open, luminous space where people would observe his works, relax and spend time in contemplation. The museum, which gently hugs the natural slope of the site, has lighting controlled by deep eaves, silver screens, and UV cut glass while allowing in the greenery. The open space was designed to unite Karuizawa's nature and Senju's art. I wanted to create a union of park and space that felt as inviting as a private living room.' , Ryue Nishizawa, the architect.

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and a snapshot of an interior which I took a quick shot while the automatic door hadn't closed yet.

Cherry Blossom 2015

A magical thing called nature is what made every seasons so special. Here come the beginning of Spring in Japan when Cherry Blossom starting to bloom.

It is not surprising why they are so precious to Japanese people, they only bloom once a year. There were time when the weather was so bad that they only get few days to enjoy the bloom. So in these times, when the sun comes out, people gather around under the cherry blossom, enjoy eating, drinking, and having fun.

A night in Naka-meguro along the Meguro river in the full-bloom period was quite stunning. I do recommend walking with a glass of Moet Chandon in your hand there. You can get hand-food and choices of drink along the way.

Don't hesitate to head straight to Inokashira Park in Mitaka when the weather is pleasant. A scene of Cherry blossom bending down towards the pond was absolutely breath-taking.

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Kawaguchi-ko

I wasn't much concern about the weather when I was in Bangkok, whether it is hot as usual, hotter than usual, or hot like hell. But after experiencing four seasons in Japan, I learn to check the weather forecast every waking moment.

It was such a nice sunny day with clear blue sky when we decided to go for a day trip to Kawaguchi-ko, or Fuji five lakes. We don't really have any specific expectation of going there since we have all been to Mt.Fuji before. So we randomly get on the shuttle bus, get down wherever we felt like to take few photos, get lost sometimes, strolling along the lakeshore, and having good time together.

Kawaguchi-ko is quite a famous tourist attraction spot, easy to reach from Tokyo, 2 hours or less by bus from Shinjuku and you can see the stunning view of Mt.Fuji.

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Tange by Tange

Tange by Tange 1949-1959 : Kenzo Tange as Seen Through the Eyes of Kenzo Tange

This exhibition in Gallery MA is ending tomorrow. It is a free admission exhibits negative film that was taken by Kenzo Tange in his early years. Beginning with his debut project, Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum 1953, to Kagawa Prefectural Government Office 1958, and some others of his trip to several places such as Katsura Imperial Villa in Kyoto. In this exhibition, more than 70 original contact sheets are out in public for the first time. We can see Tange’s red trimming lines on some of the film, allowing us to see his traces. To see what he saw through his lens, we can see what had he been interested in architecture at that time, or in that project.

What I like most about the exhibition is that they made a timeline up on the wall, streaming Tange’s works and what else are happening in the world. Since he was one of the most significant architects of the 20th century who was in the same era as many other modern pioneers. Even he have passed away for 10 years now, his works still continue to influence a lot of people in our generation.

Gallery MA : Nogizaka Station Exit 3

: iPhone5s with some adjustment

Shirakawa-go

This UNESCO world heritage site lies in the valley of Shogawa river, surrounded by mountains in between Gifu and Toyama prefectures. It is famous for its unique farmhouses called “Gassho-zukuri” (合掌造り). Gassho(合掌) means pressing one’s hands together in prayer, and Zukuri(造り) means structure. So altogether the name represents a traditional style of these farmhouses, steep thatched roof that was designed and developed over generations to withstand great amount of snowfall during winter.

The place is said to be in a top 100 lists of winter destination with its stunning scenic of Gassho in the winter wonderland. I went there during New Year’s holidays for a day trip, well, not actually, I stopped 2 nights at Takayama, day before and after. Takayama is famous for its Hida beef, A-5 best beef, and also its old town market. I think I killed many cows that day since I ate lots of Hida beef, yakiniku, beef ramen, and beef sushi…

The best and cheapest way to get there is by bus. There’s no direct bus from any main cities to the valley. I took a bus from Shinjuku at 5pm. and arrived at Takayama by 10.30pm. Stayed a night in Takayama, and woke up early enough to catch a bus to Shirakawa-go next morning. Some buses ‘do’ need prior reservation, those with good timing schedule all need reservation that can be booked more than a month earlier… So be careful.

Honestly, I don’t really understand how folks back then survived winter in those Gassho. I mean, the way they developed the structure to withstand the snowfall is beautiful, but inside the house, it was f*cking cold. I paid for the reserved-Gassho visit. The temperature inside was colder than outside even they have a fireplace in the middle, which produced lots of smoke that almost suffocate me. Anyway, it was worth a visit.

There is a shuttle bus that can take you up to the viewpoint, where everyone can take same photo from above. The view is nice, of course, but the fun part was that me and my friends walked up there and explored many incredible views along the way. It took us an hour, from the bus station, to reach the viewpoint because we were having fun, taking snapshots, playing in the snow, all the way up.

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Nozawaonsen Ski Resort

Japan is quite well-know for its superb quality of powder snow for skiers and snowboarders. Actually this is my first time encountered real winter and lots of snow, so other than first time snowboarding, I really enjoy the snow.

I did some research about where to go snowboard, not so far from Tokyo but not so close that the place gonna be crowded in New year's holidays. There are many mountains to go in Nagano prefecture, few hours train ride from Tokyo.

Nozawaonsen village or Nozawaonsen-mura is quite difficult to reach, honestly, but it was worth the trip. It is a small and authentic village, not tourists' atmosphere I mean, hot water running through the village so that's where its name came from.

* iPhone5s and filters