Strong coffee & flavored tea

The 19th-centry English illustrator Walter Crane    (15 August 1845 – 14 March 1915)  was one of the first artists to produce illustrations for full-color "toy books".    " The book is a structure," he  emphasized  the importance of designing book. "This beautiful house is a structure of lines and colors," Crane often compared books to buildings.  He was particular about the design of entire page, and the illustration artist's arm was not one illustration, but the spread page itself as well as the book itself. Think of it as an architect who designed a house, considering the overall balance of the two-page spread by the power of design. Crane was concerned with the formative beauty and decorative nature which the document originally had. That beautify the page, cooperation and harmonious collaboration of harmony in the perfection of the illustrator decorator what is was thought to produce a beautiful book. 

Today is Aquarius new moon. Write down 10 wishes on the paper or note. Handwriting is key. This is folding keyboard, the maker is Ryudo. I was interested, but hadn't had long years. Because I have laptop. But we don't bring computers daily, do we? So I started to think, if I had that, I might write more often... Before buying it, I investigated which keyboard was the best as there were so many kinds. First of all, It has to be light, otherwise, it will stay at home. And thought of the place where I mostly would use... it would be on a train, not a cafe as I commute long hours every day. So it has to be small and quiet.  I don't want to bother others. If I use a keyboard on my bag when I seat, my iPhone needs to place to stand, Ryudo is compact, ideal typing and has a stand. It's not very strong but enough to hold my iPhone 7 plus. One thing I cared was that Ryudo was battery powered not chargeable. So I looked over all ot...

We all have the same problem, how to manage the time. The world is getting busier and busier especially after IT revolution,  it's expanding day by day and year by year. Now people are going to live in Mars? It sounds crazy, but think about it as option. Life would be fun if you have more options. When we pay attention to many things, our mind getting busy as well. Some people might stop thinking because they can not handle it. But I can't stop it now,  we should watch carefully the world. It would be better world if it was watched by people who are caring. Recently I started to make a list for weekend. At work, I have been doing it for long time and it works. So I make a to do list for weekend too. When we have too many things to do, we tend to spend time on unnecessary things, don't we? So making list is something as making a frame. Frame that decorates our dream. A little progress with skin color from the last week

Fortunately had a long weekend again. I took three paid-offs in September, since we have every weekend off,  I worked less than two of third in a month and left were my holidays,   which allowed me to post more blogs. This is very nice, thank to a holiday god. Lunch hour @ curry shop in Nakameguro Many Japanese people love curry. There is clearly distinct between Japanese and Indian curry. But not worry, we love both. Both are popular. This is Japanese curry, however not usual one. It a vegetarian with avocado topping and rice is type of mixture of 16 different kinds of cereals, which is popular by health conscious person. Call it 16 Kokumai I tried to draw Daenerys Targaryen from Game of thrones with coloring pencils @ art class. My teacher says not start with a skin color on white paper. It is same as drawing, we have to start with shadow first. This is my teacher colored It sounds crazy. Looks like aline. Give it ...

Creativity is for everyone. You don't have to be extreme. Creativity is everywhere. If you watch the world carefully, you notice somewhere, something missing a little bit. You would think what can be fit there, and try to put things and do the arrangement. That is creativity. It is simple those who carries on living diligently. I often see rep digits when I finished writing. Angels are encouraging you by showing this kind of sings. When you see such numbers, 111, 222, etc, you can count that is an angel message. Night scene at Nakameguro

The front of the Shinjuku station had changed a bit. It's been quite sometime since I came here last time. It had been under construction for long time. We went to a popular pizzeria, 800 degrees pizza on Friday night.  They came from L.A. Friday night + Pizza = Perfect Fromage Pizza A Big Pear from Atsugi city It's a holiday in Japan today. Had lunch @ Yui Ann in Meouro Gajo en The food was good We went to cafe after lunch and I read tarot for one of my friends. That was thrilling. And then, I finished drawing of the plaster figure of cupid Things are going smoothly when I don't mean it. Construction @ Shibuya Tokyo is changing. I'd love you after that, maybe.

There is one thing I forgot to upload in the post of "Togakushi Shraine" A picture of Soba, please enjoy Togakushi Soba when you visit there. It's 100% vegetarian, and they are local prodcution. A new cafe is open in my neighborhood. The name is 'Kamino-Coffee', in English, it is 'God's Coffee'. It looks gorgeous doesn't it. But I haven't been there yet. I just passed by, will try next time.

Take a Shinkansen from Tokyo to Nagano, and rent a car to drive to Togakushi Shrine which is about 45 minutes by car from Nagano Station. If you want to drive from Tokyo, it takes about 2 to 3 hours additional.  It's not much distance if I use Shinkansen and Nagano is country so it would be easy drive, I thought, but I broke into into a cold sweat because there were many hairpin curves.   It was all right after all. I thought I should more drive often. There are so many nice places in the suburbs, and my driving skill never gets better if I don't use it. Well, it is all experience. Gate of Hou-Kou-Sha The entire mountain is filled with powerful energy. It is a place of mythology of opening the rock(Amano-Iwato-legend) in the ancient Japan. When Amaterasu, the sun goddess, hided in the rock cave upsetting with her brother Susanoo's bad behaviors, some gods and goddesses worked together to open the rock. Hou-Kou-Sha Togakushi, means 'hi...

I renewed passport. There are 5 or 10 years periods with Japanese passport. Red is 10 and blue is 5 years. The right one got 'Void' holes, it had worked for me since 2006. The left one is new passport, it will be traveling with me for another 10 years. Looking at those inbound and out bound stamps on the old passport, Somehow I feel secure with Japanese return stamps,  though I always think this is not where I should belong forever. Anyway, thank you for bringing me many places, and I hope I could visit to lots of beautiful places in next 10 years, too. Sakura View from my neighborhood

It is very chilly in Tokyo that we still need winter jackets though, the spring goddess has been arrived beautifully.  I would plant Mimosa if I have a garden 　 Lanterns are provided along the river to l ight up cherry blossoms at night Why wine bottles are so attrative?

The time required for someone,  to listen to Jazz, to appreciate paintings, and to write something not die without it but life will be no meaning without them. Time is getting shorter and shorter. Do you realize that? It's not because you are getting older, it is actually accelerated. There are more young looking person these days? I'd rather to say that they are younger than their ages. I'm kidding, but it might be true. What do you believe then? You can trust even a clock. (I don't trust TV or papers for 100%) Hear is a solution. Care for your body, clean up your space and clear your mind. Why? If you keep doing so, you will be able to distinguish between truth and false, necessary and unnecessary, correct and incorrect. Moomin cake Working on drawing a cafe more shaded A picture from Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood exhibition

Story and pictures are wonderful.

Somehow it feels refreshing at the end of the year in Japan. Ever office, shop and people take a holiday and spend time with families. All houses are get ready to welcome a new year god to the houses by cleaning them up. And people buy groceries at the super markets like  hibernating throughout winter. I bought a lot of books on Kindle. They have gotten more collections these days than they used to be. I read Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens on Christmas, admired Fred that he is always cheerful and never been untruth to Scrooge. Tree lights at Roppongi BB-8 is our new hero I watched Star wars episode VII on the Christmas too.  Just baked cake in the oven  And baked tube cakes a few times.  A packages of rice cake stuffed with bean jam One thing good about getting age is to appreciate how beautiful nature of  a spirit of service is. Moreover we can turn inwards and examine ourselves.

Christmas is coming soon. It is as a closing day of the year. What you have been working, What you have been taking care the most, they would become materialized on the day. Mr. Fuji from Gotenba Herbie Hancock - Watermelon Man (1962) Gold and silver Earings

You see, man made the car to take us over the road Man made the train to carry the heavy load Man made the electric light to take us out of the dark Man made the boat for the water like Noah made The Ark This is a man's, man's, man's world But it would be nothing, nothing without a woman or a girl James Brown-It's A Man's, Man's, Man's World 'Mata-hara' sounds like Sanskrit but it is short term for Maternity harassment in Japanese. It is often said that high educated women give up their careers to look after kids at home. People work long hours in the office and we have a considerable shortage of day care centers. Even If you could leave kids at day care, the parents have to pick up kids when they become feverish, and it is usually mother's role. Many mothers choose working with a reduced schedule, at home or leaving the company. Street lights in the night @ Nakameguro On the other hand, there are women who work ha...

Something easy to stick is mind. Since we have been looking for a counterpart who got separated before we born, tend to have illusion that there is something brilliant outside not thinking it might be inner self. And even it is not what you are looking for, you might stay there for a while to rest wings. Guinevere and King Arthur Then one day,  you come up with insufficient, go crazy and start to break a thing. Red umbrella in the city Vegetarian Lunch box Fortune telling with tarot cards