Category: Japan

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This month I’m … October 2021

EXCITED ABOUT
The arrival of some fab new earrings!

These (and other) pretties will get here soon – can’t wait to share them with you!

LOOKING FORWARD
To those amazing autumn colours!

Autumn in Japan is simply stunning.

RE-OPENING
The Showroom

It’s been a while and I’m excited to open the Showroom up again. Did a bit of a re-style during my last day of quarantine – take a look at this quick video🙂

READING
“Unwell Women: Misdiagnosis and Myth in a Man-Made World”
by Elinor Cleghorn

“A trailblazing, conversation-starting history of women’s health – from the earliest medical ideas about women’s illnesses to hormones and autoimmune diseases -brought together in a fascinating sweeping narrative”

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Tokyo Favs: Tokyo Metropolitan Teien Art Museum

Adjacent to the Nature Reserve of the Institute for Nature Study is the Tokyo Metropolitan Teien Art Museum. The gorgeous art deco building, once the residence of Prince Asaka and his wife Princess Nobuko (a daughter of the Emperor Meiji) was built in the 1930s by famous foreign and Japanese craftsmen, most notably René Lalique, one of France’s leading glassmakers.

The building is surrounded by landscaped grounds and a Japanese- as well as a Western-style garden.

I’m a big lover of museum shops and the one at Teien Art Museum does not disappoint. It’s small, but sells a well curated selection high quality items.

The beautifully appointed modern onsite restaurant (can be entered without a museum ticket) serves modern French inspired cuisine: Restaurant Du Parc

Official website: Tokyo Metropolitan Teien Art Museum

For more Tokyo inspiration: Sunday Strolls

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Sunday Stroll: Institute for Nature Study – Nature Reserve, Tokyo Japan

The Nature Reserve of the Institute for Nature Study is a beautifully green and quiet haven in heart of Tokyo. The area covers around 20 hectares and contains ponds, forests, rivers and wetlands which are home to all sorts of plants, birds and insects.

I love popping in there for some peaceful nature walks and to get away from the city’s hustle & bustle. It never gets very busy as only a maximum of 300 people are permitted at any one time.

Official website: Institute for Nature Study

For more Tokyo inspiration: Sunday Strolls

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Sunday Stroll: Senso-ji Temple, Asakusa, Tokyo Japan

Asakusa Tokyo

Asakusa with its Senso-ji temple is one of Tokyo’s most popular tourist attractions. It’s great to see during the day, but my favourite time to visit just after the sun has gone down. The area is much quieter and I love how beautifully all the buildings are lit up.

Official website: Asakusa Kannon Senso-ji

For more Tokyo inspiration: Sunday Strolls

Asakusa Tokyo
Asakusa Tokyo
Asakusa Tokyo
Asakusa Tokyo
Asakusa Tokyo
Asakusa Tokyo
Asakusa Tokyo
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Sunday Stroll: Historical European-style houses of the Yamate/Bluff district, Yokohama Japan

Yokohama is a great location for a day trip from Tokyo, there is just so much to see and do. One of my favourite areas is the historical Yamate / Bluff district. This is where western foreigners settled after Japan’s isolation ended sometime in the 1850s. The foreign traders didn’t just arrive with goods and their families, they also brought their residential building styles and architecture with them.

I have a huge soft spot for buildings of that era and love strolling around the neighborhood imagining what it would have been like to live there at the turn of the century.

Further information: Yamate The Bluff District Yokohama

For more day excursion inspiration: Sunday Strolls

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Sunday Stroll: Nezu Shrine, Tokyo Japan

Japan does plant and floral displays really well. Flower festivals can be found in many places during spring and summer all the way into autumn.

Around 3,000 purple, pink, white and red purple azalea bushes turn the grounds of Nezu Shrine in Tokyo’s Bunkyo Ward into an explosion of colour in April – early May.

Nezu Shrine
1 Chome-28-9 Nezu, Bunkyo City, Tokyo 113-0031
Map

Further information: Nezu Shrine Tokyo

For more Tokyo inspiration: Sunday Strolls

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This month I’m … April 2021

DEALING WITH
Absolute VAX FOMO!

More and more friends around the world are getting vaccinated. When is it our turn???
(FOMO = Fear Of Missing Out)

LOOKING FORWARD TO
Spending more time outdoors

We dusted off the garden furniture last weekend – I can’t wait to get the BBQ season started!  

READING
“Greenlights“
by Matthew McConaughey

From the Academy Award®–winning actor, an unconventional memoir filled with raucous stories, outlaw wisdom, and lessons learned the hard way about living with greater satisfaction.

SAVING THE DATE FOR
Decor at the Tokyo American Club

Decor – the annual furniture and home decor sale at the Tokyo American Club is back and I’ll be there with some of my collection.

Members only: Sunday, 25 April, 6pm-8:30pm
Open to the public: Monday, 26 April, 10am-7:30pm

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This month I’m … October 2020

Can you believe it’s already October?!
Christmas is officially on the way and I can’t wait for those the beautiful Japanese autumn colours to start coming out 🍂

Happy weekend!
Alex x

WATCHING
“Long Way Up“
I’m not a biker, but I’m a traveller and I loved the first two TV series with Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman in 2004 and 2007 when they rode their bikes from London to NYC and from Scotland to South Africa respectively. This time they are travelling on prototype electric Harley Davidsons from the southern tip of South America all the way to LA. So good! 

GETTING ORGANISED
for Christmas 🎄 
Yes, it’s only early October, but I’ll be extra organised getting my gifts sorted his year – the international postal systems are all messed up and things just take so much longer to arrive. 
Bonus point: no more last minute rush to the shops a couple of days prior to Christmas!

READING
“Florence Adler Swims Forever“
by Rachel Beanland
Set in Atlantic City in the summer of 1934 three generations of the Adler family grapple with heartbreak, romance and the weight of family secrets. 

LOOKING FORWARD
to autumn!
Autumn is my most favourite season in Japan – those colours are just breathtaking! 🍁

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This month I’m … July 2020

And July it is.
Half of 2020 is gone and what a strange year it has been so far. I can’t help but wonder what the second half will bring.

The start of the summer school holidays usually goes hand in hand with quite a bit of change – families moving across continents to start new adventures elsewhere or return to their home countries. This year is no different. I said goodbye to a number of good friends and lovely customers but without sayonara parties/drinks/dinners this time round.

In the meantime I’m enjoying the somewhat cooler, albeit rainy, days before the summer heat arrives.

Keep smiling,
Alex x

BINGE WATCHING
the lastest season of Queer Eye on Netflix. Love it!!

HOPING
for the numbers to go down again so we can go on a road trip…

READING
“The Henna Artist” by Alka Joshi
* I’m on chapter 2 and can’t stop reading!!

GETTING EXCITED ABOUT
receiving some of Ilana Dashe (dasheprints) fabulous artworks to display in the Showroom! 

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This month I’m … March 2020

Well hello everyone,

Right – what’s going on in the world??
The last couple of weeks have been … interesting … to put it politely.
Event cancellations left, right and center, closed schools & museums, travel restrictions etc.

I hope you are all okay out there. Keep up the spirit! (I’m finding that one a bit difficult, especially on rainy days like today, but hey…)

Despite the current turmoil I’ve decided to keep on going with my Open Days for the time being, but will let you know if things change.

Stay healthy & happy
Alex x

READING
“The Silent Patient”
by Alex Michaelides

EXPLORING
the Izu Peninsula. This is rather last minute and I haven’t done any research. We had booked to go to Bangkok, but a certain virus messed up our plans…
Would love your recommendations!

GETTING EXCITED ABOUT
the amazing ceramics I found on my last sourcing trip – available in the Showroom at the end of March

REPLANNING
a whole bunch of trips. I usually go sourcing in spring, but that’s probably not going to happen at this stage… 🦠

BEAVERING AWAY 
on my online shop. I’m hoping to have the first set of products up & running at the end of the month!