The chef at the sushi restaurant melded into the Tsukiji Fish Market.
WRAPPED CANDY
The pettiness of the things like the small candy balls is out of proportion with the utmost effort of the packaging. The shell is more an object on his own than just for decoration and the content seems to sink into insignificance.
However without the shell its only a lump of mashed rise and sweet bean paste. And it’s always such a delight to receive a piece of art not daring to unwrap it.
MAZES AND COLOURS
To ride the subway in Tokyo is a fun puzzle game with complex and confusing pathways. Game play: Buy the right ticket, find the right entrance, navigate through the right colors, get off at the right station, and finally find the right exit. The right exit is crucial to keep on navigating though the streets labyrinth above.
The operative word is RIGHT since you can imagine there is great number of opportunities. On my first day it took me almost two hours to get started. Starting point was Shibuya Station, not even the biggest one.
FIRST SIGNS
Waiting for the cherry blossoms. The trees appear like the intricate wires connecting the city.
WIRED
A stroll through Omotesando. Thin threads pervade the streets like capillaries supplying a huge organism with vital substances. I was thinking why all the pipes, wires, fuses boxes and air conditioners are turned to the outside. It might be the constant earthquake risk and the fallout .
DAZZLE GALLERY
I went to an illustration exhibition in Omotesando and met four artists CHICO HAYASAKI, KAZUHIRO OUMI, KENICHI IKEBE, ASAHINA KAORU
ANONYMOUS STREETS
The streets of Tokyo are left without names. Indeed there are written addresses used by the mail carriers and the big avenues have got names. But those are not visible signs in the urban structure and therefore not usable. The fuzziness in the identification makes the way finding a bit uneasy.
Therefore all locations have in addition to the written address an information based on the relation to the next subway station and a certain exit. For instant: 11 minutes walk from Exit B2 at Kiyosumi-Shirakawa Station on the Hanzomon Line.
TRIAL & ERROR
I’ve got instructions from the apartment agency but the equipment divers slightly from them on the pictures. So I try to recognize patterns and words which are in the descriptions. This is my washing machine and a water boiler by the way.
FIRST NIGHT
After a 16 hours flight and 24 hours without sleep I’ve finally arrived in Tokyo on Saturday, the 20th of March and moved into my tiny apartment in Minato-ku, Minami-Aoyama 6-9-10, next to the Shibuya ward. Out of my rear window I can see one of the main artery of the city Roppongi-dori.
KEROSINE FRAGRANCE
On Thursday, the 18th of March I’ve arrived at the airport and moved for 7 hours into the Jumbo Hostel at the Arlanda airport. The hostel is built into a Jumbo Jet with a manual elevator that lifts the guests to the gate entrance. I’ve spent a really calm night. However at 3 am the alarm clock rang and I moved on to the Terminal 5.
2. GIFT
The second gift was probably as decisive as the first one. I’ve got it from a stranger. We spent one afternoon together visiting an exhibition and talking about Japan. At the end of the day he gave me the ultimate book about Japan “Empire of the Signs” by Roland Barthes. Likely the best “travel guide” that has been written.
1. GIFT
The journey to Japan started long time ago with a gift I’ve got from a friend. She buys presents without knowing for whom they are meant and saves them in her gift box where they wait to be given. I love the idea so much that this small Japanese scissors have been destined for me and I love the bizarre shape, the signs which try to speak to me, and the alluring packaging.