Hello.
It's been a while since my last blog update.
March was a whirlwind of new arrivals.
On top of that, there was the ALWEL exhibition and Buddy Optical trunk show at CREER, and other brand exhibitions in Tokyo. I barely remember anything from the beginning of March...
Before I knew it, the cherry blossoms were in full bloom.
Anyway, I'm doing well, LOL.
Please enjoy these little stories from my business trip to Tokyo, perfect for killing some time.
First up, we arrived.
Ebisu! BUNON!! (Shida has the same designer, so we looked at both together.)
We stormed into the usual exhibition building.
The poster at the venue entrance.
This time, the collection featured dusty blues and reddish browns.
The Indian craftsmanship, such as hand-spun silk from natural silkworms and handmade embroidery, was even more impressive than usual.
The hand-knitted items were also lovely.
It's a shame I can't show you the images, but they'll be arriving in the fall, so please look forward to them!
They apparently had a doll artist create this from BUNON fabric.
Super cute. But of course, it wasn't for sale.
When we went outside, the weather was beautiful, and the cherry blossoms were starting to bloom.
They hadn't bloomed in Hiroshima yet, so I was excited.
However, we preferred food over flowers.
First, please take a look at this photo from a week ago.
Actually, a week before, I was also in Ebisu for a day trip, and I had Ebichan Tanmen for the first time in a year.
If you immediately recognized it, you're quite the CREER expert.
If you're wondering what that is, please see here: Tokyo Business Trip Diary
When I told Machida-san (who I perceive to be a great food connoisseur), the designer at the CHiMala exhibition I attended, that this tanmen was delicious, she said:
"There's another delicious Chinese restaurant nearby."
And she told me about this place.
Tsukushiro's shark fin stewed noodles!
The noodles were delicious, of course, but the almond tofu and the oolong tea served in a pot warmed by a candle were unexpectedly delicious.
The location was also a bit secluded and relaxing, which was nice, so I'd like to come back and try a different lunch.
Full and in a good mood, we were.
Today's exhibition finished early, and we had somewhere we wanted to go, so we moved to Roppongi.
At Roppongi station, a girl was taking pictures, and when I wondered what it was, it was this!
A birthday advertisement for Sano-kun from MiLK!
N-san lined up without hesitation. (She looked so happy.)
This kind of thing is nonexistent in Hiroshima, so I think it's a great Tokyo culture.
From the station, we walked to the National Art Center, Tokyo.
I was really, really looking forward to seeing the 90s art collection from Tate Modern in London!
But...
It was closed!!!!!!
Museums in Tokyo are closed on Tuesdays... *sobs*
Disappointed and ready to head to the hotel, N-san suggested...
The Imperial Palace!
N-san knows me too well, so I'll admit it: the East Garden? Park? Honestly, I didn't quite get it and wasn't very enthusiastic, but in the end, I'm glad I went!
We arrived around 4 PM, so many people were leaving, but the cherry blossoms were blooming, and it was lovely.
No reservation needed, and it was even free. Wonderful. (Though it's tax money.)
I'd seen the Imperial Palace from the outside before, but this was my first time inside!
There was a magnificent gate, and it was quite nice!
Oh wow!!
That stone wall is huge.
As expected of Edo Castle.
The view from the Tenshudai, which is a bit elevated.
Almost everything you see used to be Edo Castle. It's incredibly vast.
A new maid would definitely get lost.
The Oshima cherry blossoms were in full bloom. They're white cherry blossoms, aren't they?
We enjoyed it more than expected and then headed to Yokohama, where our inn for the night was.
The next day also had an exhibition in Tokyo, but the reason we stayed in Yokohama was because we originally planned to visit the TOWAVASE exhibition in Kamakura.
I really wanted to go to Kamakura...
For dinner in Yokohama, we had a light meal at an izakaya and then went for after-dinner coffee.
We visited Bashamichi Jubankan, which I had wanted to go to.
It was incredibly lovely, but all the cakes were sold out, so we ate biskuits, baked sweets.
Mmm! These baked sweets are also delicious!
Of course, we bought some to take home.
For breakfast the next morning, we had a morning set near our inn.
After eating a hearty breakfast, including eggs, we headed to Tokyo.
The exhibition that we suddenly squeezed in today was this one.
It's Comme des Garçons.
We'll be looking at and ordering from tao and noir, which CREER handles, all in one day.
As I headed to the venue in a slightly tense elevator, I unexpectedly ran into...
Rei Kawakubo, the designer of Comme des Garçons and practically a legend!
Of course, I couldn't speak to her. Just seeing her was satisfying enough.
I can't show you photos of these either, but you might get a sense of the atmosphere if you watch the fashion press shows.
Both shows are radical, but there are also many easy-to-wear items that aren't in the shows, and especially tao had such a good collection this time that I struggled with what to cut.
There were many kinds of super cute coats, including down coats and jackets.
Black frilled dresses, tartan check skirts, small floral print padded pants, check dresses with original embroidery... I was so excited.
For noir, I ordered some unusual beige skirts and a series of glossy ester satin fabrics, which were (for noir) reasonably priced.
Because they were cute, of course!
The black wool dress with three-dimensional floral motifs was also so good that I almost wanted it.
Please look forward to these in autumn as well!
I managed through lunch with just coffee and stuck around until the very last minute, but time ran out as the Shinkansen departure approached.
Since I had managed to get things sorted out, I hurried to Tokyo Station in the rain.
I hadn't eaten anything since morning, so I somehow managed to secure a bento box and barely made it onto the Shinkansen as scheduled.
Phew.
A sense of accomplishment!!
This time, instead of a shumai bento, I tried a grilled mackerel sushi bento for the first time.
This is so delicious!
I want to eat it again.
Perhaps with my hunger sated and feeling more relaxed, N-san asked me to take a staged photo, so I snapped one.
A picture of N-san reminiscing, looking at the Edo Castle clear file she bought at the Imperial Palace souvenir shop.
Not to be outdone, I also had a catalog of Jakuchu's "Colorful Realm of Living Beings" that I bought at the same shop.
Someday, I absolutely must see the real thing!!
I was so tired I couldn't sleep until Kansai, but then the Shinkansen suddenly stopped near Shin-Kobe!
What's going on?
Power outage!
It seems serious...
I wasドキドキ (nervous) thinking it might take a long time, but thankfully, the power came back on in about 10 minutes, and the Shinkansen started moving again, so I was relieved.
Apparently, there was a magnitude 3 earthquake nearby, and the train automatically stopped.
It's reassuring that it stopped properly, but it's scary...
I'm glad nothing happened.
However, it made me think I should always carry enough water with me.
Thank you for accompanying me today.
I'll be pushing through April with full force as well.