little birds.

my lovely friends took me to a bird park the other day. i just uploaded these photos & decided i must share.

... have a wonderful weekend!

自転車

more tokyo bike spotting.

side note: bicycles in tokyo are hot...& so are their owners.

美味しい.

i ate this today. are you jealous? because you should be.

thomas crown affair?

last weekend i hit up an amazing art museum in tokyo called the national art center, tokyo. not only were the exhibitions unbelievable but the building in itself is a work of art. i spent a lot of time meandering around the amateur artists section - i couldn't believe how great their work was. i wanted to pull a thomas crown affair move & steal several paintings right off the wall.

...oh, & i'll be in the states in t minus 40 days! eeek!

neckwear.

how gorgeous is this neckwear from urban legend's shop at etsy? i'm drooling over here!

washoi.

last weekend i met up with friends in osaka for a hanshin tigers baseball game. although i have been to dozens of professional baseball games in many different stadiums, i have never witnessed a 7th inning stretch quite like this one. all the fans blew up balloons & released them simultaneously into the air while chanting the tigers' fight song. it was unbelievable! apparently, this is traditionally done at both home & away games. how cool is that? anyways, i got some great shots as well as a video (please ignore my screaming...i was too excited). & most importantly : the tigers beat the tokyo swallows 7 to 3. washoi!!!

shades of pink.

the sakura (cherry blossoms) have come & gone. there are now more pink & white pedals on the ground & in the rivers than there are on the trees, which makes me a bit sad. but, no worries - i took amazing photos of sakura this year. i ventured all over japan, down to the izu peninsula & out west to osaka in order to take as many photos as possible. unfortunately, it seemed every time i planned to take pictures of sakura, it rained. however, i happened to get great shots of these beautiful trees in the rain & fog. isn't it incredible how many different shades of pink sakura have?

鉄板焼き

te (hand) + pan (pan/griddle) + yaki (grilled, boiled or fried) = teppanyaki (one of my favorite styles of japanese cooking). its basically the version of american hibachi grill, except better, more delicious & more exciting. last weekend my students took me to this quaint teppanyaki restaurant. there were no chairs, no booths; only tatami mats, small pillows & 5 low tables, each with a grill in the center. we ordered yakisoba (a type of fried noodles) with shrimp & japanese vegetables. my students insisted i cooked the noodles, which made me nervous - but it was so much fun! i want to go back right away & order something more exotic. enjoy the photos & enjoy your week!

dog breeds & typefaces.

i just happened to stumble upon this adorable post on *swissmiss.

dogs as typefaces? yes, please! my favorite is eurostile ...what's yours?