東京

A homecoming trip? To my new home: Tokyo, Japan! It's been six years since I last visited and really, I'd forgotten just how fantastic a city it is. I speak minimal Japanese, but my parents are fluent and I went around with some friends so all was well.

Highlights:

• The food was amazing. I'm no foodie, but I have eaten at a good number of top restaurants and I like to think I try to be discerning about what I shove down my gullet. Also, I love seafood so it was an ocean-edibles mecca for me.
• Doing some shopping : ) More on this later
• Just wandering around and taking in my impressions of this place as an adult (supposedly). When you're around eleven or younger, you have more important things on your mind than the city i.e focused on acquiring as much Hello Kitty, Keroppi, Chococat, other Sanrio character memorabilia as possible.
• Laughing at various Japanese inventions. They are an ingenious race, yes, but have far too much time...as a result, they might've strayed off the road and ventured into silliness.
  

Just a small sampler of photos:

The gorgeous flower arrangements were on display at an exhibition at a fancy department store (the name escapes me right now). The Japanese are very into their fancy department stores. My mum had free tickets, so off we went! The art of flower arranging is called ikebana, which is a highly disciplined art form where nature and humanity are brought together. Form, shape, line are strongly emphasized. It's a beautiful, rigorous art and I wish I could do it!