Spent the day shopping at IKEA with Vitaly. We went to the Yokohama branch and it was FAR. The place is great, it’s huge and the selections are endless. Everything is so cheap, until you hit the deliver counter. Then that serene, relaxing shopping experience abruptly ends as you are violently beaten back into reality. WTF is their deliver plan all about anyway? The first 3 items are 5,900 yen(about $60!) and then every item after is 1,000 yen($10!)!? We had ordered a few office desks and chairs and in total, we had about 9 items which needed shipping. They even tried to tell us that our floor rugs were separate items as we wrapped them around the table legs. Luckily Vitaly convinced them that it was fine as 1 item after wrapping and taping them together. Totally obnoxious and unexpected. Anyway, we managed to get all of our shopping done with little hassle beyond the sour delivery experience.

I can’t believe how busy this month has been. Every minute has been packed with work. Thankfully it was Waki’s birthday so we could relax and enjoy that weekend. We spent her birthday at the beach and had a nice French dinner and spent the night at Hotel Claska. The weather here is very hot now, it’s summertime and very humid. I’m almost hoping it rains soon to cool off the city.

For about five years I’ve had it in mind to pay a visit to Seoul, South Korea. It’s only about a 2 hour flight from Tokyo and is cheaper to visit that taking a train to Kyoto. About every other person I’ve asked would tell me it looks exactly like Tokyo, then write it off as not worth the visit. I’ll never take their advice again. I LOVE Seoul. Waki and I flew over last Friday morning to that beautiful city and loved every minute of it. The people were endlessly kind and friendly and the city has an incredible artist community.

We stayed at an traditional Korean inn for the first night. We had our own room in an authentic Korean courtyard that looked like a scene out of a museum diorama. Our room had sliding doors and antique furniture inside. The courtyard had a little pond and a sauna room which we enjoyed that evening. It was run by a little family who cooked us an exquisite dinner that we totally didn’t expect. Breakfast the next morning was equally impressive with grilled fish and Korean pancakes stuffed with vegetables and all kinds of fancy pickles. The surrounding neighborhood was simply jaw dropping, lined with ancient traditional Korean houses(like the one we slept in) all the way to the train station, then from the train station onward, endless art galleries and teahouses. We sat in one teahouse on the second floor of a gallery building and as we sipped tea and enjoyed sesame cookies, a parade marched by! Not just any parade though, it was a parade of traditional Korean dancers and a man dressed like a king of a Korean history book riding a horse with men dressed like soldiers around him. We couldn’t believe our luck.

The rest of the trip we spent exploring the city and eating lots of spicy food. The city recently opened a massive river that cuts through the city center and is lined with nicely designed walkways and cafes. The city itself looks like an odd mix of Japanese and Chinese design aesthetics with some originality mixed in(if that makes any sense). Getting around was easy with the cheap taxi cabs and subway system. We couldn’t get over how nice the cab drivers were to us, everyone was so friendly and polite. It was a really nice getaway for the weekend, I can’t believe I didn’t bother to visit earlier. Now I’m looking forward to going back again!

Waki and I are off to South Korea this Friday. We’re taking a short vacation and will be back on Monday.

No, it’s not our honeymoon.

Looks like the wait is over, Softbank has signed on with Apple to bring the iPhone to Japan:

http://www.softbankmobile.co.jp/en/news/press/2008/20080604_01/

Last weekend Waki, Vitaly and I went on a trip to Caryn & Andy’s house by the Izu peninsula. We rode a train there and they picked us up at the station in their minivan. From there we drove along a windy road up the side of a mountain until we reached their driveway. Their house was stunning, a giant traditional old Japanese house. The entrance was breathtaking in itself. Walking inside through the gates we are greeted by numerous antiques and sliding paper doors and windows. Inside the rooms are filled with warmth and a welcoming atmosphere.

They’ve spent so much time renovating the house, in it’s current state I can’t even imagine what it was like before. They insist it was falling apart with the roof caving in and windows broken. Now it’s a scene from a storybook fairytale. Every room seems to have it’s own story to tell and every antique that is placed about was carefully chosen. In so many ways it brought back memories of my grandparents house in upstate New York. The creaky floors, the warm flickering lights, the night sky in the backyard, a pure black untouched by city lights. Even at night, the sound of frogs chirping from the pond in the backyard. I haven’t felt so relaxed in years.

The following morning we made pancakes together and ate in their teahouse behind their house. Their house even has a teahouse. I couldn’t believe how fantastic it was. I’m not even sure if my words do it justice, the entire experience was simply unforgettable. Waki and Vitaly had a great time too. It was really nice to be together with friends and cook dinner together in that incredible house.

I made a little photo gallery, please have a look. I shot these photos with my macro lens, so there are some fairly exotic shots in there. I wanted to capture that storybook feeling with some fantasy closeups of the nature behind their house.

Click here to view the gallery

This thing was about a quarter of the size of a shelled peanut. This macro lens produces some creepy photos.

I’m going to write a longer post with a slideshow of photos from our weekend soon. Waki and I spent the weekend with Vitaly at Caryn and Andy’s beautiful house on a mountainside in Izu. It was absolutely beautiful, a huge antique Japanese house complete with a tea room and onsen(Japanese bath house). I chose my macro lens for the trip and took some pretty wild photos. Just wait for the slideshow, I’ll build it soon…