Golden Hour at La Forêt

The famous La Forêt department store anchors one corner of the intersection of Meiji Dori and Omotesando in Harajuku. This department store is located at the center of Tokyo's cutting edge of fashion district. I was lucky enough to pass by and capture its marque and favorable light on a late afternoon in January.

Nikon D600 with Nikon 85mm f/1.4 AI-S @ f2.8, ISO 100, 1/100 sec.

Thinking of Sakura

The family was at Omotesando last weekend for the Saint Patrick's Day Parade. I took lots of photos (over 500), but this post isn't about this year's photos. Once again, I was looking at photos taken last year and found this cherry blossom photo that taken near our apartment on the way to the parade last year. Seems that the blossoms from this year will be prime much closer to the usual time in Tokyo (the end of the first week in April).

Anyway, here's a beautiful early cherry sprig from last year. I am sure that this year's blossoms will be beautiful!

Nikon D700 with Nikon 80-200mm f/2.8D ED AF @ 200 mm, f5.6, ISO 200, 1/1000 sec.

A little green

Tokyo was a little greener on this past Sunday. It was St. Patrick' Day and the Irish (and those who love the Irish) celebrated with a parade down Omotesando in Harajuku. Japanese flags shares space with Irish flags down the median.

Nikon D700 with Nikon 80-200mm f/2.8D ED AF @ 200 mm, f5.6, ISO 200, 1/500 sec.

Four-legged friends from Ireland also participated in the parade and were decked out like the other in green.

Nikon D700 with Nikon 80-200mm f/2.8D ED AF @ 80 mm, f5.6, ISO 200, 1/640 sec.

Others wore green with a little style and whimsy. Everyone was smiling and having a grand time.

Nikon D700 with Nikon 80-200mm f/2.8D ED AF @ 185 mm, f5.6, ISO 200, 1/500 sec.

Harajuku Spots and Tentacles

I was on Omotesando in Harajuku at the end of July and spotted this interesting Louis Vuitton window display featuring Yayoi Kusama.

If you are interested in learning more about her and her fabulous art, check out Artsy's Yayoi Kusama page.

Nikon 50mm f/1.4G AF-Sf5.6, ISO 200, 1/60 sec.

Nikon 50mm f/1.4G AF-Sf5.6, ISO 200, 1/60 sec.

Cheap Culinary Adventure in Tokyo? Have a Crepe! (Part 1)

Although I live in Japan, I work for the US Army as a civilian employee and Monday was a US Federal holiday, Washington’s Birthday (or President's Day).  I had the day off while the wife and kids were at school and I was able to take a long walk through some of my favorite places in the city.

My first stop was Harajuku.  I walked along the main street Omotesando and noted how much things have changes since my first visit in 1998.  The Kenzo Tange's Hanae Mori building was demolished recently.  The Gap (included the Elephant Cafe and Pizza Express) across from the Laforet came down as scheduled last year.  The Dojunkai Aoyama Apartments which had plenty of character (for a 1927 vintage housing project), but looked like they were going to fall down were replaced by Omotesando Hills in 2006.

In all that time, I never ate a crepe from one of the many restaurants or popular crepe stands in Harajuku.  Anyway, I finally took the plunge and ... tried some on Takeshita Dori. Delicious!

The first crepe stand that I passed and gave a pass was Cafe Crepe. For some reason, I was put off by the pictures of the young girls. Not sure if it was some sort of promotion, but it just seemed a little odd to me.

The next crepe stand was Angel Heart. It was a little too pink and there wasn't a line. Seemed a little like the North Shore version of Matsumoto versus Aoki Shaved ice.

I went on to the Marion Crepes stand, which had a line and a sign that boasted that they had been in Harajuku since 1976. They must be doing something right.

So many choices. I chose 37 - apple cinnamon. Only ¥300!

The crepe guy was efficient. I was chowing down on a delicious crepe in no time at all.

Christmas / New Years Lights

I didn't spend much time in December taking photos in Tokyo. However, I did bring my camera with me to pick up my watch that was repaired at a jewelers shop in to Harajuku.

Anyway, I took a few photos of the lights or illuminations along Omotesando (表参道). None were that great, but this one is one of the better ones.

I also spotted these "meter maids" (or "meter men") enforcing parking. Parking tickets in Tokyo are not cheap so be sure to park legally. I couldn't hang around too long, I was only parked several spaces down and I only had about 15-minutes left on the meter. Oh well...