How to play  Shamisen was something I wanted to learn even before I start to live in Japan. Well, it actually took some time, but today I had my first lesson! Yeah !!I am a guitar player (well, I mean like everyone~) and always had interest in strings instruments. When I visited Istanbul in 2004 I bought a baglama (pronounced balama) and had fun with it at home even if I never properly learned how to play it :-) A friend also offered me a valiha (pronounced "valee" if I remember well) from... 続きを見る

A quick post with : a cool dog : (I want one like this)And a video shot at arm's length : Japanese Tea Ceremony is well known all over the world. May I introduce you to to their Sake Ceremony :) 続きを見る

Looking for green in Tokyo ? Not difficult actually, there are many parcs and even with a bit of train you are quickly in the mountains. For example Takao San is about 1h from Shinjuku... I don't even mention if you take the Shinkansen... (then it is not even a question of time and distance but more of money...)Today I bring you to Todorokikeikoku just near Tokyo West part. It is just one stop after Jiyugaoka (on the  Oimachi line) which is also on the Tokyu - Toyoko line that starts from S... 続きを見る

I just realized that the last episode of "Everyday Life in Japan" was as far as December! As Homer Simpson would say : "D'oh!" Yep, time is flying!!So it is much time for my random mix of snapshots in Tokyo and around.Most were taken with the Nikon D5000, and the bad looking ones were taken with the iPhone 3G.This lion is at the entrance of an old imperial building now used as an exhibition place.Just near in a café after the visit, I "stole" this shot of these 2 ladies in kimono. I  wonde... 続きを見る

I already covered the city previously but I've been there 2 times last week (it is only about 25mn from Yokohama) and took many photos again. The weather was really nice with a taste of spring. Preparing the photos for the article I remembered that I went there also in November with my parents during their Japan travel. That time also was a good day for photography so I include here some of the November shots : At the main Shinto shrine of Kamakura, Tsuruokahachimangu, many tourists (as alw... 続きを見る