Another Year in Tokyo

And sometimes elsewhere.

Junyi

Okinawa my dream stays

The remainder of 2020 is only getting gloomy than ever, especially now in my new city Dusseldorf, Germany. With the daylight getting shorter, weather turned colder, and more dauntingly that the 2nd wave of COVID-19 and the new lockdown measures from next Monday… one can only daze in a boring, dark Sunday afternoon, and can’t help but start to recall the summer days in July in Okinawa, Japan.

Ikei island, Naha-shi, Okinawa

I have been to the Okinawa islands only twice. The first time was in August, 2017, when I spent three days with my mom in Naha city and then in Ishigaki island. It was an exhausting trip, partially because of the extreme weather and partially because I was not able to drive, which is a necessary skill to truly enjoy the islands. This time, me and my boyfriend rented a car from Naha airport and then another one in our next stop Miyako island – best decision made.

With the freedom of moving, we went up and down in the Okinawa main island where Naha is for two days, and were able to have fun in passing some spectacular bridges that connect islands, and to experience the changes in weather, plantation, and even the beaches from north to south then onto the far islands.

The weather in Okinawa is not uniformly tropical. In the northern part of the main island, it is actually subtropical that the beaches are a bit different – calmer and quieter, suitable for elegant bikini shot I would say.

While in the south end, especially when you go as far as the small islands such as Ishigaki island or Miyako island, it gets really tropical and exotic.

I enjoyed both. I am not really proud of my “beach body”, but I do like to take some good pictures and enjoy a cool dip at the same time. I bought new bikinis from fella swim, and those babies have to see the sunshine before we went into lockdown again – that was my thought (and prediction) back in July.

As this was our last trip together before I moved to Germany, I did not take too much time taking pictures. Instead, I have prepared a DJI Osmo to record our time together. It was fun and opened up my interest in creativity. Maybe I will do more.

The most enchanting sunset at the beach I have ever seen in my life so far:

And a little surprising couple time:

Well, see you another time, Okinawa my dream.

June: places to go in and from Tokyo

Best with: plum sake (umeshu, or 梅酒), and non-stop rainy days.

June has not been my favorite month of year. It is after the golden-week vacation, it gets hot and sweaty easily, it marks the start of the rainy season in Tokyo area, and the worst of all: it has no public holidays in it – all makes it a bit hard to plan any getaways in this long month.

However, when I was checking my old pictures over the years, I realized I did travel around quite a lot during this month. Those were all little day trips, or one night, tops; but there are many beautiful pictures of this particular season when one of my favorite flowers blooms in the area of Tokyo: the hydrangea, or Ajisai (紫陽花) in both Japanese and Chinese.

Where to see hydrangea blossoms in Tokyo area

Interestingly, my first blog here is about this flower, and you can review that one for some old picture. It is about my favorite town near Tokyo as well, Kamakura, where I have been millions of times.

In the city of Tokyo, my favorite spot for seeing this flower is Hakusan shrine (白山神社). I used to live very close to it, so maybe that is also why. I found some old pictures again, some featuring a younger version of me. 🙂

Outside of Tokyo… green looks the best after rain in Nikko (日光)

By the end of June, or even beginning of July, the entire east Japan is in the middle of the rainy season. Every year, it has been difficult to decide where to go to celebrate P’s birthday, which is on July 1st. Actually, there are quite some gems that shine even better after a good rain.

This is where people visit during summer, the sacred mountain area north to Tokyo: Nikko (日光). I have been to it numerous times, including in summer when it brings coolness and autumn when the leaves are just beautiful. You would imagine in June it may be less beautiful, but actually the greenish nature after rain is just like a fairytale coming true:

Or, go north to get a good dip in the Onsen (温泉) in the northern prefectures

The north part of east Japan can be difficult to get there, as it is not like the big cities such as Tokyo where you have dozens of lines at each train station. Nontheless, I always imagine it is how Japan should look like behind the curtains.

To escape the heat, I would travel north to wander in the nature, or in the “ghost” towns. The trip to Iwate prefecture, Ichinoseki city (岩手県一関市) and the nearby Hanamaki town (花巻) was one of such memories. The views are amazing. And nothing beats a good night rest in a cozy Onsen Ryokan (温泉旅館) near some mountain stream with rain in the background, where you can both warm up after a long day and enjoy a traditional and less pricy Kaiseki Ryori (懐石料理), sometimes with quality Japanese beef, or Wagyu (和牛).

This year, where should I go (if possible at all..)?

A serious thought

What’s the meaning of owning a paid blog hosting, two fancy cameras + three pricy lenses, and a passion for traveling without recording and remembering??

A “supposed” candid travel blogger, in the making, hopefully.

I have been battling whether I should keep this blog hosting for a while. Yes, I am keeping it, but I still can’t help but wonder what is the meaning of owning such a thing without much contents, and visitors either for that matter.

This is a little embarrassing. I don’t want to reinforce the idea that I am a quitter again. I thought about posting various projects of my life in Tokyo as foreigner here over the past 4 years, but I ended up doing it only once or twice a year. Recently, I started again, but most likely because I was too bored during the pandemic lockdown.

This has to change dramatically. As a first step, I will do a recap of my past travelings in Japan before my move to Germany, then start some regular stuff here. I want to create things.

One dish: green, green, green

Seasonal treat means seasonal color, smell, and the joy.

And of course the taste. 🙂

Simple and refreshing is the name of this season.

End of May and before the beginning of June is my favorite season in Tokyo. It is not too hot, but warm enough to wear only one layer of clothes; it has some humidity in the air, but not too much as in the rainy season to come; and most importantly, all the green colors around the corner are starting to flourish, and it always brings me joy.

This salad is not a fixed recipe. I just add the greenish items I like/have at the moment, and add a little other colors on top of it. Boil them if necessary, or eat raw if you are good with fibre. 😉 The seasoning is very simple – I almost only use sashimi soysauce (light and good for umami) and a little sesame oil, with optional sugar. It is low calorie, high fibre, and stimulates a good appetite.

For a more special and “Japanese” taste as an accent, try adding some “Shiso” or 紫蘇 in Japanese.

That is the mood of today!

Quarantine in Style #2: White Shirt with Skirt, with Pants, or with Itself

See all its expressions in the color of sheer white.

Here, as promised, my excited self portrait with some new white shirts from Zara. Collar and collarless, linen and cotton, just-fit and oversized… so many options to explore. Too bad it is still under lockdown here in Tokyo, so all the photos are produced inside my apartment. Excuse the bed, the door, and the stand mirror!

Oversized shirt with skirt

I think this is completely a ZARA look. It is technically true, though, as both the shirt and the skirt are from my recent ZARA purchases and the floral skirt is really convenient to style up with.

Collar shirt to ease off some feminine accent from the skirt.

Or with pants, casual or a little bit suited up

Most of the days I am a pants person. I wear a lot of denims, and when it warms up, I like to wear wide pants that have an accent shape and suit pants that can show the body curve naturally.

I thought wide pants can be a challenge with oversized shirts; but it is actually quite nice. It can be called a “ゆるコーデ” in Japanese, which basically means “loosened up coordination” as a very common style here.

Ultimate conservative with collarless shirt.

I recently bought a pair of pants from Theory. I was lucky; it was on sale because of the lockdown, and I saw this one that has nice shape as Theory always does, and a dark yellow color which can be nice addition to my grey/navy usual suits from Theory.

Handsome look with collarless shirt.

As an single item of ultimate romance

When talking about items that are romantic, usually we think about long floral dresses, on a sunset beach, with a big hat perhaps. Actually I found withe shirts are quite a romantic single item, especially with oversized “boyfriend” style and basically any design if it is linen.

It can be a little too intimate, though. It has to be styled up with items that can bring out its character, such as a simple trench coat or a straight denim. Maybe I can try that combination sometimes.

White Shirt Mood of The Day

The most versatile, expressive, changing and yet the most constant, simple and mundane mood.

It was a moody Saturday, with changing shape of clouds and fading sunshine from time and time – perfect mood for some self -portrait photography experiment.

I have been having a serious crush on white shirt those days. It is such a versatile item, with its plain expression yet ever-changing shape of different fades and shadows to work perfectly in almost every setup. I prefer to think, it also has its own character; it is classic, and it brings in the depth and the contrast exactly the way you want to. You need nothing else 🙂

The ultimate conservative.
Or a few more colors with a different expression.
A little more intimate as a shirt dress.

I am bringing out a new series of how I style with basic white shirts recently… I love it, can’t wait to share here!