29 March 07 - 17:34A song I wrote
romaji:Tobira wo aketemo anata wa inai
Isi-datami no ue ni wa nagai kage
Ka^ten ga sizukani ikizuku, chinmoku no toki (more)
Tobira wo aketemo anata wa inai
Isi-datami no ue ni wa nagai kage
Ka^ten ga sizukani ikizuku, chinmoku no toki (more)
27 March 07 - 23:54Fellowship of the (Skating) Ring
Asahi Shimbun's editorial section wrote about the figure skaters of Japan, South Korea and China. I was inspired by this. Figure skating has always been the only thing I'm even remotely interested in Olympic Games. The figure skaters movements are so perfect, so practised, so sharp, that they would make a newly begun geisha apprentice to blush. (more)27 March 07 - 20:44The Red Spectacles
I got a hold of used DVD of "Jigoku no banken: akai megane". Too bad the DVD is so scratched that some chapters didn't work. Still I was so surprised, amazed, amused and touched by this movie by Mamoru Oshii. I had no clue what this is, all I knew that it must have something to do with Jin Roh as the Kerberos corp officer stood in the cover. I thought maybe it's animated sequel to it. But no, this movie is something much more. This movie has everything, Oshii's strange humor, some action, philosophical/political themes. And ofcourse, longing for lost love. All made in low budget, which means that there is not much unnecessary action. (more)21 March 07 - 18:15Casual Dating
Not too long time ago, I was reading magazine called Tokyo Notice Board. I did the photography for the magazine before, and I was leafing through it in coffee shop in Shinjuku. Then I saw the announcement for "International Casual Dating Club." I was wondering, what does "casual dating" actually mean?
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20 March 07 - 12:14Cold Wind of the Society
A Japanese friend once told me that she prefers to wear expensive clothes in order to protect herself from the cold wind of the society. I remembered her words yesterday, on domestic Finnair flight. It was horrible weather, and the security checks were extremely tight that day. They seemed to go through some tests of efficiency of the security control there in tiny Kuopio airport. The guy standing in front of me was like a guy from German war fiction novel, judging everyone by their looks. Maybe terrorists attack here! Kuopio!
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19 March 07 - 11:33When was Hanami Web made?
The numerous emails from the United States keep coming. Recent trend is to ask the author's name and year of publishing content in Hanami Web and ask the most recent update. And ask whether the information is "valid" or not. The people who ask these questions don't bother to introduce themselves or even write their name. I have given up answering the storm of these messages, simply because I don't have time to do so. (more)ヤーッコ - Feedback - No comments
15 March 07 - 18:30Dreamcloud
I took a photo of a cloud from my balcony and then did some photo editing. Thanks to RAW photography you can adjust the photo to look like almost anything. I remember I saw a dream where all clouds looked like this, so I wanted to represent this dream of mine with this photo. Perhaps, I will make a movie of my dreams some day.
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14 March 07 - 22:21Hibi
Hibi turned out to be a fantastic and unique movie. Director Banmei Takahashi did a very nice job with this movie. Hibi is a genuine movie with a documentary touch. I thought the movie had very beautiful and realistic feel. By the way, it seems this movie is really shot in Shigaraki (Shiga-ken). Shigaraki is famous of it's natural, unglazed pottery. Read full story: http://www.hanamiweb.com/hibi.html
See the homepage of Shigaraki town here.
13 March 07 - 23:43Hanako Yamada
I have to admit, I'm big fan of Yamada Hanako. She is so intelligent and talented comedian. And she expresses herself so honestly. It is interesting to realize that when Japanese people see her in TV and laugh, they laugh in heartwarming way, not laughing in embarassing way how they laugh for Hard Gay's comedy.Unlike other TV stars, I thought Yamada Hanako probably doesn't care much for fame or money. I thought her interests would be elsewhere.
She did run marathon too. I got inspiration to do sports from her.
http://www.hanamiweb.com/yamada_hanako.html
11 March 07 - 20:09My Birthday
For past years, (except the last year's birthday when I was on plane back from Japan) I have followed a tradition to spend my birthday. For some this tradition could seem hardly more ordinary, but for me this is like a rite.I wake up early (as I want to spend MY day well), do some exercise, and eat breakfast at home. Then I will go to the Helsinki and see through second hand book shops until I find a Japanese book which I haven't read yet. Then I will buy that and go to coffeeshop in Helsinki called "Strindberg". That coffeeshop is little expensive but their cheese cake is very good. And then I enjoy the book with the coffee and cheese cake.
This tradition never lets me down. I cannot imagine how I could get disappointed with this. Last years I got books such as Kawabata's Yukiguni, or The Master of Go, the book which I gave to my friend as a gift last time I saw her.
This is a small, secret peace and comfort inside my heart. Maybe this year's Japanese book will be something extraordinary.
08 March 07 - 18:32Feedback on Gentle Afternoon
Thank you for sending me feedback on the Gentle Afternoon photos. I was happy to notice that some of the readers from Tokyo felt a sense of nostalgy when watching those. In a sense, what I want to display is the Japanese daily life. Because there is no such camera that can capture the life itself, we photographers need to use symbols. I thought the slipper and a sock would be good as everyone know them. Please keep sending the feedback.http://www.hanamiweb.com/gentle_afternoon.html Arigatou!^^
ヤーッコ - Feedback - No comments
07 March 07 - 14:51Gentle Afternoon
Recently I was digging up my photos from the last year and I remembered the time I spent in Suginami-ku with my ex girlfriend. A lot of memories came up, but as time has passed, it doesn't feel that painful anymore. In this sense, I could concentrate on making this photography collection now. I will hold an exhibition in a gallery in Takadanobaba sometimes before this summer. More to come soon.On the meanwhile, please enjoy Gentle Afternoon in :
www.hanamiweb.com/gentle_afternoon.html
07 March 07 - 02:47Korean town in Shin-okubo
Have you ever been to Shin-okubo? It is a town nearby Shinjuku in Tokyo. It is within walking distance either from Takadanobaba or Shinjuku. It is amazing, there are Korean shops, hotels, restaurants. And even the atmosphere is Korean somehow. I recommend to visit, and get some really delicious kimchee and korean sake.
05 March 07 - 12:27Nakajima-kun Battles against Normality
My friends came over to visit me just before Christmas. Mai-san brought me a wooden wild boar from Morocco (as it's year of a Wild Boar in Japanese zodiak calendar). We instantly named him Nakajima-kun, because he just looks simply looks like Nakajima. Not only he smells better than real wild boar (smells kind of like eucalyptus), but his gentle pose reminds me every day that in our hearts we should remember to be ourselves honestly.
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04 March 07 - 13:52Okonomiyaki
Japanese okonomiyaki is always delicious. Especially with Japanese beer such as Asahi or Kirin. And it's rather healthy too. It's easy to make at home and most ingredients (ingredients, cabbage, eggs) can be found from western shops. However, if you can, I recommend to get some real okonomiyaki sauce and katsuobushi, and special okonomiyaki flour if possible. Sky is the limit, you can put almost anything you want from shrimps to tuna or octopus to it. A suggestion for okonomiyaki coming soon!
03 March 07 - 11:33Akiko Wada in ramen box
A friend of mine brought me a nice box of ramen ingredients. I was surprised to find Wada Akiko in the cover. "New Menu!!" she says.This ramen is chanko taste, the famous sumo taste, but you can make various different ramen from this. Chanko is great food for vegetarians.
Read more: www.hanamiweb.com/ramen.html