Last week, a friend from home was in town and we visited Roppongi Hills, the complex I have watched construction of from my window for the last two years. As we walked through the "zen garden" my visitor remarked, "the highway is only 5 feet away, it's loud, how relaxing is that?" Which, I think, pretty much sums up all of Japan. Recently I joked with a friend about searching for that single spot in Japan that not one power line, car, slab of concrete, or shack of rusting, corrugated steel is visible from any direction.

Jean Snow has some interesting dialog on Roppongi Hills here and here as well as some interesting photos.

Some say schools in Japan teach kids ‘how to be Japanese’ more than anything else. I have discovered that brand worship may be part of that education and learned from a very young age.

I was on Omotesando last week and saw a teacher lead a class of nursery school aged children to the Gucci shop window. As they eagerly peered in, the teacher pointed and spoke. I can only imagine what she was saying… "look children, this is Gucci, a very important designer. when you grow up, be a good Japanese citizen by spending all of your disposably income on luxury brands like Gucci …"

Gucci shop window on Omotesando. This season Gucci as well as other designers have reinterpreted the kimono (see Gucci's Spring 2003 collection, ready to wear).

You don’t see too many of these around.

Wirefarm Jim gave me this 50 yen 50 sen note (=1/2 yen, I think I got gypped!) as a consolation prize after I lost our wager on who was older. Thanks, Jim.

The 2,000 yen note seems to be slowly becoming more common. For a culture that abhors history, it is a (pleasant) surprise to see Japanese currency so traditional.

Make sure to pick up a copy of this weeks Metropolis magazine where TokyoShoes is featured in an article about blogs and blogging.

The article also features James Luckett of Consumptive.org. Make sure to check out his CV. Brilliant!

Today's and yesterday's photo from Daddy's restaurant. The “art” was a bit disconcerting to me.

Observing the differences across countries in customs, like restaurant etiquette, I find amusing and intriguing. While there are themes/behaviors that cross cultures, they often seem positively arbitrary to me. For example, in Germany it is okay to blow your nose at the dinner table, in the US it is frowned upon but not a huge deal, in Japan it is just not done, rather sniffle away.

Here are some others (ratings based on my observations):
1=accepted or neutral
0=frowned upon, but tolerated
-1=not allowed or really frowned upon

Based on this highly scientific analysis, we can determine that in 'liberal' Germany everything is okay while in 'ultra-conservative' Japan most things are not allowed (with a few massive exceptions like reinforced toe stockings with sandals, I mean, my gawd!). America lies somewhere in between.

I can't seem to get enough of construction sites or high-end brands. And if it is a construction site of a high-end brand's store all the better. Six floors of total Prada product. My knees quiver.

In other news, my Prada-frock mirror project submission was selected by Leslie Harpold for a gallery themed "try one on."

The lights have gone on in the Prada store under construction in Aoyama. When will it open? And, more importantly, how do I get an invite to the opening party?!?! If anyone knows, please send the details to me.

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One thing I love in Tokyo is my local izakaya. An izakaya is a casual restaurant similar to a pub or tapas bar, where co-workers go to eat finger food, but generally the focus is more on drinking.

For over a year I didn’t know the name and affectionately called it, “the Local.” It is a homey, comfy place where I can sit alone at the bar and get some solid Japanese fare. Thankfully, there is an English speaker and, while it seems I am the only gaijin ever in there, they have recently brought out an English menu.

Ironically, on Tim’s first tour of duty in Japan, he went to the Local to practice his Japanese with the ever patient owner, Jun-san. Now, years later, it is me who practices Japanese with him.

Fish tanks with fugu (blow fish, the poisonous kind eaten as a delicacy in Japan). We call them the little swimming croutons.

Sake bottles line the wall. I drank the hachi-umi-yama brand or eight-sea-mountain.

Demolition has begun on the Dojunkai Aoyama apartments, beautiful old buildings mostly vacant, lining a stretch of Omotesando. The Japanese abhor anything old; old, slightly decrepit, and beautiful is even worse. Down it goes to be replaced by some glass box with 6 floors underground.

Jean Snow has a lovely photo of the apartments on his site.

The revamp of TokyoShoes is (almost) complete. Special thank you’s to fellow blogger, MJ, who set me up with an upgrade to MT 2.63, Jeremy for providing the code for the archive drop down boxes, and Lil for offering support all along the way.

A number of sites provided creative inspiration; three well designed stand-outs include Antipixel, Exposur3, and mood-indigo.net.

Currently there are five new logo images, refresh will display a new one. I plan to add more and periodically include seasonal, limited additions. The revolving image code courtesy of JavaScript Kit .

I have also added a search function and a category archive. Feedback and comments are always welcome.

Now back to proper blogging!

The Japanese are very risk averse people. There is a belief that Japan is a very dangerous place, and each and every potential threat must be protected against. This is why stores wrap goods in far too much bubble wrap and paper (they might break), why every river bank is covered in concrete (it might flood), and why guards with illuminated batons line construction sites (someone might get hurt).

Below a live guard is assisted by a mechanical one to direct traffic around glow cones spaced every meter. An over abundance of signage point the direction and warn of impending danger.

Generally, I nod politely to the guards, thanking them for protecting my safety.

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