instant tokyo

Nothing but great memories from this city. I can't wait to go back. I love the fact that I'm revisiting the polaroids I snapped instantly, without hesitation and, often, without pause, on the streets of Tokyo. Swiftly taken images are, I think, the best ones. A true kodak moment.

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tokyo photo diary

What a city. I'll be seeing you.

The fancy part; Marunouchi you charmer, you // The family who sneaks together, stays together // Melon tomatoes waiting to be picked up at Shibuya // Colour-coded shelves at Mansun bookstore in Marunouchi // Old maps of Tokyo // The view from the top (of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government building in Shinjuku) // Afternoon tea at the Park Hyatt // New Year wishes at the Meiji shrine // A fantastic brunch at the Rose Bakery x Comme Des Garcons store // What a spread, Tokyo, what a spread!

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pure luxury

I really don't see how it could ever get any better than this. Thanks to a Christmas present from my mum to my dad, my family and I enjoyed a brief but absolutely amazing stay at the Park Hyatt Tokyo during out trip in Japan. It was complete bliss - utter luxury, the best kind, the one that makes you think yes, life really should be just like this - complete with the softest fluffy bathrobes and warmed up slippers. My mum and I joked that we were never going to leave the hotel, that we would lie on the bed for hours listening to the quiet strings of a mandolin, or sit happily ensconced on the 41st floor at the afternoon tea lounge, where black-and-white suited ladies wandered around offering you refills of your rosewater marshmallow and raspberry petit fours... Staying there truly was perfect. The kind of perfect that made me think that Scarlett Johansson really must be incredibly spoiled to complain about jet lag and not sleeping when instead she could slip into that bathrobe, spritz a little of their aesop face freshener and potter about amongst that thick green carpet. Who needs sleep when you can have repose as blissful as this?

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cakey

I've started to joke that this holiday is going to be a Rose Bakery tour of the world - it's one of my favourite places in the world and I happen to be stopping in every city that houses Rose Carrarini's organic food emporiums (Tokyo, London, Paris). Even after all the hype and after years of loving it I still get excited when I see that curvy logo, those long wooden tables and that window shopfront displaying all the delicious cakes and treats. That's what makes travel so exciting now, not the thrill of purchases that people can't get at home (with online shopping now this is all but redundant), but the thrill of eating things that people can't get at home. Today was the perfect day for it, after wandering around the imperial gardens with thousands of other Tokyo residents hoping for a glimpse of the emperor, we ended up in Ginza in search of tea and cake and rest for weary, tired feet. A spicy ginger tea and that famous, famous carrot cake (for good reason, as always!) was the perfect way to start my rose bakery tour of the world. Part 2: Paris, to come!

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day one

First day in Tokyo was new year's day and the city was completely empty. Stores were closed, even starbucks shut its doors, and I was the only one wandering the streets. Yes, I did get lost. It was cold and even with blue skies I had to draw my coat tight around me. But it was so beautiful.

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