Relaxing moments in Kawasaki...

Ready for a new trip? :) 

Today I take you to the Heiken-ji also call Kawasaki Daishi Temple. My favorite place when I need a break from the Tokyo urban jungle... 

On the road in Ginza...

Fall seems to be the perfect moment to enjoy some sightseeing trip in Japan. It's so difficult to resist the nice sunny weather in Tokyo! The reason why I've spent the passt two weeks a lot of time "on the road". Let's start with the most popular area for shopping and luxury brands. Ginza of course... 

Main road of Ginza 

Japanese Cooking Lesson: Amberjack Teriyaki...

Once a month I'm taking part in a Japanese cooking class.  My teacher, a Japanese Grandma, gives the lesson at home and we enjoy our prepared meal in a traditional "Tatami room". I really love this experience. I have the impression during this 3 hours to be very close to the Japanese way of life.
Most of the time I appreciate the taste of the different dishes but I'm even so shocked about the amount of sugar they contain. I even thought that Japanese's food is very healthy?!
Anyway, if I should give you the name of the dish I really enjoyed it would be the "Japanese Amberjack (Yellowtail) Teriyaki". The one in the middle of the plate...

Parlez-vous français ?!

After a big regenerating Europe summer break, I'm now back in Japan... Well I'm of course a little bit  sad to leave my friends and family again but I'm also happy to be back in this incredible and never boring city: Tokyo!

After a few days on the "road" in Tokyo and Yokohama, I realized (again) how much Japanese people love the" French Touch". You can find so many boulangeries, cafés, restaurants... But I was surprise to see how much they like to wear accessories and clothes with french printings, not understanding what's written on?! Not really a problem so long as the sentences are funny or sweet, but I found some shirts and bags with very strange french inscriptions or often with a lot of spelling errors. Not so cool but nor really dramatic. I'm not a master of spelling as well and I use so many different languages during the day (german, englisch, french, japanese...) that I'm sometimes not even be able to speak perfectly my native language, french. Damned!!!!  

But "tout de même" I decided that, for the future, I would better "never buy something with a text printed on if I can't translate it". Just to be sure that I don't wear a shirt with the Japanese sentence "I love my dog" written on... without having a dog! ;-)

Tokyo "Shinbashi"

Colorful River

Such a nice weather during spring in Tokyo. If you have the opportunity to travel to Japan, you really have to come in may! We had so many great sunny weekend. Perfect for some sightseeing...

The only problem is that it's not very easy to make a city trip with small children. They often get bored quickly... 

So I (mostly) try to find some compromises. One of the best way to discover a new town and enjoy the kids as well is a river boat trip (if the city offer this opportunity of course!) In Tokyo you have enough rivers to give you this posibilty (love this city ;) 

The most popular is a cruise down the Sumida River. So off to the Water Bus Station in Asakusa. 

We started our trip with a wonderful view of the Skytree, the Sumida City Hall and the Asahi Super Dry Hall & Life Buildings...

Asakusa Area Tokyo

Vintage Blush

May, lovely may...
Definitely my favorite month. Not only because I was born in may ;)
I get the feeling that everything seems to be more brighter, beautiful then. The nature, the weather and the people... Yes I even have the impression that we feel freer when we don't need to wear a coat, that we are more enthusiastic, even sometimes more friendly... I'm definitely in a better mood in may.

It's also the month where I feel the necessity to make a big "nettoyage de printemps" spring cleaning! Not only in my house but mostly in my wardrobe and my jewelry collection. I love to wear bracelets and necklaces during spring and summer. I love the way you can play with them, give your outfit a very special look: elegant, feminine, young, crazy, etc... In my case it give me the possibility to play with color. I love color but I'm not enough brave to wear very colorful clothes. I'm more the basic type: Jeans, white shirt or blouse...
This year I don't really need to make a spring cleaning in my wardrobe. I decided before moving to japan in january to make a very meticulous selection of clothes. It was definitely at the time to start something new, in every sense of the word ;)
I found this wonderful glass boxe in Tokyo and so I preferred to use my time to arrange a new place for my accessories...  

Happy sunny blue mood...

Yes!!! It's spring time. 

After a very (for Yokohama) snowy and cold winter, spring is finally here.

And now that I finished to arrange my "Home sweet Home" I really want to enjoy this great season in Japan...

Chinese factory style...

Incredible how fast the time has passed the last four weeks.
We've received our moving boxes from Germany and so I was finally able to arrange our "Home sweet Home"... I feel it yet at my home and I hope that I will from now on more enjoy the time Japan and the Tokyo Area. There's so many things to discover...

Snowy days in Tokyo...

At the question: does it snow in Tokyo? I get the answer: not really. It could happen but the last heavy snowfall was 50 Years ago... Yes, of course?!

Chinatown...

The Chinese New Year gave us a good opportunity to discover the Chinatown area in Yokohama.
Just in love with the very special asiatic atmosphere...

And the street color scheme was (like usual) a good source of inspiration...

Scarf "Even & Ood" - Shirt "Esprit" - Coat "Maison Scotch" - Jeans "Pepe Jeans" - Bag "Project Oona"

Unexpected views...

Fact is: it's never boring to walk in the streets of Yokohama...
There is a striking contrast between the big megalopoles and the love that Japanese people have for "old and tradition". So it's not unusual to see a wonderful woman with a Kimono in a modern shopping center...

Or in the subway, but in this case because of the "Coming of Age Day" (Seijin no Hi), a Japanese festive celebration held in order to congratulate and encourage all those who have reached the age of majority.

This is what I really love in Yokohama: being surprised by all the unexpected views in the city... Like for example this old sailing ship in the middle of skyscrapers!

Sailing Training Ship "Nippon Maru" - Yokohama Port Museum

Or this big Ferry Wheel...

Or also this old carrousel...

My favorite "unexpected thing" is this 80 Years old cruise liner. 

Love the atmosphere of this old-timer! The Hikawa Maru, a cruise ship built in 1929, is now a museum. It was describe as the "Queen of the pacific" and sailed between Japan & Seattle. During the war it hit mines 3 times, but kept on going. In fact, a true "Queen"...

Hikawa Maru NYK Lines

I couldn't imagine a better place to live for the coming 4 years. There is so many areas waiting to be discovered!

This city has everything I love: it's big, modern, unexpected, old, traditional, maritim and of course Japanese...
Really want to reflect this in my new Home, and already have some inspiration for my living room...

Armchair "Ikea" - Sideboard "Maison du monde" - Cushions "Zara Home" - Lamp "Flos"

Small pleasure of life...

I'm spending so much time outside since we've moved to Yokohama. I don't have a car, so I have to walk a lot during the day: to bring the kids to school, go to supermarket or if I decide to explore the incredible big city of Tokyo...

At first, I've thought it might be a big problem but after now a month, I really enjoy it. I love the time "on the road": I'm fascinated by the brightness of the city and I appreciate much more now the little breaks for lunchtime...  

On the walk, you have much more time to appreciate what's around you: the color scheme of the nature, the light, the details on the buildings, etc...

And the wintertime in Yokohama is just so incredible. I have so much energy because most of the time the sun is shining. Everything is just so colorful and I really like to wear now crazy colored accessories, what I normally just do during summer...

I definitely have the desire to change my usual habits, to try (and wear) new things and simply enjoy the small pleasure of life...

Summer feeling in winter? Why not!

Shirt "Bruuns Bazaar" - Jeans "Rich & Royal" - Coat "Selected Femme" - Shoes "Ivylee" - Bag "Ralph Lauren" 

"Larsson & Jennings" Watch

Crazy Big City...

What do People in Tokyo love to do on Sunday ? Relaxing at home with family and friends... no!
They prefer to walk out on the streets and make shopping?!
One of their favorite place: Shibuya. And so it looks like, on a "very" sunny sunday in the middle of January...

I must confess: I live in a very quiet area of Yokohama so I enjoy as well at the weekend the "trouble" of this big city.

I love this crazy area in Tokyo. Shibuya is so full of life...

 But you can also find some small quiet streets with cute restaurants...

Shibuya is the perfect place to have an excellent Cappuccino at Segafredo, served by an "Italian" barman!

Find great shops with lovely clothes and shoes (of course) Mmmm... difficult. Wich one should I choose?!

In Germany, I usually wore plain clothes. In Tokyo, You can definitly be more "creative" and mix print and color.  

I love the style of Japanese woman. It's powerful but so feminine. Actually a little bit like in Paris...

Coat "Mint & Berry" - Blouse "Rainbow" - Jeans "Hilfiger Denim" - Boots "Perlato" - Scarf "Passigatti"

Take it easy...

One of my "resolution" for 2014: "Simplify your life" or better "Take it easy"...

I knew that it wouldn't be easy to live in Japan. Because of the language (sure) and because of our both children. Now here they are in Tokyo and thank goodness, they appreciate to live in a big city...
They started last week at their new school and found already new friends. Oufff...

I feel "peu à peu" at Home in Yokohama: I already found my favorite supermarket, drugstore, Café and restaurant: the "World Kitchen". I know it don't really sound Japanese, but if a learn something during my first two week in Tokyo it's: to "make it simple"... If you are in a foreign country don't think it's necessary to try to live from the beginn as the people who are living there. Let you better a little bit more time to discover the diferrent places and the national customs...

Same think by cooking: because it's really difficult for me to read the labels on the products, I prefer to "take it easy" as well. That's why I prepared for our first meal in Japan: Pasta... But to be honesst, I spent one hour the first time at the supermarket and I just found these few products, so i really couldn't prepare anything else ;-)))

Now that I feel a little bit more "at Home" and that I fill up my fridge, I can appreciate the wonderful city of Tokyo. 

So just let us go out, enjoy the incredible sunny weather and the delicious (and always so cute) "Cappuccinos"...

A new year, a new blank page...

"Every new year is a new blank page in the diary of our life..."

This time it's for me more than a new page, its like a new beginn. After spent 10 years in Germany, gave birth to two wonderful daughters, show them grow up, it's time for me to live something new, to write a new chapter in my Life book.
My first reaction thinking about live in Japan was: Oh my goodness! Japan is so far away, so different. But after the first "shock", I realized that it's a great opportunity for me to move there.

The end of 2013 was so "crazy" and sure a little bit stressful because of the "logistics" part of our trip. So I couldn't really appreciate the christmas time in Germany. Pity!

Stuttgart Christmas Market 

But now after spent my first week in Yokohama and Tokio, I just can say "wouahhh".... 

I'm so exciting to "explore" this new big city and country. Just feel like I would be "in Wonderland"...