…this is the building I’d choose to live in. The photo doesn’t do it justice. It is white with clean lines, balconies, and wooden touches. The balconies and roof have plants. I envision clean, minimalist people living here. I think my vision comes from the fact that the Finnish Embassy is next door and ever since I watched a video of a visit Oprah made to a Finnish home, I’ve wanted to get rid of my “stuff” and live a simpler life
This friendly fellow guards the entrance to an apartment building near my home.
Much of the architecture in Japan is quite boring. However, almost everyday I manage to find something out of the ordinary and a bit unusual for this city. The Hiro-o Complex has a glass facade with balconies and external stairs that add interest. The most interesting part is that the glass facade has been put up over a very plain concrete building. I think this idea should be used more often. It would create more diversity and provide visual relief from the sameness pervading on every street.
Property is a premium in Tokyo and so there are many multi-level and unique parking lots. If you find a surface parking lot it is usually just there long enough for the owner to get the permits to build on it. There is company who will come in and build the parking lot for you so you can make a little money while you wait. This is the entrance to the parking lot at the church. The gate opens and you drive onto the elevator. You stay in your car as the elevator goes up to a level with available parking. I will post photos of other parking lots later.
We are beginning to see more signs of spring in Tokyo. I found these in front of a clothing shop.
Yesterday my post was about crossing at signals. I learned about “Zebra Crossings” (note that is not pronounced Zeebra but Zehbra) when I moved to London. I find them in most cities, even Salt Lake but since drivers there don’t seem to understand the principle of the Zebra they have bright orange flags to carry while you cross. Anyway, a Zebra crossing looks like this:
In London, in theory, the minute you step off the curb cars are required to stop for you. In Tokyo you look both ways and cars may or may not decide to stop. When I walk home I often don’t want to wait for the “Green Man” or to cross at the Zebra and so I cut through the hospital parking lot ( the shortest distance to my front door) and cross here:
First notice the barricade, I climb over it. Notice the small piece of concrete, you step off of it right into traffic. My front door is where the glowing yellow light is. I am cautious, but I really shouldn’t be doing this. The shortest distance between two points isn’t always the safest!
When I moved to Tokyo I had the hardest time standing on a corner where there was no traffic waiting for him:
When we lived in London people only waited for the “green man” when there was traffic. In Tokyo nearly everyone waits for the green man. So in Tokyo, I usually wait for the green man. I have noticed that when I don’t wait, one or two Japanese will do the same. Wow! The power of a bad example. I don’t want to be responsible for someone getting hit by a car because of my bad example…as I’ll wait for the “Green Man!”
Marisa suggested that the graffiti of the boy might be the work of a popular graffiti artist Banksy I looked at some of his work and had to agree. I looked at the photo again and noticed that it had been signed. This morning I walked down there again to find out who the artist is. It was signed Jef Aerosol I discovered that Jef Aerosol and Speedy Graphito (the artist who did the robot) are both French graffiti artists. Their art appearing on the side of the old French Embassy must not be random. This morning I walked a little further down the road and found a much larger image on the other side of the building.
This is a view of Tokyo by night. The Rainbow Bridge connects Tokyo with Odaiba, a manmade island in Tokyo Bay. Rick crosses the Rainbow Bridge everyday to get to his office in Odaiba. The needle type tower to the left side of the main span of the bridge is Tokyo Tower, Tokyo’s Eiffel Tower. Tokyo Tower dominates the skyline around my house and serves as a great point of reference when I am out walking or riding my bike and am not quite sure where I am. If I can see the tower I can get home. The boats in the foreground are party boats that go out on the bay nightly.
Our house is just a five minute walk from the Tokyo Temple and I can see the Angel Moroni from our living room window. With all the power lines that surround the temple it is difficult to get a good photo. This morning I stopped on a bench in my park and was surprised that I had never noticed this view of the temple spire before.
I love having my tent facing the temple 🙂
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