I had to buy hat but I bought jacket. Spontaneous shopping was fruitful for me always )

Part of Tokyo, famous from peculiar people on streets being celebrated, crepes and oriental bazaar. On main square shocking fashion. Groups of Japanese without any bonds yet, gathers to dress up, meet with others, and just show. Of course to be someone else of also. Someone mixed of manga, Roberto Rodriguez and Star Wars movie characters. Sole view.. Probably, there is no other place like this.





Oriental bazar. You can buy all accessories here and test it on main square at once. Gothic/Lolita/Punk - who want to be today?

Well known and never depleted subject.

One of the biggest park in Tokyo. A temple and weeding place in the centre. Outgoing couples mildly happy, however incredibly calm in appearance..
A lot of foreigners and children, dressed specially. Really nice atmosphere,you could feel happiness in the air (maybe because of the weekend?)

We started to frame pictures in different way. Just to make some changes, maybe because we are bored...


There was a accumulation in local lottery. Ichi Oku Yen, a Millard. People fallen into dreams, a bit dizzy. They stand and they think.

Friday, Fridays, american style lunch. It's cool when the waitress comes and says: "Hi, my name is Ayumi. I will be your servant today...".

All restaurants in Shinjuku are full on Friday evening. It's almost impossible to find a place for two, for three - it is a miracle.
I was just stand at this impossibilities.
Today's photos:

Cold nose has enforced me to go for oil. Japan generally does not use central heating. Air-conditioner heats not much. The most popular is a simple oil heater. It has many functions such as measurements of temperature, alarms, timers etc. However, we use only one: button -> ignition - > it heats!
We have a 18l canister, and about 1km between blocks - to the station.
So, one joyful evening I have left there with empty canister. I get the station, I have taken off my headphones and heard hot Hip-Hop music from tape recorder in doors of garage on the station. Two completely easy guys were washing some car. One of them has put off his rag and stepped up. He asked me some question, using hand gesticulation, hip-hop style. So, for accommodation for situation I have waved the bubble and I said that I need it full. He asked "Cado?". I answered "Mann, what cado! I have cash only" Ok, he pushed some buttons on distributor and poured me the oil. The music changed from Dr.Dre to BigPimpin. The only thing that was missed at this place was some pimped lowrider.
1244 Yen, a lot.
I wish to stay longer but I did not have reason. So, I set up headphones and I switched on 4Kyon Black playlist. BTW: Now I'm using a borrowed Ipod. It has been exchanged with a friend to check each other music taste. Older type 20GB, many advantages however - a bit bricky. And solitaire in B&W :(
The canister was much heavier I imagined. A moment of thinking at home before ignition to be sure he poured me heating oil not Hi-Octane gasoline ;)
However, everything was ok.

Some additional photos from past days:




Soon :D

Usually they are not visible, as there are make noise a lot. Last time such two has woke me up, playing football in front of my window at afternoon. To tell the truth, there is no window on this wall, but it is so thin, that I hear leaves falling from trees. But not about this.
Children shows here mainly early at morning, when they go to school. Then, they are walking in small groups, in lines. Such authoritative. Usually oldest leads. They walk one after another not to bother any other person on the street. They often walk round way, could had for school closer considerably. But it is necessary to go for point of muster and there joint to group. Such a basic Japanese organization. Perfect!

It was my first time. Young, fresh, little.
I had to visit Tokyo to taste French Beaujolai Nouveau. ;)

Some local cafeteria ad. :P

And happy fruits with tammys. Tell me if you know the names.

Another railway varia. Long exposition this time.
Wondering, why I pay so much attention to this? If it's simply 'coz there is many rail lines here or it's because my H-0 set (German toy trains) was really small when I was a kid... ;)

Some other photos from the walk to Yamato.
Today is a extraordinary day. I look at world a slightly different way :D






Japanese playgrounds are sad and heavy at most. Steel toys, wooden animal statues. But everything is so depressing there.

Fighting with weekend torpor, we decided to explore Yamato, near by,
10 minutes walk and we are in a Saturdays fair. You can buy everything here:

A Pearl-Harbor helmet, Ferrari steering wheel, Louvre museum guide.

Some china.

A paintbrush.

Saw, bongo and old news. Some brassworks.

And Mamiya for 40000Y.

Bogart would turn in his grave.

Lip my stockings!
Lip them.
:D

It surprised me today. I met Polish Krakus cucumber pickles and sauerkrau.
It moved me to tears. (;

It's cold, my nose is freeze sometimes. Hot drinks in vending machines, motorbikers in full-helmets, cute boots on legs.
I want to go anywhere less now.
All Polish are waiting for Christmas at the moment. It's some breakthrough. A moment of relief after whole year, meetings with family, eating. Drinking also ;)
Here it's slightly different. There are no such tradition probably. Do the people waiting for something? It must be empty without this vision of few days off, absolve of sins, first star on the sky and speaking with animals...

I couldn't pass it. Poland vs. Japan, and the girls ;)
The game was like the following:
An earthquake in the morning, first set won, next two lost. Fourth barely won and the great finish during tie-break.
10000 Japanese on the grandstand. Thirty Polish maybe. Anyway, the encouragement was appropriate. Great game character, good seats. I'm really happy I've been there.











A short meeting with the girls after the game. Congratulations, memorabilia, etc. :)
Appearance? Damn tall, very modest, tired.

Ikebukuro is another centre on Yamanote line around Tokyo. It's nothing different than other stations there. It's cool to know the place similar but also much different from others.
So the journey began in gyudon restaurant (beef on rice) - continued in English pub with a good beer (HubAle) - and finished by a walk with some cycling elements...










Good luck Yakko!

This is the place we live.
A place rather good, after some thinkin'. Inside not so uniform because of us. We provided some colors and smells and got rid of all dust, dirt and fungus :P
Two rooms and some antechamber-kitchen:

The projector on the foreground is projecting the screen to one of my walls. Kitchen on a background. It's full-option: Micro-wave, owen, hot water dispenser and fridge. There is a rice-cooker also. Cupboards full of all the stuff we need to live. A bag of rice. The window is covered because of irritating sunlight in the morning.

My room, stainless closet, a map, pants.... doors like to a porch. A dust bin it the background in the antechamber mentioned before, some clothes to clean. A slipper. Empty bottle of wine is waiting for Tuesday.

Kojn's room, bigger and with tatami. With big closets, which you can't see. Beside, it's a TV. I've watched it 3 times, 5 minutes every one. Plastic foil from a drycleaner. Clothes like in some dormitory.

And a toilet, airplane-size. If you are tired you can lean your head against the wall. The best is a plush seat cover!

Beside of this, we have a bathroom, I showed by the way of new washer before, and a balcony with some other stuff (like air conditioners, gas water heater, old washer...) on which I dry my clothes like everybody does.

So the luxury in one word. You don't need anything more. My Creative 2.1 set and incense stick makes all the color.
The house is shakin' every time somebody moves upstairs, but is a regular here :D

As mentioned by Carolajn, Japanese can't use the blessing of air-condition in trains correctly. During summer heat, AC was turned on full. I was freezing in carriage, went into owen on the platform. Then change a train, to another polar express...
Now - it's the revenge: I'm freezing on the station, entering carriage, glasses are vaporise, no AC, there is no air to breathe. I have to take off my jacket (I'm ready to take off my shoes as well :P). In a minute I have I'm completely sweaty.
What the...?

My theory is: that this is the only possibility to force a Japanese salaryman to stay in home - when he catch a cold...

Heh, that's by accident :)

Japanese ramen noodle maker Nissin Food Products shot a commercial in space recently. The commercial's set is unique: the International Space Station.
A Russian cosmonaut helps to promote Cup Noodles.
Rather mediocre effect, but the idea matters :)

WMV Streaming on Nissin homepage.

I watched Lost in Translation yesterday evening. It was my 6th time probably, but it was the one and only.
Namely, it has happened in Irish pub in Shinjuku, the center of Tokyo. Still there is more, this two-person cinema was filled to the brim by gorgeous Japanese company. I was able to run even Japanese subtitles for her.
Unfortunately, the battery was dead in the middle, so we have to repeat the show ;)

After that I had an idea that this is the best way to watch some movies. In certain place that matches the subject. You receive the plot and absorb the atmosphere differently this way.
So for example, Saw should be seen in some basement, Pitbull on a Warsaw's Praga district tenement house courtyard, The Merchant of Venice, during sailing on gondola through stinky canal, Sahara - on a dessert, and so on...

What do you think about it?
In case of sudden ideas, the comments section is open :)

As everybody knows, the first Santa Claus doesn't make Christmas. But these yellow ones, met in the "Yellow Santa Claus catching machine", are the very first herald of Christmas in Tokyo. ;)

As I mentioned before, I had opportunity to work as a photograph. The assignment was to take pictures of the new collection of Japanese designer, Kei Mori. His brand, MyCashmere, is cashmere clothes for women. Today I can show a bit of these sessions effects.







Two days, 1400 photos made. Three models, different locations: studio, street, restaurant. Soon there will be a possibility to see more on the new e-shop by MyCashmere.

The counter shows 9000 photos made by my camera. There is about 1100 archived so you can see the reject is big. What's on the photos? Life.



So the first film is done (4,7GB).

Yesterday I was on Polish Day organized by the Embassy. The performance had a purpose to familiarize Japanese of polish culture, tradition as well as basic information about geographic placement. Some movies were displayed also quiz of knowledge about Poland. There was bigos, pierogi and apple-pie (traditional Polish dishes). Interesting, that there is a group of Japanese in Tokyo, who are dress traditional polish people's apparels and they dance Krakowiak or Mazurek (traditional Polish dances) at this kind of parties. They make such a show, that the whole hall plays as on wedding. For Japanese it is a first-class orient. I have said few words on public, everybody wanted to make a photo with Me.


There is another meeting like this next week. This time in some park.

Just a photo of a tax office across the street.

Some time ago, a Polish government delegation visited our pavilion at EXPO. There came also a reporter of Polish National TV (TVP) and took an interview with us. He was asking about our life in Japan, the internship evaluation and couple of other things.
Recently the 2,5 minutes program was published on TV. These are behind the scenes shots :)


Widzicie jaką mamy piękną promocje PJWSTK na biureczkach? :D

My 3-photos gallery was published in a Polish Klub in Japan Newspaper. I never existed in such medium :)

The carriages again lately. In carriages I read books, listen music, think. Take photos.




This guy in the middle is my MASTER for today :D Shinjuku -> Sagami Ono express, around midnight.

Last week was full of new experiences, emotions and places. I'll show you the good ones:

Gakushin University in the center of Tokyo. Great atmosphere. I was guided of the place full of students life. There were laboratories, clubs of interest, a pond, gyms, sports fields, stud farm and of course lots of students. Also piles of baseball equipment, a pottery and kendo.

Html classes. Realities of the leisure the same everywhere, as you can see ;)

A pyramid shaped building in the campus. It was used in Godzilla movie a long time ago.

Next, Harajuku district.

And Brazilian restaurant. You pay 4000Y and eat as much as you can. The buffet is not the main attraction. The whole system is based on a flip coin on your table (red on one side, green on the other). If it's green, the waiter with grilled meat comes every couple of minutes. He tell you what part of the cow or chicken he got and serve. If you are full, or just need a break - you flip the coin and the waiter passes your table.
And still, there is more: Caipirinha, pickles and of course good company.

Next, the complicated tunnel system voyage, between stations. Even the locals are lost sometimes... ;)

And,at the end, Tomasz Stańko chamber concert. The one and only performance, in Polish Embassy. A brilliant musician with the brilliant band. Now they are during tourne, Down-Under.

Lately we have been jogging in the evenings with Kojn on a regular basis. Once we even "managed" to lose our way for a while. Ideally we should be able to lose some weight... Recently it's been getting colder and colder, some 17 Celcius now :D. We should buy oil for our heater soon, I think. My extremities are froze at night and sleeping with air conditioner turned on is like in train.

Nite pictures then:

Welcome to English Tokyobynight site. This is a translation of my site in Polish. My English is not perfect as you can see :) but I wish it would be enough to understand the meaning. I would be thankful of any suggestions and corrections.

I would also like to invite You to comment my posts. You can do this in English as well as in Japanese.