/ DELICIOUS BITES

tokyo - part II Tsujiki, Meiji Shrine and Asakusa

15 May 2015

I began my second day in Tokyo with a visit to Tsujiki, home to the fish markets. I was still feeling pretty queasy but I wanted a sushi breakfast so over to the markets I strolled, about a 15 minute walk from the Park Hotel provided one heads in the correct direction. I didn't.

Now this is a very old market and very busy and there are many strict rules one has to follow when visiting. Guys zoom around on little motorised carts and there is a traffic controller on site to prevent accidents. I found it all a bit scary.

There are 2 parts to the market - the inner market which is closed to the general public until 9.00 a.m. and the outer market where kitchen equipment is sold as well as some fruit and vegetables. All the sushi shops are located in the outer market.

It's all a bit Dickensian and there are plans to move the markets.

Did you know the market has it's own shrine?

My reward. The freshest, tastiest sushi I've ever eaten and the nicest miso soup I've ever had.

With my tummy filled with sushi I did a shopshoot at this lovely place.

Then it was over to Harajuku to visit the famous Meiji shrine.

The shrine is located in a lovely leafy green tranquil setting.

The gates are absolutely huge.

An impressive wall of sake containers.

Some details I found.

The shrine itself.

The impressive roof line.

The following day I travelled to Asakusa, another historic district of Tokyo. It was very touristy.

Some details, all in red.

Cute overload!

The temple was enormous and crowded.

I still managed to find a few quiet areas though.

That's the last of my Tokyo photos for now as I still have my Fog Linen shop-shoot to share with you. Next time I'll bring you some photos from my trip to Nikko.

So until then,

Jillian

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tokyo - part 1

13 May 2015

Hi every-one, as promised I have some images to share from my time in Tokyo. I stayed at the Park Hotel near the Tsujiki Markets and Ginza and it was a lovely way to begin my trip to Japan.

I arrived the last day of Golden Week, a series of 5 public holidays, so the streets were busy with holiday makers. During the weekend and holidays the roads are shut in Ginza and turned into a pedestrian thoroughfare.

I spied this handsome chap (and yes I am talking about the dog) outside the Wako Department store.

The middle image was the view from my room and the one on the right was taken from the hotel lobby. The one on the left was taken from the observatory at the Tokyo Metropolitan Government (TMG) Building.

The TMG has 2 towers. It's the imposing building you can see above and is next to the Shinjuku Gyoen Garden. As you can see it's a popular place for a lunch time nap!

The hotel was one stop away from the Tokyo Railway Station and I seemed to be at the station on a daily basis. It's been newly renovated/rebuilt and it's a very impressive building so I took lots of photos.

The railway station is in the Marunouchi district, which is quite lovely with tree lined streets, restaurants and very exclusive shops.

It also features some impressive old buildings and is close to the Imperial Palace.

Brightly coloured hanging baskets lined the streets.

I found this pretty little garden area.

It was part of the Marunouchi Brick Square Complex.

Where I came across this wedding party. This art gallery is also part of the complex. It's a faithful reconstruction of the original Mitsubishi Building that was built in the 1800's but demolished in the 1960's.

That pretty much covers my first day in Tokyo. On the second day I visited the Tsujiki markets; did a shop-shoot and visited some famous shrines. More photos to follow soon.

By for now,

Jillian

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gardens by the bay

11 May 2015

Whenever I travel it's a given that I'll look out for fabulous shops and markets to photograph. I'll also find time to visit art galleries and wander through gardens. Well in Singapore I didn't get time to do many of those things but I did manage to squeeze in a visit to Gardens by the Bay.

As with many things in Singapore, it's not your average garden.

It has enormous grasshoppers

and a forest of gigantic sculptural flowers.

Gardens were themed by colour like this white garden.

And my favourite part of the garden was this sculpture called Planet but also known as The Floating Baby.

That's the last of my photos from Singapore. I'm on the road quite a bit the next few days but hopefully sometime later in the week I'll be able to bring you some photos from Tokyo. I managed to squeeze in a shop-shoot while I was there and I can't wait to show you some of those images but that will have to wait 'til I'm home again in Sydney.

I hope you're all well.

Bye for now,

Jillian

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singapore - city hall and esplanade

6 May 2015

I spent most of my time in Singapore in the Suntec Convention Centre. At lunch time I'd go for a walk around the local area which covered City Hall, the old Fire Station, the Arts Precinct and the Esplanade area.

I just loved the Fire Station. It looks so solid and imposing and of course a step back in time.

I think it's beautiful.

It has a simple white washed exterior and similarly modest interior.

Next I walked along the river to the Arts Precinct.

The old Parliament buildings have been turned into a variety of galleries.

The imposing Supreme Court Building is in the process being transformed into the National Gallery.

I kept walking until I reached the lovely old Cavenagh Bridge which led to the Fullerton Hotel.

The view from the bridge.

Just past the hotel is the Merlion. The place was packed with tourists taking selfies. I have to be honest I found the Merlion a bit ugly so I focused on some details.

Here's the view across to the Marina Bay Sands Hotel and the Artscience Museum.

The last stop on my walk was the Esplanade Theatre, not far from the convention centre.

Just one more Singapore post to go and then I should have some photos from Tokyo to share with you.

Bye for now,

Jillian

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chinatown and little india, singapore

4 May 2015

Hi every-one. I've been in Singapore for a few days attending a conference and tomorrow I fly to Tokyo. I had one free day in Singapore before the conference began and managed to take a few photos in the breaks between sessions.

I'll try not to overload you with too many photos, so today I'll share some photos I took in Chinatown as that's where I was staying and Little India, as it was quite close by.