Mrs Tanaka with a bowl of azuki kake-gori (shaved ice with azuki beans)
It never ceases to amaze me what an important role strangers can play in our lives. Many years ago, when I first went to Kyoto at the tender age of 19 to study, this particular lady made a huge difference to my time there.
I love boats. I love water. And I love the countryside. So when I heard about Ine ‘the Floating Village’ I knew I had to visit.
Close your eyes and imagine yourself in a long dark wooden hall, standing in front of an army of more than 1000 many-armed kannon statues.
They are about the same height as you and are staring directly at you.
They stand proud, several rows deep.
How do you feel?
Tucked away down a side street near the Eastern Mountains of Kyoto is this lovely garden, in the grounds of Murin-an Villa. Simple, peaceful, and more than often yours all to yourself…
When I went to the kimono design studio to work on my noren curtain (more on that soon), I was not expecting to have a geisha come in for a spot of shopping…
Today is a special day in the design industry… it sees the launch of MOYO, the world’s first online magazine dedicated to surface pattern design! Packed with interviews, design briefs, colour challenges, art reviews, student showcases, design tips, inspiration, trends and more, this free resource will be published quarterly, and you can read and download the inaugural issue here!
Every August throughout the Japan people are on the move back to their hometowns for the annual custom of Obon, a Japanese Buddhist custom to honour one’s ancestors’ spirits.
Summer in Japan brings lively festivals, tempting street stalls, kimono-clad strollers and lights in the trees. It brings fireworks and sparklers, stripey tents and trickles of laughter. It keeps children out late, fishing for plastic toys in puffy round paddling pools, and proudly bouncing home with bags of goldfish in their pudgy little hands.
I took this picture on a UNICEF field visit to Trinidad & Tobago back in 2008, when we were in the early stages of planning the London 2012 legacy programme. Next to the court a young boy was knelt down sharpening a massive knife.
Today sees the Opening Ceremony of the Olympic Games in London. This was an important date in my calendar for many years, so it is with mixed emotions that I find myself watching it from a distance on the other side of the world.
The Olympics have been a major feature in my life and a source of many adventures. It is an event like no other – there’s a reason they call it the Greatest Show on Earth.
If you like the sound of a city centre closed to traffic, ancient wooden festival floats lit up with hundreds of traditional lanterns, street stalls selling fried noodles and other delicious offerings, and tens of thousands of people strolling in beautiful summer kimonos, then you want to take yourself to Kyoto for the Gion Matsuri. Here are a few pictures from a hot hot night here!
