Kakuun-Tei (Tea House)

The former building of Kakuun-tei was built by the order of His Majesty the Emperor Meiji for Her Majesty Her Empress Shoken in 1900. As the building was burnt down by the war damage, so in the autumn at 1958 the present building was reconstructed.

Bourgone Wine at Meiji Jingu - cont'd

Bourgogne Wine at Meiji Jingu

Provenance of the Bourgogne Wine for Consecration at Meiji Jingu
"By gaining the good and rejecting what is wrong, it is our desire that we'll compare favourable with other lands abroad"... poem by Emperor Meiji

The Meiji period was an enlightened period during which a policy of "Japanese Spirit and Western Knowledge" was adopted, to learn from the best of Western culture and civilization while keeping Japan's age-old spirit and revered traditions. Emperor Meiji led the way in promoting modernization by embracing many features of western culture in his personal life, such as shearing his topknot and donning western attire, and in many other aspects of daily living. Among these departures, His Majesty set an example by taking western food and in particular by enjoying wine with it.

The barrels of wine to be consecrated at Meji Jingu have been offered by the celebrated wineries of Bourgogne in France on the initiative of Mr. Yasuhiko Sata, Representative, Hourse of Burgundy in Tokyo, Honorary Citizen of Bourgogne and owner of the Chateau de Chailly Hotel-Golf. Profound gratitude is due to the winemakers who have so generously contributed to this precious gift to be consecrated here to the spirit of world peave and amity, with the earnest prayer that France and Japan will enjoy many more fruitful years and friendship.

(text extracted from the photo for readability)

Statue with many faces

This is located somewhere in Omote sando stations, near the United Nations University.

United Nations University

The United Nations University (国際連合大学, Kokusai Rengō Daigaku?) (UNU) is an agency of the United Nations established in Tokyo in 1973[1] to "research into the pressing global problems of human survival, development and welfare that are the concern of the United Nations and its agencies".[2] Its creation was set in motion by the Secretary-General U Thant in 1969.[3]

The university motto is "Advancing knowledge for human security, peace, and development."

The United Nations University provides educational opportunities to researchers mainly at the graduate and post-graduate level through an extensive range of fellowship schemes. It operates through a number of research centres around the world, where research fellows or Ph.D. students from other universities can come to do research. It especially targets researchers and students from developing countries. UNU is headed by a Rector, and headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. It does not receive any funding from the regular UN budget; it relies instead upon voluntary contributions from member states and the return on its investments, which are currently valued at US$350 million. The budget of UNU is approximately US$37 million per annum. UNU relocated its Institute of Advanced Studies to the Minato Mirai 21 development in Yokohama, Japan in March 2004.

(source: Wikipedia)

Omote Sando Hills

Omotesando Hills (表参道ヒルズ, Omotesandō hiruzu) was built in 2005, in a series of Tokyo urban developments by Mori Building. It occupies a two hundred and fifty meter stretch of Omotesandō, a famous shopping and (previously) residential road in Aoyama sometimes termed Tokyo's Champs-Élysées. It was designed by Tadao Ando, and contains over 130 shops and 38 apartments.

The construction of Omotesando Hills, built at a cost of $330 million, has been marked by controversy.[1] The building replaced the Bauhaus-inspired Dōjunkai Aoyama Apartments, which had been built in 1927 after the 1923 Kantō earthquake.[2] The destruction of the apartments again raised questions about Japan's interest in preserving historic buildings. A small section of the old apartments is reconstructed in the South-East part of the new complex.[3]

Minoru Mori noted that there had been resistance from local landowners to the use of Ando as architect, saying that they were concerned that his buildings were too fashionable for the area.[4]

Regarding the construction, Ando said, "It's not Tadao Ando as an architect who has decided to rebuild and make shops, it was the owners themselves who wanted it to be new housing and to get some value with shops below. My task was how to do it in the best way.”[5]

(source: Wikipedia)

Is it real or fake?

Children Playing in the Playground

This picture was taken at a park nearby River Sumida. Kawaii!

Say "Cheese"

Three young gorgeous ladies on a Japanese traditional rickshaw. Wow, such a beautiful sight in Tokyo!

Sad and Happy

Are you currently sad or happy? Sadness or happiness is inevitable in life. Sometimes, when you feel sad, you feel like the world is gloomy, unfair, etc. You feel very restless. But, when you feel happy, you feel that the world is very nice to you.

Regardless of whether or not you are sad or happy, just remember one thing. Life is short. So, just enjoy it! Regardless of whether or not you are sad or happy, you need a friend. When you are sad, you need a friend to cheer you out. When you are happy, you need a friend to celebrate your happiness. No use of blaming others when you are sad. Don't let your emotion affect your relationship with others.

By the way, you can wear these masks to hide your current feeling. It is a good mask to wear in Halloween Party, too. ^_^