Visiting Starbucks Reserve Roastery Tokyo, March 2019.

 I always love a cafe which has a big space, terrace with nice view, and good coffee, of course. And I always go such cafe whenever they open a new one in Tokyo. In early March, Starbucks Reserve Roastery Tokyo was opened near Naka-Meguro Station. It's a new concept Starbucks with bakery, liquor bar, teashop...all kind of drinks available in it. So one day, I cycled there to check what it's like :)

  I decided to get there in the early morning of 8 a.m. because they said people making queue up to five hours just to get in. But fortunately, there was nothing like that when I got there. So lucky!!

 Inside was a factory-like atmosphere with a huge roaster is on the first floor, pipes and noises are here and there. And....

 Each section has its own speciality, like fine coffee, special liquor.... My fovourite is...

 Of course, a bread! I can't go without it XD They were lining up in front of the casher, but it only took 15 minutes or so, not a big deal!

Not only coffee, but decor was so interesting, each of walls has unique character :)

 It was still cold out there at that day, however, I enjoyed having hot coffee in terrace :) You can see Meguro river, which is one of the most famous sakura spots in Tokyo just right next to the building. (I cycled there on 28 March, and it was full bloom, by the way!)

Coming soon...

  :)

Finished reading "Killing Commendatore"

  Painting and reading were the only things I did in February 2019. Among many books was Haruki Murakami's latest long novel "Killing Commendatore（騎士団長殺し". In his typical unique style of writing and expression, I felt as if I were living in both real world and the world in novel at the same time, and I really appreciate that I can read his great works in Japanese. ( I also enjoy reading his book in English, of course, and it always makes me surprised how good the translators preserve its mood in English) The protagonist of this book is a painter by the way, and the whole story begins with finding a hidden artwork called Killing Commendatore in the attic of his house, where was once belonged to a famous painter. See, you know why I like it so much :)

  I know my painting life has just started. And I hope it's gonna be good to me :D

Marunouchi's illumination :)

I visited Marunouchi district, near Tokyo Station yesterday. There are plenty of things to see, including my favourite tea shop, clothing store, sweet cafe and so forth. It always fascinates me to walk under the illumination trees lining up on streets.

 And yes, I paint bit by bit on weekday :)

My brother's departure for Germany.

January was a relatively calm month for me. Because I quit a job in December, I finally found myself cooking much more than before. Like anytime, I tend to cook small dishes instead of a gorgeous, big one, then eat them bit by bit as if I was digging a narrow tunnel. And you know what, I love it. In the end of the month, one of my brother moved to Germany for work. We got together days before his departure, having nice white wine with pasta and fresh salad. We talked a lot about our old memorable stories.

 While 2010s was a decade of tremendous tragedy for me with waves of depression and devoice, he made his way, joined a remarkable workplace, got married, bought a super luxury apartment. But thankfully enough, we have been able to hung out without paying any attentions on our different climate. We cooked together, helped each other whenever needed. I'm so proud of being his brother.
 Well, I don't think living apart changes our solid relationship dramatically. Let's see how it turns out to be :)



  Oh, I just want to put my drawings below!

:)

Photographs from January.

Yeah, I still love what I'm doing :)

Joining a sake and food event!

It's always fun to join a food&drink event. A person like me, who usually don't have alcohol, can still enjoy meals and chatting. One day in January, I visited a restaurant to participate in such a wonderful event with sake and Singaporean food.

Arriving at the place, they asked each of us to grab a small sake cup. Oh, they were so nice that I couldn't find which one to get easily! (You know, I'm a dish geek!)

Well, let's take this one with mountains and fireworks!

After toasted, the party had begun with a bunch of sake. The sun was still up in the sky, and here we were, pouring sake before the glass became empty.

So many beautiful glasses and dishes...!!

It lasted for about 5 hours, I had more than 720ml of sake like other participants, and some people went so far as seeking a second place to have another drink XD

Happy New Year!

As the year 2019 has been kicked off, I see families going to a temple to pray, gathering with their relatives to celebrate new year. Yes, for Japanese, New Year's holiday is among the most important vacations of all. On the other hand, I stick to my chair, putting my energy on drawing and reading. It seems the cold weather with lots of snow helps me do so. "You've been doing them for years!" you might think, but I'm doing them more tirelessly and enthusiastically. Let's hope things would be even better in 2019 :)