The Manmade Forest

Meiji Shrine is one of the many tourist spots and also a very popular shrine to visit.
I have been learning so much more now that I pass by the Shrine everyday to get to the store, but there are so much I didn’t know about.


Recently I learned that the all the trees around the Meiji Shrine in Harajuku was planted 100 years ago, as a plan to grow a forest.
I watched a very interesting TV program about this and since then, changed how I look at the forest.

It turns out that 100 years ago, there was nothing there, just a hill with no trees. It was a big experiment, a project to plant trees that was true to the area and have them just grow on its own. No one was to take care of them, no one was to step into the forest, it was to survive on it's own, and that was the rule from one hundred years ago.

I go there sometimes to see if I can see the hawk, that now lives there, flying by or see any “tanuki” which is like a racoon, that might pass by.

This day I was only able to meet the spiders that live there, making webs and shuffling through the leaves.

It is just really nice to sit and look at the tall trees in the middle of your day in Tokyo. I like to find a place that takes you away from your normal surroundings, in any place that I live. In LA there was a spot looking out to the ocean right by the airport where I could watch the airplanes taking off. I think I found my spot in Harajuku when I need the trees and birds and the quiet. 

Summer eatings

Ramen seems to be favorites among the Japanese and lately it seems it is popular in other parts of the world.

What is exciting to me is that in the summer time there are the cold noodles that they would serve only in the summer times.

This place close to our home has nice presentation. Well I just like it when they use ice to imply how "cold" the noodles are. And the slice of citrus fruit is a nice detail. 

Hiyashi chuka is what they are usually called. Chines yellow noodles and few types of toppings that are neatly places. The dish is usually open to interpretation and the style varies from restaurants to restaurant. Some places have twenty different toppings or some stick to the traditional. It really makes you want to try different cold noodles out there.  

And when you are in a hurry, you can get them at convenience stores. They say more people have them when the temperature outside is above 26 degrees. And yes lately that is all I want!!

We're open !

Yay~!

Our store is now open!!

Opening day we recieved so many flowers it was really amazing!

It is one of the customs in Japan when a new business opens to send flowers. This way people passing by know that the store is new. First time to be in a position to receive them though and I just love flowers~

Another custom is to give these flowers to the people who came to your store as to share the good luck. 

Interesting Japanese cuatoms!!

new door

It is getting a little warmer day by day and plum blossoms are in full bloom. Love it when I get a whiff of the scent.


We are at a new chapter for ileava. 
We are going to open our very own store!

This is the door that will greet me everyday and everyone who may be curious to see what is in this little store.

We found an antique door and fixed it up a little and gave it a fresh coat. Now it looks really warm and welcoming.



Can't wait for all this to come together. Although there is a lot to prepare still~

Dessert time

I start to feel at home in a new area when I find a restaurant or a cafe that I like.
So far in Tokyo there are few great places that I found.
It is nice when the people who work there or own it know you, and when the food is also great it really makes you feel at home.

This bar/ cafe that is close to where I live is one of my favorites. I feel lucky that my husband and I have found a place that is welcoming anytime we go.  We sometimes call and use it like an extension of our living room. A great place to end your day.

When I' m there I often order my usual. A dessert/ drink with vodka and coffee jello and kahlua.

The owner gave me an extra swirl of whip cream that day. Didn't quit fit in my photo.

Sometimes I wonder what it would be like if we didn't have this great bar~

Would we have found something else? Would we have found comfort at home? 

Cherry blossoms

April!

Spring is here, the warm weather came earlier this year and the cherry blossoms were at its full bloom already in March.

It seems that every year there is are few days when we almost go back to winter. It gets very cold, right after the cherry blossom blooms and then it rains a little and we hope that the blossoms still last through it all.

April is when new things starts in Japan. New school year. New employees start their jobs. Everything is so fresh.

I feel like I want to also have a fresh start to my English blog and write more!! And often!!

Here is a photo that I took from the train. It's a bit embarrassing but it worked out !!

little fish, gold fish, swimming in the water

There are so many things that are cute, cool and beautiful in Japan.

My friend had brought rice crackers (shrip crackers to be exact) confectionary the other day to the studio.

On the package it said "catching goldfish". Inside, there were shrimp crackers shaped in goldfishes and circular crackers as bubbles in water and a spoon like cracker that acts as a net to catch the fish. 

There is a tradition in the summer time where there are carnival like festivals and one of the common games is trying to catch goldfish with a net that is made out of tissue paper to make it challenging to catch with.

The crackers were such a playful idea and yet very seasonal. These are the things I love to find out about Japan, so fun! 

a lot of hugs

All the hug rings lined up for a photo.

There are so many hug rings now, it makes me smile when I look at them. 

It is weird to think that if I had never gone and lived in California, I might not have be accustomed to giving hugs, or letting someone hug me.

Now there are more people in Japan who knows and gives hugs, but it is just not the way things are here.

Sometimes I miss the small differences. But it would be very different if I start to see all theses Japanese people hugging each other instead of the little bow, or the wave....

Smells

This time of the year in Tokyo, it rains a lot and also starts to get humid. It's not too humid just yet.
But, scents and different smells are more apparent. It travels well with the humidity, or just stays where they are......
A lot of advertisements are about how to keep the bad smells away, or adding good scents.

At the ileava studio, we are preparing for an event for July.
Our new wood and silver collaboration pieces are in the works!

So here, we have the rain and also the scent of wood.  I will post the finished pieces here soon~

little shrimp

The other day I went on a little road trip.

This time it was to Shizuoka. There is a department store I am doing an event at, and I needed to go there to set up.

Since it is almost December and getting cold, we are able to see a snow covered mount Fuji.  People say it is the best way to see mount Fuji.  The white mountain against the blue sky really did make the mountain stand out.

There were low clouds that day, and when we got to our usual spot to take a good look, it was covering the top part of the mountain.




It takes about roughly 4 hours by car to get to Shizuoka.

The city is located close to the sea, and it is famous for tuna.
For dinner we had a variety of fresh raw fish.  How fresh the fish is, key when you want to eat it raw, so this was a great place to try different menus. My favorite was the tiny shrimp. Usually you see these dried. To eat them raw was really good and I didn't expect them to be so flavorful! They are very small, about 3/4"inch.

Another reason why going to different parts of Japan is exciting. Every place has their specialties~

The department store set up turned out like this!

Hearts and Stars

tiny starts and tiny hearts.


I love the weight these little guys have when it's all in my hands.

These got brushed and washed, and made into necklaces.


It's going to be sold at a trunk show in a department store in Shizuoka, soon~!

Wooden...

Here are my little guys that I drew. They are my hug bear and my bunny that was the start of the hug rings that I make in silver.

Now, I have them on my phone!

Well, on my phone maple wooden case to be exact.

The company who makes this case is Hacoa.  They produce and designs wooden stationary goods, house-wear,  and kitchen-wear. 
Their new product is the iphone case. It comes in walnut, maple and rosewood. 
This is what it looks like in rosewood. 

I like the idea that the things you use everyday is made out of wood, because it will start to age over time, and would have a certain sheen and have deeper color.

I am anctious to to also see jewelry age as well. 
Hacoa and ileava are doing a collaboration, combining wood and sterling silver.

This is the bangle that is my favorite.

Like the wood, silver jewelry also looks better when people start to wear it everyday and gets used a little bit.

We are taking orders if you are interested in the bangles and I will share places where they are available, soon.
As for the phone cases, please go to this site for orders.
They can print names and logos for additional costs.

( sorry,it is in Japanese text only)

http://www.lobjet-d.com/
I might cheat and wax my phone case today~
and see how that turns out.

Summer Ornament

" fu-rin"

This was a gift to me from someone who I am now friends with. At the time, I was living in LA and missed all the little subtle things about Japan. So, the friends who were visiting from Japan brought me back this wind chime.  It is something that you put out, in the summertime. People enjoy the sound of the breeze in the humid summer days.

This handmade "fu-rin" has a sound that is not too loud and cheerful. I later learned that the unique sound is made from the jagged edge of the rim.

I really like the watermelon design, too. 

Very summery, and a very common motif for summer here.

Very green, black lines, and a perfect sphere.

Other summer things to look forward to are firework festivals, summer festivals in any city, people wearing yukata, shaved ice is something I want to eat now! .....

Yes, summer is really here!

humidity is inevitable.....but...

So there is a rainy season in Japan (most part of Japan) 

It is usually in June, for Tokyo.

It rains most of the days and the humidity increases so it feels more sticky and hot.

There are few things you need to watch out for. The humidity will get some of your shoes, specially leather ones covered in mold, if you are not careful.

oh, and frogs!  If you live in areas with some greenery, like me.

But there are also flowers that blooms in this season too. Which is always nice to see.

I love this flower, "ajisai" in japanese, and in english "hydrangea"

It tells me that the rainy season is here when you spot them in full bloom.

There are so many different colors and they really give a great accent to the scene when it is all cloudy and rainy.

A few years ago, I didn't really considered this flower as a flower. But I changed my mind on that after I took a closer look at it.  

I didn't realize that hydrangea was a cluster of tiny four petal flowers.  The flowers were so cute, I knew one day that I would be making jewelry with it.

I later made my Bouquet Collection, and the flower shapes is inspired from the hydrangea.

It is my favorite piece to wear in this season.

Blue

This in a photo of a crater lake in Gun-ma prefecture that I visited recently. Shiranesan, is still an active volcano, so there are restricted areas,  but it has been a popular tourist spot in the area for its' emerald green lake.

This day was sunny and clear, but very very cold, because of the high altitude, even in the beginning of May. 

To get to the top or the crater, we have to walk up the trail for a while, and at the very top, you can see the crater a little below you.

The color of the water was milky blue with a hint of green,  one of my favorite colors~

I knew the lake was very popular for the color, but it was very close to the milky aquamarine stone that I had used for a custom necklace.

The silver casing has four petals with an arabesque motif, the chain was made long.  the piece itself is about 2 inches long.

a very fun piece to make!

I have been making few other custom pieces, so I will share them soon~!