Have you heard of Mitsuo Aida?
He was a Japanese calligrapher and poet with a distinctive writing style. And it's funny how he intentionally mispells the last "o" (お) of his name with the preposition "o" (を).
I know there are a lot of consumer related things to do in Ginza.. But once you are there, it's worth experiencing something more Japanese and visit his museum in Tokyo International Forum where you can read about his poetry and art. It won't take more than an hour and it's mostly in Japanese, although really simple (as you see it's usually hiragana). My favorite thing was the fukubukuro* that included a calendar with his poetry, postcards, pens, towel, a book, cookies and other useless fun stuff that gave me something to take home and remember :)
*Fukubukuro: let's say it's a surprise goodie bag for half the price of the included items but you never know what's inside- the full explanation of fukubukuro requires another post. There are even Tokyo urban myths of Louis Vuitton giving away fukubukuro on new years day but I've never actually known anyone who bought a fukubukuro from LV.
End of break, back to spirituality and away from consumerism ----->>>
You can access the Museum from the Sony Building underground passage as well.
Once you're there, you might also want to visit the amazing Sony Plaza store with lots of contemporary Japanese -in the cute and colorful way, don't expect any geisha stuff- cosmetics and house items.
For example, this insanely cute blind- mouthless bunny speaker for iPods and smartphones can be found in SonyPlaza. I love it because its face is even more abstract and deductive than hello kitty. Is the bunny happy? Is it sad? Where is it looking? I can't say!
Even though I was working for 3 years in an office just across the Sony Building, I never got around to seeing the rest of it..So I can only speak about Sony Plaza and the musicnote-and-rainbow-colour producing steps that you encounter when you are exiting the store, towards the Metro entrance. I'm sure the rest of the Building has a lot of interesting Sony- related things to offer.
He was a Japanese calligrapher and poet with a distinctive writing style. And it's funny how he intentionally mispells the last "o" (お) of his name with the preposition "o" (を).
I know there are a lot of consumer related things to do in Ginza.. But once you are there, it's worth experiencing something more Japanese and visit his museum in Tokyo International Forum where you can read about his poetry and art. It won't take more than an hour and it's mostly in Japanese, although really simple (as you see it's usually hiragana). My favorite thing was the fukubukuro* that included a calendar with his poetry, postcards, pens, towel, a book, cookies and other useless fun stuff that gave me something to take home and remember :)
End of break, back to spirituality and away from consumerism ----->>>
This painting says that "happiness is something that your soul decides (to be happy or not)" or that "happiness comes from within (oneself)"
This one says: (Thank God or Thank goodness or Thankfully) "I'm well"
*I do not own any of the Mitsuo Aida images.
You can access the Museum from the Sony Building underground passage as well.
Once you're there, you might also want to visit the amazing Sony Plaza store with lots of contemporary Japanese -in the cute and colorful way, don't expect any geisha stuff- cosmetics and house items.
For example, this insanely cute blind- mouthless bunny speaker for iPods and smartphones can be found in SonyPlaza. I love it because its face is even more abstract and deductive than hello kitty. Is the bunny happy? Is it sad? Where is it looking? I can't say!
Even though I was working for 3 years in an office just across the Sony Building, I never got around to seeing the rest of it..So I can only speak about Sony Plaza and the musicnote-and-rainbow-colour producing steps that you encounter when you are exiting the store, towards the Metro entrance. I'm sure the rest of the Building has a lot of interesting Sony- related things to offer.
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