Even if there are a few flowers left here and there, cherry blossom season is clearly over for 2013. Why does it have to be so short? Well, of course, if it was much longer it wouldn’t be as special. No real Hanami for me this year but my

    Ah France, the country of curry and hot dogs… Some days, it’s just better to not try figuring out the whys and the hows…    

    Just some funny looking Daikon in the Shōdoshima countryside (more precisely in the village of Umaki)    

  If you follow a little bit what’s going on in Japan (and if you’re reading this blog, I assume you do), you most likely know that this morning at around 5.30am, most people in the western part of Japan (Kansai, Shikoku, Chūgoku, even some parts of Kyūshū) were “affected”

    Just a Totoro made of pine cones in Takamatsu. If you come to Takamatsu, I’ll tell you where it is (although to be honest, I haven’t been in a while, I can’t promise it’s still there)    

  For this second part of my series on the Setouchi Triennale 2013 preparations, I’m bringing you to Shamijima. Actually, while I had seen and been intrigued by Shamijima during one of my very first days in Japan four years ago, last Monday was my very first visit of this island that

  Sorry for the lack of posts these days (I’m embarrassed I haven’t posted about my trip to Shamijima for previewing the Setouchi Triennale there yet) but this time of the year is probably the busiest at work and as a consequence, I’m sometimes too tired at night to post

  Yesterday, I ran into Colonel Sanders in the middle of Takamatsu:     I thought Haruki Murakami‘s fans would like that. And in case, you don’t know Colonel Sanders (unlikely, but who knows), here is the beginning of an answer:     For the rest, let me advise you

  Yesterday, despite the rain, I got together with my friend Cathy Hirano and her friend Ando-san, to start our tour of some of the islands to see the preparations for the Setouchi Triennale which starts in almost a month.   Takamatsu Station plaza, on Monday morning, under the rain. Must

  I remember that during my first trip to Japan (possibly even my first hours in Japan), one of the things that fascinated me the most were traditional Japanese roofs.     Of course, nowadays, they’re a pretty common sight – pretty much a daily one – and they still

  I already tell you quite a bit about my life in Takamatsu here. Sure I elude many details, mostly the personal and private ones as they’d be off-topic on this blog. The thing I want to tell you about today under this title is a little experiment I just launched

      If you don’t really know what Tonkatsu is, it’s basically breaded pork. It is usually eaten with some or all of the things you can see on the picture: shredded cabbage, mustard, miso soup, rice, pickled vegetables and various sauces. When it’s prepared just right, it can

  … and cultural differences sometimes show up where you expect them the least. On political posters for example. First, while the campaign for the elections has started, know that posters of local politicians are to be seen in the most random spots all year long, not just during election

    Just a gardener tending to the pine-trees in Ritsurin-kōen. There are worse jobs.    

    Maybe you already know it, but Takamatsu is the city in Japan that has the longest network of Shōtengai (covered shopping street). This is one of them, Hyōgomachi, that houses two of my favorite restaurants in town among other things.