Meguro Gajoen(目黒雅叙園） is a luxurious hotel in Tokyo and have excellent wedding hall. also called  as 'Ryugu-jo in Showa Era'  (Fairytale Dragon Palace) for decorative interiors.

have you ever seen the Studio Ghibli's anime "Spirited Away (sen to chihiro no kamikakushi)" ? actually the banquet room and stair hall in anime were modeled on Meguro Gajoen.

days ago, I attended the 25th anniversary celebration of Shogo KARIYAZAKI as a flower arrangement artist . At the same time his flower arrangements have been displayed along the "Hyakudan kaidan" (100 stairs) and rooms in Meguro Gajoen.

there was a fashion show featuring kimonos,dresses and flower bouquets!!!  the show takes you away to a  fantasy world. did you receive or give a bunch of flowers  lately? so which bouquet  is you favorite?

what a large party!!!  

Congratulations!!!  over the years TV stations features him  frequently and his fascinating personality make him so popular. so far he has created the floral arrangements for  imperial family's celebration and welcoming ceremony for US President. at the entrance he greeted every guest with a warm handshake, talked something, and posed for photographs, so a long queue formed in front of the party room.  is so generous and such a big-hearted person with concideration even after his great sucess.

In Japanese traditional arts,including flower arrangement and tea ceremony, the position of master is passed on from one generation to the next by a hereditary system. however he draws a clear line separating itself from established traditional system, although he once had entered the SOGETSU ikebana school during Waseda univ..he says himself as a late bloomer and after entering his forties he became famous.In his new book, there are words that say everything about his life, an artist who is pursuing what he enjoys and continues to move forward.

"how to make your dream come true" by Kariyazaki

The flower  exhibition will be held until Nov.9.  do not miss it!!!

After we raised a toast...

there was a crowd of people around the food. struggled to take some pics :-p

so we left the party and went to an Italian restaurant in Shirokane. Everything is so delicious but don't remember how many wine-bottles we had.

the wals were filled with autographs of celebrities~

seafood gratin

Osso buco

mukago(propagule) pilaf

It's Halloween today!!!!!! 

Do you have your costume ready?

PS   ♪愛をこめて花束を♪(a bouquet for you with all of my heart)

Im glad whether my friends listening to this song feelings of affection, or it makes them feel lively, or it takes away their sadness.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7NMJAY3p4rs

am exhausted but feel wonderful. hehe.. I have seen 14 films in the festival　for 5 days.  It must be my largest record in recent years. During the festival I am back and forth between office and the theater in Roppongi several times a day, and paid much taxi fare to save time. I'm almost broken

OK, here are the titles i have ever seen in tiff. which one is your favorite? This time I watched other oversea films in addition to Chinese ones, cause I wanted to learn more and more about the countries and hometowns of AnD friends.

(2009-10-28 added)

the one that basked in the glow of the Tokyo Sakura Grand Prix Award was  "Eastern Plays"( Bulgaria), though i missed it :-p  only the best actress award goes to Julie Gayet(Eight Times Up) in filmsthat i have seen. In those films i give 5 stars rating for "Talentime" and "KJ"with  my  partial eyes!!!! added  the synopsis of each film  from tiff site and movie's official sites.

-Snowfall in Taipei/台北瓢雪 (China-Japan-HK-Taiwan ) ★★★

Director:Huo Jianqi Cast:Chen Bolin, Tong Yao, Yang Yuning
a romantic story, about love lost and found in the peaceful backstreets to the glamorous entertainment scenes of Taipei.
http://www.tiff-jp.net/en/lineup/works.php?id=20

-Kung Fu Cyborg：Metallic Attraction/机器侠 (China) ★★★

Director:Jeff Lau　Hun Jun, Sun Li, Alex Fong
In 2046, Ming’s a cyborg coded ”K1”, sent to town as covert trainer. But soon Ming’s torn between bond to humanity and knowledge that he’ll never be a part of it --"Why can't a cyborg question his creator like man questions God?"
http://www.tiff-jp.net/en/lineup/works.php?id=86

-Wheat/麥田(China) ★

Director:He Ping　Fan Bingbing, Huang Jue, Du Jiayi
A Chinese warlord's wife led the town's women to guard the city while all the men went away for war. When two soldiers returned claiming to be natives, the true meaning of heroism was put to the test.
http://www.tiff-jp.net/en/lineup/works.php?id=84

-Heaven Eternal,Earth Everlasting/天长地久(China)★★

Director:Li Fangfang　Liu Dong, Huang Ming, Shi Ke
Orphaned girl’s coming of age story as she copes with love and work. Set in the 1990’s up to the Beijing Olympics, freshly limn by Chinese youth growing up with modernization. Li’s first feature film.
http://www.tiff-jp.net/en/lineup/works.php?id=10

-Taipei 24H 台北異想 (Taiwan) ★★★

Director:Cheng Fen-fen, Niu Cheng-zer, Debbie Hsu, Cheng Hsiao-tse, Lee Chi Y, Chen Yin-jung, An Je-yi, Lee Kang-sheng Lai ya yen , Lee Kuan-Yi, Morning Mo
Taipei 24H divides 24 hours in Taipei into 8 segments. It opens with an upbeat morning, and has the final leg with Tsai Ming-liang making a rare screen appearance visiting the final night of a coffee shop.
http://www.tiff-jp.net/en/lineup/works.php?id=88

-Talentime(Malaysia) ★★★★★

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NxGFi4lgdwk

Director:Yasmin Ahmad
A music teacher organizes an inter-school talentime. Through the days of auditions, the characters get embroiled in a world of ambition, jealousy, human comedy and romance.
http://www.tiff-jp.net/en/lineup/works.php?id=130

-Colorum(the Philippines)★★★

Director:Jobin Ballesteros　Cast:Alfred Vargas, Lou Veloso, Jose Mari Avellana
An unfortunate incident forces a cop and a convict together on a road trip across the Historic Philippine East Coast.
http://www.tiff-jp.net/en/lineup/works.php?id=98

-Manila Skies(the Philippines) ★

Director:Raymond Red Cast:Raul Arellano, John Arcilla, Ronnie Lazaro
Deprived from a grim modern society, what does a young man do? A careful yet dynamic portrayal of the paradox in modern society- note the direction of Raymond Red, leading man of the Philippines independent film industry.
http://www.tiff-jp.net/en/lineup/works.php?id=12

-Tango Singer(Belgium-Argentina-France-the Netherlands)★★★★

Director:Diego Martinez Vignatti Cast:Eugenia Ramirez Miori, Bruno Todeschini, Andrés Ramirez
Helena's career as a tango singer looks set to take off, but she can't get over her sorrow by losing her loved man. The story is told by wistful tango tunes and sensitive images. A film selected for competition at Locarno.
http://www.tiff-jp.net/en/lineup/works.php?id=188

-Wrong Rosary(Turkey) ★

Director:Mahmut Fazil Coşkun Cast:Nadir Saribacak, Gorkem Yeltan, Ersan Uysal
The film follows a love story that could only take place in Istanbul or somewhere alike, capturing and revealing deep and vivid sensations
http://www.tiff-jp.net/en/lineup/works.php?id=190

-Luck by Chance(India) ★★★★

Director:Zoya Akhtar Cast:Farhan Akhtar, Konkona Sen Sharma, Rishi Kapoor
Sona arrives in Bombay, dreaming to be a film star. While she enjoys a romantic relationship with a handsome guy, Vikram, a successful but superstitious producer calls him in to audition for the new film.
http://www.tiff-jp.net/en/lineup/works.php?id=100

-Eight Times Up(France) ★★

Director:Xabi Molia Cast: Julie Gayet, Denis Podalydès, Mathieu Busson
A woman loses her job and apartment, but strives to carry on with her life. It positively portrays serious themes with a blend of joyful humor and tasteful sophistication. The title is from a proverb, “Seven falls, eight rises.”
http://www.tiff-jp.net/en/lineup/works.php?id=8

※TIFFCOM SCREENING↓

-Overheard/竊聽風雲(Hong Kong)★★★★

directeor: Alan Mak and Felix Chong Cast: Lau Ching-Wan, Louis Koo, Daniel Wu http://overheard.ent.sina.com.cn/

-KJ:Music and Life/ 音樂人生(Hong Kong)★★★★★

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ffZukgD8Sws

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When i was walking out of the theater, came across Ho Yuhang(director of "At the end of daybreak") and Jane Ng Meng Hui(actress) from Malaysia. They were very nice and responded with smiles to requests from fans for autograph till late night. Definitely Ho Yuhang had much popularity there as Japanese super  idols!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1GVeVKSikUE

On Sunday, the final day, the tiff awards will be announced. Good luck to Jane and Ho Yuhang!!!!! 

Hope you enjoy watching  movies on weekend   meanwhile i should catch up with my 142 feeds!!

thick cloud layer soon after the typhoon...

The big typhoon ＃18 made landfall to mainland Japan with full force after 2 years. In Tokyo, caused a traffic disturbance; all flights were grounded, most trains stopped during morning commute on Thursday. I was ok because I had a room near the office from the night before. Thank you for always caring about me.

Well, Ive got a new camera, Panasonic Lumix, just before my Kyoto trip. actually I've been wanting to get one and talked about it with Elle and Bartek. they both recommended me to get Lumix and I did. haha As Im not a good photographer, often jiggle my hand. At the shop I tried to shoot pics by shaking cameras. In fact, Lumix was good to avoid blurring of images due to hand movement.

 I decided to get FX60 as its new and lightest of all. I also loved its bordeaux color. If you are a big fan of  Ayumi Hamasaki, must buy.

Its my first Barbie which I came across at a discount chain store, Don Quixote for 999 yen (I prefered toy cars, action figures and fake guns to dolls in my childdhood)

seems to be a limited edition!!

well, try comparing pics to see which camera you like.

FX60

R8

FX60

R8

-bronze sandal and light blue shoes I bought on late summer sale. do you like them?

FX60

R8

FX60

R8

-orange lilies at Nanzenji Temple in Kyoto

FX60

R8

As somebody told me, Ricoh is not good to shoot pics inside.Let me know how do you think.
as far i failed to take pics of stars at press conferences so often. hope it will get better!!

BTW after checking out Grease Barbie on websites....

 I realized that it was sold at yahoo auction for 8000yen!!!!  I got it at the shop for an eight of what it costs there. the dress-up doll looks fun to play with, but I should keep it in a safe place in expectation of higher price. hehe