After a lovely break I am back at work at The Little Space with lots of inspiration from a visit to Japan – a big space filled with (very) little spaces.
This trip was an extraordinary cultural cocktail – from the immaculate hi-tech futuristic streets of Tokyo to the cobbled snowy laneways of Kyoto and the winter wonderland of Niseko on the island of Hokkaido (there are bears in Japan – I did NOT know that)!
The Japanese are deeply proud and respectful hosts and I did feel more than a tiny bit of cultural cringe as I stepped onto the immaculate trains where everyone sat or stood quietly, all phones on silent or volume turned low for the earbud wearers thinking of that barely tolerable experience on the Bondi Junction to city commute. Of course after dark everyone shakes off the workday constraints and gets stuck into the beer and saki which only makes the japanese experience even more enjoyable. A chilled bottle of premium saki arrived on our table from the Japanese diners on a neighbouring table just because they thought our children were cute and to welcome us to Japan.
I was mesmerised by Japanese design and the beautiful blend of old and new, the zen-like approach to the use of space which is so limited with such a huge population and the simple beauty of the everyday. The giving of gifts is an important tradition and the train stations are dominated by shops filled with immaculately wrapped sweets, bean curd based mysteries in beautiful paper wrapping.
Enjoy the photos and book your trip soon. There might be more than a little Japanese style creeping in at The Little Space.
Sayonara Tokyo!
Arigato Gozaimasu!
