Tuesday, September 23, 2008

Cute Place: Farm Tomita!

So I decided to feature a place this time because I remember a couple years back, I saw photos from a friend's trip as she backpacked through Japan. She went to this one popular place in Hokkaido & since Hokkaido is more rural/agricultural than urban cities such as Tokyo, pictures of her trip are from the lavender farm, Farm Tomita. (:

The farm is located in Nakafurano, Hokkaido which has fields abundant with beautiful lavenders. Another interesting fact about Farm Tomita is that their gift shop has lots of lavender-based products straight from their fields. Products usually range from soaps to scented candles, and as wacky as lavender ice cream! (The ice cream is a nice light purple color! (: So ingenious!) I'm definitely going there whenever I get the chance. Even though I like technology, I've always been a fan of the countryside, so Hokkaido sounds like a very humble place to go! :D

So, of course, to end off this entry, here's a few of the photos I stole from my friend's entry & a link to the website of Farm Tomita!

Ramuné is delicious! (I'll mention it whenever
I get to the topic of junk food, but it's a clear
soda (similar to Sprite, but minus the lemon-limeness.)
This flavor is of course Lavender. (:

A bush of lavender & a dragonfly. (:

Ice cream! ( ´▽` )ﾉ

Links: Tourism info for Farm Tomita Farm Tomita

sources: Mina-chan's camera, google images

Labels: Farm Tomita, Hokkaido, Japan: Places

Saturday, September 20, 2008

Featured artiste: Aya Takano

I've definitely been in an artsy mood lately, so after all my homework's done, I use my tablet as an outlet to draw whenever. And of course, my drawings have the trademark eyes you see in anime. (: Too adorable. (Yet some are creepy.)

Anyways! Before I find any new artists, I wanted to introduce a few of my faves. Her name's Aya Takano, born in Saitama, Japan. She features her works under Kaikai Kiki (the group headed by Murakami Takashi, aka the artist who drew the cover album for Kanye West's Graduation.) I stumbled across this individual's style after random searching for 'Japanese pop artists' a few months back & her name happened to be on the list. You can google and find tons of works & you will notice her distinct style right off-the-bat. Most of her pieces feature girls who are partially or fully nude. They're not pornographic & mostly focus on the innocent and softness of a young girl's body. The characters are typically depicted in a sci-fi/futuristic setting, or random Japanese scenery (like a convenience store & city buildings.) Another trademark is the large eyes and skinny figures.

Her most well-known mediums include acrylic, diluted gouache paints, and inks to generate that sullen, blend appearance present in all her works. She's one of the more well-known artists of Japanese modern art, & as mentioned before, joined up with Murakami-san to present a collective of all pop art & the likes.

To end off this entry, I'll post some images of a few of my favorite pieces. (I really had to limit myself, I loved them all.) Of course, I enjoy looking at her pieces because they're kawaii, but also because of the settings. For a few of them, I like to sit and think of the background stories behind the pictures since her sci-fi girls are meant to be heroines. (: If you want to see more of her works, check out the Kaikai Kiki, Co. Ltd. link to the right of this entry. I hope to see more of her works entering the U.S. & I would like to find an artbook of hers sometime.

*sources: google images & Kaikai Kiki, Co. Ltd.

Labels: Aya Takano, Japan: Artists, Japanese Pop Art, Modern art

Thursday, September 18, 2008

youkoso!

Mmkay, let's get the boring stuff out of the way.
The pseudonym is Nishidake (or Nishi, for short.)
I prefer my privacy, & so should you, so you'll
never get to know the real name. (; I like to keep
a sense of mystery about myself, but I guess there are
a few things you can know without really learning who
I am.

I'm a first year in college, and man is it rough.
This blog will definitely serve as a creative outlet
while I'm under the strains of math & Science. (Ugh.)
I first fell in love with Japan at the age of 5 when I saw
my very first episode of Sailor Moon. Ever since, it's been
growing exponentially for the past thirteen years. I plan
to visit that country more times than I can count on my fingers
& toes.

Lastly, although I am an 'otaku' hyped on anime, manga, & video games,
this blog won't be entirely devoted to those three aspects of Japan
I want to broaden everyone's knowledge on the culture, modern tech,
and whackiness of this country that I have come to obsess over. So if you want to see just what I might include, be sure to visit often. (;

Feel free to contact me via email at kawaii.japan@hellokitty.com. You can
also send me images & suggestions on what to include in my latest blog entries!

The Persona

Pseudonym; Nishidake, very short female, currently residing in the US. An avid Japan fan just chronicling any encounter that is Japan-related into this little blog. (: Has a love for pandas right now. (:

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Cute Place: Farm Tomita! Featured artiste: Aya Takano youkoso!