KURUMI NO KI

Kurumi no Ki (くるみの木）is actually a tiny cluster of cafe and zakka (see knick-knacks) shops in Nara. It was set up 26 years ago by then housewife, Yukiko Ishimura at a time when pretty cafes and zakka goods were practically unheard of (I would have been just a baby at that time), and now shops like hers are found all over Japan. The place has earned a steady cult following over the years. The queue starts even before the doors are open.

Yukiko wanted to sell only quality food and well-made products. Every leafy piece of vegetable and woven straw basket found in her shop are the result of countless visits to the local farmers and artisans and personally used by her to check for quality before they go on the plates and shelves. The concept is the antithesis of our buy-and-throw world today. Eat well, buy something well made, and let it stand the test of time in your home.

You can see it in the little compound that she owns. The trees that I loved the most (and where I killed rows of film on) have grown tall with a life of their own. The hand-made benches we sat on have been polished smooth by the many years of sun, rain and snow. I'm a big fan of the kind of unpainted furniture in her shops left in its raw wooden form, they age so well. The milk I had with my yummy fruit cake came packed in a little glass bottle with tiny red letters printed on the surface, saying that it's from a local cow farm. B and I stayed for a long time, and were still talking about it hours after we left.

The place had somehow worked its own magic, I'm dying to go back again.

MORE OF THE TWINS

The last of the photos taken in the twin cities, Minneapolis and Saint Paul before I returned to Tokyo. The last few were shot in the Walker Arts Center, where I caught photographer Alec Soth's exhibition. His idea of "finding the lyrical in the everyday" was intriguing. It's so hard to make everyday people and things look interesting.

LITTLE TOWN MANKATO

Little town Mankato. It was charming in its own way. Quite a few people asked if it wasn't boring. Actually I seldom feel bored when I'm on a trip, no matter how small the place is, there's always new things to see and interesting people to meet. I think all fellow travel junkies will know what I mean.

By the way, can someone tell me how dust can find its way in when everything is shut up? My house is scarily dirty after 5 weeks. I even found some dried leaves and blobs of dirt on the floor. It's baffling.

THE MISSISSIPPI RIVERFRONT

From top

1>> View from Mill City Museum. Minneapolis used to be home to a large flour milling industry. It's the oldest part of the city.

2>> "Gold Medal Flour" refers to the best grade of flour by General Mills.

3>> What's left of the Washburn A Mill. A huge explosion and fire destroyed much of the building in 1991. I kind of like the look of the ruins.

4>> The St. Anthony Falls which provided energy to power the massive mills by the riverfront.

5>> Guthrie Theater which was just beside the Mill City Museum. Interesting architecture.

6>> Interior of the theater.

GREENS, SPOON & A CHERRY

My favourite from Minneapolis, photos of the Cowles Conservatory and the Sculpture Garden. I think I went a bit gaga over the succulents. I used to have one but it died (I might have given it too much water), but after seeing these I'm determined to make a terrarium of succulents once I'm back home.

This is the most interesting sculpture in the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden, the Spoonbridge and Cherry by Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen, both Swedish by descent. There were a lot of Swedish who migrated to States in the 1800s and they seemed to have all congregated in Minnesota. I can understand why though, knowing the Swedes' love of nature. There're a lot of beautiful lakes, woods and wildlife here.

Edit>>
Someone just asked me if I photoshop my photos a lot. I don't actually, except to do some resizing, I don't even tweak the contrast most of the time. The chemical reaction of the film with light does all the work.