belleelene

[Featured Image: Puppets from Indonesia]
Every year, for 13 consecutive years already, MIFA (Meguro International Friend Association) organizes a cultural-exchange festival with traditional clothes, dances, food, handmade items and so on. I had the chance to be there as a volunteer teaching my country’s alphabet, and got to participate at the scheduled events at the same time. At some point I ended up in a situation where I was shouting ‘I am Greek, I am Greek’ while wearing a Japanese kimono and having my hair done in Togo-style dreadlocks. The Japanese participants said that the attire looked all natural on me, so I guess that’s good enough. 

They are Japanese —-> Looks cool!

After a while, Soudanese baclava!

Go game competition

Letters of the world

Ikebana experience

The police was there as well

Some Peruvian ultra cool dance crew

Hair decorations (for the kimono)

Zoori sandals (for the kimono)

Kimono’s on the floor, waiting to be worn

Afterwards, I headed to Jiyuugaoka in order to buy a birthday present for a friend. If you like weird, cute, absolutely useless but irresistible thingies, Jiyuugaoka is the PLACE-TO-BE. The shops there are insane (the ones that don’t mimic France at least, I can say that I like them) and sell everything that you never thought you’d want to, but absolutely have to buy. And because we are close to Valentine’s day (Tokyo Bake Cheese Tart is a dream come true), there were a lot of special offers to hunt down.

Tsuru -not valentine’s- vending machine

Valentine’s choco-cheese tart

Valentine’s pizza

Valentine’s croquettes

On my way home, two unexpected design choices caught my attention.  Isn’t Japan adorable?

The bank advertisement had a view resembling the Acropolis of Athens

Japanese post-stamps were printed with Finnish Moomin characters