Staycationing, part 1

I'm spending my summer vacation in Tokyo this year. Actually, I can't remember the last time I had more than a 3-day weekend and didn't leave town.

Partly because I exhausted my travel budget during my trip to the States in June and partly for other reasons, I'm finding ways to explore the city where I live this year. Bummer that it's too hot for me to feel like going out much, but nonetheless I'll still try to make the most of my time off.

Spent the first day of my holiday (Thursday) having lunch with a friend and then exploring an exhibition of Japanese lanterns. The ticket was over-priced, but I got some nice pictures...

The complex where the exhibition was held is a very modern and rather enormous structure, but with one wing that appears to be much older. This is the area where they displayed the lanterns. Creaky, wooden floors juxtaposed with musty-smelling tatami mat rooms. But beautiful: the walls, ceiling, and even the elevator doors were gorgeously decorated.

Japanese fans painted on the ceilings of the hallways

Elevator doors...

I loved even the window panes...

Each room had different styles of paper lanterns (akari) or wind chimes (fūrin- lit. "wind bells").

For me it was thrilling to walk through the halls of that old building and see the ways that Japanese artists have made even the smallest and simplest of things beautiful. They're really good at that. :)

More summer adventures to come...