On Saturday we went on a hiking and Onsen (japanese hotsprings) tour to Hoheikyo, a reservoir one hour from Sapporo. At this time of year the colours there are mesmerising.

A rainbow over the waterfall

Note the beaming lights of my space shuttle hovering over our heads. I’m going back to my own planet just before Christmas.

Following an article in Icon Magazine that depicted filling the organ cavity of a dead calf with plaster to make the Lasting Void I received a critical letter from Alessandro Mendini. This sparked a lively conversation about the merit of design-art, the ethical use of materials and the role of design in a consumer culture. What is your opinion?

To read or download the letters click here:

Alessandro Mendini’s letter [pdf]

Julia Lohmann’s response [pdf]

Stillness in time…

Windbeutel Nina and me

Yen Yi

Besides our visit to the pet shop we were also fortunate enough to be invited to a traditional tea ceremony by Rie’s mother. It was a really special experience, the exact, fluent movements being like a language of its own.

After the ceremony we were shown how to pour the tea

If you have got a pooch, make him look away now, otherwise he’ll be nagging you forever to fly out to Japan to get him some treats. To dog-food:

Serve yourself dog-treat bar at a large DIY shop

Endless hours of fun with this pumpkin-humpin treat

And a light, refreshing drink for afterwards. If your dog is a bit more hardcore he would probably prefer a nice, cold bottle of wan-wan-bir-u.

I bet you cannt wait until I show you the pictures of the dog clothes section…soon to come!