Kintaro Marathon 10km run

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Hello Sandwiches! Did you have a nice weekend?


I went to see my friends artworks at a design event and on Sunday I participated in a 10km run as part of the Kintaro Marathon in Odawara!

疲れた!

Here are a few pics. The above shot is Fuji-san from the Odakyu-sen!
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Lining up for our bibs and time chips.

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My 10km run bib! (so happy 10kms runners got pink bibs!)

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Baggage tag with my name in Katakana.

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My runners chip. And chipped nail polish!

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This is the river path we ran along with a lovely view of Fuji-san! The air was very fresh here (about 1.5 hours away from Shimokitazawa). We ran past small vegetable farms, and over small bridges with flowing water. It was so hot while we were running and each time I saw water flowing I would mentally imagine I was in the flowing water rather than in the middle of a 10km run. There were a few local oba-chans standing on the side lines wishing us luck 'がんばれ！’. The drinks stand had Pokari Sweat and water. Luckily I was able to read the kanji and katakana for the drinks stand!

It was my first race in Japan and it definitely inspired me to do more organised races here!

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It was tough but I finally made it to the finish line and look at the cute red bean fish we were all given (along with a banana, Pokari sweat and green tea bottle) at the end of the race! There aren't many countries where you can receive such a cute treat after a run!

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My 10km certificate! Yatta!

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The area itself was really quaint. If I wasn't so exhausted I would have taken more photos!

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Overgrown vending machine.

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A nice view of Fuji-san from the town.

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Finally back to Shimokitazawa to one of my favourite cafes for lunch and a well deserved 生ビール。

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This is the free t-shirt every runner received!

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Back home and having a shower never felt so good, and before long it was off to My Y's mums mothers day sushi dinner in Ginza.

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What a great day. If only everyday could be this productive!

By the way - I'm writing this from my Shimokitazawa apartment which I've been limping around with serious leg muscle aches all day! ha ha/ I have to go to the post office in a moment so if you see a gaijin limping around Shimokita - you'll know who it is.

Love Love
Hello Sandwich
xoxo












Hello Sandwich at the Sydney MCA Zine Fair

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Hello Sandwiches!

I've been packing up some of my 'It's Dots!' Original Wrapping Paper for for the Sydney MCA Zine Fair! You can use this paper as wrapping paper, to recycle plastic bags, to cover a book, or to make your own little collage zine!

Each pack contains 3 x A3 wrapping paper sheets and 3 x cookie shaped tag handmade by me this afternoon.

I wish I could come along to the fair! It's such a great event! Be sure to look out for Lee Tran Lam's new zine and zines by the gorgeous Yumi Takahashi!

Love Love
Hello Sandwich
xoxo

The Craft Life

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This is a little story written by Kirsty Munro for Scout. Kirsty and I used to work together at VOGUE magazines when I was working on reception! Now, by coincidence, we both live in Tokyo!


The Craft Life

Ebony Bizys
An Australian in Tokyo

She’s crafty!

There are craft blogs, there are travel blogs, and then there’s “Hello Sandwich”. Like a burst of sunshine coming out of Tokyo’s cute Shimokitazawa neighbourhood, creator Ebony Bizys explains, “I started Hello Sandwich as a place to record all of the things that inspired me. It’s turned into a bit of a diary since then, recording my daily crafty life in Tokyo.”

The former Sydney-sider and Vogue Living Deputy Art Director moved to Tokyo a few years ago to follow her dream of creating in an inspiring environment. “Before moving to Tokyo I had been here 9 times on holidays!” she says. “I loved my job at Vogue Living, so it was a hard decision, but one of the best decisions I’ve ever made.” Ebony was part of the Vogue family for years. We remember her as an art student and part-time receptionist about 10 years ago: ever-changing hair colours, amazing hats, one-off outfits…visiting designers would say “wow, who is that?” She describes her look as “a little bit retro, a little bit vintage, a little bit kawaii, polka dots and a place where pastels meet neon.”

That could also describe her recent craftwork. With a background in fine arts and graphic design, it’s surprising that she’s gone into craft, defiantly anti-slick and handmade. “There is nothing nicer and more meaningful than something handmade,” she says, adding that it’s both therapeutic and rewarding.

Part of the charm of Ebony’s blog is that in addition to showing us behind the scenes of her latest projects, she also takes us through the back streets on her “mamachari” - granny bike - with her trusty camera, to explore and discover. “The little homes, potted gardens, street signs, hidden cafes, tucked away shops always bring a smile to my face,” she says. She’s turned some of those discoveries into a very popular downloadable Tokyo guide, focusing on quirky, unique places that don’t make it into conventional travel guides. Her self-published craft-zines have become so popular, she’s now working with several publishers to make craft books in English and Japanese and she has a huge following amongst downtown Tokyo girls who flock to her monthly craft workshops. She’s also travelling
overseas to give presentations, hosting an exhibition at Shimokitazawa’s Commune Gallery and working on her next Hello Sandwich Tokyo Guide. Far from a life of leisurely ‘crafternoons’, Ebony’s life has become busier than ever.

Her work often features a mix of stripes, spots and retro motifs, so we asked her to choose…polka dots or stripes? “Absolutely polka dots!” Ebony will be in Melbourne in August as Artist in Residence at Harvest Workroom and she’ll host two craft workshops.


Thank you Kirsty for this lovely story. xoxo




Check out more stories over at Scout.

Love Love
Hello Sandwich
xoxo

日本ホビーショー!

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Hello Sandwiches!

I have a few photos to show you from the last day of the Japan Hobby Show.

Every morning Motoko-chan and I met at the station, picked up our soy latte at the nearby Tullys and snuck in the Hobby Show side door with our booth holder passes. It was interesting to see the crowds waiting to enter the exhibition hall as they raised the roller doors each morning at 10am. This was accompanied by some serious morning-show-style music and an announcement which said something about 'please do not run'. Ha ha! These were some intense craft-loving crowds! (and by the way, they didn't listen to the 'do not run' warnings')

The last day of the Hobby Show went very well. We even snuck in an extra workshop for the company President! But all good things must come to an end and at 5pm we packed up for the last time. It was sad in a way as I really enjoyed working with a team again and saying 'お疲れ様’ to people rather than my computer - yeah I'm a bit strange aren't I?... Because I work from home I only get to say 'お疲れ様’ to my MacBook Pro when I shut down each day. Side note: I also say 'がんばって’to my rice when I shut the lid of my rice cooker. My dad was telling me recently that my mum apparently used to hold up the picture of the recipe to the food in the oven and told the uncooked food that "when you are cooked you should look like this"...runs in the family I guess ;)

Anyway...back to the Hobby Show.


At 5pm on the last day a sweet message came over the loud speaker and praised everyone for their hard work over the last three days.　”三日間お疲れ様です” Ah I love Japan! 

The de-install happened so quickly that it came as a shock to me. As I was running around taking photos of packing boxes with their little Japanese signs, rubbish on the floor arranged randomly in colourful combinations, and trying to capture photos of other random pack-up scenes, the de-install team were ripping down the Martha Stewart Booth at a pace I could not imagine. Here are a few pics of the process.


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Bye bye Martha Stewart stand. Hope to see you next year!

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It's just ゴミ but to me it's so beautiful, like a stage set. Or a 杉戸洋さん painting.

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日本ホビーショー!

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Before I knew it the Hobby Show was over, and I was off to a special art / food evening at Le lieu. On the way I spotted this lovely pattern design above a train station store.

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The incredible Miss Bisaiji-san was making お結び dinner sets that were more like artworks than food. They tasted amazing too! AND she served everything wearing sequin pants and with her perfectly shaped pink bowl hair cut.

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Upon arrival at the gallery we were presented with our お結び (rice ball) dinner set tickets. Two rice balls, soup and a assorted snack plate. The tickets were in a shape of one big rice ball triangle which then perforated off into smaller individial rice ball triangle tickets. I can't remember when dinner was this much fun, and this definitely brought a smile to my face after a days work!

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The AMAZINGLY presented first snack plate! Served with Yebisu beer of course!

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This lovely onigiri-head made us some lovely salmon and ume お結び!

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Chika-chan greeted guests in her usual graceful manner. Gahh she is sooo cute!

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Also on offer was sake with the best designed label ever. Why can't typography with English fonts be as fun?

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And finally back to the Chuo-sen on the way home after another great, only in Tokyo day!

I always feel soooo lucky to live here. I really never want to leave.

Happy Golden Week Japan Sandwiches!

Love Love
Hello Sandwich
xoxo