Sunday, May 13, 2018

Favorite Tokyo Spot

Happy Mother's Day to all of you who are people mothers or pet mothers or both. I know some places have already celebrated the holiday this year, but those of you who are celebrating today, I hope you are having a fantastic day. And if you have already celebrated, I think mothers deserve more than 1 day of praise, so certainly I wish it to you also.
 I started my mother's day with a nice long walk with my 2 dog children. Yesterday I saw both my daughter and my mom, as I took a trip down to visit and picked up my daughter on the way.
So no complaints here from this Mom.
And I have a new journal page to link with Jo's awesome challenge at Art Journal Journey, Flora and Fauna.
The photo is a little crooked as my Nature Journal is getting thick and I was trying to snap a photo and hold the book open. :)
I used paints and gesso to make the background, as well as some of these vintage butterfly cards from my stash. I bought a paperback book in Japan just for cutting up, which is what all the vertical lettering on my page is from (who knows what it says), and the woman is a Lynne Perrella image from Paper Artsy that I picked up since I have been home because I really wanted some cool Japanese women stamps for my art. (And figured since I hardly bought much of  anything for myself in Japan, I could use the money for Japanese stamps.)
And today I have part one of some photos from the Meiji Shrine in Tokyo, which was one of my favorite places I visited on the whole trip. Here's what I found on the internet about this shrine.

Stately Meiji Shrine is surrounded by Yoyogi Park: a sprawling expanse of green in central west Tokyo. Meiji Jingu Shrine is dedicated to the souls of Emperor Meiji (1852-1912), Japan's first modern, constitutional monarch, and his wife, Empress Shoken (1849-1914).

Emperor Meiji was who opened up Japan to the world.
I think if I ever go back to Japan I would like to visit some other shrines as they are very interesting, but I did see quite a few and they were all so different. I liked this one because it was so wooded and peaceful.
So here's today's photos and next post I will share more with you.




And one question that came up from my last post with photos of Tokyo was if I found that city as crowded as New York. I think I found parts of Tokyo (especially the rush hour subway) more crowded with people than New York (although Times Square on a Saturday Night is crazy). Between the locals and all the tourists, Tokyo was packed with people. But one thing I did find different is that there seems to be more space between buildings and the roads in Tokyo, so in some ways even though there were soooo many people, New York (or Manhattan at least)  feels more crammed. I think there is more green space in Tokyo too. 
Thanks Jeanie for such a good question.
So now that a good chunk of my morning has gone by, I will sign off. I'll be by to visit  blogs later on  (like this evening) since why waste a beautiful Sunday at home when I have SOOOO much yard work calling me.
Thanks for visiting. I appreciate all of you stopping by for certain!

11 comments:

Valerie-Jael said...

Gorgeous journal page, love the Japanese lady stamp. Glad you enjoyed Mother's day in good company, 2 and 4 legged! Thanks for sharing the beautiful Japan photos, so nice to see photos of different places. Have a nice day, hugs, Valerie

froebelsternchen said...

My favourit today is the photo of your mother and your daughter! Thank you!
I love their charming smiling! AMAZING!
You know how much I adore the smiling of your lovely mom!
The page is just so gorgeous ... you have such a hand to bring so much different things together and it looks sooo good!
And those impressive photos of the Meiji Shrine and Yoyogi Park!
Thank you for linking to Art Journal Journey - another fabulous entry of you! Much appreciated!
Thank you for your Mother's Day wishes. I had a fantastic one with breakfast to bed and a yummie lunch as we have always a little village festival here on Mother's Day.

Hugs, Susi

Caty said...

I´m so happy you enjoyed yours mother´s day, here it was on 6 th May, and lovely too. Your art page is wonderful Erika!! really gorgeous, love it all. Thank you so much for sharing those beautiful photos of Japan, they are great. I wish you a nice evening, big hugssss, Caty

Divers and Sundry said...

The architecture is so different from anything here! The shrines would be a fascinating place to spend time.

It sounds like your Mothers' Day celebration was perfect :)

Bleubeard and Elizabeth said...

First, Happy Mother's Day. I hope it has been wonderful.

I really enjoyed the beauty of the Meiji Shrine and that beautiful park. There certainly is a lot of green space there, even though there were loads of visitors. It must be a very popular place to visit.

I adored your lovely journal page, too. The butterfly stamps are incredible, and I think they are so beautiful. You bought a great image and I know you love stamps, so this was an excellent one for your Travel Journal. Thanks for sharing this with us today at Art Journal Journey.

Tracey@Hotchpotchcreations said...

I have to agree there should never be just one day to celebrate the love of a Mother, every day should be a day to show how much they mean to us and time with family is so precious.
It's wonderful to see pictures from your visit to Japan, how I would love to visit one day. The shape of nature and architecture are so different from our own in the UK.
Your journal page is delightful making use of those words along with what looks like old cigarette cards. I adore that PA stamp. Thank you for sharing.
Creative wishes Tracey x

Astrid Maclean said...

First up, a wonderful journal page! Such a cool stamp, I ama sure you'l find many uses for it!
Looks like you had a great mother's day, such a lovely photo!
Finally, your Japan photos are always fun to look at, they bring back so many happy memories for me :)
Have a great week!

Jeanie said...

It looks like your Mother's Day was really lovely and spent with the ones you love. The Japanese Lady Stamp is really beautiful; I'm glad you added some to your collection. And I really adore seeing your Japan photos. What a beautiful spot for a shrine, and in the city, too.

CJ Kennedy said...

Nice pic of your daughter and mom together. Glad you enjoyed a Happy Mother's Day. You put together a pretty butterfly page. Madame Butterfly. Looks like the shrine is a popular destination.

Meggymay said...

It looks like you had a lovely visit with your Mom and daughter for Mothers day. I'm sure you will treasure the time you all spend together.
The journal page with the butterflies looks beautiful.
It is good to see the photos you share, it shows places we might never get to see as well as the ones on a tourist route.
Yvonne xx

Gibby Frogett said...

Loved your page with the vintage butterfly cards - that was really beautiful. Ah so you don't read Japanese Erika - no point asking you to translate the leaflet that came with my new gouache paints then ha ha - only joking.
Lovely photo of your mom and daughter too glad you all had a nice day.
Really enjoying seeing all your photos again - that was interesting about the space between the buildings and more green space - that must make quite a difference, especially for anyone thats not keen on crowds.
Gill x