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There is no trace of what it used to be like during the Edo period. Over the Sumida River was the pleasure quarter Yoshiwara and a vast view of central Edo. This area is now known for an ohanami spot, for viewing cherry blossoms along the riverbank in Spring. Quite frankly, it is not the most scenic place any more. There is not even a luxurious condo nor anything else to take advantage of the waterfront location.

I have only been to Oxford once, but I know that if I ever get to go there again, I will revisit to the Natural History Museum and the Pitt Rivers Museum. What I will have to look for though, is a nice place to eat. What's best for dinner in Oxford...(?)

After living in London for two full years, I went to the Topshop for the first time, just before Christmas 2005. How the words spread - my friend who was visiting me from L.A. knew of this place somehow, took me there, and boy, the shoppers' enthusiasm was grande. Never knew how popular this place was, I was more than stunned - Has anyone noticed how much stuff there is to filter through, in this huge department store like shop building complex? Another friend of mine visiting from Paris the same month, spent half of her time in London shopping there, contributed to the alarmingly hot consumer-generated heat inside and ouside by the corner of Oxford Circus. Something VERY special there must be about the numerous items selected and displayed in the Topshop - Still, a memorable site of London's economic peak.

I met a curious photographer last night at this refurbished gallery/restaurant in Wapping - the Wapping Hydarulic Power Station, which currently shows works by Sergei Shutov. Putting aside my impression of the show, I wish I knew who this photographer was, taking pictures of the displays and... It is dreadful to imagine myself in that stranger's photographs (God knows how beautifully ugly I looked there, never mind). Regardless, I should have asked for his name at least.

The place is quite interesting by itself for once being a power station. The exhibit was, although rather small with 1 space installation and 3 works on paper, inspiring enough to keep people around for a good half hour at least.

It just happened that I am in the middle of reading "The Devil" now, by the Russian author whose anti-European attitudes can relate to some of what this contemporary exhibit seemed to have conveyed. The rise of democracy in Eastern Europe and what seems to me so confusing of the religious amalgamation in Russia, are just few of many topics, I'm sure, that both fascinate and pester thinkers in the discourse of Modernism.

One thing that drew my attention at a gadget store in Shibuya the other day - This new mobile phone outfit has the shape of a cow, free-standing by itself, made of soft elastic material. How cute and silly. It is designed not for practicality but for catchy playfulness, so as are many other Japanese gadgets and industrial products.