The “Midsummer” Reception @ the Finnish Embassy

It was a bit early being in the first week of June but the Embassy of Finland in Tokyo hosted a reception on the occasion of “midsummer” which I was told was the second biggest holiday after Christmas in Finland.  In reality, midsummer was used as an excuse to eat, drink and party at this industry-specific gathering held in honor of our industry. 😀

At embassy parties, you tend to be served only alcohols that specific country produces. Not this which is a plain old Campari & soda, not made in Finland. I guess Finnish drinks are too strong as aperitifs but note that it is in a beautiful Finnish glass made by Iittala.

This is more like it.

The current Ambassador of Finland to Japan and his wife are a lovely couple who appreciate not just rock music but the heavier stuff as well. They stand out in this pic in the front row. The group shot was taken at Studio Coast on May 24, 2014.

Sorting Through Travel Photos – a New Year Ritual

Yes, that’s what I do every new year holiday season – I sort out photos, along with other sortable stuff such as receipts and shop cards, I have taken on trips.  In the past, it was photos taken with a camera that used films so they had to be developed and printed and as soon as they were printed, I got into the mood for sorting them out and putting them in a photo album.  These days since photos are taken on a digital camera, the number of photos can just grow and since you can view them as soon as taken, there is not so much urge or desire to sort them out (in my case anyway).  However, I still prefer that I print my photos from the “major” vacations I do and put them in an album and continue to do this.  The only problem, apart from cost, is that I am behind by a couple of years in getting all that done.

So this new year’s holidays, I was working on sorting out photos from my October 2009 trip to Prague, the Czech Republic which was followed by a half vacation/half work trip to Helsinki and Tampere, Finland.

The album opening page of the Prague trip.

I obviously have many food photos and restaurant receipts and cards. A page dedicated to Cafe Louvre in Prague.

The opening page of the Helsinki leg of the trip.

More Helsinki.

The Tampere leg which was a business trip for me. Yes, I was working!

2009 was the year I probably travelled the most compared to any other year.  For my new year’s card (a Japanese tradition) for 2010, I did a photo summary of my trips during 2009.

Left to right, top row: Cannes, Rome, the Vatican, Oslo, Shanghai. Bottom row: Prague, Helsinki, Rio de Janeiro, Buenos Aires.

From the above I’m missing the trip I did at the end of December, 2009 to Phonm Penh, Cambodia, as below.

@ an elementary school in the suburb of Phnom Penh run with Japanese funding.

And when I was done with that, I went to finish sorting out the photos I never finished sorting out from last new year’s holidays, meaning photos taken in 2008 that I was working on at new year’s 2010.

The opening page of my Turkey trip in August, 2008.

More Turkey - Istanbul.

It can get tedious if you work on it too hard for too long but it can be really fun trying to remember what you may have done or eaten or drunk on your trip.

Souvenir from Hong Kong

Souvenir from my cousin from her recent trip to Hong Kong.

My favorite character - Little My!!

And it is from Japan but made for Chinese export. Note the big "Made in Japan" logo.

What flavor…  I cannot tell…

More Lovely Little My

Every year around this time of the year the Mitsukoshi Department Store in Ginza holds a “Moomin” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moomin) event.

My main purpose for going is to buy “Littly My” (http://www.moomin.co.jp/data/chara05.html) goods to add to my collection.

My finds this year. 😀