japanese eyelights.

First off, the trip to Japan was totally bliss filled and mega. In a lot of ways. I had never been to Asia so everything was so visually stimulating. My eyes hurt and my senses were at their limit. So rad, though to feel it all like that. Plus, the Rubies record is out there first so we got to really feel the impact of that 'new release' feeling. The people were so unbelievable gentle and good. I made some friends for life. Thank you Japan.

kyoto view...

kanazawa garden...

amy, me, terri. at an old samurai house in tea town, kanazawa. james took this one.

fumi. our man, mister tour-de-force. he runs Rallye/Klee- the label we are on in Japan.
he took such good care of us. coolest dude ever.
at the james turrell 'open sky' room at the modern art museum in kanazawa. one of the best museums i've ever been too. a exhibition by kiyoshi awazu was mind blowing. coolest graphics ever. also the installation room 'liminal air' by ohmaki shinji
liminal air...

finally! seeing the album in stores...

our first show of the tour. tokyo @ o-nest.
suprise sighting: erlend's brother.
pepe california opened. they were rad. also seeing miyauchi yuri play the first time was ecstatic. watching music this night made me feel like a child. it felt cool and new.

later in the tour, i joined yuri for a couple songs. his guitar playing is so beautiful.

ok i had to bust some design inspirational pics. these aren't the best photos but you get the idea. some cool design that climbed up my alley, if you know what i mean.

yes! oh and i noticed a bunch of cool stuff designed by 'D BROS'-
i felt like we were tight bros. we have similar typography tastes...
where are they. dag, i want to cook dinner for those bros.

have you heard of naoshima? it's this island dedicated to art. you cruise around and find sculptures and old houses filled with amazing work. highlights: james turrell's work everywhere especially 'open field', walter de maria, tatsuo miyajima at the kadoya house art house project, the architecture of tadao ando, chichu art museum and 'water lilies' by claude monet. it wasn't only the art, but it was the way in which they used the artful mind to display it. we stayed one night at the benesse art museum (we had the craziest 'foodie nightmare' meal of our lives) and then the next night at a ryokan (japanese inn). sleeping on tatami mats is awesome actually...and staying at ryokan's rule for plenty of reasons. mainly because you get to chill with the owners and they cook good food for you.

arrving at naoshima...post sunset...fog. i was real stoked to see the sea. see the sea. saw the saw.

i was so stoked everytime i saw this dude. blowing smoke rings? wha?

james (our california drummer) and amy in the hotel kimonos. james was all about the baths at the hotels.

in kyoto...

kinkauji (the golden pavilion) in kyoto. this was so beautiful that it hurt to look at. pure golden magic.

chrysanthemems. the japanese flower. they are so dense...i want to carry one like a small kitten.

terri took this one of me at chichu art museum. moments later, they were onto us. no photos allowed.

lambi. i'm in love.

terri took this.... me with chocolat & akito. the absolute coolest folks in tokyo.

chocolat & akito. how can i explain them. they were like diamonds hanging on a golden thread from a giant japanese maple tree on top of a hill at sunset. showed us around, made us the best cd mixes ever, and told us great stories of the past. check out their music.