I LOVE CANADA

After a surprisingly pleasant flight (Air Canada, which is why it was particularly surprising), I finally arrived...
in.....Vancouver? I didn't quite recognize the city what with the unusual volume of snow, but nevertheless it's good to be home. Now my only concern is the possible cancellation of my flight out to Calgary tomorrow (apparently when Air Canada has to prioritize they choose to maintain international service...somewhat ironic considering that on monday I benefitted (if you can consider a 5-hour delay benefitting) from the same decision which may keep me grounded on thursday). Anyways, fingers crossed, and glad to be back in the country after 7 months.

DELAYED

stuck in an airport, by no fault of my own whatsoever...
but so excited to be home in 12 hours!!

the last hoorahs

I was SO excited to take the bullet train (shinkansen) to the Hakone (renowned for its abundance of hot springs) region earlier this week:too bad the view once we got there was so dreary (but as it was the hot springs we were after anyways, Chelsey and I were more than satisfied with our excursion):Also,went out to Gonpachi (the 'Kill Bill' restaurant) for dinner on Friday with the girls as the five of us were all leaving within days of each other...
...I'm not the hugest sushi fan, and I'm assuming that I won't like much other sushi after having dined at Gonpachi-the food was amazing. The company wasn't bad either.

last jobs in tokyo

Spent the last 3 days working (31 hours total-the real sucker was the 15 hour day yesterday)...experiences included 'winning' a watch in a studio's christmas draw, conducted by a somewhat unconventional santa claus:I also shot outside a unique, chandelier-filled cafe on Friday: and the most beautiful beachfront studio on Saturday:

rollin'

Started the morning off with a few hours at the National Museum of Modern Art:If you think the building looks kind of lame, that's because it is lame, and the art wasn't nearly as good as the flyer I found for the modern art museum in Kyoto. Anyways, after that we were off to Tokyo Dome for the day, where we had an amazing dinner at the California Pizza Kitchen, got kicked out of a hot spring/spa due to Chels' tiny tattoo on her butt, AND rode on a roller-coaster that went through a ferris wheel and part of a building, as well as a linear one:
**BONUS dorky photo:
Conclusion: roller-coasters are good for the soul and japanese spas are prejudiced and sometimes just plain MEAN

art/food/fashion (the best things in life aren't free)

haven't been blogging; HAVE been exploring...Tokyo Midtown mall & park & 21_21 design center (where I saw the Second Nature exhibition)Also, went for Indian food at Lonely-Planet-recommended Moti's...really just had some curries with our gignormous Naan bread:aaaand explored the Daikanyama shopping area, home to all things cute & quirky (overflowing with hipsters and fashion-lovers who come out in full force unhindered by recent economic turmoil)...

a day at the beach

a rosy tint had just begun to spread amongst the clouds,when we arrived at the deserted (save for some dedicated surfers) Chiba beachfront this morning,where I was joined for one of my 20+ shots of the day, by the most charming co-star a girl could ask for;
12 hours after our 5am meeting time (and countless preposterous jogging and yoga 'pose' imitations later-the job of the day was a sportswear catalogue), we stopped off for linner (lunner?) on our way back into the city.I'm not exactly sure what the name is for this kind of food, but it involved clams and small fish on mini barbecues at every table...oh, and I also found half a crab in my miso soup. yummm