Goliath always keep you fresh!
Especially for these crazy Olympic Dunks!
You need a hat? We got 3!

Come thru!

Check it.
We  were sitting here, wondering why there were no cars or people coming by to the store…
THEY SHUT THE STREET DOWN!
I was tryna get in on the movie but they werent’t having it.

Apparently this movie is based in the 60s or 70s and back then, there wasn’t anybody with crazy facial piercings like me.
So it didn’t work out. But the cars were awesome!
I’m a sucker for old school cars.
And these dudes were all in plaid bell bottoms!

There was even old school cop cars.
If you walk down the block, it really feels like you’ve gone back in time!
Except when you cross the street and come back to our store.

Right in front of our store!
And they wouldn’t even let us go to the food tables. How rude!

So whenever this movie comes out, remember it was made right next to the store!

Takashimaya Co., Ltd. is a large Japanese department store chain.

Founded in 1829 in Kyoto by Iida Shinshichi as a retailer of used clothing and cotton cloth, the store now has outlets throughout Japan and also in New York, Taipei, Paris and Singapore.

Takashimaya was listed at #1197 on the Forbes Global 2000 list for 2006. Takashimaya carries a wide array of products, ranging from wedding dresses and other apparel to electronics and flatware.

As I passed through there was an exhibit called Portrait of the 60’s. It was for a new book from Ishiguro Kenji a renowned Japanese Photographer. I can’t tell you anything more because everything was written in Japanese. See some of the images of the exhibit below.

If you happen to find yourself in Japan one day, try to stay in Shinjuku, it is a hot bed of restaurants. Each day is an adventure as you try to figure out what to eat. Almost every culture in cuisine is recognized here. Today I set out to have Indian. Yes, I know you say who goes to Japan to have Indian, well that’s what I wanted. I found this spot in Nishishinjuku (located near the Shinjuku Train Station) called Jinnah restaurant & Bar.

Can you say OUTSTANDING? I was very surprised to find the cooks were all Indian (most places here in Japan have Japanese cooks no matter what nationality the cuisine is from). This place was such a pleasant surprise. They have a lunch special menu (most lunches here in Japan are extremely cheap) I chose special number two 880 yen (like $8.80 US). You get Nan (indian bread), two curry dishes with a vegetable and a drink. I chose to try a tea (Green tea) sweetened only with milk. At first I thought this is different (remember I am in Japan, so everything here has a Japanese touch to it). Once they served me my lunch special and I took the first taste followed by a swallow of tea - I wanted to jump out my seat and scream to the world, THIS CHEF I WILL MARRY. Yes a little extreme, but after a week of Sushi and Yakitori, this was the truth. Please, Please, Please do yourself a favor eat at this restaurant if you come to Japan. Sorry about the pictures, I started eating the meal before I remembered to get some shots for the blog.

Remember while you are asleep in New York, it is 13 hours ahead here in Japan. I ate this meal Japan time Thursday 3pm, New York time Thursday 2am.

Want to pick up this shirt?
You can’t get this at GOLIATH!

But you CAN get it at VAULT.

During the Breakfast City Party THIS Friday!

Kiyomizu-dera is a well-known landmark of Kyoto and one of the most touristical temples in Japan. It is a prime destination during the cherry-blossom and autumn-leaves season.

It was founded as early as 798 by the Hosso sect of Buddhism, as one of the six virtually extinct schools of Nara Buddhism. The present buildings were reconstructed in 1633 and some were recently restored.

The particularity of Kiyomizu is its broad veranda facing the picturesque forested hills of South-East Kyoto. Tracks run from underneath the temple around the woods and back to the veranda.

Read the rest of this entry »

Sanjusangendo is the popular name for Rengeo-in, a temple in eastern Kyoto which is famous for its 1001 statues of Kannon, the goddess of mercy. The temple was founded in 1164 and its present structures date from 1266.

The main hall, which houses the statues, is with over 100 meters Japan’s longest wooden structure. In its center sits one large Kannon, flanked on each side by 500 smaller statues, standing in neat rows side by side, each as tall as a human being.

Pictures were not allowed inside this temple, so I had to take pictures of the statues in a handout they had given. The first two images are from the handout, the rest were outside the temple.

If you look carefully at one of the pictures, you can see Mai and Ganeka.

More from Downside Up!

The Starks tees are in with a full size run!
So come thru and cop before they dissappear for good!

You still reading this?
What are you waiting for?

Today we decided to take the train to Kyoto to see the temples. The train fron Shinjuku, Tokyo to Kyoto is a two and a half hour ride. So you know us, it was two and a half hours of goofing around. Once we got to Kyoto, Ouigi’s friend Mai meet us to show us the town. She is a very nice young lady and we say Thank you Mai.

Kyoto was Japan’s capital and the emperor’s residence from 794 until 1868. It is now the country’s seventh largest city with a population of 1.4 million people and a modern face.

Over the centuries, Kyoto was destroyed by many wars and fires, but due to its historic value, the city was dropped from the list of target cities for the atomic bomb and spared from air raids during World War II. Countless temples, shrines and other historically priceless structures survive in the city today.