I started to blogging without saying Happy New Year this year, but I hope that everyone had a good new year. Last year I was looking through the Oseibo (the end of the year gifts in Japan) catalogue from Mitsukoshi department store, and I saw a nice set of small bag and a book cover etc, using Japanese dyeing textile. They had a nice mouse and Japanese traditional family logo design. The catalogue didn't say the name of the maker but I found out that those were made by Ponpindo owned by an old Japanese dyeing factory established in 1867. Their designs are very simple and quite modern.

The rainy season will start soon in Tokyo, so I have to do KOROMOGAE 'a seasonal change of clothing' for our wardrobe. When the weather is sunny and dry, it's a chance to wash and air winter clothes and bedding. I feel like I go through and try to clear my wardrobe very often, but it's always overloaded. I finally decided to buy futon asshuku bukuro 'the vacuum storage bags' (in Japanese) even though I always thought this is a silly idea; fill a plastic bag with a duvet and suck the air inside a bag with a hoover to make a duvet loses its volume. But I realised my huge king size duvet needs to be vacuumed.

For a very very long time, I had been thinking about getting a Lagostina pressure cooker, now I finally bought one. I've heard some people recommend a 3 liter pressure cooker for a family of three, and a 5 liter cooker for a family of five. But I got a 7 liter one, even though there is only two of us. It's not only because we enjoy food a lot, or that it was a half price offer for the 7 liter version. There is a more important reason why I chose this size of pressure cooker.

I found this piece of paper in a pile of magazines, it was wrapping paper for a Japanese sweet shop called Shiono (in Japanese) in Akasaka. I haven't been to Shiono since I bought Autumn sweets last year. At the shop they take quite a long time to wrap the sweets, but I don't mind waiting if I see how carefully they wrap each box. I just love their traditional old style wrapping paper, which seems kind of new too, and the coolest thing they do is printing the shop name in white on a white paper! I love it! Probably they make many cherry blossom related sweets by now, I should have a look.

Yesterday I went to Omotesando Hills to see MEDIA SKIN for the first time. Actually, I knew that I would like it a lot, so I've already pre-ordered an orange MEDIA SKIN even without seeing a mock-up. It was just as I had imagined it, and it looked good! The asisstants kept telling me that 'the orange and the white models feature paint made with silicon particles, like those used in cosmetic foundations, for smooth comfort, while the black is made with a soft-feel paint that includes special urethane particles to provide a relaxed comfort.' To be honest, I couldn't tell the difference clearly but anyway both felt much better than usual mobiles. I got a pack of skin Oil Control Sheets (to remove excess oil and shine from face), they came in the same size as MEDIA SKIN. I guess I put this in my bag until I get a phone call from the mobile shop telling me that my MEDIA SKIN has arrived.

I can't believe that it is already the end of the year. C gave me a GR DIGITAL for Christmas, but I've been too busy to check it out properly. I sent my three year old IXY400 to be repaired and I don't like C's IXY55 because of the colour tone. So it is actually perfect timing to get a GR DIGITAL, but I need more time to learn. I hope I get used to use it in a week or so. Thank you for visiting LDK. I wish you all a happy new year!

I finally bought some antique glasses designed by Kaj Franck for Nuutajarvi in 1958. An updated version is still sold as the iittala Kartio line, but it looks quite different from the original design. The old glasses are hand blown, so they are much thinner and each glass is slightly different. They are elegant and beautiful, especially when they are stacked. The winter sky in Tokyo is usually very clear and blue, but I imagine these beautiful smoky colours are the colours of winter in Finland. I just hope that they won't break soon.

When I visited Germany this September, I was looking forward to get a nutcracker in the shape of a Buckingham Palace guard, but we were too busy. I saw some nutcrackers at a souvenir shop in Cologne, and I thought that I saw the one I had been looking for. But I didn't even have time for checking. After I came back to Japan, C's sister kindly bought one for me and sent it to Japan! I was soo happy to get this, I thought I had missed my chance. I don't feel anything about Japanese kokeshi dolls, so C and his sister are probably not excited about nutcrackers.

We had a very warm autumn in Tokyo, I was wearing only a t-shirt until a month ago. But it's December now and it's cold. I should try the winter look Nike trainers I bought in London this September. These are called Blazer Mid but they have a different look from the original.

I received the red Mario hat from club nintendo. This is a Nintendo DS carrying pouch, but it seems OK with my DS Lite too. The fabric is quite hard, and very good quality.

I went to COMME des GARÇONS to check their new little temporary shop called PLAY BOX. The shop looked just like a kiosk box (customers can't go inside the box), but they are selling clothes. It's crazy but cool idea. I heard that they had the black PLAY (black heart) polo shirts from the colette meets COMME des GARÇONS series, but of course they were sold out. I bought a polo shirt to get a free PLAY shopping bag.

I bought a roll of fabric from Chikusen (in Japanese), an old established store in Nihonbashi, and I had my yukata tailored. The salesman told me that the ultimate coolness in Edo times was for women to wear fabric designed for men, and vise versa. I liked the idea and the women's fabric size is a little bit small for me anyway, so I chose my fabric from the men's section. I even chose the most masculine pattern, it shows a fireman's standard. During Edo times, people in Kyoto didn't like this Tokyo-style bold design.

The BIALETTI "Moka Express" is the most well known aluminum stovetop espresso maker in the world. But the classic beautiful shape has been changed recently. I was sad about the new design, so I bought three "original" Moka Express in 3, 6 and 9 cup sizes. We already had 1 cup and 9 cup sizes, so now we have five coffee makers. But I feel like I need one more in the 3 cup size because we use that all the time and we might burn the handle or something.

I had been using the same BRITA nearly four years, and I bought a new BRITA Liquelli the other day. The old model I have is called Cool, which is slimmer than other BRITA jugs, but I chose even smaller model. The filtered water capacity is only 1.2L, but I really like the simple design. It is only available from BRITA Japan. I guess they know the size of our fridge.

This is C's old sewing kit. It is probably the third time for me to see this, but I have a strong memory about it because of this sewing thread. The twenty-two different colours of thread are beautifully woven, and I can pick out a colour from one side. The threads are 48cm long, a very comfortable length for sewing. When I saw this for the first time, I was really amazed. I thought this was a very old product and didn't expect to see it in shops, but when I visited Germany about ten years ago, this was still available. I was happy to buy some for my mother and friends. It still looks amazing to me and it reminds me of Nike Air Woven.

In the beginning of this month, I ordered two Marimekko fabrics online, one of the fabric I ordered was out of stock, so I had been waiting for the shop to get it from Finland, and I finally received them! I didn't know that there will be the Marimekko store opening in Omotesando, in just a few days after I ordered them. I thought I could have bought the fabric without waiting, but it was also out of stock at the store anyway.

This morning I woke up early, and I was so glad that the cold rain from last night stopped. I was squeezed into the train, and I headed to bic camera (in Japanese) in Shibuya. Because today is the release of the Nintendo DS lite (in Japanese) Crystal White! I arrived at bic camera around 7:45am, there were already about 100 people (including who stayed over night with sleeping bags) in the queue in front of me. I enjoyed reading a book and it was 10:48am when I finally got DS lite.

I got a beautiful bowl (or gravy boat?) from an internet auction. This is from the Kilta series (relaunched as Teema later) by ARABIA, designed by Kaj Franck in 1952. I love the shape and position of the handle.

I haven't seen any nice earrings for a long time. These are very simple, I almost feel like I can make them myself (of course I can't), but the idea is very cool. I bought staples, they make me look like I stapled my ear. I love them, but I want the designer to make a 1cm shorter version, too! I also bought daytonas, their shape is derived from Daytona International Speedway. I think I bought these mainly because of the name! I want earrings shaped like Suzuka circuit before the next F1 season starts.

My friend showed me his ballpoint pen SIERRA, which is made by a Japanese company called SLIP-ON, and he strongly recommended the pen to me. It looked like a propelling pencil but it is a ballpoint pen. I like that the body part is made of a classic pencil's wood. The pen thickness is only 0.2mm, and it is so smooth. There are lots of colour variations for body parts (ink is black only) and also shorter version. His pen seemed like he had been using for a long time, but he gave it to me. Thanks.

It seems like the rainy season might start in a few days in Tokyo. I bought these miu miu rain boots for the rainy season. They also had red and kahki colours, but I chose the chic black. I regret this choice a little bit because they look very similar to my dad's rain boots. Except for the heel. Last year, we didn't have much rain during the so-called rainy season, so I didn't have much chance to wear them, but this year it has been rainy even before the official announcement, so I will probably get to wear them.

This is a 100ml bottle of lime juice which I bought in a German supermarket. It's so cute that the product information is on a leaf-shaped piece of paper attached to the bottle. The pale tone of the orange and green colours is also very nice. I just realised that it is best before June 2002! Actually, I remember that it cost just 66 Pfennig (DM 0.66), which is only about ¥45! Very cheap. Prices seem higher since they changed to Euro, so it's probably more expensive now.

C got me an Apple wireless mouse on my birthday. I've been a powerbook user for six years, and I haven't used a mouse about four years now. After several years of everyday training, I became very good at working with fingers on a trackpad, even no problem with Photoshop and Illustrator. Also I thank for very useful new scrolling technique of iScroll. But I somtimes develop a callus on my thumb or suffer from a muscle pain by using too much trackpad, and I had to borrow C's mouse, so it was a nice present. When I set up my wireless mouse in a system preference panel, I named it 'mozzarella' because of its look. It's beautiful and I love it. But my two fingers miss scrolling down and up, I'm holding a mouse but fingers still try to scroll something...

Two years ago, I got a Chateau Laguiole corkscrew as a Christmas present (Laguiole is a small vilage in France). This corkscrew seemed too professional to me at first, especially if I compared to a wing corkscrew I used to use. But it was actually very easy to use, and I feel good about using a beautiful sommelier corkscrew. It's nice to see how they are made. I don't know if it's true, but I heard that men have to open (and pour) wine in Germany. So C used to open all wine bottles for us, but these days I offer to do that.

These days, I've been looking for nice folding chairs and a low table which I can also use as a bench, and I can't find any! But there are lots of nice and reasonable items in a Habitat catalogue! It made me sigh!! But if I were in London, I probably don't care Habitat this much, and I might be complaining about MUJI in London because of their limited selection (MUJI in Japan has good appliances and food). Is it just 'The grass is always greener on the other side'?!

One of the greatest Finnish designer Kaj Franck relaunched Kilta under the name of Teema in 1981 (Kilta is launched in 1952). Teema is very simple and it might look bit boring but its simplicity is great. There were teacups, coffee cups and mugs, and I chose the mugs because we drink lots of coffee. I love them although it would be nice if they were a little bigger. The mug has an old Arabia logo (instead of iittala logo) on the back. I have to be careful not to break them by accident!

My favourite ceramic containers by MUJI will be discontinued items very soon. They have a wide selection of sizes including a spaghetti size, and I'm using only the smallest one which is ø6.4cm x H7.3cm. I also have additional easy re-sealing lids and use them as salt boxes. I'm using three varieties of salts in my kitchen. It is not meant to be, but I also use this container as a tea cup. it looks nicer than other cup. Last week, it was on sale for ¥170 (87p) and the original price was ¥315 (£1.61). I bought a few more of them.

The SONY PSP came out yesterday, and C got it in Shibuya while I was recovering from my hangover. I thought it would be much harder to get it. Nice one! The body of the PSP is much shinier than it looks in the ads, and It becomes even shinier with some grease from hands. I like the LR buttons are made from clear acrylic. The PSP will be available for pre-order at PlayStation.com from 12pm, it's a luch time! I wonder if the server can handle it.

I bought Talby, a Marc Newson-designed au mobile phone this afternoon. The Hornet green colour looked nice at the shop, but I had made up my mind that I will get 'hole black' (the name comes from black hole). I've been using Sony Ericsson's phone for long long time, so it might take a while to get used to this new phone. The interface doesn't seem as good as Sony Ericsson's though. The phone came in a shiny silver carrier bag. I like it when companies make an effort to think about their packaging.

Yesterday, I got a packet from England. I won an orange enameled aluminium lamp shade from an Interenet Auction the other day. Louis Poulsen made this in the 1960/70's. I think Poul Henningsen's PH lamps by Louis Poulsen are famous, but they are not really our style (and pricey!). I don't know who designed this orange lamp shade, but I really love this design. The shade measurers 30cm at its widest and 25 cm deep. It was £23.40 (¥4,728) including the shipping.

I finally got the cups and saucers from the Paratiisi series, the all white version (without decoration or colour), by ARABIA. I thought it would impossible to find them in Japan, but I came across them while surfing the net. A miracle!

When I went to London, I bought lovely naked matryoshkas (Russian nesting dolls). I found out that I could buy them online in Japan too, but I wouldn't buy them if I didn't see at the nice shop called shelf at Brick Lane in London. I was attracted by the smooth surface and the wood grain. When I opened these matryoshkas imported from Russia, lots of tiny wood shavings came out. Some of the dolls have rough edges. But I don't mind that. They are good sizes for a name stamps, lighters and keys boxes. My Russian friend brought this matryoshka key chain from Russia.

I sometimes go to one of the big chain izakayas. I don't really fancy their food, but their matches are great. It says ありがとうございます (thank you in Japanese) and THANK YOU. The kerning for the Japanese font is too tight, but I still love this match!

I found a Johnson & Johnson Stim-U-Dent Plaque Removers (not a toothpick?) in a drawer of the bathroom. My friend brought this to me from N.Y. ages ago. I don't know if I will use this, but I think this is a beautiful product design. Come to think of toothpick, I was surprised to see a toothpick with two pointed ends in Europe. The Japanese one is shorter and only one side is sharp, and I can (I usually don't) make a toothpick rest.

I bought a bicycle last weekend. I wanted my bicycle to have thin wheels and no logo/brand name on the frame. And I found Tokyobike is the perfect one for me! There is a small company's URL written on the frame, but it is just a sticker. I can peel it off! Great!

Suddenly, C and I have planned a one night trip to Nikko from tomorrow. I want to walk around the Lake Chuzenji area this time. Maybe we go to Mt. Nantai too? then we might need Calorie Mate (balanced nutrition food, an easy source of energy and nutrition) just in case! C was laughing about me but I'm serious! I don't buy this often, but I love the package design. I hope Otsuka Seiyaku won't change the design. See you in 2 days' time!

I went to MUJI in Shibuya Parco last weekend, and they had a sale because they are going to refurbish the store. I was walking around to find something good and I found some polypropylene boxes. I thought they were discontinued. I have a few at home but I wanted one mo