Tokyo National Museum

Tokyo, Japan (May 24, 2012)

I didn't visit the Tokyo National Museum. Neither did Mayli, when she finally joined me in Tokyo before the end of my meeting. That is however where we met at the end of the day she arrived, which is when I took the photo above. I found her sitting on the tables outside a cafe in the plaza in front of the museum, just after sunset, when the falling light colors everything with a soft blue tint. With a day to kill while I was still at my meeting, Mayli visited the neighborhood of the Gaidai University (University of Arts), just behind Ueno Park. This is part of shitamachi Tokyo, or the old city. According to Mayli, one could walk through the neighborhood for hours, stopping at every art shop selling brushes (where the owner used to make brushes for Miró and Picasso), colors, wooden blocks and prints. She also enjoyed very much Imojin, a traditional old-fashioned ice-cream shop, and Torindo, that she described as the perfect place for a cup of tea.