Taking a breather…

iamamberjoy — Wed, 03 Oct 2012 07:35:47 +0000

Taking a little break from this blog and writing about yoga and life over here…

http://ashtamber.wordpress.com

Not to worry, I will be back regaling tales of my adventures, but first I must get focused…

Big love. X

Made it through the winter (part 2)

iamamberjoy — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 11:26:09 +0000

I’m a bit of an airhead these days and just remembered that I had written a post called “Made it through the winter Part 1.” And of course, silly old me forgot about part 2. Just because we all love a little closure, here’s a mini part 2!

How to leave winter behind:

The first step of leaving winter behind is storing away both the hot water bottle and the electric blanket in the cupboard. I am proud to say, both are outta sight, outta mind!

The second step is realizing that I had better get my butt into as many onsens (hot springs) as possible before it is too hot to even think about hot baths.

The third step is to remember just how cold winter has been in my big all-tatami house which is gonna be like a sauna before I know it. I am going to need to use my visualization skills to stay alive in the summer heat.

The fourth step is to never forget these winter memories, cause winter ain’t that bad.

And finally, get ready for fun!!! In summer, always remember to have way too much fun, get outta Tokyo whenever you can and pack an ice box!

Bring on Summer Baby…

Chasing sun & surfers…I mean surf!

iamamberjoy — Sun, 08 Apr 2012 06:27:00 +0000

We are amongst one of the most glorious times in Tokyo…Cherry Blossom season. The pink and white flowers are everywhere and the feeling of hope and rebirth of spring is intoxicating. I am sooooooo glad to see cold winter days fall behind me.

This was my fist full winter in a lot of years, as I usually gypsy off to some sunshine land partway through the cold months. But this year I found myself in Tokyo and the mountains since the last weekend of October. I can’t believe it’s been so long since I swam in the ocean…I’ve been dreaming about that big salty bath recently and been thinking about my last island adventure.

Trying to hang onto summer, we headed down to Niijima in October, a surf island south of Tokyo, chasing the surfers and the sun. A shockingly babelicious Japanese guy named Kazutomo met us at the boat we came in on. With his long surfer hair & beard, wearing a Cheech & Chong t-shirt, holding a skateboard with our hotels name on it, we knew we were in for a stellar weekend! (I hate myself for not taking his photo right then and there) What we didn’t know was that we were the only people who ventured there to watch the big surf competition. Due to a typhoon in August, the competition had to be pushed back to October and seeing as October isn’t summer, this notoriously promiscuous party island was deserted. The obscure little town was eerily quiet and we were left on our own find trouble and explore a ghost town…

Hang me out to dry.

obscure treasures hidden in this sleepy town

No children in sight. The teetertodder was all ours!

Surprised to see actual human beings with pulses, the sweet souvenir store owner let us try on archaic swim suits in the back room.

Which way to the beach?

An awfully deserted beach, for one of Japan's biggest surf competitions.

This big bad rock was something from a fairy tale...I couldn't dream up something so magical!

It is very very hard to take people seriously when they tell me that this is the place to be in summer. A jet boat, one of those futuristic boats that actually hovers over the water and moves at the speed of light, Jetsons style, can get you from Tokyo to Niijima in 2.5 hours. Paradise at Tokyoites fingertips.

So in true journalistic spirit, I will definitely make the trip back there this summer in search of the action that this surf island boasts about. And if we don’t find the raging parties, at least we know where to find our buddy Kazutomo and we know the best place on the beach to build a bonfire and take a midnight skinny dip in that stunning ocean.

Made it through the winter (part 1)

iamamberjoy — Tue, 03 Apr 2012 11:10:50 +0000

It’s April 2, and spring is finally here. Despite the raging typhoon outside, I am ready to clean out the dark cobwebbed corners, spend every moment i can in the fresh spring sunshine, indulge in Tokyo’s gorgeous cherry blossom season and get my abs ready for crop top season!

But its pissing rain right now, accompanied by the strongest winds and biggest storm Japan has seen since ’59. So no enjoying the sunshine just yet. Instead I am locked inside, ready and willing to do some reminiscing.

I hate being cold, and living in a traditional Japanese house, basically made of paper with no heating, it gets colder than cold up in here. So inside my paper house which might blow away at any moment, I am remembering that winter wasn’t all bad…

A solo birthday adventure to take a few breaths and focus on my 29th year ahead of me

Kusatsu, the heavenliest place on earth

Early morning mochi making with the raddest sumo wrestlers around! At the Chiyonofuji stable.

New Years Eve with my mamacitas!

Sea food? Nope! Because we ate it all!!!

Chanko nabe! Eating like the sumos in Sapporo!

Into the white. Onto Niseko. Ready to ride.

nothing like a good indian curry after some deep powdah and an onsen in the snow!

It was a cold winter and at times it was trying. But I had a chance to remember just how much I love the mountains and though I have learned to love the big bad city, I’ll never forget my roots! I will always need and love mountain fresh air!!!

Be Truthful, Gentle & Fearless

iamamberjoy — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 03:52:05 +0000

Well, I don’t know what to say. I have been very sporadic with this blog and generally pretty scatty in life…I don’t mean shitty and I definitely don’t mean “weee bap boop ba dooo bah” scatty, but a general “all over the map” meaning of the word. I’ve been a busy girl, learning how to settle into one life and stop giving into my itchy gypsy feet whenever I feel a tingling travel sensation.

But I must say, I am getting into the groove of learning and making mistakes and cleaning up my own mess and scurrying around to make things work in the nick of time. What is life if we are not on our toes???

January 23rd, 2012 marked the New Year of the Dragon, a creature of myth and legend, and a symbol of good fortune and intense power. Yesterday was also a day that put a little fear into those of us living in Tokyo. New numbers have been released suggesting that there is a 75% chance that the big earthquake, the one people have been talking about since 1923, will shake us in the next 4 years. After the devastation this country has seen since the gargantuan earthquake and tsunami of March 11, 2011, this is a very sobering thought. No one is invincible. No one is more valuable than another.

So with a big heart, lots of love and somewhat heavy thoughts, I face the Dragon and enter this new year. Living in fear is not something I believe in, so I am making it my mission this year to live in love and to give; to make people smile, to radiate the positivity I believe in and to celebrate the amazing life that I have been blessed with.

Facing my struggle to get cozy with committment, I am bravely committing this year to Truth, Love, Patience, Faith and Celebration.

Something tells me it’s gonna be a very POWERFUL year!

Big Love,

Amber Joy

What was once so crazy…is still crazy!

iamamberjoy — Tue, 20 Sep 2011 10:46:03 +0000

Having just read one of my favorite friend’s blogs, like an older sister I admire her passion for hitting the waves and determination to become a sassy surfer, I get that tingly feeling in my veins. What tingly feeling, you ask? The one where I drift into dream-land and imagine my life, driving a convertible, hitting the waves everyday, drinking smoothies, and wheeling a Keanu Reeves hunk circa Point Break. Oh, it could be so good for me!

But then there is little angel on my shoulder saying, “You just wait a minute Amber Joy!” And I am reminded of my 2011 mantra…Be Here Now. So although the daydreaming is sweet, and I do want to become a surfer babe one day, I’m gonna be here now. And here ain’t so bad at all!

Just like living in any place that is millions of miles from where you were raised and the culture holds customs that you may never ever understand, Tokyo can be a challenge sometimes. But who doesn’t love a challenge?!?!

The typhoon headed our way tomorrow at 3pm, just one of many challenges!

It actually amazes me sometimes how I can get so used to some things that used to seem so insane! Here are some things that never cease to rock me & shock me….

Like when you are entering a store fitting room and the shop staff hands you a white cotton-like sack that you have to put over your head while you are changing into and out of your items of choice, but before that you take your shoes off to even enter the changing room. Or how if I picked up my cell phone to have a lil chat on the train, I would get lazer beam death stares, but no one flinches at the dude reading sexy manga (comic books) with girls in school uniforms next to me. When you make hotel or travel reservations, you don’t have to pay a deposit because no one would be so offensive as to not show up or change their plans. How you can get so drunk and pass out cold with your Louis Vuitton wallet hanging out of your pants and no one will take it!

I didn't take this and cannot take credit for it, but it is hilarious!

I’ll never understand what shops like this are for or begin to imagine the life of this little kitty’s best friend (the owner), who sometimes gets yelled at by a foreign guy on a mini motor bike…

Why these mushrooms always look so incredible to me…

The fact that this outfit didn’t make people stare any more than they would usually…

The madness you can get away with in a kareoke booth with the Trippple Nippples!…

How Santa Clause is being held hostage in Kabukicho and nobody seems to want to help the poor man!!!

I continue to wonder why I do not own this cropped beauty!?!?! And who on earth does?…

Japan is like a little dream land, and despite our fears of radiation and concern for the economy, rebuilding of a nation, this is a powerful place to be. It is so nice knowing that people are looking out for each other and that some of the oddities I don’t understand are still going strong!

I’m jetting off to New York and California this week, and I know I am gonna miss this place like candy!!! The sweet old folks sweeping up all the leaves that fall on the street to keep things super clean (I’ll especially miss this while riding the rat run NYC subway), the grandpas on my street who like to greet me with fresh flowers on my way home, feeling like I can talk about anything in Japanese….with fellow 4 year olds, and the lovely lovely family and friends I have here.

Though I sometimes get lost in thinking about what else is out there, this is where I am now, and man-oh-man this love affair is hotter than an affair with a pro soccer player! (wink)

So I leave you with My Best….

XOXO

I can’t ever let go of TOKYO!

iamamberjoy — Fri, 02 Sep 2011 03:09:37 +0000

Sometimes I wonder where I am? Sometimes I wonder Why I am?
Usually I wonder Where I want to be? And always I wonder where else could I be?

For a girl whose mind moves a million miles a minute, these are the thoughts whipping through my heart and mind like the roller coaster Thunder Dolphin in the middle of Tokyo that I love to ride on a lonely sunny afternoon. The feelings change, but the answer usually stays the same. tokyo Tokyo TOKYO!!!

I am in Tokyo. I am in love with Tokyo. I am so inspired by all of the gorgeous souls here and all the history that oozes through the cracks.

It is difficult to explain to people sometimes why I keep coming back….time and time again, but this video series hosted by the oh-so-dreamy Parrell Williams features some of my bestest friends who I have been inspired by from the day we met. Watch this and you can know why this city is like a magnet.

I can’t ever let go….cause it won’t let me go!

Click Here to Watch the Most Bang On Documentary on Tokyo in a Long Time!!!

The Tunnels under this city! Image from http://www.palladiumboots.com

Lovely Lovely Yuka Uchida - Image from http://www.palladiumboots.com

Yuka Uchida is stunning and the perfect example of the unique beauty that is Japan, Rachel from ilil & Kita Kore are changing Tokyo’s Fashion more and more every single day, Verbal and Yoon are doing an amazing job of using their power to show off and give opportunity to so many up and coming talented artists and designers in Tokyo.

Of course the music throughout is Trippple Nippples and so is the insane performance at the end! They are 6 of the most authentic people I have ever met and they are the soundtrack to the magic that has been happening in Tokyo as of late!

Trippple Nippples private show at Trump Room was Super Duper Fun!!! - image by http://www.palladiumboots.com

Thanks to Palladium Boots to make so many of us in Tokyo so proud and for showing the world what the magic is all about!

Awwwwwgust! ♫ ♫

iamamberjoy — Sat, 27 Aug 2011 02:36:01 +0000

Summer is going to be gone before we know it; the days will get cooler, I’ll stop sweating like crazy and the evenings spent sitting on the rooftop watching the sun go down over the city will be long gone. So enjoy it while you got it.

A mixtape for the sweaty nights of August! Download it here…

♫ ♫ Awwwwwwgust Mix Tape! ♫ ♫

Back on the Horse!

iamamberjoy — Thu, 25 Aug 2011 01:54:28 +0000

You know how some things just seem to slip away? You just wake up one day and all of a sudden things look different? I’m not talking about those nights that get “a little out of hand” and you wake up somewhere you don’t belong…those days are over (wink). But you know how something triggers you to realize that your life doesn’t look quite how you last left it…you upgraded, you slummed it a little and you seem to have lost some of that precious time of yours.

Try throwing yourself into an insanely HOT summer in Tokyo where days become hours and the copious amount of sweat pouring down your body seems to take some of your brains & soul with it as it drips onto the steaming pavement. Basically I am blaming the heat and insanity if Tokyo summer for my hiatus. Not to mention the new sizzling tall drink of water in my life.

All excuses aside, Friday night at the SWAGGER Party, just 1 of 4 “must attend” parties in Tokyo that night, my friend Yu chan from Bambi&Faline asked my why I haden’t blogged since Okinawa? Holy Banannas! The horror! When one of the raddest girls in Tokyo calls you on the fact that you have lost track of time, you are totally busted! So here I am. Back on the horse! Yippee!

Here’s a lil photo diary of what has been shaking down in the wonderful world of moi. I promise, the coming posts will be a lot less scattered and a lot more frequent! Mwwah!

On a lone wolf wander too Kamakura, I stumbled upon a crazy water matsuri (festival) and ended up spending the entire evening drinking Nihonshuu with incredible grannies and gramps!

Who knew one, ok two, banana treats could make a girl so happy?!?!This man was almost as obsessed with me any my purple hair as I was with him and his…This sign actually says “CHEESE BALL”! Need I say more?The Magic of Light & Wonder!Haunted house….Tokyo Antique Jambouree. Try spending hours drooling over the most amazing antiques & only going home with one little treasure. Gypsys don’t have homes, remember!A day with the fishies!Took a slowboat home.

Kabuki!Magu…aka Magblue!Mademoiselle Yulia’s new album launch party! おめでとう！！！ Just the begnning of her tour with the amazing Trippple Nippples. I am so blessed to have such talented amigos.

Cult signs…oops! I mean gang signs.Angry Young Robotz Tour Tokyo…backstage with the maga babes Yuka, Qrea & Nabe…aka Tripple Nippples! Such an insane show, I had to escape the messy mosh pit cause I thought my earing had ripped out and blood pouring down my neck. Real life, sweat was running down my neck and I am getting a little too old for mosh pits. Ha!The weather in Tokyo had been pretty obscure this summer and the little quakes and shakes keep on happening. But the skies are gorgeous and as always, so are the people.

XOXO

Oh-Oh-Oh Okinawa. Part 2.

iamamberjoy — Sun, 10 Jul 2011 02:55:51 +0000

It’s hotter than hell in Tokyo this weekend, and there is no cool weather at the end of this hot, humid, summer tunnel. Yesterday as I walked the streets of Aoyama, I could feel the heat from the sun above me contesting with the heat from the payment below, and man oh man was it a sweaty one!

All I can think of now is that blue ocean that I was swimming in only 7 days ago in Okinawa, the southern islands of Japan…was it even real?? I am now fantasizing all the big buildings, loud music and dirty hot concrete of Shibuya being washed away and replaced by a turquoise sea full of beautiful fishies and bright coral…

A storm a brewing and a beautiful scene for our ocean side breakfast!

Trying to decide if the storm was going to come our way...

One of the eeriest, most amazing moments of my life, waiting for the storm

The storm passed and we went searching for another beach on the island....it was like a whole different land. Different sand, sunshine and flying humans!

Time for another amazing dinner....mmmm mmmmm

A bit of Amomori (the worlds strongest Japanese booze) and redbull...next thing we new, we were rocking out in islands one and only kareoke booth.

I went on a little adventure, exploring the amazing old neighbourhoods on Kume Jima....felt like a different world

さとうきび！　Sugar cane everywhere!!!!

Really, nothing about this felt like Japan....except that tree.

All the houses which looked empty with no windows, all had voices coming from the inside, except this one. But I am still not convinced that it was uninhabited!

Laundry day.

Our last day on the beach. We found this little piece of heaven without a sould in sight!

This is what I want Shibuya to turn into!

We waited all day for the tide to go out so the sea snakes would leave us alone and Leon could swim to the other side!

It was so hard to walk away from this gorgeous ocean!

Pineapple Fields!

Sayonara Okinawa Pineapple Party!

Still hoping that Shibuya warps into Okinawa overnight….

A girl can dream can’t she???