JAPAN: Hina Matsuri Festival

March 3rd: Hina-Matsuri (Doll Festival) | Kyushu: Land of Hina Matsuri

P L A Y T I N E R A R I E S : Playgrounds Worth A Trip

Parque Gulliver in Valencia, Spain
Adventure Playgrounds
Puckelball Pitch in Malmö, Sweden
Showa Kinen Park, Tokyo
City Museum in St. Louis Missouri

AROUND THE WORLD IN MOVIES: Babies

dvd | Blu-ray | instant video rent
The babies in Babies are four newborns, photographed in their natural habitat in distinctly different parts of the world. Hattie is in San Francisco, Mari’s in Tokyo, Baryarjargal lives out in the Mongolian steppes, and Ponijao is born amid the simple straw huts of Namibia.

WORLD HERITAGE CALENDAR: April 2011

TSUNAMI WARNING

Tsunami Damage to Japanese Coast
Japan Quake May Have Shortened Earth Days, Moved Axis
How Shifting Plates Caused the Earthquake and Tsunami in Japan
Quake Moves Japan Closer to U.S. and Alters Earth’s Spin
Magnitude 8.9 – NEAR THE EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN
2011 Japanese Earthquake and Tsunami: google Crisis Response
Live Seismic Data From Japan
JEWISH FEDERATIONS ORGANIZES RELIEF FOR VICTIMS OF EARTHQUAKE AND TSUNAMI IN JAPAN, HAWAII AND THE PACIFIC

• Santa Cruz County Road Closure List
• Tsunami warning closes local beaches, Great Highway
• Tsunami warning listed for California Coast, including Davenport and Monterey
• Tsunami warning north of Santa Barbara County
• Tsunami Warning Issued for Hawaiian Islands After Massive Earthquake Rocks Japan

Earthquake Safety
Tsunami Safety Rules
Idea Index Solutions for Natural Disasters

WALLPAPER CITY GUIDES

A R T I T I N E R A R I E S : Famous Views of Edo

Brooklyn Museum Online Exhibition:
  Hiroshige’s One Hundred Famous Views of Edo

hiroshige.org.uk

A R T I T I N E R A R I E S : JAPANESQUE

W H A T :    The Japanese Print in the Era of Impressionism
W H E N :    October 16, 2010 – January 9, 2011
W H E R E : Legion of Honor, San Francisco, CA

Japanesque introduces audiences to the development of the Japanese print over two centuries (1700–1900) and reveals its profound influence on Western art during the era of Impressionism. This exhibition of 250 works on paper complements the de Young Museum’s presentations of Post-Impressionist paintings from the Musée d’Orsay, many of which are aesthetically indebted to concepts of Japanese art.

M O R E : Families with Children

• Aspects of Mount Fuji in Japanese Illustrated Books from the Arthur Tress Collection
• JAPANESE WOODBLOCK PRINTS AND RTI blog
• Japanese woodblock prints and RTI video

 

E V E N   M O R E :
Finally made it to this wonderful, albeit crowded at times, exhibition.
Last visit just before closing time was best. Watched the Japanese woodblock prints and RTI video couple of times, such a revealing view into one of Hirosada’s prints and the Japanese wood block printmaking!

Took a glimpse at the wood block printing demonstrations by artist Tomoko Murakami, playing I SPY Japanese in the Decorative Arts galleries and figure drawing was much fun too.

Another favorite of the visit, the Porcelain Gallery:

Also, discovered a new playground in Lincoln Park, the playground with a … flower twist. And still on the wishlist, Lands End hike.

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S M A R K E T : TRAVEL PLATES

S M A R K E T : Around the World Stacking Mugs