From the 53rd Floor of Roppongi Hills

 Tokyo Tower.

Rainbow Bridge.

Plane arriving at Haneda International Airport.

 The National Art Center, Tokyo

The American Embassy Housing Compound.

 Tokyo Sky Tree.

Happy hour at the bar on the 53rd floor. Takes you away from the larger and more crowded mock-Irish bar on the same floor.

 Cluster of buildings in Shinjuku, with Shinjuku Gyoen Park in the middle ground.

Geihinkan -- the State Guest House, otherwise known as Akasaka Palace.

Shinjuku buildings at night. The one with the spire is the NTT DoCoMo Yoyogi Building.

Yayoi Kusama and Roppongi Hills

The mammoth Love exhibit, which Yayoi Kusama's works were a part of, ended on September 1 after an almost six-month run on the 53rd floor of Roppongi Hills.

 I suppose these dots are gone by now.

 There was even a mini-cafe inspired by her work.

 The only part of the exhibit where photos were allowed.

Venice Beachfront Houses

The houses that face Venice Beach. I find them almost comical, because they seem a bit too spot-on, feeding a bit too much into the fantasy of having a beachfront house. (A true luxurious beachfront house would have much less foot traffic going on around it, no?) I'm guessing most of these are rentals.

 

According to Venicebeachfront.com, a three-bedroom is $4000 per week; a two-bedroom, $2500 per week; and a studio, $1500.

A sampling of the nearby area:

A motorized skateboard is just lazy.

The setting isn't complete without the cat curled up on the chair.

A beach-friendly wheelchair. Great invention!

Local father and son with major dreads.

Even at $3000 a week, the power lines nearby look like this.

Buddha in the yard.

A torii shrine gate in the yard, which was a head-scratcher.

Someone's portable home in front of the rental houses.

Window-gazing through Venice Boulevard Shops

Taken while walking down one side of Venice Boulevard. The other side similarly had beautiful restaurants and quirky shops. All the stores were closed, but I would not mind spending a day walking up and down the street and browsing the shops sometime!

It says Lady Gaga on the crown.

LA Touches

Koreantown and the Hollywood sign, coexisting.

Zen living in Venice.

 

Teena Marie, larger than a billboard.

The lobby of SAG-AFTRA, with Katherine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy.

The lobby of the building.

There were a lot of poor trees busting out of their cement confines. I suppose it says something about how long it has been since they were planted, because I have never seen Tokyo trees in this situation.

There was a pet store above this Starbucks.

Each bus stop bench in Hancock Park had a different design.

Your eye almost doesn't go to the fake person standing at the edge of the building.

A dump of a car that wouldn't pass inspection in Japan (although I rather like it).

Endlessly fascinated by American versions of sushi. I think they're delicious, even if other Japanese people consider them sacreligious.

Fried sushi!

Vegan sushi! You'd be laughed out of the industry if you tried to make this a thing in Japan. We are not as vigilant about our carbohydrates as America is.