Hacoa Wasurena painted with Red Urushi!!!

Back in February, I was looking for a rather special base for my nanoblock Himeji castle (earlier post). As usual, I did a lot of search but I couldn't find what exactly I was looking for. Then I got an idea... a Hacoa Wasurena (earlier post) in square shape... perhaps even painted with urushi!

My contact in Hacoa was so kind that accepted my request to create such a unique item for me!!! I opted for red urushi (earlier post) as I wanted it to be truly special. Urushi-oil lacquerware is pretty special for Japanese people and in my opinion, a very fine example of Japanese craftsmanship.

On Friday, I received my custom Wasurena and I have to admit that it is by far the most special item I ever had!!! It is simply amazing, I cannot use any other words in order to describe it! The surface is so smooth and reflective like a mirror!!!

I consider myself as a very lucky man and it is truly an honor to possess such a special and beautiful item :-)

ハコア、本当にありがとう！ ！ ！ 

Lego CUUSOO Hayabusa

This set has nothing to do with Japanese products or any kind of craftmanship, but it fits nicely with my nanoblock collection and in particular with the Space Center deluxe set (earlier post)!

Lego parts look massive compared to the tiny nanoblock bricks, but it's a nice set to have. It is a CUUSOO set, represening the JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) asteroid explorer Hayabusa, and it came straight from Japan... as usual.

Building it was not a thrill and althought the result looks good, nanoblock sets are much more challenging and feel more mature!