March 11, 2009
Asakusa
So yeah, I happened to be in Tokyo at the time of the yearly Hagoita (badminton racquet?) festival. Hardly sports equipment, these boards are decorated with intricate embroidery in the form of women in Kimonos and white makeup or actors from Kabuki theatre.
So Isuzu, her husband and I ventured out to Asakusa (Ginza line, last stop)
We ate Fried Manju (wow, Linda just exploded with joy) and Kaminari Okoshi; hard rice/bean sweets. Both were delicious
After this, we had eel for dinner (further Linda explosions) and wandered around a bit.
Basically, Asakusa is your one stop shop for all kinds of Japanese souvenirs. “Ninjya” shoes, sake bottles shaped like gourds, prints (the cheap kind, mind you) and dolls are all on offer for visitors. This means you will see many many foreigners here, all with terrible or no Japanese skills. I find this entertaining; not sure if that’s weird.
“So this is like, a shrine?”
It’s a temple, actually. Sensoji is large, red, and very famous. One of the main attraction is the How-is-it-being-held-up-it’s-fucking-huge Lantern at the front gates. Walking through that leads to an elegant display of true Japanese culture souvenir shops.
My tip? Only go there for the relatives or friends you feel obligated to get generic gifts for…or for intentionally tacky souvenirs.
Nest stop: HAKUBA!
March 1, 2009
Takarazuka
Apologies, I just remembered that I did do something new and interesting after adventures with Tarou and Souda. I went to a Takarazuka performance.
Because of the strictly Male-only Kabuki theatre (which is one of the main causes of the cross-dressing phenomena now seen in the Japanese entertainment industry), a Female-only theatre was set up which was called the Takarazuka. People in Takarazuka have to be gorgeous and sing, dance, and act. They put on large, glamorous productions and have been doing so for many decades.
The reason why I went along was because my Great Aunt, a massive lifelong fan of Takarazuka, told me that an iconic old theatre in Shinjuku was about to close down. This was the Koma Gekijyou (Top [like a spinning top, so name because the stage has a number of sections that spin] Theatre) in Kabukicho, well kown as a rather sleazy area of central Tokyo. More about that later.
So I sat down in the magnificent theatre, wondering why anyone would want to demolish it and build a new one. My great aunt me told me of times when there was a weekly Takarazuka radio program with singing and other entertainment. She sang me the theme song. I was also told that one of my mother’s cousins, the beloved Seio-san (now one of the excecutives at Mitsubishi and yet still only able to afford a 5 room apartment) used to perform in the Koma Theatre as a child actor. Yet another person in my massive family who is into the arts. I guess this explains why mother think it’s a shame that I want to be a Psychologist when I can sing and dance. More about that in another post, perhaps. So, while trying to imagine Middle Aged and portly Seio as a small child in Period dramas, the show started.
And I was completely blown away. There were large dance numbers about Sukiyaki, and at least 4 subplots all kept together with surprising strength. The show was about, of all things, Takarazuka during World War 2. There was much underlying sadness and resentment about the war. and then someone announced that they had to become a famous Takarazuka star quickly, as they had a terminal disease.
Cue Clare desperately trying not to cry. Terminal disease is a cheap shot damnit *sniff*. That, and long dialogue about performing on stage being the best part of life and the girl wanting to die on stage at the end of a big number.Then a scene where the girl, lying in bed, with her fellow performers singing the song she loved most.
Cue Clare crying her eyes out. Blast.
So the show ended, and I was in love. Shame I fell in love with a theatre that was due for demolition in the following weeks. Mmm, spinny theatre.
Isuzu, my great aunt, told me that her friend owned a nearby Tonkatsu (Crumb fried pork) restaurant so we went there for dinner. Doing so meant we had to walk through a large crowd of hosts. Unfortunately they ignored me (rejected ;_;) so I can not report on their luring techinques. I can note appearance.
- They all had similar hair, and this in turn was similar to Mimasaku Akira’s hair in the first seasonof Hanadan
-
Host hair. But it was pointier at the top
- Most of them had expensive, tailored, shiny suits
- Pointy shoes. So very very (very) pointy o_O.
- Oh, and they were all mildly attractive, if kinda sleazy looking.
- Pointy pointy pointy
Isuzu and I walked through the group completely unharmed. How disappointing.
Tonkatsu = delicious. Especially the Tonkatsu in Kabukicho. Omunomu
Next time I post, it will be about Hakuba. Until then~
February 18, 2009
Shinjuku with Daijirou
Hah, my second cousin (Daijirou) intended to meet me at 2.15 in Shinjuku
He was late and, aware of the punctuality-is-God thing that the Japs have going I was rather worried. Turned out that he got lost.
We walked around Shinjuku for a bit, got rather off-track, and ended up walking around the train line in the rain.
He admitted that he hadn’t known of my existence before the previous week, when his father announced it to Daijirou that he was to guide me around Tokyo for a couple of hours. I doubt that this meant getting us completely lost, but that happened anyway.
We finally ended up close to where we started, a Maccas right by the train station, where Daijirou said he would like to meet my (and his) great Aunt Isuzu. So we went to Numa (numa)bukuro, where she fed us both until I could hardly stand.
Afterwards, I got a call from Daijirou’s father (My Mother’s cousin) apologising for his son’s incompetence.
“Getting you lost and then eating Isuzu’s food? Stupid son” etc etc etc.
I heard this same thing at least 3 times, from different people quoting him.
Tomorrow? Adventures with another 2nd cousin (Daijirou’s older brother) and his friend.
Oh, just a warning. I will be inserting photos in past blog posts, so keep an eye out for the changes/ improvements.
Meguro, Ikebukuro
Hey folks, little bit pissed of that the first draft of this disappeared in a blaze of computer failure, but I will soldier on and write it again.
I went to Meguro (via the yamanote line). After a disastrous attempt to read a map, I went west instead of east. Whoops. In my walk west I went past a nature park (closed for the end of year) and a modern art museum (1000 yen admission, urgh). But I was intent on finding my original destination, The Meguro Parasitological Museum, which meant doubling back and walking an extra kilometre. Only to find the Museum was closed. Not my lucky day.
So, defeated and tired, I retreated to a nearby internet cafe. 600 yen for an hour =S but free drinks; mmmm cold tea.
Then I jumped back on the yamanote line, this time going in the opposite direction, and went to Ikebukuro.
Ikebukuro
Lonely Planet, bless its informative paper soul, had told me of Namco Namjatown, a theme park of sorts in Sunshine City, a massive shopping complex in Ikebukuro.
To me, Namco (a gaming company) = Katamari, the super special awesome game where one rolls around, picking things up, and gradually getting heffing enormous. So I descended upon Namjatown, hoping Katamari merchandise could be obtained. And LP had promised a Cup Ice (cream) museum. Paying 300yen for entry, I wandered in and was immediately disappointed. The place was far too dark, empty and cold to be inviting. So that was a let down. But, as your dutiful guide, I took a quick tour through the Dessert Area, Gyoza (Dumpling) stadium, and Fortune telling area.
This fortune telling area was full of machines willing to tell you and your hypothetical partner if you were made for each other. Or it would tell you your future, or tell you what illnesses you were susceptible to, like most good machines.
So, after looking at these areas, it as onwards to the ice cream town. Aside from a Turkish man trying to sell me ice cream, it was mostly deserted.
The cup ice museum as entertaining. It sold strange ice cream flavours from all around Japan, and one from the US. To start off with, I bought:
- Garlic flavoured ice cream (the aforementioned US import)
Quickly; kiss me.
and
- Octopus flavoured ice cream
Now folks, here’s a quick public service announcement
NEVER EVER EVER EAT OCTOPUS ICE CREAM.
It tastes half way between soap and rotten fish. Oh god, the taste still gives me nightmares; it is by far the foulest thing I’ve ever eaten.
I'm surprised that it can be captured in a photo, what with the pure evil that it contains
Let us have a moment of silence for those tastebuds that had to endure the horrors if octopus ice cream…
Minute over. Garlic ice cream didn’t have an overpowering taste or smell, but I had terrible breath afterwards.
For my great aunt and uncle, I brought home
- Sweet Potato ice cream (Delicious, my favourite ice cream flavour ever)
Omunomunomu
- Sunflower ice cream (Great Aunt liked it)
Made with the petals, I think. Has embedded seeds
- Rice ice cream (thin flavour; contains hard, whole rice grains)
Trivia: The big character in the middle, 'rice', is also the character that represents the US in Japanese news and general writing. Not sure why
- Shark Fin ramen flavour (can’t tell what it tasted like, someone ate it without telling us how it was)
Delicious, I'm sure >_>
- Pumpkin flavoured (looked and tasted great)
Yay
- and a few others I can’t remember, will look through photos later and update- Aha! Photos say:
- Tofu ice cream
Quite good, apparently
- Corn ice cream
Other flavours I saw in the museum of horrors
- Crab
- Sea Urchin
- Squid
- Sanma (type of fish)
- Beef tongue
- Soybean paste ramen flavour
;___________; Can’t imagine what they might have tasted like.
So, with the horrible taste still in my mouth, I left Ikebukuro. The next day I would be meeting one of my 20 second cousins, and was looking forward to it
December 12, 2008
Goth-loli, bitchez
Hello everyone. I went to Harajuku today; shopping there is always always entertaining. Having existed in relative obscurity until Gwen Stefani introduced it to the western world, it is considered a teen fashion capital.
Things to do/Places to go:
- Takeshita doori- this bent road is home to many small shops offering relatively inexpensive clothes, and knock-offs of the latest trends.
Really long socks, anyone?
"Pardon Meeee, I'm hitting on you."
- Laforet Building – it is worth going there for the imaginative shop names (Like Jane Marple, and Malko Malko) many shops may contain ‘free’ (F) size clothing, but they’re only for small people.
- Aoyama Doori- this shopping street is lined with designer stores and has many flagship stores of Japanese designers such as Issey Miyake, Comme de Garcons and A Bathing Ape. I bought my lunch from here
My Lunch, bought from an upmarket bakery
- Jingu-Bashi- On Sundays, this bridge becomes a fashion parade for cosplayers and those in -loli (Lolita) gear.
- Meiji Jingu – Nice shrine, lovely garden/grounds
- Condomania- Need I say more? It’s more an oddity than an actual thing to, er, do.
Shopping (window and otherwise) is nice here, and you can look at the unique style of the Tokyonese teenagers. Get into the spirit of it by buying a crepe from a shop on Takeshita doori and dodging gaijin who have been hired to try and sell street gear to people on the street.
Oh, and the name of this post refers to my purchase of a Goth-loli outfit. It only cost 4000yen, which pleases me.
December 10, 2008
Undead Panda, pretty please
Wow, the bathtub just started playing music and talking, to announce that it was at the right temperature. Go Japan.
More interesting facts about Japan
- Well, the singing bathtub is pretty interesting
- Due to the smaller meal sizes and healthy nature of Japanese food, I have already lost something close to a kilo. Japanese food is nice ^^. There will be a separate post describing different types, what I have eaten etc.
- This is less a fact than a warning, and the warning is about creepy people. Today, I accumulated no less than 2 stalkers. One of them approached me on the steps of a temple. The following conversation occured. ‘(In Japanese) It’s hot today, isn’t… oh (upon seeing my face, he switches to English) Hello, how are you? Where are you from? Looking at Ueno park today? I will follow you.’ Clare: *Hurries away* I thought I had lost him , but later he walked by me again, staring and leering. The second man happened to be sitting down near me when I sat to write down, of all things, a draft for this blog post. He started to stare at me, continued to do so, and then disappeared. He then mysteriously appeared in front of me and, standing slightly to my right, he stood and continued to stare at me. These incidences were both, naturally, rather unnerving. Oh and there was a guy on a train with his phone camera aimed directly at me, but that may have just been me being paranoid.
This slightly detracted from my day trip to UENO, specifically Ueno park, which houses many museums, temples, shrines and art galleries and even has a music hall (said to have perfect acoustics) and a Zoo.
Places to go:
- Ueno Zoo: The main attraction of this Zoo was the giant Pandas, but as I bought my ticket I noticed a small sign announcing that the Zoo no longer housed pandas, which saddened me.
Though the Pandas are dead, it seems the merchandise must go on
Apparently the last one they had had died. But, being a fan of animals, I walked around anyway and saw a bird that looked very close to my image of a Jabberwocky.
Do you see it too?
There were also 2 hippos lying in the sun, napping, with the dopiest grins on their faces.
N'aww
Also, I bought a chameleon hand puppet, the significance of which is lost on anyone who has not watched Hanayoridango.
- Ueno Museum of Western Art: Pretty and well laid out, and houses a number of Renaissance era paintings and some Impressionists.
In the front area of the Museum of Western Art
- Ueno National Museum: I did not go there today because of the very long queue but the queue, and other sources, suggest that it is worth looking at. Get there EARLY or face queuing with a bunch of people that will make you feel very very tall and conspicuous.
- Walking along ‘Doubutsuen dori’ (Zoo road) you will come across a number of shrines and temples. The shrines are generally marked by large red ‘torii’, tall gateways/entrances. My picks? Go to Toshogu and Bentendo. Toshogu is, in a word, amazing, though my view may be biased by my love for the Tokugawa period. This shrine was built for Tokugawa Ieyasu’s spirit. Though entry into the grounds
Taken from the grounds of Toshogu
is free, for 200 yen you may enter inside the shrine . and by may I mean MUST. The inside contains a number of artworks and other things from the Tokugawa period (my personal favourite was an old map of Japan, engraved on a round slab of stone). The bulding itself has beautfiul ornate carvings around the edge of the ceilings. The outside of the building is surrounded by a pebble garden, looked after by an old man in a robe wielding a homemade broom.
Toshogu: unaltered since the Tokugawa period.
Bentendo is a temple for Benten, a patron goddess to the arts. It is surrounded by a lake which, in spring and summer, comes to life with beautiful lotus flowers. You can rent a rowboat or paddleboat and go out onto the lake, though you will need a few friends to accompany and assist. While walking between these two places, you will find a shrine, the entrance of which is a tunnel of torii. This makes for both an interesting walk and an interesting photo.
Shrine entrance with Torii
NEW segment: Things you must try
- Japanese bath
- Japanese tempura
- Tachgui soba/udon (literally: stand and eat noodles)
- Ride the Yamanote train line the whole way round; this train stops at all the major hubs of Tokyo, so you can look at the various parts. It is a circular line, so you can rest assured that you won’t end up somewhere crazy.
- Ramen. Find a nice place, sit and eat.
- Japanese sweets are unique, unusual, and utterly delicious. They centre around red bean paste and black sesame, as well as custard type things and sweet biscuits. I found a Rice Bran kit kat today; you will notice that kit kat has a number of special, Only in Japan flavours like Cherry Blossom, Rice bran and green tea even
- Cold tea is delicious in any form, grab some from your friendly local vending machine.
- Dango.
The food items will be explained in tomorrow’s edition: Japanese food, how and what to eat.
That’s all for now; tomorrow will not be very eventful but on Friday I will be going to HARAJUKU; teen fashion capital of Japan.
Good night folks
December 9, 2008
In Numa(numa) bukuro
Hello everyone!
Sorry about the lack of dream chapters, but I have recently forgotten how certain parts of it connect. When I do remember, I will post right away.
I have now managed to escape from the Australian summer by flying to Japan. But this means I am away from Cordell ;-;. I am currently in Tokyo, a vast grey city that probably doesn’t mind being mispronounced as often as it is.
Flying here was uneventful. It was an overnight flight though, which meant I had to get some semblance of rest; this resulted in me resting my head on the seat in front of me (face smooshed into the tv screen no less), possibly scaring the person I was sitting next to.
I will try and make the rest more like a travel guide, instead of a travel diary.
TOKYO; a 外人 guide
Interesting facts:
- Trains always (ALWAYS) run on time. The 7:44 Narita (Tokyo airport) express will be at the airport, ready to board, at 7:44 precisely.
- Once you walk into the basement level of big department stores, you will never want to leave. EVER. Food glorious food, all perfectly presented, and overflowing with sweet and savoury, cute and austere. I bought Pasta Sombreros.
- The Japanese, as is well known, are obsessed with the cute and sometimes creepy. This can clearly be seen in the Tokyo district of Akihabara
AKIHABARA – the place for those obsessed with technology/computers, and want to have a look at Japan’s, erm, ‘quirky’ side
Things to do
- Walk along the streets and side streets. Here, everything from inexpensive plug adaptors to cameras to USB drives to bright flashing lights and laptops can be found. It’s nice to look around and peer over the electrical goods. As I walk past one of the shops, I watched a small man disappear under the counter, in a gap that was a bit taller than my knee (so, a bit less than a metre) and could only have been 50cms wide. and then he didn’t reappear on the other side, which was also somewhat surprising.
- Go into the large, aesthetically pleasing buildings that line the streets. These are full of MP3 players, headphones, computers, laptops, TVs, mobile phones, and many other brightly coloured things.
^^ great design and several floors of electronics. This is where I got my sparkly in-ear headphones
- If you are feeling brave, you may be interested in going into Cosplay shops and Maid Cafes. I found one that housed both, but did not investigate the Maid Cafe any further than the entrance, where my camera was glared at. My camera then felt embarrassed and couldn’t be coaxed out of its hiding place. The Maid Cafe was in the middle of a large cosplay shop, which was full of Maid Outfits and other related paraphernalia. I also saw a number of other Maid cafes, where the entrances were clogged with intrigued foreigners who were waiting for a seat. PLACES: For *cough* a possibly more authentic and less obvious Maid cafe, try the Don Kihoote (Don Quixote) building, which is marked by a large sign with the name in katakana （ドン・キホーテ） and there is also a large penguin wearing a hat on the signs. It is on the fifth floor. Another one is found just off the main street of Akihabara; look for the lines of bemused foreigners.
No cameras? Whoops, me no speeeku Engrishu
- Buy Novelty Sweets: Now, for those with a sweet tooth, I can recommend a few ‘Only in Akihabara’ sweets/cakes. Previously, the Japanese public learnt that a certain politician, Taro Aso, was a fan of anime and manga. This meant that the Akihabara folk immediately took a liking to him, which led to (of course) Taro-chan Manju (the -chan on the end is, generally, an honorific used for small children and young women on the end of their names and is a term of endearment. In this case, chan is used for Taro Aso because he is dear to everyone, being a politician. To a lesser extent it is also taking the piss, in the sense that he is not really small and cute, and should possibly be treated with more respect). These are small cakes with his face printed on the wrapper. Then Taro Aso became Prime Minister, which meant that the Akihabara folk had to extend the range to include rice biscuits, small cakes with sesame (black and white) and casutera,a type of cake that is popular in Japan. Also, why not try the ‘Sayonara Jun-Chan Manju’? That literally translates to ‘Goodbye Junichiro Koizumi (shortened to Jun-chan, see above) Cake’. There is a picture of Jun-chan as a ninja on the back of the box, which I must take a good photo of and use as an avatar.
Our dear, sweetened (sorry) Prime Minister
Goodbye, competence
Stealth Competence!
- If you are into electronics in any way, Go to the Yodabashi Camera building. Just go, and stare in wonder at the many many floors of electronics and electronic accessories. It has its own travel agency, cafe and bookstore. It is Heaven for computer people. I bought myself a USB drive shaped like a hot dog
My new USB. Cute, ne?
And what does ‘Dissidia Final Fantasy Potion’ (sold in stores in Akihabara in attractive cans for 200yen) taste like? Grape, apparently. Not very exciting, or potion-like. I have a can for whoever comments the nicest on this post whom I happen to know, of course) who wants it.
Helpful Hints:
- Carry a supermarket green bag or some other carry bag with you if you intend to shop for a long time; otherwise the handles of the shopping bags will cut into your hand and be quite painful. Also, this can be used for any layers of clothing you remove in shops (see below)
- SUICA passes are the way to go. These are the Ultimate Metro Card, and can be purchased from any ticket counter and specialised SUICA booths. It works on a credit system; you pass it over a sensor as you enter a station, and pass it over again as you exit the station of your destination. All the cool kids use it, and it saves having to search through the rail map to find your station and the price of the ticket every time you use the railways.
- Each train line may have a number of possible routes. Be sure to suss out which train is best for you.
- If you look foreign, no matter how hard you try to speak Japanese, people will always try to answer your question in Japanese AND English. This is sometimes helpful, and sometimes comical. If you want English instructions, you may want to find store-people who are yelling things out in English, or people walking down the street who look like tourists who know what they’re doing.
- Wear a number of layers, whatever suits the day’s weather, but remember to have a t shirt underneath, and make sure you can carry your outer layers. This is because the heating in large buldings is on at full blast and even wearing a thin jumper in these buildings can be uncomfortable
- People may come up to you, trying to speak English. My tip, if you don’t want to talk to them, is say ‘Espanol? Espanol?’ and try and get away.
- Using a mobile phone on a train may get you glared at.
- Don’t mind the staring; you will get used to it eventually. Tokyo isn’t too bad on the foreigner front.
I also went to Shinjuku, but I did not stay there for long. The Station is huge; be sure to exit in the right place or you may end up 30minutes away from your destination. The department stores are pretty, and the shops in the station itself are worth looking at.
That’s all for now ^^, tomorrow I’ll be going to Ueno, to the PANDAS and the National Museum.
Good night.
Oh and the title refers to the area I am currently staying in, Numabukuro
