berikut ini tempat-tempat yang sangat terkenal dan ramai dikunjungi oleh orang-orang Jepang bahkan orang asing

1. Akihabara
Akihabara merupakan salah satu kota di jepang yang memiliki toko-toko elektronik terbanyak dan terbesar. Akihabara pun sangat terkenal di Jepang bahkan seluruh dunia telah mengenal Akihabara sebagai kota elektronik terbesar dan terlengkap….(! ,^so tau gw y…)

Akihabara sebenarnya terletak di tengah metropolitan Tokyo, tepatnya di Distrik Chiyoda (bagi yang pengen kesana bilang aja ke alamat situ). Orang Jepang biasa menyebut kota tersebut dengan singkatan “Akiba”. Kalau pengen nyari barang-barang elektronik terbaru dan terbesar bisa nyari aja di Yodobashi-Akiba, Laox dan Softmap. Di sana juga terdapat banyak penggemar anime yang berseliweran di jalan ( mereka sering disebut otaku ) yang memakai dandanan persis seperti idolanya dalam anime. Di sana banyak aksesoris dan kostum anime maka tak salah kota tersebut juga sering disebut kotanya anime.

2. Ikebukuro
Lha ini dia kota yang sama seperti Akihibara, kota surganya para penggemar anime dan manga. Banyak sekali toko-toko di sana menjual banyak pernak-pernik yang berbau anime dan manga (kartun-kartun jepang gitu…). Di Ikebukuro ini terdapat toko anime terbesar mungkin di seluruh Jepang yakni Animate. Walaupun Animate memiliki banyak cabang di Jepang tapi Animate di Ikebukuro inilah pusatnya dan yang paling besar. Di Animate dijual mulai dari komik, artbook, DVD, VCD, CD, figurine sampai merchandise unik dapat kalian temukan disini.

3. Shibuya
Shibuya merupakan salah satu kawasan yang terletak di kota Tokyo yang banyak didatangi dan dikunjungi masyarakat Jepang bahkan kota ini juga banyak dikunjungi oleh warga asing yang sedang pergi ke Jepang. Shibuya dikenal sebagai kotanya anak muda, karena kota ini sangat digemari dan digandrungi oleh anak-anak muda, karena kota ini dipenuhi dengan bermacam-macam departemen store dan pertokoan, berbagai macam hiburan ada di kota ini, banyak tempat makan yang serba ada dari yang murah sampai yang mahal. Kota Shibuya pun menjadi pusat keluarnya model-model busana dan keluarnya trend-trend baru, maka tidak salah anak-anak muda suka jalan-jalan di kota ini. Dan jika kalian kesana jangan heran saat melihat banyaknya orang-orang yang menunggu dan menyebrang di lampu merah ( banyaknya minta ampun sampai terheran-heran saya lho(belum pernah kesana sih….^, ^!).

Kota tersebut siaga 24 jam karna tak perah sepi.

3. Shinjuku
Shinjuku merupakan salah satu nama kota yang sangat terkenal di Tokyo. Shinjuku merupakan simbol kota metropolitan di Jepang yang sangat ramai di datangi oleh masyarakat Jepang dari berbagai golongan, baik tua muda ataupun kalangan orang kaya sampai gembel ada di sini. Shinjuku sama dengan Shibuya yaitu kota yang selama 24 jam selalu siaga 1 tidak pernah sepi dan mati aktivitasnya. Di waktu pagi hari kota shinjuku ini terkenal dengan dunia shopingnya, karena semua barang yang di inginkan tersedia di sini, dan toko yang ada di Shinjuku ini sangat banyak, jadi kita bisa jalan keluar masuk toko sampe kaki kalian kejang kejang atau bengkek… ledes (wkwkwkwk)….Dan yang seru juga dunia malamnya dengan lampu kota metropolitan yang cantik, dan dunia hiburan yang menarik untuk party time setiap waktu. Shinjuku ini tidak bedanya dengan kota Shibuya, yang membedakaan adalah Shibuya kotanya anak muda sedangkan Shinjuku kota semua golongan dari anak anak sampai kakek-kakek dan nenek-nenek pun mejeng di sana. Shinjuku pusat kota terpadat di Tokyo bahkan kota teramai di Jepang.

4. Nakano Broadway
Nakano Broadway berada tepatnya di pusat kota Nakano. Nakano Broadway merupakan gedung besar yang terdiri dari beberapa lantai. Di dalamnya terdapat toko-toko yang menjual berbagai barang hobi, mulai dari manga, anime, figurine, idol merchandise, military, hingga maid cafe. Nakano Broadway sendiri sering dikenal sebagai ‘gedung otaku’ karena merupakan pusat toko Mandarake di wilayah Tokyo. Mandarake adalah toko yang menjual berbagai macam barang otaku, dari mulai doujinshi, baju cosplay, manga bekas, balljointed doll, hingga mainan yang langka. Selain Mandarake, ada pula toko-toko kecil yang menjual game, figurine, dll. Walaupun disebut gedung otaku, tidak seluruh toko yang ada di sini berhubungan dengan otaku. Di sini kamu juga bisa mencari baju, perhiasan, sepatu, hingga ke tempat kursus nail art! Bahkan kalau kamu merasa lapar setelah seharian ngider, silakan singgah di lantai BF dari Nakano Broadway. Di sini terdapat supermarket yang menjual barang dengan harga lebih murah ketimbang toko 24 jam atau convinience store (orang Jepang menyebutnya ‘konbini’). Juga ada toko cemilan dan es krim yang sangat memikat hati. Nah, silakan mampir!

Udah dulu ya lain kali gw sambung …

Vor ein paar Wochen hatte ich ja schon einmal ein paar Fotos von den hippen Läden im Viereck Shibuya, Harajuku, Omotesando und Aoyama geposted. Heute gibts nochmal Nachschlag. Auffallend sind die innovativen Namen der Geschäfte!

Lost & Found

King Kong und Spiderman sind auch da.

Happy John.

(fashion) Victim Tokyo

Bio ojiyan cafe

Candy Strippers.

Vault.

natuRAL vintage

Extra Dope Wear Select Shop.

Kid Blue.

Ships Jet Blue

"mami s'ght" ist glaube ich ein Friseur.

North Side from the bus.

For people who want a more traditional experience, especially shopping, staying at the station, or heading north is the best way to go.  The Tokyu department store is located above and below Shibuya station.  Heading north from Shibuya crossing will lead you to Seibu and Marui department stores.  All of these shops provide a typical Japanese department store experience.  You can find them in every major centre of Tokyo, and almost every major city in Japan.  However, be sure to explore all of the side streets.  I have visited Shibuya countless times and every corner, every back street, changes constantly.  Many of the old shops have left the northern areas, in favour of more traditional fashion boutiques.  However, if you walk around enough, you’re sure to find a lot of nice shops that even residents who have lived their whole lives have never even found.

Apple Store, Shibuya (Thanks to a friend for the picture)

If you are feeling more adventurous, or you just have too much time on your hands, the areas to the south and east provide a very different feel for Shibuya compared to the north and west areas.  Directly to the east, people tend to associate it with Omotesando.  To the north east, it’s more Harajuku.  To the south, it feels more like Ebisu.  Omotesando is an upscale area that is very akin to Ginza.  The main difference is the affluence.  While Ginza is for people to be seen, and you’ll see a large variety of classes, Omotesando tends to be one class only, rich.  Harajuku was talked a lot by Gwen Stefani for its fashion and need to break away from the normal culture.  The north east corner of Shibuya borders Harajuku, and hence has more in common with that style of fashion.  It is also a location of an infamous park where homeless people tend to live, and rows of yakitori shops similar to the small shops in Shinjuku.  Again, like in Shinjku, I would not recommend them as they tend to be a little expensive, and they may not be so friendly to foreigners.  It’s better to go to Shinjuku.  The south region will see things be more food oriented.  Ebisu tends to have more food shops than anything.  You can also see some interesting fashion outlets, but people tend not to shop here.  There are more apartments than shops, but if you want to go for a nice walk, this area is a nice area.

109 often has various "dynamic" displays

All in all, Shibuya is a place to visit.  It’s noisy, bustling 24 hours a day, and willing to show you new insights into Japan.  Is it a true picture of Japan?  No.  Will you be amazed by the crazy lights, strange people, and wonderful shopping?  Yes.  Make sure you visit during the day and night.  In the day, do your shopping in the north.  At night, return to Centre Gai and take a stroll around the Love Hotel Hill.  Don’t be surprised when you pass expensive cars with blacked out windows parked in front of a sex toy shop

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shibuya,_Tokyo
http://wikitravel.org/en/Shibuya
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e3007.html

このblogは英語のblog。もし私の英語は難しい、日本語のquestionは大丈夫。

Sunday 22nd November (Melbourne time: 18:29 // Kanazawa time: 17:29)
Music: Sounds of a heater (Fwoooooommm—)
Location: My 20^oC bedroom in Kanazawa, sitting on a donut cushion.

I’ve come to the very important realisation that while my phone and laptop say that we are two hours apart, the world clock on my phone says instead that were are one. FFFFFF—now I will be eternally confused. I’ll be thinking, “Oh yeah, it’s one hour behind,” then, “Oh wait, was it two? Oh, but it probably is one. Hm… but then why did I think two? Maybe it really is two…”

Funny thing is, there is no internet for me to check it up with. However, I have learnt new vocabulary today and I’ll use that to console me…

(EDIT: So I checked – it is two. @@)

Day three was Harajuku, Shubuya and Ueno Station. Highlight of the day was definitely Harajuku – SO MUCH STUFF THERE TO BUY.

And of course, you]d expect everything there to be a little quirtky right? I loved the quirkiness! xD

So... the shops were not all like this, I assure you.

EXPENDITURES
One locker fee ¥500
One wasted locker fee ¥500
One Tokyo Metro One Day Ticket ¥710
One「いちごケーキ生クリーム」Crepe ¥490
One Ping Pong keyring ¥350
One Harajuku Crepe keyring ¥294
One Namakemono keyring ¥210
One Onigiri + Ocha keyring ¥210
One round haircomb ¥105
One pair of Stockings ¥500
One shirt and Vest set @ Store My Ducks ¥1050
One skirt @ Store My Ducks ¥3045
Five regular plates @ Tenka Sushi ¥650
Two and a half hours internet @ KaraNET24 ¥750
One (almighty) Melon Pan ¥105
One (also almighty) Tuna Mayonnaise Onigiri ¥100
One Seven Bank handling charge ¥210
One Pink Grapefruit drink ¥147

Total amount spent today: ¥9926

Crepes + Convenience store foods + sushi: ¥1492 (This was breakfast, lunch AND dinner. Not bad, I think. Considering how much I usually spend. :3)
Skirt + shirt + stockings: ¥4595
Others: ¥3839

La actriz Moriguchi Yoko (43) protagonizará el drama diurno Indigo no Yoru que se comenzará a emitir el 5 de enero de 2010 (lunes a viernes; 64 capítulos) por Fuji TV. La historia se desarrolla en un bar para mujeres de Shibuya donde los trabajadores de dicho bar tratan de resolver algunos casos desenvolviéndose como detectives. Además, se tomará en consideración la vida cotidiana de los empleados del club en relación con la investigación. Cada semana habrá un invitado nuevo que se sumará al reparto.

Today I went to Shibuya! My primary motivation to head that way was the World Ends with You, one of my favourite DS games. Nerdy, I know, but hey, that’s the way I am. The crowds were huge, and I think going during the week would have diluted the whole experience. I followed the crowd at first, crossing at the scramble, passing by 109 (104 in game) and up towards Dogenzaka. After that, I found Mark City (Pork City in game). I wandered the back streets, surprising myself with the number of love hotels around, it seemed there was one any time I looked at specific buildings instead of the scene in front of me. Next, a quick peek at the arcade below 109.

At Tokyu Hands (Shibu-Q Heads), I made some unplanned souvenir purchases for friends but one of them was too good to pass up and the others just seemed like things they’d like. On the way to Tower Records (Towa Records), I saw someone dressed in an unusual costume. With the wings on the back, I thought at first it might be a moogle, then I started picking apart all the differences. If anyone knows what that’s supposed to be, leave a comment, eh?

So, Tower Records. It’s huge and full of music, DVDs, and BDs. While on level 4, looking for the soundtracks for TWEWY and Megaman ZX, a woman started a live performance, drawing a small crowd. Unfortunately the soundtrack section appeared to only have movies and anime, no games at all, so I left without anything. On my way back to the scramble I wandered past OICITY (Cadoi City), and saw another live performance. I decided this time to take a look around for Hachiko, and found the Moyai, but not the dog. I figured I’d find it on my next pass and moved along.

Following the back streets, I found a MOS Burger! I had the tobikiri kinokoburger, a kurokke, and white grape soda. I’m not sure where the fries came into things, I didn’t order them but they came with my order. Yay? The kurokke was fine, veggietastic, not sure it warrants its own burger. The kinoko burger, though, was just awesome. I want more of them. Too bad there aren’t any in Canada… maybe something to look into. Or at least I should figure out the ingredients to try and replicate it at home.

I stopped by another arcade and played a couple games, including Beatmania IIDX and Taiko no Tatsujin. I played on beginner and felt a little silly playing at that level, but I couldn’t read the Japanese instructions and wanted to play it safe. I got multiple plays per credit so I was able to try some more challenging stuff.

Some more wandering later, I stopped at HMV (AMX), again looking for soundtracks, but they didn’t even have a soundtrack section. They also had a band playing but they were very loud and I didn’t stay for long. At my next trip to the station, I finally found Hachiko. I imagined he would be larger than he was, but it was cool to find him. Definitely a popular meeting spot and photo op. I had to wait a few minutes to get a clear shot without him being crowded with people.

At this point I was starting to feel I’d had enough of Shibuya and decided to check out the Meiji Shrine before returning to the hotel. So, I wandered off via Miyashita Park (same), which is basically just a bit of green space on either side of the train tracks, not much to see. At the shrine, there were at least two weddings going on, and plenty of people were shooting the processions so I joined the club. I suspected weddings, but didn’t get confirmation for sure until I saw a sign in front of one of the inner buildings, asking visitors to please be deferential to weddings in progress.

I returned to the hotel via Shibuya and here I am. Tomorrow I’m going to check out the cosplayers at Harajuku, then go to Tachikawa for the Final Fantasy Tactics concert.

Photos

Quentin Tarantino talks with Asahi Newspaper journalists about his new film ‘Inglorious Bastards’.

As a child, he used to love playing with GI Joe dolls.

“But I never played ‘war’ with them. I used to re-enact films that I had seen. If I saw a trailer for a film that looked interesting, I would also often imagine the whole plot (using my GI Joe dolls).

Film crazy ‘Little Q’, as he was known as a boy, now does the same thing using real actors. ‘Jackie Brown’ was a black film, ‘Kill Bill’ was Kung Fu, ‘Grindhouse’ was B-grade action. Each of his films are expressions of love for films that have inspired him.

In his new film ‘Inglorious Bastards’, he combines a war film with a spaghetti western. An American army colonel with Apache blood leads a group of Jewish troops against the Nazis.

“Nowadays war films always focus on the hardship of the victims – but it never used to be like that. War films used to be like adventure stories. I began to want to watch those old classics.

His starting point is always the desire to ‘make a film that I want to see’. “The Jews and the Apaches are a resistance force sworn to take revenge” – the comment highlights the mix of genres within his new piece. The films grew to a ridiculous length at first as I tried to get everything I like in there – it could have been a TV mini series for a while back there.”

“I found the way forward when I hit upon a heroic figure who appears in Nazi propaganda films.”

The sub-text of the film is a fight for recognition in Hollywood – US forces against Nazis, a cinema manageress who escaped from the Holocaust vs. the Nazis. The English army man who sympathizes with the US military is represented by the film critics, the spies are beautiful actresses. The explosion of destructive force in the closing scenes celebrates the Jewry who escaped from the Holocaust to Hollywood and became masters of their art.

The music to the film is a collection of pieces from the soundtracks of old films. The film’s theme tune which plays at the opening is ‘The Alamo’ and Tarantino came across it in a record store in Shibuya, Tokyo.

“In fact, I’ve never seen the film, but I knew the song from Kung Fu movies. The tune playing in the Bistro in Paris is also one from an album that I found and bought in Tokyo.”

The screenplay was written at home with various music playing in the background. Music is a kind of memory for the young boy who loves films.

◇

Quentin Tarantino – born 1963, left school in Los Angeles at 16. While working in a video store he started writing screenplays. He made his debut in 1992; in 1994 “Pulp Fiction” won him the Palme D’Ors at the Cannes Film Festival and a US Academy award.

Was bored one day and thus ventured out, on my own, to Shibuya, freshly bought billingual map of Tokyo in hand, to test my directional skills. And maybe do a spot of shopping, too.

When I arrived in Shibuya, immediately exiting from Hachiko Exit, I was faced with a huge crowd. They were forming some kind of cult circle around something, so, doing what most folks woud do, I decided to have a nose. See what was so cool.

Alas, being the midget in a crowd makes taking good snaps somewhat of a challenge…

There must have been some kind of music appreciation ‘do going on down, because after the marching band marched up and away, it was only a couple of minutes until I ran into another band scene!

The banner reads "Shibuya Music Festival". Which expains a lot.

Then there were these guys set up outside of Shibuya 109 (massive, massive department store. Random fact: Japanese department stores do half floors. There’s that much demand for space, there are such things as say, a floor between 2nd and 3rd. Oh, and they use the American system here. Which translates as no ground floor – sacrilige!).

It was a mostly guy band, fronted by this tiny Japanese girl singing her heart out (no really, this girl was practically yelling) to some kind of jazz/Rn’B fusion. I rather liked it, slightly dodgy vocals aside…

Japan – Tokyo, Kyoto, Shibuya – Travel Photography by Martin Worster , originally uploaded by MartinWorster.

Tokyo 2007 with Jose – what a trip…we checked out the cosplay girls – a weird Japanese youth cult where the girls dress up as various characters – goth, burlesque, tart, – etc and stand outside the main park in Tokyo waiting for you to take their photos…

Shibuya in the day/night.
Japan. 05,08

Sorry for the lack of updates lately. I’m just too tired to blog after work nowadays …*lame excuse

oh. I had some friends visiting me last weekend so I brought them around Tokyo a little bit. Wanna know where we went?

1st day

Well. I meet up with them on Saturday and we started our day at Tsukiji fish market.

Tsukiji fish market

++++        Had sushi for breakfast.       +++

Sushi at Tsukiji fish market

Then we walked to the Kabuki theatre at Ginza and watched a Kabuki play.

168 days, counting down to the last performance at Kabukiza. They are going to demolish & rebuild it.

After that we walked around Ginza.

It's quite unsual to see those Japan flags hanging around the streets of Ginza.

After Ginza, we walked to Yurakucho station （有楽町）and took the train to Tamachi　（田町）. Had tempura don for lunch and took a walk at Keio University （慶応大学）.

The old library building of Keio University, designated as an Important Cultural Property by the Japanese Government.

Then from there, we took the 100 yen community bus to Roppongi （六本木）. My friend is a big fan of “Doraemon”, so I brought him to see the big Doraemon statue in “TV Asahi“　（テレビ朝日）building in Roppongi.

Doraemon at TV Asahi, Roppongi

After Roppongi, we headed to Tokyo Midtown（東京ミッドタウン） to see the Xmas Lights.

Xmas Lights at Tokyo Midtown, Roppongi

After enjoying the beautiful Xmas decorations and lights in Tokyo Midtown（東京ミッドタウン）, we decided to go to Shinjuku（新宿） as it was still early.

After arriving at Shinjuku station, we walked to Shinjuku Metropolitan building （新宿都庁） where you get to see Tokyo’s night view for free. Sorry, my photography skills sucks…The view from there is much nicer than this photo.

Night view from the 45th floor of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building (都庁)

After that, I was planning to bring them to Kabuki cho （歌舞伎町）but we accidentally wandered into this small alley called “Omoide Yokocho” （思い出横町） crammed with lots of yakitori stalls.

Yakitori at Shinjuku Omoide Yokocho （新宿思い出横町）

Amazing place yah!? We end up eating here and I enjoyed it so much. A highly recommended place where you can eat and chat with the locals. definitely want to go back there again.

Places covered on the first day :

Tsukiji fish market – sushi – kabuki theater – Ginza - Keio University – Roppongi - Tokyo Midtown – Shinjuku metropolitan buiding - yakitori

2nd day

On Sunday, after meeting at Tokyo station, we started our day at  the Imperial Palace. There was an exhibition going on commemorating the 20th Anniversary of the Enthronement of His Majesty the Emperor.

Rolls Royce on the left were used on the occasion of the Ceremonial Procession of Celebration.

After having a brisk walk around the palace, we headed to Yasukuni Shrine （靖国神社） and saw a lot of cute Japanese kids dressed in their traditional clothing celebrating  ”Shichi-Go-San” （七五三）. Sichi-Go-San is a Japanese traditional festival held annually on November 15, celebrated by three and seven year-old girls and three and five year-old boys.

Three generations, grandmother, mother & daughter

After Yasukuni Shrine we took the subway to Omotesando （表参道） and explored Ura Harajuku（裏原宿） and Harajuku（原宿）. Harajuku was crowded as usual.

Look at the amount of people pouring out from the station.

We walked to Shibuya after Harajuku coz’ I insisted in showing them the scramble crossing in Shibuya *silly me*

An accidental out of focus photo of Shibuya

After Shibuya, we took the train to Tokyo station and I send them off to take the Shinkansen to Kyoto.

Places covered on second day :

The Imperial Palace – Budokan Stadium – Yasukuni Shrine – Omote Sando - Ura Harajuku - Harajuku - Shibuya

Well, this is a summary of what I did last weekend. I’ll blog about it in more detail later.

oops.. it’s pass 1am already, way passed my bedtime. I need to get my beauty sleep. That’s all for today. Good nite everyone.

Centre Gai

One of the more interesting places to venture is up Centre Gai.  This small street and the small streets surrounding it, provides you with a glimpse of Shibuya’s fashion.  This is not to be confused with Harajuku.  Here, you’ll see the infamous Yamamba.  This has been literally translated to be “Mountain Hag”.  It is a subculture of Tokyo and consists mainly of teens coming from the rural areas surrounding Tokyo.  They tend to wear pajamas or anything in a pastel type colour.  Guys tend to do the same, but they also include gray clothes.  The biggest shock is their skin, make-up, and hair.  First, they usually go to tanning salons until their skin has such a dark tan, it looks brown.  Their hair tends to be bleached blonde, and then they add various pastel colours like pink or baby blue.  As for make-up, both men and women wear white make-up that goes around the eyes and white lipstick.  This is to give an image similar to a reverse panda.  They can usually be seen around the Centre Gai entrance to HMV.

As you continue to head up Centre Gai, you go from the Yamamba hang out near HMV to the shoe outlets, and on to the hip hop centre of Shibuya.  The closer you get to the NHK studios, the more the influences from Hip Hop fashion and music becomes apparent.  You can find lots of shops selling Rastafarian style clothes and some Japanese style Hip Hop clothing.  You can also see NYC Records, which is one of the more famous places for DJs to pick up vinyl.

Shibuya 109

Probably the most well known place in Shibuya, especially for women, is 109 (ichi maru kyu).  This building can easily be seen from Shibuya crossing when looking west.  This is where all of the young teens and early 20 year old women go to get the latest fashion.  It is also popular for the gyaru fashion.  Gyaru is a broad term for various young women’s fashion.  It can range from a princess look with big hair to the Yamamba’s that I mentioned earlier.  While I would say the majority of gyarus in this building would tend to be more of a princess variety, it isn’t impossible for you to see almost any type of young girl entering and exiting this building.  You can also see many of their boyfriends happily in tow as they cruise looking for the next big thing in fashion.  I have heard that Madonna and Gwen Stefani enjoy visiting 109, and various other celebrities have been known to drop by.  It’s unlikely that any of the girls here would care though.  For guys, there is 109-2, which is just north of Shibuya station.

Shibuya Love Hotel

Heading towards 109 leads to a fork in the road.  Head left and turn right at the second street.  This will take you to Shibuya’s, Love Hotel Hill.  This area is called Dogenzaka, but in reality, it’s a compact area where every street has a love hotel.  If you don’t know what a love hotel is, it’s basically a hotel where you can stay for one or two hours.  The rooms tend to be large and each hotel works hard to protect your privacy.  The main purpose of a love hotel is for young couples to have a place to enjoy some personal time together in a private bedroom (a.k.a. sex).  To the untrained eye, you may easily skip over one of these hotels.  However, there are several easy signs to spot one.  First, look for a tacky looking building.  They can be built to look like a Romanesque mansion, like a castle, or some other crazy theme.  Many of them just occupy a plain building, but all the windows are tinted or mirrored.  Another sign that it’s a love hotel is to look, or listen, for a fountain.  Traditional hotels would never put a fountain in front of the hotel.  The entrances for the hotels are almost always hidden to protect the couples’ privacy, and if there is a sign out front, they’ll have two prices, rest or stay.  If you search the internet, you can find a lot of crazy love hotel rooms.  Some are themed after Hello Kitty, Anime scenes, trains, buses, planes, and almost any fantasy you could want.  From what I heard, all you have to do is enter the building, select a room from a picture by pressing a button, and enter the room.  To get out, you just put money into a machine on the wall and the door opens to let you out.  You will never see a single person while you are there.

http://japanlinked.com/Japanese-Culture/Gyaru-Gal-Styles.html (Gyaru pictures)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/109_(department_store)

This is Part II of a III part series.  Tune in next week for the final part of the series.

このblogは英語のblog。もし私の英語は難しい、日本語のquestionは大丈夫。

Hier ein paar Schnapschüsse von letzter Woche aus Tokyo.

Tendon Lunch

Mugicha für's Kind.

Harajuku Station von oben.

Winterdeko.

Bling Weihnachtsbaum.

Foto muss sein!

Tower Records.

Game Center.

Shibuya.

Soba.

So…Sorry, dass ich schon wieder so lange nichts geschrieben habe! Ich habe beschl0ssen, ab jetzt immer nur noch am Ende der Woche zu berichten, was so passiert ist!

Gerade habe ich das Gefühl, als wäre in dieser Woche überhaupt nichts passiert, dabei gab es so vieles…

Ich sehe das als Zeichen, dass es schon alltäglich geworden ist…

Montags haben wir in Japanischer Geschichte 席替え [sekigae = Sitzplatzwechsel] gemacht und ich kann mir wieklich nicht erklären, wie ich es hinbekommen habe, aber ich bin schon wieder auf EIN UND DEM SELBEN Platz sitzengeblieben! Irgendwas läuft da schief^^

In Mathe habe ich das Glück [Oder Pech, wie man's nimmt], dass wir jetzt exponentielles Wachstum durchnehmen und ich deshalb alles verstehe… Am Ende der Stunde konnte ich sogar eine Frage stellen und fühlte mich dabei sehr intelligent, haha!

In Sport machen wir ja jetzt anstatt Fußball Basketball und ich muss sagen, ich fange langsam an, Basketball zu mögen oO

Und das, wo ich es immer gehasst habe… Was Japan nicht alles möglich macht^^

Von Sayuri habe ich übrigens endlich ihre Bilder von der Klassenfahrt bekommen und ich bin auf soo vielen drauf

Am Dienstag ist eigentlich nichts besonderes passiert…

Ich war in der Mittagspause mal wieder mit Sayuri im Krankenzimmer… Wir haben uns mit Sensei und Kinopi (aus der 2-6) darüber unterhalten, dass er in ein Mädchen aus Sayuris und meiner Klasse verliebt ist… Im Krankenzimmer erfährt man irgendwie immer etwas über das Liebesleben anderer Leute, die man vorher womöglich  nicht mal kannte^^ Und ich lerne jedes Mal wieder jemanden kennen!

Am Mittwoch hat es morgens unglaublich geregnet! Weil wir die Zeiten vom Bus nicht wussten und ich auch nicht weiß, wo die Haltestelle ist, musste ich also trotzdem mit dem Fahrrad zur Schule fahren…dabei bin ich [trotz Schirm] plitschnass geworden -.-

Weil ich zu beschäftigt damit war, meinen Rock auszuwringen und meine Schulhefte zu trocknen habe ich dann auch prompt vergessen, dass ich ja in den ersten beiden Stunden Japanischunterricht gehabt hätte…

Das fiel mir erst auf, als mich Endo-sensei am Anfang der zweiten Stunde fragte, wieso ich denn im Klassenzimmer wäre^^ Die arme Maruyama-sensei! :/

In der Pause waren wir wieder im Krankenzimmer und haben uns über Kinopis Problem unterhalten…Der Arme bekommt nämlich keine Antwort auf seine Mail, die er geschickt hatte^^ Sensei durfte heute dann auch endlich wissen, um wen es sich handelt…Sowas würde man doch in Deutschland niemals seinem Lehrer erzählen, oder?^^

Nach dem die Pause zuende war, gab es mal wieder eine Versammlung in der Turnhalle und die Sitzordnung ging natürlich der Klassenliste nach, weshalb ich wiederganz hinten hätte sitzen müssen. Ich durfte mich dann aber nach vorne zu Sayuri setzen und wir haben die meiste Zeit damit verbracht und gegenseitig mit den Blättern, die ausgeteilt wurden auf den Kopf zu hauen^^

Ich bin übrigens im Tennis besser geworden! Seit neuestem treffe ich sogar manchmal den Ball

Achja und es war Pocky-Tag! Pockys sind eigentlich die japanische Entsprechung der Mikadostäbchen [Salzstangen ohne Salz mit Schokolade!]. Natürlich nur inofiziell…Aber Pockys haben an dem Tag nur 111 Yen gekostet. Auf die Idee kamen sie übrigens, weil die vier Einsen im Datum [11. November = 11.11] ja unglaubliche Ähnlichkeit mit nebeneinander liegenden Pocky-Stäbchen haben

Auf dem Nachhauseweg ist mir dann Ans Schirm kaputtgegangen..der Wind hat ihn einmal komplett umgedreht und von den Speichen [wie nennt man das?] abgefetzt….Beim Versuch ihn irgendwie wenigstens transportfähig zu machen, kamen mir ein paar Leute von einem Lieferservice zu Hilfe, die mir mit den Worten “Wir haben genug”, einen neuen geschenkt haben und den kaputten entgegennahmen…

Japaner sind einfach ZU freundlich^^

Am Donnerstag habe ich diesmal zum Glück an Japanisch gedacht^^ Ich habe auch wieder ganz viele neue Sachen gelernt ! xD

Nachmittags kamen übrigens die Australier [Aus Kirrawee...Sie bleiben für zwei Wochen!] und ich habe nach dem Tennis sogar schon einen von ihnen gesehen!

Freitags haben sie dann auch bei uns im Unterricht “mitgemacht”…

Irgendwie hatte ich mich schon die ganze Woche darauf gefreut, dass sie kommen, aber als sie dann da waren, wiederstrebte es mir richtig, mit ihnen zu reden  :S Kann ich mir selbst nicht so richtig erklären…

In Home Economics haben wir wieder gekocht. Diesmal Shumai und Gyoza [Das sind chinesische Teigtaschen mit Fleischfüllung]. Ich war wieder mit Moeno, Yasu und Kazuma in einer Gruppe! In unserer Nachbargruppe haben Takei und Takki doch allen ernstes Erdbeerpocky Gyoza gemacht oO Ich hätte sie echt gerne probiert, aber ich habe am Ende nicht mehr dran gedacht und kann mir sowieso nich vorstellen, dass die geschmeckt haben^^

In der Mittagspause war ich mal wieder im Krankenzimmer…Ich glaube das mache ich jetzt jeden Tag so…
Diesmal war ich aber alleine da, weshalb Sensei erst dachte, ich hätte mir irgendwas getan^^

Es war auch wieder echt lustig! Ich habe mich mit Sensei und Crouch unterhalten [Das ist natürlich nur ein Spitzname (der Gute hat nämlich für einen Japaner die beachtliche Größe 187cm!!) und bezieht sich auf Peter Crouch der Tottenham Hotspurs]. Zwischendurch kamen Kinopi und Amikura rein, haben mir kurz Hallo gesagt und sich dann aber in die hinterste Ecke des Krankenzimmers verzogen, wo sie niemand mehr hören und sehen konnte^^

Außerdem habe ich kurz mit Soutarou und Otada geredet, die reinkamen.::Sensei erzählte mir im Nachhinein, dass es wohl jedes Mal, wenn sie von Ärger mit Schülern hört um die beiden geht^^ Kann ich mir irgendwie sehr gut vorstellen^^

Als die Pause vorbei war, kamen Kinopi und Amikura wieder vorbei und haben mich gleich mit nach oben genommen.

Auf der Treppe haben wir uns dann noch ein wenig unterhalten, was wirklich nett war… Manchmal finde ich die Jungs an der Schule wirklich angenehmer, als die Mädchen xD

Ich hatte übrigens heute Tafeldienst, zusammen mit Kouki…Und weil ich keine Ahnung von nichts hatte, habe ich den Armen die ganze Zeit mit Fragen à la: “Wie schaltet man den Tafelschwammreiniger an?” genervt^^ Hier haben sie nämlich so ein Gerät dafür…Finde ich ja total genial….Wieso haben wir sowas nicht in Deutschland? ^^

In der letzten Stunde hatte ich ja dann wieder Englisch mit der 2-3, was diesmal echt lustig war, weil ich mit zwei aus meinem Tennisclub eine Radiergummikrümelschlacht veranstaltet haben^^

Nach der Schule habe ich dann noch auf Sayuri gewartet, weil Freitags ja kein Tennis ist und ich wusste, dass Zuhause vermutlich sowieso niemand ist, weil An und Babo Tanzen und Ren Fußball hat…Sayuri musste nämlich noch das Protokoll vom Kochen abschreiben! Ja, sogar Japaner schreiben ab^^

Nach ein Paar Minuten kamen noch Hana und ein Mädchen aus ihrer Klasse dazu, dessen Namen ich mir aber irgendwie nicht merken konnte >.<

Mit denen habe ich dann auch ein bisschen geredet, bis Sayuri fertig war, was immerhin eine volle Stunde gedauert hat^^

Dann sind die beiden gegangen und Sayuri und ich haben Englisch gelernt…Das heißt, ich habe mit ihr Aussprache geübt…Sie hatte nämlich ein Gespräch mit Toyooka-sensei und ihrer Mutter, weil sie so schlecht in Englisch ist…Und dann meinte der, dass sie ja mich mal fragen kann, wie ich Japanisch gelernt habe^^

So kamen wir auf jeden Fall darauf, Englisch zu lernen!

Sayuri denkt mittlerweile übrigens jetzt darüber nach, nach der Schule ein Jahr in den USA zu studieren um besser zu werden^^

Heute hätte ich dann eigentlich auch Tennis gehabt….Weil aber auf dem Plan stand, dass es um 8 ist und mir aber gestern jemand vom Tennis sagte, es wäre um halb 2, wusste ich nicht so recht und hab mich dann auf dem Weg noch spontan umentschieden und bin nach Shibuya gefahren…Das war irgendwie ein kleines Abenteuer, denn der Bahnhof in Shibuya ist so groß, dass ich ohne Witz ersteinmal eine viertel Stunde gebraucht habe, um den Ausgang zu finden^^

Obwohl ich dort ganz viele Ausländer gesehen habe, wurde ich von allen Seiten angestarrt, was vermutlich daran lag, dass ich meine Schuluniform anhatte, da ich ja ursprünglich zum Tennis gehen wollte…

Ich war dann erst im 0101 bei East Boy und habe mir einen Cardigan gekauft…Die Verkäuferin war unglaublich nett und ich habe mich noch mit ihr darüber unterhalten, dass ich ja Austauschschülerin bin und wie es mir so gefällt!

Dann konnte ich es mir natürlich nicht verkneifen noch ins 19 zu gehen…Ich meine das ist wohl das berühmteste Kaufhaus in Toyko und wenn ich schonmal in Shibuya bin, muss ich mir das natürlich auch angucken^^

Ich hätte wirklich fast jeden Laden dort leer kaufen können…Genauso toll wie die Klamotten waren aber leider auch die Preise und so habe ich es mir lieber verkniffen, etwas zu kaufen…

Auf dem Rückweg habe ich An noch einen neuen Regenschirm gekauft und war etwa gegen 5 Uhr wieder zuhause…

Soweit so gut…

Morgen bin ich mit Sayuri verabredet….Morgens gehen wir mit den anderen zusammen zum Spiel des Komae-Kôkô-Soccer-Clubs…

This year there have been a few movies with dogs as lead characters.

“Youjuu Mame Shiba” has its official site here: http://mame-shiba.info/movie/index.html(Sorry, Japanese only!)

It’s a story that unfolds when the unemployed, antisocial Jirou Shiba, who still lives with his parents, meets Ichirou, a tiny mame shiba dog that Jirou’s mother has arranged for him to encounter in an attempt to turn his life around. Through meeting Ichirou, Jirou makes a variety of acquaintances, finds his family bonds strengthened, and gradually discovers independence. This is a heartwarming story that will especially appeal to dog lovers!

(Not to be outdone in the cuteness stakes, here’s a photo of Kotaro when he was young.)

Incidentally, “mame shiba” (literally “bean shiba”) are a special breed of small toy shiba. Their pedigree has a history of some 60 years.

As mame shiba are rare and thus highly prized (in addition to being popular simply for their cuteness), there have been problems with breeders passing off small regular shiba as mame shiba, or even “creating” mame shiba by starving shiba to restrict their growth. When looking to purchase a mame shiba, one has to be careful of tricks like these.

Another move, “Hachiko: A Dog’s Story,” opened in Japan on June 13.

Here’s its Japanese website: http://www.hachi-movie.jp/

Hachiko is famous in Japan: he was an incredibly faithful dog who continued to wait at Tokyo’s Shibuya Station for his master’s return from work ten years after his master had passed away.

Hachiko himself passed away at eleven years of age, but a statue of him still remains outside Shibuya Station and is well known by all Tokyo dwellers.

In this latest retelling, the setting has been changed from Japan to America. I was a bit unsure about the concept of taking a famous Japanese true story and turning it into a Hollywood remake starring Richard Gere…but I like dogs, so I actually ended up being so moved I cried. :~(

Here’s a photo of the statue of Hachiko.

And here’s Kotaro, doing his best Hachiko impression.

Hachiko was actually an akita, another breed of Japanese dog. The six recognized Japanese breeds include the akita (like Hachiko), the shiba (like Kotaro), and the kai, the kishu, the shikoku and the hokkaido.

The distinctive features of the Japanese breeds are their triangular ears, their tapered nodes, their wedge-shaped faces and their tails that curl (or sometimes point back over their bodies, as we mentioned in a past entry).

Personality-wise, artlessness, loyalty and bravery are considered to be traits that epitomize Japanese dogs, so it’s no wonder that they’re popular overseas (including in America) as well as in Japan.

If you know of some other good films with dogs in lead roles, be sure to let us know!

(References: Wikipedia Japan)

Eri
Editor, Kotaro’s Blog

[Photos: Eri]

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You see teeth? Seek help!

chocolate bars wrapped in foil and paper are such a blast from the past. there is something about the shiny foil… but what? i can’t quite say. you know those chocolate coins wrapped in shiny foil? to this day, i find them irresistible.

and when the paper is a bright green, and the chocolate a dark mossy green, it becomes more weirdly fascinating. that is, if you are a fan of all things matcha (powdered green tea), like i am.

and here, is the story of how i froze yesterday because (for the first time in two weeks) i was too lazy to think about what to wear. and the story of how you should always dress with the windows open so that you remember that it isn’t exactly toasty warm outside.

and the story goes on. i led a friend through shibuya in my freezing ensemble, and fondly believing that we were correctly headed in the direction of harajuku, managed to take a wrong turn somewhere that led us right back into the heart of shibuya. you can blame me for all the jokes and stereotypes about women with no sense of direction. i have none. zilch.

i am wearing (yes, no sleeves under the cardigan!)
tube top from zara
halter neck top from liz liza (japan)
cardigan from isetan (singapore)
skinny jeans (again) from buorna giornata

Otaku here, yeah the other one… I am supposed to be the writer.

Looking back at the blog, you wouldn’t belive it! I have contributed less to this blog than Sacha Distell has to Ultra Grunge Death Metal.

Sorry to all our readers!

Japan was truly amazing as expected. I had so much fun and so many wonderful times it seems to have merged into one huge lump, like what happened to your play-doh when you mushed all the colours together.  So until I unpick it all Ill have to regaile you with memories as I remember them!

There has been a lot of chat between Sleepy-san and myself on Facebook (yeah, I know. Sad.) and I was reminded how much I enjoyed Takoyaki, or Octopus Balls (!) These are balls of Octopus, fried and covered in a sauce and are quite quite delicious! I ate them with some very good friends drinking some very nice beer in a crazy place called ‘The Lockup’ a themed restaurant in Shibuya.

Its well-known that I am a fussy eater (quote) “How can you be so obsessed with Japan and not like fish then? Eh? EH?” Well im sorry but I was born with the tastes and likes programmed into my DNA, that forbids me to really enjoy fish unless I push myself (or am pushed) and I flatly refuse to eat anything with legs, heads or tentacles attached or otherwise. However I was tempted (read that as ‘bullied’) into trying this and I have to say it was so nice I wanted more (but was far too polite to ask…) Now I find myself 8000 miles away from the nearest decent plate of the stuff. Ah well, Ill just have to go back and order some more…

Otaku

Liebe Freunde und Leser!

Wieder ist eine Woche vergangen und es wird einem deutlich, wie schnell die Zeit vergehen kann! Insgesamt bin ich bereits seit zwei einhalb Monaten hier in Kobe und bin weiterhin begeistert! Die Arbeit macht viel Spaß und die Leute sind nett wie eh und je. Es gibt nichts, worüber ich mich in der bislang vergangenen Zeit beklagen konnte und ich bin mir sicher, dass dies auch in den restlichen drei Vierteln der Zeit so bleiben wird. Auch das Wetter ist für fast Mitte November ungewöhnlich gut, denn um die Mittagszeit hat es hier doch weiterhin 20 bis 22 Grad! Wenn ich höre, wie das Wetter in Deutschland ist, dann kann ich euch nur das Beste wünschen, denn es scheint ja wirklich nicht zum Besten damit zu stehen. Auch von der Schweinegrippe hört man weiterhin nur Schlechtes und man wünscht sich geradezu händeringend, dass diese doch endlich ein Ende haben möge! In diesem Zusammenhang wünsche ich euch natürlich alles Gute und Gesundheit! Ich weiß, dass ich euch noch die Fotos von Tokyo schuldig bin, deshalb reiche ich sie hiermit nach! Ich hoffe, dass ihr Spaß daran findet, die Bilder zu betrachten von dieser wirklich unglaublich faszinierenden Stadt, in diesem Sinne: Let the show begin!

Hauptbahnhof Tokyo

Das Takashimaya Times Square - Eine große Shoppingmall in Shinjuku

Shinjuku ist das Bankenviertel Tokyos - Es ist bekannt für seine vielen Hochhäuser

Skyline Shinjuku

Moderne Architektur in Shinjuku

Diese Katze soll bei Glücksspielen für das nötige Quäntchen Glück sorgen

Auf diesem Bild ist Shibuya zu sehen - Auf der Kreuzung wurde schon so mancher Film gedreht

Es heißt, dass am Tag mehrere Millionen Menschen diese Kreuzung überqueren

Shibuya ist ein Unterhaltungsviertel, in dem man auf viele junge Menschen trifft

Etwas für die Walt Disney Fans unter uns...

Viele große Bekleidungsgeschäfte findet man in Shibuya

Das ist der Mori Tower von Roppongi Hills. Roppongi Hills ist ein Gebäudekomplex, der rund 2,5 Millarden Euro gekostet hat. Das Gebäude selbst ist 260 Meter hoch und hat 60 Stockwerke. Es ist eine "Stadt in der Stadt". Das Konzept des Gebäudes besagt, dass man darin leben kann, ohne das Gebäude verlassen zu müssen. Es gibt Wohnungen, Restaurants, Banken, eine Post, Supermärkte, Apotheken, Friseursalons, ein Kino, mehrere Kunstmuseen (!), Ämter wie etwa ein Einwohnermeldeamt und und und

Bei Roppongi Hills handelt es sich um ein architektonisches Meisterwerk!

Selbst dieser kleine Park samt Teich gehört zu Roppongi Hills

Fensterputzen in luftigen Höhen - Nichts für Menschen mit Höhenangst

Hier seht ihr Roppongi Hills als Modell

Tokyo aus Sicht des 54. Stocks - mit Tokyo Tower

Bei klarem Himmel kann man von hier den Fuji sehen

Von hier aus wirken die Wolkenkratzer Shinjukus wie kleine Spielzeughäuser

Die Grünfläche ist nicht etwa ein Park, sondern ein riesiger Friedhof! Zur Linken sieht man das Olympiastadion

Roppongi ist der Hotspot des Nachtlebens in Tokyo - Hier ist ein halber Looping auf dem Dach eines Hauses zu sehen

Hard Rock Café Tokyo

Tokyo Midtown

Ginza - Hier kann man Designerläden und moderne Architektur bestaunen

Ein Beispiel moderner Architektur

Moderne Bürokomplexe findet man an jeder Ecke in Tokyo

Kaufhaus in Ginza

Typisch Japan..

Kein Gebäude gleicht hier dem anderen

Japanisches Theater

Ein Paradies für Apple Fans

Wie ein schweizer Käse..

Futuristisch!

Natürlich gibt es nicht nur modere Architektur in Tokyo!

Auch viele Schreine und Tempel findet man hier

Buddhistischer Tempel

Harajuku

Die Bahnstation Harajuku in europäischem Stil

Futuristisch anmutende H&M-Filiale

Audi Building

Omotesando - Die Champs-Elysées Tokyos

Hier wimmelt es nur so von teuren Designerläden und französischen Cafés

Ein kleiner Brunnen in Ikebukuro - Ähnlichem begegnet man nur selten in Japan

Diesen original Formel 1-Wagen kann man im Toyota Forum Ikebukuro begutachten - Hier sind auch die neuesten Hybridmodelle der Marke ausgestellt und man kann sein fahrerisches Können an unzähligen Simulatoren aller Art unter Beweis stellen

Lots of things have been happening here on the Island: Halloween (this is a catch up post), TJK College Festival, TJK High School Festival, mastering Hiragana/Katakana, a few dramas finished, a little more Japanese language under my belt and high hopes for the future!

Academically things are still not particularly challenging. My adviser and main professor, Dr. Nickum, has been gallivanting around Europe (for a colloquia or conference in Spain) and so for the past two weeks I’ve had five day weekends. I’m certainly getting used to the extra time- although I’m being something of a recluse. I spend my time wandering around my neighborhood. Thanks to my exploring I’ve found a grocery that sells cheap fruits and large quantities of meat (meat is usually sold in small slices of premium beef or choice cuts of chicken but at the market I found pot roasts, drumsticks and enough chuck to make a real hamburger!) a foreign good store which has super cheap tomato sauce and an excellent selection of imported liquor and beer for amazing prices (My favorite rum, Myers Dark, was cheaper here than in the states!!).

Halloween:Halloween was actually a little disappointing for me. Towards the end of September, Halloween decorations started popping up in stores and malls everywhere. The decorations were even more intricate than in the states and each store seemed to sell decorations, candy, or costumes. I was so pumped. I just knew that Halloween would be even better than in the States as the Japanese collectively are people who appropriate aspects of other cultures and add their own twist usually making it better (their food, for example… Japan of course had traditional Japanese food but they have taken things from other cuisines and tweaked them for optimal deliciousness… in most cases. Pizza here is essentially the same but generally has corn bits on it and can have exotic toppings like seaweed or octopus. Curry is very popular here but it’s not as spicy as traditional curry. Hamburgers here are nothing like their Western counterpart sometimes featuring a rice patty as a bun.). So I was expecting (and from what I had heard about other Western holidays in Japan, like Christmas, which is a dazzling array of lights and decorations) something outrageously wonderful and Japanese. I later found out that this holiday is mostly just a chance to decorate things and dress up little kids.

I walked around my neighborhood and came across a gathering of children and parents near my station:

The Japanese use Halloween as an excuse to dress up their pets and children. As if they don't usually...

Clown and Pumpkin Cuteness

Angel

The Princess phenom has hit Japan...

After reading Tanizaki's The Makioka Sisters which has a blurb about how rude Western photographers are when they don't ask before taking a photo... well, I've been a little hesitant to be a shutterbug. However, on Halloween, everyone wanted their photo taken. And those cute kids were so irresistable!

Adorable...

This guy was, by far, my favorite. He's just got so much attitude! The perfect Batman.

Okay, I realize those were all adorable children (well, besides the dog) but Asian children are the cutest! And with most of these photos I did ask their parents permission, first.

TJK College Festival:

TJK Festival...

If you have ever been to my old school’s Fall Fair (at STE) you know what a school festival should be like. There should be lots of games, facepaint, an extensive rummage sale, a haunted house (a must!), turkey legs, and  one of those jumping castles and EVERYONE in costume. Even my college, Mary Baldwin, has an Apple Day Fair (which is quite similar albeit apple themed). But TJK’s festival planner just didn’t get the memo. There were booths but they sold Takoyaki (octopus hushpuppies), kimchee, and something that visually resembled a hotdog on a stick but was flavorless (maybe they used tofu?). I believe there were two games to play… not entirely sure as they were pretty well hidden.

You might be thinking that I’m a little spoiled and expected too much from something that’s not related to my childhood memories. BUT, they spent 2 days prior the the festival building things around the campus and putting balloons up everywhere. AND, the two days after the festival were school holidays so they could clean up. Just with that, wouldn’t you expect some sort of extravaganza? Yes!

I arrived around noon and was, first of all, surprized that there were young men on the campus. I’ve never seen young men up close in Tokyo… well, not on campus! I walked into the festival while a omiai was going on (a dating game). I was one of like 6 people in costume. And I had no idea what was going on. I think more people were working the takoyaki booths than were in attendance. It was quite odd. Also, no haunted house. There was a dark hallway which had been covered in black cloth and blue lights– which looked quite promising but turned out to just be a hallway covered in black cloths with lights up. It was pretty but what was the point? I think that the Japanese are really into decorations over substance… For example, look at their packaging for little gifts or chocolates– Ornate packaging, a little box covered in pretty paper and topped off with a professional ribbon arrangement all for a cookie. So strange.

The blue/black hallway that looked so promising... Standing in this hallway from the left: Rebecca, Yuu-san, Naomi's friend Yuki who I later went clubbing with, and Naomi.

Rebecca, Naomi, and KLT

There was a pretty good clown who preformed! He spun plates, made balloon animals, had magic tricks, and this block balancing act.

The saving grace of the festival was a dance group called the Shakeys. My friend Harumi was in it and their "shec-shee" dancing was pretty impressive.

Takoyaki!

At the end of everything I got some cotton candy which is exactly like American cotton candy-- It's all sugar, right? It was delicious!

Later that night I met up with my friend Sarah and we had some drinks at the Hub Pub (a British pub in Shibuya that’s very popular with gaijin and  the gaijin-friendly) I was still pirated out and she was in regular clothes, having come from work, but when asked if she was in a costume she replied that she was Avril Lavigne (the girl keeps popping up during my time here… I sung her songs in Karaoke in Osaka, I hear her music in random places, and now my friend is dressing up as AL… guh. I just can’t escape the Canadian “punk princess”). I had been invited to go clubbing by Naomi’s friend (her name might be Yuki-chan not Yuko… or it could be something completely different. I have it written down somewhere).

Sarah and I met Yuki at Hachiko in Shibuya and began our journey to Roppongi (land of the Gaijin). I had asked Sarah to come along since it was my first time to hang out with Yuki and well, you know, it’s just good to have another gaijin around (and one who is fluent in Japanese, as well!). We finally made our way to Roppongi after taking the longest possible train route to get there. And after walking around for quite some time, we walked up into a Freshness Burger (Japan’s answer to McDonald’s) where 10 Japanese girls all in costumes were waiting for us. We waited for some members of our party to get changed and then made our way to find a club. Walking through the crowded streets of Roppongi was an experience in itself.

The streets of Roppongi on Halloween

Everyone was in costume some wearing much more than others. Lots of full body suits and slutty negligees. We made our way into a chain club, GasPanic, which has a branch in Shibuya, and went inside. Upon entering the door we were pushed, much like a strong wave at the beach pushes you, into the fray. You literally could not move unless you were pushed by the mass of people around you. Dancing was out of the question, there was no room to move unless you kinda jumped up and down, slightly.

Inside GasPanic #1, where you literally could not move. After being shoved into the middle of the club (within 4 minutes of getting in) we spent 30 minutes shoving our wave to the exit.

After we came out into the cool night we walked onwards until we came to GasPanic #2… It was slightly less crowded– this time you could dance by moving 2 cm to the left and right. There’s no cover charge so no way to keep track of who comes into the club (what about fire restrictions? There aren’t any). However, you’re supposed to keep buying drinks (outrageously priced drinks) to stay in the club. As there were so many goddamn people, this rule was impossible to enforce and even though I badly wanted a drink, I “danced” until the trains started running again without getting thrown out.

Sarah and I positioned ourselves close to a wall so not all of our flesh would be available to rub up against. And another wallflower, a guy about .5 drinks away from passing out (he may have been kept from collapsing due to the crowd pressing up against us), would lean over occasionally and stroke our hair (the creepiest thing I’ve ever encountered while dancing) or whisper things to us in Japanese. The best pickup line I’ve ever been told was slurred into my ear, “You’re so pretty. What are you 17?” Um, no thanks, guy.

Anyway my Halloween was not the astoundingly wonderful experience I expected.

But I did get lots of neat pictures of people in Shibuya (which it the only place I will go clubbing from now on):

Shibuya Halloween Girls

What a clown!

Inappropriate Gaijin alert!!

Naruto Fans Alert!! Kakashi!

The closest thing to blackface that I saw on Halloween! It's Obammy!

My friends, Yuco and Sarah

Sarah and KLT, very late at night on Halloween!

So that was my Halloween! I will post on the TJK high school festival soon.

Cheers to all!

Shibuya Crossing

Shibuya is one of the most iconic places in Japan.  It was predominantly popularized by the movie “Lost in Translation” and “Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift”.  Both of these movies showed sections of what some people call, the busiest intersection of the world.  Unfortunately, neither of these movies truly tells of the real character, or life of Shibuya.  The modern reality is that a lot of people hate Shibuya because it is mainly a high school and college hang out.  However, Shibuya is definitely one of the places that tourists should visit in order to understand the various subcultures of Tokyo itself.

The first thing that must be done in Shibuya is to find an exit, or to find a meeting spot.  The Hachiko Exit and the Hachiko statue is the most famous meeting spot in Shibuya.  In October 2009, the movie Hachiko: A Dog’s Story, staring Richard Gere will be released, retelling the story of Hachiko.

Statue of Hachiko

In 1924, Hachiko was brought to Tokyo by his owner, Hidesaburo Ueno, a professor in the agriculture department at the University of Tokyo. During his owner’s life Hachiko saw him off from the front door and greeted him at the end of the day at the nearby Shibuya Station. The pair continued their daily routine until May 1925, when Professor Ueno did not return on the usual train one evening. The professor had suffered a stroke at the university that day. He died and never returned to the train station where his friend was waiting.

Hachiko was given away after his master’s death, but he routinely escaped, showing up again and again at his old home. Eventually, Hachiko apparently realized that Professor Ueno no longer lived at the house. So he went to look for his master at the train station where he had accompanied him so many times before. Each day, Hachiko waited for Professor Ueno to return. And each day he did not see his friend among the commuters at the station.

The permanent fixture at the train station that was Hachiko attracted the attention of other commuters. Many of the people who frequented the Shibuya train station had seen Hachiko and Professor Ueno together each day. They brought Hachiko treats and food to nourish him during his wait.

This continued for 10 years, with Hachiko appearing only in the evening time, precisely when the train was due at the station.

Commemorating this real story, there is a statue of Hachiko just outside the train station.  If you want to see Hachiko himself, you can go to the National Science Museum of Japan in Ueno where his body was stuffed and put on display.  The other major meeting spot is at the West Bus Loop where there is a statue of the “Moyai”.  It is a gift from the island of Nijima that resembles the Moai of Easter Island.  This is generally an easier place to meet people, but it isn’t as convenient.

Tsutaya at Shibuya Crossin (Credit to a friend for the picture)

The Hachiko exit not only provides a quick look at the statue of Hachiko himself, but you can also board an old style train car, and see one of the most famous spots in Japan, Shibuya Crossing.  This is a typical scramble crossing, but what you don’t realize is how busy it is.  During the day, it is busy, but manageable.  At night, once the bars start opening up, the crossing becomes a chaotic sprint to get from A to B.  Many tourists will head through taking video of this crossing.  It’s not something people enjoy doing everyday.  One of the best vantage points of the crossing is at Starbucks, situated in the Tsutaya building on the North West corner of the intersection.  Do beware that this Starbucks is extremely popular and always crowded.  Finding a window seat can be a challenge in itself.  The good thing about this building is that it provides a great way to start exploring Shibuya.  Whichever way you go from here, you’ll see different sides of the city, and different cultures.

This is Part I of a III part series.  Tune in next week for Part II.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hachikō

このblogは英語のblog。もし私の英語は難しい、日本語のquestionは大丈夫。

‘Dining around’. It’s a bit like sleeping around really: not a a lot of honour in it, makes the participant feel somewhat guilty after the event, but is deliciously fun at the time. A different course at a different restaurant – I’d never ‘dined around’ before Las Vegas. But if there is one place on earth you’re likely to get gastronomically promiscuous, this is it.  All those hotels – most within walking distance, each revealing a myriad of foodie haunts.

The chefs at Shibuya

But our brief encounters all started (and ended) in the MGM Grand hotel. It’s home to a lot of restaurants – including Joel Robuchon’s three Michelin starred one, though we didn’t venture there (no doubt it already gets enough coverage, and there are other places in the Grand that deserve shouting about). We kicked off with palate-teasing morsels of sashimi at swish Japanese restaurant Shibuya.

Yellowtail sashimi with wasabi greens

In between mouthfulls of the yellowtail sashimi with wasabi greens, soft shell crab tempura and tuna sashimi with truffled soy and rocket, we were treated to a throrough education in, and tasting of sake by the restaurant’s sake sommelier. Shibuya has an extensive sake list of over 70 varieties, and the sommelier talked us through three of his favourites (Nanbu Bijin; Mizbasho and Wakatake) –  insisting that the hot sake we’re accustomed to from local Japanese restaurants is a slur on the nuance and delicacy of the rice-derived alcohol. We were tasting ginjo sakes – the drink’s equivalent to AOC wines.

Soft shell crab tempura

Never much of a sake drinker in the past, I was astounded by the complexities of the drink – the fact that, like wine, it is affected by terroir (the water quality of where the rice grows can affect the taste) and its mind-boggling production process. Here’s my bungled attempt at a summary of its creation: specially grown sake rice is milled down to different grades (or seimaibuai) to get to the starch in the middle, which is then converted into alcohol using an enzyme/funghi called koji. There is also yeast, sugar, and lots of water involved, and generally speaking, the more the rice is milled, or the higher the seimaibuai, the better, cleaner and more fragrant the sake.

Swilling the three different sakes around my mouth, I developed an appreciation I hadn’t previously thought possible for the drink – with some of them revealing themselves to hold notes of green grass, citrus and dryness, while others were fruitier and somehow almost remnant of very good sherry.

Tequila!

Our next stop was refined Mexican restaurant Diego, where tequila was to be our poison, accompanying some lip-smacking south American fare. Diego has one of the largest collections of tequila in north America, and we sampled three alongside some spicy potato soup with chilli. The first was a Casa Noble Crystal from a boutique producer, which had had little-to no barrel ageing and a double distillation – the clear drink was powerful and lit up on the palate with a serious kick. Next was Herradura Reposado, which is the oldest rested Reposado in existence, and has taken on some oakiness, spice and colour from the barrel. But my favourite was the distinctly caramel Gran Centenario Anejo, which had hints of vanilla and was an extremely warming tipple.

There’s nothing quite like that ‘tequila burn’ to perk you up, and our party was becoming increasingly more animated as we listened to MGM’s alcohol director tell us about the artistic production of the spirit and how is made with the agave plant – which is not, despite popular misconception, a cactus – using traditional methods.

And then, our bellies and cockles warmed by the enlivening offer at Diego, we waddled our way to CraftSteak – where oysters, kobe beef and a Scotch tasting lay in wait. Kicking off with oysters to start with, we were advised to pour our Higland Park 18 Year Scotch onto the oyster – the theory being that the alcohol, which is aged in open warehouses on the edge of the Scottish coast, and aerated by the sea breeze, would compliment it. Normally I’m a shallot vinegar or au naturale kind of girl, but I like to think I’ll try anything once, so I sloshed a bit of the Scotch onto my little mollusc and slurped it down. Kapow! What a hit of cool sea, salt, and warming Scotch all at once! It was very lovely indeed, the meaty, minerally oyster blending well with the subtle sweetness and warmth of the drink.

Amazing kobe beef with braised Brussel sprouts

Now, I know that the above picture isn’t probably the most appetising piece of food photography you’ve ever seen – but please believe me when I say this kobe beef was some of the best I’ve ever tasted. Marbled to perfection and melting in the mouth, it’s buttery texture was a sheer delight, and deliciously offset by the nutty, salty Brussel sprouts that came with it – braised lovingly in veal jus and served with bits of bacon. Cries of “I don’t usually like sprouts but these are amazing” circulated, as they always do when people try properly cooked sprouts. Our waiter also served up some golden potato puree that he described as “about 50% potato, 50% cream and butter”.

After also sampling a Johnnie Walker Green Label 15 year Scotch, which was a smooth single malt – we moved on to our final Scotch, the Ardbeg Uigeadail, non-chill filtered. Ouch. This was the blue cheese of Scotch! A very pungent number that our guide remarked had “peart reek” – an aroma derived from the natural fuel peat that grows near the drink’s production.

A smorgasbord of desserts in the desert...

After that final Scotch a few of us were a bit worse for wear. But we soldiered on – selflessly dragging our gouty carcusses to Fiamma trattoria and bar for dessert. Or make that five. Here, amid vanilla bean panacotta with figs, goat cheese and chocolate cake, little sweet doughballs and molten chocolate sauces, we sampled three Bourbons and a Bourbon cherry cocktail.

Woodford Reserve Master's Collection

Among those that we sampled was the George T Stagg Uncut and Unfiltered Bourbon. This was not for the faint hearted – an incredibly high proof Bourbon, it was the strongest drink I think I’ve ever tasted – and actually prompted a squeal. “This will get the rust off your bumper” – our miraculously erudite guide succinctly put it.

The cherry Bourbon cocktail

We may have been the wrong side of sober by this point, but I feel that we learned a huge amount about the drink – which takes much of its colour and flavour from the newly-charred American white oak barrels it’s aged in, and by law can only have demineralised water added to it during its production. We also sampled some delicious food along the way, and got a feel for some vastly different cuisines all in the course of the same meal. I guess in some respects, it was sort of like a very posh, very sophisticated version of the heterogeneous buffets that Las Vegas was once famed for…