Tag Archives: Trip: Japan summer 2016

11th July 2016: Komagome (I) {Japan, summer 2016}

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So since apparently Komagome [駒込] existed before I was aware of it and rented a room there (yeah, who knew (o_o)? People built things here!)

One of the things that were indeed built were the gardens Rikugien [六義園], which for some reason cannot be accessible using the main gate. Don’t ask me （≧∇≦）

The park has a central pond around an island, and… Well, a lot of plants everywhere. In spring it has to be either awesome or an allergic persons’s worst nightmare. In the pond there were koi and turtles.

I had intended to go somewhere else after the gardens, but I realise that I had forgotten my shirt home and I had to come back to get it, else I would freeze in class. So I undid the way and stopped by the local Myogi Jinja [妙義神社].

And as it was Monday, then I went to school. The dynamics had changed a big from the previous week, and it was better. Once again I would have to see the test to evaluate the results. The truth is that I came back home that evening to study more than I had the previous week. ＼(^o^)／

10th July 2016: To the sea {Japan, summer 2016}

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I was debating between Nikko and Kamakura, but when I woke up for some reason I felt more like Kamakura [鎌倉]. The day was as awesome as the previous one had been miserable and I headed off to Shinjuku to get myself an Enoshima-Kamakura pass.

Just as I had not liked the sales lady from the museum, the Odakyu sales lady was adorable. She cheered me up （≧∇≦） with her “Woah, you speaking Japanese surprised me” for me, which was quite sincere, by her eyes. After getting the pass, I headed off to the train and got ready for the trip. I was lucky because I could do both parts sitting down in preparation of what was to come. I know Kamakura/Enoshima, you walk a lot.

My first stop was Hase-dera [長谷寺], a temple I had not seen the previous time I had been there. They had a very pretty garden, and I really enjoyed the view and the buildings. It holds a standing Buddha, and they make yummy dango, which I tried.

After that I headed off towards Kotoku-in [高徳院], which holds (or does not hold, as the building was long ago destroyed) the Kamakura Daibutsu [鎌倉大仏] (Great Buddha). As impressive as Nara is, I think I like this one more, as the serenity it transmits is quite amazing. Two university students came to ask me a few questions and they were horribly nice, they wanted to know how I knew Kamakura, and what was the best / worst about service in Japan. I think I broke their stats, but they treated me to a sweet.

I really wanted to go back to Tsurugaoka Hachimangu [鶴岡八幡宮], which is a Shinto Shrine in Kamakura, a bit away from the other two, so I used my unlimited-trips-in-the-area pass and went to the corresponding station. The shrine was just as I remembered. The fun part now is hunting down the Shrine and Temple seals. While I do love the omamori, the calligraphy is more affordable and keeps better.

Finally, I decided to head off to Enoshima over one of the temples I was considering, just because I wanted to go to Enoshima. And Enoshima [江の島] delivered with the best view of Mount Fuji, Fuji-san [富士山] I’ve ever had. Repeatedly. Changing with time as sun set. And it was amazing.

In Enoshima I climbed up to the Enoshima Jinja [江の島神社], I – you guessed it – got my calligraphy, and laundered money.

Then I walked around the whole rock until I reached Enoshima Iwaya [江の島岩屋], the Enoshima caves, to visit the dragon – an invoke him with a taiko drum, that you had to hit nikkai (twice) as the girls behind me informed me. They were also very impressed with my technique. If I got something from my taiko workshop, that was how to hold the baton and hit.

There is one thing I did not confess though, and that was that I miiiiight have skipped lunch that day (must see all the things? I ate dango and ice cream! And some yakitori!) so when I came back to Komagome [駒込] I stopped at CocoCurry and had a good dinner, because I was a bit on the ravenous side. Unfortunately, however, the ride back was standing, albeit it was good that I could leave the backpack on the floor.

9th July 2016: Rainy season is rainy {Japan, summer 2016}

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Because yes, we’re in rainy season, and in rainy season, it rains, lots. Especially when I want to go to certain places. I hoped that the rain would not be too much, and headed off to Kawasaki [川崎] (yes, like the motorbikes) to check out a temple called Kawasaki Daishi (川崎大師) or Heiken-ji (平間寺, Heiken-ji)

It was wet. There was some kind of child ceremony because there were a bunch of parents with very young babies braving the storm rain, while the kids (and occasionally their siblings) looked unimpressed or plain zonked out.

The only other thing for me to check out in Kawasaki were the Chinese gardens, but I decided that it was raining too much for that, so I came back to Tokyo [東京], and headed off to a shrine called Hie Jinja [日枝神社], in Chūō [中央], which I wanted to check out.

One of the most interesting thing of Hie Jinja is the way the torii is designed, with a sort of triangle on its top. It might be to deter wayward otoroshii, a creature from the Japanese mythology. Yes, this is important. As it was that it was raining. To get to Hie Jinja you have to climb a hill, as it could not be otherwise. In the rain, with my broken umbrella – because my awesome umbrella decided to stop being overdone and break, thankfully it was fixable, but not before I got home.

There was a marriage photo shoot in the shrine, and I was torn for the poor bride, having to walk in those clothes through the rain. I tried to be out of their way as much as I could, too. But kudos to the photographer for bringing a traditional umbrella which made the couple look awesome.

Tired of being wet, I decided to head out to a museum. I had two exhibitions I wanted to see, one of them in the Edo-Tokyo Museum, and the other one in the Museum of History and Science. I decided that I really wanted to se the former, just because I was feeling like it. It was an exhibition called ‘From Eerie to Endearing: Yokai in the Arts of Japan’ [大妖怪展　土偶から妖怪ウォッチまで], held in the Edo-Tokyo Hakubutsukan [江戸東京博物館], the Edo-Tokyo Museum, in Ryōgoku [両国]

This was the scenery of the first almost panic attack I caused. If you’re a visible foreigner in Japan, some people don’t want you around and they don’t want to speak to you, especially because you may require them to speak in English. This is a bit on the ridiculous side in the tourist industry, where you can be met with actual hostility at times. Japan, sorry to tell you this but you’re not ready for 2020. Point and case, the lady selling tickets in the Edo-Tokyo museum. She was literally paralysed for a moment, then she pulled back. Keep in mind, my Japanese is not the best thing in the world, but I said a grand total of six words, five if you count ‘onegaishimasu’ (please) as one “special exhibition, one ticket, please”. Straight forward. She was so much in a panic that she did not even hear me at first, it took her half a minute to realise I had asked in Japanese. When she asked me to repeat I just gave her the “yokai, one” and showed her one finger (to count!). She was so freaked out that I did not even get a brochure.

The exhibition has three main parts. The first one runs through the historical representation of yokai as supernatural beings, explaining old questions that humanity had (for example, what is the echo) or forming part of legends. It exhibits part of the Parade of the One Hundred Demons classic paints and scrolls, and a bunch of key ukyo-e in mythology, which I was very excited to see. Apparently, an huge bunch of Japanese people had decided that the museum was a perfect place to spend a rainy afternoon, too, and the exhibition was packed.

The second part dealt with the representation of the different worlds, especially the Buddhist ideas of heaven and hell, and the concept of ‘spirit’ or ghost (yurei) as opposed to a yokai. Out of these, my favourites were the umibozu and the Peony Lantern representations.

The final part was dedicated to ‘Yokai watch’, a contemporary anime series that explores the concept of cute yokai causing mischief in present days.

On my way back I dropped by Shinjuku [新宿] and the Book Off there. The number of acquired items was slowly climbing up, and I was still on budget!

Then I did my homework because I might fail at Japanese all my life but I will still try not to.

8th July 2016: 勉強しました, I seriously did… {Japan, summer 2016}

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On this day I was at home all morning studying, not sure why because it really did not work all that well (￣◇￣;). The first week was a review of the previous level in the intensive course, so I found myself in a bit of a disadvantage. I passed it, but by the skin of my teeth. I was not too happy about it but oh well, at that point I’d make up my mind to take the best out of the course, learn as much as I could, and not be huffy or upset or think about how much money I had invested on it.

After the class and test, I headed off to Nakano Broadway [中野ブロードウェイ], which should just be renamed ‘Mandarakeland’ or something as seriously, they are taking over. Leave my TRIO alone, people! There I pondered if I needed a TOKIO bag, and decided that I did need a TOKIO bag for 108¥, and then got some Gackt stuff after the longest convo I’ve ever had with a fan-shop staff member regarding what the hell a free size was （≧∇≦）. I also decided I did not need a Yoshikitty key ring for 1500¥.

Then we headed off to show T**y the sights of Tokyo at night from the observatory of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building, Tōkyō Tochō [東京都庁] in Shinjuku [新宿]. Impressive as always, even if it was cloudy, because you go to the TMGB during the day to look beyond Tokyo, but you want to look at Tokyo at night. One of the most amazing things was that we were alone in the lift! Bloody alone, he and myself, in a TMGB lift (O_o)!!! While he was gawking at the numbers of the floors, I was taking pictures of the empty lift (⌒▽⌒)

I know my priorities.

For the record, getting my bearings around Shinjuku was hard for a bit, mostly because there you can’t really stop and look where you are going or you’ve got to go. And since I was coming out from a line I’d never used before, it was confusing. Then we ended up following the right passageway, but it’s either new or severely renovated, because the ‘street’ we ended up taking was not the one I remembered at all! I might have to explore again from the Yamanote platform.

After that we headed off home because it had been a long hard day.

7th July 2016: Not fishy smelling at all {Japan, summer 2016}

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Well this was a new experience, but it made a lot of things gain sense. The famous Tsukiji Market, Tsukiji Shijō [築地市場] is closing down this Autumn and relocating. One of the reasons cited is health issues, cut I can understand why they think that tourists are an extra issue. Even when trying to stay out of the way you are in someone’s way.

Something that keeps fascinating me about Japan is the amount of people working on tourist services that have problems with foreigners and wrinkle their noses when they see you approach. This does not go of course to the fishmongers who were doing their jobs but the lady in the info service when we asked for a map in English. After a while we found s coin locker for T**y’s backpack and I shamelessly threw my books in （≧∇≦）

The Tsukiji Outer Market, Tsukiji Jōgai Shijō [築地場外市場] is packed with little shops mostly oriented to people getting their daily fish, and a lot of kitchen appliances, especially knives. It was bustling with tourists in the way of everybody, and little Japanese ladies examining every post for what they wanted to cook that day. After a while we found our way to the wholesale market.

There was a shrine in the way. Of course it required a visit. The Namiyoke Inari Jinja [波除稲荷神社] is located in the corner between the two markets.

The Tsukiji Wholesale Market, Tsukiji Oroshiuri Shijō [築地卸売市場], was full of… everything ≧(ﾟ ﾟ)≦. Fishmongers seemed to have learnt to work their ways around the tourists because they did not even lose their half smirk when they avoided running you to your death with their lil machines. I guess that getting someone killed would screw the day’s sales, as it would be unsanitary. The most impressive thing were the tuna <・ )))><< cutting dealers, with their long knives. Tuna has to be cut in one go, else it ruins the piece. And in case you haven’t seen an actual tuna, we’re easily talking about a two-metre long fish, and fishmongers dealing with one-metre long loin piece. Very cool.

After snooping around for a while we headed off for kaizen sushi with super fresh fish. I felt a little guilty about drinking cola with it, but damn it was hot. Very hot.

From Tsukiji we dropped by Akihabara [秋葉原] and well, there is a Book Off there… Finally we headed off to Iidabashi [飯田橋], where aside from my school, stands Yasukuni Jinja [靖國神社], quite a controversial shrine which enshrines the souls of the fallen in the WWII, which unfortunately involves some of the people considered war criminals.

But as it was Tanabata, they were preparing for a matsuri, and I incorporated that into my plans. I got the shrine seal and a sunburn for my troubles, then I headed towards the school for air-con, I mean some hard work （≧∇≦） there was a test the next day after all and I needed to prepare for that.

One of the good things about my area was that I was on the Yamanote line on one hand, and I had a direct line to my school, so commute was good. After school I went back to the apartment to study because I had a test the next day – don’t ask how it went （≧∇≦;).

6th July 2016: The first incursion {Japan, summer 2016}

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As I had to study in the evenings, I tried to get used to early starts. I invited T**y over to Komagome so he could see the local shrine as opposed to the main shrines I was sending him to. Komagome Jinja is a small shrine that we’ll pay more attention in the future – because I was not carrying my camera that day.

I took T**y to Shibuya [渋谷] today as he wanted to take pictures of the crossing. Then we had a look at Tsutaya and had something to drink on the new seventh floor.

After that, we headed off to Tower Records, Tokyu Hands, Mandarake and generally some Shibuya backstreets. Throughout the morning I got myself Kanjani8’s newly released single, and a couple more CDs from Book Off.

After that I headed off to school only to find that the teachers did not like my handwriting in Japanese. Tough luck, this is how it ended up being.

Upon coming back I decided that I needed to do some exploration around the neighbourhood, but for now I would content myself with some takoyaki, which was awfully yummy (future reference: Sunkus takoyaki > Family Mart takoyaki). Then there was studying and organising the room (finally!)

5th July 2016: The start of a new routine {Japan, summer 2016}

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As I ended up going up to bed late on Monday, I had a late start on Tuesday. Thus I headed off to Sensō-ji [浅草寺] en Asakusa [浅草] to have a look at the Kamarimon and try to finally get a seal of the temple which last year didn’t work out for some strange reason, most probably having to do with the fact that you have to go to another temple to get it…

After that I headed off to school, because that is after all the reason why I’m here for a month – taking a Japanese language course. Technically it had started the previous day, but hey, I was doing something else and the school offers replacement classes once a week if you miss a day. Thus I was off for four hours of Japanese.

I started looking for a Japanese school a while ago and after an interview with a teacher I was placed on level 1-3, aka 4 because there is a crash course before the first level. In the end I decided for a school named Coto Japanese Language Academy, which was in Iidabashi [飯田橋].

I attended the catch-up lesson first. I was asked why I had been absent the previous day, so that was interesting to explain. By the time I was down in my own classroom apparently every teacher at school knew that I was the random white student into Japanese musicians.

During the first week there was a review of the previous level, which left me at a bit of a disadvantage, as I had no idea what some of the flash cards represented (^◇^;). An old man doing weights strikes 強い (tsuyoi = strong) for me, not 元気 (genki = energetic), so the learning curve was steep. I have to say that in general I was not too happy about the whole first week of classes, but I was willing to hold on for the following. Maybe it is worth noting that this course was the one I was recommended by the academy, not the one I really wanted to take. And about twice as expensive. The dynamics of the class are a speaking where you talk about your day, then some kanji and grammar. Towards the end you are given a short text that you have to reproduce and tweak, and then talk through. It’s a total of three hours per day.

The first week was not bad, but not good either. But I am getting ahead of myself.

After class I headed home to study and do homework, which is what I needed do.

4th July 2016: Scary, scary… aaaaaah {Japan, summer 2016}

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After hitting for Gackt’s concert, I figured out that I would ballot for the insanely impossible birthday party – GACKT’s 43rd Birthday Party in ANA InterContinental Tokyo, located in Akasaka [赤坂]. And somehow – somehow – I hit. I might have been a little in histerics about the whole thing for a while, especially with how strict the dress code seemed to be.

Before that I organised a swift visit to Harajuku [原宿] and Meiji Jingu [明治神宮]. For starters, I wanted to catch Godzilla in Shinjuku [新宿], which I did not do last year – I had stolen a glimpse of him when I had picked my keys up.

Godzilla, a giant mutant iguana, peers throughout the building roofs, roaring

Then I headed over to Harajuku [原宿] and I had a stroll down Takeshita-dōri [竹下通り] (天気がいいから、さんぽしましょう、and so XD) and into Yoyogi Kōen [代々木公園] to show Meiji Jingu [明治神宮] to T**y. Then I headed back home to get ready because PANIC！(◎_◎;) I was ridiculously nervous about the event. Fortunately, it worked out almost perfectly.

The event itself consisted on a formal dinner, and a later appearance of the birthday boy himself and the band to… basically have a drinking game, a card game, and a talk show on stage. It was a lot of money to be honest, and I don’t think I’ll ever feel the need to do something like it again, but I am glad that I was crazy to do it at least once. I unfortunately had to leave before it finished in order to make it to the last train, so I missed the songs *sigh*. Nothing is perfect I guess.

Pictures I snuck at the party - flowers, the screen with the logo, my invitation, then the food - sausage entree, soup, salmon, fillet, and chocolate cake, along witht the shot glass we got as souvenir

3rd July 2016: GACKT’s last Last Visual Live {Japan, summer 2016}

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My coming to Japan this year was originally trigger for me hitting fanclub tickets for Gackt’s Last Visual Live in Saitama Super Arena [さいたまスーパーアリーナ], obviously in Saitama [さいたま]. I had never thought that I would be able to see one, much less this close, so for me it was quite intense. There was queuing, and goods, and ramen and fanclub tickets.

As far as concerts and GACKT’s lives go, this was a dream come true – to be able to attend one of his great productions live was one of my fan-dreams and it did not disappoint. It was not easy to receive the fanclub tickets because why would anything be well-organised? The overseas fanclub members did not have their tickets sent to them, we had to pick them up on site, and the staff had no idea of that. After a while though, someone from the fanclub staff figured things out and put up a sign, so I was able to get my admittance tickets.

The concert itself was… well, I’ve mentioned GACKT’s delirium of grandeur before, and this event qualified, with the additional emotional charge that it is supposed to be the last time he does anything like it. There was a nostalgic mix of older and newer songs, and all in all it was super-emotional.

Setlist:
 1. Arrow
 2. 花も散ゆ
 3. ＲＥＴＵＲＮＥＲ　〜闇の終焉〜
 4. ＲＩＤＥ　ＯＲ　ＤＩＥ
 5. 暁月夜　−ＤＡＹ　ＢＲＥＡＫＥＲＳ−
(short film, feat. Moon Saga, Gackt’s theatre project)
 6. 泡沫の夢
 7. 斬　〜ＺＡＮ〜
 8. 傀儡が如く
 9. 揺籃歌 – LULLING –
(short Moon Saga film)
 10. ONE MORE KISS
 11. MIRROR
(emcee)
 12. U+K
(break)
 13. 舞哈BABY!! -WooHa!
 14. 恋のＦＲＩＤＡＹ！！！
(short video featuring other characters Gackt has played aside from Moon Saga’s Yoshitsune)
 15. キミだけのボクでいるから
 16. Ｐ．Ｓ．　Ｉ　ＬＯＶＥ　Ｕ
 17. 登園の誓い
(Moon Saga’s short film)
 18. 雪月花　−Ｔｈｅ　ｅｎｄ　ｏｆ　ｓｉｌｅｎｃｅ-

Saitama Super Arena building and sneaky picture of the Last Visual Live logo projected on the stage

July 2nd, 2016: Starting off with the right (bruised) foot {Japan, summer 2016}

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I have to admit that even if we took off late this was the smoothest flight from Europe that I’ve had to Japan. We left Frankfurt with about an hour’s delay and arrived about 40 minutes late. However, best landing ever. The plane was cold, but I am not going to complain considering the time that the heat made me sick. I prefer huddling up in the blanket. I kind of slept for a few hours, which was good, but I really don’t like when they just tell you to put your window down because it’s bedtime. Oh well.

This trip, I have been showing some of Tokyo to T**y, so a lot of the ‘we’ that skip refer to him and me.

The first day was a bit of a bit of everything one, and even a week later I’ve got bruises from hurling the suitcase up and down the stairs. After lunch with B**** in Shibuya [渋谷] (to get my Internet from her, too), I headed off to Shinjuku to get my keys. This time I was staying for a month and I could not impose for that long on any of my friends so I decided to rent a small apartment via an agency named “Sakura house” which rents places to foreigners for a long or short stay in Japan, starting at one month. As my stay was 28 days, it made sense to use their services.

Sakura House is located in Shinjuku [新宿] and that is why I headed there. The procedure was completely in English, and not difficult, but long, as it included all the specific info for an apartment rental. It is not as quick as checking into a hotel.

The whole process involves reserving a room online and paying a deposit, then signing a contract and paying at least the first month at the place. Afterwards they give you your keys, give you specific instructions and then you’re off on your merry way.

I was staying in an area called Komagome [駒込], 15 minutes away from Ueno and 20 away from school. Right downtown, and what I spent in location I would save on transport, or so I hoped.

After signing and getting my keys, I took T**y to his hotel and we got horribly lost on the process. In the end it all had a happy ending thanks a nice car park guard and after checking him in, we headed off for sushi and karaoke with B**** （＾＿＾ｖ）♪.

After that, I braved the Yamanote on my own to get to Komagome, and was lucky to get my station exit right, so I could arrive home in good time to have a shower and get some sleep because the next day I had to wake up early.