Stuff I'm Going to Miss About Japan

1. the food
2. the challenge of learning a new language
3. all of the awesome moss
4. a confirmed source of compliments--anyone I speak to in Japanese
5. the food
6. the people
7. train travel (although I might get some of that in Australia too??)
8. the food
9. speaking Japanese (it's been kindof fun lately)
10. lots of stuff I haven't thought about missing yet

What is this "Takarazuka"?

What did I go to buy tickets for three mornings in a row? What did I sit on the ground in line for three hours for this morning and, indeed, finally get to see? What is really awesome?

Takarazuka!

To quote the all-knowing Wikipedia, it is "a Japanese all-female musical theater ... Women play both male and female roles in lavish, Broadway-style productions - most of their plays are Western-style musicals...." I generally enjoy a good musical but am not a huge fan, but Takarazuka is just extra awesome. Even though I didn't understand much, it was super fun to watch. It's just so over the top, and the women who play men are super good at it. Today I saw The Scarlett Pimpernel, and the Pimpernel himself, in particular, was fabulous fabulous. Even though the haze of Japanese, the character's personality came through really well.

I really enjoyed the rad alto voices (the male parts). Also, there was a women-playing-men-playing-women scene, in the noble theatrical tradition of Kabuki and Shakespeare, and I love that kind of double-bend stuff.

Anyway, now I have a huge crush on Aran Kei, the star of Pimpernel. (The soloist at the beginning of this medley/preview video.)



かっこいい！！！！！！！

My Last Week in Japan

Sunday, September 21

Farewell party, Kochi style--that means old men I've only met once or twice getting drunk and trying to speak in English. It also means really heartfelt and charming goodbyes from my English students and friends. It was really too short!


Monday, September 22

Lunch with a new acquaintance I wish I'd had more time to get to know, and her daughter (my age) who again, I wish I knew better! Plus awesome karaoke with my favourite band, The Nudy's--the three of them are my closest friends from this summer. Then LIGHTNINGFAST cleaning of my room (passes the landlady's inspection with no room to spare) and off to Ino with Ayumi's mom, my patron saint of moving.

Tuesday, September 23

I caught an early bus from Kochi to Osaka, and from there a train to Kyoto, where I arrived around 4:00. Around then, I realized I'd left a bag of souvenirs and my favourite shawl on the bus. I called the bus company and arranged to pick it up the next morning in Osaka. Then I washed my clothes, took a stroll around Gion and fell asleep in my treacherously man-filled hostel room (see previous entries).

Wednesday, September 24

I went early, around 8, to Kiyomizu Temple (I beat the school tour rush, so it was perfect timing) and then headed to Osaka for my lost Sakamoto Ryoma socks. Unfortunately, when I got there I found the bag had gone to Okayama instead. Oops. I got it sent to Kyoto for the next morning... now almost as well travelled as I am! Then, back in Kyoto, I went to Tofuku Temple (no relation to tofu) and then Fushumi Inari Shrine, where I had an interesting long chat with a Japanese photographer. (I'll get to the pictures soon.)

Thursday, September 25

I met up with Sachiko, the aforementioned daughter of an acquaintance, who is going to art school in Kyoto, learning to make rad traditional sculptures. We visited the flea market at Kitano Tenmangu shrine, Nijo Castle, Sanjusangendo, and the Kyoto Tower. Phew. We also went shopping in Shijo Kawaramachi (book! English book!) and ate parfaits with dubiously flavoured ice cream (did they forget the sugar in this?! we are the entire scoop trying to figure out why it was so wrong) in the mall above Kyoto Station.

Friday, September 26

I got soaked trying to go to a shrine in a FOREST in a RAINSTORM. Without an umbrella. I'll have to go there next time, because I gave up after walking only a few metres. Then I dried off over coffee in Gion, where I saw but didn't photograph two maiko. I checked out of the man hostel, and went to see Ryoanji again (I saw it on my last trip to Kyoto and was really inspired). I saw a maiko entering the temple as I left, and was almosssst tempted to follow with flashing camera, but decided not to be rude. Then I picked up my bags from the hostel and hopped on a luxuriously fast shinkansen to Tokyo.... where I promptly got lost in Shinjuku station and only barely stumbled into my appointed hostel.

Saturday, September 27

In the morning, I went to try to buy Takarazuka tickets, but no such luck. So I went back to the hostel and scouted some interesting museums. I went to the Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography, which took longer than I expected. Then I went to Harajuku, where I saw Meiji Shrine (and a Japanese wedding procession--lucky!) and then wandered around in teen-y Harajuku eating crepe and buying cute socks. In the evening I tried to go to a bar I'd heard was good, but got lost and went to the wrong place, and then when I finally found the right one, it was too packed and I was too tired to wait to get in--so much for being able to stay out late in Shinjuku!


Sunday, September 28

In the morning, I went to try to buy Takarazuka tickets, but no such luck. (Sound familiar? I'm going to try once more tomorrow!) Then I went to Tsukiji, where the fish market was closed on account of it being Sunday, but where I ate tasty salmon roe. Then I met a friend, and we had coffee and checked out the swords in the Tokyo National Museum.

Which brings me back here, staying boringly in the hostel because my FEET ARE KILLING ME. One more day in Tokyo--hopefully including a Takarazuka show--and then I'll head to a hostel in Narita town tomorrow so I don't have to get up TOO early to catch the flight on Tuesday.

Pictures soon, but oh my god there are sooooooo many.

I have found hell...

I have found hell, and it is Shinjuku Station. Last time I was there, I fainted (I would refer you to the blog entry, but it's all rather embarassing and I'd really prefer if you didn't read it again), the time before that I got lost for half an hour, and this time I wandered around for 15 minutes or so, carrying half of my worldy possessions, trying to find the right subway line. Fortunately, I did not faint. (It was close.)

The thing that's so diabolical about it is that the signs are confusing, and moreover whenever you FINALLY AT LAST reach your destination, you almost always realize there was a much better way to get there in a quarter of the time.

I decided to stay at a hostel in Shinjuku so as to be able to go out playing in ni-chome and not turn into a pumpkin at midnight, but while roaming Shinjuku station I had to ask myself... is it really worth it?

Displaced Dragonfly

More pictures! In early September I took a day trip to Nakamura, about 3 hours by train, to check out the dragonfly park there. It was rad.

My friend and I took a walk with the founder of the dragonfly park. He very specifically took us to the spot where this little guy lives, and pointed out that it's a Taiwanese species. It lives in Japan now because of global warming, which has made the climate much as it formerly was 300 degrees of latitude south of Shikoku.

Find the Heron Game

Still catching up with photos from... eep, August! Today I've posted Ritsurin Park, where I stopped on my way home from Hiroshima.

Funny, 'cause the home I was heading for is no longer! I moved out on Monday, and departed Kochi yesterday. I'm in Kyoto now until the 26th, and then Tokyo until flying to Sydney on the 30th.

(For anyone who still remembers my original plan, and is thinking "Dude, why is she still in Japan??" -- I changed it up. I'm leaving Japan September 30, as previously mentioned, and will be in Australia until March 9th, stop in Singapore for three days, and then back to Canada in the Vancouver-Victoria area on March 12.)

This is just to say...

I'm in Kyoto. I picked the wrong hostel. It's full of men.

Hiroshima Trip Photos

What you lookin' at?

In Nara, there are many deer and many stone lanterns.

More photos on flickr.

In a Hurry in Gion

Phew. My last batch of Kyoto photos are finally up!

Still to come: Nara, Hiroshima, and all of the stuff I've done in September.

Only 9 more days in Kochi!

Noise In Japan

Public noise is very different in Japan. While at a concert or festival, you can expect the huge audience to sit in near-absolute quiet during a performance, on the other hand as you walk down the street you may encounter a wide variety of loudspeakers.

There's political noises--from the scary right-wing propaganda vans to the Communist Party, out on a street corner bright and early in the morning with big banners, politely introducing themselves. "Hello! We are So-and-so, So-and-so, and So-and so from the Communist Party of Japan! Excuse us for disturbing you! .... message I don't understand... thank you for listening!" *profuse bowing*

(Personally, I like the communists better, even if they DON'T blast wind band oom-pah music with Japanese lyrics of presumably but not necessarily political content, like the black vans I've heard lately.)

There are also recycling trucks a few times a week that drive around with a megaphone announcing what they're collecting. "Bring out your dead!" (Well, I assume not... but who knows, really?) Similarly, advertising cars blast what sound basically like normal radio ads from megaphones on their rooves.

Finally, there's town music. Kochi City doesn't have music, but Ino town, where I stayed in May, does. At I think 17:00, loudspeakers sprinkled liberally throughout the area (really, I was in a fairly rural place, not the centre of town or anything) play a nice pleasant midi tune, I suppose to let everyone know it's time to go home from work now! or something like that. It's kindof cute.

And THEN there are the incessant cicadas, but I guess that's not EXACTLY the same...

Sunday Market

Today I went to the Sunday Market, and this is what I bought! I love the cheap fruit and vegetables, especially since fruit is WAY WAY scary expensive in grocery stores here.

The Sunday Market is about 1km long. I find the best strategy is to walk for one or two blocks and check out the prices, and then go back and buy the best deals, because not all farmers are equal...

For example today I got too excited and bought a really expensive pear when I could have had TWO pears instead. Sigh...

Also, the katsuo tataki (katsuo is a fish, bonito in English--tataki is a method of preparing something where you sear its outside and leave its inside raw) comes from the permanent Hirome Market, which is near but not the same as the Sunday market.

PS. Click on the picture, and it will become LARGE.

All of that moss doesn't grow by itself, you know.

I'm still sifting through the HUGE HUGE HOLY CRAP LIKE TWO GIGABYTES worth of photos I took on my trip in August. Today's upload: Ginkakuji, the silver pavilion (not actually silver, but soooo much amazing moss in the gardens!) and the Path of Philosophy along the Biwa Canal.

Japanese Word of the Day

はちきん (hachikin)

This is a word in Tosa-ben, the local dialect in Kochi prefecture. The etymology is "hachi," eight, and "kin," gold... apparently that leads to "eight golden balls" (I don't know where the balls come from). It means a strong woman.

What is the deal with women having to have balls to be strong? It bugs me. I don't want any male anatomy, thank you very much.



I taught English for about 7 hours today and now my voice is cracking and I turned down a chance to go dancing with new cool acquaintances because I am sooooo tired. Too bad.

Shiny!

Kinkakuji, the Golden Pavilion, in Kyoto.