Since Kathryn has arrived in Japan we have been doing so much sightseeing I've haven't had much time to write.
The past four days we spent in Kyoto with one day trip to Nara. There were beautiful temples and shrines galore- some very much advertised and some so normal to be almost hidden away. It oftentimes seemed that there was some sort of ancient spiritual space down every little street.
One of the things that amazes me most about Japan is exactly this- that everything coexists one on top of one another. World heritage sites, temples, and emblems of thousands of years of history literally stand right next to love hotels, huge glittering shopping arcades, and the cutting edge.
Yesterday we saw Maiko (trainee geishas) do their spring dance performance in the gion district of Kyoto. The costumes were beautiful!
Other quick highlights- having real matcha at kiyomizu dera, going to hanami (Japanese tradition of going to a park area to enjoy the cherry blossoms and have a picnic) and joining in the local revelry, feeding sacred deer in Nara and getting our only map eaten by a mangy male deer, eating all different types of food- trying out the different regional ramen specialties, eating hot nabe at a soba restaurant that has been in business for over 300 years, eating okonomiyaki which was prepared on a hot plate before our eyes....
Tuesday, April 17, 2012
Tuesday, April 10, 2012
asakusa
yesterday was my first sightseeing day all alone!
i started by heading to the Asakusa Amuse Museum where i saw an incredible exhibit on 'boro,' or old, used textiles passed down through generations with patches and patches that are now (rightfully so) considered important works of textile art. i am sorry not to have a way to post pictures until i get back, but the exhibit as well as how it was curated was really incredible. it was one of the first museums i have ever been in where i was allowed to both touch and photograph most everything, which really added to the experience (textiles are fragile, so i understand why most places don't let visitors touch. however, maybe with this exhibit, they imagine that the visitors will add to the patina of the pieces by experiencing them through touch, so it is accepted. in any case, being able to experience the texture really added to the exhibit).
i then decided to continue the theme of the day and also head a bit outside of the touristy part of asakusa and head to uguisudan, one station north of ueno to tokyo's 'fabric town.' i didn't see a single other 'gaijin' there, but mostly just local women shopping for fabrics. the streets were lined with fabric shops, shops with notions and trims, raw leather stores, and some kimono shops.
i then headed to shibuya, the big shopping distric, because i remembered a good ramen place there. at this ramen place, as with many, you buy a ramen ticket in a sort of vending machine which you then hand to your server. also, i love that tips are not customary!
i wandered about shibuya, and although the higher-end stores feature many internaional and western designers, i wanted to find out and learn more about local designers. i found tsumori chisato and was particularly enamored with her sense of humor and use of color and volume in her shapes. also interesting that she worked for issey miyake, another japanese designer i admire.
kathryn and i added a little leg to our trip! on our way back from hiroshima to tokyo, we are going to stop on an 'art island' called naoshima. it looks incredible. apparently the museums are lit purely with natural light, and if you spend the night (there is only one hotel and it is in the museum itself), you can wander the exhibits all through the night at any time you please. we can't spend the night, but can you imagine, standing in front of a monet or a sculpture in a deserted gallery in your pajamas with only the stars as company?!
i started by heading to the Asakusa Amuse Museum where i saw an incredible exhibit on 'boro,' or old, used textiles passed down through generations with patches and patches that are now (rightfully so) considered important works of textile art. i am sorry not to have a way to post pictures until i get back, but the exhibit as well as how it was curated was really incredible. it was one of the first museums i have ever been in where i was allowed to both touch and photograph most everything, which really added to the experience (textiles are fragile, so i understand why most places don't let visitors touch. however, maybe with this exhibit, they imagine that the visitors will add to the patina of the pieces by experiencing them through touch, so it is accepted. in any case, being able to experience the texture really added to the exhibit).
i then decided to continue the theme of the day and also head a bit outside of the touristy part of asakusa and head to uguisudan, one station north of ueno to tokyo's 'fabric town.' i didn't see a single other 'gaijin' there, but mostly just local women shopping for fabrics. the streets were lined with fabric shops, shops with notions and trims, raw leather stores, and some kimono shops.
i then headed to shibuya, the big shopping distric, because i remembered a good ramen place there. at this ramen place, as with many, you buy a ramen ticket in a sort of vending machine which you then hand to your server. also, i love that tips are not customary!
i wandered about shibuya, and although the higher-end stores feature many internaional and western designers, i wanted to find out and learn more about local designers. i found tsumori chisato and was particularly enamored with her sense of humor and use of color and volume in her shapes. also interesting that she worked for issey miyake, another japanese designer i admire.
kathryn and i added a little leg to our trip! on our way back from hiroshima to tokyo, we are going to stop on an 'art island' called naoshima. it looks incredible. apparently the museums are lit purely with natural light, and if you spend the night (there is only one hotel and it is in the museum itself), you can wander the exhibits all through the night at any time you please. we can't spend the night, but can you imagine, standing in front of a monet or a sculpture in a deserted gallery in your pajamas with only the stars as company?!
Saturday, April 7, 2012
on my way
2 days ago, i left snowy hokkaido. my first stop on my backpacking tour of japan (although you could hardly call my luggage that of a backpacker) was kamakura.
kamakura is a beautiful old seaside town about an hour outside of central tokyo. it was like nothing i have ever seen before. the local trains ran through such narrow spaces, like it was literally running through backyards and even front yards of old wooden houses perched along the sea.
i stayed with my mother's cousin sachiko-san and her husband. their daughter aya and i went out friday night together to a place where people go to eat and drink- my first time being out alone as a young person in japan. the place we went to was mostly men, and older men at that, all going out for drinks with their co-oworkers after a long day's work. it seems that women generally go to cuter places, like cafes, but i liked that we went to the type of place aya normally goes to- in the company of men, and the smell of cigarettes and whiskey, we were right at home just the two of us at our little table, not paying much attention to anyone else or feeling particularly out of place ourselves. women don't always have to be cute.
yesterday all day sachiko-san took me all around kamakura, and we saw temples and old villages galore. i drank real, frothy matcha out of a ceramic bowl nearly the size of my face. it was so deeply green it tasted almost grassy, yet not bitter.
today aya and i went to enoshima, an island near kamakura that is popular among the surfer / sailor type it seems. i've never been on a japanese island before, but it was beautiful, island-y like other places but very japanese at the same time. we climbed to the very top of the lighthouse and went to the temple there, the only temple i will go to that is right on the sea!
i left kamakura today and came to takahata, also in tokyo but about an hour and a half today. i am staying with the suzuki family, and am waiting right now for ayako-chan to come home. we are going cherry blossom viewing tomorrow.
after takahata, i will be staying in asakusa (yet another part of tokyo) alone. asakusa supposedly has a great local flavor of old japan and also a good nightlife. let the adventure begin.
kamakura is a beautiful old seaside town about an hour outside of central tokyo. it was like nothing i have ever seen before. the local trains ran through such narrow spaces, like it was literally running through backyards and even front yards of old wooden houses perched along the sea.
i stayed with my mother's cousin sachiko-san and her husband. their daughter aya and i went out friday night together to a place where people go to eat and drink- my first time being out alone as a young person in japan. the place we went to was mostly men, and older men at that, all going out for drinks with their co-oworkers after a long day's work. it seems that women generally go to cuter places, like cafes, but i liked that we went to the type of place aya normally goes to- in the company of men, and the smell of cigarettes and whiskey, we were right at home just the two of us at our little table, not paying much attention to anyone else or feeling particularly out of place ourselves. women don't always have to be cute.
yesterday all day sachiko-san took me all around kamakura, and we saw temples and old villages galore. i drank real, frothy matcha out of a ceramic bowl nearly the size of my face. it was so deeply green it tasted almost grassy, yet not bitter.
today aya and i went to enoshima, an island near kamakura that is popular among the surfer / sailor type it seems. i've never been on a japanese island before, but it was beautiful, island-y like other places but very japanese at the same time. we climbed to the very top of the lighthouse and went to the temple there, the only temple i will go to that is right on the sea!
i left kamakura today and came to takahata, also in tokyo but about an hour and a half today. i am staying with the suzuki family, and am waiting right now for ayako-chan to come home. we are going cherry blossom viewing tomorrow.
after takahata, i will be staying in asakusa (yet another part of tokyo) alone. asakusa supposedly has a great local flavor of old japan and also a good nightlife. let the adventure begin.
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