Dienstag, 4. Oktober 2011

Day 2 - Asakusa, Ginza, and waiting for Amber

Day 2 has passed already. Not completely, of course, but it is already dark outside, my feet hurt, and I decided to spend the next two hours or so writing a blog post while waiting for Amber rather than strolling some more through the nightly streets, now lit by advertisement for pinball centers and restaurants.

Day 2 brought me to see two very different sides of Japan. One, the classical, as we imagine it from movies. Modern, yet based in the old culture of Pagodas, Shrines, and Buddhist temples.
Just a few blocks from the hostel is the heart of the Asakusa city part, which is a giant Buddhist temple called Sensoji. The temple is build around a golden statue that two fishermen found in the river while fishing. It is the Goddess of Kannon (Goddess of Mercy) that Japanese from all over the islands come here to pray to. The statue itself cannot be seen (it is whopping 6cm small!) but the temple is very splendid. Around it are several other small classic Japanese buildings, it has a giant gate with a big red lampoon in front, guarded by the Gods of Wind and Fire. And then there is the second highest Pagoda of Japan, with over 60m it looks as if cut out of a movie.
I spent quite some time around the temple, watching the tourist groups, many of them Japanese students in uniforms, pray and take pictures. I had found a nice spot in the shadow to eat my "Sushi Sandwich", as I wanna call it, which is the best invention since bread came sliced. For rice and nori lovers, anyways.
I visited another temple just behind Sensoji, which is Shinto. It is literally right next to the Buddhist Sensoji shrine, just like the two religions seem to live happily next to each other in Japan. This temple is not as splendid, but clean and simple. Other than the Buddhist temple, where the Goddess Kannon is praised, this Shinto temple was actually built for the two fisherman who found Kannon, not for the tiny Goddess statue itself.

After a nice coffee I jumped into the Ginza line metro, which had already brought me to Shibuya yesterday, and drove to Ginza. I would liken Ginza to 5th avenue in New York, only that every side street is like 42 Avenue. Most buildings are very new and host shops like Prada, Gucci, and Ferragamo. Tiffany's, of course, is there as well.
I was hit by a blasting Lady Gaga song from a dark store, and saw it was Ambercrombie & Fitch. Now after having heard so much about their marketing, and actually liking the clothes I have seen friends wear, I decided to give this hyped brand a try. To say it right away: NOT worth it.
Coming in I had to wait for the elevator, surrounded by 5 guys in Ambercrombie Dress-up and Flip-Flops, and one eye-candy guy, half naked but in ripped jeans, showing off his Abs that were about twice as prominent as Taylor Lautner's in Twilight, with his pants so low that it needed to be rated R. Now, while I can appreciate Art and love to look at a nice belly, it did feel a bit weird that this was a store. The elevator came and we (by now some more people had joined, waiting for the ultimate shopping experience) were brought to the 8th of 11 floors. (Yes, that's right, 11!) Each floor was barely lit (I barely saw what was being sold, let alone the colors), Lady Gaga was blasting, and it smelled so much like Aftershave that I could actually taste it. I already didn't like it and thus decided to walk downwards and not go up for the next couple of floors. The artwork in the staircases showed young blond men exercising in groups. The first association was the Nazi Propaganda for the Hitler Youth. Weird, to say the least. It looked a bit like the art from this painter, who always paints hard working, young, blond and blue-eyed men. I think he already had to hear those associations, too. I forgot his name. Either way, I passed more images of young men hunting or playing polo on my way down and had no joy in looking at the clothes as the music was too loud, I was barely recognizing any colors, and my nose felt numb from the smell. I had expected a lot more.
Across the street was a Zara store and I must say: How relaxing it was. Low electro minimal music, good lighting, and the subtle smell of cotton and a bit polyester. Way better.

My real shopping highlight though was another block down, or two. A 5 floor Yamaha Music shop. And right in the entrance hall, the one Clavinova that I dream of owning but had never had the chance to test it. The Modus F-11. A design masterpiece with amaaaaaazing sound. I tried that one, and I tried many many others. If I was a millionaire for example, I would take the matt black grand piano from for "only" 80.000 Euros. Or, if I had not too many millions to spend, the truly wonderful hybrid Clavinova Avant Grande (Style Edition, of course) from Yamaha itself. I tried them all. But for now, I am just aiming to get rich enough and find time for classes again to justify buying the first mentioned Modus F-11. Which, by the way, is nearly 2.500 cheaper in Japan than in Germany, and that's a good 30%. Unfair!
I spent over an hour in the store. It has two floors just with sheet music. Tobi would have loved it, they have a full cupboard just with Mandoline sheet music. On the highest floor they have Saxophones (too bad I wasn't allowed to try those, I guess they aren't willing to keep cleaning them of the spit from people that just like to try them all... like me). They had beautiful Sopranos Saxophones, and Clarinets, Fagotts, Oboes, en masse. Amazing. The strings were also on the upper floor and they had some really old Violins from Europe which looked simply stunning. And the silent edition for Violin, Bass, and Cello is designed so beautifully!! (Thats the electric ones, like Vanessa Mae played them).
In the basement I tried the electronic drum sets, which are awesome too. And they sell German Cajons from Schlagwerk. Need to remember that company. Cajons are the coolest... Although, if you know me, you might now it might get annoying if I was seated on a Cajon. Oh well...

I kept walking through Ginza for a while, checking out various luxury stores and just taking in the big-city-vibe.

When my feet got tired, I took the line home to Asakusa and shopped for some beer and dinner. The few restaurants that Lonely Planet names around this touristy area close their kitchen at 22h, and that's about when Amber will get here. Poor girl shall not be hungry, and I can still wait for dinner. So we will have Sushi Sandwiches and fresh noodles in the hostel. And a nice beer, of course. Kaoru unfortunately has to work late tonight, to get work done before her marriage. She is very stressed. But tomorrow we are going to Nikko all together. The Fantastic Three are reunited!

First day in Tokyo

After a few interruptions by my dorm room mates, I finally really woke up at 11am. Everyone else had left and checked out, so I took my time to wake up and get ready. I decided that going to Shibuya would be my thing for today, cause the big crossing, which is like the Times Square of Tokyo, had been the first thing that came to my mind when thinking about visiting Tokyo. I also wanted to check out Ginza later.

On the way to Asakusa Metro Station I passed by a coffee house to get a giant coffee to get me started. No matter where I am, I need my caffeine... feel free to call me addicted... :P
I passed a big gate with a lampoon in it and stopped to take some pictures. Around me were many Japanese taking pictures as well. So it's not like they just take millions of pictures when abroad, they do it at home too...

I took the Ginza line all the way to Shibuya and after only a couple of minutes search I found one of the 17 exits at Shibuya station. One that led me to the Hachiko statue... Hachiko is a little dog that used to pick up his owner at the station everyday after work, and kept doing so even after his owner died. Cute story. I think it already made its way to Hollywood and Mr. Gere... Either way, I was at Shibuya. The giant crossing wasn't as filled as you might know it from pictures but it was still pretty full. I took a long walk through the shopping areas and was amazed by the style of the young Japanese women. You think our Hipsters are being all individualistic (and yet all looking the same), you should see the girls here. They all like to wear really short shorts or skirts, and overknee socks, with highheels (mostly ankle boots). They all look different, and many of them look really really pretty. I really wanted to take pictures of some of them. It was like a giant street-style runway.

When I had enough of the crowds at Shibuya, I went one station further to Harajuku to see the Meiji Junku Shrine and the gardens. Unfortunately the Iris and Azaleas weren't blooming, but it was still nice. And the shrine was so simple and beautiful! I especially remember the smell of wood. Smells a lot better than cold stone churches...
Around one of the trees, people from all over the world have written their wishes on little wooden plates and hung them on a wall for their prayers to be heard. Its a beautiful picture with all those plates hanging there with Japanese signs on them. The few that are written in English, German, French, and Spanish that I saw all said the same thing, and I assume the Japanese, Chinese, and Arab ones essentially also wish for the same thing. They wish for happyness and peace for their families. One of them however wished for "Children to dance". I found that very sweet. It went on, but I don't remember it now. I took a picture of it though.

On the way back to the metro I took a little detour to Takeshita street to see some of the Harajuku girls (you might know them from Gwen Stefani's "Rich Girl" music video) dressed up in Gothic Lolita, Visual Kei, and other crazy styles. I sat down with an icecream and just watched people for a while. I didnt get to see too many crazy dressed people. Maybe I need to go back on a Saturday. But I saw a few and it definitely is a close choice for next Carnival season!

As it was getting dark and I was just one station away from Shibuya, I decided to get off there again and see the crossing at dusk / night. I took what felt like 100.000 pictures of the Shibuya crossing when the lights turn green and out of a sudden hundreds of people start walking. Mateusz had asked me Friday night to please shoot a "cool series" from it, and it was harder than I thought. In the end I went into Starbucks, cause it has a second floor with window front. The Japanese guy next to me seemed to wonder at my persistence to take another shot and another shot just to get it right. Once I decided I was done, I went back downstairs and it was finally really dark, so I took some more pictures. Kaoru, my Japanese photography guru, taught me well... ;)

I had dinner at a tiny place in Shibuya. It was fast but good, and eating rice with chop sticks is not so hard when the rice is so sticky! Also, in Japan one is not bound to stick to European etiquette, so bringing the bowl close to your mouth is not a problem... :D

I am now back in the hostel and pretty tired after the 7 hours I have spent walking holes into the streets of Tokyo. Soon it's time for bed, cause tomorrow is a big day: I want to see more from Aksakusa, see Ginza, and wait for Amber to fly in from LA. She'll arrive late but we will have drinks with Kaoru (Karaoke?) and the day after its already time for our day trip to Nikko. Can't wait! :)

Montag, 3. Oktober 2011

TOKYO! - Arrival

I bought my ticket to Tokyo early in the morning of March 11th, just a couple of hours before the earthquake and following Tsunami devastated parts of Japan and lead to the problems at TEPCO's Fukushima plant. It seems for ever ago, and despite nervous comments by my grandma I never had the intention to dismiss this trip for the sake of feeling safer. Which, and that as a side note, would have been ridiculous cause I still feel very safe here.

The trip really already started Friday morning (German time), when I finished the packing and left my apartment for work. Luckily, I was invited to a friend's good-bye party, which turned out to be a real blast with lots of people I have never met before. I literally partied through the night and started the final journey after 30min of light sleep and a long shower. I was insanely tired, but that exactly was the plan: Sleeping through the flight, so that when I get to Tokyo at 7am local time, I'd be awake, well rested, and not jet-lagged.
Well... the plan was really good, until I arrived in Frankfurt only to be told that the plane had a defected door and thus we would have to wait for the plane coming from Tokyo. It lead to good four hours of delay, which for me ment a 7 hour layover instead of 2.5 ... and no comfy bench in sight anywhere...

I was happy again, as soon as the plane arrived. The (not so) little geek in me was fascinated by the giant Airbus A380 that would bring us to Tokyo, and I spent the entire hour and a half they needed to get the plane ready and set up again at the giant windows of the (otherwise extremely boring) new Terminal 1 C.

Finally, boarding started. I quickly found my seat (81A), just behind the humongous left wing. Around me, and in the plane overall, were mainly Japanese people, most of them slightly drunk from all the German beer they had at the one and only restaurant / cafe at the terminal... I remembered the last time I sat in a plane in between a Japanese travel group: It was somewhere between Vancouver and Minneapolis, back in the days when I was still scared of flying, and I remember them all laughing and taking pictures in the by thunderstorm shaken plane. No good memories. Luckily though, the A380 flew like a magic carpet. And there was more than enough space for my short legs, and a tiny screen for me to finally watch Midnight in Paris (which I adored by the way, you should go see it!). And then I slept. Finally slept and slept and didn't even wake up for breakfast.

Getting into Japan was really easy. Although they had a mere 6 officers at immigration, there was no line. Take that Brazil! And they even take fingerprints and pictures, not just give out stamps... I managed to get onto the right train as well and quickly found the hostel after I had pulled my suitcase up what felt like 7 flights of stairs at Asakusa Metro Station.

The hostel is clean and nice, and I had time to take another nap and shower to get all ready for the real Tokyo exoerience with Kaoru. She picked me up at 17h and we went to a more traditional area of Tokyo, whos name I forgot. She managed to find the cutest small little restaurant somewhere in the middle of narrow alleys that no car could pass. We had to take off the shoes at the restaurant (smart me was wearing Chucks and taking very long... oopsie) and sat on the floor. As the menu was only in Japanese, Kaoru just ordered what she liked and I ate it. It was amazing food. So yummy. Next to the tuna sashimi I loved the little rolls made of tofu paper filled with I don't know what and topped with roe and sauce. To top off the awesome dinner, Kaoru took me to a tiny tiny bar, that basically just consisted of a small bar with eight seats, lots of booze, and an old man that mixed what ever you ordered. We had Gin Tonic. It felt like back in the days in Madrid.

Back at the hostel I fell asleep directly and slept through like a baby.