Nihon e ikimashou! Day 1
Jan. 26th, 2008 04:12 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
spiderpigI decided to take some time to post public, censored versions of the Japan trip posts, and separate them into day-to-day posts instead of the huge chunk of 3 posts that I rushed up. No real edits at the moment, just editting of less savoury parts which I don't want to remember and well, why not share the whole trip with the world?
Of course I have posted the censored version up on Tachikomatic Days but most of you guys don't read that so LOL.
In any case, I privatised the gross old posts so these are Canon now. haha.
For the uninitiated, I had a 7/8 day trip to Tokyo and Kyoto from late March to early Spring with two of my friends (the people whom you are going to see plastered over the photos later) and my cousin. It wasn't a specific otakun trip because I was going with a non-otaku, a Hayao Miyazaki junkie and a lesser fan so it consisted mainly of sightseeing - and lots of walking. As you can tell from the dates, we were mainly there for awesome hanami (cherry blossom viewings) vs crazy spending of money.
This is the edited version from the friends-locked entry I have on my LJ, so be prepared for major picspam (I took over 1000 photos. Yes I'm trigger happy!) and narration. Oh. And er, pictures of me =A=;; the FYG.
Anyway, the pictures on the posts are by no means exhaustive. If you want more of a certain place, just comment and I'll post more of the area when I get back ne?
Characters:
Soshi - Me
Ian/Yan Wen - my cousin
Ellyne - my band-mate
Leon - my classmate's brother
*3...2...1... START*
I'll try and pepper the text with pictures and all that. And I say with utmost confidence that this is in no way an objective account of my trip. It is an impressionistic review, if I might use that descriptor. My feelings, what I felt and what I feel now on reflection - that's my objective of recording down the one week of experiences.
I really had a ball of a time in Japan. It pulled my heartstrings to the most taut possibility and also gave me one of the most tormented times of my life. But ah, art does not come without suffering. Or how else would I have taken something like this?
The sakura are beautiful. Words alone cannot capture the sheer massive effect it has on you when you lay your eyes on a tree bursting with such sad life. As I wrote in the Sakura Hostel guestbook: the sakura is fleeting happiness, yet one cannot forget that there was happiness. In that cold night when we stood together and the sakura started to swirl around us like the proverbial flying petals scenes, I felt something poignantly painful. It was going to end soon, it will end soon and I will have nothing to remember it by but memories.
But thank god for memories. And photos.
Japan has the most impossibly blue skies that mingle with the delicate, nearly translucent white clouds. As I sped past the rice fields next to sprawling suburban forests (not jungles, yet), I couldn't help but give it to the Japanese for constructing an enviroment so suited to each other that a farmer doesn't look out of place buying beer from a combini. That and the Hayao Miyazaki-esque skies right next to dull grey buildings. Nothing else could have looked so right.
I half expected Howl's Moving Castle to come ambling out of the hills and trees.
For one, I love travelling. Sure train seats and airplane chairs aren't as comfortable as a trusty old bed, but it's all part of the experience. I like breathing in the flame retardant drenched upholstery (which according to Ian, is full of cancer-ridden cells!), I like shifting around trying to find that elusive Comfortable Position, I like getting hungry at (god forbid) airplane food because at 1000 feet in the air there's nothing better to eat than that dubious looking plate of curry chicken.
So walking somewhat aimlessly down brick-laid streets with a 13.5kg suitcase in tow is exhilerating for me. Yes, that's coming from someone who gets winded after just running 2 rounds around the track. Admittedly it was a slow and painful journey to the hostel because the winding streets of Hanayashiki-dori and Nakamise-dori were not kind to people bad with maps. But when I actually managed to navigate our way to the pink wonder that is Sakura Hostel, I said to myself, "One up to me!"
I'm really not that bad with directions - only in Japan. At least, I can find my way in the end, with a few er, wrong turns.
Vending machines! Are! Awesome! While we didn't find any used-underwear machines or the fabled oden vending machines, we did find some that dispensed cigarettes and condoms in addition to the usual drinks. No pr0n dispensing machines either. Which was a little disappointing. Just a little.
The sakura and plum blossoms at Sensoji weren't in full bloom when we arrive on the first day, but they still made me squeal like a little girl when I first saw them.
Ironically though, the temple was planting fake sakura near the entrance, with the Head Priest directing the gardeners around.
Going back to Sensoji brought back lots of memories from the 1998 Japan trip. While I didn't scour Nakamise-dori for Pokemon cards this time, I kept my eyes out for people. For the different people walking around, the different expressions on their faces - joy on the kids, curiosity in the Gaijins, slightly harrassed old ladies - and the idle chatter that poured out of their mouths.
I walked up to the main altar and threw in a few of my newly minted 1 yen coins, bowed and clapped my hands three times. I made a wish. I prayed for the typical things that you might just scoff at, but still, I wished for them. The smoky incense wafted through my face and hair as I waved some towards myself, jostling against other tourists to get some good luck on ourselves. The omikuji stand was just in front of us, so I placed 100 yen in the slot and got my fortune.
"Best luck" it said. "The person you are waiting for will arrive" said another line. Phoar! Totally moe-kei anime script!
After exploring the nearby Asakusa area (and chancing upon a love hotel right next to the hostel), Ellyne and I headed back to the hotel for a nap since Leon wouldn't arrive till much later. Mmm, for hostel beds, they sure were good.
Leon was incredibly late. No he wasn't lost, according to him. He just took a very convoluted way to the hostel. Yes, we all believe you Leon. He checked in, dumped his stuff in the room and then we headed out for a night in town.
I can't remember which station we hit first, but according to the sequencing of insane photos, I think we were off to Ueno station first - or at least one of the bigger stations like Shimbashi.
On retrospect, I think we were at Roppongi Station? Or maybe Kamiyacho Station. I absolutely cannot remember for the life of me. Sobs. But yes, with a rather... interesting start to our evening, we headed off to Tokyo Tower because Yan Wen (my cousin) had earlier messaged me about the good weather for Tokyo Tower viewing. Hence with nothing much to do and certain people being dead tired, I suggested a more leisurely pace at Tokyo Tower. I mean, seriously, how less tiring can you get at Tokyo Tower?
We sort of got lost. Well, when I tried to lead we ended up walking slightly off the mark and I ended up tossing the reigns to he with the unerring sense of direction Mr Leon Michael Ryan. To give him credit, he really has an unerring sense of direction. It's slightly disconcerting how even without a map, he can find our way around. Like wtf?Insert all the jokes about his gaydar right here.
The walk was... well, walking brings you different facets of a place that taking vehicular transport doesn't offer. Making a bee-line for the tower which gleamed in the distance, we walked past a church (very wtf, yes I know), a freemason-ish place, and a couple of very.... perculiar buses. Like the Hello Kitty bus and the Non-step Bus. Don't we all love Engrish?
Once we arrived at the ticketing counter, I helped the rest buy tickets with my Japangrish and we had the worst time waiting for the lifts to bring us up. No seriously. We waited approximately 15minutes for the first lift, only to be told that oh hey it has been delayed and we all must take the other lift. >__> What, did someone throw themselves off the lift?? I do not understand. Anyway, this is cliched but the wait was worth it.
Despite what other people say, I think the skyline of Tokyo is so much more beautiful in the night. Maybe it's just because I have an unhealthy obsession with the night and all things that sparkle and glitter in the darkness - but you cannot disagree that when you stand 150metres above ground and look down into a literal sea of blinking, moving lights mixing with completely stagnant glowing, it is breathtaking. Sure you could wonder, "Wow, that's a lot of electricity consumption" but hey, that's one heck of a beautiful night view.
We got some group shots because I harrassed some Japanese women to help us take a photo (wow, I even remembered to use the special kure-form lol). Quite ironically as they were they were taking our photo, they were saying things like "haha this is such a weird bunch of people".
An hour into the Tokyo Tower visit, I get a message from my cousin saying that zomg he's at Tokyo Tower now and can we meet up?
I have to admit here that I never wanted to meet up with my cousin because I was never ever close to him. But right now and right here I proclaim that meeting up with him was a lifesaver.
And so we met up at the viewing gallery with him in his resplendant communist jacket. See, good fashion sense is in the blood I tell you. XD With Yan Wen, we hung around the tower for another half hour or so, then proceeded to look for dinner at Roppongi, where Yan Wen (I refuse to call him Ian!) had earlier discovered very good tasty food. The walk was kinda long, made longer with Ellyne's incessant "are we there yet"s every five minutes or so - the humor in that line wears off after 4 times - but we managed to catch a quick glimpse of the fabled LV boutique and the huge blinking clock.
Dinner was at Roppongi Hills. Now before you all go "WTF" and think that we're loaded, dinner was actually a modest (but gastronomically satisfying) affair that only cost an average of 1000yen. I ordered a tenzaru-soba set (er I think) which was extremely filling with not only a huge helping of soba
,
tempura (or tenpura if you want to be nitty gritty),
tsukemono and,
mixed rice! zomg!
All for 1000 yen!
Mmmm, dinner was awesome. A very nice induction to Japanese cuisine (well okay, the yaki-soba lunch can be counted as the induction of inductions), and very very filling. I probably would break the scales if I tried to get on one now. Feeling very full, we decided to walk off the meal and wandered around Roppongi Hills and spotted this huge spider-like structure in the middle of a clearing. Very Harry Potter, very Aragog-like. We took some group photos with Yan Wen's tripod and camera, then me spotting a huge garden with sakura, I raced down the flights of stairs to reach this beauty.
Wallpaper material if I do say so myself. And that's only what it looks like in the night! Taking rabid pictures of the sakura at Roppongi Hills took up most of our night, and by the time we reached the subway station, it was already 10pm. Taking the Hibiya line then changing to the Ginza line, we seperated at Inaricho where Yan Wen left for Oak Hostel and we returned to Sakura.
It's desperatingly sad when you see people sleep on the streets like this. It was abnormally cold in Japan during spring and I can't bear to imagine what it'd be like for them to sleep like this during Winter. It's the whole shikata ga nai and noncomplaining attitude the Japanese have that is a boon and a bane to their society. D: Kawai sou na.
(Oh hello, obligatory love hotel photo here!
)
Quite conveniently for people likecoughleoncough, the hostel was situated within a 5 minute walk from a porn theatre. NSFW so no pictures here. :D() You can go and search through my album if you're desperate. (Links later ;D so keep your fapping till later)
Since we returned later than expected, we abandoned most ideas of going online and instead went to bed instead.
つづく
Of course I have posted the censored version up on Tachikomatic Days but most of you guys don't read that so LOL.
In any case, I privatised the gross old posts so these are Canon now. haha.
For the uninitiated, I had a 7/8 day trip to Tokyo and Kyoto from late March to early Spring with two of my friends (the people whom you are going to see plastered over the photos later) and my cousin. It wasn't a specific otakun trip because I was going with a non-otaku, a Hayao Miyazaki junkie and a lesser fan so it consisted mainly of sightseeing - and lots of walking. As you can tell from the dates, we were mainly there for awesome hanami (cherry blossom viewings) vs crazy spending of money.
This is the edited version from the friends-locked entry I have on my LJ, so be prepared for major picspam (I took over 1000 photos. Yes I'm trigger happy!) and narration. Oh. And er, pictures of me =A=;; the FYG.
Anyway, the pictures on the posts are by no means exhaustive. If you want more of a certain place, just comment and I'll post more of the area when I get back ne?
Characters:
Soshi - Me
Ian/Yan Wen - my cousin
Ellyne - my band-mate
Leon - my classmate's brother
*3...2...1... START*
I'll try and pepper the text with pictures and all that. And I say with utmost confidence that this is in no way an objective account of my trip. It is an impressionistic review, if I might use that descriptor. My feelings, what I felt and what I feel now on reflection - that's my objective of recording down the one week of experiences.
I really had a ball of a time in Japan. It pulled my heartstrings to the most taut possibility and also gave me one of the most tormented times of my life. But ah, art does not come without suffering. Or how else would I have taken something like this?
The sakura are beautiful. Words alone cannot capture the sheer massive effect it has on you when you lay your eyes on a tree bursting with such sad life. As I wrote in the Sakura Hostel guestbook: the sakura is fleeting happiness, yet one cannot forget that there was happiness. In that cold night when we stood together and the sakura started to swirl around us like the proverbial flying petals scenes, I felt something poignantly painful. It was going to end soon, it will end soon and I will have nothing to remember it by but memories.
But thank god for memories. And photos.
Japan has the most impossibly blue skies that mingle with the delicate, nearly translucent white clouds. As I sped past the rice fields next to sprawling suburban forests (not jungles, yet), I couldn't help but give it to the Japanese for constructing an enviroment so suited to each other that a farmer doesn't look out of place buying beer from a combini. That and the Hayao Miyazaki-esque skies right next to dull grey buildings. Nothing else could have looked so right.
I half expected Howl's Moving Castle to come ambling out of the hills and trees.
For one, I love travelling. Sure train seats and airplane chairs aren't as comfortable as a trusty old bed, but it's all part of the experience. I like breathing in the flame retardant drenched upholstery (which according to Ian, is full of cancer-ridden cells!), I like shifting around trying to find that elusive Comfortable Position, I like getting hungry at (god forbid) airplane food because at 1000 feet in the air there's nothing better to eat than that dubious looking plate of curry chicken.
So walking somewhat aimlessly down brick-laid streets with a 13.5kg suitcase in tow is exhilerating for me. Yes, that's coming from someone who gets winded after just running 2 rounds around the track. Admittedly it was a slow and painful journey to the hostel because the winding streets of Hanayashiki-dori and Nakamise-dori were not kind to people bad with maps. But when I actually managed to navigate our way to the pink wonder that is Sakura Hostel, I said to myself, "One up to me!"
I'm really not that bad with directions - only in Japan. At least, I can find my way in the end, with a few er, wrong turns.
Vending machines! Are! Awesome! While we didn't find any used-underwear machines or the fabled oden vending machines, we did find some that dispensed cigarettes and condoms in addition to the usual drinks. No pr0n dispensing machines either. Which was a little disappointing. Just a little.
The sakura and plum blossoms at Sensoji weren't in full bloom when we arrive on the first day, but they still made me squeal like a little girl when I first saw them.
Ironically though, the temple was planting fake sakura near the entrance, with the Head Priest directing the gardeners around.
Going back to Sensoji brought back lots of memories from the 1998 Japan trip. While I didn't scour Nakamise-dori for Pokemon cards this time, I kept my eyes out for people. For the different people walking around, the different expressions on their faces - joy on the kids, curiosity in the Gaijins, slightly harrassed old ladies - and the idle chatter that poured out of their mouths.
I walked up to the main altar and threw in a few of my newly minted 1 yen coins, bowed and clapped my hands three times. I made a wish. I prayed for the typical things that you might just scoff at, but still, I wished for them. The smoky incense wafted through my face and hair as I waved some towards myself, jostling against other tourists to get some good luck on ourselves. The omikuji stand was just in front of us, so I placed 100 yen in the slot and got my fortune.
"Best luck" it said. "The person you are waiting for will arrive" said another line. Phoar! Totally moe-kei anime script!
After exploring the nearby Asakusa area (and chancing upon a love hotel right next to the hostel), Ellyne and I headed back to the hotel for a nap since Leon wouldn't arrive till much later. Mmm, for hostel beds, they sure were good.
Leon was incredibly late. No he wasn't lost, according to him. He just took a very convoluted way to the hostel. Yes, we all believe you Leon. He checked in, dumped his stuff in the room and then we headed out for a night in town.
I can't remember which station we hit first, but according to the sequencing of insane photos, I think we were off to Ueno station first - or at least one of the bigger stations like Shimbashi.
On retrospect, I think we were at Roppongi Station? Or maybe Kamiyacho Station. I absolutely cannot remember for the life of me. Sobs. But yes, with a rather... interesting start to our evening, we headed off to Tokyo Tower because Yan Wen (my cousin) had earlier messaged me about the good weather for Tokyo Tower viewing. Hence with nothing much to do and certain people being dead tired, I suggested a more leisurely pace at Tokyo Tower. I mean, seriously, how less tiring can you get at Tokyo Tower?
We sort of got lost. Well, when I tried to lead we ended up walking slightly off the mark and I ended up tossing the reigns to he with the unerring sense of direction Mr Leon Michael Ryan. To give him credit, he really has an unerring sense of direction. It's slightly disconcerting how even without a map, he can find our way around. Like wtf?
The walk was... well, walking brings you different facets of a place that taking vehicular transport doesn't offer. Making a bee-line for the tower which gleamed in the distance, we walked past a church (very wtf, yes I know), a freemason-ish place, and a couple of very.... perculiar buses. Like the Hello Kitty bus and the Non-step Bus. Don't we all love Engrish?
Once we arrived at the ticketing counter, I helped the rest buy tickets with my Japangrish and we had the worst time waiting for the lifts to bring us up. No seriously. We waited approximately 15minutes for the first lift, only to be told that oh hey it has been delayed and we all must take the other lift. >__> What, did someone throw themselves off the lift?? I do not understand. Anyway, this is cliched but the wait was worth it.
Despite what other people say, I think the skyline of Tokyo is so much more beautiful in the night. Maybe it's just because I have an unhealthy obsession with the night and all things that sparkle and glitter in the darkness - but you cannot disagree that when you stand 150metres above ground and look down into a literal sea of blinking, moving lights mixing with completely stagnant glowing, it is breathtaking. Sure you could wonder, "Wow, that's a lot of electricity consumption" but hey, that's one heck of a beautiful night view.
We got some group shots because I harrassed some Japanese women to help us take a photo (wow, I even remembered to use the special kure-form lol). Quite ironically as they were they were taking our photo, they were saying things like "haha this is such a weird bunch of people".
An hour into the Tokyo Tower visit, I get a message from my cousin saying that zomg he's at Tokyo Tower now and can we meet up?
I have to admit here that I never wanted to meet up with my cousin because I was never ever close to him. But right now and right here I proclaim that meeting up with him was a lifesaver.
And so we met up at the viewing gallery with him in his resplendant communist jacket. See, good fashion sense is in the blood I tell you. XD With Yan Wen, we hung around the tower for another half hour or so, then proceeded to look for dinner at Roppongi, where Yan Wen (I refuse to call him Ian!) had earlier discovered very good tasty food. The walk was kinda long, made longer with Ellyne's incessant "are we there yet"s every five minutes or so - the humor in that line wears off after 4 times - but we managed to catch a quick glimpse of the fabled LV boutique and the huge blinking clock.
Dinner was at Roppongi Hills. Now before you all go "WTF" and think that we're loaded, dinner was actually a modest (but gastronomically satisfying) affair that only cost an average of 1000yen. I ordered a tenzaru-soba set (er I think) which was extremely filling with not only a huge helping of soba
, tempura (or tenpura if you want to be nitty gritty), tsukemono and, mixed rice! zomg!All for 1000 yen!
Mmmm, dinner was awesome. A very nice induction to Japanese cuisine (well okay, the yaki-soba lunch can be counted as the induction of inductions), and very very filling. I probably would break the scales if I tried to get on one now. Feeling very full, we decided to walk off the meal and wandered around Roppongi Hills and spotted this huge spider-like structure in the middle of a clearing. Very Harry Potter, very Aragog-like. We took some group photos with Yan Wen's tripod and camera, then me spotting a huge garden with sakura, I raced down the flights of stairs to reach this beauty.
Wallpaper material if I do say so myself. And that's only what it looks like in the night! Taking rabid pictures of the sakura at Roppongi Hills took up most of our night, and by the time we reached the subway station, it was already 10pm. Taking the Hibiya line then changing to the Ginza line, we seperated at Inaricho where Yan Wen left for Oak Hostel and we returned to Sakura.
It's desperatingly sad when you see people sleep on the streets like this. It was abnormally cold in Japan during spring and I can't bear to imagine what it'd be like for them to sleep like this during Winter. It's the whole shikata ga nai and noncomplaining attitude the Japanese have that is a boon and a bane to their society. D: Kawai sou na.
(Oh hello, obligatory love hotel photo here!
)Quite conveniently for people likecoughleoncough, the hostel was situated within a 5 minute walk from a porn theatre. NSFW so no pictures here. :D() You can go and search through my album if you're desperate. (Links later ;D so keep your fapping till later)
Since we returned later than expected, we abandoned most ideas of going online and instead went to bed instead.
つづく
