Feb 15, 2011 10:46
Alright so I kind of didn't write anything the last two days...
It's not been terribly exciting.
we got back into town on Saturday the 12th, which was the day of the Alice Nine event (which you had to get the first press album to attend--and I couldn't find one) and the xTRiPx show. I ended up not going to the either. By the time we got back to the house it was 430 pm, which was when door opened for the xTRiPx show. I might have dragged my ass down there if it had been a one-man live (where only ONE band plays...no opening acts) or even a two-man, but it was just a random "we'll come on, play five songs, and leave again" thing. And I was TIRED. It's really quite funny how sitting around on the train for four and a half hours can be completely exhausting. I mean you're not DOING anything...
Still I got back to the apartment and pretty much wanted to just sit down and stare vacantly at the wall. Or, in real life, my laptop. So I did.
I ended up wanting to go to sleep at ten, but Maura had a long nap, and woke up at ten so I ended up staying awake till about one thirty. Then I died, but Maura stayed up till Six. Which is when I woke up the first time. We said goodnight, I read comics for an hour, and then I said 'screw it' and went back to sleep till nine.
Talked to Erin a bit, but she ended up being busy with her dad, so we didn't see her that day. Instead Maura and I went down into Shinjuku and wandered aimlessly around. I can now say I actually don't get lost in Shinjuku anymore. Yay. So we played some crane games at the arcade (I haven't won anything yet....but there's these gloomy bears I really want...) and took some Purikura (sticker pictures), and then went and did karaoke for three hours.
I'm not very good at singing, but hey, Karaoke is really fun. Especially since in Japan you're in a room with just you and your friends. No strangers staring at you, or laughing at you, or getting drunk and obnoxious. We sang in Japanese and English (cuz we're awesome) and drank Melon Soda (WHICH I AM SO GOING TO MISS when I go back home....)
Then we went back to the house and stayed up late...cuz that's what we do.
I finished the graphics for the European Street Teams for Miyavi's upcoming euro tour.
Yesterday, the 14th, Maura had to work. Which was fine, I walked her to her work, and then wandered off on my own. Went and tried for a couple more of the gloomy bear prizes in the crane games in Shinjuku, didn't get them, and wandered off to Harajuku.
Since it was Monday, Harajuku bridge was empty. Yes, that's right, I consciously avoided the bridge on the day when all the Vkei/Lolita/cosplay kids are hanging out there. As much as I love seeing their style and stuff, every other foreigner in the City ALSO goes there, and it's...irritating. Plus I wanted to go into Meiji Jingu(shrine). So I went there. I love that place. To go from the busy, bustling Harajuku streets to this still, strangely quiet forest at the heart of which is this beautiful Shrine is amazing. It was cloudy and looked like it might rain or snow at any minute, but I wasn't going to let inclement weather stop me from enjoying one of my favorite places in the city.
So headed straight to the shrine, deciding to go into the Garden afterwards. As remembered, it was beautiful. The nice thing about going NOT on a tourist-magnet day, is that it was also quiet. Comparatively. I've seen the place packed full of tourists, but on monday it was really quiet. I don't know how to describe how beautiful it is. But there's also this feeling of peace that just settles over you from the moment you cross under the first boughs of the forest. It's this sense of complete and utter timelessness. Even if these places are destroyed and rebuilt, the feeling of time doesn't go away, it lingers in the air itself, not necessarily the buildings. On top of that it's a really spiritual place.
Shinto is really interesting--it's not necessarily how I believe, but it's fascinating nonetheless. The idea that absolutely everything has a spirit and when those spirits pass on they become gods that watch over the world, sometimes for good and sometimes for ill and you can essentially bribe them for help with offerings...it's really quite interesting. Still, it encourages a certain reverence towards all things, and a respect for those things lest they come back to haunt you.
After that I headed into the gardens --there's a 500 yen (approx 5.50CDN) 'maintenance' fee, but I paid it gladly. I hope to one day go in the spring or early summer - when the flowers that are doubtlessly planted are in full bloom, but even still the winter greenery is really calming. Inside the gardens, the sound of the nearby train station is completely muted. Walking by myself, with only a dozen or so people scattered throughout the rest of the garden, I was surrounded by the sound of my own footsteps on the gravel path, and the call of birds above me. The ravens here are mostly chinese ravens, and they make a slightly different sound than the ones we have back home, by the way.
There are a few things of note in the gardens; a tea house ordered built by the Emperor Meiji for the Empress, burned down in the war and rebuilt in 1958. A "Fishing Spot" built by the Emperor for the Empress, who used to frequently enjoy fishing there. The small lake is filled with Carp, black and white and orange.
I just found this write up about the shrine:
Meiji Shrine (Meiji Jingū), located in Harajuku, Tokyo,
is the Shinto shrine that is dedicated to the deified spirits of Emperor Meiji and his wife,
Empress Shōken.
When Emperor Meiji died in 1912 and Empress Shōken in 1914, the Japanese people
wished to pay their respects to the two influential Japanese figures. It was for this reason
that Meiji Shrine was constructed and their souls enshrined on November 1, 1920.
The WELL located in Meiji Jingu Gardens in Meiji Shrine.
(Admission Fee : JPY500)
Meiji Jingu Gardens(明治神宮御苑
is the only part that had existed long before the establishment of Meiji Jingu.
In fact Emperor Meiji designed the iris garden, small path, and fishing spot
soecifically for Empress Shoken in order to give her fresh energy.
Fresh verdure in spring, various kinds of flowers in summer, autumen leaves,
and snow in winter give inexhaustible charms to the fgarden all the year round.
"Kiyomasa's WELL",one of the famous power spot= healing spot,
located in this Gardens.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The well was really quite amazing; just a simple pool of water that never stops flowing. It's very still, very calm. You can take photos of it; it's supposed to be good luck or good for your health or...well I'm not really sure, lol.
Still, I got there, so I took the obligatory cellphone photos. The batteries in my Camera had died by then, so all I had was my cellphone... *sad face*
I stopped at the gift shop, to pick up some "omiyage" *souvenirs, gifts* and when I came out, it had starting raining, fairly hard, actually. So I hopped back on the train, and went into Shibuya to go to Tower Records and grab some food.
Picked up the new Lost Ash single, which came with a bonus dvd and an autographed photo; the new Alice Nine album *YAY* which came with a poster, and the latest KARASU single CD+DVD combo. That....was expensive. It's actually the one thing I really hate about liking Visual Kei--Even if I do want to support my favorite bands by buying their albums, at 30-40 bucks per ALBUM and 14-20 bucks per SINGLE, it's...hard to justify. I'd rather go see their shows, it's almost cheaper.
Then Pazu emailed me, so we decided to meet up at Shibuya Eki. We met up at about 530, and headed off in search of food. We ended up having ra-men, which was really good (though we couldn't finish it all). Then we went and took Purikura (I LOVE PURIKURA!!!!!!!).
After that we wandered aimlessly, until we came to Angel Heart, which is an accessory/Jewelry store that sells body jewelry, and I picked up a new corkscrew lipring. Not a black one this time, but it does have the spikes. SO YAY. (I put it in when I got home ^_^ I love it). Then we got back on the train and headed into Shinjuku, where we stared at the snow in horror from the entrance to Shinjuku eki, and decided to go hang out somewhere warm. Once again I did Karaoke!
....seriously I think I"m like trying to make up for never doing Karaoke when I came the first time...I just keep going back. It's SO FUN.
I was gonna wait for Maura to get off work so we could go have dinner, but the weather was HORRIBLE, and I discovered that my boots are not water/snow proof, and walking around with an inch of icewater in my shoes in the middle of a snowy, slushy winter night did not sound like fun.
So...I headed back to the apartment.
Shortly after Maura got home (with a lot of cursing and swearing and shouting at the weather and the fact she couldn't feel her feet) she found a beautiful photo of Miyavi, which was covered with Valentine's stuff. She saved it, then Tonacey saved it, then I saved it and grabbed my power cord and mouse. As I was pulling my power cord down from the loft (I sleep up there), she pipes up with "Hey Steff, can you work some photoshop magic...?" to which I reply "Already on it."
So. After much cursing and swearing and complaining about the people who put stupid V-day stuff all over amazing photos....I managed to successfully rebuild two tattoos, his ribs, his belly button, and HIS ENTIRE WRIST to the point you can't tell there was anything over it. I would probably have left the photographer's watermark, except I was cranky that they'd put it RIGHT ACROSS HIS GLKSJDFLKJing WRIST and decided not to put it anywhere on the photo. Grr grr argh. I have the HUGEST crush on Miyavi's hands, including his wrists, so...yeah. Not pleased. Plus it's HARD to rebuild the pieces of a photograph that are hidden behind things like TEXT. I can DO it, but...it's very time consuming.
Anyway so I have it. It's pretty. Yay.
Then we hung out and did our own computer stuffs, and then went to sleep. Now i am awake, an waiting for everyone else to wake up, and trying to figure out if I feel like braving the grossness that is slushy snow.
Maybe it's melting as we speak. That would be nice....
travel,
japan,
music,
tokyo