Last Day
Day 8 - As my time in Japan was coming to an end, I began to feel sadness creeping in. However, I was very happy to learn that, as I put it in my notes, Japan likes me!
Even if I am a cheese-ball.
Caught some of the anime shows I enjoy back home (Pokemon, Yu-Gi-Oh) on tv, & got video clips. There was another anime, don’t know what it was, that I tuned in to, with a very pretty, sad ending instrumental. Anime would play an important part in the joys of the day.
But first, a brief chat with styxonline, who was unable to meet me until the afternoon. She suggested, knowing my interest in seeing Aoyama Cemetery, that I take the train (actually, it may have been the Metro, now that I think of it) to Gaienmae, where we stopped earlier in the week (when we went to Jingu Stadium for the baseball game), & ask from there. It’s not that far from the station to the cemetery. She said that Hachiko was supposedly buried there, & it would be nifty to ask about & find out where he might be.
It was raining, & a little chilly, so I grabbed a sweater & my travel-size umbrella, & made off. Still nervous, I prayed a while to the powers-that-be, to let something good happen to me prior to re-grouping with my friend. That way I would know that Japan still liked me, that my presence there had not sullied it, & that I would be welcomed back sometime in the future.
Got in quite a bit of practise with regard to my practical Japanese; I kept getting lost (no surprise), but people were very willing to help. Stopped a gentleman taking leaves out of the street drains, who let me know I was - once again - going in the opposite direction from where I was headed (& I had a map this time!). Now on the right path, I questioned a parking attendant, who had me going straight a bit, then left (it helped that I already knew my migi [right] from my hidari [left] - learned that from a Dir en grey song!).
Finally, I found the cemetery, though I had major trepidations about filming there. I know it’s supposed to be like a park, but I didn’t get even the remotest sense of that. There was too much history & spirit in the place. Not to mention the rain. It felt like a cemetery, only with a much thicker atmosphere than any of the ones I’ve visited or photographed here in the US. Perhaps it was the Kyoto experience hanging over me, but I asked whatever spirits were around to give me a sign that it was okay to film a bit, maybe take just one or two shots (though I seriously could have been there ALL DAY taking pictures, were I so inclined, it was that amazing to look upon), so that I could bring the beauty & reverence of the place home with me, to show to others. I made it clear that I meant no harm or disrespect (that was the Kyoto experience hanging over me), I just wanted something to help me remember the experience.
Walking up a slope, I began to feel the heaviness in my heart lightening. I took this as the sign I had asked for, & snapped a shot or two. Asked who- or what-ever may have been around if video would be okay, so I could show the energy of the place. Took a couple of video clips, but didn’t actually look while I was doing them. Just started rolling film & walking around. So you will see that they are rather shaky. I think I was also afraid of being spotted. As I said, I’d read Aoyama Cemetery was also like a park but it really didn’t strike me as such. I was scared of people (there were a few around, but only a very few) seeing me & being upset that I was filming in such a solemn, respectful, spiritual place. (I guess it didn’t bother me at the major shrines & temples because everybody was doing it.)
Got snagged on the branch of a bush & stopped. Took another photo - included the bush a bit, the tips of which were a pretty colour, sort of coral pink, as I recall. Soon, saw a raven (I absolutely LOVE the birds in Japan; I could hear them in the morning from the window in my room at the ryokan), & filmed it a bit. A few minutes later, a little dog in a red rain-slicker came running playfully up to me, quickly followed by his owners, a slightly older couple. I asked in nervous Japanese where Hachiko’s grave was.
Talk about a good thing happening - these people not only walked me to the grave (it’s actually Hachiko’s owner - I asked if it were okay to take a picture of it, & they said sure, so I did), but gave me the history of it (you can read about Hachiko here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hachiko), & had a full-fledged conversation with me, half in Japanese & half in English (their English was quite good), over the course of at least 15 minutes!
They asked where I was from, where I’d been, how long I’d been staying, complimented my Japanese, asked what I’d been doing/buying, how I liked Japan, how I knew about Hachiko, how I’d been learning the language. I mean, it was awesome! I told them I was going back to America the next day. When we parted, they told me how to get back to the train station, wished me a safe trip, & bid me “sayonara”.
That’s better than a zillion photographs I could have taken at the cemetery! Now & then, I may regret not having more pictures, but I am so much richer for the experience. (I don’t have any shots of Tower Girl, the maid cafe, or Moi dix Mois, either, but those were all definite highlights, as well!)
On the way back to Gaienmae, thought I might be messing up the nice couple’s directions, but I stopped someone walking down the street & asked. After that, I just had to go to the end of the road & turn left, & there it was. Made my way back to Shibuya, & bought a bento box at the Tokyu Food Show.
Hoping to cram in as much of what was left to see into my day as we could, styxonline soon met me & we were off again. After snagging a shot of an ad posted in one of the train stations for an anime art school, we made our way up to the Tokyo Tower. Walked around the park & scenic areas leading up to it first, though, talking about this, that, & a whole lot of the other. ^_^
They don’t let you out onto the observation part of the tower when it’s raining, so we got some souvenirs, & some food. She bought me a Chou (pronounced like SHOE; it's sort of a cream-puff) & let me taste her yummy Teriyaki burger (from McDonald’s, I think it was - that was the closest I got to “Western” food the whole time I was over there!), while I snarfed my bento, with all the healthy things in it. There’s a mini-tower in the souvenir area of the real tower, so I have a picture of that, as well as pics of the park, Tokyo Tower itself (if you look up from directly underneath it, it looks as if it’s gonna fall over on you!), a tofu shop in front of the tower, more cool trees (including bamboo), etc. The rain had given me one heck of a bad hair day, but styxonline snapped several pics of me that day anyway, in front of various sites, single-handedly saving me from becoming Bridget Fonda. :)
Saw a neat drinking fountain that doubled as a chess board at one of the stations on the way to our next site - the Sumo Museum! Unfortunately, it was Saturday, so the museum was closed. But I got pictures of the outside, including flags with the names of popular Sumo wrestlers & tournament winners, a Sumo statue, & gigantic paintings of well-known old-time wrestlers (those “big boys” were in the train station). The whole little town around there is pretty much devoted to Sumo culture. There was a neat shop we went into that sold all manner of sumo items, & a restaurant we passed that would let you try a meal like the actual wrestlers eat - this would feed, like, 3 or 4 people!!
Oddly enough, despite all the J-rock bishi I’d found on CD, video, etc., the one artist I like that I did not see is probably one of the most popular among the Japanese - Gackt. (I found, when asked by locals what J-music you like, if you’re talking about the modern stuff to anybody who you don’t think is heavy into J-rock, just say “Gakuto” & “Haido” - Gackt & Hyde - & they’ll instantly get it.) However, there is a single Gackt-related item I was able to bring back...& it didn’t cost me anything, except perhaps a moment of my time. Leaning more toward acting than music at the moment, Gackt is set to star in a period drama on Japanese television. Walking through the train station - was it Suidoubashi? - I saw a lovely face I thought I recognised looking out from one of the posted ads. “Is that who I think it is?” I asked - & it was! Got a really nice picture of that ad, with Gackt in his period costume. As I wrote in my notes: Pretty boy in a Samurai outfit. Yum.
Train stations have stamps! Each has a different design, & the name of the station. People collect them. There’s a stamp & ink pad at each station. Wish I’d known about that from Day 1. Ended up getting 3, though - Suidoubashi, Harajuku, & Shibuya.
Took more photos - a cool sculpture outside the train station (cool sculptures are all over the place), & the Sumidagawa River. Off we went again, this time to the Tokyo Dome. It’s a major place for events like concerts & baseball. (Yes, I know, it’s also the home stadium of the Yomiuri Giants, arch-rivals of my beloved Hanshin Tigers - I was in enemy territory!) There’s a mall & amusement park there called Tokyo Dome City. Got some tako-yaki (battered octopus balls), which was tasty but is softer than one imagines, so it tends to fall apart on you unless you eat it quickly. Went into an awesome store, Jump Shop, which is all anime goodies. Finally got me something Dragonball from Japan! Ended up with a pin of my fave character, Vegeta. Whilst in the store, we saw anime cosplayers! I learned from styxonline about all the intricate rules of etiquette regarding their little scene, one of which is that you can’t take pictures of them unless you ask.
I’m a sniper-shooter; I like to catch life as it’s being lived, not posed or contrived. People don’t stand in one spot & smile all the time; they do stuff. That’s what I like to get in my photos. So it was quite difficult for me, but I curbed myself, determined to play by the rules & be a very good girl, in this land that had been so dear to me, so kind.
Turned out there was a pretty fair-sized cosplay event going on, which is why, when we went further up from the mall into the little square where we planned to eat our tako-yaki, we saw OODLES of cosplayers! A whole slew of them! Their outfits were all amazingly well-done. I’d wanted shots of all of them! But I’m a weenie, & wasn’t able to bring myself to go up to each & every one of them asking for a picture, so I figured I’d settle on just one group. Though I was kind of hoping it’d be a group from an anime or manga that I knew, & most of what I like is old hat by now.
Whilst eating & chatting away with styxonline, I’d noticed these 2 girls - the Cosplay Bishettes, as they came to be known - directly across from us. One had a pretty spiffy outfit on, & the other was taking pictures of her as she posed (it’s so cute when they admire & take photos of each other, whether they‘re together or not). Couldn’t see the other’s outfit incredibly well, except for the hair, so I knew she was cosplaying something, but I was unsure as to what. It wasn’t until she turned around & I saw her necklace that I knew what anime they were from - Yu-Gi-Oh!
That was it. If I were gonna get a shot of cosplayers, it would be them. Double-checked my practical Japanese with styxonline, who brushed me up a bit on how to approach them, & we waited until what looked like a professional photographer was done snapping shots of them before I nervously went up to them to try my luck.
“Excuse me,” I said politely (not in English), addressing them by their character names - which styxonline said more than likely made their day! - “Could I ask you a favour? Would it bother you if I took a photo of you?”
They were so sweet & obliging. They actually posed for me! Naturally, I thanked them several times. Now, due to the aforementioned rules of etiquette, I can’t actually show you the photo they so kindly let me take, but I can show you the characters they were portraying: Seto Kaiba (in that spiffy outfit - she even wore blue contacts for his eyes) & Ryou Bakura - this girl had even made her own Millennium Ring! They were both spot-on costumes.
Took a couple pictures of the amusement park area (careful not to capture any cosplayers unknowingly), & one very cute sign. Got a flyer from the event staff regarding the next scheduled cosplay event. Wish I were able to attend one. Don’t even know who I’d dress up as if I could. Wouldn’t be one of the strong, sexy characters - I don’t have the body or confidence to pull it off. My safest bet would probably be Witch Hunter Robin (who simply wears a long black dress & coat, with her hair pulled up on the sides; see here: http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Hv-1mLTN7lI/SMPc3MlRWSI/AAAAAAAADdw/lSuPDWXjdrg/s400/witch-hunter-robin2.jpg).
Back to Shibuya, for shopping at some very cool stores, Tokyu Hands & Loft. By the time we went for our soba noodle dinner (styxonline finally let me buy!) & one last coffee for her & a chai latte for me (which I bought & ordered), my feet were absolutely dead.
But my soul was totally alive.
styxonline came back with me to the ryokan, gave me a few goodies to take home, & helped me cram 8 days’ worth of purchasing power into one suitcase & a shoulder bag. Sadly, she was unable to see me off on Sunday, having some obligations of her own, but I must say that she is completely & totally awesome, & I am so very happy to have found a friend in her.
Next time: Day 9 - Going Home...but first, photos!
Even if I am a cheese-ball.
Caught some of the anime shows I enjoy back home (Pokemon, Yu-Gi-Oh) on tv, & got video clips. There was another anime, don’t know what it was, that I tuned in to, with a very pretty, sad ending instrumental. Anime would play an important part in the joys of the day.
But first, a brief chat with styxonline, who was unable to meet me until the afternoon. She suggested, knowing my interest in seeing Aoyama Cemetery, that I take the train (actually, it may have been the Metro, now that I think of it) to Gaienmae, where we stopped earlier in the week (when we went to Jingu Stadium for the baseball game), & ask from there. It’s not that far from the station to the cemetery. She said that Hachiko was supposedly buried there, & it would be nifty to ask about & find out where he might be.
It was raining, & a little chilly, so I grabbed a sweater & my travel-size umbrella, & made off. Still nervous, I prayed a while to the powers-that-be, to let something good happen to me prior to re-grouping with my friend. That way I would know that Japan still liked me, that my presence there had not sullied it, & that I would be welcomed back sometime in the future.
Got in quite a bit of practise with regard to my practical Japanese; I kept getting lost (no surprise), but people were very willing to help. Stopped a gentleman taking leaves out of the street drains, who let me know I was - once again - going in the opposite direction from where I was headed (& I had a map this time!). Now on the right path, I questioned a parking attendant, who had me going straight a bit, then left (it helped that I already knew my migi [right] from my hidari [left] - learned that from a Dir en grey song!).
Finally, I found the cemetery, though I had major trepidations about filming there. I know it’s supposed to be like a park, but I didn’t get even the remotest sense of that. There was too much history & spirit in the place. Not to mention the rain. It felt like a cemetery, only with a much thicker atmosphere than any of the ones I’ve visited or photographed here in the US. Perhaps it was the Kyoto experience hanging over me, but I asked whatever spirits were around to give me a sign that it was okay to film a bit, maybe take just one or two shots (though I seriously could have been there ALL DAY taking pictures, were I so inclined, it was that amazing to look upon), so that I could bring the beauty & reverence of the place home with me, to show to others. I made it clear that I meant no harm or disrespect (that was the Kyoto experience hanging over me), I just wanted something to help me remember the experience.
Walking up a slope, I began to feel the heaviness in my heart lightening. I took this as the sign I had asked for, & snapped a shot or two. Asked who- or what-ever may have been around if video would be okay, so I could show the energy of the place. Took a couple of video clips, but didn’t actually look while I was doing them. Just started rolling film & walking around. So you will see that they are rather shaky. I think I was also afraid of being spotted. As I said, I’d read Aoyama Cemetery was also like a park but it really didn’t strike me as such. I was scared of people (there were a few around, but only a very few) seeing me & being upset that I was filming in such a solemn, respectful, spiritual place. (I guess it didn’t bother me at the major shrines & temples because everybody was doing it.)
Got snagged on the branch of a bush & stopped. Took another photo - included the bush a bit, the tips of which were a pretty colour, sort of coral pink, as I recall. Soon, saw a raven (I absolutely LOVE the birds in Japan; I could hear them in the morning from the window in my room at the ryokan), & filmed it a bit. A few minutes later, a little dog in a red rain-slicker came running playfully up to me, quickly followed by his owners, a slightly older couple. I asked in nervous Japanese where Hachiko’s grave was.
Talk about a good thing happening - these people not only walked me to the grave (it’s actually Hachiko’s owner - I asked if it were okay to take a picture of it, & they said sure, so I did), but gave me the history of it (you can read about Hachiko here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hachiko), & had a full-fledged conversation with me, half in Japanese & half in English (their English was quite good), over the course of at least 15 minutes!
They asked where I was from, where I’d been, how long I’d been staying, complimented my Japanese, asked what I’d been doing/buying, how I liked Japan, how I knew about Hachiko, how I’d been learning the language. I mean, it was awesome! I told them I was going back to America the next day. When we parted, they told me how to get back to the train station, wished me a safe trip, & bid me “sayonara”.
That’s better than a zillion photographs I could have taken at the cemetery! Now & then, I may regret not having more pictures, but I am so much richer for the experience. (I don’t have any shots of Tower Girl, the maid cafe, or Moi dix Mois, either, but those were all definite highlights, as well!)
On the way back to Gaienmae, thought I might be messing up the nice couple’s directions, but I stopped someone walking down the street & asked. After that, I just had to go to the end of the road & turn left, & there it was. Made my way back to Shibuya, & bought a bento box at the Tokyu Food Show.
Hoping to cram in as much of what was left to see into my day as we could, styxonline soon met me & we were off again. After snagging a shot of an ad posted in one of the train stations for an anime art school, we made our way up to the Tokyo Tower. Walked around the park & scenic areas leading up to it first, though, talking about this, that, & a whole lot of the other. ^_^
They don’t let you out onto the observation part of the tower when it’s raining, so we got some souvenirs, & some food. She bought me a Chou (pronounced like SHOE; it's sort of a cream-puff) & let me taste her yummy Teriyaki burger (from McDonald’s, I think it was - that was the closest I got to “Western” food the whole time I was over there!), while I snarfed my bento, with all the healthy things in it. There’s a mini-tower in the souvenir area of the real tower, so I have a picture of that, as well as pics of the park, Tokyo Tower itself (if you look up from directly underneath it, it looks as if it’s gonna fall over on you!), a tofu shop in front of the tower, more cool trees (including bamboo), etc. The rain had given me one heck of a bad hair day, but styxonline snapped several pics of me that day anyway, in front of various sites, single-handedly saving me from becoming Bridget Fonda. :)
Saw a neat drinking fountain that doubled as a chess board at one of the stations on the way to our next site - the Sumo Museum! Unfortunately, it was Saturday, so the museum was closed. But I got pictures of the outside, including flags with the names of popular Sumo wrestlers & tournament winners, a Sumo statue, & gigantic paintings of well-known old-time wrestlers (those “big boys” were in the train station). The whole little town around there is pretty much devoted to Sumo culture. There was a neat shop we went into that sold all manner of sumo items, & a restaurant we passed that would let you try a meal like the actual wrestlers eat - this would feed, like, 3 or 4 people!!
Oddly enough, despite all the J-rock bishi I’d found on CD, video, etc., the one artist I like that I did not see is probably one of the most popular among the Japanese - Gackt. (I found, when asked by locals what J-music you like, if you’re talking about the modern stuff to anybody who you don’t think is heavy into J-rock, just say “Gakuto” & “Haido” - Gackt & Hyde - & they’ll instantly get it.) However, there is a single Gackt-related item I was able to bring back...& it didn’t cost me anything, except perhaps a moment of my time. Leaning more toward acting than music at the moment, Gackt is set to star in a period drama on Japanese television. Walking through the train station - was it Suidoubashi? - I saw a lovely face I thought I recognised looking out from one of the posted ads. “Is that who I think it is?” I asked - & it was! Got a really nice picture of that ad, with Gackt in his period costume. As I wrote in my notes: Pretty boy in a Samurai outfit. Yum.
Train stations have stamps! Each has a different design, & the name of the station. People collect them. There’s a stamp & ink pad at each station. Wish I’d known about that from Day 1. Ended up getting 3, though - Suidoubashi, Harajuku, & Shibuya.
Took more photos - a cool sculpture outside the train station (cool sculptures are all over the place), & the Sumidagawa River. Off we went again, this time to the Tokyo Dome. It’s a major place for events like concerts & baseball. (Yes, I know, it’s also the home stadium of the Yomiuri Giants, arch-rivals of my beloved Hanshin Tigers - I was in enemy territory!) There’s a mall & amusement park there called Tokyo Dome City. Got some tako-yaki (battered octopus balls), which was tasty but is softer than one imagines, so it tends to fall apart on you unless you eat it quickly. Went into an awesome store, Jump Shop, which is all anime goodies. Finally got me something Dragonball from Japan! Ended up with a pin of my fave character, Vegeta. Whilst in the store, we saw anime cosplayers! I learned from styxonline about all the intricate rules of etiquette regarding their little scene, one of which is that you can’t take pictures of them unless you ask.
I’m a sniper-shooter; I like to catch life as it’s being lived, not posed or contrived. People don’t stand in one spot & smile all the time; they do stuff. That’s what I like to get in my photos. So it was quite difficult for me, but I curbed myself, determined to play by the rules & be a very good girl, in this land that had been so dear to me, so kind.
Turned out there was a pretty fair-sized cosplay event going on, which is why, when we went further up from the mall into the little square where we planned to eat our tako-yaki, we saw OODLES of cosplayers! A whole slew of them! Their outfits were all amazingly well-done. I’d wanted shots of all of them! But I’m a weenie, & wasn’t able to bring myself to go up to each & every one of them asking for a picture, so I figured I’d settle on just one group. Though I was kind of hoping it’d be a group from an anime or manga that I knew, & most of what I like is old hat by now.
Whilst eating & chatting away with styxonline, I’d noticed these 2 girls - the Cosplay Bishettes, as they came to be known - directly across from us. One had a pretty spiffy outfit on, & the other was taking pictures of her as she posed (it’s so cute when they admire & take photos of each other, whether they‘re together or not). Couldn’t see the other’s outfit incredibly well, except for the hair, so I knew she was cosplaying something, but I was unsure as to what. It wasn’t until she turned around & I saw her necklace that I knew what anime they were from - Yu-Gi-Oh!
That was it. If I were gonna get a shot of cosplayers, it would be them. Double-checked my practical Japanese with styxonline, who brushed me up a bit on how to approach them, & we waited until what looked like a professional photographer was done snapping shots of them before I nervously went up to them to try my luck.
“Excuse me,” I said politely (not in English), addressing them by their character names - which styxonline said more than likely made their day! - “Could I ask you a favour? Would it bother you if I took a photo of you?”
They were so sweet & obliging. They actually posed for me! Naturally, I thanked them several times. Now, due to the aforementioned rules of etiquette, I can’t actually show you the photo they so kindly let me take, but I can show you the characters they were portraying: Seto Kaiba (in that spiffy outfit - she even wore blue contacts for his eyes) & Ryou Bakura - this girl had even made her own Millennium Ring! They were both spot-on costumes.
Took a couple pictures of the amusement park area (careful not to capture any cosplayers unknowingly), & one very cute sign. Got a flyer from the event staff regarding the next scheduled cosplay event. Wish I were able to attend one. Don’t even know who I’d dress up as if I could. Wouldn’t be one of the strong, sexy characters - I don’t have the body or confidence to pull it off. My safest bet would probably be Witch Hunter Robin (who simply wears a long black dress & coat, with her hair pulled up on the sides; see here: http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Hv-1mLTN7lI/SMPc3MlRWSI/AAAAAAAADdw/lSuPDWXjdrg/s400/witch-hunter-robin2.jpg).
Back to Shibuya, for shopping at some very cool stores, Tokyu Hands & Loft. By the time we went for our soba noodle dinner (styxonline finally let me buy!) & one last coffee for her & a chai latte for me (which I bought & ordered), my feet were absolutely dead.
But my soul was totally alive.
styxonline came back with me to the ryokan, gave me a few goodies to take home, & helped me cram 8 days’ worth of purchasing power into one suitcase & a shoulder bag. Sadly, she was unable to see me off on Sunday, having some obligations of her own, but I must say that she is completely & totally awesome, & I am so very happy to have found a friend in her.
Next time: Day 9 - Going Home...but first, photos!