Studio Ghibli museum

While Tokyo is full of museums, and on most of my travels I tend to migrate toward them, the only one I was particularly interested in was the studio Ghibli museum. If you're not familiar, Studio Ghibli is the most famous animation studio out of Japan, and you are likely to have heard of movies such as "My Neighbor Totoro" and "Spirited Away", if not--look them up and watch them! They are delightful!

So I as I mentioned the museum doesn't allow any cameras inside because they want you to pay attention to every detail they have so carefully and lovingly created. Every window is full of stained glass depicting scenes from the movies, the walls are filled with drawings and frames. There are delightful displays of different kinds of animation--claymation to Muybridge photographs (sort of animation, really), to old projectors and modern digitization. The minute I walked in I had a smile on my face, and I couldn't wipe it off for the whole two hours I was there. The best part may have been the short movie they have created just for the museum. While it was only in Japanese, it didn't need any translation. For those of you who have seen Totoro, all I need to say is: CAT CRUISE SHIP!!! CAT TRAIN!!! CAT TAXI!!!! Cat, amazing.

The visit to the museum was the perfect sendoff before heading home-I'm so glad I got to go and if I ever go back to Tokyo, I might just go again, it was that lovely.

Senso-Ji temple and the rest of Monday

Senso Ji is one of the oldest temples in Tokyo. In the Asakusa neighborhood it is surrounded by kitchy Japanese souvenier shops, as well as loads of places to play Pachinko and slots. The temple itself was crawling with people, even when we got there around closing time--5pm. Unfortunately, the main temple was under construction so we couldn't see much of it, but the surrounding gardens, pagodas and statues were nice.
When we first approached the temple, there was a lot of noise from these metal boxes that loads of people were shaking next to this wall of drawers. We stood around looking curiously for a while until a nice Japanese businessman looking to practice his English and help us out came over and explained the process to us. As he said "Many girls like to play this because girls are curious about everything" (true. true)
So, you put 100 yen in the donation slot, and shake an octagonal metal box full of long wooden sticks until you get one with a number on it. The number on the stick corresponds to a numbered drawer from which you draw your fortune. I was lucky enough to get a "normal fortune", which I was informed by our friend was a "sort of a good fortune". While some of it was in English, it didn't make much sense so he translated it for me saying that the present character for "double mountain" said that I am able to do what I like without any barriers.
Here is what is says in English: "All your requests & desire will get through and go change to the better. The double letters of "mountain" means to go out, and you can do everything in a hurry and be safe. Naturally your is so fortune, and you can meet with so many a happiness.
Everything, treasure and wealth and income will be in your hand without any trouble.
*Your request will be granted. *The patient will get well soon. *The lost article will be found. *The person you wait for will come byt late. *Building a new house or removal are both good. *to start a trip is good. *Marriage and new employment are both well. "

So, there it is. When I got home I had my Chinese friend Tina translate the characters for me, and what she said was "The farther I go, the luckier I will be" and that "I will meet someone who will help me".

So, I think this is all good news. Here is a picture of me and my happy good fortune face.

Timber unfortunately got a bad fortune, and had to tie it to a post and "leave her bad fortune behind."

As we walked around the temple grounds, our new friend told us some nice things about the temple, buddha, shinto and golden carp which are apparently very lucky to see.

Though I was really tired by this point in the trip, I found the temple and meeting our friend one of the most charming things we did. Everything seemed so imbued with meaning and a richness of culture. From shaking the fortune box to leaving your bad fortune behind--everything had a proper order and sweetness to it, that made it feel like I was taken care of by some great Japanese travel spirit. It's difficult to put into words, so I'll leave it at that.

After the temple, I insisted I go blow some money on Pachinko which I had seen in a movie once and was desperate to play. It lasted for all of about 5 minutes and fifteen dollars, and put me off gambling at least until Vegas, 2010. I don't quite understand what you're supposed to do with all the buttons (so it was probably stupid to try to play), but it's like a combination of slots and pinball. It's a good thing I don't live in Japan anyway, I'd probably spent too much trying to figure out how to work the machines.

Then it was dinner, a bit more shopping and walking back to the hostel for more sake and snacks before bedtime. It's hard to be so fabulous.

Tsukiji fish market

Since we expected to be too late to see much, we were pleasantly surprised when there was still lots of fish slinging going on at 9am when we arrived. The market opens at 3am when the boats come in and the fish auctions start, but we still got to see lots of gutting and hauling, not to mention our fair share of fish blood and guts--enough for a lifetime. After wandering around the mucky wholesale fish area, where the city's sushi restaurants buy their fish, we walked over to the shops and restaurants where Timber bought two hand crafted knives--reportedly the last knives she will ever need. I have to admit that they are lovely to look at, though I'll never be allowed to actually touch them. (no joke).
We then waited two hours in line for a seat at a small sushi restaurant. While there were many to choose from, we figured to be a restaurant in the middle of the fish market in Tokyo, you have to be pretty darn good, so we just got in line and took turns waiting while the other shopped. Since we hadn't eaten anything--in a rush from oversleeping--we bought some tomago to try to fight off the low blood sugar grumpies that inevitably left us with sore backs and sore spirits before we got seated. While not the most pleasant of mornings, I think it made the sushi all the better. You could order piece by piece, but we ordered an 18 piece set as most everyone was doing and let it roll. First we were served really good miso and matcha green tea and then piece by piece of the catch of the day. I'm not sure what to say--it tasted indescribable. The fish absolutely melted, in the best fishiest kind of way. At the end, the chefs told us that we could have two more pieces of our choice. I ordered the salmon and honestly, cried when I ate it. I was so blown away by everything: how good it tasted, the frenzy of the market outside, the huge number of people that have waited for this sushi not only that day but every day, how much training the chefs must have been through, the intentionality of the soup and the fish and the tea, it was a really beautiful moment.
After the market, we had planned to maybe check out central Tokyo and do some shopping, but breakfast was just all too good to ruin it with mobs of people, so we headed back to Asakusa to check out Sensoji temple.

Harajuku and Yo-yogi park

In stark contrast to the serenity of the shrine, gardens and forest, the Jingu-bashi bridge outside the Meiji-jingu is the Sunday stage for a bunch of teenagers dressed up in the craziest fashion, posing for pictures and loving the attention they get from the hundreds of tourists happily shapping away, trying to capture each pose. I was really excited to see this display of characters, though I don't know much about the anime characters some of them were trying to emulate. While there were a few actual performers, most of them just sat around doing their makeup, or walked about waiting for someone to ask for a picture. It kind of reminded me of America's throngs of mall going teenagers, except with really awesome clothes. We walked thru a couple of times and saw an assortment of people, but I think had we hung out all day I could have published my own personal copy of Fruits.
After lots of gawking, we went into yo-yogi park to see the famous Elvis/Rockabilly gangs dancing and posing with their leather jackets, hoop skirts, pink cadillacs and harlies. We bought some Asahi beer and takoyaki (octopus bread--surprisingly delicous without the bonito flakes) and watched them dance around for a while. There were about four separate gangs, each dancing in a circle seemingly oblivious to everyone around them watching. It sort of felt like rockabilly dance off, but mostly they just seemed like they were in their own world of cool. They didn't really pose for many people, but were mostly concerned with who had the hottest twist within the gang. My favorite though was the old American guy twisting along with them.
After eating our picnic we walked over to the interior of the park and watched the Sunday afternoon shenannigans. There were loads of people, having picnics, playing baseball, breakdancing, hula hooping, sword fighting, playing badmitton--you name it. It was one of the most dynamic things I've ever seen. Everyone wasn't just hanging out, but almost every group was doing something creative. I am totally inspired to at least take my hula hoop out on the town every once in a while.
After we couldn't just watch anymore, we walked over to the shopping district where there were more people loaded into one sidestreet of shops than I've ever seen. We fought our way to the Daiso flagship store where we spent the better part of 2 hours, getting good deals and good presents. We went into a few more over crowded shops, including some high end second hand stores, but I was too overwhelmed to look much more. Soon we fought our way out of the alley and over to the subway stop toward Shinjuku.
Outside the subway, we found a huge department store. While most of the time I wouldn't think about going in, we'd heard about the amazing basement food stalls/courts and as we were starving, decided to give it a try. I've been in a couple department store basements like this before, where they sell gourmet items, usually for gifting but this was like the basement of Macy's times a trillion. Not only were there lots of pre-packaged foods to gift, but also loads of individual deli counters each offering specialty hot Japanese foods to take out and eat where you like. We bought a couple of samplings of sushi, some chicken and some sake and sat outside on some bank steps to have our picnic dinner. While not the most polite place to eat, we were really left with no choice having found no where else to go. So, you may be thinking that this sounds like a pretty boring dinner, but it might have been the second best meal in Tokyo (more on the first best meal on day 3!). The sushi was incredible--even the rice was better than any sushi rice I'd ever had.

In Shinjuku, we visited one of Tokyo's few gay bars, Advocate and had a drink before heading home. While it was mostly a gay men's bar, full of guys warming up for the huge sweaty man dance party we saw advertisements for, it was nice to feel like I was on Stark street, PDX again even though in reality I was being a super international Korean resident, Tokyo travelling queer.

After getting back to Asakusa where we were staying, we hit up the convenience store for some awesome Japanese snacks and sake. Best 7-11 chocolate ever, really. Unfortunately, we never really ate out to get to have sake in a restaurant, but we now have a really cute collection of glass sake cups from the store! I have to say, that as far as rice wines go, sake is infinitely better than soju or makorie--Korea's traditional rice derived alcohols.
Then, sleep!

Meiji-Jingu

The Meiji Jingu is a Shinto shrine dedicated to the Emperor Meiji and Empress Shoken. Founded around 90 years ago, it contains both shrine and a huge forest made through the donation of 100,000 trees from all over Japan and overseas and the volunteer effors of the Tokyo locals. As the info booklet says, now the forest is so well grown that you can't tell whether it is naturally occuring or planned. Being right off a subway stop, walking into it was pretty awe inspiring. One minute you're underneath an overpass, and the next you're entering beautiful green space. Walking through the entrance gate was like a big welcoming hug from the forest itself. As we walked through, we made our way to the shrine where we were lucky enough to witness a wedding as well as a performance of the Koto, by a group of beautifully dressed older women. The performance was in honor of the dieties for the Spring Grand Festival. Listening to the women play in the middle of the shrine in the middle of the forest in the middle of busy buzzing Tokyo was really mystical. It put me, and I think the whole crowd in a bit of a daze as we listened for half an hour or so. Afterward, I wrote a prayer for the prayer box, and we went over to the garden grounds inside the forest area. The azaleas were starting to bloom and the irises were growing, surrounding a pond that was home to lots and lots of huge carp and some really cute turtles. The garden was made before the shrine and the forest, for the Empress to wander in and "give her fresh energy".
The emperor and empress were waka poets. Here are a sample of their poems:

The morning sun
Rises so splendidly
Into the sky;
Oh, that we could attain
Such a clear reviving soul!
~Emperor Meiji

If we are guided
By these human hearts of ours
And feel no shame,
Then others in the world
May speak of what they will.
~Empress Shoken

Shibuya crossing

While most people come here because there was something of it filmed for "Lost in Translation", I didn't know about it until I was informed that I must must must see it by a few friends. The intersection is outside one of the busiest train stations in the world, a transfer stop between several of Tokyo's seemingly infinite number of subway lines. While it seems like a fair sized business district, it is probably foremost a HUGE shopping district and an incredible first look at the amazingness of Tokyo fashion (and prices! ouch!). When you first leave the station, if you can see through the crown of people, there is a statue of a dog named Hachiko. I think this is the sweetest story, if a little heart breaking.
Copied from Lonely Planets "Tokyo Encounter":
"In the 1920's a professor who taught at what is now Tokyo University lept a small Akita dog name Hachiko. Hachiko accompanied the professor to Shibuya station every morning, then returned in the afternoons to await the professor's arrival. One spring day in 1925, the professor died of a stroke while at the university and never came home. Hachiko continued to turn up at the station daily to wait for his master, until Hachiko's own death 10 years later. The dog's faithfulness touched the locals, who built a statue to honor his memory in the place where he died...."

After visiting Sir Puppy Hachiko, we made our way to the crossing. At first, I didn't realize where I was but when the people started moving it was unmistakable. About every minute or minute and a half or so, car traffic stops in all directions and what must be hundreds of people take over the road, crossing every which way. The energy of the place was absolutely electric, overwhelming and vibrant, all in one. We fought our way to the second floor Starbucks to just watch for a while, where I took this video.

Afterwards, we did a little shopping in the area. I don't think I bought anything except perhaps for some socks and some dinner. About 9pm, we were both so exhausted from navagating our way around that I was perfectly happy to head back to the other side of town to plan the next day and get to bed.

That night, we slept in funny capsule like bunk beds. I forgot to take a picture, but it was like a tiny personal hotel room-just a bed, a light, a shelf and an outlet behind a sliding bed-door. I slept really hard.

Waterbus ride and Hara-rikyu gardens

The water bus travels down the Sumida River and was absolutely full as we rode from Asakusa to Hama-rikyu. We didn't know it at the time we bought the tickets, but the bus drops you off right at the family garden on the Tokugawa Shogun, or the "Detatched palace gardens". It was a great introduction to Tokyo as we got to see a whole bunch of the river's multicolored bridges and some beautiful skylines of the city, as well as a really serene park. The part has 4 ponds/water features some of which are salt water, fed directly from the river. There were duck hunting grounds, a horse exercising area, a flower field, flower tree garden and specialty peony field, just to give an idea of the size of the place. It was full of couples picnicing and walking around having Saturday. My favorite part was the peony gardens (Mu Dan Hua). They're gorgeous flowers but also very important in Chinese and Japanese history as well as herbal medicine.
The most fun might have been the performers we saw on the way out. Two women were doing various tricks with umbrellas and other props while this guy played some instrument whose name I don't know. They were very silly and made me smile lots. Also, they looked really pretty in their kimonos.