Still Here

Yes, I'm still here and still kicking.  I decided to take advantage of the slightly cooler day (it is only 33'C in my apartment) and send an update.  Oh, and I wanted to respond to my cousin's question about my last post. 

When we went to the studio to dress up like a Maiko they didn't give us a history of the Geisha.  This is likely for two reasons: one they don't speak English and only two of us spoke any level of Japanese, and second the service is geared toward Japanese people, who probably already know the history of the Geisha.  I actually had trouble deciding on participating in the photo shoot.  I was worried about cultural appropriation and I didn't like the idea of just dressing up and it not having any meaning for me.  But I talked to my JT's (the Japanese teachers that I work with) and they all encouraged me to do it.  Also, I did it because I thought my Grandpa would like to have a picture of me all dressed up to put next to the one of his Dad.

So this will be a quick run down of Hanami and Golden Week.  With lots of pictures so I don't have to write so much. :)

HANAMI

So, Hanami is the Sakura festival time.  Basically it goes like this, once the Sakura (cherry blossoms) start to bloom people gather together under the trees and drink their faces off.  There usually is a lot of signing and even some dancing, but mostly it's drinking and eating.  Everybody has a Hanami party: families, friends, co-workers, and if your like me you go it alone.  Now, if you translate Hanami it means flower viewing.  However, most people aren't so much viewing the flowers as they are revelling in an excuse to party.  Unless of course you count tilting your head back to finish the last of the sake as viewing the flowers.  I didn't actually go to any Hanami parties.  I don't drink and I still hadn't met many Japanese people at this point.  I almost missed the Sakura in general, because they are around for such a short time.  This year they were late and we had really bad weather when they did show up, it was rainy and windy so they were around even shorter than usual.  But I did head to Kyoto with Danielle and we caught the tail end of Sakura season.  So what follows are some pics.  I'm glad we caught the tail end because I wouldn't have wanted to be around when it was at it's peak.  As it was, it was almost too busy for me to enjoy.

Entrance to the Sakura garden.  This only gives you a taste of how busy it was.

Close up of some Sakura. 

A rare moment with no people passing, just enough time for a quick photo.

The blossoms on this tree have pretty much fallen.  But I liked the worn out look of it.

I tried to sneak this picture, because I thought it was so cute.  They were all alone and eating together. But in my attempts to be sneaky I ended up with a blurry picture.

He wouldn't move and I didn't want to wait, so I just incorporated him into the picture.

Plum and cherry blossoms.  Framing didn't quite work as well as I had wanted.

This was the closest I could get to having no one in the picture.  And I stood there for a good 5-10 mins.

Leaving a temple, or entering depending on whose perspective you take.

GOLDEN WEEK 

So Golden Week is basically days off at the end of April and beginning of May.  There are a bunch of National Holidays in there, and it usually ends May 5th which is Children's Day.  But more accurately celebrated as Boy's Day.  What it means for us gaijin is that it's a week off of work.  And I spent that time kicking it around the Kansai area.  I had a couple of days in and around Kyoto, some in Kobe, and even stayed in Osaka for a bit.  I guess I will break it down by city.

Osaka

I spent Friday night in Osaka and decided to go to an area I've not been to before.  Therefore, Merran and I headed to Dotonbori.  It's crazy to think that I never explored this area before, because it is off of Shinsaibashi which is an area I frequently visit.  Anyway, Dotonbori is best seen at night.  It has all the neon lights and strange people.  However, despite it being Golden Week it was strangely empty.  I wonder if we just happened to catch the transitional period, you know when locals have left but visitors haven't arrived yet.

Dotonbori is filled with strange sculptures outside of restaurants.

Showing you how to make your nigiri.

Blurry picture of some strange mascot.  Just down the road there was a man selling food dressed like this guy.

Osaka is famous for it's takoyaki.  So you see many octopus sculptures.

If you are adventurous you can buy Fugu.  I wasn't.

A busy takoyaki stall.  Merran had not tried takoyaki yet, so we decided to stop and get some.

Making takoyaki.

I don't know what he's selling, but I don't want any thank you.

Ah, strange head statue/pillars outside a hotel.  They are heads with feet.  I don't even try to understand anymore.

The entrance to a love hotel.  We had to stop for a photo.

Here is one entrance to the street, this was on the dodgy side.

Well, that's all I want to do for now, mostly because I'm hungry.  I may come back to this later today to finish off Golden Week.  If that is the case you may have to go back a post to start with this one.  That is if any of you are still reading this.

Turning Japanese

So, once a month.  That's good right?  That's all you really need.  I have no excuses now, other than the fact that I'm a lazy bugger.  How is is already June 21st?  Seriously! 

So for those of you who don't know, I am finishing off my year in Japan and heading Canada-ward.  Probably late Sept.- early Oct.

Well anyway, what did I do after Hiroshima (OMG that was in March!! Wow is anyone still reading this?  Do you still care AT ALL??!!??).  I'll tell you what I did.  In fact, I'll do one better.  I'll show you what I did!  How 'bout I do both, at the same time!

First things first.  Where did I go this time?  KYOTO!  Why did I go there?  We'll get to the main reason, but supplementary purposes involved my friend Danielle.  I've mentioned her before and she's shown up in a picture or two already.  Well, her Mom came to visit her and they did a whole lotta stuff.  Eventually, they headed to Kyoto and I (among others) was invited to join.  Us girls went out our first night and danced until the wee hours of the morning.  However, we had big plans that day and maybe this wasn't such a good idea.  So nursing hangovers, some worse than others, we went to a little place just on the western outskirts of Kyoto called Arashiyama.  We went to see a temple.  It was nice.  Kyoto has a lot of them.  I will probably see a few more before I'm done.  Here are some pics.

Merran and Robin squatting to take a pic.  We became obsessed with "squatting" pictures.

A duck.

One of many "squatting" pictures.  Looks like a band photo desu ne?

More squatting.  Robin is the queen!  Although, Merran sort of came out on top in this photo.

A crazy photo of a huge fish in the man made lake by the temple.  Not my photo.  Courtesy of Merran.

We didn't hang out at the temple too long because we had a previous engagement to attend to (our main reason for coming).  But first we had to meet up with 2 more people.  Both the meeting and the appointment were in Gion (an area of Kyoto) so we booked out and heading off to meet our friends and find our studio.  Meeting our friends went well.  Finding our studio, not so much.  We called, we asked, we wandered.  Eventually, JUST on time we found it.  Japanese streets and addresses and directions are so very confusing.

Here we go a wassailing.  For the record, it wasn't down this street.

Our main reason for coming to Kyoto.  Where were we heading, you ask?  Well, let me show you.

 That's right.  We were heading to a studio to get made over into Maiko.  Which for those of you who haven't seen Memoirs of a Geisha, is an apprentice Geisha.  For the layman it looks the same.  But to those in the know there is a big difference.  The make-up (I think) is slightly different and the kimonos (I know) are different.  But for us, Maiko was good and  it was cheaper to do.

 Here are some of the girls getting done up.  They have you strip down and then put on this hospital gown type under-dress.  You gotta wear the special socks and take off all your jewellery and accessories.  The ladies who do your make up are extremely swift.  They cover your face in an oil, massage it in and before you can say howdy-do you are done.  Well, it's not quite that fast, but considering what and how much stuff they are putting on you your time in the chair is quite short.

Cupboard of various wigs.  I found it kind of creepy.

 I feel it important to point out here that I didn't come completely prepared.  Meaning, I didn't charge my camera battery before I left home.  Guess who needed to charge their camera battery.  But I was given free reign over any available camera, so I did take a lot of these pictures.  Not all but a good amount. 

Close up of the back of Robin's neck.

 Here are some photos of the process of getting ready.  I probably won't comment too much as hopefully the pictures speak for themselves.  I will say, that standing still with your arms slightly raised while a little Japanese woman runs around you and dresses you is an interesting experience.  Oh, and we each got to pick out our own kimonos.  They had a wall of them, which you can kind of see in some of the pictures.  In fact, I'm pretty sure I have a pic of Danielle sitting in front of them.

Danielle being dressed.

It was so hot in here.  Wall of kimonos.

Close up of Merran's neck detail.

Almost done.

Mysterious Maiko.  Sly look over the shoulder.

I was the last one to get my make up on and dressed.

One of the few photos of me "in process."  Every body else was already through.

These things are dangerous.  Danielle and Daisy spend some quality time, stuck together.

Once you have your hair put on, you feel naked without it.  Merran and Danielle.

Photo op, while the photographer was taking group shots.

One of my solo shots.  I loved this kimono!

Another solo, that I edited to give a vintage look.

Danielle and I.  Man, I look so serious!!

Make-up took longer coming off than it did going on.

The whole process took about 4 hours, but there were 7 of us.  And we each got about 20 solo shots.  It was totally worth it, even if the kimonos were hot and constricting.  Robin was first so she must have had an uncomfortable 3 hours!  One thing I have to mention here.  Getting "dressed" was interesting, as I mentioned before and it took a little while. Probably about 5-10 mins from the first layer of clothing to finally getting your hair.  However, getting undressed (again assisted) was, I have to admit, somewhat...stimulating.  I mean, I went from a fully dressed Maiko, to "naked" (wearing only the under-dress) in about 25 seconds.  They literally tear the thing off you and it gets thrown to the floor!  Maybe I've been alone too long, but how is that not stimulating?

So, that was our weekend in Kyoto in a nutshell.  Next post, will be on Golden week.   Which if I don't do before July 3rd then it probably won't get done until August.  July is a busy month.  But I will try to post something before then.  Oh, and this is the only way in which I was turning Japanese.  Because my language skills are still below minimum. :(

The Museum, et. al.

Wow, so couple of weeks since my last post and I'm still only talking about Hiroshima!  I am so far behind.  I guess that is because I am out doing things and really not spending much time online.  That's what happens when the weather changes.  I will try my best to get caught up soon, but May has been a busy month.  All my friends are leaving at the end of this month, so we have been going out pretty much every weekend.  This weekend is Universal Studios Japan!  Yay!  I've not been to a theme park in ages.

€

First Night

Well anyway, here is the rest of my trip to Hiroshima.  After the the Miyajima trip we came home and decided to have something to eat.  Hiroshima is known for it's okonomiyaki, which is different from Osaka's (which is also known for okonomiyaki).  What is this strange food of which I speak?  It is a wonderful cabbage omelettey-crepey thing.  But Hiroshima style has noodles.  I got udon with mine.  The food was delicious, still the best okonomiyaki I've had.  I was the only one of our group of 3 to finish mine.  That was a lot of food!

 We then went for a drink at this little cafe called the Fish Lab.  You drink your coffee/tea/hot chocolate/beer/sake or whatever it is you chose, surrounded by tanks of tropical fish!  Like floor to ceilling, tanks of fish.  And of course you could buy the fish if you so desire.  So it's like a late night Fish Store that serves drinks and snacks.  The best thing about this shop is the owner.  She is super cute and so lovely.  She came over to speak with us, even though she doesn't really speak English.  She was just so darn friendly and cute!  She also called some guy and told him to come by to speak to us.  I guess he is learning English and she thought this would be a good opportunity to practice.  His English was pretty good and so was his friend's.  They had to learn it for work.  I really loved this little cafe and wanted to come back.  As we were leaving I wanted to show off one of the Japanese phrases that I learned so I bade every one a fond "matte ashita."  Which is "see you tomorrow."  I was proud of myself until the kufuffle broke out.  You see, one of the guys mentioned that there was going to be a birthday party at the cafe tomorrow, so it was "closed."  I forgot and was just so excited to use my little Japanese and this simple "good-bye" inspired a lot of chatting and potential phone calls and some heated discussion.  All of which amounted to them saying we should come by and join the birthday party!  I've learned since that "matte ashita" is only to be used when you are actually going to see the person tomorrow.  If you are going to see them later then it's "matte ne."  I felt really bad, cause I really had no intention of inviting myself and my friends to a birthday party, I just wanted to say goodbye in Japanese.  To answer your question, we didn't go.  And sadly, we didn't go back again before we left.

The Museum

The next morning we headed off to the museum. I'm just going to show you some pictures of that day.  It was pretty emotional and I started crying in the museum.  It was really well put together and I do recommend it if you are in Hiroshima.  But be warned, it's sad.  I didn't take many pictures, but some key ones I thought would help get the sense across.
 

Frozen in time.  Watch stopped at the moment of bomb drop.

A scale replica of the A-Dome, inside the museum.

Sadako memorial on museum grounds.

Close up of some of the millions of cranes at the Sadako memorial.

Walking up to the A-Dome.

A-Dome the explosion was just above this building.

Second Night

 The day was long and draining.  We were planning to go out after, but we felt pretty wiped.  However, we didn't want to end the day with the heaviness we all felt in our hearts, so we took a nap and got ready to go out dancing.  Jill and I decided to swap styles for the night.  She normally goes out dressed up as the pretty girl that she is, and I my friends am a bit of a rocker to the core.  But, Jill rocked the faux-hawk that night (most of the night) and I was done up as the pretty girl.  Jill did both our make-up and I did her hair.  I think she looks bad-ass.  And there was a surprisingly large amount of make-up on my face, but I think she did an amazing job.  I tried to play the part of the sweet, pretty girl, but as the night wore on the gig was up. :P

The Next Day

 We had a bit of a lie in,but didn't want to waste what was effectively our last day in Hiroshima.  We went back to the park and enjoyed a beautiful sunny day.  On our way to look for food, we saw a welcome sight.  FREE HUGS!!!  We were swept up with how perfect the day seemed to be, nursing mild hangovers, sitting in the sun, and now free hugs!  Really, it couldn't get much better than this.  I was super stoked and went skipping over to the lovely men for my free hug!  The rest of the day was pretty much just hanging out.  That night Jill and I did give pachinko a go, which is Japanese style gambling.  I can sort of see the appeal for the first, I don't know, minute or two, but people spend hours at these places!  And waste soooo much money!  Plus the parlours are loud and bright and chaotic. 

No prize for Jill. :(

Going Home

So, that's pretty much my trip to Hiroshima.  I highly recommend it if you make your way to Japan.  The whole city has a very different feel than other places I've been.  We met some awesome people, had a humbling education, and a fun night out.  Oh, and delicious food.  You have to have Hiroshima okonomiyaki, seriously.  Also, check out the MOGMOG doughnut shop.  On my walk back to the station to catch my bus, I stopped for a snack along the river and made a feathered friend.  Something about me an crows...  Oh and I stopped for a picture with an old friend. :P

He hung out for a bit, while I ate a snack.

OMG!  R2, you're naked!!!