Studio: Tokyo, Summer 2006
The PNCA Global Studios Program is founded on the principles of experiential education and intended to lead students to engage in creative practice in unfamiliar cultural settings. Michael Showell is one of nine students in Japan this summer in our Studio: Tokyo program, studying with Kurosaki, Nike, and Weiden & Kennedy. He’s sending one photo every day to document his experience. Email him your thoughts at .
Jul 02, 2006
The Last Supper
For most of us, much of today was spent cleaning, packing and last minute shopping. The real treat came at dinner time. Paul decided to take us all to a very traditional Japanese meal at a restaurant in Aoyama. This was the real deal. We had to take off our shoes, walk on tatami through a corridor of closed-off rooms, and our table was about 1.5 feet off the ground. The whole thing was quite an experience. They served about 6 or 7 courses, and for each one, our attendant showed us the proper way to eat or serve our selves. Kurosaki met us there at the beginning but unfortunately could not stay. However, he did give us all "Schooling Pad Graduation Pins", which are very cool. On another note, tomorrow is our big day of travel. WE ARE COMING HOME. So I bid you all adieu, and I appreciate your readership. It was quite an honor to be a speaker for our experience here. I hope that you all got a glimpse of what we experienced. Sayonara.
Jul 01, 2006
Osaragi Jiro
Today's expedition took us to Kamakura. A coastal town about 45 minutes south-ish of Tokyo, Kamakura was a nice getaway from the busy streets of Tokyo. We saw a couple temples, climbed inside a giant Buddha's belly, washed our money in a mountain cave, and even got to put our feet in the Pacific. But, by far, one of the best experiences of the day had to be our visit to Osaragi Jiro's house. Osaragi Jiro is a well known writer, sort of an equivalent to Ernest Hemingway. His grandson now owns his house and runs a very private champagne bar out of it. Kurosaki-san is good friends with the grandson, and set up our visit in advance. It was such a treat. After a long hot day, we were able to relax in Osaragi Jiro's old writing room while drinking some refreshments, and sharing a bottle of champagne. It was definitely something to remember. A special note: The reason the champagne bar was established is because of Osaragi's admiration of French Culture. But as everything is in Japan, this experience was distinctly Japanese.
Jun 30, 2006
do/see/experience
As we near the end of our trip, I can't help but feel a little reminisce about all I got to experience, and the myriad more that I didn't experience. There is so much to this city, it boggles the mind. I honestly don't know what to say. I know that many of us are ready to come home, to come back to friends and family, to jobs, and to a real Portland Beer menu. But on the other hand, I also don't want to let go of this city. There is so much left we could do/see/experience. When I see this picture, I realize this is about 1/10 of Tokyo, and I understand the impossiblity to experience everything. More importantly, I cherish all I have experienced. I hope that all of you will be able to come to this city. When you come, remember this: do/see/experience.
Jun 29, 2006
Fuji-yama, Elevation: 3,776 meters (12,388 feet)
We tackled the mountain today. It was quite an experience. We got up at 6 am, caught a bus by eight and we were at the base of the mountain by 10. Paul and I made it up to Station 7 (elevation: 2700 meters, see arrow) before having to turn back because we needed to catch the last bus down. But, I will say, we would have / could have made it to the summit. The day was perfect. When we got up to the last bus stop on the mountain, it was cloudy and cool. This allowed us to hike in relative comfort for a couple of hours, until the clouds started to burn off. It was still fairly cool, with a nice wind, but the sun made its presence known, and I dare say I look more like a lobster than I'm comfortable with. But, it was a great day all the same. When I got home and checked our elevation and that of the summit, I realized just how close we got to the summit. One kilometer is still a long way, but definitely doable. Maybe another time.
Jun 28, 2006
Mmmmm. Fried mini-crab.
We thought it would be good to take a little break from Ikejiri today, and we ended up meeting at a local Izakaya. It's actually the same Izakaya we went to with Nanako before the "Karaoke Incident". It was nice to just eat, drink and be merry as we talked about our project and the writing we had done for it. If you've been to Tokyo, and you don't speak the language you can understand when I say there was pictures of everything on the menu. Jake thought one of the food items "looked kinda cool" and decided to get the Fried Mini-crab. We from the northwest thought, "Hey, some nice crab, though small, we could still crack them open, etc. etc.". No. That's not what these crab were for. You can get a sense of just how big those crab were by the lemon on the plate. I'd even venture to say they were "bite-size" crab. Breaded, fried, and ready to eat... whole. Jake later recanted how "cool" that was, but Trent consumed the entire plate of fried mini-crab. He said it had the consistency of pop-corn, and the shell would sometimes get stuck in your teeth. On a related note, I do count myself lucky that between this and the BBQ'd octopus I ate, we haven't been faced with any really scary "delicacies" in Japan. Tomorrow we venture to Fuji-yama (translation: Mt. Fuji). Should be fun and cool, and this time I'm talking about temperature. Ah yes, I almost forgot, Paul ate an entire plate of squid tonight, tentacles and all. I have pictures, but you may not want to see them.
Jun 27, 2006
Volunteer Tour Guide
By some random coincidence, Leah Bobal and others met a very nice Japanese man who then took them out to dinner. Teruo Hosoya is a volunteer tour guide for the Imperial East Gardens, and today, he invited us to tour the East Garden. If you look on a map of Tokyo, you'll see the imperial palace complex is right in the middle of Tokyo, and the city just radiates outward from it. I thought this picture showed how interesting it is to see old Japanese structures contrasted so closely with the modern structures of Tokyo today. It was nice to escape the busy city into the serenity of the gardens. And to hear all the stories about the history of the gardens from Hosoya-san was priceless. Oh, and it was HOT! Probably the hottest day we've had yet. Coincidentally, I heard it was hot today for all of you in Portland as well.
Jun 26, 2006
Oh, the places you'll go.
As the good Dr. Seuss so coined, oh, the places we did go. Here are nine pictures of the places we went during our weekend off. Starting from top left:
Kristen Lavavej:
Me as Hello Kitty at Puroland.
This weekend I stayed in Tokyo going to Puroland on Saturday and
sightseeing in Harajuku on Sunday. I went to Puroland because I love Hello Kitty and this trip may well be my only chance to go, thus it was on my list of things to do while I was here. I went to Harajuku to see the cosplay kids as more inspiration for my part of the book. My most memorable moment of this weekend was riding the small-world-esque boat ride at Puroland, I got a whole boat all to myself.
Robin Balmer:
On Tokyo Bay
A water bus to Odaiba Seaside Park. I was wandering aimlessly, and thought a water bus ride would be interesting. My most memorable moment was passing beneath the Tokyo Rainbow Bridge, feeling the sea breeze.
Jake Hollomon:
I put a bunch of pictures up of our adventure at Yoyogi-Koen.
http://www.micron.carnacia.com/blog.php
Sara Wallfisch:
The Japanese Alps
I went on an adventure to the Japanese alps, where I climbed a mountain
and slept on top, soaked in hot springs and felt as though I was finally
experiencing a more traditional Japan. It was good to escape Tokyo, as I
was yearning to see a greener side of Japan. My favorite part of the
weekend was ascending the mountain, and upon reaching the top, watching
a breathtaking panorama of snow capped peaks emerge from the clouds.
Trent Russell:
Dusk Atami Japan
I went to Atami Japan, a resort town a hour away from Tokyo along the Pacific Coast. Why did I go there? Because it was on the water and it wasn't a city. I just wanted to see the Pacific Ocean. What was so memorable about it was the first time the water just hit my feet watching the high tide come slowly in.
Simone Benefield:
Red chair
I spent one of my days off at the National Tokyo museum going through the
parts we didn't get through. I was able to get some more research done. The most memorable thing for me was seeing artifacts that date back to 700, how well preserved they all are, and how they mix the moderness of the
building with such old items.
Paul Platosh:
The Overnight Train
I always wanted to take an overnight luxury train. This was my chance. I
also wanted to see Hokkaido with my own two eyes. The best thing was
simmering in a hot spring at the base of the volcano.
Michael Showell:
Talented Tokyo Teens Telling Their Tale To The Throng.
I stayed in Tokyo and visited some of the places I haven't been able to go to before, because I knew there were plenty of places that I could still explore inside Tokyo. My most memorable moment was walking through Yoyogi Park on Sunday, watching all of the bands battle for people's attention on the sidewalk, and then seeing the Rockabilly Club dance the day away.
Leah Bobal:
The graceful beauty of the Tokyo International Forum.
The Tokyo International Forum is a striking yet functional international
meeting place for conventions, performances and art shows. I stumbled
upon it while trying to find the Leica gallery nearby. Turns out this
was a much better find, I spent an hour lying on a bench, looking up at
the ceiling. Mesmerizing.
Jun 25, 2006
Cultural Research
Every Sunday the Tokyo Rockabilly Club comes out to the park to dance. It's rained the last couple of Sundays, so today was the first time we were able to see them. As we heard from Emily the Great (see a few posts down), this rockabilly club has been coming every Sunday for years. The general schedule is: show up, drink, drink some more, drink a little more, dance, rest, tape up your boots, drink, and dance some more. For any rockabilly fans out there, this wasn't your typical rockabilly dancing. It was sort of cross between The Twist, Michael-Jackson-finger-pointing, break dancing, and random chaos. But entertaining none the less. Apparently, according to Emily, the Rockabilly Club was one of the groups that made Harajuku the place it is today. This is, of course, all cultural research for our project. A couple of people from our group actually got to hang out with them later that afternoon and have some great pictures. Check out Simone's pictures. I'm not sure where I was when this happened, but I definitely missed out. But I heard we were invited to hang out with them again next Sunday!
Jun 24, 2006
Green with Jealousy
I dare say we are spoiled in Portland. First, let me explain what has led me to say such a thing. As I have been just relaxing this weekend (reading, listening to music, and going to local coffee shops), I have found myself more than once, feeling a tinge of jealousy for those of us who were able to escape the concrete jungle we call Tokyo. For I know that many are enjoying country side, and even ocean views, and yet I know I have only reached the tip of the iceberg in exploration of Tokyo. However, there is something that is overbearing by a city with so much concrete. And this is why I say, we are spoiled in Portland with so many natural landscapes only minutes away in any direction. Tokyo is not completely devoid of greenery, and when you can find a gem, like Yoyogi Park, and get lost in its towering trees, it is very calming. I have heard that often times someone may just own a small plant in Tokyo, and it can be their escape simply by meditating with it. I say again, we are spoiled in Portland. But I don't think I'd have it any other way. Pictured is one "small" section of Tokyo from Mori Tower in Roppongi on the left, and the main walkway through Yoyogi Park on the right.
Jun 23, 2006
Matsui Akihiro
This is Matsui Akihiro. He is one of the Schooling-Pad students we barbecued with a week ago, and my new japanese friend. Matsui and I have been trying to set something up, and finally were able to hang out this evening. He took Jake Hollomon, Simone Benefield, Kristen Lavavej, and I to a Japanese Izakaya. An Izakaya is a traditional japanese restaurant pretty popular here. Its pretty informal and generally you buy food that can be shared with the entire group. It was fun to eat with Matsui and hear about what he's doing here. Matsui lived in Wenatchee, Washington, for a year during high-school, and speaks good English. We were trying to convince him to come out to Portland, so I guess we will see if we were successful. He and some others are trying to start a magazine here, and he said he would send us one when it came out. In other news... With little more than a week left, we were given a three day weekend to travel or just relax. About half of us stayed in Tokyo, and the other half went to different spots around Japan. There should be plenty of great photos by the other students in homeroom, so check it out next week.
Jun 22, 2006
Nike Tokyo Design Pod
Today was another big day in our Tokyo experience as we got to meet with Howard Lichter at the Nike Tokyo Design Pod. This was really great. We heard a little about the Design Pod's history and what they've been doing, and then we got to explain our project. He gave us some really good feedback, and even some advice on where to go in Tokyo to enrich our project. On the left is Paul and Jake walking up to the front of the Nike Tokyo Design Pod. It is a renovated single family home. On the right is Howard giving us some background on the design pod as we dig in to some munchies. It was lunch time and we hadn't eaten. The coolest thing was that I got a KitKat bar with a music CD attached... only in Japan.
Jun 22, 2006
Emily the Great.
This is Emily. She was our guide today. She's really. She is getting a Master's or PH.D. in cultural-anthropological-societal studies... something like that. Well, she was pretty much the expert on the ins and outs of Harajuku culture and the history of how it got to be the way it is today. It was finally good to get a taste of something a little deeper than just my own observations. I think I coined it "cultural translation". Emily is a native Portlander, which was nice, and we found out after meeting her, that she actually lives in the same building we do. Crazy! After our tour, we met up with a former PNCA student, Nanako, and spent some time with her. We did karaoke, and I will just leave it at that.
Jun 20, 2006
Nihon Minka-en
Today was a very eventful day... We made it down to Kawasaki City, and no, we didn't go to the Kawasaki Motorcycle plant. We had a couple of things on the agenda for Kawasaki, and ended up doing so much more. Paul took us to a surprise temple, we lost two of our group (they were overtaken by rampaging pirates. This isn't exactly true, but a little more exciting than saying you got stuck in a bank...), took a car ride (this is more exciting than you know), and then made it to an outdoor museum of old Japanese architecture. It was really interesting to see exactly how these old homes were constructed, and we could even see some semblance of why things are today as they are. One of the most interesting things was just how good these homes were made. If you just put in electricity and plumbing, I think you could easily find someone who would live in these homes exactly as they are. Pictured here is a small section of the museum showing the roof tops and some surrounding forests. Surprisingly, this is only a few minutes walk to a major city train line, although you'd never know it. Picture by Trent Russell (he used my camera, so I used his picture).
Jun 19, 2006
W+K+PNCA=FANTASTIC
Above is my formula for today. We had the very fortunate privilege to have a few hours over at Wieden+Kennedy Tokyo. They gave us some info on what they've done, how they work and we got to pick their brains about creative process, agency work, and our project. They all had some very good comments and ideas for us. It was really great for us to see them get involved and offer up some their time to give us a critique and steer us on to more compelling forms of what we are working on. In the photo, we have Sara Wallfisch engaging with the creatives at W+K about her part of the project.
Jun 18, 2006
Tsukiji Mayhem
I've been wanted to show you all more from Tsukiji, so I have put together this small film. This will also be my first disclaimer. This short film may not be to some liking, there is some graphic content. Your discretion is advised. Enjoy.
Jun 18, 2006
Schooling-Pad BBQ
So I seemed to have misunderstood who our BBQ was with. And I'll admit, I'm sure it was my own A.D.D.-ness that was the culprit. We had the BBQ with students from Ikejiri. They were part of Teruo's Schooling-Pad which is the actual school that runs out of Ikejiri Institute of Design. It was really great. I got to "communicate" with some very interesting people who were doing there thing professionally, but still wanted to come and learn at Ikejiri, sort of a Continuing Education thing. But now to the real crux of this post... I ate things that I would never have eaten in Portland. You sort of have to know me to really get how big of a deal this is. I'm pretty picky. But what are you going to do when your host is cooking up some nice juicy octopus for you. Say no? I said, "Yes please." It wasn't so bad; kind of chewy though. I also ate barbecue baked scallops, clams, squid and some sort of shredded mystery meat. The picture here are the scallops cooking up. It is funny for me now as I look at this picture. Because of the flash, I now get a full sense of what I had eaten. It was dark before, which may have saved me. All in all, I think the BBQ was a success. I got to meet a good number of people, and even have tentative plans for one of them to show us around to some great places in Tokyo. I hope that we get to hang out with them again before we leave.
Jun 17, 2006
Size does matter.
No, seriously, size does matter. I can tell you first hand, a lot of things here are not made for someone of my size (6'4", 200 lbs.). Let's take doors for example. About half of the door frames here hit the bridge of my nose (I have not, as of yet, actually hit one). Food portions are smaller. Don't laugh, but I had to go back to the deli counter today, and explain to the girl that I would like exactly the same thing I just ordered two minutes ago because I had already finished it. You could fit a "delivery truck" here into the bed of a Ford 150 in the US. I'm not even going to talk about showers. On the other hand, there are some things that are bigger than you'd imagine. Take Tokyo proper, for example. I ate lunch today at the top of the Mori Tower in Roppongi Hills (see image). The view here is incredible. I literally can't not see Tokyo. It's everywhere and goes on to the horizon. You can actually buy a 1000 mL can of beer (that's about 34 oz. in a can!). I showed you the crossing at Shibuya - HUGE. The size of crowds here reaches epic proportions. And, as I have mentioned before, the subway system is crazy huge. Paul had to nearly walk 1 Kilometer underground to transfer to another train. So size does matter. Don't let anyone tell you different.
Jun 16, 2006
Kabuk-illegal.
For most of us, today was our first experience with traditional Japanese Kabuki. As with most of the venues here, technically I wasn't allowed to take this photograph. I decided to accept the spirit of this law, and I took the photo after the end of the first act, so as to not disturb any of the other viewers or disrupt the beauty of the kabuki in action. As you may or may not have noticed, our seats were pretty high up. But it was just because we were only staying for one act. So as to understand what was going on, we rented little translation radios with headphones. I guess the play eventually continued for another three or four hours. I'm glad to have experienced the play, but like many of the things in Japan, I just didn't fit in the theater seats, so I was happy we didn't have to stay the entire four hours. None the less, it was interesting to have the play translated in my ear, and the history of kabuki explained in between dialogue. Just to keep you updated, tomorrow we have the meet 'n greet BBQ with all the folks at Ikejiri. Should be interesting.
Jun 15, 2006
A different sort of "getting there".
I have been getting many requests to speak about our sanctuary project. And I could do that, but at this point most of us are just getting out of exploration stages of our project. However, yesterday we had a long working critique and were able to solidify some of our ideas. It was a long day, but good for us. We have also solidified plans with our contacts here in Tokyo and have busy week ahead. Saturday, we'll be throwing a BBQ for Kurosaki and the Ikejiri folks. Monday, we are meeting with some creatives at Weiden+Kennedy Tokyo. And finally, Thursday we'll be heading over to the Nike Design Pod for a time of Q and A. All of us are well, and I know we all appreciate your thoughts and emails. Keep thinking of us as we head into the second have of our trip here. Oh, and it rained again today, and I was stuck without an umbrella.
Jun 14, 2006
Tokyo Nights
Yes, I know, I'm stealing this year's gala title, but it is so pertinent to this post. One of the (many) things I love about Tokyo is its ability to become a completely different city at night. It was told to us early on to explore our neighborhood during the day to become accustomed to our surroundings. We were also given instructions to be sure to explore our neighborhood at night, as it becomes completely different. This aspect is more true than you know. Tokyo has this uncanny ability to have an entirely new landscape made up of color and light. It is really something to behold, and I've tried to show this technicolor beauty in my image here, but as you can imagine, it is much better in person. I am currently on a mission to capture each of the major neighborhoods both during the day and at night to really show the dichotomy. My own little project. Perhaps I can show it to you all at a later time.
Jun 13, 2006
Nikko, Japan
So today was a pretty big day. We all made it to to the train station at 6:30am to buy our tickets for Nikko, Japan. It was about a 2 hour train ride in which most of us slept. At Nikko we saw these amazing temples. Very Ornate. Very Large. And really quite beautiful. In all of the temples photography was forbidden, so I apologize for not being able to show you the interiors, but the exteriors were equally as amazing. There was a couple of things that I wanted to tell you about, which is shown in my photo here. First, which I have explained somewhat, is the incredible ornateness of the temples. This is better explained through the image. Another aspect of the whole experience was the public nature. There were hundreds of tourists here, and from what I've heard, this isn't even the real "tourist season". So the dichotomy of the spiritual nature of the temples contrasted with the chaos of all the people was very interesting. Furthermore, within each temple was some sort of souvenir shop selling charms and the like. This seemed like a juxtaposition to me, but, as I heard later, it seems these aspects were always connected. Lastly, I heard a story that many of these giant trees were planted by one guy 500 years ago. Although a simple story, this, in itself, seemed pretty amazing now that we could see the fruit of this man's labor in these huge trees. Oh, and yes, I did see some wild monkeys, and it was fantastic. And they jumped on Scott Matz.
Jun 12, 2006
A hard-work day.
I am sorry to report that today was not all that eventful. We worked hard at Ikejiri until about 6pm, and then went to a Thai restaurant for dinner. However, tomorrow we are taking one of our big breaks and going to a completely different city in Japan. We are heading to Nikko. I have heard there are monkeys in the wild there, so I'm pretty excited. One thing I'm not excited about is getting up at 5:30am to catch a train to Nikko. Now that we have all become accustomed to our time zone and not waking up at 4 in the morning, getting up that early will be a feat in itself. But I don't want to tell you too much or I won't be able to tell you anything tomorrow. So I decided to leave you with an image of where we work each day at Ikejiri. Although we are not actually shown working, the image here as an "indexical representation" of us at work. If you aren't sure what that means, you can ask Paul Platosh (he could explain it better than me). Until tomorrow...
Jun 11, 2006
A rainy Sunday afternoon.
Today was the second day it has rained since we've been here, and I'm sure it won't be the last. I figured I can't keep staying inside when it rains. What kind of Oregonian would I be if I did that? So today I went to Ginza, one of the major shopping districts in Tokyo. I heard that on Sundays, Ginza closes its streets to cars and pedestrians take over. Often getting claustrophobic in crowded sidewalks, I quite enjoyed walking in a four lane avenue down the Ginza strip. Honestly, it took a bit of getting used to; there were a couple times I found myself starting to drift to the sidewalk. And no, I didn't buy anything... my bank account isn't big enough for Ginza. Other than that, today was a nice relaxing Sunday afternoon. Tomorrow, its back to work.
Jun 11, 2006
Shibuya Crossing
Shibuya Crossing is a major intersection in Tokyo. It's only about 2 train stops from where we are staying and we have to switch trains here to go to the Ikejiri Institute. I have never experienced anything like it. The following took place on Sunday afternoon over the course of about 20 minutes. One note: this is NOT even rush hour. Enjoy.
Jun 10, 2006
Subway Zen
There has been something that I have noticed ever since I've been here, and I have always wanted to write about it, so here it is. Now I can't say definitively this is uniquely Tokyo, because I have never been in a subway anywhere else (but in some senses EVERYTHING here is uniquely Tokyo; even if its a McDonald's or Nike's, it is uniquely Tokyo). I coin it "Subway Zen". I can't seem to call it anything else. Its just a zone people get in on the subway train. And I think it's just a place you have to go to escape the shear insanity that is the subway train system. If you are agoraphobic or claustrophobic, DON'T ride the Tokyo Subway system during rush hour. But regardless of the craziness of the station before getting onto the train, once on, things seem to quiet, people start to zone out, and often I've seen people set their feet, grab a hold of something and just close their eyes. Honestly, its all you can do sometimes to not go crazy. There have been times when the train is so packed, to get on, I've seen people step in backwards and sort of push their way on just enough to let the doors close. And I've marveled out how close someone will stand to the door, mere centimeters from the glass. All of this I call subway zen.
Jun 09, 2006
And it rained.
Ever since we started having orientation meetings and classes prior to our trip to Tokyo, we've been hearing that June is monsoon season (We're from Portland, right? We're not going to melt). But ever since we've been here, its been completely dry... until today. I wouldn't necessarily classify it as a "monsoon" but it rained, and it was quite windy. And as well-intentioned as umbrellas are, they just don't do so well in horizontal rain. In any case, it seemed like a good day to be in-doors, so we spent the first part of the day at the Mori Art Museum in Roppongi Hills. Art students at an art museum? Strange, I know. The spider you see here is just outside one of the main entrances of the Mori Building complex. It is quite large, and has a strange energy that makes it seem it could start walking at any second. The exhibit showing in the museum was entitled "African Remix". It was a collection of African contemporary art. There were no photos allowed in the exhibit, but I snuck the photo on the right just for you all. This was one of my favorite installations in the exhibit. It was just a black room with a single 15 foot (or so) screen showing a person playing an instrument called a "tabla". I'm not sure why it struck me, it may have been that the space was so calming and "quiet" compared to the busy Tokyo streets. Or it may have just been the rhythmic beats of the tabla. The exhibit overall was very good. And to show only one photo of one part of the exhibit isn't really doing it justice.
Jun 08, 2006
A word on Japanese architecture.
I also posted a video today, but I wanted to say a quick word about Japanese architecture. I saw this building a couple of days ago while walking through Shinjuku, a neighborhood not too far from where we are staying. The building just struck me in a way that I had to take its picture. If you ever visit Tokyo, or have visited Tokyo, you'll notice that there is a lot of concrete. But every once in a while, you'll get these gems of architecture that seem to take that rough, stiff concrete exterior and begin to blend it into something more organic. This seems to typify a part of the Japanese aesthetic. Its not that they are trying to make the building something its not, but they will try to bend the line between what something truly is, and what it can appear to be. And that is that. Please take a second to watch the video below.
Jun 08, 2006
Getting there: The Movie
After posting my blog about getting to Tokyo, I thought it might be nice to show you rather than just tell you. Here is a short 3 minute video about getting to Tokyo. I hope you enjoy it.
Jun 07, 2006
Getting there.
Let me back up a bit. Just getting to Tokyo was an experience in itself. We left Portland International Airport at 11:15 am on Monday, May 29. It was our fortunate privilege to ride a 30 seat propeller driven aircraft up to Seattle. From there, we boarded a much larger plane, bound for Tokyo. After 10 hours, 15 minutes, three movies, two meals, five trips to the bathroom, and one seat change, we reached Tokyo/Narita Airport in one piece (despite my dream that our plane crashed) at 3:15pm Tues. May 30th. I figure we walked about 2 miles through the airport just to get to customs. It wasnt so bad though. Most of the walking was on moving sidewalks within the airport. From the airport, we took an hour long train ride to Tokyo proper, and then proceeded to walk around for an hour inside the subway system with no ventilation and in hot and muggy conditions. Mind you, this is a subway, meaning its underground, no windows, no fresh air, and no escape. All of this was no easy feat with all of our luggage and having been up for the last 20 hours. We did eventually get to our hotel. This was all well and good, except for the fact that this hotel was not our final destination. The next morning we had to do this all again and went across town to our permanent residence. It was all quite an experience.
Jun 06, 2006
Yoyogi Platform
Besides walking, using the Tokyo subway system is our only mode of transportation. This consists of two main categories. We have the above ground train system (the Japan Rail, JR), or the subway system below ground. The first JR station we memorized how to get to was Yoyogi station. This is the closest station to where we are living. We pretty much see this platform everyday. One may ask, Why not take a taxi? Arent there taxis in Tokyo? The answer is yes, there are taxis in Tokyo, in fact, sometimes you see more taxis than cars. However, to take a taxi across town could very well cost you an arm and a leg, and possibly your first born child. I would like to keep my first born, so I take the train. The train schedule is fast and a new train comes every couple of minutes. Thats one thing about the Japanese, the schedule is everything. Nothing is late, and nothing is early. Everything is on time. And, as you can see by the sign, there are English (or "Romanji") versions of most signs. As you can imagine, Im not sure what wed do if they werent. Many signs are also translated to English. This is also very helpful. Jake Hollomon is pictured here.
Jun 05, 2006
Tsukiji Fish Market
Ah yes. The wonderful Tsukiji Fish Market (pronounced ski-gee). Supposedly this is the biggest fish market in the world. And it was big. And chaotic. And it could also moonlight as a maze. Im pretty sure I got lost at least twice. But all in all, it really was amazing. We went to the fish market on the third day we were in Tokyo, I think. Those first few days were pretty much a blur of sleepy-jet-laggy-ness. Since we were still jet lagged, and getting up at 4 in the morning anyway, we decided to hit the fish market. Why so early, you ask? Well, that is the best time, of course. Everyone is buying their fish for the day. In a land that survives on fresh fish, getting it as early as possible is key. As you can probably deduce, Tsukiji had some of the best sushi restaurants in all of Tokyo. The market was so crazy. It felt more like the middle of the day than early in the morning. There was so much energy in the place.
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