Johnny's Stores

Hey there everyone! It's getting kind of late here and I still have homework, so this post won't be very long, but I thought I should post a description of what I affectionately term the "Johnnys Stores" of Harajuku. If you come to Japan and no any idols, be they singers or actors or talents or whatever, I encourage you to at least go in one of these places, these 'Johnny Stores,' just for the experience. The only place I've found them is in the Takeshita Street of Harajuku (directly in front of the station). Typically these stores are either on the second floor or the basement of other shops, and they are so particular, you know you've found one the second you see the sign, simply because you look up and see Arashi's faces, or Yamapi's face, Tohoshinki, even X-Japan's Hide, staring down at you from mini posters, trying to coax you inside. I've been in two of these said shops, one actually strictly being a Johnnys shop, where in glass cases, are goods categorized by band, starting from the earlier Tokio, SMAP, and Kinki Kids, making their way around to KATTUN and Hey!Say!Jump, with all the Johnnys boys being represented in some capacity. That store actually had gift bags with the bands names on them, phone straps, DVDs and CDs of course, and pictures, as well as photo books and random other merchandise. The second I went into was far more enthralling and far more bizarre. You go down a flight of dangerously steep stairs to a basement, and as soon as you walk in, you are bombarded with faces of all kinds. From floor to ceiling, the shop (about the size of a large master bathroom), is completely covered with 4x6 candid photos of Japanese and Korean idols. I instantly found my way to the Jrock section where I found an alice nine fan I wanted, then made my way around the rest of the shop. The Johnnys bands were clustered together of course, the Jrockers together, the Korean corner (Ryu Siwon, Bae Yong Joon, DBSK, etc.), and then other idols and talents as well. From the ceiling are hanging fans with various boys' faces on them, and on the pillars at various places, hang laminated mini-posters the size of a large place mat that are hanging on a metal chain like keys on a keychain. What made the place even more interesting, is how you buy things. First of all, everything was REALLY cheap, with a fan being about $4, and the mini posters being about the same, whereas a regular picture might cost a dollar or so. Once you've found something you like, you take a pen and a blank slip of paper hanging in baskets around the edge of the room, and you find the code on whatever it is you're wanting to buy (usually written across the middle of it in permanent marker. You write all the codes down on the slip of paper, then proceed to the back of the store where there is a tiny hole cut out of the wall of pictures, about the size of a microwave, and easy to miss. You hand your slip of paper to the lady beyond (she can't see you, you can't see her), and she goes to look up your stuff. While she's bagging it, she calls out the total and you put your money in the tray in the window and take your stuff. All very anonymous. I, of course, got an armband, a fan and two posters of Alice Nine, and I know that I'll eventually be going back for more. Anyways, that's all for now. I'll post again as soon as I can!

Edo, Meiji, and Fashion Street

So, you shall never guess who I saw today as my small field trip party finished our fabulous lunch of 'Chakko Nabe,' which is the dish sumo wrestlers eat every day, in a shop that is owned by a retired sumo wrestler. Yes, it tasted mostly of chicken soup with cabbage in it, with a side of eggplant and rice and it truly was delicious, and worth every cent of the $8.20 I paid for it. But first, let me preface the following encounter with the fact that we'd tried to go to the one, the older one, across the street but were sent away to the one we ended up going to, though it was lunch time and the place seemed entirely empty, though I thought I'd caught a whiff of English being mumbled inside. So, after paying our small bill, we all piled out into the rainy street and saw that a heavy set man and a second man carrying a very large, very expensive camera, were just coming out of the restaurant opposite. We all gathered together on our side of the street to oogle and gape at the camera, and finally, when we'd seen enough, we turned to leave. It was only as I cast a lazy, backwards glance that I noticed that, in fact, the heavyset man with the cameraman was in fact our very own Travel Channel Star, Bizarre Foods' Andrew Zimmer.

A few days ago, we went to the Meiji Jingu, aka the Meiji Shrine and Harajuku. As we got off the subway and started to cross the bridge to the shrine (where all the cosplay people supposedly hang out, though it was a disappointment again at this time, and it was 2PM), there was what looked to be a Visual Kei street band just finished with their concert. I was sad I missed it, but...it was all good, because my host family took me through the shrine and explained a few things to me as best they can. It was a special day too. I forget the name in Japanese, but the signs in English said Thanks Dolls Festival Day, and my host mom explained that, rather than throwing old, beloved stuffed animals or dolls away, on this day, people from all around bring their dolls/toys there (pay a fee I'm sure), and line them up together along the front corners of the inner courtyard of the Shrine; then, they offer thanks to the god, I think, for the doll (for being a loyal friend I guess). My host mom was too creeped out to go near them, but my dad took me over and we looked, and there were all kinds: Hello Kitty, expensive-looking geisha dolls, those wish face things, regular kid's dolls. Quite a sight. Also, there were three weddings going on while we were there, and we got to see the procession of one of them. Evidentally, the close relations of the bride, for the wedding, wear these long black kimonos with either a koi fish, or a dragon or some golden design on them, and of course the bride wears a white kimono with this weird pocket thing that goes over her head, and her makeup is done like a geisha's, and the groom wears a certain traditional black and gray kimono-outfit thing with a fuzzy white ball on the front. Evidentally, when 'Erika-sama', aka Erika Sawajiri, aka the girl from 1 Liter of Tears, got married, she got married at the Meiji Shrine. She's been on the news a lot lately because her company nulled her contract, supposedly over questions of drugs, though she's been a bit of a bi-atch to the media all along, so she's always been a thorn in their side. But, anyways, I also found out that there's a thing that when boys are 3, 5 and 7 years old, and when girls are 3 and 7 (I think it is), they dress up in a certain kimono outfit and go to a shrine and there's a ceremony. Dunno why though.

So, after we went to the Meiji Shrine, we backtracked and my host mom wanted to go to some of the big, popular stores. I don't have the faintest clue why, but yet again this time, when I went with them, the place was PACKED. I mean, it was nuts. It was all I could do to keep up with them in the crowd (and that's saying something, seeing as I'm like, a foot taller than everyone else). We went to Kitson, which is the newest brand, and the one my host mom most wanted to see, but it was packed and crazy expensive, so we left fairly quickly. We went next to H&M, which was even more packed, but a much larger store. And then we went to Forever 21, and you've never seen real madness until you've seen that place. For anyone who even remotely likes to shop, I suggest you try this 'shopping in a popular Harajuku store' thing at least once. It is an experience.

Also, worthy of mention...if you're into Japanese TV and stuff, some places to go are FujiTV studios in Odaiba, NHK studios which is on the main road in Shibuya (the road on the right of the Starbucks at the crosswalk), Ameba (the online music site), which is located on the right side of the Omote-Sando in Harajuku (they sometimes have guests), and J-Wave radio, which is in the fifth floor (I think) of the HMV store in Shibuya, same street as above. If I find anywhere else, I'll put that up. NHK is big for kids' shows and jidaigeki (period dramas), but I HIGHLY recommend FujiTV's place. It was a lot of fun when I went.

Oh, we also went to the Edo museum today, as a field trip, but I'd say, unless you really love Japanese history, it's a pass. I mean, it was really neat to see, but I wouldn't have gone that far out of my way to see it. It does cost, and most of the explanations are only in Japanese (only the labels are in English). I forgot to mention that Tokyo Tower and Rainbow Bridge were lit up the Olympic colors the other day, when the city still hadn't been decided, so, that was cool. I've uploaded some more pics in the general First Few Days file, so check those out when you can. Well then, talk to everyone later!

Harajuku and Ebisu

Well, I mustered up my courage today and braved the trains alone, and to my surprise, it was a piece of cake. I only got turned around once, and the worst that happened was that i went up some stairs, down some stairs and ended right back where I started. Today, after I dropped in on the neighbors, as they decorated the portable shrine for next weekends festival, I made my way to Harajuku and was stunned. As soon as you get off the train, there is a street stretching out in front of you that harbors tons upon tons of people, clothing stores and crepe shops. It was certainly an experience, and though I went to find the cosplayers at the bridge, I ended up going down that street and a few others before arriving at my destination. The place was full of people, mostly tourists, as the bridge where they hang out leads to the entrance to the Meiji Shrine, I was disappointed to see that I was too early for my cosplayers. There were only a handful there at noon, but more were on the way as I left. I also strolled down to the shrine, but didn't go all the way in, as I didn't want to battle the tourists. It was a beautiful walk though, and you're surrounded by forests (Pics can be seen in my new Harajuku Ebisu folder on Photobucket). Btw, to get to either the shrine or the bridge where they cosplay, make an immediate right when you exit the station and just keep following the road, never crossing the street.

It was a nice bit of exercise, but I finally gave up and got back on the train and went back to Ebisu, which I can imagine being my favorite place here in Japan. It is elegant and so beautiful and I love it. This time I managed to take some pictures, but it was busy with families with little kids, so I didn't get many good ones. I meandered around there for a while, noting that on the left of Ebisu Garden Place is a department store/mall that has VERY expensive stuff inside. Maybe for another day when I'm less sweaty. Word to the wise, when you get off at Ebisu, take the East Exit. If you take the west exit it'll drop you onto the street outside, whereas you need to get to the Skybridge which will take you to Ebisu Garden Place. Good peice of advice.

Also, another few bits of advice. If you've ever entertained the idea of driving here, perish the thought. If you don't get completely run over by speedy drivers, you'll get irrevocably lost (Tokyo's streets aren't numbered consistently and aren't on a grid system like us, thus they all have GPS in their cars). If you're European, you'll be used to driving on the left side of the road in the right side of the car, but many streets are just barely big enough for a car and are one way, and if you get lost, there are no parking spaces to park and go in to ask for directions. Another piece of advice is, if you go to Harajuku to see the cosplayers, remember to ask if you can have their picture, as some of them don't want their pictures taken. (How to ask is: "Shashin wo totte mo ii desu ka?")

I also went to an electronics store, which was amazing, but sells the same stuff that we have at home, at a slightly higher cost (Laptop is $1300). And I did battle with my microwave. It would appear that our microwaves in the US are stronger than here, as it took 3 min. to heat one pancake thing. It kept making a scary noise for a while after that, but it's stopped now, so that's good right? Well, anyway, if I can think of anything else, I'll post it, and until then, see you later!

Jdramas and Stuff

Hey there everyone! Sorry I've been slacking. So I started a new drama today called "Bara no Nai Hanaya" or "The Flowershop Without Roses." As soon as I watched the first half of the first ep, I knew that I'd stumbled on something great. It's more of a life drama than anything, about a guy who lost his wife in childbirth and is having trouble moving on, though there is, of course, plot twists within. I first heard about it because Matsuda Shota's in it, but the lead actor, a guy from the band SMAP, really steals the show. I also started a drama called "Koishite Akuma" about a teen vamp sent to earth to suck someone's blood, and though he doesn't want to admit it, he's drawn to his high school teacher, who's first love looked identical to him. So basically, the exact opposite of Bara no Nai Hanaya. It's okay, but I'm not expecting greatness from this one...just something to pass the time. I was horrified to find out that the boy in it, who looks well on 18, actually just turned 15 and I got creeped out. I think he's from one of the new boy bands (maybe Hey Say Jump). I also just watched the mv compilation/drama from SS501, and while riveting and successful in making the boys look good, it was, as all mv/mini drama efforts are, impossibly confusing (not helped by the fact that two of the members look exactly alike to me). I had to actually read through 50 posts by equally confused people to figure out the plot line. And there were only like 2 lines. Only the Koreans can make a tragic yet impossibly confusing storyline. Also, I just heard that Jasmine Yuu, the bassist from popular Visual Kei band Versailles, was found dead in his apartment two mornings ago. He'd evidentally taken time off due to illness and then he was found dead, though no one has said the cause yet. That's quite sad; he wasn't very old at all.

On the travel front...

I think it has finally started to REALLY hit me that I'm going to be stranded in a foreign, non-English speaking nation by my self, completely alone, without friend or family, for no less than 11 long months (ALMOST A YEAR!!) and I am, as some may say, completely wigging out. We'll see if I'm not hyperventillating on the plane. I still have concerns over the price of the trains in Tokyo. Though I'll be 5 min. away from one of the major train stations, because Japan has many, many different companies that run the different lines (certain lines go to only certain places), you have to buy one ticket for one, then another to proceed from there, and so on. So, one might see how that can add up. I've also been sort of looking into where I want to adventure to on my first month, when I'll be by myself. So far, I'm thinking Shibuya is the best bet, as it has all sorts of things and is close to the Meiji Shrine, Harajuku and Yoyogi Park. I'll have to be sure to go to Harajuku on Sunday, because that is when (on Jingu Bridge) all the people dressed up in Gothic Lolita, Visual Kei and cosplay come out, and that, for me, is a must see. It was funny too...I was searching today and found this site that was listing what areas of Tokyo are particular to certain things, or rather specialize in them. It said, "Nippori: Textiles, Jinbocho: Books, Kabukicho: Sleaze." It gave me a laugh anyway. Well, I'll catch you cats later!