cool stuff in Japan

Sumo in the neighbourhood

For those of you who don’t know much about sumo… It’s an ancient art based on the Shinto religion and sponsored by the Japanese Imperial Court. The successful top-tier sumo wrestlers makuuchi have rock star status in Japan. They can be demoted if they lose but the grand champion, Yokozuna, cannot be demoted; he’s expected to retire if his performances get sloppy. They bow, throw salt (purification) and throw their hands up (Hey guys, I’m unarmed) before they start. Matches are pretty short and whoever pushes the other guy out of the ring first wins. Weight is important and the athletes in the training stables eat a high-calorie stew called Chanko Nabe. There are many training stables in the Ryogoku section of Tokyo as this has been the centre of sumo for over 200 years. There are also many restaurants serving Chanko Nabe if you’re interested in trying it out.

All that high-falutin’ sports stuff aside, there was a charming sumo tournament for kids in my ‘backyard’ sumo ring on Saturday. Cutest thing ever! Anyone could try. Even girls, though women are not allowed to compete professionally. And one intrepid toddler who fought everyone and was either indulged by a kindly older child or simply pushed over immediately. One girl beat about four boys. They all cried. She laughed and walked off with her prize watermelon and her somewhat bemused parents who weren’t sure if they should be proud or horrified. A good time was had by all–except the little boys who were pushed out of the ring by the little girl in the pink dress 😉

Heads up to the sumo world…the toddler and the little girl are the ones to watch. They’ve got HEART!

Culture Club in Tokyo

Incredible detail and imagination…made me think of Enigma Aracana #rayandjane

The Monet painting he had to use as collateral for his rent 🙂 #mylandlordisanidiot

A most excellent day at a most excellent museum…The National Art Centre in Roppongi. Two great exhibitions: Ballet Russe-The Art of Costume and The Birth of Impressionism Freedom in Painting: Masterpieces from the Musee d’Orsay. Both were excellent but I’d have to say I liked the Ballet Russe one a bit better as I’ve never seen anything like it before. The paintings from the Musee d’Orsay exhibit were not any of their major pieces but they still had some of my favourites by Monet, Caillebotte, Cezanne and Sisely.

I learned a few things I didn’t know…always nice, makes it all worthwhile. First, in the Impressionist exhibit, there was a huge painting by Monet that was in two separate pieces. It was styled after Manet’s Dejeuner sur l’herbe as a tribute to both the painting and the artist. The reason it was cut in pieces is that Monet was short of cash and had to give it to his landlord as collateral. When he got it back, it was damaged and he had to cut out the damaged parts and it ended up as two paintings.

In the Ballet Russe exhibit I learned a lot more, as I knew very little about Diaghilev and the Ballet Russe. Most interestingly I learned that a French painter I’ve always liked, Marie Laurencin, was a costume designer for the Ballet Russe. The costumes are the property of the National Gallery of Australia. They’re amazingly detailed and imaginative…not surprising I guess since Ballet Russe was a group of incredibly talented group of artists, dancers, choreographers, designers, painters, musicians who were on the cutting edge of art and culture at the time.

The Art of Re-gifting…

From the gift catalogue at Life Supermarket where I have my bonus card 😉

Japan is the land of gifts. The intricacies of gift-giving are challenging for non-Japanese to understand. I hear it’s particularly difficult for business people as a badly wrapped or improperly presented/received gift can derail a relationship. The etiquette is familiar and well-known to Japanese people:

OMIYAGE are souvenirs from holidays for friends, family and co-workers
TEMIYAGE are thank-you gifts
- when going to someone’s house for dinner (rare) or, more commonly, to a restaurant as a guest
- at the beginning of a business relationship
- to a boss, mentor or co-worker
Seasonal OSEIBO are gifts given in December to co-workers, friends and relatives
Seasonal OCHUGEN are gifts given in June also for co-workers, friends and relatives

Japanese women give chocolate to men on Valentines Day and receive double or triple their efforts back a month later on White Day. Gifts are not traditionally given on birthdays or Christmas but the infiltration of the Western world has prompted some Japanese people to participate. At weddings, births and funerals people give money in beautiful envelopes wrapped with intricate cord; also children get money on New Years day. Money is also the most common gift for a teacher…something that would not be appropriate for us! (Can you say ‘bribe’.) Money received at weddings, births and funerals is acknowledged/reciprocated by a gift sent by post a month or two afterwards.

Presentation is everything and the wrapping is often more important than the gift itself. I’m pretty sure I was Japanese in my last life as I love wrapping presents. (I could also have been a caterer as I also excel at arranging food on plates.) I digress. If you’re ever presented with a gift from a Japanese person, be sure to accept it with both hands and express gratitude. Don’t open it in their presence as it’s considered rude, this also makes it easier to re-gift if you don’t ruin the packaging 😉 You now have an obligation towards that person …hence the beauty re-gifting. Which is great for non-perishables but doesn’t work so well for melons, meat or flowers.

I just love the fact that you can get beautifully wrapped and nicely boxed canned goods, laundry soap, tomatoes, cans of beer, soba noodles…pretty much anything you can think of. This is so far beyond the typical North American gift of a nice box of chocolates, cookies or fancy tea that you really have to see it to believe it. Many department stores and supermarkets have entire departments dedicated to the choosing, ordering and delivery of gifts. Note that foreigners are not expected to understand or comply by the gift etiquette but if you plan on living here it might be an idea to learn…and bring a few bottles of maple syrup or maple butter (VERY popular) if you’re on your way over.

If I had a million dollars….

Walked home from Omotesando station today and noticed yet again that I’m definitely out of my element in terms of fashion here…they’ve got ALL the top designers and more than one store within a 10 mile radius! There seems to be many sales right now. It’s funny, the word ‘SALE’ is often in English, French (soldes) and Italian (saldi) but never in Japanese…or maybe because I don’t know what it looks like in Japanese 😉

Anyway, it’s a shopper’s paradise here. Also a good place for a “basic” dresser such as myself (jeans and various black tops with boots in winter; beige shorts with various black tops and flip-flops in summer) to learn about fashion. I must say, it could be quite an addiction. I’ve always kept it simple and pretty inexpensive: a couple pairs of jeans that fit well, a pair of boots, my Prada flats (thanks to Misha for making me buy them–best investment ever), various tops, a purse and my flip-flops. It’s a little harder here. For one, people don’t wear flip-flops in public…they are regarded as ‘shower shoes’ or slippers and I would be mocked. People make an effort…hell most of the women wear stockings when it’s 35+ degrees here! I will never do that. In terms of fashion though, there is so much to see and covet. And I do see it every single day. It’s in my neighbourhood, not in some rarefied downtown area on streets I rarely go to. They have a _______ (fill in the blank–Prada, Chanel, Gucci, Balenciaga…) boutique in many of the department stores which are literally just down the road from me. This is NOT Sears or the Bay…more like a whole bunch of Holt Renfrews. I think I need to head out to the boonies to see what real people wear.

I’d like you all to know that I do try. I wear skirts and dresses. Makeup sometimes. No shorts in the city. Silk tops and even, dare I say it, colours besides black. Sometimes even a matching hat though I don’t have a Darth Vader visor (yet…be patient Lorna). No one to mock me but the child.

Coffee Nirvana has been located.

I have found it…only 9 or so days and I’ve found coffee without sugar from the convenience store. Lawson Station is like 7-11. I think they might actually be owned by the same people also with Family Mart. Anyway, I digress. I took Karis to her job this morning and the location to meet was near Family Mart. We were actually early so we went to get some drinks–the child has a serious addiction to jasmine green tea. I suppose there are worse things. Whilst browsing Family Mart, we noticed a line up of people with little cups of ice getting iced coffee from the machine. We were intrigued…iced coffee? Iced tea? Iced LATTES! Alas the little cups of ice were not immediately apparent so I had a look around and found a cup in the freezer with a lid and a straw and went to ‘ask’ the man. I used the word ‘ask’ loosely as I merely point at the iced coffee machine and hold up my cup and he says emphatically, ‘ja NAI” and makes crossing motions with his hands which I took to mean, “no, wrong cup” and also magically interpreted to mean you must buy your cup from the cashier first which I did (ippon no iced caffè latte onegai shimasu). Not sure exactly what I said, but it worked and for the magical sum of Y180 I got an iced latte WITH NO SUGAR. I’m so beyond happy, you have no idea. I’m now ready to face the 30+ degree heat AND the typhoon!

Most excellent flavours

After last night’s culinary adventure with tomato ice cream, tonight I really walked on the wild side with carrot. Not bad… To be honest, they taste mostly like fruit with vegetable high notes. Karis got ripple chips flavoured with what I suspect was seaweed. Not surprising really since we are in Japan. Also got some great fast foods suggestions from friends…most were yucky and just BIG but I must say the Wendy’s Surf and Turf did sound mildly appealing. Sadly it was a promo item only 😦

Motorhead

It’s the motorcycle from Sleeping Beauty’s castle and it’s just down the street from me! And it looks like it’s got the bicycle next to joining in. Very cool and sort of unexpected here where it’s all pretty tidy…though I have to say it overgrown in a very tidy way….

To-i-re wa, doku ni ari masu-ka? (Where is the toilet?)

The Japanese are master toilet makers. Ranging from the squatting version on the left to the high-tech Toto in the middle to the standard household model, they’ve got it all covered. The squat toilet was in the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building and was one traditional toilet amid a sea of Western ones. It’s actually fairly hygienic as you don’t actually touch it with your body anywhere…. The high-end Toto version was in the Loft department store in Shibuya and has a build in bidet function, a dryer (some still regard the use of toilet paper as incredibly dirty) and can play music or a fake flushing sound should you be making an embarrassing sound yourself that needs covering up. Sadly most of the instructions are in Japanese which makes it a little tricky. The toilet in our house is pretty standard for middle-class homes with the built-in tap on the top to wash your hands with the water that is FILLING the tank. Cold but better than nothing and also a good way to conserve water…. Personally I prefer the Totos with the heated seats that play music 😉