Sumi-e and Chadou: Traditional Arts

With spring in full swing I decided it was time I finally tried some of the things I've always wanted to do, namely sumi-e and chadou.

Sumi-e literally means ink-picture and it's one of the oldest forms of art in Japan. It's also one of the most relaxing if you learn how to do it. In fact, it actually holds some similarities to the meditative quality of chadou, or tea ceremony. When you grind the ink, you grind it in the shape of the hiragana character 'no'. In chadou, this is also the way you make the final stir in the tea before you serve it to your guest (or drink it yourself).

It takes a lot of dishes to get the perfect amount of inks

I personally enjoyed it quite a bit, and was glad that the instructor invited myself, and two other students, to come to her house to practice some more. We both trained in uranosuke school of chadou, so I was able to enjoy making tea with her as well, without the cramping.

Though her tools were much higher quality than mine

Her house was very traditional, and even included the nook where you put out a seasonal display. We were still very close to Children's Day, so the scroll and flowers were relevant to the holiday.

As a calligraphy master she also wrote it herself.

Before this I was able to attend two of her workshops, even though I had only signed up for one, she was nice enough to let me come to the second fully reserved one, so I could learn some other techniques.

Did you know all bamboo has five leaves?

Even two years later, I still find myself coming back, if only to relax for a little bit.

Of course this time was with pre made sumi...

Until next time!
~Zenko~

It's That Time: Hanami!

It's Hanami season! Literally meaning "to look at flowers" hanami is a season to sit under the cherry or plum blossoms and reflect on the fragility of life. Or at least, that's what it used to mean. Now it's an excuse to picnic with friends and drink all night long. None of the parties I went to involved that (okay, maybe the one where we shared a bottle of sake), but it's a great season to get to see Japanese people free of the normal controlled state.

The fact that they're beautiful helps too

One of the great places to go and see cherry blossoms, and generally every season Japan has to offer, is Kiyomizudera. You've noticed I've visited it quite a number of times and this time was for some night time viewing and checking out how Gion took flower viewing to heart.

It really is a different world at night.

We headed all around the temple, which had almost every type of cherry tree possible. From weeping cherry trees to full scale old ones. It was hard not to appreciate just how crazy a season it was, and just how much Japan loves it's flowers.

Everything was lit up just for this occasion

The real party was down in the park though, close to Gion-Shijo which last well until midnight. There was some irony in a huge Hanami festival going on there when there was really only one tree in the park.

What a tree it was

There were people everywhere, sleeping by the rivers, going by food stands and drinking. The entire atmosphere was very festive.

There were even some geisha present in the big spender area

And even though it wasn't summer, we had to have some fun by visiting Japan's version of a haunted house. It's pretty common to find them at big festivals and even school festivals, but they're never as scary as the big ones you find in the states.

2spoopy4me

All in all it was a great night out, a terrific season for friends and food and should you find yourself in Japan during this season a picnic under the blossoms is the best medicine you can get this time of the year.

Until next time!

Let's Go to Ise Once More!

So you may remember what is now some years ago I took my first visit to Ise Grand Shrine in...well in Ise. I enjoyed it so much that I decided to go again during spring break with a friend. This time I got to take a look at both the lower and upper shrine. And since it was spring I of course started it off with some rather nerdy ice cream.

They've actually brought this bag every year.

After that it was time for us to head to the Outer Shrine, a place I hadn't visited on my last trip. So on the bus we went. And we got off we were met with a smaller version of the bridge in the main, Inner Shrine.

Plus a smaller torii

Of course there are just as many sacred sites around the shrine, but because we came around festival season there was hollyhock tied to the torii gates. Before the hollyhock festival, this was probably the first time I had seen something tied to the gates.

It was also an older style shrine building, but you can see the horizontal logs on top marking it as a shrine. 

One of the other sacred sites was...a rock. It might seem strange for something that simple to be marked as a god or sacred in some way, but many people waved the air over it onto themselves and it was the first time my friend had ever felt energy come from something.

Best rock.

There were also small 'houses' located through out the area, but they weren't houses. For people at least. Rather, these are temporary places for gods to rest until a new shrine building is constructed. Sort of like a hotel for gods but much smaller than you would expect.

Much, much smaller.

Then it was time to climb the mountain deeper and deeper into the shrine. We were lacking some stamina but it was worth it. The nature in the area is well preserved because it's sacred and that adds to the charm and feeling.

Up and up and up

Then of course it was time to head back down and before we headed out on the next bus to the Inner Shrine we decided to take a break in the rest area and soak up some cloudy day sun. Or at the very least admire the serene scene.

We weren't on the stage, but we at least got to see the pond.

Then it was time to head to the Inner Shrine and see just how much progress had been completed on the rebuild since my last visit. And of course since it was such a cloudy day I could take a picture of the sun over it's own shrine.

You can also see the sun on the flag of Japan.

Of course, I was surprised just how far they had gotten. It looks like it had been nearly completed during this visit.

Seeing a roof is a good sign

Much of the shrine remained the same, apart from flowers, and boy so many flowers were blooming. Mainly the cherry blossoms were in full bloom, which added to the mystical feeling of whole trip.

So Nippon-poi

We still had time before the last bus headed out and it was early enough this time that the shops in the area hadn't closed yet, so we took a trip down an Edo-era style shopping arcade.

It was a very nice view as well

Then, at last, it was time to go home and so we hopped the next Gifu local train and headed back towards Kyoto, deep into the mountains.

Until next time!

Water Water Everyone, But No Gaijin But Me

Sometimes when I travel to certain parts of Japan, especially ones not generally advertised to tourists or during certain points of the day, I find that there is a certain lack of...other foreigners. It's not a bad thing, but it can be pretty humorous. When I got to Shirakawa-go that wasn't really an issue, but when I arrived in Kanazawa it was pretty desolate, even as I headed to the famous marketplace to kill time. The town also gives you quite a welcome when you head out of the station.

Kanazawa, where water literally welcomes you.

The market sells all sorts of fresh fish and produce, and has some smaller stands set up selling knick-knacks. It was really like a two floor farmer's market. I picked up some grilled fish that are caught locally in the river and they aren't bad, thought I did ask if it was alright to eat the tails. And of course the area has a lot of art, like this strangely human-sized katamari ball...

Dadadadadadaaa da Katamari Damacy

After killing time at the station it was time to board the bus and head out to Shirokawa-go, which I quickly learned would be a good deal colder than Osaka, where the cherry blossoms had already bloomed.

Much...much...colder

The good news was I had brought a scarf, the bad news was I had only brought a light coat. Since I did so much walking around, however, it wasn't as big of an issue as I did a lot of walking around. Access to the main village, for instance, involved crossing a bridge across an icy canyon.

I mean there were actual ice chunks on the other side of this bridge

The main village area is really nice, and wasn't very crowded despite the buses dropping people off. The locals were all really accommodating despite  the fact that there were so many tourists. Of course they all tend to go to the main viewpoint right away. There were only a few, if not any, people that headed on the road towards the main shrine.

Now one thing to note about Shirokawa-go is that it's not only a UNESCO heritage sight, but it's also where the horror series Higurashi no Naku Koro ni takes place. That means that a lot of fans flock to the area (myself included, though I also enjoy older Japanese buildings), and leave quite a few wish plaques dedicated to the series characters, especially the shrine maiden Rika.

Here's a picture of the torii gates with Rika included.

The shrine also keeps its tower for festivals up, which made it sort of feel like Obon in winter. Also the beam supports were really, really cool looking.

After heading to the shrine I began down the road leading up to the mountain, which seemed to be where everyone was going. Along the way I did stop to take a look at this igloo someone had made.

Then it was time to take a good...long...hike up the steepest hill I'd encountered since Hyogo. I actually went a week after the path had opened, usually its closed due to heavy snow until April. The view from the top though made it well worth it. You can see all the houses, and even the folk museum.

I recommend viewing this is in a larger size

Some of the houses were available for tours for a small fee, so of course I paid the small fee and took the opportunity to enter a home that's been maintained for hundreds of years.

This is not it, this is a different house that you could go in

While I was there the head lady of the house, Miss Obaachan we will call her, was giving information on the area and house to those visiting. It was really cute, and she talked for me quite a bit. The reason the housing is still used and parts of its architecture are used even in the bigger buildings in Tokyo is because they're so sturdy. The houses are literally earthquake resistant, and its one of the reasons Tokyo and its area sustained such little damage during the major earthquake in March 2011.

Then it was time to head home, and my express train was stopped on account of the train line's president getting sacked. Nothing quite like a two hour train ride on a semi-shinkansen.

-Zenko-

The Melancholy of Hyougo Prefecture

My friend is a big fan of The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, I mean, he's definitely a bigger fan of it than I am, but because Kyoto Animation did a really bang up job of denying the fact that they drew 1:1 inspiration from a certain town in Hyogo prefecture, I though it would be fun to take a look. And okay, maybe I was super duper excited about it too. I just really wanted to see some time travelers, aliens and espers.

And maybe I wanted to do the dance where it happens.

Hyogo is actually not very far from Kobe, which means of course it's not very far from Osaka, and took maybe an hour or two by train to get there. Getting to the actual high school where the show took place though...now that was an adventure. We actually got off at the wrong station the first time, but still recognized quite a few places that could have been from the show.

Step one when we did make it to the proper town was finding a bus to get us up the mountain, because despite being so close to the sea, Hyogo is extraordinarily hilly. According to Google Maps we had to take a bus going to a very specific part of town, and it was very undecided on just where the bus terminal to take that bus was at. So we walked along a river until we found the bus station we thought we were looking for.

The good news is the sakura were in season, the bad news is we'd be going up that mountain in the distance.

Then we waited, and waited, until finally a bus came and it was my job to timidly ask the driver if it was going to the right place. We were and when we got off was when the true melancholy started to sink in. Step two of course, was find the school.

You may notice way off in the distance the ocean and way close a steep hill.

Rather than look up proper directions online we decided to let our good friend Google Maps do the navigating which, for the record, is a horrible, horrible idea. It took us to where it thought would be an open gate to the school, which was in all actuality and locked gate. I suppose we could have jumped it pretty easily but being strangers in a strangeland, didn't want to get arrested. Which was a shame as the hills we conquered were astounding eighty degree angle beasts.

You may notice that the town is EVEN SMALLER FROM UP HERE.

After realizing we had just gone for a very long hike we backtracked and went for an alternate path, using the handy map Mr. Google Maps provided to manually navigate our way to the school. And finally we felt true victory.

Actually this is the junior high...but close enough!

At the very least we were able to understand why every anime features sakura on a hill. They just look really nice!

I can feel myself become one with the anime.

Step three was getting home, which of course meant waiting for the bus, which of course meant reading an unfamiliar schedule. In fact, as soon as we walked away from the stop in exasperation, the bus drove right by us and right by the stop...Which left us feeling about as cynical as Kyon.

Fact: his butt is probably perfectly toned from these hills.

Looking back on others pilgrimages I can see now where we went wrong which was...mostly just taking the JR train to Nishinomiya. It isn't hard to get to Hyogo, but it does make it extremely difficult to get to where you're going. If you want someone with a little bit of a better experience check out this story on Tokyo Otaku Mode.

Black and White and Valentine's All Over

It's been one year today since I celebrated Japan's version of Valentine's Day, and after gorging on chocolate and buying some of the little paper Valentine's we give out in the States, I think I'm all set to plunge full on into the holiday spirit.

Valentine's Day in Japan still happens on February 14, but unlike the US where we give out cards, candy, and flowers to everyone, the girls give chocolate to that very special guy they've been thinking about all year. This love chocolate is something usually handmade, and given only to that guy, while obligatory chocolate can be store bought and is given to those guys in your life you're obliged to give chocolate to, like friends and family. My friend Elin and I double-teamed to make some chocolate dipped matcha cookies to give to our friends.


Don't worry, guys have to pay back with cake or cookies, or something more special, depending on what they were given for their Valentine's Day gift. This is done one month later on March 14 and is known as White Day. My friend Yosuke gave all the girls who gave him sweets black tea cake as an exchange.

Of course, there's a holiday for those who ended up forever alone on both holidays as well. It's an unofficial holiday known as Black Day, where you go out and eat black noodles in ramen.

In my case, I decided to give into my American chocolate desire and bought some Pokemon chocolate. If you've noticed a theme with Pokemon, it's because yes, of course, I love Pokemon.

And it loves me back.

Cosplay Festival! Rollin' in Nipponbashi

March 24 saw spring weather finally starting to hit us, and with it came the chance to finally get out and about. Well, maybe not too far about, as it was more a chance to head down to Nipponbashi again to see what sort of things the cosplay festival was bringing.

Unless you work at a maid cafe, cosplaying in public is pretty much banned in Japan. Bigger events like Comiket offer changing rooms for skilled cosplayers to transform into their favorite characters. Sometimes amusement parks and different resorts will hold events that allow for themed cosplay to help show appreciation to the fans that came for it. And then there are cosplay festivals, a day when towns allow everyone who wants to cosplay to do so. Just like Comiket, there are areas designated to change into cosplay in. After you do so it's into the fray of cosplays and photographers and special events in stores.

The parking lots are also cleared out so that cosplayers and itasha owners can strut their stuff in the area.

Some cosplays more thorough than others. 

Itasha originally were named in reference to Italian cars, but now refer to the pain one's wallet feels after decking out your car with your favorite character or franchise.

This Blue Rose fan from Tiger and Bunny really went all out.

Getting to this bundle of joy though was rather difficult. We had meant to arrive in the morning, catching the 1110 train, but it was delayed...and delayed...and delayed some more. The reason: crows had pecked through a power source to the line leaving trains paralyzed along the line we needed to take into Osaka.

As I did not receive any cosplayers permission to post pictures online, I won't be showing off any of that great stuff here, but it was all very impressive.