The Merry-Go-Round of Life

Today was my trip to the Ghibli Museum in Mitaka. Even as I sit here now, at my laptop I am on the verge of tears of happiness because I have never experienced anything so wondrous in my life as being able to see the place where Hayao Miyazaki has sat and dreamed up so many wonderful, beautiful and touching stories that always elicit great emotion from me.

Of all his movies, one has always touched me the most and holds a very special place in my heart: ハオルの動く城　-- Howl's Moving Castle. Something about the story combined with the masterful score by Joe Hisaishi just brings tears to my eyes. It also helps that it is the first Miyazaki film I saw with Michael, and therefore it is very dear to me. The novel, also, was something I enjoyed very much, making it a double treat.

What prompted the crying was just seeing the many whimsical creations within the museum. I couldn't take pictures inside, but it is like being in a whole other world. On the outside it looks like a Spanish villa, inside is illustrious Victorian with steampunk elements..Truly beyond words, and something that could only come from the mind of Miyazaki.

I got to see the Cat-Bus playroom, but alas since I am a small child, I was not allowed to take a ride. But to actually see it, well, that was enough as well. There was a beautiful garden atop of the museum and the grounds were so scenic and other-worldly...even the cafe was quaint and straight out of a painting.

I am barely able to type because it's hard to write down what it is that I feel other than that I wish Michael was here to see it. You would love it, you would spend hours here...it is a place truly meant for you to see.

After wandering the exhibits including La Petite Lourve (paintings on loan to Ghibli from the Lourve in Paris), I stopped into the shop in search for anything Nausicaa...while I succeeded, I wish there had been more, but Ghibli's more popular serials such as Totoro, Kiki, and now Ponyo was everywhere. Howl's was more visible than Nausicaa, which made me sad, but nevertheless, I found a few sweet things to send back home. I have a small puzzle with young!Sophie and Howl, a pin of Calcifer and the Dust Sprites from Spirited Away, a Dust Sprite keyfob, a Museo D'Arte Ghibli pin, as well as a few screen slides from Howl's. My Nausicaa haul will be a secret until they get sent to their proper owner. But...I hope he will like them. Oh...well, I suppose I can share just one. At the cafe, they had Hot Dogs (Porco Rosso was at the top of the sign, haha!), Ice Cream, Juice, and...風の種のビル...that is, "Beer of the Valley of the Wind".

That's right. Nausicaa beer. What the hell, Ghibli. Unfortunately, I had to drink it (or dump it out) since they wouldn't give me the bottle unopened, but I have the bottle and it's awesome label safe and sound on my desk.

Lastly, into the in-Museum theatre to watch a special Ghibli short: めいとねこバス - Mei and Cat Bus. It was so cute because most of it didn't require Japanese language knowledge. It was so precious, and involved a Baby Cat Bus, as well as Grandma Cat Bus. There were Cat-Trains, and Cat-Trolleys, and at the very end, a Cat-Blimp. It was perhaps the coolest Totoro related thing I have seen since...well...Totoro.

So, there in is my adventure for today. Time to go back to crying and lamenting about how much I just wanted to live in Ghibli-world.

(P.S. - The title of today's entry is the main theme to Howl's Moving Castle...the one that gets me crying like a baby)

Plans Revision

Here's the schedule for this week:

Nov. 24 - Go to Toudai's Bunkasai with Mariko, Runo, and Arisa
Nov. 26 - Studio Ghibli Museum with Stewart
Nov. 27 - Climbing Mt. Takao with Stewart

I bless the rains down in Africa ?

This had been something that amused me for some time, but I neglected to quip about on my journal. Back home, almost every public bathroom is equipped with fixtures from the same company. A typical example would be "Crane". Their toilets are in nearly every American public establishment, along with Kimball-Johnson toilet paper dispensers.

In Japan, every toilet I have seen, every sink I have seen always read these four letters:

Toto.

And every time I notice that, all I can hear is "Africa" by the band of the same name.

...Apparently when the band hit Japan, there was confusion as to why they named themselves after the biggest toilet manufacturer. Maybe because they knew their songs were poo...?

The Verdict Is In:

I GOT AN 83% ON THE FINAL EXAM. I PASS THE CLASS!

Goin' Imperial

Mission: Visit the Imperial Palace Grounds [Completed]
Objectives: Photos. Lots of photos [Completed]
Secondary Objective: Visit Imperial Gardens [Completed]
Achievements Unlocked: Viewed Imperial Ceremony welcoming Foreign Ambassador, Saw Tokyo Tower (and have it not be eaten by Godzilla)

New skill unlocked - Imperial Crest Netsuke (Open: Show Imperial Crest Netsuke, bow number of personalities equal to chi.)

...good grief, just how much of a nerd am I?

Woke up bright and early today to prepare for my trip deep into the heart of Central Tokyo, to the grounds where Tokugawa built his castle, to where the Emperor Meiji resided after the capital moved from Kyoto to Tokyo, to where the longest unbroken dynastic line resides: The Imperial Palace of Tokyo.

Getting there was a trip and a half in and of itself. I transferred at Shinjuku for the Marunouchi subway line and took it all the way to Tokyo Station -- the largest station in the world. No lie, that place is humongous. I often felt like a hamster in a maze trying to find the piece of cheese, bit of peanut butter, or carrot stick. It was just damn near difficult to navigate. And considering you're underground, it's doubly difficult to get your directional bearings when you can't see the sky. I had to find the West gate to be nearest to the Palace, and thankfully, I found it without getting too lost.

Nothing quite prepared me for seeing the Palace up close and personal. I mean, the grounds are very spacious. You hear stories of Western Castles and moats, and drawbridges, and you see them all the time in animated movies and what not, but seeing and touching the actual ramparts, the wood and steel gates, it's a whole other experience.

Here's a run down of the tour and buildings of particular note:

1.) Fujimi-Yagura -- a three-storied keep reconstructed in 1659, is one of the oldest remaining remnants of the original Edo Castle (Tokugawa's residence). It served as a watch tower. The rampart is 14.5 meters high and the tower itself is 15.5 meters high.

2.) The Imperial Household Agency (Kunaicho Chosha) - If Japan were Rokugan, the Kunaicho Chosha would be like the Miya Archives. They literally keep track of everything, from the daily lives of the Imperial Family, to controlling press releases, to even approving the future spouses of Imperial Family members. In short: they control everything.

3.) Fujimi-tamon Defense House and Hasuikebori - Fujimi-Tamon is a donjon built for both defense and decorative purposes. It also served as a repository and armory. The Hasuikebori (Lotus Moat) is a moat that follows the ramparts throughout the palace. In the summer, the entire moat is brimming with blooming lotus'.

4.) Kyuden Totei Plaza - This plaza, situated in front of the Imperial Palace complex in front of Chowaden Hall is where the public can convene on the Emperor's Birthday and on January 2nd to receive an address from the Emperor and see the Imperial Family.

5.) The Imperial Palace (Kyuden!) - The current Palace was completed in 1968 and consists of seven buildings including the Seiden State Function Hall, Homeiden State Banquet Hall, Chowaden Reception Hall, and the Emperor's Daily Office. The original Meiji Palace was destroyed during the Tokyo Air Raids of the Second World War.

Around the time we got to this part of the tour, we were shuffled aside as up from the path came two horse drawn carriages and a contingent of horseback officers as well as other military types. Who would have thought that during a regularly scheduled guided tour of the Imperial Grounds that I would get to see the installation of a new foreign Ambassador? The entire ceremony (called the "Inspection of Papers" or something to that effect) consists of the new Ambassador (or politician, or someone of significant standing) is met by the Emperor and given his approval.

We never got to see the Emperor of course, but the fact that all of this went down while I was there (and I caught video of the procession leaving), I think that was pretty bad ass. Continuing...

6.) Seimon-testubashi Bridge and Fushimi-yagura Keep - The bridge is a popular guest destination as it crosses one of the larger moats and gives visitors a good view of the Fushimi-Yagura Keep. The difference between Fujimi-yagura and Fushimi-yagura is that Fushimi-yagura was moved from Fushimi Castle in Kyoto to Tokyo by Tokugawa Iemitsu in the early 17th century.

7.) Sannomaru Shozokan (Museum of Imperial Collections) - Full of shiny pretties, this hall shows off a portion of treasures accrued by the Imperial Family. It changes monthly, and I got to see a lot of classical sumi-e portraits dating back from the early 17th century to more modern times. The museum has more than 9500 articles in its collection.

8.) Higashi Gyoen (East Imperial Gardens) - One word: HUGE. I imagine Higashi Gyoen is to Tokyo (along with Yoyogi and Inokashira Parks) what Central Park is to New York. It's just lush, well designed and pleasing to the eyes.

I stopped at one of the various "rest houses" in the park and picked up a few momentos including a set of photo postcards (with old, old artwork on them), a book mark (from the same art series) as well as a little netsuke in the shape of the Imperial Crest (the chrysanthemum). I figure it'll be a nice favor to carry around when I get back into L5R upon my return home.

Edit: Here Be The Photos! As Promised!

Making Plans

Since I'm on vacation, I'm already making plans on what to do with myself. While the incredible British Posse (Rachel, Josh, and Stewart) are off to Hakone until tomorrow, as well as Casa del International Incident (Debra, Eyrun, Ieva, and Elisa, from the U.S., Iceland, Lithuania, and Italy respectfully) are currently in Kyoto, I've decided that I, too, need to get out a bit more.

So here's my game plan:

November 19: Touring the Imperial Palace in Tokyo
November 21: Climb Mt. Takao (if the weather is good, for autumn color photos)
November 22: Daytrip to Kamakura to visit the shrines and temples

Somewhere in here: taking student lessons for extra money <3

(History Dweeb Note: Kamakura was once the capital of Japan during the Kamakura Period. It lies 30 miles south of Tokyo and is home to one of the "Great Buddha" statues, meaning it's huge. And it was built by Minamoto Yoritomo, the first Kamakura Shogun :D Weee, picture times!)

Sure, I'm not going anywhere as nice as Hakone and Kyoto (waiting until March for that), but I'm doing what I can to get out and see the parts of Japan that I think I will get the most out of (ie: The more historically kept parts).

So that's the game plan for now. Things might change, weather willing.

Exams Post-Mortem and a trip to Akiba

Today, I had my Japanese final, the last test of the term. I suppose it would be good to say that I feel alright about it. It wasn't as frightening as say some of the tests I took this term. Thank god for that, and hopefully I passed.

Afterwards me, Ann, Abigail, Stewart, and Josh all went to Akihabara, aka Akiba, which is affectionately known as "Electric Town". Here you can buy any assortment of electronics and accessories as well as it being a one-stop-anime-shopping Mecca. Lets just say it was over stimulating and there wasn't a lot to take photos of this time as I spent most of my time wondering what I should be buying people.

I saw a lot of Macross Frontier that made me think of Mike, Final Fantasy stuff as well as Evangelion stuff OUT THE ASS, and I finally got one of the many plushies of my desire. Let's just say, "A smiling blob of indeterminate doom has drawn near!"

Had cheap beef bowl for lunch/early dinner, came back home and promptly passed out. Will be going back to Akiba at some point as a friend of mine quite clearly wants a King Slime :D

Why I Need A Different Camera

Today while writing I decided to go take a walk to go clear the fog that overcame it while attempting to write a massive paper and study Japanese at the same time. No easy feat, I assure you, but my brain was pretty much telling me to shove off and rightfully so.

So I decided that, hey, finals are next week. Might be a good idea to head down to the Shrine and pick up a 学業成就 amulet. That is to say, an amulet meant to help with studying. I figured why not, luck couldn't hurt.

But as I approached the Shrine, I saw paper lanterns and festival stalls. I was wondering if I had come across another random festival. As it was, it happened to be 七五三, that is, the celebration of children reaching the age of 7, 5, or 3. You saw little kids in fine kimono being wished luck and health and I saw something of particular interest.

As I approached the sacred precincts proper, I noticed an American family and color me surprised when I saw a little girl of 7, blonde hair and blue eyes dressed in a fine kimono with her makeup done and a cute parasol having her ceremony performed.

This was when I cursed myself for not carrying my camera everywhere with me, but it's so cumbersome. It turns out that family actually lives two blocks from ICU and they jog there frequently. I'll have to run into them again sometime.

Well, that's my adventure for today. If I can finished this paper before evening, I'll go back to the shrine again to take in the festive atmosphere.

Post-Culture Fest Blitz

I've finally come out of hiding from the past weekend. For those of you who I forgot to mention it to, this past weekend was ICU's Festival and I was on the planning committee for the event. It's not so different from JAFAX in how it was put together, except that it was on a much larger scale and there are several things that I would have to recommend to JAFAX staff in the future should I continue to be apart of the organization as a whole.

Setup started on Friday at 8am sharp and I didn't get home from campus until about 10pm. This was the beginning of several long nights. Saturday was the same thing. My shifts including the reception area, taking photos, selling ICU goods and beverages and then sorting trash which I got to skip out on as a massive migraine of doom decided to wreck my brain and I headed home.

Sunday was like Saturday only I had more breaks inbetween my shifts as opposed to one mega-shift on Saturday. I got to watch the Taiko and Soul Run performances as well as GTBL's (Good to Be Loud, the GLBT group on campus) drag show. There was delicious foods to be had as well, including yakisoba (fried soba noodles), yakiudon (fried udon noodles), yakitori (grilled chicken skewers), chocolate filled taiyaki (a fish-shapped waffle), chocolate covered banana's, okinawan fritters, crepes, non-alcoholic beer, smoothies, tea and soda galore...

Quite the weekend, quite the weekend. Thankfully Monday was a holiday so I could -sleep-. Also found out on Monday about the passing of my Uncle Ron so it gave me sometime to think and pray for family as well.

Nothing much really has been happening other than homework, class, resting and getting over this stomach bug I've developed. I'm still fighting with Flickr to upload my photos and YouTube for my video. Soon, I promise, you will see them ;-;