I am off to Japan for the very first time this summer! I am a huge otaku (otaku=geek in japanese) and have been dying to go for years, so this is a blog to "revise" and share my knowledge of the Land of the Rising Sun
Tokyo Tower is the 333 metres tall (332,6 for precision’s sake) symbol of Tokyo. It is designed off the Eiffel Tower by architect Taichū Naitō, although it is exactly 7,6 metres taller than the Eiffel Tower. It weighs 4000 tonnes and was constructed between 1957 and 1958.
In summer it is illuminated by 176 white lights (to cool..?) and in winter by 176 orange ones (to warm up…?)
It’s antennae was twisted during the 2011 earthquake, and it’s radio and television functiona were moved to Tokyo Sky Tree.
Shibuya is a borough of Tokyo, and is famous for its fashion shops (notably the 109 shop that looms over Shibuya Crossing and boasts the Starbuck’s coffee with a nice view on the crossing) and its flamboyant nightlife, popular with Tokyo’s youth.
It is also famous for the statue of Hachiko, the ever-loyal Akita Inu that waited every morning and every evening for nearly 10 years at Shibuya Station for his master that had died at work. The statue is now a popular meeting spot for young couples in Shibuya.
Shibuya is also a very good reflection of Japan, mixing together the famous Meiji Temple and Yoyogi Park, once a training camp for japanese soldiers,
and ultra-modern Shibuya Crossing, Tokyo’s Times Square and Center Gai, a street filled with shops popular with Tokyo youths.
So uh… I haven’t been very consistent about the whole countdown thing… sorry..
Anyway, it’s now only one month until I fly to the other end of the world! And I’m still, if not more, so excited! This is just a quick post to get me back on the ball again, as teachers often say.
Top 10 places that I really hope to see in Japan….
One of the highlights of spring in Japan is of course the sakura (cherry blossoms). The Japanese even have a sakura forecast to foretell the first blooms and the full blooms, called the sakura-zensen which is announced every year by the weather bureau.
Hanami Forecast
Hanami itself means “Flower Viewing” and the practise dates back to the Nara Period (710-794), when people would get together to view the ume (plum) blossoms. Back in the Heian Period (794-1185), sakura came to attract more attention. Plum viewing, called umemi is still popular and is enjoyed by oldre people, as hanami can be too crowded and noisy.
Hanami ukiyo-e print
Umemi ukiyo-e
In modern Japan, hanami mostly consists of an outdoor party under the sakura trees. It can be during the day or at night, a practise called yozakura (night-sakura). In Ueno Park in Tokyo, small lanterns are hung up for this purpose. In some cases, the term kan’o is also used, mostly for flower-viewing festivals. There is a saying “hana yori dango” (dumplings rather than flowers) that teases at the fact that most of the cherry-blossom viewers come for the food rather than the flowers.
Since schools end around March and start in April, it is a perfect outing during holidays. Also, companies hire high-school and university graduates on the 1st of MArch, and newly-hired salarymen are often given the important task of saving the perfect spot for the companies or the branch’s Hanami. Many do not hesitate to sleep in the park to get the best places, as getting a great one gives a great first impression.
Hinamatsuri, or Girls’ Day, is a special day for girls in Japan, celebrated on the 3rd of March. It’s also called ‘Dolls Day’, due to the celebrations, or “Momo no sekku” (Peach Festival) due to it being at the same time as the traditional peach blossom blooming in the lunar calendar.
It’s a day to celebrate girls and wish them good health and good growth. Families with girls traditionally set up a doll altar and dedicate peach blossoms to them. The altars are usually seven-tiered or five-tiered and are decorated with a red carpet.
The arrangement of the altar. This is a seven tiered one, the bottom two tiers are omitted in a five tiered one
Today is the 3rd year anniversary of the 2011 Japan Earthquake (8.9 on the Richter Scale) that ravaged Japan. So, just a thought for the victims and their family.
Also, today is the day that, in 1302, Romeo and Juliet got married.
Harajuku is a neighborhood of Tokyo. A normal one. Except on Sundays.
Sunday is HARAJUKU FASHION DAY. Head to Yoyogi Park, and you’ll immediately see what that means. Teenagers from all corners of Tokyo (and Japan!) come to Harajuku to show off their style. Here are the more common styles or ‘cliques’ of clothing:
The Gothic Lolita
Characterised by black, victorian (usually shortened) era style clothing with loads of lace and ribbons, the Gothic Lolita is very feminine, dark and elegant to make the wearer look like a porcelain victorian doll.
Gothic Lolitas (credits to artist)
The Sweet Lolita
Inspired by the Rococo Era, it’s innocent and well, sweet. Uses loads of pink ribbons, cute rabbits, references to books such as ‘Little Red Riding Hood’ and ‘Alice in Wonderland’. (especially the latter. It’s an obsession)
(credits to artists)
The Japanese Punk
You see Punks? Add loads of layers to their clothes and stick them on a random Japanese person.
J-Punk (credits to artists)
The Cosplayer
They dress up as their favourite character from an anime or manga. Not only in Harajuku, head to the nearest Comicon and you’ll see loads. There’re pros and…not pros.
Cosplaying Hatsune Miku (credits go to artists)
Decora Style
It’s bright, it’s plastic, it’s decora style! Literally decorate yourself with anything. The flashier the better.
Decora Style (credits to artists)
Kawaii
Literally cute. It’s innocent and playful and with lots of pastels, in a modern way.
Kawaii desu ne~ (credits to artists)
Wamono
Mixing traditional japanese clothing with Western. I like it.
Petrol stations are quite different over there. You can only guess they're petrol stations because they have two guys who wave like mad when you drive your car in. Which can look like they want to assault you. But no, just look up and TA-DA! petrol pumps! Because in Japan, petrol falls from the sky! So you stop your car beneath one, hand over your keys and the two guys do the rest. By the rest, I mean they fill the car up, clean the windscreen (inside and out), and loads of other little charming things.
But if in the West, shoes collect the last few drops, do heads collect them in Japan?
In Japan, nobody holds hands, except mums and kids, kids, and teenage rebels. You can’t kiss either, it’s “incitation to debauchery” and you’ll get yelled at by a policeman. However, there is a secret techniqe to show you’re going out with the girl next to you: Pull her violently towards you when you hear a cyclist coming.
Countdown to Japan 