Design Festa Vol. 31 - TKO

This weekend, Ed and I took a fleeting trip to Tokyo for Design Festa. Design Festa is the biggest art and design event in Asia, and I had been dreaming about going to it ever since I decided to move to Japan. Anyone and everyone can contribute and participate in the Festa; the venue was teeming with arty, crafty stalls, booths, installations and live performance, showcasing art and design not only from Asia, but from all over the world. The event was so much fun, and I was in crafty heaven, to the point that on arriving at the venue, the row upon row of little stalls, oozing with colour,handmade treasures and all kinds of funny, interesting things, truly took my breath away. The artists and designers were so friendly and willing to talk about and have their work photographed. My future back in London is still so uncertain and has been the point of such anxiety for me recently. I found the event to be very inspiring and it has really motivated me to pursue and hatch more plans for little projects, which up until this point, I had only really envisioned as silly, trivial things.

I collected so many little cards over the course of the day, and have spent this morning trying to match them them up to my photographs. I will link wherever possible if you want to take a looky :-)



These colourful vintage fabric, cute little 'lady purses' were made by an equally cute elderly lady called Kitsch Mama. I bought one for my pens and pencils. I love Kitsch Mama!


Friends and loved ones, expect lots of post in the coming weeks - beautiful postcards were my number one purchase of the day.



Having seen this stall, I am determined to make my own kaleidoscopes. They were mesmerising. The picture below is what I saw when I looked inside the big purple one - nice eh? :-)




I bought postcards a-plenty from the cute little chicken man.


This cardboard city was so beautiful. There were even parts of it that moved - amazing.


funnies




This was a really endearing piece of work about the different prefectures of Japan. The Kagawa (my home) character even has udon (Kagawa's famous dish) hair eee! I actually felt an unexpected pang of pride for my home prefecture. Udon this week Vivian?


The photograph is not so clear, but one of my favourite booths of the day was manned by a lovely husband and wife, who took very funny mugshot pictures of their very smiley cat. It made me laugh so much. Please have a look at the website, it's so much fun. I wonder if I could get my Alfie to do something similar...

Some booths sold very little in the way of handicrafts, but were entertaining all the same....



I loved this mother and son duo. They held the event's monopoly on paper chain making...


the paper girls.


cosy little woodland hideaway.


It was a long day for this boy.

I had the best time ever at Design Festa and saw so many interesting things. I want to come back to Japan for it next year, perhaps even having a stall of my own... I wonder if London Design Week this October will be as impressive.

Having treated our eyes to all of the treasures at the Festa, Ed and I headed to Koenji (the cutest little part of Tokyo) where my friend Nathalie lives. Nathalie and I both went to university in Leeds and share a few friends in common. In our third year, one of my good friends, Simon, lived in the same house as Nathalie, just two roads back from the one I lived in. Despite this, our first time to meet was not in lovely Yorkshire, where we had walked the same cobbled streets, studied in the same libraries and danced in the same clubs, but on the other side of the world in Tokyo. We had a hearty okonomiyaki dinner and headed to Shibuya, where Nathalie took us to this amazing labyrinth of very narrow streets, lined with cosy little bars that fit about eight people in at most. Drinking in these streets would make for a fun game of surprise (and a test of courage too perhaps!); it was funny to reach the top of the staircase, before finding yourself squeezed into a very tiny room with six strangers. Apparently, these were the popular Shibuya drinking dens of post-war Japan.

This bar was at the top of a very narrow staircase. It was cosy, cosy, and there were cat things everywhere; I was a happy girl.





After that, we danced until the morning. Here we are on our way home, Sunday morning :-)



I have fallen in love with Koenji; it reminded me somewhat of East London with its abundance of arty little cafes and twee shops. This is a cutesy little Koenji cafe called Hattifnatt, the interior of which has been made to look like a treehouse. Unfortunately, there was a long queue, so I have added it to the top of my list for my return jaunt.



Lovely Nathalie was the best guide to Tokyo ever (thank you, thank you, and check your posty post soon!). We headed to another cute area called Shimokitazawa in the afternoon, where we picked up some vintage treasures, and visited what have fast become one of my favourite idiosyncrasies of Japan's burgeoning cafe culture - the cat cafe! This one was called Maneki Neko. The cats were so beautiful, healthy and clean looking. I miss my Alfie so much.








My favourite one; Nathalie observed that he looks like Bill Bailey - can you see the resemblance?



This cat leads the perfect life - he lives in Shimokitazawa, has loads of adoring cat lovers cooing at him, gets to wear a strawberry hat and sleep in a bowl every day!

With a couple of hours to spare before the dreaded eleven hour night bus journey (which incidentally,was horrific) we went to a Thai Festival in Yoyogi Park, stopping to see the Elvis' on the way;



It was then back to Shibuya for one last look at the surge of human activity at Shibuya crossing and a sushi dinner, before taking the bus back to sleepy little Kagawa.


I had the best weekend; Tokyo endeared itself a lot more to me on my second visit, both because of Design Festa and my super guide, who was not only the best fun, but showed me a side to Tokyo that I had been looking for. I will be back for a final vist in August :-)
The night bus was hellish;I spent the entire night having to endure my body coiled into the foetal position, my face crushed against the window and fish fumes seeping into my pores - many thanks to the man sitting next to me and his super sized bag of dried squid. Today, I am relaxing and recovering by drinking jasmine tea, listening to new music,finding space in my room for all of my new treasures and making a nice salad lunch;an extortionately priced, miniscule can (oh, the paradox!) of mixed pulses was my personal reward for the completion of the bus journey...yes, it really was that bad!

It's funny, but even though I am nine months into my time here in Japan, I continue to experience these strange moments that creep up on me unexpectedly; when I'm out walking in the evenings, when I am teaching a class, just before I go to sleep. They cannot be described other than moments of disbelief and a curious sense of pride - I'm here in Japan. Actually here. The shakey days are still a permenant fixture of my life here and what I am gaining or hope to gain from this experience remains unclear to me. But I did it. I did this all by myself. I hope that is something that I can take with me when I return to London to begin figuring out what to do next...




xo

Golden Week

Golden Week is a collection of national holidays here in Japan. For an extended time, all of Japan is on the move as people travel abroad or to other parts of the country to visit friends/family. I was very intrigued to experience such a rarity in Japan - a holiday that lasts for more than one day!






I decided to take a trip back to Osaka to join my friends Vivian, Ciaran and Reese. I love Osaka. It is grimy, seedy, hedonistic and laid back. I enjoyed the style in Osaka as it reminded me of my London - with the exception of the straw boater hats, which every female under the age of 25 was wearing, anything goes in Osaka and it wasn't so contrived as I find Tokyo sometimes can be.


Being back in a big city after a several weeks in the countryside felt wonderful. I enjoy so many things about life in Marugame but this trip really confirmed that I need to take the opportunity to travel as much as possible in these last few months. I fall into the comfort trap here in Marugame - life is easy and uncomplicated....but can also become very monotonous and frustrating. I still hate being so conspicuous in this little town. In Osaka, I felt a little more anonymous and it made me feel relaxed. I loved seeing new things for my eyes to be inspired by, to have those moments of frustration where I could not find a way out of Namba station (with it's 539575478574853 exits), to ride a busy subway like I did every day back in London town, to spend 40 minutes walking from one end of the shopping area to the other, being swept along in a sea of people.

I stayed in a really cute little hostel with equally cute staff in Namba. It was clean, lovely and I didn't feel the urge to get up and get out as soon as I woke up (as I have felt in other hostels I've stayed in). I wish I could be friends with the gesturing man and the girl with the bowl haircut.

I did lots of lovely things with my time in Osaka - drank by the Dotombori canal, went to the most amazing Mexican restaurant I have ever been to, met up with fellow Londoner Roland who took me to a cutesy Vietnamese cafe with colourful sweets and lovely art on the walls, ate Kansai okonomiyaki, satisfied my retail deprivation;I think my summer wardrobe is leaning towards red and stripes this year, stocked up on my Japanese fashion magazines (the spreads are so beautiful) went clubbing (which was fantastic - it was the first time I felt feminine and attractive here in Japan. Guys came up and chatted to us and it felt great, even if I couldn't understand!),ate green tea KitKat Chunkies, my new confectionary obsession, met some of Vivian's lovely Tokushima friends, who I would love to see again, and just enjoyed being in a bustling, noisy, dirty, inspiring place.






(These are the host boys we met. Note the claw hand on my bag after just having been asked about my passport and bank card by said hosts!)

Yesterday, Vivian and I took a trip to Nara 奈良市. Mine and Vivian's schedules here are quite different so it was lovely to spend time together. Our morning began with combini breakfasts, dropping bananas on escalators and a nice little train ride. We walked around in the sunshine, ate bento, saw a giant Buddha (apparently the biggest in the world), petted the deer and partook in the very Japanese custom of buying omiyage (souvenirs) for every single person we know back in Marugame - we are IMMERSED in Japanese culture Vivian! I was happy to see some deer again - I think I preferred the Nara deer to their Miyajima counterparts; they were prettier; more doe eyed and lovely.



(deer and girl with white, pasty legs ach :-/)












Last night, tired footed Vivian and I took the bus back to Osaka laden with our new purchases and a selection of dubious looking combini snacks to console ourselves. It was a fun bus journey home and both of us agreed that we were glad for the company.


Osaka is a different world, an entirely different Japan from the one I have become familiar with over the past eight months of day to day life here in Marugame. I felt flat coming back on the bus but after stepping off the little local train at Marugame, smelling the earthy smell of the rice fields, being greeted by the smiley ticket collector man (we don't need ticket barriers here in the countryside), cycling back home in the early summer warmth, and meeting my besty at the supermarket in ten minutes (we don't have ten billion train exits - you can be with your friends within seconds!) I realised that perhaps I am a lucky girl to be able to experience both sides of Japan.....perhaps.

My heart belongs in the city. Hearts for Osaka; see you soon <3



xo

Fashion show

Last weekend, I took part in a fashion show for Ichirou, a friend of mine who cuts my hair for free, a woo! Surprisingly, it was actually a very interesting cultural experience; around fifty or so girls modelled at the event, with myself and Tamara being the only Western girls.

The Japanese models were styled in a very demure kind of way; pastel shades, soft curls, ethereal looking dresses, whilst Tamara and I looked the complete opposite of the cutesies. My makeup was very bold and smokey (and incidentally, not really the right kind for my skin tone. Days later, my poor skin is still suffering, as a result of the make up being piled on like polyfiller gah!), my hair tightly pulled back with lots of back combing, and my clothes would have been almost provocative had it not been for my big feet which unintentionally saved me! None of the high heels would fit me so embarrassingly, I had to make do with a pair of MC Hammer style mens' shoes.

Lots of my students were there and it took them a little while to realise that it was me beneath the mask and witchy hair. Post realisation = the usual shrieking ensued.
I had a good time and it was really fun to have somebody as laid back as Tamara with me. I also had a really amusing experience afterwards when I popped into my local supermarket with said runway hair and makeup. The poor little cashier was mortified when he saw the witchy looking foreign girl with the MC Hammer trainers.









Things have been a bit shakey again lately, but a Wednesday night tea session and just a few minutes ago, being enthusiastically accosted by my rowdy Josei students in the supermarket and then seeing them being told off by the security guard for being too noisy (to whom they took no notice of whatsoever - I truly love that school) have cheered me up no end. Tomorrow, I will have dinner at a nice cafe here called Bubucane and pretend that I am dining at a chic city cafe for a couple of hours hehe. Oh countryside living...

xo

xo

Bicycle a-go-go.

Last Saturday, Ed, Yumi and I did a 70 kilometre bicycle ride across the Shimanami Kaido. The Shimanami Kaido is a bridge that begins in Imabari (on my little island of Shikoku) and stretches all the way to quaint little Onomichi city on Hiroshima prefecture over on Honshu, the mainland.



It was a beautiful day with lots of sunshine...










fun company....













...good food....




...and plenty of these.













I would really love to do it again before I leave Japan.

xo




xo

Vietnam

Last week, I took a trip to Vietnam. It was a memorable trip as not only was it my first time in South East Asia, but I was doing it alone. It turned out to be unexpectedly nice travelling alone and I enjoyed having the freedom to be in the company of others (I met really lovely people - hello Nancy and Kendra!) and be alone when the mood took me.


Unfortunately, my camera was stolen on my very first night in Hanoi which was such a disappointment. I bought a couple of instant cameras and I think it will be kind of nice to see the pictures as they will all be surprises. I'm sorry that it might be a bit of a boring read without pictures :-(

There were loads of things I enjoyed about Vietnam:

- enjoying food is so important to me when visiting somewhere new and I ate so well in Vietnam, largely because of all the wonderful salads I ate. I realised how much I have missed a good salad since I've come to Japan. Mangoes are my favourite fruit and they were sold in abundance on the street for just a few pennies, which I took full advantage of. Every morning for breakfast, I ate a fruit salad full of fruits I had never tasted before, with natural yoghurt and honey, accompanied by a glass of Hanoi's celebrated thick, chocolatey iced coffee.
One of the best restaurants I visited was KOTO. KOTO began on the streets of Hanoi back in the 90s as a development project aimed at breaking the cycle of poverty amongst street and disadvantaged youth in Vietnam. All the waiters, waitresses and chefs are young people from the streets who complete a three year apprenticeship at KOTO. The food was beautiful and my bill was being channelled into a great cause (which made me feel good, especially given the incessant and often exhausting culture of bartering in Vietnam, which always made me feel uncomfortable)




I took a trip to Halong Bay, which is a UNESCO world heritage site about four hours outside of Hanoi. It was beautiful and eerie. The thing that intrigued me most were the floating villages. Our guide told us that there are even floating village schools!




I loved the museums in Hanoi so much and with a couple of rainy days, I managed to see them all. The fine art museum was a little devoid of creativity, as all work had to be party approved...


I saw Ho Chi Minh's embalmed body at the Mausoleum! It was one of the most morbidly interesting experiences I have ever had. He lies in a huge glass case surrounded by guards in white uniform. I queued for ages and had to be completely covered up before I was able to file past his body. It was especially fascinating to see the reaction of Vietnamese visitors; utmost reverence.

Hanoi's heart and soul is based in the Old Quarter; a district of about fifty narrow, winding streets. Each of the streets possess a unique character which is reflected in their names; Silk Street, Herb Street, Shoe Street etc. Fruit Shake Street (I suspect this is a contemporary addition) and Herb Street smelt so beautiful. It was fun to wander around the Old Quarter; it was full of cafes, curious little shops and people eating on the famous blue plastic chairs that spilled out onto the road. I also loved the tube houses that made up the Old Quarter; in the past shopkeepers were taxed according to the width of their shop front, so built houses that are very narrow in width but lengthwise, seem to go on forever.



The Old Quarter did get a bit hectic after a while; the fifty streets look so homogenous, the names looked and sounded extremely similar and I am an awful map reader...I spent a lot of time being lost. I had given up on the Old Quarter by my last two days in favour of sitting down by the lake with my book...


There were some cultural quirks that I noticed ;

Loads of men had uncomfortably long thumb nails. Generally men who drove taxis or worked as shop assistants in some of the nicer shops. I found out that it indicates wealth and status. These men are financially comfortable enough not have to resort to a life of manual labour. I kept staring at the long thumb nails for my entire trip.

The offerings that people leave at shrines. It was really bizarre to see Buddha surrounded by packets of crisps and cheap supermarket cakes. I just couldn't fathom it... Ed did the 88 Temple Walk here in Japan this Spring Holiday and said that the same happens here....

The first thing I saw upon arriving at Hanoi airport was a man defecating in the street. I saw it a couple of times....I can't be sure if it was cultural thing or if I just happened to come across several individuals who were just desperate to relieve themselves...

The culture of bartering also made me feel somewhat uncomfortable and was not something I could do. To me, the thought of bartering something down from a measly two dollars to an even measlier one, just because I was in South East Asia was kind of immoral.


I arrived back in Japan in perfect time for the cherry blossoms and had a lovely first day back with my friends under the cherry trees.





Ciaran being couth...






Shikoku chic - the man in the picture was one of Shikoku's finest; orange hair, awful tracksuit. He deserves to be featured!




This weekend, I'm cycling across the bridge with Yumi and Ed, in celebration of Yumi's 24th birthday. This morning, Ed, Yumi and I impulsively booked tickets to go to Seoul for four days in June :-)

xo