floating world

Inspiring afternoon

On Sunday I went to Design Festa, a twice-yearly all-weekend art and craft extravaganza held at the Tokyo Big Sight. It was great! This was my 2nd visit, and I came better prepared than last time; with lots of small change and sans bored husband.

There was so much to look at - 3 enormous halls full of booths and stalls, each one rented by some kind of creator to showcase or sell their work. There are t-shirts, postcards, paintings, tables, photos, brooches and clothes, as well almost anything else you can imagine.

I loved seeing all the different kinds of art and design, and came home with lots of gorgeous postcards, as well as some stationary, pins and a bag. I didn't even see half of what was there, it just took too long to squeeze through the crowds and look at what was on display. It is such a great event though - because anyone can hire a booth the people there range from those who are quite well established to school students, and as well as Japanese artists lots of people had flown in from other countries. It's really nice to be able to talk to the artists who've made things in person, and the whole place just buzzes with creativity.

I picked up lots of meishi, and thought I would include some links for people who are interested in Japanese arty/crafty stuff.

The gorgeous amigurumi toys to the left are from Soragumi. She had made so many different types of dogs... I loved the spaniels with curly wool ears. I bought postcards from illustrators here here, here and here; and some stationary from here. They are all kind of quirky and cute. This artist makes lovely prints, and I fell in love with one of this artist's paintings but it had already sold... These textile collages are also gorgeous. For fabric, these pouches made from vintage textiles are amazing, and I loved some of the fabrics in these bags.

There was so much more beautiful stuff but unfortunately a lot of people didn't have websites - I guess it's hard when you're just starting out. Most of the sites above are in Japanese, but the trusty "right click -> translate" trick usually works okay, and lets you navigate through to the images. Happy browsing!

Fabric from Thailand

At the end of last week I got a gorgeous box of fabric and notions from Sooz in Thailand. I love reading her stories about life in Chiang Mai, and seeing the way she uses local material in her craft, so I am very excited to get my hands on some of the things she uses! It's really inspiring to see some fabric that's so different to what's in the shops here - rather than being printed this has woven designs and slightly more muted colours. And the trims and bobbles are great - lots of elephant designs.

I'm now trying to work out what to use it all for - the pile of fabric in the cupboard is rapidly growing, and I have a bunch of ideas in my head, but actually finding the time to get the sewing machine out is difficult.

When I have sewn recently, it's mostly been little bags from this book and some zippered pouches... this tutorial is fantastic and makes it really easy, even if you hate zippers like me. The two-tone totes and the smaller one are from the Japanese book, and were lots of fun to make - they are a good size, big enough for a book but not too huge. More photos here.

Cheaper in Japan

Japan, and especially Tokyo, is infamous for being expensive. It's true, it's not a cheap place to live, but there are bargains to be had... here are a few of them:

1 - Eating out: If you want to spend a lot of money in a restaurant here there are plenty of places to do it, but there are also so many spots to eat high quality, inexpensive food, especially at lunch time. Within a few minutes walk of my flat I can eat noodles, yakitori, sushi, Italian, Mexican or izakaya food, all for under 1000 yen (approx A$12). And the decor and service are usually better than what you would find if spending the same amount of money in Australia. In London I'd spend more than that on a soggy sandwich and an orange juice.

2 - Fabric: I go on and on about this all the time, but it really is cheaper than Australia or the UK and the quality and range are amazing.

3 - Trains: The cheapest ticket for the Tube in central London is now £2.00(approx 400yen). The cheapest JR ticket for Tokyo is 130 yen, and the cheapest subway is 160 yen. Plus I think the value is much better in terms of reliability and cleanliness (admittedly, this is not hard).

4 - Magazines - because you can read them for free! One of the coolest things about Japan for a magazine addict is tachiyomi, literally reading standing up, which is totally acceptable. In Australia you get abused by the shopkeeper if you read more than a paragraph of a magazine without buying it. Here people line up by the shelves in their lunch breaks and read as much as they want, and if the shopkeepers care they're too polite to let on. This is very good, as airfreight magazines are actually quite expensive.

5 - Cigarettes. I don't smoke, but if I did I'd either be saving a lot of money or wasting less, depending on how you look at it. They're about 200 yen a pack.

6 - Anything from a 100 yen shop. 100 yen shops are fantastic. Unlike $2 shops in Australia they are full of stuff that you actually want to buy; kitchen utensils and plates, stationary, coat hangers... basically anything you can imagine. Some even sell food, although so far I've been a bit dubious about buying any. When we first moved into our flat I equipped the kitchen for about 2000 yen. My favourite is on Takeshita dori in Harajuku - it has 4 floors!

7 - Skiing: the shinkansen might be pricey but the actual lift tickets are much cheaper than in the US or Australia. Niseko, the biggest resort in Hokkaido, costs 4,800 yen for an 8 hour adult ticket. Perisher, in Australia, is A$87 for an adult for the day. Niseko has the best powder I've ever seen and zillions of runs. Perisher is much smaller, and in a bad season you're skiing on ice and grass. And on-mountain food is better and cheaper than anywhere else I've been.

8 - Paper: the stationary here is gorgeous, both traditional washi paper and modern designs, and much more affordable than elsewhere. Other stationary bits and pieces (pens, erasers, stickers) are good value too, and super cute.

9 - Some groceries: most things at the supermarket are comparatively expensive, especially beef, fruit and vegetables. Other things are surprisingly reasonable though. Frozen vegetables, confectionery, chicken and pickles all compare well to the UK. And, of course, Japanese speciality foods are really good. I used to pay about $5 or $6 for edamame beans in Sydney, now I can get them for next to nothing.

10 - Spirits. Beer is not that cheap here, but whisky and vodka are a bargain. I think the duty must be less. Premium brands are about half the price of Australia, and Japanese brands like Suntory are really cheap. (Random Japan Fact: in an attempt to avoid the Beer Tax, which is actually a tax on malt, all the big brewers have invented different varieties of malt-free beer-type drinks that taste almost the same. More here)

Admittedly, most other things are more expensive here, but it's nice to know there are some bargains. Please add a comment if you think of anything else!

Plastic food and bamboo rakes

On Monday Ikeda-sensei, my class co-ordinator, organised an excursion to Asakusa for anyone who wanted to come along. We met at Senso-ji temple and then explored Kappabashi-dori, an area that's full of restaurant supply stores. One of the more interesting things they had in stock were the plastic food models that are displayed outside restaurants. They're very realistic, which I guess is what you would hope as they're also very expensive. I've been to Senso-ji lots of times, by myself and with visitors, but never explored other places in Asakusa. Along with Ueno and Okachimachi, it's much grittier and less glamorous than more modern parts of the city like Ginza or Shibuya. Locals describe these older, more traditional areas as shitamachi, literally "downtown".

We then moved on to a smaller shrine for the annual Tori no Uchi fair. When she first suggested this excursion in class, Ikeda-sensei described it as a "commemorative bamboo rake festival" which confused us all no end. The bamboo rakes are actually new year decorations, designed to gather good fortune for the coming year. Shop owners display them in their stores and sometimes people put the smaller ones up in their homes too. They're expensive though - about 20,000Y (A$250ish) for a big one. The shrine was packed with people jostling past the various stalls, and whenever someone bought a decoration the stall holders and people standing around would clap in unison and chant something wishing them luck. With the crowds, chanting and lanterns it was a really atmospheric, unique experience, and all the more special for being off the usual tourist track.

Mitasai

Yesterday was the first day of Mitasai, Keio's Mita campus fair. I was keen to go and check it out as I haven't really got involved in any extra-curricular stuff this year; mostly because of the language barrier, and I also feel a lot older than the other students, even though it's probably only a couple of years.

Also, it was a good chance to do some research: I've been wanting to ride the scooter to uni but have been a bit of a wimp - I don't like to go new places because I'm always terrified that I'll take a wrong turn and end up on a freeway or have to do a scary right hand turn on to a busy road or something like that. It's strange, because I'm quite confident in a car, but on the scooter you feel much more vulnerable, and since I catch the train every day I don't really know the roads. So Mark and I walked there, which took about 45 minutes but I think I now know a scooter-friendly route.

The fair itself was lots of fun. The campus was so crowded, and there were masses of stalls, demonstrations and displays. My favourites were the judo and pro-wrestling demonstrations. We pottered around eating crepes and looking at photos, and I took Mark on a quick campus tour. He'd never been there before, so it was fun to show him the earthquake-traps in which I spend my days.

Leaf viewing

On Saturday I had an out-of-Tokyo adventure; we hired a car for the day and drove to Nikko to try and catch some autumn leaf viewing. On the way the leaves were beautiful, but when we got to Lake Chuzenjiko they'd finished; it was snowing lightly and the trees were bare. It was a gorgeous day, so still nice to have a break from the city and get some fresh air.

Driving back to Tokyo the light was incredible, I kept snapping photos of powerlines and pachinko parlours from the car. Unfortunately the traffic was also incredible... I guess I should be getting used to this by now.

Note to self: it will always take at least three times as long as you expect to drive back into Tokyo, no matter what time it is, nor which direction you are coming from.

Picnic at the Palace

Little Adventure #1 was straight from the book, and one that I've been wanting to do for ages. I got to Mitsoukoshi in Nihonbashi - Japan's oldest department store - just before 10am this morning and got to watch the elaborate little ritual that happens at opening time; a small speech, lots of chimes and bowing. It was my first visit to the store, and I was really impressed; the building is beautiful, and just full of gorgeous things. As well as all the usual international luxury brands there are lots of lovely hand-crafted Japanese goods, especially ceramics and wooden things. There were lacquer tea sets for thousands of dollars and kimonos for tens of thousands... I managed to restrain myself but had fun browsing. The people-watching was good too, as lots of the other customers were older ladies in beautiful kimonos.

The next bit of the adventure involved walking over Nihonbashi, the old bridge that all distances in Japan are traditionally measured from. It must have been a charming spot until a huge expressway was built over the top in the lead-up to the Tokyo Olympics.

Then, still following the book, I stopped by Takashimaya where I had fun in the basement foodcourt choosing a couple of beautiful bento boxes and some cute baby cheesecakes. At Takashimaya they had a big display in the entrance congratulating (ex)Princess Nori on her wedding, and lots of photos. Although she had possibly the world's least glamorous wedding dress it was nice to see the pictures - the kimono she changed into afterwards was amazing.

Next, lugging the bento boxes, I walked down to the Palace and met Mark (his office is nearby) for picnic lunch and autumn leaf viewing. It was so nice! We sat on the grass and enjoyed the beautiful yellow ginko leaves and lots of sunshine. It's kind of good to know that even in Tokyo you can have a great time without spending much money, weather permitting.

Little Adventures in Tokyo

I'm so happy - it's the university fair this week, so I have no classes until next Friday. A whole week off! I'm looking forward to catching up on all the stuff I neglect because of class and homework, and also doing some exploring around the city, as it's perfect weather for pottering outdoors right now.

I have a great book called "Little Adventures in Tokyo" by Rick Kennedy, which suggests lots of excursions and things to do, other than the usual tourist route so, inspired by that I thought I'd try for a "Little Adventure" every day this week. They won't all be from the book, but will all be in the same spirit. Will report back.

~Also, yesterday was 1 year since my first post... happy blog birthday to me!~

Little earthquake

Some time last night there was a little earthquake. It went on for a while, maybe half a minute, but was pretty gentle so it didn't seem worth getting out of bed or even waking up properly.

So I was kind of surprised to log onto the SMH website this morning and find the headline "Tsunami warning as quake shakes Japan", sure to cause distress among our family. But despite the melodramatic headline, the article went on to admit that the tsunami was, in fact, 30cm high. Considering that the entire coast of Japan is bricked up with concrete tetrapods the chance of this doing much damage is slim.

Must be a slow news day.

Thank you, Mr. Postman

I've been spoilt recently with all kinds of loveliness coming through the letterbox. First, there was a fantastic parcel from Risa in Quito, full of cool fabric, cute Equadorian goodies (my favourites were a googly-eyed shower sponge and a little brooch made of dough), lots of trims and ties and a rainbow shawl. I've always wanted to visit South America and haven't had the chance yet, so it was lovely to get an idea of what Equador is like from all these colourful bits and pieces.

Then, as part of a swap with Dani I got metres and metres of these amazing vintage fabrics; big swirly designs on heavy cotton twill (better pictures here), plus lots of other trims, snippets and buttons. Yay! There was also Green & Black chocolate, which I can't find in Japan, but that didn't last long enough to be photographed...

Over the last few weeks I've also been receiving postcards as part of a hand-made card swap organised by Nichola. This was lots of fun - so interesting to see how different people adapted their cardboards rectangles into mini-artworks. These were made by (clockwise, from top left) Sarah, Christina, Robyn, Nichola, Natalie and Shelly. Aren't they beautiful?