Kabuki

First time I went to see Kabuki, one of the traditional Japanese culture. Something similar to musical stage but story in old Japan times, speak old Japanese language, using traditional costumes and instruments.
It was very very interesting. It was a bit modern style Kabuki so I could understand what they are saying. The story was about a beast who was envious of one guy who could get beautiful girls. Unfortunately, they always liked the same girls so the beast got very jealous and started to kills the girls one after the other which was man's girlfriends. The man got so depressed and could not recover from his sadness. Then one detective decided to seach for this beast and...

I've seen lots of western cultures like opea, musical show, ballet but never Japanese ones. It is nice to know about your own culture as well. I guess as you get older, you (or just me?) have more interests in your own culture and want to know more. When I was little, I was more interested in US or Europe culture and style, tried to be like them. I travel a lot but these days everytime I go somewhere, I re-recognized how wonderful Japanese culture is, especially in people's behavior and mentality. I am proud to be Japanese.

Rainy Tokyo

It's been raining all week... Even it's almost July, it's quite cold maybe around 22 C.

I hope this rainy season will end soon.

Art of Taro Okamoto

I had friend coming over from Nagoya and went shopping in Aoyama. Aoyama is a very nice area to walk around and do shopping.
While wandering around, I saw this interesting statue and had to find out what is is. It also reminded me of something familiar... I went closer and noticed what it was. It was the same artist of "Tower of the Sun" in Osaka Park; Taro Okamoto.
Very interesting figure, I enjoyed them.


Also, it was funny to see this cause I have been reading this manga (comic book) called "20th Centry Boys" recently, and this Tower of the Sun plays a big role in that story. This manga is very popular in Japan now, not my type of the manga, but sooo interesting that I cannot stop. Mystery and futuristic story. I cannot read alone at night because it's too scary ... I heard that it'll be a movie soon and maybe it'll come out in foriegn countries sometime. I know there's already an English translation book.

Anyway, the Golden Week Holiday has started in Japan! Just sharing with you some of my activities and update you more later.

Spring has come

Spring has come!
My favorite, sakura (cherry blossom) season.
This is inKyoto, Maruyama park, one of the most beautiful place to see sakura. I used to see this every year when I was in Kansai area, but this year I couldn't. but my friend sent me this photo and made me very happy. (Senpai, sorry for using this photos. it was too beautiful.)

Biz Trip to Hiroshima

I went to Hiroshima and it's been 13 years since the last visit. If you went to Japanese elementary school, you're more likely to visit Hiroshima on a field trip. Hiroshima and Nagazzaki are the cities where Atomic Bomb was bombed in 1945, only 2 place in the world. When we study history in school, we always visit the peace museum and this Dome below.

Too bad I couldn't see the city since I didn't have any free time, but would like to go there again and learn the history. I remember the museum was so realistic that it was too shocking for us young students.

Another famous thing in Hiroshima is hiroshima-yaki!! It's kinda like Okonomiyaki from Osaka, but with noodles inside and thinner crust. There was this building that has only hiroshima-yaki restaurants! I didn't know locals like this so much!

Atami Onsen

It's almost holiday and I went to Atami Onsen (2hours from Tokyo) with my good friends.

It was veeeeery nice. Good food, good onsen(Japanese style hot spring) , and what more, good friends. I've never been to Osen with a girlfriend, but actually I enjoyed it a lot. With girls, you can talk and stay in the osen for a long time (usually guys get tired easily) and enjoy the atmosphere from your heart.
The fireworks we saw was awsome! It went up right infront of us so we had to look up to see them.

When I'm in Osen, I'm always happy to be Japanese.
Enjoy the pictures!

Blue Tokyo

I was walking toward the station and saw this blue tokyo tower. I was very surprised, couldn't help to take a picture. It had totally different looks.

I don't know why it was blue though. If someone do know, plz tell me...

Actually, I've also seen Pink and Green tokyo tower. All of them by accident.

I wonder what's the next color.

Tokyo Life

View from my balcony. When I see this, I feel that I live in Tokyo.
Roppongi hills on the left and Tokyo tower on the right.

3 min walking from my place.

No matter how many times I see, I'm always impressed by it's beauty.

Tokyo Midtown

My best friend came to visit me and we went to Tokyo Midtown, one of the hottest place in Tokyo. I've been here many times but this time, I went as a tourist and took some pics.

Opened this year in spring, very modern but also japanese style. Even though it's in the middle of Roppongi, you don't feel like it at all.


Akko trying to take a picture of the tall building and me, taking a picture of that.

Japanese Society

Again, I've been thinking a lot about Japanese society, Japanese Company since I'm looking for a job right now.

My girl friend who works in one of the biggest and intelligent company in Japan, work a lot. Too much. It's okay if she's enjoying it or getting paid well. But the thing is, even though she works till 10 pm, she doesn't get over paid. (usual working hour is until 6 pm) It's not because her boss says you cannot do that. It's because the whole atmosphere, the company culture makes her not declaring over time. Another friend of mine (same age) who works in Panasonic got ill because... I think too much working. Make you work a lot, stress, pressure etc... If you get paid very well, maybe MAYBE you can survive but if no, you know what happens.

Here comes this season again, Luminarie

Kobe Luminarie ( http://www.kobe-luminarie.jp/ ) just started~!
This is the big Christmas event in Kobe where lots and lots of people come to visit. even there is a tour for this from around Japan.

This illumination started in 1995, after the Big Hanshin Earthquake, to encourage and to give hope to the victims after the disaster. Since then, it's held every year for the memorial of the earthquake and fund raising but it's most likely for lovers and couples to you know, be "love-love".

Each year it has a differnet design, different theme. This year's theme is "L'Incanto Del Cielo" which means incantation or the enchantment of the sky. Designed by an Italian living in Kobe.

I really love this illumination. So beautiful, so breath-taking. With the gospel music and billions of lights in gorgeous designs, it is soooo romantic. You will forget the freezing air, the crowd (you can't imagine how many people there are), and bad things happened to you that day.

I see this every every year, and I'm glad that I could see this year again.

When I see this, makes me think that winter is here, Christmas is here and it's almost end of the year. 20 days left to go guys!

またまたルミナリエの季節がやってきました！
本当に綺麗！！！何回見ても飽きない。ルミナリエはアメリカにいた時以外、毎年見てるけど、
これを見るたびに冬の到来、クリスマス、そして1年の終わりをしみじみと感じる。

来年は誰と見るんだろう。。。？

Maid

Image of the maid dressed girl I was talking about in the last blog.
Can you believe some girls are walking down the city like this in Japan?? Something called Maid Cafe is popular too. Maid dressed girls will serve you as you wish... No touching though!!
it's just rediculous...

Wiredest Couple

先週4連休だったので、またまた東京行ってきました！今回は大学時代の友達と会ったり、会社の同期と会ったり、お父さんと飲みに行ったり。すごく楽しかった♪やっぱ東京は面白いなぁ。東京住みたい。

東京のおもしろさはいろんな人がいるから。本当に多種多様な人が入り混じっていると思う。
街をゆく人たちを見ていると、他の都市にはない、独特のオーラがある。

そして今回、目を疑うようなカップルを見た！！
それは新宿で山手線の電車を待っている時。 反対のホームのちょうど私のまん前に、メイドの服を着た彼女と、アニメから出てきたようなビジュアル系の彼のカップルがいた。とまぁこれはまだありえることやねんけど、なんとその彼女、首に首輪つけて、クサリで繋がれてた・・・。そして彼がそのクサリを引いていた・・・。これにはまじびっくりしたね。
世の中にはいろんな人がいて、どんな格好をしようと個人の自由だけれども、これはないでしょ。この人らはなんでこんな格好をしたのだろう？？SMの趣味があるのか？縛られたい or 縛りたいみたいな。せめて家でやれよ、と思った。それか人と違った格好をして、注目されるのが気持ちいいのかな。

これはほんと東京でしか見られないよ。写メ撮りたかったけど、周りに人たくさんいたし、その勇気がなかった。でもちょっと後悔。。みんなに見せてあげたい!

I had 4 days off so I went to Tokyo again. It was so much fun! I met some of my friends from my college and my co-worker. I also spend some time with my dad. We always go out drinking when I go to Tokyo and I really enjoy it.

Anyway, the interesting thing about Tokyo is that there are various kinds of people living here. You'll be surprised how people look crazy. and this time, I saw this wiredest couple ever!!
Here's the story.
I was waiting for my train at Shinjyuku and there was one couple right in front of me in the other side of the platform. The girl was dressed up like maid (it is kinda popular now, some guys love it and even girls enjoy dressing up like a maid) and the boy looked as if he just came out from the video game ( i don't know how to describe but like nerds dressed in heavy metal fashion).

Well, this is not that surprising if you live in Tokyo. The thing is, this girl had a collar on her neck and was attached to a chain!!! and her bf was holding it like a dog on a leash... !!!
Oh my god, I coudn't believe this...I mean people DO have rights to dress as they like, express themselves as they want but... but...I don't understand why they wanted to do this in public? Maybe they are sadist and masochist...? but hey, can't you do that at home? or it's just that they wanna look different from the others, outstand and feel pleasure from people looking at them.

Oh I wish I could show you guys their picture. I wanted to take one with my cell but since there were many people standing behind me so I couldn't:(

梅雨（tsuyu）- the rainy season

Here comes this season again. In Japan, June is the rainy season which is called tsuyu in jp. Most people don't like it cause it rains all the time which makes them depressing. yeah, that's true but I kinda like it personally. Don't know why but I don't mind the rain. Plus, during this season, we see this flower called ajisai everywhere. cute, huh? I don't remember if I saw this in the U.S. Is there?

One more thing about June. June has another name; June Bride. It is said that if you get married in June, you can be happy forever. Just a legend but why June? I don't wanna have a wedding on a rainy day, you know. is this June Bride thing only in Japan or all over the world??

博多☆Hakata City

Golden Week　9連休！！大手企業に勤めてる特権ですね。休暇制度がきっちりしてます。

そこで博多に行ってきました！超楽しかった！
博多の人はまじいい人！！うちらは全く下調べもしないまま、ただ新幹線に乗って行ったので、何もわからなかったのですが、博多人にたくさん助けてもらって博多旅行充実しました☆道を尋ねるとわざわざ一緒に歩いて案内してくれたり、紙にｵｽｽﾒの場所書いてくれたり、おいしいところ教えてもらったり。

とりあえず、着いて即効博多ラーメン♪友達に教えてもらって「一蘭」にいきました。仕切りのあるラーメン屋は初めての経験でわくわくしました。おいしかったよ！
そしてﾌﾟﾗﾌﾟﾗしてから念願の屋台へ♪本当に屋台があちこちにあってびっくり。普通に大通り沿いにある。全部で3件いったよ～！最後の屋台で屋台のお兄さんや、他のお客さんと盛り上がってすごく楽しかった☆店長さんに「今年一番おもしろいお客さんだよ～！」って言われたし（笑）。　ちょっと酔ってたしテンション高かったからかな？しかも気づけば隣の人が代金払ってくれてて、ラッキー☆ちゃんとお礼は言いました。また行った時ここの屋台行きたいな！

次の日はキャナルシティーに行った。きれいでびっくりした。ってか博多の建物や道路は基本的にきれいだと感じたのだが、新しいのかなぁ？そして最後にもつ鍋食べた！初めて食べてんけどおいしい！！ほんとおいしくてびっくりした。味噌味がいいね。

ってこの旅は食べてばっかりだったなぁ。。帰ってダイエットしないと。。

お花見☆ Hanami!!

さっそく今週末、会社の人たちとお花見をした。同期は80人くらい集まり、先輩社員も15人くらいか来てくれた。会社の人たちとお花見とか社会人になったなぁ～って実感した。桜は満開☆桃の花も満開で、超きれいだった☆お花見をしてるとき、そしてそれを心から美しいと思えるとき、日本人でよかったなぁって思う。もちろんどこの国の人でも花はきれいだと思うだろうが、日本人の桜に対する想いはただ単に花の外見を美しいと思うだけでなく、咲き方や散り方、日々の変化、お花見の雰囲気、昔を思い出したり（私だけ？）など人それぞれに感じ方が違うと思う。桜っていいなぁ。。
そしてその後はビジネス系同期だけで飲み会！こっちもまた60人くらいいたかなぁ。まだしゃべったことない人と話すこともでき、楽しかった☆これから一緒に頑張っていく仲間、それぞれ何か光るものを持っているはずだし、まだそれぞれの本当の姿知らないと思うから、はやく仲良くなりたいな。

This weekend I went to Hanami with my company's co-workers and other staff. There were about 100 people total. Hanami is Japanese traditional way of enjoying cherry blossoms. We go to a park to see cherry blossoms and usually eat & drink under the tree. There are many food booth around too. The main purpose is to enjoy the beautiful flowers but most are there to have fun drinking with their friends, haha. I am very glad to be Japanese when I enjoy cherry blossoms from bottom of my heart. Of course, any people from all over the world will enjoy the beauty of flowers but I think Japanese feelings towards cherry blossoms are different. Not only the beauty of how it looks but we also enjoy the process of the daily change. From the bloom till when it falls. I love the part that when petals falls like snowflakes because of the wind. and I also like when it is about to bloom. Not the full bloom. I can feel that tiny cute buds are trying hard to bloom. It reminds me that spring is coming and our new year is starting. (in Japan, school starts in April) It makes me happy and exciting.
Those of you who are planning to come to Japan someday, you should come in April!!! It's the best season!!

Kimono Pics~!

I wore kimono the other day! It's a tradition to wear kimonos in New Year in Japan. or I would say it used to be. Not many people wear kimono these days but I love wearing kimono and since I have some, I try to wear them as much as I can. Many people say it is so tight and too tiring to wear kimonos but I don't mind at all.




My sister and I wore kimono together and we went to visit our grand parent's place. We were a little embarresed on the way cause many people looked at us in kimono. My dad looked pretty happy this day. I was happy too:) My mom was tired putting kimonos on us and my sis looked exhausted wearing the kimono. She wanted to take it off as soon as possible.

Beautiful Kyoto

I went to visit Kyoto for sightseeing the other day. I used to live in Kyoto and been to most of the tourist places (parks, temples, downtown..) but I wasn't bored at all. Kyoto is the most traditional Japanese city where there's many temples, old houses, geisha so many forigners love it there, but it is also a place where Japanese want to visit once in a while just to feel the atmosphere and relax. Walking in the Japanese garden, seeing the temples and discovering the history... I don't know how to explain but just feels GOOD.
I took many pics and will share some of them so that you can get the image of Kyoto.


Banboo path to the temple / at night time



Arashiyama



saw a wedding held at / Seki-tei ; sand garden
the temple. Bride in white kimono.



Kabuki theatre / real Maiko (Geisha)



Huge Budha!!

Speaking of Geisha, I saw "Memories of Geisha" or in Japanese title "Sayuri". It was amazing!! Ziyi Zhang's dance in Kimono was so beautiful and gorgous. Took my breath when she was dancing on the stage in the snow. All the jp actress, acters were good especially Ken Watanabe (of course!). He was in a huge dept a while a go but now he's a hollywood star and got married recently. Must be happy.
In this movie, JP and English were mixed. Most conversations are done in English but sometimes they speak Japanese. I felt a little wired listening to that. I learned about Geisha too. They are not same as prostitute. "Geisha is a moving art."

神戸ルミナリエ開催♪Kobe Luminarie

ついに今年も神戸ルミナリエスタート！今年で11年目。阪神大震災の復興と被災者の希望を込めて1995年から始まった行事。毎年行ってたんだけど、去年は留学でいなくて行けなかったから今年は行かなきゃ☆本物を見るのが楽しみ。人が多くて嫌って言う人もいるけど、あれは絶対見る価値あるよ～平日にいけばまだましだし。神戸に住んでてよかった～って思う事の一つ。週末はもうギュウギュウ詰めで小さい子がいる人とかは絶対行かない方がいい。押しつぶされてみててかわいそうになる。そんでもって母親が無理やり引っ張ってるんよね。。ということで、来週行く予定です♪
Kobe "Luminarie" started☆☆ Those of you who don't know about this, this is a illimination festival held in Kobe to courage people who suffered from the Hanshin Big Earthquake happened in 1995. It is held every winter since this earthquake and this is the 11th year. (Every year they have a different design!) I used to go see this every year except last year(cause I was in Seattle) so I am soooo excited that I can see this year☆ The illuminations are lightened up along 1 big street and leads to the park. and in the park, you can get into the center of the wall made out of　millions of lights. 360°surrounded by illiminations!!! So beatiful and breathtaking. Some people say that it's too crowded so they don't wanna go but it's worth it. If you avoid going there on the weekends, it's not that bad. But DO NOT take little kids there in the weekends cause they'll be squashed n dead. I saw some moms taking their kids, dragging them around but they didn't seem to be pleased. Poor little kids... anyways, I'm planning to go see next week:)