Weekend In Tokyo

So I arrived back in Japan on March 31st. I was so happy to be reunited with Caoliang at Sendai’s airport. He was so sweet to come greet me and also make me an adorable hand-made name card.

He still had a couple days before having to start work and felt bad we couldn’t have a holiday together so suggested we go to Tokyo for the weekend. With the time and closeness, I thought why not! So we prepared to hop on a bullet train heading for Tokyo the next morning.

April 1, 2017

On the first of April, we had our overnight bags and got on a bullet train without a seat reservation. I had only ridden the bullet train a couple times before and always had a seat purchased. I know it is possible to ride without a seat but had never tried it before. I felt strange not having a seat but once I got on the train, I realized many other people do it too, to save money. Luckily, the train ride was only an hour and a half away so standing/sitting in the corridor wasn’t too bad.

Caoliang and I have been to Tokyo separately but never together. There were places he wanted to show me that I hadn’t seen so I left the planning mostly up to him. First we started heading to the Tsukiji Fish Market. Before getting to the fish market, we stopped by Turret Coffee for a cup of Joe. It was a super small shop but one of the best coffees I’ve had! I chose their seasonal latte which had strawberry and red bean in it. It was so yummy AND had bits of red bean at the bottom. It was like a drink and a dessert! So yum.

After the coffees, we walked down the street to the fish market. The only time I had been there before was about a year ago in the evening time. So when I went then, all the places were closed and I didn’t get the feel of the busy market. This time, it was in the morning when we arrived so it was full of tourist and bustling sushi eaters. It was fun to walk around and check out all the food stalls. We chose an uni special restaurant and shared a couple dishes. We got a few pieces of nigiri, fatty tuna included, and also this special uni-sashimi bowl that had directions on how to eat it properly. I know uni (sea urchin) is a specialty but it taste a bit too much like the ocean for my taste. The bowl we had just had a bit in it so it wasn’t too bad. But the dish we got had a couple options with different prices. The more uni included, the more expensive it was. Lunch was really tasty and cost us about 5,000 yen.

Once we finished our lunch, we walked around a bit more to take a look at other goods. Caoliang wasn’t so full yet so purchased grilled scallop on a stick. It was a little pricey but he said it was yummy.

I’m not a huge fan of being in big crowds for long so we shortly left and went to the Shibuya area to film a backflip and do some shopping. If you’ve followed up before, you might know that Caoliang likes to do backflips everywhere we go (it’s a personal project). So once we got to Shibuya Crossing, he had me hold the camera while he tried to flip. It was a bit tricky because the amount of people but we eventually got it.

I wasn’t looking for another particular but it was nice to check out the massive shopping centers in Shibuya. I actually came across a shoe store that had some platform boots I immediately fell in love with! Sadly for me, platforms are big and take up too much space in a luggage. Sigh. So I had to pass.

The day before we had purchased tickets for the Robot Restaurant at about 4pm. We had bought the tickets online before hand because it was cheaper that way. To buy the tickets at the door would of costed us about 8,000 yen (nearly $80) but instead we got them for about 6,000 online. Caoliang had seen it before and really recommended I see it too. It’s not the first time someone had recommended it to me so I figured, why not. This might be my last trip to Tokyo in a while so why not try to do it all. I didn’t know much about the show but maybe that’s better than having a certain expectation. So as 4pm came closer, we left Shibuya to head to Shinjuku.

When we got to the ticket shop for the show, it was obvious to see that mostly foreigners came to see the show. While I waited for Caoliang to pick up our tickets, I stood people watching as they took photos with the large female robots, who were very, busty.

Show time! We got our tickets and had found our way down the winding staircase. The staircase itself was a trip! There were images all around you and changing lights. Once you got down to the actual “stage” it really just looked like a warehouse with curtains to section off the performance area. Of course there were seats but they were very small and tight. There were also concessions being sold such as drinks, popcorn and snacks. I was very confused as to what was going to happen.

Soon the lights went down and the next hour or so was like a bad but captivating trip. There was a story to the show but it made no sense at all. There were robots along with dressed up dancers, musicians, and performers. The costumes, dancers, robots, and whole show were very interesting to watch but the whole time my mind is going, “What the heck is happening?”

With small breaks here and there, it gave viewers a chance to use the bathroom or refill their drinks. It was actually funny to watch the viewers expressions as they watched the show. Confusion, unamusement, boredom, and excitement were some of the faces I came across, in others and in myself! My favorite part was actually watching the robot controllers, the people that stood wearing all black trying to hide as they had to stay two feet from the robot they were controlling. Their expressions were so blank and bored as if they were thinking, “Ugh another show of too much noise, flashing lights, and stupid robots.”

At the end, they allowed five minutes to guest to come into the “stage” to take photos with the dancers or robots. I think after seeing the show, many people were not amused and just wanted to leave the tiny space. We quickly snapped a photo with a clown and headed off. My final thoughts on this show? Well, I think watching it once it definitely enough. It was entertaining but at the same time a lot of confusion. The storyline was really silly and ridiculous but I could appreciate their hard work in performing so close to the audience. So all in all, a very uniquely Japan experience.

Once we left the show it was nearly 6pm. I had made plans to have dinner with my friend Susan who lives in Tokyo that evening. So after the show we met her up near the train station to grab a bite.

It was super good to see Susan. Ever since we met on Mt. Fuji, Susan and I have been good friends and have been making the effort to see each other whenever we can. For dinner, the three of us decided on burgers and went to a yummy burger joint near by. It was great to introduce Caoliang to a friend of mine and have them all get along. Also it was super great to catch up with Susan.

Caoliang and Susan like their drinks and are probably have more knowledge about alcohol than me. So we went to a couple whiskey/cocktail bars to finish off the night. I was really happy they got along and that we had a fun night drinking and chatting.

Spontaneous trip to Tokyo day 1, success!!

April 2, 2017

Before coming to Tokyo, Caoliang had researched a very peculiar masturi that happens in Kawasaki, Japan during the beginning of April. Its called the Kanamara Masturi, maybe better known as The Penis Festival. Yes, that’s right, I wrote penis! It takes places at the Kanayama Shrine and to give you some back story, based on my research, the festival originated because sex workers back in the day used to come to this shrine to pray for protection in their work.

“Two gods of mining and blacksmiths, Kanayamahiko and Kanayamahime, are enshrined in it, which might sound totally unrelated to phalli. But Japanese legend says that they healed the Shinto goddess Izanami after she gave birth to a fire god. People prayed to them regarding STDs, childbirth, etc. because of this myth. Another story tells of a demon fell in love with a woman and hid inside her vagina, biting off her newlywed husband’s penis, twice. She then sought help from a blacksmith, who made her a metal phallus. It broke the demon’s teeth and sent him off for good. They later enshrined it in Kanayama Shrine as a sort of commemoration.” -info found on Tokyo Cheapo

So as we made our way to Kanayama Shrine, it was a little confusion until we found the groups of foreigners all obviously heading to the same place. It’s understandable why this particular festival would attract so many foreigners. I mean, when was the last time you got to go to a festival with many phallic things so out in the open?

When we arrived, it was crowded with most of the people being non-Japanese. The festival area was actually much smaller than I thought. I wasn’t too fond of the crowd so I was ready to pop in and pop out. We eventually located the phallic mikoshi (portable shrine) which was black this year and encased in a wooden structure. I don’t know much about masturi customs but I do know that they have to move the mikoshi at some point. When the time came, I could see a bunch of old men making some space for them to carry it across the courtyard. The old men tried to get underneath it to move it but then suddenly there wasn’t enough balanced strength to get it off it’s stand. Oh no! The mikoshi toppled over! The crowd went crazy as the thing fell! The funniest things were said but I was just happy no one got hurt. That thing must've been heavy!

Another funny sight were all of the phallic edible goods. Everywhere you looked, you could see men and women (but mostly men) when phallic candy suckers. It was comical but also a bit disturbing.

We didn’t stay long as the crowd was pushy and festivities were coming to a close. We still had a few more hours until we wanted to head back to Sendai so we went to Harujuku to walk around and do some shopping. We had some nice coffee at a shop near by as well as some pastries to boost our energy.

We wanted to be back in Sendai by 9pm so we got on a bullet train about 7pm or so. Again we didn't get seats but just looking forward to being in our new home was a pleasant enough thought to get us back without a proper seat.

The spontaneous trip to Tokyo was really fun and unexpected. It was nice to explore a city I have already seen in a new way with Caoliang. Now to tackle Sendai together!!

xx

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