...but you’ll remember that I didn’t make any promises about updates. I’ve been a little sick, not to make excuses, but everything’s been great regardless. We’ve got a lot to cover, so I’ll stop babbling and get on with it.
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| Meijiro Garden, where all the ceremonies took place | | |
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This last Saturday was particularly special. They forced us to get up early that day. Most of us got breakfast at the convenience store in the train station. Most meals consisted of one of the various Japanese pastries that I’ve become quite partial to. After a long train ride into the middle of Tokyo, we were led to a traditional Japanese garden, complete with a koi pond, waterfall, bonsai and layered bushes. We were greeted by a bunch of Japanese women in kimonos. They guided us through a number of traditional Japanese practices. I enjoyed the Tea Ceremony, though it probably would have gone better in a smaller group. But since they only wanted to do the ceremony a few times, it couldn’t be helped. The tea that they used surprised me. People that have spent any significant amount of time around me probably know that I’m not a tea drinker. Whatever they used though, I didn’t mind too much, so I guess it was some really good tea. The
ikebana, flower arrangement, looked to be too delicate an art for me to penetrate with my limited intellect. Summer said that my arrangement looked really good, but couldn’t really tell the difference. I just did what they told me. The calligraphy was a lot of fun. The instructor was very skilled. She could make even the simplest characters look official. There are also so many stylized ways of writing that I had no idea existed. We also had the chance to make some stylized Japanese for keeping special stuff in. Everyone else took the more vibrant designs before us though. The part that I enjoyed the most was the kimono session. Yeah, they dressed us up in kimonos. I was really excited.
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| Our instructor made any kanji look beautiful |
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| Flower arrangement |
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| Traditional Tea Ceremony |
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| In addition to the Calligraphy, we also made pencil boxes :) My set is on the left, and the kanji says ねこ (cat) and Summer's says あい、or love |
And by far, our favorite part...
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All of us at an all-you-can drink bar
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After a long day of experiencing Japanese culture, we went off to experience a different form of culture: birthday parties in Japan! For this celebration we headed into Shibuya (one of the many districts in Tokyo), which was another experience entirely (think Times Square on steroids). Quite probably the most people I’ve ever seen in one place. Lots of stuff to see. I’m starting to recognize the Japanese chains. There at least three of the same fast food
donburi places in the short space that we walked around. Saw a massive advert featuring Orlando Bloom, who has apparently made the switch from acting to modeling for Japanese department stores. I also had my first Krispy Kreme donut in years. Why they’re in Japan and nowhere to be found in NorCal remains a mystery. I shouldn’t reveal too many of our exploits from that night, but it should be known that while Japan seems to have nightclubs in spades, not too many people are keen on dancing.
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| Our friend Cristie getting "cake" for her bday |
So that's all I can really talk about right now, but Summer will be covering a lot more really soon (we promise within the next few days)!
Here are links to more pictures(different from the ones from the previous post):
