Roppongi Art Night

We're ready for this!

Roppongi...is kind of a cesspool of sweaty drunks and loud people who have a hard time controlling hormonal imbalances. Most Tokyo people know this for a fact. Being a person who does not wish to contract any form of airborne AIDS, I tend to avoid Roppongi.
 But once in a while, something nice happens in Roppongi! And in this case, it was the annual Roppongi Art Night, once again brought to my attention by Eri the Receptionist (who has notably been moved to another branch of my workplace since the last big outing. Boo.) More or less unaware of what to expect at the event, we ventured into the heart of an infamous district we weren't very well acquainted with.

The Roppongi Art Night is a massive explosion of assorted modern art happening throughout the whole district over the course of a mere 24 hours, indoors and outdoors. During this time, the streets run ablaze with artwork of all shapes and sizes, some merely nice to look at, and others deeply conceptual and interactive.
As Eri and I stumbled around town in a fittingly confused and disorderly fashion, we were drawn from one section of the event to another in somewhat of a scavenger hunt to track down all the major pieces scattered throughout Roppongi, grabbing food and information where we saw it and stopping at every wonderful and unusual sight.

For the most part, the theme of the event was apparently "ships and lighthouses," so many of the artwork exposed on the streets were some form of either, but the indoor portion contained within the Tokyo Art Museum touched upon other themes such as the important, if depressing, results of the March 11 earthquake that shook Japan.

My highlight was probably the amazing Korean exhibit that focused on bringing to life the drawings of children aged between 5 and 7 year old. I used to enjoy re-drawing my younger cousins' drawings in great, realistic detail, so this really struck a chord with me.
All in all, in good company, the Art Night is an amazingly endearing experience I would voluntarily do again next year and probably the year after as well. And the one after.

 Lots of these pictures taken by Eri! Credit where it's due!

Hanami by Day

The blossoms took Tokyo by surprise this year, exploding into petals a few weeks earlier. I took advantage of my day off to go have a closer look at Tokyo's hanami hotspots. You can read all about hanami on that link there. I tried to join Aala's hanami group, but it was all to no avail. And so, my modest camera in one hand and a bag of chips I didn't quite get to share with anyone in the other, I lazily walked up and down the park.  Here are some pictures taken at Yoyogi Park during the day.

It's times like these when I remember that I'm in Japan, and that I was born so far away. There's still so much left for me to do and so many new things left to see.

Brief Note: Late Comer!

 

Oh hey! See that banner up there? Eri made that. I'm doing her artistic talent a great injustice already because I haven't figured out a way to crop it without losing some of the crazy detail that went into this thing. But I'm adding it to the cycle of banners up there! That is all.

Tokyo Dome City

Hail to you, champion.

That rubber banana was my birthday present.

Today we briefly pulled into Tokyo Dome City, in part to celebrate Julian's 26th birthday. Twenty six! And he still has a face like a baby.
 As far as theme parks go, Tokyo Dome City isn't particularly huge or glamorous, and neither is it trying to be. It's kind of a side-attraction, relative to the more important Tokyo Dome itself, which hosts many of the large scale events within Tokyo, such as baseball games featuring the home team, the Tokyo Giants. But for what it is, it's a cheery place and fulfills its role quite well.

Actually, what had really drawn Ken and I to the place from the beginning was the haunted house attraction. These flash-illuminated pictures don't really do much justice to the meticulous set-up of the place, but I enjoyed the anticipation the place built up as to what would pop out next. Notice the difference from the props you would find in a western haunted house! Gone are the mummies and Frankenstein and in come the creepy dolls and ghosts with long, hanging hair. Though brief, the visit was quite enjoyable. It'd be fun to work as staff here.

Of course, Tokyo Dome City has its other rides and attractions. A roller-coaster that doesn't look half-bad at all, Ferris wheel, arcade, parlor games and a couple of water-based ones as well. And it's all nice considering you don't have to pay to get in the park. One ride or game will bring you down 600¥, with a 5-ticket package going for 2500¥. Without the entry fee, you don't feel obliged to spend your whole day here, and that's nice.

Interesting Tidibts: White Day

Happy White Day, everybody!

 Oh, where you unaware? You don't know what White Day is, you say?

I don't think this quite gets my good side.

  Everyone knows White Day is the second part to Valentine's Day, of course. At least, here in Japan it is. Allow me to explain how it all works in this country.
 You see, on Valentine's Day, in Japan, women give chocolate to men. That's just the way it is. Hell, women even give chocolate to men they don't even like, labeled as giri choko, or obligation chocolate. It's a trend that's seen in most workplaces. Even I received chocolate from the kids during my otherwise not very eventful Valentine's Day.
 But you see, it goes a step deeper than that, even. One month after Valentine's, on the 14th of March, comes White Day, where men are expected to return gifts two to three times more valuable than what was given to them. Cruel, how things work, isn't it. Especially considering that White Day, unlike Valentine's, has no religious or historical significance whatsoever. It was made up and commercialized by sweets companies. And the people gobbled it up.

 No pun intended.

Interesting Tidbits: Resources

Good work, Sean! You survived this far!

Hey there. You. Reader!
 As it turns out, most of my readership lately has been people from within Japan. Not that this blog is big or anything, but this started out as just a little something to keep my friends and family back in Canada updated. If you're reading from Japan, I'm assuming you're a workmate or a friend, with maybe the rare case of a stray foreigner looking for something to do, possibly even to have an adventure of your own.
 If you're a reader from abroad or from Canada, you may be thinking of coming here to visit, or possibly to settle for a long-term like I did. I might've made it look easier than it is, but it's not exactly rocket science either.

If you're any of the above, here's a handout. It's great stuff.


  

1. METROPOLIS MAGAZINE
  Ideal for: Adventurers, Lonely People, Nihongo Enthousiasts
 Metropolis is how I met Ken and Mori both. It's a massive hub for foreigners to do...everything. The classifieds section comes in handy for all the things listed above. There are numerous reviews about things to do or places to visit in Tokyo. It's also where many Japanese people try to reach out and get in contact with foreigners, notably for language exchange. The magazine exists in physical form, but it's much more convenient to just use the website right here. Metropolis offers a small classifieds section for people looking for a job, but the better place to look for that would be...

2. GAIJIN POT
Ideal for:  Job-Seekers
  When I needed a job, I was referred to Gaijin Pot. And then I got one. It was that easy. Although the website offers everything Metropolis has, I personally find it a lot more useful for the purposes stated above. Within GaijinPot, one can make a profile and resume that is readable by any potential employer. Many employers looking for English-speakers put their business's profile up for people to apply to as well. My Gym happened to be there - I sent them my resume, and my former-boss-turned-adventuring-buddy Nana called me up to set an interview. I owe that to Gaijin Pot.

craigslist

3. CRAIGSLIST
Ideal for: Home-Making
  Okay, okay. I can hear you sigh already. Yeah, I know. In North America you use Craigslist to find a cheap hooker. You could probably do that in Tokyo, too. But Tokyo Craigslist has a lot to offer for someone in need of second-hand furniture or home electronics. I got most of what I own from craigslist. For those of you unfamiliar with it, it's a website where people sell or give stuff away from hand to hand. All you have to do is figure out where to meet and how you're transporting the goods.

4. Meet-Up
Ideal for: Lonely People, Adventurers, Nihongo Enthousiasts...and Meeting Me.

Look at me, I can make friends! [photo taken by Aala]

Yeah, I listed the same things under Metropolis, but Meet-Up offers it in a different way. If I'm looking for something to do, just open up Meet-Up and see if anyone threw an event together that's to your liking. There are hundreds of groups that plan events big or small, and I've met quite a few of my current friends from Meet-Up as well.
 But tell you what, on top of all that, if you want to hang out with me sometime, then just join me at one of Aala's events. They're cheap as hell, and they're great for meeting people.
Even I may occasionally create an event in that group. And you know I like to go to crazy, adventurous, interesting places and do silly shit.
 So join us.

NOTE: As of 2014, Aala has stepped down
from making events, and I attend much less often as well. 
 
And there you have! Your Tokyo-survival kit. Thank me not.

Excessively Sweet 22

 It had been a long day at work. I had just finished hosting a birthday party, that I was headed to another - Erika's, who celebrates hers one day before mine, on March 2nd. So I slumped my way to Shibuya, exhausted but eager to have a good time. Ken met me at the station and guided me to the venue.

 And as I got there, it took me a few seconds longer than it should've to look through the familiar faces and to realize that most of them had never even met Erika. 

 This was my surprise party.

Clockwise around the table, from left: Aala, myself, Ken, Lo, Lo's girlfriend Haruka, Ewan, Manami, Ai, Nozomi. In case you're wondering, I'm wearing a mask on top of my head. Everyone looks tired here.

And of course, what better venue than Sweets' Paradise, a cake buffet. That's all you can eat cake, with a little bit of pasta on the side.  I can't stress how awesome Sweets' Paradise is. This country has such a candy side to it that I suspected the existence of such a place long before I had even seen it. No doubt countless young girls with copious amounts of blush celebrated their birthdays in the exact same way I did.

 I had a chance to gorge myself in sugar until the point where I had to confirm by checking my pulse that indeed my heart was going through some kind of overdrive, at which point I slowed down. About half an hour in, the shop's manager suddenly came out with another plate of ice cream and fruit cake and the staff started singing me a happy birthday as they handed me a t-shirt.

 We later headed out to karaoke, where Millo joined us, and that's always fun, too.

 So big thanks to all my friends who made it, and to those who couldn't as well.

Memorable quotes:

Ewan: Do you think they're genuinely happy it's your birthday, or is it just part of the job?

Myself: I host birthdays. It's part of the job. Or maybe that guy's a better person than I am.

 I met Ewan at one of Aala's events. I'm rather fond of the physicist. He doesn't talk much, but he's always got something interesting to say when he does. 

Aala: You've had 21 birthdays already. Who cares about the 22nd. Your gift is behind the curtain over there.

Ewan: It'll be midnight in 45 minutes.  Maybe you're going to have a sudden urge to read newspaper.

Ai: It's definitely impossible to throw a mint into someone's butt hole.

I've known Ai for a bit now. She's a long time friend of Ken's who I'm due to properly introduce sooner or later.

Manami: This is a poor gift, but it's something I picked up from Malaysia. Sorry it ain't much.
Me: Dammit Manami. You didn't have to get me anything at all.

Manami: But it's such a bad gift. I'm really sorry.

Me: Don't say that. I'm grateful, really. Thanks.

Manami: It's so bad and it's all written in Malaysian.

Manami I met at the same time as I met Ewan. She actually speaks pretty good French.

This Doesn't Qualify As News

We put these pictures up for students who've been at My Gym for a year.