Diving Into the World of Shit

The Miraikan, or the Museum of Emerging Sciences as it's called in English, is considered to be one of the best museums in Japan, showcasing the brilliance of Japanese innovation and technology. It's where you would go to meet Asimo or Geminoid F, for instance. On top of its excellent permanent exhibition, the Miraikan also has special exhibitions - none of which seemed particularly fascinating enough to merit its own visit - especially alone, since very few of my friends here care for science. I reconsidered my stance for the current one, though.
 Between the months of August until the first week of October, the Miraikan cordially invited visitors to explore the world of shit and toilets, in a highly interactive exhibition suitable for people of all ages. I know, right? How could I miss this. I don't think they could pull this off as successfully anywhere else in the world. Of course I went.

As easy as it would be for me to make up what follows, note that everything below is true.

 It all starts off pretty rationally, see. A talking turd is wondering why he won't get flushed down the toilet. A face appears upon its lid, and it yells angrily that it's sick of humans that look down upon toilet-kind for no reason, and refuses to ever flush again. "We think of people as being our friends," the toilet said, "but we've never been thanked!" The turd turns to the audience and implores us all to at least try to understand the toilet's point of view, and that everything would be so much better if humanity knew about the importance of toilets. I was immediately hooked. 10/10 for the intro.

You never get to do this elsewhere!

Well logically, the first step in understanding toilets is understanding our own shit. So the museum brings you into a hall of learning about the consistency and smell and shape of our feces. Here, I was told of the benefits of examining one's own feces as a means of self-diagnosis. Entrants were also invited to compare samples of shit (not real ones, but models,) which children were thrilled to do.
In another corner of the room, three different aromas were stored into metallic cylinders. One with a pleasant smell, one with the smell of shit, one with 90% pleasant smell and 10% smell of shit. The point was, that it's very hard to overpower the smell of shit. I didn't actually try smelling from the cylinders. "Gross!" people would say after smelling the 'smell of shit' sample. No, really? Could it possibly smell like...shit?

Of course, there was all kinds of scientific facts and such on nearby panels, and believe it or not, I actually took the time to read those too. But let's move on, because that's not as much fun.
The next room was also very interactive, and visitors were welcome to try to sculpt their last bowel movement out of play dough given to them by the kind staff. Why not, I thought, as I took the play dough from the nice lady and molded it upon the surface of the small porcelain toilet on the counter in front of me.
 I came up with this.

Diagnose this!

I censored it for the kids.

It made the lady smile, so that's a win in my book. I don't actually remember what my last shit looked like.
 I proceeded through the next door, and made it to the hall of wonderful toilets! Here, many different bathrooms were showcased, showing how different people could possibly be pleased by a little innovation when it came to bathrooms. There was one where the walls were all one-way windows. No one can see you inside, but you can see the people outside, kind of thing. In application, though, that'd be horribly awkward, taking a dump while seeing the person waiting to use the toilet next, just standing there, holding it in. There was an open room one (for daycare centers that want to be able to keep an eye on the kids while giving them their space) as well as one that turned peeing into a video game (but I've seen that type of thing before) and ultimately, the toilet of dreams unfulfilled!
 The latter one allowed visitors to write ideas for a new type of toilet on a post-it note and paste it on the wall.These included ones that would make everything smell awesome and that kind of thing. There was one odd drawing of a guy sticking his head of the toilet bowl.
Such potential! I came up with a fun one.

Soon after that, the moment had come. I had learned about poop. I had learned about toilets. But that brought me no closer to understanding the struggle of the talking toilet from the beginning. It was time to become one with the shit.

The sign literally read "Imagine yourself to be feces and see what lies beyond."

There was no turning back. I became one of the numerous shit heads in line to get flushed down the mega-toilet, and within moments, my turn had arrived. I slid down into the porcelain funnel, and found myself in a hallway made to look like sewers.
 "Hey, do you have a moment? Sir?" a voice stopped me, as I made my way to the end of the corridor amongst all the other shit heads. "Could you please take a picture of us?" A Japanese lady handed me her camera, and I took a picture of her and her nice family, with everyone wearing poop on their noggins. There was a giant screen displaying a beautiful sea in the background. I relished the moment, because I knew this would never, ever happen again.

Next step is Broadway.

As I shuffled my way to the exit amongst the crowd (relinquishing my poop hat on the way out) I found myself in a room with many, many toilet bowls. A dozen children were sitting in front of them. "Now do you understand all that we do for you?" said one of the toilet bowls - it was the one from the beginning! "From the bottom of your heart, say thank you!" There was an awkward silence. "Thanks...?" said a few of the kids sitting before the toilets.
 All of a sudden, faces appeared on every toilet bowl! And they joined their voices together and sang in a choir! They sang of the importance of toilets and shitting, and the future humanity would build together with their help!
 "I forgive humans now!" announced the main toilet guy.
I was relieved, and the exhibition made my realize it was about time I relieved myself in a different way, too. So I found the washroom on my way out and did that. Thank you, toilet.

Like the Loch Ness Monster

Like a cryptid or a monster of myth, he appears and disappears when he pleases. If you go out looking for him, you're almost certain never to find him. But if you happen to be at a place where he's known to have been sighted, you just might stumble upon this fabled creature. Wherever he goes, he's constantly surrounded by a mob of knowing fans or curious tourists. I'm of course speaking of Hideaki Kobayashi, the world's most famous Japanese schoolgirl.

The Sailor Suit Old Man

Kobayashi's actually famous online for dressing up as a schoolgirl and showing up in crowded places. But what eventually started out as something he would just do for shits and giggles ended up being a hot topic on the internet, and made him skyrocket to celebrity level, and earned him the name "Sailor Suit Old Man". A Google image search yields a whole load of pictures like mine, though most often with actual schoolgirls at his side. I was quite ecstatic to find him!

Legacy

Kikuko and Dario.

Not a week ago, Mira Lupoli was born to my good friend Dario and his wife Kikuko. They were unsure whether it would be a boy or a girl until the birth, and were struggling to find names for the child that would fit both in Japan and Italy. I'm glad they pulled it off.
 I went in for a visit with Papa Lo and Haruka, along with their kid Leon. The newborn is healthy, and Dario seemed ecstatic. So that's the second of my friends to have a child in 2014.
Though the parents would rather not have pictures of the baby on the internet, I can assure you she's pretty cute, and she definitely looks like her father. 

Baby Leon is doing great, too.

9 Courses and a Marriage

Ding!

It all happened so fast. I bought a blazer. I pulled out the necktie and the vest.
There's something you don't see often.
 On Saturday, September 20th, Aala's marriage to Yuko took place. They were going to go all out - a full Japanese ceremony at a 2 Michelin Star restaurant named Hamadaya, that has been serving traditional Japanese food for over a century, geisha, sake, a 9-course meal. You can't even eat at Hamadaya without an invitation. Hell, I've never eaten at any restaurant with even a single Michelin Star. The prestige is wasted on me, but it didn't mean I wasn't grateful.
 And so I met with Aala's posse of French bread at the designated spot, and was guided to the venue in due time, escorted to the waiting room by a squad of overly polite Japanese ladies in kimono, and served tea inside which a single cherry blossom flower floated.
 It was a little overwhelming, despite the calmness of the setting. I did, however, get to play with baby Leon, who I hadn't seen in quite a bit.

The bride doesn't want to be seen in social media.

The ceremony itself was efficient, peaceful. As opposed to the giant flagrant wedding halls typical of Western (i.e, Christian) weddings, this one took place in a small room with a tatami floor, so typical of Japan's modesty. And in came the couple, resplendent in kimonos white as snow, to exchange their vows, the rings. Yuko in particular had her make-up and dress done up to perfection. Layers upon layers in both cases. They exchanged their vows in each other's language (Aala in Japanese, Yuko in French.) After the vows, we soon proceeded to the dining hall.


 Hand in hand, the couple broke the lid off a barrel of sake, and the feast began. Here, we were served a full on 9 course meal, consisting of no less than:

An entree of small portions of fish (which one, I forget) with vegetables and chrysanthemum petals. Tofu with sea-urchin paste. Fresh water eel soup. Sashimi. Rice and some fish I can't seem to translate. Seasoned spiny lobster. 3 more kinds of fish, pickles, mushroom soup. Fruits and red bean paste made into warm fondue. Forgive my unspecific descriptions. It was all brain-meltingly excellent.
 All the while, speeches were being made by guests called upon by the couple. The bride's parents made their rounds to thank the guests and pour them sake. Truth be told, I was getting pretty tipsy by the time Aala picked me as one of his five guests to make a speech.

The merry misfits.

"I'll pick Sean, my sad looking friend," he said, mistaking my alcohol-induced redness for the face of a crying man. I guess that happens. So I delivered a rather clumsy speech about meeting in the heart of adventure, having had good times, Yuko looking lovely, Aala looking happy, etc.
 Personally, I think Haruka's (Papa Lo's wife) was the best speech of the lot. "Yuko must be the radiant goddess who shall save the world, if she can marry Aala." That was gold.

 And then came the geisha. Two of them to be precise.
 Let me tell you what you won't see if you visit Tokyo: geisha. Geisha are an ancient tradition, barely seen any more. Kyoto has geisha, sure, but you're as likely to find a lion in Central Park as you are of finding a geisha in Tokyo. And yet here they were, and their ancient dance, accompanied by equally antiquated instrument, held the room in thrall. Here's some of it.

 The festivities soon drew to an end, and I gave my last congratulations to the parents and the couple before heading home with Papa Lo, Haruka, and little Leon. We blew raspberries all the way home, and my body crashed on the bed and I napped out my splitting headache. Curse you, sake!

The Jump

I was invited to the Tokyo Game Show as a VIP by the CoFesta Ambassadors program, with the privilege of being able to enter free of charge on the press day. And I couldn't find a work cover. What a disappointment that was. So I opted for the next best thing and decided to throw myself off a bridge.
Let me take you to the scene. Minakami is a sleepy town in Gunma prefecture. Though it originally was an onsen town like any other, it eventually became known as the ideal spot for outdoor adventures such as rafting, hiking, skiing, canyoning, and all the rest. Walking through the town, it's hard to miss all the sports clubs as they undergo their ritual of driving high school students and young adults from one hot spot to another in their minibuses. The town found some kind of new life.
Fitting then, that Japan's first bungee-jumping bridge would be here.
Suspended 42 meters over a jagged river is the Suwakyo bridge, where people line up for their turns to jump. It's poignant even to watch, but by the time it was my turn, I could hardly wait. I fell in love with bungee jumping from the moment my feet left the platform.

 

It's an odd feeling I think I can't really give justice to by describing, but it was a good feeling, and over too quickly. And there was this weird sense of serenity I had when my rope stopped bouncing me up and down and I was just hanging there, looking at the mountains while upside down. It just made me happy. Will I do it again? Not necessarily, but I feel like it's a stepping stone of some sort.

Specters, Ghosts & Sorcerers in Woodblock Painting

Throughout history, Eastern and Western art took very different paths and evolved in very unique and distinctive ways. Some of the most renown art pieces in Japan are carved in Ukiyo-e - woodblock painting, in which the art is drawn on slabs of wood, chiseled out, and pressed onto parchment using different color applications, creating vibrant colors in a way that certainly inspired current trends in graphic design. And though subject matter varied, Tokyo's Ukiyo-e Museum is currently doing a special exhibition on fantastic monsters and ghosts and demons as they appear in historical paintings.
 It's fascinating and inspiring all at once, but I can't walk you through the whole thing and tell you about every single story, as even I don't know them so well myself. But here are my three favorites, in no particular order.


1 - GAMA SENNIN INSTRUCTS YOSHIKADO AND TAKIYASHA by Kuniyoshi 

 In this amazing painting, Taira no Yoshikado and Takiyasha are instructed by the spirit of a 3000 year old toad, named Gama Sennin, on how to invoke sorcery. He spits a jet of mist with his breath, and the illusion of a beautiful woman appears. They are in front of a cavern made from the mouth of an enormous toad, with the statues of hundreds of other toads standing vigil all around them.

2 - KIDOMARU LEARNING MAGIC FROM THE TENGU by Kuniyoshi

 In this one, the bandit sorcerer Kidomaru is instructed by the Tengu (the four birdlike creatures at the bottom) on how to use sorcery. In his training, he plunges a blade into the head of a giant python. What he learned would later come of use to him in his battle against Yasuke, in which he would summon a giant poisonous snake to make battle with Yasuuke's heavenly eagle. I absolutely love how Kidomaru's body seems to be merging with magical smoke.
It's also important to distinguish the two types of Tengu. I didn't know this before, but the commonly depicted long-nose Tengu is only one of the two types. The second type, Crow-Tengu, like the ones shown on this picture, are the less common second type.







3 - TAKIYASHA THE WITCH AND THE SKELETON SPECTER by Kuniyoshi

Oh come on, this is seriously bad-ass. In real life history, Takiyasha was a princess whose father was slain when he established a rebellion. His palace in Soma was utterly destroyed, but his daughter Takiyasha remained there. In the legend, when a government official, Oya no Mitsukuni comes looking for surviving conspirators in the ruined castle, he finds the former princess, who, reading incantations from a scroll, summons from a dark void a colossal skeleton to kill the trespassers. It's a really well known work of art in Japan.

Yes, I know I haven't shown a very great diversity in choice of artist at all. But Utagawa Kuniyoshi's pieces really outshone the others in my eyes, even before discovering that all pieces were by him. I feel like I've discovered a new-found liking in Japanese mythology thanks to the exhibition. It's on until the end of September, by the way, in Harajuku, so check it out!

The ExploraScience Hall

Today, for the second time, I went to the Miraikan to find it closed, goddamn it. The temporary exhibition on toilets and shit would have to wait. And once again, I found myself in Odaiba with a lot of time in my hands. Thankfully, Odaiba is a bit of a treasure trove when it comes to random points of interest, so Ken and I made the best of it and went roaming.

And wander we did until we stumbled upon the ExploraScience hall (which is actually officially named Sony ExploraScience, but I find it tiring to throw in the company's name every time.) And, though ExploraScience is a poor substitute for the very acclaimed Miraikan, which is also a science museum, it does have a certain charm in its array of interactive technological exhibits which really don't aim to teach you anything, but merely to entertain you in some way or another. Here, it'll make more sense if I show you, won't it.

 ExploraScience is a playful museum built around the theme of sight and sound. Using screens, monitors and recording devices, visitors are encouraged to mess around and make their own fun, as well as to experience recent emerging technologies in the home entertainment industry, such as 3D screens and augmented reality.
  There are various booths placed around the dimly lit, sci-fi looking hall that allow you to record your voice and alter it in a number of ways, including, but not limited to, drunken slur. Then, other people can stumble upon the same booth and listen to you babble like a drunk person. That's an example.

 I personally had the most fun using the motion mapping booths that converted your movements into those of a character on the screen. There was a game with the object of touching other objects popping up on the display with your hands, and I enjoyed cartwheeling and attempting to jump and kick them. I was a little disappointed that feet didn't count.

 There was also a terminal at the very beginning of the hall that rated and ranked your smile amongst all the other people who came in and used the machine during the day. I made light of it and smiled in a rather spacey-looking manner and was somewhat surprised I ranked amongst the better half. And then I felt a little bad I beat a lot of people who genuinely tried.
 It's all simple fun, really. You can spend an hour in ExploraScience and that might be just enough. Spending more than two would be pushing it, perhaps. But the admission fee is a measly 500¥, and it might just be one of those things where the more people you bring, the more fun you have.

The Bar With Penguins Inside

In my last few days back in my hometown, Montreal had just opened its first cat cafe. In comparison, being that Tokyo has 39 of them at this point, opening a cat cafe is no longer as exciting and daring a business venture as it once was. And so it became that "The Bar With Penguins Inside" opened.
 The first of its kind in Tokyo, I suspect the penguin bar is nothing if not a giant ploy to one-up the other crazy restaurants and cafes and bars opening throughout the metropolis.
But boy, does it work.

Though I've had no luck getting in in the past, I was successful in doing so this time by simply agreeing to go in at whatever time they said they had an opening on. The bar does tend to get pretty full (on weekends especially,) so an advance reservation is probably recommended, and the website even allows you to do so in English. I eventually got the following phone call after dropping in an online reservation for 8 o' clock.

 "Hello, mister....Sheen?"
 "Sean."
 "You...uhh...reservation...uhh..."
 "Yes?"
 "..."
 "I can come in at 8?"
 "No."
 "Oh."
 "..."
 "What time are you open?"
 "Oh. You speak Japanese?"
 "Kind of."
 "You can come at 10."
 "Alright bye!"

 Well, he gets credit for trying.
 As you enter the penguin bar, frames of penguins adorn the walls and screens appear to be playing that "March of the Penguins" documentary narrated by Morgan Freeman. And, at the back of the room, are the three stars of the establishment. Granted, they're separated from the rest of the bar by a wall of glass, but yes, The Bar With Penguins Inside is true to its name. As much as I would have liked the penguins to actually walk around the bar and mingle with them, I'm pretty sure that has more to do with licensing and making sure the animals aren't being treated in a bizarre or cruel manner.

We had a moment there.

 Once you get to meet them, they're pretty friendly! They come up to the glass and greet you in their wobbly kind of way, and open their mouths as if to nibble on your fingers while they swim around.
 Truth be told, other than that and the sparse decorations and screens, the place runs like any other run-of-the-mill bar, with food and drinks being rather normal. The party room looked rather disappointing, being the farthest away from the penguins. There were iron-cast pig heads on the walls, and that was a little strange.
 I guess you could raise the argument that putting penguins in a bar with loud drunk people, behind a glass wall is inhumane and whatnot, but it'd be a pretty boring argument that everyone's heard already. Just being honest! Yes, though, that's a valid concern. But speculation brings us nowhere.
 So if you want to pose with penguins, or, as the bar's website mentions, hold a wedding after-party reception, then check out The Bar With Penguins Inside. It...holds true to its name!

Brief Note: September in the Works

I missed you, Tokyo!

I'm back from Canada! Though I had a lovely time seeing my folks, I'm excited as ever to go out and explore again. September may start off slow, but I do intend to visit the Miraikan (the emerging science museum) for their unique exhibition on toilets and (literal) shit.
 Might be it's about time to visit Tokyo's Penguin Cafe too, provided I can squeeze a reservation in.
 I'm also crossing my fingers the cultural ambassadors can squeeze us into the Tokyo Game Show, the biggest video game event on this side of the world.
 Here's to some good times ahead!