Everything Is Paper

Ken's origami Yoda.

Today was a day off. I woke up late, played video games until I was satisfied, and only then
thought to myself, wait, dammit, something has to happen today. It's been a pretty slow month, but even having been here three years already, I still hate not being able to make the best out of me being in Tokyo. After an hour and a half of clicking through pages of things to do around town before finally being pleased, I hauled ass to Ochanomizu's Origami Kaikan.
 Origami's kind of normal pass-time here. A whole bunch of Japanese people I know can at least fold paper cranes. Ken can fold paper Yoda even.
 I've never had much of a knack or even that much interest for origami, if truth be told, but as soon as I stepped into the building, I was immediately glad I made the trip, even if I was reluctant at first. The Origami Kaikan, despite being free to enter, is a veritable little museum. Folks, if you think you know origami, this place is a bit of an eye opener.

It's all paper!

The shop floor.

The Origami Kaikan has three functions - the 1st and 2nd floor are exhibition halls, displaying a wide range of works of all sizes from amateurs and professionals alike. The showcases on the second floor seemed to fit a seasonal theme, with the one I witnessed being very much in-line with the Hinamatsuri theme, which is the doll festival held on every 3rd of March. As such, most of the origami on that floor was folded to represent the emperor and the empress, very much like the doll sets which are dedicated to girls across the country on Hinamatsuri.
The 3rd floor is a shop, selling everything you'd ever need to make your own origami - be it paper, guidebooks, or even tools for the particularly difficult and advanced creations. Lastly, the 4th and 5th floor are where classes take place. Yes, you can attend paper folding classes.

 As it so happened, not ten minutes after I entered, a demonstration took place on the 3rd floor, and all visitors were invited to attend it. I gladly partook, and joined the small crowd of middle-aged to elderly people gathered around a small table, Japanese all. Behind the table sat another older man, who later revealed his age to be 80. The man made pleasant conversation with his small crowd throughout the whole demonstration, but his hands moved with deft, calculated precision that could only exist through muscle memory. I was more than a little bit mesmerized, as the man produced creation after creation and even took requests. "I'd like a sheep!" an old woman said to him. "Nothing easier than sheep," he replied. He folded three of them in a minute or so, without even looking at his hands, speaking throughout. He then invited people to take whatever they liked from what he had made during the demonstration. I obliged.
 Well, I don't think I'll be getting into origami any time soon, but I did learn a thing or two from today, and the Origami Kaikan was definitely worth the short visit.