Disconnected.

Just a quick but sad post to say that this blog will be updated at even more irregular times and intervals because my parasitic connection with the wireless at home had finally come to a sad, sad end. Oh well. It will only be about a month or two before I move out :D

Earthquake.

Yes. That's right! And I completely didn't feel it. It happened during class today and all of the students looked up and said 'Oh.' I was like, 'Is there something wrong?' She then said, 'Earthquake.' I turned bug eyed and said, 'What? Like now? Huh?' I turned to the other students to ask for confirmation and they all nodded. I tried my hardest to send out my earthquake feelers but they were either not feeling today or I'm just thick skinned. I asked another co-worker about if and when are the 'earthquake seasons' and he said no, they happen all the time and with no warning, but they are usually just small tremors. He also piped that I've prolly been through a lot of earthquakes since I've been here but I just didn't noticed.

Holy crap!

I survived earthquakes and I didn't even know!

I went with Michelle to her friend's place to do felting! Her friend Beatrice has the most amazing apartment...From the outside it looks like nothing - very small - but when you're inside the space is huge in terms of it being a Japanese living space. Kind of like Dr Who's telephone box. Very deceiving. It also feels surreal felting in a home that makes me forget I'm in Japan...even though Japan is just right outside the kitchen wall from us with people ringing their bicycle bells and housewives chatting to each other as they walk down the street. I will post up the pictures of my loot when I have strung them together into a necklace :P Beatrice is also one mean cook and she made the most delicious tofu and chestnut salad - I will have to try it out sometime! She made the best coffee I've had since coming to Japan...and most of you know I'm not a coffee fan but she really knows the works. I also tried this weird candy made from miso. Yeah, miso candy is right. The texture is hard to begin with and then softens like caramel. But the taste is...intriguing. I think I like it...maybe. I'm not too sure. Hmmm. I ate it all, so I guess I like it enough :P

Interesting.

I am sooo behind with this blog! So sorry to all the dedicated people (I think it's just you, Flor :P) who read this regularly...I'm having trouble accessing the net - I think the sucker who owns the wireless is starting to be clued into real suckers like my flatmate and I...or maybe it's just my lappy playing up. I have been downloading like mad and my poor computer must have snapped.

During my trips about town I have started to notice the weird, wonderful, or plain, wtf?!?! Lets start with hairstyles. I have seen hairstyles so ridiculous I can't help but gawk. Is it a wig? Extensions? Did they go to CUT HIDE? For the classic Jekyll and Hyde look #1 I've seen this girl with dead straight long hair on the left side and then Shirley Temple curls on the other. She was like the walking billboard for the before and after shots for the Magic Curling Wand. What was amazing was that there was a clear delineation between the left and the right...there weren't any 'stray' hairs fuzzing up the middle. Jekyll and Hyde look #2 was another girl who had her left side bleached blonde and the right side black. You kinda get the feeling that you're talking to two people as opposed to one. Another dude I gawked at had dead straight side parted fringe but then the rest was a tight curly bob like Ronald McDonalds. This was a YOUNG MAN we are talking about! He looked like a middle-aged mum (See-lai) with a school boy cowlick. My reaction was like those stupefied sideshow alley plastic clown heads with spaced out eyes and dislocated jaws that swings from side to side, with cheesy circus music running over the intercom. Well, my personal intercom was playing a tinny 'Nooooooooooo...' as I swing my head robotically from side to side. Hahahahha! And people say that what's fashionable here will hit Australia in a few years time. Look out boys! Maybe you should jump in the fashion wagon early! By the way, you should pluck your eyebrows too while you're at it. Make sure you get that drag queen arch. Don't get me wrong though, people here generally have really magazine perfect hair...I'm especially impressed with guys' hair styles. (Some of them defy gravity). Being scruffy isn't part of their vocab unless it's a look they want to achieve in the first place. (Prolly took them 3 hrs and 2 cans of hair spray) Even then it looks effortless and cool grunge and not like normal homeless people hair. I feel so hobo compared to them all! I step out of my front door looking decent but it immediately gets windswept as I pedal like a mad woman to the train station. As I struggle to pat it all down my hair gets all messed up again when the train winds itself onto the platform. The effect is like a giant grass blower. I had glanced at my fellow commuters and they have no difficulty at all! For some, their hair just don't move. Even if ties are flapping, clothes are rippling, cows are flying, their hair are a beacon of calm amidst a sea of chaos. For others, their hair float about but lands sophisticatedly like they had just been professionally styled. Argh!

Talking about trains, I had a really gross guy sitting next to me last week. He wasn't dirty or anything but I felt unclean and infected because of the frequency and the ways in which he was rubbing his face. He would make loud sniffling sounds and then rub his nose with all his fingers before proceeding to rub his eyes and his entire face with his whole hand, while continuing with his loud sniffling noise. I usually don't give a crap if people want to get relief from an itch, but this dude was doing it every couple of seconds. (I actually counted...every 7.5 secs) Like he was addicted - and really going for it, treating his hand like it was some tissue that you snuffle into. It's disturbing on so many levels. Makes you think why he is itchy to begin with which leads to what he has and if it's infectious. Even the lady standing in front of him moved a step away from him, so no, it's not just OCD Charlene.

The other day I witnessed these two business men saying farewell (lots of bowing included). One obviously was lower ranked and therefore bowed alot more and alot steeper than the other one. When the farewell finally farewelled and the higher ranked (HR) went up the stairs to his platform, the LR followed him to the base of the stairs and watched the HR go up until he can't see him anymore. He even bent his knees a little to see if he could still glimpse HR. Then he stood up, waited for a little while just in case HR comes back before turning away to go to his own platform, all the while casting glances behind him in case HR comes rushing back to give him a hot kiss and a hug. In order to view this whole exchange I had to first pretend I was a bit lost, not knowing which platform I was 'supposed' to be going to (it was a big station..lots of platforms) and when I realised it will go on longer than I expected, I whipped out my trusty mob and pretended to text message. Sly, I know.

When I was on the way to my local post office I happened to stumbled into a small pack of Japanese monks who were just walking about individually chanting really loudly and continuously, stopping randomly in front of a shop to bless it (more chanting and bowing). They were wearing Vietnamese-like rice paddy straw hats, blue and white robes and clogs. No one batted an eyelid. Except me of course. I was thinking if a group of people of any religion went around chanting loudly and blessing buildings in Sydney they'll get told off or worse, get rounded up by the police for 'being a public nuisance'. These little things are what makes Japan so special :P

I think local elections are coming up so alot of politicians are doing the rounds in my work area. They do so by holding speeches in the town centre on top of a little plastic podium and chanting (I guess) patriotic slogans. They are also surrounded by bodyguards(?) or supporters (paid?) who wears "I love Wako" on the back of their green bomber jackets. In effect, there are more of them in the crowd than the average citizens. They also like being driven around in a little van with taped speeches blaring over the megaphone mounted on top while the people inside wave like the Queen, with white gloves on. Kinda like a Mr Whippy van but no kids or adults will ever draw close or whoop with glee. If there happens to be a person standing close to the kerb, he or she will most probably have to shake the hand that is offered through the window. It's not just Wako, it's everywhere else as well! I think it's their kind of thing as opposed to Aussie politicians taking 'business trips' to Thailand and Bali for 'conferences' and having 'business lunches' with $500 bottles of wine and caviar.

Another funny cross cultural exchange between Aussies and Americans: Who knows what graham crackers are? My flatmate was utterly astonished when I told her I have no idea what she was on about. I think it must be so common and part of their lives that it must seem like I was asking her what eggs and milk were.

Now for some work related news: I had Kids Training last week! I can officially lead a class with short people. I haven't yet but I think I will have to soon. The training was ok but it wasn't hands on. It was all theory and 'simulated' with other trainees. I think we all felt really dumb, having to hold hands with each other and play 'games' and sing songs. It would be heaps better if there were real, live kids (you won't feel so stupid because your patronising 'Hoooowww aaare yoooou? I am saaaaaaad!' would be justified) But using that voice to people who are adults and who are well versed in English just seemed...a tad retarded. It was a long day. Towards the end, everyone was struggling to stay awake. We had to sit on the floor in a circle the entire time to 'create the atmosphere' and also because we had to simulate the lessons (which are chairless) so every one of us were getting numb bums and backs. I sat next to the instructors (who had a bench to lean on) which I realised were the best spot because I could close my eyes and they wouldn't be able to see me because I'm not facing them. So I took naps in between. Keep your friends close but your teachers closer! Haha!

My colleagues at my branch were having a chat about sumo wrestlers (the tournament starts in the second week of May...I think I will go and watch it live!) when our supervisor (he has alot of interesting tidbit info about everything) mentioned that sumo wrestlers don't wash the cloth that hides their bits and bobs because it's very unlucky. Ewwww! Can you imagine a sumo wrestler being on the circuit for 6 years and never washing the sweaty, stinky nappy?!? I'm thinking there must be something underneath that which they wear...like a giant g-string...but he was doubtful: 'The garment is quite skimpy already, I mean, it's just a line down the crack. What can they wear that's thinner than a line?' Good question. I don't want to know. Some guy then piped that it's the same for self defense/ martial arts type of sport about not supposing to wash the belts. Another then said maybe that's why black belts are the highest because they are the dirtiest. You start at white when it's the cleanest, then it starts to get mouldy from sweat turning it a bit blue then yellow; the mould get older so turns greenish brown, before finally, the belt become black with mould.

On another occasion they were gossiping about teachers who never made it pass probation because they were so bad. I was dumbfounded because this is the cruisest job I've had to date and can't believe people can stuff it up so much that they get fired. I was told that particular person farts loudly during class and blames it on the student sitting closest to him; (Giggle!) and how, after the bell rang 5mins ago, he would still sit in the teachers' room fiddling and reading magazines. When asked why he's not in the classrooms, he would reply, 'Yeah I'm going soon' but would still sit glue to the seat.

Another funny thing I remembered: I am so used to students giving me one word answers (ie/ What's your name? Hiro) that when a student said "Call me Kazu" I thought his name was Komikazu. Everyone in the room laughed. I thought it was hilarious too.

Shimokitazawa.

Wow! This area rocks my socks! The layout is very similar to Harajuku but the less focused on ugly el-cheapo clothes and more on homeware stuff and 2nd hand stores. It has a really cool and laid back atmosphere, and Michelle had informed me that at night it gets transformed into clubs and other after dark activites. She said this quite neutrally so I couldn't gauge if it was 'Kings Cross special' or just special, like Special K. Anyway, it's heaps better than Daikanyama.
I am so in love with these really cute stone figurines of an elephant with a red ball on its back or a dog with a blue scarf. It comes in 3 different sizes too! I know it's not very practical but it's so...not...practical. Argh. Since coming to Japan I feel like I have this really annoying cow on my shoulder who controls everything I want to buy and if she says no my hand won't even go near the wallet! What a controlling tightarse! I've tested it on food and suprisingly she doesn't make a sound at all, so I guess she's a greedy controlling tightarse pig.
We got hungry so we stopped for a bite in the area:
I had set meal of fried chicken on a bed of salad (I needed vegetables!). I paid about 720 yen for it. I actually took the photo without eating it first! I had to mention it because it was so unusual :P The chicken was done perfectly - it wasn't too oily and salty, and the greens were fresh, which I'm glad for (they weren't stingy at all!) I never eat the pickled stuff though. Kind of aaaack.Michelle had pork with daikon pulp and salad underneath. Her dish was less flavour intensive but it was still very sweet and juicy. (She ate all the pickles) Michelle was wearing a green top with a gold vest that day - such patriotism! Should be applauded for wearing her pride on her sleeves. She also told me to watch out for American beef because it might be still infected with BSE. Hahah! Well, too late. I've bought and consumed US beef when I made that pumpkin dish. No wonder they had this sticker that said BSE tested in kanji. I should have known that there was an ulterior motive as to why it was so cheap! Oh! Let me enlighten you further on the Japanese mentality: Alot of restaurants here use Aussie beef because it's safer, like Yoshinoya. Anyway, Yoshinoya will periodically have a special US beef rice only for a day and apparently Japs will start lining up for them at midnight just so they have US beef as opposed to Aussie beef. I am told that the cows are different. Well duhhh! One may have mad cow disease and the other one doesn't! Can you imagine it? People going mad for the chance to get mad cow. It can only happen in Japan!
I think this one is meant to be Cut Hair. But I guess skinning is also a possiblity. Or, does it mean they'll cut your hair and you have to play an obliging hide and seek with them afterwards? So if they can't find you, you get the haircut for free? (because you're so 'well hidden' back at home already?) On second thoughts, could it be that they cut your hair and then hide because the cut was so bad you might want to skin them alive? Oh the complexities of the Engrish language...

We then bumped into the local International Food store and popped in there to see what they had. Oh they had Tim Tams!! Almost double the price back home...we scored cups of coffee - it was really sweet. I think Japanese coffee are the only coffee I can drink...but I can feel my teeth rot on immediate contact with it hahah. I think that bug man from MIB would be satisfied too.

They sold Berri juice! Came in the 2L bottle. Can't believe a bottle of apple and blackcurrant juice with a tacky Made in Australia would make me feel so excited that I took a picture of it (I didn't put it up coz its a waste of space) Well, actually I was thinking why on earth would they import Berri juice out of all the other things they could have imported from Australia??

Hahahah! I have nothing to add. Isn't this cool? I love it, the words, the packaging, all!

A bit of everything. (Food!)

I had my first Voice lesson last Sunday. Basically it's a free-for-all debate class and the instructor are supposed to have a topic ready to talk about. Me? A topic? Errr...like, I have to lead a conversation? It's not that I have trouble sustaining a conversation...but don't you all agree I am flaying a dead horse if I gushed about how much I love Ugly Betty and Hiro from Heroes? It doesn't help with the fact that it kind of undermines my credibility as a well schoolled-Jack-of-all-topics Australian (but really Master of none). Err, who won the election??
I was stumped and a bit nervous to say the least. The rest of the dudes tried to help by saying, 'Oh, you're new, just talk about yourself. They'll be interested in where you come from, just like a pack of crows.' Oh. G.r.e.at. Let me repeat. Err, who won the election?? I'm ashamed to say that I really suck as an Australian. I don't care much about cricket or rugby, and I'm really embarrassed to say that I don't know much about Gallipoli either. The other day I was teaching festivals of the world and for an example I said that in Australia we have ANZAC day (I said it was 25th of January...Mistake#1...At least I knew what ANZAC stood for...Patriotic citizen#1) I explained that it was a day to commemorate Aussie and NZ soldiers who died in Gallipoli (Patriotic citizen#2) in Turkey (I guessed Turkey...Lucky shot#1) I thought I'll leave it at that before I rewrote history but unfortunately both of the students were super keen on ANZAC and they kept asking questions:
Which war? (I said WW2...Mistake#2)
What happened? (It was basically a massacre because the bad guys were ready and waiting behind the cliffs and when the ANZACS fobbed off they were basically sitting ducks...Patriotic citizen#3)
Who were the bad guys? (Err...well, we're in WW2 so the bad guys are bad German people (Mistake#3)...because Turkey were neutral (Mistake#4) so the Turks weren't in it (Mistake#5) [I remembered in WW2 Turkey wasn't involved ok!..Or maybe they are!] I was going to say Japanese soliders were involved in Gallipoli (becaused I remembered Japan were not in the Allies category during History in high school) but I thought it might be a bit touchy so I left it out (Avoided big big mistake#6)
So who were the good guys? (Mmmm...Australia, New Zealand, US, some European countries....umm...)

You guys get the idea. In the end I just couldn't bear to continue making things up (feels so sacrilegious!) so I told them I'll look it up for them. Which I did. But yes, I still bow my head in shame because I really should know these things!

As the example the book did an English festival called Bonfire Night. There was a Guy Fawkes involved and of course like children the adult students had questions coming left, right, front and centre.
Who is Guy Fawkes? What's a bonfire? Why a bonfire? Why a penny? Why make a Guy? What's the Guy?
The textbook was kind enough not to explain any background information so in the end the one looking stupid and incompetent was who? :P

Anyway, back to the Voice lesson. It went smoothly :D we were talking about different slangs each country used. ie/ thong/sandal; tometo/tomato etc. I also taught the people in the room that asphalt is called 'bitmap' (I was trying to say bitumen but it came out wrong...just hope they won't remember how it's pronounced) There were four people in the room and what I found to be quite amusing was that most people were pretty vocal (very different from the usual quiet Jap...but I guess if you're paying to talk you have to utilise every single second) Let's go through the 'stereotypes'. There is always a dominant one who tries to monopolise the conversations; the quiet, silent lurker type; and another who has a really thick accent and doesn't speak clearly but talks in long paragraphs and uses big words to try to compensate for something (hello! who talks like that except for Dawson's Creek?) Anyway, my understanding of him is probably at 20% so the other 80% I pretend to be on the same wavelength as him by popping really useful fillers like 'Oh! Really!', 'Hahaha!', and 'Oh!', while smiling like hell. The topic then moved onto Chinese characters in Japanese and how they are simplifying it. So I discussed with them that actual Chinese has two types as well - traditional and simplified. Three of the group were really into the topic (even the lurker) but unfortunately the dominant one doesn't like the topic (because he doesn't know much and therefore unable to dominate - and had told me so too) Ner ner ner. Blah blah blah. Big fruity whoop. Weirdly enough, I was told by one of the participants that I reminded her of a Japanese actress/singer (they are all multi-talented here). I got curious so when I got back home I googled the said star (Wow there's someone who looks like me?! I don't want to share me! But so cool all the same! Wow!)

Huh. Anyway, I think she smoked too much seaweed. Even if I had stockings over my head to blur my features I look nothing like the girl she purportedly said I looked like. It the same as saying that Fat Bastard looks like Angelina Jolie. (Giggle). Food pics time! This is my new found fav! Green tea cookies! And the best thing is that they are not super sweet! I'm finding everything here has loads and loads of sugar added...it gets kind of sickening. Hummm I'm thinking that when I get back I'm going to see if I can make it using the white choc and macadamia cookies recipe...Bec!! Try it and see if it works! Let me know of the result!These are the things I usually have when I have no time or have no food left. I just cook rice (or nuke the leftover rice in the fridge) and reheat a packet and voila! Instant but healthy meal. Of course, I try to cook real food as much as possible but sometimes I get home late and I want to eat NOW. There is no compromise when I am hungry unfortunately. Sometimes I wonder if my central nervous system is really controlled by my stomach instead.
This is another example of improving my mum's recipe! Hehehe! She gave me my fav which is chestnuts and chicken stew but I thought it would be better if I added potatoes and mushrooms and other greens. It was delicious! Especially in the cold weather! This is the recipe:

small chicken fillet diced (I used marinated roasted chicken)
clove of garlic (chopped)
chestnuts in those vaccum packs already peeled and cooked (I used 1/2 a bag)
any other vegetable ingredients you want to add (I recommend potatoes!)
oil
pepper and other seasoning
potato starch/ corn flour (some sort of thickener)

1. Add a bit of oil to your metal thingy and toss in the garlic. (If you have potatoes toss them in too and cover with lid for a few minutes so they soften)
2. Add chicken and try and matchmake them with the garlicky oil for a few minutes (or until semi cooked) then chuck in the chestnuts and fling them about. Season with a dash of soya sauce and pepper and anything else you think might be nice.
3. Pour in 3/4 cup of water with maybe a small tsp of corn flour mixed in, cover with lid and cook on low heat for a few minutes. I like the dish to have a bit of sauce so if it looks like its drying out add more water to the mix.
4. Add other optional greens or mushrooms, stir it about and you're done!

This was a dish I had for a farewell dinner for a co-worker who is leaving Nova to work for another English company. It's avocado with scallop rice. Other than having an issue with its puny size, the taste was divine! I wanted more!
Another mystery meal cooked up with leftover ingredients. Suprisingly it was actually quite good! I can't believe I'm saying this but I don't mind cooking so much. I'm becoming a nan! It kind of helps when you receive positive feedback at work about how good it smells. This was supposed to be an omelette with stuff inside but it didn't work out (How do you make an omelette? Without burning the outside while cooking the inside?) so it turned into a stir fry of eggs with marinated chicken and whatever vegetables I had. The stuff inside kinda was set on fire because it caught onto the oil inside the pot and leaped into it. (Argh!) Scared the shits out of me...well at least my dinner had a nice smoky taste to it. No biggie afterall, but I might be steaming things for a while instead...

Shopping in 7th Heaven.

My flatmate clued me in to a cool suburban department store called Ito Yodako about 10 mins away on bike. Unfortunately it had been pouring for two days and as I am not very co ordinated with holding an umbrella AND riding a bike at the same time I had to forgo going on the bike. So I walked in the rain. For 20 mins. If only I could apply that sort of diligence and persistence with actual work. Anyway, there were cheap clothes to be found and an open supermarket on the ground level to boot! (it's weird, they actually call the ground floor the first floor...so my apartment is on the 4th floor but technically it's on the 3rd). There were restaurants and a Timezone-like arcade games section with rows upon rows of goodie-in-plastic-ball machines!!! I was so happy I think I actually fluttered off the ground. Bliss... I think I can almost relate to gamblers, alcoholics and drug users. At least now if I'm feeling down I actually know of a 'happy place' to go to :)

I bypassed the underwear section and I just had to squeeze the bras to see if they were as padded as the Michelin Man. Omg! I suspect some Jap girls actually have concave breasts going by what were sold on the rack. It's incredible! I think you can double it up as a travel pillow. Just whip it off when you're travelling long distance and put it back into 'storage' when you're finished.

On one of my other days off I decided to trip down to a funky town called Daikanyama. (which is close to Ebisu...where I had curry with my flatmate) It's kind of Vintage St but it ain't cheap. The vibe I got here was alot more relaxed and less hectic...kinda more Western-ish...with lots of murals and graffiti around.

I had walked from Ebisu station and just followed the tracks until I saw the psychedlic flowers on the wall and thought this must be it. (And it was)
There was actually a Blythe store there! I thought the doll on the right kinda looked like me...without the blonde hair. (Comments concerning that I am blonde will be ignored). I think they are actually quite scary looking. Don't understand why they are so popular.

Anyway, had a quick walk-around and even though I am not supposed to buy anything until my first pay day I couldn't help myself and got a new bag, necklace and a hat. Oh yeah, regarding the pay...I keep forgetting to fax my bank account details to the office so I know I've prolly missed the paydate for April (pay day is on the 15th of every month...yep..I've missed it) Sigh. Have to wait till May now!

After Daikanyama I decided to go to Harajuku!!! I got off on the other side so I ended up at Omotesando. I walked into Camper shoes to check out their stuff (they have kids shoes!!) and accidently found the really really cool French haberdashery store I went into 3 years ago. I think this is my happy place #2. Have you ever been so overloaded with euphoria that you're strucked dumb and could only move about in a zombie kinda way? (Symptoms may include drooling and fixed grin on face). I was above kid in a candy store. I was Dawn of the Happy Dead.

This was outside this shop called Kiddyland. Kind of self explanatory. This is home to every vomit-inducing cutesy-thing known on earth. Hello Kitty and her mangy friends lives on a level by themselves. Disney themed things are on another (there's a pink Stitch...I think it's Stitch's GF). I took this picture for Flor! I think they are guinea pigs. It's cute in an ugly kind of way. Makes you want to thump and bash it up just because you can and it feels good.

I went down the memory lane of Takeshita-dori...I think alot had changed! Maybe I had changed, I don't know. I feel like I don't belong to that generation anymore - I found alot of the clothes to be cheap and nasty but that doesn't mean it's a bad place to be! In that area there's a lot of really cool stores too! Unfortunately I couldn't locate the bead store I went into last time. I really have to get losted to find it again. My stomach was complaining so I had to appease it with a chicken mayo crepe. Niiiice. Harajuku was the first place I've been that's saturated with foreigners. The crowd's almost like back home!

Here's a close up of the Gothic Lolita outfits. I dare anyone to wear the outfit on the right on the streets of Sydney!
I made this from scratch! I know it looks kind of gross but it's actually very nice. Pumpkin and mushrooms with black bean and garlic sauce. I bought the jar of Lee Kum Kee Black Bean and Garlic Sauce from an Asian grocery store in Odaiba (it's twice as expenisve than in Aus) but hey, it's worth it. Thanks to mum for the cool recipes. I have more to try!

On Sunday after work I followed my co worker into this underground shopping complex called Sunshine City in Ike. [dumbfound silence] I think I'm running out of hyperboles. Each time I go to someplace new I think it's the best and that nothing can beat it...but that's the thing! My happy places are consistently being trumped up by better and happier places! I was only there for an hour or so because I was meeting peeps for dinner (and plus I had work shoes on which are not appropriate for walking) but I was utterly floored and overwhelmed. I'm definitely going back there this Thurs!

Oh and a little update with learning the Jap language: I've enquired at my local education centre and I've signed up for Japanese lessons every Thurs night! I'm going to be 'tested' this Thursday and classes will start from May onwards.

Ashes and Snow.

My flatmate and I went to see a photography/video media exhibition in Odaiba called Ashes and Snow, by a Canadian called Gregory Colbert. The photographs were absolutely stunning and incredible! He took pics of humans and animals together but in very intimate and evocative ways - and sometimes it's almost surreal! We have been assured however that the images are all real and have not been superimposed or collaged.

The housing for this travelling exhibition was specially designed by a Japanese architect, Shigeru Ban. It's basically constructed of cargo containers stacked in a chequerboard pattern. Kinda clever actually. Most of the containers are rented on location but others are used to transport the exhibition as it travels from place to place. I really hope they will make it to Australia!

Took us a while getting there...we keep getting on the wrong train. We also had difficulty locating the museum in the beginning because it was hidden behind some metal archway (I was so sure there would be banners advertising the exhibtion...) - It was like, right next to where we were! If we ducked a little we would be able to see the elephant and the boy banner. Slow start but it was worth it all!

I really loved the elephant series Gregory did. There was this one shot from the front of an enormous elephant lying down with two little boy monks leaning on either side of its ears, covering each of their own ear.

The photos are printed on some type of paper but it makes it look like charcoal drawings because it is so grainy. They are about an arm's span wide, suspended from the ceiling at eye level. These are all my other favs:
You can check out more of his stuff on his site.

Well, since we were in Odaiba, I could'nt resist visiting Fuji Television again and took a pic with the smurf dog. Yah! We meet again! Obviously, he didn't forget me :) That's why he gave me a ride on his log.Oh this is a guy! Freaky, isn't it? I think its some sort of new show Fuji TV is panning. The kawaii kulture is really overwhelming sometimes! I had this student in her 40's come into class with two pigtails and ribbons in her hair.

I took Melody to that cool 50's-in-Japan level. Things have changed I'm afraid to say. It's not so 50's anymore but they still have cool stores. Clumsy old me almost broke a Jap version of a Matryoshka doll! I was like, 'Look at that ugly thing, Mel!' I placed it back on the shelf but it tipped off and the insides and the insides of the insides popped out and scattered all over the floor with a tremendous clatter. I was shocked I didn't move for 2 secs before I scooped down to retrieve the half bodies but Melody was so shocked she didn't move for about 3 secs before bending down to help me. Lucky it was made from wood so no broken bones so to speak. Phew. There was this one store where all they sold were those machines where you slot in money and twist dial and a plastic ball with a goodie inside falls out. I was in heaven overload!!! I was surprised I came out of my reverie without buying anything.

On the upper levels were the food. Check this display out! Holy moley! It's like sushi fondue!
This too! It's ice cream but they made it look like a clam with a 'pearl' (I think it's a marshmallow) 500 yen, which equates to about $5 - two scoops of ice cream in a cone from New Zealand Icecream. Borrrring!

We had dinner at an Indian restaurant back in Ebisu and had a huge giggle over the Bollywood music dvds they had showing. It's so fascinating! (Reminds me of the time we went out to that hilarious Indian restaurant at Surry Hills with Fiona.) That chick from Who Dares Win was in it!! Tania somebody or other! She really looked like one of those exotic Indians herself, with the fake orange tan and skunk hair. We were musing why all the main girls are all pretty but all the main guys are butt ugly. One appeared with a 5 o'clock shadow on his face and it got darker and darker as the clip progressed. They all had 4 outfit changes in the space of 30 secs, and their heads bobbled like those bobbly headed dolls. Muffin-tops scenes were inevitable unfortunately. The Indian waiter also had a thing for my flatmate and he kept coming over and asking if the food was ok and general daijoubu des ka. After inquiring he would laugh this high-pitched chipmunk sounding machine-gun-fire laugh. Ha-ha-ha-ha. Well it killed us alright. He also noticed that we were engrossed with the Indian music videos and he turn the volume right up. The other Jap customers don't even notice the TV's! God they are missing some good comedies! We left the restaurant with aching sides and sore jaws.