Earthquake

Akira Toriyama urges disaster victims to hang tough (via ANN).

The reports from regions affected by the March 11 earthquake seem to be getting more catastrophically horrible by the hour, with news of damaged nuclear plants on the verge of meltdown, and coastal towns where the majority of the population is "missing." Send money to the usual disaster relief organizations, or directly to the Japanese Red Cross (English-language Google Crisis Response link).

Moe Day 2010

It's International Moe Day once again, and while I've been slacking off a bit on new anime viewing, I have managed to watch all of K-On!!, the recently concluded sequel to 2009's high-end moe musical school comedy, K-On! The transition between the two series was essentially invisible: designs, animation, music and voice acting all carried over seamlessly. Bandai Entertainment is in the process of bringing over the first series, with Blu-ray and DVD versions, and special editions available for each. I'm hoping we'll see an announcement for official K-On!! sometime soon.

Among new or upcoming moe shows, Ore no Imouto ga Konnani Kawaii Wake ga Nai (My Little Sister Can't Be this Cute; A.K.A. OreImo) seems to be the one to keep an eye on for the fall season. The premise--stylish and popular Kirino suddenly finds herself indebted to her painfully ordinary brother Kyousuke, when he discovers her secret otaku hobbies--seems awfully familiar, but the anime adaptation is easy on the eyes, and appears to be staying pretty classy in spite of a multitude of available failure modes. OreImo can be viewed as a legitimate stream from Anime News Network, and is ANN's first attempt at a simulcast.

Japan '08: Finale

It's taken quite a while to get through my Japan travelogue. I'm tempted to chalk up the delays to wistful feelings about the trip never truly ending until I finish writing about it, but the real fault is more plain laziness.

On the final day, my group left Hongou by taxi, with one of us riding in a second cab that was filled with luggage. From Tokyo Station we took the express train to Narita Airport. We touched down in Detroit half an hour before we left Narita. A couple of days later I came down with a bug undoubtedly picked up on the plane, which persisted for a week. It was the sickest I had been in years, a particularly awful combination of virus and jet lag that I couldn't shake because I was lying in bed all day. It was so bad, I literally lost all interest in moe anime, which was a strange and disturbing effect. Eventually, I recovered.


I'd like to get back to Japan, but it will probably be a year before I could be ready for another vacation like that. It's tricky to organize the time and the money, but even if it wasn't for practical concerns, I don't think I would enjoy traveling overseas on a regular basis. The trip was a huge amount of fun, but it also took a lot out of me, mentally and physically. Japan is about as foreign a place as a New Englander can visit (at least counting destinations with paved roads and indoor plumbing), and while it is invigorating to be forced out of behavioral ruts for a time, it also exacts a toll. Sooner or later, though, I will return.

U-Con at UConn

There's a small anime/sci-fi/gaming convention going on in my neck of the woods this weekend: U-Con @ UConn. It's being put on by the good ol' University of Connecticut Japanese Animation Society, among other campus organizations. I stopped in briefly last night, and it looked like people were having fun; if you're in the area, stop in. It's free!

Japan '08: Loot

Kara no Kyoukai Special Edition DVDs.

My Japan trip wasn't all poking around old temples and hanging out in Maid Cafes with NTV film crews; there was also spending large amounts of money at dubious otaku shops in Akihabara. The photos below document a good chunk of what I hauled back to The States, though quite a few souvenirs were given away as presents before I thought to photograph them. Some other stuff not shown here just wasn't immediately available for photography (like back issues of Megami Magazine that got filed away somewhere).

Miscellaneous knickknacks, including omamori (charms) from Washinomiya Shrine, ofuda (the paper ward), and a fake charm from Furude Jinja, the fictional shrine in Higurashi no Naku Koro ni.

More DVDs: Da Capo II, Kore ga Watashi no Goshujin-sama, Lucky Star OVA (Gamers Special Edition), Gedo Senki - Tales from Earthsea, Higurashi Kai. It was something of a struggle to find all of Gakuen Utopia Manabi Straight, but eventually I tracked it down, though I payed full price for most of the volumes.

Loads of used PS2 soft: some Simple 2000 series odds 'n' ends, an igo game that mostly kicks my ass, Shikigami no Shiro, Ku-on, a Gundam Vs. series entry, the Lucky Star adventure game and the all-ages version of Demon Bane. I'll have to find my Dreamcast some day and play Kanon.

Suzumiya Haruhi green tea (cleverly--I thought--punctured on the bottom for drinking while still in Japan. I would have bought a case of these, but Kotobukiya was down to the last couple of cans and nobody else was offering it.), a 20th Century Boys t-shirt, and a beer bottle from the Ghibli Museum.

I don't buy figures (well, hardly ever), but Konata and the Hiiragi twins in Petit Nendoroid form called to me.

I also have very little interest in doujinshi, though somehow I did wind up with a Higurashi and a Kara no Kyoukai book, strategically obscured by Koisuru Camera, a photography + moe book from artist Siro.

Teacup set from a ceramics shop with Kiyomizu-style wares, with instant sweetened green tea with gold leaf flakes from Kinkaku-ji.

In total, the Japan trip cost around $4,000, with about half going to lodging and transportation to and from Connecticut and within Nihon. Food was in the neighborhood of $500, including a few meals at fancy restaurants. The remaining $1,500 or so was spending money, for the goods, movie and museum tickets, and other miscellaneous expenses. That is not the sort of outlay I could make on a regular basis, but it wasn't too bad for a two week trip to an expensive country on the other side of the world filled with shops hawking pricey gewgaws that I needed to purchase.

Japan '08: Kyoto II

Canal next to Tetsugaku no Michi, the Path of Philosophy.

At this point in our Japan adventure, my group left western and central Kyoto and headed towards the Higashiyama (Eastern Mountain) district, by way of Tetsugaku no Michi (the Path of Philosophy) and city bus. Ginkaku-ji, the Silver Pavilion, is located at one terminus of Tetsugaku no Michi. Ginkaku-ji was established in 1482 as a retirement home for Yoshimasa Ashikaga, and became a center for Higashiyama culture, which was the forerunner to modern Japanese civilization.

The approach to Ginkakuji; persimmon tree with fruit at right.

We had some fried fish cake type thingies from a stand along the street leading up to Ginkaku-ji. That was a pretty decent lunch, but again, I regret not getting to a real restaurant for some more serious Kyoto food.

Looking west towards Kyoto over Ginkaku-ji. Kannonden at left, and roof of Tougudou at lower right.

The Silver Pavilion itself, technically called Kannonden but normally referred to as Ginkaku-ji, was under renovation when I was there, and covered up with scaffolding. It's not actually covered in precious metal, unlike Kinkaku-ji, and "silver" seems to refer to the white sand sculptures on the grounds.

Gardens at Ginkaku-ji.

The gardens at Ginkaku-ji were probably the most beautiful that I have seen in Japan; the trees, rocks, streams and ponds form an understated work of art around the temple buildings.

Ginkaku-ji moss display.

The moss gardens at Ginkaku-ji are especially fine, and there is funny little display of the local species in one corner of the grounds, divided up into special mosses that are carefully encouraged, and ordinary mosses that form the background or are weeded out as needed. There were several gardeners actively tending the moss, wearing slippers. We had to call one of these guys for help when my friend Ray managed to drop his camera memory card off the path and down a steep slope.

Outen-mon, the Heian Shrine main gate.

A bit south and west of Ginkaku-ji, more out in the city, is Heian-jingu, one of the largest Shinto shrines in Kyoto. It is actually a scale replica constructed in 1894 of Chodo-in, a building that existed in the Heian Era in Kyoto, about 1200 years ago.

Naka Shin'en (Middle Garden), behind the main Heian-jingu shrine buildings.

For a small fee, you can tour the gardens that surround the main shrine plaza and buildings. The gardens are in the Meiji Era style of the late nineteenth century. Heian Shrine is right in the middle of a busy part of Kyoto, but the gardens seemed isolated and peaceful.

Heian-jingu gardens at sunset, Taihei-kaku bridge at right.

My camera batteries gave out right after getting the above photo, looking west over the Heian-jingu gardens towards the shrine buildings.

Kiyomizu Temple entryway, early morning.

For the final day in Kyoto, the only activity was to see Kiyomizu-dera, which was just up the street from our ryokan. Kiyomizu is a Buddhist temple founded in 780 CE around a spring on the site (the name means "clear water"). Many of the current buildings date to 1633. We got any early start, though we weren't exactly waiting at the gates when the monks opened up at 6:00 AM.

Kiyomizu Dera.

It is probably a good idea to get to Kiyomizu early in the day, in order to get relatively uncluttered photos of Japan's most famous view.

Iron sandals and staves on the Kiyomizu deck.

There is a display of training equipment for the monks at Kiyomizu Temple, with iron sandals and two staves which visitors can attempt to lift. I couldn't budge the larger staff; did the monks really walk around with that?

Otowa no Taki, the waterfalls from the Kiyomizu spring.

I braved the line at the Kiyomizu spring to sample the water, which is supposed to have beneficial effects, depending upon which stream you drink from. You take a cup with a long handle from a UV sterilizer in order to retrieve some water; I'm not sure if I got the health, longevity or wisdom water. Maybe there's a spring that grants the strength to lift a staff that contains more metal than a Ford Explorer.

Tea house on the Kiyomizu grounds.

We stopped for refreshments at a tea house at Kiyomizu. I had zenzai, which is a sweet soup involving red beans and a chunk of mochi (rice cake); it's a cool-weather food.

Jishu-jinja gate.

Jishu-jinja is a Shinto shrine located within the Kiyomizu Buddhist temple complex; there wasn't any obvious way to even reach it without walking through Kiyomizu.

"Love fortune-telling stone" in Jishu-jinja.

The main attraction at Jishu Shrine is a pair of stones set into the pavement, a fair distance apart. These are labeled koi uranai no ishi (love fortune-telling stones); if you can walk from one to the other with your eyes closed, your romantic hopes will become reality, apparently. That sounds like an anime plot device, and the love stones have indeed turned up in a few shows.

Pagoda on hill south of Kiyomizu-dera.

After a short walk to the ridge to the south you can visit a small pagoda, which is prominently visible in the view from the Kiyomizu deck.

Ferns on the Higashiyama forest floor.

It was nice to get out into the woods for a little while, though the old cedars had been thinned out quite a bit to make way for new plantings of cherry trees, since the last time I was at Kiyomizu, back in the '90s. There were lots of interesting ferns in the forest understory, including the ones here, probably a Gleichenia at upper left and maybe (?) Asplenium at center.

Kyoto Station bentou box.

After Kiyomizu, we gathered up our stuff at the Ryokan, and headed to Kyoto Station to catch the Shinkansen (Bullet Train) back to Tokyo. I grabbed a tasty Kyoto-style autumn box lunch on the way to the train. Some of the assorted Tokyo sightseeing that I wrote about in earlier installments actually happened after the return from Kyoto, but there was only one full day left in the trip by this point, and it felt like my time in Japan was rapidly vanishing.

Shinkansen arriving at Kyoto Station.