Chebu for Christmas

Way back when, I mentioned that I'd make Cheboraashika (Japanese spelling) part of my sister's Christmas present, but I guess she forgot, because when she opened the present I sent her, she nearly fainted! I really wanted to send her a mess of items, but I'm not that rich, and it turns out that little Chebu is experiencing a lot of popularity right now, so there was no shortage of items. What was the problem? I couldn't find the store!!! A few months ago, a friend brought me to Kichijoji and showed me all around; we got tea, ate fish pastries, saw a local festival, and went to a bunch of stores. But it was dark and we covered half of the city and because he knew where we were going, I didn't bother keeping track. Anyway, during that trip, we were looking for a good birthday present for his friend and came upon this little store tucked in the basement of a corner in a back alley. Sounds like a bad horror film? Well, it was actually pretty neat (see Kichijoji photo album for more detail) and they had a mountain of Chebu items. My mission: find the store again, on my own, secure the toys, and save Christmas!

But even the best of plans....well, you know.

I ended up walking around for 2 hours the first day unable to find the store. Now, I've got a pretty good handle on some of the places in Kichijoji now, but like I said before, I haven't seen this particular store in a few months. So, how did I try to track it down? This may sound asinine, but I started walking to places that had a familiar feel and didn't go to places where I knew it was not. And it worked, too! I felt my spider senses tingling as I got in the area where I kind of thought it was and was able to track down most of the other places I haven't been in a long time, but I couldn't for the life of me find that store! It was getting dark and cold and things were starting to all close up, so I gave up for the night and went back to ICU. Back at the dorm, a strange burst of inspiration hit me. "You know, I remember the store being rather popular with younger people. It probably has a website. I could use the internet to find the exact location of the store. That would save me so much time! Why didn't I think of this before?!"Because I was all caught up in the moment before and thought I could track the place down like a blood hound, that's why. Brilliant, right? So with the power of the internet, I went back on the Emperor's birthday and sure enough found the place immediately (go figure).

I would tell you more about the gifts, but let's see the runner ups that didn't make it back to America:

I wonder if Anna liked her gift... let's see!

Looks like all is well that ends well. I actually have the same set of Chebu Tupperware as Anna does, so we match just like sisters should (side note: my little angels, Lucy and Emily, also got bento lunch boxes that matched each other).

The Emperor's Birthday

I had such a productive day, it wasn't even funny! I woke up early, cooked some food, got some last minute shopping done, cleaned my room super-thoroughly (I mean broom AND vacuum, ladies and gentlemen), organized my pantry because I have so much food from home that I now have a legit pantry, and now I'm packing for my long-awaited, cross-country, pan-Japan, Giant Robot invasion with my partner in crime, Gina Gray! But as I was out and about, I couldn't help but feel that something was off. What could that something be? We go now to the field where correspondent Me tells Myself what I think. Don't mind the hat, by the way, it was falling off during the shoot. Camera shy, I guess. And the freeze frame? Priceless, as usual.

Where Did That Come From?!

While walking to the Japanese-version of Marc's, I decided to go on the opposite side of the street, just for kicks. It is just the other side of the street right? WRONG!! Hiding on that side were 3 totally new places!

1. A grapevine field; I wasn't sure if I was seeing properly at first or not. I just got done telling a friend of mine yesterday that they don't have grapevines here, and I had stopped looking for them, actually. As I was going along, There was a wall of ginko trees forming a barrier to a small farm and I thought, "That's strange... I wonder what's behind the trees. (looks inside) Those seem like ivy. (stares for a while) Really familiar ivy. GRAPES!!" Sadly, these grapevines are made for making grapes, so the leaves were (you know, besides inedible) smaller than I was used to. But, lo and behold, the sign says they are grapevines. I wonder if they are going to have a wine making event or grape-squashing day...I wanna go if they do!!

2. Greeks; this was actually on my way back. I was walking underneath the pedestrian bridge, and glanced up at a sign. It was in Japanese, sure, but it was in katakana, which meant that it was for a foreign word. The foreign word was right underneath the Japanese. I wasn't going to bother reading it, but one of the letters didn't look right to me. Because it was Greek!! I found a Greek company here! I don't know what they do or who they are, but they're Greek by gum! This calls for some investigation at a later date.

3. A Shrine; I was told that shrines and temples were everywhere in Japan, so I was very disappointed in the lack of both in my town. I wasn't expecting anything large, just a little shrine to Amaterasu, that's all. Well, going along the sidewalk, I had to pause and let a swarm of little, old, Japanese women come past me. "Where are they all coming from?" I wondered. So, curious as I am, I went down the side street they had just come from and found a stone torii gate! The entrance to a Shinto shrine!! It was soooo cute and little with it's little summoning bell and stone inscriptions, but I didn't want to take a picture of it, seeing as the women were still kind of right there. But now I know where it is and I can go back and get a few pictures (any more than a few and I'd be getting duplicate images - that is how small this shrine is).

I also want to get photos of my Fruit-Stand Grandma, or at least her garden and flags so that you can see what it all looks like. I swear, she's there in her little nook everyday, so hopefully she gets more customers than just me.

Also, I update various photo albums, so even if you think that you've seen one, check the last few photos in the album to see if I have added to them or not. And I moved Campus & Heya 2 up to the top for my little sister to see better. This is all mostly for you, Phia.

An Adventure! Well, to me it was, anyway.

Picture it in your mind's eye: feeling crushed and defeated, hungry and economically bound, our young heroine sets her resolve on a last-chance-go-for-broke-over-exaggerated-but-I'm-glad-if-your-still-reading-this-blog dash to the nearest major city for some relief. Even as she prepares for the journey, the world still fights against her; rain, wind, and narrow passages are all that await between our adventurer and her destination. But mounted accompanied by her faithful traveling companion, even these forces of nature seem mere distractions!

Haha, I shouldn't write fan-fiction.

The real story: I was feeling a little blue the other day, so I thought, "Hey, why not go to Kichijoji to get cheered up and do some shopping?" But when I was leaving the dorm, the rain from that morning still hadn't let up, but I still decided to save myself the $4 of bus fair and go to the train station for the first time by myself. In the rain. On my bike. With CJ in the front basket. But still alone. Without a map. In Japan. With no umbrella. "A lone, lonely, loner" (copyright of Ice Age 3). I was soaked by the time I got to the train station, cold by the time I got to Kichijoji, disappointed in the kaitenzushi place there (the best one near me is in Musashi-sakai, I think), and not feeling any less blue when I arrived back at my train station.

But it ALL turned up after I went grocery shopping and then bought a calling card (so I can use my phone officially!). When I got back to the dorm, I cooked myself up a little something, chatted with the girls, chatted more with the kids downstairs, finished my homework, studied for a bit, and was feeling as right as rain (ba-dum-da!).

So our heroine learned an important lesson that day: the greatest joys are not in overcoming grand obstacles (alone, on one's bike, in the rain, in Japan), but in simple pleasures of good food and the company of friends.

The End

Japanese Fashion, Part One (of many, I'm sure)

Miki, I, and an alumna from Oberlin were strolling around Shinjuku the other day discussing Japanese fashion. Although the conversation was in a mix of Japanese and English, the translated version goes a little something like this. *note: some names may have been shortened to protect the identities of the speakers (ex. mine).

Alex: Did you see that? I would have never matched leopard leggings and a baggy, purple shirt! That was such a cool idea!

Luna: Yeah, you'll see a lot of that.

Miki: A lof of what?

Alex: Japanese fashion. It is pretty cool, but I don't know how to duplicate it yet.

Miki: I don't see much of a difference in what you're wearing and what Japanese people usually wear.

Alex: Awww, thanks, Miki.

Luna: You do look nice, but there are major differences in Japanese and American style.

Alex: True story.

Miki: For example?

Alex: Um, okay, well, for example that boy with the leopard leggings and the purple shirt. He'd probably get laughed at in Ohio. In New York, that might be more common, but most people would think he can't match his clothes well. And a lot of guys, I mean a LOT of guys, at school wear fanny packs over their chests like a purse. That hasn't really caught on in America yet.

Luna: That's true. And overalls are actually popular here. I mean, back home that's what people wear to work in or do something on a farm, but look at that girl! She's has overalls and the cuffs rolled up to her calf.

Alex: Yeah, that is something I would have worn when I was 5. Much of the style here is very young and cute.

Miki: But I wore overalls on Thursday....

Alex: I know, I know, and you looked so adorable! But in America, if you wear that, people will think your a little strange. Or maybe even poor.

Luna: In a few years, people in America will be dressing like the Japanese do now (a little), but by then, you will be doing something COMPLETELY different.

Miki: So if I wear my clothes in America, people will think I'm strange?

Alex: No, no, no, no. You're style is so sweet, Miki. And since you're from Japan, people will expect you to have slightly different clothing combinations.

Miki: Ahhh. I still don't think there is much difference....

Luna & Alex: Trust us, there is.

Now, none of this is to knock the Japanese fashion world. I love the fact that ankle boots, hair bows, headbands, little straw hats, and sweaters are all on the "hot list" for this coming fall line. Some girls on my floor and I were pouring over a Japanese magazine, and the outfits looked so adorable. Another positive aspect about fashion here, I can pull off leggings with anything here! Girls might wear super short skirts or have strapless shirts, but they always have something underneath. Leggings, undershirts, t-shirts, anything! You hardly see a Japanese person exposing a lot of skin, and when they do, it is because they're making a statement or trying to look more like Western girls. My friend Gina was stopped by someone the other day and told that she looked very nice, but have the Japanese fashion down pat yet. Why not? Her collar bone was showing in too many of her outfits.

Now, you see some really strange stuff here (you do everywhere), but the Japanese take great pride in their appearance. It starts in junior high school where students are drilled in proper uniform attire, hair style, and (no matter how busy one gets) always looking sharp and well groomed. Once they're older, I can definitely see how many of them carry these teachings into the work world, and even into different fashion sub-cultures. No matter what the trend, they look great.

There are so many things I'd like to say, but I'll stop here before I ramble. The next fashion entry will have to be about the shoe culture here, but I'll save all that for later!

Camera Video Test 1 - "Apples?"