CourtneyP

It was most appropriate that this year’s Alternative Press Expo marks the ten-year anniversary of the show, being the year of the monkey and all (get it? APE? Monkey? nevermind).

We drove up to The City in the early afternoon to mingle with the best and brightest independent artists and publishers from places near and far. There was so much to see, touch and read… and so much cool stuff to buy! The good thing about buying stuff at APE is that it’s mostly affordable stuff. Ah, the power of self-publishing.

As an added treat, I got to meet up with a handful of Killoggs peeps (see my post there for more), as well as Nicole & Brandon… and of course, I did my part and bought stuff from each one of them.

The weirdest thing to happen was to walk up to one of the tables (I unfortunately forget which one), to see the mailing list most recently signed by a friend of mine that I hadn’t seen in over 6 years! I looked all around immediate area to see if he was around, but had no luck. So if you’re out there, T.J. Walkup, shoot me an e-mail … it’s been a while!

Personally, the best thing to come out of going to APE was the flurry of creativity that was sparked by what I encountered there. So many ideas formed in my head that I want to get out on paper… or just get out, period. I am constantly frustrated by the lack of time that I seem to have to dedicate to this kind of thing. I have come to learn that it is more of a matter of making time for it. It’s way easier to hop on the computer, fire up the TiVo, or just plain veg out… especially when I have these long work days all the time. I figure, if I don’t have some sort of creative outlet, I’ll cease to exist. That’s right, I’ll just be some sort of mindless drone.

We all need a little art in our lives. Or a lot.

More on my trip to Japan, 8 Sept 2003…

On this particular Monday, we had the day set aside to visit the Studio Ghibli Museum in Mitaka. It was a nice, uncrowded train ride to Mitaka, where we discovered the special bright yellow bus, adorned with Ghibli characters, to take us to the museum.

The museum was definitely something out of the whimiscal animated movies that Ghibli produces. Set within the lush, green setting of Inokashira Park, it seemed as if the museum was part of a garden… a living, breathing thing.

“Let’s get lost together!” exclaims the informational pamphlet we received from the front desk… and so it began.
» Read the rest of this entry «

Yes, so I am a week behind on recapping Japan activities. But here we go…

Last Sunday, our main activity of choice was to head on out to Harajuku to peoplewatch the car-raaazy kids hangin’ around there.

We accidentally got off at the incorrect rail station (Yoyogi), which brought us to the northern entrance of Yoyogi Park. This led us to walk through the park to Harajuku, which turned out to be a very pleasant detour. Because of our mistake, we got to take a beautiful walk along meticulous gravel pathways shaded by tall trees, and took a side tour of the Meiji-Jingu Shrine. We happened to be just in time to witness a wedding procession (it took us a moment to realize what was going on). Little did we know that this day and this location were big for weddings… I think we witnessed four or five of ‘em going on. I marvelled at the elaborate costumes, although some couples chose more simpler clothing (but of course, still beautiful) for their big day.

K’s camera battery ran out of juice right as we arrived in Harajuku, but luckily, we didn’t see any wacky teenagers hanging around yet… I think it was too early in the day for them (typical). We hopped back on the train to Shinjuku and let Kevin loose in Yodobashi Camera to find a new battery and swipe a few rolls of film (“a few” is obviously an understatement).

Back to Harajuku, to find the plaza filled with teens dressed in their Sunday best. The Elegant Gothic Lolita look seems to be the style of choice for most young women, although a smattering of Goth types and Punk types were amongst them… plus a few unclassifiable types. As an added treat, there was a rock band performing (“Vanilla Soup”?), complete with choreographed groupies. Off to the side, a performance artist writhed away to the tunes… perhaps to the music in her head? Incredibly entertaining stuff, these kids. Oh shoot, did I just say “these kids”? I’m starting to feel old…

We wandered the streets of Harajuku, checking out the trendy little shops that seemed to supply the wardrobes of these teenagers. I was excited to find a lot of cool sock stores, but alas, forgot to go back and stock up. Oh well, I still have a single pair of Rusu Sokusu in my drawer here at home. I do believe we took a long walk up Omote-Sando to Shibuya, where we strolled around a little more, mostly window-shopping and people-watching. I think my feet were forming blisters by now. Bah!

I honestly don’t remember much about the evening… I think I was dead tired and we ended up falling asleep with the intention of getting up later and wandering the nearby busy streets of Ikebukuro. That’s okay… we got an early start the next morning.

The entirety of my Yoyogi and Harajuku photos are available here.

On Friday, K still had some work to do, so I spent most of the first part of the day catching up on sleep, and partaking in some really bizarre children’s television programming. I was surprised to find how many programs there were dedicated to teaching children English… I think that it’s a fine idea. There should be more programs like that in the states to teach kids foreign languages. I had lunch with K and his crew at a little hole in the wall near Meiji University in Surugadai (the used bookstore capital of Tokyo, in the Ochanomizu neighborhood). To eat here, you buy tickets with your desired meal printed on it at the front door from a vending machine, then present the ticket to the waitress once you are seated. I found that this is a common practice in many quick eateries.

We spent a chunk of the afternoon wandering around Shibuya, where we mingled in the massive crowds, and visited some pretty awesome stores with cool toys and bizarre fashions. K had to return to work in the late afternoon, so I was left to my own devices, and explored a little back in Ebisu… window shopping, stopping by the Saint-Germain Bakery (curry donuts! chizu chizu!), and stopping by the drugstore for some toothpaste and other boring things… but at least I got a glimpse of some Japanese candy (like Black Black Gum and Chocolate Collon).

On Saturday, we had a fun time in Asakusa. There are TONS of quaint local shops, restaurants, and arcades in the area leading towards the temple. After wandering the shops, sampling a freshly made senbei, and buying some entertaining Engrish-type shirts, we seeked out an Okonomiyaki restaurant along one of the main streets, as we had a craving that needed to be met. We struggled a bit with the menu as well as our Japanese language skills, but we managed to have a really tasty meal.

The temple is amazing, right in the middle of all this busy activity (including an amusement park right next to it!). It still maintains its beauty and integrity. A plethora of pigeons crowded the courtyards, hounding all of the tourists for purchased birdfeed. We witnessed some of the praying rituals at the temple (and of course, no cameras inside the temple itself), and marvelled at the architechture and sculpture all around.

Once again, it was time for a crowded and hot train ride back to the ryokan. I was pooping out pretty early every night… still jet lagged, perhaps?

The full collection of my photos from Asakusa are available here.

Yup, we’re back.

This being my first trip overseas, I learned the delights of long-distance air travel. Bad movies, painful knees, and noisy neighbors. After spending, oh, 18-20 hours in airports, airplanes, lobbies, and buses, I arrived at the hotel room that K’s company had put him in, located in Ebisu. After a well-needed shower (and discovering the washlet toilet), I pretty much passed out cold on the bed. It was probably around 7pm on Thursday night.

K arrived to fetch me at around 8:15 so I could join him and few co-workers at dinner, which he was sure I didn’t want to miss. He’s right, I didn’t… but I was so incredibly tired, it took a lot of coaxing (and patience on his part) to get me up and moving. We went to Szechwan Restaurant CHEN at the Cerulean Tower in Shibuya… which, you might guess, was owned by Iron Chef Chen Kenichi. I sleepily munched my way through at least 8 courses (I think it must have been 10), which I will add, were really awesome. Dishes worthy of an Iron Chef: Jellyfish appetizer, sashimi, Sparrow’s Nest Soup, tiny lobsters (with apples and chestnuts) in a cream sauce, Shark Fin & Crab Brain Soup, Szechwan Pork with caviar, and more… needless to say, we were thankful that the company was to foot the bill.

I passed out almost immediately after returning to the hotel, with a full stomach… happy that I was finally there, and a whole lot of fun awaited me in the coming days.