In between all of the delicious meals, and Zimas, I have found time for some culture in Tokyo. It hasn’t all been museums and temples though, for me culture here has been about flowers, baseball, and singing…and 1 temple and 1 garden, actually.

   

One of the things I was hoping to be able to learn about while in Japan was Ikebana, the traditional art of Japanese flower arranging. I love flower shops and arrangements, and the little I knew about ikebana intrigued me because the arrangements were so beautiful and yet so different than anything I had ever done. I found a woman who does classes, and just my luck it ended up being a private lesson. My teacher, Reika, told me that similar to Home Ec class in the States, Ikebana was once taught to girls in school, and was thought to be one of the main skills desired for an arranged marriage. Reika showed me 3 different types of ikebana arrangements, before I was to try one of them myself. Line, shape, and space are all extremely important in ikebana – most arrangement are an exercise in the beauty of minimalism. The style of my arrangement was of the slanted Moribana persuasion. 3 main stems, of different lengths, and at different angles, provide the basis for this type of arrangement in a low, shallow vase. I have seen arrangements in this style before, but never understood that there were rules that govern the final product. Upon learning said rules, I was pretty nervous, thinking I wouldn’t be able to figure it all out, but I have to admit I felt good about my final product…and my teacher did say I have “natural ability”…I guess I can always fall back on these beginner’s skills should I need them :). What do you think, not too bad, right?!

                                                      

My brother is a big baseball fan, so I grew up a fan too. I wanted to go to a game in Japan to see what the experience was like there, and turns out it’s different from games here. In fact, it reminded me more of Michigan football games than it did a Dodger Game. There were constant cheers and instruments being played. Girls with mini kegs on their backs, like backpacks, sold beers throughout the stands. And umbrellas were opened and raised with each run that scored. In fact, teams have mini souvenir umbrellas for just this purpose. Luckily, it had rained on and off that day, so we had our umbrellas in tow and could participate. The Swallows stadium is right in the heart of the city – we walked from my brother’s apartment. I always think it adds to the experience when you can walk right up to the game and be in a totally different environment from everything else around it. The Swallows won – just the cherry on top of an overall really fun time.

  

I couldn’t leave Japan without some Karaoke!! Some of you know that karaoke is a favorite pastime of mine, especially with my brother, who is actually good at it, so it was imperative that we had a fun night out in a private room. Luckily, Josephine was in for the fun, and we also met up with 2 friends who were visiting from LA, so we had a bigger group than just us. We all met up in Golden Gai, a network of small alleys and passageways stuffed with something like 200 bars, in the Shinjuku area of the city. The bars are tiny, many holding just a handful of patrons at a time. We visited 2 different bars before heading out for some karaoke. Our group of 5 sang everything from Disney anthems to classics from the 80s up to present. I think I could have continued to sing for hours and hours, but we had a pretty good session as is. A very, very fun night indeed!!

  

In addition to all the fun typical Japanese activities, there was also one major temple I wanted to visit in the city. Sensoji is the oldest and biggest temple in Tokyo. The huge lanterns at the gates that sort of serve as the entrance, are iconic throughout Japan. I paid 100 yen (80 cents usd) to visit an o-mikuji (random fortune) stall where I consulted an oracle in the form of a metal container. You shake the metal container to free a stick labeled with a number that corresponds to a drawer with a fortune in it. My fortune was titled ‘The Best Fortune,’ what a relief! Apparently some of them are actually ‘curses’ so I was happy to get a fortune, let alone one of the best caliber. My fortunes in Japan have been very positive – I’m feeling good about the future!

          

Last but not least -The Imperial Gardens. Very large and beautiful, I love the views of these gardens with the city skyline backdrop – just a little bit of peace and quiet in this packed city. I love the way Japanese gardens are pruned – the aesthetic is so simple and yet so beautiful. I think “cloud pruning” is actually a term used for this style, which reminds me of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon with battles taking place jumping from branch to branch, or “cloud to cloud” high up in the trees. I don’t think it’s easy to capture this look in pictures, and that has bothered me throughout the trip, but some of these wide shots do it a little justice.

    

There is so much to do and see here, and I’m so glad I’ve had the time here to do it all. More food and fashion to come…