Sweden invades Japan

As fate would have it we had to travel to Tokyo to appreciate the Swedish phenom that is IKEA. One of my first nights here, as my eyes popped open at 4 am, I got online and discovered that after a failed attempt back in the '80s, IKEA returned to Japan with a grand opening in Nishi-Funabashi just outside Tokyo in April '06 - oh happy happy joy joy - cheap, yet stylish furniture was available in Tokyo! We headed out to the Tokyo burbs to roam the ginormous blue and yellow building, found some great deals, had 100 yen hotdogs and the items were delivered to our door a week later.

Here are a few pictures of our digs at the TOA Nishi Waseda Mansion (this sounds high-faluting, but mansion=concrete building). Behind the glass paneled door is the genkan, which is a little entranceway where we take off our shoes - this room also has a geta-bako, or shoe cupboard. We've got slippers to wear inside. From this view if you turn to your left you would see the kitchen, bathroom and toilet room (below). There is not much (any) counter space, but now that we have this steel bookcase, courtesy of IKEA, we moved the microwave and can use the top of the refrigerator for counterspace. Look closely and you'll see the little plastic stool inside the bathroom and you may notice the showerhead is waist-high - this is because you take a shower sitting on the stool! A new approach that has its advantages (perfect for leg shaving), but takes a little getting used to. In the other bathroom (a.k.a. the 'toire'), we've gone native and bought a pair of designated slippers for that room only. There are lots of shoes to keep track of over here! Next views show the bedroom and balcony, where we have flowers, tomatoes and basil going. The balcony gets great sun, as it faces south - this is the preferred orientation and you see directional signs on the layouts of apartment ads. Our morning glories are starting to creep up the railing and we're hoping for a bumper crop of blue. The floor of the bedroom is covered with tatami mats, which measure about 180 cm X 90 cm and are very cushy. Their smell is pretty distinct - sort of sweet and grassy. This last room is the study/guest room - perfect for visitors once the air mattress arrives!!

"The Sound of a Frog, Jumping Into an Old Pond"

Thus goes poet Basho's famous haiku, which is carved into a monument found at Kiyosumi Garden - today's destination. Actually, we headed out for the Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo (a.k.a. MOT) this morning and took in a fascinating exhibition from the Cartier Fondation (their spelling, not ours). Great space and eclectic pieces. Some were so contemporary they were even annoying. You know how it goes. (If you haven't figured it out, this is Pete writing, by the way.) It was a nice way to spend an otherwise dreary (weather-wise) Sunday morning.

Some favorite pieces in the show included works by Liza Lou, Erina Matsui, Beaurin Domercq, Tony Oursler, Nan Goldin, Rinko Kawauchi, and Sarah Sze. One of the coolest pieces was the work featured on the poster by Ron Mueck- it is hard to see in the photo but it was an enormous, remarkably life-like sculpture of a woman in bed (called "In Bed"). It was freakishly realistic with hair, veins and eyes that looked like they would blink at any moment.

On our way back to the subway station, we decided to take a detour and check out Kiyosumi Garden, and we're glad we did. The sky began to clear as we walked through the front gate. The garden is said to be the former residence of Edo period business muckety-muck Kinokuniya Bunzaemon, and was later the personal playground of Mitsubishi founder Iwazaki Yataro. Suffice it to say, the garden is first rate and purports to be one of nine "Gardens of Tokyo," the remaining eight of which we are now, officially, in search of. Here are some of our pictures and links to a few more.

Thursday at Meiji Shrine

The weather was perfect today (rare these days as the rainy season approaches), so I wagged my afternoon classes and we hopped the Yamanote line down to Harajuku to see Meiji Shrine. It's dedicated to the deified spirits of Emperor Meiji and Empress Shoken, who held sway back in the late 1800s. Though flattened in WWII, it's been rebuilt exactly the way it was and it's my favorite place (so far) in Tokyo. We visited the Empress's fishing pond and an iris garden (alas, the irises don't bloom until June), and prayed for a good year in Japan. Here are some pictures and a link to some other images.

These are tablets you can use (i.e. buy for 500 yen) to offer a personal prayer. They're hung around a very majestic tree.

Sake containers on the way to the main shrine. Sake bottles?

Q. Why do some Shinto shrines (e.g., Meiji Shrine and one of the temples on top of Mt. Takao) have stacks of empty sake containers on their grounds or just outside the main hall?

A. They are offerings to the two different aspects of Shinto gods: Nigimitama and Aramitama. According to Shinto doctrine, Aramitama is a wild energy which causes human suffering and is somewhat similar to the Chinese concept of yang. Nigimitama is a peaceful energy similar to the Chinese concept of yin. Sacred sake, known as omiki, is offered in order to appease Aramitama and thank Nigimitama in one of many rituals which are designed to balance the two forces.

One of many enormous torii gates on the way into the main shrines.

Lori in the main temple courtyard. (Guess who's the better photographer?)

Stay tuned for more Moshi-Moshi Monkey. Later!

Lori Made It!

After two months on different continents, Lori and I are finally together in Japan. She (and her things) made it safely to Tokyo this past Tuesday, and I met her and brought her home from Narita airport. This first week has been a blur for us both but it's gone pretty smoothly. She's been able to sleep and is chipping away at the jet-lag. She's handling it better than I ever have.

On Wednesday, she tracked down an IKEA in the suburbs, so we hit it last Friday. It may have been the biggest store either of us have ever seen in our lives. (Still not sure why it took a trip to Japan for us to discover IKEA?) The upside: We have a new table & chairs on route to our apartment.

Yesterday, we went to watch day 14 of the May sumo tournament. I was happy to see that my favorite wrestler, Kaio, is still competing. Sadly, he got his butt kicked by Kotooshuu, who pulled the old yori taoshi, or frontal crush-out. Basically, Kotooshuu floored Kaio outside of the ring -- it wasn't pretty.

Alas, our camera battery conked out before the festivities began, but we were able to snap a few shots before heading inside. The flags represent the different sumo heya, or stables. Not exactly sure who the wrestler is but he competes in the top division. A friend should be sending us the pictures she took, so we'll add those sometime soon.

P.S. The tournament wrapped up today and Hakuho won. He's Mongolian, so I'm sure my classmate Davuka will be all smiles tomorrow. Here's a link to the sumo association's website. Enjoy!