Tokyo Midtown

[Melisande]

Oh Softie, it's really true about patience. And respect. If we lose our patience and respect and noble humility we are no longer Japanese. Puccini knew it so well; the whole of Madame Butterfly is based on this; there is the humming chorus which just describes so beautifully the Japanese attitude of patience.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0f1k14GQmNE

True about the changing rooms; I always wear slip-on shoes when going shopping. Or visiting people. And the insoles have to be fresh, lol!

I totally agree about the level of service...I really miss that in Paris too (some may say no surprise?? ) and it almost hurts when people say "You're welcome" like that. You know, it means a lot to me/us that you appreciated this, because it is so important to us yet often misunderstood. In Japan taking good care of guests and customers is considered a reflection of noble character, and the receiver of the service is also expected to show honor, gratitude and respect. Showing off is also considered vulgar, so we don't. Sometimes, unfortunate people misinterpret the good service and humility as proof of their own superiority and entitlement, which is just embarrassing.

Wait a second, I'm really glad you got to know Tokyo so deeply and so well, but it just struck me, did you not go to Kyoto...??

Cairo was a whole different can o' worms... The history is just. mind-boggling. The people are warm and cheery and friendly.

 

[runner]

thanks guys, have to be a better guide next time

the people continue to be the most interesting part of japan...

this is the greatest comment you could give to japan.
to tell the truth, you cannot expect ordinary people living there to explain, for instance, what zeami is exactly about. most japanese cannot answer immediately as you put that kind of question to them.
basically they haven't had to verbalize japanese spirit because they are themselves japanese and it's not like japanese-ness comes from any definition or explanation after all.

most of them don't know even geisha while they know of it or might have seen it. I cannot tell you about it from firsthand experience since I have never been entertained by true geisha.
many of them are not able to wear kimono properly on their own. although they may still have some kimono in their wardrobe, practically they only have it as fertilizer there.
as mentioned in the previous page, lots of good old charming stuff is gone. it's sad, but no one can stop those changes necessity generates. some things have to be regenerated, in response to that need of everyday people living in japan, who is what has made it japanese.

 

[softgrey]

um...no melisande...
i didn't go to kyoto......
i was thinking that i would, and then i switched the idea to nagano, but in the end, i elected to spend more time with my friends and to dive deeper into tokyo without rushing through things...
i really should have stayed a week longer...
if i had been there for three weeks, that would have been ideal and i would have been able to do all the things that i would have liked to do...
my friends thought i was crazy, at first- and maybe i am...
but once i made the decision to come back, it was actually much more relaxing and we were able to have a nice visit without stressing about fitting everything into the time available...
this way i was able to do more things in tokyo like visit a pottery class and cook dinner at home, etc...
shopping for food was fun!
i finally understand the purple japanese yam! and there were mushrooms for days!
i love mushrooms!!!
plus i was bowled over by the giant fruit and all the fresh figs!
i saw loach swimming around in a barrel and cuttlefish swimming in a tank, plus you guys have different species of crab that i had never seen!

while i was on my friends' balcony- i met a giant green beetle, another funny large brown speckled bug that i had seen when i was in the tropics, and two very large and very green praying mantis'...
...

i was shocked by some giant persimmon trees growing in the heart of tokyo, which were so loaded with fruit that the branches were bending down to touch the roofs of the buildings...

i took a ride out to the suburbs and went to a mall where we had lunch in the food court... there was a sink to wash your hands and damp cloths to clean your tables!
the japanese really have a thing about cleaning...
...
i watched so many shop owners and such sweeping the street with their short handled, slanted brooms! i really wanted to buy one of those!
i watched some gardeners trimming some trees in their wide pants and tabi boots with a cloth ties on their heads...
TABI BOOTS~~!!!
i shopped for vintage kimono and learned a bunch of stuff about how to wear one and what the different styles are about...
i even bought an under kimono thing (nagajuban?)...in RED with a white collar! so nice...

i practiced being japanese (patient) when i had to return an item and it took more than one hour while they repeatedly told me that i could not return it, and i insisted that i could and they took me from one floor to another and consulted each other over and over about how to do it in the computer...
it took about five people in the end, and i went with them from the first floor, to the sixth floor for about 1/2 hour, and then back down to the first floor again...
while one of them was explaining to me that i could only exchange it, another one went off somewhere and finally came back and knew how to do it, much to the surprise of the person who was busy convincing me to buy something else...
...
i had to keep telling myself to be patient, but i am afraid that my impatience was quite obvious in my face even if i was able to control my voice...
.........
i understood exactly what was going on and why they wanted to do an exchange rather than a refund (it was a purchase from the regulation pop up shop which was no longer there) but that wasn't my problem, so i just kept saying 'no'.
i knew they would understand that very clearly...no...no...no...
and i know that japanese people do not say 'no' very often, so by simply saying it, that was enough to clearly express my firm attitude on the subject...

it was fine in the end...but it took FOREVER...

so, yeah---next year i plan to go to kyoto and nagano for sure...
i must go to the monkey park- that is something i want to see for sure!
the temples are nice and all, and i am definitely interested in the history of the country, but i am really most interested in how people live today...

for example- i found the way people hang their washing out to be very interesting...
and even the clothespins and clamps are different and interesting...
and how groceries are packed~!

i spent so much time inspecting everything at family mart and seven eleven for this reason...all the luxury items are fine and good and so are the pretty sights...but that's not the whole picture of life in japan...
even just watching the way people move was interesting...
the japanese are so quiet and so FAST...

for me- the most interesting thing about visiting a place is to understand what it is like to actually live there...
that is why it was so great having you guys help me find stuff...
and also to explain and answer questions...

my friends have been there numerous times and have lived there for about a year now, and i was explaining things to them that they didn't even know!
you really can't get this kind of stuff out of a book!- you have to talk to people who are from there and also, people who have similar interests and tastes...

for example- years ago runner explained how the past was existing alongside the future/present and that it was all moving so fast that it was almost confusing for the people living in tokyo...
i could not have learned this from anyone but a person who had grown up in tokyo and had this personal experience...
so when i got there, i saw it from that perspective...
and very quickly i understood exactly what this meant...
it was all there in front of me...
so i looked for the old and i looked for the new and i tried to understand and to feel how they combined to create this world i was in...
sometimes it made my head spin, because there was so much at once...
it was exhausting...
but it was so exciting, as well...
i tried to be a sponge and absorb everything...
but there was too much...
i thought it might be the only time i ever visit japan, so i was trying to take it all in...
but now i know it is only the first time...
it has to be...there is still just too much to explore...
it's exactly how i felt the first time i went to paris...
...

i'm going to take some japanese language class so that next time i can speak to people a bit more...and understand more of what is on all the loudspeakers!
this time i could only speak about as well as my friends' 5 yr old son...
...

the loudspeakers were a bit of a shock, frankly...
especially in a place where people are so quiet...
that seemed like a strong contradiction!
lots of contradictions, actually...
quite fascinating!

 

[softgrey]

thanks guys, have to be a better guide next time



this is the greatest comment you could give to japan.
to tell the truth, you cannot expect ordinary people living there to explain, for instance, what zeami is exactly about. most japanese cannot answer immediately as you put that kind of question to them.
basically they haven't had to verbalize japanese spirit because they are themselves japanese and it's not like japanese-ness comes from any definition or explanation after all.

most of them don't know even geisha while they know of it or might have seen it. I cannot tell you about it from firsthand experience since I have never been entertained by true geisha.
many of them are not able to wear kimono properly on their own. although they may still have some kimono in their wardrobe, practically they only have it as fertilizer there.
as mentioned in the previous page, lots of good old charming stuff is gone. it's sad, but no one can stop those changes necessity generates. some things have to be regenerated, in response to that need of everyday people living in japan, who is what has made it japanese.

so, what is zeami exactly?


i remember years ago i was asking you about geisha, runner...
and you said you really did not know much and never really see them...

i don't know if i will ever wear my kimono...
they may wind up as fertilizer in my closet as well...

but i am determined to try- even if i have to make some kind of alteration in order to wear them with my western clothing...

 

[softgrey]

another thing that i noticed is that everyone wears their shoes a bit too big...
i guess that makes it easier to take them on and off and it also allows for the insoles that everyone seems to wear there...

but it looks a bit funny to see very well dressed girls with their high heels who cannot walk properly because they are falling out of their shoes so they have to sort of bend forward and shuffle a bit...
......

it does explain a bit why it has been difficult for me to decide what size shoes to buy from japanese designers because the japanese clearly have a different idea of what the right size shoe is...
...

 

[runner]

thank you for the report softgrey
glad it seems that you got to see things slowly enough to discover the purple yam.
but I didn't expect you to find and collect the fruit of the only plant the law here designates as deleterious substance, of all plants in japan. sasuga your sense must have caught something strong in it. a captain has to be yabai.


if you felt that there was something beneath the apearance or what you call surface, that might have been because the particular allusive surface spoke of the hidden by means of the hidden.
with that kind of stuff, zeami could give us some hints, sometimes likening secrets to flower.
he is a speaker of a clue, for example, as to why something looks good on someone while it doesn't on another, through the way of entertaining. he talks about the line.

it would be great if you could find a way for kimono to survive with your clothes.
over here maybe lots of japanese regard kimono too precious, which results in their separation in everyday life. so some designers are trying to make it easy and accessible, and connect it and its elements to the future.

from somarta S/S 2014
in the last pic, the designer is wearing what she calls kimono dress from the collection.

fashionjp
asahi

 

[runner]

kyouenstore
nikkei
niwashido

 

[luckyme]

well--more like a tour guide...

did you two finally meet?

 

[vetements]

Zeami refers to the people who started the kabuki, around the 1550s, also check out kan ami, hope this helps...
Glad you enjoyed Tokyo too...

 

[softgrey]

thanks vetements...
hope you are feeling better now!

thanks for the kimono inspiration runner...
i confess that i am reluctant to cut the kimono short because so often much of the details are around the hem of the garment...
i did purposely find one that is just the same print all over and i plan to cut that one shorter...

i hate to cut off the sleeves---they are such a beautiful feature!
but the dress looks so good on the designer...
hmmm...
maybe i can cut one into a jacket and some sort of short dress...
yes-this definitely gives me ideas...
domo arigato gozaimasu...
...

i'll have to think about that some more...

i have been watching some older japanese films from the 60's and even a silent film from the 30's...
amazing!

one thing that i noticed is that the men quickly tie up the sleeves of their jackets as they are about to start fighting...
the men are always fighting somehow!......
sometimes they fight other men, sometimes they fight ghosts...
but they always are ready to fight!

anyway-i noticed mostly because i always think that kimonos are not the most practical things to wear...so much fabric and so many layers...
seems like it would be very warm---which explains everyone carrying fans!...
...
also seems like the sleeves would get caught or in the way when doing even basic things...

and then i noticed the tying thing...
makes sense...but, again...seems rather inconvenient...
...

i confess, i love the gardener outfits...sooooo much!!!...
.........

 

[softgrey]

i'm also watching NHK every day now, so i am seeing japanese recipes and programs on different regions of japan and the general news about japan and asia...
some great programs...
they even mentioned zeami- so now i now how to pronounce it!...ha!

i made a mushroom and chicken hotpot today from a recipe i saw on that show...
i was inspired by all the gorgeous mushrooms i saw in tokyo so i went to the asian market and got several varieties which i had never made before...
i learned that japanese do not cut mushrooms, but they tear them instead in order for there to be more surface area for the flavour to absorb into...
i never heard of anyone doing that before, but it was really cool and fun to do!...

oishii......

 

[softgrey]

another interesting thing i did was visit some vintage clothing stores in harajuku...
mostly the vintage clothing is from the west!...
looked very american to me...though some is surely from europe...
lots of levis and plaid flannel shirts right now...lol...
wearing a plaid flannel bathrobe as a jacket seems to be a trend...
very 'grunge/nirvana'......
and so many boys and girls are wearing little knit caps, like a lumberjack...
...

but my favourite rack of clothing was a bunch of vintage dresses from the 1960's/70's... all very western...
lots of nice prints and colours...
i could imagine some lovely young japanese ladies wearing them during that period...
i would have liked to have found one that i could wear...

there was one men's vintage shop i went into that just specialized in american vintage things...
it was really nice...

i also found a shop on cat street that does secondhand designer stuff...
though i don't remember the name now...
i know i read about it somewhere in this thread though because i recognised the name and that is why i went in- though i could not remember what was said about it here...
turned out to be a jackpot of comme des garcons pieces from previous collections along with a bunch of other designer stuff...
i didn't get anything there, but it was a really cool and fun shopping experience...
one guy who worked there was wearing a skirt, which i liked...

one thing that no one has talked about with regards to shopping is what people say in the shops when you enter..

what are they saying? and what are you supposed to say back?
i know they are greeting you and that sort of thing, which i am familiar with...
but many say "sumimasen"...why is this?
doesn't that mean sorry or excuse me?
what are they apologizing for? i don't get that...
......

i noticed that a lot of locals just don't respond......
what would be the considered an appropriate response, kudasai?

 

[runner]

one thing that no one has talked about with regards to shopping is what people say in the shops when you enter..

what are they saying? and what are you supposed to say back?
i know they are greeting you and that sort of thing, which i am familiar with...
but many say "sumimasen"...why is this?
doesn't that mean sorry or excuse me?
what are they apologizing for? i don't get that...
......

i noticed that a lot of locals just don't respond......
what would be the considered an appropriate response, kudasai?

when you enter, a shop would normally say irasshaimase.
but even an abnormal shop would not say sumimasen. if they say sumimasen on your entrance, that should be because they are not prepared yet or it is outside of their business hours.
basically irasshaimase is now an automatic phrase used specifically by the shops, restaurants, etc. there is no particular conventional response to irassahimase. it is an expression of welcome. but in actuality if you say to them thanks for welcoming me, that should sound a bit too much or even stupid. so if you think you need to say something after irasshaimase, konnichiwa with a smile would be nice.
formally you as a guest/customer would say gomenkudasai, and in response to that, they say irasshaimase.
so it's okay even though nothing follows irasshaimase.
today the relation is not exactly like you are a guest and they are a host. it's more casual and random in most cases. gomenkudasai at the entrance of uniqlo would definitely be too stiff when they are ready anytime and anyone can enter at any timing as long as it's business hours.

sumimasen used in the shops can mostly be heard from you instead of them when you need some help.
but that sumimasen doesn't mean apology especially, while as you know sumimasen can also be what you would say when you apologize. the sumimasen in question is more of "thanks in advance" really.
many japanese words, phrases, or expressions are about double meaning.
for instance, although appare is a word for brilliant, appare means what sad means at the same time, at heart.
you might recognize this in yohji's work. when he does something obviously brilliant, something you can call appare, he is expressing certain kind of sadness. if he does something blatantly humorous, that's because he is meaning to be serious or even angry.

when the place is more private like a little boutique where your sales assistant is also the shop owner, they might say konnichiwa. that can happen too when they know you well. then, your response would be konnichiwa as well. or anything will do. for example, if you are from NY, hi, hello, whatever. of course it is possible and great for you to say hi before their greeting.

 

[softgrey]

ok- so maybe my japanese is not so good after all...
mostly i could not understand what they were saying...
but in one shop there was this one girl who definitely was saying sumimasen...
and i am sure because she said it repeatedly...
so i guess i thought that is what they were all saying...

and, yes- mostly i just smiled or said hi or hello...
and when i left i always said arigato goazaimasu- whether i purchased something or not...

i think my favourite thing was the expression on their faces when i would come out of the dressing room or something and shake my head and say "chisai"...
that always surprised people and made them giggle...
i guess they did not expect a gaijin to know that word-
plus- it's just such a cute word...
...

but that is a word i know well...


you know what i can't believe...
i never went to isetan!!!
...

and i don't even care...

i am sad to have missed lift though......
that will have to be for next time...

wore my new YY hat today...
rock n roll baby...rock n roll...

 

[softgrey]

when i was buying those vintage kimono, the woman was explaining things in english...
and i said "wakatta"...
and then she started speaking completely in nihongo!
...

i think she thought i meant that i spoke japanese!
yipes!
so then i said- wakaranai...
and she went back to english...
...

that was pretty funny!

 

[vetements]

when i was buying those vintage kimono, the woman was explaining things in english...
and i said "wakatta"...
and then she started speaking completely in nihongo!
...

i think she thought i meant that i spoke japanese!
yipes!
so then i said- wakaranai...
and she went back to english...
...

that was pretty funny!

Hahaha, this is hilarious!
I have recovered well, soft, happy to see that you seem to have thoroughly enjoyed Japan. Whilst Tokyo is a nice city to be in, and probably Japanese enough, I strongly recommend Kyoto or even Nara, sometimes I feel that is what real Japan is about...

 

[runner]

saw travel-themed photo series in the evening edition of the asahi today.
it's lovely and found the web version.
here are some of them


images from asahi

 

[runner]

....

 

[softgrey]

very nice...
thanks runner---will check out the rest online...

here is a sample of some snacks found at the minimart...
i think this was at family mart...
dried squid on a stick!
i have had dried squid or cuttlefish before...
there is one kind that is especially found in most asian groceries here...
but it is the first time i have seen it this way...
fascinating!

 

[softgrey]

FYI-
regarding small lifestyle items that japan does better than most places...
i got these while i was over there and i have to say that i really recommend them...
http://global.rakuten.com/en/store/sunstone-1/item/371222/

i got some here in nyc that peeled off my shoes the first time i wore them...

but these are really good...
i got three packs and i wish i had gotten more...

i also found that they do them for men and those would probably be great for a pair of boots- so look for those as well...