Rebirth through sakura (さくらを通じて復活)

Then, something changed: I opened my eyes, and my dream came true. It was the day the winds stood still, and the cherry blossoms shook their petals and bestowed all of their enchantment upon me.

And then I knew that I had touched perfection. This is my Nirvana, the land of my desire…

They say spring is the season of revival, when nature is reborn and a new cycle begins. But I say you’ve never known spring until you have seen it in Japan. Like many other things, Japan takes spring to a whole different level. Or better yet, Japan makes spring be, well… spring!

I’ve always dreamt of spring in Japan. Ever since I can remember, in my daily fantasies about Japan, I’ve always pictured myself standing in a garden surrounded  by blooming sakura trees, with petals gracefully flying around me taken by the gentle caress of the wind to the deep blue sky.

And there I was, standing underneath these monuments of pure enchantment, the sakura trees witnessed my endless elation. (I’m complete!) was my first thought at the sight of such immense greatness.

This Saturday me and a few members of WIC (Waseda International Club) went to do Hanami. Hanami (花見 lit. “flower viewing”) is the Japanese traditional custom of enjoying the transient beauty of cherry blossoms.

An imperturbable harmony rules upon this kingdom of sunrise, with the young and old coming together to celebrate the rebirth of their souls under the shelter of the cherry blossoms.

 

We spent a lovely afternoon and enjoyed the perfect weather, after which we went to Shibuya for okonomiyaki. It was my first time trying it and I was thrilled to end such a wonderful days with my friends from WIC. I feel blessed to be part of such an amazing community and I cannot stop rejoicing over how lucky I am to be friends with them. Thank you so much!

Till dawn,

Tokyo Gaijin

 

その後、何かが変わっ：私は私の目を開け、私の夢が叶いました。それは風が静止する日で、桜が彼らの花びらを横に振ったし、私に彼らの魅力のすべてを授け。

そして私は、私は完璧に触れたことを知っていた。これは私のニルヴァーナ、私が夢の中に見た世界。

春は性質が生まれ変わって、新しいサイクルが開始されます復活の季節、あると言う。しかし、私はあなたが日本でそれを見ているまで、あなたが春を知らなかった事があります。他の多くのものと同様に、日本は全く違うレベルに春を取る。春のことも同じ感じです。

私はいつも、日本の春を夢見てきました。私が覚えて以来、日本についての私の日々の空想で、私はいつもの花びらが優雅に私は深い青色の空を、風の穏やかな愛撫で撮影した周辺に飛んで、桜の木が咲いに囲まれた庭に立って自分自身を描いてきました。

そしてそこに、私は純粋な魔法のこれらのモニュメントの下に立って、桜の木が私の無限の高揚感を目撃しました。 （私は完全なんだよ！ ）このような巨大な偉大さの光景を見て私が最初に考えていた。

今週の土曜日、私とWIC （早稲田大学国際クラブ）の少数のメンバーは、花見をしに行きました。花見（花见点灯。 「花見」）は、桜の過渡美しさを楽しむ日本の伝統的な習慣である。
動じない調和が老いも若きもが桜の避難所の下で彼らの魂の復活を祝うために一緒に来て、日の出のこの王国の際のルール。

私たちは素敵な午後を過ごしたし、我々はお好み焼き渋谷に行ってきましたし、その後、完璧な天候を楽しんだ。それは私の初めてそれをしようとしていたと私は、WICからの私の友人とこのような素晴らしい日を終了するには感激した。私はこのような素晴らしいコミュニティの一員であることを祝福に感じ、私は彼らと友達になり私どのように幸運を介して喜びを停止することはできません。どうもありがとうございます！

日の出まで、

東京外人

The secret to happiness

Do you know how the people who have fulfilled their dreams look at life? Don’t dismiss me on the grounds that this might sound arrogant, just bear with me for a minute.

I was looking at pictures of my friends on Facebook. Some of them are engaged, some are even married with children! And we’re all just 21 years old! At first, for an overachiever like me, who cannot imagine living without attaining her goals, it seemed like ‘settling’. And that is something that I never wanted to do. To settle for the easy way out, a comfortable job, no high demands, no struggling. If at this age I was married with children, probably back in my hometown, I would consider myself a failure.

But then I realized, while looking at my friends’ pictures, that failing or fulfilling one’s dream is in the eye of the beholder. There are many who find fulfillment in building a family first, and then proceeding to build a career and so on. Then there are the ones like me, restless and impatient, constantly looking for a challenge, who from an early age have only dreamt of conquering the world. SO who are we to judge?

There is no one definition of happiness. The secret is to find your own path and pursue it. Be happy with who you are and where you are right now. Because it’s you who made the choices that brought you here. No matter what social norms tell you.

Live your dream! Be happy!

Till dawn,

Tokyo Gaijin

Yokohama & China town (横浜と中華街)

I had the most amazing time on Sunday! I’ve been meaning to post about it but I’ve been so busy recently. Spring is really starting to make its presence known in the city and within our hearts. The cherry trees are blooming, the flowers shower us with their alluring scent and our hearts are reborn together with all of nature. In this all encompassing scenery of delight, me and Alex decided to escape the hustle and bustle of Tokyo and hopped on the first train to Yokohama (if you take the express it’s roughly 25 minutes!!).

It’s a kind of Snoopy face 🙂

We’ve been meaning to visit it for a while, especially the Chinese town because it’s very famous. And so did other 34475454588 people, because what else is there to do on a Sunday?!

I for one am not much of a crowd lover, especially since I’ve been living in Tokyo. So we quickly made our way through the streets dominated by noodles and chestnuts scent (very peculiar combo of smells), grabbed a traditional Chinese lunch, and went to the port.

This is where the whole scene changed. The gentle breeze caressed us as we walked along the seafront, admiring all the ships docked in the port.

Yokohama bay has a different vibe; a pleasant warm fuzzy feeling fills you up instantly when you get there, it’s like you’re suddenly on vacation. There are bridges along the shore from where you can gaze far across the port and see the horizon embracing the ocean.

  

I was very happy to be there, I think that from now on I’ll make Yokohama my getaway place. I recommend it to everyone who lives in Tokyo!

Till dawn,

Tokyo Gaijin

Act of Betrayal by Sekine Masaru (関根勝様の裏切り行為）

Yesterday I had the distinct honor to watch master Sekine Masaru’s retirement performance at the National Noh Theatre in Sendagaya. I cannot express how much it means for me to watch a Noh and Kyogen master’s live performance, and his last one!

It was breathtaking. He welcomed us dressed in a simple black kimono, traditional for Noh theatre. When I first walked in it felt as though I had stepped right into the 14th century, in the Muromachi period. Surrounded by a sea of light colored kimonos stood my professor. It is such an honor and privilege to be able to say that he, the great Sekine Masaru 関根　勝, was my theatre teacher. I will forever hold the memories of his classes in my heart. It was a unique chance for me to be able to take his class just before his retirement. I approached him timidly, and when he finally looked at me, I lost all my words. What do you say when you stand in front of a God? You can but pray that your insignificant existence does not even disturb one ray of light, one gust of wind that surrounds him.

The performance hall was enchanting. So humble in its appearance, yet every edge of the wooden stage is perfectly polished, and every light is adjusted so that a surreal atmosphere is created. The actors take precise steps on the stage, each of them is predetermined and directed so that the scenes have a subtle harmony. I was honored beyond words to watch such a magnificent display of greatness.

The play was set in Kyushu, in the late 1620s, during the Tokugawa oppression against Christians. It depicts various forms of betrayal, all in the name of Christianity. The believers are asked to give up their faith or else face execution. The first one to betray his God was the priest, and against all expectations, Rosa (the nun) and the lady of the land choose to sacrifice their lives instead of their belief.

Professor Masaru Sekine was born into a Noh family and his father, elder brother and other members of his family are prominent performers of the Kanze school. Professor Sekine also trained as a Noh performer until he decided to pursue his academic study in England at the age of thirty. He spent 25 years there, becoming a distinguished member of the Royal Society of Arts (U.K.) and the Association of Classical Society (U.K.). He is world-renown for his adaptations of Shakespeare’s tragedies in Kyogen style. Sekine Masaru has built a cultural bridge for the East and West to meet through his outstanding theatre plays and research.

Yesterday, when he stood on stage among all the actors taking his final bow, an overwhelming serenity dawned upon the room. It was a once in a lifetime opportunity to have the greatest honor of watching a God in all his might and glory.

Thank you 関根勝様 from the bottom of my heart!

Till dawn,

Tokyo Gaijin

Pray for Japan! Do not forget the Tohoku disaster in 11/03/2011!

Today is the 3rd Anniversary of the triple disasters: earthquake, tsunami and nuclear meltdown. 2,636 people are still missing, and the recognized death toll is 15,884. About 267,000 are still living in cramped temporary housing facilities.

 

Please pray for HOPE to come, that the Japanese would know they are not abandoned, they are not alone!
The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit. (Psalm 34:18 NIV)

Till dawn,

Tokyo Gaijin

Hina Matsuri “doll festival” (ひな祭り)

The Hina Matsuri or Doll Festival or Girl’s Festival is celebrated on March 3. On this day, families with girls wish their daughters a successful and happy life. Dolls are displayed in the house together with peach blossoms. The doll festival has its origin in a Chinese custom in which bad fortune is transferred to dolls and then removed by abandoning the doll on a river. On Hina Matsuri, sweet sake is drunken and chirashi sushi is eaten.

The ”hina dolls” (雛人形, hina ningyo) are only displayed when a family has a daughter. Usually a set is handed down from generation to generation or the grandparents or parents will buy one for a girl’s first Hina Matsuri (初節句, hatsuzekku)! A complete set with traditional dolls can be extremely expensive! There is a superstition that the daughter of the house will have a hard time finding a marriage partner if the dolls aren’t put away in the evening of March 3rd!

Beautiful costumes of the Heian period are worn by the hina dolls, representing the Emperor, Empress, attendants, and musicians. They are displayed on a stand (ひな壇, hinadan) that is often covered with a red carpet. The platform can have several levels (up to 7). The most common ones are one-, five- and seven-tiered stands.

Special dishes for Hina Matsuri

As for most festivals in Japan there are also some special dishes for Hina Matsuri.

The traditional colors for this festival are white,　green and pink (or red). White is for purification, green stands for health and pink (red) will chase away evil spirits.

“Hishimochi” (菱餅) are diamond-shaped rice cakes with exactly those three colors! “Sakuramochi” (桜餅, bean paste-filled rice cakes with cherry leaves) is also eaten (see photo).

昔は五つの節句があり、平安時代、貴族の間では、それぞれの季節の節目の身の汚れを祓う大切な行事でした。上巳の節句に人形 （ひとがた）または形代（かたしろ）とよぶ草木、あるいは紙やわ らでつくった人形に、自分の災厄をうつして海や川に流す「流し雛」と、平安時代にはじまるお人形遊び「ひいな遊び」とが、長い間に結びついたのが、現在の「ひなまつり」です。

　海老などの縁起のいい海鮮類がたくさん。さくらでんぶと錦糸玉子で、女の子らしい彩りに。

 

ハマグリはペアの殻以外とは形が合わないことにちなみ、女の子の良縁を願う縁起物。

また日の出、

東京外人

This Shiba Inu and his kitty best friend are too adorable to ignore!【Photos】

Japan definitely has the most adorable animals in the world! ^_^

Back to the basics

I know it’s been a while since I last posted. My apologies. While everyone has been busy travelling all around Japan and East Asia, I escaped for a month back to Europe. I may not be the most common thing to do for year abroad students, but I needed it. Meeting all my family and friends after 6 months of absence was a bliss.

I feel like I was home for a lot longer than one month, maybe because so many things happened

.

To kick it off I met with my cousin in Val Thorens in France for a week of skiing and fun with his friends. This is the same ski resort where my favourite F1 driver, Michael Schumacher, had a terrible accident two months ago. 

 Next stop on the agenda was, of course, Romania!

The fun part of it was that nobody was expecting me home, so it was a real surprise when I winded up on their door step just like: hey! how’s it going?

Between family time and catching up with all my friends, I had the pleasure to enjoy the company of my English teacher whom I love and respect, thanks for meeting with me Teach! For some reason this was a week dominated by mulled wine and sheesha which I am going to miss a lot!

One VIP that I could not omit on my list was obviously the one and only Tide the TideHunter. For those of you who don’t know him, although I brag about him constantly, I’m talking about our Terra Nova puppy. He’s recently got acquainted with a lot of cats, because as you can observe he is a very vicious and ferocious young fella.

 

And what kind of Eurotrip would this be without checking London town off the list? My home away from home, as I call it, but really this time I felt more at home than ever. My social schedule was so busy I hardly had time to sleep.

Crazy weekend with crazy CaSandra! 

For anyone who knows me it’s quite clear that there is no London without SOAS! Which is where I spent most of my week actually.

New British Vogue model Sasha!

Luckily I came exactly in time for SU elections. This year it’s all about my number one girl Iulia Lumina who is running for Co-President Activities and Events.

In the spur of the moment I also decided to run for Part-time International Officer, hope it goes well!

The highlight of the trip was by far the 4D Presents Team Sa’real Cultured Sounds Open Mic night at SOAS. It was exactly what the doctor ordered: good people, greatest location and the sickest music (Courtesy of Oracy, Raggo Zulu Rebel, DJ Jabs and Born Cheating). But don’t take my word for it, the pictures speak for themselves:

Or check out the video: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=833498536675812

All in all it was the best month I’ve had in a while and it’s made me realize a lot of things about my future. Now that I’m back in Japan I’m more motivated to make the most of my time than ever!

Till dawn,

Tokyo Gaijin

The Coming of Age ceremony ((成人式 seijin-shiki)

The age of 20 is a big turning point for Japanese people. “Seijin-no-hi” marks the rite of passage to adulthood, and the festivities of this day include coming of age ceremonies (成人式 seijin-shiki) held at local and prefectural offices, as well as after-parties among family and friends. The ceremonies are supposed to encourage those who have newly entered adulthood to become self-reliant members of society.

    I was exceptionally lucky to participate in this ceremony, courtesy of my dear friend Olivia’s friends at Hitotsubashi University (Thank you Olivia!). This is a rare opportunity for a foreigner, and an even greater exception for someone who’s already turned 21.

I am so happy I cannot express it solely in words, that’s why I’m going to let the pictures speak for themselves. This is a dream come true for me on so many levels, and I am extremely grateful to have had the chance to fulfill it. This proves that if you don’t give up on your dreams ,you will manage to achieve them one day!

This was also the first time I wore a kimono, in the proper way. I know that kimonos look like the most elegant traditional costumes you have ever seen, and that many people wish to have the chance to wear them. Do not get me wrong, I had the most amazing time wearing it, but there are some things that nobody tells you about kimono. 

Every Cinderella has to start somewhere

 Getting ready  My hair and Olivia’s hair Final product

First of all, it takes about an hour (or even more in some cases, e.g. me) to put on all the items that form the whole outfit. It also requires 2-4 people to tie up (and I mean bind, chain etc) all the knots and belts that you have to wear underneath the final thing, and that’s before putting on the obi ((帯, おび , sash) which has to be beautifully decorated with… yep, some more knots.

Secondly, if you survived the great ordeal of putting on the outfit, now try to take a deep breath and… wait. You can’t. And I mean, it’s corset times three level of tightness on your body. No wonder a girl passed out in our dressing room. Not to worry, nobody died of wearing a kimono, but just so you know what you are in for, I laid it all out so it’s clear.

Finally, through all the binding and chaining, layers after layers of makeup and hundreds of pins driven straight through your scalp, you look in the mirror and find that you are this gorgeous princess (始めまして surprise!）and it all seems so worth wile all of a sudden.

This ceremony is a once in a lifetime event, probably the most important in a Japanese’s life after marriage. But since marriage is optional, maybe we could say that this one is the greatest of them all. I Want to thank Olivia again for having me participate in the ceremony, and encourage every student out there who dreams about going to Japan to don’t give up がんばれ！It’s very worth while.

yakuza guys at the ceremony

I look up to the sky, and now the world is mine!

My cultural experience is going sky-high, and I’m enjoying every moment of it. Let’s see where it takes me next!

Till dawn,

Tokyo Gaijin

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Tokyo Imperial castle and Akihabara with Olivia!

Today I had the best day ever since I came to Japan. Of course, because I spent it with my dear friend Olivia! She is currently studying at Hitotsubashi University which is in West Tokyo. I am so glad we got together because it feels like ages since we last saw each other (almost 4 months ago).

We had quite a busy schedule, all thoughtfully planned out beforehand like  we like it. First we went to the Imperial Castle. Because we were early birds, we managed to beat the tourist wave and enjoy the whole scenery without being disturbed.

Between the koi pond and catching up with the latest gossip, we ran into a Romanian family. I  was so surprised at first, because my ears have grown out of detecting Romanian that it took me something like 5 seconds to figure out someone was actually speaking my mother tongue (embarrassing). I think they were quite taken aback by my openness but we quickly worked through it and decided to stay in touch once I get back to Europe (such lovely people).

Obsessed with bamboo

 

Next  we went to one of the many department stores (デパート）near Tokyo Station were we got a  beautiful sight of the station and surrounding areas.

 

After having lunch (and some more gossip of course!), we head down to Akihabara through Otemachi and Kandabashi.

Here comes the great part about being in Tokyo: because the underground stations are so wide (1km+) you can basically walk to a place under the ground and just exit at the desired location, no traffic and no cold necessary (sweet!).

Akihabara is one of the most famous venues in Tokyo, predominantly among Otaku. It is most famous for the great electronics deals that it offers and the avalanche of manga and anime products. It is also the place of birth for the infamous Maid Cafes. Maid cafes are cosplay themed restaurants where guests are served by waitresses that are typically dressed as French maids. In addition to serving food, the maids engage in conversation and games with the customers and treat them with the care and respectful language due to the master of a house. 

Because we were not particularly interested in maids, we chose a normal cafe instead. I have to say, I really needed to catch up with one of my people, because when you are far away, no matter what you say, you need to have someone there. And Olivia is one of my best friends in the entire world, so I’m very happy that we met up.

Thank you Olivia for a fabulous day! See you soon!

Till dawn,

Tokyo Gaijin