[narcissism, vanity, exhibitionism, ambition, vanity, vanity, vanity]

19.9.07

Just Mots

Can now recognize kanji for "entrance," "exit," "parking lot," and "coffee," and for the subway stops "Takeshiba," "Shiodome," and "Odaiba." From this you get an idea of what our priorities are.

E. wrote our names for us in katakana script.

kawa = river
nami = wave (thus, tsunami; o-nami is a "man" wave or a big wave; there is a special kanji for smaller waves, "woman waves")
matsu = pine

Also -- near the mall, there's a place where you can visit with a roomful of cats for an hour if you want. It's like a cat rental place. Rent-a-kitty.

Labels: japan, travels with jane

Mots & Choses & Ten Little Toes

At breakfast in Expensive Hotel, Japan:

J: What's a category?
D: It's an imaginary box to put things in.
MJ (laughs): Not bad for 7 AM!

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Manga Collage

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Originally uploaded by quiet.eye.

In Kanda.

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This Is More Like It

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Originally uploaded by quiet.eye.

Back in Kanda, after lunch with our friend N., who took us to a great organic restaurant called Mother's.

The book displays are astonishing -- the piles are high and very precarious!

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So Are the Spiders

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Originally uploaded by quiet.eye.

The Emperor's spider. We wandered through a grove full of these. Creepy.

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The Carp Are Large

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Originally uploaded by quiet.eye.

The Emperor's carp pond.

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No Trespassing

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Originally uploaded by quiet.eye.

The Emperor's Keep Out sign. A good set of kanji to learn.

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Pretty

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Originally uploaded by quiet.eye.

A pretty walk, belonging to the Emperor. Husband and child, not belonging to the Emperor.

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Blossoms

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Originally uploaded by quiet.eye.

Blossoms, belonging to the Emperor.

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Not a Stinkhorn

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Originally uploaded by quiet.eye.

Wood fungus, belonging to the Emperor. We have tree stumps in our yard too, but only disgusting stinkhorns grow on them.

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Light Fixture

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Originally uploaded by quiet.eye.

A beautiful lamp, belonging to the Emperor.

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Old & New & MJ

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Originally uploaded by quiet.eye.

A bit of the ultramodern Tokyo skyline is visible behind the roof of the Emperor's old-fashioned guard house.

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Imperial Garden - Entrance

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Originally uploaded by quiet.eye.

It was hot, we were hours from lunch, and Jane was floppy. So after a quick trip to a real Japanese grocery store where we were delighted to discover such delicacies as Hello Kitty cookies, little mango-flavored jello snacks that come individually wrapped in plastic, and a bewildering variety of rice crackers, we hightailed it out of sleepy Kanda, and headed for the Imperial Gardens.

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Emphatic

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Originally uploaded by quiet.eye.

Really!!!!! Don't worry!!!! In Kanda.

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The Fox & The Rabbit -- Kanda

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Originally uploaded by quiet.eye.

Seen on the street in Kanda. The rabbit looks like it better watch out.

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Morning in Jimbocho

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Originally uploaded by quiet.eye.

We arrived too early -- the bookstores weren't going to open until 10:30 or so, and since it was Honor Your Elders Day, a national holiday, things were even quieter. Here's a typical street in Kanda, in a quiet moment.

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Kanda, Jimbocho, and the Imperial Gardens -- Day 5

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Originally uploaded by quiet.eye.

We wandered around Jimbocho for a while, looking for Kanda, the used books district. Snapped this one after we stopped for coffee.

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Not So Serious

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Originally uploaded by quiet.eye.

Looking up, just behind the plaque -- it's a bathing suit contest! Here are the contestants, a dozen or attractive young women in bikinis and four-inch heels, and the mob of photographers that was following them around.

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Philosophy of Water

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Originally uploaded by quiet.eye.

Outside the museum, Y. kindly translated this plaque for me. It is a statement from the museum's founder on the "Six Principles of Water."

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Maritime History Museum, Odaiba -- Day 4

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Originally uploaded by quiet.eye.

Our friends took us to Odaiba's Maritime History Museum, a ship-shaped (!) building just a short walk from Expensive Hotel. The kids had a great time playing with the interactive exhibits, most of which featured models of ships' controls and their correlated propellers and engines. Our two girls were quite a sight, piloting imaginary ships while their Hello Kitty and Aristocat handbags dangled from their elbows. But instead of a picture of that (E. probably doesn't want her daughter's picture on the internet, and I understand) here is a photo of the enormous old-fashioned propulsion engine that took up most of the main hall of the museum.

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17.9.07

Day 4 -- New Friends

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Originally uploaded by quiet.eye.

Just a short post & pic, from yesterday's outing with E., Y., and A., Jane's new big-girl friend (she is all of six). It seems that even little girls who don't speak the same language can rapidly find common ground over many things regardless of the language barrier. And these are truly vital things, like the color pink, good shoes, and the importance of the right handbag.

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15.9.07

Hello Kitty Mikoshi

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Originally uploaded by quiet.eye.

We didn't bow to it or anything, but when we saw it, we understood that the $300+ dollars we spent at Hello Kitty Land did not represent our capitulation to Sanrio's marketing but were, in fact, a sacred offering.

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Big Biru

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Originally uploaded by quiet.eye.

This is what you need when your child is totally megamawaru. Thankfully the Sanrio people understand, and are happy to oblige you in the cafeteria.

We also had our first experience (mine and Jane's) with squat toilets. About which, perhaps, the less said, the better.

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Or, In a Word

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Originally uploaded by quiet.eye.

The same feeling, in Japanese.

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I LOVE THIS PLACE

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Originally uploaded by quiet.eye.

Jet-lagged, her blood sugar dropping fast, and completely overstimulated.

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Konnichiwa Kitty Has Wheels

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Originally uploaded by quiet.eye.

Of course she does!

See that rose? It cost 5 dollars. A girl was selling them outside the HKHouse. Jane walked up to her and started to make faces that said, "I am so cute, please give me a flower."

The girl very cutely made faces back to Jane that said, "You are so very cute, but you really must pay 5 dollars for this flower."

Jane, undaunted, continued with her faces. "Oh but I am so cute, how can you say no to me?"

The girl, who was clearly accustomed to this sort of thing, made additional faces. "Oh, you are so cute, and I hate to say no, but you really must give me money. Did I mention how cute you are?"

Eventually we had no choice but to fork over the dough. Well done, Jane!

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Chez Hello Kitty

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Originally uploaded by quiet.eye.

What words are there for this? It was just like in the picture, only bigger and somehow pinker. It looked edible.

Inside, you could wander through Hello Kitty's rooms and paw through her belongings. On the nighttable were various interior design books whose titles I should have written down. (They were mostly of the "shabby chic" variety.) On the bookshelf, there was a nice library of English literature and books about the English language, including the OED and a dictionary of "early English."

Could it be that Hello Kitty = Englishness, through the eyes of the Japanese?

A lot of it was twee, definitely...

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Very Bad Batsumaru

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Originally uploaded by quiet.eye.

I laughed out loud.

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On the Boat

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Originally uploaded by quiet.eye.

Disney's "It's A Small World" is going to be a let-down after this.

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Bad Batsumaru

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Originally uploaded by quiet.eye.

Here he is, my favorite Sanrio character, about to jump out from behind a rock and ambush us on our boat ride through the Sanrio interior.

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Designers Go Crazy

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Originally uploaded by quiet.eye.

As theme parks go, Hello Kitty Land is on the small side -- one central area surrounded by a handful of ancillary rooms containing various rides and attractions. Upstairs, there's a cafeteria and shops, including one shop for "students and ladies" where, despite myself, I made several purchases. Needless to say, there are opportunities to spend money at every turn.

Despite its small size, every detail in Hello Kitty Land has been lovingly worked over, maximally cute and perfect. The main hall has a steampunk vibe with a weird northern European aspect -- one of the rooms off to the side is "Marchenland," and there is much ado about fairies.

One thing we notice right away: There are no Americans here. We see lots of Japanese families, and also Japanese teenagers and young adults dressed to kill in the latest ~~goth~~ cosplay get-ups.

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Fanfare, Please

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Originally uploaded by quiet.eye.

After a ride on the monorail, a quick change at Shiodome, an interminable wait for the right train at Shinjuku, and a very long ride through the provinces of southwest Tokyo, we arrived at the land of Hellish Kitty.

On the way, I learned the kanji for "station" and "Shiodome," as well as the character that sounds like "dai." I don't know why these things stick among the thousands of words I see. MJ shows me that the kanji for station includes a stylized horse, mane, tail, feet and all.

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An Important Piece of Jane's Education

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Originally uploaded by quiet.eye.

MJ looks out the window. "There's Tokyo beach. I mean, 'beach.'" And makes the air quotes sign.

"What does that mean?" Jane asks, and makes the air quotes sign.

"Irony," MJ says.

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Day 3 -- Konnichiwa Kitty

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Originally uploaded by quiet.eye.

Today we made the trek out to Tama City Center, home of Sanrio Puroland, the theme park devoted to all things Hello Kitty.

The trip was ill-advised. But we didn't know it at the beginning.

Except, we did.

"This is crazy," MJ said. "We're in a huge city we don't know at all, we don't speak the language, we can't read the signs, and we need to figure out the subway AND the local commuter rail in order to make this trip."

"Agreed, it is crazy. Especially since neither of us has any interest at all in Hello Kitty."

But: Jane. Who has had an obsession with the insipid squeaky feline with the dumb bow pretty much since birth.

How could we not go?

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One, Two, Itchy Knee

A little boy is marching around the hotel lobby with his father. Every time he takes a step he says "Ichi ni, ichi ni" -- "one, two, one, two."

At 3 am, Jane is marching around the room in her slippers. "Itchy knee, itchy knee. One, two, I have an itchy knee."

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Metaphor

It is 3 am. Once again, we are singing the ballad of the jetlagged gaijin. This time we have peanuts and cup miso (delicious). Jane looks out the window at the lights and skyscrapers of central Tokyo.

"Tokyo," she says, "is a boat that goes everywhere."

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14.9.07

The Ride

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Originally uploaded by quiet.eye.

We bought our ticket and were ushered onto a lemon-yellow car. But the inside! Was pink! Like bubble gum! It was like riding in a blow-pop.

I felt a little sick, to be honest. The Odaiba ferris wheel may or may not be the highest in the world -- but it was definitely...high.

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Closer

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Originally uploaded by quiet.eye.

The Odaiba Ferris Wheel up close. According to the recording that played while we were riding, it is the tallest ferris wheel in the world. (But, surely, the London Eye comes close?)

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Odaiba Ferris Wheel

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Originally uploaded by quiet.eye.

A distant shot of the Odaiba Ferris Wheel. We had just finished lunch at a Korean restaurant that we stumbled into by accident because we had been completely befuddled by the ticketing process at the Mysterious Ramen Noodle Theme Park. Jane had refused to eat, being jet-lagged and cranky, but perked up later when we got her a strawberry ice-cream sundae at Mou Mou. (For some reason, although Japanese cuisine is almost entirely free of gallbladder-pain-inducing butterfat, soft ice cream is very popular.) Thus fortified, Jane and I set out for a walk, leaving MJ to his meeting. After watching several planes make the hair-raising turn over Tokyo Bay toward ~~Narita~~ the other airport near Tokyo, Jane asked to ride the ferris wheel, which was visible in the distance.

She was tired, and cranky, and I thought, This can't be a good idea. But we set off anyway, walking through a pretty park filled with wildflowers, beetles making strange electrical noises and trees full of ripe plums. It was a long, hot walk but Jane didn't mind -- there was too much to look at.

Labels: japan, travels with jane

Fish Mural

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Originally uploaded by quiet.eye.

Spotted this on our way toward the inner marke, which was a little too forbidding for us today - gawkers aren't welcome and definitely not with children. But we'll come back.

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Ceramics

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Originally uploaded by quiet.eye.

A ceramics stall in Tsukiji -- black, white, celadon, turquoise, goldenrod, taupe...

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Mystery

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Originally uploaded by quiet.eye.

Stairways like this one can be found behind many of the outer market's stalls. I wonder where they go, whether there are offices up there, or apartments... What would it be like, to come home every day, winding your way through the thronging maze of the outer market, your briefcase on one shoulder, and scoot up this staircase to a tiny room, a pot of tea?

I could love living in Tsukiji...although I read in Theodore Bestor's anthropological study of the market, Tsukiji, that people don't really live here anymore.

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A Relatively Quiet Moment

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Originally uploaded by quiet.eye.

In Tsukiji's outer market.

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Bright

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Originally uploaded by quiet.eye.

Yellow chrysanthemums nestled among the produce...

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Squid

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Originally uploaded by quiet.eye.

One baleful eye...

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These Are For Sale, Too

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Originally uploaded by quiet.eye.

Fish heads.

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Abundant Shellfish

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Originally uploaded by quiet.eye.

...of the most astounding variety...

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Tokyo suki desu! Very much!

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Originally uploaded by quiet.eye.

Everyone we've met has been unbelievably helpful and kind, even though we are totally ignorant of all but the most basic aspects of this immensely complex and sophisticated culture, and we speak only a few words of Japanese. People help us find our way on the streets, and cheerfully teach us new words in Japanese. This lady spontaneously gave Jane a small gift as she walked past her stall.

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Bonito

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Originally uploaded by quiet.eye.

Dried fish flakes, for making soup stock.

See the character on the front of the third box from the left? The topmost part of it -- the part shaped like two mountains coming together -- means "Tsukiji".

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Niboshi

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Originally uploaded by quiet.eye.

Niboshi in boxes ready for sale. These come in many sizes, from tiny fish smaller than my smallest finger joint to meaty substantial fish that fill the palm of my hand.

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It's Fuzzy & Comes on Stalks!

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Originally uploaded by quiet.eye.

Edamame, in its natural state -- or at least closer to it than the unshelled soybeans we buy frozen at Whole Foods.

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Feast for the Eyes, Too

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Originally uploaded by quiet.eye.

Some of the colors of Tsukiji.

Incidentally, just about all the fish is lined up in these little Styrofoam boxes, which are tossed into big piles at the end of the day and transported to plastic factories in Southeast Asia.

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Tsukiji

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Originally uploaded by quiet.eye.

Oh, Tsukiji. I'm completely smitten.

Tsukiji, the world's largest seafood market, is a warren of warehouses, trading floors, and shops a few blocks from the Ginza. Every day, over two million kilos of fish pass through Tsukiji on their way to kitchens all over Japan and around the world, or about twenty million dollars worth of fresh fish, dried fish, live fish, frozen fish, salted fish, smoked fish, fish paté, shellfish, fish eggs...you name it, if it's fish, it's probably here. At least briefly.

In the outer market, where I took all these pictures, there are other things for sale too: knives for cutting fish, fancy plates and chopsticks for eating them, huge bins of bonito flakes for making soup stock, linens for the table, spices, coffee, tea, and stationery.

We visited in the late morning, when it was not crowded. Thousands of people do their shopping here, in these mazy streets lit (by law) by bare bulbs only (so the ambient light can't give you the wrong idea about the fish you're about to buy).

A stuffed wildcat graced this fishmonger's stall.

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