LOVE ATTACK EVE

Tonight I went to Cafe Flug in Kanda to see my new favorite Japanese singer, 松山テルオTeruo Matsuyama. He goes by Love Attack Eve and has a few albums out and an official website as well as a myspace music page. I found him on Tokyo Gig Guide that had a link to his homepage and I just fell in love with his music and voice and downloaded everything I could get my hands on. I was going to go with 3 other friends, but I got ditched (tear) but went anyways, and I'm so glad I did becasue he was even better in person. Really didn't think that was possible. It's very mellow music, but also whimsical and cute. I love it!

To get there, I got off at the 御茶ノ水駅 Ochanomizu Station and walked for about an hour doing concentric circles until I finally found the place. It took like 7 minutes to walk back to the station from the cafe once I knew where I was. I got very lost. haha. Luckily, since I had never been to Ochanomizu, I had gotten there about an hour early to do some tankenshiyo-ing (exploring), so I didn't miss the show. I just missed out on my tanken.

When I finally got there, there were two guys waiting outside with CD's on a table. I asked one of them if it was where Love Attack Eve was playing, and the guy looked really surprised and said, "That's me." So I started talking with him!! He was really nice and really excited that I had come just to see him. He was really happy when I told him that I had gone to his myspace page and listened to his music. When I got there, another group was playing, Acoustic Soft Parade, and he said that he would be playing in about 30min. So I decided to buy a CD right then.

At this point, I've been listening to his music almost everyday on the train so I know my favorite songs and even some of the lyrics to some of them. So I was looking at the CD's and I saw a song on one that I recognized and really liked. It's called マーマレイド空 or Marmalade Sky. It's a really cute song! I love it so much! When I told him he got really happy. He just kept saying "happy" a bunch of different ways: "幸せ," "嬉しい," "ハッピー." haha. I like to make people happy. (^-^)

I ended up buying this album:

and he signed it for me! And he didn't just sign it. He drew a little picture of me!

It says, "To Watanabe Hiroko. LOVE ATTACK EVE" and then the date.

Then of course, he started performing. It was so great. I really love his voice and he's a pretty good guitar player. He did a lot of finger picking and some hammer-ons and had unexpected chord changes. I really like this guy if you can't tell.

But wait, it get's better! He went out to his car during the break to get the music for the song that I had said I liked, Marmalade Sky! He even took his guitar with him around the corner to practice. I only know that because he showed me the chords and lyrics and said he would play it for me, but he hadn't played it in a long time so he was gonna go practice a bit. "ちょっと練習します。" he said with an embarrassed smile.

I guess it was a really old song, because before he played it, he told everyone, kind of embarrassed, that he had written it maybe 10 years ago when he was either a junior high or high school student and that the lyrics were a little sophomoric and cute. I'm so happy he went through all that trouble just to play the song for me!! I love it! It's the corny and cute-ness that I like about the song. It's really innocent.

And now, just because I love his music so much, you can listen to it here:

My favorite song of his: 夕立

My 2nd favorite song and the one he played for me tonight: マーマレイド空

And now just a bunch of songs I love in no particular order. This is me restraining myself too. I didn't actually upload ALL of his music.

家路

猫と緑側

日々のらせん

冬街

夕焼け

通り雨

流星ジェット

I am a Sunset Whore

To make things even more confusing, in Tokyo the capital city there is an area called Tokyo. The Japanese named it that on purpose because they have an over developed sense of humor and find confused looking gaijin hilarious.

Even so, it's a pretty cool place. Sam's back from her romps throughout all of Japan and is now living in Kanda, which is really close to Tokyo. So, for the last few days, we have been exploring that area. We both didn't know anything about it, so we just picked a direction and went with it.

We ended up in the middle of something called the "International Forum." Tokyo (the district in Tokyo the city) is mostly filled with high rises and what seem like businesses and department stores. The "International Forum" was a collection of tall buildings with a little plaza connecting them and a big mochi rock just chilling out in the middle of it all.

Doesn't it look like a big tasty mochi? There's no red bean inside though. I checked.

Then I saw this wavy-looking building when we were walking around aimlessly and thought it was cool. It gives you a pretty good picture of what the rest of the area looked like. It was kinda San Fransisco-esque if that helps. Minus the hippies. You know, around that section of Market where all the sort of government and major cooperation buildings are? It's like that.

A few blocks down from that we found a park. I think it was called Hibiya Park, which is also the name of the nearest subway line and the only reason I remembered the name. hehe. The sun was setting behind the trees and I couldn't resist.

It was a very pretty park, but the best part was all the cats! Let's play a game: spot the cat! Ready....go!

Did you find it? It's ok, I took a close up of it. Count 'em:

There are five cats! Just chillin' out at the park.

Then I found this cool church type thing with that gorgeous sky behind it.

And then here is where I lost my senses. I really am a sunset whore. I can't help myself. It seems Guuzen-sama again randomly stumbled upon some sort of old castle grounds in the middle of this skyscraper city, and managed to hit it right as the sun was setting behind it. Therefore, please again indulge me while I spam my blog with sunset pictures.

I'm not really sure what that is behind me, but since I was in Tokyo, Tokyo and the "kyo" part of Tokyo means "capital," I'm thinking that was maybe the old capital/castle from ye olden times? I don't know. All I care about is that it had a moat! haha. Moats are cool because they reflect the sunset quite nicely. ^^

Then we ate thai food and had this lovely delicacy:

Along with this tasty goodness:

And walked back to the station because it was dark and I wanted to see Sam's new place. So, we walked through Tokyo at night, which is pretty cool, and went to Kanda. The End.

Except it's not really the end, because the next day, we went back to the same place. We wanted to check out Daimaru (which I think is a really weird name. It literally means, "big circle."). Daimaru is a 13 story department store. It was quite the experience. I was also kind of curious about the floor with plus-size clothing. I'm kinda pudgy and had resigned myself to not buying any clothes in Japan because I'm a huge American, but if there is such a thing as plus-sizes in Japan, maybe there is some hope. But the bottom floor where all the cakes and sweets were was the coolest. (haha. I like cake and sweets. That's probably why I'm pudgy, but hey, one should enjoy life and all it's offerings.) I didn't get any, but they were so cute! And a lot of them had edible gold on top!

We had decided to go to Daimaru because it was indoors and the weather report said it was going to be thunder and lightning storms all day. They lied. It was slightly cloudy, not much, and didn't even drizzle. So, in a spur of the moment decision, I convinced Sam to go back to Roppongi Hills with me so we could go to the top and see the 360 view of Tokyo! (I mean Tokyo the entire city this time) Who knew how long before it rained again? So off we went. I was very happy with myself for being able to get there without the help of google maps.

So we went up to the top. It cost 1500円 ($15) for a ticket that got you to the 52nd floor with the art museum and the 360 view of Tokyo THROUGH GLASS. That was obviously not good enough. So, Sam and I spent the extra 300円 ($3) to go to the "Sky Deck" which is a fancy name for the roof.

It was so cool being up that high! Like flying with your feet on the ground. And, of course, we went up at sunset and then stayed until it got dark and got to see Tokyo at night too. Yay! Sunset pictures! I don't have nearly enough of those!

We only left because they kicked us off. One of the really cool things about being up there is all the different people who are up there with you. I don't think any of us were from the same country. There were a few people from Japan, obviously, but then there as a couple from China, Korea, some Middle Eastern country (maybe India?), a few from different European countries, and then Sam and I from the U.S. We were quite a collection and I thought it was quite fitting that the name of the exhibit in the art museum was called "Kaleidoscope."

We finished the night off with a very tasty experience in a milk bar. Didn't know those existed, but apparently they do. They were having a "campaign" which means sale, and this crazy mango raspberry desert was 33% off.

Look at the cute little chocolate spoon with the place's name on it in gold! It broke when I tried to eat the ice cream with it though and, alas, did have to resort to the metal one.

This guy was chillin' out by the cash registar.

And this guy was enjoying the evening air at the entrance.

Then, a great tragedy befell me. My glasses completely broke. I mean, they hard-core, fell-to-pieces broke. But that's ok. I am a resourceful spy lady and Macgyvered them back together with floss. haha. My glasses look horrible! The left side is being held together with floss and the film on the lenses is pealing! But the upside with this is that I will have glasses from Japan! If I can figure out how to translate the prescription that is...

Candle Night

I really want to see the Rockabillies and crazy Harajuku fashion people who hang out at Yoyogi park, but they are only there on Sundays! I was so excited for last Sunday to come, but then it did and it rained. It rained all day. A lot. Sad!

So I decided to go anyways but found that no one was there, as I had suspected. Wouldn't want to get our picture taken with our makeup dripping now would we. But, I did stumble upon an Earth celebration because apparently it was the Summer Solstice. (It was also Father's Day, but it wouldn't be Father's Day in California where my Dad is until really late that night for me. I wasn't neglecting my Dad. promise.)

But Harajuku was pretty much boring. I walked through Yoyogi park and no one was there save for a few old people in ponchos doing tai chi or something. But I found myself at Yoyogi station and spontaneously decided to go to Roppongi just because I knew that the Oedo Subway line at Yoyogi would get me there. Here's the grand Roppongi Hills Mori Tower in all its grandness!

It's crazy how tall it is. It disappears into the mist a bit. And then just outside that is this funky spider-like statue that reminds me of a Miyazaki film. Oh! like the old guy who works at the bottom of the bath house in Spirited Away! I don't know. I took a picture because it's famous. And also huge and creepy.

The main reason I decided to jump on the subway to Roppongi is because I was missing American food. I didn't think that was even possible!! American food is icky!! Well, compared to Japanese food it is.

Roppongi is like the gaijin mecca of Japan. It's the mother ship that no one told me about. I'm like ET. Totally got left behind there. All the store clerks and cafe staff speak at least a little English, you can get hot dogs and giant slabs of steak here, and there are a ton of gaij around every corner. So, naturally, I got a bagel.

Doesn't that look like the tastiest bagel in all the world?!! Maybe just for me because I have a crazy love affair with bagels and I've been separated from my love for so long.

All and all, I don't think Roppongi Hill is all that interesting. I mean, Mori Tower is pretty cool because you can go up to the top and get a 360 view of Tokyo, but I didn't do that because it was raining and so cloudy I wouldn't have been able to see anything. Mostly Roppongi Hills is just a really huge, fancy shopping mall with nothing but designer stores. It's great if you want to buy a $300 purse, but I didn't so much.

So I went back to the station, which is connected to Roppongi Hills, and was about to buy a ticket home when I saw a sign that said, "Tokyo Midtown ↓" so off I went to see what this Tokyo Midtown was all about.

Turns out, it's another huge shopping center that has an underground walkway connecting it to Roppongi Hills. Only it's cooler. Yes, definitely better. I don't know why, I just like it better. Probably because I happened to go there right in the middle of a huge event.

Seems I stumbled upon "Candle Night," which is this huge even where people light candles and turn off the lights for a few hours to conserve energy. I think it was in honor of the Summer Solstice. People were writing their wishes on the outside of these cups and then putting a candle inside of them.

I decided to stick around until night when they were all lit up. Also, they were having some live music. This girl with a really beautiful voice was singing ballads. Her name is Kumaki Anri and I bought her newest single that had these three songs on them, the first three songs she sang that night: kimi no namae, inori, tsubasa.

Yesterday I was near Ginza and I actually heard "kimi no namae" playing on a big TV screen as I was crossing the street so I guess she's kinda popular? I really liked her in person; her voice is really angelic and kind of sucks you in, but I'm not sure if I like her recorded songs that much. It's the same songs, but she was so much more captivating in person. (I also was really excited that I understood almost all the lyrics of the song "kimi no namae." Yay! Although, that probably means that her lyrics arn't that original since I knew all the vocabulary...)

And here's what the candles looked like all lit up. My camera isn't that good with night shots, but it still looks really pretty. The mist is so thick that the huge building in the background is half invisible. haha. That band of light continues up quite a ways but you can't see it.

I tried to take a picture with flash, but it just got all the rain drops falling. I think it's pretty cool though. Looks like snow.

There's something kind of magical about having thousands of candles around you. Also, the fact that they continued to burn even after being continuously rained on is somewhat poetic, no?

You actually had a pretty good view of Tokyo Tower from the grass where the candles were so I took a picture of it through the trees. It came out blurry so I was going to take another one, but the second after I took the picture, all the lights went off!! I was so lucky!! I guess Tokyo Tower was also participating in Candle Night by turning off the lights and saving electricity. Literally, the second I hit the shutter button the lights went off. It's was really quite spooky. Just stumbling upon a huge event like Candle Night is kind of spooky. I really am just the queen of coincidences. Guuzen-sama. ^^

Everything is called Aoyama

Yesterday, I went to 青山学院大学 (Aoyama Gakuin Daigaku) which means Aoyama Academy University. It's redundant, but Aoyama Academy also has a high school and middle school and so on and so forth. Everything is called Aoyama something. There is an Aoyama street, and Aoyama coffee place, and Aoyama blablablahlsdfsldfkj. Even in Nakano there are things called Aoyama something or other. On my phone, when I type out Japanese messages, if I just push "a" then my phone will suggest Aoyama as the first thing.

Anyways, it is a really pretty campus, especially since it's right in the middle of Tokyo. It's between Shibuya and Harajuku. My friend, Akane, showed me around. She used to go to Aoyama, but she just transferred to my college!! Yay! But I might apply to study abroad at Aoyama in two years so she gave me a little tour. It's really pretty. I like it a lot.

More importantly, apparently Aoyama Gakuin Daigaku has the top rating in all of Japan for food services. The food is so tasty!!! And really cheap!! I'm told that salarymen even stop by for lunch because it's so good and cheap. haha. That's reason enough to go to Aoyama, right?

Afterwards we walked around Omotesando and Harajuku. She showed me this really weird place called "Oriental Bazaar." The place looked ridiculous and housed ridiculous things. Mixed in with the nice traditional Japanese stuff like pottery, fabric, purses, and charms were these things:

They're made out of the same crape material as the other traditional Japanese key chains, but they're hamburgers and hotdogs!! What the hell? So very odd. But really, what did I expect when the outside looks like this:

Then Akane had class so she went back to Aoyama and I just walked around Harajuku again and found myself back at the station. Right next to the station is the famed Meiji Shrine and since I was there I decided that now was as good a day as any to check it out. Here's a picture of Harajuku from the pedestrian crossway that goes over the streets. The small building on the left is Harajuku Station.

Then, just turn slightly to your left and TADA! green!

That's the entrance to the Meiji Shrine. It really looks like the gate to a different world. Right behind me are skyscrapers and rushing vehicles. 信じられないよね。It's unbelievable.

As soon as you enter, the temperature drops like 5 degrees, it gets really quiet really quickly, and you really are in another world.

The path is gigantic. It's so wide, but that just makes everyone seem that much farther away. Then you come to a little bridge overlooking a stream. It was so serene.

Somewhere along the way there was a map, but I wasn't interested and just kept wondering, but if you guys ever visit and don't want to get lost, have no fear, there are maps. The place is HUGE.

So next up was the wall of sake. It's really kind of pretty, but mostly enlightening. Them olden people liked to get wasted. haha. No, I'm sure there's some sort of significance to all the liquor, but it's written all over wikipedia I'm sure and I didn't feel like stopping to read the signs. Make your own significance. It works better.

So I finally make it to the main Shrine and I see this family taking a picture outside the gate. Three of them were in the shot and they made the young boy take the picture. sad. So, I first asked them if they spoke English or Japanese (they spoke English) and then I asked them if they would like me to take their picture. They said, no, it's ok, but would I like them to take my picture. Not gonna lie, that was my ulterior motive for offering my picture taking services. Here's the pic:

The guy was really weird though, in a funny way. He said that he would take my picture, and take one with him in it because he's traveling the world and inserting himself in everyone's pictures. haha, whatever. ok. So here's the quirky guy and me at the Meiji Shrine:

Then me and the quirky guy and his family said our goodbyes and they entered the shrine and I went to go wash my hands again. I'm getting super pro at washing my hands for the gods.

Here's a picture of the shrine. It was a really cloudy day, so the shrine looks like it's glowing, no?

And right next to it was the place where you get your fortune. I never get my fortune at any of the shrines or temples, did you notice? I don't want to know. I just took a picture of it because I thought the tree looked like the Totoro tree. The whole thing looks like it's glowing, even the ground.

I bought a charm before I left. This one is supposed to protect me while I'm traveling. Handy. I travel A LOT.

Then I chilled outside the shrine, at a different entrance, and, I confess, looked at a map. It looked like it was going to rain soon, so I thought I should get where I want to go as soon as possible. Basically, I just didn't want to go anywhere I'd already been, so I found a tiny path on the map and decided to go with that one.

Just when I was about to leave, the same guy and his family walked by. The guy said, "well now that's an interesting picture," and said I should take a picture of me there. I said ok, handed him my camera and his wife, I assume, piped in, "just do what you were doing naturally, just reading." But of course the whole situation was kind of weird so the most natural pose I could come up with was this:

That's pretty much the way I looked when they were walking by except I have this awkward smile on my face. They were a very weird bunch, but I liked them. Apparently they were from Singapore.

So here's the path I chose:

I took a picture of myself on it because I was the only one there. I thought that was really cool. I really forgot I was in Tokyo. It was completely covered by the treetops,

it was quiet and cool, and there were no people around. I even saw a cute little butterfly.

But then the tunnel opened up and I was reminded that, yes, I was in fact in Tokyo.

It became pretty clear to me that this open green area was kind of like a local secret. There were a few people sprinkled along the lawn just chilling out, having a picnic, or whatever. All the crowds were elsewhere. So I joined in and laid on the grass.
This is what I saw when I laid on my back:

And this is what the tree saw when it looked down:

Then this little bird came really close to me! To give you an idea of how close he was, I took this picture WITHOUT ZOOM.

Then it started to rain so I got out my handy dandy umbrella and continued walking around. Here are just some random shots of the grounds. It's so serene!!

I am at a crossroads. Story of my life.

Then I finished up the day with some ice cream. It's called 抹茶金時アイス or Maccha Kintoki Ice cream. It had two little balls of mochi and red bean in it!! Perfect way to end a very traditional day.