Bringin' in 2010, Japan-style

New Year's is big in Japan. The first thing I noticed when getting back into town (right after Ryan pointed it out to me) is the presence of bits of greenery on all of the businesses. Some just have a sprig of pine leaves around their doorway; others sport an elaborate bouquet like the one on the left. You can make your own doorway decorations at various stands around town (like the one below). We opted for a very simple one with some squares of white paper hanging from a loop of grass.

On New Year's eve we first went to see Avatar (in 3D - very cool!) and then came home to make some nabe in the new bowl that Ryan gave me for Christmas (it tasted much better than it looks). After we dug out all the chunks, we cooked soba noodles in the remaining broth. We were told that you are supposed to have soba noodles as your last meal of the year because they bring long life.

Then the tradition is to bundle up and head to your favorite shrine for the midnight celebration. On only this one night, subways run 24 hrs to allow people to do this. Like everyone else, we stood in line to toss money, ring the bell (attached to those long lengths of fabric), clap two times and say a prayer.

We decided to do this all at the shrine in Kita-ku (where Ryan took Japanese lessons) because they were additionally having a fox-celebration.

We still aren't entirely sure what the fox celebration is all about, but they had a little parade after midnight and lots of folks either wore makeup or a mask (or both). Sake and mulled wine were sold by vendors to keep the blood warm while watching the parade inch by.

On the 1st, we headed out to Funabashi to have a barbeque at Momoe's parents' house. Among MANY other things, we ate this yummy Japanese beef. mmmgood. We also got to relax around the low table in the living room, eat oranges, and watch some funny game shows. It was a great way to bring in the new year!

Christmas in Tokyo

With winter in Tokyo comes the arrival of the sweet potato vendors. All day long these guys wheel around a cart that has a wood fire burning inside. They are cooking and selling the sweet potatoes that they grew on their farms just outside the city. The megaphone at the top of the cart lets them call out as they traverse through the streets. One vendor is often parked outside the gates to my work in the morning. Though the potato itself is rather dry and bland, kept inside the bag, it makes a fabulous lap warmer for ridiculously cold offices, and the sweet earthy aroma is out of this world.

Also during the winter, the Tokyo Dome area becomes illuminated.

The tradition for Christmas here in Tokyo is a little odd. Apparently it is a big date night during which couples eat fried chicken (?!) Since I was in California for the 25th, rather than venture to KFC all by his lonesome, Ryan decided to wander around the dome and check out all the cool lights instead.

Oh and one other thing that happens during winter is a visit from the christmas chopperman. Just kidding. We have no idea why this grown man is dressed up, but we love that he is wearing the pink version of the silly hat the grad students gave me, along with what I guess is a pink reindeer costume (but do reindeers have tails like that? I am so confused).

a little cosplay at tokyo dome

Apologies, friends. We are woefully behind on blog updates. Here are some very old pictures from Ryan's phone from a day last month (maybe even September?) when we just stumbled onto the strangest thing. We were each in different parts of the city and decided to rendezvous at the Tokyo Dome amusement park for dinner. I was over on the side with the log ride and the starbucks when I get a text from Ryan from the side with parachutes and goth stores: "omg get over here quick".

Apparently it was costume day at the dome. Everywhere you looked, folks were decked out from head to toe in extremely elaborate getups. Here by the merry-go-round we seemed to have interrupted a proposal. No wait, they aren't moving. 25 pictures taken by the gal in black and yellow later and they still are not moving. From what we could gather this is a day (perhaps following a more formal staged event) when guys and gals get together to reenact stills from their favorite cartoon or comic strip.

Some were all sweetness and innocence; others were ready to throw down (though I am dubious about the efficacy of those cardboard swords and platform boots).

Most were just completely baffling to us.

The only constant was that there were lots and lots of pictures taken. Here, of course, a gal with white hair, red contact lenses and a baby chicken on her head pretends to be beaten with a fry pan by a swedish dairy maid, while the purple-haired sailor captures the scene for posterity.

Our favorites, by far, though were these two photographers. I know, it is kind of hard to tell since they blend in so well.

Hakone no kuro-tamago

We were recently invited on a weekend trip to Hakone, which is a town about two hours southeast of Tokyo. The women we went with are volunteers at the local community center (same ones who roped me into teaching the cooking class) and wanted to show us some Japanese culture. It was the last weekend or so of the fall colors, so seeing the countryside was lovely and we even got a glimpse of Mt. Fuji. Unfortunately it was a three day weekend so we weren't the only ones trying to get out of town. After what ended up being an eight hour car ride, the only thing we had time for on the first night was a traditional meal in the hotel.

Under the guise of "selling bingo tickets" to diners in the hotel restaurant, this chipmunk went around groping unsuspecting gaijin. Kidding, I am quite positive the poor gal inside had no idea where her hands were and probably still can't believe she got stuck with this lousy job. Poor thing.

When our dinner guests actually did buy a couple of tickets to the bingo game, I was quite shocked. I mean, Bingo? But as we soon discovered it is really the thing to do! After dinner, we donned our complimentary yukata and went down to the main floor. To our surprise each and every other person staying in the hotel was down there as well. There was a table full of prizes and a very fancy-schmancy video bingo player (which called out the number in japanese and put it on the screen, so it was very good practice for us!)

Also, every child under the age of 7 was able to roam free and harrass the poor chipmunk unencumbered. Alas, not only did we not win at bingo, someone let me leave the room with my hair looking like that. People!

Early the next morning we got up and, after a very interesting traditional japanese breakfast, made our way out to the sulfur pools. We first took a cable car up the mountain.

Then we took the rope car over the sulfur fields, which you could smell way before you could see.

A short hike from there took us to the large pools where they cook the eggs ("kuro-tamogo").

We can't seem to find any information on the exact chemical reaction that is occuring, but the sulfuric acid in the pool is reacting with something in the shells of the eggs. The outside shell turns black over the course of a few days but the inside is merely hard boiled and tastes perfectly normal. The story goes that eating 1 egg adds 7 years to your life, 2 eggs adds 14, but by no means are you ever supposed to eat more than 2.5 eggs.

Then it was off to the Yuneson hot springs resort with 25 different kinds of baths. I don't know if the picture (below) adequately captures the absolute chaos of having that many kids and adults playing in a pool under one roof. Also if you look closely you can maybe see some of the lovely decorating elements, such as fake plastic flowers, stucco'd walls and pillars and clouds painted on the ceilings. Plus, can you see the floor? Those are hard, rather sharp, pebbles in concrete. Who thought that would be a good surface to let wet kids run around on? I was going crazy with worry that someone was going split their head open in front of me. Ryan never needed a cigarette more.

For this reason, we actually braved the outdoor area (above). Despite the icy chill in the air, the throngs of people (mostly adult though), and the merely tepid water in the baths outside, we made our way up the hillside from the coffee bath, to the wine bath, to the green tea bath and finally to the sake bath before we decided to head back and just call it a day. Below you can hopefully see the hooplah surrounding the pouring of a new batch of coffee-like water into that bath (via that other man's head).

And on the way back to Tokyo we stopped to admire the beautiful Fujiya Hotel. If you get a few extra bucks in your pocket, staying at this Hakone hotel (built in 1878) would be a real treat!

7.5.3

This Sunday was shichi-go-san day, during which families bring children to the nearest shrine for a day of firsts: 3 year old girls wear their kimono to the shrine for the first time; 5 year old boys wear whatever the name is for a male kimono; and 7 year old girls wear the obi, or fancy belt, with their kimono for the first time. First stop is the hand washing station. Below is a cute pumpkin in bright orange. It's hard to see in the picture, but she had matching shoes, a little purse and ornate combs in her hair.

Although the girls wore a variety of colors, the boys all had the same set of greens of blues in their hakana. A few boys wore western-style suits instead (but with shorts). On this day the children were given long red and white candy inside these thin paper bags (above).

Here's my favorite in a little purple kimono. She was so cute. I wish I could get better pictures but I was trying to hang back and not get too involved in what was clearly a special day for the family. Ok - here is one I stole from the internet but it will give you a better idea of what the mini-version of a kimono looks like.

This all went down at the Nezu shrine, which is right next to campus. Here's a koi pond and bridge.