ok, this is my attempt to summarise my visit to Tokyo. I thought I'll just pick out the best pics, just a few and write a summary in one entry. I'm not quite sure whether that's possible but I will have a go!
Maybe I'll start of with my friends - Claudia and Bjoern whom I stayed with. I have to say right from the beginning, I was able to tell a lot about Koreans and Korea cause I met a lot of Koreans, but I didn't meet any Japanese, but 'only' Germans, so excuse if this sounds all a bit from one perspective.
This picture is from our last evening and shall come first here. Claudia in the middle who I met about 12 years ago when starting to study interior shop design and window dressing. We went together through hell for 3 years, but always with a lot of laughing. Next to her on the right is Bjoern, her boyfriend. Both work for Ikea and are building up 3 and more new Ikea houses in and around Tokyo. Needless to say, I met almost the whole German Ikea crew while being there :) No, just 2 more...
So the first day I went to Nippori. Claudia recommended this area for walking around. I found a walking tour in the Lonely Planet guide that send me straight into the wrong direction by saying I have to turn right out of the station and not left how you were suppose to go. You can imagine that I didn't really trust the rest of the description! But I did meet another girl with the same guide in her hands - god, I felt like such a tourist! So basically this was my temple tour. The guide had calculated 3 hours for 2km! LOL So I've tried to be as slow as possible to at least take 2 hours on this.
This is taken on a huge cemetary at the beginning of the walking tour. Very beautiful, but I like cemetaries in general...
So I saw a lot of temples and cemetaries and this is the last I saw that day. The light was so beautiful, and I think, everybody knows what a Japanese temple looks like (from the front :) ).
The next day I went to Odaiba, which is kind of an island, I think. You get there by train. The train ride is quite cool cause you have to pass the Rainbow Bridge (first pic), and the train runs over the bridge but below the normal traffic. So it's kinda like going beneath the bridge. On the island, I walked around for a bit first, then was desperately trying to find the museum of new technology. The Lonely Planet guide did not tell me the name of the building this museum was in which would have helped considering that that was the only thing written all over the building. So I walked around the whole complex, and after finally finding it they told me the museum was about to shut. So I went shopping instead. What else can woman do?
The next day I went to Roppongi, another area Claudia recommended. After getting again totally lost and not finding the instructions of the Lonely Planet guide, I gave up on that guide! I don't know what experiences you guys had but I've always thought Lonely Planet is suppose to be good. But instead it's a load of shite. Anyway, after finding my way back to the station, I just followed the instructions Claudia had given to me and went shopping again. What else could I have done cause the gallery I wanted to go to I didn't find. Seriously, the Asians and their no street name policy. I am still not sure how you are suppose to find your way around if you don't know the area. I suppose - buy a better guide!
Ok, it is Friday morning, and I get up at 5am to go the Tokyo's largest fishmarket. I got there 6.30/7ish, it was still dark. Luckily Claudia drew me a map, so I found the entrance of the market. Suddenly, I thought I've gotten into complete chaos, cause the many workers at the market were more than busy preparing for the morning's sales. I almost got run over my the small kind of forklift trucks many of them were driving around. Quite obviously they are very used to that, so they do it with speed and precision. On the market itself I felt like an intruder, cause for a long time I didn't see any other non-Asian/Japanese, and they all looked at me - well maybe it was my hat... So I didn't take as many photos as I would have liked to, but here are a few:
Ok, this should be it for today. My next entry will be about our weekend in Hakone.
Seamus - my good friend and brilliant Sculptor from Manorhamilton in county Leitrim, Ireland. Seamus and I were both collaborators to Cathy.
Dancers Maurice Fraga and Lucy Dundon. On the right Cathy O'Kennedy, Director of Fluxusdance.
Mo and Lucy dancing around one of Seamus' Golden Spirals.
Just before we landed at JFK a snow storm had broken loose and we had to wait for 15min before they could park our plane. They had to get snowcars in to clean our parking slot. Still in the taxi into the city the storm went on, but this is how it looked a few hours later when we got picked up by Daria, our host.
This is how it looked the next day... : /
The subway at Christopher Street
Jess and I
Daria and myself in the AIR Gallery, wearing nose warmers of one of the exhibiting artists :)
This is one of Daria's art pieces, a very cool hand-made hat.
Anna, Jess and I clearly relieved after the performance talk. I'll spare you with pictures in a squared dress and hat of myself :)
My friend Stefan who came to see the talk and with whom we went for drinks afterwards.
Anna and Jess in a bus when we went down to the South tip of Manhattan.
The most Southern point in Manhattan. Absolutely beautiful in the snow with the sun out.
The ferry to Staten Island and the Statue of Liberty.
Anna at the entrance of Lucky Strike
Kaethe and I in Lucky Strike
The trip was great but it was absolutely freezing. I don't think I've ever been that cold.
One can't get a better view!
Takeshita
Shibuya
Absolutely had to photograph him :)
taken from a viewing tower in the heart of Tokyo centre
the team takes a short break while visiting an open air modern art museum
the karaoke crime... I hope never anybody is going to get to see the video! Claudia please destroy!
this is how our hands looked like after coming out of the hot sulfate baths!
