Ok, Chrismas in Japan can not compare to Chrismas in France.

Ok, for some reasons, the Japanese have decided that Chrismas is not Chrismas without nauseating creamy cakes with a few lonely strawberries on the top, instead of fine buches-de-noel.

Ok, I can't stand the sound of "Last Chrismas I gave you my heart" every time I enter a shop anymore.

Ok, the Japanese Chrismas is a kind of winter-style Valentine, and people dream to spend it at Disneyland with their lover. Which is a bit poor-taste, you'll admit.

Ok, whatever they do, the simple fact that my family is NOT in Japan makes the Japanese Chrismas look sad and artificial.

Still... come one, have you seen the lights ?? Chrismas lights in Tokyo are enchanting. They mix with trees just like dew, and it is so beautiful I could cry.

Ebisu

Akasaka

Roppongi

But these little treasures won't prevent me to spend Chrismas in France, with REAL chocolate, REAL Chrismas trees, and TRUE love.

Joyeux Noel à tous !

It is my second stay, but it seems that I love this city more and more every time. Hiroshima, peaceful and sunny city which doesn't even look at the scars of the past...
Welcome again at the Yamamoto family's place, I could enjoy delicious hand-made okonomiyaki, navigate between broken Japanese and local language, and feel the air of the survivor city.
Thanks again to Yukimi, her mother and brother for this great week-end.

先週末大好きな広島に行って、二回目だったけど本当にこの町に感心があるようになったと思います。いつも静かで明るい雰囲気ので、積極的な町の漢字があります。
も一度山本のところでホムステーをしてもらって、とても楽しかったです。うまいお好み焼きを食べて、広島の話し方を分かってみて、あの場所の一般的な力をもらえたと思います。
幸美ちゃん、お母さん、弟さん、春香ちゃん、ありがとうございました！

Hiroshima


Hiroshima Castle


Hiroshima Castle






Wedding ceremony



Shukkeien Gardens




















Almost a village




The University


Yamamoto's neighbourhood


Yummy okonomiyaki


Hiroshima friends

Japanese Autumn is sweet, definitely sweeter than Paris' one, but still I needed more sun before begining my internship - three months sat in an office when I will barely see the sun shining...
So, I flought to the sunny Guam (USA), a southern island of the Mariannas' archipelago, in the Pacific Ocean : around 3 hours by plane from Tokyo, the ideal place to rest for the Japanese, and a little change for me because local people here speak Japanese more than English, even to me ! An appendix of Japan, if I can say. It's very clean, very organized, very Japanese-friendly (ramen-ya at every corner). But with a little change that makes all the difference...

First, Guam is EMPTY. The streets are surrounded by the same Ginza-style shops, the same international food restaurants than in Japan, but you have so much space everywhere - ceiling are highs, streets are wide, and you feel so much confortable in this micro-island than on the main-land of Honshu... because people don't live here like sardins in a can...

The hotel pool, empty...

The streets, empty...


The beach, empty...


The bar, empty...


The aquarium, empty...

Then, Guam is bright. The sun, the water, even the grass is shiny as if there where pigments to reflect the light from everywhere, so you absolutely need to wear sunglasses, even the Japanese. How can nature make the things so different, from the dark volcano-ground Japanese beaches and the ultra-white seashores of Guam ?

Sooooo transparent water


Blue lagoon


Bright beach


Underwater


Underground colors effects


Surface coral art

Finally, it is USA after all, and the Japanese are not at home, even if everything is kind of made for them. I heard many of them doing an effort to speak in English with the local people on the shops for example, even if they really didn't need to do so. In addition, I was welcome everywhere with a "happy Thanksgiving" and I could see a huge pannel saying "We support our troops" at the top of the airport entrance, which is definitely not very in the Japanese spirit. But from the bus, it seems that I was the only one to notice the message... Polite blindness or fear to get involved in any political subject ?
I also felt that I was going to the USA at the check point of the international airport of Guam, where I had to answer to the most intimate questions about my "strange" interest for Japan, and about with who I was travalling and why this choice. But in the absence of US visa, I had no right in front of the final decision of the custom guy and if he decided not to let me enter, I could only take my flight back to Tokyo... So, I answered to everything smiling like a good girl and I let the person in front of me to play with my fate around 7 minutes before allowing me to receive the precious stamp on my passport... Jeezus.

Japan, USA, Guam...


Two girls from Kansai who absolutely wanted to take a picture with me... I am so exotic


Guam : a Chrismas tree and tropical plants

Guam is also a little Marketing Paradise where everything is based on the themes of flowers, fruits and exotism - hawaiian style clothes, hair flowers, perfumed skin-care, coconut soaps, fruity cocktails, scented candles - and as all is moderatly cheap, you can't prevent yourself to fall for all these colors, all these smells ; and you shop... and shop... Guam is a brand itself, in addition with the commodity of the malls which propose the same global stuff you can find all over the world, from Prada to Vuitton, Givenchy and Chanel.

Cocktails...

... Cocktails...


... and Cocktails.


Aquarium-bar

But if you take a bus for a few miles (yes, we are in the USA, remember), then you discover an untouched nature, very impressive : the deep blue of the sea, the strength of the wind, the schock between the high cliff and the sweet beach... You can still imagine the lifestyle of the Chamorros before the Spanish came on the island, despite the routine of tourism and the confort established for the high-demanding Japanese travellers...

I had a very good time at Guam, and I encourage all the Tokyo-addicts to take a break once in this Japanese Paradise...

It's almost Christmas and it's time for regression. So it's time to go and visit the Japanese version of the Disneyland Resort. We went to Disney Sea because it seemed to propose a few new things compared to our Disneyland Paris. The two parks (Land and Sea) are situated in the Easter surburb of Tokyo. You can acces the place easily with the JR line connected to Tokyo station or Shin-Kiba station, on the Yurakucho line.  It's a simple, easy, fast and cheap journey - first good surprise of the day.

Mysterious Island

Arabian Coast

Mermaid's Lagoon

Mediteranean Port

American Waterfront

TomorrowLand

I went several times to Disneyland Paris and I have to say that I definitely prefered Disney Sea Tokyo. Let me list the nicest points of Tokyo's park :

- It's quiet. The kids are patients, calms and nobody rushes to the attractions. No stress in the waiting lines. When you lost your friends because you were busy to take a picture, people kindly make some space in the line to let you join your group. As a result, the day was very relaxing - something that you can't expect from Disneyland Paris where kids are shouting at every corner and their parents insulting them in all the langages of the world...

- It's clean. Another difference from Disney Paris. Almost everyone is carrying a pop-corn bag but nothing falls on the flor and if it happens, a nice cleaning person immediatly appears to clean the place. So Disney Sea really looks like another planet where everything is pretty and easy-going.

- It's details-oriented. Inside the attractions, the level of attention to the details of the decoration and so on is really, really amazing. Nothing compared to the cheap Pinocchio/Peter Pan/etc. attrations I was used to. The journey to the Center of the Earth is properly a piece of Art, as well as the 20 000 Under the Sea and even Indiana Jones - the special effects are really high-standard and you don't regret the time that you spent waiting for it ! And I understand now why the Japanese are so crazy about Disney stuff - the park as a whole is really, really impressive. There are little rooms everywhere, full of stuff and decoration ; the music on the alleys is well-balanced with noises effects etc... How can you resist to the magic ?

Special mention to the Kingdom of Triton, it was so beautiful that I could have spent the hole day to watch the scenary... And there was the real Mermaid's cavern !!!

- It's not so full of tourists. We barely met something like ten gaijin groups or couples. All the staff workin at Disney Sea is bilingual but people seemed sincerely surprised and happy that I could question them politely in Japanese and two of them thanked me for my "kirei na nihongo". As a result, you don't have the feeling that the park is a "tourists thing"but a kind of part of the modern Japanese culture.

- The restaurants are not only fast-food spots, even the middle-range ones. You can have spicy food inside he Volcano, arabian pastries at the Arabian Coast and pasta at Little Venice. I didn't tried any restaurant but families have more choice to feed the kids than in Paris.

- The goodies are not so expensive. I didn't buy anything because there was no reason to but if you like to bring some stuff back to your friends, I suppose that you feel relieved about the range of prices.

- You can see Fuji-san from the water-front ! It's the fist time that I could see it so clearly !

A few strange things, anyway :

- In the Little Mermaid's show, after meeting the Witch, the mermaid finally decides to stay in the Ocean with her fishes-friends. Ok, they had to find a way to close the show, but personnally, I was shocked. The mermaid, in Disney's version, is curious about the world and wants to get out the protected familial area to make her own experiences. It's a metaphore of the way you become and adult, and make a step into a foreign world that you don't controle - the way you accept to take risks... It's really Japanese to prefer an ending where the mermaid stays with the people who look like her and rejects the dangers of the "outside world". Welcome to the Japanese society.

- You can GET MARRIED at Disneyland Tokyo... Oh my.

- For the strong sensations inside the attractions, prefer Disneyland Paris. I am not in this case but if you like adrenaline, you would be desappointed by the softness of the Japanese "fast-pace" experiences.
But I liked a lot the Tower of Terror... You are in a elevator suddenly falling from the highest floor. I really felt myself falling from high.

Tower of Terror

A really good day at Disney Sea !

One year ago, the 1st of January 2009, I was at the top of Roppongi Hills to watch the first sunrise of the year.
Today is December 31st, and I watched the last sunset of 2009. The circle is finished, so does my contract with the former year. I wished I could find a way to fullfil my dream and live in Japan : it's done. I wanted to stop worrying about things, my own destiny and the others' concerns ; I feel that I took some distance with my black clouds. 2009 kept its promises.

I officially challenge 2010 to be as least as amazing as its predecessor !

Happy New Year to everyone.

Base-ball : an alien sport for the Europeans. We don't play base-ball. We are bad at base-ball. We get bored watching base-ball.
But everything changes when it's your beloved university playing against its worst enemy - Waseda VS Keio !

For two weeks, the campus has been full of cheerleaders and base-ball-friendly association promoting the game, and it worked : without knowing nothing of the rules nor the special Waseda cheerleading songs, I went to watch the game. For a more serious and alsmost-pro preparation, see the feedback of Mogusa on the subject !

Let's kill the suspense : Keio killed us. But we had the most perfect sky - Konpeki na sora... - and the cheerleading experience is amazing.
A few funny (and unbelievable) customs about the Japanese supporters :
- After encouraging their own team, they always have a word for the opposite team ("Wasedaaaaa, Wasedaaaaa... and also go go go, Keio !")
- ... and the opposite team kindly applause (*_*)
- They can also sing the opposite team's song when they know it. And nobody hits them for that.
- When a ball falls in the public, nobody runs for catching it. People just wait for it to fall and then someone nicely go to pick it up.
- The cheerleaders come personnally to teach you the songs or the gestures if you don't know it. You have to shout and move a lot, but respecting the rules.

Waseda-Keio Baseball - Waseda Cheerleading - October 2009

 

You got it, it's extremely polite and civilized, and at the same time noisy and enthusiastic.
But if I have been convinced by the cheerleading, I am not a fan of base-ball, which is too static and slow compared to soccer or basket-ball or volley-ball. I still prefer our old-continent's favorite sports...

It's not original, but the first images I had from Japan have been transmitted to me through animation dramas when I was a little girl. Of course, with the French voices and the translation of the main part of the Japanese names into irrelevant American-style names, I had no idea that these stories were taking place in a far-away country called Japan. But I was fascinated by this world where the kids were wearing school uniforms, where old men had very weird wooden shoes, where small towns had so many stairs... where little girls had magical powers...
With Kimagure Orange Road, one of my favourite anime was Magical Angel Creamy. I can not call myself a fan of the cartoon anymore, but I still cherish the memory of it...

For-you-just-for-you, the opening song of Creamy - in French, it's even better...

- Creamy, adorable Creamy - générique

このアニメを覚えていますか。子供の時一番スキナアニメでした。アニメを見ると初めて日本の生活が見られて、どんな国か全然分からなかったけど、とても楽しかったです。今でもこの時代の思い出は強くて忘れられません。

In Japanese, "fall" is said "aki", written with the symbols of the tree and the fire. And it's true that, in Japan, the trees burn into colors at autumn. There is nothing better than re-discovering the places that you already know, colored with red, yellow and orange balls of fire : here, my old Shinjuku-gyoen and Four Seasons Hotel garden. With this November sweet sun, it was delicious, pure poetr, especially the momiji, the Japanese maple trees, which have leaves in the shape of delicate stars. Let me give you a sample of this urban Nature Art.

「秋」の漢字はとてもきれいだと思います。秋の時日本の木は本当に火の色です。よく知っている所は違う場所の感じがあります。例えば、新宿公園や隣のホテルの庭はすばらしくなりました。そしていい天気だし、かわいい星に見える紅葉の葉はすてきです。本当に自然の美術だと思います。

Shinjuku-gyoen

Four Seasons

Last Sunday, I was a bit desperate considering that I was going to spend this perfectly sunny day inside an exam room, alone with Mister Japanese Language Aptitude Test, Level 2. No need to say that in addition to the fact that it's an exam, the Japanese Language Aptitude Test is a tricky, nasty, unlovable multiple choice test. Instead of evaluating your real abilitity to talk and write in Japanese, it tests your sense of time management and your capacity to avoid traps. For example, there is a kanji you know. You could even write it without any problem in a sentence. But in the JLPT, you are proposed 4 kanji with one or two different strokes only; and because your are a human being, the simple fact to read it make you loose your knowledge of the kanji. As a result, to be ready for the JLPT, you should know everything scientifically. Knowing a kanji would need : knowing every part of it and the ways they complete each other in the right order to make the right shape and to make the right meaning. And it is the case for every part of this exam. A nightmare for me who have never been able to memorize anything by heart but poetry. Even in French, I don't know one single grammatical rule ; just reading and letting my instinct think for me, I have always had a good orthographe. To make it simple, I would have prefered to write an essay and to have an interview with a human person in front of me to judge of my concrete skills. But anyway.

The good surprise of the day was the place. I had to commute until Hanakoganei station, on the Seibu Shinjuku Line ; 20 minutes from Takadanobaba with the Express train. The University of Kaetsu is a nice campus surrounded by trees, and above all, silent. Even if I leave in a very quiet area in Tokyo, the silence does not have the same quality there. It was amazingly peaceful. The premices themselves were great, modern and visually interesting. I could'nt prevent myself to shoot it during the break : welcome to the Kaetsu University...

練習の日曜日、日本語能力試験の二級を受けました。すごく大変でしたが、場所は素晴らしかったので、やっぱり大丈夫でした。次はキャンパスの写真です。明るくていいところですね。嘉悦大学へよこそう。

The stay was too short and the budget too light to explore all the resources of Okinawa - especially the Sea Park of Churaumi, in the North of Okinawa Island (we were settled in the South part); but also the smaller islands you can access only by boat and all the natural areas you need to go by car... Some places to see once in yourlife, which will make me come back to Okinawa in the future !

But the few we could enjoy was already amazing...

Seashore
Farniente, farniente !








Nature
Hibiscus flowers and strange-shape trees














Naha, Kokusai-dori
a Californian/Hawaiian/Chinese/Japanese Bazaar...














Okoku-mura, former Royal Village
Traditionnal Houses, Fruits, Brown sugar and Habu-shuu (Snake alcohol) factories























Gyokusendo, impressive caves
(sorry, it was difficult to take good pics...)




Habu Snake Park
People-friendly snakes only !

Kawaii snakes (glup)


Tasty snakes (re-glup)


Snake show
(where you learnt that the cobra is not as cool as it seems to be,
because it just can't see nor feel anything behind him).


This one is pink, so it's the snake of love (obviously).



Naha, Makishi Market









Okinawa best products : tropical fruits and bitter cucumber


and also... "pork face"... yes.


Shuri-jo
The former palace of the Ryukyu














Fukushuen
Traditionnal Chinese-style garden

The most beautiful garden you could dream about...

Notes about our stay in Okinawa

Being a gaijin in Okinawa is different from being a gaijin in Tokyo. Because of the hot issue of the US military bases in the region and the memory of the war in the Pacific area, you can feel a certain tension in the air when Westerners show their faces somewhere - even when, like us, you are not American... Even if people were mostly as kind and polite you can expect from a Japanese person, here are a few differences I noticed in everyday communication with Okinawans:

- In Tokyo, one of the first question people have for you is "where are you from?", followed by exclamations of enthusiasm when they hear the magical word "France". But in Okinawa, almost nobody asked, because a Westerner in the region may be from the States. Then, when they discover that you are from Europe, they show more perplexity than curiosity - the kind of reaction of vague ignorance that people from countries like Uzbekistan may undergo in Western countries when they announce their nationality... No French prestige in Okinawa. Damned. I confess that I got used to it very quickly...

- Nevertheless, enthusiasm comes with the linguistics. Of course, in Tokyo people spend their time to say how great your level in Japanese language is, but you know that it's mostly to have something to say and to support your effort in learning the language. In Okinawa, people were really, sincerely, astonished to hear our broken Japanese, even in very touristic areas like Kokusai-dori in Naha. That let you imagine how many Westerners they met before, who didn't make the slightest effort to say something in Japanese, when it's not Okinawa local language. I could read in their eyes "So, can a Westerner really talk Japanese ??? I can't believe it !"... That's when I realized that we were far from the mainland.

- Okinawa is the last Japanese land before the "rope" of islands becomes Taiwan, and the archipelago belonged to China for centuries before that. You can feel that you made a step into deeper Asia when a group of young men from Taiwan ask the permission to take pictures with you, one after the other, while you are visiting some amazing Chinese gardens... It's very strange to realize that you are more exotic than this kind of background :

Last but not least : Okinawa daily pleasure of EATING !

More pictures, more stories, more fun to come soon on Mogusa's blog !

Tokyo is full of confidential resources... At the end of Omotesando, behind Prada, there is a an oasis called Nezu Museum. Not only you can enjoy artworks and exhibitions there, not only you can have a nice bowl of macha but you can also have the most restful, peaceful walk after your frantic Harajuku shopping... Judge by yourself.

Remember : at Christmas, strawberries were everywhere thanks to the magic of the Japanese greenhouses. I had been told that this unexpected strawberry-craziness in the middle of winter was "obviously" due to the fact these red, sweet and cute fruits were perfectly matching Christmas' spirit. Well, guess what, it also works for Valentine. So I am going to be tempted by strawberries until at least mid-February - after that I guess that the right season for buying it will start quickly...

A sample of what I see everywhere around me everyday - it's a torture :

As you see, there is a "double image benefit" between strawberries and Valentine...

It's really not appealling to me, but you can also buy "white strawberries". If you had seen the price you would understand why I did not try it. But anyway the normal red ones seem really more tasty.

For a lower budge, let me introduce the top of the top of the combini store : the strawberry sandwich ! Yes, they can !

Our familiar koala has been strawberrized too. For a complete explaination about the meaning of the koala, see Mogusa's blog.

And I can't present all the ice-creams, chocolates, cookies which have fallen for the strawberry-queen...

A third episode of Ichigo Ichie in April, maybe ? With strawberries cultivated under the sun ?...

The Kingdom of Denmark VS the Empire of the Sun... (Tonight - Football - Denmark VS Japan).

Ok, ok, I don't understand anything about football, I don't care about the World Cup, I disagree with the assumption that this big money business may solve the social issues in my society - as if we couldn't do anything against racism, discrimination and violence without winning the cup... In France, football players are treated as gods, and everyone seems surprised when they realize that the guys are totally disconnected with the reality, that they don't even care about the basic values of sport - effort, fairplay, team-spirit.
Anyway. It's easier to like the Japanese team, because everybody says they're not very strong, they're not going to go very  very far, but... but... they fight a lot, they show a kind of tea-spirit any Frenchy should be envious of,;so they make the show, and we like them. That's the difference between cool loosers and uncool loosers. Cool loosers... can win !

And here they are ! Doesn't it remind you an anime broadcasted a long, long time ago ?...

Go, Japan, go !

Tokyo is a poetic city. No matter what the shrine-addict and golden-age nostalgic people can say. Its true that Tokyo doesn't look like a European city: there are multiple centers, which means no real center to balance the city map; you can't find old stones on the streets, and you can't imagine that these are the walls where the poets of the past centuries stood right by, because everything is new in this megapole. No harmony of the architecture, no respect of the perspective, no esthetic rules... But Tokyo is the most poetic city I know. Because, when you have a look at it by night and you watch the insanely high buildings, and all this light in the darkness, you can see the Phoenix in the urban landscape. Tokyo has been destroyed by earthquakes, fires and bombs, hundred of times, but always reappeared because it's pure energy. Tokyo will be destroyed again, and will come back again, because it's made of people and will, not of stones.

Sandals are not sexy. Sandals are not glamour. But sandals are funny. And how can you make sandals even less sexy, less glamour but definitely funnier ? Adding unexpected accessories, of course.

Hotflops for Laforet Harajuku

Golf is obviously popular...


Martini and olives, champagne and bubbles, tennis balls, grape and ananas...
there were some more, but I have been asked not to take pictures anymore...

("J'aime la sensation de la mayonnaise qui me nappe les orteils"
"Dariaaaa ! Ce que tu dis est abominable !")

The so delicious "Salon du Chocolat" came from Paris to invade Tokyo and especially the 6th floor of Isetan Shinjuku. The theme was the Opera and many "chocolate artists" were here for the occasion, mainly from France but not only : Italy, the Netherlands, Japan were also choco-representated.
In this pre-Valentine tornado of cacao-based products everywhere, it's not enough to say that the Salon was a success - it was damned crowded as you can guess, and in addition, chocolate seems to have some strange powers on Japanese people, who turn unexpectedly excited when they are in contact with too much sugar... but it's true that the Salon looks like Charlie's chocolate factory and anyone would be crazy in front of so much chocolate.

パリのサロン・づ・ショコラが東京に来ました。今日まで新宿の伊勢丹デパートで見られました。フランスのチョコレートメーカが多かったけど、フランスだけではなくて、色々な国から来たブランドもありました。今年のトピックは「オペラ」です。
すぐにヴァレンタインになりますもで、このイヴェントは成功しました。皆は本当にわくわく、多分日本人はチョコレートの多さになれてこなかったと思います。しかし私もフランス人でも、このサロンはすごいと思いました。

It was a beautiful idea : having a nice China-town between the Seine and Marne rivers in the Eastern boder of Paris, with Chinese restaurants, shops, hotels, cultural activities... It was called Chinagora, and born in 1992. Now, it looks like a ghost city. The project died slowly because it was badly managed by both local and Chinese authorities. It can't be reconverted yet, because of a blocage in the legal process. But if you like Chinese ghosts stories, you can still enjoy the design of the place and imagine the lost souls crying about this huge waste of time, money and energy...

これはチャイナゴラというところです。パリの東で、中国の店やレストランやホテルがあります。面白いアイディーでしたけど、経済計画が悪くなって、今死んだ町の漢字です。誰もいなくて、本当に残念です。お金と時間の無駄だと思います。しかし幽霊の話が好きだったら、完璧な場所です。

Remember : one year ago, I was making my ETP mates work for my mum's birthday video (here it is, for memory). This time, it was special : we were all in France, the age was symbolic and the weather was good around Paris (unbelievable...) ; so we had a surprise-picnic to celebrate the lady of the day. Thank you family, friends, godson and neigbour for coming to the party and for keeping the secret for weeks and weeks !
Me and sis' left our place at 8:00 that morning to prepare the meals in our neighbour's kitchen : we made an olive/ham  cake and a salmon/lemon other one ; ceasar salad ; handmade tzatziki ; a pear clafoutis and a giant bowl of cut fruits. Our guests brought many other cakes and delicious cheese, wine, flowers... Sis' composed a special playlist based on the Beatles, J-J Goldman and other songs made-in Martineland ; and I had the album with pictures and birthday messages from everyone...

先週は母の誕生日で、外で友達と家族とパーティをしました。皆さん、お忙しいところ来てくれて、本当にありがとう！とても楽しかったです。
沢山料理があって、プレゼントも雰囲気もステキでした。も一度ありがとう！

Happy Birthday, Mum !

La chair est triste, hélas! et j'ai lu tous les livres.
        Fuir! là-bas fuir! Je sens que des oiseaux sont ivres
        D'être parmi l'écume inconnue et les cieux!
        Rien, ni les vieux jardins reflétés par les yeux
        Ne retiendra ce cœur qui dans la mer se trempe
        O nuits! ni la clarté déserte de ma lampe
        Sur le vide papier que la blancheur défend
        Et ni la jeune femme allaitant son enfant.
        Je partirai! Steamer balançant ta mâture,
        Lève l'ancre pour une exotique nature!

Un Ennui, désolé par les cruels espoirs,
        Croit encore à l'adieu suprême des mouchoirs!
        Et, peut-être, les mâts, invitant les orages
        Sont-ils de ceux qu'un vent penche sur les naufrages
        Perdus, sans mâts, sans mâts, ni fertiles îlots...
        Mais, ô mon coeur, entends le chant des matelots!        

Mallarmé - Brise Marine

Lucille Reyboz shares her life between France, Japan and Africa. Sounds familiar.
But Lucille Reyboz is a photographer - a real one. She took beautiful portraits of the colourful ladies of Bamako, in Mali, that you can enjoy until February 3rd at Chanel Nexus Hall, in Ginza (enter the shop and take the lift until 4F).
It's not the first time Miss Reyboz is sponsored by a global brand : she also presented her works about the Japanese onsen and people thanks to HSBC Paris. This time, Chanel Japan gave her the opportunity to go back to her orginal continent, Africa, and especially in Mali where she portrayed the gorgeous brides of the capital city.
The exhibition is not huge but the atmosphere is nice - it's very warm at 4F... welcome to Africa - and this is really beautiful pictures you can watch for free. Information here

2月3日まで銀座シャネル・ネクサス・ホールに「バマコ美女」と言う展覧会が見られます。
ただだし、いい雰囲気だし、マリの音楽とルシール・レイボーズのすばらしい写真をエンジョイできます。
本当にステキだからチャンスがあったら行って見て下さい！

Bamako's Beauties

Chanel Nexus Hall


Chanel Ginza


Mademoiselle

This is spring... Golden Week is coming... we all need to take a break and to relax...

Some of us will be lucky enough to enjoy onsen soon. For the ones who will not have this pleasure, let me help you to imagine. First, imagine that you are amazingly clean, cleaner that you have never been (no offense). This is because you took the greater shower of your life just before, and you washed yourself from the toes to the hair - this is mandatory. When you're finally shining like a baby, you can enter onsen. It is so warm you have to breath with your whole skin. Water is not only pure, it's mineral, powerful, because it comes from the depth of earth. The air around you is almost liquid. Blond skins like mine get red into five minutes but the Japanese keep pale and beautiful, only the cheeks get pink. Once you get use to environment, you can appreciate the peaceful atmosphere. Everybody is naked, everybody is relax, everybody is rejuvenating. This is onsen. Come and try.

GLIMPSES OF UNFAMILIAR JAPAN - Lafcadio Hearn - 1894

Lafcadio Hearn, half-Greek half-British free soul of the 19th Century, arrives in Yokohama, Japan, in 1890, as a journalist. Used to find the magic everywhere it is (from France to the West Indies and the USA), his eyes are getting big when he discovers poetic, enigmatic, delicate and sometimes rude Japan.

Lafcadio is my hero, my model, my maitre-a-penser. The greatest point about this book is that all the comments he made about his discoveries are still perfectly matching the impressions of today's visitor. As if industrialization, globalization and so on had never had the slighest effect on the very special emotion of being in Japan. Lafcadio, you rock. When I die, you're one of the ghosts I want to have an appointment with in the week.

THE GINGER TREE - Oswald Wynd - 1977

Young British Mary is sent to China to marry her fiance, sent in mission in the far East. Free-minded and curious about the world, she is way too interested in the Chinese people and their living condition for her time and finds herself in opposition with the European colonial spirit. Then, while married, she deeply falls in love with a Japanese officer - and gets pregnant of an illegitimate son. Rejected by her own society, she has to take refuge in Japan where many challenges are waiting for her. But strong and smart Mary can do it !!

What can I say ? Awwwww. A passionate romance between a Western lady and a Japanese hansome guy (Kentarooooo) ? I take it ! When I think that this story was created by a white male's brain, that's really amazing. Oswald, thumbs up, man. This novel is deep, poetic, definitely unique. A must-read for all the girls who fight to survive in Japan !

AMERICAN FUJI - Sara Backer - 2002

Gaby is an American lady who chose to cut herself from the world, being in Japan, for health-related reasons. She loves the country and its society even in its barbarian aspects, and most of all, she understands it. Ex-university teacher, fired for blury reasons, she works for a fantasy-funeral company. One day, she gets the call of a lost-in-translation American writor, Alex, whose son died in a car accident in Japan. He just has a few weeks to learn more about his death, and is desperate by the attitude of the Japanese around. The cultural gap is too heavy for his shoulders, and he's going to cling to Gaby as if she was a life preserver.

This author said "American Fuji is about alienation and forgiveness". The different visions of the two outsiders are both true and legitimate, and represent the mixed feelings of the alien-gajin in Japan. The mystery of the death of Alex's son becomes a real dramatic string in the story. And those fascinating protagonists... Oh please, read it, and then let's talk.

TOKYO - Mo Hayder - 2005

A neurotic young woman who calls herself "Grey" comes to Tokyo with an obsessional idea : finding a very old film related to the Nankin Massacre. The only person who ever saw it is an old Chinese teacher of Tokyo University. But some memories are buried too deep... Without money nor friends, she is going to survive in the gloomy area of backstreet-Takadanobaba. Little by little, the traumatic secrets of Grey find an echo in the big History. Individual destiny and collective memory sometimes interwine...

Welcome to a disturbing, sick, murky Tokyo ! The shadows of the past horrors - massacre, torture, cannibalism - are hiding in the spaces behind the buildings. You will be totally hypnotized by this suspens story.

 TOKYO SANPO & MANABE SHIMA - Florent Chavouet - 2009 & 2010

Frenchy Florent spends 3 months in Tokyo with his girlfriend, for the first time. He walks, he stops, he draws. Tokyo, or the neverending inspiration. A bit later, here he comes again, but this time he randomly picks up a small, insignificant, anonymous island : Manabe shima... that became the most famous piece of Japan for the French Japan-lovers !

With a very fresh sense of humour and an original second-degree looking on things, he pictures "the most beautiful of the ugly cities" like no one else could. Both Tokyo-addicts and newbies can spend a great time reading "Tokyo Sanpo". I almost prefer Manabe shima for it is a color-bright, joyful picture book, with the same ludic spirit than the first creation. Please come again Furo-san !

TALES OF THE OTORI - Lian Hearn - 2002

Ok guys, this one is just for fun. But a great fun. Imagine all the feudal Japanese myths and legends concentrated in one book : ploting clan lords, neverending honor warriors, ninja and ninja's magic, and so on. This is the story of young Takeo, adopted by the lord of Otori clan, trying to avenge the death of his noble adoptive father. On his way he meets the gorgeous Kaede, also caught into complicated clan wars. Adventure, romance, honor ; add a bit of mystery, and a few invented historic events on the way (the first giraffe on the Japanese ground...), and you're set.

Nothing in this novel is true. But who cares ? And just because the author wears the same family name than divine Lafcadio, it's worth reading it.

NI D'EVE NI D'ADAM - Amelie Nothomb - 2007

Impossible to make a list about my fav books about Japan without dropping the name of Amelie Nothomb. Actually, in many of her books, Japan has a central role to play; but in this one, there is also a Japanese romance. Invented-Amelie (the narrator) tells us about the time she was having a hard time working for a Japanese company (see "Stupeur et Tremblements") and was dating a shy and classy Japanese young man. Guess what, it didn't work. But it makes a wonderful story.

Heart-breaking. And hilarious at the same time, of course. Rinri is perfect: smart, galant, and sincerely in love with UFO-Amelie. But something is missing, something Japanese men refuse to give to a woman : the fusional experience, the connection of souls that we are craving for. And at a certain point, Amelie gets bored of her perfect - and cold - Japanese fiance. Touché.

(To be continued)

If you plan to come to Japan one day, you have to understand the concept of matsuri. Matsuri is a Japanese "festival" consisting in gathering the greatest number of food stands a possible ; plus cute girls in yukata ; plus something traditional like dances, songs, contemplation of fireworks or wathever. In summer, you have dozens of matsuri all around Japan. They are most of the time totally packed and you come back home with the smell of takoyaki on your clothes. Actually, there is nothing very funny about matsuri, except the very special feeling to be in Japan for real.

In the case of Mitama Matsuri, the beauty of the lanterns alone justify your presence there. Of course, Yasukuni Jinja is one of the most controversial subject in the Japanese International Relations, because it is dedicated to the people who fought on behalf of the Emperor between 1868 (Opening of Meiji Era) and 1951 (end of the war) - about two million soldiers are honored there, including, unfortunately, some war criminals. The Yushukan Museum, just next to the shrine, is also famous for providing very incomplete information about the war crimes perpetrated by Japan in Asia during WW2. As a result, this beautiful place in Tokyo is considered abroad as a symbol of extreme nationalism and even Japanese imperialism ; and the Japanese people themselves are not in favour of their governement's high-level visits at Yasukuni Jinja anymore. To mak it short, Yasukuni is a touchy subject and sometimes people are surprised you go there, even for an innocent matsuri. Whatever.

But let's go back to the basics : as I said, matsuri is made of

Food Stands

Girls in Yukata

And something traditionnal : shrine and beautiful lanterns

Magic, isn't it ?

The lanterns stand for the souls of the dead soldiers. In the middle of the way, a dancing group performs a simple choregraphy and every one can join the dance.

Mitama Matsuri 2011 / July 13th-July 15th / Yasukuni Jinja, Kudanshita Station / Free entrance

Second Matsuri of the summer : the Festival of Fireflies !

ホタルを初めて見て幸せでした！

I was totally excited about it because I had never seen firefies in my life. Actually, you need to be very lucky to see it in the nature : they are very fragile, have short life and produce only subtle, twinkling light, just like stars... So the easy way to watch fireflies is going to a place people "cultivate" them on purpose. Show-type fireflies. At Kamimachi, Setagaya-ku, every year, a dark "dome" (a tent, I would have said) full of fireflies is open to the public. You can enjoy matsuri and watch fireflies for free ! Sorry, no possibility to take pictures inside the dome, but trust me, it is so moving and so beautiful...

Matsuri Opening

Taiko, saiko !

Mandatory cute girls in yutaka

Matsuri by day...

... Matsuri by night

Dancing people

Me and Anne-Sophie, trying to follow the dance

The Best Smile Team is back !

Hotaru Matsuri, 16-17 July 2011, Hotaru Domu - Taikan Yashiku

Kamimachi Station, Setagaya-ku, Tokyo (20 minutes from Shibuya by Den-En-Toshi line and Setagaya-Line)

Free entrance to Hotaru Dome !

I had the Owl City song in my head all time long...

From Bunkyo-ku city hall 25th floor (Korakuen station), you are supposed to see Fuji-san between Shinjuku's skyscrappers. If you go on the morning. A beautiful day without too much air contamination. If you're lucky. Not like us today, but whatever, the view was still worthing it !

Korakuen scary roller-coaster... NE-VER

30 minutes by foot, and you leave Bunkyo-kyu for Shinjuku-ku. Hello Waseda, "my" University ! Sweet, sweet memories of ETP program, in 2009-2010...

Spring is coming soon ! Can't wait to enjoy blossoming Tokyo again !