Day 2: About "Time" - A new view of Shinjuku, a new soap and a new route
Hello, everybody!
Today is a day of mixed feelings for me. I'll go into detail a bit later. First off, today wasthe first day of actual sight seeing. Now, I really like sights, but I'm not used to being so... well, physically busy all the time. ^^" It was a really nice sights day, though, which is very encouraging.
Once again the sun did not really come out today and weather forecast says it's going to remain cloudy. >< Well, even so, since it's close to our hotel we decided to pay SHinjuku Gyoen a visit to check if we can see any cherry blossoms or other plants blooming yet. and boy, did we see blosoms. I hope you will enjoy the pictures. It was a rather mild day today, which was perfect for strolling through a park. We got there and found our way around without any difficulties, which added to the good mood.
I have to admit, I've always been wondering about "Sakura" and I never really understood this huge response to blooming trees. I mean, we have them in my home coutry. Beautiful trees. And they're nice to look at, but it simply doesn't compare. Sakura is not simply a blossom on a branch - it is a feeling of hope and joy, awaiting a new season, not only in weather, but also in life. Everybody seems to want to contribute to this atmosphere and at the same time take in as much of it as they can. People walk around parks with photo cameras and/or drawing papers to capture the change of season as best they can. Families and friends are sitting together on the ground, enjoying the first days of warmer weather. In in the middle of all of that there stand hundreds of massive trees, overlooking the spectacle going on around them. That's the feeling that you get when you look at such a scene. It is most extraodrinary and it gives you a very unique inner tranquility that I often lack in daily life - this might well be one of the undoubtedly many reasons of the big impact of the Sakura on everybody in Japan.
"Among" Cherry blossoms
A beautiful close-up
A park view
There is more than cherries, like these beautiful yellow blossoms...
...or these lovely flowers
There are also other huge trees
And yet more curious things, like this view spot
But ultimately THIS is just the most breathtaking view
Wonderful Magnolia
And more cherries, seemingly everywhere, over water...
...on the ground...
...over our heads
Seriously, how beautiful is this?
After enjoying the park for a long time we started to feel really hungry, though, and because my motehr wanted to get some rest, we decided to get back to the hotel, eat something at the restaurant there and then take a nap before setting out for afternoon activities. The restaurant we ate at is located right next to our hotel. It's a nice restaurant that serves rather "simple" food, such as pasta, pizza and such. The food was really good too, so we enjoyed our lunch and then took a short break.
Pizza lunch
I meant to check some things before going on the afternoon walk. The idea was to find the Imperial Theater, so we could a) remember how to get there and b) hopefully buy some merchandise before the show. Here I want to thank Amanda from je_goods for getting the tickets for Endless SHOCK for me. <3 We're going to the midday show on Monday. ^^
Now, as I checked the schedule for today's shows, I saw that both shows on the 19th had been cancelled. I had no idea why that had been decided, so I checked some lj communities and found reports of a very severe incident that happened during the midday show on that day. One of the LED light construction parts (a big one, report said 800kg) that are part of the set came down and hurt six people, 5 of them cast, 1 staff member. The show was stopped, the theater was evacuated. I was lost for words when I read about that and I am still feeling very upset about this. It might seem stupid to feel such strong sympathy and it might sound a bit shady to say "I'm so sorry" to people you don't even know. But then, what to say? How to express this completely irrational feeling? Maybe it can work to simply try to be supportive.
* To the cast members who were injured: Have a fast and full recovery. The people who cannot continue this season have the roughest conditions to endure. First it's a lost work season and then, as a dancer you depend on a functioning body. Be in the best of conditions again soon, everybody!
* To the staff member who was injured: Please recover fast and well and please be at ease once you have recovered.
* To the cast, who yesterday and today continued to present the show: Thank you for your hard work! Please keep your trust in the staff members, in your co-actors and in the play. Continue to give your best to this stage and please keep loving it the way you always have.
* To Koichi: Be strong, do not let this incident cast a shadow over your incredible acheivements. Continue to lead your company with confidence, reassure them of all the wonderful things and feelings that they convey towards everybody who visits the show and most importantly, keep your love for this play that you have designed and put so much of yourself into.
As already mentioned, yesterday and today the shows have continued with no further incidents. That is quite a relief, really. I'm really happy that the season can continue and that despite this terrible incident nobody was fatally hurt and while some people will need time recover everybody can look into the future and continue the stage play.
Now I want to move on to the part where we tried to find the way to the theater. Really, directions and signs are hardly ever placed helpfully for foreigners. I'm not talking about Japan here specifically, I keep seeing this basically everywhere, also back at home. So I'm used to it, but it's still quite unnerving. We took the subway to get to the theater, the HIbiya Line. I checked the right station on the internet nd tried to find the best exit with the help of signs at said station. Now, as we approached the exit I had chosen, there was an arrow pointing upstairs saying "Imperial Theater". Well, once out on the street, no further signs or any other indications. I tried to find a building that looked like the one I know from all the DVDs, but I couldn't make out anything that would have fit. So we walked around the area and asked around. People kept sending us back and forth a bit, although they might all have been right ultimately, but we kept getting lost on our way while following instructions and upon asking again someone else gave us otehr directions that, in retrospective, seem equally correct, but were confusing for us.
At one point I was quite frustrated when I realized that after about half an hour of walking around we were almost at the same spot as at the beginning, just one block down. Fortunately that was when I could finally make out the building that from my memory should be the theater. So we set out into the direction and it turned out that it really was the theater. Upon looking just a bit further up the street we saw the exit of another subway line. ^^" We memorized the name of that subway, so now we are going to have a very easy access to it. ^^ Sadly, Ithink I scared the ladies at the entrance, because they did not understand what I wanted - or maybe it was already too late to just buy goods - at any rate we were not admitted without ticket, so I'm just going to have to buy everything on Monday.
As a very small add-on for the JE section: while checking mix_madmade today I found an entry that said that Machida has left JE. It makes me really sad ot think that he quit. He was really cool on stage and I always enjoyed watching him. Machida-san, I hope you can accomplish everything that you want!!! <3 (Or you can always pair up with Yone? XD )
Once we had memorized the way to the theater we set out on another quest. ^^ The soap at the hotel makes my hands itch, my skin almost "scaly" and red. So I found out where a "Body shop" can be found and I wanted to buy some soap there, as I happen to know that the Body Shop goods always work well with my skin. A shop was said to be in Harajuku in the "Omotesando" shopping street. While outside of hte station there was again a lack of signs I know my way around this area just a bit, so I tried a rather broad street that seemed to be right and YAY, just about a five minutes walk down the street there's the Body Shop. So now I have a strawberry soap that feels good on my hands, which is very nice. :D I also bought almonds hand cream to repair the damage that had been done by the other soap. @_@ By now my hands already look close to normal again. ^^
We didn't do much more today, we were quite spent. On our way back we took a short break at a Hot Coacoa Café. In concerns of taste, both the coacoa and the cake were worth the incredibly long wait - however, the treat was not good for my mother's stomach, apparently, which had recovered quite well, but after our visit to that shop she was feeling worse again. By now she has already recovered again. My guess is that there is something in the local milk that her stomach simply can't digest and thus keeps revolting whenever she feeds him that. She decided to stay away from such food nd drinks. Everything else seems to go very well with her stomach, which is really good.
The famous Laforet
Coacoa Bar Menu
Back at the hotel we took a shower and relaxed a bit. Tomorrow, if the weather is nice, we want to go on a day trip. It'll be either Nikko, or Kamakura. Wait for the next report and see which one it is. ^^ For today that's all I have to say. Please have a look at my other entries. If you have anything you want to share, feel free to comment, or PM me. Lots of hugs!!! <3
Today is a day of mixed feelings for me. I'll go into detail a bit later. First off, today wasthe first day of actual sight seeing. Now, I really like sights, but I'm not used to being so... well, physically busy all the time. ^^" It was a really nice sights day, though, which is very encouraging.
Once again the sun did not really come out today and weather forecast says it's going to remain cloudy. >< Well, even so, since it's close to our hotel we decided to pay SHinjuku Gyoen a visit to check if we can see any cherry blossoms or other plants blooming yet. and boy, did we see blosoms. I hope you will enjoy the pictures. It was a rather mild day today, which was perfect for strolling through a park. We got there and found our way around without any difficulties, which added to the good mood.
I have to admit, I've always been wondering about "Sakura" and I never really understood this huge response to blooming trees. I mean, we have them in my home coutry. Beautiful trees. And they're nice to look at, but it simply doesn't compare. Sakura is not simply a blossom on a branch - it is a feeling of hope and joy, awaiting a new season, not only in weather, but also in life. Everybody seems to want to contribute to this atmosphere and at the same time take in as much of it as they can. People walk around parks with photo cameras and/or drawing papers to capture the change of season as best they can. Families and friends are sitting together on the ground, enjoying the first days of warmer weather. In in the middle of all of that there stand hundreds of massive trees, overlooking the spectacle going on around them. That's the feeling that you get when you look at such a scene. It is most extraodrinary and it gives you a very unique inner tranquility that I often lack in daily life - this might well be one of the undoubtedly many reasons of the big impact of the Sakura on everybody in Japan.
"Among" Cherry blossoms
A beautiful close-up
A park view
There is more than cherries, like these beautiful yellow blossoms...
...or these lovely flowers
There are also other huge trees
And yet more curious things, like this view spot
But ultimately THIS is just the most breathtaking view
Wonderful Magnolia
And more cherries, seemingly everywhere, over water...
...on the ground...
...over our heads
Seriously, how beautiful is this?
After enjoying the park for a long time we started to feel really hungry, though, and because my motehr wanted to get some rest, we decided to get back to the hotel, eat something at the restaurant there and then take a nap before setting out for afternoon activities. The restaurant we ate at is located right next to our hotel. It's a nice restaurant that serves rather "simple" food, such as pasta, pizza and such. The food was really good too, so we enjoyed our lunch and then took a short break.
Pizza lunch
I meant to check some things before going on the afternoon walk. The idea was to find the Imperial Theater, so we could a) remember how to get there and b) hopefully buy some merchandise before the show. Here I want to thank Amanda from je_goods for getting the tickets for Endless SHOCK for me. <3 We're going to the midday show on Monday. ^^
Now, as I checked the schedule for today's shows, I saw that both shows on the 19th had been cancelled. I had no idea why that had been decided, so I checked some lj communities and found reports of a very severe incident that happened during the midday show on that day. One of the LED light construction parts (a big one, report said 800kg) that are part of the set came down and hurt six people, 5 of them cast, 1 staff member. The show was stopped, the theater was evacuated. I was lost for words when I read about that and I am still feeling very upset about this. It might seem stupid to feel such strong sympathy and it might sound a bit shady to say "I'm so sorry" to people you don't even know. But then, what to say? How to express this completely irrational feeling? Maybe it can work to simply try to be supportive.
* To the cast members who were injured: Have a fast and full recovery. The people who cannot continue this season have the roughest conditions to endure. First it's a lost work season and then, as a dancer you depend on a functioning body. Be in the best of conditions again soon, everybody!
* To the staff member who was injured: Please recover fast and well and please be at ease once you have recovered.
* To the cast, who yesterday and today continued to present the show: Thank you for your hard work! Please keep your trust in the staff members, in your co-actors and in the play. Continue to give your best to this stage and please keep loving it the way you always have.
* To Koichi: Be strong, do not let this incident cast a shadow over your incredible acheivements. Continue to lead your company with confidence, reassure them of all the wonderful things and feelings that they convey towards everybody who visits the show and most importantly, keep your love for this play that you have designed and put so much of yourself into.
As already mentioned, yesterday and today the shows have continued with no further incidents. That is quite a relief, really. I'm really happy that the season can continue and that despite this terrible incident nobody was fatally hurt and while some people will need time recover everybody can look into the future and continue the stage play.
Now I want to move on to the part where we tried to find the way to the theater. Really, directions and signs are hardly ever placed helpfully for foreigners. I'm not talking about Japan here specifically, I keep seeing this basically everywhere, also back at home. So I'm used to it, but it's still quite unnerving. We took the subway to get to the theater, the HIbiya Line. I checked the right station on the internet nd tried to find the best exit with the help of signs at said station. Now, as we approached the exit I had chosen, there was an arrow pointing upstairs saying "Imperial Theater". Well, once out on the street, no further signs or any other indications. I tried to find a building that looked like the one I know from all the DVDs, but I couldn't make out anything that would have fit. So we walked around the area and asked around. People kept sending us back and forth a bit, although they might all have been right ultimately, but we kept getting lost on our way while following instructions and upon asking again someone else gave us otehr directions that, in retrospective, seem equally correct, but were confusing for us.
At one point I was quite frustrated when I realized that after about half an hour of walking around we were almost at the same spot as at the beginning, just one block down. Fortunately that was when I could finally make out the building that from my memory should be the theater. So we set out into the direction and it turned out that it really was the theater. Upon looking just a bit further up the street we saw the exit of another subway line. ^^" We memorized the name of that subway, so now we are going to have a very easy access to it. ^^ Sadly, Ithink I scared the ladies at the entrance, because they did not understand what I wanted - or maybe it was already too late to just buy goods - at any rate we were not admitted without ticket, so I'm just going to have to buy everything on Monday.
As a very small add-on for the JE section: while checking mix_madmade today I found an entry that said that Machida has left JE. It makes me really sad ot think that he quit. He was really cool on stage and I always enjoyed watching him. Machida-san, I hope you can accomplish everything that you want!!! <3 (Or you can always pair up with Yone? XD )
Once we had memorized the way to the theater we set out on another quest. ^^ The soap at the hotel makes my hands itch, my skin almost "scaly" and red. So I found out where a "Body shop" can be found and I wanted to buy some soap there, as I happen to know that the Body Shop goods always work well with my skin. A shop was said to be in Harajuku in the "Omotesando" shopping street. While outside of hte station there was again a lack of signs I know my way around this area just a bit, so I tried a rather broad street that seemed to be right and YAY, just about a five minutes walk down the street there's the Body Shop. So now I have a strawberry soap that feels good on my hands, which is very nice. :D I also bought almonds hand cream to repair the damage that had been done by the other soap. @_@ By now my hands already look close to normal again. ^^
We didn't do much more today, we were quite spent. On our way back we took a short break at a Hot Coacoa Café. In concerns of taste, both the coacoa and the cake were worth the incredibly long wait - however, the treat was not good for my mother's stomach, apparently, which had recovered quite well, but after our visit to that shop she was feeling worse again. By now she has already recovered again. My guess is that there is something in the local milk that her stomach simply can't digest and thus keeps revolting whenever she feeds him that. She decided to stay away from such food nd drinks. Everything else seems to go very well with her stomach, which is really good.
The famous Laforet
Coacoa Bar Menu
Back at the hotel we took a shower and relaxed a bit. Tomorrow, if the weather is nice, we want to go on a day trip. It'll be either Nikko, or Kamakura. Wait for the next report and see which one it is. ^^ For today that's all I have to say. Please have a look at my other entries. If you have anything you want to share, feel free to comment, or PM me. Lots of hugs!!! <3