Hakusan Shrine Festival 白山神社祭

 

This afternoon I stepped out of my apartment for a few minutes to grab some lunch from one of the local bento shops, when I came across part of the Hakusan Shrine Festival at the end of my block. There was a parade of families and kids carrying a portable shrine, and another group drumming on a large float. 

 

 

I had seen the posters for the festival, but as it is a very small neighborhood shrine, I hadn't planned to go. I picked up my lunch, and walked over to the park next to the shrine to get some fresh air and to enjoy the sound of the chanting that was part of the festival.

 

 

Lunch, above, the bento shop, below (I took the photo on my way back home, after he had closed for the afternoon).

 

 

 Hakusan Shrine. For additional photos, click here.

 

 

I love the weather-worn lantern that is near the front. The shrine is quite small, and the origin date isn't known, but it has been here since the Edo period, so probably at least since the 17th century.

 

 

I made my way back home, and as I was settling into my afternoon, the festival parade came down my street, giving me a great bird's eye view.

 

 

 

 

The kids were working so hard!

 

Asukayama Park and Okonomiyaki 飛鳥山公園とお好み焼き

 

After a day of hashing out research and dissertation work, Ti and I spent the evening hanging out around Oji and Kajiwara, solving the worlds problems one drink at a time. We began at Asukayama Park. Public drinking is legal here, so we talked academia on a park bench, with chuhai and beer from the convenience store. The park has a nice traditional feel to it, and we mostly sat near the river (above), but also walked around the hilly part and viewed the mid-Autumn full moon (below).

 

 

The park has a great view towards Oji and Oji Station.

 

 

Next on the agenda was dinner. We took the streetcar over to Kajiwara and had dinner at Fukuraya, an okonomiyaki shop in my neighborhood.

 

 

Ti awaits our Osaka-style modan-yaki as it cooks on the grill. The mid-century vintage beer advertisements that decorated the restaurant were pretty stellar (check the background!).

 

 

Okonomiyaki. The greatest food known to human kind.

 

 

We also had a traditional style shrimp okonomiyaki. Modan-style has yaki soba noodles (a type of egg noodle), and is thinner in the pancake with the egg on top. Traditional style has the egg mixed in, and no noodles.

 

 

Nerding out for okonomiyaki.

 

Instagramed Wednesday

 

Some photos from my day.

Above- higanbana, or red spider lilies, a  sign of autumn here in Japan. The heat broke with the typhoon earlier this week, so the temperatures are in the 70s and 80s. Higanbana popped up in Ueno Park, and I saw them on my way into work. Personally, I think they are quite beautiful, but for most Japanese people they represent death- they were traditionally planted near cemeteries because they repel rodents and insects (in Ueno they are across from the cemetery), and I believe there is also a folk story relating them to tragedy. Still, striking in appearance, and pretty cool in the way that they pop up overnight.

Below- a gorgeous butterfly that kept me company as I walked from the train into work. It even landed on me at one point!

 

 

Tokyo Tower with the moon (is it full? I'm not sure...). I attended a Fulbright reception at the second-to-the-ambassador's residence this evening, and saw this on the walk from the station to the diplomatic residence. The reception was lovely, and held at the house that Walter Mondale lived in when he was the ambassador. No Caroline Kennedy, but still pretty cool!

 

National Diet Library 国立国会図書館

 

Today I spent a very long day at the National Diet Library. 

 The library is a huge complex located across the street from the Diet, which can be seen through the trees in this first picture. Using the library starts with applying for a library card, a process which took about twenty minutes. This time around I received a three year card, my last visit to the library (see here) was a one day event, but many things are the same. Once I had my card in hand, I was able to enter through the automated gates, and then the true fun began.

 

 

Another pic of the lovely shaded courtyard- no photos allowed inside.

 

 

I spent about half of my day finding and acquiring journal articles from the closed stacks of the periodicals counter, and then making photocopies of the relevant materials. Making photocopies sounds a bit deceptive- in reality one has to use a special terminal to print out a customized photocopy request form (with your library card), have a staff member of the photocopy service approve your request, and then submit materials for copying. Then wait about twenty minutes and retrieve said materials after paying (about 15 cents a page, or 14 yen). All told I spent 3,150 yen in copies and reproduction services, or about $31. The other half of the day was spent sorting through materials that are digitized. Many of the digitized materials are only available on site, but the reproduction printing service was actually quite convenient. I thought I would be annoyed with this forced on-site usage, but I think the software and system was quite efficient and seamless. And, it took less time than the photocopying of print journals. I also used microfilm for the first time (and made a PDF which I had reproduced!), making me ever so grateful for computers.

The library is set up for folks who spend entire days inside of the complex- there is a barber shop, two coffee shops, a convenience store, and a large cafeteria. I had lunch in the cafeteria, which had a great view of the city.

After about seven hours, I was mentally and physically worn out, and headed back home. Below are some Diet Building shots that I took after a long day of research.

 

 

Do my eyes look glazed over? Because they were.

 

Typhoon 台風

 

The natural disaster of this week is: Typhoon 18.

Also known as Typhoon Man-yi, the storm hit land south of here this morning, and has brought heavy rain and some very strong winds to my neighborhood.  Trains in Tokyo are delayed or have stopped service, mostly due to the winds and debris. I'm calling it a good day to work from home.

Museum of Modern Art Tokyo, Imperial Palace, Omotesando 東京国立近代美術館、皇居、表参道

Thursday was another day of Tokyo exploring with Ti. We met up at the Museum of Modern Art Tokyo (above) in the morning to view the Takeuchi Seiho exhibition. The show was fantastic- Seiho was a well-known nihonga painter of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Nihonga, generally defined as neo-traditional Japanese painting, was transformed during his era, and Seiho can be credited with many of the innovations in subject and technique that occurred during his tenure. The greatest part about this show for me was seeing many well-known works in person- nihonga is not widely exhibited in the U.S., so viewing such a high quality collection of the genre is one of the joys of living in Japan.

We also toured the permanent collection of the museum, and popped into the "Room with a View," a literally named spot with a great view of the city and the Imperial Palace grounds.

Lunch set at the Mainichi Shinbun building.

Our next stop was the Imperial Palace grounds- here we are outside the Otemon gate.

Visiting Sannomaru Shozokan, the Museum of the Imperial Collections. The current exhibition was, Childhood Clothing Worn by His Imperial Highness Prince Mikasa. The show included a variety of beautifully produced clothing from Prince Mikasa's childhood, mostly objects from the 1910s and 1920s.

 Walking through the East Gardens of the Imperial Palace.
 

Me outside of Otemon Gate again.

Next stop- Brimmer Beer Box- an interesting pop-up-craft-beer-in-a-repurposed-shipping-container place in Omotesando.

People watching from the rooftop deck with some truly great microbrew.

Last stop of the day, 246 Common, a very funky and hip outdoor area filled with food trucks and small merchants

Dinner from Curry Freak at 246 Common.

The interesting outdoor space of 246 Common.

Shop at 246 Common.

Udon うどん

 

 Earlier this week I made a big batch of curry. To mix up the leftovers (of which there were a lot), I bought a 3-pack of udon noodles. Tonight I used one of the packages to make kakiage udon with kakiage that I picked up from the supermarket on my way home. Not having a deep fryer, I can't easily make my own kakiage, but the mixture of diced veggies fried into a fritter of sorts is readily available here. I cooked the udon, added it to a simple light Kansai-style broth, and topped it with spring onions, serving with a side of tsukemono (pickles). Although I love the doughy consistency of udon, the real reason to eat this meal is as a vehicle for shichimi togarashi, a savory and slightly spicy mixture of seven spices.

 

Cake ケーキ

 

 Today we had a guest lecture at the research institute- the topic being Meiji Imperial architecture. The lecture was fantastic, and there was a period of socializing/snacking/drinking afterwards, meaning I didn't get back near home until almost 8 p.m. I stopped for a quick bite to eat, and then decided to treat myself to a piece of strawberry shortcake from the bakery near Oji Station. To me, this is the most typical of Japanese cakes, super light and fluffy, mostly whipped cream. Relaxing at home with a slice of cake and the Daily Show was the greatest way to end the day.

 

Workin'

 

Sunday and Monday were pretty uneventful days here, filled with work and the routine of daily life, but in the mean time, my blog hit 15,000 views! Thanks for reading!