First Hula Performance

Last weekend, I participated in my first hula performance at a local Japanese festival. Remember that my host mom is a hula instructor and she has insisted that I attend all hula practices and perform with her students. I'm sure I looked a little strange standing among all 9 year and 11 year old Japanese girls... It was fun to see the shock on peoples face's when they caught a glimpse of me backstage though.

  

I borrowed the white hula dress from my host mom but the second outfit my host mom made for me!

During the performance, one of the hula dancer's younger brothers, a five year old who has a crush on me, kept shouting がんばってローレン (Good Luck/You can do it, Lauren)!

I am really enjoying hula dancing and although I wouldn't qualify it as exercise, it is very relaxing and stress relieving!

Tomato Ramen

This has been my favorite meal in Japan thus far--maybe because it brought a sense of nostalgia and offered flavors similar to my Italian roots. Called Tomato Ramen, it is a twist on the Japanese traditional bowl of noodles and soup.

The Menu:

The Meal: 

Before stirred. 

After stirred. 

Just like a big bowl of spaghetti! I actually finished the whole bowl. Next I need to satisfy my hamburger craving!

Shibuya

The great thing about Tokyo is that there are many things to see and do instead of your homework (don't worry mom and dad, I will eventually find time for it).

I spent an evening after school shopping around Shibuya and grabbing dinner. I arrived at our meeting spot, Hachiko (the famous dog statue), a little too early and decided to take a touristy video of the most crowded crosswalk in the world.

Shibuya is famous for its shopping! It has an enormous department store called 109 that sports 10 floors of fashion for Japanese girls in their 20s. The best part is you won't find any American brands here, they are all uniquely Japanese.

Above is a crazy style in Japan rarely seen called gyaru.  

We ate dinner at an all you can eat (for 90mins) shabu shabu restaurant:

Shabu shabu is when you throw a bunch of vegetables and meat into a boiling pot of water and eat once its cooked. They also have two dipping sauces: one sweet and one slightly sour. 

After exhausting (*cough* shopping) ourselves out, we split up to go home and prepare for school the next day. 

  

But once I got home I didn't study, I played restaurant with Sumireko. My excuse was that it's better Japanese practice to use it and experiment with it than reading my textbooks! :) 

   

Grocery Shopping in Tokyo

Ever wondered what it would be like to buy groceries for a family of four and not have a car conveniently parked outside to take them home? The fact is, people in Tokyo usually have a long way to walk from the grocery store back to their apartment. This is Japan's solution.

The other day I went grocery shopping with my friend Da Hee, a Korean Australian. She lives in her own apartment not far from Waseda but has to cook her own food every day. When you buy over $50 worth of groceries, you can pack them into boxes with your name and address and they will be shipped to your home by the next morning. Don't worry about refrigerated items! You just label frozen, refrigerated, or neither to make sure your food stays fresh. How awesome is that! 

Maid Cafe: Maidreamin

Although it hasn't been officially decided, I want to write my senior year Japanese thesis on Maid Cafes in Japan.

For those of you who don't know what they are: Maid Cafes started in Akihabara, the electronic district of Tokyo also know for its anime, manga (Japanese comics), and video games. It originally catered towards male otaku (people obsessed with anime, manga, and video games) but has now widened its clientele. Waitresses dress as french maids and welcome you into the restaurant by saying "welcome home, master" or "welcome home, mistress". The original concept was to make customers feel like they were at home (a very luxurious home with your own personal staff). They have combined this concept with the popular kawaii (super cute) trend. Everything is cute including the maids outfits, voices, restaurant decor, and food. You aren't allowed to take pictures with the maids but can pay for a Polaroid with them which they put stickers on and decorate for you. Some Maid Cafes offer games you can play against the maids to try and win a prize.  During your time at the cafe, different maids will walk around and talk to you for a bit and some cafes even have performances.

Allison, the other exchange student from my home university, and I went to Akihabara to try and find Halloween costumes. We weren't planning on going to a Maid Cafe because they are typically expensive but when we ran into a maid advertising on the street we figured it would be a good time to try it out (I've actually been to a Maid Cafe before the last time I was in Japan). The maid was from the number one Maid Cafe in Japan called Maidreamin. She kindly escorted us to the restaurant which was about a 5 minutes walk from where she was advertising. Each cafe has a different theme and decor. The one we went to was called Heaven's Gate and we sat in the star section of the restaurant which had pillars with stars on top of them and star ceiling lights.

For lunch I ordered a Maid Cafe staple: Omelet Rice.  

Allison ordered fried pork.

When the maids bring you food their is a little chant you do with them to "put love into your food". At this place you make a heart with your hands and say moe, moe, kyun~~ which doesn't translate well into English. 

All the maids that came up to talk to Allison and I were both shocked and relieved when they found out we could speak some Japanese. We talked to them about Japanese fashion, about a new Maid Cafe opening in Los Angeles, and other various random things. Another great way to practice my Japanese. They were also fascinated with my grey eye color and were asking what color eyes my parents had. Their interpretation was mom (blue) + dad (brown) = mixed to grey.

Allison and I stayed long enough to watch two different performances. The lights in the restaurant go dark and the stage is lit up were one maid sings and dances. The other maids run around the cafe clapping, dancing, and selling glow sticks.  

Photo by: http://otakumode.com/sp/visit_japan/akihabara/a013d

During our two and a half hour stay at the maid cafe, Allison and I tried to decipher the clientele. There were groups of high school girls, couples on dates, foreigners experiencing the culture, a few groups of young japanese men (otaku) playing their video games while eating, and a large amount of older Japanese men eating by themselves. These men you could tell were regulars. They knew all the maids names, bought a bunch of glow sticks, bought many pictures with the maids, sang along to all the songs, and stayed for hours. Perhaps these maids are the modern day geisha? Men are paying beautiful women to talk with them and entertain them. 

One particular maid that we made friends with was named Chika. She was super peppy and was constantly running around the restaurant pretending she was a ninja, dancing to the music, or doing other weird things. She was absolutely hilarious and we loved talking with her.

Chika's profile picture on the website. http://maidreamin.com/en

After everything was over and we walked around Akihabara for a couple of hours, we ran into Chika on the streets who screamed our names and very excitedly ran up to us. We had a short conversation before we mentioned that we were on our way home. I know that's what she is paid to do but it made Allison and I feel so good about ourselves. Everyone at the maid cafe was so nice and we had a blast. Both of us definitely want to go back!  

 

Yokohama: Oktoberfest

Oktoberfest in Japan?? Yes they celebrate it too! Apart from the German beer, sausages and sauerkraut, they had a giant gazebo with a traditional band from Germany playing. Some Japanese were even dressed in dirndl!

While singing, drinking, and eating our sausages, we made many Japanese friends. It was a great chance to practice my Japanese! Also, the guy sitting next to me was wearing a Texas shirt!

Clinking glasses got a little rough. Oops. 

Yokohama: Chinatown

Saturday, after my morning Japanese class, I went with a group of friends to Yokohama to check out the famous Chinatown. One of them was from Hong Kong so she showed us around and explained everything.

The Chinatown in Yokohama is the largest one in the world.

Entrance to Chinatown.  

We ate the famous panda meat buns...

Of course I couldn't leave without a picture of Hello Kitty dressed as a Panda!!

Ikebana: Shogo Kariyazaki

Last Saturday, I received free tickets from Waseda to go see an Ikebana exhibit by the famous Shogo Kariyazaki. Once we got to Meguro, I was blown away the number of Japanese women and men dressed in yukata (summer kimono) for the occasion. If not in traditional dress, women wore nice dresses and heels.

Picture of Shogo Kariyazaki
Photo by: http://www4.pictures.zimbio.com/gi/5th+International+Rome+Film+Festival+Opening+3OGbUIBCnOql.jpg

The exhibit was fantastic and definitely exceeded my expectations! But, we weren't allowed to take any pictures. The location, Meguro Gajoen, was a six story traditional Japanese building with tatami mats and beautiful carvings on the walls, ceilings, and pillars. Unfortunately all the information given on the building was in Japanese so I couldn't quite understand everything; however, I know that it is celebrating its 85th anniversary and they frequently conduct tours in English on the history of the building. Perhaps I'll go back for one!

Photo by: http://businesseventstokyo.org/unique/meguro-gajoen/

The ikebana itself was insane! It was art made from flowers and and other elements of nature, unlike anything I had ever seen before. There were tree stumps filled with colored twigs, beautiful branches, and rare flower species. The displays were huge and some took up the entire room. Yucca plants, painted roses, and exquisite dead tree branches were displayed among the seven exhibit rooms. This trip was a pleasant surprise and now I view ikebana in a whole different light!

A picture of my ticket stub.