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Japan was amazing, mysterious, cheesy, kinky, magical, weird, and wonderful. Pretty much what I would've hoped it to be. Though I did not see anyone walking around in full otaku costume. :-P But there was plenty of other weird clothing to make up for that. Japan is definitely a land of unique and bizarre fashions.
Also, hilarious signs, logos, and brand names. Some of my favorites include:
This coffee logo which we saw everywhere: BOSS. I don't know why, but that face just tickled us silly every time. :-D
The PUNGENCY. I guess this was an attempt to sound all serious and British about their milk tea?
Club Laid. And yes, this place did look quite kinky.
And last, but not least, Bar Napalm. Next to a video game room called "Infection." Yeah....
There were also statues of this creepy little critter all over the place. We couldn't figure out what it was until we came across this shrine that explained:
I was surprised at how many Japanese people actually walked around wearing yukata (like kimono, but less formal). It seems to be something to wear out on dates, or just for a night out shopping and dining with the girls!
Some major highlights of the trip:
The Maid Cafe in Akihabara
Welcome to Maid Cafe central! Akihabara seems to be the go-to place for anime, electronics, and the answers to all your kinkiest dreams. There were plenty of shops there filled with merchandise targeting all three of those things. The maid cafe was pretty surreal. It was kind of a combination of a bar and cafe--they had the cutesy menu full of super sweet edibles, and a straight up bar on the other side of the room. They had a sky painted ceiling with pink walls, and of course, young waitresses dressed as maids and usually wearing cat tails to boot. They perform "magic" when they bring your food--to "make it more delicious." Basically, they just do a cutesy little chant, clap their hands, and ask everyone at the table to make a heart with their hands. Woo! The clientele consisted of three types of people: curious foreigners, like ourselves, middle-aged businessmen, and...couples on dates? I dunno, doesn't seem like someplace you'd want to take your boyfriend on a date, but whatevs. Anyways, we had fun watching them put a lacy bonnet on Paul. :-D
Hot Springs and Staying at a Ryokan Inn
After Tokyo, our next stop was in beautiful Hakone-Yumoto, a mountainous area famous for its hot springs and ryokan, or traditional Japanese guesthouses. We had a small room with tatame mat flooring where they served our dinner. It was beautiful and delicious!
Each dish was like a work of art:
Of course we also took a dip in the onsen, which was soooo nice! It was incredibly hot though, so we had to cool our tub down by adding some cold water. They have some hoses next to the onsen for exactly that purpose.
The Hakone Yamoto area also has some beautiful views of Mt. Fuji, but unfortunately the weather was not cooperating with us that day. :-) However, we did get to see this amazing ivory carving at Narukawa Art Museum:
Zoom in:
We also went to the nearby Amazake Cha-ya, a traditional tea house dating from the Edo period.
And yes, this lady seriously calculated our bill on an abacus. I can honestly say I never expected to see anyone do that.
Next, we headed off to Kyoto, where the first thing we visited was the Nijo Castle, which includes the gorgeous Ninomaru Palace. I've got to say, I honestly prefer the Japanese aesthetic to the Korean one. There's just something so delicate, so perfectly poised and expressive about Japanese art and design. I wasn't allowed to take pictures inside the palace, so here are some pics from my faithful friend, the internet.
And here are some pictures of my own from outside the palace.
In Kyoto, we also enjoyed some Okonomiyaki at a restaurant called Donguri, some super-delicious cakes at the Lipton Tea House, and drinks at a quirky little bar right out of some smoky film from the 1920's:
While we were in Kyoto, we also went to Gion, which is the Geisha district, where we saw a traditional Japanese arts performance. They performed on kotos, sang, did a mask dance, a mai dance, and a puppet play. I think the Japanese fascination with robots and other things "almost-human" must go back a long way, cause their puppetry falls right in that uncanny valley. Even though you can see it being manipulated by multiple puppet-masters, there's still something eerily realistic about its movements, especially the head movements. The Japanese seem to love these stylistic imitations of life--almost real, but with something else, more artistic and not quite natural about them.
Here are some other pictures from Kyoto:
Kinkakuji - The Golden Pavilion
Man visiting a grave
I have so much more to write, but this is absurdly long already, so keep an eye out for part 2!
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