Shiokawa reunion in Tokyo

From the 2nd to the 4th, I slept at my great-aunt's place in Tokyo. My grandmother also came down from Tochigi and stayed at my great-aunt's place, which allowed us to spend a few days together before I go back to Canada.

On Tuesday, we went to see the Tokyo Sky Tree, which at 634 meters, is the tallest tower in the world. We didn't go all the way up because you had to pay an additional fee and we deemed that the view at the top wouldn't be much different than the view at the first observatory station, the Tembo Deck (350 m).

My grandmother (left) and great-aunt

On Wednesday, we went to see the newly restored Tokyo Station. A large part of the station was destroyed by firebombings on May 25 and June 25 in 1945. They've now rebuilt the rooftop domes, returning the station to its pre-war condition.

For lunch we ate a delicious meal at Sembikiya, Japan's oldest fruit shop. Sembikiya selects and then sells delicious fruit... at ridiculous prices! But if you're paying that much money, you're guaranteed that the fruit will be delicious.

If converted to Canadian dollars : 263, 72 $ !!! (for the whole fruit basket)

Thankfully, our lunch wasn't as expensive as the fruit basket ; ) We paid about 20 $ for our lunch which consisted of : avocado BLT sandwiches, fruit, and a fruit sundae. (and the fruit were dellllicious!)

Our lunch

After having satisfied our tummies, we went to see Nijubashi, two bridges that form an entrance to the inner palace grounds of the Imperial Palace.

And before going back home, we took a peak inside the Imperial Hotel. I don't even want to know how much it costs to spend one night there.

The outside view

On Thursday, my great-aunt prepared this breakfast for me : D

After breakfast, we went for a short walk.

And then, alas, it was time to say goodbye. When I return, I'll still skype with my grandmother and write letters to my great-aunt, but it's not the same thing as being in Japan and being able to spend time with them. However, I'm grateful for the year I spent with them. And my relatives are so happy that I am learning Japanese. When I came to Japan with my father three years ago, I couldn't speak much Japanese and so communication was limited. But after one year in Japan, my Japanese has improved greatly and we can now carry on long conversations. My grandmother even wrote to me in a letter: "Above anything else, what makes me the happiest is that you studied Japanese" (I know the sentence is a bit weird but it's often very difficult to translate from Japanese to English). I agree with my grandmother. Above all the experiences I've had in Japan, being able to speak with my relatives has been the most rewarding one.

Second taste of Kabuki

My second time watching Kabuki was a much better experience. I went last Sunday with my aunt to the Shimbashi Enbujo theatre in Ginza.

This time, I wore headphones that provided an English translation and explained certain elements of the story or of Japan's history, relevant to the play. I did understand a lot more thanks to the headphones but I also found it quite distracting. At the same time as I'm trying to listen to the actors, I have a translation in English playing in my ear. And you can't focus on both. I tried. So I would go 50/50, first listen to the English translation, and as soon as there was a pause, try to decipher the Japanese the actors were talking. Overall, I understood 100% more than my first time (where I didn't understand a thing). I did fall asleep a few times... it's just so hot in there, and having to focus so hard to understand is quite exhausting.

We actually saw two different plays along with a kojo ceremony in between.

To give you an idea of what Kabuki plays are about, here are the summaries of the two plays I saw with my aunt on Sunday, recopied from the translated English pamphlet I received. (Therefore, I do not own these summaries.)

1. Ogurusu no Chobei (Chobei of Ogurusu Village): A modern comedy by Okamoto Kido (1872-1939) about a famous historical event. The village of Ogurusu is famous as the place where Akechi Mitsuhide met his death. Mitsuhide assassinated his master, the warlord Nobunaga, but after only ten days of ruling Japan, was killed himself, passing control to Hideyoshi. The farmer Chobei is the bad boy of the village and the object of everyone's laughter and contempt, until a samurai comes and hails Chobei as a hero for killing Mitsuhide.

2. Yoshitsune Senbon Zakura (Yoshitsune and the Thousand Cherry Trees): This is Ennosuke's signature piece, full of fast changes, acrobatics and his trademark flight through the air. A magical fox takes the guise of a warrior named Tadanobu in order to get close to a precious drum made from the skins of his fox parents. But his mysterious activities throw suspicion on the real Tadanobu and finally the fox reveals his true identity. In the end, he flies away joyously when he receives the drum.

Both were very interesting and well played. I especially liked the last one because the actor who played the fox would leap into the air, or fall down from the ceiling, and at the end flew up away on a cable.

In between the two plays, there was a special kojo ceremony. According to the pamphlet : "Kojo is the essential part of the ceremony that makes up a kabuki actor's name taking performance."

During the ceremony, names are passed down. For example, "Ennosuke III is passing on his name to his nephew Kamejiro, who will become Ennosuke IV while Ennosuke himself will become En'o II."

I don't understand how it all works but what I learned is that Kabuki is generally passed down from one generation to the next, creating actor lines. Therefore, a Kabuki troup is mostly made up of blood relatives, with a few adopted actors as well. Kabuki actors usually make their debut on stage as children or in their early twenties at the latest.

Announcing the kojo ceremony

We weren't technically allowed to take pictures during the play but I took this one secretly.
You can see an actor to the right (in red) as well as the beautiful stage decor.

Little paper hearts that fell down from the ceiling at the end of the presentation.

My aunt Shizuko (left) with two friends

Surprise trip to Asakusa

On Wednesday, I took the train to Shinjuku where I was supposed to meet my father's aunt, Shizuko. We were simply going to have lunch together. At least, that's what I thought.

When I arrive in Shinjuku, guess who is waiting with Shizuko? My grandmother Masako! It's quite a trip from where she lives so I was pleasantly surprised to see her there. I had talked to her the day before but she hadn't mentioned anything. Apparently, my aunt Shizuko told her not to say anything and surprise me.

My aunt asked me if there was a place I wanted to visit (there are quite a few) and finally we decided on Asakusa, a place a few people recommended I visit. We visited the Senso temple, Asakusa's main attraction.

From left: myself, my grandmother Masako, and my aunt Shizuko

We also walked along the Asakusa Nakamise Shopping Street, a street filled with little shops that are themselves filled with tons of things you don't need. But if I bought them for their esthetic value, I would buy everything in sight. They have so many beautiful hankerchiefs, vases, keychains, etc.

Enough chopsticks for you?

My grandmother and me also rode in a little cart pulled by a human runner. In Japanese, they're called jinrikisha (jin = human, riki = power or force, and sha = vehicle), meaning "human-powered vehicle". In English, they're called "pulled rickshaw", taking its origin from the Japanese word. Usually it's the other way around, with Japanese borrowing English words such as "hamburger" and "entertainment".

Our human runner

We walked a lot that day. I was tired. My grandmother and aunt must have been twice as tired but they never let it show. I hope I'm as in shape as they are when I'm their age. Senior citizens in Japan are really amazing. Every day, you can see 70, 80 + year olds walking, grocery shopping or riding a bike. After all, Japan is the country with the longest life expectancy.

A nice little lunch with my aunt

I finally got to see my aunt Shizuko on Sunday. It takes about 2 hours to get from her house to the university and since it's a pretty long and tiring trip, this is the first time I've been able to see her. She's technically my dad's aunt, so does that make her my great aunt? I'm not going to get started with that. My friends know that if you get past grandmother and grandfather, I get lost in all the family ties. The mother's sister who got remarried with the husband's uncle... err, just writing that is confusing to me ; ).

I decided to cook lunch for her. And what better to serve than quiche? I've made some quiches back in Canada and they're relatively simple to make. So I found a recipe online for a crustless spinach quiche. Then, I bought all the necessary ingredients at the supermarket. The day of, things went relatively smooth except when it came to using the oven to bake the quiches. I asked another girl for help and although she had never used it, she explained which buttons she thought I ought to press. So while I waited for my aunt to arrive, I prayed that my quiches would come out edible. And they did! : )

My aunt Shizuko, taking her first bite

The hero of the day

And best of all, compared to two years ago when I first saw Shizuko, I was able to speak Japanese a lot better. We were able to have actual conversations.

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I've just finished the third season of The Mentalist. It's my little guilty pleasure. When I've done my homework and have a little spare time, I catch up on the episodes. Let me just say that I'm very angry with the producers of the series right now. Do they realize how frustrating they're making me (and the rest of The Mentalist fans) feel? From the first episode of the first season, Patrick Jane, a consultant with the CBI, has been looking for the man who killed his wife and daughter, a man who calls himself Red John. And after attempting to track him down through the whole first three seasons, he finally kills the man supposed to be Red John... but it turns out it's not him after all! AHHH!!! I'm going crazy! Producers, stop messing with us!