UNIVERSITY
Easter Monday was all but ignored as it marked the first day of our return to Doshisha after a long spring break (Christian university or no, it's completely ignored in Japan; despite it's commercial potential and confectionary slant, sakura season's all the rage at that time). New students, new staff, new lesson format - all because Japan commences it's academic year in April as opposed to the UK's September start. Unfortunately, the enthusiasm I hoped would see me through to the end has dwindled somewhat, partly because my departure date has been confirmed (August 20th calendar kids!), but also because the lessons have been less than inspiring. There's far more of an emphasis on jumping-through-hoops regarding getting through the kanji and grammar points, and certain sensei don't seem up to scratch. That said, the cult of former cat-owner and dedicated follower of fashion, Yamamoto-sensei (author of Animacy and Reference), who takes us for Language in Japan (my only class in English, believe it or not), knows no bounds. Tuesday afternoons will not be the same without him.
Outside of class, we were treated to a lavish welcome party at a nearby hotel, which ended up with about 40 of us by the side of the Kamo river, drinking into the night and getting to know the new Californian crew. It was at the party where I was asked by the International Centre if I was willing to write a little composition in English about my experiences at Doshisha and in Kyoto, a little vox pop thing to be included in promotional materials for getting foreign students to come to the university. I happily obliged, and while what I turned in wasn't the best thing I'd ever written (there was a miniscule word limit), I got a photo shoot out of it. So, expect to see pictures of me looking happy and talking to people I'd only really just met as if we were the bestest of friends about airports around the world (well, we had to think of some conversation topic while we were being snapped). I think it's going to be published in July, and I will receive a complementary copy then. More promotional skills were needed for an evening of talks and discussions between foreign and Japanese students at Doshisha. This involved myself, Baptiste and Parn giving a 15-minute PowerPoint-aided presentation on SOAS and London in Japanese and English. I spent most of my segment reading straight from my speech (even if Baptiste and Wakita-sensei wrote about 97% of it), but I think we successfully sold the SOAS experience to the attendees - though the Thai crew upstaged us on the tomfoolery front with their presentation.
The other events of note at university were a small exhibition of the work of Bernard Faucon, mannequin photographer and inspiration behind Oh! Mikey, which included six of his collection, positioned around the atrium of one of the buildings, and the opportunity to skip classes to see the Aoi Matsuri, perhaps the most boring festival in the world, which began it's procession from the nearby Imperial Palace. But the highlight was the Doshisha vs Ritsumeikan baseball game. This was my first baseball game ever, so I couldn't miss one that was not only between rivals, but also in Japan, where it's all done a little differently. Armed with our Cheerstix™, our large block of gaijin supporters was positioned right next to the band, with cheerleaders and ouendan (male cheerleading crew, decked in faux-military or Shinto-inspired garb) to the front. We also had some loony middle-aged hardcore fan behind us, with his trouser legs rolled up and a headband worn tight, singing along to all the official chants (aided by placards) with gusto. However, when we started to sing our own chants, call out our own words of support and instigate Mexican waves, they didn't know how to react (except for a few the school students below us who happily got involved). It seems even the fun of spectator sport needs to be organised and coordinated in Japan. However, I would get up to my feet and dance every time they played a burst of Summer Medley (though most bizarre ditty must go to the use of the Police Academy theme, of all things). As for the actual game, we trounced the opposition (though we were to lose overall by the third day of play).
BIRTHDAYS
This has been something of a big birthday season, with everyone celebrating in various different ways. Parn took us all out to The LockUp in Shijo, one of a chain of horror/prison-themed food and drink establishments, which features spooky cocktails, sexy prison-warden waitresses, and, twice a night, an outbreak of crazed serial killers and monsters who terrify the customers. Highly recommended only-in-Japan silliness. Ilan's day out involved an early afternoon karaoke session (with PanPan giving it his all) and dinner at Athletix, our all-you-can-eat restaurant of choice, it would seem.
My birthday landed on the second day of the new term, the first time since I can remember that it's not been within the spring holidays. I decided we go for beer and (surprisingly agreeable) fish and chips at The Hub in Shijo-Karasuma. While it was not the most authentic 'English pub' I've been to (they were playing baseball on the telly!), done as it was like faux-American diners have all kinds of random junk on the walls, it was pleasant enough. Various amigos came and went over the course of the evening (being it a school night and all), but much confusion arose from there being another, smellier, dirty predatory gaijin-infested Hub in Sanjo. Josh turned up late as a result, as did Tal and (doing a quick Japan trip) Aurelien, who had walked up and down Shijo-dori because a simple mistake regarding underground exit numbers. Nevertheless, we ate and drank and played table football and it was good fun (even if I had very little time to enjoy all the lovely presents I was sent).
Other people with cause for celebration included Sarah (capping off a wonderfully sunny day I spent catching the last of the sakura, with drinks and jollity by the river, and Alice and Tingshan joining us), Talyn (a massive Italian meal, followed by lots of fun playing the Wii), and Anthony (a surprise party in the dormitory basement, with a great turnout, lots of food and drink, and a Smash Bros. tournament). Most recently, there was a massive gathering in celebration of Josh's 21st, again at Athletix. 66 people were in attendance (including Iwao-sensei, Matsumoto-sensei and Yonezawa-sensei), and it was an absolutely wild time. We then managed to squeeze half that number into one karaoke room, though admittedly, I sang and chose a disproportionate amount of tunes - hey, if someone else wants to sing, they gotta enter a song, right?
VISITORS
A variety of chums swung by my way during this time, and I tried my very best to see them all. Ryu was in town while I was in Tokyo (more on that later), but we managed to meet up with Tal and Anthony for arcade games a-plenty. Chris, Lucy and Thom were stopping off in Kansai in various directions, but stayed in Mukaijima with me. Risto joined me and them for a gig (more on that later) and some karaoke, and Thom and I met up with Josh for Beckham cocktails at an izakaya by Doshisha. I spent a brief afternoon with Jona, his parents, and Alice at Njio Castle. Dan was able to join us for Parn's birthday, with tales of snowboard injury and Okinawan sunburn, and, as mentioned before, I was able to meet up with Tingshan and Aurelien during their brief Kyoto stints.
And in Golden Week, I was able to welcome Rob on his visit to Japan, just as he had kindly put us up for the night in Beijing. One day was spent on an epic temple trek of east Kyoto, taking in Yasaka-jinja, Kiyomizu-dera, lunch at a wonderful little bakery/cafe, got some free hugs from Japanese students outside the art museum, Nanzenji and Hojo Garden (followed by a trek up the neighbouring mountain), then a walk down the Testugaku no Michi (Path of Philosophy) to Ginkakuji. We were suitably shagged out by the end of it. We also spent a considerable amount of time in Shijo and Sanjo, watching the annual Kamogawa Odori (with local maiko, geisha and actors performing traditional plays and dances), as well as indulging in games of pool and arcade games. We even managed to squeeze in Sanjusangen-do, one of my very favourite temples in Kyoto, and we spent another day in Nara (more on that later). It was only a few days (Derby then headed off to see Ryu in Tokyo), but it was great to see him again, and it was good to get a trial run at doing the local tour thing before Mater and Mish-Mash come.TRIPS
Not long after my return from Thailand, I was due to meet up with the scholarship foundation again. Again, I took the shinkansen into Shinagawa and then headed to Roppongi for lunch and conversation. I felt I wasn't quite as talkative this time round, on account of having already introduced myself before, and again the sushi box defeated me, but they all laughed-out-loud when I told them that most people in the UK would like probably prefer to see Prince Charles skipped in line to the throne and Prince William made King instead. We then got our photo taken wearing hats from around the world.
While I was in Tokyo, I stayed with Mr. John Dykes, who was a true gentleman and host (as one would expect), going to great lengths to secure me bedding, taking me out for drinks and nosh, and generally keeping me entertained. I also got to meet up with Pete, who had just got back from Hanako's graduation ceremony, and we hung around Shinjuku, taking in some of the sights, before a trip to the infamous Yasukuni Shrine, and its neighbouring war museum. We then met up with Hanako in the evening, ending up in a bar several storeys up, with inner decor made to look like a cave. But of course. Even bumped into Maria in Shinjuku completely out of the blue - yay, that's all the SOAS Kyoto people met finally! But I had to go all the way to Tokyo to do it!
Another trip closer to home involved a visit to Yoshino ('The World Heritage'). We'd been told by friends already there that it was just a little bit further from Nara, but it turned out to be a hell of a lot further. Plus, it was raining a lot and by the time Baptiste and I got there, the others were just about to leave. We pressed on regardless, and took the long winding bus ride up the mountains to reach the key vantage points. Unfortunately, the damp conditions somewhat reduced the overall splendour of the sakura, but it was still worth visiting just to get out into the open air (though we despaired at the degree of mountain destruction and polluting fumes spilling out of factory chimneys we saw en route).
And I also took Rob for a great day out in Nara. The sun was shining, the birds were singing, and the deer were, for the most part, sleeping. Of course, the Todai-ji was the main port of call, but we managed to cram in a sizeable amount of sight-seeing in a short space of time. We found a little bar down an alley and up some steps for a quiet drink before a return visit to my favourite okinomiyaki restaurant, which was just as good as I remembered it being.
GIGS
Chris, Lucy and Thom arrived in town the evening I was going to see Hoover's Ooover play a gig, so they joined me and Risto at the Mojo venue on Shijo-dori. The supporting acts were a mixed bag, and the lack of audience reaction (barely registering an applause in between tracks) was perhaps indicitive of this. To be fair, openers Decotoria and similar rock group Automat were fun, if unoriginal, and Rihiko Kurapu (careful how you say that) provided cute acoustic fluff. But by god, we were not prepared for the tragedy that was Splash Lover (I refuse to go to the trouble of putting the star they write in the middle of their name). Fronted by an impossibly irritating girl with all the sincerity of a children's TV presenter and filled with instantly forgettable twee guitar pop, they make Busted and McFly look like death metal. Chris and Lucy felt compelled to leave until it was over, while Risto, Thom and myself stayed to witness the full extent of the horror, which involved a bizarre telephone conversation between the lead-singer and her hand, and desperate goading of the audience into performing the kind of choreographed hand waves and dance routines that would make even the Wiggles tell you to go away and die. And what was worse, the everyone lapped it up! Everyone except us. Anyway, Hoover's Ooover finally appeared and made us all feel better, playing tracks from Art.No.5 and their latest release, as well as the wonderful Collection. They were very upbeat, jokey and talkative, and after the show, I got to meet the drummer and guitarist, bought the new album, and told them I'd first seen them on Adam and Joe Go Tokyo, which made them very happy indeed. Afterwards, we met up with Baptiste, and then headed to a bar round the corner called Yikey. It was notable for the area at the back we sat in, which was decked out as if we were in a 70's record producer's lounge, with the walls covered in feathers, leading to much discussion on what kind of avian holocaust could have taken place there.
April Fool's Day was marked with a trip to Osaka Namba Hatch, to see the legendary Cornelius live. His Fantasma album got me into Japanese music in the first place, so I was incredibly excited to finally see him in concert. However, I was a little worried that, being as it was billed the "Sensuous Synchronised Show", it would rely predominantly on his most recent work, which I didn't like as much as his earlier stuff. But there was no need to be concerned, as Keigo Oyamada and his assembled group performed tracks from the length of his solo work, accompanied by the visually arresting music videos he's well known for. Even then, it was fascinating to watch the latest tracks being performed live, as I came to appreciate just how complex and creative they were. Oyamada is quite a shy figure, so there was little audience interaction at first, bar a bit of creative videoplay, filming and 'sampling' the audience. But as the gig went on, he seemed to settle into it more, and then came the surprise of pulling a member of the audience out onto the stage. Shocked and stunned, the lucky punter then got to play the theremin, hand aided by Cornelius, during Brand New Season, and then received a lei (Hawaiian garland) for his troubles. Towards the end, the audience also got to play around with a noisebox of some kind, and when it all came to a close, Oyamada looked truly pleased and appreciative.
A few weeks later, I had an all-night party double bill. First there was a return visit to Kyoto Metro for Second Royal's 7th Anniversary party, as well as celebrating the release of Halfby's new single, Star Track. Unfortunately, this time I was Billy No-Mates, but it was probably for the best, as I was disappointed this time round. Though the DJ's were the same, they played very little of their own material, instead focusing on predominantly British indie rock, which isn't especially danceable. More to the point, I knew virtually none of it, which left me feeling super-inadequate as the Japanese attendees sung along to all the words. In English. Still, I got a badge, a CD and a T-shirt for coming, and the visuals were all pretty, so it wasn't all bad. The next evening was Mukaijima's Welcome Party for the new residents, which was much the same deal as before - food, drink, performances, bingo instead of a true-or-false quiz, followed by basement clubbing. Again, plenty of non-Mukaijima friends showed up, and while I didn't stay until the end this time, or follow the mini-crowd that went on to the World club in town for the remainer of the night/morning, it was still a wonderful way to waste one's time.
And towards the end of May was my third time seeing Polysics live; London, Nagoya and now Osaka, down Amerika-mura way. An unitiated Risto joined me on what was a very rainy evening, as we headed to the Big Cat, the largest venue I'd seen them in (though still not exactly massive, and still located in a department store). Again, it was a riotous affair, with much moshing, sweating and even crowd surfing (though they kept throwing the surfers back into the audience when they reached the front, which wasn't especially helpful). I even lost my trouser button in the chaos, with only the clinging persperation keeping everything in check. The setlist was a bit too reliant on all the fast noisy numbers, with little chance to catch your breath in between tracks. But most of the songs had a gimmick to keep it interesting, be it cheerleader pom-poms, vocoders, beer drinking, gas-mask wearing, or strapping a synth to one's waist for the (third if I recall) encore. The new tracks from Karate House played really well with the older material, especially Akai Master, Shizuka is a Machine Doctor and Zubaman, which bore a brand new chant to join the likes of "Toisu!" and "Polysics or DIE!!!!": "Oya kara Ko he!" (literally, "From parent to child!") - doesn't make any sense, but Polysics rarely does. They were definitely filming this gig, even so much as Risto and I got to scream into the camera post-gig, so hopefully I'll pop up on another live DVD release.
ENTERTAINMENT
And if gigs weren't enough to keep me entertained, I've found other ways to do the trick. I finally bought myself an Ice Blue Nintendo DS Lite of my very own, with the local Tsutaya having just got a new stock in for cheaper than I've seen them going for second hand elsewhere. Only 16,800 yen (about £70). No games of my own as of yet, but I've been borrowing and enjoying Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney from Baptiste, and we've been having 'Tetris Tuesdays' at Doshisha during lunch break. Oh, and I also got an electronic dictionary, but that's not especially interesting. Also, the latest season of 24 and the first series of Heroes came to an end. The former was perhaps the worst series yet, floundering in a puddle of it's own ludicrousness after such a gut-wrenchingly amazing start, and ultimately being really boring, something 24 should never be. The changes promised for Day 7 (a full week) by the producers better be spectacular. Meanwhile, Heroes has just been getting better and better. Yes, it has it's cheesy moments and irritating characters, but it crams more action, fun, geeky references and plot revelations per episode than a whole series of Lost (oh, boo-hoo to you too!).
Contrary to popular belief, I have gotten out of the house to have some fun too, though this also means sitting in a darkened room staring at a screen, but a bigger room, with a bigger screen, and lots of strangers. Doshisha screened Flags Of Our Fathers and Letters From Iwo Jima on subsequent weeks, which were both very well put-together and totally engrossing - there's not much that can be said about war that hasn't been said before, but it was still an experience worth having. Big blockbuster threequels Spider-Man 3 and Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End have received pretty nasty knocks from critics and fans alike, but I actually enjoyed them both quite a lot. Okay, so both were rather messily made and convoluted, but I thought they delivered what they set out to achieve pretty well. Sunshine was a strange beast indeed, visually far more arresting than Spidey and Pirates, and at a fraction of the cost. Highly derivative and a bit doolally, yes, but it created a sense of impending doom that made it unbelievably tense to watch. And just recently, Japan finally released Borat. For the small few who haven't seen it, ignore the hype - it's not the funniest film ever made, nor does it even reveal anything particularly scandalous about America (nothing could top the "In My Country There Is Problem" sequence from the TV show). To say that it doesn't make a mockery of the Kazahkstan people is a lie, and to say that it makes a mockery of it's subjects is also a lie. But what it does is deliver some very funny set-pieces, pushes the boundaries of comedy, and confirms Sacha Baron Cohen as quite an exceptional creator of comic characters. And I think the upcoming Bruno movie will not be quite as morally dubious or divisive as Borat has been.
And as for actual socialising, I've been bowling quite a bit, twice for real and once on the Wii. I managed a score of 226 first time round, which was pretty stunning. But when I came to put it into genuine practice with various Gaidai chums, it took me three games to get into the swing of it. Finally, I managed a score just over 150, which must be a personal best of mine (not exactly challenging the pros though). And while I didn't equal that score the next time I played, at a big foreign/Japanese student get-together, our team came third overall, scooping a mini box of Pretz sticks each. Huzzah! I then got drunk on screwdrivers. On a Sunday night and all. Tsk tsk. Other nights out involved much karaoke (I'll miss you when I'm gone!), yakiniku and hanging by Sanjo bridge (or in one case, underneath it thanks to an unexpected and spectacular lightning storm and downpour, on the evening of the Sun God Festival of all things).
END.
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