today we had snow in Tokyo. someone even dared to say that I am carrying along Lille's weather with me. however, it started in the morning, and when I arrived in Tsukuba it was snowing flat. it continued until late afternoon, and on my way back I could see the countryside covered in thin snow.
I am getting to know better and better mr. Yamada, the thin man at the lobby. he is always very helpful and understanding. yesterday he found for me a shoe-repair booth in Shibuya, where I could have my shoe heel fixed for free. we two have some long chats whenever I come back from work. he is starting to lend me that missing family feeling, like of an old nanny waiting for me at home.
today in Tsukuba I met with several friends from Italy and elsewhere. I also spoke with Enrico, or ET (not the one from Spielberg's movie), who just moved to Japan on a 5-year contract. he is on leave from his university in Rome, and he told me he would consider staying in Japan for good... well, based only on his new salary, I would totally agree with him, if it were not for other perks he got together with his new position in Tsukuba. he asked to compare with France. I said it's not bad, despite the salary (yet better than what a scientist makes in Italy), and in France life is certainly lighter ... I wouldn't say "easier", since in Japan life can be especially easy, provided you have a 5-digit salary.
then, on my way to the JR station this evening, I had a long chat with Heinrich R., we took the train together and we kept chatting until he got off the train, at Minami. Heinrich R. got the Nobel Prize in physics in 1986 for the invention of the scanning tunnelling microscope (obviously he would have never got the Nobel prize in fashion, given his odd matching of socks and shoes). that's already the third Nobel prize winner in physics I know, there must be something...
anyway, we talked mostly about the strangeness of the season and the snow, and the fact that in Europe we had had so much snow everywhere this year. he even tried some vague comment about the global climate change, suggesting that there is yet much to be learned, on which I agree substantially. however, we didn't talk at all about physics. he said that he had warned his japanese guests to keep undercover his coming to Tsukuba, otherwise he would have been dragged everywhere to give more talks, seminars, lectures etc. he said since 1986, he gave about 200 talks in Japan only. I swore by my books I wouldn't have told nobody that I saw him on the train, that's why I am putting only his initials here :) and he told me "I have already said all I had to say". overall, I got the impression he was really tired of the whole thing. that's the downside of getting a Nobel prize. what else can you do after?
finally, late at night, I discovered this nice bookstore in Ebisu, run by Steve, a new-yorker who came here about 15 years ago. he worked for a law firm, initially, but at some point he felt he couldn't take it anymore, so he started some other activity. and he opened the bookstore in Ebisu, where to keep in business he also gives courses in english language, writing, translations etc. we discovered some common passion, as far as music and poets and writers are concerned. he told me he has a japanese wife, and that he had been married before while in the US. he said to me: "I have not been the model husband", to which I replied: "So we make two". and he continued "but my new wife puts it up with me, and that's ok". he said life as a foreigner in Japan is much better than as a japanese in Japan. I told him it's probably true anywhere in the world. well yes, we agreed, with some exceptions obviously. then he poured me a good shot of whisky, which was badly needed. he said he hoped I would stay longer in Tokyo for the next events at his bookstore (he's organizing a café litteraire with guests, from time to time), I said I'd hope too myself, but things are just what they are, stay with the flow and be zen. as I wrote to another friend in a mail yesterday, life is what happens while you are busy making other plans (John Lennon dixit).
highlight of the day: I have already said all I had to say.
Friday, 27 February 2009
Tuesday, 24 February 2009
lost in transportation
everybody knows that great movie by Sofia Coppola, Lost in translation. it gives a real feeling of what it feels like to be a stranger in this city, where every corner is identical to a thousands others. this feeling of being lost is of course a mix of geographic confusion and psychological bewilderment. the psychological side lends itself to many shades and comparisons between the western and eastern culture, but it is the geographic confusion that beyond any doubt gives rise to the most funny stories.
this week I am spending my time between two different symposia, the NanoPhysics2009, at the International House of Japan, in Roppongi, and the MANA Symposium in Tsukuba. I am supposed to bring along my student, mr. Sato (the guy who doesn't understand english). we should have met in the lobby at 8.30, to go to the IHJ together. I came down at 8.35 but he wasn't there... ok, my fault, I was 5 minutes late. now, getting to the IHJ based on the map provided by the organizers was a real puzzle. I got lost twice at Roppongi crossing, then went back on my steps and restarted from scratch twice. I ended up in a wide street, where I could locate my position on a map at a bus stop. I was about 1 mile away from the target! however, I could eventually reach the IHJ at 9.45, late by only 15' . mr. Sato wasn't there... he showed up at the coffee break, at 11.00. he looked at me and said "sorry, sorry prof Cleri-sensei, I got completely lost to get here, it is too complicated"....
well, he's supposed to know better than me, isn't he??
anyway, the coffee break was amazingly good, arranged in the japanese zen garden of the IHJ building, with a range of glorious european-style cakes... I needed some real sugar badly!
tonight I am spending the night at the Keio Plaza Hotel, an upscale hotel in Shinjuku where I was greeted, cared, and assisted by no less than five different people in the first ten minutes after my arrival. I had to move here for just one night, from the Komaba faculty house, since all rooms were booked months in advance. In fact, tomorrow is the in-famous nyūgaku shiken day (入学試験 ), the day when the extremely selective entrance examinations for the admission to the most important universities are being held in Tokyo. this is an incredibly important step in the life of many young japanese: in practical terms, tomorrow the destiny of a life could be decided, for any boy and girl who wants to get a high-pay job in the top management of the society. every Tokyo hotel and facility is crowded by nervous parents and anxious children, under a terrible social and psychologic pressure. wish them well, even if I had to leave my nice room in Komaba and come here (at the fair price of 17,000 Y), at the 26th floor of the Keio building...
Most notably, from here I can admire and get lost (again!) in the thousands lights of the City that never sleeps, and listen to the muffled echo of the cars in the background, while looking at the skyline that rises all around, like an immense wasteland of steel, glass and concrete. this - once again - adds to that Lost in translation feeling (remember the loneliness of the young woman looking from behind the windows....?)
highlight of the day: the Map Camera store in Shinjuku and its camera-cash density.
The Wonderful World of Map Camera. When I discover a place like Map Camera (and there are plenty all around the world) I feel happy for me. It gives me a feeling of comfort, to see that there are noble places like these, where cabinets after cabinets display the most wonderful pieces of analog photograpic machinery, still in perfect working order, with selling prices that rival and largely surpass the most expensive electronic toys of the digital era. It confirms my idea that there is still plenty of room in these days for the old art of silver bromide and gelatin prints.
the upper four floors of this anonymous and quite unpretentious store are stuffed of old cameras from all ages, but most frequently from the 70s and 80s. I could find (and buy, for just 1500Y) the original E-screen for my Nikon FA, which was officially impossible to find. so happy!
but the real treat was the basement. it is there that the most precious objects are kept and cared for, with a sort of religious regard. in the small space of no more than 50sq.m., enclosed in 6 glass cabinets, I could count: 227 M-series, and 68 III-series Leica bodies, 27 Nikon-S rangefinder camera bodies, 255 Leitz lenses, 32 Hasselblad bodies, with 135 Carl Zeiss lenses and 24 magazines, plus a display of accessories and other minor cameras (among which, however, several Horseman, Bronicas, Zeiss, Sinar etc.). A quick estimate gave me the figure of about 1,000,000 Euros of cash value, probably more, enclosed in that small surface... about 20kEuro per sq. meter! not much, probably, if compared with the cash density of some stores like Armani, or Prada, or Cartier etc., but (at least to me) of incomparably higher consistency, and of peerless beauty.
this week I am spending my time between two different symposia, the NanoPhysics2009, at the International House of Japan, in Roppongi, and the MANA Symposium in Tsukuba. I am supposed to bring along my student, mr. Sato (the guy who doesn't understand english). we should have met in the lobby at 8.30, to go to the IHJ together. I came down at 8.35 but he wasn't there... ok, my fault, I was 5 minutes late. now, getting to the IHJ based on the map provided by the organizers was a real puzzle. I got lost twice at Roppongi crossing, then went back on my steps and restarted from scratch twice. I ended up in a wide street, where I could locate my position on a map at a bus stop. I was about 1 mile away from the target! however, I could eventually reach the IHJ at 9.45, late by only 15' . mr. Sato wasn't there... he showed up at the coffee break, at 11.00. he looked at me and said "sorry, sorry prof Cleri-sensei, I got completely lost to get here, it is too complicated"....
well, he's supposed to know better than me, isn't he??
anyway, the coffee break was amazingly good, arranged in the japanese zen garden of the IHJ building, with a range of glorious european-style cakes... I needed some real sugar badly!
tonight I am spending the night at the Keio Plaza Hotel, an upscale hotel in Shinjuku where I was greeted, cared, and assisted by no less than five different people in the first ten minutes after my arrival. I had to move here for just one night, from the Komaba faculty house, since all rooms were booked months in advance. In fact, tomorrow is the in-famous nyūgaku shiken day (入学試験 ), the day when the extremely selective entrance examinations for the admission to the most important universities are being held in Tokyo. this is an incredibly important step in the life of many young japanese: in practical terms, tomorrow the destiny of a life could be decided, for any boy and girl who wants to get a high-pay job in the top management of the society. every Tokyo hotel and facility is crowded by nervous parents and anxious children, under a terrible social and psychologic pressure. wish them well, even if I had to leave my nice room in Komaba and come here (at the fair price of 17,000 Y), at the 26th floor of the Keio building...
Most notably, from here I can admire and get lost (again!) in the thousands lights of the City that never sleeps, and listen to the muffled echo of the cars in the background, while looking at the skyline that rises all around, like an immense wasteland of steel, glass and concrete. this - once again - adds to that Lost in translation feeling (remember the loneliness of the young woman looking from behind the windows....?)
highlight of the day: the Map Camera store in Shinjuku and its camera-cash density.
The Wonderful World of Map Camera. When I discover a place like Map Camera (and there are plenty all around the world) I feel happy for me. It gives me a feeling of comfort, to see that there are noble places like these, where cabinets after cabinets display the most wonderful pieces of analog photograpic machinery, still in perfect working order, with selling prices that rival and largely surpass the most expensive electronic toys of the digital era. It confirms my idea that there is still plenty of room in these days for the old art of silver bromide and gelatin prints.
the upper four floors of this anonymous and quite unpretentious store are stuffed of old cameras from all ages, but most frequently from the 70s and 80s. I could find (and buy, for just 1500Y) the original E-screen for my Nikon FA, which was officially impossible to find. so happy!
but the real treat was the basement. it is there that the most precious objects are kept and cared for, with a sort of religious regard. in the small space of no more than 50sq.m., enclosed in 6 glass cabinets, I could count: 227 M-series, and 68 III-series Leica bodies, 27 Nikon-S rangefinder camera bodies, 255 Leitz lenses, 32 Hasselblad bodies, with 135 Carl Zeiss lenses and 24 magazines, plus a display of accessories and other minor cameras (among which, however, several Horseman, Bronicas, Zeiss, Sinar etc.). A quick estimate gave me the figure of about 1,000,000 Euros of cash value, probably more, enclosed in that small surface... about 20kEuro per sq. meter! not much, probably, if compared with the cash density of some stores like Armani, or Prada, or Cartier etc., but (at least to me) of incomparably higher consistency, and of peerless beauty.
Saturday, 21 February 2009
italian professors
first day of the weekend, first day of relax. pretty basic, tourist-like day, spent with two friends at subsequent times.
woke up late (9.30), then met the first friend scientist, Milica from Serbia, who has been in Tsukuba since about two years. she took me strolling in colourful Harajuku (sort of Camden town in Tokyo), then we had a fabulous okonomiyaki for lunch.
later on I went by myself at the Yoyogi park, a twice interesting place. firstly because of the swarms of young cosplayers which can be admired during the weekend, with their fancy dresses going from manga characters, to "Gone with the wind"; secondly because of the Meji Jingu shinto temple, where on weekends one can follow traditional japanese weddings one after another. I saw two.
around 8pm I met another fellow scientist, Nicola, another italian prof from MIT in Boston, whom I hadn't seen in a while. it was his first time in Tokyo, so I took him for a ride in the sparkling night of Shibuya. we had dinner in a very nice kushiage (a place where you eat practically anything that can be fitted on a skewer), and then we strolled around the many lights of the city. we had a pretty good time until late (but see the highlight of the day).
highlight of the day: a japanese girl teaching two italian physics professors how to masturbate.
The famous Condomania store. Every tourist knows that in Shibuya there is this tiny little store called Condomania, stuffed with condoms of all kinds, lubricants, and other kinds of sex-helper implements. the store is run by a slim girl, with perky eyes and a seasonal wool cap. me and Nicola start making jokes about this and that, and the girl (a very good seller) follows on. then, I had the bad idea of saying: "and what is this?" pointing to a plastic egg. the girl goes: "let me explain you". she opens the egg and pulls out a sort of rubber cap shaped like a penis head. "this is to masturbate, it gives a real great feeling: see?" (she opens wide the rubber) "there are all those tiny tentacles inside, you put your penis here, close this, and masturbate, like this" (gently mimicks the masturbation with her hand). I insist, pointing at the small cylinder which she took away from the rubber, "and that's for...?". "oh, that is the lubricant!" she says. "Right, right, the lubricant..." (in the meantime, Nicola has bought a box of night-glowing condoms in the shape of Usahana rabbit). Then she says "You are from Italy right?" (Yes, was that so evident?) "I've been to Sicily once. Is Sicily in Italy?" We have some problem admitting that, but yes, Sicily of course is a part of Italy. "And what you do in Tokyo?" Nicola says that we are both physics' professors in two different universities. She says "So you are two genius!" Then she looks at the condoms Nicola is purchasing, and says: "That is japanese size: it will be too small for you!" Nicola tries to explain that he's not going to use the thing, he babbles something about collecting stuff from the countries he visits, but she insists: "We have size that is better for you, japanese too small !"
Genius...? Size...? Certainly, japanese girls have some great expectations...
woke up late (9.30), then met the first friend scientist, Milica from Serbia, who has been in Tsukuba since about two years. she took me strolling in colourful Harajuku (sort of Camden town in Tokyo), then we had a fabulous okonomiyaki for lunch.
later on I went by myself at the Yoyogi park, a twice interesting place. firstly because of the swarms of young cosplayers which can be admired during the weekend, with their fancy dresses going from manga characters, to "Gone with the wind"; secondly because of the Meji Jingu shinto temple, where on weekends one can follow traditional japanese weddings one after another. I saw two.
around 8pm I met another fellow scientist, Nicola, another italian prof from MIT in Boston, whom I hadn't seen in a while. it was his first time in Tokyo, so I took him for a ride in the sparkling night of Shibuya. we had dinner in a very nice kushiage (a place where you eat practically anything that can be fitted on a skewer), and then we strolled around the many lights of the city. we had a pretty good time until late (but see the highlight of the day).
highlight of the day: a japanese girl teaching two italian physics professors how to masturbate.
The famous Condomania store. Every tourist knows that in Shibuya there is this tiny little store called Condomania, stuffed with condoms of all kinds, lubricants, and other kinds of sex-helper implements. the store is run by a slim girl, with perky eyes and a seasonal wool cap. me and Nicola start making jokes about this and that, and the girl (a very good seller) follows on. then, I had the bad idea of saying: "and what is this?" pointing to a plastic egg. the girl goes: "let me explain you". she opens the egg and pulls out a sort of rubber cap shaped like a penis head. "this is to masturbate, it gives a real great feeling: see?" (she opens wide the rubber) "there are all those tiny tentacles inside, you put your penis here, close this, and masturbate, like this" (gently mimicks the masturbation with her hand). I insist, pointing at the small cylinder which she took away from the rubber, "and that's for...?". "oh, that is the lubricant!" she says. "Right, right, the lubricant..." (in the meantime, Nicola has bought a box of night-glowing condoms in the shape of Usahana rabbit). Then she says "You are from Italy right?" (Yes, was that so evident?) "I've been to Sicily once. Is Sicily in Italy?" We have some problem admitting that, but yes, Sicily of course is a part of Italy. "And what you do in Tokyo?" Nicola says that we are both physics' professors in two different universities. She says "So you are two genius!" Then she looks at the condoms Nicola is purchasing, and says: "That is japanese size: it will be too small for you!" Nicola tries to explain that he's not going to use the thing, he babbles something about collecting stuff from the countries he visits, but she insists: "We have size that is better for you, japanese too small !"
Genius...? Size...? Certainly, japanese girls have some great expectations...
Friday, 20 February 2009
still sleeping
this morning I woke up quite regularly, at 7.30, and had my pre-arranged breakfast at 8. quite a complicate ceremony, one has to reserve the night before and the meal is served at the requested time. as usual in Japan, you are supposed to pay immediately after (this country sticks to currency and seemingly hates credit cards), instead of charging to your hotel account as in any other country.
however, the first part of the morning was a royal mess. I was like completely stoned by the jet lag, and had even troubles in standing upright. after the beautiful sunny day of yesterday, today it was raining like hell, and I had no umbrella along. the thin man mr. Yamada at the reception handed me pitifully a transparent plastic umbrella, quite obviously a girls' one. I got off of the building at 9.30 aiming to reach the lab which is -technically speaking- at only 5 minutes walking distance. at about 10.30 I was still wandering under the rain with a terrible headache, my shoes totally soiled in mud, unable to find the way to the lab. magically, another thin guy with a baseball hat came to rescue me. he must have been a park guard or something (I got lost in a vast park with tall trees and traditional japanese buildings here and there, later on I discovered it was the Komaba historical park).
So, a little before 11am I eventually got into the lab with my mud-soiled shoes, greeted my friend professor Fujita, handed him politely my little present (a box of Guylian chocolate bonbons from Belgium) and we started talking work (I was drowsy droopy and eyelids at half-mast).
later on, I spoke briefly with a student from which I could not get one single concept straight. he was trying to explain me some idea of his about frictionless levitation, in a broken english, so badly broken that we ended up drawing doodles at each other.
after some time I got bored and started lying to him. I mean, not exactly lying, I made up some wild things which I told him in my best english, so he could not understand a word. Now, that was fun! of course he knew that I am his professor's idol, so I couldn't be wrong for no reason on earth. Therefore (he must have thought) I misunderstood what Cleri-sensei said, poor me! In the end, he was probably blaming himself for my own nonsense. but he was a kind chap, he even came back to help me with setting up the wireless connection, so at least he got something right.
around 5pm, we had the first little shinsai (earthquake) since my arrival. it was a swift vibration, just one or two seconds maybe, but up there at the 5th floor it was quite evident.
highlight of the day, the doomed search for a soba-ya around Komaba.
Sense of direction. I remembered I had been at a glorious soba-ya the other time I visited here, so I was determined to find it again. I usually have a fantastic sense of direction, and very rarely get lost even in places I've never seen before. I just remembered a few details about the street, and started following my mind-track. for those of you who now just start laughing, I found the spot easily without mistake! and it was night moreover. it was around 7.30 and in the beautiful soba-ya there was just a couple eating their dinner. so I said to myself, it's too early, there is no one yet in the restaurant. I'd take a walk around here and will come back a little later. so I went for the walk, and walked a lot, trying to get lost in the desperate maze of tiny little streets. stopped at a convenience store to buy milk, then stopped at a pastry shop to buy some carbohydrates for tomorrow's breakfast (I had enough of omelettes with bacon, already, I hate hyperproteic breakfasts). then decided to go back, it was about 8, found my way to the soba-ya and.... it was closed!! I ended up in another, more working-class restaurant, where I could get anyway some great soba with vegetables and shrimps. and finally got back home. now, it is unbelievable how just two 0.5l beers can make one's mind absent. on the way back I must have taken a wrong turn somewhere, so I found myself back on Uehara street over and over. with the typical masculine stubborness of such cases, I insisted to keep going where my infallible (...) sense of direction lead me. and (to my own surprise) after some meandering I found myself at the front gate of the Komaba faculty house...
however, the first part of the morning was a royal mess. I was like completely stoned by the jet lag, and had even troubles in standing upright. after the beautiful sunny day of yesterday, today it was raining like hell, and I had no umbrella along. the thin man mr. Yamada at the reception handed me pitifully a transparent plastic umbrella, quite obviously a girls' one. I got off of the building at 9.30 aiming to reach the lab which is -technically speaking- at only 5 minutes walking distance. at about 10.30 I was still wandering under the rain with a terrible headache, my shoes totally soiled in mud, unable to find the way to the lab. magically, another thin guy with a baseball hat came to rescue me. he must have been a park guard or something (I got lost in a vast park with tall trees and traditional japanese buildings here and there, later on I discovered it was the Komaba historical park).
So, a little before 11am I eventually got into the lab with my mud-soiled shoes, greeted my friend professor Fujita, handed him politely my little present (a box of Guylian chocolate bonbons from Belgium) and we started talking work (I was drowsy droopy and eyelids at half-mast).
later on, I spoke briefly with a student from which I could not get one single concept straight. he was trying to explain me some idea of his about frictionless levitation, in a broken english, so badly broken that we ended up drawing doodles at each other.
after some time I got bored and started lying to him. I mean, not exactly lying, I made up some wild things which I told him in my best english, so he could not understand a word. Now, that was fun! of course he knew that I am his professor's idol, so I couldn't be wrong for no reason on earth. Therefore (he must have thought) I misunderstood what Cleri-sensei said, poor me! In the end, he was probably blaming himself for my own nonsense. but he was a kind chap, he even came back to help me with setting up the wireless connection, so at least he got something right.
around 5pm, we had the first little shinsai (earthquake) since my arrival. it was a swift vibration, just one or two seconds maybe, but up there at the 5th floor it was quite evident.
highlight of the day, the doomed search for a soba-ya around Komaba.
Sense of direction. I remembered I had been at a glorious soba-ya the other time I visited here, so I was determined to find it again. I usually have a fantastic sense of direction, and very rarely get lost even in places I've never seen before. I just remembered a few details about the street, and started following my mind-track. for those of you who now just start laughing, I found the spot easily without mistake! and it was night moreover. it was around 7.30 and in the beautiful soba-ya there was just a couple eating their dinner. so I said to myself, it's too early, there is no one yet in the restaurant. I'd take a walk around here and will come back a little later. so I went for the walk, and walked a lot, trying to get lost in the desperate maze of tiny little streets. stopped at a convenience store to buy milk, then stopped at a pastry shop to buy some carbohydrates for tomorrow's breakfast (I had enough of omelettes with bacon, already, I hate hyperproteic breakfasts). then decided to go back, it was about 8, found my way to the soba-ya and.... it was closed!! I ended up in another, more working-class restaurant, where I could get anyway some great soba with vegetables and shrimps. and finally got back home. now, it is unbelievable how just two 0.5l beers can make one's mind absent. on the way back I must have taken a wrong turn somewhere, so I found myself back on Uehara street over and over. with the typical masculine stubborness of such cases, I insisted to keep going where my infallible (...) sense of direction lead me. and (to my own surprise) after some meandering I found myself at the front gate of the Komaba faculty house...
Thursday, 19 February 2009
just landed
hellooo? you still awake?
mmm... looks bad, but it's even worse. haven't slept in about 32 hours now, except a quick nap on the plane. the flight was ok and smooth, nothing to complain about or to notice, but I always have problems with sleeping in flight. well, watched Cohen brothers' "Burn after reading", great funny movie with Clooney, Pitt and McDormand at full power. then, the rest of the movies was not so appealing, so I gave up browsing... just tried the first half hour of Braveheart, and Breakfast at Tiffany's: watching the start of old movies is often like a door to some nice memories.
it took me 3 hours to reach Komaba coming from the Narita airport, Tokyo is *huge*! but once there the very kind concierge, mr. Yamada, a thin old man who looks like a gangster character from a dark movie of the '50s, would not let me in until 3pm. Therefore, I babbled around looking for some lunch (or dinner? or breakfast? couldn't tell. can't tell what time is it for my brain or stomach, either). and found a very nice place, the "Oaks", where for just 700 Y (about 6 euro) you can have some delicious food in military sizes.
then settled in my new lab space at the IIS, 5th floor with a moderately nice view of the park. around 4pm (local), back to the Komaba Faculty lodging, to fight mr. Yamada the japanese concierge. Now am in a very nice setting (with not less than 12 LeCorbusier leather chairs in the lobby!), only to spend the rest of the afternoon skypeing with my sister. and before going to bed, I could still watch the 11th episode of "Tutti pazzi per amore" (Everybody's mad about love), an italian sit-com, which helped me making it to the night, trying to beat the jet-lag.
so, it was a pretty unsubstantial day, one of those time passages in which some life is wasted to adjust to new situations. maybe it's not a waste, after all.
highlight of the day, the following spot news from yesterday's Daily Telegraph:
Beauty contest for rival mistresses. A chinese businessman has reportedly held a beauty contest to decide which of his five mistresses to keep after becoming unable to afford them all because of the credit crisis. Named only as mr. Fan and said to be from Qingdao on the east coast, he invited the women, who had all been told of each other's existence, to dinner, according to a local newspaper. Aided by a friend, who worked for a model agency, and inspired by reality TV shows, he then laid on a competition for them. One woman was eliminated during a "looks round" and two more, who worked as clerical officers in mr Fan's company, during a speech round. The final round of the contest was reportedly a drinking competition. The story, which was also reported in the "Peninsula Metropolitan News", came to light after the first mistress to be eliminated took the other women and the businessman out for a drive - during which she drove over a cliff in an act of revenge. She was the only one who died in the car crash.
mmm... looks bad, but it's even worse. haven't slept in about 32 hours now, except a quick nap on the plane. the flight was ok and smooth, nothing to complain about or to notice, but I always have problems with sleeping in flight. well, watched Cohen brothers' "Burn after reading", great funny movie with Clooney, Pitt and McDormand at full power. then, the rest of the movies was not so appealing, so I gave up browsing... just tried the first half hour of Braveheart, and Breakfast at Tiffany's: watching the start of old movies is often like a door to some nice memories.
it took me 3 hours to reach Komaba coming from the Narita airport, Tokyo is *huge*! but once there the very kind concierge, mr. Yamada, a thin old man who looks like a gangster character from a dark movie of the '50s, would not let me in until 3pm. Therefore, I babbled around looking for some lunch (or dinner? or breakfast? couldn't tell. can't tell what time is it for my brain or stomach, either). and found a very nice place, the "Oaks", where for just 700 Y (about 6 euro) you can have some delicious food in military sizes.
then settled in my new lab space at the IIS, 5th floor with a moderately nice view of the park. around 4pm (local), back to the Komaba Faculty lodging, to fight mr. Yamada the japanese concierge. Now am in a very nice setting (with not less than 12 LeCorbusier leather chairs in the lobby!), only to spend the rest of the afternoon skypeing with my sister. and before going to bed, I could still watch the 11th episode of "Tutti pazzi per amore" (Everybody's mad about love), an italian sit-com, which helped me making it to the night, trying to beat the jet-lag.
so, it was a pretty unsubstantial day, one of those time passages in which some life is wasted to adjust to new situations. maybe it's not a waste, after all.
highlight of the day, the following spot news from yesterday's Daily Telegraph:
Beauty contest for rival mistresses. A chinese businessman has reportedly held a beauty contest to decide which of his five mistresses to keep after becoming unable to afford them all because of the credit crisis. Named only as mr. Fan and said to be from Qingdao on the east coast, he invited the women, who had all been told of each other's existence, to dinner, according to a local newspaper. Aided by a friend, who worked for a model agency, and inspired by reality TV shows, he then laid on a competition for them. One woman was eliminated during a "looks round" and two more, who worked as clerical officers in mr Fan's company, during a speech round. The final round of the contest was reportedly a drinking competition. The story, which was also reported in the "Peninsula Metropolitan News", came to light after the first mistress to be eliminated took the other women and the businessman out for a drive - during which she drove over a cliff in an act of revenge. She was the only one who died in the car crash.
Wednesday, 18 February 2009
back on the chain gang
so, am leaving again to Japan. this is the third time, and it will be the longest so far: about two months. this time my thoughts will go into this blog.
certainly, this trip is going to be less exciting than the previous ones. I will be staying in Tokyo for the whole time, no trips around the country this time, work only. but there is plenty of time still left to discover some more about Japan and the japanese. and certainly this country is not short of funny things to see and to do. will see what I can do, with some little help from my friends... ;)
leaving tomorrow at 6.50am from Lille Europe, to Paris CdG, then London Heathrow, and then Tokyo, arriving 9.30 in the morning. will not go to sleep until the night after, at which point I will have accumulated so much daytime that will sleep in walking...
see you the tomorrow of tomorrow!
certainly, this trip is going to be less exciting than the previous ones. I will be staying in Tokyo for the whole time, no trips around the country this time, work only. but there is plenty of time still left to discover some more about Japan and the japanese. and certainly this country is not short of funny things to see and to do. will see what I can do, with some little help from my friends... ;)
leaving tomorrow at 6.50am from Lille Europe, to Paris CdG, then London Heathrow, and then Tokyo, arriving 9.30 in the morning. will not go to sleep until the night after, at which point I will have accumulated so much daytime that will sleep in walking...
see you the tomorrow of tomorrow!
Saturday, 26 July 2008
last report from Shibuya and the fish market
So, today I woke up very early to go get some photo shots at the Tsuki-ji fish market. When I woke up at about 5.30, I felt like an idiot for a little while. Come on, what is this? only 5 hours of sleep, just to take some photos? Then, slowly, I made up my mind, and decided to go... thinking that I wold have been the king of fools, I moved to the Nezu subway station, where in fact at 5 minutes to 6 there was very few people. The number of people increases briskly at the Okachimachi intersection. Boy, people go to work early in this city! At the Tsuki-shijo stop a number of people gets out, among which another 4-5 guys carrying heavy photography bags just like me.... ah, I am not alone, there are others with the Lonely planet guidebook :) So everybody moves stealthily towards the market, pretending to ignore the others.... It looks like we are all in one of those Benny Hill shorts :)
Well, the fish market was totally worth the move, even though I missed the auction phase (which ends at 6.30), the rest is great. Giant red tuna, both fresh and frozen, known and totally unknown kinds of fish, the most strangest shellfish I have ever seen, etc. Funnily enough, each stall where a number of rough and weary fishermen treat the animals and cut them with humongous knives in the shape of samurai's katanas, is severely controlled and managed by women. It can be one or two young girls, but most often they are old oba-san, wives or even mothers of the guys working in the front. I took several photos of these characters, all busy with their rigorous inside their tiny wooden case, amidst the noise and the voices of the traders, the fury of the small carts running in all directions, the tons of fish moving around. But I think it is not even worth describing in words, photos (hopefully) will be much nicer explanation of the atmosphere...
On my way back, the city was totally awaken, it was about 7.30. I stopped in a Coffe shop to have a real breakfast, with delicious ready-made pancakes with maple syrup and a decent cappuccino. And then I went back to the ryokan, and set myself for the bed. I slept for maybe 20', just to enjoy the idea that I just had woke up that morning, the fish-market thing being something of the yesterday. But the strange smell rising from my feet reminded me of the absolute necessity to take not just a simple shower... but to soak the feet in some suplhuric acid, or a stronger solution! In fact, I had put on my sandals to go to the market, and as one can easily imagine, the soil of the market was covered by about an inch of water, in which all kinds of other fluids mix and go. This is why most people were wearing knee-high rubber boots :)) OK, the sandal idea was not bad, only I had to throw away my sandals probably.
Then, I knew that there would have been the science meeting at 4pm, so I had not the full day to complete my list of to-do's. In fact, they reduced just to a few. I had to go to Ueno park, give again a look at the Toshogu (without taking new photos, I had plenty from the other time), then move on to the National Museum, to shop for some peculiar items. (I had them the other time I was here, but they all were left back in my .... previous life! so in order to have them back the only chioce is to buy new ones, and luckily the Museum shop still carries them ;) It is almost lunch time, and according to my Lonely planet (and to common sense) it should be worth going back to the fish market to find the best and freshest sushi in the world. I get rid of the too fancy Sushi Zanmai, which I fear should be a tourist trap, and head to one of the small sushi shops lining in front of the big market hall, and enter the one that gives me the nicest impression. And, wow!, it was the right choice. For a mere 3,600yen (22 euro) I can literally stuff myself with the greatest sushi meal ever! I went up a little with the price since I ordered separately some toro sushi, the highest quality of fat-belly tuna, but it was soooooo worth it! And I finished with one of those giant peaches they sell in the street, for a price going from 250 to 350yen. They are individually wrapped in a soft foamy plastic case, to keep them from hurting against each other or anything, and they are the sweetest you can find (I can remember better ones only in a small tiny village in Calabria, south of Italy, a few years back).
In my to-do list there was still Kyukyo-do missing, in Ginza. So I went there, and fired off my about 100euro in washi paper, hanging scrolls etc. One of the must of every Japan visit... And that was pretty much it.
The meeting at 4 (to which I arrived obviously late, I was there around 4.30 pretending I did a bad time calculation since I am living in Ueno now, about 1h30' away from the university... in fact I took my time and took another, necessary and relaxing shower in the ryokan), the meeting at 4.30 then, lasted until 9 in the night !!! Ah, the japanese... well, it was a wrap-up meeting just to check what I remembered after two weeks of vacation.
Then, I stopped again in Shibuya, to do the last sister-related shopping. And could watch again some of that tokyoite nightlife that it is impossible to follow, for someone like me (and, must admit, of my age... I sort of find myself a little out of place in such an environment, albeit there are around a number of not-so-young, and even middle-aged (meaning 'older than me') salarymen mixed in the crowd). Although I think I got some understanding of the youth-pop-urban culture that is developing here, it is something so distant ahead, and projected so far away in time that I think to myself, when such pop customs will make it to the western Europe I will be probably gone. However, the Shibuya-girls are there again, and since I browsed for some information (and got myself some local papers and manga!), I can see the big big difference between the far more developed youngsters here than in Kyoto, and those in Nara which compared to Kyoto's seem quite like country villagers.
Well, I am happy I learned a lot about such young-pop culture. For example, a very characteristic feature is that they shorten and contract words mixing from japanese and english words, such as pokèmon (= pocket monsters), lolicon (= lolita complex, the strange but not criminal obsession of the japanese for young schoolgirls), cosplay (= costume players, teenagers fond of anime and manga who dress up like their favourite fantasy characters). Then, I learned that sunburn, oakwood-shade suntan (faked, of course, obtained with dark skin creams) is totally out of fashion today. The big cry now is long hair waving in ample bouclées (for both girls and boys); girls wear flimsy knee-long coveralls with lots of laces and ribbons, while boys wear their jeans literally below the ass, showing more than half of their brief-covered buttocks. So, the shops in Shibuya are comparatively stocked full with ribbons, knee-high socks, and the fanciest briefs, which of course become the most visible part once the jeans are carefully placed below the belt. Large, bee-like jet-black sunglasses wrapping all-around the face are a must, as much as a boy's hairstyling looking as if someone just gave you a hard slap in the face (kept in place by at least a pound of hair gel and a huge hairspray). Apparently, another trend of the summer is to wear the shirt "as tight as possible", so as to show everyone just how padded your bra is. Apparently, lots of kids in the boring suburbs of Japan dream of coming to Shibuya because it is like totally the most cool place and stuff. They copy the fashions and read the magazines about Shibuya, but most of them never make it here. And of course there is the massage thing. While walking along Bunkamura, Meiji-dori etc., you are often spoiled by some girls offering you a massage, but the kind of smile they give you lets you know that they are obviously offering something else too.
And I learned about the "Manga kissa" and the "Maid cafés". Only from the two guides, unfortunately, since I had not time to give these a try, maybe next time. Manga kissa are a place where you can watch dvds, Playstation games, hook up to the internet, read manga of course, but unexpectedly, you can also spend the night there; Lonely planet suggests it as a last resort, when missing the midnight train, apparently you can get a private cubicle where to surf the internet and get a night nap safely, since the local staff supervise the whole thing. And the Maid Cafés, very popular around the "electric market" area of Akihabara, are bars with acid colours and manga-style decoration, where young girls dressed as soubrettes, with high heels, substantial make-up and soft-headed wigs, welcome you saying 'Welcome home, master'. You can read mangas (again!), play games and get some cuddle from the girls for a small money (however, other forms of 'contact' are strictly forbidden). Apparently, such kind of bars are very popular among the more timid and job-spoiled Japanese youngsters, who need some place to fill their needs of affection and kindness. Pretty much on the same note as the Nekobukuro, the hotel where people can play for an hour with a cat, since for most people living in tiny apartment it is impossible to fulfil the desire to have a pet at home.
Japan, the place where people are REALLY different!
However, in all such fantastic modernity, I often think about who would still remember of the past. Yes, scholars may still keep studying the old ages and the shogun and the bushido. And in Europe, literates can still discuss about Shakespeare and Dante. But who, in this modern world, will be able to retain the taste and the feeling for listening to their words? who will still be attracted to reading Homer, or Eurypides? who will stil care for listening to a song by Sainte-Colombe, or an ancient baroque opera, besides the unwitting crowds of tourists that fill up summer arenas to watch the last boring show of Bohéme or Carmen? Maybe some of such things will just be gone forever. Maybe some of them were never truly understood. But the sad thing is that for centuries such things were retained as excellent, and were passed on with care from one generation to the next. And today, our generation is so proud and so mindless of itself, that in the matter of just a few years all those shining and dark, fruitful and obscure past, will probably disappear. Or be marketed into gadgets, which is even worse.
Then, left to the airport, and it was early morning again. On my way to the Nezu subway, I noticed the serviceman in helmet and yellow phosphorescent stripes who sat at the corner of the stairs to protect people... he must have been there for the whole night. I saw this man yesterday night, coming here around midnight. He is set to stay there to grab falling people, since in that station the incoming trains produce huge wind currents (that is true!), and some elderly people may fall down the stairs. Japanese are a prevident and careful society.
OK, then. Farewell, Japan!
Well, the fish market was totally worth the move, even though I missed the auction phase (which ends at 6.30), the rest is great. Giant red tuna, both fresh and frozen, known and totally unknown kinds of fish, the most strangest shellfish I have ever seen, etc. Funnily enough, each stall where a number of rough and weary fishermen treat the animals and cut them with humongous knives in the shape of samurai's katanas, is severely controlled and managed by women. It can be one or two young girls, but most often they are old oba-san, wives or even mothers of the guys working in the front. I took several photos of these characters, all busy with their rigorous inside their tiny wooden case, amidst the noise and the voices of the traders, the fury of the small carts running in all directions, the tons of fish moving around. But I think it is not even worth describing in words, photos (hopefully) will be much nicer explanation of the atmosphere...
On my way back, the city was totally awaken, it was about 7.30. I stopped in a Coffe shop to have a real breakfast, with delicious ready-made pancakes with maple syrup and a decent cappuccino. And then I went back to the ryokan, and set myself for the bed. I slept for maybe 20', just to enjoy the idea that I just had woke up that morning, the fish-market thing being something of the yesterday. But the strange smell rising from my feet reminded me of the absolute necessity to take not just a simple shower... but to soak the feet in some suplhuric acid, or a stronger solution! In fact, I had put on my sandals to go to the market, and as one can easily imagine, the soil of the market was covered by about an inch of water, in which all kinds of other fluids mix and go. This is why most people were wearing knee-high rubber boots :)) OK, the sandal idea was not bad, only I had to throw away my sandals probably.
Then, I knew that there would have been the science meeting at 4pm, so I had not the full day to complete my list of to-do's. In fact, they reduced just to a few. I had to go to Ueno park, give again a look at the Toshogu (without taking new photos, I had plenty from the other time), then move on to the National Museum, to shop for some peculiar items. (I had them the other time I was here, but they all were left back in my .... previous life! so in order to have them back the only chioce is to buy new ones, and luckily the Museum shop still carries them ;) It is almost lunch time, and according to my Lonely planet (and to common sense) it should be worth going back to the fish market to find the best and freshest sushi in the world. I get rid of the too fancy Sushi Zanmai, which I fear should be a tourist trap, and head to one of the small sushi shops lining in front of the big market hall, and enter the one that gives me the nicest impression. And, wow!, it was the right choice. For a mere 3,600yen (22 euro) I can literally stuff myself with the greatest sushi meal ever! I went up a little with the price since I ordered separately some toro sushi, the highest quality of fat-belly tuna, but it was soooooo worth it! And I finished with one of those giant peaches they sell in the street, for a price going from 250 to 350yen. They are individually wrapped in a soft foamy plastic case, to keep them from hurting against each other or anything, and they are the sweetest you can find (I can remember better ones only in a small tiny village in Calabria, south of Italy, a few years back).
In my to-do list there was still Kyukyo-do missing, in Ginza. So I went there, and fired off my about 100euro in washi paper, hanging scrolls etc. One of the must of every Japan visit... And that was pretty much it.
The meeting at 4 (to which I arrived obviously late, I was there around 4.30 pretending I did a bad time calculation since I am living in Ueno now, about 1h30' away from the university... in fact I took my time and took another, necessary and relaxing shower in the ryokan), the meeting at 4.30 then, lasted until 9 in the night !!! Ah, the japanese... well, it was a wrap-up meeting just to check what I remembered after two weeks of vacation.
Then, I stopped again in Shibuya, to do the last sister-related shopping. And could watch again some of that tokyoite nightlife that it is impossible to follow, for someone like me (and, must admit, of my age... I sort of find myself a little out of place in such an environment, albeit there are around a number of not-so-young, and even middle-aged (meaning 'older than me') salarymen mixed in the crowd). Although I think I got some understanding of the youth-pop-urban culture that is developing here, it is something so distant ahead, and projected so far away in time that I think to myself, when such pop customs will make it to the western Europe I will be probably gone. However, the Shibuya-girls are there again, and since I browsed for some information (and got myself some local papers and manga!), I can see the big big difference between the far more developed youngsters here than in Kyoto, and those in Nara which compared to Kyoto's seem quite like country villagers.
Well, I am happy I learned a lot about such young-pop culture. For example, a very characteristic feature is that they shorten and contract words mixing from japanese and english words, such as pokèmon (= pocket monsters), lolicon (= lolita complex, the strange but not criminal obsession of the japanese for young schoolgirls), cosplay (= costume players, teenagers fond of anime and manga who dress up like their favourite fantasy characters). Then, I learned that sunburn, oakwood-shade suntan (faked, of course, obtained with dark skin creams) is totally out of fashion today. The big cry now is long hair waving in ample bouclées (for both girls and boys); girls wear flimsy knee-long coveralls with lots of laces and ribbons, while boys wear their jeans literally below the ass, showing more than half of their brief-covered buttocks. So, the shops in Shibuya are comparatively stocked full with ribbons, knee-high socks, and the fanciest briefs, which of course become the most visible part once the jeans are carefully placed below the belt. Large, bee-like jet-black sunglasses wrapping all-around the face are a must, as much as a boy's hairstyling looking as if someone just gave you a hard slap in the face (kept in place by at least a pound of hair gel and a huge hairspray). Apparently, another trend of the summer is to wear the shirt "as tight as possible", so as to show everyone just how padded your bra is. Apparently, lots of kids in the boring suburbs of Japan dream of coming to Shibuya because it is like totally the most cool place and stuff. They copy the fashions and read the magazines about Shibuya, but most of them never make it here. And of course there is the massage thing. While walking along Bunkamura, Meiji-dori etc., you are often spoiled by some girls offering you a massage, but the kind of smile they give you lets you know that they are obviously offering something else too.
And I learned about the "Manga kissa" and the "Maid cafés". Only from the two guides, unfortunately, since I had not time to give these a try, maybe next time. Manga kissa are a place where you can watch dvds, Playstation games, hook up to the internet, read manga of course, but unexpectedly, you can also spend the night there; Lonely planet suggests it as a last resort, when missing the midnight train, apparently you can get a private cubicle where to surf the internet and get a night nap safely, since the local staff supervise the whole thing. And the Maid Cafés, very popular around the "electric market" area of Akihabara, are bars with acid colours and manga-style decoration, where young girls dressed as soubrettes, with high heels, substantial make-up and soft-headed wigs, welcome you saying 'Welcome home, master'. You can read mangas (again!), play games and get some cuddle from the girls for a small money (however, other forms of 'contact' are strictly forbidden). Apparently, such kind of bars are very popular among the more timid and job-spoiled Japanese youngsters, who need some place to fill their needs of affection and kindness. Pretty much on the same note as the Nekobukuro, the hotel where people can play for an hour with a cat, since for most people living in tiny apartment it is impossible to fulfil the desire to have a pet at home.
Japan, the place where people are REALLY different!
However, in all such fantastic modernity, I often think about who would still remember of the past. Yes, scholars may still keep studying the old ages and the shogun and the bushido. And in Europe, literates can still discuss about Shakespeare and Dante. But who, in this modern world, will be able to retain the taste and the feeling for listening to their words? who will still be attracted to reading Homer, or Eurypides? who will stil care for listening to a song by Sainte-Colombe, or an ancient baroque opera, besides the unwitting crowds of tourists that fill up summer arenas to watch the last boring show of Bohéme or Carmen? Maybe some of such things will just be gone forever. Maybe some of them were never truly understood. But the sad thing is that for centuries such things were retained as excellent, and were passed on with care from one generation to the next. And today, our generation is so proud and so mindless of itself, that in the matter of just a few years all those shining and dark, fruitful and obscure past, will probably disappear. Or be marketed into gadgets, which is even worse.
Then, left to the airport, and it was early morning again. On my way to the Nezu subway, I noticed the serviceman in helmet and yellow phosphorescent stripes who sat at the corner of the stairs to protect people... he must have been there for the whole night. I saw this man yesterday night, coming here around midnight. He is set to stay there to grab falling people, since in that station the incoming trains produce huge wind currents (that is true!), and some elderly people may fall down the stairs. Japanese are a prevident and careful society.
OK, then. Farewell, Japan!
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