Oktoberfest in Yokohama

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It's October, time for some Fest. Even in Japan? Yeah, apparently it's celebrated everywhere these days. Even though I am not a big fan of German folklore, I am definitely keen on some beer now and then, especially European. And the image of a typical Bavarian festival in oriental surroundings seemed so silly and yet so appealing that I deiced to go the moment I heard about it from Emmanuel. So I grabbed some Vulcanus friends (not literally, of course...) and headed for Yokohama, to the already-known carnival spot between western-stylized red brick buildings. Fortunately, this time the often fitful autumn weather was kind enough to be sunny. So... how was the party?

First of all, it was crowded. Lines of people before the entrance, lines for beer, lines for food, etc. But it was a big event and I should have expected nothing less. There were some gaijins, of course (Germans and Americans, for instance), but the venue and it's surroundings was filled mainly with Japanese craving for some exotic entertainment. Because how else could the locals call downing a fine weisswurst with a pint of even finer bier. The main spot was occupied by a huge tent with long benches, tables and a stage set up for a coarse brass band in traditional costumes. The sight of tipsy Japanese shouting "kanpai!" and dancing ecstatically to the sounds of German folk sing-alongs was surely a precious one. And to tell the truth, I felt quite content surrounded by plates of steaming "meat and potatoes" variations, boot-shaped beer mugs and cheering blonds. For a second there I felt some Silesian spirit and distant European air. (Un)fortunately, the prices brought me down to Japanese earth. Nonetheless, it was a very pleasant afternoon spent integrating with Vulcanuses and practicing Japanese with random chat buddies. And afterwards we headed for the famous Shibuyan Atom Club to dance away all those beers. But that's another story.

Kamakura - a link to the past

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I was told that there are actually two Japans. The first would be Tokyo and other major cities: modern, cosmopolitan, made of steel, glass and concrete. Always bright, always crowded, never asleep. The second would be the small towns, scattered around the countryside. A bit forgotten, old and wooden, closer to the nature and tradition. Of course Japanese manage to combine the two worlds pretty well: there's a lot of tradition in the Capital's centre and some modern stuff in even the tiniest of villages. But I really wanted to experience this other, smaller Japan, especially after a tiring night at Roppongi. The perfect place to visit is Kamakura, a half an hour by train to the south of Yokohama. A picturesque medieval town stretching from the Ocean's shore to the nearby hills. Densely covered with forests, shrines and temples, a popular hiking destination for the Japanese from big cities, mostly during weekends and national holidays. We (myself and seven other Vulcanuses) also visited the place during a holiday: September 20th is Respect for the Aged Day in Japan. So... what's up in the countryside?

First of all, an important fact: Kamakura used to be Japan's capital city in the Kamakura Period (yeah...) sometime between 1185 AD and 1392 AD. It was where shoguns from the Minamoto family resided. They overthrew the fragile reign of Kyoto emperors and established a military government in their faraway home town. The predominant ideology of those times was Zen Buddhism praised by the ruling warrior class of bushi (we call them 'samurai', which is a bit incorrect). Hence so many Buddhist temples in the area, which also was an important stronghold during the XIV century's Mongolian invasions on Japan. The first temple is actually a few meters away from the train station - it's the great Engaku-Ji, the Temple of Spirit or Perfect Enlightenment. It was build by the shogun after his victory against the Mongolians in order to express his gratitude and ease the souls of people who died in the war. The temple itself is a pretty big complex of different purpose buildings. I've never been to a Buddhist temple and I was charmed by the beautiful gates leading to different areas and the sacral places with many Buddha statues and altars. Everything there is wooden, some of the buildings are 700 years old, some were rebuild in latter eras after fires. There are also some graveyards (which is a distinctive feature of Buddhist temples - Shinto shrines don't have them) and small grottoes carved in the surrounding rocky hills. The place has many visitors yet it's very quiet and beautiful. I felt as if I went back in time a few hundred years, to the times of shogun and samurai. A great experience.

Then we went along the Daibutsu Hiking Road to see the famous Great Buddha statue. The narrow path led through a kind of familiar looking forest (apart from some bamboos maybe) situated on some steep hills, which gave as a great view of the beautiful landscape with the seaside and the whole town in the distance. If I hadn't known that it used to be the capital city, I would have never guessed - now it look silly compared to Tokyo. We passed some other temples along the way (some of them are branches of Engaku-Ji, which is a regional Zen centre). We also visited a small Shinto shrine or rather an altar hidden deep in the trees. Of course, before entering the holy ground, we had to wash our hands and mouths with water pouring from a cute blue dragon statue. Back home, I would never agree to do any religious practices, but here... it's Japan and I have to try everything. The nice thing about the humble Shinto shrines is an always present rack with small pieces of wood or paper attached to it, on which people can write down their wishes and intentions. During the walk I got to meet Tetsu-san, a 2009-2010 Vulcanus in Europe (Germany) student, who happened to visit Cracow and liked it a lot. Finally, we got to the Great Buddha. The copper monument was pretty impressive, about 10 m high and surrounded by lots of lots of tourist. After taking some typical Daibutsu photos and even going inside the statue (extremely hot), we went to eat some great ramen and ended up on Kamakura's beach. Everyone was too tired to do anything else, so we went back home. The end. Kamakura was definitely different than Tokyo. Closer to the nature, tradition and religion, it was indeed a very different Japan.

Roppongi

A new experience - the most international district of Tokyo and a meeting place for gaijins looking for a party. Lots of clubs and a slightly different atmosphere. Not so safe anymore - some bums on the streets or aggressive Americans dripping with hormones. On my way to the meeting place I was actually approached by four huge marines asking for directions. '-Excuse me sir, are you American?'. 'No' was obviously a wrong answer: I could see from their faces that they didn't like Europeans. '-Do you know where Roppongi is? Some cubs? Are the girls good?'. These questions gave me a bad feeling about the upcoming night. I met with other Vulcanuses traditionally at Shibuya by the Hachiko statue. Then we were accidentally joined by a Switz and Spanish group some of us had encountered a few days before. Some really nice people working here or travelling around Japan. Then we met with our host: a former Vulcanus student Kuba, now living in Tokyo, and his Japanese and American friends. We started partying at Shibuya, in a European-style restaurant. A few beers later we integrated pretty well and the conversations were led in almost all major world languages. Imagine a drunk and extremely loud group of American, Japanese, English, Scottish, Switz, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, French and Polish people. Crazy. Moreover, we were sitting by a huge table with da Vinci's 'Last supper' painted on the wall behind us. Must have looked hilarious. Finally we left for Roppongi, where the main course party was about to take place. No night trains in Japan - we had to take taxis.

At the site we were joined by other Polish and Japanese friends. The huge group of people entered an even bigger club. A four storey party palace with its main dance floor in the basement, a bar on each floor and a special quiet roof terrace with sofas for smooth and private conversations. Fountains, sculptures, lights and music. Each room with it's own giant black bodyguard in a perfect suit. Most of them from USA or Jamaica. The prices were sky high and we spent a small fortune on entrance fees and other pleasures. Speaking of which, the place was stuffed with Japanese women with the sole purpose of meeting a handsome rich gaijin, preferably American, but some of my non-American friends were quite popular too. There were also some Russian girls hanging out with Japanese and Korean 'playboys'. The club seemed like an expensive and exclusive commercial product with no atmosphere of it's own and a soundtrack of original "Nirvana vs. Beyonce vs. Samba de Janeiro" remixes. The whole place was addressed to a specific target audience and I felt I didn't belong. A night of frustration and struggling with my moral backbone. How I missed Cracow's clubs, the small, quiet and stylish works of art. I will definitely not forget the night. Lesson learned. Oh, and no pictures from the party, my camera died at the TGS and I had no time to recharge it. Anyway, what happens in Roppongi, stays in Roppongi.

Tokyo Game Show 2010 and the Ocean

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Since I was a little kid, one of my annual ceremonies was to check some press reports from a then-current Tokyo Game Show. One of the biggest gaming expos in the world always seemed like an almost magical event taking place on another planet. Thousands of visitors, all the major computer game companies, cos-players, charming hostesses and many more. It was always then, when all the important news about the upcoming killer titles leaked. New games, new hardware, new trailers and technical details - TGS always had it all. The only other two major gaming shows take place in Leipzig and Los Angeles, but since Americans decided to make their shows press-oriented and stopped allowing casual visitors in, the European and Japanese shows have become the most popular ones. When I came to Japan, I was so confused and had so much on my mind that I totally forgot about the event. But thanks to my friends Iñigo (who reminded me about the show) and Emmanuel (who bought me the ticket - only credit cards accepted in the presale) I was able to go.

The show took place in Chiba, which is a distant city located in the east of Tokyo, next to the seaside. The trip from Isehara took us around two and a half hours - we had to get up at 6.30 am. But it was definitely worth it - as soon as we left the train station, we got ourselves surrounded by a river of otakus heading for the venue. Excitement was in the air and a short walk around Chiba's beautiful skyscrapers felt almost like a pilgrimage. The team consisted of me, Emmanuel, Iñigo, Beatrice, two Haviers and their two friends. Unfortunately we had to wait in a huge line for about and hour in the burning midday sun, but eventually we got into the ginormous exposition hall complex without additional problems.

Most amazing place. Indeed there were thousands of visitors, mostly Japanese otaku, but also a lot of foreign geeks. Huge HD screens with game presentations, interviews with game creators, hundreds of game consoles with the newest games waiting to be played. Games, games, games everywhere. But not only that. I also saw some side shows, like DJ sets, Japanese schoolgirls' dance routines, voting for the best game of the show and models demonstrating some debuting hardware. These were all hosted by various companies on their own small stages. There was also a separate hall just for families with small children (lots of activities like football) and a fighting games tournament (Virtua Fighter 5, Tekken 6 and so on) displayed on a cinematic screen for a numerous audience. Loved it. What about the companies? Konami took the best space close to the first hall's entrance. They showed the new Castlevania: Lords of Shadow, Winning Eleven 2011 and a new Dance Dance Revolution game. Unfortunately, they didn't mention anything about Metal Gear Rising apart from the already well know trailer. Sucks. Capcom, located in the second hall, had it's owned little movie theater, where they showed some trailers on a big screen. A new Monster Hunter, Marvel vs. Capcom 3 (there's even Amaterasu from Okami among the characters) and a pretty sweet teaser from Devil May Cry 5, entitled just DMC and with a new main hero (also Dante, but definitely not the same). Square Enix mainly boasted about Final Fantasy XIV (this one's online) and Deus Ex. Sony showed some new stuff for PlayStation 3, like PlayStation Move that turns PS3 into Wii (similar technology and wave of silly games). There was also the very fashionable Avatar style 3D (with shutter glasses) demonstrated on Killzone 3. Microsoft had a huge spot for XBox 360 with all the major games and some exclusives, but it wasn't even half as popular as Sony's place. By the way, they also have a hardware add on detecting user's moves (Kinect). Ubisoft focused on Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood, they even had a real life Altar to take pictures with. Apart from the big fishes, there was also tons of smaller companies with games mostly for Japanese market (like stable simulators and j-style Gears of War rip offs). Oh, and obviously there was a lot of anime based games (some were half-porn) and online slashers/RPGs set in the beloved Sengoku period. All together, a lot of funny things.

Another accompanying event, almost as important and exciting as the Game Show itself, was the cos-play competition. Cos-players gathered in the passages between expo halls an attracted more audience than some gaming spots. I have never seen better and more detailed costumes. These people really love dressing up like that and posing to pictures. Anyone could ask them to strike an awesome pose and take as much pictures as they wanted. Some may say the cos-players (mostly girls if you ask) are a bunch of totally vain losers craving for some popularity but whatever - they looked great and really into their roles. Cos-play is treated very seriously in Japan - the best costumes got attention of professional press photographers and TV interviewers, and of course there was a competition for the best dress-up. I don't know who won, I loved most of them, especially Final Fantasy X team and the Snake & Boss duo. Too bad I couldn't photograph them all, it was too much for my camera's battery.

All in all, TGS 2010 was a great experience. Although my expectations very incredibly high (I felt I was going to see a legend itself), they still got to satisfy me. Unfortunately, the place was obviously overcrowded and too noisy. I got tired after a while an didn't get to play much games (only Castlevania after an hour-long waiting). But another of my childhood dreams came true. Pretty touching. And afterwards we went to sea the Ocean (Tokyo Bay, to be more precise). Beautiful endless blue fired up by the setting sun. But you already know it must have been great. How else could it be?

Yokohama and the Infinite City

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Today about the trip to Yokohama, Japan's second largest city. Actually, size doesn't matter, since most towns in the Tokyo Greater Area kind of blend with each other, forming one big city - hence the title of this post. But we'll get to it later. Introduction time: Yokohama was the first Japanese town to open itself to foreigners in the late XIX century. Since then, it became a lively and fast developing port town with lots of minorities among its inhabitants and of course some interesting architectural clashes. This is obviously some travel-guide-like bullshit. Yokohama was very pleasant for us (we went in a group of around 20 Vulcanuses) and we actually felt it's more open for gaijins and more international all together. Even than Tokyo. Even better than Tokyo - more spacey, less smelly, less crowded and really fun. The trip was quietly directed by a volunteer - Marie Wakana. She is a former Vulcanus in Europe student, lives in Yokohama and was very happy to show us around with some of her Japanese friends (also Vulcanus students). The offer was made at the Reception Party and we all agreed on it - thanks again Marie, you were there for us.

First we went to the famous Landmark Tower, which reigns over the city's skyline. You can literally see it from everywhere, like some kind of evil tower watching over you (Half-Life 2, anyone? :). Fortunately, it's far from that - I loved going to the 69th floor to the highest observing point in whole of Japan. There's a super fast elevator (750 meters per minute - now that's some strange speed measure unit) and you get to the top in around 40 seconds. The view from there is definitely one of the best things I've ever seen in my life and I'm not going to describe it - look at the pictures. I felt godlike, watching the coast, the Ocean and of course the huge Yokohama smoothly shifting to Tokyo on the horizon line. It was like the world was covered with a thick carper of skyscrapers - the Infinite City. When we came down and turned human again, we walk around the harbour (the beautiful old ship docked in front of steel and glass giants looked both fragile and impressive). We also visited a local carnival with shops, concerts and various entertainments.

Then we headed for the Chinatown. Another small marvel hidden in the concrete maze of Japanese modern buildings. Narrow, colorful streets and elaborately decorated gates showed us greatly the difference between Japanese and Chinese in terms of aesthetics and their way of life. We dined at a traditional Taiwan restaurant - the food was way better than in similar places back in Europe. Probably because of the atmosphere and some nostalgic Chinese pop music in the background. Watch out - boiled chili peppers don't get less spicy at all. Too bad that the Chinatown was so expensive, but it was clearly because of all the tourists coming to visit. Oh well. Still a must-see.

And last but not least - after party! During the sightseeing, Marie got a call from her friends back in Tokyo, who prepared a surprise party for us. Actually it was a birthday party for one of them, but we also got invited. So that's cool anyway. I got the be on my very first Japanese house party. Overcrowded and extremely hot, but grand. Met some really nice people (who were very happy to see some gaijins), practiced my basic Nihongo skills and drank some Japanese beer called "Asahi". And the best thing - for the first time in two weeks I briefly touched a guitar. An acoustic one. I missed it so. The trip to Yokohama ended late at night somewhere completely different. The whole day was great and much needed after a tiring week of illness and studies.

Reception Party and Stairway to Heaven

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This is going to be short. You should not write too much about a party, you should experience it or at least watch some pictures. After some most useful but a bit tiring briefings in the Center and the dorm moving hassle we were awarded with the Reception Party. There were official speeches from EU-Japan delegates, aesthetically prepared snacks and free drinks. European wines plus Japanese beer plus extreme heat equals blurry memories. Most of us had the chance to meet representatives from our future host companies and own embassies. Unfortunately, no one from my department was able to attend, so after a brief and polite conversation with a Polish diplomat I could get a bit tipsy without the risk of embarrassing myself in front of my employer.

Also, most of our countries send some friendly officials, but not ambassadors, so the atmosphere wasn't too stiff and I had a good time. And we still got to meet the ambassadors or consuls a few days later, when we attended our diplomatic outposts to register ourselves as residents abroad. Going back to the party, we had the pleasure to meet the ambassador of Bulgaria, who came despite the fact that this year there are no Bulgarian students in Vulcanus. Oh well. And afterwards we went to an expensive karaoke club in Shibuya, where I had a truly remarkable performance of the Zep's classic. Nothing short of Plant's own. Cheers.

Culture Shock vol.1

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I promised myself I would not write anything about Japanese toilets, since this topic is banal and over exploited. It's like writing a review of Star Wars. Whatever comes to your mind, it's already been thought about and written (e.g. here). Yes, the toilets have some buttons, but it's not that complicated. You can use your intuition or the helpful icons. By the way, most of things in Japan is marked with approachable and funny pictures: a family of raccoons warns about the dangers of subway, a pink robot points to a ticket machine, Hello Kitty shows fire extinguishers. You can survive without even knowing Japanese. Going back to the toilets, about which I'm not writing right now, I found controls for warming the seat up, washing with adjustable water pressure and "powerful deodorant". Of course you flush using a barely seen, ugly metal switch hidden somewhere in the back and under a pipe, because it's not the most important thing, right? Yeah, when I arrived in my land of dreams, one of the world's biggest and most interesting cities, instead of sightseeing, watching, trying, experiencing, etc. I was playing with the loo. And now I'm writing a blog. Sober...

So the culture shock got me already the first day, in a hotel toilet. Then I turned on the TV, where I saw an intriguing scene with some pixels here and there. Porn in TV at 13:00? Hm... I really liked my gift from the hotel - yukata, a simpler and more casual version of kimono. Perfect for Japanese wannabes. I don't think there are any Vulcanuses who didn't take a picture of themselves in these clothes. Or at least didn't wear it to pose in front of the mirror. I did both. The hotel was "Asia Center of Japan" which speaks for itself. Definitely one of the expensive ones - most of the guest seemed to be elderly tourists slash businessmen with a Texan accent. The purpose of the hotel was to gently introduce us to the new surroundings - everything was western-styled, friendly and polite. Also for the first time I have experienced the world-famous and legendary Japanese customer service. Bowing, smiles and kind words make you actually feel like someone special and important. As some American lecturer told me a week or so later, "when you go back to your countries, you will suddenly start to wonder 'what the hell is wrong with this place?'".

Obviously, I was too tired after the trip from Europe to do anything extraordinary. While constantly thinking about going to sleep, I forced myself to take a look around the neighbourhood. Akasaka is a pleasant and fancy district with some tall buildings: both apartments and offices. An hour-long walk with some Vulcanus friends led me to the real deal. Shibuya, one of the main places in all of Tokyo. Bright, lively, colorful and amazing when you see it for the first time. That was the City and I was so happy to finally feel its atmosphere. Crowded? Noisy? Expensive? Yes. But so beautiful. And afterwards I got to get my beauty sleep. The following days were going to be pretty tough: briefings, moving to my dorm and the reception party with ambassadors. And then finally some time to travel around. More on that later.