Traveling Japan with My Friend

Last Sunday, my friend from Korea visited Japan. We have been friends since junior high, and she graduates from university next February. Wanting to have some fun for the last time as a student, she decided to travel Japan as soon as she got time. It was the day before she actually came here, and of course there was no plan. I was her tour guide (although I don't know that much about this place either), and we traveled for three days together.

 

We visited popular places in the Tokyo and Yokohama area like Shinjuku, Shibuya, Jiyu-gaoka, Minato Mirai, etc. The most memorable experience is when we tried on beautiful dresses in Omotesando. As widely known, there are a lot of luxury shops in Omotesando. While passing by casually, we were captured by some aura. It was coming from the shop, Tocca. This shop had so many beautiful dresses trageting women in their twenties. They were mostly princess style like in my dreams when I was a little girl.

 

                                                     
                                                      Unfortunately, they were all too expensive for us.

My friend suggested that we try them on in the fitting room. For a while I hesitated and thought maybe it was kind of a shameless thing to do, because we knew we wouldn't buy them. But I couldn't help myself. There is no way the clerk in front of me would remember me in the future. I ended up trying on their dress and taking a lot of pictures with her together. Walking out of the shop, we promised we would make a lot of money in a few years and buy those clothes proudly.

This sudden visit from my friend was delightful. At the same time, however, it was sad because this will be the last time we'll both be hanging around as both students. It's strange to think someone you spent most of your school days with is not a student anymore and will become an employee of some company. How time flies. It will be my turn before long and I don't think I'm ready to graduate. This travel with a friend left me some things to think about.

 

 

 

Cute Animals on Japanese Art Pieces

I went to an interesting Japanese art exhibition a few weeks ago. In Ueno Park, I was wandering around and saw many ad posters of an exhibition going on. What caught my eye was the poster of the exhibition Meiji Kogei: Amazing Japanese Art because it had photos of cute animal art pieces. I decided to see them. The exhibition was held at Tokyo University of the Arts next to the park.

 

It was my first time to see Japanese art works directly myself. There were subtle differences compared to Korean and Western art I had seen before. I can't exactly tell what the difference is, but I can definitely say that Japanese people in the Meiji times really liked animals as the model of their works. They made sculptures of bears, snakes, insects, and a dragon. Also, there were birds made of porcelain and monkeys made of gold and wood. They even carved the image of dogs on a steel kettle. 

I liked the 'Three Wise Monkeys' sculpture especially. It has a strange appearance, with one of the monkeys covering its eyes, another covering its ears, and the other one its mouth. I looked into the meaning of it, and the Internet said the monkeys show the virtue of patience. They tell people that being patient is the smartest way to live. I don't agree with this idea, but I liked how delicate, cute and little these monkeys were. It was only about 2.5 cm tall, but even the hair was carved in that tiny sculpture like it's a real monkey.

After watching the exhibition, I bought a 'Ukiyo-e' memo pad at the gift shop. On every page, a cute cat is looking out the window. I wrote some sentences from my 'Basics of Japanese classics' class on it. I have no idea what this means, but it looks as if I have done some serious art work. I like it.  

Feeling fine at Minato Mirai

Recently, I had an unforgettable experience. Two weeks ago, I visited 'Minato Mirai 21' with my friend. We started our trip walking around Chinatown, a little distance from Minato Mirai 21. Then we headed to the 'Cosmo World', an amusement park. We had a wonderful time at Minato Mirai 21, in spite of me being too scared while riding the roller coaster.  After that was the highlight of this day. On our way back home, we walked by the sea. The night view from there was so beautiful and the wind kept blowing gently. I became very calm in that moment walking on the bridge.

 

 

 

Actually, I had been confused since my arrival at Japan. I couldn't understand anything people said, and I couldn't say what I

wanted to say due to my lack of Japanese ability. I made some friends here now, but back then I nearly didn't know anyone. It was like in the movie <Lost in Translation>(2003). I actually got lost in translation here, and that made me feel completely alone. I wasn't sure if I would be able to make it at that time. However, after walking by the sea with the beautiful scenery of Yokohama, I started feeling that I was fine, and that I want to do my best here. I think I got a strength to move on in this moment. I'll cherish this memory even after I go back to Korea.