Miyazaki? What is that? Do you mean Hayao Miyazaki, the famous animator or perhaps his son, Gorou Miyazaki? Or perhaps you are more familiar with the words Hamasaki (Ayumi Hamasaki), or Miyagi? No, I meant Miyazaki, as in Miyazaki prefecture. Before I came to Japan, I also had no idea about this prefecture. Now, I would like to introduce you to wonderful Miyazaki Prefecture and all it has to offer.
If you read my basic 101 article, you can see how Kimono is quite an expensive tradition. If you are a gaijin girl who is not as lucky as the many J-girls in this generation who inherit a closet-full amount of kimono from their mothers, are not bloody rich, or do not have a fairy-obaa-chan, I’ll give you a quick run down on how to get real quality, traditional kimonos, at decent prices.
If you consider yourself a cinema enthusiast, you need to see the Hirokazu Koreeda (pronounced Kore-eda) film After Life (ワンダフルライフ). After Life is more than just a good movie; it presents a vision of life after death that can give anyone hope. Film lovers especially, however, will find themselves nodding in ferocious agreement when one of the deceased remarks, “…that really is heaven.â€
Japan’s as quirky as a Seinfeld character. Its oddities, for me, are what make it such a fun place to live.
Taj Ultimate is a two day ultimate frisbee tournament where teams and players gather from all over Japan and even from all over the globe. Taj Ultimate is also famous for its BBQ dance party. During the party players get a rare chance to relax together and get to know each other. It isn’t often that you get to meet people from all over Japan in one area.
Aioi is a small town. It has a Shinkansen station and about 10 ALTs living there. There are two izakayas and a supermarket. I once met a couple of tourists at the train station; they were there to change trains. This weekend was an opportunity for a revolution.
It’s a bit of an unsung hero for those who have read it. It was recommended to me as a good plane book and while I read it on both my connecting flights, I had someone comment on how much they loved it each time. I also find myself doing the same if I hear anyone mention it. I can’t help it; I just start to ask questions: “Don’t you love it?â€; “Isn’t that exactly what it would be like if someone could time travel?â€; “How far are you in the book?†I just convulse with happiness that someone else is reading this book and I want to bond with them over our mutual reading.
It was not so much a book as an atmosphere. I was completely enveloped in the world of this novel; sometimes I couldn’t tell what was ‘real’ and what was ‘imaginary’. This was until I stopped trying to find a separation and just marinated in the book. It became, in this way, quite an existential read. Surrendering the urge to define what’s “really happening†and what’s going on in the “dream world†was quite provocative and ultimately rewarding as a reader, you begin to discover that there may not be that large of a separation at all.
HANA-BI is the best Japanese movie ever made. Need proof? In 1997, it won the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival, one of the highest honors in the film industry. Need more? In 2005, it changed my life (which is also a pretty big deal).
Have you ever noticed that students quote the same joke (Toose!) over and over for months but eventually the joke (Ichi, ni, SAN!) mysteriously disappears? This occurs because Japanese comedians frequently fade into obscurity as quickly as they rose to popularity. The director and star of HANA-BI, however…