Mono no aware

As far as fans of sharp, contemporary Japanese psychological thrillers are concerned, Ryu Murakami is often the first names that spring to mind. Quite rightly too considering he wrote the original novel of Audition and has several of his other works published in English in recent years: I have to say I really enjoyed Audition and can easily see how it was made into such a popular film (which, to my shame I STILL haven’t seen). In the Miso Soup is in some ways pretty similar but interesting in aspects I never expected; I don’t see it as such a good contender for on-screen adaptation though.

The story follows Kenji, a young freelance Tokyo tour guide who takes an American businessman called Frank around town on a ‘sex tour’ of the city’s nightlife during the lead-up to New Year’s Eve. There are one or two things that seem amiss with Kenji’s new customer from the start but Kenji rejects the alternative of a quiet time with his girlfriend in favour of some much-needed work. He soon begins to regret his decision to accept this lucrative offer when a darker and more dangerous side to Frank begins to emerge.

The weeks following my return to the UK have been a little bit blurred (the first couple of days were blighted by the inevitable jet lag and family-related stuffs have cropped up too) so trying to get my final thoughts on my stay in order took longer than hoped. It’s a bit tricky trying to be objective when this has been my first proper trip abroad – I’ve never been exposed to anything other than a North-European climate for instance, and strongly believe that mastering the language would’ve made things easier. You can get by in Japan if you only speak English but it’s a lot more straightforward – and rewarding in some ways – to converse with people in the language they’re more fluent in.

Culture shock is a funny thing; in this case it was doubly shocking in that, for all the things that took me off-balance, there was quite a lot that I found to be pretty intuitive and easy to adjust to. If you’re too lazy to read what follows after the jump, I found that the society is very different from the one I grew up in but in terms of individual people there aren’t many differences at all. I also didn’t want to come home…as in, apart from seeing my family and friends again, I really didn’t look forward to coming back.

I must admit I was a bit disappointed that the weirdness and wonderfulness that is Harajuku’s fashion and cosplay scene was dampened by the rain (that infamous bridge was pretty short on photo opportunities) but the surrounding area is still worth wandering around. It made for an enjoyable afternoon, not least because I walked back into Shibuya to sample the Tokyu Food Court again and discover how certain things are cheaper here than back home. It plays into my guitaku tendancies if nothing else.

The best thing of the past couple of days is the fact that it’s the Sanja Matsuri festival, one of the annual events that are held in the local area. I mentioned previously that Taito City, and Asakusa in particular, are pretty quiet and laid-back but in the last couple of days it’s become much, much livelier.

After the epic shopping spree in Akihabara (my OST and Jpop/Jrock album collection is mushrooming) I decided to do a bit of conventional sightseeing in the areas of the city that are more (in)famous among ordinary tourists. This involves more walking and photography and less spending of money, and helped give me a clearer impression of the place. Two of the most well-known names are Shibuya, a lively shopping district with the enormous pedestrian crossing and Shinjuku, which has a nice contrast between insane public transport mayhem in the railway station and a stunning public garden that sits in the middle of the urban sprawl.

Away from Shinjuku is the even trendier district of Ginza, which is where you’ll find high-rise office blocks and high-price department stores. This time around we decided to walk from Ginza through Ueno to get to Asakusa, just in time to see the Taito city festival processions. As I type this the usual sleepy, small-town feel of Asakusa has turned into a crowded festival atmosphere with (so I’m told) three million locals and tourists descending on the area.

The humidity has dropped a bit but the whole timezone thing is still messing with me in a number of areas (don’t ask). If nothing else I’ve had my first taste of the notorious Akihabara (advice #1: take money) and took the train out to Machida. A severely pic-heavy post follows but to kick things off here’s the sight that greets me in the morning.

Asakusa with the temple (hopefully visiting tomorrow) and a peculiar little kids’ theme park.

As part of the Hidden Japan season of movies and documentaries on BBC4 (which coincidentally is being broadcast a matter of weeks before I fly out there myself. Handy or what?) there was a fascinating piece from writer/journalist Marcel Theroux that examines the concept of 侘寂 (wabi-sabi) in contemporary Japanese culture. It was an excellent documentary for a number of reasons, not just because it connects to the idea that forms the namesake of this very blog, but more importantly because it was explained from the point of view of a curious and relatively impartial outsider who was prepared to speak to a variety of people and visit numerous places along the way with candid commentary and an open mind.

iPlayer sadly doesn’t let me take screenies, which I’m guessing is for copyright reasons. It beats plugging in a TV and having to pay the licence fee though

I’m familiar with his younger brother Louis but Marcel Theroux has a more laid-back and, how shall I say, quintessentially British approach to his work that makes it all come across really well to the viewer; even the Wikipedia entry for wabi-sabi is a bit vague and esoteric to my untrained eyes so it was refreshing to see someone start exploring the idea from scratch. Needless to say there’s plenty of stunning photography on show too but it was also Theroux’s style as a presenter and the context in which he was approaching the subject matter that made it such a winner for me. Sorry if it’s region-locked for you or if the link has already expired but this is the full version.