Michael Jackson's strange influence on my life.

Micheal Jackson introduced me to my all time favourite actor, Vincent Price when I was 6, and for that I am grateful. Sure I would have discovered him sooner or later because I loved old movies back then, as I still do, but to find someone so great when I was just 6 years old, could only really have been down to Jackson using him for Thriller. I truly appreciate discovering Vincent Price at such a young age because it gave me extra years of enjoying his work, and a real grounding/understanding of cinema.

If Micheal really is dead then I feel for his family, but one of the first things I thought was thank god those kids have a chance at a relatively normal life now. It isn't right for kids to have the life they had, it's cruel. Hopefully they will be well looked after and any kind of damage from their childhood won't harm them in their adult lives.
I won't lie, I'm enjoying the jokes but I'm also thinking of my friends who were big fans and how sad they must be today.

More than anything though I am reminiscing about how much I loved Vincent Price's part on Thriller when I was small. I remember reciting his lines over and over again, I think it might have been the first thing I actively made an effort memorize.
Price in turn introduced me to the world of Edgar Allan Poe just 3 years later when I was 9 (possibly a little too young, I have mild claustrophobia and a massive fear of being buried alive). I think all this has a lot to do with my love of the macabre. I'm certain that, along with my love of watching funerals and hanging around in the cemetery behind my house, helped to shape the person I am today. Kind of a big deal considering Thriller was just a song. I do appreciate it because I like the person I am. I like the influence it has had on my work. I like that my love and knowledge of cinema is rich and varied.

I remember how utterly distraught I was when Vincent Price passed away. That I would never hear him say anything new, that Edward Scissorhands would be the last thing I would ever see him in. I imagine these are the feelings Jackson fans are feeling now. How horrible and sad.

So in a round about way, I'd like to say thank you to Michael Jackson. I may not have been a fan, but despite being a strange person and very controversial figure, he brought a great deal of happiness to an incredible amount of people across the globe, and there is something very special about that.

Vincent Price - Master of the Macabre

The long awaited final Japan blog (aka MechaBlog)

Those of you reading this that know me, will know that my time in Japan this year was sadly cut short. This was purely due to some bad luck and is nobody's fault. Had I known how quickly I was going to end up back in England, I would have posted another blog far sooner!

This blog will be pretty much what it was going to be while I was in Japan, a recount of the last few days. It just so happens that these actually were my last few days and the end of the blog will tell of my flight home, rather than what would have been coming next.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

So let us start at the beginning of last week and the place I was so excited about visiting; the seaside!

I pwn the sea

It was a fairly early start, 6am, but that didn't bother me in the slightest as being by the sea is one of the few things on this planet that gives me pure joy. We were picked up by Junko's friend Ito-san, a very kind and lovely man who was happy to offer to take us, if only so he could have a 'family' day out. He sadly lost his wife and daughter some years ago, but you could tell how excited he was for us all to spend the day together.

Ito-san, a very kind and gentle man.

After about an hour and a half I could see the coast and couldn't contain my whoop for joy. We stopped off at a large building from which we were able to view the whole area, it was incredible, but all I wanted to do was get in that sea!

Unfortunately, it was time for an early lunch (to beat the crowds), so I would have to wait just a little while longer. We found a lovely little place with good food at incredibly cheap prices. I was lucky enough to shoot off a load of photos just before an ENORMOUS family with about 300 children under the age of 5 came and sat next to us.

Our room in the restaurant, before the madness.

After the food, it was time for THE SEEEEEEA!!!! The moment the car stopped I was out of the door and in the water like the child I really am. The area reminded me so much of the beach I used to play at while my Nanna lived by the sea, I felt completely at home. Searching for life in rock pools, climbing among the rocks, feeling the pebbles push between my toes, it's just the most natural feeling in the world for me.

The starfish at the end of this video was totally fine, I just panicked, like I always do!

Crabs shed their skins like snakes –I never knew!

There were lots of these pretty blue starfish.

 

Yuki and Junko collected seaweed for us to have with dinner later, Ito-san wandered around just enjoying the area, I sat on a large rock, legs in the sea, a serene grin on my face.

Just leave me here, seriously.

Then, woe of woes, it was time to move on. We got back in the car and drove a little way until we noticed there was a festival happening in a nearby temple, of course, we had to go and take a look! At first I was startled by the beautiful flowers, the kind you expect to see recreated in kanzashi form in a geisha's hair, not in 'real life'. I took a few photos around the temple and then went to see what all the noise was about. I crossed a bridge to find several young people lifting and walking around with a mini shrine. I say mini, but the things actually weighed 500kg. The participants have to get incredibly drunk before starting the ceremony and every year someone dies either during the festival or during the practise. These ceremonies happen in hundreds of temples all over Japan, the fact the death is so closely linked to it makes the event all the more worthwhile for the participants. At one point during the video below, you will see a man dancing with a large picture. The picture is of one of the members who 'didn't make it' to the ceremony.

Sooo beautiful!

My house.  …ahem.

Seeing plastic masks at these festivals is almost as old a tradition as the festivals themselves!

My other house…

After we had seen enough of this (it went on for some time), we got back in the car and went to check out a famous bakery that was very near by. This bakery only sells one thing, bean paste buns. I wasn't very hungry, but by all accounts they were delicious, and the shop owners had no problems with me taking photos while they were working. It was a lovely place, so rustic, it was totally stuck in the 1960's. I have encountered quite a few cafes and restaurants like this, I wonder why I never see such places in movies -they are perfect sets! This was our last stop for the day. We got back in the car and made a start on the journey home. I slept the whole way home, something I very rarely do, must have been all the sea air... ;)

^  Making bean paste buns!  v

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Next up was the Doll Festival. Yuki's friend had a stall there and had kindly offered me some space to test the Japanese water for my friend's awesome t-shirts. (www.genkigear.co.uk)

This is a local shop for local people!

It was a fairly strange affair, thousands upon thousands of people walking around carrying their dolls as if they were children. Men did it as well, straight men, some in business suits, some in crappy clothes, but all of them holding their dolls with such care and making sure these dolls were comfortable and able to get a good view of the whole event. Age, sex, style and race were irrelevant here, as long as you loved your dolls, you were welcome.

I'm not often thrown by anything, I find the fact that I have such an open mind to be one of the strongest areas of my personality, but this doll loving, I just don't get it. Perhaps it's because I had a massive fear of porcelain dolls as a child, or perhaps, despite loving He-Man and Transformers, I grew up in a world where boys just didn't play with girls toys, where girls who carried on playing with dolls after the age of 10 were immature and a little stupid. Either way, these people seemed to be very happy and content, and I certainly would never take that away from them.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The next day a trip to Ueno was planned. The point of going to Ueno? To get my new dog Flynn a dog protection charm from the same place Harry's came from ...of course!

Downtown Ueno

Yuki was feeling a too unwell, but insisted I go anyway and meet up with Izumi who I met on my first day of this trip. We had a GREAT day, one of my favourites to be exact, which makes me so happy because without knowing at the time, this day would be my last proper day in Japan.

We met at Ueno station and promptly went searching for the temple I had to get the dog charm from. On the way there we stopped at a couple of smaller temples and then found something rather incredible, a flame. This wasn't just any flame, this was a flame taken created by 2 nuclear bombs, one which fell in Hiroshima, the other from Nagasaki.

I'm not ashamed to say that this almost brought a tear to my eye and certainly brought a lump to my throat.

As a teenager I was incredibly anti-bomb, in 1995 the French President Jacques Chirac decided it would be a good idea to test nuclear bombs, I was overcome with anger. Anger at him for even thinking that such a weapon could be used in the future and at myself for being too young to do anything about it. So, I reacted the only way I knew how and did a huge art project about the effects of nuclear bombs. Of course, almost all my inspiration came from the photographs and footage of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki attacks. Seeing such images every day, drawing them, painting them, I grew incredibly close to the subject matter. Even though I was just 15, I still consider the final piece and the work leading up to it some of my finest art, because it was created with so much passion, emotion and understanding that it was as if I was actually there -of course, a highly visual & over-active imagination also helps!

The memorial in Ueno is a very fine way of reminding the world of the devastation a nuclear bomb can cause, and if you are ever in Tokyo I urge you to take the time to visit it and spare a thought for those who fell and those who still suffer.

After the memorial Izumi and I wandered into the Peony Garden. It was so beautiful, even on such a grey day. All the flowers had their own private umbrella to protect them from the elements, be they snow or sun. So much care had gone into keeping these little flowers happy and beautiful, it really was a joy to see.

The peony’s had more protection from the rain than we did!

Finally we found the right temple for picking up the dig charms and as we did the heavens opened and well, didn't actually close again until late that night. It poured, and poured and poured some more. I got the charms, and we tried to dodge the raindrops on the way into downtown Ueno. After a little browse there we went on to Asakusa where we found some adorable little shops that sold trinkets etc made out of kimono material. I didn't buy a thing, no matter how much I loved some of the pieces. I am still very proud of myself! After a delicious lunch we decided to head to Shibuya, just because I hadn't had a chance to really give it some time *read as 'Visit The Loft'*. We stopped by Shibuya 109 first as I had never been there and was slightly curious. It's tall building with many, many small shops with clothes specifically for the Shibuya Girl. I am NOT a Shibuya Girl, I am a Harajuku Girl, the two don't tend to get on. I certainly didn't feel comfortable, I felt totally out of my area. Even though I was not born and raised in Tokyo, I know the areas where my kind (Loli/Otaku-types) are more welcome, and as such, I am more likely to frequent such places. Shibuya is great for shopping, but if you are just hanging around and wearing black, it doesn't go down well. I remember the last time I was here I wore clothes that subtly showed my Loli-allegience, I was practically stared out of Shibuya by a bunch of Ganguro. Despite staring back just as hard, I knew I was the one out of area. Sad really.

Once we left Shibuya 109, we made a B-Line straight for The Loft. Oh The Loft, how I love you... It's a huge department store with a massive stationary floor, an awesome toy floor and so many floors of joy in-between. I found a stationary soul-mate in Izumi. I think she will have tgo back me up on this, but we may have spent an hour on that one stationary floor alone. The Danger Floor. So named because of the danger it can cause to your purse. So. Many. STICKERS!!!!

After managing to escape the stationary floor (with purchases), we started making our way up, stopping on each floor to look at things we wanted but couldn't buy, things that served no real purpose other than to look really cool. Like the glowing large reeds of 'grass' that blow like read grass when a fan is put near them. Or the huge cuddly bear pillows that will hug you right back. We finally made it to the top floor, the toy section, where we found the most awesome fancy dress hats! I am a HUGE takoyaki fan (octopus dumplings) so imagine my joy when I found a takoyaki hat! Izumi and I tried on various hats, stopping for photos each time, but the takoyaki hats remained a firm favourite for us both. Before I knew it, it was time for me to depart and make the long journey back to Narita. I was very sad because it had been such a fun day ...and I had left my ipod at the house that morning.

 

We decided there can be no hat better than a Takoyaki Hat.  Thanks for a wonderful day Izumi!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Due to reasons beyond anyone's control, I had to spend the next day packing in preparation for my early departure from Japan. Yuki had become very ill and my wonderful friend Hiroko, who I was due to spend the remainder of my holiday with, had dislocated her shoulder. I wish them both speedy recoveries.

It becomes very clear that my life has a distinct colour theme!

I flew home the next day, Friday 8th of May. That morning I was woken at 4:20am by terrific thunder so loud and so constant that I couldn't tell if it was an earthquake or just weather. I didn't go back to sleep and instead just lay on my futon listening to nature do it's thing and thought about some decisions I would have to make when I got back home. Storms always help me to put things into perspective.

Skip ahead a few hours and I have just purchased my new flight, had to remove most of my clothes in order to get past security (but also told by 3 members of staff that my things were really cool, of course, I know... :P), bought a giant novelty box of Pocky, and am sat on the runway for the next hour due to bad weather.

This is the departure lounge at Narita Airport.  NOT 1st Class!

This stuff finds me, I swear!

Boooooriiing….

There were just 76 people and 13 staff (inc pilots) on my Friday morning post-Golden Week Virgin Alantic flight, a sign of recession if ever there was one. Finally we were able to take off. I caught some good movies (If you haven't seen Milk, please watch it!) and yet again, ignored my own advice and watched Flight of the Conchords (and then Family Guy -what was I thinking?!). I didn't sleep. The flight seemed much shorter than before, strange as I was on the plane for well over an hour longer than my previous flight. I guess by that point I really just wanted to be at home with my family and pets.

Swine Flu madness.  There was barely anyone on the flight without a mask on.

   My England.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This was a great trip, and I will always concentrate on the fun times I had before I had to come home early. This certainly won't be my last time in Japan and this won't be my last blog either. The blog was originally set up to document my time there, but I will be continuing to post when I can, be it thoughts on certain events, things I want to share with you all, or even my photography. For now though, I will leave you with a parting gift. A video, of the greatest most pointless toy in the land. My Gloomy bear.

The last few days (Very full blog!)

Hi there!
It's been a few days, I apologise.I have had a busy few days! Shopping, checking out a doll festival, shopping, taking project photos in Shinjuku, shopping, visiting the Ghibli Museum, shopping and enjoying some of the local sites that Narita has to offer. As such, this is a pretty big blog with lots of videos and pictures, so if you can stick with it and not get too bored, I hope you will enjoy it!

So lets start with the Harajuku Doll Festival. Yuki and I were given free tickets as a gift because on my first day here I ...ahem, spent quite a few yen in a clothes shop based in the same building.
On Wednesday, after some browsing around Harajuku we battled through the crowds and film crews that had gathered for the opening of the first Japanese 'Forever 21' store and made our way to the doll festival.
Dolls in Japan are not like dolls in the rest of the world. They tend to be very dark creatures, often portrayed as being children, dead children, innocent/sexual beings and/or androgynous beauties. Personally I like the ones that look like dead children best, but I'm sure you all guessed that. ;)
The quality of these dolls is just incredible, some of the features are so fine, it's like these creations actually have souls. I have never been a fan of china dolls, as a child I knew a few girls who had a lot and they freaked me out (I preferred He-Man), but I like these dolls, very much.
That said, I couldn't have an alive looking one in my bedroom, waaaay too creepy for me!

Various doll faces and hands


A small section of a much bigger set.

After a shop and some food we went on to Shinjuku, sleazy, wonderful Shinjuku, now mostly owned my the Triads (Chinese mafia).
I had to shoot the last part of my uni project there, so we needed to wait until it was dark for the pictures to be perfect.
While we wandered around trying to find the best spot, I shot a couple of little tours for your enjoyment. Please note, not all photographers are great cameramen,
I am the PERFECT example of that, in short, I can't shoot movies for shit, so take some motion sickness tablets and sit back!

An alley in Shinjuku


A short walk through Shinjuku

The next day was another busy one. I woke up at 5:45am (also known as Stupid-O'clock) so we could leave to catch the bus at 7am. I didn't mind one bit as we were going to the Ghibli Museum. I am a MASSIVE Studio Ghibli fan, so this was a particularly special event for me. The rules of the museum are strict. No photos, food, drinks, mobile phones, no one over the age of 11 is to sit in the Cat-Bus (boooo!) or anything else that could spoil the experience for others. I was slightly concerned as I don't do incredibly well with rules, but it was fine. The rules worked, everyone had a great time as there were no outside influences whatsoever. I saw an exclusive 20 minutes film a Totoro spin-off about Mai and the son of Cat-Bus, it was so perfect I may have shed a little tear... Maybe... If anyone reading this has plans to visit Japan, please, please set aside some time for this fantastic museum. It only costs 1000yen (£5 when the economy is behaving itself) and takes just 2 hours to see, a little more if you want to have a good shop.

Caretaker Robot from Laputa: Castle in the Sky

After Ghibli we visited a few shops, one of which was a small boutique selling exclusive modern looking silver jewellery with traditional Japanese designs. I did not budget for this shop, but the pieces were so beautiful and so exclusive, I just couldn't leave them in the shop. Yuki told me I will most likely be the only person in the whole of the U.K. with these pieces of jewellery. This makes me happy.
We then went to a HUGE shop that sold crafty things and toys etc, more money spent. Afterwards we went to an otaku mecha. Super-geeks need only apply, this place was FULL of retro toys from every manga, anime or movie you could think of. Except the 2 animes that I was looking for ...probably a good thing though!

Today we took a break from shopping THANK GOD(!), and looked after our souls by visiting Narita Temple and the surrounding area which is like a chibi version of Kyoto. I always love to visit temples, Shinto or Buddhist. They have an aura of calm around them that I am unable to feel anywhere else; just so welcoming and non-judgemental. I have never had that feeling in a church, in fact, I have felt the opposite for as long as I can remember. If Japan didn't sell so many cool things, I could quite happily spend my time visiting temples.

Just one of the beautiful views from the temple.


All the buildings in this shopping area are well over 100 years old or more.

And now for some more videos! Please check out the descriptions on the Youtube pages for more info.

This is part of our bus journey.


Here is a video I shot so you can have a small tour of the front of the temple.


On the way back we saw these women practising their dance routine for a show they must be doing next week (Golden Week).


Finally, because I only just uploaded it, here is a video that should have gone on my last blog. It is Yuki's mother's music group performing an ancient samurai song. Junko (Yuki's mother AKA my Mama) sings the solo part. She has a great voice, though the style of music and singing is very different to what most Western ears are used to.

Well, that is all for today. I have a few more exciting days ahead of me, visiting Narita again tomorrow, because I love it there, then I am going to the coast on Monday! I adore the sea, really I do, I like to hug it when I see it. It gets excited and sprays me. :P Sorry, I should really go to bed now! Hahahaha!

Hope you enjoyed this! It's always nice when people enjoy what I have written, to those of you who let me know, thank you. (^_^)v

Nakey and stuff!

As I type this, I am feeling particularly tired and I have a headache, so this could be quite crap!

I've had an interesting couple of days staying in Narita. Yesterday we had a well deserved lazy morning and then made out way to Folklore Village. It's an Edo style village in every way possible, with traditional crafts and experiences. I managed to find some trees with their last few blossom petals - so lucky! I decorated a candle (more fun than it sounds) and tried on some geta. Of course they had to be men's geta, and I got into quite a sulk about that as women's geta are so much prettier. Booo!

Posing with blossoms.

Some geta.

Damn clown feet...

Making a candle -never done that before! :/ Lol!

We didn't have as much time to enjoy the village as we had hoped (lazy mornings you see -shite!), so we are going back at least once more to experience things such as tea ceremony and kimono wearing. I can't wait, they looked so much fun!

Today we went to see Yuki's mother Junko (now 'Mama' to me) practise with her music group. She sings beautifully. Also in the group were another singer, two shamisen players and the only male was the sensei, who played a Japanese flute. They played a couple of songs just for myself and Yuki (the only guests), and, despite never playing it together before, had a go at 'Sakura Sakura' one of my most favourite songs of all time (Yep, it's right up there with 'Their Law' by The Prodigy!), after Yuki told them how much I loved it. During a break I was allowed to try and play the shamisen, something I have wanted to learn to play for years. I was hoping to have this incredible past life experience as soon as I touched it, and, even if I couldn't play it well, be able to make it sound somewhat beautiful. I didn't. It wasn't easy, there was no magical moment and my minimal guitar experience did not help! Still, a stack of fun though! Then I tried the flute, no, scratch that, I blew a raspberry into a wooden stick. Though I do feel better for being told that it takes most people over a year to make any sound and 8 years to play well! That made me respect the sensei even more!

Junko's friends playing shamisen.

After this we went on to the local onsen. One of my most favourite things about Japan is the onsen. A scary idea to most Westerners (basically getting naked in baths with strangers), but so much fun and so, So, SO relaxing!

Myself and Yuki at the onsen, being nakey!

On the way back I saw the suicide pond. I will be going again with my 'proper camera' to get some photos for the book I'm working on. It is wonderfully creepy yet calm area, very old, very wise and spiritual. Some parts are straight out of Mononoke Hime (Ghibli film -WATCH IT!), there are all these little hills dotted around, they are actually burial mounds, you almost expect to see little kodomo sitting on branches, silently watching. I loved it there, I can't wait to go back and take some proper photos.

Tomorrow we are going back to Tokyo, I have to try very hard not to spend any money -boooo. :(

Will blog again soon!

Day one & Two

Eeeehhhhh, where to start? What a mental day. I was awake for 36 hours in total, with 4 hours sleep the night before I left. I feel fine now, but by about 11:30 last night I was pretty bad, especially with how much walking (shopping) we did. I kept having micro sleeps on the train, I NEVER sleep on public transport, it comes from being a Londoner, you don’t trust anyone, but my body/brain couldn’t help itself. Crazy.

Anyhoo, I had such a great time with Yuki and her friends; Rose, May and Izumi. All wonderful girls, all new friends. I bought some postcards today, so my nearest and dearest should be getting those. Not as tacky as I would have liked, but very beautiful and VERY Japanese.

Yuki’s mother is a diamond, such a lovely lady, and her house is fantastic. I feel very comfortable and welcome, it is a light feeling, some places I have stayed it have felt very heavy and tinged with sadness or anger, but not this place. Maybe it is because it was owned by a Tea Master until a few months ago when he passed away. Tea Masters are very Zen, and at peace, the house reflects that.

I bought tacky things today, Ego, you should expect a Kewpie (Baby Mayo) toy when I get back.

My Japanese has improved vastly in just 24 hours, I knew it would, I just need to be around people who speak it all the time. I have actually impressed myself with how much I knew and understand. I have a couple of lazy days in Narita with Yuki and her Mother coming up; mostly walking (shopping) and enjoying the weather and surroundings. Today it is raining like a bastard, proper Japanese rain, but tomorrow is broadcast as being sunny and how. Yuki’s mother doesn’t speak any English –which is perfect for my Japanese. Then we are hitting Tokyo and Harajuku again, I have to try not to buy too much, it is really very hard though, there are so many wonderful things. Ego, I want to buy you so much, I am sorry I can’t. You REALLY need to come here, I think you will be in heaven, Japanese clothes are designed for you, and SUCH good quality. You will go crazy.

I tried momja last night. It looks like vomit, but tastes delicious. I also did some Puri Kura, and Rose dragged me to a solo Puri Kura booth, where I did anything but the beautiful model poses that the girls in the examples were doing! I also had spinach cake yesterday, sooooo tasty! I recommended it if you come to Tokyo.

Spinach cake.

Momja. It really shouldn't look like this! Rose & Izumi got a bit carried away!

No jet-lag for me, but I have found my mind wandering a bit more than usual. Probably because I have no worries here, so my mind is free to think the weird little thoughts that it wants to, like how come we so rarely say the lower case alphabet when we are adults. You know the one; a,b,c,d...’ is like ‘ah, buh, cuh, duh...’ I guess it’s pretty superfluous when you think about it.
Anyway, that’s it for today. I guess I will be posting these blogs in batches, as and when I can get internet access, either way I will alert you when they are up.

Until next time! Jaa ne

Me and Yuki.