New Places in Tokyo - Part 4 (Festivals)

Steve and Dad need to be holding a beer to really make this picture work!

Part of the fun of living in Tokyo is going to the festivals that seem to happen almost every week.  We're able to go to a few while Mom and Dad are visiting.  The first one we go to is Oktoberfest...but it's not the first one of the year (though Mom chooses to sit this one out because she's still not feeling well and Steve doesn't drink because it's in the middle of the work day...which kind of spoils the idea of Oktoberfest...).  Apparently they also celebrate it in the spring and during the summer.  I'm not sure if it counts as Oktoberfest if they do it at other times of the year, but at least they get a lot of use out of the signs and booths!

Lots of choices - both for food/beer and seating!

We attend on the last day, and there's a drizzling rain, so there aren't a lot of people at first.  One of the benefits of being in Japan - when the rain stops, staff members come out and dry off the tables and benches.  EVERY time, and it seems to stop and start in 15 minutes intervals.  I think in the US you just have to deal with it yourself.

Prost!

We manage to find a table (mostly) covered with a large umbrella, so we can stay (mostly) dry.

We go to the booths to get more food, and Dad thinks of a way to make sure a breeze doesn't carry any rain in to dilute our beer.

Good beer!

The rain doesn't stop the party!  There is a large tent that holds about 100 people, and there's a band, karaoke and dancing.  None of us have had enough beer at this point to join in!

They are singing "Friends in Low Places"....in English.

I wonder if I can borrow her outfit for Halloween?

It's kind of fun seeing a Japanese person dressed up in a "traditional" German dress.


Another great phenomenon about living in Japan - even the extra toilets (port-a-potty trailers) they bring in for the event are the high tech Japanese toilets - heated seats, bidet, music to cover the sound of going to the bathroom, etc.

Yes, I took a picture in the bathroom stall.

I wonder if he get paid in beer?

It's obviously the time of year for beer festivals!  Next we attend the Belgium Beer Week in Roppongi Hills.  And yes, it's still raining, so you get a little wet even though there's a semi-roof to the arena.  And they're still squeegeeing the tables so they'll be dry.  I love the courteousness of the Japanese!

Mom makes it this to this one - but doesn't drink because she doesn't like beer!

See the Japanese pose (by the Japanese guy).

We manage to snag some of the very few seats, and as usual at occasions like this, the other seats don't stay empty for long.  We have a fun group to sit with - some locals and a couple visiting from the US. 


Steve joins us after he gets off work. (He does that occasionally - work, that is.  Well, he drinks beer, too.)

Cheers!

I don't think her outfit counts as "traditional."

Another day we're near Ueno Park when they have Edo Week so we stop by.  This is supposed to be the largest celebration of Japanese culture in traditional Japanese clothes.  Maybe the rain is keeping everyone away - it's not a very big celebration.  There are only about twenty booths, and half of them are your typical food items.  It's fun seeing some people in traditional dress, especially the men, because normally I only see them in kimonos at big religious celebrations.  (Women will wear sometimes wear kimonos for special events like weddings, but men are usually in a suit.)

This might be an "illegal" picture...I don't know if I was
allowed to take pictures of the merchandise.

One of the booths have an obi folded like a flower instead of a bow.  I think it looks very cool, but I've never seen a Japanese women wear hers that way.  Even though this is supposed to be traditional dress, maybe it will start a new style.







One evening we have our very own special experience right at our local park.  The Bon Odori is a dancing party (odori meands dance) where people honor their families and ancestors.  Throughout the summer and autumn different neighborhoods have their own celebrations, with their own little variation on the style of music and dance. 

Maybe with some beer we would have joined in!

Steve would love to be up here, banging the drum.

Another weekend we're able to attend one of the big cultural celebrations - India!  It's almost as large as the Thai Jubilee we attended earlier in the year. 

Why isn't anyone petting the elephants?  They're cute - and won't bite!

"Steve, there are three guys getting ready to jump on you if you touch that pole."

We don't see any of the parades, but they do have some religious processions.  Steve pretends he's going to pick up the shrine, but Dad's not going along with the joke.


There is some Bollywood-style dancing at the performance stage.

I want to join!  Are they giving lessons?

Only in Japan - a naan head.  I don't need to say anything else.

Seriously, you want your child's picture with someone wearing imitation bread on her head?

Of course, there are many, many food and drink booths.  We are experienced festival attendees - we brought the "blue tarp!"  It's definitely needed since there isn't nearly enough seating for everyone.  Luckily we find a shady spot to sit and relax as we snack on different foods and drinks.  The rain even stopped, finally!

You look like locals now!

Sumo Wrestling

Outside Ryogoku Kokugikan sumo stadium

We're lucky to get tickets for one of the three honbosho sumo wrestling tournaments in Tokyo (the official, professional tournaments).  The tournament lasts 15 days and each wrestler competes once a day, with his wins/losses tallied in order to determine who is the winner.  There are several different divisions, with the less skilled wrestlers starting in the morning to the champions competing at the end of the day.  It's a full schedule - the bouts start at 9:00am and go almost non-stop until after 6:00pm.  Each wrestler only competes once, so after about 30 seconds they're done for the day!

The sumo dohyo (ring).  The stands fill up more later in the day as the better wrestlers compete.

Take that!

We arrive early because we have other plans for the evening, so we can't stay for the entire time.  But we stay much longer than I thought we would!  It's surprisingly interesting - and much more entertaining than the geisha performance we saw (sorry, geishas!).  

We don't really know anything about the sumo wrestlers, but they are divided into "east" and "west," and we're sitting on the west side of the stadium, so we have someone to cheer for - that helps to make it fun. 

My favorite part of the pre-match activities!

Wrestler landing on the judge - it might hurt a little!

We're aware the wrestlers are ranked, but I didn't know the judges (gyoji) are, too.  There's one in a kimono in the ring and five sitting on each side of the square (one side has two).  Yes, sometimes the wrestlers fall on the judges!  It's okay - they're big guys themselves, so they can take it.  We also found out why they have blankets over their legs.  Sometimes the dirt is kicked into their laps.  There are also two other judges in an overhead video room, who communicate by radio to one of the judges on the floor.  It's just like college football - referees everywhere!

gyoji in the ring

The gyoji in the ring is the one who makes the official decision, but any of the judges can question it.  They then have a mono-ii (a conference) to discuss it.  If the decision is overturned, it's considered a black mark on the judge in the ring.  We saw four mono-ii, and I think only once did they vote to overturn the decision.  Sometimes they decide it's too close to call, and the wrestlers have a rematch.

mono-ii - you can see the one judge talking to the judges in the video booth

Having fun at the stadium!

Even though it looks about the same to me, there are 82 different winning techniques (kimarite) to the sumo bout.  Only about six of them are regularly used, though. My favorite is at the very start of the bout one wrestler jumps up as the other goes to attack.  The attacking wrestler is off balance and touches the ground with his hands.  If the wrestler's opponent steps out of the ring or touches the ground with anything other than the bottom of his feet, he wins. 

The dohyo is swept and straightened out between bouts.

Dohyo-iri

The upper level divisions start with a "parade" of the wrestlers (dohyo-iri).  The skirts they wear (kesho-mawashi) may advertise a product of the sponsor of the wrestler.  If it's a foreigner, the skirt might have a picture of his home country's flag.  Interestingly, in 2002 a rule was made allowing only one foreigner per stable. (Stable is the word used to describe where the sumo wrestlers train and live - the stables are like a team.  There are 44 stables.)  Apparently, too many foreigners were winning the tournaments!

No, really, we find it very interesting!  This is probably during a transition between wrestlers.

Ha!  We can take pictures of Steve, too.  He snuck down to a lower level to get some more close-up pictures.

Sumo selfie!

As with everything in Japan, all parts of the ceremony, clothes, etc, etc have specific meanings.  I have lots of fun looking up all the elements of sumo, but it's probably too much detail to go into here!

People wait outside the stadium to see the sumo wrestlers as they leave. I feel like we attended a special event!

Sumo wrestler groupies!

Parental Advisory

My parents - getting ready to run around unsupervised in Japan!

My parents arrive for a visit!  It's been almost a year since I've seen them (and more than that for Steve) so it's nice to have them here.  We start them off with our customary Tsukiji Fish Market outing.  We thought they would be our last guests to get to see the fish market in it's current location (where it's been for about 80 years) because it's scheduled to be moved in November.  However, there's been some problems with the new spot, so the locale change has been postponed until at least 2017.  

Steve practicing his photo bombing skills.

At last, we remember to take some pictures while we're there!  There are lots of food vendors along the outer market, so it's always fun to try freshly cooked items, especially if you like seafood! 

Dad is watching out for tourists...or is he aiming for them??

On the edge of the market they have one of the little trolley trucks set up for pictures.  You are constantly having to watch for them when you're at the inner market, because they don't move out of the way for tourists! (The drivers are trying to work, after all.)  

They're not too sick to eat lobster rolls!

Soon after this, both my parents start to feel sick.  No, no, no!  Not again!  Thank goodness Craig, Michelle and the girls didn't get sick while they were here - I'd be afraid we have a toxic apartment.  So over the next few days we have limited excursions and lots of nap time.  They're trying to recover because they have their own special trip planned - they're leaving to take a Princess cruise around Japan (with a brief stop in South Korea).  



After resting for the remainder of the week they're ready to go out on their own.  But are we able to let them?  More parents running around loose in Japan - it's too stressful for me!  Maybe I should have reviewed "the rules" with them before they left.  Rule #1 doesn't apply (no throwing up in the car) since we don't have a car here, but Rule #2  (no dying) or Rule #3 (no bleeding) would.  They seem to work when our nephews and nieces visit us!

Luckily I'm able to get a few text messages from them during the week, so I know they made it to their cruise and they're out and about.  We're scheduled to meet up with them in Yokohama after their 8-night cruise ends.  We train down to meet them...and our train is delayed...after I've been telling my parents all week about how the trains always arrive on time.  Luckily we're only 15 minutes late and they're at our meeting point.  Sigh of relief!  

YCAT lobby counter

I do some research and find you can leave large suitcases at the YCAT (Yokohama City Air Terminal) Lobby 2 at Yokohama Station.  The YCAT website has fantastic directions (with pictures) on how to get to Lobby 2: www.ycat.co.jp/en/access.  The cost is around $6.50/per item for 24 hours.  There are also lockers, which cost about half the price.

Dad figuring out the locker instructions - luckily they're in English!

As you get closer there are signs to help you find the correct lobby.

This is located throughout Yokohama station.

If you see this sign you know you're in the right place!

Once we drop off my parents' bags we're easily able to explore Yokohama.  Naturally, our first stop is the Cup of Noodles museum!  Mom and Dad make up their custom soups, and I remember to take a picture of the awesome packaging!  

So many choices!

Your soup is well protected while you're traveling around!

 










While in the museum, we think we've lost them.  We send them in to watch the movie about the inventor of Cup of Noodles, and we go to sit at the benches.  After 10 minutes, we go to the theater exit and we see people coming out....but no parents!  We circle the floor three different times (it's not THAT big), but we can't find them.  I'm about to put out an Amber Alert on them. Luckily we ask an employee about the movie (thinking maybe they had a problem with their audio translation and they're sitting through a second viewing) and she asks us, "Which theater?"  Oooohhhh - they have two theaters going!  Turns out my parents are in the OTHER theater, which hasn't gotten out yet.  This is stressful!  I'm starting to wonder if I can attach GPS tags to them (you know, like they now sell for your pets).  They come out of the movie a minute later, just as I'm catching my breath from all the running around.  I'm not letting them out of my sight again!

We get in one picture at Chinatown!

Mom and her (almost empty) cough medicine!

From here we wander around Chinatown.  But now Mom is starting to feel very sick again.  We end up going back home, and Mom lies down.  Dad's feeling better, but Mom just gets worse.  We end up going to the doctor, where Mom is diagnosed with acute asthma bronchitis.  With some treatments and medicine, she's finally on the mend!









Mom and Dad do get to enjoy their soups.  This is the first time Dad has ever eaten Cup of Noodles - somehow he missed the stage in college where that's all you eat.  He likes them!  He wants to know if they're healthy, and I have to give him the bad news - they're really not.  Though personally, I think it's the Cup of Noodles that actually cures Mom! 

Yum, yum!

Tokyo Quilt & Stitch Show

Tokyo Big Sight - it's definitely big!

I seem to be on a roll with quilting-themed posts, so I'll include one more!  The Quilt and Stitch Show took place in Tokyo in September and I'm able to stop by. It's held at the Tokyo Big Sight, a huge conference center near Tokyo Bay.  

Less than 100 people in front of me in line.
(You know you're in Tokyo when you consider a line
of 100 people to be short!)

After the Tokyo International Quilt Festival (IQF) I wasn't sure what to expect with regards to the crowds, so I get there about 15 minutes before it opens.  The line is much shorter this time, though!

Not the half day workshops, but they also
have mini-lessons at different booths.

I find out too late to sign up, but they actually have half day workshops (unlike IQF). It looks like all Japanese instructors, so I probably wouldn't understand them anyway, but I'll check for next year. (It did look like they had someone from the quilt museum in Paducah giving a talk.)

Lecture/speaker area

There doesn't seem like a lot of quilts in the show.  In fact, I can't tell what the categories actually are for the competition.  All the signs are in Japanese - including the no picture signs, which did NOT have an accompanying graphic.  So I got yelled at twice for taking pictures of quilts I wasn't supposed to. (Okay, it was the Japanese version of yelling, which was a polite request not to take pictures.)  No ribbons are attached to any of the quilts, either. The only thing that makes me think there is a competition is one wall where they have a few quilts that are different styles, and all very well made. (And I saw an ad requesting entries a few months back).  

So here's a couple from the (I think) winner's wall:

I like the 3-D effect.

 

I might have to make one of these...or just buy a Daruma doll!

I love this Daruma doll quilt!  Very cute.  I wonder if this was made for someone, because Daruma dolls represent perseverance and good luck.  It makes an appropriate theme for a gift quilt!












There are a couple of exhibits at the show (these are the ones you're not supposed to take pictures of).  One set of quilts is from the National Quilt Museum in Paducah, and I know that because of the small writing in the corner of the "made by" plaque.  It was the only written English in the entire show.  Hopefully, the rest of these quilt shots are "legal."

Love the geometric design!

 

Close up of the above quilt - good idea for those decorative stitches I never use on my sewing machine!

I know I've seen this quilt before...

Close up - pretty decorative stitching.  Now I
know why my friends buy 12 weight threads.

I love the way the Storm at Sea block are used in this quilt.

Very pretty, and cleverly done. 

Good fabric choices in this Orange Peel (?) variation.

Close up - the checkered fabric has a nice effect.

The Japanese shows always seem to be well represented in the bags and clothing divisions.

Lots of different styles

Thinking of autumn...

I'm interested in seeing the new Janome MC 9400, but they don't have it at the booth. Steve doesn't have to worry about us fitting another machine in the apartment!  Then the HQ people try to sell me the HandiQuilter Simply 16, bit I'm not completely wild about that idea. No other long arm vendors are at the show - most of the housing in Tokyo is too small for them!

small part of the panel

I think they have better vendors at the Quilt and Stitch Show than the IQF. At least, I spend more money.  I buy two things I don't normally purchase, both Hawaiian quilt related. One is a panel of a Hawaiian quilt motif. I thought it might be good quilting practice. But then I remembered I have plenty of hand work I can do if I want. I blame it on the bright colors - maybe that's why I buy more fabric this time. Don't go shopping at quilt vendors when your eyes are starved for color!

sashiko kit - more Hawaiian quilting

The other item is a sashiko kit...with a Hawaiian motif. I have thought since I'm in Japan I should try sashiko quilting, and this kit comes with everything. It's sold by Tulip, which apparently is a popular company in Japan, based on how crowded their booth is. I'm interested in trying their needle, to see if I become a fan, too. 





Otherwise, my purchases are mostly fabric!  I do have a little theme going...dark value oranges and chartreuse greens.  It's not until I get them home that I decide they would go together nicely in a quilt.  I'm going to have to start looking at patterns...

some Moda fabrics here

Love the greens!

 

Lots of good things to buy!

Several vendors give me gifts, too - just little scraps of fabric.  I couldn't tell if they are being nice because they assume I'm a visitor to Japan or if I'm spending a lot of money...

Something else interesting I notice is the pricing of the items.  If there's a special price for five items (say $15/for 5 instead of $3.50/each) and you buy six items, the discounted price is not continued on the additional fabric.  So you pay $15 for five, plus $3.50 for the sixth one.  In the US the discount is always extended - aren't they trying to get you to buy more and reduce their inventory?

More vendors to shop at!

I didn't know which quilt won "Best of Show," so I had to take my selfie with the sign.  They already have the show scheduled for 2017, so I plan to return!

Too scared to take a photo with a quilt in the background - I figured if they yelled at me three times I would be banned for life from all Tokyo Quilt Shows!