Finally Finished!

It has been a stressful week, trying to organise the last of my interviews, editing and trying to finish my project. It was my first time to edit a documentary, and my second time on Final cut pro, so everything was incredibly stressful.
It was very difficult to finish it, but I'm glad I was patient with it, and stuck to my original idea for the movie.
The project also taught me more about the final cut pro program, which is a fantastic program to use when editing. All the interviews with the girls allowed me to meet many new people, and also to understand how to communicate more effectively.
I really hope the exhibition goes well and I look forward to seeing everyone else's projects!

Final Project

Our class has been getting organized with our own individual final projects, and also co-ordinating other tasks to do for the gallery. Our work will be presented in a art gallery in Omotesando, which we visited a couple of weeks ago.
Omotesando is a nice area, with the prominent main road that is lined with lots of famous boutiques and also the beautiful Omotesando Hills building. Our gallery is behind all the glitz of the main street, in the very artistic-young-hip area of Harajyuku/Omotesando. The outside of the gallery was covered with draped material when we arrived there, and the inside was also colorful and lively.
It is very exciting that we have such an appropriate little place to exhibit our work. But now, I'm getting nervous about putting my whole project together, with all my ideas and footage all over the place.
I'm making a documentary for the first time in my life, and it is a little nerve-racking, but it will be a great challenge for me.
I do hope everything comes together, and I don't leave editing to the last minute!!!

Tsugaru-Shamisen music

For the international project, I decided to use garage band to merge three shamisen songs into one. Shamisen is a Japanese instrument that looks slightly like a banjo, and this particular shamisen-group is famous for their modern arrangement of traditional music.
I mixed the songs, and I was surprised to find that it actually had a good beat to it.

Listen now!!!

International Project

Initially, So, we have been working in groups of three with people from Philadelphia, London and here in Tokyo. My groups picked the topic of architecture, so I went out to look for traditional Japanese architecture, which was actually harder to find than I expected. Coincidentally, there was a historical house that has been preserved near my house that was built in the traditional Japanese style of architecture. It was the house of a rich landlord (the Toyama family) in the countryside, so there are a lot of bedrooms, sitting rooms, lounges, powder rooms and a beautiful Japanese garden. Initially, I was planning to take one photo there, and then go on to taking photos in a very futuristic area in Shinjuku, however I changed my mind. I thought that there are enough of those high-rise metallic buildings in all the main cities of the world, and I really wanted to show something a little bit more unique to Japan. I even found a kimono given to me when I was younger, a traditional bingata from Okinawa. I was wearing a kimono for the first time in 9 years, so it was very awkward to walk and breathe in it. The bingata is a very special kimono, because each pattern is hand painted by a special craftsmen. Even though it was difficult at the beginning, wearing a kimono became almost normal after a while. It makes every movement seem a lot more graceful and it straightened out my posture.

It was difficult to co-ordinate this project with people in two different countries, but I'm really looking forward to how we all interpreted the project. Also, wearing the kimono and visiting the house was important for me, because it helped me to understand more about my own culture and my family. It also made my mum very happy!

This turtle was swimming around in a tank outside a Chinese restaurant. I hope it's just there for show. Hmmmm

The lit-up cruise ship in Yokohama harbor. Lovely!

Some more photos from Chinatown

Trying on shoes


"Nikuman, anyone??"


A busy alleyway in Chinatown

YOKOHAMA-China Town

On Sunday night I decided to drive to Yokohama and eat some Chinese food. Yokohama is a city about 40 minutes by drive (on a highway) outside of Tokyo. It is right next to the sea, and apart from nice parks with classy fountains, you can enjoy the Chinese cuisine.

First, I went tto Yamashita park, where you can see the lit up buildings of Yokohama, the gorgeous cruise ships and the sea. It is a very picturesque spot that seems to be popular with couples. Another "date spot" (The japanese seem to be very fond of "date spots") is another park on top of a hill with another great view. This place is also infested with couples. Very nice

Next, we walked to chinatown. It was really busy with many people walking, talking and eating "nikuman", which is like a white ball with meat inside it. That is a poor description I know, but I don't really know what it's made of.
By the time we got there, it was already 8pm, but the streets were bright and lit up by colorful lanterns. In chinatown, there is also a temple among the restaurants and shops, and this is definitely something to see when you visit there. It's red, bright, slightly over-done with decorations and very beautiful. this kind of architecture is the pure opposite of japanese temples, so I found it very interesting. While the Japanese seem to prefer the more sedate colors and calm, simplistic architecture, Chinese seem to prefer the opposite.
There are many cute shops along the smalled paths in the town, and I found some cute shoes in one of the cubbyhole type shops. If you are feeling a little spiritual, you can also go and get your palm read, or do tarot cards. They charge a lot, but this is also very popular in chinatown.

Lastly, the cuisine. There are so many places to eat in Chinatown, and it's difficult to decided where to eat. But I've noticed that the big restaurants on the main street is over-priced and the portions are small. So, it's best to go to the alleyways to smaller restaurants ran by Chinese families. However, it's still a good idea to check what's in your dinner if you're not feeling so adventurous.

Saint Xavier and Japanese Noh

Recently I was invited to go to a Noh performance in Suido-bashi. Noh is a traditional Japanese theater that is partly dialogue, song and movement. This piece was an experimental piece about Saint Xavier's missionary journey to Japan. The stage was beautiful and minimalistic, and there were musicians in the background as the dialogue and dance took place in the foreground. In between parts, there was also kyogen which is old, Japanese comedy using many puns and other jokes. This juxtaposed with the serious, almost sad story of Xavier was very effective.
The last part of the performance was the most memorable. The "shi-te", the main actor who was playing the spirit of Xavier had his last dance. This dance was so strong and powerful that was full of impact.
I was expecting Noh to be very out-dated and a little boring, so this was a very eye-opening experience. I realised that I have a lot to learn about Japanese culture, and it is embarrassing not to know more as a Japanese person.

Work Experience

Last Thursday, I decided to go into a real Japanese hostess club to work for one night only. I was very nervous before hand, but I thought doing this would make me understand what the job involves, and how girls must feel when they're working. So, I arrived at the club at 9pm to have a quick "interview" with the manager. I filled in a couple of forms, they asked if I had worked in "mizushobai" before, and told me not to worry because no prior experience was needed for this job. The manager was kind, and I think he could see that I was very worried. He gave me a name-card, and asked me if I wanted to change my name. I said no, but he wrote my name in katakana anyways, and told me the basic rules that I should know. The first and most important was never ever to cross my legs. I asked why, and he told me that it was the most common rule in all hostess clubs, and he himself didn't know why they had that rule. Then, without telling me anything else, he urged me to get ready.

I went upstairs to the changing rooms with a fluttery stomache. I was given a dress to wear and some stockingings. There were already several girls that were waiting there, crimping their hair and putting on make-up. Everyone was surprisingly nice, and when they heard it was my first time, they all took pity on me and volunteered to do my hair or my make-up. The preparation stage was probably the most awful. They pulled at my hair, put hundreds of pins in, choked me with their strong hairsprays and caked the make-up on. When I looked at myself in the mirror I looked like a different person. This actually made me feel better about the whole thing, because all I had to do now was to play the part of a hostess.

It was a very rainy Thursday, so I wasn't expecting many customers, but they flooded in as soon as it was 11pm. The girls would rotate between the various tables every 20 minutes, and pour drinks (water downed whiskey) and make conversation with businessmen. I sat with a group of four men who had been out drinking together. The man I was assigned to told me that they worked in an all-man environment, and he had no chance of meeting girls. When I told him that rather than going to these clubs, he should find a nice stable girlfriend he seemed surprised. Because no-one had told me what to talk about, I was left on my own from the very beginning. There are hand signals for asking the bartender for drinks, an ashtray or ice. My first attempts at the hand signals were quite hilarious, and the business man and I laughed together about my awkwardness. So far, so good.

However, some of my other customers later on were not so good. There was a salary-man and his supervisor drinking together, and the boss' was lecturing (drunkly) to another hostess. He was saying things about her appearance, telling her to improve her looks, and asking her intrusive questions. I was surprised at how well she handled the situation. She stayed for her assigned 20 minutes without making any remark and left quietly without complaint. When I saw her again later in the dressing room, she was furious at the way he treated her. This is when I could see that this job requires a lot of patience at being treated badly.

The night wore on, and there were incredibly amount of alcohol being consumed by the men. Girls are not allowed to drink, so we had "tickets" for juice that were faked to look like cocktails. So, the men pay 1100 yen for your cocktail, which happens to be juice from the local supermarket. I was also able to eat a lot, because one customer ordered three plates of party food, and wasn't eating anything. I was getting tired by midnight, and I felt exhausted partly due to my incredulous high heels that were killing me.

Because of the tiredness, I started to make little mistakes. My big fiasco of the night was not watering down a sake drink for my customer. I had learned what to do with whiskey, but not with sake, so I poured it all in straight and gave it to him. Because it's a clear liquid he thought it was mixed and took a huge gulp. His reaction afterwards was horrendous. He nearly choked with surprise and then his face blew up red with confusion, drunkeness and anger. I thought I would be kicked off the table, but I told him it was my first day on the job, and weazled my way out of it. Whew.

At 1am, I was finished. I got 6000 yen for the night's work, and said goodbye to the girls. Some of the girls were still waiting for their customers, studying or chatting up in the dressing room. They were genuinely nice girls who were smart and working towards a goal such as becoming a dentist, a fashion designer or an enterpreneur. I learned a lot from my experience, and I was able to see both the positive and negative side of the hostessing business.

Girls, Girls, Girls

Tonight, I met up with some girls who work in a hostess bar in a business district in Tokyo. We met at a coffee shop near their club right before they had to start work. I was feeling nervous about meeting them, because I had already assumed that they would be the stereotypical hostess; catty, mean and threateningly gorgeous. It turns out that they'd just gotten out of bed, and was getting ready for a busy night ahead. They were nice girls, very polite and friendly. The two girls chatted about their crazy schedule (going to bed at 7am and waking up at 5pm) and why they live this way. Being a hostess is nothing to be ashamed of in Japanese culture. For these girls, working at the club only consists of drinking with their "customers", making jokes and generally being loud and fun. It has none of the negative associations that one would imagine.
The girls at the club also have fake names, and they said that it helps them to seperate their work from their personal life. However, all the girls were friends at the club, and some of them even lived together. I was allowed to meet the manager and the bartender of the club before it opened, and I was again surprised at how nice they all were. They greeted me, made jokes with the girls, and willingly talked to the camera.
The girls at the club who were already working were also very nice, and shy to the camera. I thought this was kind of funny because they were wearing such short dresses with a beer logo on them. I shudder to think that in a week, I will be in that same costume actually experiencing what it is like to be one of the "girls".
Apart from the dress-code, I thought the club was very different to what I expected. In Japan, these clubs are generally accepted and men, young and old go to get love advice, advice on raising their children (this is true, it turns out many fathers come to ask how to be liked by their children) and generally complain about their jobs.
So, all in all, my first experience at a hostess club was not as bad as I feared. However, it's the thing that awaits me next week that scares me the most......

Part 3 of Hiro-o Project

On my third day in Hiro-o, I walked around the same area and looked around for people to interview. There is such a range of people walking on the streets, so it was difficult to choose one person. I found my first interviewee walking with her friend pushing a pram. They were talking rapidly and looked so comfortable in their foreign environment. Their confidence made it almost frightening to approach them. But once I started talking to them, I found out that they were teachers at an international school. They had been living in Japan for a while, but in their minds, they had not assimilated into the culture at all. The two women found it very easy to ive in Hiro-o because they could speak English all the time, and there were many businesses that catered to their (gaijin) needs.

The second person I interviewed was sitting in Segafredo's. I went upstairs to the balcony to have a coffee among more French and Americans. I saw a Japanese man sitting by the exit, reading a French dictionary and looking at a map. I thought this was interesting, but I was unsure whether i should go up to him and talk to him. This was breaking all the rules of Japanese so-called "manners" and I didn't want to cause meiwaku for him. But I did ask to sit with him, and even though he was a little surprised he soon opened up and talked to me about his life and his experiences. He has travelled and lived overseas extensively in his life, so even though he doesn't live in Hiro, he feels at home in Hiro-o. He visits Hiro-o to get away from his work, to immerse himself in foreign culture while still being in japan. He pointed out the contrasting cultures that is so apparent here. There are the old fish shops on the sho-ten-gai, and not so far from there is the Azabu national market where you can still buy Tide, and read Hello magazine. The two women and also this gentleman explained that Hiro-o was unique from Roppongi, because the people in Hiro are more settled, and not like tourists with big cameras that you see in Akihabara or Asakusa. Hiro-o is more a residential area, and unlike Roppongi it doens't really have clubs and bars, so the area is more a "family" area.
After finishing my drink with my new friend in Segafredo's, I walked back to the barber that I checked out yesterday.

The barber was cutting a blonde businessman's hair. I waited on the vinyl couch and looked at his glass case full of baseball players' autographs. After his customer left, I asked him if I could interview him. He seemed used to interviews, and talked about how the barbershop had been run by his family for 100 years. They had lived and worked in Hiro even before the war, and even then there were many foreigners here because of all the embassys that surround the area.
I found it interesting that the barber could not speak any English although he had lived in Hiro all his life. The two women I met before had not assimilated into Japanese culture, and here was another person, who had not assimilated into the foreign culture around him. However, these people were still living side by side, enjoying the environment, working and living their life in Hiro-o.