excursion one — Simone Miller

I returned back to Shibuya just a couple days ago. This past week, my class visited the Kansai area. We did so much in so little time, I found it difficult trying to pinpoint what exactly I should write about. I didn't want this entry to turn into a novel (if you consider me rambling for paragraphs on end a "novel").

A quick summary: our first stop was Hiroshima on day one, then Hyogo and Kyoto on day two. Day three we visited Kyoto's zen gardens, then its temples on day four. Day five was spent in Nara petting deer and studying Buddhist Temples. Day six we ventured into Osaka, where we stopped by Tadao Ando's works. The last day was spent at the Church of Light before riding the bullet train all the way back home to Tokyo. It's suffice to say that I was exhausted by the end of the trip.

There were two main things I took away from this trip, presented to me by the big entities of Kyoto and Osaka. First off, Kyoto:

Kyoto was the first capital of Japan. I honestly did not know much of Kyoto before going. I had somewhat grasped that Kyoto was more old-fashioned and quieter than Tokyo. It's a place my professor holds dearly after living there for two years, so I wondered what my impression would be.

Kyoto is quiet. So much quieter than Tokyo. And when I say quiet, I don't mean noise. Tokyo is quiet at night (which is a wonderful discovery as someone who cherishes sleep) despite being such a large city. Kyoto is quiet in its atmosphere. It has the feeling of a sleepy town. Kyoto is a lot less dense than Tokyo - something I learned when walking the nearly empty nightlife areas of Kyoto. With the amount of shops and restaurants open, there seemed to lack enough people to fill them. I know that this isn't too unusual growing up in the suburbs of LA, yet the difference between Kyoto and Tokyo was still jarring. Kyoto reminds me of something called "showa nostalgia". It's an idea I've been looking into for my studio project - a nostalgia for a period of time in Japan that was characterized by a simpler, slower life as a result the country's prosperity. Although I never truly lived through the experiences that would recall such nostalgia, I felt like I lived a sliver of what that could be. Kyoto - with all it's shrines and historic architecture lining the streets, it's residents dressed in traditional clothing - gave me a peek into what life was like in the past.

Most interestingly enough, I felt like I was getting in touch with my culture and history. Japan's two major religions are Shinto and Buddhism. Being half-Chinese, I grew up learning bits and pieces of Buddhism. Although I would never consider myself a religious person, I believe in the importance of religion as a cultural aspect. Buddhism in Japan had much influence from China and Korea, giving me the chance to really learn and experience a vast culture that encompasses me. It really gave me a sense of being part of something bigger than me, and for that I'm grateful.

Osaka. Osaka was the destination I was most excited for, purely because I knew more about Osaka. Osaka is known for its food. Particularly, たこ焼き (octopus balls), but other foods as well: 串カツ (fried skewers), お好み焼き (savory pancake), and 焼肉 (grilled meat). I imagined myself as Mako Mankanshoku when she visited Osaka (sorry, anime reference). I was so excited! And so excited to eat takoyaki (the octopus balls)! Osaka has a similar energy to Tokyo. There were so many stores and people selling a variety of things. And the food was delicious of course. Then when the sun set, the fun, light-hearted energy of Osaka disappeared. Just like in Spirited Away, when the sky got dark and the lights turned on, that's when the city really came to life. It was amazing. I loved the excessive lights and unnecessarily huge fake crabs and octopi tacked onto the buildings. I was feeding off the city's energy and I was ecstatic. So much to do! So much to see! This was the type of energy I loved from cities. It's what I love about Tokyo and Los Angeles. Osaka was really, truly amazing.

In the end, I was happy to return home. To me, Tokyo and Shibuya feel like home. Exhausted from a week of constant traveling, I was happy to curl up into my bed in Shibuya when I returned.