That's one tall maiko

Maiko are apprentice geisha and one of the few places in the world you can see them is Kyoto. Unfortunately, there are very few Maiko left in Japan because it takes a lot of study over many years to become a geisha and the demand for them is not high these days. However, when a Japanese girl makes a sightseeing trip to Kyoto, she can recapture the romantic past by dressing up as a Maiko and walking around the picturesque city. Nabbed this picture of two girls reliving the past when we were shopping in Kyoto. What clued me in to the fact they weren't real Maiko?

• they were in full regalia in the early afternoon and Maiko work at night. During the day, they may have their hair up (they usually don't wear wigs) but wouldn't be in this type of kimono and make-up
• there wasn't anyone with them carrying their tools of the trade: shamisen, make-up box, etc.
• the girl on the right is way too tall

Although I was a bit put off with the "fake" Maiko populating Kyoto, it did make for a more interesting trip to look up and see someone stepping out of the past while I was shopping for souvenirs. For those interested in a little Maiko cosplay, the privelege will cost from $100 to $200, depending on how long you wear the kimono and how many portraits you have taken.

expensive apple

Gotta love the way they treat apples in Japan. Snapped this picture of a regular apple in the grocery store, cradled in it's own protective wrapping, polished but not waxed, with the individual price tag stuck to it. This is about $2 for a medium-sized apple. My personal theory about the expense is that growing fruit is labor-intensive. When they appear on the tree, each piece of fruit is individually wrapped in brown paper and tied with a string by hand. This is done in the place of insecticide, I'm told. I'm sure it's healthier, but it makes for one expensive apple.

Baby on Board

Only in Japan will you find this notice, sent in by alert reader, Sunny, who is an English teacher in Okayama prefecture. What I like even better than the Samurai sign, is the reflection of Sunny taking the picture. OK, so she didn't use a cell phone, but this was too good to pass up! Thanks, Sunny.

red shoes

Was at a party the other day with a bunch of college students and I thought my fashionista friends back home would appreciate some of the outfits represented among the youth of Japan today.

Last time I lived here no one of any age would have been caught dead wearing red, and it's not exactly a color you see splashed all over clothing now, but I did catch this daring glimpse of a red shoe at the party.

But even more interesting is the current fasion of wearing dresses or skirts with pants. This fashion trendsetter had her own take on the fad with nylon, lace-trimmed leggings and a very long tunic top. I just don't "get" the attraction of wearing jeans with dresses or skirts, but this look is something I could get into.
If only I were a about 30+ years younger.
And had a Japanese body.

sigh

Kyoto -- cultural icon of Nippon

During the spring"Golden Week" -- so called because there are three national holidays in the same week -- we visited Kyoto. OF COURSE! I had been there many times before when I lived in Japan for six years in the late 1990s, but I couldn't imagine leaving Japan without my seven-year-old daughter seeing this icon of culture. And besides my friend from America was visiting and a trip to Kyoto is de rigeur (I know that is French, but I don't know how to say it in Japanese and even if I did, would you understand it? I didn't think so!). Anyway, among the obvious stuff -- girls dressed in kimono, a shinto wedding at a shrine, Buddhist priests begging in the streets, charming pools of Japanese koi (gold fish), gardens overflowing with spring blooms, I snapped a picture of something you could only see in Kyoto, Japan. The no bicycle sign (in itself, something you wouldn't see in most major cities in North America) with the silhouetted geisha under it. And to make it even more interesting -- if you could read the Japanese, you would see that the warning is written in the local Kyoto dialect rather than standard Japanese. Gotta love this city.

Concrete Grace

Man, I wish I didn't have that rule about having to use my cell phone for these pix! Oh well. This is a water basin in Korakuen Garden, officially known as "one of the three most beautiful gardens in Japan." I don't know who comes up with these official designations, but there are three most beautiful gardens in Japan -- everyone knows that! And Korakuen is one of them. I'm lucky because this famous garden is located right in downtown Okayama, the prefecture I live in. In fact, without Korakuen, I doubt if Okayama would be more than a stop on the shinkansen line for people going from Osaka to Hiroshima. But I digress . . . On our visit to this garden, we saw quaint water basins like this everywhere. This one was about the size of a doggie bathtub with the esthetic bamboo laid "casually" across the top and the curving water cup placed at an angle on top of it. The cup is made of bamboo and this picture really doesn't do it justice. The handle arcs back like a ballerina's arm -- delicate grace combined with sturdy rock. It's such a quintessential Japanese picture, I just had to snap it with my cell phone and share it with you.

Wish Me Luck

In Japan, people don't carry four-leaf clovers or rabbits' feet. They don't cross their fingers and they seem unafraid of ladders. They do, however, throw stones to the top of tori gates for good luck. Snapped this picture at an ancient gate in Kyoto when were were there last weekend. If you look closely, you can see the stones that have been tossed up for good luck. The trick is that you can't simply place the stones on the tori, but you have to skillfully toss them so they land on the narrow cross piece. This is easier said than done, considering how high these tori gates can be. Also, remember that you have to toss it so it flies slightly above the desired target before gently settling down, not hitting the stone on top or dislodging anyone else's lucky tosses. In my opinion, if you can do all of this, you already ARE a lucky person -- but there's no such thing as too much good fortune, I guess.

Another day, another kimono

We went to the grocery store the other day and found these guys outside. As far as I could tell they were publicizing something inside. The only word I can read on the sign is "Fair." Why they were dressed up like actors in a Samurai drama, playing music from that period in time, I have no idea. The cool thing was that my friend was visiting from America and this was her first day in Japan. I'm sure she thinks this is quite a romantic place where people just walk around the grocery stores dressed this way! Soon after we took their picture they disappeared and we never did find out what their deal was . . .

Groovin to the beat

One of my favorite things to do when I'm stressed is pounding it out on a "Taiko" drum. This is a picture of my daughter and a friend beating the taiko at a game center.

After you put your money in, you get to choose whether you want an easy "kantan", medium "futsu" or hard "muzukashii" song. You make your selection by beating the sides of the drum to move the cursor and hitting the drum in the middle to choose. Then you get to pick the song. We only know one song so far, "Anpanman." This is a cute little character in the shape of a sweet-bean-paste-stuffed rice ball.

The song bellows out and you follow a little bouncing drum on the screen that shows you if you are supposed to hit the middle of the drum in time to the music, hit the top of the drum, hit it with both sticks (that is a picture of a BIG drum) or perform a drum roll. You get points based on how accurate you are and how many times you hit the drum during the rolls. We can usually get enough points for a free play. I absolutely LOVE to play the taiko drum at the game centers. Sometimes you can see real taiko players strutting their stuff with the "muzukashii" songs, but usually it's kids just like this. I have never seen a gaijin, other than myself, try this and I usually attract quite a crowd when I play. As far as I'm concerned, that's all part of the fun. But it embarrases the heck out of my seven-year-old daughter. Tee Hee.

Real Men DO Wear Pink

Was visiting a family we know recently and saw this guy, 15, all decked out in pink. The pastel sweatshirt wasn't too unusual, but the matching sweatpants, bathing him head to toe in a fuzzy pink glow surprised me. And I really couldn't figure out the huge girly barette in his hair either. To top it all off, he had a matching pink cell phone. Apparently, this is not a statement about sexual preference, but the latest fashion craze among young Japanese men.

According to an article in the Washington Post from September 2005, gender roles in Japan are changing as more women enter the workforce and men are embracing their feminine side. There's even a chain of spas for men, called, aptly enough, "Dandy House" where men can get facials, undergo weight-loss programs and get their eyebrows plucked.

The article quoted Marco Shimomura, VP of Dandy House:"Japan has never really stressed the concept of being macho in a Western sense, but what we find now is that men are actively seeking the soft and smooth look that is considered so attractive now. They aren't scared of getting their hairs plucked. And believe me, it hurts."

Seems to me a guy must be pretty confident in his masculine side to do something so traditionally feminine, especially in a society where gender roles are usually so differentiated. I have to say, I find the attitude refreshingly attractive.

If you want to know more, you can read the whole article here:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/09/21/AR2005092102434.html

Vote for Nakamura

Right behind this guy is the shinkansen (bullet train) station next to my English school. For the past few weeks we have been bombarded hourly with blasts of speakers mounted to the top of cars blaring out campaign slogans. Guess there was a major election here last week. Anyway, one day we were going to grab some lunch when this van pulled up outside our school and about 20 people jumped out, all wearing these nice green jackets (every candidate has a different color -- kinda like a high school football team) listening attentively as another green-jacketed escapee from the Master's tournament solemnly talked about their candidate. I tried to take a discreet picture, but this guy caught me and seemed willing to pose . . . so point, click! Kaycee's keitai strikes again!

Horse meat anyone?

Went to a party at a friend's house last week and they had wonderful sushi platters spread out around the room. Since I usually can't afford this delicacy, I quickly swiped my favorites -- salmon, tuna and cod roe -- staying away from the raw shrimp and squid. I know the Japanese enjoy raw beef, but I was a bit grossed out when they asked me if I wanted some raw horse meat! Had to take a pic of that one. There it is in all it's glistening, red glory.

Bon appetit!

Welcome

I love my new cell phone! Of course, I had one in the U.S., but it was nothing like my magnificant pink all-in-one handy tool. I can make phone calls of course, but I can also:

• Take pictures in both directions. Meaning, I can turn the viewer so it points at me. That way I can take a pic of myself in front of some landmark just by holding the phone in front of me.
• Shoot videos up to 30 seconds.
• Send/receive e-mails.
• Keep a calendar/diary with reminders
• Play music
• write memos
• use the internet! (If I pay for it)

I read somewhere that most Japanese are in love with their cell phones and judging by the numbers of them I see playing with their cell phones on the trains, as they walk down the street and even while riding their bikes, I think it is truly a match made in heaven.

Being a single mom on a limited budget, I don't often buy toys for myself, but I couldn't resist the trend to get a cell phone, aka "keitai" in Japanese.

I also thought it would be fund to start a simple blog where I post things I've snapped with my keitai and share them with the world. Even if no one else is amused, it's fun for me and gives me some cheap entertainment.

I've made up one simple rule for myself: any picture I use MUST be taken with my keitai. No cheating and taking a picture with a real camera and pretending I took it with my keitai.

Check back regularly or sign up for updates to get the latest picture and bit of cultural trivia from a squarepeg perspective on life in Japan.

K.C.