Tokyo 2022 (Part 7~🍁Utage🍂~)

Finally, the trip anchor. And in lucky Part 7 at that! Essentially, it was the very reason that I got to run about Tokyo doing and seeing all sorts of things in that beautiful autumn week. My autumn trip, built around an autumn concert. That concert was "SUPER JUNIOR - RYEOWOOK Special Live～秋宴～UTAGE", or in short, Utage. 

The simple but stunning autumn-themed stage.

Of all the overseas concerts/performances I attended in 2022, this one was special because of the effort it took to get there and all the help received and friendliness experienced along the way. And of course, the sheer quality of the performance itself. Fair warning: this post will cover events, processes and observations surrounding the concert so there are many many words and few photos hahaha. I guess this mighttt be a little boring to the external reader but hey, I'm my main audience ^^

Opportunity

Rewind to one fine day in Aug 2022, just a few days after my birthday (when a friend floated the idea of a Japan trip). While there was some attraction to the idea of a Tokyo holiday since it'd be a first, I was still feeling rather indifferent. Guess I wasn't dying to chiong to Japan the moment it reopened. But on that day, there was suddenly an announcement on the SJ JP twitter regarding a "Ryeowook Special Live" and that the ticketing lottery would begin on that day itself. The announcement came out of the blue and was somewhat low key, but it was electrifying. 

It's like something was coolly saying to me: "so, you needed a reason to go?"

And indeed, a reason it was. Ryeowook is my current favourite Suju member. If buying tickets were as simple as clicking and paying, I'd have done that in a heartbeat. But there were a few more hoops to jump through. In a way, things would've been so much easier if the concert were held in Seoul but no complaints about the chance to visit another location xD

Securing tickets

So this section wouldn't have existed if ticketing were the usual fastest fingers first. Maybe it's just coz I noob, but I gotta emphasise how difficult it felt to consume Japanese products or services from outside Japan, especially if there was no specific international option. I kinda had to bash my way through an end-to-end process designed to prevent ticket scalping/unauthorised distribution and err, promote equality (?). 

Quirk #1 (few more to come later) about Japanese concerts is the aforementioned lottery system. Basically one applies and hopes to get a ticket. How easy it is to score a seat is demand-dependent. Lotteries may open in a few stages with the first usually reserved for official fan club members. There might be general sales if there's anything left at the end.

Anyway, I couldn't apply for anything haha. The first lottery was for ELF-Japan members (the official Japanese SJ fan club). Signing up for the fan club required a Japanese address and phone number. This in itself doesn't prevent foreigners from signing up, but I had no handy contacts in Japan. So I waited for the second round... and found that it was also a lottery that required a Japanese address and phone number -.- At that time I started to wonder if the system was designed to keep foreigners out or smth. 

Then, I spotted signs on other ways that foreigners could secure tickets! Some request/let (求/讓) listings had started to pop up under certain hashtags. The reason for this was that each person was allowed to apply for up to 4 seats in the lottery for each of the 3 show timings. People usually applied together with friends and were trying to sell off their duplicates. Cue reaching out to strangers online~

So yay there were tickets that I could actually purchase! But in parallel, I'd hit another roadblock in the form of Anypass, the official ticket distribution platform. Basically, this app was a must for entry into the concert with tickets purchased online. To prevent unauthorised distribution etc., any sort of ticket transfer between different parties has to be done on this app where every account is verified and tagged to a valid phone number (thankfully, international numbers work too). And then there was me having trouble signing up xD I thought it was gonna be a dealbreaker, coz all the verification SMSes and calls seemed to be failing, until I tried topping up my international credits out of desperation. Good thing that that worked, and that I could understand Japanese numbers enough to listen to and type in a verification code after the call went through!

By that time, I was already in various conversations with international strangers. This included some who had successfully completed the ticketing process and were kind enough to guide me through the weird complexities. As luck would have it, I also spoke to an angel of a Japanese ELF who (1) knew Chinese (简体字, luckily) and (2) pretty much voluntarily become my ticket coordinator for this concert :') She liaised with other Japanese sellers on my behalf to secure tickets for the 2 evening shows I was planning to go for. This was one of the reasons I was bursting with gratitude by the end of the trip. Gotta mention that I had to rely on google/papago translators for all the Japanese... and also the written Chinese... it's been too long xD Along the way, I picked up a Singaporean buddy as well!

All in all, I made friends (or contacts, at the very least)! It helps to have a clear common interest, in this case, in a Korean boy group haha).  

When I secured my Utage tickets, Tokyo 2022 sparked into existence✨

Waiting

Gotta say, there had to be some mutual trust since I was buying tickets off strangers - both parties had to show up for the deal to work out. But it was less of a risk for me since the agreement was to pay cash at the concert venue, after the tickets were handed over digitally. At that time (early Sep), there wasn't even 100% certainty that I could show up in Japan haha. I'd heard of other cases where sellers were reluctant to hold on to their tickets for foreigners instead of releasing them back into the system. Not unreasonable really. Can say I was very lucky to meet J-ELFs who were trustworthy and so ready to help/sell to me without asking for upfront payment. 

The next thing I did was to book a hotel for the entire week surrounding 2-3 Nov. Free cancellation, yay! Then, came a week's worth of checking the news obsessively for every announcement surrounding Japan and monitoring flight prices. The prices climbed steadily the whole time and I could actually have saved a bunch more if I were a little more decisive haha. Thinking about it, the $25 Scoot multiflex was such a gem. That price bought unlimited flight reschedules in the event that Japan did not fully open in time. If not for that, risk-averse me might have indeed waited to opening announcement day and paid double. The lesson here is to spot worthwhile hedges and leverage them as early as possible. 

Fast forwarding~ I had plenty of fun pre-Utage (see Parts 2-6 haha). But there was also an undercurrent of uncertainty. When South Korea went into mourning after the Itaewon incident, there was some doubt on whether the concert would carry on. The daily teaser posts had stopped. Other Korean performers also cancelled their own events in Japan at last minute. Well, nothing to be done then but to wait patiently. Still, I was determined to ensure that Tokyo 2022 would be a fulfilling holiday, even without the anchor event. In the end, there was some confirmation that the concert would carry on as planned and it was such a relief to finally head to the Tachikawa Stage Garden on 2 Nov. One more reason to be thankful that the concert was held in Tokyo rather than Seoul.

At gloaming while waiting to enter, standing along this little pathway lined with red trees. Remember, trees across Tokyo were just starting to turn red at that time. So it felt like there was a concentration of autumn around the venue, befitting of an event titled 秋宴 - literally autumn party/feast!

Show time!

I had to think of what to write here since no form of recording, AV or written, can recreate the experience of a live performance. The best I can do is to share some of my favourite bits. It's also quite serendipitous that the concert recording was broadcasted just around the time I started drafting this post. So I got to polish my memories~ 

View from my seat during the first performance (2 Nov, evening)! Considering that seating was completely random (more on this later), it was great fortune to be seated close enough to make out Ryeowook's jawbones haha.

Despite not generally being an aesthetic/design-minded person, my first thought upon entry to the concert hall was literally "this is beautiful". In a few ways in fact. First, the stage and backdrop graced by a (fake) tree dressed in autumn. It wasn't an overly showy concept or anything, it was simply fitting. Second, the official concert logo on 2 screens flanking the tree. In promotional materials, the still logo was set on a white background. In the hall, this was changed to a black background which emphasised the red and gold motifs, which were also animated to glow. Third, the animation of glowing, red maple leaves falling across the logo gave a very elegant 3D effect. Last but certainly not the least, the "waiting" music. I don't usually care much for piano music but this piece completed the picture of entering a lush, tranquil autumn wood. I was in a state of bliss while waiting for the show to start for the first time.

Even through the lousy GIF quality, the glowing, twirling 🍁 remain outstanding.

As for the performance, the whole damn thing was magical. There was a great variety of Ryeowook's own songs in both Korean and Japanese and covers. Here's some of my favourites:

- Like a Star: The single most beautiful set.  Thinking about it, this was prob the only song with additional stage setup. Strings of lights were used to create the impression of a twinkling, starry field in a deep night ⭐

Screenshot from the official recording. Watching live, it was an amazingly ethereal view that produced goosebumps.

- Citrus (by Da-Ice): Impact. The stage was dark and silent when Ryeowook opened the song with a sky-piercing high note and sang the first bit a capella. Total chills. Unfortunately the official recording did not include this song due to copyright, so here's an (ahem) unofficial version. 

- Nandemonaiya (by Radwimps): Yes it's that song from Your Name! His voice suits this song very well and he actually covered it on his youtube channel before. At the concert, the cherry on top was the live band. For a song I've listened to many times (original and cover), this was a definite way to level up the experience. Again, unofficial version.

- Dance time! (a medley of Edison by Wednesday Campanella, Habit by Sekai no Owari, Mr Simple, SPY and Oppa Oppa): Wow where to start. As much as I appreciate power vocals, it's always the upbeat songs that are the most enjoyable during concerts! The first two were trendy Japanese songs. It was very impressive that he sang and danced all the way through without stumbling, especially Habit which was almost a rap :o Then we were treated to a mini Super Show including the legendary SPY! It was an OMG moment for everyone when the iconic trumpet sound played at the start coz Suju is notoriously allergic to performing this song hahaha. And there was Ryeowook performing a snippet of the original version all by himself xD

- Sakura no Hana ga Sakukoro: This was the first encore song and one of my favourite types of music. It's not as common to get goosebumps from a happy, uplifting song compared to those soaring ballads, but it happened here on all 3 shows. It was a nice touch to have confetti burst out at the final chorus as well! I managed to collect some when I was seated close enough :D Oh yes and the tree changed colours temporarily to pink since this song was spring-themed. Then Ryeowook snapped his fingers and it went back to red xD

Another capture from the recording. More falling, floating, glowing motifs back on the screen! But sakura petals instead as we rewinded to spring for a bit.

- My Dear: This was the final encore song for the first two shows. It's also my current favourite out of Ryeowook's solo works and top of my spotify top songs for 2022! Was especially glad to hear this one live :') It's one of those songs that "fits my ear" easily, with the same smooth comforting feeling as chinese ballads from the school days. 

Special mentions:

- To Me (first show): The concert wasn't CD-perfect. There were times when emotions overflowed, and this particular stage was prob the most affected coz he choked up and couldn't sing most of the song. But it happens that the lyrics of this song speak of personal strength and conviction. At the end of the show, the people who were already on their way out rushed back to their seats when the lights dimmed again and the band retook their positions. Ryeowook walked out again and thanked the band for agreeing to do this extra stage, coz if he didn't do this, he wouldn't have been able to sleep that night haha. And he nailed it. 

- The Little Prince (final show): This song appeared only once in Utage, at the very end of the final show. Before the concert, I'd assumed that Ryeowook's solo debut, signature song would naturally be part of the setlist. I guess all the other stages were stunning enough to hold their own that I didn't even realise its absence. He's prob performed this song hundreds of times by now, but it was my first and only time so far hearing it live. And he said he prepared this special stage coz, even though there were two other planned stops in Japan, he didn't take being able to meet his audience for granted. I appreciated this consideration. This song and the title were meant for him, and for me, this was a very fitting end to a masterpiece of a concert.

I wanted to retain as much memory of this concert as possible. That included finding the best way to make a souvenir out of the red/gold confetti from the encores!

Everything else that was interesting

I'm not done yet hahaha! There really were so many things worth remembering from the 1.5 days I spent in Tachikawa. 

First up, during pre-trip planning, practical me had decided to go for just the two evening shows on 2 and 3 Nov, leaving the daytimes free for exploration. "Should be good enough", I thought... I ended up going for all 3 performances, including the 3 Nov matinee which was never part of the original plan. After the first show, SG buddy and I congregated outside the hall in a very excited state and decided then and there that we weren't gonna miss a single thing xD It was THAT good. 

The fun didn't end there. The Tachikawa Stage Garden is a small, intimate concert venue and I was blessed to get decent views throughout, i.e. no third floor seats. But my seat during the matinee performance was by far the best and closest to the stage. For an unplanned thing, it really paid off big time!

This is probably a good juncture to mention Quirk #2 - the random seating. What we're prob used to is variable ticket pricing depending on section. But Japanese concerts seem to have only 1 price for small venues or maybe a premium/regular split for larger venues. So depending on luck, the same ticket could literally yield a seat right in front of the stage or at some ulu corner of the hall. On top of this, the seat designations are only released very close to the performance day. I guess this is all to prevent snatching and scalping of good seats in advance - everyone gets equal chance at being lucky or unlucky xD

Back to the unplanned matinee show, for which tickets were completely sold out online :O The attendance throughout the 3 shows was really good with hardly any empty seats. But for the matinee, there weren't even people reselling tickets anymore. Could be because it was on a public holiday. That's why I found it very strange that there was an announcement that morning saying that same-day tickets (当日券) would be on sale at the venue... We were definitely taking the chance anyway. So SG buddy and I got there and joined the line where we had a rather nerve-wracking wait as a stack of tickets was used up just before our turn. We surmised that there were still some left, since the Japanese staff kept speaking over their walkie-talkies and going up and down to count the people in line. Couldn't understand a thing, but they were prob seeking confirmation before releasing another batch of tickets. And knowing Japanese culture, they prob would've had the politeness to dismiss everyone if the tickets had really run out. True enough, the staff eventually pulled out a fresh stack! We paid in cash - 230000 yen cobbled between the two of us. (Youtrip the rest of the way!) 

Outside the venue, marveling at our unbelievable luck. In an era of e-ticketing, especially within a hyper-streamlined Japanese system, this was like a unique piece of treasure.

Here, I need to emphasise how precious a souvenir that pink slip of paper was. Since the regular ticketing channels were all online, this was probably the only way to get a physical ticket! However, the best surprise came when I saw the seat numbers. Rows 13 and 14 - prob as close as we commoners could've hoped to get to the stage! We were totally expecting to be seated somewhere far and high up given the last-minuteness of it all. One plausible explanation could be that these tickets were reserved for invited parties who didn't show up in the end. In any case, I was beyond thankful hehe. The matinee ended up being the single largest impact to my itinerary, bumping a few plans away >.< Should've expected this really, what was I thinking xD

My best view out of the 3 shows! From my live show experiences so far, it can sometimes be a risk to sit close to stage where there is little or no gradient. I was fortunate enough not to be behind tall people, and was actually seated next to a camera haha.

I can say with conviction: no regrets at all going for all 3 shows. Just one last Quirk to share over here. It's a standard thing for photography and video recording to be disallowed or restricted during concerts. But Quirk #3 is that Japanese fans don't break the rules. This is why it is extremely rare for Japanese concerts to have fancams, and the ones I've seen were taken exclusively by foreign fans. Official DVDs/broadcast recordings cover only one performance at best, and not everything at that (as demonstrated in this case). No two live performances are the same. So the only way to experience all of it is simply to be there. I'm very glad I was for Utage.

Personally, I wasn't about to risk video recording though... My phone was hardly equipped for this task anyway. But I did manage to get myself some nice, fairly clear audio recordings which I listened to all through the flight home. 

Oh yes, should also mention that due to covid restrictions at the time, cheering and screaming wasn't allowed :( Only clapping. It definitely dampened the atmosphere since the bulk of the audience consisted of Japanese fans who don't break the rules. Little bursts of sound escaped the audience whenever Ryeowook did something unexpectedly cute or emotional but that was about it. The next time the Sujus perform in Japan (SS9 in Mar), covid should be well on its way to insignificance (touch wood), and hopefully they will be able to hear the full strength of the crowd without restrictions.

In conclusion

Ryeowook really shone in Utage. There was nothing stopping me from being there, so this was a concert that I wouldn't have missed for the world. He went on to do two further winter-themed concerts (Rokka ~六花~) in Osaka and Fukuoka around Christmas time, with modified setlists from Utage. Of course I was tempted. But as much as I would've liked to be there and hear those amazing live vocals again, it was the season for enjoying real life around family and friends, not to escape from it! Anyway, the flight prices in Dec were extremely prohibitive haha. It was also fortunate that more foreign fans were able to attend by that time, and there was a healthy supply of Rokka fancams xD

I guess I really like live music and it's something I'm prepared to spend money on. Unfortunately, Singapore is a non-existent stop for these Suju solo/subunit concerts. So if I want to experience them, I'll have to travel for it. My experiences in 2022 (Fan Letter, SS9s, Utage) have proven more than worthy! So this is something I'll continue doing for as long as I'm able to and as long as the singers I like continue performing. Still waiting to see what surprise announcements come up next heh.

But wew 2023, it's been so busy so far so writing time has definitely been squeezed. This Part went on longer than expected as well haha. Part 8 up next, going back to the regular travel itinerary and another of my favourite locations on the trip!

Hopefully I'll have the opportunity to see this giraffe again in future, maybe dressed for another season :) 

Tokyo 2022 (Part 6~Historical Buildings~)

First post of 2023 and I'm back to covering Tokyo 2022 as promised haha.

The two locations I visited in this post were both on recommendations, and a little out of time. They were a little out of the way too, with one being out of the 23 Wards and the other out of Tokyo itself. Shall start with the further one.

Kawagoe

7-8 days is actually too much time to spend just in Tokyo, even for a first trip. Though I considered having a leg in another city (e.g. Osaka or Kyoto), I felt that might end up being too rushed. So instead, I based myself in Tokyo and went sourcing for viable day trips. Yokohama was fairly fixed from the start but there were many possibilities for the second day trip and it took me a while before I settled on the historical city of Kawagoe. It helped to have a physical brochure which was very informative (courtesy of my uncle), and I was sold very fast on the sweets street xD

On the first day of Nov, I set off from Ikebukuro station but didn't know how to identify the express train and ended up on the local train. It was the same way anyway but the journey time increased from 30 mins to almost an hour because there were more stops. Good thing I'd made special preparations for music before the trip and loaded in all those .mp3 anime songs in my possession since the sec sch days, (when Sony Walkman phones were a thing and Spotify was not haha). So the train ride down was quite enjoyable, with good views and good music that I hadn't listened to in a while. There was no issues arriving slightly later too as the attractions of Kawagoe (the historical street, the candy street, the shrine, the preserved castle building) were all within a compact ~2km² area, perfectly completable in about 4h.

On the way towards the old town area. Interestingly, it felt like I'd arrived in a Japanese version of Derby. Might've been something to do with the simple, neighbourhood-ly shop-lined grey streets, away from the capital city. But in terms of overall feel, Kawagoe felt something like an Oxford or Cambridge for its compactness and pockets of things to see before getting on a train ride back. 

Can't resist sharing this pic of a very cute display in front of a toy shop.

The main attraction in Kawagoe was the Koedo (Little Edo) area and its preserved traditional buildings. Society clearly developed around them - the roads and heavy traffic were very very modern haha. I liked that the establishments all had their own look and character and didn't seem to be obvious tourist traps. Even though I spotted other tourists, as there were many locals around too.

Reached Koedo where the change in building style was obvious.

This was in the Kurazukuri (Old Storehouse) zone where it was challenging to get a good view of the storehouses due to the traffic.

There were many satisfying experiences of the trip, but this was probably the simplest one. Grilled mochis coated in soy sauce!! I bought a stick (think it was 100 yen) and rooted myself near the roadside stall to eat since it's considered rude to eat and walk in Japan.

The attraction I was looking forward to the most, Kashiya Yokocho aka Penny Candy Lane, was just adjacent. There I found homely Japanese mamashops run by friendly, little old ladies and packed full of so many kinds of cheap candy that kids would totally love... and the kids themselves. Apparently it was school excursion season so there were hordes of small kids with allowances to buy themselves candy. Oh the din (seems like in Japan, they don't "restrict" their kids too much. I rmb we used to have to walk 2-by-2 and hold hands with one finger on our lips.....). Since I'm at the age where I can buy myself whatever sweets I want, whenever I want, I wasn't gonna leave empty handed from a candy street! So I waded through the mass at one of the stores to pick up a few things that looked interesting and stepped out before I got deafened xD

A little pocket of quietness before the horde came through.

No pics of the inside of the shop filled with candy since I was quite conscious taking photos amidst the flood of kids (and their noise). The best I can explain it is that it was a mamashop specialising in small, low-cost sweets.

Sweets and crackers in hand, I picked up a mixed sweet potato ice cream from the next stall and walked on. There wasn't a good place to stand around (awkwardly) and I wanted to cover ground. So I ate covertly on the move (mask-off-bite-mask-on and repeat).

This was prob not the first time in my life that I had sweet potato ice cream, but this was the one that tasted most like very high quality sweet potato in ice cream form xD The candied sweet potato slice was a bonus!

I wanted to walk and eat my ice cream and not be seen doing those two actions together, so I took a path alongside a stream for a while. But then the path didn't follow through the whole way to my next destination (even though the stream kinda did).

Next, I was keen to visit the Kawagoe Hikawa Shrine to catch some lucky fish (omikuji). There were 2 types, red ones for the next year's luck and pink ones for romance luck. I took this the same way as magazine star-sign readings and CNY zodiac fortunes but I thought it would be fun to see what I'd get. 

The fish came in large baskets and each of them had a small loop of string that was surprisingly easy to hook onto. I got my fish just by doing a random sweep with the rod.

My lucky catches! The fortunes seemed to be rather detailed but the thing is they were all in Japanese haha. I couldn't quite fathom the red one, but the pink one seemed to be chiding me (through Papago) to err... be more active in looking -.- Shall get to it when I really feel like it then. Anyway, until I find someone who can read Japanese accurately, I shall take a hint but not be beholden haha.

Oh yes, this shrine had a very pretty orange torii gate at the main entrance!

The other interesting thing about Kawagoe was that there seemed to be many locations dedicated to blessings of a romantic nature. The Hikawa Shrine had a few other romance-related activities that I didn't partake in, such as getting matchmaking charms and there was also another temple along the way in that was segregated to bless singles and attached/married couples specifically. 

The last significant stop was the Honmaru Goten, the "palace in the inner-most circle of defence" according to google and last surviving building of the Kawagoe Castle. It was a small, well-preserved place where the lord back then used to live and work. Shoes off while walking around in it.

Seems like a very nice setting to live in and wfh tbh!

Zen garden right in the middle of the residence for destressing.

I got a small shock when I walked into this "gathering" at one of the last rooms. Nothing like life-sized figurines to add some dimension to these kinds of exhibits but a warning would've been nice haha.

That rounded off my 2km² runabout in Kawagoe and all I had left to do was to think of lunch. It was actually on my food list to eat at one of the famous unagi restaurants in Kawagoe. Unfortunately I knew I was too full to properly enjoy a rice-based meal (yes, from the mochi and the ice cream) and had to give that a miss :/ As a consolation, I picked up a set of Kawagoe puddings (which was also a recommended stop anyway) and kept them in the fridge to relish over the next few days. Carrying the puddings with me meant that I had to get back to hotel first before continuing explorations in Tokyo, which meant that I had to leave Ikebukuro and its well-known owl cafe for a next trip. 

From L-R: matcha, sweet potato and purple sweet potato flavour. Just like the ice cream, there was a difference between the orange and purple sweet potato! The purple one tasted more purple hahaha, something deeper and smokier. 

Edo-Tokyo Open Air Architectural Museum

I did do some some other stuff after getting back from Kawagoe, but perhaps that's for another Part. Now, I'm skipping ahead to the following morning (2 Nov) when I dropped by the titled museum. This was the museum nestled in Koganei Park where I saw my first red maple leaves. It was also along the way towards Tachikawa, my ultimate destination of the day. This location was not part of the original itinerary at all and I visited on a recommendation. In fact, it was slotted in just the night before, making some planned activities shuffle down the line and causing a squeeze in the last few days xD But very worthwhile!

Another cloudless day~ The entrance walk to the museum was lined with some sort of ceramics pasar but I didn't stop by to look.

As the museum's name suggests, it housed a collection of historical buildings. There were 4 zones, each dedicated to an architectural style from different periods. From what I gathered, some of the exhibits were authentic buildings preserved, restored and collected in the museum from different parts of Japan. Overall, I enjoyed the immersivity! Visitors were allowed inside the buildings instead of just viewing them from outside. But this also meant taking off and putting on my shoes many many times to protect the floorings. 

First up were the preserved traditional Japanese buildings and houses. In fact, the visitor centre itself was a preserved palace ceremonial hall.

I think the red carpet was not part of the original flooring and was just there to protect the wood, and it made the residence look like an atas Chinese restaurant.

Japanese-suburban feels.

Wah, to live on one of these houses and have a view like that - basically throughout the whole corridor! I'm guessing they recreated the garden spaces since the buildings were the ones that were relocated.

Little zen pond in one of the backyards.

Next, there were the Western-style private residences from around the 1910s-1950s. This zone interested me the most coz up till then, I'd never known that Western influence was a part of Japanese history. It's an interesting parallel with the ang moh style buildings in SG but those were built under different circumstances in colonial times. In Japan's case, they had a choice in what influences to accept. And they chose to emulate the best of the West (clearly including pretty houses) while keeping true to Japanese culture.

I could very well have been in Number 4 Privet Drive xD

This display was meant to recreate the 1920s but somehow seems like it could work in a modern day setting.

So I was here for the museum and the buildings but autumn really took every chance it could to shine through~

Now this one looks like a sunny shot of some American surburban house in a horror show before things take a dark turn HAHA. Tbh, it was probably thanks to the high level of restoration and maintenance and their timeless designs that these buildings looked as though they still belong in the modern day.

The third area covered farmhouses from around the Edo period, with their thatched roofs and partial dirt floorings. My poor anothersole shoes got a healthy layer of dirt on top of their extra creases from getting put on and taken off over and over xD

I think I never had an idea of what Japanese farmhouses looked like, but these were much grander than expected.

The inside had familiar wooden floors and sliding partitions, but with areas of dirt floorings.

The final zone was a little curated street of commercial establishments. I remember that it was getting quite hot at this area coz it was mostly concrete and the sun was out in full force. 

There was a cosmetics shop, a kitchenware shop, a flower shop, a grocer, an inn, a stationery shop, a soy sauce shop, an umbrella shop and a public bathhouse at the end.

Apparently there was enough of a market for a shop of this size to specialise in selling large bottles of soy sauce haha.

Outside the bathhouse.

Inside the bathhouse where the most interesting thing to me was the mirrors at just the correct height if one were sitting on stools at the faucets.

Aside from the enter-able architecture, the place was also sprinkled with some other varieties of exhibits such as olden vehicles, prayer halls and a small museum at the end briefly covering Japan's development.

Electric tram.

Inside the electric tram which would've been baking if not for the working fans!

Instrument of Surrender of the Japanese and the end of WW2. It was a bit of a throwback to pri sch (?) social studies since the Japanese Occupation was a significant enough piece of our short history to learn about at that age. Hmm. I wonder what it's like when tourists of other nationalities see this, particularly other Southeast/East Asians.

A bit hard to see but this was a shot of the construction of Shinjuku Station West underground plaza :O It would've taken something of a visionary at that time to dream up an plan out that crazy complex bustling station of today.

Now that we've covered the exhibits, I also wanted to pen down some observations of the museum staff and what I felt was exemplary service. Firstly, when I was entering the museum, I made it obvious that my Japanese comprehension was close to zilch as usual and then mistakenly picked up a Japanese location map on the way in. After a few paces into the exhibition zone, a staff caught up with me and brought me an English version to exchange with the one I'd taken. Secondly, some of the buildings required the use of lifts while keeping to the exhibit pathways. I'd seen "greeting staff" at the lifts in malls and other attractions in the cities, especially those in tall buildings. But I didn't expect there to be the same kind of staff here, where there were only second levels at most and there really wasn't much else for the staff to do other than to bow and greet visitors (and of course lend assistance to those who required it). Truly Japanese style.

If I had the luxury of time, I could've spent 3-4h exploring every last detail in this museum. But I had to move briskly since I reached late. That morning, I'd confidently strode onto the train only to end up some ways down the wrong branch of the correct line (think Pasir Ris vs Changi Airport on the green line xD). I was also bound by the trip-anchoring event after the museum visit so I definitely had to leave well on time.

Part 7 will cover that event, and it's one of the Parts I've been looking forward to writing the most!

This year

Taking a break from the Tokyo saga for a year-end recap! Since I felt compelled to do one for the hell that was 2021, I thought 2022 would be more than deserving of some appreciation, for being the year of rejuvenation that it was.

Gotta say that 2022 felt like it contained two distinctly different eras. The great divide started during the reopenings and return to dorscon yellow in May/Jun-ish, so will just use 1H and 2H for simplicity. 

Unfortunately, we have to start with 1H which basically felt like an extension of 2021 which was itself an extension of 2020. One neverending covid year. Work-wise, I entered 2022 on some sort of tense standby due to omicron, the newest bully in the playground.

Then in Jan, I lost a grandparent (to old age). I'd never have known it to be real if I didn't experience it myself, but it's possible to be too busy and tired to grieve. Since we were very much still in covid days and the VTL was booked out for weeks, my mission was to get my mum safely to the funeral in Msia and back on the emergency lane (yes, no chance of the rest of us going). It took 3 full days of work, leveraging every email warrior skill at my disposal. The sadness sluiced in only at the end. So now it's suddenly Dec and I was caught by surprise to hear that the death anniversary is coming up. I think grandma should be having fun wherever she is, as she did while she was alive!

By the time we hit the worst CNY ever (omg we actually regressed from 2021: 8 pax --> 5 pax) I was extremely annoyed at the whole covid situation. Looking back, it was partially coz I was so done with "caution" at the time that I decided to leave no regrets and commit to the Seoul trip I'd been wanting to go for. That said, I was aware of how embarrassing it would be for me to catch covid overseas. So again, minion skills came in very handy as I planned the hardest I'd ever planned for a personal trip, covering all rules, requirements and potential untoward scenarios. It was well worth the effort! In those 7 days of freedom, I was the most contented person in the world. 

Who knew how much better things would get from there! If you told 1H-me that I'd travel 4 more times in 2H, she would've been incredulous. More on that later but from Jul onwards, I found myself getting very busy xD 

I'm an introvert who doesn't usually reject opportunities to hang out. Especially after spending so much of 2021 doing my own thing, it was such a joy to finally meet people in large groups again! My treasured Saturday extended family gatherings were back in full-scale. No more rostering families, welcome back the chatter and being squished shoulder-to-shoulder at the dining table! One of the in-your-face lessons from covid was not to take even the most regular of happy occurrences for granted. This is why, as far as possible, I try not to slot other activities on Sat nights. 

Meeting friends was a thing again, from naturally joyous, significant occasions like weddings (without seating restrictions) to the more simple after work hangouts and trying to climb regularly again (sometimes derailed by other plans oops). Whenever I go back to office on extra days, it's more likely due to a meetup in town rather than needing a conducive work environment haha.

Speaking of office, there was also something else that I obviously took for granted previously - being physically in office with colleagues. Having no interaction beyond faceless online meetings is a detriment to working relationships. I know this because of how much I enjoy going in on Mondays to meet people that I was once unsure of how to talk to, when everyone was just a disembodied voice trying to get things done in the long dark of 2021. I feel like I've spent many good times with my team, like when we packed into our small meeting room or trooped together to macs for lunch (and always managed to land space together for 9!) or hung around our desks to chat. Recency effect notwithstanding, I'd list our team lunch from the final week of Dec (both a welcome and a farewell) as one of the happiest times of the year. It's really my great fortune to have my colleagues, especially considering the nature of our work.

And so in 2H, the amount of time I spent with others skyrocketed. But then I still wanted to do my own things hahaha. Just like writing this post in fact... So how? Sleep (very) late lor. So many things I want to play, watch, read and yet there's only so much time after work and hanging out heh. In the end I had no choice but to put in the backseat some of the quiet hobbies and personal projects picked up during covid, like self-learning Korean.

Because, another unexpected time-sink in 2H was the travel xD I was only in SG for the entire month in Sep (wow at myself). After the first Seoul trip in Mar, it went like this - Jul: Seoul (yes, again haha), Aug: Thailand, Oct-Nov: Tokyo, Dec: Manila. Only the Thailand trip was foreseen in 1H. The rest were the result of grabbing opportunities coming right in my direction, i.e. centering trips around overseas concerts. I wouldn't have imagined doing this sort of thing as recently as Apr 2022, but here we are haha. Times and values change! 

I fully intended to use my 27 days of 2020+2021 leave well anyway and the only way was to actively clear it throughout the year (or risk burning everything at the end). What better way to do this than to go see the world again once borders started to creak open! But the thing is, travel is more than just the going on the trip. Pre-covid, I'd have been content to fly into a city with a vague idea of visitable areas and wing my way around. Now, I plan in detail. And then when I'm back, I write here in this space, so that I get to go on each holiday at least twice. As a result, I've probably been doing 2-3am nights for about half of 2H xD. I want to write about every trip in 2022 because they were all immensely enjoyable in their own ways, and it will take some time into 2023 to finish it all. 

Seems like 2022, especially 2H, was quite the whirlwind haha. It's a good thing I realised early enough how much of a blessing it was to have a coincidence of freedom and funds and wasted no opportunity available to me. So all in all, good days really came along after all (as Mr. Simple promised)! As with last year, I shall end off with a line from a song as I head into what I suspect will be a year of change (ah, except for tonight's online Mayday concert and tomorrow's SMTOWN one xD):

"It's your life, your story, your way" [from the English version of 祝福 by Yoasobi, with lyrics faithfully translated from the original Japanese] 

To 2023-me, just a few words: continue to chase dreams, grab opportunities that are yours to take, and don't forget to 知足. Oh and exercise, it'll help in the travels. Happy New Year!

A collection of enjoyable events, mostly accessed through travel! All Suju-related, the only class act that I've found consistently worthwhile xD More about all these in the dedicated posts :)

Tokyo 2022 (Part 5~Asakusa + Akihabara~)

This Part covers the agenda for 31 Oct after I left the Koishikawa Korakuen Gardens - something of a disjointed temple-anime run. This was a result of how the trip was planned: reading up on nice places to visit, starring them all on google maps, and then figuring out how to craft an actual itinerary out of them. Most things were easy enough to cluster, but this day's area of coverage was unusually large coz of some offshoots that I thought were worth visiting (one of which was the Gardens). It helped that I had a fair idea of my own pace and interests, so one day was good enough for covering this odd mish-mash!

Snapshot of 31 Oct's trail (with some changes), going clockwise from KK Gardens. I skipped Tokyo Skytree since I already got my desired views from Shibuya Sky.

The other "out of the way" place I wanted to visit was the Nezu Shrine. Since a future visit to Kyoto is contingent on other people and I have no idea when that's gonna happen, I thought it'd be worthwhile to visit this shrine for its torii gate tunnel. It was a lucky thing that there were only a few locals around when I got there so I had a pretty unobstructed view. 

Was interested to see that each torii had markings on them, some of which I could read like "家内安全" and err... "Soglasie Insurance". Found out later that these were donors to the shrine and I guess they received their blessings in return!

Since there was still some time to lunch, I decided to add to my step count and walk to Ueno Park. It was just a park, but the real goal was to hunt down Ichiran Ramen since there was a branch near there. Though I had to do some searching since it was hidden in a transit mall.

I generally have no issues eating alone but that meal was alone on another level. No people-watching to do during the ultimate introvert's meal hahaha. Great lengths were taken to make the experience as such in meticulous Japanese fashion, from the low serving window for no eye contact (was quite bemused to hear the service staff talking to me and yet only see her hands gesturing and dishing out the bowls) to the wooden feedback/request blocks. The ramen was good and I was definitely full from it, but this was a lunch that deserved to be followed by dessert! And my heart was already pinned on a quaint little dessert cafe I spotted on the way to Ichiran so I went back for it. Solo trips are meant for doing whatever I want anyway ^^

This meal cost about $12 including the soft-boiled egg. The exchange rate definitely helped, but in general I didn't find food costs expensive when comparing back to SG.

Must emphasise that I don't have a sweet tooth. But I enjoy those plain shiratamas and there's something very attractive about a simple Japanese dessert. The red bean was indeed rather sweet but the green tea helped, enthusiastically refilled by the staff that were always on standby, watching keenly for emptying cups.

Thereafter, it was straight to the next set of temples/shrines at Asakusa. Along the way there, I went up a side street full of quirky shops selling crafts, snacks and knick knacks. Unfortunately, I was really too full to be able to enjoy any more food at that point, so I had to give all those interesting looking snacks and desserts a miss. Ohwells, at least I could still buy some non-edible stuff that caught my fancy! One thing I thought might happen in Japan was that it would be very easy to spend money... and I was right xD From cute cat stickers to little tofu dishes to what my sister called an "algae cat", I picked up quite a number of small <$10 stuff while roaming around. Hey, frivolous purchasing while on holiday is an easy way to find happiness xD

The little pedestrian street near the metro station, very considerately sheltered from the elements. 

My algae cat <3 I bought it coz it looked like a Japanese Pusheen hahaha.

Back to the shrines, starting with the grand Senso-ji, Tokyo's oldest temple. I wasn't fully prepared for how crowded and touristy it would be on that day (a Monday). Could tell that the world had been dying to visit Japan again. At time of writing, China seems to be gearing up for a big bang reopening, so my experience here is nothing compared to what's to come. Then again, I should reign in my complaints since it's a sign that the world is finally returning to normal!

Got swept up in the crowd approaching the Hozomon. Looking at my daytime shots, I was truly blessed with great weather and lighting to showcase the vividness of the temple infra. Next time, I really should try visiting some of these attractions at night for a different feel. 

In all my trips in 2022, this was one of the most crowded tourist attractions I'd visited (it got denser towards the main hall). It made me think of the days where I almost had an entire palace grounds to myself in Seoul, which also happened in the same year. Oh the great contrast.

Research told me that there were 2 other temples nearby the Senso-ji that were just as worth visiting. In fact, they were all linked. This was the Asakusa Shrine, just off a path east of Senso-ji and much more serene by comparison.

This last shrine, the Hikan Inari Shrine, was a small, unassuming one literally in the backyard of Senso-ji, behind the Asakusa Shrine.

The real reason for visiting this shrine was to view its collection of kitsune dolls. Some had whiskers and some did not and (reading up afterwards) I assumed that those were male and female pairs.

Spotted many locals and tourists in kimonos on the Nakamise street! I wasn't paying too much attention to the people in real life since I was more interested in the stalls, but looking at the pictures now, it wasn't just the attire that was special - the ladies' clearly had their hair done up for the occasion as well.

Since I moved on quite quickly from the temples, there was ample time or Akihabara where, in contrast, I spent much more time (and money) than expected haha. My plan was really just to take a look around Mandarake Complex and Radio Kaikan since I didn't really know what to expect at an otaku haven. But I ended up combing all the floors of both buildings.

Thinking about it, anime and manga were a more significant part of my life only around pri and sec school. So it was mainly nostalgia that kept me at Akihabara. Almost everyone was following some series in those school days, whether it was Fullmetal Alchemist, D.Gray-man, Bleach, Death Note etc. I remember scurrying home after school to catch Gundam Seed on Kids Central at 6-6.30pm. Most of those series have ended and I don't really follow modern ones. One Piece is the special last one standing (except for opportunistic Gundam series) and I must've been following it for about 20 years now and still counting. The K-wave hit sometime around my JC days, so I'm not sure if kids nowadays are still into anime/manga like I was, or K-dramas and the lot instead. 

I thought it'd be interesting to visit Mandarake - a chain dealing with used goods and a natural attraction for collectors sourcing older, rarer stuff. Think classic Ultraman kinda stuff. Their 8-storey Akihabara branch was divided by genres and I climbed the stairs level by level to explore. Definitely got a bit of a culture shock at the 2 adult levels (1 each for guys and girls)... A few of the other levels were dedicated to toys and figurines. I spent a while at the DVD level, contemplating whether to impulse-purchase whole box sets, such as the Gundam Seed Remaster Blurays, before deciding against it. Region lock aside, Japanese products don't tend to cater to international audiences and there's no point without English subtitles.

"Tamagotchis! The digivice from Digimon Tamers!" was what ran through my head when I saw these. Felt like this was the place for adults to search for toys they wanted as kids and buy them if they wished. I left without picking up anything though, the pull wasn't strong enough.

In Radio Kaikan though, it was a different story haha. It had modern selections and a larger proportion of things were very much my generation e.g. 1990s-2010s series and Studio Ghibli merch. After spending a great deal of time being choosy, I came away with a few keychains and small figurines (some for gifting). The crowd here was also quite young, with many students clearly more familiar with recent animes that I am.

You could get these in SG actually, out of a gacha machine for $4 a try with about 6 possibilities of which one was a really ugly "logo" plushie. So of course I picked up the baicai and the packet katsu to bring home xD

I stayed my hand for these but I was actually very impressed to find authentic Digimon Adventure plushies! Looked so much better than the ripoff versions we'd get at pasar malams.

It was gloaming by the time I finished with Radio Kaikan.

That night I wasn't up for a fancy meal after a whirlwind of a day, so I dabao-ed a simple cheese curry rice and added on a randomly bought half-boiled egg... and surprised myself by finishing all the rice. Gotta keep the stomach happy and the legs strong while on holiday xD

Part 6 will come in the new year, and we're approaching the things I've been wanting to write about the most! I hope I still remember them well enough haha.