Lil' in Japan

Literally. And today it felt so real!

I got invited to my Uni friend‘s family‘s home tempel (yes, she‘s kinda a real life Kagome, even if she doesn‘t live there - anymore),

ate Unagi (japanese-style Eel) at an incredibly Japanese looking Sushi-ya (even saw some people getting their Sushi served directly on the counter, but was too shy to ask them if I could take pictures),

my friend prepared Matcha tea for me in a traditional way and showed me something like a community house at the temple, drank the Matcha tea and ate the Okashi (special Sugar-treats served with Matcha to smoothen the bitterness),

heard a dragon roar (and probably suffered from bad hearing since that),

drank also Tapioca,

went to a Japanese Sunday market,

learned a ton about Kabuki and got to admire dozens of Fotos and interesting information about the Kabuki-scene in Tokyo. I even made plans to go there with said friend soon. This for example is Kabuki-Nyantaro.

After that intense day I spent a lot of time talking with my family and boyfriend (who‘s coming to visit soon), so we had a little fun while on the phone.

What to do in Tokyo on a rainy day, when all classes have been cancelled and both your tandem partners don‘t have time - exactly! Take time for self-care.

So that‘s what I did today. And so I packed my bag, googled some Onsen etiquette (thank god I did, it saved my life) and off I went to my first Japanese onsen experience.

I arrived there around 11am, although I had planned to be there at 9am, but I just couldn‘t wake up and so I thought „what‘s the point of self care, if I‘m too tired to enjoy myself?!“ and just went later.

That isn‘t the only reason why I got there later. I also did some wandering around and found a nice little buddhist temple, so I spent some time enjoying that too.

At the onsen I got a body and a bath towel, because they have it there anyways and this way I didn‘t have to carry it back home when it was wet and heavy. First I was a little overwhelmed with the amount of Japanese (I went to a non-touristy place, because it‘s closer and less crowded) but then I calmed down and was able to apply my newly learned information about bathing etiquette.

I got a rough shower towel at Daiso to clean, or rather scrub my entire body with before entering the hot spring water. I then put up my hair and used my new Tenugui (a longish cloth with cute prints used at Onsen) to get to the real deal. There was an inside as well as an outside area, and even though I have to stay healthy for Uni and am a little of a pussy about it (I know studying with a cold isn‘t easy either, but since I‘m a singer, I have to be extra cautious, or else I won‘t be able to study at all) I decided to go outside and try the Onsen there first. And I am so glad I did. It was scenic, beautiful and the water was so hot that the mist hovering above it was keeping me warm enough. I tried out the Saunas and all different kinds if thing‘s I had never seen before. For example there was a bed of water, with a stone pillow, where you lie flat on your back and only half of your body is under water. But because of the hovering mist you don‘t get cold.

Another factor why I didn‘t get cold might be the nudity. Bathing suits tend to get soaked with water, and if you put a wet cloth on your body, the moment the wind hits it it takes away the warmth and you get cold.

I did the onsen part two times, in between I spend some time in the relaxation and Manga zones and had a delicious meal. Plain udon with a dipping sauce and Tempura. It wasn‘t seasoned very much but that somehow brought out the flavors of the ingredients themselves and tasted very cleansing and pure. How very fitting for today‘s motto.

After my second dip in the hot spring I got ready to go home, but first I had to try one of the massage chairs called „Coin Massage“ which I‘ve seen several times now. It was amazing. Of course, a real massage is something different, but this thing is amazing. If you‘ve tried massage chairs in Europe, you‘ll regret ever having spent money on those things. That massage chair gave it everything. Back, Bottom, Legs, Arms and even a Footmassage was included. If you ever find yourself in Japan and stumble upon one of those things don‘t hesitate, just do it. It‘s definitely worth those 200-330¥.

I‘ve talked about my Japanese family before - which is basically my best friend‘s family, but I get to call her mother „Mama-san“ which basically means „Mrs Mama“. This time I didn‘t just meet Mama-san, but also my Japanese sister and her family - a loving husband and three incredibly funny and lovable children.

I have to admit, that I was a little nervous before meeting them, because I‘ve been in JP for a while now, but the youngest child is only 4 months old, which is why I haven‘t met them before. But as soon as we rang the doorbell (I met with Mama-san at the metro station) the older children rushed to the door to greet us. And what kind of greeting it was! They were so excited and trusting, they approached me without fear or shyness. It was wonderful.

M., the sandwhich child, smiled at me without a break and H., the eldest, was the first to hug me and call me by my name. After that hurricane greeting I met the mother and father and also the youngest, T.- a little baby, beaming with delight.

I was welcomed so heartily I felt instantly at home and enjoyed the time with the kids so much, I almost forgot the reason why I was invited: we wanted to make Japanese Candy - Nerikiri. A treat with sweet red bean paste in the middle and Wagashi (a paste with a marzipan-like texture made from mochi powder, water and white sweet bean paste, called shiroan) on the outside. To achieve the different colours natural food colouring was added (tomato paste for red and matcha powder for the intense green colour) and a few decorations were made by adding edible pearls.

My Japanese sister had drawn some sketches for ideas on what type of Nerikiri to make, so we could choose from a christmas tree, a christmas sock, a snow man and other designs. I chose the snow man, just like my new best friend H. and got to work. Afterwards I tried my best on a christmas sock, but spent way too much time on a mistletoe leaf. There were all kinds of funny designs we came up with and even the youngsters tried their best and created delicious and beautiful treats. After our hard work matcha tea was made and we drank it and ate the Nerikiri, which accompanied the bitterness of the matcha perfectly with their sweetness.

When we finished eating, we went out to Solamachi, the shopping mall at the foot of the Tokyo Sky Tree, which was only a stroll away. My Japanese family showed me a little bit around and we took pictures in front of a Christmas tree in front of the Sky Tree (to have a little Inception moment) and after that parted ways, because the young family went home and I still had an evening to spend at the mall.

So I went to the Tokyo Pokemon Center, the Sailor Moon Cafe 2019 and checked out the Sky Tree Exhibition. I even decided to get some stuff, because I figured I was in Tokyo for the first time in my life (even if it‘s for 5 months) and had to enjoy myself a little, and therefore treat myself once in a while with unnecessary merch of an anime series that has been part of my life since a fairly early stage: Sailor Moon.

After that I enjoyed the night time illuminations and went home.

I know, some people don‘t like Disney-theme parks, because they‘re grown up, don‘t like the franchise, despise mass-popularity, etc etc.

Well, I love Disney, I‘ve watched their movies since I was little and even got into some stuff like Disney series a while back (the perks of having a 14-years-younger brother for whom the parents will get Disney channel and other stuff that was too expensive, when my sister and I where little😁).

But despite all that love for Disney I once went to DisneyLand Resort Paris and once to DisneyWorld Orlando. That‘s it. In 25 years, a quarter of a 100years, I went to Disney twice.

So, when I heard there was not only a DisneyLand but also a DisneySea in Tokyo, I just knew I had to go.

So I went with my friend from University - Marikochan - to spend a day at that place. I really didn‘t know what I got myself into, back when we talked about it, but just let me tell you - the Japanese take their guiding seriously.

To get most out of the day we spent the „night“ at a Capsule Hotel in Akasaka, where we arrived around 9pm, checked in and slept until 4am. I‘ll probably create a post where I go more into detail, but let‘s just say we didn’t sleep much.

So, the reason we got up so early was to be the first in line for the theme park at around 6am, because it opened at 8am. We kinda missed our first train, that‘s why we weren‘t the first in line, but despite the fact that I would have loved an hour more of sleep I was really grateful Marikochan proposed this idea to me (and I brave enough to agree to it), because the masses where ridiculous. 30 minutes after we arrived the whole place infront of the main gate had filled up with people and we had to squeeze together with the people queuing around us. And this was still over an hour to opening. I really don‘t know where the queue ended at 8am, because I got distracted with talking to Marikochan, her parents, who where checking in, and my parents back in Austria who still hadn‘t gone to bed, with 8hours of time difference. And then finally the main gate opened.

For everyone planning to go to Disney 1 day only: spend the night at a Disney hotel, because you‘ll get in earlier than the rest (7:45am) and also get the app, because you will get free fast passes now and then and have an overview of the waiting hours and a map of the theme park. Since I‘m planning to go on Dec, 24th with my boyfriend, I will try to follow my advices here (except for the Disney Hotel, it‘s a little late for that^^) and probably write about how that went.

Back to the action:

So, we entered the theme park at around 8am and since Marikochan had out whole day planned out for us, she lead the way to our first stop - the Finding Nemo experience (although I‘m pretty sure I‘m not remembering the name correctly...). To get there we hurried to a highway train, resembling the monorail, that gave us a good overview over most of the park. We went from the Broadway straight to the sea, cruising by a vulcano and other breathtaking sights. When we arrived at the station, the staff down on the ground waved at us and we hurried to the ride.

It was a 5D ride, where we sat down in a submarine, that got shrunken to the size of a fish, that rode with Nemo‘s teacher around the coral riff and even visited Crush, the dude turtle. Shortly we landed in an aquarium, where Darla put us in a plastic bag and shook us, but we thankfully escaped. All in all it was an intense experience, and thanks to Marikochan we even got to sit in the first row.

After that we went to Ariel‘s part of Disney Sea, where a childhood dream of mine came true - I slipped into Ariel‘s cave of „gadgets and gizmos aplenty, of whosets and whatsets galore“ and even found „thinga-ma-bobs“. Even though there weren‘t twenty, I was the happiest girl on the planet. So happy, nothing could stop me from mounting the Eric statue, positioned in the middle of the cave. And in his arms I felt all the agony and that craving of my childhood days cease. Marikochan didn‘t know it, but she brought me to the place, where I really wanted to go - and even I only realized when I was there.

After playing around a little bit more in Ariel‘s playground (ignoring that the normal age of kids playing there was about 4-9yo) we went more around Disney Sea, rode with all kinds of rides in Ariel‘s and Aladdin‘s world - Scuttle‘s cruiser, Spinning Sea shells, Flying carpets, Sindbad‘s adventures etc etc.

Some really intense experiences I must mention furthermore were „Soaring“, „Indiana Jones and the Christal Skull“, „House of Terror“ and the „Raging Spirit“ Rollercoaster. Of the above I probably enjoyed „Soaring“ the most. Not knowing what was waiting for me, we waited in beautifully decorated halls of Leonardo daVincis home, where all the walls were carrying pictures or fresques of flying objects, machines or other inventions. When we finally got into the room where the „magic“ was supposed to happen, Marikochan got so scared, that she held my hand for most of the ride. It was really sweet. Basically the ride consists of another 5D experience, where you‘re moving in a glider/plane and on a giant curved cinema screen you visitt all these countries and fantastic sights and even have the experience of smelling grass in the Savanna or feeling water splashes, when you‘re above the sea. It was really marvellous and caught me by surprise.

Indiana Jones was a fun ride, where we went more than once, because we got fast passes for that one - and it‘s also Marikochans favourite ride. One time we waited in line, we even met the RL Indiana Jones. The poor guy got screeched at by some really loud, but socially awkward girls in front of us. It was kind of funny, but at the same time I felt incredibly sorry for him. But, I got to shake his hand, so that‘s a plus. The ride itself resembles a scary ride, but since I‘m a big girl that was okay.

What wasn‘t okay, was the f*cking „House of Terror“. The name suits it extremely well. I didn‘t know what I was signing up for, when I told Marikochan that I definitely wanted to go there, but the moment it started I regretted it immediately. It‘s basically a ride, that rises up several stories and then suddenly drops you. Several stories at once. More than 3 times. I got so scared out by this, I couldn‘t move my legs afterwards and collapsed against the wall after taking forever to stand up from the seats. In retrospect it was extremely fun, but I honestly don‘t know if I would do it again.

The rollercoaster ride was fun too, but because it was my last ride, I was extremely tired and Marikochan got scared at the last minute and didn‘t want to ride with me, I don‘t really remember a lot about it, but these facts.

I shortly want to also mention the food, since that is one of the things I remember from my Disney World Orlando experience - the food was incredible (unlike in Orlando). Lunch was at the Ariel themed restaurant, where we had seafood pizza and fried shrimps and dinner was this cave-like restaurant with chinese food, which was super delicious. Inbetween we got snacks like Mikey-Churros and Curry-Popcorn.

When we were there it was shortly after Halloween but nevertheless, the Christmas Show was already ready and played for us, even though it was a sunny hot day - for a November day. I even sweated a little just watching them.

Since some of you might know, the Austrian National Holiday isn‘t actually on the 28th of October, but the 26th. Though, since the 26th was a Saturday - and the Rugby World Championship Finale was held on that date - the Embassador thought more people would attempt the Event on a monday night. And he was right.

It was really nice, to get invited to the Austrian Embassy and to meet fellow Austrians in Japan, who might or might not have had similar experiences by coming to this country on their own. But one thing we all had in common was the old or new found love for a culture and country so different from what we were used to. I met people who just moved here recently, but also ones who had been living abroad for more than 30 years (that‘s even longer than I‘ve been on this planet). And even though our experiences were different, there was always a core point: we enjoyed living in Japan and though we missed some simple things - hard/chewy bread or masses of cheese - we were all happy to be here.

And, because of lack of any other pictures (when I went around the garden, it was already too dark, to make out more than shadows on pictures) a quick comment on the food: Oh, how I had been longing for Wiener Schnitzel, when I came to that party. I had been really home sick for a couple of days, longing for some traditional food, especially since my little sister had found a restaurant at her Erasmus stay in Lisbon, which offered Austrian cuisine. Don‘t get me wrong, I was (and still am) really happy for her, but I was missing something so simple and yet important: home-country food. Even though I was never a big fan of Schnitzel, Gulasch or any traditional cuisine back home (in my childhood friendship book, I always mentioned chinese or asian cuisine as my favourite food) I was missing, not being able to eat it. There‘s some law, whoses name I have forgotten, concerning this feeling. But yeah, that‘s another reason why I was so happy about the invitation and I‘m happy I got to do it.

11/11 - The day on which carneval, or how we say in Austria, „Fasching“ starts, (which is also the day of Holy Martin in the catholic church, but let‘s just stop with the educational nonsense) which is also one of my favourite „holidays“ (it‘s not a real holiday, since you don‘t get a day off) because it gave me a reason to why I could dress up on my birthday (which is neither close to Halloween or the actual „Faschingsfest“ (I think it‘s called „Mardi Gras“ in English/French)) and make people dress up on my birthday parties too :D

So, on this special day, I even got to „dress up“ here in Japan too, because it was our singing teacher‘s class Recital. It‘s where all the students of one teacher (the whole class) come together to give a concert. Every student sings about 7-15 minutes of program and then the next does the same and so on. We do it a little differently with my teacher in Vienna, where we have themes and try to do some Ensemble-stuff too, but that is a different topic. And it was nice to experience the „traditional“ way too.

So, for my „performance“ I prepared two Japanese Lieder (Kakyoku). One by Kinoshita Makiko, called „Kaze o mita hito“ (The people watching the wind) and the song, that made me fall in love with Japanese Kakyoku back in Vienna, when I gave a concert with Japanese and Spanish Lieder with my best friend: Nakada Yoshinao‘s „Kiri to hanashita“ (Talking with the wind). The performance of these two pieces was especially precious to me, since it meant I had to perform in Japanese in front of a completely Japanese crowd. The best judges for expression and pronunciation possible. You can imagine how glad I was when I recieved praise for my articulation and style. That meant so much for me. And to be honest, it gave me back a little self-confidence, which was below ground level when we were rehearsing with my astounding pianist, because I was confusing the lyrics everytime and therefore really stressed. But she took her time with me, helped me reverse and remember the lines until the last minute.

So, as some of you might know, I loooove choir singing. I‘ve been in my school‘s choir since I was 10 years old, I even got more hooked, when I went to a master class and took the Chorus classes actually only for practice and the real poison began to kick in when I joined that teacher‘s choir and my University‘s choir in Vienna. Since then I‘ve been in (sometimes maybe too many at once) projects, but I haven‘t regretted a single eperience.

When I found out, that I could be part of the choir here in Kunitachi College of Music, I became really psyched. Not only was the piece we were doing (Yume no imi - The meaning of dream) mesmerizingly beautiful, the composer, Ueda Maki, even teaches here and I got a chance to meet her. We then took a photo together with our incredibly sweet and kind Chorus conductor, Kihara Yoshinao, who knows a little german and made me feel really welcome from the first time we met, by always talking german to me. It always brought a smile to my face.

So, after about 2,5 months of practice (for me, the others started in the first semester) we were able to perform „The meaning of dream“ at Kunitachi‘s Great Concert Hall. It was a stunning experience to sing in such a nice accoustic and great concert hall with almost 1,300 seats.

But not only did our year sing, the first and third years also had choir formations. The third years sang some „home“ music, which made me feel really nostalgic: Mozart‘s Requiem with an orchestra and soloists. And what astounded me the most, was, that they learned it all by heart. It was amazing to watch and I believe every conductor‘s dream, to have all the eyes on them. My really good friend Koga Masumi was the Alto Soloist, which she did an amazing job at and I was really happy for her success that night.

Sadly I don‘t have any footage or pictures from our performance, but there were many pictures taken in the aftermath, so enjoy these.

Or for those of you, who can‘t be bothered with learning three different writing systems (yes, I‘m looking at you, Japanese): Long time no see!

Yes, it‘s been a while, and normally I would make up some lame excuses of a lack of time (which has been the case sometimes) but to be honest, sometimes I was just plainly unproductive when it came to social media. I rather do something outside or spend time with myself than updating on the internet. At these times I share things only with the most important people in my life - family and closest friends.

Today I met my best friend‘s friend, who used to live in Germany and Austria for a couple of years and now is back in Tokyo. She‘s a really sweet and kind pianist and we had a great time, mostly talking German, which - if I‘m really honest - I‘m missing a lot.

Anyways, we met in this amazing district on the outskirts of central Tokyo (still, further into the city than where I live) which is a really popular and fly hood, where a lot of young people live and so it‘s good for going out, as well as spending some quality time, enjoying sweet treats or other specialties.

Just to underline how cool it was, a quick heads up: our meeting point was an elephant statue.

Well, because we were already a little hungry we went to this restaurant she mentioned and when we got there I knew why. It‘s the most precious and amazingly cute restaurant I‘ve ever been to. Some doors were too small to fit normal sized persons - like they were made for children only.

Inside the cuteness overload took over everything and we took photos and posed with the different walls, as well as other extras. The food itself was very cutely prepared too and also very delicious and a lot. To top it off we even ordered a pastry that was supposed to look like a pumpkin but resembled a cute duck, which was totally okay, if not even cuter.

After lunch she invited me to her concert, which I will try to attend if possible. But even if I can‘t make it, we promised to spend some time together as soon as the concert stress starts to lighten up a little bit.

Maybe we will really go to a lake near Fujisan, of which she showed me a spectacular picture! But whatever we‘ll do, I‘m really looking forward to it!