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Oct 14, 2024

I didn't take that many pictures of Harajuku, but no matter! I wanted to blog about Tokyo again!

Picking up where I left off, my mom and I arrived in Harajuku via Meiji-jingumae Station. Exiting the subway put us right next to three large department stores: Laforet Harajuku, Tokyu Plaza Harajuku Harakado and Tokyu Plaza Omotesando Omokado (and yes, the two Tokyu Plazas right next to each other gave off Krusty Krab 1 and Krusty Krab 2 vibes, haha). The Harakado building immediately caught my attention due to its rooftop gardens and unusual shape. While the Omokado building isn't as outwardly interesting, it is a popular tourist spot, as its trippy, reflective entryway offers lots of great photo opportunities. I missed out on snapping pics of this while we were there, and I would definitely go back if given the chance!

We actually didn't do any clothes shopping in Harajuku, which is probably a giant faux pas when in Tokyo, but I'm personally not someone who is interested in high-end luxury fashion. If that does pique your interest, however, there are tons of expensive boutiques just past Tokyu Plaza Omokado on Route 413, as you pass into the Omotesando area. We were surprised to see a long line of people going down this pleasantly green road, presumably waiting for the Omokado mall to open, as it was still somewhat early. I didn't stop to ask anyone what the line was for, though. I was way too chicken!

Doubling back, we started walking along Meiji-dori Avenue and came upon an even larger line of at least 100 people in front of the Adidas store. This second lineup was almost surreal because every single person there was wearing the same black and yellow striped sneakers. I can only assume that these were fans waiting to buy an exclusive new sneaker drop, but I couldn't find any information about this on any English sites. If you were in Japan in late May of 2024 and know what the heck was going on here, I would love to know!

Eventually, we reached Takeshita Street, which is the trendiest part of Harajuku. But while there were multiple shops dedicated to items like frilly lolita dresses and kawaii platform sneakers, we unfortunately didn't see anyone wearing the kinds of extreme fashion that Harajuku is known for. Intrigued, I poked around online and found this video, which talks about the recent decline of Harajuku fashion; people in the comments section speculate that this is due to Takeshita Street becoming a tourist-driven space, ultimately pushing local creatives and shop owners elsewhere...tale as old as time, I guess.

There was still lots to see in Harajuku (and we left it mostly unexplored, to be honest), but at this point, we were very close to Meiji Jingu and so we decided it was time to visit the shrine. A massive torii gate marks the Harajuku entrance, separating city life from the shrine's sacred grounds. Even though there were nonstop trains and traffic nearby, all of these sounds gradually disappeared, blocked out by the very tall trees flanking the path. Stepping into this forest makes you feel like you've entered another world or gone back in time.

We made a quick stop at the Forest Terrace complex, where a local vendor had set up a lemonade stand outside. It was my first time trying yuzu lemonade and I found it super refreshing! There was also a gift shop in this complex that I couldn't pass up, and I was very excited to see konpeito there. If you're a fan of Studio Ghibli's Spirited Away, you'll probably recognize konpeito as the cute candy stars that the soot sprites eat. I've always wanted to try it for myself, so I snagged a matcha-flavored bag for my friends and I (spoiler: konpeito stars are pure sugar and IMO they lived up to the hype when we ate them later).

Moving on from this rest stop, we continued on to the main shrine. On either side of the path were offerings to Meiji Jingu - one side consisted of stacked sake barrels, while the other showcased wine barrels that were donated by France. There were placards at each display describing the offerings in more detail, but I've since forgotten what they said... From a quick online search, it appears that all of the barrels here are empty, with the actual contents being stored at the shrine itself. The wine is given to shrine-goers throughout the year, at special events like rituals and festivals.

Just outside of the main shrine building, we lined up for the temizu-ya, which is a special wash basin used to purify yourself before entering a shrine. Using the ladles provided, you first wash your hands and then pour the remaining water into a cupped hand to rinse your mouth - without drinking it, of course! The water should be immediately spat into the drain surrounding the wash basin. Once you've finished this process, you can enter the shrine.

Straight away, we headed to the far end of the courtyard, where the offering box is. The praying pattern that I used (because according to this video, there are many!) started with depositing some coins into the box. I bowed twice, clapped twice, said my prayers, and then bowed one last time. After this, we did some people-watching next to a pair of camphor trees called Meoto Kusu, or "husband and wife" trees. The braided rope (shimenawa) and paper streamers (shide) adorning these trees are items I've seen in lots of Japanese media, but I never looked them up until recently - their purpose is to ward off evil spirits, which is very appropriate for a shrine.

We left Meiji Jingu somewhere around the Yoyogi entrance to the north, passing through side streets until we reached the main road. Our destination was now Meiji-jingumae Station, back where we'd first started. Along the way, we briefly stopped at Papier Labo, a stationery boutique that was recommended by a travel site I'd scrolled through earlier. Suffice to say that I am not the target audience for this store, as I can only describe the items for sale as a baffling mix between highbrow office supplies and contemporary art. If that sounds like your jam, though, you should check 'em out!

And that's all I have to say about Harajuku! We didn't explore this area very thoroughly, so I'm sure we missed a lot. I'd definitely return in the future to give the department stores a look, perhaps even buy a pair of the ridiculously tall platform sneakers I saw. Those things were huge!

Jul 20, 2024

With my Swim On zine entry done and work slowing down a bit, I finally have some time to blog again! Let's get to it!

Picking up where I left off, my first real day in Japan (after some much-needed sleep) was spent exploring the Tokyo Skytree, which, at a height of 634m, is the tallest tower in the world - but not the tallest building, as that's a completely different category. In addition to this, the Skytree is integrated with two train stations, a mall, and even an aquarium. I hadn't even been in Tokyo for 24 hours yet and was about to be overstimulated by the amount of everything that was everywhere, all of the time.

Getting there was super easy, as my mom and I took the train near our hotel in Roppongi to one of the aforementioned Skytree stations. It was a bit nerve-wracking to switch train lines (from Oedo to Hanzomon) for the first time, but since I had looked up the directions beforehand and written down the platform numbers, we had no problem finding our way.

Actually, we arrived at the tower a bit early, since our scheduled entry time was around noon. We found that the attached mall, Tokyo Solamachi, wasn't open yet either, so we wandered around the ground floor and found this Beatles-themed cafe called Penny Lane. I'm a huge fan of bakeries and cafes and cafe aesthetics, so this place was like a dream. A very freshly-baked-bread-smelling dream...just thinking about it makes me want to take up breadmaking, haha. We sat here for a while and ate some croissants to pass the time.

Eventually, 10AM rolled around and the mall opened, so we went upstairs to check it out. Now, from my perspective, Tokyo Solamachi is a must-see destination for mega-nerds such as myself. It has pretty much all of the greatest hits, such as a JUMP Shop, a Pokemon Center, a Kirby store and cafe, a Studio Ghibli store, a Sanrio store, etc., etc. It was a total assault on the senses, in the best way possible. Everywhere I looked, there were amazing craft stores that were probably owned and run by local artisans, beautiful desserts, and so, so much nerd shit. There is something here for everyone, truly.

Once we'd walked around the mall a few times (which was a bit disorienting because you'd enter one part of the mall from inside, then end up walking back the way you just came via a rooftop terrace), it was time to check out the Skytree!

The line for the elevators was a long one, but we eventually made it to the first observation platform, which is the 350m Tembo Deck. Unfortunately for us, the sky was pretty hazy that day, so we weren't able to see very far into the distance. On clear days, it is possible to spot Mt. Fuji from the Skytree (and I have the souvenir postcard to prove it), but we had no such luck during our visit. Meanwhile, the Asahi Beer Hall really stood out down below - I heard somewhere that locals call it the "golden poo building", which I find hilarious. That structure on top is supposed to be a golden flame, but it honestly does look like a poo.

From the Tembo Deck, if you bought the additional ticket for it, you can board the second elevator up to the Tembo Galleria, which sits at a height of 450m. Unlike the Tembo Deck, which is completely flat all around, the Galleria has a sloped pathway that spirals up to the tallest publicly-accessible point of the tower. I found it a bit difficult to walk up this section, though I'm not sure if that was due to the incline, the tower swaying in the wind, or a combination of both. As somewhat of a skyscraper enthusiast, I found the view from up here to be killer, though it was dampened by the poor visibility.

But, that just means I'll have to come back and see it again! : )

Upon exiting the Skytree, you will immediately find yourself in tourist-trap-heaven - that is to say, a well-stocked gift shop full of exclusive merchandise you can't buy anywhere else. Overall, I think I controlled my spending pretty well on this trip, as I opted mainly for smaller trinkets that I could scrapbook with, like stationery supplies. I also collect magnets from the places I travel to, and that was the main thing I picked up from the official Skytree store.

With souvenirs in hand, we headed over to the Sumida Aquarium for our final ticketed event of the day. It's a good thing we held on to all of our receipts and scraps of paper from the Skytree, because this allowed us to pick up our tickets! It was well into the afternoon and super hot outside at this point, so it was a relief to retreat back inside, especially since the aquarium is kept fairly dark and cool.

The first room you enter has a bunch of beautifully landscaped (waterscaped?) tanks stocked with small, neon fish and leafy aquatic plants. I imagine that if you were here alone, you could spend an hour watching these mini ecosystems and it would be very soothing, but the dozens of shrieking children running around didn't exactly make for the most peaceful viewing experience, haha.

Up next was a platform overlooking an absolutely massive tank of jellyfish, which was my personal favorite thing I saw here. If you're a huge fan of jellies, this aquarium is the place to be, as the research facilities are out in the open and you can observe the specimens that are currently being grown. Also of note are the coral reef tanks and adorable garden eels, which were swaying back and forth looking for food. There's even a large enclosure with penguins, which were all lined up for feeding time while we were there.

Ultimately, Sumida Aquarium is on the smaller side, and you will move through the exhibits fairly quickly, unless you're interested in reading all of the accompanying text. Because of this, I wouldn't recommend seeing the aquarium just by itself. If I were to go back, I'd buy the same Skytree/aquarium combo tickets again, as I felt that they were a pretty good deal and everything I saw was worth the discounted price.

With nothing else planned for the rest of the day, we zoomed back through Tokyo Solamachi and I picked up everything I'd seen earlier that I still wanted to buy, which I think kept my purchases very intentional. I actually almost missed the Ghibli store since it's in a small, separate building on one of the mall's terraces, but somehow I stumbled across it. The character displays in this store are gorgeous, with a large Catbus at the front entrance and a Totoro further inside. From what I've seen online, all of the newly-built Ghibli Park is like this, with tons of scenes and props that make for memorable pics. It's definitely somewhere I'd like to take my partner in the future!

And that concludes the most interesting parts of my first day in Tokyo! It was a lot of shopping and excitement, seeing so much of the nerdy stuff I grew up loving (Pokemon, Kirby, etc.) all in one place, each with their own dedicated stores. I'd also never been to an aquarium before, and as a huge fish fan, I loved it! I already want to see another, but there aren't any places like it where I live.

Maybe someday!

Jun 8, 2024

So it's been a hot minute and I haven't drawn much lately, but that's mostly due to the fact that I just got back from Japan! My mom and I spent the last two weeks in Tokyo, finally getting to see a dream destination together. This trip has been a literal lifetime in the making - I've wanted to visit Japan ever since I was very small, to the point where I actually got a visa to teach English in Tochigi...but then Covid happened, and the Japanese borders were closed before my official start date.

Fast forward a few years and I'm now entering Japan not as a teacher, but as a tourist. I was a bit worried that real life couldn't possibly live up to my expectations, since this moment was hugely built up in my mind, but in my opinion, this trip was very much worth the decades of waiting (crazy, I know)!

In blogging about Japan, I plan to break the highlights down into separate posts, so I'll start things off by touching on what I did to prepare for my two weeks abroad.

First, I created a full itinerary where shopping/break days were interspersed with planned activities. Here's what that looked like, with links included for all of the events I booked online (I'm not being sponsored to do this or anything, I just want to have the links handy for myself in the future):

Next, I researched Tokyo's transit system and wrote down which trains were needed to get to each location from our hotel, including which platforms to use. I didn't want to be flying blind in...this...

Important sidenote here: Google Maps can sometimes recommend limited express trains as part of its transit directions, but from my understanding, these trains require an additional, special ticket to ride. We just stuck to the regular commuter trains and had zero issues with our rechargeable Pasmo cards.

Speaking of which, unless you prefer buying individual tickets every single time you use the trains (I can only assume this is a nightmare due to how many different options there are), you'll want to pick up either a Pasmo or Suica card before leaving the airport. Due to an ongoing chip shortage, these cards are only available at certain locations, and the airport is one of them. Both cards are basically interchangeable as long as you're staying within the Greater Tokyo area - there's a pretty good breakdown of that information here.

I originally thought we'd get the Suica card with the cute penguin art, but we weren't able to find the counter where they were being sold. Plus, there was a shit-ton of people everywhere and we couldn't deal with that after a ten-hour flight, so we got out of there ASAP after picking up the Pasmo Passport from this information desk:

Another thing I learned from my pre-trip research is that many things in Japan are cash-only and it's always good to have some smaller bills on hand. For example, the machines that top up your Pasmo and Suica cards only accept cash, and the lowest possible amount you can add is ¥1000 (RIP if you only have a handful of coins). Luckily we never ran into a situation where our cards were empty and we couldn't refill them, but I imagine it could happen pretty easily if you weren't checking your remaining balance after each ride.

The last thing I'll say on this first travel post is that I do not recommend taking the limousine bus from the airport, if you can help it. From Narita Airport to our hotel in Roppongi, it took us well over two hours to reach our destination, during which time I had one of the most ungodly headaches ever. With what I know now, I would've reserved seats on the Narita Express train well in advance (it's possible to do this online from outside Japan, I just didn't...like a dingus...) and then braved the subway from Shinjuku for the rest of the commute. The bus was just so, so slow in comparison to the Express, which we took on our last day getting back to the airport. No contest whatsoever.

I hope all of these tidbits have been interesting so far, I'll include more pictures in my upcoming posts!

May 5, 2024

I felt like writing a short review of the book I just finished, Warbreaker by Brandon Sanderson, so here I am! Going forward, I don't see myself posting writeups for every single thing I read, but I wanted to make one for this book because fantasy has always been in my wheelhouse. I also feel like critiquing others' work can help me hone in on what I really like to see in storytelling and distill those things down into my own projects.

Anyways, Warbreaker! This is my first Brandon Sanderson novel, and though I don't know much about the guy, I'm aware of how critically acclaimed his work is (sidenote: I've been told that Mistborn is his best series, so I have the first three books on standby). Due to his reputation, I had high expectations going into this book, and I came away feeling like it was a pretty decent read.

My very first nitpick is going to be about my first impression of Warbreaker, which is the cover art. I know, this has nothing to do with the writing whatsoever, but I'm an artist and a visual person, and it's a pet peeve of mine when the cover art is unrelated to any actual story beats. Perhaps this would be considered a spoiler, but the character on the cover is most likely the princess Siri, and she doesn't perform any magic at all in the book. The sword next to her is also probably meant to be Nightblood, which is specifically described as having a black blade and off-putting aura, nowhere close to the design seen below:

Interestingly, a special edition of Warbreaker was released a few years back with new art by the same artist (Dan Dos Santos), which I think does a much better job of showcasing the book's plot and characters. You can check out the illustrations and read about Dan's creative process here!

Moving on to the plot, Warbreaker has much of your standard fantasy fare - kingdoms that are teetering on the brink of war, a royal family that has to marry off a princess to prevent said war, and a powerful rogue character with a mysterious past. Despite how generic this stripped-back desciption sounds, there was always some kind of spin or twist on how things played out (no spoilers here), which made these ideas feel fresh and exciting.

The magic system in Warbreaker is unique, if a bit convoluted. First off, it requires the user to have multiple Breaths (which seem to be synonymous with souls). More complicated tasks intuitively require more Breaths. Next, you must say a specially-worded Command while touching the object you wish to manipulate, with longer Commands being more difficult to complete. And since Breaths seem to be related to color in some way, you must also have a color source on hand that you are also physically touching - once you say your Command, the color drains out of this source, leaving it a lifeless grey.

I think the last part here is where it gets to be overkill for me in terms of the rules, since it never restricts the main characters from using magic in any way. There is only one character who is ever trapped in a grey cell, but he is also bound and gagged, which would prevent him from using his Breaths in the first place. I suspect this detail was added solely for the cool visual potential it has - like draining the color out of your own bloody wounds as a power source, but it unfortunately results in the author having to constantly remind us that a character has colorful handkerchiefs tied to their legs. I just felt like the magic system should've been simplified, by omitting rules like this that seem redundant (you already have to be physically touching the object you wish to Command), but that's my own personal taste!

Continuing on with my very few complaints about this book, my least favorite parts were definitely the sections dedicated to the character, Lightsong, whose scenes just plodded along. I felt that most of the events in these chapters (especially the early ones) could have been condensed into fewer pages and still gotten the same points across. As well, much of his dialogue is spent flirting with a character called Blushweaver, who is presented to readers as a politically-savvy seductress, but their relationship never advances in any meaningful way. As someone who's aromantic, I found their witty banter to be honestly grating, and in my opinion, there was zero payoff for it in the end. If I'd somehow known that ahead of time, I probably would've skipped these pages altogether.

All in all, I found Warbreaker to be a pretty enjoyable read and I'd give it a solid 3/5. It's definitely your standard fantasy book, with kingdoms and princesses, an expansive magic system, and political intrigue, but the worldbuilding and character development here elevate it beyond a lot of other books I've read in the genre. The last 100 pages in particular are nuts. Although I don't plan on ever revisiting this book, I would be interested in reading a sequel, especially if it focuses on the rogue, Vasher, and his sentient sword, Nightblood, as I found them to be the standout characters of the bunch.

Mar 19, 2024

I was invited to go bouldering with some coworkers the other day and I liked it a lot more than I thought I would. Okay, the brightly-colored holds and their weird noodle shapes were partially why, since they tickle my brain in a way I can't quite explain. I think it's the resemblance to 80's and 90's aesthetics, or those cool microscopic photos of grains of sand, which are much prettier than they have any right to be.

The climbing centre also had a cute mini-bar (with plants!) near the entrance where you could sit and drink after your workout, the idea of which I really like. With seemingly less and less places out there where you can just hang out with friends, this gym gave off great communal vibes and I could imagine spending a few hours there without anyone minding. Entry definitely wasn't free, though.

But enough about the physical space. How about the climbing itself? As a total newbie, I am...completely unqualified to make any judgments there, but I climbed a few V0's, one V1, and learned not to fear jumping from the final hold - as much. The thought of it still makes my palms sweaty, aha.

Another thing I've been doing lately is going to local meetups for in-person sketch sessions! I had a super-rewarding chat with some new friends who went the art college route and are now looking to pivot into software as a career.

Even with a degree in computer science, it took me a while to break into the industry, since I had very little guidance on how to present myself to employers (thanks, university!). That cost me a lot of time, so I want to prevent people from making the same mistakes that I did, maybe as a kind of personal redemption, haha. Here are a few strategies that helped me, while I'm on this train of thought:

  • Look at a bunch of job descriptions and take note of which programming languages/frameworks are the most commonly used. From this, I decided that I wanted to focus on learning React.
  • Make about 5 good-sized projects using those popular languages/frameworks. For detailed tutorials on basically everything, I like FreeCodeCamp's Youtube channel the most.
  • Create a portfolio site to show off your projects and make sure it has a responsive, mobile-friendly design (the little details matter). I created a free Netlify account to host mine.
  • You might've heard about Leetcode, but now you must live and breathe it. Many companies pull their interview questions from Leetcode, so you should have some familiarity with how to solve the easy and medium-level questions. Or you could get lucky with a company that uses different testing metrics.

Phew! Enough about work-related stuff, what's been especially nice about these art meetups is that they've been forcing me to use traditional media, since a sketchbook is much easier to carry around than a beefy computer (I've considered buying an iPad for art, but haven't committed to it). So at the end of the night, I ended up with this pretty sweet sketch of Nadia!

Ideally, I'd take this pose/concept and translate it into a finished digital piece, but I have so many other things to draw already...this probably won't get done for a very long time. Gotta finish my cutesy relationship zine first, along with some other convention-ready products!