Japan: Design Festa Fall 2013, Part 03

Design Festa is a massive, multi-media event that engulfs the Tokyo Big Sight twice a year for several days each time, gathering some of the greatest creative talents and artists from the world over.  It's seriously so massive that I had to divide a single day's visit into three different blog posts! You can catch up on those here and here. While their main focus is on giving local artists and artists from the nearby regions a platform to mingle and network along with a space to share their various creations, whether they be dancers, seamstresses, special effects artists, illustrators, print-makers, mask-makers, leather-crafters, etc. etc. The point is, all forms of creative expression are welcome, and so this massive space near Odaiba is transformed twice a year into a surreal, sensory-overload of creative output. It's pretty incredible, and an awesome experience if you ever get the chance to attend! It's Asia's largest art festival! Given that it is twice a year, you get the chance to attend in either their Spring or Summer sessions, and each of those generally extends throughout the weekend so you can try to make it for one day if not all. 

The live acts, from dancing ninja schoolgirls to live rope-bondage demonstrations, do change from day to day, so if you find out about a particular act that you're dead-set on seeing, plan accordingly. Also, tickets are CHEAP! Considering how Tokyo is typically viewed as a high-ticket city to live in or visit, the admission cost of ¥800 in advance or ¥1,000 at the door are really quite reasonable, only amounting to about $8-10US respectively. You can also opt for the two-day passes for ¥1,500 (in advance) or ¥1,800 (at the door) for a single or two-day ticket, which amounts to about $15-$18US for two days of entertainment. Trust me, you'll likely need both days to really take in everything the Festa has to offer. If you can read Japanese, you can order your tickets for the Spring Session of 2019 on May 18th and 19th here, with 0 fees, but you can also pre-order your tickets at any Japanese 711, Circle K Sunkus convenience store, or Ticket Pia! There's plenty more ticketing information available on their website, too!

Japan: Design Festa Fall 2013, part 2

Design Festa is one of those experiences that is so surreal, so sensory-overwhelming by its very design and nature that you might have to stop and wonder if someone might have spiked that water somehow. You can explore a labyrinthine space filled with dwarves, nightmare-faced visions, sexy girls in scanty-clothes, murals unfolding in real time and way, WAY more! Design Festa is a twice-annual event where artists from all over the world, though predominantly Asia, come together to showcase their talents and rub-elbows together. As you might imagine, this leads to some incredible collaborative experiences as well as some rather unusual neighbors, like my multi-eyed friend here who was seated near a caricature artist. As the caricature artist was drawing, I watched our friend here hover and observe, making the artist and his model both squirm a bit. Good times, I assure you! Where else would you find a caricature artist from South Korea hanging out and interacting with a special effects artist from Japan? Well, maybe a movie set, but for the rest of us this is the place to meet and mingle!

You don't have to be into large-scale formats to be well-received, nor does your art necessarily have to make sense or even comply with general standards of decency to gain an audience here. Luckily, most of the creators are exceptionally talented at what they do, whether it's manufacturing tiny robots and dioramas or drawing girls shooting rockets out of their genitals. The world is a very big and multi-faceted place, and there's room for everyone's creativity here, or at least that's the attitude the team behind Design Festa tries to bring to the table, and I can most certainly respect that. There's a little something for everyone to be found here, whether you're into decorating your phone cases to look like tasty desserts, punny t-shirts, nightmarish masks, fur-suits, or good old fashioned rope bondage, it's a well-rounded showcase.

There's really only so much I can say about the experience, after all... this is the kind of thing that requires you to bring all your senses to the table, but since you couldn't physically be there with me these photos will have to suffice. Enjoy!

Japan: Design Festa Fall 2013, part one

What do you get when you combine some of Asia's most creative artistic minds together twice a year at Tokyo Big Sight? You get a wildly inventive, incredibly diverse array of outstanding talents and creations mingling together, sharing their crafts and selling their wares as part of the ongoing Design Festa Series! As mentioned above, it's a twice-annual festival, occurring in the spring and again in the fall, allowing artisans from across the land (along with nearby countries) to come and share their passion with each other. Meet and greet many of the creative minds themselves, live and in the flesh! Most of who and what I encountered during my visit to the Fall Design Festa of 2013 was thoroughly awe-inspiring, for the precision and sheer imagination or dedication that went into it, while sometimes it was more confounding or awkward, like school girls with fabulously voluminous hair getting railed by a faceless man who appears to be wearing a device intended to, I think, uhh, collect her fluids? 

Huh. But hey, just because it might not necessarily be my cup of tea doesn't mean it isn't a well-crafted piece of art that will titillate someone else! 

But anyway, here are some sweet elephants, in case you're feeling a little disturbed by the blatant hentai above. Remember, though, that these pieces were all publicly displayed for all to see inside of Tokyo Big Sight, so the artist wasn't trying to hide their creation from curious eyes. In fact, completely the opposite! This event is all about getting your work seen and sharing it with others. One of the coolest things about Design Festa is that it's not limited to one particular type of artistry- if you're into cosplay, there were many people milling about in costumes, from furry to space alien, steampunk pirates to mohawk and studded leather sporting punks. All are welcome, and all art is respected. It's a wild experience, and pretty psychedelic when you stumble down some of the more performance arts-oriented groups laden corridors, but do your best to keep your wits. I know it can be hard with the Japanese rope bondage demonstration in one corner, and the friendly lolitas in the other, but there's a lot to see here!

Given just how much there actually is to see here, I've broken this post into several different posts, and it's still pretty photo heavy. I didn't want to exclude any of it, though, because it's all so fabulous!

I hope you enjoy~

Japan: Yurakucho Food Alley in Tokyo

Throughout most of Tokyo, as is the case for probably most of urban Japan as well, you're rarely ever more than a stone's throw away from something delicious to eat. There's a lot of people living in Tokyo, like, around 38 million or so people these days. That's a lot of people needing something to nosh after a long day, yeah? My hometown of Las Vegas only comes in as averaging around 2 million residents, while my second-home in Seattle has roughly 7 and a half million residents and my beloved third home of Seoul clocks in with roughly 25.6 million residents. Suffice to say, Tokyo has a lot of residents, and those people are going to need food. Ideally, they're going to want good food, because anyone can just pop into a 711 and grab an onigiri or bento if they want low-cost sustenance.  Where, pray tell, does the average salaryman find himself stopping for a bite after an arduous day of, uh, salary-manning? One popular location is going to be Yurakucho food alley, a narrow street tucked under the tracks of the Yamanote line is teeming with restaurants on either side offering delicious bites and something to sip on, too. The typical solution to this need-to-feed (and drink) is an izakaya, where small plates are served alongside lots of booze, to help take the edge off while facilitating your buzz. If you need something a little more nourishing, there are plenty more restaurants to fill that niche, too!

On this particular outing, my friend A-chan and I opted for a grilled beef restaurant, though other dishes were, of course, available, like that big plate of gooey cod fish-sperm goodness shown above on the right known as shirako (which, yes, I absolutely ate). There were also places to pop in for yakitori, or grilled chicken, along with a restaurant serving horse, a coffee shop, and several other options tucked away into the narrow space so your options aren't limited to be sure. Most of the restaurants had a shared restroom, found not far from our seating spot at the beef place, and most of the restaurants are enclosed by sliding plastic barriers, a common trend throughout the region (as I've seen it in Hong Kong and Seoul, too). Suffice to say, if you need a tasty meal, you can't go wrong by following the hard-working salarymen who's tireless efforts keep the economy of Tokyo churning along into the narrow space of Yurakucho alleyway. Where better to literally rub elbows with the local people? 

Japan: Girl's day out in Odaiba 2012-02-08

On one of our days off together, the girls and I ventured out to Odaiba for a fun filled day of goofing off together. Odaiba is a really fun area with beautiful beachfront views of Tokyo and Rainbow Bridge, a small Statue of Liberty, tons of arcades, restaurants and shopping centres. It's a hot spot for dates! 

Japan: Snow day drinks in Shin-Urayasu 2012-01-23

Homemade omurice, a Japanese home cooking staple!

While I've yet to actually try it in a restaurant (though they do exist), it's a simple dish of fried rice seasoned with ketchup and a soft egg omelette draped on top. I had mine with some broccoli and a big old cup of coffee to power myself through the day!

I had plans to meet with friends for a drink after work in Shin-Urayasu~

Construction at Ikspiari, across the street from Tokyo Disney Sea.

Japan: Takodanababa & Ramen 2012-06-28

Takodanababa is a neighbourhood of Tokyo with a bit of a more youthful vibe, catering primarily to high school and college aged kids. There are tons of affordable restaurants and an especially competitive ramen market in the area. Personally, I wasn't so much worried about the politics as the tastiness of a steaming hot bowl of noodle-y goodness. I happened upon a tiny ramenya off one of the many small, winding alleyways that fill Tokyo as a whole where ample personality bubbled out from not only the decor but my chef, all to be taken with a gratuitous grain of salt. If you can't get past the golden dong on the ticket machine, you may want to look elsewhere for your consumption. ;)

Japan: Ginza Pescaderia 2012-06-26

Ginza was a neighbourhood I visited relatively often due to it's being fairly close to my home base in Urayasu. A few stops on the Keiyo-Line and there I was, surrounded by glitz and glamour. This arrangement made it exceptionally simple when I needed to pop into the city for something after work. On this day, I went to the Apple store in Ginza and picked up an Iphone. My laptop had recently died and left me disconnected from the world and while I was able to eventually get a Mac desktop at an electronic's store in Urayasu, I was reminded just how disconnected I felt and decided to cave and reinvest in a cell-phone. I'd made it this long through my stint in Japan without a functional portable communications device and had rather enjoyed being untethered, but it was time...the old Blackberry I had been using to take photos was outdated and I was ready. After going through an extensive paperwork process and plunking down the yen for the phone upfront (no monthly payment plans were offered for foreigners with less than 2 years left on their visa) I walked into the streets of Tokyo with a shiny new iPhone 4s in hand. I still have the phone, but the cellular networks are/were differently configured between the countries and as far as I'm aware my Japanese iPhone isn't suitable for use with American cellular networks. Womp. I'm a Samsung girl these days.

New phone in hand and lust for tech fulfilled, it was now time to satisfy my physical hunger.

Wandering the streets of Ginza around 9pm, I found a small oyster bar on a busy alley off the main drag. 

Japan: Shin-Okubo 2012-06-18

Shin-Okubo is Tokyo's epicentre for accessible Korean culture and food. Shortly upon stepping outside the station you'll find yourself in a vibrant and colourful neighbourhood full of restaurants, groceries, culture-stores plastered in images of the moment's most popular idols and lots of cosmetic shops. Korean cosmetics and skincare have been gaining in notoriety and for good reason!

Japan: Ginza Lunch 2012-06-18

After a few hours walking around Monzen Nakacho I had worked up a bit of an appetite. 

I hopped a train over to Ginza and quickly opted to try the Hot Tandori Chicken sandwich from Lotteria with an iced coffee and salad cup. The chicken had a nice spicy sauce on it that wasn't overpoweringly hot. The coffee was a lovely pick me up, but after my meal I happened upon a small pub that specialised in Belgian and craft brews from around the world so I popped in for an afternoon sip.

Japan: Monzen Nakacho 2012-06-18

As part of my work agreement, I was slated for an annual physical.

Our medical office was located in an office building attached to the train station, which made finding it pleasantly simple. One thing about Japan is that the address system and structure of the buildings can make finding specific businesses difficult, sometimes nearly impossible. Sometimes a world famous restaurant or infamous eatery could be tucked into a corner of a sub-basement of a major shopping centre.  This same set-up means that you're bound to find some truly wonderful hidden gems if you explore enough!

Since my physical was scheduled early in the morning, I had the rest of the day left to use as I wished. I spent some time wandering around Monzen Nakacho before moving on to other neighbourhoods. 

I found out later that one of my coworkers lived in the area! It seemed quite lovely from my time there, with lots of waterside walkways, parks and bridges as well as many reasonably priced restaurants. 

Japan: 2012-05-18 Tokyo Disneyland

Working at Tokyo Disney Sea, it was only inevitable that I eventually end up at Tokyo Disneyland, right?

Yuka and I met up with a friend of her's for a girl's day out at Disney! 

It was a beautiful spring day and a lot more crowded than when we visited Tokyo Disney Sea, but we still managed to fit in most of the attractions!

Japan: Monsoon Cafe dinner @ Maihama

As the sun set over Tokyo, we boarded the trains towards Maihama station.

Our coworkers were soon to be released back into the wild, and we were going to meet them.

After working with Disney for some time, both the Ishizawa sisters decided to depart us. 

First Kanae, then Yuka. It was quite a loss for our team as the bubbly duo were not only exceptional at their jobs but vibrant, uplifting personalities who made the days more enjoyable to endure. Without their presence the work environment was never going to be quite the same. To bid our farewell, we took Yuka out for dinner with a surprise in store.

Japan: Ginza, Marunouchi & Hibiya park

After exploring Tsukiji fish market and taking in the view from the 19th floor during afternoon tea, Yuka and I went to Ginza to walk through the neighbourhood to Marunouchi and Hibiya park while enjoying the warm weather.