June 29, 2009
Summer Travels – Final Picture Update
Well, my plane departs tomorrow for home, so this is the final picture update. I’ll probably post an overall closing post once I return.
Yesterday’s concert was very enjoyable; two groups with completely different styles, both having a lot of fun up there on stage. The 4 hour bus ride back to Tokyo, on the other hand – a bit long, and rather boring. My headphones started to die on me about 30 minutes into the ride, too, so I spent most of the trip figuring out ways to keep the sound in both ears.
Today, I did a little final shopping; CDs, books (for the plane ride home – curiously enough, books in English on Japanese culture that aren’t out in the US yet. Go figure), and new headphones. Now, to relax in the hotel, watch some Japanese TV (both downloaded on my computer and in real time), and prepare for the eternal boredom that is a 12 hour plane ride from Narita to Chicago (the Chicago to Pittsburgh flight isn’t that bad).
See you back in the West!
The outside men's onsen at Misaka Ryokan. Click for more pictures
June 27, 2009
Summer Travels – June 27 Update: The End is Near
‘allo. (Did you say “Hello?” No, I said “‘allo,” but that’s close enough.) Today’s a day of rest here at Misaka Ryokan. Yesterday was the last “official” day of the workshop; tomorrow we attend TOKARA’s concert, but for today we’ve been taking it easy (to an extant). So, I figured it’d be a good time to update. Obviously, a lot has gone on since I gave a real update, so there’s a lot to cover.
June 23, 2009
Summer Travels – June 23 Picture Update
Taiko class have begun, but somehow I have still been able to take some pictures. Here’s a brief overview of the past few days. All always, click on the pictures to go to the Photo Gallery.
June 22 – Day 1 of the INADANI Taiko Drumming Course
We didn’t play a WHOLE lot today, but it was enough to work up a sweat.Classes are taught by Art Lee and his wife. We started from the very beginning, which was great since his style is a bit different.
Achi Community Center - my home away from home away from home for the week
Once we returned, we were treated (well, not entirely treated – we have to pay, of course) to a dinner cooked by Toyama-san and his wife, the owners of Misaka Ryokan. Before that, we made mochi! Another new experience, and one that was quite fun. And tiring.
Toyama-san Making Mochi
June 23 – Day 2 of the INADANI Taiko Drumming Course
We played a lot more day, as well as began work on the first song for the course, Isami Goma. It seems to be a standard of sorts, as it was one of the first songs I learned when taking Icho Daiko’s classes earlier this year, but according to Art-sensei the version taught in the US (which came from Seichi Tanaka-sensei) and the original version (coming from Daiichi Oguchi-sensei of Osuwa Daiko), there are differences. Besides, it’s been almost 6 months since I learned it, and learning as we are – practicing each part over and over again – is great for building stamina (which I am sorely lacking).
Afterwards, I took some pictures on the bus ride back to the ryokan, then briefly visited the shrine beside the ryokan.
The view from Achi Community Center
In a little bit, we will be dining on tempura made by Toyama-san. Then, I will be dipping into the onsen. I had thought about doing before dinner, but doing it after dinner will be a nice prelude to sleep.
Until next time, same Ben time, same Ben channel.
June 21, 2009
Summer Travels – Surprise June 21 Update!
So it turns out that I will have internet access! That being the case, I wanted to share a few pictures I took during the bus trip from Nagoya to Achi, as well as two pictures of my room at the ryokan.
Maybe there’ll be other updates during the week, maybe not. It’s proably going to depend on how busy (and tired) I am.
Somewhere on the road... - click for more pictures
June 20, 2009
Summer Travels -June 20, part 3: An Unexpected Party
No sooner had I posted the previous post when I received an e-mail from Takumi Kato, the taiko performer who lives in Ena (about a hour’s train ride from Nagoya). It turned out that he was giving a performance this evening, and asked if I’d like to go. Jumping on the opportunity, I rushed to catch the train (after making sure my laundry was taking care of). It turned out to be the right decision.
Takumi was performing at the Tanogami Matsuri(田の神まつり – “Tanogami” means “God of the Rice Fields”). There, candles (or something similar) are lit around terrace rice paddies. It was quite a sight to see, when they were all lite and it became dark. Unfortunately, it was raining for a while, but that didn’t ruin the atmosphere. Not only did I get to see Takumi perform, but I also was treated to a warm welcome of sorts from the various people at the festival. Nice food, nice environment, nice people – in all, a great way to finish a week.
Pictures from the Tanogami Matsuri, Ena
Tomorrow, off to Iida!
Summer Travels, June 20th Picture Update
Not much is happening at the moment, as I sort of in a holding pattern until I leave for Iida tomorrow, but I did travel to Atsuta Shrine this morning. It’s regarded as one of the most revered Shinto shrines in Japan. Unfortunately – as has been the case with every shrine I’ve been to thus far, it seems – it was currently undergoing renovations. A bit of a shame, but it was still a relaxing way to spend a hour or so in the morning.
A morning trip to Atsuta Shrine
After that, I returned to the hotel for a brief stop. I walked around the area for a little bit, looking (with no success) for two shops I have found on the internet. Oh well. Finding them would have meant spending money, and that probably wouldn’t have been a good thing (especially considering that I had to pay more than expected for laundry today. No public facilities, so I had to give it to housekeeping staff. A BIT more expensive, but I had no choice if I wanted clean clothes…) On the positive side, it allowed me to stop at a 7-11 and get some ice cream.
After consuming said ice cream, I headed off to Nagoya Castle. I was hesitant to go at first, as there was a 500 yen entrance fee (and the above-mentioned laundry fees have made me decide to be a little stingy for a few days), but I figured: when would I be in Nagoya again? So, I bit the bullet and went.
Pictures from an afternoon trip to Nagoya Castle
Tomorrow I leave for Iida, where I’ll be spending the next week participating in a taiko workshop. As mentioned before, I’m not going to have many chances to check the internet, so expect a huge update next Sunday or Monday (probably Monday).
Until then!
June 19, 2009
Summer Travels, Pictures Update – June 19 edition
As promised, I have uploaded pictures from the past few days. Click on the below pictures to access the albums.
June 18 - Pictures from a quick tour of Tokyo
June 19 - Scenes from a Shinkansen/Nagoya Hotel
June 12, 2009
Summer Travels, Day… whatever – an Update of Sorts
You know, it’s kinda hard to keep track of what day it is in regards to my travels, so I’m going to stop putting it in the title.
Anyways, a lot has gone on in the past few days – mainly, me being quite busy with the taiko workshops. They’ve been great. I’ve learned a lot, and I’ve also seen just how little I truly know. But I guess that’s the point of learning, right? Either way, it gives me motivation.
Just one more day of workshops, and then I’m off to San Jose. On one hand, I would love to stay here a little longer and see stuff, but on the other hand there’s so much to do ahead of me that I can’t really stop to think about it. Just gotta keep going forward, I guess. Either way, I’m already trying to think of ways to come back and participate in the Summer Taiko Intensives next year. Since there’s not a group in Pittsburgh, I know once this month is up I’m going to lose a lot of what I’ll be learning this month. Practicing by yourself is one thing, and I’ll hopefully be able to improve my stance, form, technique, etc. when doing so, but kumidaiko is a group performance activity. Not a solo one. So, it’ll probably be next summer until I can play with other people again. A little annoying and depressing, especially when one comes to such a realization when not even a week of my travels have passed, but that’s the reality of the situation. At the very least, it means that I’ll just have to treasure these next few weeks even more.
Not really sure when I’ll next update. Travel days aren’t particularly interesting, so perhaps next Monday or so, after I’ve participated in another workshop. In the meanwhile, I’ve uploaded some pictures that I’ve taken over the past few days to the gallery. Among them are pictures from a trip to Manoa Falls. Unfortunately, the falls weren’t that great (down to a trickle due to a lack of rain recently), but it was a nice short hike through a rain forest-y area.
View from within the Manoa Falls Trail - click for more pictures
Enjoy the pics, and I’ll see you back on the continent!
June 9, 2009
Summer Travels, Day 2 – June 8
Today was the first day of my taiko workshop. Needless to say, it was great (even if a bit tiring, giving that it was nearly 4 hours of classes). I’m looking forward to the rest of the week – it’s going to be a nice mix of technique and creativity exercises.
Also was allowed to sit in on a video viewing that Kenny Endo for members of his ensemble and the youth taiko group from Taiko Center of the Pacific – they watched videos from the groups that the youth ensemble is going to study with in Japan in a few weeks, as well as the video from a concert they gave in April. One of the guests of the April concert was an ensemble from Japan named Hachijo Taiko. One of the members of Hachijo Taiko is blind, which made watching his performance on the video all the more awe-inspiring. He couldn’t see the drum, but his body knew exactly where it was and where he needed to hit (once he got into place). If you ever needed an example of muscle memory, it was right there.
Not many pictures today, though. Probably not too many tomorrow either. I’m hoping to go to Manoa Falls on Wednesday morning, so perhaps that update will be more visually pleasing. For the meanwhile, check out the few I took today. As always, they’re linked below.
Until next time!
June 8, 2009
Summer Travels, Day 1 – Honolulu
The adventure has begun! Today was mostly a travel day, but there were still surprises to be had.
I woke up at 4, and left for the airport around 5. The first leg of my trip – Pittsburgh to Phoenix – was pretty uneventful. I slept the majority of the 4 hour flight, so it passed rather quickly. The Phoenix to Honolulu leg, on the other hand, was a typical 5-6 hour flight. A few videos games were played, some movies were watched, some sleep was attempted – the latter attempt failed, however. Oh well.
Nevertheless, I arrived in Honolulu, got my rental car, and made my way to the hotel. Once I was settled in to some extent, I set of for food and to explore the Waikiki area (where I’m staying). I had read about a supposedly-good Japanese noodle restaurant on the Lonely Planet website, and was looking forward to eating there. However, the place no longer exists… I probably should have been alerted to the fact that something was off when the reviews on the Lonely PLanet and others stop around 2007, but by this point I had been in the air for 10 hours and was just wanting something to eat.
Not letting that get me down, I decided to walk around Waikiki Beach for a while. Took some pictures – including a few of myself, which is rare. Beyond the fact that a friend asked to me, I figured that perhaps I should have some photo proof that I’ve been everywhere I say I’m going. They didn’t turn out that great, due to lighting and the fact that I was taking them myself (self-photos rarely turn out well, do they), but regardless there are pictures.
It turns out that today was the last day of the Honolulu Pan-Pacific Festival, so I got to see the ending parade after I finally got some food. It seems like the festival is a cross-cultural celebration between Japan and Honolulu, primarily. There were taiko groups, Japanese dance groups, and hula groups (including groups from Japan dancing the hula). There were also a few Chinese, Taiwanese, and Korean groups, but the focus seemed to be on Japan. All in all, it was a pleasant surprise, and a nice way to spend a few hours.
I’ve uploaded all the pictures fI took today to my gallery, along with a few videos I took during the parade. Click on the below picture to check them out.
Tomorrow, the taiko workshops begin!
Waikiki Beach
The Road Goes Ever On and On... 