さくら Cherry blossoms

Beautiful!! 

北野をどり

March is a mix of warm and cold days.  Cherry blossoms have started blooming already, a week earlier than usual.  I got to watch a Japanese traditional dance performance called Kitano Odori. It has a play and folk songs from around Japan.  Performance by many dancers all in kimono were impressive!  The venue was beautiful too with a big pond, a spacious tearoom, and a theater with lots of wooden decorations.  

北野をどりを鑑賞する機会に恵まれました。お友達のお友達が来れなくなったようで、お陰さまで、いい席で鑑賞できました。お茶までいただいて。お茶席は広くて、大人数のお客さんを次から次へと捌いていく慌ただしさがあったけど、一方で舞妓さんが目の前でお茶を点てて淹れてくれて、もう一人が運んで出してくれていた。その席に当たった人は本当にラッキーだ！ どこの席に通されるかは運なので…。しかもお茶菓子が出された器を持って帰れた。すごい。とてもかわいいお皿だったので、色ちがいを売店で購入。もちろん劇も歌も踊りも素晴らしかった〜 あんなにしゃがんだり立ったりをすすすっとできるのすごいな…。膝痛くならないのかなぁなんて思いながら…。劇場のある上七軒歌舞練場も池があって雅な感じだったし、最高でした。桜も開花し、いよいよ春本番という感じです。片道8キロ、自転車こいだ甲斐があった。自転車こぐ分には全然いいのだけど、路が狭いので車が来ると怖い…。ヘルメット民になりました。安心感がやはり違う。

Everything, Everywhere, All At Once

It was an interesting movie... most of the casts are Chinese immigrants, and the story is all about them, so it's hard to understand what's going on without subtitles for their Chinese conversations.  The idea of a lot of different universes branch out based on the choices ou make in life, and 'verse jumping' enables you to travel between them.  There was a lot of actions, too.  It was quite chaotic and confusing as it doesn't follow a regular storyline (intro, problem happens, solved), and the main character, Evyline, travels between different verses and we don't know which one is 'real'.  Quite a concept.  I understand why it won the Academy Award.  

It may be hard to relate to for some Americans, because most of the conversations are in Chinese in the beginning, and the introduction is lengthy enough to make you wonder if it is really an "action & adventure" movie that it was touted to be.  Anyways, it was quite interesting to watch, despite, being, somewhat overwhelming.  

My earbuds for hearing protection worked greatly.  I will use them again whenever I will go to a cinema or a karaoke.

Harry Shun Jr. was on it!  He was on Glee as well, a really good dancer.  It was nice to see a familiar face there. 

High-end hairdresser! 高級ヘアサロンに行ってきた！

There's no photos.. but I won a trial ticket for a high-end hairdresser!  Haircut only costs 12,000 yen there!  I would not be able to afford it if it were not a free ticket, so I was happy to have this opportunity.  The stylist worked in NYC for 24 years and came back to Japan 8 years ago.  He spends a lot of time talking with his clients about what kind of hairstyle they want and what style will look good on them as well.  I had a very nice conversation with him because we had so many things in common, both living and working in the US and now back in Japan.  

And his skills are top-notch. He knows what he's doing.  He gave me a nice short hair that is suited to my head and face shapes.  It was amazing, and I appreciated that he listened to my experiences and preferences so far.  No wonder he got paid well (twice as much in NYC even!) in the US.  I guess appearance matters there more in such a city with so many artists and rich business people from around the world.  For example, working women split their hairs into halves because having bangs may make them look cute and childish.  I saw very few women actually having bangs in Mcihigan either, but it seems people care a lot more about hair in NYC than in MI.

It was a very interesting experience overall.  I would love to be a regular there, but the cost is kinda prohibitive...  

A shrine near Tofukuji temple. 

Unrelated, but comparison between smartphone and a digital camera. This was taken by a smartphone.

And by a digital camera.  I like the softer edges here. 

夕方の八坂散歩 Yasaka Shrine in twilight

Being so tired of staring at computer monitors all day every day for the past six days, I was ready to go cycling and visit most Kyoto-like place - Yasaka, in the heart of city with vibrant yet elegant, touristy atomosphere.  There were so many people as expected there, rambling around looking for things to see or places to eat dinner.  It was so crowded that it was impossible to walk at my own pace.  I constantly had to stop or slow down for others.  Tourists are back.. they are much needed for Kyoto's economy, that's true. 

Food stalls were back at Yasaka too.  It's hard to imagine the entranceway without them, though there were none of them a year ago.  It's a privilage that I can visit Yasaka whenever I feel like with just a 20 min bike ride. 

  

沈丁花、木蓮、桜？

春の花が咲き始めているーーー！！

きれいだ…

春はなんだかやっぱりそわそわする。寒さが和らぎ、急に、肩に力をいれて歩かなくていいようになる。その代わり、春は毎年変化の季節で、新しい物事に慣れるのに時間がかかるので、何となく憂鬱で。そんないろいろな感情がないまぜになっていて、それでも花たちは毎年変わらず咲いていて心に安らぎを与えてくれる。そんな時節。春分もすぐだ。今年は、二十四節気を味わいながら暮らしていこう。

Shut Up and Write one-day retreat!

I had such a productive day at SUW retreat!  The venue is an old machiya guesthouse with an event space on the second floor.  The event space was two tatami rooms combined full of antique pieces.  Though many of us had a hard time sitting on the floor for a long time, we managed to focus and got so much writing done.  I made a lot of progress on the R package website, so that was good.  

It's definitely felt special because we usually gather and write for just one and half hours, but this time we had the whole day to write.  There were more times when we could chat, get to know each other, and share what we are working on in detail and what we want to do in future sessions.  After it was finished, we had additional time to mingle with some of the attendees and the organizer, which was really nice.

A lot of the attendees are working on creative writing, like script writing or short stories which have nothing to do with their job, I admire those who are not authors by profession but are serious about creative writing and actually put their imagination into tangible words and stories that others can read.  For me, I would rather draw and express my imagination, so it is impressive that they only do that with words and text.  I am inspired to be more creative rather than just working on my work stuff all the time.  I definitely need more time to do all the things that I want to do, but complaining about lack of time won't bring you anywhere, yes, I am well aware that... 

I will make a note that we'd prefer desks and chairs, if possible, and if we were to have a retreat like this again.  

城南宮の梅園 Plum garden at Jonangu shrine

Jonan Shrine was built around 800 when the capital palace of the time was moved to Kyoto city.  It enshrines the god(desse)s of army, business management, medicine, and directions.  The concept of a wrong direction for certain things is interesting.  I think it's related to the idea of Feng Shui from China.  People come here and pray for good luck for moving, building new houses and buldings, and safe travels.  This shrine also has a large garden with various seasonal flowers and trees, and the most famous for plum blossoms.  It has past its peak season already, but it was still beautiful.  Also camerias, so many varieties of them, were in bloom and making a striking contrast on the moss-covered ground.  

城南宮の梅園をみてきました。開園直後に行ったのに人でいっぱいだった。人気なだけあって、それはそれは素晴らしい梅たちでした。あと、椿もたくさんの種類があった。

花がうまく撮れないのがスマホカメラの弱点だなーー まあいいかと思ってきたけど、花を接写で撮りたいときがっくし、ってなる。。。WiFi付きのミラーレス一眼買おうかな、どうしよかな。

シンガポールチキンライス Singapore chicken rice!

混ぜればできる、というもとをもらっていて一年くらい経って、ようやくやってみた！ すごい芳香がただよう。美味！！

Made chicken rice with a packet of seasoning that I got from a friend about a year ago. Finally got to try it.  It filled my kitchen with fragrant pandan and ginger aromas. So nice... and of course it was delicious! It made me miss Singapore.