Birthday celebrations went very well. I had a lovely weekend in Tokyo and was treated to Teppenyaki in a restaurant on the 55th floor of one of the many skyscraper buildings in Shinjuku. I also got treated to dinner at another wicked restaurant! The restaurant Bassett which serves some mean mozzarella di Bufala. I have to admit I love Japanese food but sometimes my Mediterranean self does crave some good pasta, cheese and of course pizza!! This restaurant did satisfy all of these cravings at a ridiculous prize considering just how cheap it all is back home. But the food was good and the place is really cool and we washed away all our money worries with a little river of red wine.
My birthday which was on the following Tuesday was spent in Roppongi. I have to admit I have been rather biased since I arrived about Roppongi and I didn't like it at all! However, the daytime Roppongi is a lot more classy and cool then it's evil night-time partner. This is an area with serious Dr. Jekyll and Mr. hide issues! Daytime Roppongi is very enjoyable and I did get amazing cake at a stylish cafe owned by a world renowned Japanese Patisserie. Basically, you make a reservation (yes, you read correctly!) and when you're seated and have ordered, your dessert is baked and prepared right that minute in front of you. It was very cool and delicious. My work colleges threw me a small birthday nomikai and Utsumi (the lady who I'm partnered with at work) made me a lovely dinner at her house including a home-made cake. So, my birthday turned into a week long celebration! Who can complain?!
Next, Hinamatsuri is a Japanese festival for young girls. All or most Japanese girls own a collection of dolls ranging from two to thirteen in the collection. The two most important dolls are those or the emperor and the empress. The others include ladies in waiting, musicians and guards. These are all placed on tiered red platforms and put on display until the third of March when they must be boxed up. If they are not, any un-wed girl will not be able to find a husband. The festival began during the Heian period and till today young girls are given these dolls. Apart from the dolls, on the 3rd of March, certain food is prepared. This includes soup containing clams which are a symbol of chastity and rice made with shrimp and egg. During the meal people usually drink amazake and dessert consists of sakura mochi. It was an interesting experience and I am now the proud owner of my own little dolls which were given to me as a present during my home-stay in Aizu!
So...now the reason why I haven't blogged for such a long time. Well, as the whole world knows, on the 11th of March Japan was struck by one of the biggest earthquakes in history as well as a tsunami and a Nuclear power plant failure. I and the rest of Vulcanus were together in Tokyo at the time giving our mid-term presentations. I must say that it was one of the most terrifying experiences in my life. We watched in silence and horror as images of the tsunami washing everything away were broadcast on television and outside the city slowly started to shut down before our own eyes. The first thing everyone noticed was the panic buying. The convenience stores were jam-packed with people raiding the shelves for anything they could find. We started to realize that no one was going anywhere anytime soon. All the trains had been shut down and it seemed as though all of Tokyo was just stopping. Later that evening, walking to the hotel room we had managed to book, the streets were jammed with cars and the train stations were full of people on the floor planning to sleep there. There were so many people stranded with no where to go. That night was scary! The aftershocks were never-ending, long and strong. I guess after experiencing such a strong earthquake, you automatically think that every aftershock is just the start of another earthquake. That weekend was horrible, it felt like sitting on a washing machine that never stops spinning.
Due to what happened we all decided to go down to Osaka for a few days and watch the story unfold from there. I remember sitting on the shinkansen and crying most of the way. I was filled with sadness at the thought that I might not finish my internship and just leave it all behind that very Sunday night. All of the stress and panic didn't really allow me to enjoy Osaka too much. I did see the castle which is a landmark and the river bank does have a very a pretty park running along the banks. As the situation worsened, most of us decided it would be a good idea to leave the country for a short period of time until everything calmed down and we could re-assess the situation. Hence, we ran away to Thailand for two weeks till the end of March!
Thailand was amazing! I enjoyed Bangkok tremendously and I must say it was a bit of a shock! The change from Tokyo to Bangkok is quite a big one! However, I loved it, from the food vendors on the streets serving all types of food, the river boats and of course the temples and Buddhas which are everywhere. I did watch a Muay thai boxing competition and since I was being stingy ended up in the cages at the back with all the Thai men gamblers. I was the only foreign woman amongst hundreds of men winning and losing bets. I did get to see my first real time knock out which was pretty cool! I also got served a chicken foot in my green curry just outside the venue. The street was partly closed and vendors set up cookers and tables and a few chairs to serve customers before the big match. The food was good apart from the foot and a few other rather undesirable poultry body parts...
From Bangkok to Chiang Mai in the North via an over night sleeper train. Chiang Mai is beautiful, young and hippy-like! Whilst there, we rented a moped for the day and travelled up to the Wat Phrathat Doi Suthep temple which is found on one of the two highest peaks in Chiang Mai Doi Suthep hill. We travelled further up and found a small crafts village where we walked around and drank coffee. It really is a wicked city to visit. There are loads of cool restaurants with amazing deco, day markets, night markets, temples and hotels which are cheap, modern and clean. I loved it!
After two weeks in Thailand, I decided to return to Japan. I have now been back for close to two months and although life isn't very different it still has changed. The problem Japan needs to try and solve is it's inability to provide enough electric supply to keep up with the demand. There is a reduction of 20% in the electrical power available and hence the people have needed to cut back as much as possible. No more electric toilet seats, excess escalators, air-conditioning and central heating. The country has taken a beating and the bruises are still very visible. However, we and the rest of the people of Tokyo are the luck ones. Everyday when I switch in television, images of the devastation and the on-going battle to try and fix the damage flood the screen. The world-wide media might have forgotten what's happened but here, it is still very real. The devastation and the after-affect of what has happened has not left our television sets or our minds. The people that have lost their loved ones, friends, homes, businesses, lives are still fighting, staying strong and pulling each other through these rough times. It's rather bittersweet being here to watch the true Japanese fighting spirit come to life in such horrible circumstances.
Golden week has also just passed. I decided to leave Japan once more and cross over to the other side! I spent a week in China visiting Beijing and Shanghai for a week. More about my China adventure in my next post...
