Category Archive

Ncha! Hi, Arare here in Japan.

Here is some of the stuff we have done so far and don’t forget to check our flickr page too:

Wednesday 21st : arrived. Meet little brother and Tomo… ah, good to be in Tokyo again.

Thursday 22nd : Wandered the streets of Shimokitazawa getting lost and found and going in circles. Eat Mister Donut and buy knick knacks. Got ready at around 6pm and head into Daikanyama for the opening of Chance 10 Gallery Lele where innocentgirl’s portfolio is on display.

Friday 23rd : Public holiday here in Japan so woke up late and wandered down the street for coffee with little brother. So funny when we took him to the station and there was the big brother waiting. Ha, ha, ha… surprises be of much goodness. Then it was all day shopping, eating Mister Donut, playing in game centre’s and exploring Shimo again. Gyoza restuarant dinner, drinking at an Okinawan bar and late night karaoke. Got home around 3pm climbed into the futon and went straight to sleep.

Saturday 24th : Woke up early again and the apartment was getting real squashy with four people. It was like playing human tetris! Big brother came with us to Roppongi to visit the Mori Arts Center. The exhibition “Roppongi Crossing 2007: Future Beats in Japanese Contemporary Art” was pure brilliance… lots of fun interactive stuff! We even went in a wind tunnel that replicated what Hurricane Katrina might have been like. Then it was off to Kawasaki to meet a friend of younger brother who has a new baby… I wanted to take the baby home but they wouldn’t let me… strange, ne? I was dragging my feet by this time…. so much walking and really cold as I was still wearing my summer yukata but then younger brother took us to an all night crepe place run by a really cute old lady with eyes that go in different directions. How clever!

Sunday 25th : The skylight above my futon is waking me up early every day and the novelty of this has begun to wear off now… but it’s and up and getting ready for the ‘freaks’ (what big brother calls them) at Harajuku. He, he… I even got a photo with them. The best part of all was the trip to Kiddyland where innocentgirl bought me a winter coat… so cozy now and I even have ear muffs! We also checked out Design Festa gallery and saw live painting and drank a really yukky coffee.

Monday 26th : innocentgirl and big brother take me to Akihabara where they visit a maid cafe. ‘They are such otaku sometimes!’. When I introduce myself to the maid’s they go crazy with love for me… we got a picture taken and we learned how to speak otaku… ‘moe, moe!’ Then we spend the afternoon eating bento in Inokashira Koen in Kichijoji, so lovely. On the way back we visit Nakano Broadway… more otaku stuff, innocentgirl looks for more Arare goods but can’t find any… ‘I’m really rare!” We decide to head to Chiba to visit Jun at his bar, Jun can’t believe its really me and has to pinch me to make sure… more surprises! We meet a real crazy plumber with a broken finger who keeps hugging big brother and looks drunk but he explains to us origin of otaku and for the first time I really understand it! We stay in a hotel… I am thankful our room doesn’t have a skylight.

Tuesday 27th : Big brother shoots lots of video’s in and around Chiba port… I don’t exactly know what it’s for but some kind of art project I suppose. innocentgirl and big brother talk alot about that kind of stuff. The train ride takes us past Tokyo Disneyland and back into Tokyo again. We head on in to see some exhibitions, the one in Daikanyama and another in Hatsudai at the ICC. This one is way cool!
Big brother is leaving tomorrow so he goes home to pack all his items while I head off to meet the Cotton’s or Martine’s bday party in Shinjuku. They all came as a surprise for Aunty Marty who turns 40 on Wednesday! Happy Birthday!
Meet big brother and little brother on the way back and have a drink at a bar called Ma and Ka’s…. big brother is still packing when we get back, he’s so funny how he’s always crazy rushing. He has to take a train at 5am!

Wednesday 28th : Wake up really late… yay! Sleep is good. innocentgirl catches up on emails and stuff while I go done to get a bento and coffee for lunch. It’s fun to just sit and listen to the Tokyo sounds outside, kids running home from school, neighbours talking and shop keepers spruiking. We have a nana nap together and then head on in to Shibuya for Tokyo Dr. Sketchy! Crazy fun but innocentgirl forgets I am in the bag and sits on my head while she draws…. I forgive her though when she tells me she won a prize for her sketch and my head doesn’t hurt ’cause its made of plastic anyhow. Tokyomade goodies were being handed out and we meet Deanne who runs the site. Very cool goodies… check it out!

Anyway that’s all for now… bye bye cha!

Recently while taking my Japanese friends on a trip around the city they spied the new Krispy Kreme Donut shop opposite the Southern Cross Station, shouts of “Ohhh, Krispy Kreme!” came from the back of the car so we decided as the store was practically empty now would be a good time to try them out so we jumped out onto the pavement ready to purchase some apparently irresistible donuts. As we were walking in a policeman walked out, the girls exclaimed (in Japanese) in all seriousness, “Oh, then it’s true that policemen love donuts!”.
While pondering why this phenomena existed we chose our donuts from what I considered to be a rather limited selection and we left.
To cut a long story short I was quite disappointed. The donuts did indeed taste like American donuts, kind of like they had been fried in an oil re-used continuously since the opening of the first Krispy Kreme store in the 1930’s, but there was nothing that screamed ‘Donuts worth waiting in a long queue for!’ to me.
When I first came to Japan I was dragged into a Mr. Donut store by an American friend of mine, I was quite apprehensive to begin with, thinking it was just another American franchise taking over the world, however when I spied the ‘Tofu’ donut I decided to give them ago.
Well the rest is history, I gained around 4 kilos that following winter and acquired several ‘gifts’ via the point card system.
They had it going on, the jingle, the point card gifts, the crazy selection of donuts, the characters, the place mats and most of all an insanely delicious dough that didn’t give a hint of deep fried greasiness. As a friend of mine once said while eating ‘deep-fried mochi cheese’ in an Izakaya in Japan with me once “These dudes know how to fry shit!”. Yes they do my friend.
I had to go cold turkey that spring, in an effort to lose the weight, and managed to do so, though it took a great deal of will power. Last Easter while in Japan on my own and with no chocolate eggs on offer I decided it would be the next best place to get a sugar fix and that’s when I did the sketch you see above. I love Mr. Donut, so much so that it’s around number 10 on my list of things I miss about Japan.
Mr. Donut versus Krispy Kreme… no competition.