Tea & Totoro!

Though I've only been here for six days, it feels like it's been much longer because each day has been filled to the brim, mostly thanks to my thoughtful and generous host family. Some weekend highlights include attending my first tea ceremony lesson, exploring Shibuya, dining out with my host family at two traditional restaurants, and going to the Ghibli Museum which features Hayao Miyazaki's endless creative animations.

On Saturday morning, I took the Tokyo subway alone for the first time and transferred twice without getting lost! This is a feat because 1. I'm not used to subways (not the main mode of transport in Honolulu), 2. the station names are in Japanese and I only comfortably read Hiragana, one of three sets of characters. Fortunately there are usually Romaji characters, familiar English letters, listed right beneath the Japanese, which greatly assists with navigation. The subways I've seen are incredibly clean and efficient, but sometimes incredibly crowded. Some of them even have electronic screens that indicate how many minutes there are until each stop on the line. They are also air conditioned! Though it hasn't been too hot yet, I have heard that July and August are smoldering so the air conditioning will be more than appreciated.

The reason I took the subway in the first place was to get to my first chadō or sadō (tea ceremony) lesson. There is a whole science of tea-making that involves purifying all of the tools used to prepare the tea, preparing the tea, and then serving the tea. Each step is very particular and the sequence of the steps is just as important. The part I found the most challenging was learning to properly fold and unfold a silk handkerchief, fukusa, used to clean each tool. It is beautiful to watch someone manipulate the handkerchief but I'm afraid I looked rather awkward trying to remember each position! Still, I really enjoyed myself and they suggested I return again for more lessons. I'll be sure to take them up on their offer!

Tea ceremony essentials

Yukata! A yukata is sort of summer kimono that is cotton and not as heavy as a kimono. The obi, or sash, is more corset-like than may at first appear! Still, it was so so so fun to wear, and I can't wait to go back for another tea ceremony lesson so I can wear it again! Next time I will flip the obi (it's reversible with a different pattern on the other side!).

The teacher and two other ladies at the tea ceremony lesson helped me to put on the yukata and tie the obi :)

This is where we prepare the tea. The floor is lined with tatami mats, and in the corner, or tokoyama there is a hanging scroll that is regularly changed and chosen by the teacher before each lesson.

The finished product: a thin matcha (green tea)! This was my first batch of tea. After preparing it, I watched someone make thick tea which is more difficult and involves a more intricate handkerchief process. I liked how the thin tea tasted (though it's much stronger than any green tea I'd ever had), but the thick tea was a little too strong for me.

Another huge highlight for me this weekend was the Ghibli Museum. Studio Ghibli is Hayao Miyazaki's film studio, and the museum is basically a playground for all of us Miyazaki fanatics. There are rooms full of sketches from his films where you can see different versions of characters like Kiki and Totoro. There are three volumes of material he turned to for inspiration including taxonomy charts of different plants and animals, portraitures from around the world, and candid photographs from everyday life. Since I was introduced to Totoro in second grade, I have loved his animations so this was a real treat for me. The best part of all was watching a short film that can only be seen in the museum. There are six 15-minute films that they rotate through every month and we struck luck because the one playing right now is an addendum to Totoro! There were people from many different places at the museum, but once we gathered in the theatre, our native tongue no longer mattered because Miyazaki has a way of transcending language so that all viewers appreciate his work.

The entire museum seemed very carefully designed so that you felt like you were in the whimsical world of Miyazaki's films. On the entrance there was a sign that said something like "let us get lost together". My host mother explained that we should feel free to wander anywhere and not worry about a certain path because there is no set way of experiencing the museum.

My two host brothers at the water pump like the two sisters in Totoro :) I have two host families while I'm in Tokyo, each for 3 weeks, and the second family joined us at the Ghibli Museum so I got to meet them!

Kiki has always been my favorite character, and I loved seeing Miyazaki's sketches of her, her cat, and her world to imagine what could have been. For instance, it's difficult for me to picture a Kiki with pigtails or a yellow bow (as seen in the bottom right corner). And of course, Totoro (top right) is at the entrance of the museum to welcome all of the guests!

Lastly, I would be remiss if I didn't wish my kind, generous, and supportive Dad - one of this blog's sole regular readers - a happy Father's Day! 父の日おめでとう ~ chichi no hi omede tou!

I'll post more on Shibuya and dining out at a later time. For now, I'm off to my first English teaching lesson!!