April 28th-May 5th: Golden Week Shenanigans

Hello welcome back, this one will probably be a long one, just because so little and so much happened at once and I can't really figure out a nice way to separate the days. So if you don't have time to read this I suggest coming back when you have some. Onto to the story telling. Now for the first part of my Golden Week I didn't do much sadly, because as my last blogs have told I was sick with the flu, and even when I was starting to feel better I didn't want to get others sick. So basically all the fabulous things I had planned to do went down the drain... Fun times. I was still determined to try and do some things so after a trial run Wednesday night to see how I felt going out and doing things I made plans to explore Totsuka a little with Jordan who also couldn't do much due to his ankle. Together we went on a small adventure! We started at the Post Office where I learned that limited postal service during Golden Week is awful but probably worse for the people who have to work. I also learned that Japan has some of the prettiest and coolest postage stamps I have ever seen. Next we grabbed lunch at the chain cafe Mister Donut. Mister Donut is a bit like Krispy Kreme in the US except a lot more adventurous in their donuts. After all where else is it common place to go from a Sakura cake donut to a Matcha cake donut to a classic creme filled donut? Not in any other country I know (I was also quite taste starved after sick people food so it was really good to me). After Mister Donut we went shopping for some things Jordan, where I also go the shopping bug and bought a few things I needed and some I didn't. We then made our way to another mall close by (there are four malls right next to each other in Totsuka its intense). While we were just wandering around at first we soon happened on a true gem in this world of consumerism. It was an old cafe, appropriately named Cafe Time. It felt a bit like a bar with the customers sitting at the bar in the swivel chairs (you could order alcohol if you wanted bu the main focus was coffee). The small speakers played old vintage music from the 50's and 60's. The walls and shelves were covered in nick knacks and celebrity signatures the owner had collected. Plants lined the walls and the bar making the close space very cozy. They also cared a lot about their products serving coffee freshly ground and hand brewing my tea. It was like stepping into a peaceful dream you never wanted to leave. After we sat there trying to talk to the worker with our limited Japanese the owner joined us. As we struggled our way through conversation we somehow managed to somehow charm the owner. He started telling us about the MGU students who frequent the cafe, and about his goats he keeps near the station (more like underneath but it was unclear). He even ended up giving us some of his goat's merchandise for free! He was very sweet and I look forward to going back to his cafe. Friday I had much bigger plans. A student from the Tokyo MGU campus who I had meet at the Welcome Party there had asked me to help him with a film project he was working on. He needed me to be an actress since his original choice had gotten sick and then was busy on his free days. So with my friend Shika in tow we made our way to his video shoot in Odaiba (a part of Tokyo). I will admit I was really nervous about it considering it was supposed to be a romantic video, but I considered it a learning experience. Plus it was like having a unique tour of different areas in Odaiba and eventually Shiagawa. But before that Shika made a quick adventure to the Tsukuji fish market world famous for their fish throwing. I however wasn't there for the fish or the throwing, I was on a mission to try the best eggs in Japan. The fish market housed many other business to feed the hardworking fishermen, one of them being a famous rolled omelet. It was surprisingly sweet and so worth the trip. After the market we made our way to Odaiba on one of the most crowded trains I have been on (Golden Week means the trains for entertainment districts are super packed). After a quick pit stop to buy sunscreen we made our way to the meeting location. While we waited for the guy to arrive we watched this really intense street performer. It was a lot different than ones I had seen before, he had a whole mic set up and talked a mile a minute, his very last act was balancing on a really tall stack of things while juggling swords. By that time the guy (his name is Shinichiro by the way) and we made our way to his first location. Now before I delve into this I would like to mention that he made me bring three changes of clothes so I could change how I looked so I was a little thrown off about serious the project actually was. He also had his friend who had a really nice camera (I am going to spell his name wrong so let's call him H) and had all his locations all ready. Even with the pressure of having to actually do well for Shin's video I found myself just being my usual silly self and trying to enjoy the ambiance of the really fancy mall he had taken us to. It was supposed to look like a European open town and they even changed the lighting from dawn to dusk during our time there. As we worked through the shots I started to see that the video he was making was just a cheesy romantic video. He made it seem like we were on museum dates and different things using the different parts of the mall. There was even an old vintage car exhibition which I honestly did enjoy throughly. I mean how could I not they had a DeLorean for goodness sake! After the museum we stopped for a brief lunch (which Shin graciously paid for H's and mine) and then made our way to the local park to get more shots. It was so much fun shooting with everyone and I got to know both boys a lot better. Sometime in the afternoon Shika and I had to leave to go do something we had to planned to do earlier in the week, so I agreed to meet up with them once I finished the other things I wanted to do. During the summer months in Japan there are a lot of festivals for different things, and Shika had found a festival in a famous temple in the center of Tokyo for the blooming of the Wyesteria flowers (probably spelling that wrong). I had to rush to get there because I had also planned to go see the Detective Pikachu premier. So with time very short I rushed my way through the temple rituals grabbed a paper for my temple book. Briefly hung out and enjoyed the flowers with Shika and then booked it back across Tokyo to see the movie with some international friends. Now the movie won't premier in the US for a few more days so I won't say much beyond I really really enjoyed it and I think other people will too! Also movie theaters in Japan are so much nicer and more comfortable that I think I will cry a little when I sit in a US theater again. They also had a small gift shop for the movies that were being shown which blew my mind a little bit. After the movie though I had to meet up with Shin and H again to finish some more shots. This time the shots were  really interesting night shots using the amazing light designs of Tokyo as a back drop.  It was really cool to see though because many of the places were all their hidden spots in Shinagawa and it was beautiful to see at night. After the shooting Shin got us a Taxi (I was extremely thankful because at this point I was in heels and very tired after a very busy day). I then made my way home safe and sound and then slept the next day away (just a little though). That night though I held another Takoyaki party but it was much bigger this time. I invited my buddy hold it with me because she also really loves takoyaki, and she brought her friend. I invited Shika as well and she brought a whole crew of people. The next thing you know we are fitting eight people in my small dorm room to eat some takoyaki together. Mayu opened my eyes though because it turns out there are several kinds of takoyaki you can make. You can have octopus, hot dogs and cheese, or mochi and cheese. I was so sleepy at the end of the night from all the good food. I also had a great time talking to everyone, and learning about them and their cultures. Late into the night we all said goodbye with full tummies and again I sort of slept myself into the next day. Today, Sunday, I did nothing but relax, prepare for classes and do my laundry. The next time I update will probably be at the end of this week so I hope you enjoyed reading this and I will see you next time!