Yesterday, we went to the Japanese Diet. Yes, the Diet. It's Latin. I'd look it up if I wasn't writing this on a program until I get to the wi-fi. Anyhoo...
It was a gorgeous day. But it was hot. Like, whoa. It's been really warm and humid since we got here, but seriously, yesterday was just insane. But it did look nice, at least:
The Diet is the Japanese equivalent of Congress. I can go into details, but again, I'm still kind of sorting through them. There is an upper house (the House of Councillors) and a lower house (the House of Representatives). For the purposes of this story, I will refrain from giving you too many details since it is rather convoluted since some members are elected by single-seat constituencies, some by proportional representation based on how they divide the country into electoral blocs, some are elected by proportional representation from a single nationwide electoral district and the remaining members are elected in prefectural constituencies.
See? It's already confusing and I'm trying to be general. What you should take away from this is that every Japanese citizen is automatically enrolled to vote when they turn 20. When asked, someone responded that voter participation wasn't very high at near 50%. Are you kidding?! That makes us look ridiculous - and our system is somewhat more easier to understand than theirs.
Anyway. We went to the Diet, which is really cool, except you can't take pictures inside. It does have it's own charm and the building itself is really cool and beautiful on the inside - and with the exception of the glass in the ceiling and one other piece of the building that eludes me (it can't be that important), everything inside of it came from Japan. So that was cool. The most interesting piece of the building was the Emperor's resting room, which basically is this really ornate room with a table and chair, with hand-woven silk rugs and wall coverings, a Phoenix-themed motif on the walls - don't even get me started, the phoenix is made up of the mixes of the best part of animals, much like the Emperor himself - these are their words. There was a long and rather hilarious explanation that it was the head of a giraffe, the neck of a snake, the tail of a fish, the beak of a chicken, the feathers of a peacock... and so on and so forth. We mostly were interested in the fact that the only person allowed in that room is the Emperor, or the Crown Prince, the leaders of the Diet members when they go in at the beginning of session, and maybe heads of state. Oh, and the people who clean the room before it is used. Which is about 3 times a year. He has his own staircase, his own room (his family must be in the room next door, which also is rather elaborate), has his own entrance (except for official state visits from other Heads of State), and his own waiting room that we're told he spends a total of 5 minutes in for the 3 times he comes to the building.
Dude is rollin'. But here we are, in front of the building.
So we then went and met with members of the Diet, heard more about the way they are elected (which deserves its own post), the issues facing the country, the political divide in the country (again, needs its own post, but I need to unpack that first), the territorial issues between China and Japan (see Senkoku Islands, Chinese protests and Japan closing businesses in China at CNN.com), the energy crisis in Japan following the Fukushima Disaster, as well as having a just really better understanding more about all the issues that are facing Japan, foreign and domestic.
Yesterday evening, we decided to venture out a bit and go to Harajuku and Shibuya. You may have heard of the Harajuku girls (Gwen Stefani, Japanese girls aren't accessories), but the neighborhood itself is quite impressive since it is famous for its fashion and has literally hundreds and hundreds of stores in every direction. It is sensory overload for me, and I spend about 85%-90% of my time in NYC at an office in Times Square. We had gone because I really needed to hit a Sanrio (basically a Hello Kitty store), so instead I got a place called Kiddieland, which is a 6 story toy store, specializing in Japanese toys and really random stuff. Case in point:
But I swear, I was in weird Japan toy and Hello Kitty heaven. I've never seen so much random crap in one place that I wanted to touch or explore - I was laughing at a lot of it and scratching my head a more of it. It just made me laugh. I could be there all day and not be bored at all.
So we then went and explored some building that literally had floor upon floor of little boutique stores with some amazing fashion and creative wares. They are truly fashion forward here - and the variety of people and their clothing was just fascinating to watch. As we left, we were walking and found this place. Um.
Huh.
So then we were hungry so we headed to Shibuya, mostly because it's next to Harajuku. This is where my eyes popped out of my head. Harajuku reminded me of SoHo on a Saturday or Sunday morning. This place was like Times Square on crack.
It is the center of the City's teen culture and there's just a ton of people. And it wasn't even as busy as it usually is, we were told. Here's a fun fact: the highest grossing Starbucks in the world is in this area and they only sell tall sizes to discourage lingering. I tried to get a good shot, but it was just that frenetic.
So then we decided that we wanted to go to a photo booth. At this point, there were only five of us together. Imagine our surprise when our gracious host directs us down a busy street and into some really non-descript looking entrance with posters cramming the walls. It was a specialized photo booth store. Of sorts. Basically, it's row upon row of photo booths, each having special effects for the pictures. What was more striking was the lines of girls waiting to use them, ready with outfit changes, wigs, makeup. Eh?
Let's just say that it was something none of us have ever encountered, but we not only had a blast, we just couldn't stop laughing hysterically between pictures. You can also manipulate the photos afterwards on a big touchscreen to add effects, text, etc.
Classic.
So that was the end of the day yesterday.
This morning, I got up at the butt-crack of dawn to join Laurie for a walk in the garden. The last time we tried to do this, we got rained on. I came home soaked (which is really doing an awesome number on my sinuses). This morning, it starts raining. I think the Japanese gods are telling us something.
But before it started to rain, we enjoyed the garden. It really was quite zen. I wish I had more time to enjoy it:
Check out them koi! And for the record, I would have taken a picture imitating the statue in the last picture there. But since he looked like a Japanese God and looked angry, I decided being hit by lightening while in this gorgeous 400 year old garden was not a way to spend the morning before 7am.
So we had a breakfast meeting where we discussed the education system in Japan and talked to two really fascinating gentlemen who made us understand that while there are some differences, they face the exact same challenges we do in the US. This is becoming a theme.
We then sat down to discuss Japanese immigration policy, which was interesting, since we have learned that Japan has a rapidly growing elderly population and a declining birthrate, which is going to cause quite a strain on the economy. So they are in the process of discussing immigration, since this is a mostly homogeneous society. Again, we have different challenges, but a lot of the problems and hesitation around immigration in Japan are not unlike the issues we have with immigration in the US.
We had an interesting lunch about Japanese foreign policy by the guy who basically works for the Prime Minister on the issue. We then held a seminar where we discussed the US system of government and the upcoming Presidential elections. About 30 people came to hear our panel, which in itself, was pretty surprising.
But since it was the last nigh tin Tokyo, we decided on one last adventure. Four of us headed to Asakusa, at the suggestion of many at the State Department function. Literally because it was, quote, "Japanesey".
Basically, it still has that "old Japan" feel with an old marketplace that leads to a fantastic temple and great little side streets of food. You enter through the Kaminarimon (the Thunder Gate), with the god of wind and thunder on either side of you as you enter the Nakamise-dori, the temple precinct's shopping street where you can pretty much find anything.
Yeah. That happened.
The Nakemesi-Dori really does have everything for sale. For instance, check this out. It's one of those solar things that move and I found it adorable. Their heads and shoulders move side to side.
We aren't sure what this is:
It moved, too, but, well... let's just say it moved. You do the work.
The best-known part of this area is Senso-ji, a temple that enshrines a golden image of Kannon, as old as AD 628, though it was redone in the 50's. It's amazingly impressive. The Five-storeyed Pagoda is in the distance.
Just to the left of the temple, there are a number of lanterns that had been lit. We are here during an important holiday in Japan, one that honors the elders and the ancestors. It's a four-day holiday and they light lanterns so that the ancestors know how to get back to their families.
I really did love this part of town. The atmosphere was just cool. Off in the distance is the Tokyo Sky Tree, it is one of the world's highest towers. It's that faint thing in the back - it was much better lit in real life, but you get the idea.
So after eating a good noodle meal (Asakusa is also known for the plastic food that greets you when walking in the street so you know what to order), we headed back to the train to go back to the hotel so we could pack for tomorrow's journey to Kumamoto.
We are doing a lot more sightseeing this weekend, so there will be a lot of pictures to share. I know I glossed over some pieces, but like I said, we've been pretty inundated with a lot of information over a short period of time and I'm just beginning to piece it out.
Just know that we are here at a most timely time, given the current territory issue with China and Japan, the political parties are holding their leadership elections (the Democratic Party of Japan or DPJ who is the ruling party just backed the current Prime Minister, Yoshihiko Noda, this evening) and they are expecting an election to happen this year - it's all incredibly timely but the past few days have shown me that regardless of the differences in structures, etc, there are many more similarities and differences between us.
So, here is the picture of the day as I bid you all a good night since I have to get up early in the am. I mean. There's something slightly off about this street sign, right?
Right?! Like a Teletubby met an alien NBA player with a baby that swallowed a giant Dorito and grew horns. And a fat left arm. If you look carefully, you'll see that baby has horns or bear ears. But what is that? Right? Right?!
Until I find another wi-fi connection, enjoy this double post. And I bid a fond Sayonara to Tokyo! Domo arigato gozaimasu! I am already looking forward to a return trip.
Location:Tokyo, Japan
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