Kaya on Brioche

This year I keep dreaming about Japan. Because of covid, we canceled a trip a week before take-off almost exactly one year ago, and so my mind keeps returning to my last visit almost six years ago. I remember walking all over Hiroshima; each day I'd leave my hostel and walk for a few hours until I got hungry. I'd stop and eat wherever I happened to be and then I'd keep walking, sometimes resting at a park or going into a shop to cool down from the heat. It seemed like the most cost-effective way to explore the city alone. One of these long walks brought me to The Hiroshima City Museum of Contemporary Art, where I bought these little triangle hangers from the gift shop. Those little hangers have been with me in every apartment since.

My sister is not the best seat buddie on the Shinkansen. Last year we travelled together in Japan and rode the Shinkansen from Tokyo to Kyoto. I envisioned a quiet, reflective time; I would read Murakami while catching glimpses of Mt Fuji from the window. I was able to do this when I returned alone a few months later, but with my sister I could hardly concentrate. Every five seconds I felt another nudge on my spine. She would not sit still, another picture had to be taken, another video had to be shot. I think she spent the majority of the three hour ride looking through her phone camera.

I have used both the 7 day and 28 day pass, and if you’re traveling a lot, you absolutely must buy one. It is quite a bit of money up front (purchased at a travel agency in cash) and you can only trade it in and book train seats once you arrive in Japan. This caused me a lot of stress on my second trip as I arrived in Tokyo at 9 am and needed to be in Hiroshima by nightfall. However, thankfully it is not at all hard to get a seat reservation, and even if you don’t, you can simply hop on the unreserved cars (often cars 1-3). The attendants at the ticket booth in the Narita JR office were extremely helpful and efficient. They don’t allow luggage into the office however. When I was traveling alone I left my luggage (my whole life as I was moving countries) outside the office and prayed it would still be there after the transaction. Because I was in Japan nothing was stolen (don’t try that elsewhere!).

The pass also works in JR trains within Tokyo! It is great if you need more flexibility because you can hop on any shinkansen or JR Tokyo train. When all my travel plans fell through the third day on my solo trip, I lost no money on transportation. If I had booked specific trains, I would have been out at least $600. Instead, with my pass, if I woke up and felt like going to Osaka, I went to Osaka and paid nothing. I looked up exact times on hyperdia under wifi, screen shot them, then followed the signs to the appropriate train and unreserved car carriages. The announcements were in English and Japanese with lettering above the door in case I didn’t catch them. There was also a luggage lock area between the cars.

Not always, but most of the time the expensive fare of the train pass will work in your favor. Even the trip to and from Kyoto in one week with my sister was worth it. Of course if you want other options, there are cheaper (and longer) ways to travel within Japan. But honestly you can’t beat that view or the experience… even if you have your sister badgering you the whole way.

Illustration by my sister, Lauren Monaco.

I went back to my favorite city in the world. Ah Tokyo, the land of warm toilets and platform sandals.   

1st row: Dotonbori River in Osaka // Benesse House Museum in Naoshima Island // Brooklyn Roasting Company in Osaka [Japan]
2nd row: Sagano Romantic Train in Kyoto // Omotesando area in Tokyo // Ebisu Yokocho in Tokyo [Japan]
3rd row: Shibuya area in Tokyo // downtown Chicago // Lake Michigan in Chicago [Japan / USA]

This year Monocle rated Tokyo the most liveable city [video here]. More importantly, the magazine reported that there are 1,383 independent bookstores in Tokyo. There are 12 in Singapore.

I visited maybe the most famous of Tokyo’s bookstores, Daikanyama Tsutaya Books, which consists of several rooms of books, music, and movies surrounded by a courtyard. There’s also a Starbucks if you need a coffee fix. Most of the books are in Japanese, so I browsed the magazine section, which has every lifestyle, food, and travel magazine I could think of. The surrounding area has a lot of unique clothing, coffee, and boutique shops, and it’s easy to get happily lost roaming around. As I wandered in and outside the store, I passed many casually well-dressed Japanese, with their black beanies, loose pants, and Nikes, on their way perhaps to lunch with a friend or to pick up a book for their commute.

Sometimes you get that overwhelming feeling in a city: you wish you could have several lives to live, one in each city you love.

 

This month I'm exploring Japan and eating too much ramen :)

1st row: Xiao long baos at Din Tai Fung // Peranakan desserts // window view at Tiong Bahru Market [Singapore]
2nd row: trying Okonomiyaki // Atomic Bomb Dome // Itsukushima Shrine [Hiroshima / Miyajima, Japan]
3rd row: Museum of Contemporary Art // assortment of seafood // Himeji Castle [Hiroshima / Kobe / Himeji, Japan]

The Museum of Contemporary Art in Hiroshima sits on a hill surrounded by trees. It can be a struggle to find since it is quite a walk from the Atomic Bomb Dome and museum, but it is well worth it. You’ll also get a view of the city right next to the entrance.

The main exhibition, entitled “Teach Us to Outgrow Our Madness” (words originally by WH Auden and borrowed by Kenzaburō Ōe) showcases paintings and sculptures by contemporary Japanese artists responding to that day. The most striking piece, “Atomic Bible,” was just that - the Bible opened with half the pages burnt off making the words impossible to read.

However, the most haunting exhibition for me was “Life = Work” in conjunction with the 70th anniversary of August 6, 1945. Survivors, not all professional artists, drew what they saw and experienced on that day with brief written descriptions. I wish I wrote some of them down. The Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum provided an exact, historic account, but these drawings provided stories, small windows into their lives and what they experienced waking up to a normal day, seeing a plane, losing consciousness, and waking up to chaos and hell.

I was taught that the atomic bomb was a necessary evil. But then again, I was taught that most twisted things done by my country  were necessary evils.

While wandering in Kyoto, my sister and I were in desperate need of coffee. We couldn’t understand the signs but we spotted a sign of a coffee cup above a narrow doorway.

Inside was a coffee shop that looked like something out of a Murakami novel. Smoke filled the air from the patrons’ cigarettes, adding an odd filter to the darkly lit room. A few men sat at the thin bar engrossed in their newspapers or books, ignoring their coffees. Unlike the busy road outside, the room seemed to step back a few notches in speed.

My sister and I settled at a booth near the front and ordered our coffee and a pancake. While we waited for our order, I noticed two very old women sitting against the wall and talking softly in Japanese. At one point one old woman gestured towards my sister and me, and the other one nodded solemnly. Feeling uncomfortable, I looked away. However I was fascinated by their age and the patterns that make up their lives. They most definitely were alive through World War II, and here they are, having seen all they’ve seen, now coming to their local coffee shop for an afternoon chat. And now my sister and I have become part of their story because I made one of the women gesture and the other one nod.



Illustration by my sister, Lauren Monaco.

On the days leading up to my sister’s and my trip to Japan, I heard countless suggestions of all the things we had to do and see. The one that came up the most was bathing in a Japanese hot springs, or Onsen. It sounded wonderful, but being naked around a lot of people is not my strong point. In fact, I hate it. Even in locker rooms growing up, I got very anxious. So at first I was excited about going to an Onsen, ready to challenge myself. Then I was nervous. And then I wanted to avoid it at all costs. But my sister wouldn’t let me back out. So we found ourselves on a 40-minute train ride outside of Kyoto to bathe in the Onsen in Kurama.

When we first arrived, the old man at the gate kindly helped us out with the towel machine, understanding that this clearly was our first time. We grabbed towels and headed to the women’s side. The steps were: take off your clothes, clean yourself in the open showers, and then jump in! Stress. An old Japanese woman was walking around (naked), and upon seeing our nervous glances at the public showers, she directed us with a kind smile to the inside showers that provided a little more privacy. After we (very quickly) washed, we sped walked to the bath and immersed ourselves in the hot water.

The air above my shoulders was cold but the water was hot and soothing. After sitting for a few minutes, my apprehension subsided enough for me to notice what was around me. Right in front of me was a breathtaking view of the mountains. Beside me, women gathered in clumps around the pool, chatting. They would come in and out of the water, as the heat could get quite intense.

As I sat and thought, I realized this was quite natural for them, and they found absolutely nothing to be embarrassed about. Maybe it’s a Western thing, an American thing, or just a me thing but I realized I’ve grown up being embarrassed of being naked. It’s not a question of body image or of modesty, because in this situation, neither applied in my mind. I was actually embarrassed for no logical reason.





Illustrations by my sister, Lauren Monaco.

My sister swears by matcha tea. I considered it one of those hipster trends until we visited the hub of matcha - Kyoto. The flavor is everywhere (including Kit Kat bars and ice cream). Matcha is a powdered version of green tea and tastes thicker and frothier. It is extremely healthy because, as opposed to green tea, it contains the whole tealeaf.

My sister and I went to a traditional tea ceremony in Kyoto to find out more. Or more like, my sister really wanted to go so I went with her. The woman at Camellia was extremely kind to us and performed an d explained the intricate and slow process of preparing the tea. Let me tell you, it was slow. The process included sitting a certain way, turning the bowl in a certain arrangement, folding the napkin, washing the bowl, whisking the matcha, etc. Every step was intentional and meant to relax the tea preparer and the tea drinker. However, at points I wanted the ceremony to speed up a bit; I didn’t see the point of doing every action if I could just prepare the tea in half the time. That could be simply a personality thing, but perhaps my impatience is an example of one of the many differences between Japanese and American values or simply an example of my generation’s need for efficiency. Regardless, after the ceremony, I realized there was something I could stand to learn from the process.

By the end of our trip to Kyoto, I bought a mini matcha tea set and my sister bought multiple matcha drinking bowls, so I guess we are now pretty excited about the whole matcha tea thing.



Lovely illustration by Lauren.

In Tokyo around the Omotesando area, behind all the fancy big streets, there are tons of tiny winding alleyways with shops and homes. My sister and I spent quite some time wandering these small streets on our one day in Tokyo. It didn’t seem at all like we were in a big bustling city; the streets were quiet and stores small. In one alleyway, we found Omotesando Koffee, easily missed unless you find the small sign beside the little doorway covered in plants.

Inside we entered a courtyard, which led to a small open traditional room. A man stood behind the simple counter, taking orders and brewing coffee. Every single aspect was well designed, from the layout of the shop to the handling of the payment. While I was ordering I noticed a Japanese man in a business suit hunched over his notebook with an espresso to his side. He folded the shop’s business card (which was printed on a coffee filter) neatly into his journal and scribbled a few phrases in Japanese. I paid and, after murmuring thank you several times (really the only phrase I know in Japanese), I joined my sister in the adjoining small courtyard outside.

While we sipped our coffees, a man who seemed like a regular parked his bike outside (unlocked) and walked into the store. He enjoyed his coffee while chatting with the barista in Japanese. After a few minutes of friendly animated discussion, he biked away, continuing down the alleyway.

There are so many reasons why I love Tokyo and this coffee shop. A few have to do with the unlocked bikes, the elegant spaces, and the politeness and intentionality of every single transaction. And there’s something different about the coffee too.



First photo by Lauren. Second photo of Lauren by me.

I had a visitor thismonth! I was so happy to see my sister and visit Japan for the first time with her. We spent about 36 hours in Tokyo, but it has become one of my favorite cities.

1st row: Paranakan shop, brunch with sister at PS. Cafe, Chinese New Year goodies from my Aunt [Singapore]
2nd row: coffee at Omotesando Koffee, Tokyo sunset, Shibuya side street view [Tokyo, Japan]
3rd row: trees and temples in Arashiyama, geishas in Gion, mountains in Kurama [Kyoto, Japan]