Traveling and working

, a photo by Chisa2010 on Flickr.

Today I left for my home town as there is a long weekend ahead. My parents will go to the Opera all weekend to see Wagner's "Ring" and I'll take care of the cat and dog. And I'll work. On several things all at once, which leaves me again to wonder about self management.
Well, time at the train should never be wasted, so I sat down in a free compartment on an ICE train and translated Japanese texts (for a lecture - still no paid assignment). In Frankfurt my train actually delayed 1 hour because something was wrong with the first wagon. I used the time to go on translating.
When we finally left Frankfurt all people on board were offered free drinks (non-alcohol) and a stamped form to apply for cost reimbursement.
(The law concerning cost reimbursement in case of delayed trains is fairly new! Anyone who has to travel by Deutsche Bahn knows that their trains are almost, but not quite, absolutely always not on time. Or the other way round. Give or take 10 minutes or even up to 20 minutes - that's quite normal. My japanese friends are always going nuts in Germany. And well, I'm missing the Japanese railway myself.
Anyway, a few months ago a delayed train would have made passengers angry but not the executives of Deutsche Bahn. Now, they actually have to try being punctual.
But checking out the form I realized that I wouldn't get the whole ticket price back. Only ten percent for one hour! Okay, better than nothing. And I actually worked, so I guess the delay worked out for me.)

Instagram Magic: Boat on the Neckar

, a photo by Chisa2010 on Flickr.

The Neckar is the river that flows trough Heidelberg. And others cities for that matter. This boat carries tourists upstream and downstream all day. I love the colors and the nice yellow accent made by the buoy.

Instagram Magic: Heidelberg I

, a photo by Chisa2010 on Flickr.

Yesterday was the first "Schlossbeleuchtung" this year in Heidelberg. Thousands of people come together at the other side of the Neckar river to get a good view of the fireworks.
I ended up squashing myself in the tram like I used to in Tokyo. It was great in an odd way! The other passengers complained all the way to downtown. And then I waited on the other bridge to get a view of the fireworks, which were nice an all (especially when the castle slowly 'burned down'), but as I'm used to other one hour long fireworks in Japan, it was a rather short pleasure.
Sadly, I'm no good in taking pictures of fireworks, hence only pictures with daylight.

Romantic Bohemian

Romantic Bohemian by Chisa2010 featuring clutch handbags

Tsumori Chisato draped dress,
Sue Wong shimmer dress,
Dries Van Noten cotton blazer,
TOMS pale pink shoes,
Dazed Dorothy clutch handbag,
Floral jewelry, 


I just found Polyvore, another website that helps us girls to play around and make nice collages of things we'd like to own.  I just erased the price tags, because it made me feel rather nauseous.  Be assured that I am absolutely not able to buy such things, especially since I am more broke than ever. But still - a girl can dream. 
And I like all colors and girly clothes. And maybe, maybe, someday I'll finally earn some money. Hopefully someday soon. 

Japan Archives: Glimpses of Old Tokyo

Indeed, earthquakes, fires and Pacific War bombings haven't spared much of Edo (the old name for Tokyo) for the tourist to see. And even without natural and man made catastrophes, original houses are made of wood and the humid summers in Japan tend to dissolve wood very fast. That's another reason the main sanctuary of the famous shrine of Ise is rebuild every 20 years. Private houses aren't getting very old either if the financial situation allows it. The house in the picture above isn't very old, even though it looks like it. It was situated in Ikebukuro Honmachi, the part of Tokyo where I lived last year in March. 
  It was a harsh lesson for me, when I first came to Japan. I expected way more old buildings and shrines and temples than I actually could see with a first glance. And I guess that's a disappointment for many western travelers. But we Europeans are rather spoiled with old downtown sceneries (even though it is sad to think of the wars that have left so many European cities in rubble). And the second glance is worthwhile in Japan! Wandering about you can see so many little treasures and the new architecture doesn't even need to be seen as nuisance either. Rather, newest Japanese architecture tries to combine the best of old and new! (Please, don't kill me Prof. X!! I'm not using "tradition" and "modernity" as keywords...)  Let's have a look. 

Mitaka is a lovely outskirt area of Tokyo, where the soul of Edo lingers on. Some of you might know that it is the place of Studio Ghibli - at least the museum can be visited here. (Studio Ghibli: Maybe the most famous animation studio of Japan, comparable to Disney. Famous characters: Totoro, Nausicaä, Kiki, Mononoke, Howl, Ponyo) The day I visited last year was rather cold and rainy and nothing much was going on. But I loved the atmosphere the little village amidst a megacity breathed. There is some traditional trade along the road and one can eat soba (buckwheat noodles), manjû and other tasty stuff. 

This is a picture of the infamous Kabuki za theatre (well, a part of it anyway) at the infamous Ginza street. Sadly, it was demolished shortly after my visit last year. There had been some concerns about earthquake safety, which cannot be taken lightly in Japan, as the "Big Northern Catastrophe" (the 'official' name for the Earthquake/Tsunami/Nuclear Catastrophe so far in Japanese Media) has shown. The last rebuilding had been in 1950, after the War. This building style was called "baroque Japanese revivalist style" as one can guess from the details, but used western building technics to keep it "fire safe". (the original building in that style was finished around 1924.)

Another great and breathtaking example for new and old architecture in Tokyo is the Hama Rikyu garden. I love it there especially in spring during plum and peach blossom time (March). In the center of the park lies this tea house where you are served Japanese green tea in old style. There is no furniture in the tea room itself, and one has to kneel/sit on mats while being served matcha tea in a big bowl with a Japanese candy. The Hama Rikyu Garden ponds are connected to the Sumida River and have a tide. It remains the last Edo-style garden in Tokyo and I strongly recommend it for travelers in Tokyo.

This pagoda can be found in the Ueno Zoo, the only Zoo in the center of Tokyo. For Germans this zoological garden seems rather sad and way too small for all the animals imprisoned inside. Even though the zoo has tried to build better facilities for their animals as there isn't much room in the midst of Tokyo to begin with, this is an arduous task. Obviously a pagoda doesn't belong to a zoo. It belongs to a temple or shrine. And the best places to find such buildings in Tokyo are Ueno park and - not far off - Asakusa. Next to the zoo lies the Tôshôgu Shrine, where this pagoda belongs to.

 Normally this door stands open, but the Tôshôgu Shrine is undergoing renewal, that will last five to ten years (!) as I was told by a monk. (Every time I visit Japan I'm astonished by the doors the Japanese language can open.) So the main building is packed up in a big storehouse and can't be seen anymore. That wasn't a big problem for me as I've visited this Shrine a lot during my one year long stay, but I kind of felt sad for the tourists who were swarming about in Tokyo last year. When I lived in Japan 2005/2006 tourists from Europe or America were still scarce or at least not that common as opposed to last year, where "white people" (hakujin) were everywhere. Somehow that bugged me as I loved to be exotic when traveling in Japan.

That's a little Inari-Shrine (Fox Shrine) in Ueno, which I totally adore. Can you see the fox statures? Since I came to Japan for the first time and lay my eyes on shrines like these, I'm convinced that my "animal spirit" is a fox. I don't really believe in such mumbo jumbo, but still...who knows? The Fox is a very interesting figure in Japanese folklore and religious beliefs. It combines good and bad traits and while the shrine honors the inari as being the one that promotes fertility (especially for rice! For humans there are less ...subtle ways to promote fertility), the foxes in folktales tend to be mean and insidious. Which somehow connects to the European belief of the fox as a cunning and shifty fellow. 

I'll be back with "Glimpses of Old Tokyo" soon. Meanwhile let me emphasize my copyrights on this pictures. Please don't post them anywhere else without my permission and naming of the source. Thank you. 

Working

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Well, I'm so totally stealing this idea, but we all love lists, don't we?
My "June list":
- do my work in a timely fashion: translating Japanese texts and writing job applications (hey, it's fun!)
- take more pictures and play with instagram
- make a blog schedule and write every day !
- leave lovely comments on lovely blogs
- find more followers (I should write this solely for my own happiness, but still - who wouldn't want to find a place in the bloggosphere? )
- buy the missing manual for building websites to get better in blogging
- do more creative writing (I'm currently writing a short story)
- do more crafty projects (I'm currently knitting a chunky scarf even though it is summer; I'm also crocheting coasters, granny squares and flowers)
- and write about those projects here! With pictures!
- maybe provide an DIY-project on this blog?? (How would you like that??) But I have to warn you: I'm a total beginner at this. Still - let's have fun!
- celebrating my 2X- birthday!!! Yay, another year that past.

Greetings - have a lovely weekend!

Instagram Magic!

, a photo by Chisa2010 on Flickr.

As I'm fairly new to the bloggosphere and all things App-related I just wanted to set up an account where I can share my finest pics with you. I haven't really used Instagram till now because I "only" own an iPod touch (even though it is the newest version) and cannot really connect to the Internet while being on the move. But I think I am able to work it now.
This is the Rainbow Bridge in Downtown Tokyo. I really love the 'old touch' Instagram provides.