Tea Town

SHIZUOKA
SHIZUOKA
SHIZUOKA
The idea came to me as if in a dream. I must go to Shizuoka and I must taste the finest green tea in all the world. Shizuoka Prefecture is perhaps best known as the home of Fujisan but there is something that is arguably far more precious housed on the Izu peninsula which is serenely tucked away just southwest of Tokyo. My good friend Tomomi and I went there this past weekend to investigate the restorative powers of Japan's premiere green teas. But first we needed a crash course in tea-ology
The Ocha No Sato Tea Museum is the Smithsonian of all things Ocha (green tea). The day long all inclusive tour was more than we could have expected with lunch included for a knock out price that had these Tokyoites reeling with disbelief at our good fortune. Take the photo tour and marvel at all the things we got to do!

Ageha

What happens at AGEHA...



Stays at AGEHA.



From the free bus ride from Shinjuku...



To the lines of Space Mountain proportions...



No pictures were allowed inside although many a political career was compromised. Sushizume and Poundcake can I get an AMEN! The size and magnitude of the club were matched only by the personalities of the various queens encountered. Stripteases were a plenty as Go-Go boys frolicked with Puck-like attitude all over the pool, the beach, the bars, the stage, my mind...
...move over Ibiza, Cancun, Amsterdam, Bangkok. AGEHA brings all the boys to the yard ... by the bus load!

No Pictures

I have avoided updating my blog because well I haven't had any pictures to put on it lately. It's not because nothing interesting has happened in the last couple of weeks. Oh it has! But I'm part of the MTV generation, the 30 second info age where pictures do the talking and words communicate innovative font design as gift wrap for photographs.

So here is the low tech skinny minus the Vogue-like layout of what life has been like lately.

1. I went to Tokyo's Earth Day festival. It was the first Earth Day on any continent EVER where there was not even the faintest waft of any illegal substance of ANY KIND. I was not impressed and therefore took no pictures.
Nothing says "love the world" like a vegan "special" brownie on Earth Day so imagine my disappointment when we found NONE.
But I was accompanied by Sushizume who absorbed the true meaning of Earth Day much better than me. Check out her blog to to feel the residual Earth Day hug.

2. I went to immigration earlier in the week to get my visa sorted out. The highlight was arriving on a motorcycle while the other foreigners took the bus. It totally felt like that moment in high school where all the uncool kids come off the bus but the rich popular jock rolls up in a BMW drop top.
Yeah, that was me.

3. I performed improv at the Pink Cow with "Improv a Go-go" and we totally rocked the house. Just honing my comedic chops before I kill 'em Stateside.

4. It's now Golden Week which is a Japanese Week of holidays which means no school for 3 out of 5 work days. For my part I'm heading to Shizuoka with my dear friend Tomomi. It's green tea country for all you non-natives and we're going on a tour where we get to dress up like traditional tea leaf pickers and pick our own tea straight from the plant by hand, for hours and hours.
Let the jealousy begin...NOW

There's more but hey, you've probably stopped reading. I certainly would have.
Photos are on the way.

K-k-k-kansai!

Life is a series of challenges that we pass or conquer or glean some important life lessons or self-discoveries from. Some we look forward to like teenagers waiting for their driver's licenses and some we trip over like speed bumps in shopping centers ominously disguised as saftey precautions for which you were given no prior warning. The latter best describes my trip to the Kansai region. Mislead by the glorious weather in Tokyo on the day prior to my grand adventure I underpacked my borrowed backpack, proud that I was able to deftly defy all stereotypes about women and overpacking. In my thin green sweater and black bubble vest I ventured forth toward Osaka happy for the glorious return of Spring and giddy with excitement to finally do some traveling within Japan.

Then...
... it snowed.

Franctically, I searched my meticulously underpacked backpack, at the Kyoto bus depot, for some semblance of warmth. A hat, a scarf, a long sleeve tee perhaps???
I found Snoopy ankle socks and a tank top with turquoise sequence that I intended to wear on a night out on the town.
But my Grandmother always said "that when life serves you lemons...you go shopping."
(or something like that)
So I did what anyone would do when you find yourself in the middle of the most culturally historic and aesthetically rich most breathtaking city in all of Japan.

I went to the GAP.

As luck would have it. I did find a sweater but warm jackets were still elusive.
No matter though. I would be sightseeing and exploring the back allies of Gion, the breathtaking traditional Japanese Gardens of Ginkaku-ji and discovering the lively bustling streets of Kiyomizu-dera. I would be an urban trekker and my self-produced kinetic energy would be my warm blanket. I would be walking!

And walking...
And walking some more.
Where's that damned youth hostel!!!!

In Osaka I stayed with a dear friend Diane and had a blast rediscovering the everyday life of modern Japan. In Tokyo I'm so busy being a part of it that the observational aspect of being abroad has gotten lost. The lines of US vs THEM is so blurred in Tokyo whereas being in Osaka allowed me to revisit my amature urban anthropological self. Oh and the aquarium was cool too.

Here Comes the Sun

Peace out winter.

It is glorious spring in Tokyo and the city is filled with flowering trees and inebriated salary men playing drinking games in exchange for their dignity and clothes under the fluffy popcorn sakura in a time honored tradition called hanami (picnic under the cherry blossoms). This year I plan to crash many a hanami picnic on a solo adventure to Osaka, Kyoto, Nara and Kobe. My four day expedition into the Kansai region of Japan begins tomorrow. I've got a sleeping bag, a dream and absolutely no hotel reservations to speak of. Not for lack of trying, everything is booked and what's an adventure without a little risk...
Should be back with a full report by the end of the week.

Wish me luck friends.

I DID IT

After months of threatening to get back on stage and do stand-up, I finally came through. My debut was back in September 2006. I did it as more of a dare and was genuinely surprised by my initial positive response. Of course one successful set does not a genuine comedienne make. Fear has been my constant bedfellow since. However 1000 excuses later I did finally find my way back to the Tokyo Comedy Store on a fool's errand to do it all over again. I was NOT an instant hit. I did NOT knock 'em dead BUT I didn't totally suck, according to my friend and fellow comic Dillon, his genuine yet caustic attempt at encouragement. Thanks buddy.
I have performed in numerous plays and been in various stages of undress in front of hundreds of people but stand-up comedy is easily the most terrifying thing I've ever done. I'm not experienced enough to say that the whole process is even remotely exhilarating but I imagine this experience is not unlike learning to smoke. Sure you choke and gag the first few times but eventually you become hooked until it eventually kills you like John Belushi or John Candy.
Or perhaps they were just unlucky bastards named John.
In any event I'll be doing it all over again at The Maple Leaf tomorrow night because nothing makes you feel more alive than genuine terror and good sex. I'm hoping the former will somehow influence the latter.

Understanding Self

I broke down. I hopped the bandwagon. I searched my soul and this is what I found.

You Are Cookie Monster

Misunderstood as a primal monster, you're a true hedonist with a huge sweet tooth. You are usually feeling: Hungry. Cookies are preferred, but you'll eat anything if cookies aren't around. You are famous for: Your slightly crazy eyes and usual way of speaking How you life your life: In the moment. "Me want COOKIE!"

The Sesame Street Personality Quiz

Suddenly my life holds new purpose and with it new responsibility. From this day forth I shall endeavor to consume all manner of pastry that should cross my path. For it is my destiny to feed.

Bourjois Gargoyle

Sawa Vaughters is at it again! Join me as I check out Tokyo's top Milliner unveil her Autumn and Winter Collection in Nogizaka this Wednesday-Friday 3/14-3/16. Her HATastic designs are sure to funktify your threads. You dig?

I'M IN LOVE TOKYO

...with Ken Hirai!!! We met in a Karaoke booth a couple of months ago. At first I thought he was ultra cheesy and not at all my type but then once I really got to know him I realized HE was the one for me! I know what you all must be thinking. That I'm jumping into this way too quickly, but you don't know him like I do. I must admit I had my doubts when I saw him at the Ring party a few weeks ago surrounded by scantily clad slippery go-go boys running their curious fingers along his...
...well anyway the point is I quickly reconciled myself to the fact that he has quite a large fan base who are just as curious about him as I once was and rightfully so. To love him is to share him, glorious specimen of manwich that he is.
Enjoy!

Isn't She Lovely

For those who know me, I'm sure you would all agree that I'm a bit of a "jack of all trades..." and most recently I had the opportunity to play photographer's assistant on a photoshoot with Laurent Ziegler. His subject this time around was a gorgeous model and dear friend Akiko Otao, Tokyo's premiere Actress/Opera Singer. No fat ladies needed, this woman's pipes can really bring down the house! Catch her next vocal sonic seduction, this spring in TIP's Pirates of Pinzance.