Before I forget this

I will write about this trip again soon.
But. Like. These deer.
They live in Nara. Nara is about an 45 minute train trip away from Kyoto and we were there for a day. About 1300 deer live in Nara (have been for thousands of years and are considered sacred) and roam the streets/Nara park free. You can buy cookies for them to feed these fluffy creatures but the ones near the tourist spots/cookie stalls are really aggressive. They might bite and headbutt you to get what they want. The ones living more up the mountain are more shy and are more confused if you try give them cookies. But they are all SO CUTE.
But they do smell.

So have some deer from Nara.

Her ass looks like a fluffy heart ::D

This fellow was blind from the other eye :U

WUBUBUBUBUBUBU

Until next time (づ￣ ³￣)づ

Violent Pornography

Choking chicks and sodomy...
System Of A Down is one of my favourite bands even though I don't listen to it that much nowadays. But they have strong messages in their lyrics. Accompanied with awesome melodies.

But well, you know, the media. This thing that manipulates how people should think about things and how to almost live basically. It also gives us information on about things happening around us, with few things added now and then.
Our teacher asked why we haven't mentioned/talked this one thing that happened in Osaka few weeks back (when he asked about it). Why indeed because we didn't know about it. And why is that? WHY. WHY.

Well following media here is extremely onesided to my opinion. Most of the news are in Japanese, what a shock, and the few sites that actually tell about news of Japan are either foreign pages or places like japantoday.com which I trust at some point but the style they choose write with is sometimes quite biased and childish and sometimes the information is out of context and seems right, I don't read the articles with even 50% "yup, I'm believing this 50%". I've really never trusted what the big media channels say/tell that much, I prefer to use and seek information from multiple places(+combine them) and word of mouth (if it seems legit).

Japanese news on TV have this really over the top official tone to them and they usually show politics (what the prime minister is doing/what he should be doing) and crimes and accidents in Kanto and bigger events happening in Japan. The Japanese news also have to be really shocking or important to reach foreign countries/be reported properly. Or if the news day is very quiet, the news of someone's demise might reach Europe... after 3 days.

So what was this news about? Apparently a group of Japanese (4 to 6 people) beat a Nepalese man to death in January by kicking him while he was on the ground and then throwing a bike on top of him.

Hearing something like that makes one sad and mad at the same time. Why people do things like this to each other? Just to be boring and just scrape the surface, I'll throw this thought in: It's because we're different and everything that's different scares us.
SO this a straight quote from japantoday.com in a short article (extremely short if I may add)

Ie was quoted by police as saying he “kicked the foreigner in the face and dropped a bike on him from about head height. I can’t believe we killed him,” TBS reported.

Excuse me. Hold the phone. Last time I checked, in the end humans are quite fragile creatures (mind and body). People get seriously injured from falling flat out on their face when tripping on imaginative obstacles or just one vile word is said to them and this.... They really didn't think that a kick(s) to the FACE and after that a BIKE smashed against your face wouldn't kill a human being. Life is not something to play with... The question might be, how you see this kind of violence?

They didn't even know the guy. They just beat him up. Why? Because he was a foreigner? He looked at them the wrong way? Was he just at a wrong place at a wrong time? Was the group bored and wanted something to play with? The last thought just makes me sick when I think about and write it down. Do they not value human life?

Japanese crimes are really violent. There are shootings, luckily guns are hard to get in Japan, and stabbings like in everywhere but then you get these violent beatings, mothers killing their babies. One that really made me feel bad was a report where a woman had broke the legs of 4 babies. The reason? She was jealous of happy mothers with their children. Jealousy and an anger bursts are the main reasons. One man added battery acid to his girlfriend's son's eyedrops because he hated him. Nothing else, just pure hate.

Then in crime news there are suicide cases. And they are just... unsettling. In no other country you usually see these reported or so... loudly in the society.
Japan has the highest suicide rate of the first world countries and it comes from everywhere. Pressure from the society, failures, personal issues... Here if someone jumps in front of a train, the... clean up and other bills (which are high) fall to the relatives. The pain is just immense. In Mid-February in the news story about a family who died of starvation... A family suicide. They were so ashamed of their financial demise that they rather died of hunger than asked any help. Family name must be kept, losing your face is the worst thing that will ever happen to you.

I think it's...not physical but almost mental violence that these cases cause to your conscience and thinking. Another one drops off from this life. Another case that makes you wonder why and could someone helped that person to survive, find a new purpose for them or just help them survive? Suicide is always the ultimate solution to a problem that you can solve.

I'm just jumping way out of my territory what I can write without sounding horribly cliched but just one phrase is stuck on replay in my head as I write this.The following line is incredibly cheesy but it's sadly also true...

Homō hominī lupus est.

Man is a wolf to man.

Is it true? Do Japanese believe in that sentence? Does anyone? Every man for himself, everyone else can do whatever they want. It's the inner family that matters in a pinch. By killing a innocent man, a foreigner and an enemy, were these people trying to protect their own country and families? Or... it hurts to even say it but... Are they just having fun?

Is being a foreigner here dangerous then? Even though scandinavians seems to have it "easier" here whe nit comes to walking alone and going to places but I personally suffer from one great disapvantage in this society: I'm a woman. I am the easier, wekaer target (I hatehatehatehateHATE that my gender puts me into danger and I will punch that person in the facial area who tells me I'm "just a woman" and apparently NOT a human being)... Yet that's the way the cookie crumbles here. It shouldn't. It's disgusting.

All these crimes and violence and prejudice is just extremely revolting to me.
I would make this blog post longer but there are so many things to talk about that I will divide this agony to multiple things. Indeed.

But well, until next time again :U

The title of this post/song is actually quite fitting to describe Japan...

ART & DESIGN & ME

A very complex and difficult relationship if I may say so. Let's throw in a little background here: I was kinda of oblivious to art as a kid. Yes, I liked to draw but I never really wanted it to be my profession in the future. I wanted to be a professor of history... Ahaa, so funny. Somewhere during junior high I really got into drawing and painting and I wanted to try my hands on it...

Thus I got into art high school, studied(/worked) there for 3 years and then applied to University of Applied Sciences to study Industrial Design. I'm still not sure about that move but I'll figure that out later. Because of that, I'm now finding myself in Japan, doing the end of my exchange studies. Soon I'll return back to Finland but probably not for long as I inted to return back here sooner than you might think.

I wanted to talk little about art but I'm not sure how I'm gonna do it. Or how long it's going to be, probably just gonna keep it short and sweet.

So art and design in Japan. Because I am here. And what people think about when they hear Japan? It's something visual, something with colours and pictures and some kind of text... Ads? Graphic design. Moving pictures... Clean lines with soft colours, minimalistic approach. Well that's what the youth at least associates Japan with. Like I do most of the time.

Pictures and sounds are everywhere. Little signs and ads everywhere.
And oh, ads. Most of them here have like But ohdear signs, the pain in my eyes and heart. They are all gaudy and horrible and service only for one reason and one reason only; to get your attention. All those red and yellow signs with simple text just make me wanna flip the closest bicycle to the ground. They shouldn't be plentiful, it's Japan right?
But to my horror, roughly 80% of the adverts and billboards just scream to me in the most unpleasant way.
They are in bright colours.
Usually red and yellow.
Fonts scream Comic Sans.
That accompanied with concrete buildings and you're set and ready to weep for all that is human in advertising and graphic design.

Nice big ads from Shibuya

IFyou're in Akihabara/other famous anime/manga spot, most likely the ads look like this

At least the typography is somewhat nice... But Harajuku is a good example of a classy bad advertisement

Japanese also believe in the power of hand written ads/sale notices. What you see in a second hand shop usually, this rule applies to everywhere in the world.

But then again, I've grown very fond of the ads in trains (and with some TV ads). They are just too damn cute and do their job; make the product/service they sell interesting and you wanna know more about or even buy it. After watching Dove soap ad in a train with these cute little sheep, I really wanna buy some DOVE soap... Even though sheep smell superbad when they are wet but still, sheep were cute and awsum.
Just because how much animation there is everywhere is so smooth. You might get choppy ads with them in Europe too but here it's just been taken so far. All the brands have some kind of (usually cute) mascot to represent them. So that one type of Dove shampoo has sheep, Nissan has kangaroos and Panasonic's appliances have something for both female and male audiences; a beautiful woman and the cutest little dog that has ever existed. EVER.

Also the signs around town, warnings etc. They have so much visual information.
Good example is from Kyoto where it's not allowed to ride your bike in the center. Instead of having just boring text with red cross over a bicycle, there's a picture of a penguin walking with his bike.
ISN'T THAT COOL OR WHAT?

Industrial design part of this all... It felt like Japan has this weird habit of hiding it unless it's graphic design or something close to it.. I visited Japan's first official design museum (21_21 DESIGN SIGHT) in Roppongi. But I know there are a lot of design studios/shops around Tokyo. A lot. There are not just places to visit just to see things and learn about Japanese design. Individuals and styles are much better presented abroad (like in Stockholm and Milano).

A lot of art and design conventions are based on voluntary work and freedom. Like Design Festa where I went to with my friend. The basic principle is that you reserve a table, go there with the stuff that you own the rights to/have done yourself and then just sell them and promote. Same goes with Comiket and other art events alike. Those type of things I really like because there aren't that many bigbigbig companies that want you to buy their stuff but it's more about people sharing knowledge... Yes, I ranted this about when I talked about Comiket but I just want to mention it again.
Sharing is caring.
When it's not illegal (it also depends what you regard what is illegal and what isn't)
Here's some pics from Design Festa 2011. I lack good pictures because I don't really like to see things through the camera lens. If I can't remember something without pictures, most likely it's not even worth of remembering.
Yeh, this is good like this... for now. More to come later.

Clothings/accessories section of the Design Festa

More of this supercute booth!

Entrance to the Design Festa

The event was in two floors

I liked this event C: Got a lot of inspiration (this and fuji trip were like mindblowing)

SUPERCUTE CARDS... WITH BIRDS.

The map was confusing but fun to read. I like maps.

Until next time C:

MT. FUJI

This trip already happened in October and it's one of the best trips I've had so far here. I wanted to give it some time to write a proper post about it... And well, check some really nice pics we took while up there and going around the areas around it. We went to Fuji-san and after that visited the five lakes around Fuji-san and one peculiar forest.. But well, let's get started!

THAR SHE BLOWS

Just some little info to start, Mt. Fuji (called also Fuji-san here) is the highest mountain, rising to 3776 metres, in Japan. The mountain has the shape of a symmetric cone. What makes Fuji-san even more amazing that it's actually an active volcano though last time it erupted was somewhere around 1707-1708. You can see air flicker a bit because of the hot air rising from the ground and all the stones at Fuji are cooled lava so the stones there are light and in different colours. Fuji-san is also considered one of the "Three Holy Mountains". A lot of Japanese mythical creatures are said to live at Mount Fuji, especially the tengu.

Togane before 6am... Riveting.

The day started quite early. Like all days start when you have to be in Shinjuku Station at 8.00am in the morning. That means for me waking up at least 2 hours before… Or it should be 2 and half hours but I was lazy getting up. But I finally got to experience the horrible RUSH HOUR… Which was really nothing special unless you suffer from claustrophobia in which case I recommend you to stay clear from morning and evening trains.

But this wasn't what I wanted to talk about but YES. Going to Fuji-san. I met my teacher, Takakuwa-sensei, at Shinjuku West Exit. From there it was about two hour car ride to Yamanashi prefecture where Mount Fuji rises. It didn't take long when the scenery started to change from skyscrapers and highways to forests and mountains. It just couldn't take my eyes out from the sudden change of scenery, seeing how buildings just disappeared... Near the Pacific there really isn't that many high hills or mountains but these were just big.

The scenery starts to change...

There were like a lot of bigger mountains but it was hard to take a picture from them

TUNNELS!!!

But ohwell, there were these and those a lot of there and travelling was actually. It was my first time in a normal Japanese car, travelling to destination X. The highway in Tokyo is fast and has a lot of intersections adn the speed is just mindblowing... Japanese really aren't the most careful drivers in the world but at least it keeps you awake and after sitting in a rush hour (like we did for almost an hour on our way back to Shinjuku Station in the afternoon), a little speed feels kinda good and nice.

On our way up to Mount Fuji

 

The autumn colours were almost out and all in their full glory. We made a stop on our way up to the fifth station (it's the highest you can get with a car, after that you have to hike) to watch the valley below with the lakes and forests and hills and everything nice.

And once we got up to the fifth summit, ohboy. First sensation was COLD. It was +/-0C up at the Fifth Station, 2300 metres when back at Shinjuku it had been around +20 C. Quite the change, I gotta say it felt really chilly for the first time I was in Japan. The air was also much more clear and... frisk than down near the ocean level. But alas, we were also lucky. Clouds had started to gather up but as we went higher, it was another story.

After a layer of fog, we saw the peak of Mount Fuji without its usual snowy peak

I really liked this day even if it was still 10am. I liked everything we did up at the Fifth station. We looked at all the other tourists just came out from multiple buses and the number just got bigger as clock ticked onwards. Most of the tourists early in the morning were Asians; Japanese, Taiwanese, Chinese, Korean... The only western-looking were me and a group of older Germans. Still, the whole fifth station was just purely for tourists. Expensive snacks and foods, souvenirs... Fuji being a volcano, there is no water in the mountains so all the water they need, they have to pump it up. Going (this was the worst public toilet I've ever been in Japan, damn those tourists...) to the toilet here was quite the luxury. Tourists spots make me sad but it's a way of living for people and for derpy humans like myself places like these are the only way to get close to nature's wonders without much effort.

But it was nice to notice behind the buildings, near the egde there was a small shrine, dedicated to the spirits and gods of Mount Fuji.

The small shrine

I liked this tree

A lot of gates

Oh, the day wasn't over when we got down.

We went around the lakes and it really felt I was in Europe again. Most of the houses looked very modern European little village houses and the trees were big and magnificent with these beautiful and bright autumn colours and flowers were still blooming... It was like little break. I could see and understand why people made these little trips. Everythins looked and felt SO different to Shinjuku Station that morning. We also had late lunch/early dinner at a Japanese restaurant. For the love of me, I can't remember what the the style of dining was called but we grilled some vegetables and meat on a open flameand after that ate some very good noodles in a vegetable broth. It was another good example of screw-up-your-own-dinner style that they practice in Japan but luckily Takakuwa is a very good cook so I didn't have to depend on my mostly moderate grilling skills.

They even had this oldschool place for the cashier!

There were a lot of small roads and very old looking buildings around this area. Is it just because to keep things looking romantic to the eye of the tourists or the nature repels people from changing their environment? Living next to a active yet quiet volcano, surrounded by lakes and mountains must have some effect to it... It really makes me wonder how people even moved there in the first place, there are lakes but if the weather turns bad or  a catastrophe happens in the area, I wonder how easy it would be to escape/get help there...

Before we returned to Tokyo, we went to Aokigahara (Sea of Trees).

Aokigahara is a remotely small forest area next to Mount Fuji and it has a very dark and unnerving past. In the past (and now) the forest of Aokigahara is known for being one of the most... popular suicide places in the world. Japanese officials usually report about 100 deaths per year. In 2010, 247 people attempted suicide and 54 completed their horrible act. These official statistics make it the world's second popular suicide spot after The Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco. Most of the bodies are never found inside the forest, people just seem to get lost. It seems that Japanese officials are very

There are signs (in various languages) that encourage you to turn back and reconsider your decision that you can never undo.

I would only go here during the night to film a remake of The Blair Witch Project

We also witnessed with our phones, my normal one and a smartphone that Takakuwa had, that there's was no reception inside the forest. So if you wander off from the path and somehow get lost, you're gonna have to survive without your phone 90% of the time.

What makes the forest so eerie is to its wildlife.. Or really, the lack of it. I saw or heard no birds or animals and the trees just stood there. The wind didn't even blow inside the forest. The place made me feel really uncomfortable but don't get me wrong. I think the forest itself was really beautiful. All the small caverns and little and small rocks, deformed trees reaching out with their branches, roots running all over the place, accompanied with moss.

There was one observation that I made. You know how souvenirs always cause you trouble and headaches when you visit a place? I'm not going to talk about the Japanese "omiyage" culture as it's complicated and such but Japanese are generous with them and they buy them, especially when they visit places that have that special delicacy/thing that's typical  for the area. So when we made quick stop at a gas station/market place, it was full of possible souvenirs from the area, especially the lakes and Fuji-san. For me it looked like a place where you buy things if you forget something but then again it makes things lot easier for yourself when you don't need to trouble yourself so much...

In the end: have some pics from during the day!

Until next time! C:

We named these "skeleton trees"