Tokyo Time

Everything I bought and accumulated on this trip (excluding gifts for friends)

2011-02-12T11:28:00.000-08:00

THE END.

I am now back in NY, back in the U.S.

This trip has been a wild adventure. I will miss the food i never knew was edible, the incredible people who I met, pink everywhere, mayonnaise on everything, muji in 7 11, good manners, getting complimented on my chopstick skills, waking up on the floor everyday, perfect weather everyday, heated toilet seats, and watching men carry their girlfriend's purses. I love you, Japan!

Pictures I stole from Georgia's Facebook

2011-02-12T11:11:00.000-08:00

My blogging station. The Toilet room was the only room I got internet in.

wearing fake eyelashes at a party celebrating the new issue of "Rich" magazine

I got this guy to dance with me

the day we met Teppei and his crazy friend

Sakura and a good view of our project

bonding moment with Nagasaki (uniqlo)

drunk on floor in apartment. can you see my head?

looking like a boss while throwing out the trash. sipping on some champagne.

looking like a boss during our last supper

heading to the Die Antwoord show

Die Antwoord show

expert dancers unite

post party 4am ramen. Georgia fell asleep moments after taking this photo.

Masato!

2011-02-12T10:52:00.000-08:00

I met Masato 1 year ago in Paris. He was there for men's fashion week looking for clothes to buy for Journal Standard; a store in Tokyo. Below is a picture of him with "The company bike"

where we went to lunch

Standing outside of the Journal Standard store. This branch of the store specialized in "outdoors" style and "action ware"

he was so generous and hooked me up with this very special pair of shorts. the cherry on top of my incredible trip in Japan.

National Arts Center: Exhibition of Award Winning Works

2011-02-12T10:32:00.001-08:00

award winning video games. I am pretty sure they were organized from left to right according to the degree of violence involved in the game. This boy was playing to most violent one.

while the girls at the opposite end of the wall were engaged in the cute one.

a japanese person trying to spell "fuck" using a typewriter activated by the eyes.

feedback wall.

pink panted pow wow

More Crazy Food

2011-02-12T10:18:00.000-08:00

Piko eating whatever was inside that shell. This boy was CRAZY and so cool. He had a british accent, studies "space design", wore turtlenecks and said he can't sleep on a futon because of his allergies.

wasabi. I didn't know what this was and was almost tricked into taking a bite.

oysters. squishy.

whale

Final Crit

2011-02-12T10:10:00.000-08:00

Tuesday, Feb. 8th was the day of our final crit. Our last assignment was a 1 week project proposal for a restaurant.

We were assigned to teams of 4. My team included Sakura; a textile major, Diana; an architecture grad and my roommate Georgia, an architecture major. The week leading up to this day was full of hard work and stress.

Felt like this

looks like this. (a photo of an actual room in our studio)

Taka eating the thank you socks I got her for helping us

His shirt says "The dictionary is necessary for me"

Peter saying something wise.

the guy who works in the food stand from across the street wandered in to scope out the scene. (Teppei, pictured on right)

our crit. The concept was a restaurant built out of the boxes of food from the kitchen. as the day progresses, the boxes are emptied out and the structure turns into windows.

me explaining the concept for the menu: a survey the customer must fill out when they enter the restaurant. Questions include: what socks are you wearing? what do you buy at 7 11? what anime represents your personality? etc. The chef constructs your meal based on your answers.
(peep my shirt)

Sakura explaining her textile design. It was beautiful.

Teppei with the stool he made for our instructor. And the thank you socks I got him for helping our team.

looking for the boxes at Tsukiji. (from Georgia's facebook)

Fun and Friends!

2011-02-06T04:24:00.000-08:00

Last night Georgia, Diana and I had dinner with these Japanese designers that Junichi invited to our crit and Taka; an amazing student from Musashino Art University who is helping us with our project.

The waiter . Very authentic.

He alternated between using his hand held electronic dictionary and the huge one on the table. (Taka is the girl in the middle)

Japanese sandwich

back at the studio.

Mori Art Museum followed by a 10 course meal

2011-02-05T08:22:00.001-08:00

Mori Art Museum is located in Tokyo Midtown on the 52 floor of Mori Tower.

The view

Sunset

Our instructor took us to a very elaborate dinner. The following are photographs of all the dishes in the order which they were consumed.

tiny beer

From left to right: Chef, Junichi's partner of business, the manager, Peter; the very wise architecture professor and Junichi. the blur captures his essence.

food coma

Studio Exhibition: Tokyo Unseen

2011-02-05T08:03:00.000-08:00

Yesterday we had an exhibition opening for 1 of our projects. I ended up selling my stuff!

my stuff!

David and his paintings. he sleepwalks to mcDonalds

Emma and her lighters

Woo and his placeholder text

Jerry.

Desmond looking proud

Gina's wood prints.

Molly. Sorry, this is a better shot of her hair than her work but it was a pretty neat series of drawings that spanned the entire wall.

Mari, one of the few japanese speakers on the trip and her facemasks that everyone wheres

Alex with his neighborhood posters

Nagasaki taking Georgia's picture with her maps

Sarah touching the shaved part of her head in front of her food prints

Diana

Our Studio

Unrelated: Me with my new friend.

FooD FoOoooooOOOOoooD

2011-02-03T02:40:00.000-08:00

the good, the bad and the ugly

all organic bento box

deceptive advertising. I ordered this with the expectation of sesame sauce. to my disappointment, the gooey substance turned out to be cheese. macaroni and cheese ramen

Taka had hers with a bib (one of the students from Mushashino Art University who was working with us)
Note the texting action simultaneously performed with the consumption of her meal

close up shot. the cheese was very subtle

almond tofu

asparagus with mayo line

sea urchin?

fried sticks

tuna fish sushi roll

this place served scallion dishes exclusively

squid block

can't get enough

she only orders drinks that match her outfit

sharing a cheesecake moment together.

log

dedicated to Melissa Finkelwinkle

coffee jello with creamer on top

great weekend

2011-01-31T08:10:00.000-08:00

Getting off at Nippori is crazy because the area completely changes on opposite sides of the tracks with zero transition. the picture above is the good side and the picture below is the bad side of the tracks.

beautiful coffee shop. but i panicked when we were asked to take our shoes off because I wasn't wearing any socks! luckily Georgia had a pair in her bag.

it would have been especially bad to be sockless since the floor was a sheet of glass looking down at the tables on the first floor

converted gallery space. we got a special tour of the second floor.

minimalist painting

view from second floor of gallery

off duty sumo wrestler taking a leisurely bike ride through the cemetery

i had a second sumo wrestler sighting when I bought this crap. he got one too.

wandered into this amazing thrift store. Laurel, if you're out there I got you something from here.

same pose, 2 different days, luv u alex!

Everything I did on friday

2011-01-30T07:40:00.000-08:00

Diana at the Nezu Museum

The garden was beautiful

teal and pink combos are very Japanese

video game

the top of his hair is the same as the top of the building. by the way, if I was a boy and asian this would be my hairdo

out of place

preping his hair before his interview at Weiden & Kennedy

climbing the stairs to his future. (W & K office)

prisoner. Japanese dog. This dog looks like an Anime character.

outside of Mori tower.

view from somwhere. can't remember

siamese twins

mesmerized customer

Crit Day

2011-01-27T07:21:00.000-08:00

Today we had a crit. I am not used to the kind of crits we have in this class. The instructor invites tons of guest critics. Today it seemed like there were more guests than students in the class. My 3 credits of public speaking skills were put to the test.

me presenting my project. I wish my face didn't look like this. A boy in my class was kind enough to inform me that more boys would be attracted to me if I stopped making this face. (Uniqlo art director pictured on left)

my project. The assignment was to produce "multiples". I drew the 10 most common Japanese people and their vending machine beverage of choice and their cell phone accessory.

LEFT: Poodle Boy/ J pop teen/Japanese Guido RIGHT: Salesman of Stuff

LEFT:Hipster (drinks an energy drink designed by Muji designer) RIGHT: School Girl

LEFT: Harajuku girl RIGHT: Coming of Age day Kimono Girl

LEFT: Business man with face mask (his cellphone accessory is a mini cellphone)
RIGHT: Bouncer (1 of the only minorities in Japan)

LEFT: Tourist. He is unadventurous so he chooses to drink water and shop at Uniqlo even though there is one in the U.S

RIGHT: Priority Seating / Raisan/ You must give up your seat on the subway

people looking at my stuff during my crit. it's blurry because I was nervous about snapping this photo.

the backs of my drawings. Similar to the card game "memory" / where's waldo puzzle.

Best and Worst Meal Eaten All In One Day

2011-01-27T07:09:00.000-08:00

Over the past few days I have had some not so great luck with food. It is not that I am eating undelicious things. The things I eat are usually very delicious but the portions are very very small. I eat donuts or peanut butter or both to fill in the empty spaces inside my stomach. A perfect example of this experience is illustrated below. Today I walked into a New Orleans themed place (I didn't know this until I sat down) and order french toast. Not because I wanted french toast but because I wanted a gut splittingly massive rectangular block of bread. Instead I got these 4 shrimpy baguette that look like sushi rolls.

And then I met the love of my life. (Pictured below) This dish is the definition of the word "food". It is the image I see in my brain when I fantasize about eating.

The chefs prepared my angel right on the table. The flavors were a melody from the heavens. Udon noodles, cabbage, beef, cheese?! (not sure), many sauces squirted on everything, tortilla?, egg, something else, and scallions.

Art School Confidential

2011-01-27T06:52:00.000-08:00

Today we visited Musashino Art University to see their senior show. The student population is 4000 and the campus is beautiful. I walked around the school for about 5 hours looking at everything and everyone. I might want to transfer.

below are some projects I liked

This crazy room of stuff. I want my house to look like this when I grow into an adult.

and then I walked into this room. I didn't know what to expect and was shocked when one of the students escorted me to this seat and gave me a cup of tea and desserts.

Then he gave me a pen and paper. All of this is done through gestures and sound effects. No words of course.

baby trophy?

the students

another toilet I failed to flush.

hello kitty combination lock

the students at an architecture crit

I bought a zine from this guy but I don't think it was for sale. I kind of forced him to give it to me. He made me come back 3 times before he let me have it.

the cafeteria

this room was soooo weird. The door was closed so I didn't know what to expect. When I opened it I saw these kids playing video games. None of them turned around to look at me when I walked in. The whole scene reminded me of a John Waters film.

their crazy art supply store. too much

Going out is a full time job

2011-01-22T08:54:00.000-08:00

your entire night revolves around the subways, which close at midnight and open at 5. This means you either have an 11 30 curfew or sweat it out until 5. But your face wont even hit the pillow until 6 30 or 7. I decided to choose the latter route. Below is an account of my 8 hour party marathon, the same as a 9 to 5 work day.

the night started at this bar. we were taken here by our instructor.

the food was really good. the fried balls are chicken cartilage

next up was a party hosted by Nagasaki

in front of his studio

and then we went to a jpop club that played music that reminded me of my bat mitzvah

game face

this place was more packed than the subway. girls dance on the elevated platforms. we had a platform to ourselves. if you bend down and reach your hands out to the audience they grab your hands like you're a celebrity.

the dj was really serious. note the placement of his headphones on his head.

melting on the subway at 5:45

hauling home at the crack of dawn.

view from our room after coming home from a night of insanity.

waking up at 4:30 the next afternoon. (fyi, we don't share this room)

Assorted Mix

2011-01-22T08:12:00.000-08:00

Yoshitsugu Nagasaki, creative director of Uniqlo: visiting critic at our last crit.

soooo many bras. I bought one. they looked like candy.

this store was so strange. it sells snapshots of men, exclusively. I thought it was a "buy a boyfriend" service until a Japanese speaker on my trip explained to me that the snapshots were of pop stars.

food from heaven

everyone is japanese!

balls!

craigslist missed connection

mingling

im happy!

I haven't had an urge to go to McDonalds since I was 7 until this trip. I think it's healthier in Tokyo than the U.S because the employees put more care into preparing the food here. I was really nervous someone I knew was going to run into me here and was absolutely mortified when they did.

Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday

2011-01-22T07:30:00.000-08:00

MONDAY

A nice book store. They offered me a stool.

out of place new england style house

miso soup doughnut

Beautiful beautiful beautiful mayo

I made this food. It's a salmon, scallion omelet with mayo on top. Georgia provided the cabbage and tofu soysauce broth soup.

TUESDAY

the men of ginza

japanese raisans

hanging things

look at that guy's outfit

more crazy "food"

in my mouth.

brillo pad cellphone ornaments

WEDNESDAY

calligraphy lesson. the woman in blue was the instructor

we were supposed to imitate this mark

this was mine, the instructor was impressed with my streaky marks

and then we had to get on stage

straight out of pokemon.

You're Not Allowed To Sketch The View

2011-01-22T07:11:00.000-08:00

4 real. A guard came over to me and told me to put my sketch book away.

view from Tokyo Government Tower

The Tower

after leaving Tokyo Tower I wandered into this park

I couldn't figure out what this was. I think it was a homeless person commune

some nice pattern action

not a tree in sight

so after I was told to put my sketchbook away I needed to find another activity for the day. I wandered through Sugamo, the transfer between the 2 trains I take to get to my apartment. The neighborhood has the same vibe as 14th street.

this is what hell looks like. I couldn't be in here for more than 10 seconds. This place was ear splitlingly loud and reeked of smoke.

in dedication to red

Some ghetto food I had. I was the only person in the place. this restaurant made me miss cheese. but they gave me a hello kitty goodie bag with my check which was cool.

hair carcass

hello kitty carcass

Flea Market

2011-01-18T16:14:00.000-08:00

i know some of these are blurry. ill update it soon. gtg

tea

the japanese LOVE brillo pads!

these tasted crazy.

when I saw this I was expecting something really important to happen. I waited in suspense for a very long time but all that happened was this:

I would rather buy her face than one of those masks

swarm

these tasted like nothing

swaying in the wind

this is so visually overwhelming but imagine how hyper stimulating it would be if you could actually read all of that text

3 people must live here

clothes hanging to dry

look how cool the ground is

the Japanese are serious about their garbage. garbage can only be placed in one kind of bag.

Williamburg in Tokyo: Naka Meguro

2011-01-18T05:09:00.000-08:00

As I was flipping through my Tokyo Timeout Tour guide I stumbled upon a page about this neighborhood called Naka Meguro. The editors of time out deemed it as the coolest of the cool areas in Tokyo, especially for "Design conscious 20 somethings" so I decided to check it out. The following are photographs of 2 different visits to this part of town.

When we went to this restaurant the entire menu was in Japanese (as usual) and they had no english menu. I pointed to a random item and hoped for the best. It turned out that I ordered pasta. The sauce was really strange. It may have been hot mayo mixed with crab. The bread to the left was probably wonder bread. This was an excellent meal.

Sarah Richards, If you are reading this, this one is for you

peaceful

Naka Meguro DAY 2

Public restroom in the subways. Look at those two little old ladies. By the way, there is no soap

We spotted this building 2 blocks away and were drawn to the pink corner like moths to a flame. It turned out to be a restaurant so we decided to get some food.

the camera in the bottom right corner is the camera Georgia bought the day I tried helping her get a bargain

My mom told me to get a Japanese hair cut. On my way back from the restaurant I spotted this place and walked in on a whim.

the owner (as you can see, my haircut is almost identical to his do!)

before pic of my hair. I haven't gotten it cut since August.

After. (to your right) You might think it looks the same but you need to see it in person. The back is really complex and multi layered.

360 view of haircut

New Things

2011-01-15T19:28:00.000-08:00

I went to an eel stall in Tsukiji fish market and was compelled to try whatever floated in this red bowl.

it turned out to be eel liver. It tasted like cheesy escargot

the food artisans

eel

the night before our project was due

my team

Georgia. her group abandoned her.

in celebration of our project crit the professors got everyone bento boxes. They bought 2 mystery boxes. I picked one of them and it looked like this

I ate this. I don't know what any of it was

I can't figure out how to flush the toilet

2011-01-10T05:41:00.000-08:00

multi tasking: cutting balls while talking on phone

tuna ballet

a button for every jelly bean flavor

LOOK! they spelled "Asian" incorrectly on the building. Also, this was the day I unsuccessfully attempted to help Georgia get a bargain on a camera. I probably should have put my tour book away before walking into the store instead of holding it while I argued with the salesmen at not 1 but 3 different stores.

Akihabara. Electronic capital of the universe.

last weekend I was sick. I didn't pack medicine with me so I decided to buy whatever this is instead. It melted my brain.

contestants at the robot competition. it lasted for FIVE hours. Note the vast rainbow of flannel. Also, I picked the wrong seat and ended up sitting in the contestant section.

at one with his robot

look how strange her hair do hat combo is. I wonder how she sees herself.

winner of the battle. His prize was a bush of banana.

I never figured out how to flush this toilet.

look how that paper is purple. It could have been white but they chose to make it purple instead.

better than the real thing. Peep the letter spacing.

intellectual jelly bean

the other students who are also on my trip.

looking out into the world.

Don't cough on the subway!

2011-01-07T05:44:00.000-08:00

unloved fish head at Tsukiji market.

a fly engaged in a hopeless attempt at eating plastic sushi

snazzy kicks

man in face mask scoping out the clean merchandise at muji headquarters

We had lunch at this place and it was the worst meal I have had in the 72 hours I've been here. I didn't even bother taking a picture. The food was so bad, people didn't even bother taking their coats off to eat it. The miso soup came with coslaw.

black fish in a sea of rainbow

more fake stuff

Georgia cooking our dinner.

front door.

dining room table

dinner is served. Ta ta for now. Tomorrow I wake up at 4 30 to get to the fish market early while the auctions are still taking place.

Fish Before it is Food, Fish in the process of being converted into food & Fish After it is converted into food

2011-01-06T04:00:00.000-08:00

Breakfast

I ate it all. Even those eggs

Tsukiji Fish Market

Fish before it is food

the stalls

nice pink on green combo

dog food at 7-11

styrafoam

he is wearing hot pink because it makes the fish look fresher.

another impressive pink on green combo

hello kitty bus

chop stick store

snowing cuteness

purchasing her loofa at 100 yen paradise

100 yen paradise. I must sample all of the 100 yen paradises before I am ready to make a purchase

kewl

behind the scenes

fancy foods

Dinner

Welcome to Japan!

2011-01-05T03:49:00.000-08:00

The woman sitting next to me on my flight had an inflatable hello kitty neck pillow and she never got up to go to the bathroom over the entire duration of the 14 hour flight.

this bus seat has a doily

"before" shot of my room! I love it. The room comes without sheets and all of these blankets that people have probably had sex under. All the pussies on the trip are buying sheets from Muji. I don't really mind though.

view from my room

Georgia's room.

wine bottles outside of a restaurant

my first meal. people were smoking inside the restaurant.

gravity defying food

October foliage in January.

"for sale"

the supermarket was really overwhelming. we had to go there twice before we were ready to buy anything.

this was also in the supermarket

the kitchen in our apartment.

Before the Trip: my perception of Japan pre-seeing the real thing

2011-01-02T00:45:00.000-08:00

The Graphic Design of Tadanori Yokoo

Clean Asians

The poster I designed for the Korean Student Alliance and Black Student Alliance’s “Soul Sushi Night” collaboration

the people from “Fruits”

Illustration from Maira Kalman’s “Sayonara Mrs. Kackleman”

Meticulously arranged stationary

Cute Sugar

Lots of Stuff

This Photographer. I forgot his name

Rooms that look like this

When Homer ate the puffer fish

Murakami Novels

Mass amounts of Plastic Babies

"Bust-a-Groove"

Bo Bo Bo Bobo Bo Bo

Uniqlo