Takarazuka〜!! (≧▽≦)

It’s been a while since I’ve updated anyone about my actual life here in Japan! My recent shenanigans have included going out to nomihodai, ice skating (damn, those Granpas are amazing skaters!), karaoke, sharing wine in the park, discovering new restaurants in my town (blue cheese burger?! SCORE!), and hanging out with all the friends I’ve made on this program. (Is it possible I’ve only known these people for six months??)

But the real focus of this post is Takarazuka. Today my host mom and sister took me to see Takarazuka Revue, a theater comprised of five troupes (Flower, Moon, Snow, Star, and Cosmos) who rotate every month to perform a new play for their wide reaching fan base. They perform things from famous Western style productions (such as Romeo and Juliet, Phantom of the Opera, etc) to stories taken from popular Manga and Japanese folktale. They perform all their productions in Japanese (of course) in a Broadway style, which makes it completely different from traditional Japanese forms of theater (thank god...). But out of everything, the biggest kick is that all of the performers, dancers, and singers are women who play both the male and female roles. This androgyny is amazing when you consider the extremely sexist views that remain in Japanese society even today. And even more amazing when you take into account the fact that the theater was created so long ago when surely Japan had even more stereotypical sentiments.

The Takarazuka Theater has encompassed these five troupes performing a new number every month for eighty years! (If you do the math, the number of shows is staggering!) The current cast of just the Flower Troupe, which I saw today, includes some 83 women performers who all have an amazing ability to act, sing, and dance. And within these talented actresses the main characters have a fandom like you wouldn't believe! Well, when you consider the amazing productions they put on and the fact that they have their own photobooks, songs, and several famous character roles they jump into and pull off with elegance, it’s no wonder they have girls lining up for a mile to await their appearance!

Main image for the play! Also the cover of the
pamphlet my host mom bought me!!  -^^-

The show I saw today was called Prelude of Love (愛のプレリュード), adapted from the story of Santa Monica. It’s a love story between the daughter of a famous inventor who’s on the verge of completing a revolutionary device and a bodyguard her father has hired to protect his daughter until its completion. At first Kathy, the daughter, greatly objects to having Freddy (the bodyguard) around, and they both act very coldly to each other. But one day, Freddy finds out that she’s been funding a group of orphans, a project she has undertaken without her father’s knowledge and she begs him not to speak a word of it. But surprisingly, the seemingly indifferent and unemotional Freddy acts warmly towards the boys and offers to teach them baseball. Seeing this, Kathy is taken back at how friendly he acts and she begins to develop a liking for him. He tells her that he has always wanted to protect people and reflects while feeling the breeze on his face that the wind brings wonderful opportunities to people and that one should act to the best of their ability to do whatever they are capable of doing. She says that he is like the wind, going from place to place, protecting people. But we find out when he suddenly collapses that Freddy has a disease that makes him prone to attacks. His friend asks, “Why the hell did you become a bodyguard if you have a disease and a weak body?!” And he answers that he as always wanted to give protection to people.

Meanwhile, a group of thugs are after the coveted invention and they show up several times to attack those surrounding it. These scenes bring back the memory of how Freddie became ill. In his younger days he was protecting his friend and got shot in the head. But the bullet entered grey matter of his brain and still remains, as the doctors are unable to remove it. This is why he falls and why, since he could die any day, that he has vowed to live his life by doing things to the best of his ability.

After several encounters, the police are finally able to track down the gang and put a stop to them. Kathy confesses her love to Freddie as he is preparing to leave but he says he cannot accept her love because that would put a huge burden on her. But just as he turns to leave, she runs after him and is so overwhelmed by his love for her that he throws down his bags and sweeps her into a passionate kiss. ;)

It was like watching a dramatic anime but performed by real people! Not only were the actors highly capable and entertaining, but all the other aspects of the play were also impressive. The stage was complex involving a large revolving circular platform (which they used mid performance for dramatic effects), several backdrops of the views of Santa Montica and on stage sets, and really neat platforms that would rise and sink from the main stage. These moving platforms sometimes were just to give various level changes but also sometimes rose a completely separate section that the performers would be in, ready for the next scene. It was like looking into a rising box (or a rising bar which is actually what it made me think of as my family used to have one in our old house). The stage also had a few parts that reached out into the audience (kind of like a kabuki stage) that would allow the actors to perform in front of the stage while the larger sets were being changed.

The costumes ranged from classic suits and party dresses to elaborate, even gaudy ensembles complete with sparkles, glitter and huge feathers. The orchestra was also amazing and one of my favorite parts. The music was really beautiful and included sounds that I couldn’t pin down to any instruments I was aware of. I thought maybe these could be computer generated but I think they were actually all live sounds so it remains a mystery to me.

So the story comprised the first part of the whole show. After the intermission they put on another part that incorporated not a specific story but several different dances and musical numbers that showed off their skills as performers. It was really cool and the audience got really into it by clapping a beat for their favorite actresses.

At intermission, my host mom guided me down to the restaurant on the first floor and surprised me with a reserved lunch that she had arranged. (such yummy tomato soup!)  She said that the lunch and the performance was a present to me for helping her with her English lessons so many times! ^^ So nice!!

Me and Aya at Takarazuka Theater!

While we were sitting there, my host sister pointed out an extremely ritzy family who looked like they could be part of a royal family. (Their words xD) They told me that several extremely rich people, actors, and TV stars are huge fans of Takurazuka and some even come every month to see the new shows being performed, sitting at the front in the most expensive seats you can buy. Admittedly after seeing the performance I actually can’t blame them and I definitely want to go again as I am now a diehard fan! (could you tell? =P) Maybe I'll even buy one of their performances on video one day! When the performance month is done, they put the whole thing on DVD/Blu-ray so you can buy it (you can imagine how many there were!!!) But they were like 100 dollars for one play! Insane! Maybe when I'm rich? lol

Words of the Day: These are the names of the 5 Takarazuka groups in Japanese followed by the performance aspects that individualizes each one.

花　はな hana – Flower. Known for shows that have larger budget and more lavish stage and costume designs. Their material often comes from operatic material.

月　つき tsuki – Moon. Known to be strong singers and to have a focus on music. They tend to perform drama, Western musicals with modern settings (such as Guys and Dolls!)

雪　ゆき yuki – Snow. This group is considered the upholder of more traditional Japanese drama but recently has been moving towards the style of the previous two.

星　ほし hoshi – Star. This group is thought to be the home of Takurazuka’s biggest stars/most popular performers.

空　そら sora – Sky/cosmos. This is the newest troupe, which is more apt to be experimental. They are more likely to put on Western derived plays (such as Phantom) and tends to involve taller members.

If you add “gumi” to the end of all these words they transform into the meaning of “~troupe.” =)

FUN FACTS! (These have nothing to do with anything but my host mom told me and I thought they were awesome…^^)

1. The word “iya kimochi” (jealousy) was developed from the word Yakimochi (fried mochi) because when yakimochi is cooked, it puffs out really big. They compare this puffing to when a girl gets angry from jealousy and her cheeks puff out big and round! xD

2. There are two words for rice: “kome” which refers to the uncooked rice grains and “gohan” which refers to rice that is already cooked. When a Japanese mom notices the rice is done she will say “gohan ga taita!” (The rice is done!) But the verb “taku” which means to cook is only supposed to be used with grains that aren’t already done, which means they should say “kome ga taita” instead. So if the kids are teasing their mom they’ll say “chigau! Gohan wa mou taite aru yo~!” (No, the rice is already cooked!)

それではまた次回！

Korean Adventure!

Two weeks after we booked our flight for Korea, it was already time to go. I had no expectations and no knowledge of what we were leaving for whatsoever.  I tried to pack light but with everyone telling me Korea is 10 times colder than Japan, I packed my heavy clothes.

While trying to figure out where the bus pick up was for the airport, my friend and I went in desperate search of an ATM to see if our scholarships had come in. It was expected to arrive that day in our accounts but it was getting down to the time to fly off to Korea and we had absolutely NO money! I left my house with 3000 yen for the bus ride, crossing my fingers that the money would pop into my bank on time.  Luckily, when we checked at the airport right after we had arrived it was there for all of us! PHEW!

We arrived at Incheon Airport and were greeted by Shinae’s Mother who gave us Korean donuts!  They were simply delicious. They were small and chewy with mochi inside of them. Shinae is one of our Korean friends who came with us, though unfortunately she didn’t get to spend much time with us because she was with her family for the Korean New Year. But anyway, after getting our bearings we went to change our money into Won. Did we ever feel rich! I changed about 400 dollars worth and that converted to 52 10,000 won bills! In won, you move the decimal place over three points so it’s basically like getting 400 dollars in tens but that’s a small matter! It felt like we were rolling in cash!

When we got to our hostel, we were greeted by Mary - the most wonderful Korean woman wearing bear claw feet! She was so hospitable and so nice. We came in and she says, “I had to change your room to the suite on the 19^th floor, is that OK?” And we were like, “…o_O For 130 dollars for five nights, that’s more like unbelievable!” Then she proceeded to give us various maps, giving us directions to her favorite restaurants, the clubbing areas, shopping districts in the immediate area; everything we needed! She told us that breakfast was every day from 8-12 and to come and enjoy cereal, toast, and coffee! Our room was a suite with 5 beds, a loft up top, a bathroom, a washing machine, even a tiny stove and coffee maker – all facing a huge wall and a half size window overlooking the city. And it smelled so fresh and clean! What a deal!

The view from our suite! =)

We chose our beds, put down our things (everyone was excited about the beds in the loft but after hitting our heads on the ceiling a few times each, the competition died down ^^;;), and immediately set out to a place in the city Mary had suggested to eat. The weather turned to be great and warmer than Japan! We sat around two tables that had a vent in the middle to cook our food on. As a custom, we were given kimchee, and spicy soups for free with our meal. Everything was delicious! I’m not usually good with spicy food but there was plenty of water to dull the fire. Over dinner our Korean friend, Karhim, who was amazing the whole trip and helped us in every aspect started teaching us some basic Korean phrases. We learned how to order basic things like water and beer and things like thank you. I love the sound of Asian languages, and Korean is definitely awesome sounding. I’m hoping to take at least a year or so of it when I get back to the States!

After dinner we wandered around the city. It’s so much livelier compared to where we live in Japan! There are street vendors everywhere selling delicious food, jewelry, clothes, even puppies. (?!) We found a Turkish ice cream shop and went in. The shopkeeper gave us quite a show! He went outside and had us try to catch the cone he was putting the ice cream in. For those who have never had Turkish ice cream, it kind of has taffy like stretchy texture to it and it’s fun to eat! He really gave Karhim a run. She couldn’t catch it no matter what she did! He would flip it over and sideways on a long stick in front of her face. I tried too and I unexpectedly caught it and crushed my friends’ ice cream cone. <^^ We enjoyed our ice cream and some of our group even found long awaited sandwiches which do not exist in Japan. We were all so satisfied!

Ice cream, anyone?

The next day we all bought subway passes so we could conveniently travel on it without having to buy an individual ticket every time. They popped out in a package resembling a pack of cigarettes haha. Train rides are really cheap in Korea! They were less than a dollar almost every time and we only spent a total of about 10 bucks for the whole trip. We traveled to Jongno and on the way we discovered the giant vending machines that are everywhere, offering large boxes of cookies and other delicious snacks for cheap.

We went out to the town and just shopped around for a bit. We found this really cute store that was selling handmade jewelry where I bought a cute watch necklace. (^^) 

We went all over the town, noticing graffiti all over the walls and the heaps of trash on the ground. (I have to admit, after being on the spotless streets in Japan, it was kind of refreshing!) Then we ate this really delicious street sweet that had red bean paste in the middle of a pastry (I love anko!). We eventually found a restaurant and settled in for lunch. It was a place notorious for its dumplings so we had kind of like a spicy dumpling stew called Mandoo Jeongoal that we shared between four of us.

After roaming, we left to find DeokSu Gung, one of the Five Grand Palaces in Seoul. It was heavily destroyed during the Japanese occupation of Korea so only about a third of it remains but it was still neat to walk around. The architecture was so colorful with vibrant reds and greens and pillars with elaborate patterns on them.

That night we went out in search for a bar or somewhere to eat. We went to a place Mary had recommended but Mary must be rich because this place was really expensive! It had an atmosphere like a Hookah bar. In fact, we thought it WAS a hookah bar what with the poof cushions, Indian drapes and low lighting but we asked and they said they don’t do that kind of thing.  They even had a hookah looking object but apparently they were using it for a special drink? But anyway it was too expensive so we had one drink and then left to find somewhere cheaper. We ended up at a small restaurant where we ate a stew type meal, Daakgalbi, out of a shovel! It literally looked like they had gotten shovels from the store, cut off most of the handle and put it over a flame. It looked gigantic so we shared two between the six of us. On the way home we had some street food (the shovel wasn’t as filling for 3 as we thought). I got the anko pastry again and tried a fried hotdog with Karhim because she was really excited about it and I wanted to try whatever she did. I thought I was going to die! I just couldn’t finish it. Actually I didn’t WANT to finish it. It was disgustingly fried to four times the size of the actual hotdog. Ick!

The next morning, after breakfast again by virtue of Mary, we met Shinae to go shopping and eat. She took us to a place near our hostel where we had dduk bokgi , a red, spicy dish with long log shaped rice cakes that had twi gim mixed into it (basically fried tempura). They also ordered soon dae, a slimy grey substance rolled into a sausage form. It was all really good! They served hot soup that reminded me of miso with it, which was pretty good. Usually we got hot tea with the meals, which never made sense to me because they don’t help counteract the spiciness of the meal. But this actually complemented it pretty well.

We used this third day for shopping! We stopped by a Zara and had fun dressing up the boys in more fashionable clothes for an hour or two. A couple of them even ended up with some nice long sleeved button shirts. Shinae took us to a busy shopping district that was packed with shops, well known and independent alike. We split up from there because we were searching for different items. I went on a search for make up with Karhim which was a HUGE fail and we ended up spending a lot of the time trying to get the stuff off my face! I gave up and we went to the street vendors where we bought gigantic cream puffs and found a cheap Korean knock off of the most recent Harry Potter movie (which turned out to be pretty shit but it was only 3 dollars ;;). We even found this really delicious sweet called kkultarae that was like white candy over nuts. The guys selling it gave quite a show! They even had an English version they performed for me which was extremely entertaining:

After chowing down in the streets we found a Forever 21 and other stores where we scouted a few items on sale. =) Karhim and Patrick even got chucks at a Converse store that were really neat and original.

That night Shinae took us to this awesome bulgogi place (like yakiniku, cooked meat) It was absolutely delicious! I almost didn’t go because I was so exhausted from the day but I’m so glad I did! Shinae and Karhim did all the ordering for us and it was to die for! They cooked it over real coals in the middle of the table. You cook meat and vegetables over top of it. 

Doesn't it look delicious?!

They also supplied us with lettuce and basil leaves where you put the meat and veggies on top of, and then various spicy things which gave it a great taste. Then you roll them all up and shove the whole thing in your mouth! Shinae said that was the best way to eat it. “You can’t eat it just a bite at a time!” Then after we ate what was on the cooker and we thought that was the end, they cleared the whole thing away and gave us a completely new table cooker, leaves, meat and vegetables for another serving. This happened two or three times until we were all stuffed. It was amazing and only like 12 dollars each! We also had traditional rice whine with it, which went really great with the taste of the meal. You have to swirl the bottle around periodically so the rice doesn’t settle in it. We also noticed that the building we were in had no walls but was covered instead with a heavy plastic that you see in construction sites. It was STILL warmer than a Japanese building! Even in our hostel we were absolutely warm and we never even turned on a heater. The way this happens is because Korea uses heated floors and because heat rises, it makes the rest of the room a really comfortable temperature without using much energy!  I was so impressed I wondered why Japan doesn’t catch on to something so simple and effective. (It’s cold to go out of the warm room in my host house and get my butt frozen in the bathroom! Even with the heated seats, there’s a draft!)

The next day was New Year’s. Most shops were closed so we set off for Gyeongbok Gung Palace which was apparently where all the other Korean’s were going too because there were several special events. (Lucky!) We even got in for free because no one pays on the New Year! We saw a guard march, and got free, small New Year cakes. There was a spot outside where kids were playing all types of different traditional Korean games. Some of them resembled old games in the states like pick up sticks, hacky sack and spinning tops. But all the kids were playing in their traditional garb so it was really cute!

This palace had been burned down completely during the Japanese invasion but they’ve slowly been rebuilding the entire complex. The weather turned kind of foggy and Karhim and Patrick spent the whole trip trying to avoid getting their new chucks dirty on the wet sandy ground but we were glad we went! There was also a museum, which we took a long tour around. When we came back out we found they were getting ready to perform a traditional dance! What good timing. They had white strips of paper attached that twirled around from their hats and energetic dancers twirling about.

When we had looked our fill we went back to the main part of town to find food and shopping. While we were looking around we ran into a traditional arcade! Like kids (in a candy shop? Isn’t an arcade just the same? Lol) we played around with some of our favorite games that really brought back memories! They had everything from Tetris to Wack-a-Mole to Zombie shooting games and a DDR game. We fooled around in town until dark and then headed back to our hostel.

We found a site online for an awesome club that was free for the New Year and got jazzed up to go check it out! It was in a district far away so it took about 50 minutes to get to by train. When we got out of the station though we noticed giant iPad (maybe 4x the size) devices that we’d been seeing all around Seoul. In the train stations, on the streets, they’re everywhere you turn. They’re capable of google maps, news updates, weather, and all sorts of other useful information while you’re out and about. Since Shinae couldn’t come with us we decided to take a picture with it and send it to her email. It was so cool and convenient! There was one per block the entire time we were walking to Club Eden. We finally made it after the guys decided to get some snacks and after getting distracted when they spotted a Hooters of all things.

It was definitely lucky that this club free for the night because it was one high rolling place. We happened to pick the night where a bunch of models visiting Seoul also came. They were everywhere! We couldn’t believe it. Some of the tallest people I’ve ever seen. But even so, the drink prices might have been the most outrageous thing we saw. While we got “two free tickets” which basically amounted to two shots of tequila (which don’t do too much), the rest of the drinks were upwards of 220 to 360 dollars! It was ridiculous. There were basic drinks for 10 to 20 dollars but I didn’t see the point of wasting money on them. They also had some awkward names like “Tie me to the bed post,” “Orgasm,” or our favorite, “It Doesn't Matter Anymore.” xD What kind of place was this?! The lighting in the club was definitely cool but the music was so-so. It was techno but I prefer music I can sing too because otherwise it gets a little repetitive. After getting hit on by the 5^th guy I was definitely sick of the place and since the others were dead on their feet (it’s tiring walking around all day and then going out til 4 in the morning!) we decided to take a taxi home instead of waiting for the trains to restart. We thought it would be heinously expensive but between three people it was only 5 bucks each! Everything is cheap in Seoul! (Of course, if you took it during the day it would probably be 10x the price)

On the last day we went out to get Bryan’s hair cut and I ended up finally taking the plunge and getting mine done like I’d been considering for a while! It was worth it just for the experience Korean hair salons give! My friends actually said this place is all over Chicago but we never expected it to be so good. They massaged my head for 2-3 minutes just for my pure enjoyment, had separate people for washing, cutting, drying, brushing off hair, straightening, and styling! They used 8 different kinds of scissors I had never even seen. I kind of like the way it turned out but I’m still trying to learn its ways and how to style it.

Afterwards we split up from the guys and did separate shopping, which turned out to be nice. We looked at accessories and a mall we hadn’t noticed before and found a bunch of cheap sweaters. We ran into a problem there though because we had gone to the bathroom but they don’t keep any form of paper in either the boys’ or the girls’ bathroom! Apparently all the shop owners keep rolls of toilet paper for themselves when they have to go. There should be a sign if it’s something like that! I had to beg one of them in terrible Korean before she finally conceded! What an ordeal.

We got some street food and went to go meet the boys and head towards Seoul Tower by taxi. But when we got there, Patrick realized he had lost his iPhone of 3 years! It was devastating. We tried to call the taxi companies but with only a vague description of the driver and no license number, there was just no chance. It kind of put a damper on the tower, which wasn’t as great anyway because the fog limited our vision of the city. The love lockets were neat though. There’s a legend that if you come to the tower with your lover and tie a lock on it, then you’ll be together forever. There were locks everywhere; even locks in tree formations!

This tree is made out of locks!

When we got back we tried in vain to search the taxis again but it was no use.  We didn’t realize how late it was but it was nearly midnight when we returned to the hostel. Apparently Mary had tried to throw us a dinner for our last day but we didn’t realize because we hadn’t been home all day and didn’t see the post. But in our absence, she had cleaned our entire suite (even rolling up our clothes and putting them in our suitcases) and left us Dunkin Donuts with a loving note! She truly is the nicest woman ever!

We love you Mary!!

Since it was so late anyway and our plane was early in the morning we decided to just stay up until it was time to go. But having only eaten some street chicken we went out to town to find something to eat. After setting up our friends on a date (mwahaha) we ran into a boy from the hostel and his mentor and they offered to take us out for drinks. We spent the next three hours drinking the delicious rice wine we had enjoyed the other night, talking to them and reflecting on the awesome trip we had had. It was a great end to the vacation!

And thus ends this post! Maybe next time I’ll actually get back to talking about my Japanese life! <^^

Korean Word of the Day: Kansamnida! Which means Thank you!

Japanese Word of the Day:　旅　たび or tabi, which means journey or adventure. =)

それではまた次回！^^