Went to Shimbashi and bought one-day ticket for Yurikamome line, which had always reminded me of Putra LRT, except that they still have lots of seats in Yurikamome trains. First we went to Kokusaitenjijo-seimon. A lot of people were there to attend the Tokyo International Book Fair 2006 – incorporating, among others, Digital Fair, Gifts and Variety Fair and Education Book Fair. Unlike KL International Book Fair with no entrance fee, there’s an entrance fee of 1200 yen each for those who came to Tokyo International Book Fair without any invitation. Everyone is duly registered, by completing a long registration form and attaching 2 business cards. No, one does not have to be an executive to have a business card here since even housewives in Japan carry their meishi (business cards) in their purses. Many students in Waseda have business cards too, often self-made and printed by computer printers, rather than being made by a proper business-card printer.
Anyway, we only discovered that we needed to pay and submit our business card (non-existent at the moment) only after we had walked all the way to the halls where the exhibition was held, and since I was only hoping for a glance at the books with no intention of buying anything, we decided not to go inside after all. Anyway, we saw lots of people carrying goodie bags, but many of them were busy disposing a lot of brochures and pamphlets at the entrance, perhaps unwilling to carry unnecessary ‘garbage’ all the way back home (probably by train or other public transports.)
Prior to that, we went to Panasonic Center, the place where Panasonic showcases their latest products as well as educating the public on their innovations and their contributions towards maintaining a sustainable environment. I liked it. Hubby enjoyed it. Even Huzaifah was not easily bored since they had lots of different areas with different features and displays. We also happened to be there on the first day Panasonic decided to distribute some souvenirs of the Osaka Gamba, a soccer club receiving their sponsorship. So, after completing stamp marking the three forms at 4 different areas of the 2-floor hall, we went to claim our souvenirs. The muffler and the t-shirt looked pretty cool, but we only managed to get two note-books and a lousy eraser.
In conjunction with Tanabata, there were assistants in traditional yukata, distributing papers to be hung as both decorations and wishes on bamboo trees on the far-end corner of the spacious building. Tanabata, a celebration which originated from China, is supposed to be one of the most romantic days celebrated in Japan, and according to my Nihongo sensei, due to its history, in the old days, people used to hope for romantic wishy-washy stuff on Tanabata. Nowadays, the wishes written on paper strips hung on bamboo trees are for various purposes – safety, health, wealth, promotion, being accepted by university – to name a few. Kindergarten kids who were there were encouraged to make various decorations, with all the necessities – papers of various colors and sizes, glue, scissors, wet tissue, tissue – being provided. Mothers assisted and waited patiently by their children as they earnestly worked on their very own Tanabata decoration project.
We were keener on seizing the opportunity to take photos with the colorful oh-so-Japanese-scenic background. We even had two photo postcards printed there courtesy of Panasonic – and I really love the one with two Nihonjin girls in yukata, with me holding Huzaifah on the center making peace sign a’la Nihonjin pose. (Seriously – in Japan, people of all ages - from kindergarten kids to grandpa - just love making peace sign while posing for the camera). Too bad hubby didn’t snap that pose on our own camera.
From Kokusai Tenjijo, we went to Daiba, to Shell Museum. No, it is not a museum featuring sea shells, rather it features Shell-Ferrari F1 collaboration. It was closed on Saturdays (open everyday but Saturdays. Duh!), so we just took some pictures of what was visible – pictures on the wall, Schumacher’s hand prints, bridgestone tyre used at one of the F1 races in 2004, etc. No F1 racing car though on display though – that’s reserved only when the museum-café is open. Hubby was so engrossed in taking photos that he didn’t realize that he already went beyond the allowed area and set off the sensor alarm. An elderly Nihonjin Pak Guard on duty came to check what had set off the alarm and when he saw we were snapping some photos, politely advised us to be careful since the sensors in the area were rather sensitive. I was a bit embarrassed – yelah, baru gambar kadbod Schumacher je, bukannya dengan Schumacher in person pun dah excited tangkap gambar sampai bunyi alarm, heheheh…
Aqua City was our last stop, stopping at Deck’s on our way there. Many shops were having summer sale – Gap, Comme Ca Ism, Next - to name a few. No, I am not a brand conscious person, but if I can get a 600 or 900 yen items for Huzaifah at branded stores while they are on sale, I wouldn’t mind buying them compared to paying the same amount for items with questionable quality elsewhere.
We returned at dusk, bidding farewell to the Odaiba’s Statue of Liberty and the colorful nicely lighted-up boats with lighted-up Rainbow Bridge in the background. Our feet ached from all the walking we did, but all in all, I would say that we had fun. Even Huzaifah seemed to enjoy his day out very much.
Oh, by the by, I managed to snap some photos of summer gifts, also known as chugen, or mid-year gift. Wikipedia said that it's celebrated on July 15th, but I have been told that it started as early as late June and ends as late as early August. There’s a Japanese saying that claims “siblings are the beginning of strangers”, thus an anthropologist professor of mine claimed that, the chugen gift custom is a chance for people to make up for not meeting or calling relatives and friends often, yet still maintaining good relationship with them. A Nihonjin friend offered a simpler reason though – since summer is always blazing hot, everybody just gives everybody else some gifts to cool each other down. Yeah, that’s why a lot of Nihonjin send fruits, soft drinks, tea leaves and instant coffee powder in nicely decorated boxes as chugen gift. Sometimes they even send cooking oil as chugen gift – to fry tempuras or prepare yakisoba to be consumed together with cold drinks.
I was thinking of sending a gift to Kawaguchi sensei who wrote the recommendation letter for my Waseda application. However, since chugen gift receiver usually feels obliged to give something in return to the sender, chugen might not be the best time for me to send a gift to Kawaguchi sensei. Hmm, maybe I should get something from Malaysia as a simple thank-you gift. But what should I get him, huh?
No comments:
Post a Comment