wandering around

ぶらぶら(burabura) means the act of wandering around aimlessly, and i feel like it's a word that represents myself and my life quite accurately. so, here is me doing more burabura through Tokyo

spontaneity

For a known to be rigid society, I feel like Tokyo creates a space for spontaneity. When people hang out for one plan, afterwards they tend to do another. For example, we wanted to go for dinner with some friends, we were a bit early so I went shopping for new shoes. After dinner, we decided to go play some darts. You can pile up as many activities as you want if that is what you feel like. I know this is similar everywhere and the fact that in Europe these hangouts are a bit more short is a matter of it being too expensive to do plans back-to-back. Still, I have noticed I have become way much more spontaneous when it comes to friends. I would hang out with someone in the morning, finish the plan, and then text someone later to meet up the same day. Even after I arrive home, sometimes I don’t go to my room directly and just hang out with people I live with. In Spain, there is probably similar spontaneous interactions, but since I have lived my most recent years in the Netherlands, this has been quite a shock, a happy one though.

side-quests

Last week (or even one before, I am not very up to date with my newsletters) I did a lot of side-quests.

I have been seeing some artists here in Substack and I found a Japanese one and checked if I could see some of his works in Tokyo. I still remember that museum I went in my Setouchi’ islands biking trail and the exposition about Japanese artists. I really want to see more of these different styles. I am very familiar with European art, so I want to explore as many galleries and museums as I can when I am here.

That’s why I decided to go to a small art gallery that is inside a Starbucks to see the works of Karin Hosono. Hosono is a contemporary artist, famous for these squashed cats. The famous word ‘Kawaii’ that we know as cute can also be a verb ‘kawaigaru’ which is the action of treating something affectionately. I feel like squishing a cat’s cheeks is a very good example of ‘kawaigaru’.

On my way to the gallery, I was reminded of something my friend, Michelle, said. She noticed people in Tokyo are constantly on their phones when they commute. I never saw it before and I realised it was because I was one of them. From point A to B, I have my eyes glued to the screen, scrolling mainly through TikTok. You might be wondering why I stopped to talk about cute cats to mention this travel habit. The thing is the result of this mindless travelling is that sometimes instead of A to B, you end up missing your exit and arrive at point C. And that is exactly what happened that day.

I can’t talk surely from other people’s minds, but I assume a lot of people would have gone back one stop backwards and continued with their original plans. I, however, live, laugh, love through life, so I checked what was on C and changed my plans completely. Instead of the Art Gallery, I went to the Imperial Garden. I had never been and it was a sunny day, so it made sense. A decision I don’t regret a bit, since the park was absolutely mesmerising.

I was so happy I had my camera on me because I took incredible shots. So much that I decided to make a video solely for this walk. The place was huge, green and very peaceful. Seeing all the big buildings in the back also gave me the feeling of an oasis in a busy city. I found everything so cool.

In the imperial garden and surroundings, a lot of people go running. I saw a lot of cool people there and the idea of jogging in such a place, near one of the fanciest neighbourhoods of Tokyo just felt grand. I realised I didn’t run so it wouldn’t make sense for me to do something like this. However, I am someone who wants to spoil myself rotten. Any whim, goal, or adventure I want to do, I work to be able to do it. So, I started running and one day I will run there.

After a very long walk, I went to Marunouchi. This is where Tokyo Station is and my best way to describe it, is an old money rich place. There is a lot of corporate buildings, designer stores, shopping and places to relax and sit. In Minato, another rich area, everything feels more elitist. People have expensive cars, wear the latest designer trends, etc. In Marunouchi, people seem normal enough, the stores and cafes, too. If you take a good look, you do notice that simple white shirt is still designer and the way people act is of comfortable class.

On the same day, I actually did a relatively sketchy thing. I decided to go clubbing with total strangers. I was tired to wait for people to club so I just joined an activity in a travel/backpacking app I have. For some reason, I ended up organising everything too since people’s leadership skills are so lacking in this time and age.

When I met them, some people were happy I organised because they were travelling, etc. It was a fun experience, though I would say there wasn’t much difference with going to any techno club in another part of the world. The people I met in the beginning were definitely a bit more erratic than I expected, but the rest I met later on were normal.

I was prepared to party until the train opens, but many people gave up earlier which was a bit of a bummer. I did go for some ramen with one of them before heading home. Here, the sun rises at 4-5am so my eyes were tired and in pain from all that light, which I didn’t appreciate. I arrived at home at 7 am and in the bathroom found one of my house friends that apparently also went clubbing. Goddamn it. I forgot to ask her.

I didn’t sleep that many hours later because I had set up an alarm to go to a festival, but when I woke up, I saw the pictures of the place being super crowded and decided to just chill for the day and catch up with my shows.

On Monday, as happens every Monday, I had class. While I was having my breakfast/lunch in my house, I jokingly said I was tired to fill the awkward silence. This triggered someone saying ‘Why don’t you skip class?’ Those words had not crossed my mind at all. After all, I was already planning to skip class on Wednesday to go to the hairdresser, which is shameless enough. I denied his words and started to get ready. When I was picking up my backpack, I stared at it for some very long 2 seconds. Then, I decided to indeed just take the day off. I did pick up the backpack, just with different items inside.

I went to the neighbour of Yanaka Ginza, famous for its old-school artisan shopping street, and cats. It was not very crowded with tourists but it is still a touristic area to visit so you could find plenty of original souvenirs. Walking around, I realised I was sick. The biggest symptom of this illness I had was that you instinctively open your wallet when you see an interesting thing. I haven’t found the cure yet.

In the end of the street, with a couple bags in hand, I headed to the place I came here for. A Starbucks. I had a lot to plan for my Korea trip so I needed a place to chill and work. As many of you may know, I am not a Starbucks person. I like visiting local coffee shops and slower, pour-over coffee.

If your comprehension skills are up to par, you might already have guessed it. This is the Starbucks that has the art gallery with Hosono’s cats. The paintings were around all the three-story Starbucks. The architecture and design of this cafe was honestly beautiful. A lot of open spaces, tatami mats and very green and bright. I must admit that working there for a long time is way much more convenient that when you go to a smaller coffee shop.

After this cafe, I walked to Nezu, the area I almost lived in. The area is very pretty and a vibe. Though I like my more than 6 sqm room and liveable, actual house a bit more. I went to a cafe that was some public baths before and got remodelled keeping the same walls. I had already been there but I really wanted to go again. I read my book for a bit before they closed down. Then, I got some sushi-to-go in a stall and headed home from my productive day. Not sure if I would say responsible, if you take into account I skipped class.

On Wednesday, I went to Harajuku to do my hair. I started having breakfast in a new cafe I had found out. So cool, it’s in the top of a tall building. It would have been nicer if I actually had time to enjoy it. But this girl is always in a rush. I met my hairdresser, a bit late, and we talked about my hair for a bit. There was another hairdresser who actually did most of my colouring. She didn’t speak english but we talked in Japanese the whole time just fine. That was exciting. Then, my original hairdresser came for my cut, which I told him to be crazy. I personally think he was quite conservative, but my hair still slayed.

weekend side-quests

In the spirit of catching up with my newsletters, I will add another weekend.

One day, I asked one of my friends in the share house to go hiking and he planned a trip. The day of the adventure was that Saturday. He rented a car and the 4 of us who joined went to a mountain in Chiba prefecture, rural and agriculture province next to Tokyo prefecture. I told my friend I was a beginner, but the hike we did was definitely a bit more advanced than we all expected. We used ropes to climb rocks, used ladders and walk through paths that weren’t even 40 cm wide. Still, it was very doable and we all managed just fine. The floor was a bit slippery so we all were just extra cautious. It had rained a lot the previous day, which also caused some paths to be destroyed. In the end, we even went back in a route that is not taken care of so it really felt like going into the wild.

On Sunday I went to the last day of the Tokyo architecture festival I randomly found in Instagram. In this festival, you could go into buildings that weren’t ever open for the general public. I went to the Kajima company. Kajima is one of the most important architect corporations in Tokyo. They built the first ever high scraper in the city and many other places like the department stores of Ginza and the Shibuya sakura passage that lets you go through Shibuya without crossing any road.

The building itself was very beautiful and well-thought of. I expected only the building to be allowed for entry but be empty. I was wrong, there were a lot of organisers with special exhibitions and even art to be shown. I was very impressed with the care they put even if this is a very niche and small festival.

Afterwards, I ended up walking through the neighbourhood of Akasaka and headed to Roppongi. These neighbourhoods are both in the fancy Minato. The architecture in the streets of Akasaka was quite interesting too. It was a bit more human than the architecture in Azabujuban (top rich area in Minato). I went to a cafe that makes cake art with famous painters and they also have a dog snacks menu. In the outside terrace, I saw a dog, dressed in a designer outfit and with its hair perfectly groomed, sat in one of the chairs while two girls were talking. He seemed to be engaged in the conversation. I wonder which of the more than 15 dog snacks he picked from his menu.

Then, I went to a library in Tokyo Midtown. It was almost a secret. If I hadn’t known of its existence, I wouldn’t have been able to have found it if I was just strolling around. There are no signs nor indications. There, I found a temporary design exhibition that was superb. I loved all the parts and the explanations of all design concepts linked to signs. I took pictures of literally everything and I wished they would have a book of this exhibition. I am going to print all my pictures in a booklet.

Finally, I sat down in the very small library and worked. The whole day carrying my laptop was for this. By the way, when I mean work, I mean my last planning of my trip to Korea. I did look for apartments in Amsterdam for a bit too. The views from this place would be worthy of a study with me video.