in cyberland, we only drink... diet coke

Today I went to a press conference for the Japan touring production of Rent. It was extra-special cool cause Adam Pascal and Anthony Rapp--who originated the roles of Roger and Mark, and played them in the movie--were there too!
Originally I was supposed to get to interview one of them, like one-on-one, but there wasn't enough time or something, so I just ended up going to the press conference at the Shibuya HMV. Which actually turned out to be pretty darn fantastic. So first, AP and Anthony came out and performed "What You Own," literally like 5 feet in front of me! The fanboys behind me were screaming their heads off, lol.

They did a little Q&A bit of course, with the two guys plus Yuka Takara who plays Alexi--cause even tho she's not a huge role in the show, she's the only Japanese cast member, so of course they trotted her out, lol. Tho she was absolutely the most adorable thing I've ever seen. A totally cool person.
Then of course they had to bring out the obligatory tarento, which in this case was Yamada Yu who apparently is a "big fan" of the musical. Whether that's true or not, she acted pretty excited--and was actually pretty cute. Tho... my GOD the woman is tall. I mean, granted she was also wearing like 5 inch heels, but still.

Then, even better--the rest of the cast all came out and joined them and they all sang "Seasons of Love"! well, not the whole cast, but basically all the principals--Collins, Mimi, Angel, Benny, plus Gwen Stewart who does the fantastic female solo in the middle of "Seasons" (she's also an original cast member).

It was absolutely incredible, I was sort of tearing up there for a minute even. I would love to go see the show, but I dunno if I can. I mean, it runs through end of August so I could prob swing it, but I don't know of anyone who would go with me. If I could get a press ticket on the other hand... lol.

Oh, and did I mention I'm now on the radio? In addition to the podcast, I'm on the actual radio now! InterFM (76.1) has a morning show, Good Morning Garage, and every Thursday morning at 9:15am, there's sort of a Metropolis corner, where we come in and talk about what's in the mag, events for the weekend, etc. Rather like the Metpod, actually. Will used to do it, but since he's left they needed a replacement. And both James and I volunteered, so we went together last week for the first time, and now we'll be switching off. James took this morning, so I'll be on next week. It's a lot of fun, but I do have to get up about an hour early in the morning to make it on time. Ah, the sacrifices, lol.

Also, check out my bar review in this week's mag. We're not talking Thrash Zone level or anything, but pretty good all the same. (^_^)

多摩川

So, just thought I'd do a quick post introducing some more of my area, Tamagawa. Of course, Tamagawa is, literally, "Tama-kawa," i.e. Tama River.
We had a random warm weekend a couple weeks ago, and I spent the day out on the grass by the water, reading. It was pretty fantastic.
There's some steps, sort of, that people sit out on.

Across the river is Kanagawa (not Tokyo proper).

It's pretty in the setting sun. ^^













This is the entrance to a little temple nearby.

There's also a park by the station, with some pretty little ponds.

Last but not least, new PV. Since mom was freaked out about the last one, I figure I might as well continue the trend with more of my favorite wtf-inducing band, Acid Black Cherry, with "Jigsaw" ^_^

Let's play a game

It's called "how long can Sarah 我慢 before she gives up and turns on the heat?"
The answer, I think, is not long, cause it's getting freaking cold in my room. Sweaters and mass quantities of hot tea aren't gonna cut it much longer. {{(>_<)}} brr....
And the trains have been annoying lately, too. Yesterday morning there was some kind of a breakdown on the Meguro line, which backed up all the trains so it took me 40 minutes to get from Jiyugaoka to Shibuya (for the record, even on the local train that usually takes 15 minutes). So of course I was late for work. Not that I got in trouble for it, I mean it wasn't my fault, it was just annoying being stuck on the train for that long. And then in the evening that same day, it was super crowded again because of a 人身事故 "bodily accident" (Japanese euphemism for "we had to stop to scrape salaryman off the tracks").
But the weekend was fun. I got 2 free meals! Well, one free meal and one that was supposed to be free (but I'm a space case and forgot to get a receipt so I can't get reimbursed for it). Yeah.
The first meal was at this place in Ebisu that's having a renewal open, so they treated us to a meal! It was awesome. They're called えびす小町 Ebisu Komachi.We got a delicious tonsoku nabe (tonsoku is like pig feet--or leg maybe?).

Plus some other really yummy stuff like this cocoa-coated imo thing, and suppon and delicious charcoal-grilled chicken. Jason was with me, pretending to be press for the night. With the hours that guy works, he deserves a free meal.

Then, Sunday night I took Felicia along on my restaurant review at Yebisusan in Sangenjaya's naka-mise (which will be coming out in 766--which means I have to write it, like, tomorrow. Lol). I really like the atmosphere of the place.. casual, friendly, no pretensions. The tables were like plywood set on top of barrels, and you sat on stools. Kind of like some Korean bbq places I've been to.

It was a ホルモン料理 horumon ryori place, which basically means they specialize in....insides. Stomach, brains, heart, liver, tongue....grilled on a stick.
Mmm....hormones...

Of course, they have lots of normal food, too. Like Japanese-style fried chicken. (Japan is the only country where a pile of shredded cabbage and a blob of mayonnaise constitutes a side dish).

Enoki mushrooms wrapped in bacon.

And another yummy nabe dish.

Felicia and I weren't feeling quite up to brains, so we opted to go for some delicious grilled large intestine on a stick (with green peppers).

The peppers were really good. Intestine as it turns out, is not so bad either. It mostly tastes like the sauce, which was really yummy. My only qualm is that it's rather chewy--though not nearly so bad as some other inside-y bits can be.
Ok, with that I need to go to sleep now. More fun stuff to report on later-- we're all going to the press reception for the opening of the Christmas Illumination at Tokyo Midtown on Thursday. Yes, Christmas Illumination. See, in Japan they don't celebrate Thanksgiving, which means they get to skip straight from Halloween to Christmas. But Midtown is gorgeous and there's going to be some fantabulous Indian food, so I'm happy.
It's really funny tho, cause apparently Omotesando Hills is having their illumination reception on the same night, and the Midtown PR lady has called like 5 times already to make absolutely sure we're going to their event, and not Omotesando. ;-P

get a move on

It's a brand new office! Still workin the whole full-of-boxes look a bit perhaps, but it's bigger better and roomier! It's like a real office building, I have to ride up in the elevator with other people and everything. I'm definitely feeling the lack of fantastic yummy lunch places around every corner--don't get me wrong, there are some, but it's not the same--but it's actually not that far of a walk to get to the Omotesando area, so I foresee going to my old lunchtime haunts rather a lot actually. The only downside is the morning commute, which is now 20 minutes longer and involves a bus from Shibuya station. Bleh.  But it's really only a pain in the morning--evenings I've been walking from the office to Shibuya, which actually only takes about 15 minutes. It's kind of a nice walk, especially after spending all day sitting on my butt in front of a desk, it's nice to move around. Of course, we'll see how long that lasts once it gets colder. But I can always take the bus if I want.

Sunday I went to the school festival 浜大際 at 横浜私立大学. (same thing we went to with IUC last fall, where I met Jacky and Naoko and Ai-chan). Didn't get to see Ai, but Jason and I headed over and met up with Jacky and Naoko, and hung out with them at the festival for the afternoon. Much fun to be had! ^_^

There we are at an Alice in Wonderland theme cafe that one of the clubs was putting on.  Jacky was quite interested in the cat-girl.  ;-P Not the best picture, but I didn't take it, so. Anyway, it was awesome, and then we went to Thrash Zone after--my first time since like, June. Yum!

This issue of Metropolis-- my bar review! The Belgian beer bar I went to with Jason, Ben and Felicia is running in this issue. A little on the expensive side, but definitely worth it--well, except for that Pink Killer thing, that was just...gross.
Oh, and slightly awkward, but I'm in the podcast too! Yeah, Metropolis has a podcast, who knew. Well, I knew but I have to admit I never actually listened to it before now. Kong comes in every Tues afternoon and Hiroko and Beau always go in to record segments of it, but this week they asked if I wanted to come in, too! I was kind of nervous, I didn't really know what I was sposed to talk about--mostly just ended up being Keeping Tabs. Anyway, go to the Metropolis main page and scroll down to the Tokyo Metpod-- I'm on the most recent one, Nov 5. You can listen to the whole thing, or fast-forward to my part, which is about 3/4 of the way in maybe? Anyway, it's ok but it's SO WEIRD listening to it, I'm like "that's not what I sound like." lol.

finally (phew!) new PV. apologies to Rei & co (it's been a little less than a week for them) but my favorite wacked-out visual kei band, Acid Black Cherry, has a new pv out, called Jigsaw! Incidentally, this is not it. This is their second-to-latest PV, 20+∞ Century Boys, which only just got a decent version of it posted to youtube. (Jigsaw isn't posted at all yet, aside from the 30-second preview version)
anyway, enjoy! The setting is the band (dressed up as dorky high school girls) is staking out a concert waiting to meet...well, themselves...but there are three "cool" girls who keep getting in the way.  it's love.

人生はいろいろ、女だっていろいろ

Wah, I'm tired!!  (@_@)
But on the plus side, I was actually able to finish all the things I was supposed to today. On the way to work this morning, I was seriously doubting it. Didn't take a lunch break but....
On the other plus side, I got paid today! Which is also very good as I looked at my bank account over the weekend and was a bit dismayed to learn that I was down to my last 1万円. Then I thought, "wait, that means I made it through the month with $100 bucks to spare!" And I felt a lot better. Plus I went on a bar review this weekend, which means I'm gonna get reimbursed for that at the end of the month too, so that doesn't actually count as money I spent. (((o(^o^")o)))

Speaking of bar review, the place I went to was really awesome, this Belgian beer bar next to Yokohama station, called Glass Dance.  I dragged Jason, Felicia and Ben B with me and we had a grand old time. ~_^  Cost a pretty penny, but the beer was fantastic and work footed a good chunk of the bill so we didn't really mind.  This was our first round!  You can see Ben there, enjoying himself. And if anyone ever has a chance to try a Belgian ale called Delirium Tremens, I strongly suggest that you do so, because it is FANTASTIC. See how it comes in a glass with pink elephants on it?  hehe.  Not sure when the review's gonna run, but I'll give an update. Month or so maybe?
We're gonna have a lot to do in the months to come, too.  Steve had an editorial meeting with us last week talking about ideas for the big redesign he wants to do. Totally gonna shake up the whole concept of the magazine, which I think is a good thing. Not that there's anything wrong with it, but as Steve pointed out, when Metropolis first started out, we were pretty much the only source for English-language information on events, or galleries, or restaurants or whatever in Tokyo. But now there's the internet and anyone with a blog can basically do what we're doing. So we need to adapt to the new environment and find a new niche for ourselves. Move away from long-form articles and toward more and shorter ones, so we can get in more information about more things. I like it, and we were all pretty psyched up about coming up with ideas and stuff, but as Hiroko pointed out, it's going to make a lot more work. Especially for the two of us. With the result that we really really need to get some more hands on board, whether slave labor interns or part-timers or whatever, if only so that Hiroko and I don't have to do listings anymore. Cause that's complete and utter brainless busy work, but it's really time consuming. No listings would give me an extra day and a half, easy. And while it's true that at the moment, I often complain about having nothing to do on Thurs/Fri, if the last couple weeks are any indication that's 100% a problem of the past.
*sigh*
Oh, on another note, I have a CD review coming up in tomorrow's edition!  Only like 100 words so it's not that big of a deal but it's of the NICO album that I stole from Dan. lol.
Speaking of albums, I ordered the twins' new single, which hasn't even shipped yet according to amazon, and it came out *yesterday* thank you very much.  (≧ヘ≦)
Speaking of twins, this week's PV is the new single of theirs that I ordered but haven't gotten.  Again I say (≧ヘ≦) arrgh.  It's totally schizo and melodramatic (not their fault for the record, it's the theme song for some gothic romance vampire anime) and can't decide what kind of song it is, but parts of it have really grown on me (i.e. become unbearably stuck in my head).
Factoid 1: they actually dance a little in this one! (usually they just kind of do this bouncing in place thing which is awkward and sad)
Factoid 2: they get a girl!
Factoid 3: I'm pretty sure it's a gaijin, even tho she's not blonde
Factoid 4: I don't like her. At the end, when the veil comes off, I'm pretty sure she's sposed to be all sad, or pensive or whatever, but I think she just kind of looks constipated.
Thoughts?

Something sweet

Anyone ever heard of the "Picasso of Pastry," Pierre Hermé?  Well, I hadn't until recently.  But apparently most Japanese people have heard of him, and he has a shop in Tokyo.

And on Monday afternoon, Hiroko and I got to go to the press reception for the unveiling of his new line of sweets, at the unbelievably fabulous New Otani Hotel.  Seriously, this place is amazing!  And it has one of the most fantastically gorgeous Japanese gardens I have ever seen. Ever.

Oh yeah, and the sweets were nothing to sneeze at either ;-P  It was basically like a big, free dessert buffet. I have no idea how much food they must have made for it. (To give you a slight idea, there was an open-to-the-public party version of the event that evening--basically the same deal, only they charged about $140 a head).
Fancy banquet room

And the parade of sweets

And finally, the man himself:

It was a really fantastic event. Hiroko and I were suffering from major sugar shock afterward (>_<)  It was also kind of weird, cause the chef was speaking in French, and then his translator put it in Japanese--so I was kind of half listening to each language  ;-P  Reminded me how sad it is that I really can't speak French anymore.   I end up saying things like "le francais ga wakarimasu."  .... yeah.
At any rate, "yum!"

Other stuff

Metropolis Issue 756

My first restaurant review! Cha-coo-la. Check it out.

Also the terebi blurb about the Pochitama press conference that I went to, though that's nothing really special.

Other good things:

I got another free CD at work today! First album by my new favorite band since yesterday: NICO Touches the Walls. Saw the cd when I was going through Dan's mail yesterday, decided to go home and look them up, listened to one song, decided I would become obsessed with them liked their music, downloaded all of their songs to date, and at work today asked Dan if I could possibly have their cd cause I'm a really big fan.

I tend to do this a lot.

But at any rate, I got the CD! Seriously, though, they do have this one song "The Bungy" that is one of the most fantastic things I have ever heard. I really want to put it up as video of the week, but there isn't a good-quality version of the PV up anywhere. The video quality of this one is pretty good (click "watch in high quality") but the audio is slightly out of sync. Still, WATCH IT and tell me it's not the best song ever. (and if it's not, then I'll know you, at least, have more of a life than me).

Also... here's the promised photo from the 252生存者あり press conference.

That's Hideaki Ito in the middle, with the kind of awful fake tan.

Cole Haan 80th Anniversary Party

Thursday night.

We got to go to...well, you see it up there in the title.  It was a really ridiculously cool party, very fashiony (read: lots of champagne, next to nothing to eat) at the Aoyama Geihinkan which is a crazy roman-style colonnaded building near my office. Apparently it gets used for weddings and stuff a lot. 

When you walked in, they gave everybody a bag full of US pennies...which was really weird until we realized that there were blackjack and baccarat tables set up and that the pennies were for betting at the games.  Sort of reminded me of Yale Casino Night, only with more expensive clothes, and celebrities.  Beni Arashiro was there, and so was Kazuhiro Nishijima, which is really funny because our arts editor Dan just interviewed him, and we're about to put him on the cover of Metropolis!  lol.  He was really popular with the press--everybody wanted to ask him about his recent engagement to former Takarazuka star Miki Maya.  0.o

Some pics from the event: 

These candles sell for upwards of $1000 in Harajuku.    

Tents full of fashionable people.   

More candles, by the pool.     

Shoes and bags display by the entrance.      

The blackjack tables.   

It was a pretty swanky party.  There was also a jazz band playing most of the night.  They were really good!  Dan said it wasa guy called Jose James--he's playing at Billboard Live Tokyo this weekend.

parties and such

it's been a busy week.
Monday me and the other Metropolis eds got taken out on the town in style. A couple weeks before I joined the mag, they did a review of a place called Charcoal Bar Tunnel in Roppongi, and apparently thanks to the review, they started getting lots more foreign customers, and they were so grateful they called and asked to treat us to dinner! yummmmm
We got to meet the promoter of the restaurant, and the 社長 who was like "here's my card, it's got my cell phone number, anytime you want to come here give me a call and you can eat for free." seriously!
then, on Tuesday night Hiroko and I went to the 1 year anniversary party for Billboard Live Tokyo. again, seriously yummy food. and it's an incredibly neat venue, really small and intimate. i kept imagining how cool it would be to go see a live there.
no pictures, but i did actually get around to replacing my broken camera yesterday--yay! i am SO in love with my new digicam. so hopefully there will be lots more pics to come.

oh, and speaking of pics, i get another photo credit in this week's Metropolis! so, i was writing the terebi blurb, and i decided to write on this tv tokyo show about famous japanese landmarks, that was gonna be showcasing Itsukushima Shrine. mostly cause i hadn't had time to call for a photo yet, and TV Tokyo has a site where you can DL press photos. only, it turns out that the photos they had up for this show weren't very good (you'd think on a press site they'd have decent quality photos!) and the design people were all panicking, so Steve goes "does anybody have any photos of Itsukushima Shrine?" and i was like, "oh! i do, actually...." (cause we went there during the Great Nihon Adventure when my parents were here, on which trip I took literally about 500 photos...
so, in short, the below photo (slightly cropped) is running in this week's Metropolis! (my second photo credit!) XD

復活!!

Not that there's anyone still reading this blog--but just in case, this is to announce that I am finally starting it back up. What's it been, a month? (no, probably more)
In any case, there's far too much to catch up completely so I'll just give a brief run-down.
My parents came to visit right after IUC ended, and we went on a whirlwind tour through Tokyo, Yokohama, Nikko, Kyoto, Hiroshima, and Miyajima.
And just as the trip rolled around toward an end, I got a call from Metropolis, with a job offer! So I've been working there for...well, nearly a month now. I'm an editorial assistant, which means I'm in charge of exhibitions, events, and club listings, as well as a few of the weekly blurbs like keeping tabs and terebi.
And in honor of my new job--and the fact that it's in Tokyo, and not Yokohama, I've moved!! I'm living in a real apartment of my very own, with a fridge, and a washing machine, and a bed, and a real closet....and it all feels very adult and weird.

And, that's the catch-up. Check out my kodakgallery for pictures from my trip with the parents, and there will be pictures of the apartment soon, now that it's up and running (tho there's been a slight mishap with the camera--as in i might have to buy a new one).

endings and beginnings

Also, IUC is over!
waaahhhh.....
But, here are some pictures from the end, courtesy of Matsumoto-sensei, IUC's resident photographer. At every IUC event, he's forever popping out of corners and snapping so many photos that when you flip through them, they play almost like a movie. >_<
Anyway, here's me giving my final presentation:
The group of us (most of us anyway) who took shodo
And receiving my graduation certificate.

Which, this time, they didn't forget! Lol (unlike a certain HIF graduation ceremony I attended)...

Oh yeah, and I did really well on my final test!!! ☆★☆

Oh, and speaking of endings/beginnings, in a few short hours, my parents will be arriving in Tokyo! Whee!! Along with my 幼なじみ Rebecca and her mom. \(^_^)/
So, just to let you know, I probably won't be making many posts on here for the next couple of weeks, as we'll be travelling around Japan. Needless to say, I'm sooooo excited!

Oh, and I suppose I should change up the PV, hmm? Let's see, I've got to pick a good one, since it might very well be up for a good long while.
OK, I can't resist. What else, but the new PV by DoReMii's favorite twins, ON/OFF.
<3

fun stuff

Let's see...what have I been doing lately?
Lots of fun things. ^_^
Molly, Jason, Misa and I finally got to meet up with some of the HamaDai kids again, and we all went to a Yokohama Baystars baseball game! About time, too. For all that I live practically next door to the stadium, it was my first time actually going. We got the cheap seats, and the Baystars lost (apparently they're not very good this year) but it was lots of fun! In the picture is Jamie, Naoko, and Molly. Yeah, I'm really not sure what that face is about....
The next weekend I went out to Enoshima, which is a small island near Tokyo--it only took about 45 minutes to get out there, but felt like a whole other world. The weather was beautiful, and there were palm trees everywhere--it felt almost like Hawaii! lol. Got a lot of exercise, too, cause there were a LOT of stairs. >_<
A little further up the stairs...
At Japanese temples, there's usually a donation box out front, where you throw in a few coins, clap your hands, and say a short prayer. This one was a little different... The sign says "Coin-Washing White Dragon. In this pure golden water, wash and purify your feelings and the coins, and make them reach it."
Lots of people out boating.
The other side of the island looks a little different.
Isn't this guy amazing? ^_^

visits and stuff

Golden Week so far has been tons of fun. For those of you who don't know, Golden Week is the end of April/beginning of May, when a bunch of national holidays happen to fall right in a row. It's not exactly a week's worth, but close enough that the government just decided to give everybody the whole week off. (I love Japan!!)
Even though the holidays didn't officially start until Tuesday, IUC was nice enough to give us the whole week off--yaaayy!! So, I've been taking full advantage of the break--not really doing anything special, just lots of hanging out and stuff--going out for yakiniku, watching movies, that sort of thing.
Sunday afternoon I spent with Molly and Misa. We went over to Dakanyama, which is an area just outside Shibuya, with lots of shops and boutiques and stuff. FUN! XD And after, we stopped in Yokohama eki for dinner at the soup curry place.

Tuesday, Jonah (Yalie/with me at HIF) came to visit. He'd just finished up a semester at KCJS and is in Tokyo for a few days before going back to the States, so we met up in Yokohama for a nice lunch in Chinatown, and then walked around for a while. It was lots of fun, we went over to Motomachi, and then through lots of areas of Yamate that I hadn't been in yet. Yamate is the old mansion district above Motomachi, where the rich foreigners lived--and where rich people still live--so the houses were amazing. It feels very not like Japan. There's also an "Italianate Garden" that we walked through, which was absolutely gorgeous. It was really odd to be standing in the middle of all of this Western-feeling architecture, and greenery, and look out over the rest of Yokohama. Not that I don't love Yokohama, but...it just looks different from up there.
Then we went over to the Minato Mirai area, and walked over to Aka Renga just around sunset. The flowers from last time were all gone, but the view was just fantastic. Yappari, Yokohama = <3

***
Also, this week's PV! Sorry, but I just couldn't resist--it's the new News song, "Summer Time."
Seasonally appropriate, and lots of fun to watch.
These boys just thrill my fangirl heart... ^_^