Travels, 3 (Japan)

After taking a break from this series on traveling vicariously by talking about musicals and Glee, it's now time to close the series with a little insight on  how The Land of the Rising Sun, Japan, is on my itinerary.

I suppose it started with IBC-13's airing of Japan Video Topics back in the late 1980s until the early 1990s. The show covered a plethora of well, topics ranging from advances in technology, religious or cultural feasts, traditional sweets, or artisan crafts from small towns.

I remember one of my favorite episodes being about those wax food models that Japanese restaurants use to show diners (foreigners, especially) what they're selling. I

n fact, this episode was what sparked my interest in the whole exercise of making fake food and that's just one reason I want to go to Japan : to learn from the experts. (For those who don't know, they're still showing Japan Video Topics  although I can't rightly say if it's still on IBC-13 or on that religious channel that sometimes has Euromaxx and Arts21 on rotation.)

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Meanwhile, the mid-1990s, I discovered the (accidentally) funny and very engaging Tokyo travelogue, Oh, Tokyo which starred a number of Japan-based Filipinas who went around Tokyo and the neighboring areas visiting tourist destinations.

They were all pretty good hosts although many people who saw the series on WINS (that would be Channel 54 on Skycable back in the day. Right before that channel which had Sister Wendy's show) would agree that the breakout star was Ellen Nishiumi who had a preternatural gift for converting yen to pesos in practically zero seconds, a cheerful disposition, and an honest face. (For instance, when giving her opinion on a traditional fish soup, she went "Aaaa, kakaiba siya" while her face displayed an "ew" look.)

Ellen's job was ridiculously fun, in my opinion. She and her co-hosts went to amusement parks, shopping districts, and restaurants. They basically visited any place that would interest tourists. It was pretty cool too, that she was able to bring in her camera crew into the amusement attractions so you didn't have to rely on mere reportage. You actually saw the ladies shriek in delight, or fear depending on where they were. (One of them, whose name I don't particularly know, went on a dinosaur-themed ride and you could tell she was freaking out. Awesome.)

Ellen on Oh! Tokyo

I wanted to steal their jobs, that's for sure. :)

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Of course there's also Sofia Coppola's 2003 film, Lost in Translation, which starred Scarlett Johansson and Bill Murray (known for comedies but turns in a spectacular dramatic performance here as Bob Harris). A fascinating film that inspects the (temporary) lives of two strangers brought together by loneliness set against the backdrop of modern-day Tokyo.

The film looks beautiful, making good use of the location to show how small and alone the two characters are. The shots of Bob and Charlotte wondering about and wandering around Tokyo, and those in the dimly-lit hotel rooms are alluring and heartbreaking. (The soundtrack is amazing, too, featuring Phoenix, The Pretenders, and Jesus and Mary Chain.)

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And then there are the Haruki Murakami books. I actually don't know why the Murakami books I like (Norwegian Wood, Dance Dance Dance, Wild Sheep Chase, and The Wind-up Bird Chronicle) would make me want to go to Japan. In most cases, the lead characters I identify most with are the lonely, jazz-loving (or western music-loving) men who live somewhat unstructured lives (working as either writers or artists) that they can leave easily to chase a dream or nightmare. They could be from any country, I suppose, especially since Murakami doesn't really provide names for most of his lead characters and I can't tell if they really ARE Japanese, but since they're living in Japan, that should be enough.

And it is, I guess.

Besides, I want to see Murakami in person.

Ah, and before I end, the last book that makes me want to go to Japan is Kyoko Mori's Shizuko's Daughter. A young-adult title I bought on a whim when I was in highschool and I've loved it ever since, for its lovely descriptions of Japan's changing seasons which are also used literary device to explain parts of Yuki's (the lead character's) life.

If Japan was indeed as gently sad and beautiful as Mori's book says it is, then I don't know why I'm still writing this and not sitting on a JAL flight at this very moment.

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On the whole I'd rather be on the road right now.