Japan day 20: Osaka Castle

Our last day in Japan. Since we had limited time before we had to leave for the airport we decided to give Osaka castle another visit, this time in day time. I was glad we went because we got to see this lovely boat again in the full light of day. It was beautiful at night time too, all lit up.

I liked the way the trees contrasted with the castle, with the bright orange leaves and black branches against the extravagant architecture.

Japan day 19: Nara and Tōdai-ji temple

We spent a day in Nara, the capital of Nara Prefecture in south-central Honshu. There were many temples and shrines in Nara and  a lot of deer! The deer were obviously very used to humans and you could buy crackers if you wanted to feed them. The deer also would bow to you! A man told us that the deer were actually considered messengers of the gods in the Shinto religion. This is a deer on the steps to Kofukuji Temple.

We got to visit Tōdai-ji temple, a large Budhist temple opened in 752 AD. The temple was the biggest one we found in Nara, with an impressive interior.

Tōdai-ji temple contains the largest statue of Buddha in the world, made entirely out of bronze. I found out that the Buddha is 14.98m tall, and the shoulders are 28m across. Also an interesting fact I found is that a human tooth and objects such as jewls, swords and mirrors were found inside the statue from x-raying it. The items were said to belong to the 45th emperor of Japan, Emperor Shōmu.

At the top of a hill close by to the other temples was Nigatsu-do temple. The temple was a nice place to rest and you had a pretty decent view.

After dinner that night we went to see Osaka castle, which was easy walking distance from our hotel. We'd bought some cat food to help feed some of the stray cats in the area and actually met a fat ginger cat at Osaka castle. The cat obviously didn't need much food, but we gave it a bit and it cat on my lap while we admired the castle. The castle was build in 1583 by Toyotomi Hideyoshi, a samurai, general warior and politician of the Sengoku period. It was incredibly how well lit it was at night time so that you could see it's entirety and even from a distance it was completely illuminated. At midnight most of the lights went out, but the windows still glowed and there was a dull orange light over it.

Japan day 18: Osaka

After doing another workshop at KUAD University we headed to our hotel in Osaka. In the workshop we worked with animation students to make an infographic based on robots from the past and our predictions for the future. These photos were taken around the large river outside the hotel.

We went for a walk around the river after dinner and explored the area a little, wanting to make the most of our small amount of time in Osaka. The lights reflected on the river were gorgeous and we came across some of the locals feeding the stray cats.

Japan day 17: Toei-Eigamura Kyoto studio film set

We spent the whole day at Toei-Eigamura Kyoto studio film set, which had a set for ninja/edo period movies. You could wonder around the set and enter the houses. This is the interior of one of the houses. 

There were also a couple of shows we attended. This one was a ninja show. There were some stunts involved and it was very dramatic and easy to follow despite our extremely limited understanding of Japanese. We also went to a show where they showed us how they film a ninja movie, like the should effects and tricks they use.

There were also ninja's on the roofs of some of the buildings, which also includes a robotic ninja which crawled along some wires. There was a real attention to detail and lots to keep us busy. It was surprising that the place was practically empty as far as visitors go.

There was an assortment of things at the film set, as well as small museums and attractions. This one was dedicated to anime and there was others for the power rangers and ninja movies.

Japan day 16: KUAD University workshop

We went to KUAD university and met up with a class of animation students to collaborate on a small project based on robots (eastern vs western). 

This is an art piece that we saw at the front of the uni. There were also some interesting sculptures made out of paper and wire.

Japan day 15: Manga Museum and Temples

We went to the Kyoto International Manga Museum in Nakagyo-ku. We saw these characters (the ginger girl mainly) in a few subway stations and at the museum itself. I wasn't aware of this until I found them at the museum as well, but I think they are mascots for the museum. 

The museum was full of manga which you could handle and read. You could even take it outside to read. There was also an exhibition on the Edo period of art, which is where some believe manga may have gotten it's influence. We weren't allowed to take pictures inside apart from of this statue based off a bird character from Tezuka Osamu's manga. Tezuka Osama is the creator of Astro Boy, Kimba the White Lion and many other classics, and if considered by some to be the 'king of manga'. 

After the museum we went to look at some temples in the same area. I'm not sure of the names of the temples we visited, but will update if I can find out. They were fairly small temples, but very nice. At this one people can write down their wishes (I think) and tie them to the tree. Both of the temples had Koi ponds and this one also had swans!

Part of another temple we visited. This one allowed you to go inside. The inside was golden and had many candles lit and gorgeous statues, but of course no photos were allowed inside.

Japan day 14: Kyoto Seika University

We went to Kyoto Seika University which is an arts school known for it's faculties of manga and anime. We were able to go on a quick tour of the school and were impressed by the creativity of the students. 

We also attended a manga workshop with Japanese students and lecturers. In the lecture we learnt about 'Yokai', which are Japanese ghosts or spirits, or pretty much any mysterious creature who can't be seen. I was very interested in the subject of Yokai as my favourite anime/manga, Natsume's Book of Friends, features a boy who is able to see and interact with Yokai.

Sketch day 13: Robot Equal Right

Day 13 was a study day mostly spent in the hotel room. For our finally assignment we were asked to create artwork related to the IREX exhibition. I decided to do a series of posters both for and against Robot Equal rights. It's based on the concept that if a robot can form it’s own opinions and feel actually emotions, how long before their sentience is so close to human that human rights should be extended to them. These are a couple of quick watercolour mockups I did.

Japan day 12: Fushimi Inari-taisha Shrine and Tofukuji Temple

For our first day in Kyoto we decided to visit Fushimi Inari-taisha shrine and walk up Inari mountain to see all the little shrines along the trail. This is the main shrine. The bright orange is consistent throughout all the Inari mountain shrines and all of them share similar designs. 

To get to the top of the moutain you go up steps through 10,000 of these Torii gates. There are thousands of steps too and it takes around 2 hours to get to the top. We hadn't planned ahead for this, but we were all determined to get to the top and follow the trail back down. The well preserved gates date all the way back to 711 A.D. and while most are painted bright orange (seemingly repainted fairly regularly) there are some plain stone gates.

Along the trail there are lots of little side paths with beautiful scenery. It allows you to get away from the crowd a little, although understandably there were less and less people as we neared the top.

On our way back a couple of us decided we'd walk back to the hotel and had a little bit of time to look at Tofukuji temple. Just like Fushimi Inari-taisha, it was a massive area filled with buildings which are part of a school for the Rinzai sect of zen Buddhism. It was originally built in 1239, but after burning down was rebuilt using the same plans in the 15th century.

What appealed to me was the amount of detail put into the roofs and the contrast between the white of the building and the dark wood. There was also the size of some of the buildings. It was hard to capture just how large some of them were.

Even the smaller structures shared the same detail. I also loved the bright red leaves around along with the neat hedges. 

Japan day 11: Shibuya Hachiko Inu

We spent a short amount of time in Shibuya before taking a train from Tokyo station to Kyoto to our next hotel. This is the famous Hachiko statue. The story behind the statue is that there was a dog who used to meet his owner at the same spot outside of Shibuya station every day at the precise time that his owner would arrive there by train after work. His owner died and the dog continued to wait at the same spot each day. For around 10 years Hachiko waited at the train station for his owner. Commuters began to notice and bring him treats. A sad, but beautiful story.

Also found this cute kitkat advertisement, featuring what I assume is Hachiko. I really like the colours in it. I enjoy how in Japan there are lots of ads which incorporate illustration and manga/anime artwork.

Japan day 10: Reppongi Hills City Models and Takashi Murakami

In the morning we went to see the Mori Building City Models and VR. There were scale models of Tokyo and New York city. The models were made out of styrofoam and paper. They told us that they update the models twice a year to include new buildings and clean it. The model shows most of Tokyo, but there are still parts they're working on and they hope to construct other cities as well. They also have 3D simulations of cities that allow people to experiment with for construction purposes.

It's incredible the amount of detail and effort they make to create the models, using images of the buildings on the outside of the buildings. Looking at the model really helped me visualise where each province is located in Tokyo. 

We also went to see Takashi Murakami's 'The 500 Arhats' exhibition. The exibition featured a 100 metre long painting with the arhats, the 500 enlightened followers of Buddha. His work is inspired by 'otaku' culture with his character based paintings. 

I really enjoyed this creature with the tree growing from it's head. I think it's a goat creature. I read that it was inspired by Princess Mononoke, one of my favourite Studio Ghiblie movies. I love the was he did it's eyes with the long lashes and the tree is gorgeous. Murakami's use of colour in his work is wonderfully vibrant. 

Japan day 8 and 9: Musashi University and Tama University

Day 7 was spent in and around the hotel, preparing a presentation about robots and our reactions to the IREX exhibition. This is a mascot we made for our presentation. She's an assistant/companion robot called Kimagurena or Kima-chan for short. She's a temperamental robot, representing how robots could feel emotions. Kima-chan's head turns to show a happy and angry face.

For our presentation for Musashi University in Toyotamakami on day 8 we talked about service and assistance robots and discussed what will happen when technological advances start taking away jobs. We also talked about the development of artificial intelligence and how if robots start to actually feel emotions, how long will it be before they are given certain rights previously reserved for humans.

On day 9 (today) we went to Tama University in Hijirigaoka. At the university we watched animations by Japanese students. I was blown away by how detailed and creative the animations were. The last animation we watched was a 3D animation about the afterlife and the visuals were incredible. 

Japan day 6: Meiji Shrine and Museum

Meiji shrine in Harajuku was gorgeous, surrounded by trees with orange leaves gently falling. I enjoyed the way the curved roof/curved lines of the gate was imitated everywhere. There were ever signs and at some point vending machines with the same curved top.

Before you came to the shrine there were these rows of barrels of sake. Apparently, these sake barrels are common at shrines around festival times, and full and empty barrels are donated b sake brewers (the ones of display are empty). Seeing all the unique barrels stacked together was nice.

The area around the shrine was huge and beautiful, with paths leading around it. It was a peaceful walk after visiting the shrine.

After leaving the shrine we went to Nezu Museum, also in Harajuku. The museum didn't allow pictures inside of the scrolls, but the highlight was the Japanese garden anyway with it's traditional Japanese houses.

Japan day 5: Ikebukuru and Harajuku

Today we went to the Pokemon centre in Ikebukuru, in the same building as where we're staying. The building was brightly lit and very white and clean. It works well to draw attention to the brightly coloured pokemon. 

We also visited the Disney store in the same building. This store also had a lot of white, but was less crisp and modern, with more of a classic flare. I enjoyed the layout of the store and this little display with trailers and advertisements for all things Disney related.  

After looking around the mall in Ikebukuru, we went to Harajuku. Harajuku had a diverse range of fashion stores. There were nicely presented boutiques as well as vintage clothing. This particular store appealed to me. It's called Liz Lisa and sells lots of pretty, lightly coloured clothing. Everything is displayed very neatly and the staff are very friendly and eager to help. The store was lit nicely and had a very calming feel to it. 

Japan day 4: IREX Ariake and Robot restaurant Shinjuku

IREX 2015 International Robot Exhibition. I found the humanoid robots the most exciting. These three preform dance routines together. There were also some incredible robots to help people with disabilities find their way and to give extra strength to the legs and backs of people working. We also saw arm robots which could pick up small items randomly placed with precision and also distinguish the colours of the different items to sort them. 

Robot Restaurant Shinjuku. For a bit of fun we decided to visit the Robot Restaurant in Shinjuku. The whole place was like the inside of a kaleidoscope. So many bring colours and patterns. There were three shows, each involving simple animatronics, such as the horse shown above which moves automatically. Other animatronics include a dinosaur which can open and close it's mouth. Although the animatronics aren't very complex, the shows are very entertaining and flashy, with dancing, singing and acting. It was ¥7500, definitely worth checking out at least once. 

Sketch: Studio Ghibli

After going to Studio Ghibli I had to sketch something from my favourite movie. Just something pretty rough and had to use a reference picture. 

Japan day 3: Ichigaya Gallery and Printing Museum

The Tenmyouya and Hisashi x Indieguerillas exhibition, Mizuma Art Gallery. These paintinga are by Tenmyouya Hisashi and are part of his "Japanese Spirit" series. In these paintings he mixes traditional basara and kabukimono samurai aesthetic with modern art. I enjoyed the textured backgrounds and illustrative machines and found the mix off old and new interesting.

We also went to the Tokyo Printing museum, also in Ichigaya. Along with the exhibitions we were allowed to do a short printing workshop and learnt how to set type and print.

Japan day 2: Studio Ghibli Museum and Nakano Mall

Today we went to the Studio Ghibli Museum in Mitaka! We were not allowed to take any photos inside, but the outside was beautiful too with the vines growing up the walls and trees surrounding it. Studio Ghibli movies will always hold a place in my heart. The first one I ever saw was Kiki's Delivery Service and I've watched it more times than I can count. 

The outside of the museum really makes you feel like you're in a Studio Ghibli movie, and inside is no different with it's stain glass windows, little archways and balconies. It was so interesting seeing how each movie progressed from the early sketches and seeing the gorgeous, crisp scenery paintings. 

We went to a mall just outside of Nakano Station. It had some interesting stores with 80s/90s collectables. There were a lot of robots, power rangers and monsters from old and obscure horror movies.