Rice and Ramen

I've discovered a few perks to working in the Life and Culture division of a publication. I'm definitely on top of the arts scene in Tokyo: if it's a major museum I probably know what exhibit is on display at the moment (and probably even what's coming up next). I also get to spend a lot of my working day reading about said art, if not new restaurants, new books, or interesting places to travel within Japan. It's almost enough to make me wish I wasn't gainfully employed so I'd have more time to take advantage of all these opportunities! We are, however, occasionally given opportunities to preview exhibits and I decided to take advantage of one of those invitations. So it was with a mix of excitement and trepidation that I sent back my reply that, yes, I would be attending the opening reception for "Mapping the Invisible" at the Tokyo Photographic Art Museum. There were quite a few people milling about in the main lobby drinking wine or Y...

Even though January is (already!) almost over, it still feels like the year has just started for me. Maybe it's because I just started a brand-new job? That's right: just last week I started my new job at the Japan Times where I'm now working as an Assistant Editor in the Life and Culture section. I have a lot to learn, both in terms of editing (I've done a fair amount of freelance writing, but it's my first time on the other side of the publishing equation) and adjusting to a new work environment. Right now I'm doing a lot of fact-checking, copy editing, and working with the weekly arts openings: a perfect job for someone who spends nearly as much of her free time at museums as she does coffee shops. The office is relaxed, everyone is super nice, and I really do look forward to going to work each morning. Having the weekends off isn't a bad perk, either: it means I can see more art. This past weekend I visited two museums, the National Museum of Moder...

Well, it has been quite a week, everyone. For the past six days I've been commuting an hour to and from Nitori's main office in Tokyo for my first week of job training, albeit of the intellectual variety. And since it's of the intellectual variety...I actually am legally not allowed to tell you guys terribly much of the content of what I've learned. The short of it is: if I can find the information elsewhere (e.g. it's already on Nitori's website or there's already a public article written about it) I can talk about it, but otherwise everything I've learned, including things as seemingly basic as company slogans, are private information. So. Moving on. Here I am on day one, looking all bright and shiny in my very basic black suit (sans jacket, in this photo). It is so hot and humid, now that Tokyo is in the rainy season, and wearing these suits is a miserable experience. Almost as miserable, in fact, as the state of the trains during my daily co...

Greetings from Tokyo. Well, technically I'm staying in Sayama City, Saitama (which is the prefecture just North of Tokyo) about an hour outside the city center by train. My host family--from my six-month AFS exchange trip in high school--kindly agreed to let me stay with them for the next two weeks. I've got an interesting lineup of coffee shops to check out from the get-go, and I'll have a lot of me-time on the train to and from the city (thank goodness for the online Chicago Public Library). That being said, I had a lovely last few days in Kanazawa that ended up being much more social than I expected. First, one of my friends (who I randomly met in a cafe last summer--we hit it off and I saw on facebook that she's a regular at Transit Beans so we reconnected earlier this month) randomly asked me if I wanted to go to a "tea party" at one of her friend's house. I said yes--why not?--and she and her husband picked me up in their sporty blue car. Wh...

All hail the end of the work week! TGIF. All that jazz. All in all I can't complain too much about today though since my morning turned into a slight crafting bonanza. This morning I went to the annual Kanazawa Paper Show, which was an expo of paper products, specialty paper, and paper crafts. It was half museum, half store, half craft workhop and half other. (Sorry, I know that's too many halves.) Art wise there were a bunch of specialty books and paper things. There was even an entire wedding dress made of washi (Japanese paper).  Ties made of paper! Not that I would ever wear a dress made of paper...imagine it ripping, or raining! There were also various paper-craft stations set up around the expo. Since we ended up with some extra time, the reporter I was with was kind enough to humor me and let me try a few. So I made some paper of my own: And then at another station I got to marble paper (this sheet has my name on it; before dipping the paper in ...