Day 64- Roppongi Hills

The other intern and I went to Roppongi Hills. Which is a hip/cool place in Tokyo. Also, where a lot of expats are located. Anyways, we went to Mori Tower, which houses the Mori Art Museum, a Dinosaur exhibit, and a view of Tokyo from it's helipad. So we first went to the Mori Art Museum. WHICH WAS AWESOME! They were showcasing an exhibit called "Sensing Nature: Japanese Perception of Nature".
"Maman" by Louise Bourgeois, just outside the entrance of Mori Tower.

The first installation when entering the exhibit, "Snow" by Tokujin Yoshioka. It was a massive room filled with feathers. The artist's intentions were to emulate snow. Evey so often the fan inside would blow which caused all the feathers to shoot up into the air and fall gracefully. I wanted to go inside...

This was by far the BEST installation I have ever seen. The first image is what you see when you enter the room. At first I thought it was some sort of "Alice in Wonderland" kind of room. Where you just squat and make your way out to the exit. But then, I noticed people's legs just standing there.

Then as I walked around, I found holes cut out into the paper...

Another person experiencing the rabbit hole! The artist, Takashi Kuribayashi, wanted the viewer to experience what it is like to be an insect or small animal on the forest floor.

This is what it looks like from the exit of the forest.

The amazing view from the top of the tower. You could see everything from there.

Day 60- Hanabi-dori

DAY 60!!! 1 month=30 days until I am in the sky off to the chi! Anyways, today was a very special day in Tokyo. It was the Sumidagawa hanabi-dori (Sumida river fireworks). This is the largest fireworks show in Tokyo. Since it is the largest there were tons of people everywhere. I met my boss at noon, since he woke up at 8am to tape off a spot for our group. I though we were intense because we came early to get a good spot. But according to my boss some people come a couple days earlier for the prime locations. The people that guard the spots are typically the underlings of a company. That was me for the day! I was given the honorary task of guarding our spot until the show. It was pretty boring. I sat there and watched as couples started to show up to take their spots. Me=awkwardly sitting on the curb, headphones in, hoping no one bothers me. Which no one did. In the end all faired well.

During all the guarding, I took a break and went to a shrine that was nearby. It was a tourist hotspot. There were so many foreigners. Gates prior to entering the shrine. The lantern in between was HUGE!

Near the shrine there are tons of food stalls and whatnot but there was this one stall that was making candy!

After the old man put the sugar coating on the fruit, he would put it on an ice block to let it cool down. From there you were able to choose which one you wanted.

Then making my way back to my bicycle, I saw this old lady. She was just walking and then all of a sudden she walks right inbetween two buildings! I was like SPIRIT! So, I took a snapshot of her disappearing into the otherside. (If you've ever seen TOKYO!, there's a scene where the two main characters of the first segament are talking about how spirits live inbetween the buildings. In Japan, you can find a lot of the buildings don't touch one another. Usually there is a tiny gap between both. Just wide enough to get a hand in. I think that's where spirits live too...)

I know it's blurry...Anyways, we're all sitting in the middle of the road waiting for the show!
The festival was started by the 8th shogunate to honor the dead and ward of disease and famine. At the time, the local restaurants were given permission to set off the fireworks and its been continued ever since.

Day 58- National Art Center

So, I know I've been m.i.a. for the past...I don't even know...and I'M SORRY! But it's okay because I'M BACK! The past 3 weeks have been uneventul up until now!
Firstly, I had to pay my rent for my last month in Tokyo! It was pretty epic. I have managed to survive 58 days and counting. Hopefully I make it to the end!!! On my way back to the train station I passed this store that had all these posters of bands on the windows. I'm guessing it was some sort of ticket store. But I saw this poster and had to take a couple snapshots. Only because I'm seeing them in September. Again! Really excited!
I went to the Man Ray exhibit at the National Art Center in Roppongi.

For my entire trip, I have been doing another assignment. I have been looking at tons or art/design/inspiration for, hopefully, my art minor show next year. I take my ceramics very seriously. lol. So far I have multiple ideas for the project. Now I just need the studio to start experimenting. Usually, my ideas come to me right before I fall asleep. Then I let them fester in my brain for a little bit before I actually make an attempt to write/sketch/describe them into my sketchbook. At the Man Ray exhibit a majority of the displayed artwork was his trials and products of experimentation. Unfortunately cameras/photography was prohibited. But no worries, I came away with a set of gold lips pin and a postcard! In my opinion it was a successful outing.