Review: Films Set In Japan – Memoirs Of A Geisha (2005)

Posted on May 3, 2011 by tokyofox

Get beyond the whole Chinese actresses portraying Japanese geisha debacle and what you see in ‘Memoirs of a Geisha’ (called ‘Sayuri’ in Japan) is a beautiful, colourful, gorgeous film showing the spirit of this one girl as she battles against the odds. That may sound cliched and it probably is but I like that kind of film as it requires less thinking on my part! Personally, I didn’t care that most of the actresses weren’t Japanese.

They were trained in the art of being a geisha which would no doubt have been the same if local talent was cast. Its a dying art and I don’t expect they know much better just because they are the same nationality. Besides, Chinese can act better and that is a fact so get over it! They were chosen for ability rather but I can understand why Japanese people get upset about a foreigner portraying one of their own. Be that as it may, people often portray different nationalities in the Western world.

I was eagerly anticipating the film release at the end of 2005 having read Arthur Golden’s book during my break from Japan earlier that same year. Unlike the other ‘films set in Japan’ reviewed on here, ‘Memoirs…’ is very high profile so the story is already known to most. Basically, impoverished nine year old girl Chiyo is sold to a geisha house in Kyoto’s Gion district and struggles with her new family and new life, particularly the head geisha Hatsumomo who is jealous of her beauty. Hatsumomo’s rival Mameha (Michelle Yeoh) becomes Chiyo’s new mentor and renames her Sayuri where she goes on to master the artistic and social skills which are all part of a geisha’s appeal. As WWII looms the story takes a turn which would forever change the world of geisha.

As someone who is intrigued by geisha and read a fair few books about them I still don’t really understand or see their charm like so many others do but thats probably just down to a difference in culture. I have seen ‘Memoirs….’ quite a few times and think the stars of the show are not Ken Watanabe (The Chairman), Ziyi Zhang (Sayuri) or Michelle Yeoh (who I prefer in her more combat roles especially the James Bond film ‘Tomorrow Never Dies’) but Gong Li as Hatsumomo who delivers a master performance as the wicked witch of this Cinderella type story.

The young Chiyo features for the first hour and that is the part of the story I like the most as it shows her uphill battle which the young Suzuka Ohgo performs very well. My enduring image of the movie is the one of Chiyo running through the many torii gates after she’d just met The Chairman. Together with John Williams’ superb score this is a beautiful, visually stunning moment which changes her life forever. (Watch it here.) Having said that, is it only me who thinks there’s something wrong with the idea that The Chairman set his sights on a young girl and then waits until she grows up before getting her!

Most of the movie was filmed on a specially-built village in Los Angeles but there were a few scenes made in Japan for real and those were done at a few temples in and around Kyoto. At 145 minutes the film is too long for my liking (even though I was enjoying it a lot I do recall getting restless in my seat after two hours when I saw it at the cinema) and having the actors all speaking English makes no sense. Subtitles should have been used but then I guess far fewer people would have bothered to go and watch it. Apart from that I really enjoyed it.

  

Tokyo Fox Rating 8/10

Posted in Films, Review: Films Set In Japan | Tagged , , , , | 6 Comments

There’s Now An Apple Vending Machine In Tokyo

Posted on May 1, 2011 by tokyofox

Last August I told you about the banana vending machine in Shibuya and now there is a machine dispensing apples. Not just normal apples though like I saw in Italy last year but cut-up apples in a bag. The machine is near the B1 and B3 exits of Kasumigaseki station in Tokyo and each pack costs 190 yen.

Posted in Food & Drink, Quirky Japan | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

Review: Films Set In Japan – Into The Sun (2005)

Posted on April 28, 2011 by tokyofox

Love him or hate him Steven Seagal films do a job. Admittedly its usually the same job and that is usually wooden acting, bad dialogue, unrealistic action scenes, pathetic plots and heavy duty martial arts action combat where the bad guys are taken on and defeated by the hero of the hour. It doesn’t take a genius to work out that ‘Into The Sun‘ is no different.

Its certainly no ‘Under Siege’ but this 2005 film is actually better than I thought it would be. It may be a fairly average film full of clichés but its entertaining enough with some magnificent Tokyo landscape on show including Shinjuku, Hamarikyu Gardens, Zojoji temple, Tsukiji fish market and Tokyo Tower. It starts off with a fairly pointless pre-titles action scene in Burma (in reality it was shot in Chiang Mai in Thailand) before the typical Asian strings kick in as the opening titles begin.

We then see the usual aerial shots of Tokyo and then a governor is suddenly assassinated and that can only mean its time for Seagal’s character to enter the scene and save the day. I can’t remember his name but that doesn’t really matter when he basically plays the same character in every film he ever does!

Here, he is an ex-CIA agent who is hired to track down the Yakuza (Japanese mafia) responsible for the killing. In true movie-style another agent is assigned to work with him who just doesn’t possess the knowledge and understanding of Japanese customs and the Yakuza that Seagal does.

What is really stupid is the choice of language used in some scenes. The Japanese and Chinese characters speak to each other in broken English and whilst Seagal’s character often speaks in Japanese he then uses English with his Japanese fiancée who communicates in Japanese. This fairly unconvincing romance develops amid the beauty of Hamarikyu Gardens and inevitably she is killed and it then becomes personal and he swears revenge on the bad guys. Such an original formula eh!

 

Tokyo Fox Rating 7/10

Posted in Films, Review: Films Set In Japan | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

Smoky Tokyo

Posted on April 24, 2011 by tokyofox

This sign, with its bad English, appeared in the downstairs area of my apartment block recently and I have to say it took me by surprise. On the other hand it didn’t surprise me too much as this is Japan. By that, I mean that here it is appearances which matter more than anything.

Whilst the world’s major cities have already banned smoking in bars and restaurants Tokyo has done very little beyond introducing a few separate sections for non-smokers. Instead, they are cracking down on people smoking in the streets which has never really bothered me too much as the smoke gets carried away by the wind.

     

As the first photo shows, my agency would rather people fill their apartments with smoke rather than doing it in the common areas. Given that the Japanese government is a major shareholder in ‘Japan Tobacco’ a crackdown on smoking indoors seems unlikely to happen anytime soon. Personally, I am surprised Japanese people tolerate it so much in bars given that they are seemingly always going on about the importance of food and how delicious it is. I guess they must like that added smokey taste.

Posted in Japan Life | Tagged | 4 Comments

Stop! Hama-rikyu Time!

Posted on April 20, 2011 by tokyofox

 

Hamarikyu Gardens on the bank of Sumida-gawa river are well known to Tokyo tourists as they are often visited in conjunction with the must-see Asakusa Senso-ji temple by way of boat taking one between the two places. When my sisters visited me during my first time in Japan we did this boat trip as its a nice escape from all the concrete not that the river is particularly interesting or nice.

I don’t really recall much about the actual gardens from all those years ago so with a late start at work two days ago I decided to re-visit the place to see the cherry blossom (sakura) trees. It was the warmest day of the year and not too crowded. The place comprises gardens, woods and water with the main Sioiri-no-ike pond having seawater flow in and out of it which is the only one of its kind in Tokyo

 

according to my pamphlet. That kind of fact didn’t impress me but the pond itself did with its couple of islands linked by a few very pleasant bridges. A teashop is situated on the bigger of the islands which serves powdered green tea and a sweet for 500yen but all that seems quite normal to me so I didn’t bother.

 

Its not often that I view the cherry blossoms once during season but after last Fridays bicycle ride along Kanda River I saw yet more cherry trees in Hamarikyu. They certainly didn’t dominate the place but there were a few of them dotted around the main pond being admired and photographed by the snap-happy Japanese if I can use that (slightly out-of-date) stereotype for a moment.

 

Posted in Japan Travel | Tagged , , , | 12 Comments

Review: Films Set In Japan – Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III (1993)

Posted on April 16, 2011 by tokyofox

Well I managed to sit through all 95 minutes of this movie which is set in feudal Japan (1185 to 1868). I will never ever get that time back! I watched this with one eye very much on how it inter-spersed the heroes in a half shell with the legendary and deadly samurai.

At the start of the 1990’s the Teenage Mutant Ninja (changed to ‘hero’ for the cartoon) Turtles were big business. I recall watching a few episodes of the cartoon and getting a pirate copy of the first film but it’s probably the theme tune which sticks in my head more than anything and I am afraid to say that my ironic use of the word ‘cowabunga’ in this day and age loses its irony the more I say it!

Lets get on with the storyline then. On second thoughts why should I bother wasting any time explaining it when it seems that the writers put so little effort in to yet another time-travel plot gimmick that had something to do with a magic scepter which could transport them back to 17th century Japan. Possibly the only positive from the film is that Michaelangelo, Leonardo, Donatello and Raphael train to perfect the art of becoming one and even manage to show how the introduction of guns into Japan destroyed the samurai class and altered power structures.

Primary antagonist Shredder is totally absent in this movie (maybe he died in the second movie???) , Splinter is under-used and pretty much static for the few moments he appears (albeit his top half only!) in his underground house. Anyway, who gives a sh*t about all this. The popularity of the turtles was already on the wane by the time this film came out in 1993.

   

Tokyo Fox Rating 3/10

Posted in Films, Review: Films Set In Japan, TV Shows | Tagged , , , , | 12 Comments

Cycling Kanda River In One Day

Posted on April 12, 2011 by tokyofox

You can read ‘Cycling Kanda River In One Day’ – Prelude’ here.

Within a few seconds of cycling alongside the river I stop at Yanagibashi which, according to the article that this ride was based on, was a red light district 200 years ago. Not so exciting now with it just being a kind of car park but for charter boats.

 

Not much further on is Hijiribashi which is an 88 year old arched stone bridge.

 

I continue on through Akihabara but its too early to see any maids about. I take a quick detour to the see Tokyo Dome (photo opportunity for a different project) and though I’ve seen very few cherry blossoms (sakura) so far I decide to be patient and miss Koishikawa Korakuen gardens as I’ve been there before and don’t really wanna spend money on the entrance fee or stop when I’ve only just got going. Unbeknown to myself I take a wrong turn at Iidabashi and end up following the wrong river down to the fish farms of Sendagaya. I turn back and am slightly frustrated despite seeing some beautiful sakura.

     

Picturesque scenery dominates my ride along the riverbank around Edogawabashi and it isn’t until I reach Takadanobaba that I actually have my bearings. I lose them pretty much straightaway after crossing Tokyo’s only tram line (Toden Arakawa line) as I am unable to follow the river and can’t cycle parallel to the river. From here on there are lots of gates to go through and I can’t go more than 50 metres without having to slow down and go through one before waiting to cross the roads and the process repeats over and over again.

         

Every photo opportunity (and there are many!) seems the same (a bending river with overhanging sakura) as I race to make it to my destination by lunchtime. Up river I am faced with a decision as the river splits into two and I am thankful that I recognise the kanji for Kanda River and take the left fork where that sign is placed. On my return journey I discover that it wasn’t such a crucial decision as they both eventually lead to the same place!

 

Nakano-ku is hell. A long and dull urban sprawl which seemingly goes on for ever. As I have no iPhone (with its useful navigation system feature), map or geographical knowledge of the area I have no idea where I am or how close I am to the end. Mitakadai eventually appears (though I don’t know it at the time) and is much nicer and some koi (carp) can even be seen in the river that I have been religiously following for nearly four hours.

     

I don’t realise that Inokashira Park in Kichijoji is just round the corner though not literally. Its just before 1pm when I make it to the pond which is the source of the Kanda River. Despite it being a cloudy, windy day the park is quite busy with groups of people having their hanami parties under the sakura.

     

I take a short break, look around the temple and take some photos and then head off home. I don’t need to follow the river so closely going home but decide its best to do do as its all easy to get lost.

 

I am wondering how long its gonna take to get back and the cliched answer is of course too long!

Posted in Cycling | Tagged , , , , , | 16 Comments

Cycling Kanda River In One Day – Prelude

Posted on April 10, 2011 by tokyofox

Last year I read an article about cycling the length of Kanda River at a time when I was racking my brain to try and come up with a new Tokyo cycling challenge. In some ways I didn’t think it sounded as interesting as my previous rides so I thought it best to do it during the limited cherry blossom season to make it a more picturesque and enjoyable experience. It is that time in Tokyo right now and it already seems like the sunny days are over so I was left with pretty much no choice to do it yesterday (April 8th) when it was a very cloudy, windy day. My mate Matt pulled out of it a couple of days before and there was a pretty large earthquake the night before (at 7.1 magnitude it was a huge one but not as big as ‘the one’ on 11th March) but none of that put me off!

On paper this looked like being one of my easier bicycle rides as what could be difficult about just following a river for about 25km! However, when you have to account for very windy conditions; lots of people; bumpy paths; crossing roads; dead-ends; dogs and kids straying from their owners and parents; construction work; bends and a slightly buckled wheel all amid one of the worlds busiest cities its not such plain sailing.

The sun is actually shining a little when I leave my house in North Tokyo at 07:30 but that soon disappears behind the clouds and the strong winds make it quite difficult to control the bicycle at times as I make my way along a couple of very big, long roads. The only incident worthy of note is when some stupid woman wearing a visor hat appears out of the blue cycling towards me whilst she’s on the wrong side of the road (this is sadly a common thing in Tokyo and it really does my head in) and with cars speeding past my shoulder I can’t exactly swerve out of the way so I have to slam on the breaks. She offers no apology and cuts on to the path leaving me wanting to swear at her in Wayne Rooney style! There are a load of school-kids on the pavement so I bite my tongue not that they would understand anyway! It took me longer than expected to get to the starting point on the Sumida-gawa in Taito-ku very close to the sumo arena. It is just before 9am when I cross back over Ryogoku Bridge and begin to follow the Kanda River which commences at the green bridge seen in the picture below.

 

‘Cycling Kanda River In One Day’ can be seen here.

Posted in Cycling | Tagged , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Dining Out: Zakuro

Posted on April 7, 2011 by tokyofox

A couple of Sunday’s ago I went to ‘Zakuro’ which is a Persian restaurant in Nippori. My friend Peter found this place online and thought it might be interesting for a night out……and it was……although we probably won’t be rushing back! Call me boring but I don’t really like places where fun is supposedly created for you. Part of our 2000 yen course (plus 1000 all-you-can-drink) included not just a huge selection of food but also a belly dance.

I’d never seen a belly dancer live before and this particular dancer was very beautiful. I think she danced for about four songs but when the owner of the place (providing commentary and lines which he no doubt repeats every time!) pulled a girl up on stage to dance with the professional I knew the writing was on the wall for me or Peter as the only foreigners in the place.

Inevitably it was me who got pulled up ‘on stage’ (well, the middle of the floor where the dance was taking place!) which was of course embarrassing as I have no dancing ability. I don’t think anyone cared about that though or really took any notice of my ‘moves’. Another guy joined in and we tried to bend as far back as possible whilst on our knees and then he walked off so I followed too. In hindsight I should have taken over the dancing by performing the legendary David Brent dance from series two of The Office!

 

Peter was chosen next (above right) with some other random girl to do some pointless blowing out candles on a birthday cake activity (it was no-ones birthday!) though it did provide some entertainment as rather than feed each other (via linked arms) they chose to shove it in the face of the annoying host…albeit in a joking way.

The layout of the place was very basic with everything on the floor including the table which can make it difficult for us westerners who can’t stretch our legs out under the table a bit like in traditional Japanese restaurants. The walls were covered with belly dancer costumes and other middle-eastern attire and on walking in I knew it would be the kind of place where they try and get everyone up and dancing! As for the Iranian/Turkish/Uzbekistani food, it could only be deemed as alright. I didn’t falafel (feel awful!) the next morning but it was nothing special and believe it or not if it had been better I would have enjoyed this middle-eastern experience more.

Posted in Food & Drink, Japan Life, Middle East Travel | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Review: Films Set In Japan – Walk, Don’t Run (1966)

Posted on April 7, 2011 by tokyofox

Set during the Tokyo Olympics of 1964 this was Cary Grant’s final film appearance and it sees him arrive in the Japanese capital on business but he is unable get any accommodation. Whilst at the British Embassy he sees an advert for an apartment which he soon fast-talks his way into sharing with Samantha Eggar. After a couple of days he then decides to sub-let his half of the place to a member of the USA Olympic team and then he tries to play cupid.

I picked up this film for a few quid whilst I was back in Britain over the Christmas period and finally got round to viewing it recently. The reason I watch all the films featured in the ‘set in Japan’ category on this blog is for the locations. Asakusa senso-ji temple is at the start of the film just to set the scene and once it gets underway we see the British Embassy, Yoyogi stadium, the outside and lobby of Hotel Okura and the streets of Toranomon. The film offers a rare glimpse of life in 1960’s Tokyo which I’ve heard just doesn’t really exist anymore.

Its a light, romantic comedy where the plot flows along gently with, in my opinion, the best scenes being when its just Grant and Eggar working their way round the absurd bathroom schedule. Grant provides further comedic timing when distracting Eggar’s fiancee on a boat trip as he tries to provide matchmaker. After that I feel it gets a bit silly and its maybe no surprise that Grant decided to call it a day at the end of this!

‘Walk, Don’t Run’ was perhaps one of the first true Hollywood films to be made in Japan and inevitably shows the usual exaggerated scenes of bowing and disgust at the thought of eating raw octopus which have popped up time and time again through international films set in the land of the rising sun. Overall, its a nice, little movie to fill a couple of hours when but walk, don’t run to see it!

Tokyo Fox Rating 7/10

Posted in Films, Review: Films Set In Japan | Tagged , , | 3 Comments