Sunday, June 10, 2012

Free day!

Today was our first whole day of free time!  This morning the Bates contingent, along with others in the group went to a Kabuki theatre performance.  It is a traditional style play/opera that included big Taiko drums, traditional one string banjo-like string instruments, and singing/talking that was a little screechy (on purpose).  Unfortunately we couldn't take pictures of the elaborate set and costumes, but here is some information on the style in general.
Kabuki info


Architecture in downtown, near the Kabuki performance 


Outside the Tokyo National Theater
The lobby of the National Theater reminded me of Lincoln center with its jewelry box-like lighting.

Curtain, pre-Kabuki show


After the show I went on to explore the very modern area of Harajuku with two other students.  The shopping was overwhelming (even for a shopper as experienced as me) but the fashion and people watching was fun!

Walking through Yoyogi park on our way to Harajuku






Upstairs at an over the top food court in Harajuku


Tonight Sandy, Nancy, and I met up with two other recent Bates graduates (one just finished up her thesis with Nancy as her advisor) for an amazing dinner in the fancy shopping district called Omotesando Hills. Designed much like a modern Champs d'Elysee, the large tree lined boulevard was flanked by designers, boutiques, fancy apartment buildings and incredible malls.  We got dinner at a restaurant famous for their traditional Japanese pork cutlets, and they exceeded expectations for what pork can taste like.  Incredibly tender and flaky at the same time they were barely trumped by yet another amazing plate of sushi!  Yum!


Found a little bit of home!



The lobby of a fancy apartment building





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