Hungy for Haikyo!

Our annual pilgrimage just took off the other day. We visited churches in Tarlac and Pangasinan. I am meaning to blog about it and I hope to God that I get the focus and discipline to actually do it within the Lenten season, but first, I am excited to share my little side trip while on a pilgrimage. Actually, now that I think about it, I feel a little guilty about skipping a prayer and reflection session because ruins of an old church got me distracted.

It happened on our second stop,  St. Michael the Archangel Parish in Camiling, Tarlac. When I learned from the marker that the present church we were visiting is a replacement to the old one that burned in 1997, I immediately wondered what happened to the old church. This is the current St. Michael the Archangel Parish church.

While our parish priest was telling us to settle down, I felt the need to pee so I went out to look for the toilet. While walking, I realized the old church was literally just a stone's throw away from the present church as I stumbled upon its ruins. Then I got excited and forgot about the state of my urinary bladder. I immediately jumped in the first opening I saw.

The facade of the church is still intact and has its old grandeur, but there's really not much to see inside, still I indulged in capturing my first Haikyo exploration.

view from the Altar spot

view from the choir loft

I imagine this is where the portrait of the four evangelists were

the stained glass

the main door

There's something poignant and appealing about the decay of deserted spaces, it makes me think about the "how was" and "what ifs". The way nature reclaims a concrete structure is a profoundly beautiful reminder that nothing in this world is permanent. You may have once been a massive evidence of this nation's colonial past, but today and the coming days, you will slowly dissipate into oblivion.

once a sacred structure is now tainted with a public service graffiti

I tried to research about the cause of the fire, but I couldn't find anything substantial. I wish I asked around, but I was out of time and confident that I'd find about it online. I learned that parishioners tried to rebuild and restore the old church, but their efforts were unsuccessful. Instead, a construction of a new church took place, financed by former Marcos crony and San Miguel Corporation chairman, Danding Cojuangco. I guess restoring the orginal church back to its old glory using present technology would be too costly.

Apathy in Local Politics

The past couple of months had been very disturbing. A flurry of crimes suddenly plagued my peaceful (or should I say, once peaceful) hometown. A mugging turned to murder caught on CCTV, rampant hold-up incidents in busy areas, and just recently, rape and murder of a young girl. People in the city may be accustomed to this type of news, but it's rather unheard of in my neck of the woods, until recently. The last one was especially alarming to my family and our neighbors because this heinous crime happened within our barangay (village).  I sometimes pass by the vacant lot where the body was found when I stroll around with my bike. It pains me immensely to think the idyllic state of our town is turning into an urban nightmare. I grew up in an age where kids play outside, in the streets, and parents had the peace of mind that their children are safe even without a text message to confirm it. Now it seems like those days of tranquility are long gone.

  The horrible crime scene

The townspeople are naturally worried, our safety and security concerns had been a hot topic in a local online community. There's a resounding criticism how the local government and law enforcement seem to lack the commitment to ensure the safety of the community. The sad part is, it has become a blame game. People criticize the lack of police visibility, the relocation of informal settlers from the city, even the negligence of the victim's family. But nobody wanted this to happen, if there are people to blame, it's the perpetrators, and blaming would not really do anything other than ignite our anguish. Some say that this might be the price of progress, once a sleepy town grow into a busy urban hub, things will start to go out of control. In a way that is true, but I refuse to accept that premise. If indeed our town is evolving, then the law enforcement should be upgrading too. It may not be as easy as it sound, supposedly, the police force is understaffed and there's not enough budget to provide state of the art facilities to prevent lawlessness, you start to question, how is that possible when on the national level, the economy has been improving and the tax collection has never been so aggressive. Well, we all know the answer to this question, I won't even go there, that topic is too much for one post.

Here's the thing, we start to form these diverse opinion about how this spate of crimes reflect bad local governance, but my question is, where were we in the process of running our beloved town? We seem to forget the real essence of democracy,  let's define it shall we? Democracy is a form of government in which all eligible citizens participate equally—either directly or indirectly. Sadly for most, the civic duty starts and ends with election. So after the proclamation of mayor, vice-mayor an counselors, how do we follow up on their performance? When do we bother to know the state of the municipality? Sure we have an official website, but mostly, it contains downloadable documents detailing the budget utilization. Somehow it's a good sign of transparency, but who bothers to decode the picture behind numbers and tables? There's a Facebook page that provides updates on town events and happenings, but of course it only gives us positive information. We'd see new establishments pop up one after another, and again we'd think of it as a sign of progress, but do we bother to find out if in anyway they violate any regulation on urban planning? And what about environmental implications? Who bothers to question? We have no independent local press who'd provide us uncompromised reporting on municipal affairs and editorials that would give us a wider perspective. Simply because, there's no demand for it. There's no sizeable need to know the real problems infesting our town, because, what can we do anyway? Did we ever have a town hall meeting? Probably not, who has the time to mind the issues that fall outside work and home? There's very little spirit of volunteerism. Nobody cares, but then something bad happens and suddenly, everybody knew who's to blame. The truth is, we can't just expect our local government to do all the work, of course we pay our taxes to make them do their job, but we have to make sure they're doing it properly, we have our part in this, we have to be involved because the recent series of crimes is not the only problem that would plague us as our town moves towards development. It's just the tip of the ice berg.

There are so many things that sets our ailing nation apart from developed countries, but I'd like to stress Nelson Navarro's observation when he was working as a journalist in a local paper in New Jersey:

"The most important lesson I learned was that Americans take politics most seriously at the local level. They rant and rave about whoever is in the White House or the state capitol, but they zero in most of all on affairs at the township or borough level. They care about how the local elementary school is run, the condition of the streets in their neighborhood, and what houses, buildings or factories are being built in the vicinity. With taxation always came demands for proper representation and service to the people.

I attended many board meetings jampacked by residents who did not hesitate to confront elected or appointed officials about matters they felt aggrieved about. People really bothered to turn out after work or in the middle of a snow storm to have their voices heard. It was democracy in action, sometimes heated and confrontational but always civil, the kind of dynamic interaction between government and citizens that I never saw in the Philippines."

A lot of people think it's unfair and even invalid to compare ourselves with a first world country where everything is advance and the government can afford an almost flawless system. But I refuse to accept that. We may be living in a third world country with heavily corrupted government, but that should not stop us from acting like first world citizens. After all, we are all equal. 

Kidd's Top 3 Tokyo Spots (Part 2 of 2)

Ghibli Museum

You know when they say "save the best for last"? Well, there's a reason why I put Ghibli Museum on the last of the list. I am a huge fan of Hayao Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli, it was such a fulfillment to finally come here. I can't remember how long have I been looking at pictures and videos on the internet before even coming. A friend told me that I'm gonna miss the "surprise factor" and I didn't care, still the feeling I felt when I made it inside the museum is something I can't explain. It was magical.

I know Totoro is the superstar here, but can you find the soot balls?

It was probably, no, definitely my favorite part of the trip, that even though this is a compilation of my trip's highlights, I decided this one should get a separate post.

The entrance door of the museum

Let me just say, for one thing, getting a ticket to the museum is not easy for somebody living in the Philippines who has no close friend or relative in Japan. It's not sold in the museum, you have to purchase it on a kiosk called Loppi at Lawson combini (only in Japan). I thought of getting one when I get to Japan but the museum is very popular, it limits 200 visitors a day, I probably won't get a slot for the time I'm staying if I do that. I could make it easier by joining another tour but it's way more expensive and I didn't like my visit to be time-bounded so I looked for other options. I tried to ask the staff of the hotel I booked if it's possible to buy a ticket on my behalf and I'll just pay when I get there. They politely decline as it is something beyond what they can do. Thank God for the internet, I found a better option -- a shopping agent! Bridge.Jpn offers a proxy buying service in Japan, they bought the ticket for me for a fee but still a lot cheaper than joining a tour. I asked them to send the ticket to my hotel then I picked it up when I checked in. You don't get the actual ticket by the way, instead you get a reservation ticket, when you get to the museum, you hand it to the entrance counter then they'll give you the actual ticket. The complexity of the ticket procurement process was worth it, the ticket itself is a keepsake. It has frames of an animation film as ornament, lucky me, I got one from my favorite anime film!

I remember this scene

Photography inside the museum is prohibited and I am not sorry for this policy. The principle behind is for one to enjoy the experience through eyes and senses rather that a camera's lenses. To take the unique experience as a special memory not even a camera would capture.  I have so much respect for Miyazaki I gladly abide the rules.  It's okay if I can't take images with me, because I'll definitely see it again.

The building and the interior of the museum was designed by Hayao Miyazaki himself using drawn storyboards, and I know he's a genius, but oh my God, when I think about the interior and the landscape of the museum, I have no words. Just like his films, there's a strong European architecture influence. Everything in the museum is intricately decorated, you know when I say that Japanese put art into everything, well, this one is taking that notion to the next level. I don't know if I have stressed this enough but I have no words, that's how amazing this place is. And let me tell you, I've never seen a more beautiful and elegant toilet in my life.

The first floor showcased different animation techniques. Be prepared to be enchanted and get some goosebumps. I looked at the display and suddenly I understood why I prefer the traditional animation than CG animation. The gallery is graced with Joe Hisaishi's amazing music. It really gave me that feeling of being transported in another world. Some displays are interactive, child and adults alike are welcome to play. It was so fun, it would surely bring out the child in you. The Saturn Theater features Ghibli short films, you can only watch once, the film I saw was Hoshi Wo Katta Hi. My only dilemma here was the absence of subtitle. I am not that fluent in Nihonggo. I did get the context of the film through the scenes and few familiar words I caught, but I still would want to understand everything.

The second floor features a mock-up animation studio to show how Ghibli animators work, this is also the part where artworks of Studio Ghibli films are exhibited. Another wing of the second floor is for the special exhibition. This year they are featuring "The Lens at Work In the Ghibli Forest". Basically it's a showcase of functions of lens and the magic they create. I was so fascinated and inspired by it, I started collecting small viewfinder toys (not to mention I own a view master and a stereoscope prior to this trip).

The third floor has the Museum Cafe, Mamma Aiuto (souvenir shop), Trihawk reading room/bookstore and surprise, surprise, the Tonari no Totoro catbus. It's still inside the museum, but this I couldn't resist taking a photo. The only disappointing part here is, adults are not allowed to get in or play with it. Strictly for kids only. How unfair is that?!? I heard there's for-adult version of this one somewhere in Tokyo, but I didn't really have the time to check it.

I didn't get to taste the delicacies at the cafe because of the long queue, I didn't want to spend too much time waiting for my turn to buy food. But there was a hotdog and ice cream counter for express orders, I lifted all my diet restrictions for this trip so I settled with hotdog and ice cream.

They do allow pictures outside the building, The most photographed part of the museum is probably the robot soldier, the sculpture in the middle of lush vegetation is perfect. There's also a replica of Laputa's floating block. It was cool, but it's the not really the best spot to hang out on a sunny day.

The museum grounds view from the roof top

I didn't really anticipate spending too much and I was doing great the first 3 days until I entered Mamma Aiuto, the museum shop. A lot of Ghibli novelties here are not sold anywhere, Ebay sellers make a lot of money out of it, they mark up the prices too much. I figured, it's better to seize the opportunity to buy souvenirs. They were expensive but still cheaper than buying online. I bought cookies, t-shirt, a glow-in-the-dark Kodama flower vase, a stereoscope and of course a music box.

Princess Mononoke music box and a Kodama flower base (no flowers yet)

I wanted to stay longer but I had to go as it was getting late. I've already said it early on, but I'll say it again, this was my favorite experience in Japan, I highly recommend it to everyone, even if you are not a fan of Ghibli works or anime. As for me, I can't wait to go back!

Kidd's Top 3 Tokyo Spots (Part 1 of 2)

First things first, a disclaimer - the title does not necessarily mean that these are my ultimate favorite spots in Tokyo, I can't really decide on that one yet when I haven't fully explored the metropolis, but when I decided to go to Tokyo this year, I immediately identified 3 destinations essential for my first visit. There are many places that I want to go to, but given the time and financial restriction that I had, I thought of 3 places that I MUST set my feet on at all cost. You might have thought that it would have been easier if I came up with a title that would describe the context of this post but the creative juice isn't really pouring right now, thus, a disclaimer.

Anyway, on to my top 3...

Tokyo Tower

Tokyo Tower behind Zojoji Temple

I don't really want to start with negative stuff, but this needs to get out of the way. During my research, I've read a lot of bad reviews about Tokyo Tower. It's not because the place sucks, but because going in the observatory is expensive (JPY820 on the first deck and additional JPY600 on the second deck), and they are pretty reasonable (the reviews). I mean why would you spend that much when you can actually get a bird's eye view of the city at no cost. There are skyscrapers with open-to-public observatory deck for FREE. But, I'm no ordinary traveler, I don't just visit a site for it's beauty and historical importance. I also take pop culture references into consideration. Huge consideration, I must say. The main reason I wanted to go there was because I'm a huge fan of CLAMP and we all know that Tokyo Tower plays a significant role (landmark that is) not only on many works of CLAMP but other famous anime and manga like Please Save My Earth and Sailormoon, plus, Always Sanchome no Yuhi is one of my favorite films, there's no way I'm gonna miss it just because some budget conscious tourists think it's not worth the buck. Seeing it in my favorite movies and anime made me want to go there and recreate similar scenes. I also see Tokyo Tower as a symbol of the Japan's impressive rise to power after the devastation of World War II. It's just one of the many things I really admire about Japanese people.

Always Sanchome No Yuhi is a nostalgic film about life at the time Tokyo Tower is being built

Diorama display of the setting of Always Sanchome No Yuhi

There are lots of attractions inside the Tokyo Tower, at the base of the tower is a four-story building at the called Foot Town. There's an aquarium, wax museum, hologram gallery, and more. They have separate admission fees so I didn't try them. I only get to see souvenir shops and nothing really appealed to me. In the main observatory, there's a cafe, souvenir shop, a stage for musical performance with a DJ and you can request songs too, and a Shinto shrine. I tried the soft ice cream at the Cafe because I remember Sakura Kinimoto and friends having that when they went to Tokyo Tower. It's not bad, but I don't find it spectacular either.

Collaboration between Tokyo's night scene and music

Now let's talk about how I feel about my overall experience. Let me just stress the fact that I love Tokyo Tower. It's an impressive structure and I really think one must not miss it when going to Tokyo. But some things were missing and they could have made my first visit a perfect experience.  For one thing, there was an ongoing maintenance work. When the tower lights finally lit up, there was a portion unlit, so from afar, it looked like some sort of a gap. It kinda disappointed me.

Beautiful but the gap was a disappointment

Another thing is, The place is a popular spot for couples. Being single doesn't really bother me, but sometimes, when I go to places that are obviously invaded by couples, I can't help feeling a little bit out of place and lonely. When I hopped in the elevator on the way up, I was accompanied by 4 couples, each pair was occupying each corner of the elevator, while I was in the middle all alone. At the observatory, seeing the city night lights shine like stars, again I can't help but think how romantic it would be to watch it with someone special.

A Shinto Shrine inside the main observatory is said to be responsive to fulfillment of love and school success

But those things I mentioned were minor stuff. I will definitely definitely go back to Tokyo Tower someday. I would love to see it again in daytime and fully illuminated at night time. I'll have to think twice if I'd go inside the Foot Town and the observatory again. Maybe when I have more pocket money or if I have someone special with me hehehe.

Tokyo Tower is celebrating its 55th year

Mount Fuji

Another disclaimer, Mt. Fuji is not really located in Tokyo, it lies about 100 km southwest of Tokyo, but it's part of my "Tokyo trip" and it is visible in the city on clear days. Now here's another huge symbol of Japan. I anticipated Mt. Fuji just as I anticipated Mt. Mayon last year. I kinda think of them like a pair of maternal twin sisters. I booked a day tour to Mt. Fuji through Japan's largest travel agency JTB. The package I got included a stop at Oshino Hakkai, Shiraito Falls and Shengen Taisha Shrine. This is the nature leg of my trip, I was really excited for this one, unfortunately, Typhoon Wipha made a landfall the same day my Mt. Fuji tour took place, it rained all day so it didn't turned out the way I anticipated it to be. Funny how I imagined Mt. Mayon to be Mt. Fuji when I was in Albay, but looking at the clearest image I got of Mt. Fuji, one can easily mistake it for the other. I wanted to see it with an ice cap, but the weather betrayed me.

Summit view from Fifth Station

The clearest picture I got

Mt. Fuji is divided into 10 stations, with the 10th station being the highest. The tourist buses can only go as far as fifth station. Climbers can go further but climbing season is only on summer (July-August) due to severe cold weather. At that time, the temperature in 5th station was 2°C, it may not be so much for some, but for someone living in a tropical country, that is COLD (the coldest I've ever been, in fact). Our tour guide, Emiko-san, told us, that if somebody questions us for claiming of having been to Mt. Fuji, we can always show our picture with the marker, and in my case, this is it:

I may have not see Fujisan in its full glory, but I did get to enjoy it in other aspects. Ever wonder where the melted snow cap goes? Of course it goes down in all places and it is beautifully laid.

Oshino Hakkai is a set of (8) pristine fresh water springs of melted snow that has sunk into the ground over long years. It was absolutely gorgeous. A tranquil ambiance dominated the rain, the thatched roof farmhouses were lovely. A fine weather would have made a perfect experience.

With Claire, a British woman who was traveling alone, some of my pics on the tour was taken by her

Another snowmelt fed site is the Shiraito Falls. It is said to be one of the most beautiful waterfalls of Japan. It is 200 m wide and 20 m tall. I love waterfalls, the bigger the better. I crave the idea of swimming in cold water, if only I could take a dip. But it's a protected area, I think they don't allow allow people to swim there.

The last leg of the my Fujisan tour touched the religious aspect of the mountain. The Sengen Taisha shrine deifies Mt. Fuji itself, and its okumiya, or "inner shrine", is located at the very peak of the mountain. The main shrine is a registered important cultural property.

Omikuji tied in a wire surrounding a Sakura tree to repel bad fortunes

Fujisan Hongū Sengen Taisha is located in Fujinomiya City in the southwestern foothills of Mount Fuji. Originally built over 1000 years ago for the protection from volcanic eruptions, it has become the region's most important shrine and the head shrine of over 1300 Sengen and Asama shrines (a type of Shinto Shrine centered on the worship of the god of volcanoes) nationwide. The grounds has about 500 Sakura trees and is a popular hanami spot during spring. I could have taken better pictures but I was already tired at the time and the weather started to intensify, also my camera's battery got drained so I switched to my phonecam, most of my pictures here are really not blogpost-material, but heck!

Meet Yuu-chan, a very cute Akita dog, I couldn't resist

At the end of this tour, Claire asked me if I think I wasn't meant to see Mt. Fuji, all I said was, "I think I am meant to go back". Oh I will definitely go back, maybe I'll try another season, spring perhaps. I am not one with you yet Fujisan!

To be continued...

Post Japan Thoughts

Well it finally happened, yep I've been to Japan, I've partially fulfilled my life-long dream. I said partially because there are still many places that I wanted to go to but I'm short of time and resources so I just have to compromise and settle on coming back. My thoughts aren't really organized right now, there are so many things I want to put in here and I'm not sure if my vocabulary bank is enough to justify the amazing experience I've had. I won't go into details right now, today I'll just give an overview of my short stay as a tourist.

It's hard not to be biased, I practically worshiped the place for a very long time, and being there, realizing the scenes I've played on my mind for so many times, I'm just happy to say, it didn't disappoint. I found myself falling in love with Japan all over again. So yeah, you're most likely to hear only good things,  but my pre-Japan worries turned out to be warranted, the typhoon disrupted my schedule so there were places (in the itinerary I drafted) I didn't get to see. I missed the Yasukuni Shrine, Imperial Palace and the St. Mary's Cathedral (designed by the world renown architect Kenzo Tange). But it did give me a perspective how everyone is prepared to handle disaster, they reduce the speed limit in highways, offices advise people not to go to work, there are train status notices, safety is a top of priority. While I was inside my hotel room I hear sirens and afterwards some announcement, the only thing I understood was the word "kudasai" at the end of every announcement. I get to see the extreme politeness of people first hand to the point that they apologize for something they didn't even do -- our Mt. Fuji tour guide, Emiko-san, would always say "I'm very sorry for the bad weather" "I'm very sorry for the traffic jam" "I'm very sorry for the delay (because a tourist came in late)". 

I love the fusion of the old and the new, despite being an ultra-modern city, some things that a lot of people considered to be a thing in the past are still very relevant. Payphones for example are obviously still widely used. Even though most people are munching on their smartphones, I saw a lot of people reading physical books in the train. Then everyone seems to own more than one bicycle, it was probably the most ubiquitous thing in Tokyo (or next vending machines). I hardly see a motorbike. Salarymen in coat and tie, old people, mothers taking their children to the school - they are all on bicycles!

Payphones, still widely used

A mother taking her kids to the school

I love how strong old people are (one time I came across an old lady carrying a huge suit case while on the way to the train platform). Speaking of trains, the subway system is very convenient, efficient and not as confusing as I thought it would be. Thanks to the Romanji signages, I didn't get lost! Though I got a little too cocky that on my way to the airport, I did get lost and got on the wrong train (different types of train were on the same platform, I didn't know I had to check the timetable to make sure I'm getting on the right train).

I am amazed with the culture of honesty, coming from a country where you always have to be on guard with your valuables, that was a big thing. I miss being able to walk around and just have my backpack on my back and my tablet stashed in my backpocket without worrying that a wandering hand would intrude to get something. I lost my camera THREE times and I was able to retrieve it every time. The bikes are parked in legal places without locks. I don't see security guards either on business establishments. It made me really cringe with envy. I thought, why can't we emulate this culture of honesty? I am tired of hearing blames on poverty, Batanes can pull off this behavior, and though I haven't been to Batanes, I can tell that the the state of poverty is just as evident as the other places in the Philippines are. Is it really that hard to act like a first world citizen in a 3rd world country?

I miss the huge parks with full of trees, I miss the museums with rich diversity of audience (here people choose to flock to the malls, the under appreciated museums' regular customer are either tourists or students), I love the presence of art in everything, the efficiency and convenience of the subway system.  I could go on, but I guess what I'm just trying to say in this post is I loved my short stay in Japan and I miss it badly.

Art in everything: A manhole with Sakura ornaments

But I wouldn't go as far as saying that it's more beautiful than my own country (or vice versa). No matter how rich or poor a country is, I believe that it has its own charm and beauty that you won't find in other countries. Yes, they are all equally beautiful. But we have a loooonnnggg way to go, we've got so many problems here and the idea of moving and living in a country where my frustrations are addressed is really tempting. When I got back home, I was full of wonderful stories, I didn't waste a minute in telling everything to my mother. Then she asked me if I'd like to go back to work there. I paused for couple of minutes and sighed, "nah, I'm staying here, it's much more challenging here". That's an absolute truth, and this I think is a testament how much I've grown up and change. Ten years ago, if you ask me if I'd be willing to migrate for greener pasture and change my citizenship, I wouldn't bat an eyelash and would have said yes. But now, if asked the same question, all I could say is, I refuse to runaway from the problems, I choose to be a part of the solution.

But I'm still going back to Japan for travel and leisure hehehe. Oh I can't wait to go back!

My first peek of Nippon