DMM.PLANETS Art Exhibition

This post is way overdue, but something I’d really like to share. Back in August my much cooler and hipper pal caught wind of a neat art exhibit going up at a little fair in Odaiba that sounded interesting, so we went to check it out.

A part of the “Odaiba Minna no YUME-TAIRIKU 2016” event, the DMM.PLANETS Art by teamLab was set up in a tiny cluster of very ordinary looking portable-type buildings. The interior was anything but ordinary. The entire exhibit was absolutely a sensory-overload in the most unexpected ways.

After a very long wait in a very long line, people are shepherded into the first building, which was pretty dark and had soft carpeted floors. There were a bunch of lockers for bags and such, and we were instructed to take off our shoes and socks. We could then head in to the first real room.

Which was, again, very dark. This picture must look bizarre, and the room sort of was. The long room was completely floored with a huge sort of beanbag-chair cushion. Walking on it was extremely difficult, as everyone else shifting causes the floors to move and sink and shake. Many people stumbled through laughing, while many others took a quick break to sit and sink against a wall and watch the people go by. (Which we did- it was really cozy).

Eventually we moved on from that room, down a narrow and dark hallway into the next piece of the exhibit. I wish my pictures could capture how breathtaking it was.

All the walls, floor, and ceiling were mirrors, and the room was filled with strings of lights. A few paths were cleared for people to maneuver but mostly just rows and rows of lights. Sometimes little sparks would fall down like rain, sometimes lights and colours would burst across the room like some sort of fantastical cosmic explosion. It was mesmerizing and I do actually find it hard to explain, but, it was marvelous.

When we could finally tear ourselves out of that room, we discovered why we had been thus far barefoot- the next part of the exhibit has us wading through almost knee high water.

Maybe there were warnings about this that I couldn’t understand, but it was a bad day to be wearing a long skirt.

I managed. In this room all the walls were mirrors again, and the water had projections of flowers, fish, and splotches of colour swirling around on it’s surface.

The final section of the exhibit was in a large dome-shaped room, where projections of raining flower petals were displayed across the ceilings and walls.

Viewers were encouraged to find a spot to lie down on the floor and watch the gently moving images float around the room. (And maybe nap a little tiny bit)

And that was without a doubt one of the most amazing and mesmerizing and completely immersive pieces of displayed art I’ve ever experienced. I can only imagine how great it must feel for the artists, to have a concept brought into reality so brilliantly.

One Year in Japan

The beginning of this month marks my one year anniversary of arriving in Japan. At just about this time last year, I was finishing training and heading in to work as an English teacher for ECC for the first time. I remember it well: We had full day training for six days straight, then a day off, then five more full days, followed immediately by the first day of work. On the last day of training I had started to feel ill, and on my first morning of work I was the sickest I can recall being since I was a child. Most distinctly I remember walking to the station that first morning, holding back nausea and thinking “What are you doing?” and “There’s no way you can do this.”

I proved myself wrong.

Up and moving to Japan was the biggest and honestly, most rash thing I’d ever done in my life. I didn’t know what I wanted to do in Canada and figured I’d go not know what I wanted to do somewhere else. But I’ve managed to more or less make a fair life for myself in Japan. I have a job that I enjoy. I have an apartment in a pretty good location. And I’m surrounded by amazing and inspiring people. It’s safe to say I’m very, very happy with my decision.

I’ve been very busy since my one-year milestone hit. After a full year abroad, my parents arrived in Tokyo to visit me for a week, which is amazing because I absolutely miss them like mad.

train selfie

Overlapping this week long visit by one day, I also had my extremely dear and beloved friend Chelsea come stay with my for another fabulous week.

yukata selfie

Now that all my visitors are gone I finally have time to sit and reflect on living in Tokyo for a year. I think it’s impossible for a person to be able to clearly see and gauge how and where they’ve changed over time. I don’t feel like a very different person, since all I’ve ever been is myself. But there are some things that I used to be uncomfortable or frightened by that I’ve overcome, and I’m pretty proud of that. Here’s what comes to mind for me:

1. Missing the last train and being stranded in the city overnight. No problem! Stick with friends who make you feel safe and karaoke. It’s become a regular occurrence.
2. Earthquakes. You kind of shimmy and groove for a while. If no one else is stressing, there’s no reason to stress.
3. Being naked in a public bathhouse. I’ve gone now with my first friend in Japan, with my mother, with my best friend from high school, and by myself. Not even phased anymore.
4. Being jam packed on a crazy Tokyo rush hour train. And my definition of “packed” has changed. You have people pressed against you, not just touching, but literally squished up into you until you can’t breathe. It’s still not PLEASANT and I avoid it, but, I survived it.
5. Not being able to speak the native language of the country you live in. At this point I can say enough words and mime well enough to make it through day to day interactions. It’s not much and heaven knows I should be studying Japanese, but, it’s something.
6. Faking it til you make it. In my job, in my personal time, just life in general really. Stumbling through life and trying to manage yourself is difficult, but I’m getting good at improvising. Maybe better at being easy-going and flexible. It feels childish to say, since I’ve lived on my own before now, but being so far away from everything I knew and everyone I loved was really frightening. I was left to my own devises, and couldn’t call mom when I didn’t know what to do. I still rely on people near and far all the time, but, I’m starting to gain confidence that I can handle things. Or rather, less anxious about not being able to handle things.

And now here we are. A year in Japan behind me, filled with fun adventures and crazy experiences and amazing people. I still don’t know what I’m doing or what I’m going to do next, but I’m pretty sure the plan isn’t to go home. At least not for a while yet. I’m doing just fine here and look forward to having more eventful days ahead.