Intercultural Design - Tokyo Trip
Glen Owen / 0354952
Intercultural Design / Bachelor of Design (Hons) in Creative Media
Taylor's University
🗾Tokyo Study Trip 🗾
Day 1 : Arriving at Japan
(06/02/2023)
February 6, 2023. It is the day where me and some of my classmates are going to Japan. It is also my first time both on going to Japan and at a place where there is winter season. Before the day arrives I can't even sleep properly because I am too excited on what comes next. I woke up at 5 am just like how asian dads wake up and prepare to depart from an airport 5 hours early before flight.
We all meet at 11:00 at Kuala Lumpur International Airport 2. Reason being is that our flight departs at 14:45 we still have to do check-in to get our flight ticket and putting our check-in luggage. Not only that there are like hundreds of people that are going to do check-in so we have to act fast. At around 14:20 we entered the aircraft then we wait in there while sitting, chatting, and listening to music. There's a little bit of delay so at the end we departed at around 15:00.
It is an 8 hours of flight and not gonna lie I was hella bored inside the aircraft. I tried watching movies and anime that I prepared beforehand. Even with that I am still bored and what I did after watching is contemplating about life and going to the toilet just to stay in there for minutes then going back to my seat. We did have our lunch prepared by AirAsia but personally it's not enough for me. The only beautiful thing that I witnessed while we were still in the aircraft is that I witness a dusk which is really beautiful.
Fig 1.1 Dusk sky I took around 18:00
Finally at around 22:00 we arrived at Haneda Airport, Tokyo and have to go to the immigration immediately because we need to act fast. After we're done with the immigration we headed to our hotel using the bus that has been prepared. There's 3 hotels and there are only 2 bus, since 2 of the hotels are near to each other we divided our class into 2 section. Each section will be going to 1 bus that is going to their hotel. In my case, I went to the bus that is going to Henn na Hotel because my actual hotel which is Tokyo W-Inn Asakusa is near Henna na Hotel. When I arrived at the hotel, I am really surprised that the hotel I booked is actually a capsule hotel. Not going to waste my time, I slept as soon as I am done with my shower and preparing for tomorrow's outfit.
Fig 1.2 Street view from Henn na Hotel at night time
Tomorrow is another day...
Day 2 : Asakusa
(07/02/2023)
I woke up at 06:00 from my 5 hours of slumber since I just arrived at my hotel. We are supposed to meet at Henn na Hotel at around 10:00 but of course I wake up early because I wanted to do some exploration by myself. Had some breakfast then I went to Don Quijote (Don Don Donki) which is located near Sensoji Temple and my first impression when I went inside is that I am so excited because the Don Don Donki at Japan is built different than Malaysia. They have a lot of stuff in here including anime merch, cloths, shoes, and more. They even sell maid outfit and nun outfit in here.
Fig 2.1 Morning view from the street I took
Moving on, we did meet at 10:00 at Henn na Hotel. Our first compulsory place that we have to go is Sensoji Temple. This place is really crowded by both tourists and locals. The moment I stepped in there I am so excited on what's going to happen next.
Fig 2.2 Sensoji Temple Kaminarimon Gate vibe
The first thing I saw when I entered the Kaminarimon Gate which is also called the Thunder Gate is a row of local stalls. I entered every stall because each stall is very unique in its way. I bought some souvenir for my friends and keep exploring every sides and alleys. They even sell some real katanas which I almost got tempted to buy it.
Fig 2.3 - 2.6 Local stalls at Sensoji Temple Market Street
There are not only local street stalls that makes this place crowded but the main place is the temple itself. Around the temple there are stall that sells only protective amulet charm or you could say it as omamori and fortune-telling stall which will tell about your fortune in your life. I tried the fortune-telling stall to tell about my fortune and what I got is... lets say it is occuring in my life presently.
Fig 2.7 - 2.9 Sensoji Temple and it's surrounding
I realized that there so much street stall around the temple, so I went to this street stall where the floor are built with wooden tiles. There are a lot of stall that sells Japanese local outfit like kimono, haori, geta, and more. What attract my attention in this street stall is that they have a game stall where you catch fishes and put the fish in a basket. You have to catch it using a paper net and you are given 2 net. The high score is 42 fishes in one play but I can't beat it which is kind of a dissapontment. After playing, I went to try a local Japanese food stall where they sell flat crackers which taste delicious even though the price is expensive. I would rate this compulsory place 10/10 because it has everything that has Japan's local specialty.
Fig 2.10 Photo of me catched a total of 6 fishes
Fig 2.11 Crackers I bought
After we're done exploring around Sensoji Temple, me and my group do our main quest which is the data collection. We mistakenly went to Oji Shrine because it lacks of information that my group needed. The real thing that we're going is called Oji Inari Shrine. The difference between these 2 shrines is that the Oji Inari Shrine has more Inari statue than the previous location we went.
Fig 2.12 Oji Shrine
Fig 2.13 Oji Inari Shrine
After we finished 10% of the main quest, our group decided to go shopping at Ginza to calm our minds. Well, of course I didn't join their shopping spree but I accompany them instead. My first impression on Ginza itself is like it is a place with high building and each building represents 1 brand.
For example I went to this 12 floored UNIQLO store and god damn they had everything in there. When we're done, we went back to our respective hotel to prepare for tomorrow's activity.
Fig 2.14 Ginza
Tomorrow is another day...
Day 3 : Odaiba
(08/02/2023)
Another day in Japan, I woke up at 06:00 and had my usual routine. Wake up, take a shower, wear my prepared outfit, eat breakfast, and lastly... explore around Sensoji Temple again. After doing those routines, we had a meeting at 09:00 at MyCUBE by MYSTAYS Asakusa Kuramae because we will be going to our second compulsory place that we have to go, teamlab★Planets Tokyo, which is located at Odaiba area. It is a crowded place even though it's still morning, the weather is windy even with the help of the sunlight heat it is not enough to make me warm.
Fig 3.1 teamlab★Planets
There is a lot of area to explore inside this museum. We were also told to remove our footwears to have a feeling "become one with the art" and I did get those feelings. I am mesmerized by the art that they present in this museum and I would recommend it to everyone who wanted to go to Tokyo that they must go here. I rate it 9/10 because it would be better if you go here with your partner. Trust me, if you went here, almost everywhere there will be couples.
Fig 3.2 Photo of me inside "The Infinite Crystal Universe" area
Fig 3.3 Photo of me inside "Drawing on the Water Surface" area
Fig 3.4 "Expanding 3D Existence in Transforming Space" area
Fig 3.5 "Floating in the Falling Universe of Flowers" area
Fig 3.6 - 3.8 "Moss Garden of Resonating Microcosms" area
Fig 3.9 Photo of me inside "Floating Flower Garden" area
Fig 3.10 Photo of Mr. Asrizal waiting the other student while me at the back
After we're done with our visit at teamlab, we went to Diver City Mall where the giant Unicorn Gundam Statue located. Basically when we arrived here, we all refresh our mind by playing the arcade games, tasting new foods, and playing bowling in the mall.
Fig 3.11 Photo of me approaching the Unicorn Gundam Statue
Fig 3.12 Playing maimai
It is night time already, half of our group planned to go to Sensoji Temple again to see the night market. Sadly, the night market is closed even if it's called "night" market. So in the end we were just stroll around the street and eat dinner. Aside of that, I managed to took a photo of the Kaminarimon Gate at night time which is stunning. We went back to our respective hotel safely and have a rest for the next day.
Fig 3.13 Kaminarimon Gate vibe at night time
Tomorrow is another day...
Day 4 : Roponggi
(09/02/2023)
Woke up at 06:00 and do my usual routine. Have a meeting at 09:00 at MyCUBES by MYSTAYS Asakusa Kuramae because we're going to our 3rd and 4th compulsory places. The 3rd one is called 21_21 Design Sight Museum. This museum showcases some architectural prefecture which kind of not interesting personally. I would rate it 4/10 since there are only some architectural ideas displayed and other architectural stuff. Although I rate the museum low, the museum is located at a park which is really nice. The park itself I rate it 7/10 because I like the park itself, it's even better than the museum because some local walk their dogs at the park and I can at least look at them walking + it's really windy at that time.
Fig 4.1 21_21 Design Sight Museum
Fig 4.2 - 4.4 Inside of 21_21 Design Sight Museum
After visiting this museum, we had 1 hour of break time. Instead of using that time to eat lunch, I went exploring at the area by that time. I discovered a little pet shop where they sell cute puppies and kitten breeds. Sadly, I can't take a documentation of them and what I could say is that the price of each of them is really expensive (around ¥200,000 and more).
Fig 4.5 Outside of 21_21 Design Sight (Park area)
Our next destination after 21_21 Design Sight is Mori Art Museum. It's a museum that displays art and other things like robot that moves based on AI and some interactive design. Personally I would rate it 5/10, it feels like it's not worth it to go here because the only art that I can appreciate here is the interactive ones and some of the sculpture that they had. Still, they still got some cool visual arts.
Fig 4.6 - 4.10 Inside of Mori Art Museum
While everyone is still wondering around the museum, I managed to sneak into the sky view area which has access to look at the view of Tokyo from top of the museum.
Fig 4.11 Sky view of Tokyo from Roponggi
My group decided to continue our data collection after we are done wondering around the museum. As we continue our main quest, our next objective now is to go to Toyokawa Inari Betsuin. It's a shrine that is dedicated to worship Inari. In this shrine, there's a lot of kitsune statues around it and there is even a fortune-telling stall. I tried doing the fortune-telling stall again and still the fortune I got is what occur in my current life. Beside of the shrine, there is a funeral parlor which my group mistakenly assume it as a temple.
Fig 4.12 Toyokawa Inari Betsuin
We have now finished 40% of our data collection and our group decided to call it a day. We went to Sensoji Temple again in attempt of witnessing the night market. When we arrived at Sensoji Temple, turns out majority of the stall has closed. I tried to ask the security officer nearby and they said that the street market usually closes at 18:30. Even so, we still managed to buy some stuff from remaining open stall. We went to a kimono stall which is my idea because I wanted to buy a kimono set. The owner at the stall is very kind and heart-warming. Even when he doesn't know how to speak English, he still tried his best to communicate with us. After I bought the kimono, our group decided to have some relaxation time by going to an onsen which is not really an onsen but more like a hot bath. After we had our onsen, we went back to our respective hotel and sleep.
Tomorrow is another day...
Day 5 : Ueno & Akihabara
At day 5, we have no more meeting to go because Mr. Asrizal said that it's a free day which we can use it to go either data collecting or shopping. It is also snowy at this day which makes me really excited because it's my first time to witness snowy day in real time. Our group have planned to go to some places which one of them is located far from Ueno. As usual I woke up at 06:00 and had my usual routine, but this time I don't walk to Sensoji Temple. Instead I walked from Asakusa to Ueno without using the LRT systen that they have already provided. Not gonna lie, it is a fun experience for someone who likes walking like me. The only cons that I had is that it is so cold that everytime I breath, the exhaled gas went to my glasses which blurs my vision. The moment I arrived at Ueno, turns out my group has done data collecting :D. Well at least I had the experience on walking from city to city which is fun in my own way.
Fig 5.1 - 5.3 Snowy day at Ueno Park
Even if I missed data collecting with my group, we still have 2 more places to to data collect. We split our group into 2 section and each section will go to these different places: Tokyo National Museum and Kitaro Chaya. In my case, I went into Tokyo National Museum because I love going to museums.
Fig 5.4 Photo of me infront Tokyo National Museum
Fig 5.5 Tokyo National Museum
After I'm done data collecting, my group let me loose for some hours. I used that chance and went to one of my main objective on going to Japan, which is going to National Museum of Nature & Science at Ueno.
There are a lot of section inside the museum itself, but I went to my favourite spot straight up. As you guessed it, it's the prehistoric area where there are fossils and dinosaurs and the living animal area.
Fig 5.13 - 5.22 Prehistoric area #1
Fig 5.23 - 5.28 Living animal area
Fig 5.29 - 5.37 Prehistoric area #2
It has been hours since they let me loose, I went back to gather with my group at Akihabara and spend some time in there exploring. Of course, I used the time at Akihabara playing my favourite arcade game, maimai. I did bought some souvenirs in there and by souvenirs, "cultured" souvenirs. After we're done exploring, we went back to our respective hotel and prepare our luggage because tomorrow is the day we departed from Japan.
Fig 5.38 Playing maimai
Fig 5.39 Akihabara at night time
Tomorrow is the last day...
Day 6 : Shibuya & Departing from Japan
Fig 6.1 - 6.2 Akihabara at morning time
After I went to Akihabara, I try to gather with my groupmates who is exploring at Shibuya. We share the same goal at Shibuya, which is to find and go to the Pokemon center. We explore every alley and path that is available and we arrived at the Pokemon center. On our way, I found a lots of stuff starting from maid cafe to strip clubs and of course I didn't enter there :). The mall where the Pokemon center at is pretty crowded so I am kind of cramped at that time. We didn't found the Mewtwo statue at the Pokemon center and I believed it is being kept.
Fig 6.3 - 6.4 Shibuya
Fig 6.5 - 6.6 Pokemon Center
After we went to the Pokemon center, I had to go to the most popular spot of Shibuya. This spot is called the Hachiko Statue.
Fig 6.7 Hachiko Memorial Statue
As the time has come, it is time for me to depart from Japan. We gathered at Henn na Hotel at around 18:00 and went to Haneda International Airport to depart from Japan.
Fig 6.8 Last dinner at Familymart from Asakusa with Rowlet plushy
REFLECTION
Thanks to this study trip, I finally get my chance on going to Japan and a place where winter season still occurs. Starting from personal experience, my first impression on going to a place where winter season is still happening is.... amusing. I underestimated the temperature on my first day knowing that the cold will probably be the same like an air conditioner but I was wrong. It's so cold that I need a minimum of 4 layers of cloth in order to maintain my body temperature to its ideal state. My favourite moment in this trip is that when I witness the falling of snow from the sky for the first time. I thought that showering in the snow is a great idea but no, it's the same as showering in a rain but it's kind of solid. There's so much stuff in here than Malaysia and Indonesia that I explore every area when I got the chance.
Moving on to my research experience, since it's my first time doing research so I can say it's really chaotic. I thought that reading articles and writing notes will be the only thing to do a research, but I was wrong. In order to do research, I really have to read everything in order to get the information that I wanted. Not only that, I need to take some documentation like photos and videos about the artifact that I am researching on about. Still even if I struggled, I also had fun doing it because it adds to my experience as a designer on researching an artifact.
Lastly for my group work experience... I would say I don't like it. To be honest, I am not a guy who does thing in a group which is why I struggled on doing things with my group. At some moment, I always get lost from them which makes it hard for them to find me in the crowd. I remember that time that when our group split into 2 section and each section will go to a designated place, one of my groupmate didn't go to the designated place and instead goes to other place which isn't relevant to our data collection. Asides from that, I am still glad that I could still cooperate with my groupmates on the data collectio and we get along pretty well.
Overall, it is a nice experience for me and this trip is kind of worth it. Even though there is place that I don't like because they dissapoint me, there is still more place that makes me want live in Japan. The local in there is very kind and it comforted me everytime I had a chance to make a conversation with them.
EXTRAS
Fig 7.1 - 7.6 Group 26 members
Thanks for the memories that we made...
Fig 7.1 - 7.6 Group 26 members
Thanks for the memories that we made...
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