Haina!

Hello!

Today, I am staying up late (it is now almost 2 in the morning...XD) because I really want to have this blog post out before I forget about the events of the past day! I've had an truly amazing experience - one that definitely made a deep impression on me and my friend. :D

As of such, if the briefness of this post bothers you, I'm sorry, but I like sleeping too! *gets shot*


Anyways, our itinerary told us that today was Ueno/Asakusa Day, which meant a big dealing of Japanese cultural activities. When we had originally planned the trip, I had suggested Ueno Park because of the Ueno Zoo located there, the site of one of the episodes of my favorite Japanese drama, Hana Yori Dango. (You know, that episode when Domyoji takes Makino out on a double date with Makino's best friend and her jerk of a date...and ends up punching the other dude's lights out. XD) My friend had suggested Asakusa because her guidebooks had told her that it was a MUST GO. (By the way, please visit her travel blog! ^^)

HanaDan at Ueno Zoo! ^^

Domyoji about to kick that guy's ass. :P

By a turn of ironic events, we ended up not going to Ueno Zoo, despite visiting the Ueno Park. Instead, we explored the Tokyo National Museum, Japan's largest museum. 

Intense, isn't it?

You see, Ueno Park is kind of like a prettier, more exciting version of the National Mall in Washington, DC. There are a bunch of museums connected/within it. Like this one:

The National Museum of Nature and Science with its giant whale statue. XD

However, it's more "exciting" in the sense that it also contains an amusement park, numerous cafes, AND functions as a normal park.

Cafe serving many panda-shaped confections. ^^

Seriously, pandas are HUGE in this area! Almost everything is panda shaped for some reason - there's even a panda BRIDGE! XD

Pretty nature park Ueno Park. XD

A map so you can get a feel for how large Ueno Park is. ^^;;

When we got to the Tokyo National Museum, my friend and I were lucky enough to get the student discount! ^^ For me, I handed them a combination of my American college ID and my Japanese residency card that was issued to me at Narita's customs that stated that I was indeed a student, and it worked. :D So, instead of paying 600 yen, I got away with paying around 400 yen - a big deal when you're trying to experience Tokyo on a budget! ^^;;

I got this for my troubles. Museum tickets are pretty here. :)

Luck continued to be on our side because pretty much as soon as we started walking around trying to figure out where to start in the huge Honkan (main building - Tokyo National Museum is actually made up of a couple buildings), a nice Japanese man walked up to us and offered to have us join his free English-speaking tour of the highlights of Japanese art. Not surprisingly, my friend and I seized the chance! ^^ (Because many of the art works are not supposed to be photographed, I didn't try to take pictures of any of them in fear of accidentally damaging something.)

Better view of the front of the Honkan, where they have a pretty lake with lilies. :3

Since the Tokyo National Museum is such a significant landmark, I couldn't leave without a souvenir! So, when we visited the museum's gift shop, I bought this:

I dub thee "Wonky-Man-Or-Woman". XD

This plushy keychain is in the form of one of a pair of statues from the Kofun Period (circa 7th century), which were named "Dancing Man and Woman" and seems to be the symbol of the Tokyo National Museum. (They had everything in this shape, from cookies to chopstick holders. XD) Because the postcard I stole this info from didn't specify whether it was the Man or the Woman, the name I had started calling it kind of stuck. X_____X;; 

Wonky, as I will now refer to him/her from here on out, is very important - both for this blog and me. First and foremost, I see him/her as the Japanese counterpart to the plushy jade cabbage I have, which is the symbol of the National Palace Museum in Taiwan. :3

You may have seen one of these guys hanging off my school bag! <3

However, not only is Wonky important for that reason, but he/she provides an additional purpose. I realized after taking all those pictures of our trip so far that I don't really like taking pictures of landscapes without anyone in them. Here is where Wonky comes in - he/she will become my stand-in! ^^

Watch as Wonky creeps on my lunch: a jasmine milk bubble tea and a panda meat bun! XD

What better stand-in could I find, but a dancing plushy that could be either construed as a man or a woman?? It's perfect, I tell you!! XD

But if you are weirded out by my new friend, Wonky, don't worry, you will be very familiar with him/her before you know it! ^^;;

Moving on, after lunch, we navigated the complicated train system in order to switch lines over to one that would take us to ASAKUSA! ^^ This is seriously our new favorite place in Tokyo! :D

The impressive first gate to Senso-ji, the famous Buddhist temple in Asakusa. :)

The main street leading up to it is framed on both side by TONS of shops. 

 Just as crammed with shops as the other side. XD

 However, that's not all. There are plenty of side streets filled with shops as well!

Like this one, where I bought my super special idol magazine! :D

 The second gate. 

The main temple where floods of visitors and worshipers came to pay their dues. :)

Everything was beautiful here, and we felt that we had a wonderful balance of old and new - you had the sacredness of the Buddhist temple paired with the commercial markets of the modern world surrounding it. This was already pretty impressive enough, and after exploring other temples and religious objects on the temple grounds (I didn't take any pictures because I thought it would be rather rude to the deities), we decided to sit down and take a breather.

 Little did we know that something magical was going to happen...

 Meanwhile, I was preoccupied with the unusually thick (and rubber-banded) idol magazine I had just bought. Turns out it was super thick because there was a free Sexy Zone (Yes, that is an actual name of a singing group...Go look them up! X____X;;) pencil box within. XD

 Wonky was so excited by seeing Kis-My-Ft2's Fujigaya Taisuke on the cover that he/she insisted on taking a picture with him! ^^ 

In case you were wondering, Taipi is also Wonky's favorite Kisumai member. :)

 However, my attention was immediately directed back toward the gathering of traditionally-garbed people when they all lined up and music on traditional instruments started playing.

 They began making their way down the street...

 ...and dancing...

 ...and dancing...

 ...and dancing...

 ...and DANCING! ^^

 The dancers were followed by shamisen players...

 ...ryuteki players...

 ...gong players...

 ...and drummers! :D

We ended up following them for a bit after they filed past. It was truly an amazing moment - 

and an amazing stroke of luck that we had rested there when we did! ^^

This pretty much wrapped up our amazing Ueno/Asakusa experience. By this time, the day was drawing to a close and so were activities at the temple. All the excitement was starting to die down, so we headed back to the hotel. :)

Now, why is this post titled "Haina!"? Well, this has a lot to do with the Asakusa leg of our adventure today. While we were wandering around the main temple, Senso-ji, I was struck by a sense of familiarity. I immediately struck out any possibility of having actually physically been there before - this was the first time I had set foot outside of a Japanese airport, which would have made it IMPOSSIBLE. However, after thinking about it for a while, I realized that Senso-ji and the little shops surrounding it reminded me heavily of NYC's Haina! PV. :D

NYC - the group that never should have happened. XD

Yama-chan and Chii should just stay solely with Hey! Say! JUMP. >.>

Also, while trying to look up what exactly what the word "Haina" meant, I found that a possible explanation was that "Haina" came from a Hawaiian word "ha'ina", meaning "to tell" (source here), which seemed fitting. :) 

However, there was an interview where Nakayuma Nakayama Yuma (the hated "N", can you tell that I don't like him??), insisted that "Haina!" was just another way to say "YES!", like when Japanese people say "Hai!" (source here). Yama-chan and Chii didn't seem super convinced, which seems to mean that NYC themselves aren't quite sure what "Haina!" means, so I guess it's a moot point. XD

The point is, go to Asakusa! If the pictures I took don't convince you, then maybe the catchy tune of "Haina!" and the dorky dance moves will. XD

Anyways, I am going to bed - it is now 3AM. So, bye-bye for now! :D