So, it's been more than a month since I came back from Japan. My 6 faithful readers have probably been wondering if I was going to write anything else about it, and honestly, I kind of wondered the same thing. BUT one of my projects for this summer is to catch up on my backlog of posts, so I'm starting here: the Otaku Pilgrimage. Specifically, the setting for most of the film Garden of Words, Shinjuku Gyoen.
This is not the mecca I originally intended to get to this time around, but I couldn't bring myself to go to Shimokitazawa when I got back to Tokyo, even if the live shows DID start earlier than they would here. On the other hand, Shinjuku Gyoen was in the neighborhood I was staying in...approximately. I still took a train two stops, because a.) my JR Pass was in its final hours and I wanted to get as much out of it as I could, and b.) my feet were busted as shit by that last day. And for that reason, when I got out of Sendagaya station and was unsure which direction I should go in, I looked carefully at Google Maps to try and be sure I knew where the entrance was. This was a futile move, because apparently the main gate for Shinjuku Gyoen is no longer the original location. There's apparently a sign that points you in the right direction, but it's not visible when you come OUT of the station, so that's a fail on somebody's part (it might even be mine).
The park is pretty big, so I also scoped out Google Maps to try and figure out where I was going, rather than aimlessly wandering around. If aimless wandering is your thing, more power to you - Shinjuku Gyoen is a beautiful park - but I was going back to Otome Road after the park, because the Lashinbang there had been working on a grand reopening the night before, and I still had money I needed to spend! So I knew roughly where I needed to go before I entered the park, and headed in the direction of a small picnic shelter immediately.
In the movie, this is where the two main characters bump into each other, and gradually get to know one another. For the greatest "pilgrimage" value it really should have been a rainy school day, but a sunny Saturday was all I had left. The male protagonist talks about how when it's rainy, he can't go to school - something draws him down different paths. He sits and draws on the bench while the woman he meets there drinks canned coffee. I sat down and drew in my sketchbook for a while to try and get into the right mood, but - like the staircase at the end of Your Name - it seemed like this had become a bit of a tourist attraction, so I tried not to monopolize it for too long.
Close to the shelter is a building called Goryo-tei (or the Taiwan Pavilion). It's a pretty distinctive building and the landmark that let me know exactly where to find the correct shelter. The pond stretches around both areas, and everything was green - kind of a shock coming from Mongolia, where only now is it turning fully green.
Another thing I was looking forward to is the wisteria. I'd been in Japan for nearly a week, and although I'd seen it here and there, I hadn't yet had the chance to smell it. In case you don't know, wisteria has the most amazing fragrance, and it seems strange to me that it's not used in more perfumes or candles. So I finally got the chance to experience it - the first time in 4 years, since it only blooms in spring.
I struggled with Tokyo when I first moved to Japan. There's a feeling of magic and history that saturates the streets of Kyoto that's just not apparent in Tokyo. However, over the 2 years I lived in Yokohama, I slowly discovered it, hiding in small shrines by the wayside and the occasional crumbling building; it doesn't reveal itself for just anyone. I think this is one of the reasons I love Makoto Shinkai's films so much. He gets it - he notices the way two trains veer away from each other, or the potential in hiding from the rain. It was nice to see it again in my last night in town.
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