Our second day in Tokyo was another action-packed adventure starting with a sunrise river run and finally crescendoing in a local dojo with a 2 hour high-energy Koushinkai session.
The Morning of the Rising Sun
The alarm goes off – 4:45… what was I thinking? Oh yeah, a morning run. I sit up and think this is probably not a great idea. But I know by now to stop thinking and just do it and I’ll thank myself later.
The Meguro River is next to the hotel and I noticed there was a lovely pathway alongside. I decide that is easier to follow a river than to navigate my way through town to the park I saw on the map last night. Plus I am committed to not thinking yet, so easy is the best I can do.
It’s a lovely shaded path winding through nondescript neighborhoods. I ran 5 miles, hardly seeing another soul. I did see a couple interesting things, like this curious social disquisition.
The Dreamtime will be Digitized
There was a scary long line to get into the Digital Arts Museum but we’d heard it moved fast and was worth the wait. That didn’t stop us from almost ditching the whole thing when we saw the never ending stream of folks winding around the block. We already bought the tickets which had sold out soon after, so we queued up.
It didn’t take too long and we finally entered the exhibit.
The whole concept was seamless digital artistic experiences. Kinetic artwork flowed from one room to the next bathed in bass-rich soundscapes. The imagery changed often – you could revisit the same space twice and see something completely different.
When they weren’t being projected upon, the floors, ceilings and non-digital walls were mirrors, multiplying the effect and giving the illusion of infinite space.
It was pure optic candy – though one of the more immersive/motion heavy pieces left Stasia and I stumbling for dry land, which thankfully we found around the corner.
Most of it was in the dark, so the portals were not obvious and when we compared notes later, we discovered we’d all seen things the others hadn’t.
Truly unique imagery with rich jewel color palettes – we all left with bigger imaginations that we entered with.
Eriko the Super Retsujo (hero)
After the eye-melting digitations, we met up with another of Stasia’s friends, Eriko.
Her son, Kohlin grew up in Davis and played in the Baroque Ensemble with Zephyr until he graduated last fall. Stasia, the staff orchestra photographer, met Eriko by giving her the photos of Kohlin she’d taken during the year. Soon after, their family moved to Japan.
Eriko recognized our post-museum need for sustenance and knowing we were pressed for time, found the best rated sushi within walking distance.
This is not your Grandma’s Sushi
You’d order via an iPad and your sushi would come motoring to your table through a smart little food shuttle system. Positioned right at the business end of this enterprising little operation, Zephyr was in hog heaven – continually ordering, receiving and eating to his hearts content.
The sashimi was quite different than our normal fare at home. The cuts were longer and thicker – sometimes with the skin still on (as in mackerel). The flesh was not so lean either – ribbons of fat marbled the tuna and salmon.
The table had a jar of green powder which turned out to be the most delicious matcha green tea. Just a bit of that and some hot water at 2pm was enough to prevent me from sleeping right now at midnight!
We ate and ate – I’ve never consumed so much raw fish in my life. Whenever Eriko would ask if we’d tried certain sushi, I would always ask her to order it… and so I became acquainted with sea urchin and salmon roe, which I now love.
Ever the generous host, Eriko helped us navigate the railways, and chaperoned us all the way back, where she bestowed gifts and wished us the best. Stasia gave her a pearl bracelet that matched her own, a sisterly gesture that was much loved.
The Koushinkai Kid
After trekking about all day and rushing home on the rails, we were a bit deflated when we reached our hotel. Nevertheless, Stasia had scheduled Zephyr to be a guest student at a Tokyo Dojo…. so, with hardly a peek at our new room (we had switched hotels that morning) we were off again.
Zephyr had a bit of a headache, tired feet and a desire to lay down and do nothing – he just wasn’t in the zone. We almost called it off, but we knew he’d enjoy it once he got there, so we pressed on. So glad we followed through, but in the beginning, we weren’t so sure.
The dojo was expecting him and a black belt came out to greet us. When we entered we wondered if perhaps we got the wrong building and entered in a day care instead – this room was packed with 40 energetic little 8 year old balls of fire bouncing off the walls and each other amidst a cacophony of chatter, squeals and laughter. Soon some older kids and a couple adults joined the class.
Fortunately one of them, Yuri, spoke English and she translated everything for the whole night – from the sensei to Zephyr and vice versa. Zephyr introduced himself to the class, and they started warmup.
The warmup alone tired me out just watching – lots of super fast footwork exercises. We could see Z was going to get his moneys worth here. Fortunately the sensei’s son, a 17 year old black belt who took a liking to Z, shadowed him along the way despite not knowing any English.
Zephyr was outfitted with a proper gi and black belt and the instruction started. Our ‘little’ guy was a giant compared to everyone else in the room.
These kids kicked ASS! They are quick as a whip, stronger than they look, highly disciplined and all business when it comes to forms. Plus when they “KEEYAAA!!” you almost fall out of your chair. In groups they came out to display their kata (forms). It really was impressive, the level of mastery these pint-sized black belts showed.
Then it was Zephyr’s turn. He DID US PROUD! Despite being a bit rusty, he performed a solidly precise set, with strength and grace. It was beautiful. Afterwards the sensei explained to the class that Zephyr’s style is not too different from their own and is derived from the ‘original’ karate – Kenpo. Lots of ‘ooohs’ from the kids after this remark.
From then on it was smooth sailing. Z had conquered his initial fear and was no longer nervous. They went right into sparring which he loves.
Afterwards, the sensei took him aside to show him some new kicking techniques- a springlike motion which practically sent the guy holding the target reeling across the room.
After the 2 hour session, sensei asked Zephyr in front of the class what he thought of his experience, to which he replied that this was the biggest honor of his life and thanked all the students and sensei for taking him in. They all bowed back and presented him with a gift.
One by one each student approached Z, where they both shook hands, bowed and thanked each other. He exchanged contact info with a couple. As we were leaving, the whole class came out and waved goodbye and bowed. Moved at the sincerity and honest joy that was shared with us, we sped away chatting about this incredible event we’d just been a part of. Zephyr was on cloud nine!
Saw This on the Way Back
On the main streets of Tokyo were a fleet of little racers – Mario Cart! I’m not kidding, a bunch of adults actually drive around the city in these little guys.
The Big Thing We Didn’t Know
Because there was a mixup with our prearranged transport earlier in the day, the travel agency upgraded our new hotel room at the Prince Park Hotel. They said the new room was nicer with a better view. At 10 we finally got to our room, opened the curtains, and were presented with this.
We had been preoccupied with getting places during the day – didn’t even know this monolith was adjacent to the hotel. It was a nice surprise.
Honey I Shrunk the Meal
We wanted to celebrate Zephyr’s amazing night but at 10:15 our options were limited so we took him out to a nice Japanese restaurant in the hotel. The prices hoisted our eyebrows but Z wanted Japanese and since we didn’t want to go out into the night, this was the only game in town. Inversely proportional to the high prices were the portion sizes … tiny. It was tasty and beautifully presented but required a microscope to see it and a small loan to afford it.
The Itinerant Three TnTs 
I keep saying “Wow” as though it has little meaning but dude…WOW! That sushi in the first place looks HUGE and delicious. Definitely makes my mouth water and stomach grumble looking at it. I was nearly moved to prideful tears reading about Z’s dojo experience. I’m not sure I would have been able to keep it together actually being there and would be shocked to hear that you did. In either case, congrats to him in so many ways. He paid for that opportunity with years of blood, sweat, and tears. So happy for you guys and even though I’m sure this blog primarily serves as future nostalgia for you, thank you for sharing your adventure with us!
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Oh I was water-eyed for it. In fact I can’t really think about it without swelling with pride, gratitude and tears. Stasia and I both were blown away. Zephyr said it was the pinnacle memory of the trip
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