Le monde de Tokyobanhbao: Blog Mode gourmand

Arthur Ashe

Mon 26 May, 2014 · Fashion

Contrary to the « pool flip flops » trend, I am much more into the « sneakers worn with city clothes » trend. As you already noticed with my New Balances or other Converses.

Another target that I have been having my eye on for a long time: the very (too much?) popular Stan Smiths. We see them everywhere and however, we don’t get tired of them.

But here’s the catch: My size is out of stock (38 2/3 to be precise) given the frenzy that followed when they were reissued. I even looked for them in Japan, but same statement in the Land of the Rising Sun. Back in France, I came to accept this until I saw a pair of Arthur Ashe on Instagram: White sneakers, same shape, same spirit.

As a result: here they are on my feet with this« sporty-preppy » outift : a plan B which is far from disappointing. Comfort, design, I love it all. And, I think Arthur Ashe was a better tennis player than Stan Smith… victory by Ace! Game Set and Match, Arthur Ashe! (English translation by Daphné)

My Outfit

Trench “Maud” Pablo Gérard Darel
Bag “Melpomene” Clio Goldbrenner
Leather pants La Redoute (déjà vu ici)
Top “Candice” Pablo Gérard Darel
Watch Casio
Lipstick L’absolu Velours « Velours de Grenade » Lancôme
Sneakers “Arthur Ashe” Le Coq sportif

Day 13 : Takayama Spring Festival

Fri 23 May, 2014 · Fashion, Illustration, Travel

We left Nagoya very early to take the train (yummy bento for breakfast! hehe) and headed for Takayama to enjoy its spring festival for the day (the festival lasts 2 days: on the 14th and 15th of April).

This festival (more commonly called « matsuri ») is one of the most popular festivals in Japan and many make the trip for this occasion, foreigners as much as Japanese people! But it is not suited for agoraphobic people: this place is packed.

Takayama is a little town of Hida province, at the foot of the Japanese Alpes, famous for its tender beef (we’ll come to that later).

We find ourselves in front of a traditional village which is nice to stride along by foot. As soon as you arrive at the station, you can pick up the program of the festivities.

On the program : puppet shows on huge floats (=yatai) next to the red Nakabashi bridge, procession of the Takayama inhabitants dressed in traditional costumes, night parades with floats decorated with luminous lanterns

Chars et karakuri

To see the puppet show (=karakuri), you need to jostle for position and not to be scared of the skin contact with your neighbor (graouuu). But it is worth it.

The floats, dating back from the 17th century, have the most beautiful ornaments and finishing touches I have ever seen. Apparently, these floats have been built by the best carpenters of the town, those who have contributed to the construction of Nara and Kyoto temples … You can imagine the very high level of skills these Gepettos with slanting eyes have. Take a look at this!

The show starts with the first puppet making its entry on the edge of a beam. (All eyes are up). It starts to move, as if by magic, on the sound of traditional music.

Les gestes sont d’une précision assez impressionnante, presque humaine ! Apparemment plus de 8 personnes tirent les ficelles de chaque marionnette afin de pouvoir l’animer… je comprends mieux !

The gesture is amazingly accurate, almost human! Apparently, more than 8 people pull the threads of each puppet to animate it… Now I get it!

The 3 puppets on the different floats move in turns, sometimes taking the audience by surprise by transforming themselves (Tremple Arturo Bracchetti) or by letting blow a cloud of confetti. I was amazed.

Hida beef sushis

After this beautiful show, let’s have lunch in one of the town’s restaurant. I don’t remember the name of the place (written in Japanese) but you will easily see it on the main shopping street, Honbashi Street. There is a queue in front of the beef sushi take-away stand: with these clues, you will find it, I am sure you will.

We decided to eat these delicious beef sushi of the Hida Province inside the restaurant. This beef, as well as the Kobe beef, is well known to be one of the best in Japan. The meat is tender and evenly marbled with fat (gaaaa!) because the cows got a special treatment: they are fed with beer and are massaged while listening to classical music.

These sushi are a real delight which, in the mouth, are equivalent with fat tuna sushi. You can chose to order a Hida chirashi beef.

The procession

After having regained our strength, we went to the procession allowing us to admire the residents dressed in costumes, transporting a beautiful sacred altar.

A little walk in Takayama

Then we went for a little walk in the town (you can get a map of walking tours on the site), getting away from the crowd in order to get a glimpse of the more authentic face of Takayama.

Cap, Blazer H&M
Tee shirt Paul & Joe Sister pour La Redoute
Bag Ted Baker
Leather slim La Redoute
Sneakers Converse
Lipstick Rouge Coco « Rivoli » Chanel

There is another procession of lantern decorated floats during the evening but unfortunately we missed it as we had to catch the last train (expected to leave at 6.45 pm). The best would then to spend the night at Takayama to fully enjoy the Festival but apparently you need to book several months ahead! You are now fully advised! (English translation by Daphné)

Previously on MY JAPAN TRAVEL DIARY :
Notre appart à Tokyo
Day 1 : Sumida Park & Asakusa
Day 2 : Namco Namjatown
Day 3 : Omotesando & Harajuku
Day 4 : Ueno Park
Day 5 : Errances gourmandes à Omotesando
Day 6 : Odaiba お台場
Day 7 : Tsukiji market, Meiji & Yoyogi
Day 8 : Tokyo Skytree
Day 9 : Dans le train pour Osaka !
Day 10 : Osaka Castle & Hanami au Mint
Day 11 : Osaka DenDen Town
Day 12 : Nagoya

Day 12 : Nagoya

Thu 22 May, 2014 · Illustration, Travel

In Osaka, we took a train to Nagoya. I had the pleasure of enjoying more train-bentos. I don’t particularly like taking the train, but I have to say it’s amazing how good food makes for a much more pleasant trip.

Nagoya was essentially a strategical choice in our journey: it was at the crossroads of two cities we wanted to visit (Takayama and Isé). We stayed 2 nights, but only had half a day to explore it.

There are probably a lot of things to discover and enjoy in Nagoya, but I have to admit I was less enthused with the city than I was with Tokyo and Osaka. I found it less lively, somewhat “dusty”, although I can’t really explain how. Should you visit the city, here are some ideas, based on what we did.

NAGOYA CASTLE

The architecture is similar to the Osaka castle, as it was built around the same time (1525).

It’s possible to visit the inside of the castle as well as the gardens. We missed the cherry blossoms, but it seems it’s a great “hanami” spot.

OSU KANNON TEMPLE

It’s like a mini Senso-Ji temple. It is flanked by a street full of shops that bears a resemblance to the Nakamise street, but it’s much less animated (at least the day we were there).

A few food electronic shops and a thrift store are to be noted but after the excitement and bustle of Tokyo, the street seemed rather forlorn. (haha, you’re not really convinced by Nagoya right?)

TV TOWER & OASIS 21

Once again, a sort of teeny-tiny Skytree (180m … it’s a small play compared to Sky Tree’s 634m) and in the area, Oasis 21, a futuristic shopping mall, is a rather enjoyable nighttime visit.

All in all, not a whole lot of emotions in this city, apart from the marvelous gyozas we ate in a gyoza bar that I unfortunately can’t name, since it was all written in japanese and that it was a random stop: we were looking for an address that we couldn’t find (yet another!) and gave up.

But tomorrow, get ready for a much more animated visit: Takayama’s spring festival! (English translation by Bleu Marine)