Japan Travel Show - Day 6&7

I have decided that I really love my life. God is so amazing. If you don’t know, now you know. Seriously, the blessings just keep coming and I’m running out of buckets to catch them. Guess it’s time to invest in a bathtub.

So . . . We just wrapped up our first day of filming in Kyoto. This city is absolutely NOTHING like Tokyo. No skyscrapers. No electronic billboards. No Lolitas, Goths, Punks, or Sebasitans. This city is very traditional. The main roads are lined with beautiful little shops and houses with the traditional tile roofs, rice-paper windows and sliding wooden doors. Ladies in silk kimonos and wooden shoes walk the streets. The surrounding hills are lush with bamboo groves and dotted with Zen Buddhist temples. The architecture here blends so well with the natural surroundings. I never thought that looking at architecture could genuinely be a calming experience but I’ve since learned otherwise. Ohmmmmm anybody?

First stop of the day was breakfast with the monks at a Zen monastery to learn more about Zen Buddhism and its strong influences on modern day Japanese culture. This was quite the experience. You hear me? We all sat on the tatami-covered floor, kneeling in what was possibly the most uncomfortable position that I can imagine. On the menu was a small bowl of rice porridge and a very small pickled plum. I had the feeling that the breakfast menu hadn’t rotated much since the days that Buda himself walked the earth. I’m not saying that didn’t taste good, because a brotha was hungry so I def tore that meal up . . . but lets just say that it was a far cry from the Sausage-and-Egg McGriddle super-value meal with OJ that I was hoping for. As we ate the head monk put a few grains of rice onto a wooden spatula and passed it down the table as all of the other monks did the same. After asking about this odd practice, we learned that during every meal the monks each offer up a little bit of their food to be placed outside to feed the birds, insects, and “spirits” of the forest. After the meal was over, everyone stayed seated as they washed their bowls with green tea and a slice of pickled radish. As hard as I scrubbed with that radish and tea, I still highly doubt that it did the same job that a sponge and some Lemon-Zest-Palmolive would.

When it came time to get up from the table I came to the frightening realization that I had lost all sensation in both of my legs. A panicked glance from my co host made it very apparent that he was in the same boat. The “Stanky Legg” that followed was quite the scene. For those of you in Singapre who may not be so familiar with the latest in urban dance moves, this one’s for you: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1mf2KL0sV98&feature=related. Judging from the hearty laughter that ensued, I think we unintentionally provided these otherwise stoic monks with their dose of comic relief for the year 2009, albeit at our expense. (Okay, not going to lie, I just wanted to use the words “stoic” and “albeit” in the same sentence. Watch out y’all next time around I might throw in an “insofar as” or two.)

Next on the agenda – a lesson in Zen mediation from the head monk. He led us into yet another tattami-floored room with rice paper windows. The main difference was that in place of a table, this room had two rows of massive blue pillows. We sat down and he showed us the proper posture for meditation. Apparently the objective is to clear the mind and calm the heart, but I found it nearly impossible to have a clear mind while all I could think about was the fact that my legs looked and felt like they had just come off of the Auntie Anne’s assembly line. Pretzels anyone? Aparenly the monks come and meditate everyday. As they meditate, the head monk paces up and down with a bamboo rod whacking people in the back if they fall asleep. I received my fair share of these today. It doesn’t hurt at all – its actually quite massaging.

Next on the agenda was another “taxi-ride” filming. SERIOUSLY FUN MAN! While it is meant to look like there are only three of us in the car – 2 hosts and one driver . . . the reality is that there were five of us (the camera man and translator were also in the back seat). What made it fun was the fact that there was no room in the car for the producer. So with nobody there to tell us to hold back and tone down, we let it all go. It’s kind of like in elementary school when your teacher is sick for the day and you have a substitute teacher. Everyone has a bit of fun . . . you switch names with your best friend during role-call. You make up rules and tell the substitute “but our teacher always lets us . . .” Or you pretend you have a foreign accent and make up a story about how your family just moved to town (Am I the ONLY one who had a convincing Nigerian accent at age seven?) . . . Anwyay, what was I talking about again? Oh yah, filming without the producer is kind of like that . . . let’s just say we had some fun . . .

In other news, I FINALLY figured out where in the bible the verse “Jesus wept” comes from. It’s in John chapter 11 when Mary and Martha go to tell Jesus that Lazarus is dead. There’s some really good stuff in that chapter so if you haven’t read John 11, or if it’s been a while – I would highly recommend you check it out yo! For me it was a reminder that when tough times come, it’s only so God can show himself powerful over the situation in the end (John 11:4).

Until next time . . . Stay Blessed everybody!

Japan Travel Show - Days 3,4&5

Okay, so I’m going to combine the next three days of filming into one note, because honestly we have done and seen so much in these three days that I can’t keep track of what happened when.

Not to mention that these three days have all been spent filming one single “TV day.” What does that mean? It means that according to the script, all of the pieces which we have been filming will fall within ONE episode and therefore they all supposedly transpire over the course of ONE day. This also means that I have worn the same outfit for three days straight (now getting a bit itchy). And it means that the pimple that has courteously found its way into the middle of my forehead during this week of all weeks will appear and disappear from scene to scene over the course of this one “TV day” when the show airs. Freaking great . . . sighhh

Anyway. We have been zipping around Tokyo in a 12-seater van loaded with AV equipment and LOTS of Krispy Kreme donuts. Let the church say Amen. Let the church say Amen Again. Ehhemmmm, As I was saying . . . we’ve been zipping around Tokyo from one area to another to capture some general shots to be used as fillers, some street interviews, and some scripted scenes. I think I’m starting to figure out what I do and do NOT like about this whole TV show host thing . . .

First let me tell you about what I like . . . street interviews are really fun! For example the other day in Harajuku we met a girl who was dressed in a style that she calls “cyber angel.” She looked like a gothic Samurai from the waist down and like a party-warehouse-going-out-of-business-sale from the waist up. Her hair was the funkiest thing I had ever seen. She had braided all kinds of stuff into it. Rubber straws, pipe-cleaners, and yarn. LOTS of purple, orange, and yellow yarn. She was wearing super heavy black eye make up which looked like it had been applied in the dark. And she had about 40 metallic facial piercings. Seriously her face looked like it could de-magnetize every credit card and hotel room-key in a 2 mile radius. What was I talking about again? Oh yah, street interviews . . . so we had a chance to ask her all sorts of questions to really get insider her head. The psyche of a Tokyo teen is unbelievable!

One of the street interviews was with the driver of a velotaxi, a taxi with three wheels that is peddled, not motorized. Think Flintstones flintmobile with a Japanese twist, Got it? Anyway, this interview was TRULY interesting because of the way that it was filmed. Stay with me because this is going to require some brain power to follow this explanation. The Velo taxi has only 3 seats – one for the driver in front, and two for the passengers in the back. So with 2 hosts and a driver there was nowhere for the cameraman to sit. So, how did we film the interview? Glad you asked. First, Mark and I got in the taxi and the camera man filmed from afar as we rode up and down the block to get some general shots. Meanwhile, as the driver was driving and our microphone packs were off, we asked him all of the questions we would later get him to answer again once the cameraman was IN the taxi. That was filming #1. Then Mark got out of the car, the camera man got in, and the sound guy turned on my mic. Time for filming number two . . . only one issue: with limited pivot-room in the back of the taxi, the camera man could not film my questions AND the drivers responses – it was one or the other . . . so . . . the producer passed me a hand-held camcorder and asked me to extend my arm out of the window and film myself asking questions and talking to my “imaginary co-host” while the driver was driving. So I did just that. I pretended that the camera man sitting next to me was my co-host and I filmed myself having a one-sided conversation with him in Mandarin. Then I would ask the driver a question in English, and continue to film myself as I looked back at my imaginary co-host to translate the driver’s response into Chinese. I honestly don’t think I have ever used my brain this much in my life. I’m not sure what’s harder . . . actually DOING it at the time or trying to explain this to you now. Ugh.

Aside from street interviews, another thing that I really enjoy is pretend shopping. Literally all we have to do is pretend we are shopping while the camera man follows us around. The producer will shout “Michael, come down the escalator and make a right in front of the camera”; “Mark, flip through that rack of Hello Kitty boxer shorts and hold up a pair”; “Michael, sift through the stack of T-shirts and pick one out and examine it.” This is fun because it’s so simple and you really can’t mess up. It’s especially fun because there is a lot you can do with facial expressions too as you are trying to react “naturally” for very purposefully panned activities.

Oh, and also . . . we had a lot of fun today filming the opening scene at Tokyo 109 (The times square of Japan, remember?) We filmed the scene when the two hosts first bump into each other in the middle of a 5-way crossing in the midst of hundreds of moving people. The filming was cool because the camera man walked in front of me (backwards) through the massive crowd as he filmed me doing my best “I’m looking for a needle in a haystack” face. I don’t even know what it was that I enjoyed so much about this, but it was really, really fun. Like REALLY fun.

So those are the highlights. Now on the opposite end of the spectrum I have come to absolutely dread the “commentary” that we have to give at the end of each episode. Basically I have to give a 2 minute monologue to wrap up each episode by comparing and contrasting the cultural elements that we are witnessing here in Japan with what we know to be true in our own home countries.

The issue is that I have to do this all in Chinese! GASP! Now I will have you know that my Chinese is not too shabby for an American kid, but my vocabulary stops at an elementary school level. So giving a 2 minute dissertation on topics like societal norms, ecological conscientiousness, and government involvement in constructing cultural courtesy is admittedly a BIT out of my league. So what ends up happening is the research writer scrips the whole thing for me in language that I can barely understand, much less memorize. It is even more awkward when there is a whole AV crew standing watching me struggle under the pressure, and passers by stop to scope out the scene as well. Let’s just say I average about 15 takes for each of the 2 minute commentaries that I am asked to give. . . and just when I’m on a roll, you can bet that a police siren, or helicopter, or dying crow will be picked up by the microphone and interrupt my flow. Oh LAWD. Please pray for me y’all.

Anyway, I’m about half way done with the filming. Should be home on Sunday night. Can’t wait to move into my new condo ASAP so I can finally sleep in my own bed again after 3 weeks.

Flying off to Kyoto tomorrow morning to film the last episode. Should be cool.

Layter Dayz.

Japan Travel Show - Day 2

I’ll make this one short and sweet because it’s late and my bed is calling my name.

Today was really fun. I’m realizing more and more what a HUGE blessing it is to be given an opportunity like this: an all-expenses-paid 10-day holiday in Japan! Yup, God is pretty dope.

We start every day at 9:50 in the Hotel lobby with a briefing of the day’s shooting schedule. I wish all things in life could start AFTER 9:30am. This I could get used to.

First on the agenda was a visit to an 8-storey shopping mall that specializes in some of the funky sub-culture fashions that Tokyo is so well known for. Jane, our resident “fixer” has some serious connections and got us all-access-passes for filming whatever we wanted within the mall.

It was absolutely INSANE! Apparently there are themes to the various counter-culture fashions in Japan. First there is “Lolita” which is one of the more wholesome images. Imagine Little-Bow-Peep meets Strawberry-Shortcake. Lots of bows, frills, lace, pink, white, and child-like bliss. Jane tried on a couple of outfits while the camera man filmed our whole Lolita shoping experience. Then there is “Punk” which is exactly what I expected it to be. Next stop was the Goth shop – and apparently it was my turn to try on the outfit. Gasp! They dressed me up in a style that the Tokyo kids call “Sebastian.” Imagine this – white button-down shirt with SUPER HIGE collar. Circulation-inhibiting black pants. A metal-studded black kilt around the waist. A four-button black vest (with coat tails) and a black top-hat! I looked like Abraham Lincoln on the set of an Avril Lavigne music video. Totally laughable. It was nothing I would ever dream of wearing in a million years, but the gothic female store attendants all through I was pretty hot stuff with my “new look” so I posed for a couple of pictures in the most gothic way I knew how. Lots of Ozzy-Osbourne-style tongue action.

As we eventually made our way to the ground-floor, I started seeing a couple of things that I would actually wear. Funky T-shirts, hoodies, and caps. The producer wanted to see how the store clerks wrap pieces that are to be given as gifts – as the Japanese are well know for their gift wrapping presentation – so I volunteered to buy a T-shirt for my friend Abiel as a demo. (Abiel, bro, you better tune in when the episode airs so you see the whole process!)

Next stop was the Tokyo City Hall where the producer, script writer and “Fixer” had a meeting with the local government officials to ensure all filming permits and other documents were in order before we did any “general shooting” of the mass public.

While the meeting was going on, the rest of us went for an AMAZING ramen lunch. A hot bowl of Japanese ramen tastes SO good on a cold day! (The weather here is like 60F/17C this time of year – so really comfortable!)

Next stop was the heart of the City: Tokyo 109. This is where all of the action happens. It is like the Times Square of Japan. There is even one place where you can stand and watch masses of people crossing the street in 5 different directions at once! And amazingly, NOBODY bumps into one another. I don’t know if I’ve ever seen so many people in my life. We filmed a couple of short scripted scenes and then started the fun part: street interviews! Me and my co-host pulled random folks off of the street and grilled them on anything and everything under the sun pertaining to our views and perceptions of the Japanese culture.

Our filming was rudely interrupted by a bunch of raucous American college kids who were on a “World Tour” with their wack-tastic A Cappella group. They reminded me exactly why I quit singing A Cappella in college, and exactly why God created instruments. Get out of here with that zhen-da-zhen-doooh-doo-dwaaaaayyyy-doooohhhh. Arigato very much.

Well that’s all for now . . . tomorrow we’re doing shopping in Harajuku . . . should be really interesting!

Japan Travel Show - Day 1

The adventure started off at 9:30pm at Singapore’s Changi Airport. I meet up with the producer, script writer, camera crew, sound technician, and my co-host. Everyone was energized and ready to go. We all checked in together – and after watching in shock at the insane level of scrutiny with which the airport staff went through the equipment bags - I understood why we were asked to be there so many hours before the actual departure time. I tell you man, Singapore airport security is no joke . . . NO JOKE!

ANA, which is a sponsor of the show, upgraded me and Mark to business class which was a pretty rock-star way to kick off the trip. Now, personally, my favorite part of the business class experience is the pre-flight experience: the business class lounge . . . sigh . . . that place is like heaven for a 23 year-old with tired feet and a big appetite. Dim lighting, smooth jazz, a selection of armchairs, art deco fish tanks, free gourmet buffet, and more lots-of-pulp orange juice than I can possibly consume in one lifetime. It is pretty much what I envision the garden of Eden to be like. Minus a serpent and some nudity . . .

As I boarded the flight the producer passed me a paper mask and reminded me about the numerous cases of swine flu that Japan is currently experiencing. I smiled graciously and took it from her, knowing full well I had no intention of wearing the mask . . . Whatever, bring it on, oink oink . . . Seriously though, if I’m sitting next to a passenger with swine flu, a piece of paper with some rubber bands will be of little protective benefit. Plus I had a feeling I’d forget to take it off when I took the first sip of my OJ and end up with a mess on my lap. And NOBODY wants to be “that sloppy kid” in Business class. You hear me? Nobody! As Beyonce once said – that’s not a good look. Anyway, I don’t know what company manufactures these silly masks, but at least SOMEBODY is making a healthy profit in this horrible economy.

Anyway, I digress, (I’ve always wanted to use that saying). Ehhhemmmm . . . The flight was quick and painless I fell asleep within 30 minutes of take off and slept the whole night through. Something that a six-foot-two American can ONLY do with Business class leg-room. Airplane sleep is never “quality rest” but this time was okay lah!

Once at Tokyo Narita International Airport the script writer gave us a run-down of the day’s itinerary. She told me I had better change into my outfit for the first day of filming before the bus came, so she helped me rummage through my suitcase for something that was weather appropriate and would look good on camera. Being color blind I usually require a lot of fashion guidance. So this was great! I wish I had a personal stylist EVERYDAY!

When I came out from changing in the bathroom our party seemed to have grown in number. “Michael … this is the fixer” said the producer as she introduced me to this new face among us. “Fixer?” I said curiously as I extended my hand toward a tall slim Japanese girl. “Hi Mike, I’m Jane, and I’m a fixer.” Hmmmm

– PRESS PAUSE -

So after much discussion I uncovered that this girl’s sole job is to fix things. To solve problems. That is her job. That is what she does. It doesn’t matter what KIND of problem: big or small, international or domestic. In this case the TV station has employed her to be our translator/tour guide/travel planner. Do not call her a consultant, because apparently that is TOTALLY different and mildly offensive to any professional “Fixer.”

– PRESS PLAY -

So the whole gang of us piled into a van and headed for our first location shoot of the day: An old Kendo Dojo.

Kendo is an ancient Japanese Martial Art – with history imbedded in Samurai traditions. And a Dojo is a school where teachers instruct students in Kendo and other such traditional martial arts. Got it? The building was gorgeous; big traditional wooden columns with tile roof, well manicured rock gardens and a massive carved sign hanging over the main entrance door. We were told that we must bow and take off our shoes before entering so of course we obliged. The Japanese ALWAYS remove their shoes before entering a home, temple, dojo, or even a department store dressing room. Crazy right? We explored for a while as the cameramen took some general shots of the premises.

Eventually we found the room we were looking for: Kendo Class. Imagine this – twenty women, all in their mid-to-late-fifties dressed in navy blue traditional outfits, wearing fencing masks, welding three-foot-long bamboo swards and screaming at the top of their lungs while they attack each other. Un-be-freaking-lievable. It was like watching stolen cable TV in the ghetto where the channels blur together the higher you click and somehow The Ninja Turtles met The Golden Girls somewhere on channel 274. WOW

I was in shock for the first 15 minutes just sitting there wide-eyed on the hardwood floor taking it all in. Then I realized that the camera man was filming my reaction from the opposite end of the room. So I quickly put on “the cool face.” Shut up, you know you have one too. The face you use when you are pretending not to know that you really DO know that someonw who matters is looking at you. Hold that pose. Yes, that's the one. One of the women there was a Singaporean Chinese lady named Wendy who has been living in Japan for 20+ years with her family. We spent a few minutes interviewing her and the Sense about the Dojo and the art form. Turns out that these crazy ladies become normal demure members of the Japanese female population after the Kendo lesson is over. Mildly hard to believe . . .

After running into half a dozen Japanese ladies with 6-foot long bow-and-arrows we decided that was our cue to leave. So we all went to lunch at the Japanese equivalent of Denny’s. Tasty, Cheap, Family food. mmmMMMm.

Next stop – Wendy’s house for more filming. We got a chance to take a look at how Japanese families live. Very different from anything that I am used to. They eat on the floor, sleep on the floor, even sit on the floor while surfing the net or doing homework. I guess the elderly Japanese must all have strong knees.

Wendy showed us how she packs a bento-box lunch for her daughter everyday before school. Separate compartments for rice, meat, and salad. Super healthy. And eco friendly too! No waste at all! Then after packing the lunch, she wraps it in traditional Japanese fabric called furoshiki. Aparenly the Japanese are obsessed with packaging – everything must look SUPER presentable. Wendy told us that even when she brings bottles of wine to a friend’s place for a dinner party she will wrap it in fabric for the presentation and then bring the fabric home to re-use.

We ended off the day with a home cooked meal at Wendy’s house. She made fresh miso soup, macaroni salad, grilled salmon, AND, she made my favorite food in the world: FRIED CHICKEN! Let the church say AMEN.

Being that we hadn’t slept in proper beds the night before, we were all pretty beat. So we excused ourselves and headed to the hotel where we checked in and called it a night. In my tiny Tokyo hotel room I did the move that we over-worked twenty-something’s know all to well – the “OMG-I’m-so-tired-clothing-peel-off-as-I-crawl-toward-the-don’t-know-if-I-even-have-enough-energy-to-brush-my-ZZzzzzZZZZZZzzzzzZZZZZZ.” – yah that move.