Dinner in Shibuya...

I spent much of last week working on the September issue of Going Dutch. Most of my days consisted of having lunch with Ashlynn before she went off for castings in the afternoon and into the evening. On Wednesday, I went to the Tokyo Ladies Hash in northeast Tokyo. The trail was 6K mostly through residential areas and ending near the train station. On Thursday, Ashlynn finished around 9:30 p.m., which was relatively early. She and Andrea asked the driver to drop them off at Shibuya, and Melisa and I met them there. This eerie Hello Kitty mural was across the street from the vegetarian restaurant that Ashlynn had chosen.

We had a great dinner and then walked through the brightly lit Shibuya streets. It was amazing how many people are still walking around after 11 p.m.

Ashlynn's First Job in Tokyo...

We were so excited that Ashlynn found out at the end of her first week that she'd already booked her first job (and only job by the end of the second week). Apparently there are girls at the agency that have been here for over three weeks and still haven't booked anything; there are several girls who were here in previous years that say the number of models have doubled so the competition for jobs is horrible. I dropped her off Monday morning at the studio in Nakameguro, which ironically was in the same neighborhood where I had hashed three days before. We got there a little early, so sat by the river to eat some breakfast. Turns out she didn't need to eat beforehand since there was massive amounts of food for the staff of 13 plus 2 models.

The eight-hour shoot was for the winter collection of the Japanese clothing brand Lowrys Farm, which has 140 stores in Japan selling lower moderately priced clothes to women in their 20s and 30s.

I'm so thrilled that she got some behind-the-scenes shots. She said everyone was really nice (she even got a neck and face massage) and spoke just enough English that there were no communication problems.

She was happy that this wasn't just a catalog shoot which would have meant mostly just standing still; you can see from this short video that the photographer posted that there was some motion in some of the shots. Apparently the photos will be used on Lowrys' website and in the stores and hopefully also for Ashlynn's portfolio.

She had about 12 changes of clothing with lots of changes of hairstyles and even two changes of nail polish. As soon as she was done, the driver from Image Models picked her up so she could go to castings until 10 p.m. It was a long day, but she loved it!

Washing Money...

Our last site was the Zeniarai Benten Shrine, a fusion of Buddhism and Shinto dating back 800 years. It is completely surrounded by shear rock and can only be accessed by a tunnel that was carved by hand. The water of the spring in the cave is thought to have the power to bring prosperity in business and good luck with money if you wash your money in the holy water. While I only rinsed my coins, Ashlynn rinsed her coins and a note as well.

Reiko also enjoyed the tradition. It is said that money washed in the spring will double.

 From the ceiling hung beautiful and colorful origami cranes.

 A stranger stopped us on our way out and offered to take our photo.

We finished our visit to Kamakura with the most amazing vegetarian meal I've ever had. The courses at Hachinoki, a Buddhist temple cuisine restaurant, just kept flowing and were all fantastic, as was the service. Ashlynn was particularly thrilled that everything was vegan. Thanks to Kosaku and Reiko for a wonderful day!

Kamakura's Giant Buddha...

It is difficult to see in this photo the imposing statues guarding the entrance to the Kotoku-in Temple, home of one of Japan's diabutsu, Giant Buddhas.  

Built in 1252, more than 750 years ago, this copper buddha stands 37.25 feet (11.35 meters) tall. It was originally housed in a temple, but has stood (or rather sat) in the open air since 1498 when a tsunami wiped out the third attempt of a building.

Ashlynn was completely fascinated.

 The Buddha is hollow and we were able to go down a few steps from the side to stand inside.

More Bamboo Forest...

We stopped at the small tea house for a bowl of matcha tea (made from a finely ground powder of specially grown green tea). 

I'm not much of a tea drinker, but couldn't resist joining the others for this traditional drink in such a serene setting.

I also couldn't resist taking photos of this couple in traditional kimonos.

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 Somehow these caves were also incorporated as part of the temple.

There was also a peaceful Zen Buddhist garden.

Bamboo Forest...

What was most striking about these temple grounds was the bamboo forest, consisting of 2,000 moso bamboo stalks reaching for the sky. This species of bamboo, originally from China, can grow as tall as 92 feet (28 meters).

As usual, my photos don't do justice to this peaceful and beautiful place.

Off to Kamakura...

Last Sunday, we had our first outing outside of Tokyo. We were invited to spend the day with Kosaku, an old friend of my father's, and his wife Reiko. The metro and train ride took about an hour (when I say train, I don't mean anything exciting like a bullet train, but rather an extension of the metro). Kosaku picked us up at the station and drove us through the narrow, winding streets to his lovely home where we had a chat and a snack. I couldn't help notice that in their very modern home there was a tatami room; unfortunately the photos I took of Ashlynn and Reiko here didn't turn out well and I'm hoping that Kosaku managed to get a good shot of them.

Kamakura is a "small fishing village" (small is obviously a relative term in Japan as the population is 175,000) with several fascinating historical sites, some of which the city is petitioning to become UNESCO World Heritage Sites. We started with visiting the Hokokuji Temple, a Zen Buddhist Temple founded in 1334. The current temple was rebuilt after an earthquake in 1923.

It was incredibly muggy, but at least several degrees cooler in the shade.