Heli Rantavuo Research Site

December 14, 2008

In Press

That says it all. Time for holidays :)

Posted by hrantavu at 07:25 PM

November 19, 2008

Revision nearly over

I've once again confirmed to myself that I can only finish written pieces through a stage of rush and related agony.

I started revising the text in September by reading it through, marking corrections, searching for literature. Nice, calm things. In October, I have to say for my defence, I was swamped at the office, and progressed slowly. November, deadline conscious, said no to all engagements and spent all my free time hunched over my laptop. Introductory chapter first, that was still fun and interesting. Next, one of the chapters, started to feel high-strung already, and finally the conclusions on a night shift, in a state of panic. And corrections of bits and pieces of chapters here and there. (I'm not supposed to revise anything else but what the pre-examiners pointed at, but I'm glad they made both specific and broad comments so I've been quite free to do the revisions in a way wanted to make them.)

Now I'm ready to send the latest version to be checked for language. Not a nice job. My nightly sentences can be incomprehensible and easily expand over four lines. But my sister told me that according to the authors of all great theses they have been written in the nighttime - there's that touch of passionate scientist (or martyr glamour) that I can claim now as well. Good or not, that's where the final opponent has his say next February in the public defense.

Posted by hrantavu at 06:34 AM

September 01, 2008

Pre-examination is over

After 5 months from the start of the pre-examination, the other statement arrived. Now it's time to roll my sleeves and finish the thesis by making the most out of weekends. Rewriting, adding, and explicating; language check; lay-out with a graphic designer; printing; only then it's time for the public defense. Far away, it seems. But it's surprisingly ok to return to reading the text after a 6-month break.

Posted by hrantavu at 09:52 PM

June 10, 2008

Pre-examination continues

In Finland, two pre-examiners are nominated for a thesis. They can be from Finland or abroad. My Finnish pre-examiner submitted his statement last week, on the last days of the 3 months that the pre-examiners are suggested they use for examining. The statement presented good, precise, and constructive criticism, and most importantly, showed the green light for proceeding to publish the book and defend the thesis in the final public examination (or, as it's called, defense, with a yet another opponent.) The other statement, from Britain, however, is still pending, so let's see how far the process will be delayed. University organs have their say in all of this and they only hold their next meeting in the autumn. I kind of mind and kind of don't, as I've just started in my new job at Nokia, Espoo headquarters, developing online methods for user research. I'm pretty happy about it :) But please keep your fingers crossed for the statement to arrive - I'm so ready to put an end to the thesis work which once again feels like a neverending story.

Posted by hrantavu at 03:49 AM

March 09, 2008

Käsikirjoitus esitarkastuksessa - Thesis in pre-examination

Hurray! I submitted my thesis manuscript Connecting photos: A qualitative study of cameraphone photo use for pre-examination on March 4th. I hope to receive comments by the end of May.

It's about time I gave a summary. A very short one without the jargon. The thesis is a cultural study of cameraphone photo use. I interviewed sixteen Finnish cameraphone users of 17-53 years of age and examined what they thought of cameraphones, cameraphone photos, and using them as part of their other photographic and communicative practices. I did not study what was in the photos, but approached them as data files, tracking their use.

I found that using cameraphone photos became defined as something else but domestic photography, although some conventions of domestic photography persisted. I also found that people used their photos not only on the phones but also on computers and the internet. It was not only significant which photos were shared with whom, but particular groups also gathered around particular communication applications (instead of everyone using the same, freely available channels from picture messaging to instant messaging.) However, the technical side of using photos was not unproblematic for everyone. Transferring photos brought up questions of gender related to digital domestic photography and ICT use.

Based on the results, my thesis concludes that people's digital media use should not be understood only through focusing on individual devices (as has been customary in cameraphone research, for example), but also through examining how people use their media content: how the content is made meaningful side by side to other media contents; how the files are circulated and used across devices; and what technical, social, and cultural issues facilitate or complicate the circulation and use.

Once the thesis is published (most likely autumn 2008), it will be freely available in the internet, and I'll include a full academic abstract here soon.

Posted by hrantavu at 09:29 PM

February 01, 2008

Kalkkiviivoilla - last stretch

I've been telling everyone for the past three months that I'm almost done with my thesis in order to make it reality. I suppose I am almost there, but there is still a heap of sand to shovel within a month.

Anyway, we were chatting the other day at lunch with Petri http://mlab.taik.fi/~plankosk/blog/ and Mariana http://mlab.taik.fi/people/showperson?pid=742&g=doctoral
about our blogs and I said I never really knew what I should or could write about. As you've noticed. Sorry. But I got inspired enough by the discussion that I now think there may be a brighter future ahead after the thesis work, which this blog has tried to keep track of, eases up. I've been thinking of starting to follow discussions as well as my own thoughs on the topic "international" or "becoming international" or "making" something international. Or maybe I'll pick an area in visual culture. Or start a cooking blog. As you can see, I'm getting pretty excited about submitting the manuscript (way prematurely) and there's no knowing of where my energies and attention will turn after. Who knows, maybe I'll just eat and enjoy and travel and meet people and keep away from the keyboard.

Posted by hrantavu at 01:43 PM

December 20, 2007

Almost there

The first full draft is there - what a relief. From now on it's filling in, revising, sharpening, rather than full blast writing. Been enjoying the normal daily routine again and making preparations for Christmas, with the thought at the back of my mind that after, it's hard work again. Finishing seems like a far-away point in time - I'll believe when I see it. Meanwhile, waiting for the snow to fall. Haven't tried out my new skis yet - the little snow that we had last spring melted the day after I bought them.

Posted by hrantavu at 11:39 AM

December 01, 2007

Too much sitting still

Third day indoors writing. I feel like I want to be put in one of those and spinned. (As a good substitute, going to a pikkujoulu this evening.)

Posted by hrantavu at 03:18 PM

April 05, 2007

Easter at the Office

Happy Easter. I've always liked Easter but never been so enthousiastic about it - I don't know what hit me this spring. I've had these little pots of grass growing for three weeks already, they will barely survive the Easter weekend. I'll be working most of the weekend however. I just finished the first draft of one of the core chapters of my thesis, finally, late from schedule as always, but I'm happy. It's on what kind of valuations people expressed to me during the study related to cameraphones and snapshot photography. So I'll be reviewing the chapter, anxious to send it to my readers, and after I do that, I'll have my hands full of preparing a lecture for Tallinn university and a paper for a conference in Moscow. In between all this, I'll be eating lots of lamb, mämmi, and rahkapiirakka to keep me happy.

Posted by hrantavu at 03:47 PM

January 25, 2007

Winter in Sapokka

Freezing at last! Light in the morning, white trees and ground, crisp, fresh air, the sound of snow under your shoes. And soon, the skating rink next door will be ready. What a change from urban Punavuori with mostly black asphalt all year round to wintery Kotka.

After my return, I've been working at Datariina, writing. As I will be for the rest of the spring and some of the summer. Currently, the Data and methods chapter is under construction. It's going ok, with the occasional wave of being tired with the whole thing and wanting to get a real job with a real salary. Well, YouTube helps, and apart from winter weather the fact that it's also the season for laskiaispulla and Runebergin torttu.

Posted by hrantavu at 03:53 PM

December 18, 2006

Loppukiri - Last days in London

After a lovely holiday in France, enjoying all the delices de France starting from Montpellier, ending with my favourite city Paris, I'm back for Christmas preparations in Highgate. We bought these branches in the village to decorate the hallway, and carried home a mini tree from Muswell Hill. With the sun and green in France, and here, we experienced the first flow of the season's spirit in the lovely small Highgate library next door. They hosted a fair on Saturday, with decorations, peaceful music, drinks and snacks, and a very cosy, intimate atmosphere.

It's only ten days now before I leave and it makes me sad. It's been so good to work and live here. I'll miss our flat, the area, the daily routine with walks in the parks, taking out DVD's from the Highgate library, shopping for food at Muswell Hill, and having the pint at the Prince of Wales in Highgate. On the other hand, I will have the beautiful Finnish spring ahead of me, an exciting phase with the thesis, and, of course, I'm looking forward to seeing my friends, family, and especially their (new) children.

The autumn has been extremely rewarding workwise. Like in Tokyo, I never thought I would get so much done in only three months. In Tokyo, it was a quantity surprise, the number of interviews, while here, a quality one: I was going to get much done, but my thinking as well as methods used evolved more than I could expect. Good supervision and working environment (quiet home) does wonders. However, this is only the beginning and I begin my post-holiday week a bit overwhelmed with multiple tasks. Taking the drafted chapter further, drafting structures for others, writing the Data and Methods one, and finishing my "autumn at LSE"-report. All asap, while arranging the departure.

Later in the week I will first stress myself with last-minute shopping (a nightmare in London, anytime), and then relax with a pie meal to mark the Christmas pub dinner. Being Finns, even in London we will start celebrating on the 23rd already, roasting whatever the piece of meat will be (in Finland, it would be ham, here, some kind of bird) focus on the big day, 24th, with a grand meal, music, tree decorations, and presents, and tune down on the 25th, the lazy day of staying at home, reading books, and eating, of course. From over my plate of English Christmas pudding, I wish everyone a Happy Christmas. See you in Finland for the New Year.

Posted by hrantavu at 10:39 AM

November 13, 2006

Tourism amidst thesis writing

I finally realized that slicing and coding the data would not get me anywhere. Thanks to Don Slater, my supervisor at LSE, I started writing up case studies: assembling material together per individual cameraphone user. I now look at entities that contain both linguistic and visual data rather than trying to treat each piece separately. In the cases, I look for significant themes. Sneak preview in very general terms: values and evaluations, play and playfulness, mediating intimate relationships, and networks of technology are in my drawing board at the moment.

The turn from slices to cases has made me think, once again, about visual methods or visual methodology. They seem to me misleading labels that confuse more than they clarify. No wonder there was so much confusion at the Visual data seminar (see earlier posts) - everyone with their own studies, topics, methods, and views on what visual data analysis is for them.

I think that methodologically, visual material is best treated tightly together with the linguistic. The bond begins with the resarch questions and extends through the collection and analysis process to the interpretation of the visuals, depending on the research question. It's hopeless to try to look at the visuals only. The point what is the study at hand, the problem it tries to solve.

This, I guess, I had in mind in an elementary way when I separated the different areas of the Visual data seminar into studying published / empirically collected / researcher-authored visual material. If I was to organize the seminar now, I'd go directly into the subject-matter of each study and group the areas based on topic instead of the type of visual analysis employed.

Speaking of visual experiences, I went to the London Eye last week. I enjoyed all of it: the architecture, the bodily experience, the views. (Even the effortless online ticket purchase and collection :) ) There is something meditative (excluding the tourist crowds) about the huge wheel in constant movement, revolving smoothly and completely silently, looking light despite its massive scale.

Posted by hrantavu at 12:31 PM

October 01, 2006

First postgraduate steps at LSE

Postgraduate life at LSE, on first impression, is more streamlined than what I have seen in Finnish universities. At the Sociology department's induction we were given a 45-page postgraduate handbook with a chapter on, among general practical information, "Code of practice for research students and supervisors " and "Progress requirements." Practical guidelines on what you are supposed to do and when, and what kind of help you are entitled to doing it. Money talks, I guess. With money involved, all parties are more careful about their rights and responsibilities, and of course, with money involved, there are resources to arrange systematic, well thought-out postgraduate education. Then again, while money may be at the origin of these chapters, I wonder how much it would in fact cost to think about, note down, and apply these guidelines in Finnish doctoral studies institutions.

Where money truly talks is in the amazing variety of general researcher skills courses to choose from. You should have seen me excitedly flicking through the brochures they handed out at the induction, underlining all the interesting courses. I have now signed up for "developing as an academic writer", "thesis endgame: achieving a final draft and submitting speedily," and "thesis writing." I'm still to sign up for _individual_ career advice and job interview rehearsal, and the library's EndNote course. And this was keeping cool and determining to use the few months I'm here concentrating on my own thesis. You can check everything that is on offer at www.lse.ac.uk/collections/TLC

Speaking of the library, in the picture, the library which Heidi (see link on the left) also praised in her LSE report - it's open 24/7 throughout the year.

Posted by hrantavu at 11:46 AM

September 13, 2006

Blog politics, online identity business, game player labour

Trackbacking to last week, conference souvenirs from Oxford, with the Media Lab crowd in mind as main audience, hence the emphasis on new media. The Media Change and Social Theory Conference, 6-8 Sept 2006, was organised by the Centre for Research on Socio-Cultural Change.

Location overview

St Hugh's, above, was a quiet, idyllic campus area with an extensive lawn and garden area. Picknicking on the soft green matt in hot weather was a daily pleasure. Even considering the English style menu: potato crisps, white bread, blueberry muffins, every day :)

I loved Oxford the town (greetings to Anna A.) Historically beautiful, lively and modern at the same time. Not at all the sleepy academic village I expected. I want to go back some day and explore - now I just spent one afternoon in town as there was no space for tourism in the conference programme. (Skip class, moi?)

Conference overview

This was an excellent quality media studies conference with emphasis on social theory. (The usual I guess would be cultural studies.) It was good to see that media studies, traditionally meaning mass media, now also hosts a lot of research on new - digital, networked, fragmented audience, whatever you want to define it as - media, typically presented by young researchers. This stuff is interesting to arts and design folks, too. The level of empirical work and reporting on the cultural and social aspects of media making and use was generally outstanding.

Concerning new media, especially games, I noted a certain disillusionment and critical attitude related to the business. A common reminder was that "interaction" often means routine, and "participation" labour for someone else's commercial benefit. Many researchers called attention to the money-making side of things, instead of just celebrating play and playfulness, or the illusion that consumers would become "producers" just by "participating" in transforming a product. However, it was also noted, that analysts' views on what is exploitation are often different from the game players' views.

Summaries

The presentations could be categorized roughly into two categories. The theory-focused ones elaborated on classics such as Habermas, Bourdieu, Foucault, Frankfurt school, relating them to various media themes. Presentations based on empirical work varied from reality-tv reception to mobile phone ring tones. Below, I've summarized two presentations in this latter category that I got the most out of. Other interesting young presenters, if you'd like to check them/their work out, were:

Robert Jones from NYU who gave a descriptive, informative presentation on machinima. Robert framed it as transformative play, that is, fans changing the system within which play takes place, leaving their mark on it. He pointed out that machinima serves game developers' interests as the intellectual property remains in the game engine.

David Nieborg from UvA who presented on PC game expansion packs. The packs are a form of serialisation of the games, he said. The gaming community exerts implied pressure on players to buy the packs, although the packs are critiziced for their often poor quality. Game reviewers also contribute to this "social control" of games consumption.

Olli Sotamaa from TaY who talked about games economy, through the example of The Movies and players' contribution/labour as part of the game.

To see full programme please look at
http://www.cresc.man.ac.uk/events/sept06/Programmemain1.htm#WedSessions1

On blogs and participation in public sphere
by Eugenia Siapera, Leicester Univ. PhD student

Eugenia questioned whether blogs really are an efficient channel to influence "offline politics" (not just party politics but different social movements), i.e. to participate in the public sphere (social theory jargon :) ).

To start, she observed three perspectives in current blogs literature:

Idealism: blogs are the most free media form
Nihilism: blogs contribute to the "nothingness", the banality, triviality of the internet (Geert Lovink quoted by Eugenia)
Pragmatism: Basically blogs are a positive phenomenon but there are some problems related

Eugenia wished to problematize the idea of participation by asking: Participation in what, and what for? According to her, blogging as such does not qualify for participation or for enhancing democracy. To her, "participation", often seen as something good as such, simply means "more network-type associations and more widespread access and engagement with digital networks." Instead, Eugenia called for something more creative, boundary-breaking, challenging, something that would genuinely "enable the unheard". Now, she saw blog culture fitting neatly within the capitalist consumer society, introducing nothing fundamentally creative, new, in the area of participation to the public sphere.

Members in the audience questioned this observation by pointing out there are different kind of blogs, many of which do not claim or aim to "participate" but just perform or represent the blogger. Eugenia was critical of whether there is such a thing as "just" perform or represent, also, her presentation was targeted more on the views and conceptualisations on blogs than what existed on the blogoshpere at the moment.

Anyhow, a thought-provoking, passionate presentation.

On online identities and related commercial interests by
Alice Marwick, NYU PhD student, consultant

This was an engaged and well-informed presentation on online identities from the 90's to the present state.

Alice first reminded us of how identity in online communities was discussed in the 90s research literature (Turkle, Haraway, Rheingold, Stone): through the disembodiment hypothesis and utopian ideals of online interaction (Negroponte, Rushkoff). Today, writers on internet (Kolko, Ullman, Nakamura) remind us that race, gender and sexuality are still central issues also when related to online identities.

She observed four significant changes over 10 years:

- People appear as themselves on the net more than in the 90s
- It has become more tricky to define when one is online, when offline, with different wireless online opportunities
- The internet has gone through commercialisation and there are millions more users and thus a very different demographic than 10 years ago
- Self-representation has become visual instead of textual with graphics, animation, online games, video, and music

Alice noted that people mostly use commercial applications for presenting their identity online, and companies exploit this with a number of techniques. We should be aware of and concerned about these, she said: data mining, aggregation, and broking, producing micro-targeted advertising (like in gmail at present) and behavioural marketing and targeting (like when on site, sms ads), as Web 2.0 development and discussion goes on.

Alice wasn't the only one who mentioned some big polemic MySpace has caused in USA. You probably know more about this than me.

More in Alice's blog www.tiara.org/blog (where she also has an extensive bibliography the topic.)

I'll leave you with a note on a more traditional medium - in Oxford I saw the biggest, brightest, loudest, most fun-looking "tivoli," as we say in Finland, ever.

Posted by hrantavu at 03:53 PM

London life

Greetings from the island state! My current preoccupation in short: above is where I live now, and below is where I wish to live soon. Soho fans, sorry, I can't wait to move to Highgate.

Odottelen muuttoa. En osaa olla turistina, kaipaan asettua, ja silloin Soho on ruuhkaa, ihmisiä, turismia, huumehörhöjä, sireenejä. Ei terasseja, pubeja, ihmisiä, kauppoja, kaunista säätä, kiireetöntä kuljeskelua. Siispä nökötän boksissa, roikun netissä, luen White teethiä ja lämmittelen Sainsburyn intialaisia mikroaterioita. Odottelen, jopa viihdyn. Highgate mielessäin.

Posted by hrantavu at 03:29 PM

August 22, 2006

Preparing for London

Quickly making notes of all the books I carried out from the library in June. I'm gradually starting to understand that in two weeks I'll be in London already. For those to whom this is news, I'll spend the autumn term at LSE writing my thesis, instructed by Don Slater who has worked, among other things, on new media and digital home photography.

The transition from transcribing to analysing the empirical material has proven to be more challenging than I thought. It's such a different mode of work: from physical hands-on, i.e. typing frantically, to a vague stage of staring at the interview prints, photos, drawings, and questionnaires, reading methodology books, and waiting for these to collide in your brain, producing the perfect conceptual framework for this study. Spending Finland's hottest and driest summer in 100 years surrounded by options for summer cottaging and sailing has not helped. Luckily, Sister Docent recommended an article with practical guidelines for the process and it should arrive in the mail today. Meanwhile, I'm escaping to the chores of arranging a longish-term stay abroad: faxing papers here and there and finding Muumi-souvenirs to bring over (once again).

Posted by hrantavu at 01:48 PM

July 27, 2006

Reading and Coding

Greetings from Istanbul, where they held the cultural studies Crossroads conference last weekend. I presented on play and playfulness in digital snapshot photography in the "Digital Art" session, where Susan Murray also gave an interesting presentation on Flickr. Regardless of the small number of listeners it was a nice panel, with lively discussion on digital snapshot photography and communication that forms around the photos in the net.

I've finished transcribing some time ago, gone sailing in Saaristomeri, prepared my conference presentation, and travelled to Instanbul to present it. Putting together the presentation was a good excercise in reading the data over and coding, which I begin to do now: finding labels, codes, with which to slice the body of data (interviews, photos, background info, and drawings) into thematic categories or clusters. All the qualitative research guides, as well as my docent sister, say this is a laborous and time-consuming task. But with transcription in fresh memory, it seems like a pleasant, inspiring task. Let's see - instead of partying the Meripäivä-festival I'm now off to sail, with a stack of interviews to read.

Posted by hrantavu at 03:00 PM

December 01, 2005

Florence

Greetings from Florence where I spent last week. In the picture I am on Ponte Vecchio in front of the Vasari passage, through where the Medici could stroll to the bridge without facing the ordinary folk. Florence in November is very pleasant. Cold, but pleasant. The centre of town is small, beautiful, sympathetic, in November, the number of tourists is well tolerable and the weather gives the town a romantic melancholic atmosphere. The year over, of course, the food and wine are delicious. The biggest and bloodiest chunk of meat I've ever eaten, bistecca alla fiorentina, is a joy, but order it only if your stomach is growling with hunger. And ribollita, a local veggie specialty, is definitely replacing carrot casserole at my Christmas table. The best bars are at Piazza San Spirito in Oltrarno. Oh, and leather boots are cheap! (Some may remember this topic already from my Tokyo posts)

Posted by hrantavu at 01:29 PM

November 14, 2005

Anita Seppä and Reijo Kupiainen in Visual data research methods seminar

Anita Seppä, Reijo Kupiainen from Pori school of Visual culture studies

Visual culture studies

Is interdisciplinary, drawing from cultural studies, critical esthetics, linguistics, semiotics, and art history. It has grown from the 1980s onwards, along with the proliferation of images in our society due to the evolving reproduction techniques.

The approach followed in Pori

Is the postmodern, poststructural approach which connects images to critical philosophy and social studies. The centre point is the image, but this approach stresses the "culture" part in visual culture: images always have a cultural bear, they reflect values, relations, beliefs, and are operations of power. They never just show reality, they show a construction of it, and they also recreate reality, bringing new levels to it.

The social effect of images

Is that they bring in ways to see the world. An image has power to point, name, label things to be looked at, and how to look at them. Referring to Maarit's presentation: Who has been producing the Marilyn images all these years? There are looks and counter-looks, as an example, the recent Animalia campaign which got sensored from the streets (although returning soon it seems). This is called intertextual play in visual culture studies.

For long, art theory held that culturally innnocent, pure representations exist in images. It is still a common notion that for example news images are universal, documentary. Now, in research, however, most people say such images do not exist but that images always create power divisions and social differences of race, class, gender, and so on.

Roland Barthes says image needs text to accompany it, because it is a direct imprint of reality (don't ask me, read Barthes :) ). On the contrary, in their book Reading images Günther Kress and Theo van Leeuwen say picture is not dependent on text, because there is no direct realtion to reality, an image is not a window to reality but a representation of it. Conventions of taking and looking at photos are not chosen but they are inherent in us (a photographer can also consciously choose a convention but often it is not a conscious decision.)

These conventions include framing, camera position, gaze ( of which there are the intradiegetic gaze, camera gaze, our gaze, someone elses's gaze looking at the photo with us), and context.

Literature:

Gillian Rose: Visual methodologies
Janne Seppänen: Visuaalinen kulttuuri
Günther Kress, Lee van Leeuwen: Reading images (social semiotics on which more in a later post)
Van Leeuwen & Jewitt: Handbook of visual analysis
W.J.T. Mitchell: Picture theory. (He talks about the pictorial turn: from typographical culture, linguistic era, we enter a new era of image culture and epistemology. It means there are more pictures, but also that our way of formulating knowledge has turned into image form. Text and image work together, there is no clear distinction between them, they need to be looked at together to understand what kind of knowledge is related to our understanding of pictures. Picture and text together constitute how we understand and form knowledge of image. All media are mixed media, just visual media do not exist. Therefore, what are visuality and pictures in fact? What in fact is the constitution of meaning? It is difficult to find the difference of image and text, theoretically thinking, Mitchell claims.)
Hal Foster's writing: from (art) history to culture and visuality

Posted by hrantavu at 05:37 PM

Maarit Mäkelä in Visual data research methods seminar Pori 11.11.

Sorry to be a bit late - connections were scarce in Pori. I will be completing my report along the week.

DA, ceramics artist Maarit Mäkelä's lecture on the artistic research process

Maarit's artistic research method consists of, first, the artistic work she does, then turning her curious gaze on it and reading theory and texts around it. For Maarit, Michael Polanyi's notion of tacit knowledge is important. The heart of the process for her is in the making, the body and brain working together. Theoretical knowing is something different. This is how she worked already in her MA work on representations of femininity, which is a topic she continues to work on today.

Here is Maarit's idea of a practice-based research process. In brackets, my notes.

1 Question (in the form of)
2 Intuition
3 Working process (Maarit's point of interest)
4 Artefact (driving force)
5 Interpretation or analysis (for example, the reason for this seminar)
6 Words (tool for interpretation)
7 Practice + theory (how to combine them? Combining artefacts with words, for example.)

Current work

At the moment, Maarit is working on turning two-dimensional photos of women, imprinted on her ceramics, into three-dimensional. On femininity, she asked in her dissertation, what is stereotypical femininity? Now, she asks: What is my relationship to it? She starts from elements that constitute stereotypical femininity such as colours (reds, pinks) and decorative forms, which she studies both in professional ways as well as on the everyday level of trying to wear the colours and shapes.

The feminine is closely linked to ceramics: its origin is in women making food, and its shapes are considered as feminine. Recently, Maarit has studied and made decorative shapes, and she referred to in comparison to the tradition of 'pure' shapes in Finnish design, which in ceramics, too, has traditionally rtejected decorative, ornament shapes.

As a part of her study of stereotypical femininity, Maarit showed us some recent material: a photo documentation of a performance style photo therapy session where she poses as Marilyn Monroe. To these photos, she associated the theoretical discussion of scopophilia (Charcot's hysterics and Freud, Lacan's mirror phase, Mulvey.)

Observations and comments from the audience:

Our visual culture is very quick, but ceramics is slow both as a process of making and to change as a visual form. Therefore, e.g. Hannah Wilke's nude photos, when imprinted on Maarit's ceramic work, get associated to ancient imagery, get a different time frame, and consequently, we see different things in them. Like that the representation of femininity has changed very little over time.

Posted by hrantavu at 04:57 PM

November 09, 2005

Next up: Pori

Fish is good for you, especially your brain, they say. (These darlings should be, they are thin enough. The fatter ones from the Baltic Sea contain dioxane which is not good for you at all.) Tomorrow I will travel to Pori to work my brain, perhaps by eating fish, too, but mainly through a seminar. We will study different visual materials from art to ads as data in studies in the art and design field. Very interesting, if I may say so myself as a co-organiser. This serves as an introduction to my documentation of the seminar starting on Friday the 11th in the morning, continuing until Saturday the 12th midday (and in Helsinki the following weekend). Do post me comments and requests on what you would like to see and hear from the seminar and I'll do my best.

Posted by hrantavu at 04:10 PM

December 15, 2004

Suomi-girl again!

Long time since the last time! My last month in Tokyo, November, was busy. First with work and preparing for departure, then with more work, travelling and enjoying the last days.

Now I'm safe and sound again in good old Helsinki, Finland. I spent my first week in Finland in a hazy state of mind, landing from Tokyo bright lights into winter grim Finland.

Transitions

Central Tokyo to Narita airport, Dec 3 - Helsinki to Tampere, Dec 5.

Shibuya, Thursday Dec 2, 7pm - Helsinki main shopping street, Friday Dec 3, 11 pm.

Many things have made me smile since my return (yes, in the Finnish winter, it's an event.) One of my favourite snacks: Rye bread, salty Russian style sausage, Finnish cheese and sour milk.

The morning sun in my neighbourhood street.

A piece of Tokyo in the centre of Helsinki. There's one in Hakaniemi market square, too. Wild!

As I missed so many weeks of blogging in Japan, I'll return for a while. One of the highlights was finding a Heli-sensei note on a water bottle reserved for me at Waseda University. And almost any meal in Japan is a highlight in itself.

Talking about highlights, taking the shinkansen has to be mentioned.

I took it to Kyoto to discover Japanese traditions.

Then I took a slower train, a bus, and the ropeway to see what winter looked like in the altitude of 2200 meters in the Japanese alps.

Then it was time to leave, and many of my dear friends, some of whom you see here, joined me in an izakaya, a joint for cheap eating and drinking. We had good fun, if you ask me. (Note how well I have learnt to pose the Japanese way.)

To finish with Japan, I'll leave you with some souvenirs.

This book is for haiku poetry.

Thanks for your company in Japan. From now on, I'll fill you in with bits and pieces from Finland. You can look forward first for a pikkujoulu Christmas party, then a proper family Christmas, and then, a special treat, New Year's high up north in Lapland. Not quite like the mountains below, but hey, the real thing. (Although right now, I'd swop the real thing for Shinjuku any second.)

Posted by hrantavu at 06:26 PM

November 14, 2004

Kawai!

Metromainos, jonka näin matkalla kotiin sambakoulu Barbarokselta, ei tosin ole kawai: My Daily Happo-Shu, päivittäinen Happo-viinakseni.

The ad says "My Daily Happo-shu." Happo in Finnish means acid, and also refers to someone who can take a lot of acid, i.e. is a heavy drinker and has been for some time. Shu in turn refers to spirits in Japanese. I saw this ad in the tube on my way back from a four-hour (!) samba lesson with Barbaros, one of the schools here. I had the best time! It was a luxury to dance with a bateria (live drums), there were some very good dancers who were a joy to watch, and people were superfriendly. What a treat. I'll try to go back once more.

Sambaaminen oli ihanaa, neljän tunnin treenit! Hikoilin ravun värisenä japanilaisten keskellä mutta pärjäsin. Sentään yli vuosi tanssimatta. Baterian (rumpuryhmän) säestys on luksusta, ja ryhmässä oli pari loistavaa tanssijaa joita kelpasi katsella, japanilainen nainen kuin paratiisilintu ja vanhempi brasilialainen nainen, joka veti sellaisella karismalla että kurkkua puristi. Vastaanotto oli niin ystävällinen, että yritän päästä paikalle vielä kerran ennen kuin palaan Suomeen.

Niin, kawai, söpöily. Yksi japanilaisen arkiestetiikan ja kulutuskulttuurin peruspilareita. Minäkin olen langennut kawai-ansaan. Kynsilakasta luovuin kyseltyäni itseltäni viikon, miksi pidän huonoa hilesekoitteista lakkaa, jonka väristä en pidä. Päätin, että ei hörsöjä, rusetteja, killuttimia, pastellivärejä, kawai ei oo mun juttu. Mutta eilen sain kaksi tuntia kulumaan Tokyu Handsin (Tiimari, Kodin Anttila ja K-Rauta yhdessä kerrottuna kymmenellä) tarra- ja koristevalikoimaa ihastellen. (Äiti ja isä, muistatte ensimmäiset viikkorahani ja pienet hajustetut pyyhekumit.) Tajusin myös, että ainoa vaate jonka olen ostanut on pinkki t-paita, ostamani papiljotit ja hiuslenksut ovat pinkkejä, samoin pyykkiteline, keittiöpyyhe ja post-it-laput, ja lista jatkuu. Kawai on niin iso juttu, että sitä on vaikea selittää, mutta Kitty on kawaista kawain.

I've fallen into the kawai trap. I got rid of the cutsie nail polish ages ago, decided kawai was not my cup of tea, and thought that was the end of that. But yesterday I managed to spend two hours looking at the hundreds of cute stickers and decorations at Tokyu Hands in Ikebukuro, and realized that the only t-shirt I've bought is pink, the hair accessories I've bought are pink, as is the hanger for my laundry, my post-it notes, and the list goes on. When I finally got out of the shop, Kitty was there to greet me in the street. I practically ran home.

Kawain lisäksi toinen japanilainen fetissi kelpaa: nahkasaappaat korkealla varrella ja korkeilla koroilla. / No reservations about another fetish of the Japanese, high-heeled leather boots.

Sen sijaan fetissi numero uno, Louis Vuittonin laukut, pysyy poissa ostoslistalta. Minua mieltymys lähinnä huvittaa, mutta jotkut tapaamani (skandinaavi)miehet jaksavat tarpeeksi ärsyyntyessään laskea, kuinka monta laukkua näkevät tunnissa (pariinkymmmeneen pääsee helposti.) Ilmoitus yliopistolla järjestettävästä luentotilaisuudesta koskien nimibrandeja kertoo ilmiön vakavuudesta. / The number one fetish, Louis Vuitton bags, stays out of my shopping list. Some (Scandinavian) men who I've met here occasionally get so irritated by this liking of the Japanese that they spend time counting how many bags they can spot per hour (tens, easily, if you concentrate.) This ad on campus, Discovering the World of Name Brands, tells us it's actually more than a liking, it's a phenomenon.

Tokioon on saapunut joulu. Kaupat ovat täynnä amerikkalaistyylistä joulukrääsää ja kaduilla on jouluvalaistuksia. Ihmettelin tätä, koska luulin, ettei joulua vietetä Japanissa ollenkaan. Vuoden vaihtuminen on suuri juhla. Kuulin sitten, että joulu on kuin ystävänpäivä tai oikeammin Valentine's Day, pariskuntien romanttinen (kulutus)juhla. Nämä kauneudeltaan kyseenalaiset valot ovat Shinjukun Tokyu Handsin edessä (uskomatonta muuten, törmäsin siellä Heidiin) ja valtava ilmapallopukki ja tonttu päivystävät Ikebukurossa. / Christmas has arrived in Tokyo in the form of aesthetically ambiguous lights on the streets and shops filled with American style decorations. I was wondering why, as i thought Christmas isn't celebrated here, but apparently it is, as another Valentine's day, a romantic celebration for couples.

Posted by hrantavu at 09:33 PM

November 09, 2004

Tokio Tour

Yllätyn itsekin, kuinka monessa paikassa olen käynyt viikon sisällä. Heidi yritti parhaansa käydä koulua, mutta nähtävästi festarin jälkipyykin ja arkipyhän vuoksi ovet pysyivät säpissä. Vierailevilla tutkijoilla taas ei ole koulua ollenkaan. Katselimme kaupunkia ja shoppailimme. Suomalaiset, huomatkaa aurinkoinen parikymmenasteinen sää, arvaatte kuinka olen nauttinut. / A sunny, warm week has passed exploring the city. Heidi tried her best to go to school to do her ceramics but kept finding the doors locked. Visiting researchers don't go to school. We found ways to pass our time.

Jousiammunta ratsailta Meiji-temppelillä on hienointa mitä olen koskaan nähnyt. Ensin kisa avataan seremonialla. Ratsastusvuoron merkki annetaan viuhkalla. Radalla on kolme maalia, joihin ratsastajat ampuvat täydessä laukassa. Hyväksytty osuma ilmoitetaan valkoisilla viireillä. Puvut, arvokkuus, perinne, vauhti, kavioiden töminä, mullan tuoksu, ja taito! / If you can choose when to visit Tokyo, choose a time in March or November when you can see the horseback archery at Meiji.

Hetkeksi palaan vielä Musashinon taidekoulun festareille, jossa meripäivämeiningin lisäksi oli taidetta nähtävillä, ja paljon. Ensi viikonloppuna menen itse käymään sambatreeneihin. (Joo, noi on banaaneja.) / I'll cover some of the art part of the art school festival. This was the third samba performance I've seen here and next weekend I'll go and train at one of the schools myself. (Yes, it's bananas there on the ground.)

Kansallismuseon Japani-kokoelmassa pidin eniten patsaista ja tekstiileistä, ja Heidi valisti minua keramiikasta. Monet ottivat kuvia kännyköillä. Niillä ei paljon yksityiskohtia mukaan tartu. Toisaalta monet käyttävät keitai-kameraa muistiinpanovälineenä. / In the National Museum I enjoyed the sculptures and textiles especially. As a current Japanese mobile camera phone user, I wonder how the mobile phone photos that many were taking turned out. On the other hand, keitai-cameras are often used for taking notes so to say.

Museon jälkeen Uenon kansankuppilassa Heidi miettii, mitä tuli tilattua. Vanhempi miestarjoilija kävi meitä poloisia alvariinsa opettamassa. Osaamme varmasti loppuelämämme sekoittaa oikean blandiksen gyoza-pelmeneille. / At an Ueno restaurant we learnt a few lessons on mixing the right sauce for gyoza with the frequent help of a gentleman waitor.

Tuli koulussakin käytyä. Kuten temppeleihin, kampuksille kuljetaan usein porteista. Akamon, punainen portti, johtaa yhdelle Tokion yliopiston kampuksista. Sen alle ei saa sytyttää kokkoa. / For some reason I like campus gates. Todai Akamon, the Tokyo University red gate is the nicest one I've seen so far. It would be a shame if it was destroyed by a bonfire.

Aina toistellaan, että Japani on kiehtova yhdistelmä uutta ja vanhaa. Se ei tarkoittanut minullekaan mitään, ennen kuin näin, mikä se yhdistelmä on. Perinteet, menneisyys ovat täällä läsnä kaupunkiympäristössä paljon elävämmällä tavalla kuin länsimaissa. Todai Akamon on yksi esimerkki, alla oleva taas triviaali, mutta pääsenpä kertomaan automaateista. Niitä on Japanissa parikymmentä miljoonaa, Tokiossa joka kymmenen metrin välein, ja niistä saa kaikkea solmioista sakeen. Mukavaa, mutta jätettä syntyy ja kesällä ne puskevat lämpöä muutenkin ongelmaksi asti kuumaan kaupunkiin. (Nyt täytyy lisätä, että tätä kirjoittaessani kadulta kuuluu kuulutus, jonka ensin luulin suureksi yllätyksekseni olevan rukouskutsu muslimeille. Mutta mies laulaakin "gyoozaa, gyoozaa" ja lisää, että tarjolla on kimuchi-gyozaa, karee(curry)-gyozaa jne. eli mainostaa jonkun putiikin yllä mainittuja lihapelmeneitä. Mainos- ja propaganda-autoja kulkee täällä paljon.)

It is always repeated how Tokyo is a mix of old and new. You have to see it to know what it means. Here is one very trivial example. By the way, there are about twenty million vending machines in Japan, providing everything from pantyhoses to sake, obviously also creating a lot of waste, and a more suprising downside is that they create a lot of heat, adding to the general heat problem in Tokyo in the summer.

Itäisen Tokion Tomiokan temppelillä oli paljon kaunista nähtävää. Näinä päivinä vietetään lasten Shichi-go-san (seitsemän, viisi, kolme) temppelijuhlaa. Sen ikäiset lapset puetaan parhaaseen kimonoonsa ja viedään temppelille. Ensimmäistä kertaa näin aitoa japanilaista origamia. / At the time of the children's temple festival there were many beautiful things to see at the small temple yard of Eastern Tokyo Tomioka. This was the first time I saw Japanese origami.

Temppelikirppikset ovat Tokion mukavimpia anteja. Taas yksi lisäys Anna Kortelaisen listaan paikoista, jotka vieraassa suurkaupungissa ovat naiselle turvallisia ja viihtyisiä. Aiemmin olen keksinyt kirjaston, AK:n mainitsemien tavaratalon ja museon lisäksi. / At another Tomioka temple there was a second hand market which we spent a while at. Temple markets are one of the most pleasant things in Tokyo with their calm atmosphere and fun things on sale. At this one, I saw for example a 50s golf ball clock, an 80s pink plastic magnetic Disney pencil case similar to what I had when I was nine, and beautiful used kimonos and kimono fabrics.

Ravintolatarvikekadulla ihmettelimme muoviruokaa, tulimme nälkäisiksi ja menimme syömään oikeata liukuhihnasushia (Maguro Bitoon, Jon, kiitos vinkistä, hyvää oli!) Heidi tilaili listalta kuin vanha tekijä. / At Kappabashidori we looked at plastic sushi, got hungry and went to the Asakusa Maguro Bito to have some of the real thing. Recommended.

Posted by hrantavu at 07:15 PM

November 04, 2004

Koulubileet - Art School Party

Ruotsalainen Gustav on toimittanut sivuilleen loistavan raportin kuvineen viikonlopun taidekoulubileistä. Vinkistäni vaarin ottaneena käynyt myös Yanakassa. Ks. linkki vasemmalla, på svenska naturligtvis. / This swedish chap Gustav has made an excellent report on the art school fiesta I went to last weekend. It's in Swedish, but check out the pictures that tell it all. He also has pictures from Yanaka. The link is on the left.

Posted by hrantavu at 10:43 AM

November 03, 2004

Yllätyksiä - Charmed by Tokyo

If not before, yesterday I lost my heart to this city. I thought I was taking a quick walk through the traffic to a nearby hotel. The surprise wasn't anymore that my map did not quite match the reality, but the fact that past my greyish residential area, I found myself walking alongside a canal, passing schoolgirls sitting on the bridge in the sun in their hats and uniforms making their homework (and noise), then met a big park with temples on a steep hill, and a moment later a frighteningly ugly but impressive metal covered, bird shaped modern catholic church. What a walk. I didn't have my camera on me but here are some other surprises Tokyo has offered me recently.

Tokio on niin täyteen pakattu, että löydettävää riittää ihmisiäksi. Eilen löysin harmaiksi luulemiltani kotikulmilta puiden reunustaman kanaalin, ison temppelipuiston, kauniita hiljaisia kujia ja valtavan (ruman) teräspäällysteisen, linnunmuotoisen katolisen kirkon. Olin myyty. Näistä yllätyksistä ei ole kuvia mutta muista on.

Rie yllätti ensin kutsulla jazz-konserttiin ja sitten pyörällään. / On our way to a jazz concert I discovered Rie's funky bike.

Tällaisen tarjoilun sai ummikko toivoessaan aamiaiseksi lohisämpylää. / At a café in Koenji I pointed at something on the menu that I hoped to be a salmon bagel.

Tämä kaveri seurasi minua tänään kotiin oluttölkin mukana. / This fellow followed me home today on a beer can.

Herrasmiehet tapasin Yanakassa. / These gentlemen I met in Yanaka.

Yanakassa oli tunnelmaa. Iso hiljainen hautausmaa, lukemattomia kissoja ja korppeja, ja vanhoja temppeleitä keskellä Tokiota. / Yanaka is an odd little corner of Tokyo in its quiet atmosphere and traces of old Tokyo.

Tänään näin jousiammuntaa ratsailta Meiji-temppelillä, hienoimpia tapahtumia koskaan. Toinen vähän eri tavalla vaikuttava kokemus oli Musashino-taidekoulun vuotuinen festivaali viikonloppuna. Niistä lisää myöhemmin. / To be continued soon with horse-back archery at the Meiji temple, one of the most impressive events I've ever been to, and the Musashino art school festival last weekend, impressive too although in a different genre.

Posted by hrantavu at 02:37 AM

October 27, 2004

Syysaurinkoa - Sunny autumn days

Nyt kun on alkanut kylmetä, voi muistella hellepäivää lokakuun puolivälissä, kun kävimme äänestämässä ja parillakin piknikillä. / With the weather getting chilly, it's nice to remember the hot day in mid-October when us Finns we went voting, for the good of Helsinki, and had a few picnics, for our own good.

Jostain syystä Mark ehtii aina ensimmäisenä. / Sometimes it happens that you go far away to get to know your neighbours. These are my friends Heidi and Mark from my university in Helsinki.

Tää ei onneksi ollut mun sapuskani. / Luckily this wasn't what I was eating. Dessert Japanese style.

Posted by hrantavu at 01:32 PM

October 19, 2004

Lohikaarmetanssi - Dragon dance

Taalla taas. Katkos ei johdu taifuunista tai maanjaristyksesta vaan tietotekniikan jannittavasta maailmasta. Siksi myos epasuomea ja jotkut osat sivustoa vinksallaan. / Back again, luckily it wasn't the nature's forces that kept me out, but the ever unpredictable world of information technology that also keeps part of the blog looking ugly for a while.

Asakusan temppelin juhlassa kaksi kertaa vuodessa miehet esittavat rumpujen ja laulun saestyksella lohikaarmetanssin. Tarina kertoo, etta kerran muinaisina aikoina lohikaarme laskeutui temppelin pihaaan. Vienot geishat soittavat ja laulavat saestykseksi. / A group of men from young to old perform a dragon dance at the Asakusa temple festival twice a year.

Kavin viikonloppukylassa Komassa, luoteisessa Tokiossa. Paasin kurkistamaan japanilaiseen asuntoon. Naytilla oli belgialaisen Marcin valokuvia ja yleisona mm. naapuruston lapsia. Pilvenpiirtajamaisemaan jo tottuneelle citytytolle oli eksoottista nahda auringon laskevan vuorien ja puiden taakse. / My first adventure outside central Tokyo involved a photo home exhibition and a sunset against a real scenery.

Esimerkkina maisemaeroista, tama on tokiolaisessa kartassa puisto. / The concept of a park gains interesting dimensions in Tokyo. These kind of places are marked with green in the map.

Urbaania illanviettoa taikkilais-japanilaisessa seurassa ensin baarissa, ja sitten yksi naita tulihan tehtya-juttuja, pussikaljaa Shinjukussa. / An urban night out involved first an izakaya in Ueno, and, it's been a while since I've done this anywhere, plastic bag beer as the Finns put it, in Shinjuku overlooking the railways.

Posted by hrantavu at 06:20 PM

October 11, 2004

Nogizaka & Oazo

T?n? viikonloppuna ehdin n?hd? hilpe?? japanilaista nykytaidetta (Yoshimoto Naran retrospektiivi), juhlia venezuelalais-kansainv?lisi? syntt?reit?, k?yd? temppelikirpputorilla ja juuri avatussa ostoskeskuksessa. Kuvia on tietysti vain kahdesta viimeisest? eli tylsimmist?.

Nogin pyh?kk? Akasakassa on pieni ja tunnelmallinen, samoin kuin runsas mets?puutarha sen vieress?. Ruusut tuoksuivat viel?. / The Nogi shrine in Akasaka is small but with atmosphere, just as the garden next to it.

Paikalle j?tettyj? toiveita oli edellisp?iv?n taifuuni vienyt menness??n. / The day before, the Ma-on typhoon had swept the grounds.

Temppelin edustan kirppiksell? oli leppoisa sunnuntaitunnelma. Muutama myyj? nukkui tuolillaan, mutta t?ll? rouvalla k?vi kauppa. / Second hand in front of the temple.

Reliefi Kambodzan l?hetyst?n sein?ss?. / This was the only interesting sight outside the temple area, so if you visit, don't bother wandering around.

Uusi kauppakeskus Oazo, keidas esperantoksi, avattiin juuri Marunouchiin. Tokiossa kauppakeskuksia ei koskaan ole tarpeeksi, tarpeeksi tyylikk?it?, tarpeeksi suuria. T?ytyy my?nt??, aika kiva oli. / Another addition to the ubiquitous shopping centres in Tokyo. The new one always being a bit bigger and more beautiful than the last one. This one is quite nice actually, especially the enormous bookstore.

Pit?isk? k?yd? ne keng?t...oliks ne vitosessa vai sittenkin yhdenness?toista.../ There was that nice pair of shoes on the fifth floor...or was it the eleventh...

Posted by hrantavu at 03:49 PM

October 09, 2004

Taifuuni - Typhoon Ma-on

Olin iltap?iv?ll? juuri tullut kaupungilta, kun vuosikymmenen rajuimman taifuunin piti pyyhki? Tokion yli 40-50 m/s tuulella. Vett? tuli silloin jo vaakasuorassa tuulenpuuskien mukana, mutta kadulla ihmiset viel? kulkivat sateenvarjojen kanssa. J?in innokkaana odottelemaan hirmumyrsky?, katselin ikkunasta taivaalle ja kerroin puhelimessa Suomeen ett? kohta se iskee. Ja koko ajan siin? puhuessa pahin oli itse asiassa kohdalla. Kun puhelu oli ohi, oli jo tyynt?. H?h. Kovat tuulet puhalsivat useamman kymmenen kilometrin p??ss? etel?ss?, Hanedan lentokent?n tienoilla. No, n?inp?h?n telkusta.

Just saw the strongest typhoon in a decade sweep over Tokyo - on tv. In my part of town, Nishi-Waseda, it was strong winds and rain, that's it, all along people were on the streets even managing to hold their umbrellas. Oh well, perhaps the earthquake was enough for this week.

Posted by hrantavu at 01:53 PM

October 08, 2004

Edustusta - Fellowship duties

Canon-s??ti?n edustajaherra k?vi kyl?ss? ja me stipendiaatit lounaalla. / At the International house near Roppongi for a Canon Foundation lunch.

Japanilaiset lenkkarit l?ysin hyv??n hintaan Uenon radanalais-tukkukauppa-alueelta. Niiss? kelpaa tallustaa, kun metrok?yt?v?n kyltiss? lukee, ett? vaihtaaksesi Oedo-linjalle, k?vele ensin 460 m eteenp?in ja sitten 170 m oikealle, jne. / Japanese beauties to stroll the endless underground passages in.

N?m? kuvat ovat Tokion l?nsiosista Koenjista ja Kichijojista, jossa yakitorikokki ty?ss??n. K?nnykk?kamerakuvia, mik? n?kyy. / These are photos I took on a walk in Koenji and Kichijoji some time ago, with my mobile phone camera, as you can see.

Toissap?iv?isest? j?ristyksest?: oli se sent??n 5.7! Onneksi en tiennyt t?t? silloin. / Luckily I didn't know at the time of the earthquake two nights ago that it was a 5.7 one.

Posted by hrantavu at 10:46 AM

October 06, 2004

Järistystä ja kaupunkikuvia - Parks and city views

Olin äsken silmät ristissä nukkumaan menossa, kun alkoi tuoli täristä. Puoliksi pöydän alle kyyristyneenä, kaikki aistit valppaina, ja samalla kysmysmerkkinä, että mitä ihmettä voi tehdä, jos oikein järistää, tuijotin kelloa. Käytävältä avoimesta ikkunasta kuului natinaa ja kilkatusta, kun viereisen rakennustyömaan tellingit helisivät. Tavarat eivät sentään heiluneet pöydällä niinkuin elokuvissa. Vajaan minuutin vavisutti. Tuntui ikuisuudelle. Ensimmäinen maanjäristykseni. Muuten, en seonnut, vaan pöydän alle neuvotaan menemään suojaan jos oikein rytisee.

English-speakers, sorry, it's well past bedtime and I just experienced my first ever earthquake, so no translations this time. (It was very gentle and so forth, but for me quite enough.) It's just city sceneries I've been to, and enjoyed, anyway, so you'll be fine just browsing the photos if you wish.

Järistyksestä virkistyneenä päätin vihdoin laittaa viime päivien kuvia esille.

Perjantaina leffassa Odaiban tekosaarella (tekojärvi, tekosaari, you know), johon on lysti mennä ensin liikenteen, sitten meren päällä kulkevaa junarataa pitkin. Mark, TaiKista, pitää siltaa pystyssä.

Saman helteisen päivän lämpimänä iltana näkymä Uenon puistosta.

Vieressä on Ameyoyokochon radanalainen kauppakujasto. Päältä suihkii mm. kantakaupunkia kiertävä Yamanote-juna. Kauppaa käydään rennolla meiningillä kengistä mereneläviin.

Tutkija nuttura piukalla ja tyytyväisenä, kun tulosta syntyy. Opiskelijat pähkäilevät kyselylomaketta digikuvaamisesta.

(Kuva: Machiko Kusahara)

Tutkijan hymy hyytyi, kun tajusi, että lomakkeet pitää analysoida. Yoyogipuistoon hommiin, jos helpottaisi, mutta heti joutui ongelmanratkaisupuuhiin. Kyltissä lukee No pedestrian only, Kielletty jalankulkija sallittu.

Oli lauantaipäivä ja Meiji-pyhäköllä useita juhlaseurueita, joista näyttävin tämä hääpari saattajineen. Heitä varten paikalla oli televisiokuvaaja.

Väliin taas pari palaa japanilaista arkigraafista.

Tänään sai kahden kaatosadepäivän jälkeen kulkea housunlahkeet kuivana. Lähdin (lomakkeiden kanssa) keisarillisen palatsin puistoon.

Asfalttitiet puistoissa pitäisi kieltää koko maailman kattavalla lailla. Unohdin tämän epäkohdan, kun aurinko lämmitti ihoa, tuuli suhisi puissa ja tuoksui tutulle syysmetsälle. Oli ihanaa taas nähdä vihreää monissa sävyissä.

Posted by hrantavu at 07:25 PM

September 28, 2004

Lehtiostoksilla - Magazine shopping

T?n??n japanilaisten ostovoimasta muistutti muotilehtiosasto. Joka ikiselle, suomalaisen mielest? lohduttoman marginaaliselle kohderyhm?lle on oma julkaisu. Lady-like-lehti, tietysti, siihen farkut mukaan niin jo tulee oma lehti, on verkkarilehti, neulelehti, valtavirtateinimuotilehti, 60-lukumuodin teinien lehti, brittityylin teinien lehti (dekadentteja suttusilmi? koulupuvuissa ja villatakeissa), ja niin edelleen. P??lle japanilaiset versiot kaikista l?nsimaisista muotilehdist?. Miehille oma valikoimansa, melkein yht? suuri. / English-speakers, see below please.

Itse ostin kolmekymppiselle hyvin sopivan, v?h?n toimistoa, v?h?n farkkua-lehden, ja etten ihan periksi anna, parikymppisten l?k?p?ksylehden. Hauskaa muotia t??ll? on, kaikille.

Kaupassa lehtien lukeminen on juuri niin yleist? ja sallittua kuin matkaopas kertoo. Sille(kin) on oma nimitys, tachiyomi. Naapurin alepassa oli t?n??nkin lehtihyllyn edess? muuri keskittyneit? lukijoita.

Markettisushin lis?ksi olen sy?nyt yakitoria (vartaita lisukkeineen) Kichijojissa uuden tuttavani, taikkilaisen Markin kanssa, udonia (keitto jossa paksuja nuudeleita) Taitossa ty?kavereiden kanssa, tonnikalaa tartarina ja lohta paistettuna kampuksella, ja Mo's Burgerissa teriyakikanahampurilaista pari kertaa opiskelijoiden kanssa, se lasketaan t??ll? japanilaiseksi ruoaksi. Ja mustekalapallukoita paneroituna, katuruokaa, mmm. Hyv?? on joka paikassa. Kuvia saatte odotella, kunnes saan ne keitaista koneelle.

In Japan, people don't browse magazines in shops, they read them, and it's a fully accepted activity. Did it myself today, amazed by the selection of fashion magazines. For every little niche, there's a big fat magazine available, with some kind of an extra book included. I bought myself a nice in-your-thirties-now-girl magazine, and not to give in altogether, also a groovy early-twenties-magazine. (Brandon, if you ever happen to read this, I tell you I miss you to start with, and missed you today in front of this selection. Would have been good fun to browse through. Get your e-mail sorted boy!)

Have had excellent food, from fried octopus to teriyaki chicken burgers wherever I have been to, and in good company to enjoy it with, from brave Finns to friendly colleagues.

Posted by hrantavu at 01:20 PM

September 25, 2004

Iltak?velyll? Asakusassa

Japan Todayn verkkolehdess? oli juttu koskien t?m?n viikon arkipyhi?. Nuori yritt?j?mies kertoi ihailevansa ihmisi?, jotka voivat pit?? viikonlopun vapaata. He ovat p??sseet el?m?ss? pitk?lle. Opiskelijatytt? yritt?isi ilman muuta p??st? matkalle, jos olisi niin pitk? vapaa kuin kaksi p?iv??. Vanhempi mies kritisoi japanilaisten intoa lyhyille ulkomaanmatkoille. K?yv?t viikonloppuna New Yorkissa ottamassa kuvia Metropolitan Art museumista ja muista n?ht?vyyksist?, mutta eiv?t vahingossakaan k?y miss??n sis?ll?. Paitsi Tiffanylla, jossa kuluukin sitten monta tuntia. H?n suositteli puistoa ja auringossa nukkumista.

Itse tein t?n??n, lauantaina, kunnon japanilaisen tavoin t?yden p?iv?n t?it?. V?lipalalla ihmettelin taas muovipakkausten m??r??. Suomessa en viikossa tuota sit? m??r?? j?tett? kuin t??ll? yhdell? suupalalla. Japanissa on varmasti my?s kukoistavat markkinat erilaisille v?lineille, joilla n?it? pakkauksia auotaan.

T?ll? kertaa kohtasin yksitt?ispakatut piparit. Muovipulloissa ostetaan kaikkea mehusta paukkuihin, t?ss? kahvia (hyv?? muuten.)

Hedelmi? saa tietysti kokonaisinakin, mutta my?s meille sinkuille sopivasti annosteltuna. Kovassa muovirasiassa tietysti. (Ja ai kun hyvi?!)

Ty?n j?lkeen huvi, t?n??n Asakusan temppelialueella ja ymp?rist?sss?.

Portista sis??n, ei suinkaan temppelin pihaan, vaan markkinakujalle. Viel? en Tokiossa ole n?hnyt niin monta l?nsimaalaista samassa paikassa. Kiva olla v?lill? turistina. Myyt?v?n? muutama avaimenper? ja k?nnykk?killutin.

Temppelialueella rauhallinen mutta hilpe? tunnelma. Suurimmaksi osaksi paikalla turisteja (l?nsimaalaisten lis?ksi japanilaisia ja muita aasialaisia), joukossa paikallisia juhlavasti pukeutuneita alttarilla piipahtajia.

Pient? maksua vastaan laatikoista saa omikujin, ennusteen. Jos se lupaa huonoa, lappu sidotaan telineeseen (tai puuhun), jotta tuuli vie huonon onnen menness??n.

Temppeli? ymp?r?ivill? kaduilla ennakoitiin jo ruska-aikaa.

Mukava alue, vanhaa Tokiota, se mit? siit? on j?ljell?. Matalia rakennuksia, proosallista tunnelmaa. Korttelia kohden monta ravintolaa, mutta Jonin suosittelemaan sushipaikkaan hirmu jono (kuten t??ll? suosittuihin ravintoloihin yleens?.) T?ytyy palata jonoajan ulkopuolella, ja Kappabashidorin ravintola- ja keitti?tarvikepuotien aukioloaikana, jospa l?yt?isin oman wasabipurtilo-k?nnykk?killuttimen.

Posted by hrantavu at 04:46 PM

September 23, 2004

Juhlia ja k?nnyk?it? / Festivities and Japanese Mobile Communication

T?lle viikolle on sattunut kaksi arkipyh??, ja molempina p?ivin? rauhallisen Wasedan alueeni on t?ytt?nyt rumpujen pauke. Maanantaina tutkija havahtui kammiossaan iloisiin sambarytmeihin! Ei ikin? uskoisi, miten iso ??ni niin pienest? b?ndist? ja kulkueesta l?htee. / This week there have been two public holidays and both times my quiet little Waseda neighbourhood has been filled with sounds from parades. You wouldn't believe how much noise a small group can make.

Jotkut paraatihahmoista olivat minulle oudompia. / Some of the parade characters were a bit more exotic.

Juhlap?ivin? my?s naapuruston shintolainen pyh?kk? oli juhlavalaistuksessa. / The festivities showed at the neighbouring shinto shrine as well.

V?lisoitto: Ruokakaupasta l?ysin t?m?n possun pulassa. (Paketissa on paistinarua.) / Interlude: Found this piggy in trouble at the supermarket.

Harajukussa on keskittym? kaikelle, mit? teini tai teinimielinen tarvitsee. Ja tungosta!

Siit? k?velymatkan p??ss? on paikallinen Esplanadi, Omotesando, jossa vierekk?in Armani, Dior, Anna Sui, Gap, jne., ymm?rr?tte, mit? tarkoitan. Hauskaa on se, ett? kadulla ja my?s kaupoissa kulkee kaikenn?k?ist? v?ke?, ei ainoastaan tyylitaitureita. My?s farkuissa voi menn? Diorin liikkeeseen, joka on kyll? ik??nkuin kadun presidentinlinna vartijoineen. Kallista on, ja kyll? on kaunistakin! Suomessa ei t?llaista designia juuri ole edes n?ht?vill?. Shibuyaan laskeutuessa tulee sitten vastaan kohtuuhintaisempia, hauskoja putiikkeja, jossa on kolmekymppisellekin sopivaa nuorisomuotia (odottakaa vaan miss? japaniar?yhel?iss? tulen t??lt?.)

Akihabaran kaupunginosassa taas on kaikki elektroniikka ja siihen liittyv? mit? ikin? tarvitset, tai haluat. (Tokiosta ylip??ns? saat halutessasi joka ikisen tavaran mit? maailmasta l?ytyy, pikkumutterista Armanin uniikkiasuun.) / In Akihabara, you have anything you need or want in electronics. (In Tokyo, in general, you can have any material thing you can possibly want in this world.)

Akihabarasta hankin k?nnykk?ni, tuhansien joukosta. Nolla jeni?, tv:ll?, kameralla ja radiolla varustettuna. / In Akihabara, I became a member of the ketai culture in Japan.

Ne englanninkielentaitoiset, joita asia kiinnostaa, voivat lukea lis?? k?nnyk?n hankkimisesta ao. linkist?. Kuvia voivat katsoa kaikki. Linkki alla "Continue reading...", ja sivua alas. / The process of getting a phone, subscribing to a service, and using the phone are quite different from what I am used to at home. In the link below, you find a memo on this basically for myself, but I'm publishing it here as it may be useful to others, too, who are interested in mobile communications in Japan or need to get a mobile phone in Japan. For others, it's boring. Just see the photos. Link: "Continue reading...", and scroll down.

Omahyv?inen esimerkki kuvasta, jollaisia k?nnyk?ll?ni saa. / A self-indulging example of the kind of photos you can take with my phone, by my colleague Legolas.

You can look and you can touch

The display and retail of the mobile phones in Japan is more relaxed than what we are used to at home. The phones are not sold only in shiny, air conditioned, operator-specific shops, but also in street corner kiosks that expand to the street. In these corner shops, a range of handset models and different operators are represented. In all shops, the models are free for the customer to play with at own will, not tucked away under a desk or held in a glass display and tried under the salesman's control. (For a photo, please see my entry from Sept 16th.)

Handset prices

Prices of the handsets vary from O ? to let's say 250 ?. In Japan, as in most countries, handsets are sold in connection to services from a certain operator. The operator buys phones from the manufacturer (Sanyo, Toshiba, Sharp, Panasonic, Mitsubishi, Nokia, Kyocera...) and subsidizes the price of the handset to the consumer when s/he subscribes to the operator's services. This way, the cheaper models can come free, whereas the newer models with more and fancier functions cost, but still much less than in Finland.

In Finland, selling a product in connection with another, so that the consumer cannot use one without the other ("kytkykauppa"), is illegal. However, right now, Fthe operator Elisa and manufacturer SonyEricsson are companies speaking for change and officials are considering it.

Service prices

The operator services in Japan, in turn, cost more than in Finland. Finnish consumer rights authorities would faint in front of all the possible, very oblique charge combinations.

The very basic framework is that you subscribe to a set monthly price plan, with my operator Vodafone varying from ca. 35 ? to 170 ? per month (there are eight options). This is what you pay whether you use the phone or not. A part of the monthly fee includes call and data services. Once you exceed that amount, you pay it on top of your monthly fee. For example, out of my 35? contract ca. 20? includes calls, e-mail, and other services. If I call and e-mail more than 20 ?, I pay extra. If don't use all of the 20 ?, it's my loss, I pay the 35? anyway.

The picture is blurred by a number of different bonuses, discounts, and additional charges for example when switching to another price plan, handset, or unsubscribing. (Just check out one of the operator's pages, operator names at the end.) You need to have a residence permit to Japan in order to open a subscription. Except a prepaid one, but they are expensive. (I got my subscription with the kind help of a colleague.)

Call costs vary, with my operator, from 10 to 60 yen per minute (ca. 8 cents to 45 cents) depending on the subscription type. The only cheap time of day is between 1am and 7pm, i.e. useless really. My cost, about 30 yen per minute, is a common price. Data services, on the other hand, are cheap: from 2yen to 8yen (1,5 to 6 cents) per message - the price of multimedia messages in Finland is five times as high, about 40 cents.

Services and functions

It is my understanding so far that in Japan, people do mostly use e-mail and other services rather than speak on the phone. Photos taken with the mobile phone camera are sent as attachments to e-mails, not as separate messages. Other services would mean games, tv, radio, video-conferencing, web content.

Tv and radio are free, as the handsets receive the broadcast directly. It is additional operator services (more data transfer, for example) and downloads that you need to pay extra or even subscribe separately for.

The functions on the phone are abundant. It serves, as is familiar from Finnish phones, as clock, alarm clock, calendar, calculator (in Japan, they have a special split costs among friends-setting for it but no currency settings as we do), memo book, but also as fortuneteller and animation composer. Also, you can set animation on your display and the characters will address you by name. In your reminders-list, you can stamp your reminders using 30 different options as the usual date, birthday, and dinner to "drive", "unlucky", "tv", "hospital visit", and reason for a reminder in Japan, "holiday".

Designs

There are only a few exceptions from the clamshell-type design available. One is Nokia 6650, and the only Japanese one I've seen, by Au (operator KDDI brand) and manufacturer Sanyo, at first looks a bit cheap. But after going through twenty clumsy, thick clamshells that all look more or less the same, this model becomes quite attractive. It's very thin but quite tall so it seems a bit impractical, but it is retro design here so that comes with the deal I suppose.

Some camera phones indeed look very much like cameras (in the middle row.)

Finnish teens refresh their phone designs with nail polish, but here, they have more advanced ways to do that. One is to buy the equivalent of keyrings to hang from your phone, varying from hello kitty toys to jewelry. Another is mobile phone tattoos, sold by a young Korean man in Akihabara. Both I'd like to see exported to Finland.

Usability and other problematics

As can be guessed from the variety of services and functions of these phones, usability is poor. After having my phone for less than a week, I have gone through sound settings so many times I cannot even remember to get them the way I want, and still I'm not sure whether that is the case. There are also functions I have no idea what they mean, like "close mode", or that are difficult to work out, like "manner mode" (this of course has to do with translation too.) There are many overlapping menus and also functions especially in sounds. After going through all the settings the first time to customise my phone and services, I felt I'd never be able to remember where to change a setting in case I would want to.

I was overjoyed with the e-mail service, as long as it turned out that after all, I cannot communicate to my Finnish e-mail friends with it. My photos get lost on the way and I can't see their e-mails at all. Oh well. Have to get a lot of Japanese friends to write to.

As pointed out by some of my colleagues, the input method by the user is inconvenient. I find Nokia SMS input irritating, but indeed writing with my Toshiba is even worse. My colleagues also criticize the tendency to push more and more operations and content to the mobile phone and consequently small screen. They also explanined that this tendency, and the popularity of the ketai is because of low pc use in Japan (compared to what we are used to.) For many young people thei mobile phone is the first and only computer they use.

I have a very boring, one of the most basic Nokia phones, but I'm already looking forward to going back to it. I will miss the little ku-man character on my display addressing me as Heli (although, with my Japanese, as far as I know she might be insulting me), listening to radio in the morning (well, at home I have a "real" one), and showing off the tv in my phone (I don't watch it myself here, but I might at home.) Perhaps I will after all become an enthousiastic 3G customer once I return to Finland - if it really finally works then.

All Japanese operators have English pages with good pictures of their models. The operators I am aware of are NTTDoCoMo, KDDI, and Vodafone.

Posted by hrantavu at 09:09 AM

September 16, 2004

Shinjuku Sightseeing

Takadanobaban asemalla kaivelin taskusta rahaa lippua varten. Tyt?t tulimaan kysym??n "sorry, picture?"

He halusivatkin minusta kuvan, sen j?lkeen piti kertoa kuinka vanha olen. N?in on k?ynyt kerran aiemmin, Ko phi phill? Thaimaassa. Hassua. Yksi tyt?ist? veikkasi ett? olen 25 v., yksi jopa 20 v.! Tietoa 30 v. seurasi h?mm?styneit? huudahduksia ja katseita. Myh?ilin ja jatkoin matkaa. / These girls stopped me at Takadanobaba station yesterday to ask for my picture and then my age. I've had this happen once before, in Thailand. I amused myself by asking for their estimate, was very pleased with their answers, shocked them with the truth, and carried on with a big smile.

Tokyo by night Shinjukun pilvenpiirt?j?st?. Joulu-helmikuun kirkkaissa s?iss? n?kee kuulemma Fujin huipunkin. N?m? hauvat lauloivat vieraille.

Kamerapuhelimen hankkiminen kohta edess?. Kollegani Legolas, ruotsista, arvioi 1 jenin malleja (0,008?). / My new Waseda colleague is trying out camera phones. Some of them cost 1 yen - too bad I can't use them at home.

Yakitorikioskissa seurana hilpeit? salarymaneja. Olisivat intoutuneet tarjoamaan sakea, mutta livahdimme paikalta. Olivat hiukka tuiterissa. Er?s herrasmies ei lakannut vaatimasta ett? hansamun ja byutifun pit?? menn? naimisiin ilman muuta. S?in maksa-, nauta-, tomaatti- ja sienipekonivartaat (hei, ne oli pieni?!). Kes? tuli mieleen. Halpaa ja hyv??. / Telecommunications negotiations were continued with a delicious and cheap yakitori meal, in the company of Tokyo salarymen in a fairly jolly mood already.

Posted by hrantavu at 06:04 AM

September 15, 2004

Okuma Garden

On melkein naapurissani, kuuluu kampusalueeseen. K?vin siell? eilen lukemassa. Pieni, tunnelmallinen puutarha, hyv? hellep?ivien viett?miseen, paitsi ett? auringon laskiessa alkoivat hyttyset purra.

Oikealla n?kyv? rakennus on ruokala, sen kaareva sein? istuu hienosti puistomaisemaan. Sis?lt?kin on varmasti hieno n?kym?. Kunhan lukuvuosi alkaa parin viikon p??st?, p??sen katsomaan.

English-speakers

Okuma garden is my neighbouring campus garden, an excellent place to sit in and read on a hot afternoon. Except for the litte fierce mosquitos at sunset. The building in the right is a student cafeteria. It must have a great view out as it's practically in the woods. Will be finding this out in a few weeks as the semester begins.

Posted by hrantavu at 06:10 AM

September 14, 2004

Shoppailemassa

L?ysin Uenon kaupunginosan OiCity-tavaratalosta keng?t, joilla tutustua Tokion kaupunkiin. Japanilaiset viel?.

Olisi l?ytynyt paljon muutakin! Keng?t olivat kohtuuhintaisia, jos Helsingin hintoja pit?? kohtuullisina. Vaatteet eiv?t olleet, joten se siit?. Hupia riitti jo vaatemerkkiosastojen nimiss?: Child Woman, Vivayou, Bulle de Savon (saippuakupla), Olive des Olive, As know As. Tavarataloketjun kotisivulta, josta Stocka voisi ottaa oppia, p??see naisten kuvaa klikkaamalla katsomaan tarjontaa. http://www.0101.co.jp/index.html

Kaikkien karttojeni mukaan Uenossa on puisto, jossa on Shinobazun lampi. Jos joku tiet??, miksi lammen paikalla on nyt t?t? j?ttilehte?, kertokaahan.

English summary

I finally found comfortable shoes. Japanese ones, too. Tokyo is a surprisingly good city to walk in and I like getting around by foot so I was in need. But of course my eye caught all those snappy heels with bright colours and I felt like a boring old pragmatist once again walking out with black flat walking shoes. I'm now determined to go shoeshopping again before I leave.

I discovered that the Shinobazu pond in Ueno is now full of giant green leaves. If anyone knows why, let me know too.

Posted by hrantavu at 06:28 AM

September 12, 2004

Sunnuntaik?velyll? ja -ajelulla

Alla illalliseni t?n??n, ja eilen, japanilainen ruoka n?ytt?? kevyelt? mutta on yll?tt?v?n t?ytt?v??. Maap?hkin?lt? n?ytt?vien kuorien sis?ss? olikin papuja, v?h?n suolaisia, hyvi?. T?n??n n?in muuten ruokakaupassa huvittavan version l?nsimaisesta ruoasta: valkoisen kelmuun pakatun kumipatonkis?mpyl?n, jonka sis??n oli tungettu kokonainen spagetti bolognese-annos. Parin euron hintaan olisi sellaisen saanut. En ostanut.

Jet lag-tilanne: nukahdin vasta 02 j?lkeen, nousin vasta 12 j?lkeen ja p??sin todella hitaasti liikkeelle aurinkoiseen, helteiseen iltap?iv??n.

Kun p??sin, k?velin n. 45 min. Shinjukuun, yhteen Tokion p?rin?keskuksista. Siell?h?n sit? riitti, ihmismassaa, kaupantekoa ja katuesityksi?. Suomalaiseen tottumukseen ?rsykkeiden huippu, joten en viipynyt sen kauemmin, vaan l?hdin juna-sightseeingille ennen kuin tulisi pime?.

Eli selvisin kuin selvisinkin Shinjukun asemasta! Sanotaan, ett? se lienee maailman suurimpia p?ivitt?in l?pikulkevan v?en m??r?ss? mitattuna. Yhdistelin sopivassa m??rin virran mukana kulkemista ja sivuun astumista kylttien tuijottamiseksi, ja l?ysin lukemattomien linjojen joukosta Yamanote-linjan. Se kiert?? Tokion keskustan ymp?ri, maan p??ll?, joten sielt? n?kee v?h?n eri kaupunginosia. Helsingin 3T:n tosi iso serkku.

N?in sunnuntai-illansuussa junassa oli v?lj??. Mietin, ett? japanilaisten ja ven?l?isten naisten valtavirran pukeutumisessa on kyll? jotain samaa. Erilaista on se, ett? japanilaiset meikkaavat kauniisti ja hillitysti, ja pukeutuminen on vienoa, ei r?ike??. Kuitenkin perinteinen siro naisellisuus on t?rke??, korkoa kengiss?, vaatteet kevyit?, pastellis?vyisi? ja istuvia, korut ohuita, sievi?, kivill? koristeltuja kultakoruja. Mieleen muistuivat yht?kki? hollantilaiset kaksimetriset kova??niset farkkunaiset, ja miksei suomalaiset kansitakkinaiset. Vaatteet, aatteet, naisena oleminen miss? tahansa, ei siit? sen enemp??.

P.S. Tv:st? tulee juuri kokonainen Helsingist? k?sin kuvattu ohjelma Suomenlahden ja It?meren ymp?rist?uhkista. Sinilev?t, ?ljytankkerit, kaikki mukana, suomalaisia tutkijoita oppaina. En tietenk??n ymm?rr? mit??n, kun haastattelutkin on dubattu, mutta hauska n?hd? tuttuja maisemia ja hailakoita punakoita naamoja!

Posted by hrantavu at 03:08 PM

September 11, 2004

Wasedan tytt?i!

T??ll? ollaan Tokiossa!

Kello tulee 18 lauantai-iltana ja naapurissa tennistreenit loppuvat juuri. Koululaiset (pojat) ovat eilisest? iltap?iv?st? pelanneet kent?ll? vuorotellen jalkapalloa, koripalloa ja nyt tennist?.

Hotellihuonetta muistuttava uusi kotini on kompakti, hyvin siisti ja tietysti hyvin toimiva. Eteisest? keitti??n:

Johon ei kyll? kuulu juuri ollenkaan s?ilytystilaa. Kai vihje siit?, ett? l?hist?ll? on joku hyvin edullinen ruokailupaikka (paikkoja). T?ksi illaksi ostin kuitenkin sushilajitelman Santoku-ruokakaupasta, 6 kpl 310 jeni? eli n. 2,5 euroa.

Suihku-wc:ss? kaikki toimii moitteettomasti. Huomaa kirkuvan pinkki k?sisaippua, joka kihisee ja kuplii p??sess??n veden kanssa kosketuksiin. En viel?k??n ole varma, onko se saippua. Ostin sitten t?n??n nestem?ist?.

Huoneen p??dyst? astutaan parvekkeelle. Alla pieni katu jossa tuskin ollenkaan liikennett?. T?m? on ylip??t??n rauhallinen alue, jossa paljon yliopistorakennuksia. Vilkas kyll? Helsingin mittapuun mukaan, mutta ei sellaista tohinaa ja liikennett? kuin voisi odottaa. Pieni? katuja ja hyvin v?h?n autoja. V?h?n kuin Helsigin yliopiston Krunikan kampus kompaktina, ja muutama asuntola, kymmenitt?in pieni? ravintoloita, pikkumarketteja ja muita kioskeja sekaan.

Telkkarista en ole onnistunut saamaan kuin ihan unilingual japanilaista hihittely?, vaikka ohjeet on olemassa my?s bilingual-toiminnolle, eli my?s englanninkielinen ??niraita olemassa (kai sama kuin meid?n flerljud). Aamukahviveden sain kyll? mikrossa l?mmitetty?, mutta piti siihenkin luntata englanninkielisi? ohjeita.

Kohta tehd??n lis?? tuttavuutta kun rupean illalliselle ja l?mmit?n sushin kanssa kaupasta ostamani pakastepiiraan, jonka sis?lt? on viel? mysteeri.

Superhieno yll?tys oli se, ett? p??sen t??lt? k?mpilt? nettiin! Helpottaa paljon. Nyt kun ei ole k?nnykk?? ja soittaminen on kallista, olen nettiriippuvainen.

Eilisest? matkasta: mieli oli muissa maailmoissa, j?nnitin niin kovasti. Onneksi SAS tarjosi hyvi? Todella upeeta-jaksoja ja Stepford Wivesin. Vierustoverini oli sujuvaa englantia puhuva nuori nainen, matkaopas, tulossa 9pv Skandinavian kiertueelta japanilaisen ik?ihmisryhm?n kanssa. H?n varmaan ihmetteli kun naamastani n?kyi ett? tunsin menev?ni teuraalle, niinkuin er?s yst?v?ni asian ilmaisi.

No, kaikkihan meni sitten oikein sujuvasti, oli neuvottu hyvin, l?ysin ongelmitta k?mpille ja ruokakauppaan jne. Ihmiset ovat kovin yst?v?llisi? ja vierailijalle on monta asiaa mietity valmiiksi. Eilen kyll? viel? j?nistin ja s?in m?kk?riss?! Mutta ei siell?k??n p??ssyt pakoon kielitaidottomuutta: En p??ssyt edes tiskille kun hymyilev? myyj? jo katsoi silmiin ja p??sti hirmuisen puhetulvan, johon min? vain tuijotin neuvottomana, kunnes viereinen myyj? auttoi, ett? here or to go, siis sy?tk? t??ll? vai vietk? mukaan.

Jet lag pist?? viel? sekaisin, unettaa, on virke??, n?l?tt??, on kyll?ist? juuri v??riss? kohdissa, mutta t?n??n tuntuu jo kotoisalta. Pikku hiljaa etenen niin sanotusti kaupungille ty?kaverini Jonin lista mieless?. Taidan aloittaa huomenna viereisest? Shinjukusta (itse sijaitsen tarkalleen ottaen Waseda-Tsurumakichossa). T?it?kin voisi ehk? ajatella tekev?ns?.

You English speaking people, sorry - these notes go to Mommy and other close ones not fluent in English - in brief, I'm now somewhat familiar with my immediate campus surroundings, all things are in place in my little room, I'm online, I've found a 100yen shop and sushi to eat. Will gradually be expanding my territory. Also, until I ask otherwise, please use the gmail address I wrote above, as I'm having problems with my uiah account.

Seuraaviin kuulumisiin, laittakaa meili?!

Ainiin: Eilen sadekuuroja, t?n??n pilvipoutaa. L?mmint? n. 26 astetta, p?iv?ll? auringon pilkottaessa n. 30, mutta ei tukalasti, jopa farkuissa p?rj?si. Ihana palata kunnon kes?ilmoihin.

Posted by hrantavu at 01:21 PM

June 15, 2004

9 p?iv?? l?ht??n

Yhdeks?n p?iv?? siihen, kun l?hden Tokioon. Tekemist? tullis??nn?sten tarkistamisesta muumilahjojen ostoon. T?n??n olen viilannut t?t? saittia Jonin avustuksella, tavannut Japanista palanneen Susannan, kohta tapaan Tokiossa asuneen Kirsin, sitten pakkaan, pesen pyykki?, tankkaan hiraganoja...

Posted by hrantavu at 04:32 PM