Japanese Culture: Animal Cafés

It is common knowledge that the Japanese are a bit crazy about animals, especially cats (4k: I'm already hearing a Japanese scream "Kaawaaaaiiiiiiiiiii!!!" in my head). Since Japanese flats are very small, it is often not possible to have a pet - or the landlord doesn't allow it. This is how animals cafés came into being. Especially the cat cafés are pretty well known in all the world and this concept has been copied by people in many other countries - even in Berlin there is at least one cat café.

Today, there are other kinds of animal cafés, too, for example dog cafés or bird cafés. 4k really wanted to see such a café, but not a "normal" animal café like for cats. It should be something that wouldn't be possible in Germany (there are really, really high constraints when animals, people and food come together). But 4k was really lucky since right now the latest "hoot" (4k: I was really looking forward to write this all day! *g*) in Japan are owl cafés. Right, a café with owls (Again, 4k can hear a Japanese scream this typical "Äääääääääeäeäeäeeeeeeeehh.....?" in her head). Since 4k loves all kinds of birds of prey, she definitely had to check out an owl café. By chance she found out that there is one quite close to the Kansai Ki-in (maybe 15 minutes to walk there), so after going there that morning with many other camp participants, 4k set off to フクロウのみせ (Fukurou no mise).

Outside the café

4k arrived quite early, about 1 hour before the shop opened and was actually the first one to sign up for the first group of the day - together with a group of very nice Australian women. After passing the remaining time until the shop would open by eating Takoyaki (dough balls with octopus inside - really, really hot but very nice!) and walking around in the streets near Fukurou no mise, the shop finally opened and we were allowed in.

Inside the café

At first I'll explain how this concept works:
Before you can enter, you have to make a reservation. Reservations can only be made on the spot and only for the same day (so you can't call in advance and make a reservation for Friday next week). Each person gets a time slot of one hour in the café - you can stay longer but you're not allowed to pet the owls again or to take pictures of them. Each time slot begins exactly on the hour. You actually are allowed to bring your own owl, too, (keep in mind that this is Japan, so... why shouldn't someone have a pet owl? XD ) if you contact the staff in advance - and probably can meet a few conditions.

After entering and taking your seat the first you'll do is order your drink (in the overall fee 1 drink is included). You are also asked to clean your hands with a hand sanitiser (provided at the café). Then you'll get to hear an explanation of about 10 minutes how to interact safely with the owls. This is 99% in Japanese but they're using a hand doll so it isn't a problem at all to follow the rules (when in doubt you can still ask, of course). During this time you get the drink you ordered when you enter - but actually no one drinks now because everyone rushes over to the owls as soon as possible. You then have a bit more than 30 minutes to interact with the owl before you are asked to drink up and to pay (1.500¥ for an adult, which is about 11€).

The time with the owls is really enjoyable even though one owl seemed to have a bad day and tried to eat my left thumb. Luckily, it wasn't Shi-chan the Siberian Owl, who was the biggest hoot in town (and also very calm and nice). Her talons were about as long as my thumb so.. lucky for us that Shin-chan (the only owl that is not tied in the whole café) is so friendly. When I touched the owls, I was really surprised how soft their feathers were - and how little "real" bird there is since most of it seams to be feathers! XD

Even though I came alone, I have quite a few pictures of me with the owls since the nice Australian women offered several times to take a picture of me and the owls. Here are a few:

Interacting with the owls

I really enjoyed my time at the owl café (even though one owl's droppings missed my foot (sandals, hello!) be the skin of my teeth - but well... it's animals). I'm saying this although I have to admit that I'm a bit torn between enjoyment and a bad conscience since keeping owls like this is just a pretty... weird and unnatural thing. However, I really love owls and this is probably the closest you might ever get... so... make up your mind for yourself if you'd want to go or not if you get the chance. If another camp participant wanted to go, I'd definitely offer to lead the way... and come again. Maybe then I can carry this EXTREMELY KAWAIII ultra small owl on my shoulder.. ^^;

Extremly kawaii

Osaka Go Camp - Day 10 (Kansai Ki-in, Osaka Castle)

On Wednesday of the second week we did some sightseeing in Osaka, organized by the camp.

The first stop was the Kansai Ki-in, where we could watch the professionals play their games. Most of the participants were waiting in the Kansai Ki-in Go Salon on the first floor, while a small group was upstairs visiting the pros. The groups rotated so everybody got a chance to see the pros playing.

A funny thing I noticed was a professional sitting in his chair in the traditional Seiza. I always thought it was a formal posture when sitting on the ground (which is common in traditional Japanese settings). I tried sitting in Seiza once during the Himeji-trip - but only for several seconds. For me (and for 4k), it's really uncomfortable, but then I might have been doing it wrong or are just not used to it. This pro seemed to find it a really comfortable posture (or maybe it helps him concentrate?)

Pros playing

After lunch, a part of the group (not 4k since the weather didn't look very good for taking pictures) went to the main sightseeing spot in Osaka - the Osaka Castle. The current castle is actually a reconstruction (one of many), not the original building like the castle in Himeji, with the Osaka Castle Museum located inside. Thankfully this meant not so much stairs (Elevator desu!). The view from the top (8th floor) was great, similar to the view in Himeji (but compare for yourself).

Osaka Castle

View from Osaka Castle

The castle has an interesting history, conquering the castle was part of several important wars in Japanese history. Not much is known about the original building, which was constructed in the 16th century. Nearly all information uncovered about the old castle seem to be from the first reconstruction at the beginning of the 17th century, after it was conquered by another family and changed the owner.

In the 19th century, the castle was completely destroyed in a fire after being struck by lightening. It must have been an enourmous fire, since some of the damage is still visible on several of the castle walls today. Another interesting fact about the castle walls is that it contains some really big stones, with the biggest stone having a surface area that is bigger than a small single-room flat.

Biggest stone in the castle walls

Osaka Go Camp - A League Game Day

Some of you (maybe even you?) may already have wondered what the schedule of a normal day at the Osaka Go Camp looks like. Well, here you go, then!

A "normal" day at the Osaka Go camp is usually a day on which we play a league game - a Monday, Tuesday or Friday. According to the schedule, the day starts at 10 am with a league game. Usually it takes a bit longer for all players to arrive, since some might want to go and grab breakfast or something to drink before playing.

I'm not sure how exactly the pairings are made, but they tend to limit the amount of handicap stones that are given in a game. Since everybody has a playing card with his strength, all games are played with full handicap. This also means that in theory every participant could win the camp - though i'm not sure how they handle the case if several people tie for first place after wins.

Serious league games

Your rank, however, does not stay the same. If you win three league games in a row you earn a promotion (usually 1 level), if you lose three games in a row you go down a level.
If no suitable pairing partner is available for you (we have this case with two 15ks at the camp - next strongest player is around 7k), you might play a teaching game with a pro instead of playing a handicap game with another camp participant.

Teaching game instead of league game

Depending on how fast you finish your game, you can ask one of the professional at the camp for a review of your game or just go straight to lunch. The next scheduled activity starts at 13:30, which is homework checking. On each league day, Maeda-sensei gives out homework, which consists of 12 problems. The first six problems are whole-board problems, mostly for the late opening or middle game, with one or two endgame problems. The last six problems are tsumego/endgame problems.
Everybody who gets all problems for a day correct, can collect a little price but the problems are getting harder each time, so this is not that easy.

After checking the homework, at around 2pm, a pro gives a lecture until about 3pm. For most people it's free time after the lecture, but those who have put their names down fast enough, play teaching games against the visiting pros.

Teaching games after the lecture

Of course, not every day is a league day. Like mentioned earlier, Wednesday and Thursday are free days as the pros have their own games on these days. Usually sightseeing trips are organized for these days, but they are completly optional. On the weekends no league game are played. Instead it's friendship matches against local players (strong amateurs or even insei).

Osaka Go Camp - Day 3+4 (Himeji, Kobe)

Wednesday and Thursday are free days at the camp, as the professionals play their tournaments on these days. In the first week these days were filled with the cultural trip.

So on Wednesday we set of for Himeji. After lunch in front of the beatiful Himeji Castle we went to the City Hall to play some friendship matches against local Himeji players.

There was big dinner in the evening, including a traditional opening of a sealed sake bottle in which even 1k was asked to take part. The day ended with a visit to a local Go club and more games played.

Great chinese food

While the first day was filled with Go, the second one was filled with sightseeing. In the morning we visited Himeji Castle. It is really a spectacular piece of architecture including lots and lots of stairs (small and narrow stairs), especially in the main keep.
Since you aren't allowed to wear shoes inside the main keep you are climbing these smalls stairs either barefoot or on socks, with a plastic bag holding your shoes in one hand. For me (1k) it was a really stressfull experience, but then i'm nearly 1,80 metres tall, which might be quite tall in japan. But then again i wouldn't have missed this trip and can recommened it to any one who is going to visit japan.

Impressions of Himeji Castle

We were also a bit lucky since Himeji Castle had undergone a six year long restauration that was finished just in March 27, restoring the beatiful white color to the castle.

The second stop after Himeji was Kobe, which is actually not that far from Osaka. Kobe is probably most known for their "Kobe Beef" which ranks as one of the most expensive food world-wide. You can probably guess what we did in Kobe (apart from visiting a shrine - they are really everywhere in japan) and i must say it was really great meat. Even though the restaurant might have been overwhelmed by so much customers at once.
Like the restaurant in Tokyo, where we had Okonumyaki, the meat was prepared in front of you right at the table. Our group was big enough that we filled four or five of these tables at once and there were other guests as well. Considering that we were one of the latest table from our group ordering (it takes some time getting 50 people to the fith floor if all you have is one elevator that can take like 5 people at once), it was to be expected that we had to wait quite some time for our food.

Shrine in Kobe

Original Kobe Beef

The last stop after Kobe was a Go Shop in Osaka. Actually it's a workshop wo also produces the materials they are selling. In fact it was the Shop that is actually supplying the Kansai Ki-in. The shop was really small - way too small for the many people who wanted to take a look - and had some really expensive stuff. The most expensive Go item was a floor Goban for 1,3 million japanese yen.

That's quite expensive

We didn't spend that much money there but bought some nice slate- and shell-stones and a digital game clock, which looks very similar to the ones in Hikaru no Go ;-)

Tokyo/Osaka - Day 7+8 (Leaving Tokyo for Osaka)

Next day (yesterday) we left Tokyo for the Osaka Go Camp. We had already bought the tickets for the Shinkansen one day ago so we didn't have to wait in long queues (they were much longer than on friday!) with our heavy luggage.

We arrived more than one hour early but used that opportunity to observe how the Japanese Shinkansen are opperated. That was really impressive! We went up to our track and there a Shinkansen Nozomi (super express train between Tokyo and Hakata) arrived and left every 20 minutes. EXACTLY every 20 minutes. It was super interesting to watch what happened in these 20 minutes:

1. Train arrives at the station. Travellers leave the train.
2. The cleaning staff hurries into the train, 3 people per carriage. 1 of them disappears (we guess that one cleans the toilets), the others work in the carriage. First, they turn around every row of seats since Tokyo station is a terminal (German: Sackbahnhof). That's right: they turn the seats around so that ever passenger faces the direction of travel no matter in which direction the train is headed. After that, they change the towel covering each headrest. Then they dust off the seats and clean the floor.
3. The cleaning staff leaves the train and one of them alerts the driver of the train that they have finished. The whole cleaning process takes about 10-12 minutes.
4. In the remaining 4-5 minutes, the passengers enter the train. Before that, they formed a queue in the designated space marked on the platform for each door - since every train stops at the exact same spot the numbers of the carriages are marked on the platform, too, and the passengers can immediately enter the right carriage.
5. The doors of the train (and on the platform, there is a barrier which keeps people from falling into the track bed) close and the train departs at the designated leaving time.
6. 2-3 minutes later, the next train arrives and the whole process begins again.

We were both really impressed by the smoothness with which everything happened. This would never EVER be possible with the German DB trains. Never. Ever. Which is a crying shame since they are even more expensive than the Japanese Shinkansen.

Impressions from the Shinkansen station (Doors are closing in last photograph)

You might also be wondering about the degree of capacity utilisation since not only these 3 trains per hour leave for this route, but other trains with more stops, too. From what we saw, the trains are very much used, more than half the seats were usually taken right from Tokyo station.
However, the trains are still very comfortable to use. You get a LOT of legroom in the Shinkansen. 4k didn't have any space to put her luggage up on the luggage rack (1k's luggage was already there), but she could easily put it in front of her and still sit quite comfortably! This, too, is something you cannot imagine in a German ICE. Also, the English announcements before arriving at the next station where infintely better than the funny announcements you frequently hear when travelling in an IC(E).

Inside Shinkansen

We are deeply impressed with the way the Japanese operate the Shinkansen and cannot recommend it highly enough. We sincerely hope that we get the chance to travel this way again!

Since our arrival at the hotel in Osaka we didn't do very much yet. We registered for the Go camp today and walked a bit through the city center. There, we also took a ride in a Ferris wheel mounted on top of an eight floor house (yes, that's right - always expect the unexpected when it comes to Japan!). The view was quite nice and like this we already got a glimpse of Osaka Castle which we will visit on another day, too.

Splendid view above Osaka

Osaka Castle

At the camp registration we learned that almost 60 people registered for the Osaka Go camp this year - about 50% of them are from China, among them are a few 7d if we remember correctly (!). The remaining 50% consist of German and French participants (one quarter of the camp participants) and a few other nationalities such as Colombia. We also got a white paper fan to collect the autographs of the pros who will come to the camp and our name badge. Again, we got new ranks (since the participants com from pretty much all around the world, the teachers figured out the ranks) and we are curious to find out tomorrow if ours are correct!

Our camp passes.

See you then! :-)

Tokyo - Day 6 (Harajuku, Odaiba / Ikebukuro (Go club alert!), Roppongi)

On our last day in Tokyo we visited Harajuku. The weather report didn't sound very nice (lots of rain) so we decided to visit the most important spot first - the Meiji-jingu. This shrine is situated inside a big forested area, so it is very quiet and nice. After our experience with the Senso-ji in Asusaka I (1k) feared that this shrine would also be overrun by tourists, but it wasn't as crowded as the Senso-ji.

Despite its young age - the shrine was built in 1920 (or at least finished) - it is still quite impressive. For example the three tori (temple gates) are made out of the trunks of 1,500 year old trees.

The second temple gate

From a Miko (shrine maiden) 4k both bought some victory charms for good fortune at the Go camp and both of us left a wooden tablet with our wishes and prayers at a holy tree inside the temple area (1k: Sorry, I forgot what it was called).

Some impressions from the temple.

Next stop was total contrast to the quiet and peaceful Meiji-jingu, we were headed Takeshita Street near Harajuku station, a fashion-centered and consumeristic, crazy street. As it had started raining, we didn't take many photos - but rest assured: It was loud, colourfull and even more crazy than you can imagine. There are two more streets that are supposed to be even crazier, Cat Street and Killer Street. But since the rain suddenly got quite a bit heavier, we didn't go there anymore.

Takeshita Street!

It was only early afternoon but the rain made walking in Harajuku not a good option. Since we had different preferences for our last day we split up.

I (1k) went to Odaiba, an artifical island created in the bay of Tokyo. My first impression when I left the station and went to the beach was how quiet it was. After spending nearly a week in big loud Tokyo this was a great contrast.
But of course Odaiba has more to offer for a sightseeing tourist than a nice quiet beach. Instead one can feel as if being in New York, with the skyline of Tokyo behind the bay and the Statue of Liberty in front. That's right, there is a small replica of the Statue of Liberty on Odaiba.

Statue of Liberty in Odaiba

The second (for me) great sightseeing spot was a life-sized model of the Gundam mech, which happens to be there probably because there is also a Fuji-TV building located on the island.

Gundam!

While 1k was walking in the rain and visiting the bay, 4k did some shopping duties in Sunshine City in Ikebukuro. This is an enourmous (big would be an understatement) shopping mall, office building with 11 floors in total (including the basement). You can find anything there, there is even an aquarium (with seals and penguins, among others!) - since yesterday, 27th of June, you can also play Go there! Unfortunately, 4k was one day early for the opening, but she still took some photos for you.

The club is located on the 9th floor (office floor). If you want to go there, the best point of orientation might be the Pokémon Center on the 2nd floor. Take the elevators that are nearest to this shop (a bit hidden, take a look at the floor map near the escalators) to the 9th floor and then turn right. Go right through 2 glass doors (between them is a huge staircase on the right) and you can almost see the club on the right side of the corridor. Look out for the 碁 sign.

It looks like a really nice Go club (if open ;-) ) with brand new playing material (thick table boards, wooden bowls). It seems to have some kind of affiliation (owner..?) with the Japanese representative of the 2004 World amateur championship (fifth place) - the certificate and trophy are on display in the club and visible from the outside. I'd guess that this Go club is a great choice for anyone who is travelling to Tokyo with one or more person that's not interested in Go but in shopping (and maybe children, too, who are interested in the aquarium). I'd accept any bet that you can't pass more time playing Go than the other(s) can pass by shopping (if money is no concern, of course ;-) ) !

Looks like a great place to play :-)

We met again in Roppongi to eat dinner. Roppongi is a great spot to go out, as it has a lot of great restaurants and bars. Also there are several nice exhibits at Roppongi, currently there is a Star Wars exhibit running and one on the anime/manga Naruto (both finish by the end of June).
At the restaurant we decided to visit (Gonpachi), we had to take seats at the counter, as we hadn't reserved a table upfront - which tells you something about the popularity of this restaurant. The food was very delicious but somewhat expensive (especially concerning the size of the servings). However, the atmosphere is really very nice! Also quite a few famous people visited the restaurant, e.g. Lady Gaga, Silvester Stallone or Keanu Reeves.

Gonpachi!

Tokyo - Day 5 (Nihon Ki-in visit 2/2, Shibuya again)

Since we had already visited our "most wanted" sights in Tokyo and hadn't played Go very much yet, we decided to catch up on that and play Go at the Ki-in for most of the day. The young lady at the pairings counter had mentioned that today (thursday) lots of players would be at the Ki-in Go club. It seemed like the perfect opportunity!

We arrived at the Ki-in in the morning and sat down in the main hall. Since it was a thursday - the usual playing day for the professional players of the higher dan ranks - we decided to arrive a bit early for the club to see if we might geet a glimpse on a pro we know and go then up to the club at 10 o'clock (which we thought would be opening time). Before that we checked the games for today at Igo-kisen. The top game would be played between Hane Naoki 9p and Cho U 9p. Of course we didn't know if they'd be playing in Tokyo headquarters or somewhere else so we just sat there silently in the main hall and waited for somebody to arrive. We were not to be disappointed! With 100% security we saw O Meien 9p and Cho U 9p walk by. It was really cool (and a bit hard not to stare at them to be honest ^^; )! We didn't take any pictures, of course. That would have been too much (maybe it was already rude that we were present at that time... but it was really tempting to take a real look at the players you only "know" from websites and tournament results on the one day this was possible! >_<; ). While we were waiting, an elderly man approached us. He spoke English and German quite well and we talked for a bit. He had been living in Germany for a few years and was now at the Ki-in for a Go class held by a professional player in one of the classrooms right next to the main hall. Shortly afterwards, a young woman came to us. She helped with the organisation of the Go class and broke to us that the club wouldn't open until 11 o'clock.. same time as the museum in the basement. However, we were very lucky since she invited us to come to the Go class which would be starting at 10 o'clock and leave it early at 11 o'clock to go up to the club. Of course, we gladly accepted this kind offer and sat down at the places she showed us to in the back of the room. We didn't understand much (4k) /anything (1k) of what the professional was talking about, but we understood what he showed on the big board in front of the class. It was a lecture on damezumari in various positions. So it was still a really good learning opportunity! A short time after 11 o'clock we went up to the Go club on the second floor and were immediately amazed: The main hall was already 3/4 full with players!! Pretty much everyone was a retiree (there is some truth in every cliché it seems ^^; ), but here and there a few younger people (mostly women) were playing, too. Since there were also quite a few people waiting to be called for a game we quickly got to play a few games each.

Usual thursday at the Nihon Ki-in ;-)

1k/5d won all of his games but one, that day and 4k/2d managed to lose one game because of playing a move that was no ko threat - which lead to the loss of 18 points. In the end 4k (black) lost by komi. On the whole, the games were pretty calm: no big fights and when a fight occured or stones were cut, the outcome was mostly in our favour. However, there were two exceptions. One of them was a game 4k played. The opponent was a very aggressive player starting his first invasion at move 6 or something of the like. Invasion after invasion followed and he kind of succeeded everywhere - until the last chance for 4k arose to catch up. 4k caught a yummy group of weak white stones floating in the center (which he kindly enlarged to an even yummier size) and won the game by resignation.
The other exception was the third game 1k played at the Ki-in. The opponent was a 5d again, but this time very aggressive and 1k thought he would lose this time for sure, after messing up the first corner quite quickly. It was a wild game with a very, very big capturing race - which ended in favour of 1k (thanks to just 1 liberty!).
After that the people at the pairing counter thought they might have underestimated 1k and gave him a special opponent. This elderly man had over 420 rating points, which according to the system used by the Nihon Ki-in would mean, he should give 1k/5d a five stone handicap. Instead 1k was asked to play with only two stones. This game was very calm, especially compared to the previous one. For a long time it looked like white just didn't have enough points to overcome the territory black had build.
In the end white managed to cut and kill a big black group of 18 stones and the game ended shortly afterwards. Despite this big killing, white won by only 21 points.

I (4k) was especially happy to finally play a woman for my final game. I liked her style from all the people I played today the best, it seemed the most balanced to me. She was not afraid / reluctant to attack like the other players that day seemed to be but wasn't overly aggressive (like that one guy I played), too. It was a really nice, interesting game.

Before we left, 4k's rank got an update. Since she had been winning so much (5 out of 6 games), 4k got 10 additional points and earned a promotion to 3d (usually 10 points/wins are needed to gain a rank). This however, we couldn't put to a test since we left that evening and unfortunately didn't have the time to come back before we left for Osaka... Still, it was nice to be a dan for a day - even if it IS nothing more than a number and a letter. :-)

Our playing cards from the Nihon Ki-in (left 4k, right 1k)

We have to apologise that we again cannot provide any game records. However, tomorrow the Osaka Go Camp will start and we definitely will record our games and put a few up here.

After the Nihon Ki-in we went to Shibuya again - to shoot the photos we couldn't on our first visit. We already wrote about Shibuya in a previous post, so i won't repeat this here. Instead here are the photos, that were missing from the first post:

Hachiko

Impressions from the scramble crossing