The State of Airbnb in Japan

~ Kathryn

Nick Kapur has a great thread on Twitter about the controversy (or rather, the catastrophe) concerning Airbnb in Japan. This is something I’ve been following closely as it’s descended into true madness over the course of 2018, and Dr. Kapur gives an excellent summary of what’s happening and why it’s so upsetting. This perfect storm of xenophobia and irresponsible market capitalism is going to impact a lot of people, and it’s well worth taking a minute or two to read the thread all the way through.

https://twitter.com/nick_kapur/status/1004930586954420225

As a grad student friend of mine wrote in response to a Facebook post on the matter, “The big issue that [Kapur] doesn’t mention is that Air BnB has been a lifesaver for foreigners doing research in Japan for less than a year. Almost all Japanese housing contracts are for two years, and most home owners don’t accept foreigners (often being openly racist about their preferences). This leaves students and other researchers with extremely overpriced long-stay hotels, or with share houses that offer a dormlike setting with little privacy, often questionable living spaces, and sometimes a complete unwillingness to communicate with foreigners.”

Tokyo Travel Recommendations

~ Kathryn

I recently shared a list of recommendations with a student who will be studying abroad in Tokyo this coming school year, and I thought I’d share it here as well!

Two Resources

Tokyo Trend Ranking
This is a free magazine that you can find in most stations of the Tokyo Metro. It comes out once a month and is filled with photographs and information about unique and popular restaurants and pubs and cafés, as well as seasonal special events throughout the city. Because it’s meant to promote usage of the Metro, it always contains illustrated walking tours focused on one or two specific stations. If you want to explore the off-the-beaten-track neighborhoods of Tokyo, this is a great resource!

Suica Card
This is a refillable prepaid train fare card, and it’s the first thing you want to get when you arrive in Japan. You should probably go ahead and get one in the airport as soon as you get off the plane. You can get one at the automatic vending machines next to train stations, and the process is super easy. Your Suica card will work just about everywhere in Japan, and you can use it in all sorts of places, from convenience stores to movie theaters. If you’re feeling hardcore, you can link it to your smartphone and your bank account.

Seventeen Places to Visit

Tokyo National Museum
This is the big museum of Japanese art and culture that you definitely want to see. It’s in Ueno Park in northeast Tokyo, not too far away from the zoo.

Shitamachi Museum
This is also in Ueno Park. It’s a small museum, just the inside of an old house, but you can walk through it and see how people lived during the first half of the twentieth century.

Edo-Tokyo Museum
This indoor museum is probably the best place to go if you want to learn more about the history of the city of Tokyo. The architecture is really cool, and it’s a neat space to walk around. It’s also not too far away from Akihabara.

Art Aquarium
Fish and art and over-the-top spectacle. It’s really close to Tokyo Station, whose interconnected underground shopping streets are another blitz of sensory overload.

Maruzen Nipponbashi Branch
In my opinion, this is the best place to go in Tokyo for English-language books. Most of the English books they stock come from the UK, and they tend to be of higher quality than American publications of the same titles. These imports are expensive, though!

Meiji Shrine
The main shrine buildings are well worth visiting, especially because someone always seems to be getting married there. More than the shrine itself, however, the huge forested park is a great place to take a long walk while surrounded by nature. All of this is free, but I highly recommend paying the 500 yen entrance fee for the Inner Garden, which is especially lovely. Meiji Shrine is a major tourist destination, though, so you want to go early in the morning (probably as soon as they open the grounds) in order to avoid the crowds.

Nezu Museum
If you start at Meiji Shrine and walk along the Aoyama-dōri boulevard through Harajuku, you’ll eventually get to the Nezu Museum, which houses a private collection of Asian art. Even if you don’t care anything about sculpture and ceramics, the estate garden is gorgeous, and teahouse café at the entrance to the garden is a beautiful place to drink tea and eat cake and feel super fancy.

Aoyama Flower Market Tea House
This café is in the neighborhood of the Nezu Museum, and it’s one of the most beautiful interior spaces I’ve ever seen in my life. You definitely want to get there when they open, because they get busy! They have tasty salads, heavenly parfaits, and delicious teas. If you can’t get a seat here, the entire neighborhood of Aoyama is full of trendy little organic restaurants filled with beautiful young people. Even going into one of the Starbucks in this neighborhood will make you feel like a rockstar.

Sunshine Aquarium
This large rooftop aquarium has no redeeming cultural value, but it’s a cool place to spend an afternoon. If you watch a lot of anime set in contemporary Japan, you’re sure to recognize the setting! The caretaker talks showcasing the animals are a lot of fun to watch; and, since they’re geared toward children, they’re also relatively easy to understand. The Sunshine City shopping complex contains a Pokémon Center, a Studio Ghibli store, a Shonen Jump store, and other pop culture outlets. It also contains a Tokyu Hands, which is a great place to buy just about everything. The Tokyu Hands fronts the main outdoor shopping arcade, and they host small indie craft fairs at the entrance on the weekends.

Cat Café Nekorobi
This is right behind the Tokyu Hands, and it’s a warm space filled with softness and light. In my experience, it generally isn’t that crowded; and, although the cats are standoffish (but what can you expect, they’re cats), the staff and the other patrons are very friendly. What you really want to take your time with is the guestbook, which is an ongoing work of art. Also, this is the starting point of Otome Road, which is where you go if you’re looking for pop culture goods targeted at a female audience.

Shoto Museum of Art
This is a neat little art museum in Shibuya with some really cool gallery spaces. They exhibit a lot of early modern (Edo period) and modern (Meiji and Taishō period) art alongside contemporary work, and the architecture of the building is quite interesting as well.

Shibuya Botanical Center
This is a warm and happy healing space full of greenery. The entire building is suffused with humidity, and there’s free tea on the top floor. This is a great place to learn the Japanese names of flowers and plants, and it’s also a wonderful place to take selfies or pictures with your friends in soft diffuse light.

Mori Art Museum
This museum has some really cool exhibitions, which feature everything from avant-garde architectural photography to the work of popular manga artists. The gallery spaces are located at the top of a huge skyscraper, so the views of Tokyo from the windows are incredible. It’s located in the Roppongi Hills shopping complex, which is super trendy and also home to a large movie theater that shows a lot of American movies with subtitles. TV Asahi also has a presence in the area, so you can sometimes randomly encounter live performances of various Power Rangers and Doremon characters if you go during the afternoon.

Oedo Onsen Monogatari
This place is ridiculous. It’s an onsen theme park where you can go in and take all sorts of baths and eat all sorts of snacks and drink all sorts of beverages. A lot of people visit with their families, so it’s a good place to chill out in a yukata and watch people walk by. It’s in Odaiba, an artificial island in Tokyo Bay, so it’s kind of a pain in the ass to get to, but there’s a huge mall called VenusFort nearby that has an Italian-themed interior. The mall is an experience in and of itself, and you can often see brand-new idol groups performing there on pop-up stages.

Ghibli Museum
110% worth the hype. When you first enter, you’re allowed to watch a screening of an original short film, and your “ticket” is a tiny animation cell. You’d think that this place exists solely to sell you merchandise, but commercialism isn’t really the focus, thankfully. Still, you probably want to get a ticket for early in the morning before the crowds gather. You can only reserve a ticket in advance (usually at least a week in advance) from one of the digital vending machines in Lawson convenience stores, but the process isn’t really that difficult. Because of the scarcity of tickets, this is something you can only do if you’re in Japan for an extended period of time, so you should jump on the opportunity if you’re interested!

Yokohama Museum of Art
The building is awesome, and the exhibitions are always fantastic. The reason you’d want to make a special trip out to Yokohama, however, is because the museum is part of the Minato Mirai waterfront area, which is a huge upscale shopping complex and gourmet paradise. You can find the same sort of pop culture specialty chain stores (like the Pokémon Center) that are in Sunshine City in Ikebukuro, but Minato Mirai is way more classy and far less crowded over the weekend. Also, there are a lot of restaurants in the Yokohama Chinatown that have branches in Minato Mirai, and it’s usually much easier to get a table here than it is in the main branches.

Meigetsuin Temple in Kamakura
Why go all the way to Kyoto when you can go to Kamakura? You’ll probably have to go through Yokohama to get here, but it’s really not that far away from Tokyo, and the train ride is lovely. I recommend getting off the train at Kita-Kamakura Station and then walking to Kamakura proper along the main road while visiting a few temples along the way. Engakuji and Kenchōji are the two most popular sites, but my favorite is Meigetsuin, which is known as “the hydrangea temple” because of its stunning mountainside walking garden. Due to the natural beauty of the area and relatively low rent, a lot of artists live in Kamakura, and there are all sorts of small galleries and lovely cafés in and around the city. Once the weather gets warm, you’ll notice that the lifestyle magazines in convenience stores start featuring Kamakura locations on their covers, and it’s well worth consulting one for recommendations!

American Anime Conventions

~ Kathryn

Earlier this year an artist I know through Tumblr asked me about anime conventions in the United States, and I ended up sending them a long email based on my experiences and bits of gossip I’ve picked up here and there. This information is aimed at a professional artist who has already exhibited at a few regional conventions and has enough experience and polish to start aiming big, and I thought it might be useful to reproduce my message here, if only to preserve a snapshot of what the American convention scene looked like in early 2018.

Youmacon (in Detroit over Halloween weekend)
From what I hear, this con can occasionally be a bit of a dumpster fire in terms of its administration, but I’ve always had a good time there. Rooms at the convention center hotel are relatively inexpensive, and the attendance is always well over 20,000 people.

Katsucon (in National Harbor right outside of DC over Valentine’s weekend)
With around 15,000 to 18,000 attendees, Katsucon is a bit smaller than Youmacon, but it’s always run very efficiently. I’ve heard that the people who manage the Artist Alley are extremely professional, but the deadline for application is a bit early. The Gaylord Resort where the con is held is absolutely lovely, and the staff will take care of you if the con gets snowed in, which occasionally happens.

MAGFest (also in National Harbor right at the beginning of January)
A gaming convention that’s also held in the Gaylord. The focus is on indie games, but there is a relatively large Artist Alley, and I’ve heard that people can make a killing on commissions at this con. MAGFest is also an excellent place to make professional connections, not in the least because of all the industry people who hang out here. It’s a really fun event if you love games, because the exhibition space is all about people showing off their playable demos. A word of warning, though – most people behave themselves, but there is some hardcore drinking that happens at this convention. If it makes a difference, though, there’s always a diverse crowd in attendance, and it’s not just a bunch of gamebros.

PAX East (in Boston during the first weekend of April)
This used to be a sausage fest of truly epic proportions, but then the anime fans got their grubby hands on it and now it’s much more inclusive of all genders. Attendance is huge (way over 80,000 people), but I hear that the Artist Alley isn’t that competitive. They’re always looking for fresh talent!

Sakura-Con (in Seattle at the beginning of April)
Around the same size as Youmacon, but in Seattle! In my experience, Sakura-Con is a great way to make connections with the West Coast art scene, as the con is both well run and relatively laid back. Seattle is gorgeous in April, and it’s not as expensive as you might think, especially if you stay in one of the smaller (but much trendier) hotels a few blocks away from the convention center. My recommendation is Hotel Max, which will make you feel like a rockstar. If you’re interested in spending time in Seattle but want to forgo the insanity of a large convention, GeekGirlCon (in October) is a decent alternative, although with only 2,000 attendees it might be too small to be worth your while.

Otakon (in DC at some point during August)
The big East Coast anime convention, generally with around 25,000 attendees. It used to be in Baltimore, and you would always hear news reports about cosplayers meeting terrible fates, but it recently moved to beautiful downtown DC. The Artist Alley was huge in Baltimore, and it’s even bigger in DC. There’s always a wide range of artists who table here, from experienced professionals to students who are just starting out, and people seem to have a lot of fun.

Anime Expo (in LA over the 4th of July weekend)
This is the big one, and it’s always absolutely insane. You’ve probably heard stories about how crazy AX is, and they’re all true. Because the Artist Alley is so enormous, I hear that it’s not particularly competitive, and I also hear that people make a ton of money at this con. There’s none of the pressure or industry blitz of the San Diego Comic-Con, and it’s worth mentioning that artists from all over the world (especially from Asia) table here. Since most of the American anime companies are located in Southern California, there are also a lot of freebies floating around, as well as free world premiers of various shows and movies.

Toronto Comic Arts Fest (at the central Toronto library during May)
Clocking in at around 5,000 to 6,000 attendees, this is a good size for a comic convention, and it’s especially welcoming to artists in their twenties. Even though there’s a very strong focus on comics (as opposed to merch like prints and stickers), a lot of people show up with zines that they obviously photocopied and stapled themselves the week before the con. There are always a lot of interesting people and up-and-coming artists tabling here, and it has a warm and relaxed atmosphere.

Small Press Expo (right outside of DC in September)
This is the holy grail of conventions for people who want to be professional comic writers and artists outside the DC/Marvel studio system. This is where the Ignatz Awards happen (basically, you nominate yourself and then there’s an open ballot over the weekend, so it’s incredibly low pressure despite being such a big deal). This is where people get discovered, and this is how you get your first book deal. Because it’s relatively small, it’s extremely competitive, but the lottery system guarantees that even newcomers have a chance to get in. What most artists do is piggyback alongside a friend who gets accepted and then share their table, so it helps if you can convince other people to apply. The staff, the artists, and the industry professionals are all super friendly and supportive, and the bonds that people form here tend to result in high-profile comic anthologies that make tons of money on Kickstarter and launch people’s careers. SPX is definitely a goal to aim for!

Ten Positive Art Exercises

~ Kathryn

(1) Find a picture of a cute frog, and give yourself ten seconds to copy it. Do another copy in thirty seconds, and then another in a minute. Repeat the process with a second frog, and then draw it with your first frog. Now they’re frog friends!

(2) Draw a piece of your favorite fruit. First draw it whole, and then draw it in slices. Now draw it as a topping on a cupcake or a parfait or a slice of pie.

(3) Draw a leaf from your favorite tree, both rightside-up and upside-down. Now draw one of the seeds, berries, cones, or fruit from this tree. Now turn the leaf and the seed into a Korok!

(4) Draw a speech bubble saying “You’re awesome,” and then draw your first anime boyfriend/girlfriend underneath that speech bubble. For an extra challenge, you can draw them in both the artist’s original style and in your own style.

(5) Draw Gozilla with huge sparkling Steven Universe eyes, and then color your drawing using a palette randomly selected from a color palette generator (like this one).

(6) Draw a video game system or control pad that brings back good memories from your childhood. Now color it with super shiny pastel shades!

(7) Design a set of three to five simple stickers that you would love to have received as a child. Please consider: dinosaurs, knights, planets, mythological creatures, fairies, and mad scientists.

(8) Draw the monster from your favorite horror movie blushing and being shy and adorable. Remember, we’ve all done crazy things to get sempai to notice us.

(9) Buddhist hand gestures used to enhance meditative practice are called mudras. Run an image search and try to draw at least two left hands and two right hands in mudra positions.

(10) Draw a piece of inorganic trash, which can be anything: a soda can, a shoe that’s falling apart, a worn-out tire, a plastic bottle, a discarded toy, an empty cereal box, and so on. Now draw fresh green plant shoots growing out of it, and add one or two flowers if you’d like. New life always emerges from the ruins of old mistakes!

Writing Het Romance in Fanfic

~ Kathryn

The more I study shōjo manga, the more interested I’ve become in romance tropes. Based on about a month of observation throughout about two dozen fandoms on AO3, here are my notes on the sort of stories that get hundreds of kudos within the first day of being posted. I’m not judging, just observing:

(1) Ideally, one should be writing for a popular pairing in a popular entertainment franchise.

Even more ideally, the writer should also have a huge following on Tumblr because of their artwork. I actually think that the single most effective thing you can do to improve the reception of your writing is to develop your skill in visual art, but writing for a popular pairing definitely helps.

(2) The story needs to be at least 3,000 words, and 4,500 words is ideal.

The most effective structural balance seems to be 800 to 1,000 words of setup, 1,500 to 2,500 words of erotica, and maybe around 500 words of postcoital conversation. If an author can consistently put out a 4,500 word chapter of a slow burn novel every week (or, in a best-case scenario, twice a week), then the story has the potential to get massive numbers of hits and kudos, but intense sexual tension still needs to be incorporated every four chapters or so.

(3) The male lead needs to be scary.

If he’s murdered people, that’s good. If he’s murdered entire geographical populations of people, that’s even better. The idea is that he’s misunderstood and really a gentle person, but that he will only show this side of himself to his female love interest.

(4) The male lead needs to hate himself.

“I’m a monster,” he needs to think. “I’m a terrible, terrible monster, and no one will ever love me.” This is the cue for the heroine to step in and heal him with amazing therapeutic sex. She is special because her hidden depths allow her to see past all the murder. Basically, this is a way to flatter the reader, who also possesses hidden depths and is able to love the male character despite the fact that he’s scary.

(5) Both the male and female lead need to have tragic pasts.

Even if one or both parties haven’t been abused or mistreated in canon, they still need to bond and express vulnerability by revealing their secret trauma to one another. This creates feelings of mutual understanding and sympathy that pave the way for sexytimes.

(6) One or both parties need to feel intense guilt about their intimacy.

“No, I shouldn’t” and “No, we shouldn’t” are common phrases. One party needs to either convince or coerce the other party into a sexual situation. The “I’m a terrible monster” trope ties directly into this, especially if the male partner gets a bit angsty or violent. The more dubious the consent, the better. Obviously this is not a good model for relationships in the real world, but it’s precisely because it’s fiction that things can get a little rough and kinky without anyone getting hurt.

Again, I’m not judging, just observing. It’s easy to look at some of these tropes and pass them off as simple self-imposed misogyny, but I really don’t think that’s what’s going on in a lot of the fanfic I’ve read. Based on the quality of the writing, I also don’t think most of these authors are young and inexperienced. Obviously this is a very shallow summary of these narrative patterns, and I’m interested in conducting a more detail-oriented and nuanced study.

A Woman of a Certain Age

~ Kathryn

It’s so strange how Tumblr culture fetishizes youth, like, it’s all about promoting creativity and social justice until a woman is older than 21, at which she should really get a life and stop messing around in fandom. And this is especially bizarre because most of the content creators I know on Tumblr are in their mid-twenties to early thirties.

Instead of trying to fight this attitude, I’ve decided to embrace its weirdness wholeheartedly and start hardcore lying about my age.

From now on I am going to tell people that I am 57 years old and got into fandom when I retired.

…But actually, though. About a year ago I commissioned a drawing from an artist whose character designs I admire, and when I found out (from her profile on Paypal, of all places) that she has an online portfolio, I visited her site and realized that she had worked as a successful commercial artist for decades and decided to only draw self-indulgent fan art once she retired.

That woman is awesome, and I aspire to be exactly like her one day.