boro-boro doro-doro

today i got my booty out of bed and into the yoga room, atlas in hand with plans of finding a couple of places without the help of anyone. i feel bad depending on others, as i hope it is not a chore for them, but maybe it is. post yoga coffee and my atlas of detailed maps, i navigated my plan. first stop-the watari museum of contemporary art . a cutting edge museum, it showcased 2 artists, both living in brooklyn, one japanese and one american. they are both street subculture artists with a flair for the extreme. misaki kawai displayed a massive installation called "space house" that reached all the way up 3 floors of the building. it contained all sorts of dolls made from scraps with paper cut out faces like the beatles. there were many rooms, a karaoke room, a living room with a giant working television and sunken pool, many pets, and many compartments with people and animals watching tv, drinking, dancing, etc. it had several arms extending out with other smaller cars connected. i took some photos, but that was before noticing the "no photo" sign, so i will not post them out of respect for the artist. it was very fun and colorful. the second artist, taylor mckimens, reminded me of crumb. his figures were melting, and he is very much into deterioration. his installation, "gum, sweat, and tupperware," consisted of a melting man wearing tupperware on his head and huge chewing gums. one of his dolls is posted above. it was outside of the museum, so i figured it was ok to post it. the store in the museum, on sundays, had a great selection of art books, tshirts, and limited edition andy warhol watches. and one of the largest collections of postcards. and once you pay to get in, the ticket is good for unlimited visits. so i will go back next month when they change the exhibit.

i was proud to have found it on my own. it was on killer dori! funny name. and back the other direction to takeshita dori street to try and find the "rock and roll" museum. strolling down this street in harajuku, i realized that i had not really seen harajuku, as i thought. this street was packed with crazy cheap fun stores, costume places, tons of crepe stalls, and brightly dressed "frooties"-the anti fashion people who dress extravigantly. the peacocks of tokyo. i wandered through the backstreets, noticing a good sized jamaican population (i just don't get the connection) and stumbled to the place i was looking for. it turned out to be an elvis store for hardcore rockabilly fans, filled with elvis memorabilia, most for sale. i was expecting a museum of several kinds of rock and roll. oh well. was interesting anyhow, with a big elvis statue in front of the building.

the streets began getting packed, and it was time to go. it has taken me 2 months to have the courage to find places alone. i have a decent atlas, am getting a bit used to the trains now, and feel like i can do more of this. but it's still always better with friends.
damn it's hard to make friends here!
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