To Two Museums

It was a trade-off. The bff dragged me to the shops for a full day (a friggin' torture), and she would have to trot along with me to the pilates studio and the museums. I told her she could stay in to surf and resolve her internet addiction issues while I went out to gallivant. But she wanted to move the limbs and soak up the art. OKAY! 

After a morning session at the studio with the most polite of instructors who kept bowing and bowing till we were rather bemused, we hopped onto the subway to meet the friends for lunch and then stroll around. It was a pleasure to meander through the historic artifacts at Tokyo National Museum and then head to a contemporary interpretation at the Mori Art Museum. However, the opening hours for both museums have been altered since March 2011. I've no idea if it's got anything to do with saving electricity, but on many days, the exhibitions close at 5pm.

The Tokyo National Museum is like a shrine, sorta. It's got that same vibe of calm and zen. I felt like I had to be quiet as a mouse and move really slowly. There was hushed appreciation of the Japanese's religion in "Buddha - The Story in Manga and Art" by renowned manga artist Tezuka Osamu. I generally don't quite get anime or manga. But sometimes I do, like 'Slam Dunk', although I never understood basketball.

We moved on to Roppongi Hills to the Mori Art Museum. We stared really hard at the projects that won the Marcel Duchamp Prize titled "French Window". I lingered over Saâdane Afif's "The Skull". Very fascinating in the use of reflection and space. There was another untitled exhibit by Mathieu Mercier that seemed to be an acrylic standalone French window, overlooking the Tokyo city scape. Quite stark in its simplicity. As we moved through the spaces, the bff remarked, "See, contemporary art is reflective and depressing." Well, when is it not?

It was a cloudy afternoon and we couldn't see very much of the city scape from Mori Tower's observatory. It was nice to sit still for a bit and stare out of the windows. The BFF and I glanced at each other and away again. We didn't have to ask what the other's thoughts were. We knew. We were wondering "what next" for our next stage in lives. We wouldn't have an answer now. Maybe in another couple of months. Are we lost? Nope. We live by the motto 'carpe diem' and even at this age, we daresay we've very little regrets in life. Assuming we live to a healthy 75, we're almost midway through.

After dinner, on a whim, we drove out to Tokyo Tower. It's probably going to be quite redundant in the later part of the year when the city moves to digital broadcasts. The 634m-tall Tokyo Sky Tree will take its place in television broadcast history. We got there at 9.55pm, grabbed our photos, stared upwards for a bit and the 176 floodlights went off at 10pm. Shrouded in darkness, the 333m tower then looked exactly like the unemotional industrial steel structure it is, reminding us that this is a city in the middle of a robust electricity/energy-saving effort.

Do we like Tokyo enough? Half and half. It's good to experience Tokyo with the BFF again. Cycle of life, I call it. The BFF and I, we've done much together and went through plenty of chapters in life side by side. She's not your sweetie pie; she's a tough chick. I give her unquestioning loyalty, and she lends me unstinting support. Long ago, I've told the man to never make me choose between him or the BFF. It'll always be the BFF. (Well, she's perfectly reasonable anyway.) To that end, he's been VERY NICE to my bff. Heeeeeeee. 

Here's to 27 years of friendship and counting, babe. Salut.