A tiny Bar in Tokyo

Upon our arrival in Tokyo we once again were completely thrilled... The people here! ...Well, I had unpacked my camera way too late...

Tokyo at night is a story in itself. Everything is glistening and lights are everywhere. We went to a tiny bar that Wim had first visited 30 years ago! It fits exactly 8 people - and the bartender.

A mixed casette tape, which Wim had given the bartender in 1989, was still in a music-shelf behind the bar. We listened to it in its entirety and we were moved by this musical 'jump-in-time'... Tears for Fears, Nick Cave, Michelle Schocked, The Smithereens, Van Morisson, and of course, Bob Dylan. And more...

Publicity and Japanese Brakfast
...After 2 days of publicity work Wim and I found our groove. We knew by then what to say about our exhibit, who would discuss what, etc. The news about the exhibit has spread through Tokyo already. Wim spends his downtime taking a bath and reading a Japanese novel....

...Japanese breakfast - I am always looking forward to it the evening before

Donata's Lecture
...Today I held a lecture at the TAMA Art University. It was exiting to stand in front of students and to talk about my work and all the difficulties and successes involved in the process of creating. I tried to encourage the students to try out new things and not to compare themseves to others; to follow their own, individual gifts. Because we all are unique - like those bears, that Wim drew during the lecure...

Hanging the Exhibit
What a perfect day! We were destined to be inside the exhibition hall all day, where everything is being prepared for the show's opening tomorrow. It still looks scarily unfinished, but here in Japan things are done so fast and efficiently! Very cool! Everyone silently finishes their tasks very carefully....

We went back to the hotel in the late afternoon, and Wim disappeared to the gym. It's been hours...

2 Minute Shopping Spree and final Preparations
We have only Minutes between getting out of the cab and engaging in final preparations for our show. I catch a little spring-shopping-fever and dive into the huge Omotesando Hills mall, which was designed by Tadao Ando.

Then the yellow elevator lady brings us to the Basement of the building. There we hear people hustling busily behind thet wall...The Titles have to be cut & centered... Our images are in the process of being lit and hung... My photos are hung without frames, without glass. The Prints are wave-like and organic. The paper moves.. All involved in the preparations are thrilled.. Alright, we will see how the show will be received tonight, we are going to get dressed

Opening Night
Here are some impressions of the opening night, which was just great!
First, we had to follow some strict rules: Mr. Mori himself, who owns the whole shopping mall of OMOTESANDO HILLS, the MORI MUSEUM and many more buildings, came and had a good look at our work. Given the fact that in Japan hirarchy is a rather important element in society, it was crucial to show him the exhibition before anyone else that night. He took a lot of time to visit the show and was very friendly with us, (which was a sign that he liked what he saw 8-)

Then we had to make sure we had cards on us... business cards. In Japan it is an act of courtesy to give the person you say 'hello' to, your businesscard. It indicates that you would like to meet the person again. Imagine the piles of cards after an evening like this!! And you better remember to associate a face with every card! Otherwise you are lost!!!! I made some notes...

When we gave our speeches, a lot of hankerchiefs were pulled, for the Japanese people were so touched by the things we had to say about them and about the experience here. Japanese people are very humble! And we all can learn from them, I think. At least I can.

It was crowded, very, very crowded! People loved to have pictures taken with us. I got an idea how it might feel to be a rockstar, just a tiny little taste of it. Velly, velly enjoyable! You know, Japanes people cannot differenciate between "r" and "l". So they say "Thank you velly much!" or "Tom & Jelly"!

And we had some great visitors! My favorite was Setsuko, who came with her friends....

Fashion Designer Yohji Yamamoto was there as well, but managed to sneak out of every frame... And all of sudden James Nachtwey stood in front of me. I was dumbfounded. Adhering to Japanese tradition, I myself started to bow non stop and kept saying " Thank you soo much for coming, thank you, thank you! thank you! what an honour! I am sooo happy you are here! Thank you for what you are doing!!..."? etc. What a charismatic guy! I was blown away! He is on his way to Iraq again, God bless his heart and keep him alive!

The day after the opening we spent signing books for 3 hours. The catalogue they made came out wonderful! Long lines had formed and it was a joy to engage in conversation with people for some minutes while signing the catalogues.

Afterwards Wim went to the Spa at the hotel where he had his gym-time. I strolled through the streets for a little while with Carolin, my friend and assistant. We felt a a need for fresh air after all the time in airconditioned rooms (every room in Tokyo is air-conditioned). We saw a great car. A new car, with an old-fashion look and new energy-saving technology! Even I might buy a car again! And we observed what is an emerging trend in Japan - smokers smoking inside glass cages in the street....

The late afternoon.. Kids come home from school... Some men cannot resist to play PATSCHINKO (if you have seen Wim's Tokyo Ga, you've seen patschinko). Very noisily the little metal balls run through the mashines... people, mainly men, sit their for hours, days, years, maybe lives....

Last Days
Wim went straight to the Spa again for swimming, sauna, running, resting - while I had a craving for some green moments. I took the underground to go to a park. As this is the time of the "Golden Week" in Japan, there were a lot of people who had some time to just enjoy the sun. The smell of the grass is such a delight! And if you look closely you find the most beautiful little things, like this tiny strawberry - in the middle of Tokyo! Even with all the noise and the pollution... the beauty of God's creation is just there, no matter what...

I forgot to mention how absurd it seems that wherever you find nature in Tokyo, you have to pay to see it! And I just heard of a German forest that might be sold to a private US or Japanese organization... we all might have to pay soon to be able to get into a forest... on the upside - the forest would look very clean and pretty. Alright. Wim loved that stick holding the tree here....

For the first time in my life I saw flowers being protected from the sun or strong rain, by umbrellas. "Only in a Japanese garden..." I thought...

On the next day it was time for Wim's lecture: A SENSE OF PLACE.
Wow. I loved it. Wim spoke about the importance of places and what they have to tell us... places talk... places have to do with identity... places have to do with us and we have to make sure, we don't neglect them... the places where we come from... the places that have formed us... we have to defend PLACE... etc. p (erge) p. (erge)... :-)
Wim had 1200 students listening to him and I think the lecture was brilliant.

The next day it was pouring rain again. Wim gave an interview in a classroom of a elementary school.

The next day perfect birthday-weather and we went into a shrine-area. We were looking for the grave of Yasujiro Ozu. We found the grave and put down a bottle of Sake. The master apparently still likes it... :-)

Good bye from Tokyo! You will hear from us again on the next journey. Now we go back to Germany.
Much love, Wim and Donata.

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