Sumida with Will, Museums, Spider Lilies, and Harajuku for Grannies

There is way too much in this post and I really ought to break it up but I'm already a month behind on here so I'm just making this one giant post with none of the pictures in order.

Sumida--Before Will started home MTC we hopped on the train and went to Sumida to find an origami museum.  It was actually an origami store with some fun origami displays.  They were actually really cool.  I am amazed what people can do with paper and patience.  Will chose out some books and origami paper to take with him on his mission.  Will is fun to explore with because he just likes walking and he doesn't need to have a schedule or anything specific to see.  I can just walk around a random neighborhood with him and he's happy to be out seeing a new place he's never been.  We ended up finding the giant sperm.  I actually don't know what the statue is supposed to be but every time I drive by it on the freeway I think it looks like a giant golden sperm so that's what I call it.  We then found a pizza place to have lunch together.  It was a sweet final outing with my Will and I'm glad he spent the day with me.

Museums--My friend and I headed to Shinjuku to see the the Yayoi Kusama exhibit.  Yayoi Kusama is a famous Japanese artist.  Art is her way of expressing her mental illness and she has said that art is the method that has helped relieve her mental problems.  She resides in a mental health facility and leaves daily to go to her studio to create.  Her work is largely polka dots, filling entire rooms with polka dots.  

I also went to a museum that is actually just a hotel that they made into a museum.  The hotel is located in Meguro with a new addition and a wing from the original hotel.  They run different exhibits and the one we saw had each room decorated to be kind of dark and creepy--probably because of Halloween coming up.  I thought it was fun but would have enjoyed it without the exhibit part and would enjoyed it just as much just to wander the hallways and rooms.  

Harajuku for Grannies--Harajuku is a fun and lively neighborhood.  It's usually packed on the evenings and weekends with interesting stores and fun food.  People wear funny costumes and you can visit animal cafes.  I liked to visit the neighborhood before the borders opened and visitors packed the streets.  But!  I found Harajuku for Grannies.  That is how it is known.  They sell red lucky underwear and have a duck butt for a mascot.  The duck butt is a big fluffy butt that you whack if you want to find a nice husband and you rub if you want to be taken care of in your elderly years.  I rubbed it because I already have a nice husband.  I especially loved seeing the bench next to it filled with elderly ladies.  There is also a shrine with a statue that you wash for good health.  The line to the statue was a little long so I didn't wait but I felt like we were kindred spirits--all needing bodily healing.  Getting old is a pain, quite literally.  I think my friend and I were the only foreigners there that morning and probably at least twenty years younger than the majority of the people.  

Finally, Spider Lilies--My friend Aya asked me to go with her to Saitama to see the spider lilies.  I wanted to go last year but it was too far away for me to get to and back in time to get Felicity from school.  It was nice because Aya is Japanese so I just had to follow her and she got us to all the different trains with no problems.  It's also nice to go with Aya places because she can do all the interpreting for us.  It was an absolutely lovely day.  We often go on outings with multiple ladies but this time was just the two of us and it was actually really refreshing to be able to just talk to her.  The weather was perfect and the spider lilies were incredible. There was a big, long field full of them running along a river.  It was so peaceful.  I loved seeing all the people with their lunches sitting together along the river or painting or playing.  After walking along the field we rounded a corner and found a monkey performing!  It was the happiest surprise.  After watching the monkey we got some lunch at the food stalls and then headed home.  A perfect afternoon.