The Japan Opera Foundation Party, part 1: On the way to Omotesando...

I wanted to share with you the events of last week's party sooner, but Pavarotti's passing put that on hold for a little while. Also, I was hoping to have some pictures to share with you, but, I have yet to find them on the JOF website(In the past, they have emailed those pictures to those who attended.), as I did not take a camera. But, as difficult as it may be, you'll just have to use your imagination. (ABOVE PICTURES FROM OMOTESANDO, TOKYO; LEFT-PRADA, CENTER-LOUIS VUITTON AND RIGHT-DIOR)

After church last Sunday, I had to rush to catch the 12:05 Super Hitachi train out of Taga station, bound for Ueno. I had no trouble making the train and got to Ueno Station in Tokyo about 1:35. I then found my way to the Ginza subway line, bound for Omotesando Station. I had never been to this station, but I knew that this part of town was famous for something: I just couldn't remember what. Well, climbing out of the bowels of the station and finding myself in the middle of Omotesando, I quickly found out. Fashion.

The station was located at the crossroads of a major intersection. As I began following the directions to the hotel where the party was to be, I began to pass several shops with very simple names. Louis Vuitton, Tod's, Prada, Gucci, Channel, etc. I soon realized that I was in perhaps the center for High Fashion in Tokyo. These were all real designer galleries. As I look around, I noticed that most of the people there were dressed very fashionably, with many models and designers walking around as well. I soon became very sefl-concious of what I was wearing. If you've ever been to Japan, you know what I'm talking about. When they do something, they do it right. If they ski, they have their own skis, matching ski wear, goggles and gloves, and take ski lessons. When they go to one of the centers of high fashion, they dress fashionably.

Anyway, though my clothes weren't super fashionable, they were new. I was, however, carrying a soft briefcase that was getting a bit ragged. It used to be all black, but had been a bit faded by the sun in places, and had a few small holes in the fabric. It didn't look good, but normally, I wouldn't care.

The other side of this story is that I was going to a party attended by Japanese opera singers, conductors, directors and producers, who, presumably, knew what Omotesando was famous for and were going to be dressed appropriately.

I knew I was probably dressed too casual, but I was too stubborn to pay for an entire new wardrobe, especially given the part of town I had ended up in. I could, just maybe, find a new bag, though.

So, with less than an hour to go before the party started, I started to shop for a bag. I really didn't want to pay any more than 3000 to 5000 yen($30-$50), so I thought if I walked further down the street, I might finally run into something affordable. Nothing doing. No matter how far I walked, nothing cheaper was presenting itself. I walked(timidly) into a few shops, but even the cheaper looking items were still more than I was willing to pay.

I had been walking some time the opposite direction from where the hotel was and was unable to find anything, so, I crossed the street and began to walk back. Nothing. By the time I was close to the block the hotel was on, it was almost 3 o'clock, and 30 minutes before the business meeting was to begin(which was to be before the party). I had just about given up, when, out of the corner of my eye, I spot a smaller store with several mono-color cloth bags and suitcases in the window. The store/gallery was called Kipling and it looked a little more affordable than anything I had found around there. I looked at some of the bags and, though the prices were better than other places, they were still expensive. The pressure had mounted, however, and I found the cheapest bag I could find and bought it. The shoplady explained to me that the store was a showroom so there was only one of each bag, but, they were for sale. She explained to me about the warranty, I transfered all of my things into the new bag and asked her to dispose of the old one. I think she thought I was crazy( I was a bit). So with my new bag slung across my body, I marched off to the meeting.