WorldCon 2007 , Japan

[GOLLUM]

Yes well I`ll defer to your better judgment Mr Scalem...

No sign of Godzilla yet Nesa..

Today I went around Tokyo station area in the morning. It`s a huge place with a zillion platforms although I`m starting to get the hang of using the metro system. It`s actually quite easy with all signs in English and Japanese inside and outside the train and train lines colour coded.

In the afternoon I had the Tokyo half day tour. We started with a climb to the observation platform for a spectacular view of Tokyo central and its harbour. Then we went on a river boat for a 40 minute cruise around Tokyo bay which was pretty cool. Following this we went to a Shinto Shrine, Shintoism being the major religion in Japan along with Buddhism and Christianity. The Shrine itself and surrounding gardens was very impressive, lots of photos there! People wash themselves in a fountain first in addition to breathing in so-called lucky smoke which is supposed to help with ailments and bring good luck before entering the shrine. I　also prayed at the temple. Following this we went through the famous Ginza district known for its high end shopping before finishing the tour at the Imperial Palace Plaza.

Now I`m off for some dinner before getting ready for tommrow`s trip by bullet train to Kyoto where I will be for 2 days before the conference starting on Thursday.

That`s all for now folks, see you later...

 

[Nesacat]

The Shinto shrines are very lovely. I went to one that had a Zen garden of raked sand and rocks and the monks would rake new patterns everyday and move the rocks to fit. Beautiful.

Did Ginza turn your pockets inside out and upside down?? Love the colours that glitter that should really clash and jar but somehow seem to work in an over-the-top fashion.

Have fun in Kyoto.

 

[GOLLUM]

We only stopped briefly in Ginza so there was not much time for shopping only looking!!

Just had a western style dinner with a nice garlic pasta with oysters and mixed vegetables followed by a cream filled Dolce Ice Cream with lots of chocolate sauce, almond flakes, wafers etc... not too bad at all.

Now to prepare for tommorrow, wish me luck......

 

[GOLLUM]

Arrived safley today via the amazing Shinkansen bullet train to Kyoto. Following this we had our afternoon tour around Nare where they have an amazing Buddhist temple called Todaji Temple. The Buddha there is supposed to be the biggest in the world at 54 feet and weighing over 400 tonnes. There are 1,100 free deer that roam the temple grounds, amazing stuff and very tame so you can feed them. Here we also had a lucky dip where you get to see your future predicted, mine was fair to middling in the good luck stakes on a scale of 1 to 7 where 1 is the best luck I got 3. After this we visited a Shinto Shrine which had 2,000 lanterns outside and another 1,000 lanterns inside the building. Quite a sight actually.

After the Nare tour I decided to catch the local subway to go to Gion Corner. This is where they have the traditional cultural show. Feautured was a traditional Japanese tea ceremony follwed by traditional Japanese Kyoto or Harp playing. Next up was a Kado flower arrangement followed by Gagaku traditional court music orchestra and dancer. Then we saw a Kyomai style dance with beuatiful Geisha like girls with painted faces and traditional kimonos. Finally we saw an amazing Bunraku or puppet play, this was a definite highlight. Needless to say I took plenty of pictures!

OK, I`m off to sample some of the local cusinie before hitting the sack toi get ready for tommorrow`s full day tour of Kyoto which includes Nijo castle, Golden Pavillion, lunch at the Handicraft center, Heian shrine, Sanjusangendo and Kioyomizu temple. Then its back on the Shinkansen local time 6:20 pm arriving at Shin-Yokohama by 8:30 pm and back to my hotel by approx 9pm to get ready for day 1 of the WorldCon.

Bye for now folks!!....

 

[scalem X]

Sounds super, ah I so want to be there!

I'm biting my fingers here to make me less envious, but it doesn't work. Say Gollum how are you getting on the internet there, with some luck I can go to Japan next spring and I just wondered; plenty of access?

 

[Nesacat]

Sounds fabulous GOLLUM .... especially the temples and Gion Corner.

 

[GOLLUM]

Sounds super, ah I so want to be there!

I'm biting my fingers here to make me less envious, but it doesn't work. Say Gollum how are you getting on the internet there, with some luck I can go to Japan next spring and I just wondered; plenty of access?

No real problems, I`m　using an internet kiosk wehre you have to pay x yen for a specified amount of time so very easy to use...

 

[GOLLUM]

Gion corner was very good value indeed Nesa.

Today I went to so many things my head is still sapinning. Arrived back now at my Hotel in Yokohama and getting ready for Day 1 of WorldCon.

Today in Kyoto we went to the Imperial palace although we couldn`t go very far into the grounds, a shogun castle but no photography inside extremely interesting as it was the sight of the Nightingale Floor and the basis of Lian Hearn`s well known novel Across The Nightingale Floor. In fact the floor is cunningly constructed and anyone passing over it causes it to literally sing or chirp announcing to the shoguns of old the passage of any potential assasins. Also an amazing shrine which had over 1,000 bronze buddhas, a really incredible sight. We couldn`t take photos inside but I bought a postcard depicting this vista. Then off to the famous Golden Pavillion with its gold leaf roof and walls and then to a handicraft center where I bought a few things including a cool Tshirt.

Later we went to a shinto and buddhist shrine where I hung out with a few Geisha, cool that... AND another famous temple before heading to Kyoto station to catch the Shinkansen back to Shin-Yokohama and my hotel.

OK that`s all for now, I`m going to go thorugh the program for tommorrow but first off the rank is a visit to the famous Ghibli museum and Japanese animation studio as part of the WorldCon.

Wish me luck!!

 

[Nesacat]

Oh my ... you saw the Nightingale Floor. The Buddhas sound simply breathtaking too.

 

[GOLLUM]

The Buddhas were Awesome! Not only did I see the famous floor but I got to walk on it, cool..

Today I finally got to do the Ghibli animation studio/museum tour. It was really impressive with the first couple of rooms featuring quite ingeniuos forms of animation with the use of spinning wheels and strobe lights. Unfortunately you can`t take photos inside which was kinda dissapointing. Upstairs there is a full animation studio replica with thousands of orginal illustrations from movies like Howl`s Moving Castle. In fact I stand in further awe of the skill of Japanese animators. They also had the story books/boards for Le Guin`s Wizard Of EarthSea, so I sort of got a sneak peak of what was to come. There was also the famous Japanese robot which I was able to have my photo taken beside. Also bought something for you Nesa, which I think　you`ll like...

Following my return to the Convention center I went to register before going to see Ellen Kushner and Joe Haldeman. Got their autographs and had a photo oppurtunity with Joe who was very easy to talk to. After this I decided to go see a download movie of BattleStar Galactica for a while before attending the Guest Of Honour press conference. That turned out to be quite interesting with David Brin, Sakyo Komatsu, Yoshitako Amano and Takumi Shibano giving their thoughts on SF and fielding a few questions from the local press.

Next up was a short break before the Openining Ceremony where I inadvertently bumped into Michael Whelan although there wasn`t much chance for an exchange of words. The opening cermeony was housed in the huge convention hall and it was packed in by several thousand people. It started with a short animation film depicting WorldCon 2007, attacking aliens etc.. and was quite amusing. Then the mayor of Yokohama came on stage being carried on a rickshaw which was fun. After giving a short welcome speech, the main GOH were introduced and each spoke briefly. When Komatsu came on stage there was a standing ovation which was nice for him, quite an emotional point as he`s been quite ill of late at the age of 80. Then the WorldCon was offically opened by a hammer blow before everyone filed out to attend the bid parties.

I went to Kansas City and Toronto bid parties for 2009 and Melbourne`s bid party is on　tommorrow where I`ll be helping out. Toronto put out all stops hiring a couple of professional chefs to serve guests.

Just returned to my hotel and I`m a bit tired so I shall bid you all a good night..

 

[Nesacat]

Meowrr GOLLUM .... Ghibli sounds awesome, storyboards and all. We are all keeping our fingers crossed for Melbourne. Have fun.

 

[GOLLUM]

Today so far I`ve been to a retrospective of Kurt Vonnegut which was very interesting. Larry Niven was sitting next to me, he comes across as a nice guy and I had a short chat with him. Next was a discussion about whether short stories are a dying art or not. The general consensus was that although it doesn`t pay well compared to novels it`s been kinda status quo the last few years with a bigger push now towards online magazines. Speaking of short story authors I found out Ted Chiang is here so he`s one person I really want to meet. Then it was onto a discussion about book design and publishing which was really good. After this I went to a viewing of John Picacio`s artwork conducted by John. He`s an extremely nice guy and I was able to get a photo with him. I invited him to tonight`s Melbourne bid party so that should be fun! Also met up weith some Chinese writers and SF Mag publishers where SF is still in its infancy as far as mainstream popularity goes, kinda like where Japan was 50 years ago.

Anyway I`m now off to an interview with Naomi Novak, so see you all later...

 

[GOLLUM]

Well I returned from　the Naomi Novik interview. It was quite interesting. A few things I didn`t know were that she has sold the graphic novels, games and film rights for potential movies to Peter Jackson. Also Capt. Laurence is based on Russel Crowe or at least his character from Master and Commander. Also she`s planning at least 7 books in the series, the 6th will be in Australia, the seventh in South America featuring the Aztecs. I`ll be seeing her again tommrow for a book　signing so that should be fun.

After the interview I strolled over to the Dealer Rooms. There were very few Enlgish books but I saw first edition copies of 4 lovecraft novels including 2 owned by Robert Bloch. JD and Nesa if you`re reading this you can start to drool about now... I bought a 4 voulme translation of Japanese stories based on the Clthulu Mythos and another featuring Japanese SF and Fantasy. I　also purchased a HB featuring all WorldCon guest of Honour speeches since 1939 plus the Ghibli animated edition on DVD of Ursula Le Guin`s Wizard Of Earthsea, pretty cool...

Anyway about to have dinner before heading over for the Melbourne bid party, so it could be a late night...

Bye for now...

 

[GOLLUM]

Well the Melbourne bid party is just winding up and everyone had a great time. I got a Melbourne 2010 T Shirt which I`ll be wearing proudly. Got to hand out these cool koala bears to visitors including David Brin who has visited Melbourne more than once and tells me he loves it, more than Sydney Yes!!...

Anyways time to turn in before the major events take place over the weekend...

 

[scalem X]

I'm bursting apart with envy. Lukcily my exam went okay so at least I don't feel completely miserable. Okay, no wait I do now. I so want to be there!!!
All sounds so cool and fun and have I mentioned cool?

 

[GOLLUM]

Yep it was good.

Today was busy with various things inclusing a panel featuring Robert Silverberg. I got to meet him, take a picture and get Longest Way Home signed which was nice plus I ran into aussie Cecilia Dart Thornton and Naomi Novik for which I got Temerarie signed plus a photo oppurtunity with GOH David Brin. Scott Lynch was nowhere in sight unfortunately but thems the breaks. I also attended a presentation on Juvenile SF fiction, attended the Art Show and a semniar on Religion in Fantasy which was interesting.

Of course the day`s highlight was the Hugo Awards. Quite a good presentation running for just over 2 hours. I can`t recall all the winners but Vernor Vinge won the Hugo for best novel for Rainbow`s End and Naomi Novik won the John W Campbell Award for best new author. I only got 4 out of the 15 categories correct but meh you can`t win them all. OH I also remember Pan`s Labryrinth won best long flim version. One thing that was disappointing was almost all of the winners were absent so others recieved it on their behalf, probably an issue of distance for many in the US and UK.

That`s all for now there`s parties going on for the Hugo Winners and Losers but that`s not open to the general public so I`ll probably just retire early tonight. Tommorrow is my last day in Japan before heading off Monday morning for KL and the cat...

Bye for now.

 

[GOLLUM]

Today saw me start with a Jack Willimason retrospective. He died aged 98 and was mentally quite sharp right up to the end of his death. Following this I attended the Art of Michael Whelan which was really entertaining before getting ready for the Masuerade event. As I was in the offical fan photo area I was able to take multiple shots of the entrants which was nice. Not sure who won. OH yes Canada won the 2009 bid if you don`t already know.

After this I returned to my hotel before getting ready for the river dinner cruise. That was really a nice way to finish off with great views of the Harbour and a buffet style meal. It seated 300 people and was sold out quite early on.

Now it`s time to pack, get an early night and be ready for tommrow`s midday trip to KL. By tommorrow night I will be in KL and hopefully meeting up with Nesa the following morning.

Night all....

 

[scalem X]

G'night. Oh I still envy you.

 

[Tillane]

It all sounds terrific, Gollum. Like scalem said, muchos envious...

 

[GOLLUM]

OK folks sorry for not posting for a couple of days.

On Monday I went to Narita airport in Tokyo expecting to board my 1.30 pm flight. Unfortunately we boarded OK but never left the ground due to mechnical and wiring issues with the plane"s computer systems for operation of the landing gear. They eventually had to organise another plane so we finally took off at 9.30pm, so I basically spent the entire day in the airport. As I could not sleep on the plane and we arrived next morning, I kept going for that entire day which meant over 40 hours with no sleep so I was kinda tired by that evening.

Day 1 in KL saw me finally meet the cat lady along with Morpheus. We went to several bookshops including Borders where Nesa bought some stuff including several of the Fantasy Masterworks under my careful eye... I"ve got her interested in asteven Erikson too so mission accomplished. In the evening we went out ot a Korean style BBQ restaurant wihch was great. Actually thar morning I had a buffet style breakfast at my hotel that was easily the best buffet breakfast I have ever had in terms of quality and variety of food.

Day 2 saw me go on an afternoon tour of KL where I visited a traditonal Bhati fabrics maker, Royal Selangor pewter factory including the worlds largest beer tankard, the main square where Malyasians celebrated their national day, the King's royal residence and telecom tower which is the world's fourth largest tower. In the evening it was off to a traidtonal chinese restaurant and a tour around China town before more food at a local eatery near my hotel before bidding my party good night.

Today I should be going to some more bookshops with Nesa and of course eating...

Bye for now.