Funassyi delights in Hong Kong! :)

Funassyi and fans at the Wired Cafe 

in Tsim Sha Tsui this afternoon! :) 

 The hyperactive Pear (Fairy) strikes a pose 

at the Wired Cafe in Causeway Bay this evening :b 

Funassyi's so fast moving at times 

that it becomes a blur in photos! :O

When I read on the We Love Funassyi blog a week ago that there would be Funassyi-themed cafes here in Hong Kong this summer, I decided that -- unlike with their Hello Kitty equivalents -- I would be able to stomach Funassyi-themed food and drinks since, well, the unofficial mascot of Funabashi is supposed to be a pear!  Then, when I found out that The Pear would actually be making appearances at the Hong Kong Wired Cafes, I knew that I had to go there to catch sight of Funassyi in the flesh (so to speak)!

Fearing that this extremely popular character would attract mega crowds (like that pictured on this page), I contacted the Wired Cafe people and made a reservation for the evening "meet and greet" event at the Wired Cafe in Causeway Bay.  For good measure, two days before, a friend and I went and dined there to get a sense of the place (and the (number of) customers it was attracting).  And when the day of Funassyi's planned appearances in Hong Kong came, I was so fearful of not catching sight of The Pear in pe(a)rson that I ended up also going to the lunch event at the Wired Cafe in Tsim Sha Tsui to give myself an extra chance to catch a glimpse of a character I've come to really adore!

Whereas the Wired Cafe in Causeway Bay wasn't filled with Funassyi fans on Tuesday (and, for that matter, also wasn't as replete with Funassyi-themed items and decorations as the Funassyi Cafes in Japan, and like I was hoping would be the case), the Wired Cafe in Tsim Sha Tsui was packed with Funatomo -- some of whom had come all the way from Japan! -- and their Funassyi items this afternoon.  Unable to get a seat at the first Funassyi "meet and greet" event of the day, I actually was happy enough to stand just outside with a bunch of other fans and still be able to observe the super energetic Pear in action (doing such as jumping so high at one point that he actually hit a ceiling lamp in the cafe, and crouching down, as is its style, when beholding a child so as to be at eye level with the small human!).

Weird as it may seem to some people, I really did get a thrill to not only see and hear Funassyi in real life (rather than on Youtube videos, etc.) but also see that it does indeed have (a lot of adult) fans. And as I expected (but the Wired Cafe manager didn't seem to when I spoke to her a few days ago), Funassyi fans were out in force again at the Wired Cafe in Causeway Bay this evening.  But this time, I was fully prepared -- and not only was my reservation honored but I was allocated what turned out to be a prime seat maybe less than 10 feet away from where Funassyi stood, chatted for a bit and struck a series of poses to the delight of the camera-wielding Funatomo.

The highlight of the evening -- and, actually, my day, and possibly week and month! -- came early on during the event as The Pear walked over to the part of the cafe where I was seated.  Instinctively, I put up one of my hands, Funassyi swiveled and looked at me, and then gave me a high five!  Honestly, I'm not sure if I squealed when this happen.  But I can tell you that even one hour after this happened, I could feel a smile spread across my face!

So here's the thing about The Pear that I really love: that is, that it actually is capable of bringing joy to people as well as entertaining them, and making them smile and laugh.  I think one big reason for this is that this character with the words "fun" and "ass" in its name(!) looks to go about its business so whole-heartedly.  Also, Funassyi seems to get so much delight from making people happy.  Something else that I've got to observe up close now is how The Pear is incredibly wonderful at giving seemingly each and every member of the crowd "personal", "individual" experiences.  

Lastly, for now, there's its generosity and willingness to be inclusive.  For example, at both today's "meet and greet" sessions, The Pear made a point to acknowledge, interact with and pose for those who were outside the cafe as well as those inside.  In addition, it made sure to speak a few words in Cantonese, Putonghua and English even while obviously being most fluent and comfortable in its native Japanese.  So, especially after today, I'm really a fan, and believe I have many good reasons to be one! ;b

Akira Kurosawa's Sanshiro Sugata can surprise more than 70 years on (film review)

The kind of flowers that have meaning for the judoka 

at the heart of Akira Kurosawa's first directorial effort

Sanshiro Sugata (Japan, 1943)

- Akira Kurosawa, director and scriptwriter

- Starring: Susumu Fujita, Denjiro Ookouchi, Ryunosuke Tsukigata, Yukiko Todoroki, Takashi Shimura

Many years ago, when I was a boarding school student in England, I watched my first ever film from Japan at an art house cinema in London over half term.  Suffice to say that I found Akira Kurosawa's Ran (1985) to be a real revelation -- and from that point onwards, whenever I got a chance to see anything by the master auteur on a big screen, I leapt at the chance to do so.  Still, it wasn't until just a couple weeks ago that I finally got to view Sanshiro Sugata, a black and white offering centering on a powerful Meiji era martial artist that was made when the legendary filmmaker was just 33 years old.  

Because this tale of a warrior's spiritual journey and coming of age wasn't only Akira Kurosawa's first film as a director but also made in the middle of World War Two, I have to admit to going into its screening with lower expectations than I normally would have of a cinematic work by the filmmaking great.  However, my hopes plummeted down even more upon seeing the following words appear on the screen before the actual movie got going:-

"This film has been modified from the original version of Akira Kurosawa's debut film, which opened in 1943, without consulting the director or the production staff. 1,845 feet of footage was cut in 1944 to comply with the government's wartime entertainment policies. As much as we'd like to show the original version, we are not able to locate the cut footage. Yet we strongly believe this modified version is worthy of re-release. We thank you for understanding the circumstances surrounding the re-release of this film. April 1952, Toho Company, Ltd."

There's no doubt about it: one can't help but wonder what was cut out of Sanshiro Sugata when one watches this censored version of the film.  And one can't but suspect that certain missing scenes, especially early on in this 79-minute-length movie, have made the plot exposition less smooth and logical than it ought to be.  

At the same time, however, the overall storyline remains easy enough to follow.  In a nutshell, a physically impressive but intellectually immature young man named Sanshiro Sugata (and played by Susuma Fujita) becomes the disciple of Shogoro Yano (Denjiro Ookouchi), a pioneering teacher of judo -- which he considers to be more efficient and superior to the traditional martial art form known as jujutsu.  After he learns to curb his hot temper and understands better the philosophy behind -- rather than just techniques of -- judo, Sanshiro is chosen to be his school's representative in organized duels against jujutsu exponents (including a veteran master (Takashi Shimura), whose lovely daughter (Yukiko Todoroki) worries will meet his death at the hands of Sanshiro). 

Akira Kurosawa makes time in the film to philosophize, observe changes in the weather and a lotus flower bloom, behold beauty in the face of a maiden at prayer, and see love blossom between two good-hearted individuals.  But even while it has a morality tale to tell, Sanshiro Sugata still is a martial arts movie at heart: complete with a well-meaning good guy and a bad-intentioned moustachioed villain (Ryunosuke Tsukigata); and possessing plenty of fight scenes that are imaginatively envisioned and filmed.  

Funnily, while all of the martial arts action in which Sanshiro has a prominent part is impressive, I actually like the first fight shown in the film -- in which he is just a bystander -- best due to its containing the largest element of surprise.  And more than 70 years after it was first released, Sanshiro Sugata proves capable of surprising to a greater degree than one might expect: since, against the odds, it's managed to be a far better film than a Japanese movie made in 1943 and considerably cut by those who didn't have a hand in making it should have any right to be!    

My rating for the film: 8.0

Dragon's Back and Pottinger Peak hike sights (Photo-essay)

At lunch today, a friend told me of an old hiking buddy of hers returning to Hong Kong for a visit for the first time since at least 2005 and planning to go along the Dragon's Back this Sunday.  But while this Hong Kong Island hiking trail is undoubtedly scenic (especially on a high visibility day), that which may looks to have become the Big Lychee's most famous hike route -- thanks, in part to the efforts of the Hong Kong Tourism Board -- no longer tops the list of many local hikers because it has become considerably more crowded in recent years than many of us would like.         

At the same time, because you're pretty much guaranteed to come across other hikers on that trail, the Dragon's Back is a safe bet to go on if you're hiking by yourself.  So that's where I headed one Sunday afternoon sans my usual hiking companions -- though I have to confess that I ended up diverging from the planned script by deciding to also tackle the less scenic but considerably more peaceful Pottinger Peak rather than just follow the much traversed Hong Kong Trail Stage 8 to its conclusion over at Big Wave Bay...

Even on a foggy day, it's hard to resist pausing to

admire the view at this point along the Dragon's Back :)

 

 

I'm also the kind of hiker who will pause to admire

pretty wild flowers... ;b

 

 Especially on hot days, the existence of some 

shady sections of trail are most welcome ;)

 

Pottinger Peak is one of those Hong Kong hills where

(makeshift) shrines can be found

 

Near the top of 312-meter-high peak are what appear

to be ruins of old military installations

Speaking of ruins: the trail leading up there

is not the best maintained around! :O

The very top of Pottinger Peak is extremely unglamorous looking

-- but I still like that I can say that I've now been up it! 

 

The coolest sight of the hike came on the descent, in the 

form of this bird with the unusually elaborate tail :)

Happy 1,878th birthday Funassyi! :)

The first Funassyi-themed items that 

came into my possession ;b

The first Funassyi-themed item 

I ever bought for myself :)

Less than a month ago, I made my Funassyi love public on this blog.  In that post introducing the hyperactive pear fairy from Funabashi to this blog's readers, I included a photo of some of the Funassyi-themed merchandise I had bought on my most recent Japan trip.  But I neglected to mention that I already owned some Funassyi-themed items even before I headed over to the Land of the Rising Sun this past May.

With Funassyi-themed items (still) being rather thin on the ground here in Hong Kong (despite The Pear having visited the Big Lychee in the past), I really had only found one thing that I considered worth buying after searching around town for several months.  This was a festive-themed fan which I've put to good use when doing such as waiting in Victoria Park for this year's July 1st rally to begin; and which actually wasn't the first Funassy-themed items that came into my possession since a kind friend who visited Tokyo over Chinese New Year went and got me not only the Sleeping Bag Funassyi I had yearned for after learning of its existence but also a Funassyi-Hello Kitty double plush (the result of a collaboration between The Pear and the cute cat character it refers to as its senpai (i.e., elder in the same profession)) and a couple of cool towelling handkerchiefs.

Incidentally, it's interesting that The Pear considers Kitty Chan its senpai since, as it so happens, today's supposed to be Funassyi's 1878th birthday on account of its birthdate being listed as July 4th, 138 in its official biography!  The thing though is that there does seem to be some uncertainty with regards to The Pear's real date of birth; not least because this popular Twitter persona's first tweet (back on November 21st, 2011) was an announcement that its birthday falls on November 22nd rather than the day that can written as 7/4 and which can is pronounced in Japanese as "na shi" (like the Japanese word for (Asian) pears)!

Regardless of which date its birthday actually falls on though, this much is clear: Funassyi is a pear fairy which descended onto the city of Funabashi to cheer up humans, whom it detected were still depressed by the Great East Japan Earthquake of March 11th, 2011, and its aftermath more than one year after the disaster.  In the few years that it has been on Earth, The Pear has become greatly popular in Japan and also come to possess a number of fans in other parts of the world including English rock star Ozzy Osbourne, his wife Sharon, their son Jack and, of course, this blogger who wants to wish this wonderfully entertaining character a happy birthday and say thank you for having made me smile, giggle and laugh so very much already. :)

Craving raw as well as cold food when the weather gets hot

Something I really like eating, especially in hot weather

 Another dish I find myself craving when the temperature rises

Late last month, the Hong Kong Observatory recorded high temperatures of over 35 degrees Celsius (95 degrees Fahrenheit) on four consecutive days for the first time since record keeping began in 1885.  And the scary thing is that July -- not June -- is normally the hottest month of the year here in the Big Lychee!

Even though I continue hiking through the summer, I have to admit to finding it more difficult to get myself to spend time outdoors on super hot (and humid) days.  And in scorching weather, I also am more reluctant to do such as take air condition-less trams when moving around town as opposed to other modes of transportation that come with air conditioning, and make for the air conditioned sections of ferries and rather than happily enjoy the fresh sea breeze in those sections of the vessels that are either outdoors or have open windows.

Something else that changes in hot weather is my food preferences.  More specifically, I notice myself not only craving ice cream and cold desserts at various points in the day, and cold cereal for breakfast, but also cold -- and often raw -- savory foods; and I don't just mean sushi and sashimi which I'm perfectly happy to eat any time of the year!  

Happily, in Hong Kong, my cold savory food options include chilled Japanese soba, udon, somen and ramen, cold Vietnamese rice vermicelli noodle options and Korean naengmyun in addition to various Western and Asian-style salads.  In addition, there are raw seafood dishes from elsewhere besides Japan, and raw meat dishes from elsewhere other than the Netherlands.

In recent years, eateries selling Hawaiian poké also have appeared in Hong Kong and I love that this is the case; with my favorite "go to" place for Hawaiian style raw fish salad being the Central branch of Pololi (which now also has branches in Wan Chai and Sheung Wan).  Still, if truth be told, my absolute favorite non-Japanese raw seafood dish consists of Thai style marinated raw prawns; whose spicy dipping sauce often gets me sniffling but still unable to resist having more of (along with the raw garlic that accompanies the raw prawns)!

And long before I tried ossenworst when I visited the Netherlands at the tail end of last year, I already had been introduced to -- and become a fan of -- steak tartare.  But my favorite raw meat dishes actually are Asian rather than European; with Korean yukhoe being a delicious offering consisting of seasoned raw beef accompanied by a raw egg as well as thin slices of sweet Asian pear, and a variation served at Yi Pai Yai, a Japanese izakaya located in Causeway Bay that specializes in ox tongue dishes, making use of raw marinated ox tongue and doing without portions of Asian pear in its mix.

I know many people have reservations about eating raw seafood, never mind raw meat.  But I actually think I've been sick more times after eating a cooked food meal than a raw one!  Years ago when I tried steak tartare for the first time, the waiter suggested I drink some alcohol to help settle my stomach.  This sounds counter-intuitive but it does seem to work -- or at least it doesn't make things worse!  Even so, I don't tend to drink alcohol when eating Thai food; but I guess in that case, some people might say that the garlic and spices help counter whatever bacterias and microbes that might be in the raw prawns!   

The Duk Ling appeals to heritage buffs as well as tourists!

Old and new in the same frame in Hong Kong today :)

 

A more close-up shot of the only real 

Chinese junk boat left in the territory

 

And while the Aqua Luna looks old and cool,

do not be fooled into thinking it's a real sailing ship!

 

Among the items on display at the Hong Kong Maritime Museum are a number of historical paintings and photographs showing Victoria Harbour and the land bordering it.  Even for someone like me who has lived in the Big Lychee for less than a full decade, those pictures can bring on a wave of nostalgia since so many changes take place to the physical landscape from year to year (and sometimes even month to month), including acres of land reclamation as well as the coming into being (and destruction) of a number of buildings.

 

While viewing those images this afternoon, a museum staffer pointed out that it's not only the landscape around Victoria Harbour that's radically different these days but also the vessels that ply its waters.  Amusingly though, just minutes after she remarked on how it's pretty rare to see a traditional junk (complete with red sails) sailing in these waters these days, we spied the Duk Ling -- Hong Kong's sole authentic sailing junk -- doing just that!

 

Built in Macau in the 1950s and used as a fishing boat for the first decades of its existence, the Duk Ling has more recently served as a tourist attraction over here in the Big Lychee (and featured in various movies, including Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story).  Previously, when it was chartered by the Hong Kong Tourism Board, rides on board this traditional Chinese vessel was free of charge.  These days, however, one has to pay quite a bit to sail on what may well be the last real Chinese junk ship to ply these waters.

 

On a visit to Hong Kong before I moved here, I had booked to sail on this iconic vessel with my mother and two friends.  Unfortunately, the day that we were scheduled to go on the junk boat ride, typhoon warning signal number 3 was raised and the ride was consequently cancelled.  Then after I became a Hong Kong resident, I learnt that rides on the Duk Ling were limited to visitors to the Big Lychee!

 

In the past year or so though, rides on board the Duk Ling have been made open to anyone willing to pay for the privilege of doing so.  And whenever this heritage buff sees this photogenic wooden vessel floating about in Victoria Harbour, she does get a yearning to cruise around on it one fine, cool and clear day in the not so distant future... ;b

Marching for a variety of causes on the 19th anniversary of Hong Kong's return to China

 

This afternoon, many people sweated buckets but patiently waited 

-- sometimes with portable fans in hand -- to get out of 

Victoria Park to begin today's July 1st protest march

Canto-pop stars Denise Ho and Anthony Wong Yiu Ming

stand alongside pro-democracy lawmaker Raymond Chan

and DJ Brian Leung to rally protesters along the way

And because we're not in Mainland China, we are free to

protest the detention of Liu Xiaobo and the house arrest

and general ill-treatment of his wife Liu Xia

The numbers game is being played again this evening between the organizers of the annual July 1st march here in Hong Kong and the police; with the former estimating that 110,000 people took part in today's protest rally and the latter suggesting that only 19,300 turned out.  But as far as this person who did assemble at Victoria Park this afternoon and took around 3 hours to walk all the way to Admiralty while surrounded by a thick crowd of people is concerned, what cannot be disputed is that a whole heck of a lot of Hong Kongers turned out today in punishingly hot and humid weather conditions to register to make their voice heard about a whole range of causes, including gay rights, children's rights, environmental rights and, of course, the fight for democracy and against 689. 

To be sure, I did feel concerned when I turned up around 3pm at Victoria Park and saw that its football pitches weren't all filled with people -- the way that I've come to think of as normal on June 4th as well as July 1st.  But by the time the friend I was with and I got out of Victoria Park at around 3.30pm, a sizeable crowd had gathered around us -- and I also knew of several people who had decided that they'd join the protest march at later points along the way as they wanted to avoid having to wait for frustratingly long periods of time at Victoria Park before getting onto the street.

Although I wish I could forego having to stand for a time under the hot blazing sun at Victoria Park waiting for the march to get underway, I've always gone ahead and gone to the assembly point because I don't want to give the police and such the excuse of not adding me to their count.  Even so, thoughts of numbers seemed so insignificant when I spied young children, people in wheelchairs and people who had obvious difficulties walking but still decided to take part in today's protests marching along with me to Admiralty.  Put another way: every vote counts but I do reckon that some people obviously make more sacrifices than others for the cause, and witnessing their efforts cannot help but get me feeling emotional and like there's a lump in my throat!

Another group of marchers who got me all choked up were those holding banners and posters in support of Nobel Peace Prize winner Liu Xiabo -- who, lest we forget, has been detained by the Chinese government since 2008 -- and his wife Liu Xia, whose greatest "crime" appears to be her continued loyalty to, and love of, her husband.  For one thing, they reminded me of people living in Mainland China who have the misfortune to be living under the rule of an intolerant, undemocratic government that seeks to crush admirable people rather than listen to them or just plain allow them to peacefully espouse what they believe.  For another, they moved me to tears by making use of -- and thuse reminding people that we do indeed still possess -- the valuable freedom and rights they do have here in Hong Kong to make sure that we don't forget those unfortunates. 

Although my leg muscles ached and my fingertips actually felt swollen (because of dehydration even though I had drank more than one liter of liquids along the way!) by the time I completed the march, my spirits remained high throughout.  Among other things, I felt good seeing many other people out there on the streets this afternoon.  And it also was cool to come across recognisable faces -- such as those of Denise Wong, Anthony Wong Yiu Ming, legislators Audrey Eu and Tonya Chan, activists Joshua Wong, Benny Tai and Ken Tsang, etc. -- out in force today.  

In addition, there were the folks who treated us to renditions of such as the Umbrella Movement anthem which I find musically lyrical as well as emotionally evocative.  And yes, I still do very much find the following lines to be very pertinent and powerful:-

...We are not unafraid

of what might happen next...

But our lives have reached a tipping point

Keeping silent is more terrifying...

Fear will only lead us to a bleaker future...

Hold up our umbrellas

Let's support each other

Although unsettling, we're not alone

Hold up our umbrellas

Put our hands up

Let's fight for what we deserve 

with courage...