A Japanese Cultural Experience Part One, Plan A...

Inspired by the Salem Concert Band's offering "Postcards from Japan", I decided to put together a cultural Japanese staycation adventure.

My husband was stationed for awhile in Japan during his military service, and he remembers this experience fondly. I asked him what the people in Japan like to do on their weekends.

He pondered this. "They like nature a lot" he said.

Then it all came together.

We would begin our day outside Salem at the Baskett Slough National Wildlife Refuge, where for a few hours that morning there would be a guide from the Audubon Society to help us appreciate this wide marshland set aside for migrating birds.

Then a light lunch at one of Salem's many Japanese Udon restaurants.

Then on to an art exhibit in downtown Salem, which happened to be featuring the work of a Japanese American artist.

And to the Concert, "Postcards from Japan". The Salem Concert Band is a fine group of artists. This would be the high point of the day.

Finally, dinner at one of Salem's best reviewed sushi places. It was going to be amazing.

But then we had another one of those weeks with a family member in the hospital. ER, Intensive Care, driving back and forth every day and getting behind at work, and then bringing them back home with all the uncertainty that brings. And it was the day before our "trip".

So we watched a movie.



Neither one of us wanted anything serious. We chose one that looked off-beat, and laughed  randomly. We needed that.

"Fine, Totally Fine" brings an odd collection of hapless characters together in a artfully chaotic style. The rhythm of this film is syncopated like a nervous tic. I loved it. I like being surprised.










The next night we followed that with "Key of Life" and laughed some more. Impossible plot and plenty of nonsense. Just the therapy we needed.

Finally, something beautiful.

Adrift in Tokyo is also quirky, but the tragedy that sets the piece in motion drives it throughout.

The scenery as they walk through the movie made me feel like I had also wandered through parts of this great city. The images of home life helped me visualize the way people might live.

I loved the dailiness of some scenes: the line for a popular noodle restaurant, encounters with other pedestrians on the sidewalk.

All three movies explore the lives of young Japanese men -- juxtaposed with older men, and the parallels are intriguing.

Listen for the unseen cat. What do you think it means? Tell me if you figure it out.

And when it is over, you will want Japanese Curry. Or at least, I did.

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