Monday, October 24, 2011
Sunday, October 23, 2011
Friday, October 7, 2011
Sunday, September 25, 2011
Saturday, September 24, 2011
Saturday, June 4, 2011
Last few days in Japan (2011)
[Note: I am writing this two years after the fact. I could have sworn that I wrote it all up, but I guess I didn't, and I have a feeling I threw out the notebook with my journal because it was dying. >_> I will do my best to recapture those days.]
Okay, so, Monday and Tuesday my friend and went to various shrines and tourist sites in Kyoto. Wednesday morning our group took the shinkansen down to Hiroshima... outside the station there was a small festival going on, 20 or so food stalls in a large square; it smelled great, and I could see a takoyaki stand. We didn't have much time before the streetcar came and we headed toward the Memorial Peace Park.
During this time, many schools were visiting the area, so between the cranes and museum we were all asked, "Where are you from?" "What does peace mean to you?" etc. etc. Honestly, it hadn't set in that I was at such a tragic site until I entered the museum. I walked through the first floor, reading the info cards and weaving through the middle school kids. Before I headed up to the second floor I stopped and looked at the miniature model of the city before and after the bomb exploded. In my head, I was starting to realize what was going on, but all I could hear was the jargon of young teenagers just on another school trip. They hardly seemed to care, or be affected by the museum. It was an mix of shame and confusion and frustration that I held onto until I completed the tour of the museum. Somehow I ended up ahead of the group, so I waited outside for the others alone. More kids approached me with their questions, which I tried to answer as energetically as possible. Comprehending that day was numbing.
Thankfully, our group assembled again and we returned to the station for lunch. I can't recall if the food stands were still there or not (if they were, I have no idea why I didn't get food from them!!) but I ended up getting a variety onigiri set from the convenience store. We tried to eat lunch in the shade, along with a few other resting individuals. Then the pigeons came. They kept their distance at first, but all it took was one unfortunate drop of rice that motivated them to attack. (Pretty sure I dropped the rice.)
As our small lunch group moved from the shady spot full of pigeons to the fountain in front of the station I noticed a few guys hanging out. They looked at me curiously, cocking their heads as I walked by. I heard "Hara? Hara?" SO CONFUSED. WHY DID THEY KNOW MY NAME? Where they even talking to me? WHAT? DO? I? DO? well. I ignored them obliviously and sat with my friends to eat, just a few meters away from the guy.
5 minutes later I realized that I was wearing a shirt that I had designed. It had my name in katakana along the front side. DERP. That would explain everything.
That night, like many of the following nights up until we left Kyoto, a small group of 2, or 3, or so of us headed down the street to the large shopping area. We browsed and walked around aimlessly more than anything. I fulfilled my intention of having takoyaki that day! IT WAS DELICIOUS. Tasted like yummy chicken pot pie, but better O.o
--------------------------
Thursday, off to Miyajima! To see the shrine, sure, but I think it was under construction at the time. The rest of the area itself was beautiful: a nice little island that we took the JR ferry to reach. And the deer are super friendly, aka comfortable around humans and trying to score some food. There was one deer that tried to enter a restaurant as we walked by, but the owner kindly led him away.
When we returned to Kyoto, a large part of our group met with our professor at a kaitenzushi (conveyor belt sushi). Every plate came with two good pieces of sushi for about a dollar (100 yen) each. I had 10 plates. 2 of which were actually cake. It was only 100 yen, so I had to try them. They were a bit dry. The sushi was exponentially better. For future reference.
---------------------------
Friday. Oh, Friday. Thank God for the JR pass because we basically spent most of Friday on the train haha. First, my friend and I headed to Osaka. Aside from the Pokemon Center and the digital maps, there wasn't too much to look at in the station so we headed outside. Our goal, on our last day in Japan, was to follow Dr. Hara's advice and get lost.
We wandered down one street, around and up another. Through a shady-ish street of various clubs and small restaurants and the BIGGEST pet store I have seen in Japan. Along with the usual kittens and puppies, they had gigantic fish, birds, and OWL, sugar gliders, rabbits and a couple monkeys. So cool.
From there we continued to wander aimlessly. I did my best not to pay attention to which way we were turning so we would have a chance to get lost. The peak of that venture was a little discount vending machine that sold Gun Gun Gurt for only 100 yen (instead of its usual 120 yen). With some prize in hand we started back toward the station. Despite my efforts, we found the station :/ But before we left we stopped at a rice bowl place for lunch.
THEN WE HEADED UP TO NAGOYA. YUP.
I went in search of Osu Kannon, so I could show my friend all the cool KPOP stuff. Did we find it? Nope. Failed. I asked an officer which subway line went there, but he didn't seem too sure, and we ourselves couldn't read the Kanji for it when we found a map. We made do and wandered around Nagoya before returning to Kyoto.
A car was set to pick us up at around 5:30 am the next morning. Like all sane people, I was basically packed and set to go that night. Initially, 6 or 7 of us intended to stay up all night, snacking and chatting and holding a mini hall party. Only 3 survived. The only down-side was that I was so tired in the car that I had a hard time staying awake for a 30-minute car ride that was actually and hour. Then I totally passed out on the 1-hour plane from Kansai Airport to Narita [we were in the best, comfiest seats ever!! Definitely wasn't coach].
Then, we came home... Only with the memories and intention to return again.
------
Returning to Japan: September 2013, and counting down the days~~!!
Okay, so, Monday and Tuesday my friend and went to various shrines and tourist sites in Kyoto. Wednesday morning our group took the shinkansen down to Hiroshima... outside the station there was a small festival going on, 20 or so food stalls in a large square; it smelled great, and I could see a takoyaki stand. We didn't have much time before the streetcar came and we headed toward the Memorial Peace Park.
During this time, many schools were visiting the area, so between the cranes and museum we were all asked, "Where are you from?" "What does peace mean to you?" etc. etc. Honestly, it hadn't set in that I was at such a tragic site until I entered the museum. I walked through the first floor, reading the info cards and weaving through the middle school kids. Before I headed up to the second floor I stopped and looked at the miniature model of the city before and after the bomb exploded. In my head, I was starting to realize what was going on, but all I could hear was the jargon of young teenagers just on another school trip. They hardly seemed to care, or be affected by the museum. It was an mix of shame and confusion and frustration that I held onto until I completed the tour of the museum. Somehow I ended up ahead of the group, so I waited outside for the others alone. More kids approached me with their questions, which I tried to answer as energetically as possible. Comprehending that day was numbing.
Thankfully, our group assembled again and we returned to the station for lunch. I can't recall if the food stands were still there or not (if they were, I have no idea why I didn't get food from them!!) but I ended up getting a variety onigiri set from the convenience store. We tried to eat lunch in the shade, along with a few other resting individuals. Then the pigeons came. They kept their distance at first, but all it took was one unfortunate drop of rice that motivated them to attack. (Pretty sure I dropped the rice.)
As our small lunch group moved from the shady spot full of pigeons to the fountain in front of the station I noticed a few guys hanging out. They looked at me curiously, cocking their heads as I walked by. I heard "Hara? Hara?" SO CONFUSED. WHY DID THEY KNOW MY NAME? Where they even talking to me? WHAT? DO? I? DO? well. I ignored them obliviously and sat with my friends to eat, just a few meters away from the guy.
5 minutes later I realized that I was wearing a shirt that I had designed. It had my name in katakana along the front side. DERP. That would explain everything.
That night, like many of the following nights up until we left Kyoto, a small group of 2, or 3, or so of us headed down the street to the large shopping area. We browsed and walked around aimlessly more than anything. I fulfilled my intention of having takoyaki that day! IT WAS DELICIOUS. Tasted like yummy chicken pot pie, but better O.o
--------------------------
Thursday, off to Miyajima! To see the shrine, sure, but I think it was under construction at the time. The rest of the area itself was beautiful: a nice little island that we took the JR ferry to reach. And the deer are super friendly, aka comfortable around humans and trying to score some food. There was one deer that tried to enter a restaurant as we walked by, but the owner kindly led him away.
When we returned to Kyoto, a large part of our group met with our professor at a kaitenzushi (conveyor belt sushi). Every plate came with two good pieces of sushi for about a dollar (100 yen) each. I had 10 plates. 2 of which were actually cake. It was only 100 yen, so I had to try them. They were a bit dry. The sushi was exponentially better. For future reference.
---------------------------
Friday. Oh, Friday. Thank God for the JR pass because we basically spent most of Friday on the train haha. First, my friend and I headed to Osaka. Aside from the Pokemon Center and the digital maps, there wasn't too much to look at in the station so we headed outside. Our goal, on our last day in Japan, was to follow Dr. Hara's advice and get lost.
We wandered down one street, around and up another. Through a shady-ish street of various clubs and small restaurants and the BIGGEST pet store I have seen in Japan. Along with the usual kittens and puppies, they had gigantic fish, birds, and OWL, sugar gliders, rabbits and a couple monkeys. So cool.
From there we continued to wander aimlessly. I did my best not to pay attention to which way we were turning so we would have a chance to get lost. The peak of that venture was a little discount vending machine that sold Gun Gun Gurt for only 100 yen (instead of its usual 120 yen). With some prize in hand we started back toward the station. Despite my efforts, we found the station :/ But before we left we stopped at a rice bowl place for lunch.
THEN WE HEADED UP TO NAGOYA. YUP.
I went in search of Osu Kannon, so I could show my friend all the cool KPOP stuff. Did we find it? Nope. Failed. I asked an officer which subway line went there, but he didn't seem too sure, and we ourselves couldn't read the Kanji for it when we found a map. We made do and wandered around Nagoya before returning to Kyoto.
A car was set to pick us up at around 5:30 am the next morning. Like all sane people, I was basically packed and set to go that night. Initially, 6 or 7 of us intended to stay up all night, snacking and chatting and holding a mini hall party. Only 3 survived. The only down-side was that I was so tired in the car that I had a hard time staying awake for a 30-minute car ride that was actually and hour. Then I totally passed out on the 1-hour plane from Kansai Airport to Narita [we were in the best, comfiest seats ever!! Definitely wasn't coach].
Then, we came home... Only with the memories and intention to return again.
------
Returning to Japan: September 2013, and counting down the days~~!!
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Day 15 - MO-JO-Nijojo?
Today was a big sightseeing day. Three stops
were on our agenda: Kinkakuji, Nijojo Castle, and Kiyomizu-dera. At each one we
kept wondering why there were so many foreigners getting in the way! Only to
realize... we were still, and would forever be, foreigners too.
First off was Kinkakugi, the golden shrine, and man was it shiny! The building was a serious bright yellow, like gold, and it was also sitting out in the pond so its reflection was double the gold. It was also sitting at the edge of another great garden, which would have been more enjoyable minus the 50 or so tourists and dozens of children on school trips. In some ways I think the experience was dumbed down by their presence, but we of course added to it... so I can't shed all the blame.
A short walk away was Nijojo Castle. It was a beautiful and well kept building that we actually got to go inside (after taking our shoes off, and only on the wooden hallways. Many of the curtains were drawn to preserve the highly decorate tapestries and paintings inside. I don't think we were allowed to take pictures on the inside, but given the chance again I wish we could.
Finally, Kiyomizu, the location I was tasked with researching before our trip. I didn't know about the walk there however. After we finally found the start of the street which led up to Kiyomizu we quickly learned it was all uphill and at least a mile long. Both sides of the street were lined with souvenir shops, kakigori (shaved ice), ice cream, and other small stores, but we kept pushing forward (I already bought my fill of presents for home). We did see a couple of the guys who pulled the carts... it would have been a nice ride up, but we walked anyway.
Eventually we saw the stairs up to the temple, several levels of them. I looked at Lynnette, who I was walking with, knowing that we could stop for a moment after the trek up the hill. "Let's keep going!" I said determinedly, then I started up the stairs, swearing not to stop till I get to the top. We made it in one piece with minimal regret.
Kiyomizu was place on a cliff's edge, with a deck that overlooked the drop down to the forest below. From there, you could see a full line of trees before the cityscape and the mountains behind it. Honestly, this was the moment that I really felt like I was IN Japan. It was my top moment, at the top of a huge hill.... really.
After the main shrine area it was a long winding (but enjoyable) walk down through the woods. Once we reached the bottom of the cliff we found the three fountains, of which you are only supposed to drink from two (wikipedia Kiyomizu-dera, there's a ton of info on it). We didn't drink because the line was clogged with touring students, so we started a much slower, relaxed walk down the hill back to our hotel. The ice cream we got on the way was pretty good too :)
First off was Kinkakugi, the golden shrine, and man was it shiny! The building was a serious bright yellow, like gold, and it was also sitting out in the pond so its reflection was double the gold. It was also sitting at the edge of another great garden, which would have been more enjoyable minus the 50 or so tourists and dozens of children on school trips. In some ways I think the experience was dumbed down by their presence, but we of course added to it... so I can't shed all the blame.
A short walk away was Nijojo Castle. It was a beautiful and well kept building that we actually got to go inside (after taking our shoes off, and only on the wooden hallways. Many of the curtains were drawn to preserve the highly decorate tapestries and paintings inside. I don't think we were allowed to take pictures on the inside, but given the chance again I wish we could.
Finally, Kiyomizu, the location I was tasked with researching before our trip. I didn't know about the walk there however. After we finally found the start of the street which led up to Kiyomizu we quickly learned it was all uphill and at least a mile long. Both sides of the street were lined with souvenir shops, kakigori (shaved ice), ice cream, and other small stores, but we kept pushing forward (I already bought my fill of presents for home). We did see a couple of the guys who pulled the carts... it would have been a nice ride up, but we walked anyway.
Eventually we saw the stairs up to the temple, several levels of them. I looked at Lynnette, who I was walking with, knowing that we could stop for a moment after the trek up the hill. "Let's keep going!" I said determinedly, then I started up the stairs, swearing not to stop till I get to the top. We made it in one piece with minimal regret.
Kiyomizu was place on a cliff's edge, with a deck that overlooked the drop down to the forest below. From there, you could see a full line of trees before the cityscape and the mountains behind it. Honestly, this was the moment that I really felt like I was IN Japan. It was my top moment, at the top of a huge hill.... really.
After the main shrine area it was a long winding (but enjoyable) walk down through the woods. Once we reached the bottom of the cliff we found the three fountains, of which you are only supposed to drink from two (wikipedia Kiyomizu-dera, there's a ton of info on it). We didn't drink because the line was clogged with touring students, so we started a much slower, relaxed walk down the hill back to our hotel. The ice cream we got on the way was pretty good too :)
Monday, May 30, 2011
Day 14 - Imperial Palace
For our Kyoto assignment we had to visit five
places from the list and write a little information on each. To be honest this
assignment could have been done in a day. After a late start our group went
from four down to two by the time we reached the Imperial Palace. We missed the
tour by barely 10 minutes so we grabbed some lunch and came back for the 1 o'
clock tour. Unexpectedly we met a girl from Canada who was travelling around,
but we didn't see her much after the tour. We only walked around the perimeter
of the Palace, viewing each decorated gate that served for a different class.
Large orange columns held up the outside structure, and we could see the open
courtyard between the doors. At the rear of the building we saw the gardens,
stretched out across the way with interconnecting ponds and heaps of flora
wherever you looked. There was so much beauty in this place, it would have been
nice to just stay and observe it a little longer, but soon the tour ended and
we returned to the Kyoto streets.
From the Imperial Palace we took a bus to Ginkakuji The landscape and gardens were amazingly pretty but the building itself was... underwhelming. We didn't even know we passed it until we reached the end, and then it was like, wait... That's it? It was kind of hidden, and a less shiny silver than we expected, but it was still in good shape. The part that threw us off was the trail took up all the way up a mountain where we tossed some 1 yen coins and tried to get them into a bowl for good luck, and then all the way back down to a small building right before the path became lined with towering bushes (like they would be in a maze, only there was no getting lost here).
By now it was almost 5 o' clock so many touring locations were closing for the day. Since we were unable to visit anymore stops we returned to our hotel. We went wandering around the shopping area again, but this time we had a chance to talk to some of the workers. We had a long surprise conversations with a girl who worked at a bag store (I eventually bought my awesome backpack from her since I needed another bag for check-in). Then a few minutes later, when we were looking for a hat for Lynnette we had a conversation with a different guy... he was probably just trying to convince to buy the hat in the end but we didn't so it was kind of awkard. We also stopped in a store that was decked out in soccer swag- I searched for a jersey for my brother, but they didn't have any of Rinaldo's and I wasn't about to drop $70+ on a shirt he didn't want.
This was the day that we discovered milk tea, it should not be consumed in large quantities.
From the Imperial Palace we took a bus to Ginkakuji The landscape and gardens were amazingly pretty but the building itself was... underwhelming. We didn't even know we passed it until we reached the end, and then it was like, wait... That's it? It was kind of hidden, and a less shiny silver than we expected, but it was still in good shape. The part that threw us off was the trail took up all the way up a mountain where we tossed some 1 yen coins and tried to get them into a bowl for good luck, and then all the way back down to a small building right before the path became lined with towering bushes (like they would be in a maze, only there was no getting lost here).
By now it was almost 5 o' clock so many touring locations were closing for the day. Since we were unable to visit anymore stops we returned to our hotel. We went wandering around the shopping area again, but this time we had a chance to talk to some of the workers. We had a long surprise conversations with a girl who worked at a bag store (I eventually bought my awesome backpack from her since I needed another bag for check-in). Then a few minutes later, when we were looking for a hat for Lynnette we had a conversation with a different guy... he was probably just trying to convince to buy the hat in the end but we didn't so it was kind of awkard. We also stopped in a store that was decked out in soccer swag- I searched for a jersey for my brother, but they didn't have any of Rinaldo's and I wasn't about to drop $70+ on a shirt he didn't want.
This was the day that we discovered milk tea, it should not be consumed in large quantities.
Sunday, May 29, 2011
Day 13 - We Leave For Kyoto
Today was the day that we were going to leave
Toyohashi and go to Kyoto. It was a very strange feeling to be leaving my host
family, even though we had barely spent a week together, they made me feel
really comfortable and I think with more time we could have become better acquaintances.
As we left the platform with our families and headed for the shinkansen (bullet train)
platform. As we waited for the train a new government official of Toyohashi
came to see us off. Apparentely, he had studied in America for a year in
highschool so he new a little more English. We briefly talked: when I said that
my name was "Hara" (In Japanese) and he asked if I was related to Dr.
Hara which was clearly a joke. After that it was hard to hear what he was
saying as the train pulled in and took over the sound waves.
The train came and went and then we were in Kyoto. It was raining and by the time we made it to our hotel I think a lot of us were tired. I know the first thing I did was take a nap for a couple hours.
With a little daylight left we went exploring and found a shopping center down the road and across the bridge. As far as I was concerned I had finished most my shopping in Tokyo, so I wouldn't be buying much here. I bought pasta shrimp from Family Mart for dinnerand spent the rest of the evening watching TV and planning our week.
The train came and went and then we were in Kyoto. It was raining and by the time we made it to our hotel I think a lot of us were tired. I know the first thing I did was take a nap for a couple hours.
With a little daylight left we went exploring and found a shopping center down the road and across the bridge. As far as I was concerned I had finished most my shopping in Tokyo, so I wouldn't be buying much here. I bought pasta shrimp from Family Mart for dinnerand spent the rest of the evening watching TV and planning our week.
Saturday, May 28, 2011
Day 12 - Osu Kannon, Nagoya
THIS PLACE EXISTS!
I say this because I was unable to find the same place when I came back a week later... But that's a different story.
Since the day was Saturday we had the whole day to spend with our host families. Sakiko, my host sister, and I took a two-hour train from Toyohashi to the city of Nagoya. From there we took a subway to Osu Kannon; which, had a very large shopping area like an outdoor/indoor mall. We window-shopped mostly, I found a store that specialized specifically in Korean pop merchandise. At the moment they were loaded with Big Bang. We had lunch at a Chinese restaurant, which was pretty good as far as I can remember; then we returned to Nagoya and explored the bigger city.
The night before, when my host family asked me whats one of the things I want to get in Japan I said an electronic dictionary, not knowing that they would take my answer somewhat seriously. I think they tried to give me one of their older ones, but I wanted one with a writing pad. Its still embarrasing when I think about it. In any case, while we were in Nagoya we went to Big Camera and checked out its prices while waiting for my host mom. We eventually met her in the station; she bought us a tapioca drink, which I thought was going to be amazing but it turned out slimy, weird, and not as sweet as lets say... tapioca pudding. For a while afterward we went around looking for electronic dictionaries. After seeing the prices I did my best to change the subject and end my search. I did end up getting a KAT-TUN CD We had dinner on a restaurant on the 14th floor. My host mom ordered "Unagi No Hitsumbushi" for all of us, which was an eel dish on rice it was probably the best meal I had had yet. I might have ruined the experience a little by experimenting with the seasoning dishes that were provided. Oh well, next time.
I say this because I was unable to find the same place when I came back a week later... But that's a different story.
Since the day was Saturday we had the whole day to spend with our host families. Sakiko, my host sister, and I took a two-hour train from Toyohashi to the city of Nagoya. From there we took a subway to Osu Kannon; which, had a very large shopping area like an outdoor/indoor mall. We window-shopped mostly, I found a store that specialized specifically in Korean pop merchandise. At the moment they were loaded with Big Bang. We had lunch at a Chinese restaurant, which was pretty good as far as I can remember; then we returned to Nagoya and explored the bigger city.
The night before, when my host family asked me whats one of the things I want to get in Japan I said an electronic dictionary, not knowing that they would take my answer somewhat seriously. I think they tried to give me one of their older ones, but I wanted one with a writing pad. Its still embarrasing when I think about it. In any case, while we were in Nagoya we went to Big Camera and checked out its prices while waiting for my host mom. We eventually met her in the station; she bought us a tapioca drink, which I thought was going to be amazing but it turned out slimy, weird, and not as sweet as lets say... tapioca pudding. For a while afterward we went around looking for electronic dictionaries. After seeing the prices I did my best to change the subject and end my search. I did end up getting a KAT-TUN CD We had dinner on a restaurant on the 14th floor. My host mom ordered "Unagi No Hitsumbushi" for all of us, which was an eel dish on rice it was probably the best meal I had had yet. I might have ruined the experience a little by experimenting with the seasoning dishes that were provided. Oh well, next time.
Friday, May 27, 2011
Day 11 - Middle School, Brush Factory, Yoshida Castle and Art Museum, oh my!
It's Friday. Today we went to visit a middle
school. Our group was divided between two middle schools, so Lynette and I were
seperated this time around. Fortunately, however, Dr. Hara was part of our
group. After a very brief tour, we went to one of the English classes taught by
a former student of Dr. Hara's. We introduced ourselves and walked around the
room allowing students to ask us questions. One girl asked me if I liked
tennis, of course I said I did which made us both very happy. A few questions
later, one of the boys asked me what my favourite cheese was. Thats right
cheese. I don't know where he got that from either. My answer was pepperjack,
because for some reason I couldn't think of any other cheese. Though, I wish I
had since he had no idea what pepperjack was.
There were six of us and six rows of students. To start off we each stood in front of a row and that became our team. We played a game very similar to telephone, but using a sentence in English. I remember I was team number 5 and Bobby, who was next to me, was team 99. My team was very close to winning but of course the team with the teacher as their leader took first place. After that we got to play another game, one that I had not played before. How lucky that these students got to play games all day today. The next game was mutiny and involved cards with different activities on them. The goal was to get the most(or maybe least points) in your hand. At one point during the game, Dr. Hara one rock, paper, scissors against one of the female students. Instead of just taking a card, he looked at her hand and stuck out his tounge and laughed and choose not to take any. He probably won.
Before leaving the middle school we were offered lunch; they had already prepared us trays of food. A bun with a hamburger, a slice of cheese, a bowl of soup, milk, and a dessert. Since the hamburger was suspicious and possible had pork I traded it off for more cheese. The case was the same with the soup and dessert so I ended up with a cheese sandwich and milk for lunch. I'm not complaining it was actually pretty good. After lunch we left the school and met back with our whole group at the bus. From there we headed over to the brush factory.
The "factory" was on the second floor of this really tiny building. Amongst the three to four open rooms there was a variety of animal hairs, brushes (new and old), and caligraphy. We were given the opportunity to make our own brushes-either a traditional caligraphy brush or mini brushes that could be used as keycharms. I already had a caligraphy set so I decided to make two mini brushes, one for myself and another to give as a gift. I think I spent more time actually picking out the colors than actually making them.
After the brush factory we all got back on the bus and headed to Yoshida Castle. To be honest, the castle wasn't really much to see; it was only one standing building near the river with a small courtyard and the building was closed. It just so happened that down the parkway was Toyohashi's Art Museum. We explored the museum for a couple hours, which had its own collection of modern art and some historical artifacts.
That was the end of the group tour for that day.
Tonight when I returned to my host family's house, we quickly went over to their grandmother's they were preparing eggplants in the back of the store. When I first got there the man who I believed was their grandfather was cutting the eggplants on a stool. My host father asked if I wanted to help so I pulled up a chair and started my own cutting. I think together we probably cut up about 20 boxes of eggplants which they were going to use the next morning. I didn't mind the work; I actually enjoyed it. However, their work was far from being done for the night so they brought me back home where I spent the rest of the evening.
There were six of us and six rows of students. To start off we each stood in front of a row and that became our team. We played a game very similar to telephone, but using a sentence in English. I remember I was team number 5 and Bobby, who was next to me, was team 99. My team was very close to winning but of course the team with the teacher as their leader took first place. After that we got to play another game, one that I had not played before. How lucky that these students got to play games all day today. The next game was mutiny and involved cards with different activities on them. The goal was to get the most(or maybe least points) in your hand. At one point during the game, Dr. Hara one rock, paper, scissors against one of the female students. Instead of just taking a card, he looked at her hand and stuck out his tounge and laughed and choose not to take any. He probably won.
Before leaving the middle school we were offered lunch; they had already prepared us trays of food. A bun with a hamburger, a slice of cheese, a bowl of soup, milk, and a dessert. Since the hamburger was suspicious and possible had pork I traded it off for more cheese. The case was the same with the soup and dessert so I ended up with a cheese sandwich and milk for lunch. I'm not complaining it was actually pretty good. After lunch we left the school and met back with our whole group at the bus. From there we headed over to the brush factory.
The "factory" was on the second floor of this really tiny building. Amongst the three to four open rooms there was a variety of animal hairs, brushes (new and old), and caligraphy. We were given the opportunity to make our own brushes-either a traditional caligraphy brush or mini brushes that could be used as keycharms. I already had a caligraphy set so I decided to make two mini brushes, one for myself and another to give as a gift. I think I spent more time actually picking out the colors than actually making them.
After the brush factory we all got back on the bus and headed to Yoshida Castle. To be honest, the castle wasn't really much to see; it was only one standing building near the river with a small courtyard and the building was closed. It just so happened that down the parkway was Toyohashi's Art Museum. We explored the museum for a couple hours, which had its own collection of modern art and some historical artifacts.
That was the end of the group tour for that day.
Tonight when I returned to my host family's house, we quickly went over to their grandmother's they were preparing eggplants in the back of the store. When I first got there the man who I believed was their grandfather was cutting the eggplants on a stool. My host father asked if I wanted to help so I pulled up a chair and started my own cutting. I think together we probably cut up about 20 boxes of eggplants which they were going to use the next morning. I didn't mind the work; I actually enjoyed it. However, their work was far from being done for the night so they brought me back home where I spent the rest of the evening.
Thursday, May 26, 2011
Day 10 - Karaoke
I can't believe we only got to spend two days
with these people, they are so much fun, and I feel like if we had more time we
could really become friends.
Our group met with the Aichi students again today. My group and Lynnette's headed off shopping together. Like most larger stations, there was a shopping center connected to it. It's not like we wanted anything in particular, I mean we couldn't get clothes... we didn't really need them. But after thinking about it, I wanted a hat. Yes. A very cool hat.
We returned to the campus for lunch, yay for rice! Haha, just one bowl since I was still full from breakfast. I also managed to magically drop my mp3 so kpop started blaring next to this table full of guys >_> Great timing? Yup. Why did I have my mp3? Cause we were going to Karaoke and I needed to get comfortable and excited~ we listened to various songs as we walked there. It might have been best to listen to some Japanese, but that didn't really come to mind until I was looking at the song choices and thinking "I dont know any of these lyrics!!"
So I opted to embarass myself with American pop songs. For some reason Backstreet Boy's Everybody sounded like the perfect choice (though it wasn't pointed out till later how awkward that could have been). I'm not much of a singer anyway, but I had to do it for myself. Then I was SHOCKED. Lynnette can SING. Like LEGIT. And then the other girls had really nice voices... whilst we were supposed to be clapping and using the tamborines I would forget and stare at them in amazement, like 'wow, that's good.'
I proceeded to fail by attempting Big Bang's Gara Gara Go, cause it was in Japanese and I THOUGHT I knew the lyrics... but it came a lot faster than I was prepared for XD Then I was thought, 'okay, I should try a girl song' which led to the realization that I really do not know the lyrics to Paramore's Crush Crush Crush. Oh well. It was fun. I'm glad I put myself out there.
BUT! Before the awkward was over, there was one last thing I had to do.
Yesterday, I told Park (the korean exchange student in my group) that I knew the dance to SHINEE's Lucifer, and then on our way to the Karaoke place I told her that if she sung it, I would dance to it.
Well, guess who found the song? :P
Mind you, this was a fairly tiny room, with a table in the middle that took over have the space. Imagine trying to dance in a 2"x3" space. Oh yeah, I bumped into that table a couple times, dropped my hat... made a fine fool of myself. But man, was I glad I had that hat, cause it covered my face pretty well, haha.
After than insanity, high on life and pretty much uninhibited now that the worst was over, we all headed over to the park to set off some fireworks. Sparklers, zipping bees~ We had a great time :)
We returned to the campus again for the farewell Tea Party. Once again, my group supplied several amazing treats, goodies from the convenient stores such as black sugar. One of the girls made a cake, pinapple upside down cake I believe. I received a couple fine gifts too; a plush cat-head keycharm that is used for wiping screens, a letter and picture of Tanaka Koki with it >///> and a beautiful candy display set from a girl whose father works at a candy shop. Its squishy so I suspect there's gelatin.. I haven't eaten it yet, but its better to look at.
We made our final departures. The girls caught the train with me to my stop. We stopped in the music store for a bit, and then I headed home alone.
For dinner, I was surprised with a bike ride to Sakiko's grandparents' house. Good thing you can't really forget how to ride a bike, even though it was awkward (and dangerous) just booking it through streets without really stopping at the corners. Her grandparents' house was connected to a little storefront with baked goodies and treats. Her aunt made us stew, and it was really tasty, but we didn't stay for long. We returned to the apartment on our bikes, and then got a pack of donuts for breakfast from Mr. Donut.
I learned how to say something broke... kowareru （こわれる）which is a lot better than simply saying "my laptop died."
Our group met with the Aichi students again today. My group and Lynnette's headed off shopping together. Like most larger stations, there was a shopping center connected to it. It's not like we wanted anything in particular, I mean we couldn't get clothes... we didn't really need them. But after thinking about it, I wanted a hat. Yes. A very cool hat.
We returned to the campus for lunch, yay for rice! Haha, just one bowl since I was still full from breakfast. I also managed to magically drop my mp3 so kpop started blaring next to this table full of guys >_> Great timing? Yup. Why did I have my mp3? Cause we were going to Karaoke and I needed to get comfortable and excited~ we listened to various songs as we walked there. It might have been best to listen to some Japanese, but that didn't really come to mind until I was looking at the song choices and thinking "I dont know any of these lyrics!!"
So I opted to embarass myself with American pop songs. For some reason Backstreet Boy's Everybody sounded like the perfect choice (though it wasn't pointed out till later how awkward that could have been). I'm not much of a singer anyway, but I had to do it for myself. Then I was SHOCKED. Lynnette can SING. Like LEGIT. And then the other girls had really nice voices... whilst we were supposed to be clapping and using the tamborines I would forget and stare at them in amazement, like 'wow, that's good.'
I proceeded to fail by attempting Big Bang's Gara Gara Go, cause it was in Japanese and I THOUGHT I knew the lyrics... but it came a lot faster than I was prepared for XD Then I was thought, 'okay, I should try a girl song' which led to the realization that I really do not know the lyrics to Paramore's Crush Crush Crush. Oh well. It was fun. I'm glad I put myself out there.
BUT! Before the awkward was over, there was one last thing I had to do.
Yesterday, I told Park (the korean exchange student in my group) that I knew the dance to SHINEE's Lucifer, and then on our way to the Karaoke place I told her that if she sung it, I would dance to it.
Well, guess who found the song? :P
Mind you, this was a fairly tiny room, with a table in the middle that took over have the space. Imagine trying to dance in a 2"x3" space. Oh yeah, I bumped into that table a couple times, dropped my hat... made a fine fool of myself. But man, was I glad I had that hat, cause it covered my face pretty well, haha.
After than insanity, high on life and pretty much uninhibited now that the worst was over, we all headed over to the park to set off some fireworks. Sparklers, zipping bees~ We had a great time :)
We returned to the campus again for the farewell Tea Party. Once again, my group supplied several amazing treats, goodies from the convenient stores such as black sugar. One of the girls made a cake, pinapple upside down cake I believe. I received a couple fine gifts too; a plush cat-head keycharm that is used for wiping screens, a letter and picture of Tanaka Koki with it >///> and a beautiful candy display set from a girl whose father works at a candy shop. Its squishy so I suspect there's gelatin.. I haven't eaten it yet, but its better to look at.
We made our final departures. The girls caught the train with me to my stop. We stopped in the music store for a bit, and then I headed home alone.
For dinner, I was surprised with a bike ride to Sakiko's grandparents' house. Good thing you can't really forget how to ride a bike, even though it was awkward (and dangerous) just booking it through streets without really stopping at the corners. Her grandparents' house was connected to a little storefront with baked goodies and treats. Her aunt made us stew, and it was really tasty, but we didn't stay for long. We returned to the apartment on our bikes, and then got a pack of donuts for breakfast from Mr. Donut.
I learned how to say something broke... kowareru （こわれる）which is a lot better than simply saying "my laptop died."
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Day 09 - Aichi University, Never Go Hungry
This morning, I woke up to another amazing
breakfast. I don't know if it was because I was their guest, or if this was a
regular thing, but there was yogurt and an omlette, and juice, and a tiny salad
and even little fresh made buns. As usual, I was full very quickly, but I had
to clean my plate. I wonder if that made me seem hungry... since... I don't
know. In any case, today my host mom and I left together. We went down to the
back of the building where the parking garage is. Unlike our parking garages in
America, this one was tailored to the occupants of the apartment. Each car had
their own space, but! It was set up more like a car elevator. One would simply
park their car, close the door, and it gets raised or lowered to its storing
location. Really cool!
Anywho, she drove me to Aichi University, our meeting palce for the day. Our group assembled, brought by one family member or another, and then headed off to meet the Aichi students. We all received a packet with our group members names, so we had all of five seconds to search the room and try to spot them before we introduced ourself in front of the group. After which we quickly were separated into groups for some small talk while our supervisors prepared an activity for us. Seeing that one of my group members was actually an exchange student from South Korea, I couldnt help but bring up Kpop :D It was a pretty good ice breaker~
Our activity was to put together a craft! Following the craft, we had free time with our groups, so we started with lunch. Initially there was only three members of my group (of 8) that showed up, then all of a sudden everyone was there! With lunch! Bentos! For me!? (oAo) Shock. Each of them made a little dish, so I had all kinds of food from friend chicken, to sushi, to veggie things. And it was all delicious. Now I was double full, but incredibly grateful. A few of the members then went to class, while the others took me around campus. We went to the English club first; they had LIFE (the board game) but they had never played it because they didn't know how. So we spent a good hour or so playing that, with my translation attempts slowly guiding the process.
After playing LIFE, my group changed again~ We went to Holiday Park which has a movie theater, arcade, and mall. At first we went into the arcade area and did PuriKura in the fancy photobooths. I was not used to it so in half the pictures... well, see for yourself:
When you're done with the pictures you have the chance to decorate them and add effects outside the booth. Again, it takes a bit to get used to. :P
On the second floor of this fine establishment there was a bowling alley! It was probably the best I have ever bowled (not on the Wii), and I had the chance to share some beginners knowledge with my two group members. The only reason I had any idea is because my parents used to bowl ALOT. We only played one game because we were running out of time. We hurried back to campus where the welcoming party was being held. A party with more food. My goodness. I think there was cheesecake, it was delicious. <3
My host sister, Sakiko, came to walk me back to the apartment. Before I left, I breifly met one of the other host parents (Victor's?); somehow we got on topic about Chinese, which was when I realized, "hey! I know what you're saying, but I can't elaborate on my reply, so...fail". She was really nice though and we had a good conversation.
Holiday Park turns out to have the Steakhouse we ate at on Monday. The waiter looked a lot like Tanaka Koki. I was happy. The end.
Anywho, she drove me to Aichi University, our meeting palce for the day. Our group assembled, brought by one family member or another, and then headed off to meet the Aichi students. We all received a packet with our group members names, so we had all of five seconds to search the room and try to spot them before we introduced ourself in front of the group. After which we quickly were separated into groups for some small talk while our supervisors prepared an activity for us. Seeing that one of my group members was actually an exchange student from South Korea, I couldnt help but bring up Kpop :D It was a pretty good ice breaker~
Our activity was to put together a craft! Following the craft, we had free time with our groups, so we started with lunch. Initially there was only three members of my group (of 8) that showed up, then all of a sudden everyone was there! With lunch! Bentos! For me!? (oAo) Shock. Each of them made a little dish, so I had all kinds of food from friend chicken, to sushi, to veggie things. And it was all delicious. Now I was double full, but incredibly grateful. A few of the members then went to class, while the others took me around campus. We went to the English club first; they had LIFE (the board game) but they had never played it because they didn't know how. So we spent a good hour or so playing that, with my translation attempts slowly guiding the process.
After playing LIFE, my group changed again~ We went to Holiday Park which has a movie theater, arcade, and mall. At first we went into the arcade area and did PuriKura in the fancy photobooths. I was not used to it so in half the pictures... well, see for yourself:
When you're done with the pictures you have the chance to decorate them and add effects outside the booth. Again, it takes a bit to get used to. :P
On the second floor of this fine establishment there was a bowling alley! It was probably the best I have ever bowled (not on the Wii), and I had the chance to share some beginners knowledge with my two group members. The only reason I had any idea is because my parents used to bowl ALOT. We only played one game because we were running out of time. We hurried back to campus where the welcoming party was being held. A party with more food. My goodness. I think there was cheesecake, it was delicious. <3
My host sister, Sakiko, came to walk me back to the apartment. Before I left, I breifly met one of the other host parents (Victor's?); somehow we got on topic about Chinese, which was when I realized, "hey! I know what you're saying, but I can't elaborate on my reply, so...fail". She was really nice though and we had a good conversation.
Holiday Park turns out to have the Steakhouse we ate at on Monday. The waiter looked a lot like Tanaka Koki. I was happy. The end.
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Day 08 - Dinosaurs! A History Lesson
Today, Tuesday, we went to a reconstruction of
the Tokaido Pass. The area was planted right in the middle of what appeared to
be a normal neighborhood, but it was the same location that it existed in
history. The first part of the tour was in a more modern building, much like a
museum, probably because it was one, with artifacts from the time and miniature
displays. While looking at all the history before me I couldn't help but think
about my manga series, Kurokenshin, since it does take place in historical
Japan at some points. If only I had done more research, it would be more legit,
but its too late to dwell on that now.
The second area of the Pass was in a preserved house where upperclass travelers would stay. We took off our shoes to wander the endless rooms laid with tatami mats and surrounded on all sides with sliding panels. (Genius really, sliding walls/doors = infinite room possibilites!) This was also the place where we had the opportunity to put on kimonos. The ladies there helped us put them on [over our clothes] and then we all lined up for pictures. Some of the guys had the fake 'samurai head' pieces, and swords, so it was an all around interesting experience.
After stepping into Japanese history, we took a few more steps back into PRE-history. That's right, we went to Toyohashi's Natural History Museum. They had DINOSAURS!! 8D
But before we could walk around the exhibits, there was a video/movie on dinosaurs that our group went to watch. Now, I was pretty psyched, I mean I love watching shows on Dinosaurs, Jurassic Park, Jurassic Fight Club, all that fun stuff, so I was like "Ooh, dino documentary?" But no. It wasn't even Jurassic Park... it was Dinotopia, but not ALL of Dinotopia. Just bits and pieces of the movie, which I think is about 2-3hours? Condensed into a 30 minute visual experience that confused the heck outta everyone. It was dubbed in Japanese, so those in our group who hadn't seen the movie were confused, and even Dr. Hara said it was a strange movie. I can't believe I was the only one who had seen it before! So I had to explain that it was actually a lot longer, and more detailed...
Then we saw the dinosaurs! Yay for fossils! We had a tour guide who spoke mostly in Japanese, and we also had our translator guy along for the ride, but I was pretty much englufed with my eyes. It was my first time seeing real fossils in person; it was even my first time at a natural history museum, so I was stoked. The exhibits were impressive, from start to finish. I would like to go there again :)
The Natural History Museum was actually part of/connected to the Toyohashi zoo! But we didn't get a chance to see any animals because once we were done with the museum it was lunch, and then we had to leave soon after to visit a commercial highschool. Lunch was pretty good though, and we stopped in the gift shop; I bought a box of treats to share with my host family.
Finally~ We got to visit the highschool, where we had the chance to try Kyuudo (Japanese Archery). The club members gave us a quick display of their skills (I want to say they were 2nd in the region? but of course I don't think I caught the right name, so it doesnt matter~). Then came the awkward moment when they asked us if we wanted to try, and we did, but no one wanted to go first, so we all kinda glanced at each other awkwardly until one of our guys finally stepped. After him, we all tok turns. Dr. Hara promised a beer (or something) if we managed to hit the target. The one trick to Kyuudo, is that you have to set it up and hold it for 8 seconds, which can be difficult. I think there were four of us who managed to hit the target, some by luck, some by magic. It took my 4 tries just to catch the target, which either bounced of the ground, or clipped the edge, I cant recall.... so I won my free non-beer, along with Tim, Lynnette and Victor.
Before leaving, we watched the Kendo club finish their meeting. I saw tennis courts! But... we didn't have time for that, haha, so no tennis today.
That night we were watching TV and a famous magician (Zero??) was doing a program in China. I remember this because a)the tricks were amazing and b) the next day my host mom bought a pack of trick cards. The first attempt didn't quite work, but it did the second time around. I was so impressed that she learned a trick so quickly! Then she showed us the trick to it. Still, thank you, host mom :)
The second area of the Pass was in a preserved house where upperclass travelers would stay. We took off our shoes to wander the endless rooms laid with tatami mats and surrounded on all sides with sliding panels. (Genius really, sliding walls/doors = infinite room possibilites!) This was also the place where we had the opportunity to put on kimonos. The ladies there helped us put them on [over our clothes] and then we all lined up for pictures. Some of the guys had the fake 'samurai head' pieces, and swords, so it was an all around interesting experience.
After stepping into Japanese history, we took a few more steps back into PRE-history. That's right, we went to Toyohashi's Natural History Museum. They had DINOSAURS!! 8D
But before we could walk around the exhibits, there was a video/movie on dinosaurs that our group went to watch. Now, I was pretty psyched, I mean I love watching shows on Dinosaurs, Jurassic Park, Jurassic Fight Club, all that fun stuff, so I was like "Ooh, dino documentary?" But no. It wasn't even Jurassic Park... it was Dinotopia, but not ALL of Dinotopia. Just bits and pieces of the movie, which I think is about 2-3hours? Condensed into a 30 minute visual experience that confused the heck outta everyone. It was dubbed in Japanese, so those in our group who hadn't seen the movie were confused, and even Dr. Hara said it was a strange movie. I can't believe I was the only one who had seen it before! So I had to explain that it was actually a lot longer, and more detailed...
Then we saw the dinosaurs! Yay for fossils! We had a tour guide who spoke mostly in Japanese, and we also had our translator guy along for the ride, but I was pretty much englufed with my eyes. It was my first time seeing real fossils in person; it was even my first time at a natural history museum, so I was stoked. The exhibits were impressive, from start to finish. I would like to go there again :)
The Natural History Museum was actually part of/connected to the Toyohashi zoo! But we didn't get a chance to see any animals because once we were done with the museum it was lunch, and then we had to leave soon after to visit a commercial highschool. Lunch was pretty good though, and we stopped in the gift shop; I bought a box of treats to share with my host family.
Finally~ We got to visit the highschool, where we had the chance to try Kyuudo (Japanese Archery). The club members gave us a quick display of their skills (I want to say they were 2nd in the region? but of course I don't think I caught the right name, so it doesnt matter~). Then came the awkward moment when they asked us if we wanted to try, and we did, but no one wanted to go first, so we all kinda glanced at each other awkwardly until one of our guys finally stepped. After him, we all tok turns. Dr. Hara promised a beer (or something) if we managed to hit the target. The one trick to Kyuudo, is that you have to set it up and hold it for 8 seconds, which can be difficult. I think there were four of us who managed to hit the target, some by luck, some by magic. It took my 4 tries just to catch the target, which either bounced of the ground, or clipped the edge, I cant recall.... so I won my free non-beer, along with Tim, Lynnette and Victor.
Before leaving, we watched the Kendo club finish their meeting. I saw tennis courts! But... we didn't have time for that, haha, so no tennis today.
That night we were watching TV and a famous magician (Zero??) was doing a program in China. I remember this because a)the tricks were amazing and b) the next day my host mom bought a pack of trick cards. The first attempt didn't quite work, but it did the second time around. I was so impressed that she learned a trick so quickly! Then she showed us the trick to it. Still, thank you, host mom :)
Monday, May 23, 2011
Day 07 - Tradition
On this fine Monday we headed out to a place
that was overflowing with traditional Japanese arts. The building was
historical, and well-maintained, with tatami and wooden floors. The surrounding
gardens were also beautiful to see. I don't recall needing to go to the
bathroom here but I do remember that they were also traditional style- holes in
the ground :P
In this place, there were three sort of lessons going on. I say lessons because they taught us how to perform them, but it was very brief. Our group split into two at first, about six and six at first to start flower arrangement or the tea ceremony. For those of us who went to the tea ceremony first, I hope I can recall some of that awkwardness. Somehow I ended up sitting in the first spot, so I stumbled semi-gracefully through the process. I do appreciate our translator-dude that tagged along, but I was more confused from listening to the ladies instructions with a follow-up dub in English. Basically every move was questionable, and awkward, but hey, it was pretty darn good tea and the sweet that came with it was also delicious. I really should figure out what those are called... *googles* Scratch that, I will ask someone later.
While we were doing the tea ceremony there were a couple of musicians playing traditional instruments: shakuhachi, koto and shamisen. Dr. Hara challenged us all to try; in the past, he said, only a few students were able to create a sound with the shakuhachi, a kind of flute like instrument where you have to blow at the right angle to find the sound. My memory is fuzzy, but I want to say Tim, Matt?, Lynnette and I were the four that managed to squeeze it out. I also briefly tried the koto, which was actually kind of fun. The lady taught me about 4 notes at a time, but when we got past 12? I was mentally shot.
Our groups finally switched around after a while and I had the chance to try my hand at flower arranging. I remembered from a show that I saw before (I want to say it was Cyberchase) that a triangle was the key. I did my best to get a triangle; I ended up with an odd stepping tower and a looonng outstretching piece for a skewed triangle. The lady who was there to help us helped me shorten things up a bit. I think Dr. Hara took a picture...
After our afternoon of fun we headed out. This isn't noted in my journal, but this must have been the day we went to the "steak house". Pretty much everything on the menu was some form of hamburger, only not served on a bun. I think that I order chicken something, or something that wasn't a fancy hamburger cause it might have had pork mixed in with it :/ Lynnette got a cheeseburger that we dubbed "chee-suvius". It was filled with cheese on the inside that ran out like lava!!
Oh-! Before I forget, we also went to the Mikawa Port and got a fun plastic folder from them! :) There was tons of cars that went through there, and even a small car museum on the first floor. There was a little track that consisted of one deep valley and a pit afterward. The goal was to push the car enough so it lands on the other-top side of the valley, without going too far into the pit. My first car didn't make it very well and it veered off and crashed. Of course, Dr. Hara laughed and said he's never riding with me. But then, with a different car, I made a comeback and executed the land/stop perfectly... when no one was watching.
This day was also the day that we met the Mayor of Toyohashi. 'Met' maybe isn't the right word, since we all just say in the same room with him as he welcomed us and exchanged gifts with Dr. Hara. We did briefly go around the room and introduce ourselves though. At the end, we also took a group picture which would appear in the paper. For some reason, it always seems like group pictures are kind of awkward, especially when you stand there for a while wondering if the dozen or so cameras are going to stop anytime soon.
With another long day over it was time to return to our host family. As I mentioned they have two cats! Yu-chan and Mi-chan, they called them. Yu-chan is a very energetic orange cat, who I tried to befriend but he kept running around. Mi-chan was an Egyptian Mao, tiger-like chat, female and slightly older. She was definitely the calmer one. The Shiba Inu (whose name escapes me!) is super cute... I kinda want one >_<!
For dinner we ate sukiyaki, which. was. DELICIOUS! For those who aren't aware, sukiyaki pretty much mean what you like to eat [/fry]. There was a large wooden pot with a variety of vegetables and beef. In an individual bowl you can crack and egg to dig the aforementioned goodies into, and then eat it over a bowl of rice. So good. So very good.
In this place, there were three sort of lessons going on. I say lessons because they taught us how to perform them, but it was very brief. Our group split into two at first, about six and six at first to start flower arrangement or the tea ceremony. For those of us who went to the tea ceremony first, I hope I can recall some of that awkwardness. Somehow I ended up sitting in the first spot, so I stumbled semi-gracefully through the process. I do appreciate our translator-dude that tagged along, but I was more confused from listening to the ladies instructions with a follow-up dub in English. Basically every move was questionable, and awkward, but hey, it was pretty darn good tea and the sweet that came with it was also delicious. I really should figure out what those are called... *googles* Scratch that, I will ask someone later.
While we were doing the tea ceremony there were a couple of musicians playing traditional instruments: shakuhachi, koto and shamisen. Dr. Hara challenged us all to try; in the past, he said, only a few students were able to create a sound with the shakuhachi, a kind of flute like instrument where you have to blow at the right angle to find the sound. My memory is fuzzy, but I want to say Tim, Matt?, Lynnette and I were the four that managed to squeeze it out. I also briefly tried the koto, which was actually kind of fun. The lady taught me about 4 notes at a time, but when we got past 12? I was mentally shot.
Our groups finally switched around after a while and I had the chance to try my hand at flower arranging. I remembered from a show that I saw before (I want to say it was Cyberchase) that a triangle was the key. I did my best to get a triangle; I ended up with an odd stepping tower and a looonng outstretching piece for a skewed triangle. The lady who was there to help us helped me shorten things up a bit. I think Dr. Hara took a picture...
After our afternoon of fun we headed out. This isn't noted in my journal, but this must have been the day we went to the "steak house". Pretty much everything on the menu was some form of hamburger, only not served on a bun. I think that I order chicken something, or something that wasn't a fancy hamburger cause it might have had pork mixed in with it :/ Lynnette got a cheeseburger that we dubbed "chee-suvius". It was filled with cheese on the inside that ran out like lava!!
Oh-! Before I forget, we also went to the Mikawa Port and got a fun plastic folder from them! :) There was tons of cars that went through there, and even a small car museum on the first floor. There was a little track that consisted of one deep valley and a pit afterward. The goal was to push the car enough so it lands on the other-top side of the valley, without going too far into the pit. My first car didn't make it very well and it veered off and crashed. Of course, Dr. Hara laughed and said he's never riding with me. But then, with a different car, I made a comeback and executed the land/stop perfectly... when no one was watching.
This day was also the day that we met the Mayor of Toyohashi. 'Met' maybe isn't the right word, since we all just say in the same room with him as he welcomed us and exchanged gifts with Dr. Hara. We did briefly go around the room and introduce ourselves though. At the end, we also took a group picture which would appear in the paper. For some reason, it always seems like group pictures are kind of awkward, especially when you stand there for a while wondering if the dozen or so cameras are going to stop anytime soon.
With another long day over it was time to return to our host family. As I mentioned they have two cats! Yu-chan and Mi-chan, they called them. Yu-chan is a very energetic orange cat, who I tried to befriend but he kept running around. Mi-chan was an Egyptian Mao, tiger-like chat, female and slightly older. She was definitely the calmer one. The Shiba Inu (whose name escapes me!) is super cute... I kinda want one >_<!
For dinner we ate sukiyaki, which. was. DELICIOUS! For those who aren't aware, sukiyaki pretty much mean what you like to eat [/fry]. There was a large wooden pot with a variety of vegetables and beef. In an individual bowl you can crack and egg to dig the aforementioned goodies into, and then eat it over a bowl of rice. So good. So very good.
Sunday, May 22, 2011
Day 06 - Off to Toyohashi
Today, we all got up early... well, not so
much earlier than usual, but about 7 a.m. to pack up and catch the train to
Toyohashi. We went by shinkansen (bullet train) for what must have been
a couple hours, though it felt like only one. The scenery was so calming, just
trees, mountains, and countryside. Again, I couldn't help but relate those
densely forested trees to the opening scenes of Jurassic Park.
Once we arrived in Toyohashi, we met with one of the city's delegates (?) and he took us to their building where we would later meet our host family. First, however, we were put on a bus with a group of highschool students and sent off on a field trip. There was no prior introductions, no ice breakers provided. At first, I sat next to this young girl, wondering what we could possibly have in common. I can't recall the first question I asked, but somehow anime came up and she said that she liked it. I guess anime can/does make the world go around :P We also talked briefly about music; I was still on my KAT-TUN kick at the time, so of course I had to bring them up. I think we hit it off well, and before we got off the bus we took a picture on her phone.
Our first stop was a shrine, one that's been around for several hundred years it seemed. The shrine area was covered in fox statues with red scarves, gifts from those whose wishes came true. Nana (my highschool partner) asked if it was interesting to me; I said it was because it is different from what I usually see. When I asked her the same question, she said 'not really'. I can't blame her though. At her age, I was a very strange child with little interest outside of my own daily life- I wouldn't have appreciated it either.
After the shrine, we stopped at a garden, walked around it a bit and took a group picture. Soon we would be meeting our host families. I was excited, and very nervous; I knew nothing about my family prior to meeting them. Once we returned to the meeting place, I could see people gathering. Some of the highschool students stayed, and some of the people I recognized from my university, but there were more that I did not know. Families. And one of them was mine.
We changed into our nicer clothes and waited in a side room. Our professor came in and told us the drill: walk in, he will do the introduction speech and then we will each introduce ourselves down the line. Introductions was something we covered in our first year class, so I knew what I had to say, what I was going to say. Hajimemashite, bow, name-univeristy-class-major, douzo yoroshiku, bow. I knew it and I ran it over and over in my head while awkwardly looking over the crowd before me. Dr. Hara gave the first student the microphone. I followed his words. Then the second student- I was third. I nodded when she completed her introduction successfully and reached out to take the mic.
I stepped up and lifted up the mic, surprised to hear my own voice in the extremely quiet room. I talked, and then all of a sudden, halfway through I stopped- I forgot to bow!!! O_O My eyes went to Dr. Hara, knowing that he caught it; maybe it wasn't necessary, but I hurriedly said I made a mistake [in Japanese- thank God I learned that word, though 'sorry' sumimasen would have worked just as well], started over and rushed through the rest of my intro. I couldn't do anything else except listen to everyone else's introductions. Still... I wondered who in that group was my family. After the introductions, we finally met.
The Yamamotos were going to host me. Their daughter Sakiko, who was about my age, and the father was there to greet me. Once we got past the reintroductions, they told me that they lived about 5 minutes away by foot. Coincidentally they also had two cats and a dog, just like my family- I immediately felt that this was the perfect fit. We walked to their mansion (apartment), and my hosting experience began. The first thing my host father offered me was a seat in his massage chair- oh, yes, it was fancy, and well deserved. I didn't sit too long though, since I didn't want to impose that much. The mother came home soon, and I took that opportunity to give them their host gift. [Thinking back on it, maybe a smaller or edible gift would have been better, but I hope that they enjoy/ed the dessert dishes].
We all got comfortable and watched some TV together as we talked. My host sister let me browse with the remote and I saw a Downtown program on, so I immediately went to it. Lo and behold, Tanaka Kouki was on the program that night! Talk about luck. It turned out to be an awesome day :)
Once we arrived in Toyohashi, we met with one of the city's delegates (?) and he took us to their building where we would later meet our host family. First, however, we were put on a bus with a group of highschool students and sent off on a field trip. There was no prior introductions, no ice breakers provided. At first, I sat next to this young girl, wondering what we could possibly have in common. I can't recall the first question I asked, but somehow anime came up and she said that she liked it. I guess anime can/does make the world go around :P We also talked briefly about music; I was still on my KAT-TUN kick at the time, so of course I had to bring them up. I think we hit it off well, and before we got off the bus we took a picture on her phone.
Our first stop was a shrine, one that's been around for several hundred years it seemed. The shrine area was covered in fox statues with red scarves, gifts from those whose wishes came true. Nana (my highschool partner) asked if it was interesting to me; I said it was because it is different from what I usually see. When I asked her the same question, she said 'not really'. I can't blame her though. At her age, I was a very strange child with little interest outside of my own daily life- I wouldn't have appreciated it either.
After the shrine, we stopped at a garden, walked around it a bit and took a group picture. Soon we would be meeting our host families. I was excited, and very nervous; I knew nothing about my family prior to meeting them. Once we returned to the meeting place, I could see people gathering. Some of the highschool students stayed, and some of the people I recognized from my university, but there were more that I did not know. Families. And one of them was mine.
We changed into our nicer clothes and waited in a side room. Our professor came in and told us the drill: walk in, he will do the introduction speech and then we will each introduce ourselves down the line. Introductions was something we covered in our first year class, so I knew what I had to say, what I was going to say. Hajimemashite, bow, name-univeristy-class-major, douzo yoroshiku, bow. I knew it and I ran it over and over in my head while awkwardly looking over the crowd before me. Dr. Hara gave the first student the microphone. I followed his words. Then the second student- I was third. I nodded when she completed her introduction successfully and reached out to take the mic.
I stepped up and lifted up the mic, surprised to hear my own voice in the extremely quiet room. I talked, and then all of a sudden, halfway through I stopped- I forgot to bow!!! O_O My eyes went to Dr. Hara, knowing that he caught it; maybe it wasn't necessary, but I hurriedly said I made a mistake [in Japanese- thank God I learned that word, though 'sorry' sumimasen would have worked just as well], started over and rushed through the rest of my intro. I couldn't do anything else except listen to everyone else's introductions. Still... I wondered who in that group was my family. After the introductions, we finally met.
The Yamamotos were going to host me. Their daughter Sakiko, who was about my age, and the father was there to greet me. Once we got past the reintroductions, they told me that they lived about 5 minutes away by foot. Coincidentally they also had two cats and a dog, just like my family- I immediately felt that this was the perfect fit. We walked to their mansion (apartment), and my hosting experience began. The first thing my host father offered me was a seat in his massage chair- oh, yes, it was fancy, and well deserved. I didn't sit too long though, since I didn't want to impose that much. The mother came home soon, and I took that opportunity to give them their host gift. [Thinking back on it, maybe a smaller or edible gift would have been better, but I hope that they enjoy/ed the dessert dishes].
We all got comfortable and watched some TV together as we talked. My host sister let me browse with the remote and I saw a Downtown program on, so I immediately went to it. Lo and behold, Tanaka Kouki was on the program that night! Talk about luck. It turned out to be an awesome day :)
Saturday, May 21, 2011
Day 05 - Free day!!
Free day!!! All day to do and go where we want
:3
Lynnette and I returned to Harajuku, first to do a little shopping (she got some earrings) and then back to the Meiji Shrine to check out the garden. When we arrived at the shrine there was an event going on in the front courtyard, it was a fundraiser, complete with taiko players. They were still setting up so we went to the garden first. The trails were sneakily dangerous with their half-buried logs and gravel, didn't fall though! So again it was a good day. In the nearby river/pond there was a HUGE swarm of Koi! (and a couple turtles) but mostly the Koi were gathered near the viewing dock. We left in time to catch part of the taiko performance, and figure out where we were going next. Lynnette wanted to get a picture in front of Hachiko (Shibuya) because she hadn't done so when we were there before, but I also wanted to go to Chiba, just to see a different part of "Tokyo". We asked the policeman in the police box if the JR would go out to Chiba, and he eagerly gave us directions to the station (which we knew) but the important part was that we could take the JR to Chiba :)
Right after speaking with the officer this bum comes out of nowhere: he was a scrawny little man with a shopping bag- typical right? Well I was feeling generous so I have him my "change" which... in yen was a few bucks :P Funny thing was, within the next hour, once we were in Shibuya two things happened: we went out the south exit, instead of the west exit were Hachiko is, and had to go under a street-bridge lined with cardboard houses - Bum Alley. We didn't see any while going through the alley-area but as soon as we took our picture another bum appears asking for money/food. Apparently it only takes two occurrences for me to be over something- and I had already given my "change" away so I had nothing to give. Well, la dee da with that, and off we go to Chiba!
The train out to Chiba gradually became more and more empty, and we started getting looks from the passengers like "are they lost? we don't usually have foreigners out here". It took about an hour to get into the heart of Chiba, and it was a long, quiet ride (though we stood for all of it). Just as the train clears enough we take seats, waiting for two more stops to reach the end of the line-- then the train starts going backward! O_O So at the next stop (Higashi-Funabashi) we disembarked. Figuring this stop may be as good as the next, we headed out to search for lunch. Going counter-clockwise out of the station we passed through the residential area where there was barely any people! Not until we returned to the station side did we start to see students returning home. On the opposite side of the station was an empty udon cafe: I ordered a bowl of udon [with tempura batter drops in it] and Lynnette chose curry-rice (because of gluten allergy). It was delicious! but sadly I couldn't finish my bowl T__T so much udon broth...
It was still early in the afternoon so we went to "Chiba-Chiba" after all. There was definitely a lot more people, but not a lot to see without a direction. We found a small resale kimono shop and decided to check it out... at the entrance there was a step area which I presumed was where we were supposed to take off our shoes. So we're standing there awkwardly, I'm trying to remember the verb for remove [shoes], and the shop lady comes to us. Before I can remember the verb, she stops my Japanese mid-sentence to ask if I speak English *fail*. Apparently, we didn't have to remove our shoes, which is should have realized because (take note!) there were no shoes/slippers at the entrance AND there was a delivery guy inside the store... still wearing his.
I guess you could say "window shopping" isn't that popular in Japan; from what I have observed, you don't usually enter a store without at least some intention to buy something... or maybe we were just unlucky enough to land in the awkward conversation of "What are you looking for? We don't have any in your size." "Uh... my friend sells kimonos back in the state, so maybe something for her...?" "What size is she?" "um, about this-" *gestures with hands and realizes this is going nowhere good. overhears they are closing at 5* "Well, since you're closing in five minutes we won't bother you." *leaves in embarrassment* Awkward. Yeah. But understandable.
As it was about 5, we returned to Tokyo about 6:30 and had dinner at the Hotel Cafe (expensive in comparison to convenient store food but...) it was good nonetheless. It was also laundry night so the whole group had a chance to hang out together again for our last night in Tokyo.
Lynnette and I returned to Harajuku, first to do a little shopping (she got some earrings) and then back to the Meiji Shrine to check out the garden. When we arrived at the shrine there was an event going on in the front courtyard, it was a fundraiser, complete with taiko players. They were still setting up so we went to the garden first. The trails were sneakily dangerous with their half-buried logs and gravel, didn't fall though! So again it was a good day. In the nearby river/pond there was a HUGE swarm of Koi! (and a couple turtles) but mostly the Koi were gathered near the viewing dock. We left in time to catch part of the taiko performance, and figure out where we were going next. Lynnette wanted to get a picture in front of Hachiko (Shibuya) because she hadn't done so when we were there before, but I also wanted to go to Chiba, just to see a different part of "Tokyo". We asked the policeman in the police box if the JR would go out to Chiba, and he eagerly gave us directions to the station (which we knew) but the important part was that we could take the JR to Chiba :)
Right after speaking with the officer this bum comes out of nowhere: he was a scrawny little man with a shopping bag- typical right? Well I was feeling generous so I have him my "change" which... in yen was a few bucks :P Funny thing was, within the next hour, once we were in Shibuya two things happened: we went out the south exit, instead of the west exit were Hachiko is, and had to go under a street-bridge lined with cardboard houses - Bum Alley. We didn't see any while going through the alley-area but as soon as we took our picture another bum appears asking for money/food. Apparently it only takes two occurrences for me to be over something- and I had already given my "change" away so I had nothing to give. Well, la dee da with that, and off we go to Chiba!
The train out to Chiba gradually became more and more empty, and we started getting looks from the passengers like "are they lost? we don't usually have foreigners out here". It took about an hour to get into the heart of Chiba, and it was a long, quiet ride (though we stood for all of it). Just as the train clears enough we take seats, waiting for two more stops to reach the end of the line-- then the train starts going backward! O_O So at the next stop (Higashi-Funabashi) we disembarked. Figuring this stop may be as good as the next, we headed out to search for lunch. Going counter-clockwise out of the station we passed through the residential area where there was barely any people! Not until we returned to the station side did we start to see students returning home. On the opposite side of the station was an empty udon cafe: I ordered a bowl of udon [with tempura batter drops in it] and Lynnette chose curry-rice (because of gluten allergy). It was delicious! but sadly I couldn't finish my bowl T__T so much udon broth...
It was still early in the afternoon so we went to "Chiba-Chiba" after all. There was definitely a lot more people, but not a lot to see without a direction. We found a small resale kimono shop and decided to check it out... at the entrance there was a step area which I presumed was where we were supposed to take off our shoes. So we're standing there awkwardly, I'm trying to remember the verb for remove [shoes], and the shop lady comes to us. Before I can remember the verb, she stops my Japanese mid-sentence to ask if I speak English *fail*. Apparently, we didn't have to remove our shoes, which is should have realized because (take note!) there were no shoes/slippers at the entrance AND there was a delivery guy inside the store... still wearing his.
I guess you could say "window shopping" isn't that popular in Japan; from what I have observed, you don't usually enter a store without at least some intention to buy something... or maybe we were just unlucky enough to land in the awkward conversation of "What are you looking for? We don't have any in your size." "Uh... my friend sells kimonos back in the state, so maybe something for her...?" "What size is she?" "um, about this-" *gestures with hands and realizes this is going nowhere good. overhears they are closing at 5* "Well, since you're closing in five minutes we won't bother you." *leaves in embarrassment* Awkward. Yeah. But understandable.
As it was about 5, we returned to Tokyo about 6:30 and had dinner at the Hotel Cafe (expensive in comparison to convenient store food but...) it was good nonetheless. It was also laundry night so the whole group had a chance to hang out together again for our last night in Tokyo.
Friday, May 20, 2011
Day 04 - Asakusa and Akihabara
Today, our trip started with a combination of
2 trains and a subway trip to Asakusa. (it wasn't until much later that we
realized we could have taken the yellow JR-Line and got there without paying
for a subway ticket. Lesson learned.) Asakusa was the site of a HUGE
buddhist temple. After taking a group picture in front of the entrance we
entered into the Nakamise, various souvenir shops which lined the path to the
temple on both sides. I hadn't intended on buying stuff there, however, it was
one of our last days in Tokyo, and there was a few things that seemed perfect
for family members... so I bought... a lot. But I basically finished all that
shopping. I got these great solar powered mascot toy-like things, a few
keychains, slippers, and a window charm.
From Asakusa, we headed to Akihabara, the electronic/anime district. It was Full of Men. Seriously, at least 95% of the people there were guys. Aside from that, the only girls we ran into were either working (like the girl at the crepe stand, chocolate strawberry was delicious!) and the girls advertising for the maid cafes. Their voices were SOOOOooOSOososos high pitched, it was scary O_O. Anyway, there was a model shop having a sale so I bought two Gundam models for my brothers, and by then I was overwhelmed and generally "over" Akiba so we left.
A group of us returned to Ikebukuro to relax a bit. Lynnette and I went exploring around Ikebukuro again (only in the opposite direction) and found two more pet shops. Oddly enough, we both checked Google maps before the trip and saw that there was a dance studio nearby, but we couldn't find it :/ Before heading back to the hotel we bought a whiteboard at a hyaku yen shop for Brittany, because it was her birthday and she wanted to use one for her photo project.
Then things got.. interesting >_>
For the photo project we went to different stops along the JR Line: Hamamatsucho, Shin-Okubo, Takadanobaba, and Mejiro. The gist of the project was to ask someone what they wanted to say to the world, if they could say any one thing, and then have them write in on the board and take a picture of it. Simple enough, however, translating this idea didn't always work :P Somehow, through consequence of being comfortable speaking, I ended up as a sort of translator.
The first guy we talked to was pretty cool and understanding; at first it was going great, but my mind went blank on the word for human/humanity. I knew 'nin' was part of it, but couldn't decide on the second half. I ended up spitting out 'ninjin' which means carrot... not human. The guy was like "carrot?" so I knew immediately that was not the right word, but I played it off and said "yeah, you know, like watermelons and tomatoes..." so we joked about that.
After him we ran into a guy from Southeast Asia, and a guy from France... or maybe Canada who spoke french. Then at one of the stops we ran into a huge group of students who were out partying. One of the girls spoke English better than the others and they shoved her forward, so Brittany handled these three. A few people were too busy to help, but it was getting late so we headed back to the station. Before we left the station we talked to two more guys, but I think by then a lot was getting lost in translation so it didn't really work out the way we wanted- but a great conversation/speaking experience!
Tired, we returned to our hotel and did some laundry. There were only 3 machines available, and it took about 90 minutes to dry everything, so really we just chilled~
From Asakusa, we headed to Akihabara, the electronic/anime district. It was Full of Men. Seriously, at least 95% of the people there were guys. Aside from that, the only girls we ran into were either working (like the girl at the crepe stand, chocolate strawberry was delicious!) and the girls advertising for the maid cafes. Their voices were SOOOOooOSOososos high pitched, it was scary O_O. Anyway, there was a model shop having a sale so I bought two Gundam models for my brothers, and by then I was overwhelmed and generally "over" Akiba so we left.
A group of us returned to Ikebukuro to relax a bit. Lynnette and I went exploring around Ikebukuro again (only in the opposite direction) and found two more pet shops. Oddly enough, we both checked Google maps before the trip and saw that there was a dance studio nearby, but we couldn't find it :/ Before heading back to the hotel we bought a whiteboard at a hyaku yen shop for Brittany, because it was her birthday and she wanted to use one for her photo project.
Then things got.. interesting >_>
For the photo project we went to different stops along the JR Line: Hamamatsucho, Shin-Okubo, Takadanobaba, and Mejiro. The gist of the project was to ask someone what they wanted to say to the world, if they could say any one thing, and then have them write in on the board and take a picture of it. Simple enough, however, translating this idea didn't always work :P Somehow, through consequence of being comfortable speaking, I ended up as a sort of translator.
The first guy we talked to was pretty cool and understanding; at first it was going great, but my mind went blank on the word for human/humanity. I knew 'nin' was part of it, but couldn't decide on the second half. I ended up spitting out 'ninjin' which means carrot... not human. The guy was like "carrot?" so I knew immediately that was not the right word, but I played it off and said "yeah, you know, like watermelons and tomatoes..." so we joked about that.
After him we ran into a guy from Southeast Asia, and a guy from France... or maybe Canada who spoke french. Then at one of the stops we ran into a huge group of students who were out partying. One of the girls spoke English better than the others and they shoved her forward, so Brittany handled these three. A few people were too busy to help, but it was getting late so we headed back to the station. Before we left the station we talked to two more guys, but I think by then a lot was getting lost in translation so it didn't really work out the way we wanted- but a great conversation/speaking experience!
Tired, we returned to our hotel and did some laundry. There were only 3 machines available, and it took about 90 minutes to dry everything, so really we just chilled~
Thursday, May 19, 2011
Day 03 - Ginza, Tokyo Tower, Ebisu
6am, breakfast again, more
toast and soup. Around 8 we headed to Ginza, but we arrived a bit earlier than
expected so places were not open yet. We hung around for a bit near the police
box and observed the wanted posters. By 9 we started moving throughout the
city, observing the unique and innovative architecture. The overall feeling of
Ginza is very mature, clean (like Tokyo in general is clean, but Ginza was a polished
clean). We passed an Apple store, with its array of shiny new computers,
laptops and app releases. Irrelevant to me, but a couple members of our group
downloaded the free app. Next was Nissan's show room, featuring their new
electric car. I was kind of disappointed that there was no sports cars to see,
but one of the attendants brought me a free catalogue and DVD featuring their
cars :) It turned out she was studying English, but I had my first legit
Japanese conversation with her about school and various things.
From Ginza to Minato and Tokyo Tower. One the way to Shiba Park (where Tokyo Tower stands) we passed a memorial for aborted and lost (dead) children. This memorial stretched farther than the eye could see, as an arrage of colorful dolls in rows. At the entrance, sorrowful mothers left apologies and wrote to their unborn child. Dr. Hara read a couple aloud, and coupled with the scene of all the dolls, it was a really sad experience.
From there we passed a sculpture-set dedicated to a group of dogs that had been abandoned during the Korean war(?) and out of 40 (?) only a few survived. Kinda of a sad day- But it got better! Our tickets took us up to the first observation floor of the Tower. It was definitely high, above their tallest buildings; from above we could see graveyards, schools, a soccer field on a roof (they do exist! awesome innovation for space there), and the riveryards. On the lone bench sat what I'm guessing was the mascot, or at least a feature from their dinosaur exhibit in the museum below. Downstairs there was also a huge giftshop, several other novelty shops and a horror exhibit/theater. In one of the machines I found a Tokyo Tower-Hello Kitty coin, which provided a unique and quick souvenir for a friend.
It was at the Tokyo Tower that I had my first run in with a squat toilet!!!1!!!!!111!!! oh yeah. Not un-enjoyable..? Um, not sure how to describe it, it wasn't that big a deal, haha. I just didn't have a handercheif to dry my hands with after I washed them, but really, just squat low enough and face the right way. After leaving Tokyo Tower there was a couple high school groups waiting to go in. They took group pictures, which was nice to see.
From Tokyo Tower we returned to the station area for lunch. 8 of us hit up a CocoIchiban Curry shop :) The chicken curry was great, for my first curry rice it was the perfect spice level. A couple crazy people (Tim) ordered a 4, which was hot for him, yet Victor and Worada had 4-5 and were fine :/ Experienced people I guess. Also, when you order an Ice Tea it comes black with the cream/milk and liquid sugar on the side, which makes it even more fun!
Off to Ebisu's Beer Musuem... well, I didn't pay too much attention cause I have no interest in beer. But the place was decorated in a very classy way, and the actual museum part showed the involvement of beer throughout Japan's history (and how it kept coming back when it was banned). Dr. Hara treated everyone to a drink/taste test (like 100 yen) but Lynnette and I couldn't drink so we had a grapefruit drink from the vending machine instead XD
That night I had a "meeting" with Dr. Hara and an old student, which took place at an Izakaya. I swear, you would not know that the Japanese could ever be loud... until you go to an Izakaya. Of course, they were drunk and partying at their little tables, but surprisingly loud nonetheless.
From Ginza to Minato and Tokyo Tower. One the way to Shiba Park (where Tokyo Tower stands) we passed a memorial for aborted and lost (dead) children. This memorial stretched farther than the eye could see, as an arrage of colorful dolls in rows. At the entrance, sorrowful mothers left apologies and wrote to their unborn child. Dr. Hara read a couple aloud, and coupled with the scene of all the dolls, it was a really sad experience.
From there we passed a sculpture-set dedicated to a group of dogs that had been abandoned during the Korean war(?) and out of 40 (?) only a few survived. Kinda of a sad day- But it got better! Our tickets took us up to the first observation floor of the Tower. It was definitely high, above their tallest buildings; from above we could see graveyards, schools, a soccer field on a roof (they do exist! awesome innovation for space there), and the riveryards. On the lone bench sat what I'm guessing was the mascot, or at least a feature from their dinosaur exhibit in the museum below. Downstairs there was also a huge giftshop, several other novelty shops and a horror exhibit/theater. In one of the machines I found a Tokyo Tower-Hello Kitty coin, which provided a unique and quick souvenir for a friend.
It was at the Tokyo Tower that I had my first run in with a squat toilet!!!1!!!!!111!!! oh yeah. Not un-enjoyable..? Um, not sure how to describe it, it wasn't that big a deal, haha. I just didn't have a handercheif to dry my hands with after I washed them, but really, just squat low enough and face the right way. After leaving Tokyo Tower there was a couple high school groups waiting to go in. They took group pictures, which was nice to see.
From Tokyo Tower we returned to the station area for lunch. 8 of us hit up a CocoIchiban Curry shop :) The chicken curry was great, for my first curry rice it was the perfect spice level. A couple crazy people (Tim) ordered a 4, which was hot for him, yet Victor and Worada had 4-5 and were fine :/ Experienced people I guess. Also, when you order an Ice Tea it comes black with the cream/milk and liquid sugar on the side, which makes it even more fun!
Off to Ebisu's Beer Musuem... well, I didn't pay too much attention cause I have no interest in beer. But the place was decorated in a very classy way, and the actual museum part showed the involvement of beer throughout Japan's history (and how it kept coming back when it was banned). Dr. Hara treated everyone to a drink/taste test (like 100 yen) but Lynnette and I couldn't drink so we had a grapefruit drink from the vending machine instead XD
That night I had a "meeting" with Dr. Hara and an old student, which took place at an Izakaya. I swear, you would not know that the Japanese could ever be loud... until you go to an Izakaya. Of course, they were drunk and partying at their little tables, but surprisingly loud nonetheless.
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
Day 02 - Meiji Shrine, Harajuku, Shibuya
Meiji Shrine, Harajuku
Following that, once everyone came down for breakfast, we met Dr. Hara and were
debriefed on the day. Then off to Harajuku~
---------
Speaking of Harajuku, the famous fashion street is surprisingly just a block or two away from the Meiji Shrine. The walk up to the shrine was really peaceful, like a walk in the park but the trail was wider. As the path continued there were barrels lined up, which of course was another picture opportunity for everyone. I started to take pictures here, but after about... 12? I stopped. Everyone else was taking pictures of the same thing, so I figured it wouldn't hurt.
Before entering the shrine we had to stop at the cleansing fountain. The procedure was first to wash your left, then right hand and then take a sip and spit it out [not back in the fountain!!] It reminded me of doing wudu, so in a way I did feel cleansed. However, once again, before entering, there was a fortune stand :P So most of us spent 100 yen to receive a little fortune. I asked for one in Japanese, which had more calligraphy than I expected, but Dr. Hara said it came down to something like "watch your step, or be careful" .____. (I will post it later and attempt to re-translate it~) Yay, right? Guess that means no run-ins with bozos~ 9_9
We finally entered the shrine part and saw two wedding parties. There was already a couple taking wedding pictures earlier when we were at the fortune stand, but no one expected to actually see the wedding processions.
From the shrine, we headed to Harajuku St. and spent our lunch our checking out the street from end to end (not nearly enough time, but fortunately we were free to go back later). Oddly enough, there was a huge soccer shop right next to Harajuku St. I checked it for a Rinaldo jersey (for my bro), but they didn't have any. Almost bought the Honda jersey, but it wasn't on sale, so no jersey~
During our adventure on Harajuku St., Lynnette and I found a LOT of idol pix, but no legitly awesome ones of Tanaka. And no Big Bang ones either :/ Lots of Arashi, NEWS and AKB48 though. Lots.
Shibuya+
After eating lunch we still had some time to wander around Shibuya before meeting with Dr. Hara again, so we went further into the city. We passed a couple arcades and finally decided to go in and check one out. The whole first floor was loaded with crane games and purikura booths. Nothing struck my fancy in the machines so I didn't try my luck, but Bobby and Rachel tried a few times (and by a few I mean, like 10 bucks worth at least). Funny thing was, it was obvious that some of the cranes didn't close all the way. They seemed pretty flimsy for grabbing things. Yet, despite all that, there was a student who came in after us that went to one machine and got the prize right away!! (skill I tell ya!) it was a huge pillow creature thing, and I remember this because he exchanged it for a different pillow in the machine.
From the arcade, we walked a bit more and found Big Bang posters plastered all over the place. That was exciting, and led us to a Mandarake (totally unrelated) store which I saw on an episode of Kat-tun. Mandarake had a surplus of anime and manga related merchandise, which is always overwhelming. Take the aisle in a bookstore and turn it into a full, multi-floor store. That's alot. I bought a QP manga by Hiroshi Takashi (Crows, Worst artist) which was originally 600 yen, but on sale for 100! :D
We then returned to Hachiko and with most of the group headed back to the hotel. It was about 2-3 in the afternoon and we were free for the rest of the evening. Before heading back out we checked the toilets in the bathroom on our floor. They had buttons, so we had to test them! Of course they don't work when you're not sitting on them :/ (which we confirmed just in case) ~Anyway, since he only spent a short time in Harajuku earlier, we decided to head back.
On our return to Harajuku we went around the famous fashion street. A couple stores down there was a donut shop (should have got something!!) and right next to it a tamagotchi store FULL of pink tamagotchi things, not just the keychain games. Outside the store was this really odd looking tamagotchi face on the wall, about as tall as a person. There was a coin slot and directions that said put the money in, turn the dial and stick your hand in its mouth. We put Rachel up to the task, which wouldn't have looked as ridiculous if something happened.... but... nothing really did. After about a minute this blank fortune popped out of a slot. We couldn't figure out what to do with it, but continued on our adventure.
Around another corner was the residential section of Harajuku, complete with schools and a pet store! There was an extremely hyper puppy on display, but his price was O___O waaaay more than we pay in the States. Continuing around the city we found the Harajuku Police Station. In front of the doors was a policeman mascot, saluting. We decided to take pictures with him, and when the first (Rachel again?) went up to take the picture, the policeman on duty came out and asked if we needed help. Instead we asked him if he wanted to get in on the picture :3 He happily obliged and saluted proudly in the pictures.
By the time we reached the Tamagotchi store again it was closed, so the mystery blank fortune was still unsolved. However, dinner time was rolling around so we returned to Shibuya with the intention of hitting up another beefbowl (ushidon) place. When we got there, we noticed that there was another restaurant on the 6th floor called Tokyo Dining. Hungry, we headed up there, once again, not expecting a surprise. It was actually a pretty fancy place, but they let us stay cause we could read the Japanese menu. Rachel and I ordered a pizza (with no sauce, some seaweed and fish = delicious!!!) in an effort to save some monies, because fancy places are generally expensive. The food was yummy though :)
With a full stomach and less money we checked out the Shibuya night life. It was then that we noticed how quite the city still was. Music floated peacefully out of stores and complimented the serene and busy city. [P.S. there was a song that kept playing with lyrics that we believe said "kimi ni aitakute" BUT it for SURE was NOT Gackt. I saw the video for it on the plane back and it was sung by a duo, but I didn't write it down =.=;] This music eventually brought us to Tower Records, where I'm pretty sure Lynnette almost died of excitement. Right at the entrance was a HUGE Big Bang display for their new Japanese album. There was even a room-space entirely dedicated to them, with costumes from their performances and huge wall mounts (one wall was even signed by them and fans). There was also 6 other floors of music, and of course we checked the international one for more kpop groups. First, we actually stopped on the Jpop floor to see if Kat-tun had anything new, which they did. When we got there, there was a lady signing the display next to Kat-tun, ...I guess she was famous but I didn't even notice that until I was at the Kat-tun display (oops!). As far as Kpop went, I didn't see any BEAST albums :( so I didn't get anything.
By now we were all tireddddddddd; the trains were crowded when we returned to Ikebukuro. Before turning in, we stopped at a Family Mart and got a little ice cream. They had Handel's and similar brands in little cups which was more than enough. Green Tea ice cream is quite good for the record.
Departure for the
Meiji Shrine means the first time on the "sardine-packed" trains.
Well, of course we left during rush hour so we had to break up in a couple
groups and get on for two stops. I'm telling you these trains were packed.
Lynnette and I were standing there staring like there was NO WAY we would fit.
I had my little backpack and that only took more space, so it was a tight
squeeze :/ but we fit, amazingly. The space somehow appeared. It only took 12
minutes to get from Harajuku to Ikebukuro and in that time I learned to
appreciate the little space I had and to actually enjoy the ride.
--BUT! I'm getting ahead of myself. At 6am we were all (the girls) awakened by Worada's phone alarm. It was like a freaking bomb alarm so we were all doubly confused. Even though we didn't need to meet Dr. Hara till 8:30 I got up then and got ready for the day; it's hard to sleep after that, besides being excited about my first legit day in Japan.
At about 7:15 I headed down to the hotel cafe for breakfast. Remember how my aunt joked about having an American breakfast? Well, in my opinion, bread with butter or jam was pretty close. Oh, and there was cabbage soup too. The bread was thicker and slightly bigger than normal loaves in the U.S., and the soup was delicious.
--BUT! I'm getting ahead of myself. At 6am we were all (the girls) awakened by Worada's phone alarm. It was like a freaking bomb alarm so we were all doubly confused. Even though we didn't need to meet Dr. Hara till 8:30 I got up then and got ready for the day; it's hard to sleep after that, besides being excited about my first legit day in Japan.
At about 7:15 I headed down to the hotel cafe for breakfast. Remember how my aunt joked about having an American breakfast? Well, in my opinion, bread with butter or jam was pretty close. Oh, and there was cabbage soup too. The bread was thicker and slightly bigger than normal loaves in the U.S., and the soup was delicious.
---------
Speaking of Harajuku, the famous fashion street is surprisingly just a block or two away from the Meiji Shrine. The walk up to the shrine was really peaceful, like a walk in the park but the trail was wider. As the path continued there were barrels lined up, which of course was another picture opportunity for everyone. I started to take pictures here, but after about... 12? I stopped. Everyone else was taking pictures of the same thing, so I figured it wouldn't hurt.
Before entering the shrine we had to stop at the cleansing fountain. The procedure was first to wash your left, then right hand and then take a sip and spit it out [not back in the fountain!!] It reminded me of doing wudu, so in a way I did feel cleansed. However, once again, before entering, there was a fortune stand :P So most of us spent 100 yen to receive a little fortune. I asked for one in Japanese, which had more calligraphy than I expected, but Dr. Hara said it came down to something like "watch your step, or be careful" .____. (I will post it later and attempt to re-translate it~) Yay, right? Guess that means no run-ins with bozos~ 9_9
We finally entered the shrine part and saw two wedding parties. There was already a couple taking wedding pictures earlier when we were at the fortune stand, but no one expected to actually see the wedding processions.
From the shrine, we headed to Harajuku St. and spent our lunch our checking out the street from end to end (not nearly enough time, but fortunately we were free to go back later). Oddly enough, there was a huge soccer shop right next to Harajuku St. I checked it for a Rinaldo jersey (for my bro), but they didn't have any. Almost bought the Honda jersey, but it wasn't on sale, so no jersey~
During our adventure on Harajuku St., Lynnette and I found a LOT of idol pix, but no legitly awesome ones of Tanaka. And no Big Bang ones either :/ Lots of Arashi, NEWS and AKB48 though. Lots.
Shibuya+
Our group headed to
Shibuya, site of the famous Hachiko statue. It was lunch time so the place was
surounded. Most of the group headed off with Dr. Hara to a kaitenzushi
(conveyor belt sushi place), but Lynnette, Bobby, Rachel and I headed off on
our own. We found a small place to eat off a side street. At first, we walked
in, unaware that the machine outside the door was where we were supposed to order
our food. The hostess kindly redirected us to the machine and we ordered some
meat and rice bowls. The beef bowl I got was A-mazing. The meat was fantastic
and tender and worth more than the 350 yen we paid for the meal!
After eating lunch we still had some time to wander around Shibuya before meeting with Dr. Hara again, so we went further into the city. We passed a couple arcades and finally decided to go in and check one out. The whole first floor was loaded with crane games and purikura booths. Nothing struck my fancy in the machines so I didn't try my luck, but Bobby and Rachel tried a few times (and by a few I mean, like 10 bucks worth at least). Funny thing was, it was obvious that some of the cranes didn't close all the way. They seemed pretty flimsy for grabbing things. Yet, despite all that, there was a student who came in after us that went to one machine and got the prize right away!! (skill I tell ya!) it was a huge pillow creature thing, and I remember this because he exchanged it for a different pillow in the machine.
From the arcade, we walked a bit more and found Big Bang posters plastered all over the place. That was exciting, and led us to a Mandarake (totally unrelated) store which I saw on an episode of Kat-tun. Mandarake had a surplus of anime and manga related merchandise, which is always overwhelming. Take the aisle in a bookstore and turn it into a full, multi-floor store. That's alot. I bought a QP manga by Hiroshi Takashi (Crows, Worst artist) which was originally 600 yen, but on sale for 100! :D
We then returned to Hachiko and with most of the group headed back to the hotel. It was about 2-3 in the afternoon and we were free for the rest of the evening. Before heading back out we checked the toilets in the bathroom on our floor. They had buttons, so we had to test them! Of course they don't work when you're not sitting on them :/ (which we confirmed just in case) ~Anyway, since he only spent a short time in Harajuku earlier, we decided to head back.
On our return to Harajuku we went around the famous fashion street. A couple stores down there was a donut shop (should have got something!!) and right next to it a tamagotchi store FULL of pink tamagotchi things, not just the keychain games. Outside the store was this really odd looking tamagotchi face on the wall, about as tall as a person. There was a coin slot and directions that said put the money in, turn the dial and stick your hand in its mouth. We put Rachel up to the task, which wouldn't have looked as ridiculous if something happened.... but... nothing really did. After about a minute this blank fortune popped out of a slot. We couldn't figure out what to do with it, but continued on our adventure.
Around another corner was the residential section of Harajuku, complete with schools and a pet store! There was an extremely hyper puppy on display, but his price was O___O waaaay more than we pay in the States. Continuing around the city we found the Harajuku Police Station. In front of the doors was a policeman mascot, saluting. We decided to take pictures with him, and when the first (Rachel again?) went up to take the picture, the policeman on duty came out and asked if we needed help. Instead we asked him if he wanted to get in on the picture :3 He happily obliged and saluted proudly in the pictures.
By the time we reached the Tamagotchi store again it was closed, so the mystery blank fortune was still unsolved. However, dinner time was rolling around so we returned to Shibuya with the intention of hitting up another beefbowl (ushidon) place. When we got there, we noticed that there was another restaurant on the 6th floor called Tokyo Dining. Hungry, we headed up there, once again, not expecting a surprise. It was actually a pretty fancy place, but they let us stay cause we could read the Japanese menu. Rachel and I ordered a pizza (with no sauce, some seaweed and fish = delicious!!!) in an effort to save some monies, because fancy places are generally expensive. The food was yummy though :)
With a full stomach and less money we checked out the Shibuya night life. It was then that we noticed how quite the city still was. Music floated peacefully out of stores and complimented the serene and busy city. [P.S. there was a song that kept playing with lyrics that we believe said "kimi ni aitakute" BUT it for SURE was NOT Gackt. I saw the video for it on the plane back and it was sung by a duo, but I didn't write it down =.=;] This music eventually brought us to Tower Records, where I'm pretty sure Lynnette almost died of excitement. Right at the entrance was a HUGE Big Bang display for their new Japanese album. There was even a room-space entirely dedicated to them, with costumes from their performances and huge wall mounts (one wall was even signed by them and fans). There was also 6 other floors of music, and of course we checked the international one for more kpop groups. First, we actually stopped on the Jpop floor to see if Kat-tun had anything new, which they did. When we got there, there was a lady signing the display next to Kat-tun, ...I guess she was famous but I didn't even notice that until I was at the Kat-tun display (oops!). As far as Kpop went, I didn't see any BEAST albums :( so I didn't get anything.
By now we were all tireddddddddd; the trains were crowded when we returned to Ikebukuro. Before turning in, we stopped at a Family Mart and got a little ice cream. They had Handel's and similar brands in little cups which was more than enough. Green Tea ice cream is quite good for the record.
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