By Trey:
The last full day in Japan was a day filled with fun, laughter, laziness, and SUMO!! On Friday we were blessed with the opportunity to watch some of the world's largest men fight each other to prove that they are the best of the best in the world of sumo.
The events leading up to the sumo meet went a little bit like this… The day started out with a carefree morning of shopping and hanging out until we needed to be back at the Hotel to meet up for Sumo. Some of the places we traveled to that day while shopping in Tokyo were Senso-ji Temple, and the infamous “teen street” in Harajuku. We had about 4 hours of time to shop and we all for sure took advantage to get our last minute shopping in for trinkets and souvenirs. After a long hot morning of shopping it was time to head back to the hotel.
I decided on that afternoon to have my own little adventure and leave the group and venture to the sumo hall in Tokyo all by my lonesome. This was probably not one of my best ideas that I had during the trip but I proceeded anyway. During this time while I left the group I tried to find the sumo hall to catch some video of the opening ceremonies of the main fights of the evening. While I was in the subway system I was constantly asking the natives how I can get to Ryugoku station, which was just outside of the sumo hall. While I was in this adventure I met a new friend that obviously could tell that I had no clue what I was doing. His name was Sean-Hu and he was from China. I showed him where I needed to go, and out of the kindness of his heart he left his plans that he had and helped me all the way across Tokyo so I could get to the sumo match. Finally after an hour of traveling I arrived at the station I needed.
I thanked Sean-Hu many times and we both bowed to each other as I heard a voice behind me that said “Trey Lets Go!” low and behold Ben was yelling at me and they arrived at the station the same time I did. I didn’t make it to the sumo hall early because I got lost. I should have stuck with the group the whole time because it would have saved me and my new Chinese friend time. O WELL! ☺.
Finally we arrived at the sumo hall and it was everything I expected. All the wrestlers were so large and all the fans were so excited and jacked up to be there and cheer on their favorite competitors. Ben and I watched sumo everyday so we got really familiar with pretty much all the wrestlers, and we actually made up our own names for many of them because we could not understand what their real names were in the writing they used on TV. We developed many names and ill tell you some of them now. We had names like, craterface, thunder thighs, Bulgarian, big baby, broken nose, chief sitting bull, scrapper, psycho, acne belly, giant hairy white man, and ole yoko (for the Yokozuna or supreme champion). Many of the matches were very short but we were pleased that many of our favorite wrestlers won their matches. The Yokozuna Named Hakuho won the final match of the day to stay undefeated and later went on to win the tournament with a record of 15 wins and 0 losses.
Once the matches were over it was time to leave and eat a traditional sumo feast. We ended up having reservations at a restaurant that specializes in sumo cuisine. It was a soup filled with shrimp, muscles, fish of all sorts, meatballs, squid, octopus, cabbage, eggs, and many other vegetables. It sounds terrible and believe it or not it was actually pretty tasty I thought. I think a majority of the people would not care for it ever again but I thoroughly enjoyed it. Finally we left and some went out for a night on the town and some retreated to the rock solid beds back at the hotel to rest up for a long trip back to the states.
Friday, May 28, 2010
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Kamikochi Valley
Hello from Kamikochi!
It is currently our second day staying inKkamikochi, which is kind of located in the northern part of Honshu (main island of japan). Kamikochi is located in the mountainous interior of japan and looks much different from any of the other areas we’ve visited so far. On arrival I almost forgot we were in japan because we are surrounded by mountains and trees instead of buildings and busy streets. The scenery of kamikochi probably is not what comes to mind when one thinks of japan, but in fact the majority of japan is mountainous and sparsely populated, as is Kamikochi.
Our first day here was warm and mostly sunny, and there were tourists everywhere hiking and snapping pictures. Most of us went on a 2-3 hour hike along the crystal clear Azusa river and we were very pleased to see lots of monkeys that we missed out on while on Miyajima Island! For dinner we were served fresh fish and vegetables…and I mean fresh. The main dish was a river fish that had been salted and cooked over a fire, but what was alarming was that the whole fish was still intact, head and all!
Today the weather was very different from yesterday. It rained all night and continued to sprinkle throughout the day, but everyone hiked for at least a couple of hours. Personally I didn’t mind the rain because it brought out a totally new view of Kamikochi. Instead of boasting in the sunlight, the mountains now appear mysterious behind a veil of clouds and fog. The river is more murky today and the trails are dark and secluded.
On the hike today Christina and I attempted to follow a path which is supposed to lead to one of the many peaks, but after about a mile and a half of hiking we were halted by left over snow from winter and had to turn back around. Near the end of our 4 hour hike we encountered the first monkeys we had seen all day! Most of the monkeys were feeding, ignoring our attempts to record them, except for one little monkey that got it in his head to charge at us! He charged several times, screeching and bearing his teeth, and when we tried to run away he ran after us for a little bit until he decided we weren’t a threat. And yes, I got it on video. What a great way to end a nice day of hiking!
Enjoy the blog entries and soon to be video blogs!
-Logan Swarts
It is currently our second day staying inKkamikochi, which is kind of located in the northern part of Honshu (main island of japan). Kamikochi is located in the mountainous interior of japan and looks much different from any of the other areas we’ve visited so far. On arrival I almost forgot we were in japan because we are surrounded by mountains and trees instead of buildings and busy streets. The scenery of kamikochi probably is not what comes to mind when one thinks of japan, but in fact the majority of japan is mountainous and sparsely populated, as is Kamikochi.
Our first day here was warm and mostly sunny, and there were tourists everywhere hiking and snapping pictures. Most of us went on a 2-3 hour hike along the crystal clear Azusa river and we were very pleased to see lots of monkeys that we missed out on while on Miyajima Island! For dinner we were served fresh fish and vegetables…and I mean fresh. The main dish was a river fish that had been salted and cooked over a fire, but what was alarming was that the whole fish was still intact, head and all!
Today the weather was very different from yesterday. It rained all night and continued to sprinkle throughout the day, but everyone hiked for at least a couple of hours. Personally I didn’t mind the rain because it brought out a totally new view of Kamikochi. Instead of boasting in the sunlight, the mountains now appear mysterious behind a veil of clouds and fog. The river is more murky today and the trails are dark and secluded.
On the hike today Christina and I attempted to follow a path which is supposed to lead to one of the many peaks, but after about a mile and a half of hiking we were halted by left over snow from winter and had to turn back around. Near the end of our 4 hour hike we encountered the first monkeys we had seen all day! Most of the monkeys were feeding, ignoring our attempts to record them, except for one little monkey that got it in his head to charge at us! He charged several times, screeching and bearing his teeth, and when we tried to run away he ran after us for a little bit until he decided we weren’t a threat. And yes, I got it on video. What a great way to end a nice day of hiking!
Enjoy the blog entries and soon to be video blogs!
-Logan Swarts
castles and tigers!
It’s May 16th and our trip is more than halfway over; we’ve done so much it feels like we’ve been here a month already and we still have more to do! Today we got up early to travel to Himeji to visit the Himeji castle and then we ended our day with a Japanese baseball game.
Himeji castle is a great example of Japanese castles and traditional Japanese wooden architecture. It was started in 1333 and it was completed in its current form in 1609 by the son in law of the Shogun, Terumasa Ikeda. In order to preserve the integrity of the building and keep it intact, construction was being done on it so unfortunatley we were not able to see the whole thing. We were able to see a lot of the significant sights of the castle though: the Oil Wall made of sand and boiled rice water instead of the usual plaster, the fan curved stone walls which are harder to scale than normal walls, and the store house where rice and salt was kept.
We also spent a good deal of our time searching for “Okiku’s Well” on the castle grounds. Legend has it that a servant named Okiku serving the lord of the castle at the time overheard an assasination plot engineered by the chief retainer so she alerted the lord and foiled the plot. The chief retainer found out that it was Okiku who ruined his plans so he framed her for stealing on the the ten treasure dishes housed in the castle. The innocent Okiku was tortured to death and her body was thrown into the well. It is said that her ghost still haunts the castle grounds.
After that we got on a train to go to a baseball game between the Hanshin Tigers and the Rakuten Eagles. The rules of Japanese baseball are very similar to American baseball, but it is still a very different game. Teams are owned by companies, for instance the Hanshin Tigers are owned by the Hanshin railway company. The most noticable difference is in the fans. Fans at Japanese baseball games remind me of fans at college football games. There is a lot of chanting going on, each player has their own chant which the fans say when they get up to bat. The most memorable part of the game was at the end of the 7th ining; everyone in the stadium blew up a balloon and let them go at the same time.
All it all it has been a good day; the Tigers won, we got to see Himeji castle, and we became very familiar with the railway system. I hope you have been enjoying these blogs posts so far, there are only a few more left before we come back to Iowa!
Charlie Nichols
Himeji castle is a great example of Japanese castles and traditional Japanese wooden architecture. It was started in 1333 and it was completed in its current form in 1609 by the son in law of the Shogun, Terumasa Ikeda. In order to preserve the integrity of the building and keep it intact, construction was being done on it so unfortunatley we were not able to see the whole thing. We were able to see a lot of the significant sights of the castle though: the Oil Wall made of sand and boiled rice water instead of the usual plaster, the fan curved stone walls which are harder to scale than normal walls, and the store house where rice and salt was kept.
We also spent a good deal of our time searching for “Okiku’s Well” on the castle grounds. Legend has it that a servant named Okiku serving the lord of the castle at the time overheard an assasination plot engineered by the chief retainer so she alerted the lord and foiled the plot. The chief retainer found out that it was Okiku who ruined his plans so he framed her for stealing on the the ten treasure dishes housed in the castle. The innocent Okiku was tortured to death and her body was thrown into the well. It is said that her ghost still haunts the castle grounds.
After that we got on a train to go to a baseball game between the Hanshin Tigers and the Rakuten Eagles. The rules of Japanese baseball are very similar to American baseball, but it is still a very different game. Teams are owned by companies, for instance the Hanshin Tigers are owned by the Hanshin railway company. The most noticable difference is in the fans. Fans at Japanese baseball games remind me of fans at college football games. There is a lot of chanting going on, each player has their own chant which the fans say when they get up to bat. The most memorable part of the game was at the end of the 7th ining; everyone in the stadium blew up a balloon and let them go at the same time.
All it all it has been a good day; the Tigers won, we got to see Himeji castle, and we became very familiar with the railway system. I hope you have been enjoying these blogs posts so far, there are only a few more left before we come back to Iowa!
Charlie Nichols
Sunday, May 16, 2010
Miyajima Island
Today we had the chance to visit Miyajima Island which is a sacred island to Japan and is famous for the "floating" tori gate at the Itsukushima Shrine. We started our journey with about an hour long tram ride and then a short ferry ride across part of the Pacific Ocean to get to the island. Once there, we noticed more of the sacred deer roaming around just like we had seen a few days ago in Nara.
The significance of the Itsukushima Shrine and its tori gate is that both were built to look as though they are floating when it is high tide. However, during low tide(roughly every six hours) the stilts below the shrine and gate are visible.
After walking along the shrine complex we rode cable cars up the mountain side to go hiking and visit more shrines. Professor Boss had told us that there was a chance we might be able to see the monkeys that live along the trail. Once the boys found out about this they decided to call the island "Monkey Island" which we all found quite amusing. The trails and the view were breath-taking, and so was the hike! Needless to say, most of us only ended up visiting the first shrine the trail led to, but it was still a fun experience.
When our little hiking adventure was over we returned to the Itsukushima Shrine. It was great timing because not only did we get to see it at high tide but by the time we returned it was low tide. The view was much different but still very beautiful. There were many people walking around looking at the tori gate up close as well and digging for crabs, clams and shells. We also saw one of the sacred deer make its way down the steps to check out the sights.
Although we were a little disappointed the monkeys did not come out to say hi, it was still another amazing day on our trip.
Hope you're enjoying our blogging stories!
-Katie Braun
The significance of the Itsukushima Shrine and its tori gate is that both were built to look as though they are floating when it is high tide. However, during low tide(roughly every six hours) the stilts below the shrine and gate are visible.
After walking along the shrine complex we rode cable cars up the mountain side to go hiking and visit more shrines. Professor Boss had told us that there was a chance we might be able to see the monkeys that live along the trail. Once the boys found out about this they decided to call the island "Monkey Island" which we all found quite amusing. The trails and the view were breath-taking, and so was the hike! Needless to say, most of us only ended up visiting the first shrine the trail led to, but it was still a fun experience.
When our little hiking adventure was over we returned to the Itsukushima Shrine. It was great timing because not only did we get to see it at high tide but by the time we returned it was low tide. The view was much different but still very beautiful. There were many people walking around looking at the tori gate up close as well and digging for crabs, clams and shells. We also saw one of the sacred deer make its way down the steps to check out the sights.
Although we were a little disappointed the monkeys did not come out to say hi, it was still another amazing day on our trip.
Hope you're enjoying our blogging stories!
-Katie Braun
Saturday, May 15, 2010
Nara and Fushimi
Thursday, May 13th- Christina
Today we spent our day traveling to Nara and Fushimi. Nara, which is about a 45 minute train ride from Kyoto, was the first permanent capital of Japan. Prior to its establishment, the capital was moved with each new emperor; the death of prior emperor would taint the city, requiring movement of the capital. Nara is now celebrating its 1300th anniversary. We took the express train to Nara. It is so interesting to see the mixture of “old” and “new.” We saw lots of roofs made of tiles giving houses a more traditional feel, while others had a more “modern” tar paper. There was also an unexpected superposition of agriculture and industry. We traveled past many rice patties, but also saw signs, I’m guessing for some development/engineering offices, belonging to Nintendo and Suzuki. I feel as though in the US we tend to try to segregate our time periods. We keep historical sites the same and try to preserve them; in Japan there is some of that, most temples and shrines have that rustic feel, but they aren’t afraid to rebuild their wooden buildings or renovate to bring things to be more functional.
When we arrived in Nara the train station itself was under construction, we caught taxi cabs to Tamukeyama Hachimaryu Shrine. On the way we got our first good look at Nara’s sacred deer. They are sacred because they are messengers of some of the gods. Tamukeyama Hachimaryu is famous for its large number of stone lanterns. Nearly every path was flanked by a row or tow of lanterns. They varied in size and construction. Some were solid carved stone with holes cut for the candle inside to shine through. Others had a stone base and top but wooden and paper screens in the middle. Nearly all of the lanterns had paper covers (unless they had been damaged). Some even had the mascot of Nara’s anniversary, a little horned baby Buddha on them. At the shrine the purifying water came from a scroll in a carved deer’s mouth. All of the buildings were brightly colored. Dr. Boss said that due to the time of establishment of the shrine, Chinese architecture was highly influential. As such, the gates and buildings were painted the bright orange we saw. At the shrine we also enjoyed the beautiful wisteria hanging from some trellises. They even had fortunes for sale that were rolled as a scroll and held in the mouth of a wooden deer.
Once we were finished at Tamukeyama Hachimaryu, we walked through a park and watched some more deer. Tray and Noel bought some deer cookies and essentially got mobbed by bands of the little animals. They are supposed to bow if you hold a cookie right above their noses, but most weren’t overly inclined to make the effort and just attacked those holding the cookies.
We walked through the park to the Todai-ji Temple. Though it hosts most elements of a standard temple, Todai-ji’s claim to fame is the Daibutsu- or the really big Buddha. The bronze statue is actually housed in the largest wooden structure in the world, which has windows built in so that on special days they can be opened and the Buddha can look out. It’s hard to just describe how monumental this statue is. Hopefully we can get our videos up so that everyone can see…it’s just HUGE! There were offerings all over in front of the Buddha, like fruit. Flanking him on either side were two “assistants” of slightly smaller size, but still pretty darn big; they’re kind of like saints or apostles in Christianity, preaching the word of the Buddha. Additional wooden statues were sprinkled around the hall. My favorite part was actually a very small hole in a supporting beam of the building. There was a long line of children waiting to squeeze through the hole. Initially we were very confused, but after it was explained I wanted to try my hand at making it through (the line was a little too long for it to be worth it though). The hole in the beam was the same size as the Buddha’s nostril. It is said that if you fit through that hole, when you die you will automatically be reborn in the Buddha’s paradise. We all joked that Trey and Ben should go stand in line, but in the end none of us tried, we just watched the elementary kinds make their way through.
After a little shopping and lunch we headed back to the station and hopped a local train to Fushimi. The route was longer due to more stops, but that way we didn’t have to retrace our steps since Fushimi is in between Kyoto and Nara. At Fushimi we visited the Inari Shrine, which is famous for its tori gates. Inari is also unique in that it has a different messenger, the fox. They even shape their prayer boards like the heads of foxes. The fox theme carried through in that instead of the regular guardian dogs at shrine entrances, there were foxes, one with its mouth open and the other closed. Again, the shrine was brightly colored, mostly orange and a little green. We saw a couple of prayer sessions occurring while we were there at different little shrines. For a donation priests will pray to the gods with requests for assistance or intercession for the donating party. For me it’s interesting to think that most of their ritual services are preformed as needed, not on a set schedule. The person being prayed for may or may not be present, and so may just be hoping the gods will listen and assist them. As I said, Inari s famous for its tori gates, each one doesn’t look overly remarkable, but the sheer volume is truly impressive. In sections of the shrine grounds there are two parallel tunnels of continuous gates, one right after the other. The result is Really impressive (again something I hope you will see in my videos eventually). Each gate has a sponsor, whenever the gates need to be replaced the sponsor can re-donate to the shrine (it’s kind of like advertising) or the spot will be sold to someone else. The last part of the Inari shrine that I really liked was the smaller shrines up in the hills. Families can pay for a shrine to be kept up for them; of the shrines we visited this seems to be a rather unique characteristic. They varied vastly in size, from just a little area for candles to walk in full scale mini shrines. I liked the fact that they allow people to be a little more involved, they allow people to take a little more active role in their religion. After Inari we hopped back on the train and headed back to our hotel before getting dinner and enjoying an AMAZING night with Peter Macintosh and a Geiko (dancing Geisha) named Miehina.
Today we spent our day traveling to Nara and Fushimi. Nara, which is about a 45 minute train ride from Kyoto, was the first permanent capital of Japan. Prior to its establishment, the capital was moved with each new emperor; the death of prior emperor would taint the city, requiring movement of the capital. Nara is now celebrating its 1300th anniversary. We took the express train to Nara. It is so interesting to see the mixture of “old” and “new.” We saw lots of roofs made of tiles giving houses a more traditional feel, while others had a more “modern” tar paper. There was also an unexpected superposition of agriculture and industry. We traveled past many rice patties, but also saw signs, I’m guessing for some development/engineering offices, belonging to Nintendo and Suzuki. I feel as though in the US we tend to try to segregate our time periods. We keep historical sites the same and try to preserve them; in Japan there is some of that, most temples and shrines have that rustic feel, but they aren’t afraid to rebuild their wooden buildings or renovate to bring things to be more functional.
When we arrived in Nara the train station itself was under construction, we caught taxi cabs to Tamukeyama Hachimaryu Shrine. On the way we got our first good look at Nara’s sacred deer. They are sacred because they are messengers of some of the gods. Tamukeyama Hachimaryu is famous for its large number of stone lanterns. Nearly every path was flanked by a row or tow of lanterns. They varied in size and construction. Some were solid carved stone with holes cut for the candle inside to shine through. Others had a stone base and top but wooden and paper screens in the middle. Nearly all of the lanterns had paper covers (unless they had been damaged). Some even had the mascot of Nara’s anniversary, a little horned baby Buddha on them. At the shrine the purifying water came from a scroll in a carved deer’s mouth. All of the buildings were brightly colored. Dr. Boss said that due to the time of establishment of the shrine, Chinese architecture was highly influential. As such, the gates and buildings were painted the bright orange we saw. At the shrine we also enjoyed the beautiful wisteria hanging from some trellises. They even had fortunes for sale that were rolled as a scroll and held in the mouth of a wooden deer.
Once we were finished at Tamukeyama Hachimaryu, we walked through a park and watched some more deer. Tray and Noel bought some deer cookies and essentially got mobbed by bands of the little animals. They are supposed to bow if you hold a cookie right above their noses, but most weren’t overly inclined to make the effort and just attacked those holding the cookies.
We walked through the park to the Todai-ji Temple. Though it hosts most elements of a standard temple, Todai-ji’s claim to fame is the Daibutsu- or the really big Buddha. The bronze statue is actually housed in the largest wooden structure in the world, which has windows built in so that on special days they can be opened and the Buddha can look out. It’s hard to just describe how monumental this statue is. Hopefully we can get our videos up so that everyone can see…it’s just HUGE! There were offerings all over in front of the Buddha, like fruit. Flanking him on either side were two “assistants” of slightly smaller size, but still pretty darn big; they’re kind of like saints or apostles in Christianity, preaching the word of the Buddha. Additional wooden statues were sprinkled around the hall. My favorite part was actually a very small hole in a supporting beam of the building. There was a long line of children waiting to squeeze through the hole. Initially we were very confused, but after it was explained I wanted to try my hand at making it through (the line was a little too long for it to be worth it though). The hole in the beam was the same size as the Buddha’s nostril. It is said that if you fit through that hole, when you die you will automatically be reborn in the Buddha’s paradise. We all joked that Trey and Ben should go stand in line, but in the end none of us tried, we just watched the elementary kinds make their way through.
After a little shopping and lunch we headed back to the station and hopped a local train to Fushimi. The route was longer due to more stops, but that way we didn’t have to retrace our steps since Fushimi is in between Kyoto and Nara. At Fushimi we visited the Inari Shrine, which is famous for its tori gates. Inari is also unique in that it has a different messenger, the fox. They even shape their prayer boards like the heads of foxes. The fox theme carried through in that instead of the regular guardian dogs at shrine entrances, there were foxes, one with its mouth open and the other closed. Again, the shrine was brightly colored, mostly orange and a little green. We saw a couple of prayer sessions occurring while we were there at different little shrines. For a donation priests will pray to the gods with requests for assistance or intercession for the donating party. For me it’s interesting to think that most of their ritual services are preformed as needed, not on a set schedule. The person being prayed for may or may not be present, and so may just be hoping the gods will listen and assist them. As I said, Inari s famous for its tori gates, each one doesn’t look overly remarkable, but the sheer volume is truly impressive. In sections of the shrine grounds there are two parallel tunnels of continuous gates, one right after the other. The result is Really impressive (again something I hope you will see in my videos eventually). Each gate has a sponsor, whenever the gates need to be replaced the sponsor can re-donate to the shrine (it’s kind of like advertising) or the spot will be sold to someone else. The last part of the Inari shrine that I really liked was the smaller shrines up in the hills. Families can pay for a shrine to be kept up for them; of the shrines we visited this seems to be a rather unique characteristic. They varied vastly in size, from just a little area for candles to walk in full scale mini shrines. I liked the fact that they allow people to be a little more involved, they allow people to take a little more active role in their religion. After Inari we hopped back on the train and headed back to our hotel before getting dinner and enjoying an AMAZING night with Peter Macintosh and a Geiko (dancing Geisha) named Miehina.
Kyoto
Hello!! -Meg
I was in charge of keeping track or our second day in Kyoto. Unfortunately there was a misunderstanding about videos that needed to be cleared from the flip-recorder and mine were accidentally deleted. So please bear with me as I try to remember all of the details of what we did in Kyoto!
We started out our day with a meditation session at a Buddhist Temple (that I can't remember the name of, sorry!) The Buddhist monk-priest-guy that led our session was really nice! (Unfortunately I can't remember his name either...all that info was in the videos that were deleted...sad day!) He actually went to school at the University of Arizona, if I remember correctly, so he knew much better English than other people we have met so far. That was very helpful! There were two parts to our meditation session. Each was split into fifteen minute time slots. Before we began, our leader went through three main instruments that are used in a meditation session. They were two blocks banged together to notify people to prepare for meditation, a bell that is rung to help people focus on their mediation, and a long wooden stick that is used to gently smack a person's back (voluntarily) to help them if they are having trouble focusing on their meditation process.
I personally thought the mediation session was pretty cool, but it was kind of painful too. Trying to sit in one position, cross-legged for longer periods of time doesn't exactly fare well with my hips and legs. I'm pretty sure they fell asleep at least twice for each time slot! That made it especially hard to actually focus on meditating.
After our session we were shown the zen garden at the temple which was beautiful! The detail and time spent to make the garden perfect was visible in ever crook and corner of the garden. Truly a spectacular sight!! We were also shown a rooms used for audiences that had paintings on the walls and sliding doors. They were absolutely beautiful as well. At the end of our visit to the temple we were served rice cookies with matcha green tea. I really enjoyed both! The tea was a bit strong, but it grew on you after the first couple of sips.
OH! Before I forget, our tour guide for the day was a guy named Toyo. He was a very sweet and kind gentleman and he really knew his facts! It was so nice, he made charts of dates and information to show us as he was speaking so that we could better understand the importance of what he was telling us.
Next on our list for the day was a visit to the Golden Pavilion Temple, also called Kinkaku-ji Temple. Now this place was quite a sight! The outside of the temple is made of gold leaf. It was located right next to a small pond area that had little islands all around, each overflowing with beautiful vegetation and some had the traditional Japanese stone lanterns. Apparently from the top of the temple, the view of the pond area and the islands are supposed to look like the entire island of Japan. We hiked the trail around the temple grounds and saw different views of the temple, all of the beautiful!
Check back later for more details of our day in Kyoto!!
To be continued...
[And here is the next part!]
Hello again! Sorry it has taken me a few days to get this last post up! I wasn’t feeling very well when I wrote the first part of my blog.
So, Nijo Castle! That was our third stop of the day in Kyoto. I must admit that my favorite part of the castle was the Nightingale floor. That was way cool to walk across the floor and make it sound like birds. The way this works is by nails in the floor that rub against the wood underneath the floor that creates noise that sounds like birds chirping.
Unfortunately pictures on the inside of the castle were prohibited, so I will try to explain what we saw as best I can! The castle itself isn’t just made up of one big structure. It consists of a few structures that are connected together. If I remember correctly, this was supposed to help confuse anyone who came into the castle with intentions of assassination because they had to try and find their way around. The Nightingale floor also plays a role in this too because if there were intruders the floor would make noise and the Shogun would be warned.
For some reason I couldn’t help but think of the movie “The Last Samurai” as we walked through the castle. The time the castle would have been in use was around the same time that the movie takes place. It really was neat to see!
Our last stop of the day (with our guide Toyo) was the temple called Kiyomizu-dera Temple. The walk up to the temple was pretty cool. The street leading up to it has many shops full of traditional Japanese stuff. From fans and tea cups to kimonos and vases selling for over 30 thousand dollars. Crazy cool! The temple grounds actually had multiple structures. The main temple was neat because it overlooked the hillside and the city of Kyoto (as did the other structures). It was different because the gathering was more of a stage. Thank goodness for the guard rails or it would have been pretty easy for someone to fall off the stage if they weren’t looking where they were going! This temple is also important because it has a washing/purification area that has water come directly from the mountain. It is said to be very pure and good if you drink the water form it. The line to do so was ridiculously long, so we all decided that a picture was good enough!
Today was definitely full of lots of culture and history as well as amazing sights and fun shopping!
I was in charge of keeping track or our second day in Kyoto. Unfortunately there was a misunderstanding about videos that needed to be cleared from the flip-recorder and mine were accidentally deleted. So please bear with me as I try to remember all of the details of what we did in Kyoto!
We started out our day with a meditation session at a Buddhist Temple (that I can't remember the name of, sorry!) The Buddhist monk-priest-guy that led our session was really nice! (Unfortunately I can't remember his name either...all that info was in the videos that were deleted...sad day!) He actually went to school at the University of Arizona, if I remember correctly, so he knew much better English than other people we have met so far. That was very helpful! There were two parts to our meditation session. Each was split into fifteen minute time slots. Before we began, our leader went through three main instruments that are used in a meditation session. They were two blocks banged together to notify people to prepare for meditation, a bell that is rung to help people focus on their mediation, and a long wooden stick that is used to gently smack a person's back (voluntarily) to help them if they are having trouble focusing on their meditation process.
I personally thought the mediation session was pretty cool, but it was kind of painful too. Trying to sit in one position, cross-legged for longer periods of time doesn't exactly fare well with my hips and legs. I'm pretty sure they fell asleep at least twice for each time slot! That made it especially hard to actually focus on meditating.
After our session we were shown the zen garden at the temple which was beautiful! The detail and time spent to make the garden perfect was visible in ever crook and corner of the garden. Truly a spectacular sight!! We were also shown a rooms used for audiences that had paintings on the walls and sliding doors. They were absolutely beautiful as well. At the end of our visit to the temple we were served rice cookies with matcha green tea. I really enjoyed both! The tea was a bit strong, but it grew on you after the first couple of sips.
OH! Before I forget, our tour guide for the day was a guy named Toyo. He was a very sweet and kind gentleman and he really knew his facts! It was so nice, he made charts of dates and information to show us as he was speaking so that we could better understand the importance of what he was telling us.
Next on our list for the day was a visit to the Golden Pavilion Temple, also called Kinkaku-ji Temple. Now this place was quite a sight! The outside of the temple is made of gold leaf. It was located right next to a small pond area that had little islands all around, each overflowing with beautiful vegetation and some had the traditional Japanese stone lanterns. Apparently from the top of the temple, the view of the pond area and the islands are supposed to look like the entire island of Japan. We hiked the trail around the temple grounds and saw different views of the temple, all of the beautiful!
Check back later for more details of our day in Kyoto!!
To be continued...
[And here is the next part!]
Hello again! Sorry it has taken me a few days to get this last post up! I wasn’t feeling very well when I wrote the first part of my blog.
So, Nijo Castle! That was our third stop of the day in Kyoto. I must admit that my favorite part of the castle was the Nightingale floor. That was way cool to walk across the floor and make it sound like birds. The way this works is by nails in the floor that rub against the wood underneath the floor that creates noise that sounds like birds chirping.
Unfortunately pictures on the inside of the castle were prohibited, so I will try to explain what we saw as best I can! The castle itself isn’t just made up of one big structure. It consists of a few structures that are connected together. If I remember correctly, this was supposed to help confuse anyone who came into the castle with intentions of assassination because they had to try and find their way around. The Nightingale floor also plays a role in this too because if there were intruders the floor would make noise and the Shogun would be warned.
For some reason I couldn’t help but think of the movie “The Last Samurai” as we walked through the castle. The time the castle would have been in use was around the same time that the movie takes place. It really was neat to see!
Our last stop of the day (with our guide Toyo) was the temple called Kiyomizu-dera Temple. The walk up to the temple was pretty cool. The street leading up to it has many shops full of traditional Japanese stuff. From fans and tea cups to kimonos and vases selling for over 30 thousand dollars. Crazy cool! The temple grounds actually had multiple structures. The main temple was neat because it overlooked the hillside and the city of Kyoto (as did the other structures). It was different because the gathering was more of a stage. Thank goodness for the guard rails or it would have been pretty easy for someone to fall off the stage if they weren’t looking where they were going! This temple is also important because it has a washing/purification area that has water come directly from the mountain. It is said to be very pure and good if you drink the water form it. The line to do so was ridiculously long, so we all decided that a picture was good enough!
Today was definitely full of lots of culture and history as well as amazing sights and fun shopping!
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
Hakone-Day 2
Hi! -Raeann
Today was day two in Hakone. First on our agenda was the Hakone Ropeway. We took the ropeway, which offered us amazing views of the towns below as well as the mountainside, to Owakudani, "The Immense Simmering Valley." The valley was formed by a volcano and has white steam rising from different pockets along its slope that give the valley a very strong stench of sulfur. While touring the summit, we climbed toward the top to purchase black boiled eggs. Their shells are black due to the minerals present in the sulfur springs in which they are boiled. Legend has it that eating just one egg will add seven years to a person's life. A few in our group took part in the legend; others were not so adventurous, myself included. However, those who did eat said the eggs were good. Our group was very lucky in that we got to see spectacular views of Mt. Fuji while at the summit as well as later, when riding "pirate ships" and traveling back to our starting point by use of the ropeway.
After viewing the summit, we went down the mountain to Lake Ashi where we rode pirate ships that ferried us around the lake. Our destination was Moto-Hakone where we headed to Hakone Shrine. The first Torii gate for this shrine stands in the water. An interesting aspect of this shrine is the dragon at the purification station that has water coming from its mouth. After climbing the many steps to the top of the shrine, we were again lucky enough to view a bride and groom after their wedding. Walking behind the wedding party and front building revealed the area where offerings are made. This shrine even had a bell at the front of the station that is used as part of the offering ritual of clapping and bowing. To the left of this area hung many many wooden plaques. They were tied on a bulletin board-like stand and on them, people had written wishes. Languages from all over the world are represented on these tablets.
Before returning to the guest house, we again got to see Mt. Fuji, even more spectacular than before. The clouds had cleared, and we were all able to get photos of the dormant volcano. Once back at the guest house, we were able to use the onsen, hot spring, to bathe, soak, and relax. The onsen is very peaceful and feels almost like a hot tub. We were even fortunate enough to have both an indoor and outdoor onsen to use.
Tomorrow we leave for Kyoto were we will tour temples and Nijo Castle, and we will even get to meet a maiko, a geisha in training!
Today was day two in Hakone. First on our agenda was the Hakone Ropeway. We took the ropeway, which offered us amazing views of the towns below as well as the mountainside, to Owakudani, "The Immense Simmering Valley." The valley was formed by a volcano and has white steam rising from different pockets along its slope that give the valley a very strong stench of sulfur. While touring the summit, we climbed toward the top to purchase black boiled eggs. Their shells are black due to the minerals present in the sulfur springs in which they are boiled. Legend has it that eating just one egg will add seven years to a person's life. A few in our group took part in the legend; others were not so adventurous, myself included. However, those who did eat said the eggs were good. Our group was very lucky in that we got to see spectacular views of Mt. Fuji while at the summit as well as later, when riding "pirate ships" and traveling back to our starting point by use of the ropeway.
After viewing the summit, we went down the mountain to Lake Ashi where we rode pirate ships that ferried us around the lake. Our destination was Moto-Hakone where we headed to Hakone Shrine. The first Torii gate for this shrine stands in the water. An interesting aspect of this shrine is the dragon at the purification station that has water coming from its mouth. After climbing the many steps to the top of the shrine, we were again lucky enough to view a bride and groom after their wedding. Walking behind the wedding party and front building revealed the area where offerings are made. This shrine even had a bell at the front of the station that is used as part of the offering ritual of clapping and bowing. To the left of this area hung many many wooden plaques. They were tied on a bulletin board-like stand and on them, people had written wishes. Languages from all over the world are represented on these tablets.
Before returning to the guest house, we again got to see Mt. Fuji, even more spectacular than before. The clouds had cleared, and we were all able to get photos of the dormant volcano. Once back at the guest house, we were able to use the onsen, hot spring, to bathe, soak, and relax. The onsen is very peaceful and feels almost like a hot tub. We were even fortunate enough to have both an indoor and outdoor onsen to use.
Tomorrow we leave for Kyoto were we will tour temples and Nijo Castle, and we will even get to meet a maiko, a geisha in training!
Saturday May 8: Kamakura
Noel here!
Konnichiwa from Japan! I’m sorry that our blog is coming up so late – we have had some technology troubles in getting everything together. We’re working on a video to go along with each blog, but our program to make the movie is misbehaving, so we’ll just have to do with a regular blog for now.
On day two of our trip to Japan, we made an excursion to Kamakura, a city just outside Tokyo. Our first stop of the day was at the Daijobu – or “Big Buddha” in English. The site is, of course, a Buddhist temple, famous for its large Buddha statue in the center of the temple complex. Originally, the statue was housed in a building, but several hundred years ago a typhoon swept up from the sea, destroying the building, but leaving the bronze state unharmed. Instead of rebuilding the temple, the locals thought it would be better to keep the Buddha as it was, and make it an outdoor attraction to this day. People come to the temple from all over Japan to pay their respects to the enlightened one, and wish for good health and fortune.
Our next stop was for lunch, and we popped into a tradition ramen shop. It was easy to pass by and not see; a literal hole-in-the-wall restaurant, for it only has seating for seven people along the length of the counter. Unlike in the states, where we are used to ramen as being these dried noodles you boil for a few minutes and add a flavor packet to, these were fresh noodles in a soy-based broth, with slices of pork, chopped green onion, and pickled bamboo shoots. The experience was amazing – our little ramen packets are a poor imitation of how wonderful the real stuff is. The chef, despite his little shop, was obviously a master at his craft, and we all left wanting more. If you find yourself in Kamakura for lunch, go down the street with the red torii gate, and find the shop with the yellow lantern sign. You will be amazed.
Next we went to the Shinto shrine to Hachiman, the Japanese god of war. The shrine is the ancestral shrine of the Minamoto clan, who were once Shogun of all Japan, and remained an important family in Japanese history. The shrine is thought to be the place where the restless spirits of warriors slain in battle go, unable to pass on to the next world. It is said that these spirits wish to cause harm to visitors of the shrine, and the place has been known to cause people to become dizzy and feel ill for no apparent reason. Dr. Boss said that on a previous trip to Japan, she went to this shrine and one of the group collapsed and had to be hospitalized for several days. I felt fine for my saunter through the gardens, but I could not shake the feeling that there was a very aggressive energy in the area. When we arrived at the shrine proper, we heard music from the bottom steps of the temple, and found out we were lucky enough to see a traditional Japanese wedding! Well, we didn’t stay for the entire thing, but we did get to watch the Japanese equivalent of bride’s procession. I paid my respects to Hachiman and the other Kami present, and we were soon on our way to the quieter side of Kamakura.
After a little “adventure” in the back roads of Kamakura, we found ourselves at a Buddhist temple and cemetery tucked away in the hillsides Kamakura. Todaiji temple, or the “Divorce” temple, as it is nicknamed, was built as a refuge for women seeking to escape their abusive husbands. By Japanese law at the time, all a woman had to do was to get up the steps to the temple and get through the gate, and her husband could not force her to leave. There are plenty of stories about women attempting to escape her husband, stumbling up the steps for sanctuary, and her husband’s henchmen at her heels. Just as her husband’s henchmen grab her and to bring her back, she would take her comb from her hair and toss it through the gate, and would receive sanctuary. Of course, woman was not allowed to leave scot-free – she would have to become a Buddhist nun for the divorce to officially annulled. Although the temple is not used for this purpose anymore, I found that this small temple had a great serenity to it. There were less people about, less commotion and no merchants, and Todaiji reflected a more honest depiction of a temple.
That’s all for now! Again, I apologize for getting this up so late. Hopefully I will get the computer to play nice with me, and put up the video blog soon. Jya-ne!
Konnichiwa from Japan! I’m sorry that our blog is coming up so late – we have had some technology troubles in getting everything together. We’re working on a video to go along with each blog, but our program to make the movie is misbehaving, so we’ll just have to do with a regular blog for now.
On day two of our trip to Japan, we made an excursion to Kamakura, a city just outside Tokyo. Our first stop of the day was at the Daijobu – or “Big Buddha” in English. The site is, of course, a Buddhist temple, famous for its large Buddha statue in the center of the temple complex. Originally, the statue was housed in a building, but several hundred years ago a typhoon swept up from the sea, destroying the building, but leaving the bronze state unharmed. Instead of rebuilding the temple, the locals thought it would be better to keep the Buddha as it was, and make it an outdoor attraction to this day. People come to the temple from all over Japan to pay their respects to the enlightened one, and wish for good health and fortune.
Our next stop was for lunch, and we popped into a tradition ramen shop. It was easy to pass by and not see; a literal hole-in-the-wall restaurant, for it only has seating for seven people along the length of the counter. Unlike in the states, where we are used to ramen as being these dried noodles you boil for a few minutes and add a flavor packet to, these were fresh noodles in a soy-based broth, with slices of pork, chopped green onion, and pickled bamboo shoots. The experience was amazing – our little ramen packets are a poor imitation of how wonderful the real stuff is. The chef, despite his little shop, was obviously a master at his craft, and we all left wanting more. If you find yourself in Kamakura for lunch, go down the street with the red torii gate, and find the shop with the yellow lantern sign. You will be amazed.
Next we went to the Shinto shrine to Hachiman, the Japanese god of war. The shrine is the ancestral shrine of the Minamoto clan, who were once Shogun of all Japan, and remained an important family in Japanese history. The shrine is thought to be the place where the restless spirits of warriors slain in battle go, unable to pass on to the next world. It is said that these spirits wish to cause harm to visitors of the shrine, and the place has been known to cause people to become dizzy and feel ill for no apparent reason. Dr. Boss said that on a previous trip to Japan, she went to this shrine and one of the group collapsed and had to be hospitalized for several days. I felt fine for my saunter through the gardens, but I could not shake the feeling that there was a very aggressive energy in the area. When we arrived at the shrine proper, we heard music from the bottom steps of the temple, and found out we were lucky enough to see a traditional Japanese wedding! Well, we didn’t stay for the entire thing, but we did get to watch the Japanese equivalent of bride’s procession. I paid my respects to Hachiman and the other Kami present, and we were soon on our way to the quieter side of Kamakura.
After a little “adventure” in the back roads of Kamakura, we found ourselves at a Buddhist temple and cemetery tucked away in the hillsides Kamakura. Todaiji temple, or the “Divorce” temple, as it is nicknamed, was built as a refuge for women seeking to escape their abusive husbands. By Japanese law at the time, all a woman had to do was to get up the steps to the temple and get through the gate, and her husband could not force her to leave. There are plenty of stories about women attempting to escape her husband, stumbling up the steps for sanctuary, and her husband’s henchmen at her heels. Just as her husband’s henchmen grab her and to bring her back, she would take her comb from her hair and toss it through the gate, and would receive sanctuary. Of course, woman was not allowed to leave scot-free – she would have to become a Buddhist nun for the divorce to officially annulled. Although the temple is not used for this purpose anymore, I found that this small temple had a great serenity to it. There were less people about, less commotion and no merchants, and Todaiji reflected a more honest depiction of a temple.
That’s all for now! Again, I apologize for getting this up so late. Hopefully I will get the computer to play nice with me, and put up the video blog soon. Jya-ne!
Monday, May 10, 2010
First Day In Tokyo
This is Ben Read with your first day Blog.
Today was the first day we got to go out and really see Japan for the first time. We started out meeting our tour guide at our hotel. She took us to one of the Buddhist temples in Tokyo where we really got to try out some of the skills we learned in class. Next she took us to a famous Shinto shrine which is known to be the "Power Spot" of Japan, the energy there was truly amazing. After the shrine we went to a spot that was populated more by teens than anyone else. It was a street full of different shops with clothing mostly, the girls loved that! Here we said goodbye to our tour guide and headed back to the hotel. It was a great first day can't wait to explore some more!
Today was the first day we got to go out and really see Japan for the first time. We started out meeting our tour guide at our hotel. She took us to one of the Buddhist temples in Tokyo where we really got to try out some of the skills we learned in class. Next she took us to a famous Shinto shrine which is known to be the "Power Spot" of Japan, the energy there was truly amazing. After the shrine we went to a spot that was populated more by teens than anyone else. It was a street full of different shops with clothing mostly, the girls loved that! Here we said goodbye to our tour guide and headed back to the hotel. It was a great first day can't wait to explore some more!
Saturday, May 8, 2010
First Impressions
Hello everyone!
We landed in Tokyo Thursday afternoon after a 13-hour flight from Chicago, and have been going nonstop ever since! Yesterday, our first full day, the group toured the sights of Tokyo with our extremely nice guide, Ms. Sachiko Ueda. Sachiko-san has visited the US many times, so she is a very skilled communicator. Then today (Saturday) we visited Kamakura, about one hours' train ride from Tokyo, to see some famous temples and shrines.
A more complete overview of those days is forthcoming. For now, here are some first impressions from each of our class members.
Meg-san says:
My first impression of Japan is that it is SO busy! Every hour of the day it seems the streets are packed with people. Also, the people here are so respectful. Even though walking through rail stations can get crazy, even the simplest of gestures are used in order to show respect for others. Even in the hustle and bustle of city life, there is a calmness and tranquility among the people, which is hard to find in large American cities. I look forward to seeing this calm and tranquility as we continue our travels outside of the big Tokyo!
Trey-san says:
My first impression of when we were flying in was kind of mixed because we flew over a rural area of Tokyo. There were tons of rice fields everywhere, and no big buildings at all. But we got to the airport, off the plane, and I was immediately noticing lots of things. I began to notice that everything was much smaller and scaled down. The steps I could tell were smaller, the ceilings were lower, and the rooms everywhere much smaller. Overall my first impression was pretty close in some ways to what I expected, and there were many things much different also.
Ben-san says:
In the airport when we landed, Trey and I received a few looks within the first five minutes we were here. I could do nothing but laugh. Once we got to the hotel I started noticing how small everything was, like the slippers, the showers were short, and just everyday things. So size has been the "biggest" factor so far.
Noel-san says:
Although I am no stranger to big cities, Tokyo's Shinjuku district is amazing. On the bus ride from Narita Airport, I felt like I was traveling to Boston, but once we got into Shinjuku, the neon lights and shouting street vendors made it clear that this was no East Coast city. I almost got lost among the sights and the smells, and I only went a few blocks from the hotel! The food here is fantastic! I had a ketsune udon for supper (the first real Japanese meal I have had), and I'm already in love with the local cuisine. The atmosphere is vibrant and energetic, yet I feel very at ease here. Hopefully I'll get used to the local area and explore some more today!
Katie-san says:
One of the first things I noticed while riding the bus to our hotel was how close some of the buildings are, especially the apartment-like buildings people live in. Another thing I noticed on our bus ride was how much vegetation (trees and such) there is throughout Tokyo. Today (Friday), while we were at the Sensoji Temple, I noticed many different behaviors among the Japanese people. #1: They love to give the peace sign while taking group pictures. I couldn't help but smile when I saw groups of all ages doing this while posing for the camera. I also noticed how helpful and selfless they are when someone dropped a folder and papers went flying everywhere. Everyone ran to help pick up the papers right away; something I wouldn't necessarily expect to see in the U.S. Throughout the day I noticed many other little details such as everyone has a phone charm and Hello Kitty & anime are very popular. However, I was most impressed with how everyone follows unwritten rules like staying to the left in a single file line while riding the escalator or walking up steps or in the street. The culture here is so different than the U.S. and so far I absolutely love it.
Raeann-san says:
Right away we noticed the green within the city; it is so much prettier than cities at home. It also makes the city seem more inviting. I was surprised by the number of people of different nationalities within Tokyo; I was expecting only Asian people. Also, I was surprised by how much info is given in English. I'm very glad for this because it makes getting around that much easier. Finally, I was surprised by the style of people here. It is very eclectic, and now two people wear the same thing (minus school uniforms). Also, almost every woman I saw was wearing HIGH heels, and the rest wore fashionable flats. It all looked very painful to me! But I envy them. I'd wear those heels if I could. :)
Christina-san says:
My first impressions of Japan are largely based on contrasts. We read about Japanese appreciation of darkness and shadow, but there are so many bright advertisements and neon lights. On the whole people are quiet, but shops have blaring music or shouting advertisers. I find it very interesting that people can be so intuned to a near-whisper but seem to tune out the sensory overload in the blaring pachinko arcade. I greatly appreciate the contrast of nature within the urban concrete with many more plants along streets. In most large cities in the U.S. there might be a few fenced-in trees along a block, but here they are much more prevalent (perhaps due to Shinto's respect for nature).
Logan-san says:
So far I've really enjoyed my time in Japan. Everything seems very modern and clean. I thought the Shinto shrine was cool and calming, and I feel like it had a cleansing effect on me. Last night I got the chance to meet up with my Japanese brother, Shohei. It was very nice to see him again as we went to a traditional izakaya. After much food and laughs, I've decided my time here has been well worth the long journey.
For now, Charlie-san gets the last word:
So I've been in Japan for about three days now, but it feels like I've been here a week. We have done so many things and seen so much! The Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples were amazing, and even though there were a lot of people there it was very quiet and peaceful. We also ate at a traditional Japanese restaurant where you take your sushi off of a conveyor belt! My favorite part of Japan by far has been the people. Everyone has been so nice to us! Last night me and Logan went out with seven locals to an izakaya which is a very traditional restaurant. We sat there for hours eating, talking, and telling jokes to each other. It reminded me of my group of friends back home. I am excited to see what the rest of the week will bring!
We landed in Tokyo Thursday afternoon after a 13-hour flight from Chicago, and have been going nonstop ever since! Yesterday, our first full day, the group toured the sights of Tokyo with our extremely nice guide, Ms. Sachiko Ueda. Sachiko-san has visited the US many times, so she is a very skilled communicator. Then today (Saturday) we visited Kamakura, about one hours' train ride from Tokyo, to see some famous temples and shrines.
A more complete overview of those days is forthcoming. For now, here are some first impressions from each of our class members.
Meg-san says:
My first impression of Japan is that it is SO busy! Every hour of the day it seems the streets are packed with people. Also, the people here are so respectful. Even though walking through rail stations can get crazy, even the simplest of gestures are used in order to show respect for others. Even in the hustle and bustle of city life, there is a calmness and tranquility among the people, which is hard to find in large American cities. I look forward to seeing this calm and tranquility as we continue our travels outside of the big Tokyo!
Trey-san says:
My first impression of when we were flying in was kind of mixed because we flew over a rural area of Tokyo. There were tons of rice fields everywhere, and no big buildings at all. But we got to the airport, off the plane, and I was immediately noticing lots of things. I began to notice that everything was much smaller and scaled down. The steps I could tell were smaller, the ceilings were lower, and the rooms everywhere much smaller. Overall my first impression was pretty close in some ways to what I expected, and there were many things much different also.
Ben-san says:
In the airport when we landed, Trey and I received a few looks within the first five minutes we were here. I could do nothing but laugh. Once we got to the hotel I started noticing how small everything was, like the slippers, the showers were short, and just everyday things. So size has been the "biggest" factor so far.
Noel-san says:
Although I am no stranger to big cities, Tokyo's Shinjuku district is amazing. On the bus ride from Narita Airport, I felt like I was traveling to Boston, but once we got into Shinjuku, the neon lights and shouting street vendors made it clear that this was no East Coast city. I almost got lost among the sights and the smells, and I only went a few blocks from the hotel! The food here is fantastic! I had a ketsune udon for supper (the first real Japanese meal I have had), and I'm already in love with the local cuisine. The atmosphere is vibrant and energetic, yet I feel very at ease here. Hopefully I'll get used to the local area and explore some more today!
Katie-san says:
One of the first things I noticed while riding the bus to our hotel was how close some of the buildings are, especially the apartment-like buildings people live in. Another thing I noticed on our bus ride was how much vegetation (trees and such) there is throughout Tokyo. Today (Friday), while we were at the Sensoji Temple, I noticed many different behaviors among the Japanese people. #1: They love to give the peace sign while taking group pictures. I couldn't help but smile when I saw groups of all ages doing this while posing for the camera. I also noticed how helpful and selfless they are when someone dropped a folder and papers went flying everywhere. Everyone ran to help pick up the papers right away; something I wouldn't necessarily expect to see in the U.S. Throughout the day I noticed many other little details such as everyone has a phone charm and Hello Kitty & anime are very popular. However, I was most impressed with how everyone follows unwritten rules like staying to the left in a single file line while riding the escalator or walking up steps or in the street. The culture here is so different than the U.S. and so far I absolutely love it.
Raeann-san says:
Right away we noticed the green within the city; it is so much prettier than cities at home. It also makes the city seem more inviting. I was surprised by the number of people of different nationalities within Tokyo; I was expecting only Asian people. Also, I was surprised by how much info is given in English. I'm very glad for this because it makes getting around that much easier. Finally, I was surprised by the style of people here. It is very eclectic, and now two people wear the same thing (minus school uniforms). Also, almost every woman I saw was wearing HIGH heels, and the rest wore fashionable flats. It all looked very painful to me! But I envy them. I'd wear those heels if I could. :)
Christina-san says:
My first impressions of Japan are largely based on contrasts. We read about Japanese appreciation of darkness and shadow, but there are so many bright advertisements and neon lights. On the whole people are quiet, but shops have blaring music or shouting advertisers. I find it very interesting that people can be so intuned to a near-whisper but seem to tune out the sensory overload in the blaring pachinko arcade. I greatly appreciate the contrast of nature within the urban concrete with many more plants along streets. In most large cities in the U.S. there might be a few fenced-in trees along a block, but here they are much more prevalent (perhaps due to Shinto's respect for nature).
Logan-san says:
So far I've really enjoyed my time in Japan. Everything seems very modern and clean. I thought the Shinto shrine was cool and calming, and I feel like it had a cleansing effect on me. Last night I got the chance to meet up with my Japanese brother, Shohei. It was very nice to see him again as we went to a traditional izakaya. After much food and laughs, I've decided my time here has been well worth the long journey.
For now, Charlie-san gets the last word:
So I've been in Japan for about three days now, but it feels like I've been here a week. We have done so many things and seen so much! The Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples were amazing, and even though there were a lot of people there it was very quiet and peaceful. We also ate at a traditional Japanese restaurant where you take your sushi off of a conveyor belt! My favorite part of Japan by far has been the people. Everyone has been so nice to us! Last night me and Logan went out with seven locals to an izakaya which is a very traditional restaurant. We sat there for hours eating, talking, and telling jokes to each other. It reminded me of my group of friends back home. I am excited to see what the rest of the week will bring!
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