Sayonara
Japan was an amazing and fun country to visit but it is always wonderful to come home to your own bed where you don't have to sleep on bean pillows and eat fish for breakfast. I have never been so happy to eat Italian food again, speak Italian, and see beautiful white men. :) I would love to go back and visit but I could probably never live there. The country and its' culture is like being on another planet. Culture shock is the right word here. Next semester I will be going down under to...Australia.
Disneyland
A group of us left at the break of dawn this morning for a long journey into Narita. Narita is a very small town outside of Tokyo where the airport is located. Stephanie, Carrie, and I decided to go to Disneyland instead of staying in town. The park was full of people including families and teenagers our own age. The rides were mostly in Japanese and it was funny to hear Mickey speak in Japanese on the parade. The characters were all western and announcements were held in both languages. The Japanese are in love with Disney and all had some sort of ears on their head symbolizing a character. The place was also decorated for Halloween and the store shelves were empty because people were buying everything in sight. The stores are definitely catered and marketed towards the local culture. The park itself was just like the one in California. It was a perfect way to end our trip in Japan.
Hiroshima
I was reluctant to leave the city of Osaka but at the same time, I couldn't wait to see Hiroshima. We folded as many paper cranes that we could in order to try and reach 1,000 but I think we only made up to about 600-700 cranes. This is done as a peace offering when you attend the peace park. There was a girl who was dying from cancer because of the radiation from the bombing and she started floding oragami. Her friends folded 1,000 cranes in hopes that she would get better but the girl died. Even though the girl was dying, she found it in her heart to forgive. This was the most extraordinary and emotional part about the whole trip. The Japanese people don't hold a grudge and/or resentment towards the US and what they did in WWII with the atomic bomb. Now, they are promoting peace all over the world and the ban of nuclear weapons with the peace museum, which showed the history of the bombing, and the beautiful peace park. It was amazing to see the a-bomb building still standing within a reconstructed city. We gave our cranes and each said a prayer. I learned a lot in the museum. It was hard to see school children cry as they walked through the museum that displayed what America did to their ancestors. After, we were approached by children whom each handed us a paper crane with a message for peace along with it.
What I Do Best
I decided to absorb what Osaka had to offer me in terms of shopping. Sivi, Terence, and I first rode the funny looking ferris wheel, which gave us an incredible view of the entire city of Osaka. Then we started our treck amongst the shops. I finally found jeans that fit me and I am so glad to say that I will never have to heam these pants. Now I know where I need to go buy pants. :) I managed to also find a pair of shoes and got my mother a cool new digital camera, that I will be borrowing of course. We had dinner at Charlie Brown, where they had a hard time figuring out what a Rum and Coke consisted of and I ate the most delicious lobster and pasta I probably have ever had in my entire life. We watched the baseball game as well. Baseball has become a very popular sport within Japan.
Imperial Palace
Before we left for Osaka this morning, we had an appointment to tour the Imperial Palace of Kyoto. The guide was difficult to understand and the palace didn't impress me. I personally enjoyed the castle much more. Although, the graden within the palace was extraordinary. We parted for Osaka shortly after and were in for a big surprise upon our arrival. Osaka, I would have to say, is one of my favorite cities. We were in the best district of the entire town where the building lights were as bright as Las Vegas's, the shopping was endless, and the night life was rockin. We found a TexMex restaurant and had some relief food once again from fish and then went to an Irish Pub. I guess by now we are missing our western society. The night life was lagging for Osaka because it was a Monday night but we enjoyed ourselves none-the-less as always.
Movieland
Another one of Susan's friends showed us around today but I cannot remember her name for the life of me. We went and saw the Toji temple, which is the largest being 5 stories high. The surrounding temples had some very large exquisite Buddhas to look at. The two main religions are Shinto and Buddhism. After, we went to Movieland, which is sort of an amusement park but with movie making features instead of rides. It's sort of like Universal Studios. Terence and I dressed up as king and queen in taditional clothing and had our picture taken. Then we went to the haunted house, which was very scary indeed. I'm not sure why but the Japanese absolutely love the Halloween holiday. It was being advertised and promoted all over the country. In the evening we had another traditional dinner.
Hungover
Today was a long day. Susan's home stay sister Harumi showed us around Kyoto. We started at the Zen garden that was within a Temple. This garden had twelve stones and the spectator is to sit in front of the garden and interpret it the way he/she sees fit. David saw the stones as islands within the sea. I really didn't see anything. After the garden we went to the golden palace that is actually painted with gold. I really liked it here but then again what woman wouln't. We had lunch at a noodle place and I got rice that I couldn't eat because it had raw egg on it. I'm not sure why the Japanese like their food this way but it doesn't go over well when your hungover. After lunch we went and saw the parade that was going on in town because of an annual festival. The Japanese love to have historical and cultural festivals. At the end of the parade we went to the handicraft market and I did what I do best and shopped some more. For dinner we had a wonderful feast of shabu shabu, which is Japanese style fondu. It was delicious. We went to bed early.
Dancing Queen
This morning we went to the Nagoya Castle. This castle, like most in Japan, is still under reconstruction because of the air raids commited by the US in WWII. It was a beautiful castle with a surrounding garden. There were two gold fishes that stood at the top of the castle that now have been reconstructed and are supposed to bring good luck. The inside of the castle is now a museum. After our visit to the castle, we parted for Kyoto. In Kyoto we had a traditional Japanese dinner that consisted of cooking your own meat and then dipping it into raw egg. No wonder why most westerners don't usually like the food. After, we went to a club. I think we were in the wrong district because it was full of business men looking for a good time. We stayed at the club and I danced my heart out on stage for my fellow classmates since no one else was there.
Nagoya
Today we met with the University students of Nagoya. The students we met are students learning English in order to, teach it later on or work in a travel agency. The school was magnificant and even had a hair salon in it. The students didn't speak very well and it was hard to understand them with their accents but we managed to get along well. We went to Baskin n Robbins for ice cream and tried the Macha flavor, which was green tea and very disgusting mind you. Then we went to another temple and did some more shopping. Let me tell you, if you want low self asteem go to Japan. I fit into nothing, it was very depressing. Although, they are having this huge craze with rabbit and fox fur so therefore at least I got some new fur out of the deal. Then we went and had our pictures taken at one of those picture booths. The Japanese are obsessed with arcades and gambling halls that you put your money in, in order to win prizes. That evening we ate at Hard Rock and I had some great hot wings. We went to bed early because of exhaustion.
Near Death Experience
So we just so happened to visit Japan during typhoon season and therefore had to accomadate our trip to the weather. Because of flooding we had to take a very small bus through the winding mountains of Japan in order to get to Kanazawa. Here we visited the Kenroku-en garden. This was very beautiful to see. I especially loved the huge scary looking spiders that were all over the place. There were also tea houses within the garden. The Japanese love their green tea. So much so that everything in that country smells like it. From here, we left for Nagoya. That night we went to Shooters, an American restaurant, and had the best chili cheese fries ever along with girls night out all you can drink specials.
Trains, Planes, & Automobiles
Today we took a very long trip out of our way into a small town called Takayama. Here we saw a Sake brewery. After our tour we got to sample some. It was Yummy. Sake can be drunk either hot or cold. I prefer it cold. :) For dinner, we happened to come across a Mexican restaurant that fed us good food. It was refreshing to take a break from fish.
Fish For Breakfast
There's nothing like having fish for breakfast. I thought my family was wierd but the Japanese definitely win. Today was rainy and cold for my standards. Stephanie, Katie, and I started our day at the Beya, which is the sumo wrestling training ground. It was interesting to see fat men in thongs throwing each other to the ground. From here we proceeded to the Ueno District where we took a walk in the Ueno park. Of course this didn't take place until after we had our Starbucks. Yes Starbucks, you want to talk about globalization, Japan is a great example. There are circle K's, 7-11's, Starbuckses, AM/PM's, Subway's, Pizza Hut's, McDonald's, Baskin Robbin's, Costco's, etc. the list goes on. Although companies have localized within Japan the most amazing thing is that they haven't strayed away from their culture and traditions but incorporated them into modern ways. An example was on the train when the ticket checker comes into the car he bows when entering and exiting. From Ueno we went to Harajuku, the so called Champs' Elysee of Japan. Because it was raining, we didn't get to see anyone dressed up but I did happen to do some wonderful shopping. We later had lunch in the Ginza District at a beer brewery. Alcoholism is vey high in Japan. The sony showroom was cool and so were the streets that looked like New York's town square. More fish for dinner and all you could eat and drink at the bar. After, we went to a Karaeoke place. You get a group of poeple together and pick a room. For about 30 dollars it was unlimited drinks and karaeoke for 2 hours. This is a favorite past time for the Japanese. I absolutely loved the fact that this culture is very big on the night life and doesn't start to awaken until late morning. Let's say I went to bed drunk and happy.
Japan or Bust!
After a long night and a crazy sexy party, I left Lugano for a 10 hour flight from London to Narita. 2 hours later on my first train in Japan and we arrived in Tokyo "the land of the rising sun." We had barely begun to unwind from the long trip, and the building started to sway and the ground to shake. We had experienced our first earthquake. Apparently, these are very common in Japan. After being shaken up a bit, the girls and I went to the temple that was located nearby. We stayed in the Asakusa District and the temple market was fabulous. Mt first impression, which stayed with me throughout the trip was....Japan is the cleanest, most civilized, and well dressed country I have ever been to. That evening, I attended a great tempura dinner that was followed by a trip to the Akihabara District, where I bought my father a brand new high defintion, digital video camera. Of course this was at high Japanese prices that are still much lower than the United States'.
