At least at updating this blog, and I apologize for that. I know a lot of you sit long hours in front of your computer screens eagerly awaiting another update, and when it doesn’t come it just ruins your whole week. Haha just kidding, but I do know that those of you who do read this really look forward to hearing about what I’m up to next so I will try to make more effort from now on!
So because it HAS been so long since my last blog this one will be coming in 5 parts, Disney Sea, Kyoto/Nara, School/Daily Life, What’s next, and Sending me stuff.
Part One: Disney Sea
So the first thing I guess you should know is that Japan has two Disney parks. There is Tokyo Disneyland, which is basically a copy of the same setup/rides you will find in any other Disneyland/world park (example: it’s a small world, pirates of the caribbean , teacups, etc.) where as Tokyo Disney Sea is more original. After going I would say that it is closer to Epcot because of the fact that the park is divided into different “themed” sections (American Waterfront, Mermaid Lagoon, The Mysterious Island, etc.) all placed around this bay of water, it really reminded me of the World Showcase at Epcot.
I went with my Japanese penpal, Ayano, who I have had know for maybe five years? We have written letters, exchanged small gifts, and emailed each other for a looooong time. Often times, we would have deep conversations, and I feel like I have understood Japanese culture better through her. This was our first time meeting so I was very excited. Since she lives in Gifu we made plans to meet at Tokyo Station at 8:30 in the morning (the parks open at (9:00). I was not happy about having to wake up at 6am on a SATURDAY, but Ayano had it worse since she had to take the shikansen (bullet train) at 6:30am. So I really have no right to complain. We found each other ok and got on the train to the Disney parks. We arrived about 9am and had to switch to the park lines (think monorail) to get to Disney Sea. I have to admit it was awkward between us at first, because I was nervous to speak in Japanese and she was nervous to speak in English (but she is fluent in it, she just has trouble with pronunciation from time to time) so I would use English most of the time and she would use Japanese but we would understand each other, if that makes sensehaha… we must have looked very strange to others.
The actual park was impressive. I loved a lot of the design. I just wish it would have been less busy that day because it was SO PACKED with people. We had resurved tickets ahead of time, but still had to wait and hour in line to actually get in! I assume because they were holding their special Halloween themed events (we went on October 24th), plus it being a weekend day, that that is why it was so busy. Because of there being so many people, and because Ayano didn’t want to stand in line for longer than a half an hour, we didn’t ride many rides which did disappoint me but it really couldn’t be helped. I would like to go again and try to ride more of the rides, so I might be going again around Christmas time with my friend Molly when her Mom and Sister come to visit for Christmas time. I would also really like to go to Disneyland too! So maybe I will make that happen somehow. I took a ton of pictures of the park though, which I will be posting later today hopefully, so look out for those. Two things that I really observed from going to Disney Sea is that all the girls, no matter what age, were wearing the minnie mouse ears, or hats or clip ons that they sold in the park. I even gave in a bought some in the end. Because they were too cute, and where else am I going to be free to wear something like that without being judged? Haha! The other observation was that Japanese people LOVE free stuff and limited editions. There were CRAZY LONG lines all over the park for either the “Halloween ticket lottery” (win free stuff) or limited edition Halloween merchandise (like jewelry, cellphone charms, coffee mugs). Ayano and I actually stood in line for about 15-30 for a halloween mug, but you got tasty black sesame mousse served along with it. We sort of got to see some of the Halloween parades too which were neat. The water show was the most impressive. They had fireworks and water fountains, and people on jetskis, then at the end these big floats with the Disney characters came out and they all sang a song. The people on the floats were dressed in crazy cool costumes and were playing the taiko drums, and there were also people flying these rigs of like 6 kites all connected together. I was really impressed that they didn’t crash them into each other. Towards the end of our time at the park, like around 2 or 3 it started raining which really sucked because neither of us brought an umbrella with us and they didn’t sell them in the park. We decided to just go get our shopping in the gift shops done and go since it was getting rather miserable out. The first shop we went in to was so pack you could barely move anywhere it was so uncomfortable. So the next shop was a little less crowded, like barely, so I just did my shopping there as quickly as I could and then we left. We headed to Shibuya where we foung umbrellas to buy, and stopped by the famous 109 building so that Ayano could go to this one store she wanted to buy clothes from. Then we went to Harajuku next to eat dinner at this one place I had been wanting to go, but honestly I wasn’t very impressed by it and I don’t think Ayano was either. We ended our night by go to Roponggi Hills to the Mori Arts Center so that we could go up to their observation floor to see all the amazing Tokyo city lights at night, there was also a really awesome view of Tokyo Tower from there. I took video and I’m think of making a music video out of it so look forward to that sometime. We both said our goodbyes at the station and parted ways. Maybe we will be able to find the time to meet up again before I leave in Febuary.
Part Two: Kyoto/Nara
Where to start… well, I had planned since I decided to come to Japan that at some point I would somehow get myself to Kyoto. Because besides Hiroshima, Kyoto is the only other place that I was like I MUST visit before I leave Japan in February. Since we are going to Hiroshima in December with my Study Abroad Program CIEE that was already covered, and they are also visiting Kyoto in the spring however I will only be staying the one semester unfortunately so I decided to go on my own. Lucky enough I met Erika, a Sophia (my university) student volunteer for CIEE, she also really wanted to go to Kyoto in the fall like me so that we could view the Autumn colors. And because she is Japanese she could easily make the reservations at the Youth Hostels (since they were way cheaper than staying at a hotel), bus/night tours, and get us around Kyoto and Nara because she could actually read and speak Japanese (She is also fluent in English). I was SO UNBELIEVABLY grateful for this fact. Not that I didn’t think that I couldn’t have managed to find my way around myself, just that it would have taken me A LOT longer.
We planned our trip here and there about a month before hand and then on the 30th (October) we left after our last class got out (we both happen to have the same class that day) we took the Chuo line to Tokyo station and got on the Shikansen headed for Osaka (stops in Kyoto) at around 5:30-6:00pm. This meant that I had to bring all the stuff I would need for 5 days with me to school (on the RUSH HOUR trains I might add) so needless to say I packed very light. We arrived in Kyoto around 8-8:30pm if I recall correctly. We scoped the station out a little bit before hopping on our bus to get to our Hostel that we were staying at. We rode the buses EVERYWHERE while in Kyoto and Nara because it was very easy and pretty cheap. It was an interesting experience for me because I rarely even ride buses in the States. The only one recently in the past two years has been the campus commuter at Grand Valley State University. So to be honest, when we got to the Hostel (about a 45min ride which was actually kind of nice, time to rest) I really wasn’t expecting much at all since the price for Hostels is so cheap. But I was pleasantly surprised! The facilities were amazing for what we were paying and it reminded me a lot of staying in a dorm or being at summer camp because everything is communal and there were bunk beds. Now, the week leading up to this trip I had been sick with a bad cold and actually stayed home two days that week because of a stupid fever, so I was still recovering. Also you should know that when you are sick in Japan you have to wear one of those medical masks “to prevent the spreading of germs” (even though it doesn’t really work) so after a week of wearing those all the time it gets really annoying and old. I’m just saying. Anyways, when we got to the Hostel I was just feeling really exhausted and hot, like maybe a fever was coming on so I decided to take some meds and go to bed early.
The next day I felt better, so I freed myself from wearing the mask figuring that fresh air would do me good. On this day, Halloween, we had signed up for a bus tour that would take us to three different areas/temples that are famous in Kyoto for the fall colors. We had to meet at the station at 9 so we went a bit early so we could have breakfast at Mister Donuts. I was the only foreigner on the bus tour but that was fine because the pamphlet they handed out with information about the place was in both English and Japanese and Erika translated whenever the tour guide spoke about something we were seeing.
The first temple we stopped at was the Daikakuji which I have to say made a very good impression on me. It wasn’t the most flashy out of all the places we visited but If I had to choose a favorite, I may just choose this place. The atmosphere was pleasant and I liked the design and set up of the buildings. There were some amazing art and Kimonos to observe. The Gardens and Lake were GOURGOUS! I was just really impressed, I guess I liked it so much because it felt like someplace lived in you know? Like there was a homey feel to it, very peaceful, and I felt like I wouldn’t really mind living there.
Next we headed to Arashiyama (a mountain area) and were giving a bunch of time to do whatever we wanted. In this area, there a ton of places to eat and go shopping but there are also a few temples to visit also and the famous bamboo forest trail (which was actually featured in the movie Memoirs of a Geisha!) Erika and I decided to go visit the Tenryuji temple so that we could see the famous dragon painting on the ceiling of one of the halls. It is said that anywhere you stand in the room, the dragon is staring at you, and its true… it must be some kind of optical illusion.
Afterwards we walked a bit in the gardens and climb up the hilled area to get a better view before heading out to find the bamboo forest trail. The forest was really magical, the light through all the green was really pretty, and the bamboo was so tall! It was a little hard walking uphill at points though (because we were on a freaking mountain!). There were signs warning not to feed the monkeys, but we didn’t actually see any so I don’t know if I believe those signs. Since we only had a few hours, we headed back down closer to where we had to meet the bus and found a place next to the river to eat lunch. It was a really stunning view and I felt very fortunate to be eating really tasty tofu with this amazing view in front of me. We ended up losing track of time a bit and had to run back to where the bus was so that we wouldn’t miss it. We literally made it JUST in time! The rules were that if you weren’t there at the designated time then the bus left without you. So it was serious.
The last place we went on our tour was Tofukuji temple, which is probably the most famous spot to view the fall colors at. The tour guide told us that if we came just a week later that we would have to wait in line to get in and that we wouldn’t be about to move much or really enjoy because it would be so crowded. I felt fortunate that we came when we did then. Even though not all the trees had changed yet, it was still very very beautiful and I was satisfied. We were given time to walk around on our own and then we were to meet up at a certain spot at a certain time. But when Erika and I got to that spot no one was there so we started freaking out! We thought that they had left us even though we were on time. So I went back to see if I could find anyone from our group and Erika stayed there to call the company. I didn’t go too far back into the temple and when I came back the guide was there with Erika, turns out most of the group went ahead to the bus already. Erika and I were kind of annoyed by that. After we made it back to the station and the tour was over, we had about an hour before the temples closed (The norm is around 4-4:30 ) so we decided to go to one more Temple before heading back to our Hostel.
We decided on the Daigoji since it was close to the station, and it has the tallest pagoda in all of Japan. We ended up getting there about a half and hour before closing so we just walked around a bit and took pictures, we didn’t actually go into the MAIN part of temple because we didn’t want to pay and then get kicked out 15 minutes later. We headed back to the station, bought some Subway for dinner (yes they have Subway here haha) and headed back to the Hostel. We ate in our room and since it was still rather early, we watched a couple episodes of Doctor Who on my ipod before taking a shower and going to bed.
The next morning we had and early start because we were going around everywhere on our own this day and we had a lot of places planned. Luckily we bought a bus pass for only about 5 bucks. We started the day off at Senjusangendo which houses over a thousand Kannon statues. Unfortunately no photography is allowed inside the hall. But it was really neat getting to see them all. There is also a archery competition held on the grounds every year so it was neat to get to see the area where it’s held.
Then next stop was Kiyomizudera temple, a pretty popular spot to go (which was also featured in Memoirs of a Geisha). Now I have to be honest, I would have appreciated this place a lot more if I wasn’t dying for air the whole time. It is a long climb up a freaking mountain to reach it, and a lot of stairs on top of that. But that aside, the views made it all worth it there is a “stage” that sits out along this tree line and you can look out at the Kyoto skyline. There is also a waterfall there that if you drink the water your soul is then purified. So of course Erika and I drank some! On our way out we saw some fake geishas getting pictures taken. There are places you can pay to be dressed up like a geisha and then have a photoshoot done. On our way down though, back to the bus stop, Erika and I think we saw the real deal. There was what we think was a maiko (geisha in training) in the backseat of a taxi and the reason we think she was real is because there was an older woman in a kimono sitting in the front seat (probably her trainer) and we were near Gion, the last Geisha district. She looked at us for a brief moment as we passed by the taxi and from that look she felt like the real deal. There is just something very poised and refined about geishas. It’s rather sad that they are such a rare sight now a days.
Heian Jinu shrine was our next stop, one of the few shrines we visited on our trip (temples are Buddhist, and Shrines are Shinto). It was Shichigosan day (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shichi-Go-San) so there were a ton of cute kids running around in adorable kimonos. We went into the gardens (which were also featured in Memoirs of a Geisha) and were surprised by how quiet they were (because everyone was were the shichigosan events were going on). We were lucky enough to witness two wedding parties also while we were there.
It started to sprinkle a little bit by this time but we had expected this and had brought our umbrellas. Our next stop was Ginkakuji temple, the grounds were very pretty and even thought it was under construction the wooden pavilion was lovely. This wooden structure was supposed to represent the simplicity of Japanese design. Whereas the sister pavilion, at Kinkakuji, which is made out of gold is supposed to show the grandness. We got to climb up into the hill overlooking the temple and had some really nice views before leaving.
At this time it really started seriously raining. We had bought our lunch at the station bakery before leaving so we found a bench next to a small stream and sat under our umbrellas eating our lunches trying to not get too wet. It was pretty fail.
Next was Kinkakuji, with it’s golden pavilion. This is probably the most famous temple in Kyoto because everyone wants to see this pavilion. To be honest thought it was pretty miserable walking through it when it was pouring down rain. By the time we got back to the bus stop both our shoes were soaked and our jeans were wet up to our knees.
At least our next stop, the Nijojo Castle, was mostly inside. One thing I should also let you know is that in most cases when you are at a temple or shrine and go inside a building (or in this case a castle) you are required to take off your shoes. This got really annoying as you can imagine because we went to so many places and I had to tie and untie my shoes every time. Anyways, this castle is where the famous Shoguns stayed and it was pretty impressive. Again, inside you were not permitted to taken any photos but it was still cool to get to see everything. At the end of the castle they had a special Kimono exhibit going on where people got to design kimonos. It was really neat to go through and see everyone different takes and ideas.
Our final stop of the night was the Shorenin Temple for our night tour that we signed up for. We were a little late because we had trouble finding it and it was pouring rain and dark. So they had started dinner without us but we were able to just go in and sit down and start eating. We were pretty soaked at this point and must have been quite a site but the food was amazing and really filling. It was all traditional Kyoto food, and the majority was vegetarian friendly (lots of tofu, etc.) so I was very pleased. The tour guide gave a little speech before starting to take us around. I was not impressed with him AT ALL because he kept just leaving people behind and Erika and I were finally just like whatever we are going off on our own. He wasn’t that informative. We were very fortunate to get to see the Blue Cetaka painting which is a National Treasure of Japan. It is said if you make a wish or prayer to the Blue Cetaka then you have great chance of success. Since this was a night visit, they light up the gardens and put on a little light show. It was really almost other worldly walking through them, seeing these 800+ year old trees being lite up in blues and reds. Almost Alice in Wonderland-like. I took a video since my camera sucks at night pictures so sometime I will edit it and make a video for you to see.
By the time we got to the Hostel we were exhausted as you can imagine so we took a hot shower and went to bed planning to sleep in a little bit the next day and to just head straight to Nara after checking out.
Once we got to Nara we went to the Hostel to check-in and drop off our stuff and then decided on only going to one temple since we needed to recover our energy for the previous day’s adventures. I’m happy we did because it made the whole day a lot more relaxing. On the train to Nara (which was less than an hour because it was an express we found these really pimping seats, they were like really private v.i.p tucked away in this corner with this awesome big window (it was a double decker car) but when the conductor came to check our tickets and we explained that we didn’t know where to sit so we just sat here and we were willing to pay the difference and it was only like 5 bucks more which was shocking because we were thinking it was going to be expensive.
The Hostel in Nara was not as nice as Kyoto’s but Kyoto’s had just be remodeled. The temple we decided to go to was the Horyuji temple. We chose it because it was a little far, one the outside of Nara, and the other places we had decided on were all in relatively the same area. Plus, Horyuji has the second largest pagoda in Japan and one of the oldest in the world. It was about a 20 minute walk from the station to the temple but it was nice to see the town and the landscape. The entrance leading up to the temple is neat because it’s a tunnel of pine trees. Once we got into the Temple and were looking at the pagoda we met this really friendly old man who offered to explain the statues to us that were inside the pagoda. Of course Erika translated for me. He then offered to show us around the rest of the temple if we liked. We were both so shocked and amazing by how kind-hearted he was. I also think he was excited to find some people who were young but actual had an interest in learning about the temple. I felt like he was our tour guide! He knew so much and showed us little secrets that most people over look. He told us that he lived in Tokyo but moved to Nara and was a member of the temple and loved coming so much that it was one of his favorite places. I could understand that because it really was a peaceful place. Unfortunately we had to part way after going through the museum part of the temple because he had to go off to the special exhibit and we were going off another way so we didn’t get a chance to properly thank him by taking him out for coffee or something. We went back to the Hostel after leaving and went to the small supermarket down the street to buy our dinner. Staying in this Hostel was a little more uncomfortable because the room was for 8 people instead of 4 like Kyoto, but we managed.
On our final day we ended up going four places before leaving Nara and we got up really early. We started out at the Nara Park (the place famous for the deer) and the Todaiji, the temple of the great Buddha in Nara (the largest Buddha in Japan), and I was so glad to get there as it was opening because there were only a few people there so it was really peaceful and it was nice to take our time and not feel crowded. But as we were leaving a bunch of noisy school groups were coming in so we were really grateful. Erika was a little wary of the deer but I felt right at home with them after having worked so long at Deer Forest (my part time job).
Next was the Kasuga Jinja, the only other shrine we visited, and here ironically it was also a Shichigosan day. We met an adorable little girl that couldn’t have been older than two years old and she was singing this children’s song about acorns and she said hello and bye bye to us in English, I about DIED from the cuteness!
We went to the Kofukuji temple next and were amazed but the huge line of the viewing of the special exhibit statue, so we opted out on viewing it. The prayer hall was very pretty though and the pagodas were cool to see. We also bought some warm dough ball things (think little cakes) and they were so good because it was a really cold day. We ate them happily as we walked around.
Finally, we went to Gangoji as our final temple stop. It wasn’t very flashy and there weren’t any huge impressive structure it was just rather simple and it was kind of nice to end with that. We did get to walk through there special exhibit though where they had a bunch of statues and swords and things.
For lunch we went back to Nara park outside the Todaiji, because they were having a food festival! We got some carrot soup, and some kind of squash casserole thing that was really tasty. I bought some jewelry there too because this woman was selling homemade jewelry and she was nice. She was impressed with my Japanese and I was like “I’m really bad”. Afterwards we went and bought a hot sweet potato (traditional to sell in the fall/winter) to split and it was sooooooo goooooood because it was so cold.
We ended up walking back to the station (20mins) because it was so insanely crowded because of the festival and because they closed down one of the streets the traffic was barely moving so riding the bus was useless. We made it back, got on a train for Kyoto, and tried not to fall asleep on the train and miss our stop. When we got to Kyoto we did some shopping inside the station before buying some bentos and getting out our shikansen. We ended up making it back around 6-6:30 so I made it home by about 7:30 and was very tired but satisfied by all we accomplished.
Part Three: School/Daily Life
School has been kind of crazy lately, midterms have been going and are still going on. Plus I have a few presentations coming up. But it being my last semester in college, I’m used to all this by now. Just finding the motivation sometimes is difficult. I have a nice group of friends that I hang out with everyday because we have classes or breaks together so that makes having to go to school and have these long commutes more bearable. I calculated that by the end of the semester I will have spent week of my life riding the train to and from school, SEVEN WHOLE DAYS! And that doesn’t even count riding the train on the weekend. But honestly riding the train isn’t so bad coming home because it is when I get to observe people the most.
Another thing that is beginning to get hard to deal with day after day is the cold. Japan doesn’t have central heating. My college is heated, and the living room of my house is heated by a heater so it’s always warm, even the trains are heated, but our side of the house and the bathroom is not heated. This make taking a shower a fun experience, but getting into the hot bath really enjoyable haha. It’s just hard sleepy in a really cold room. We have “air-cons” as they call them here, which are these things above our bed that can either be an air conditioner or a heater, but we are only allowed to use them right before we got to bed and when we get up and are getting ready, oh and also if we are in our rooms for a while. Usually only for a half and hour at a time to just warm the room up a bit. I sleep with three blankets because it’s so cold. It wouldn’t be so bad but my floor is wooden, and the house is kind of drafty. Plus there are large window that are well insulated at all. Its something that is definitely going to take some getting used to, especially since it’s getting colder and colder. It’s been mostly in the 50’s but sometimes dropping into the high 40’s in the early morning. Still, winter in Tokyo isn’t going to be even HALF as bad as Michigan because there is going to be no snow (maybe once or twice) and it’s usually in the 40’s sometimes 30’s from what I hear.
It was my host father’s birthday recently so we threw him a little party and I got to meet the older brother (there is a son and a daughter in this family) finally and his wife which are both good at English so that was nice. Okaasan (my host mom) made a TON of food it was all so good, and Maggie made the cake which was freaking heaven in my mouth. It was like a triple chocolate devil’s food cake.
Moving on, Christmas time is coming up and I have already bought Christmas presents for my host family and Maggie (the other exchange student who I live with). Now everyone back home, be warned, you will not be getting Christmas presents from me because it’s too much to ship from here. But I’m planning on Christmas cards. You’re getting souvenirs when I get back anyways so don’t be jealous. I bought my host mom two cookbooks in Japanese because they were a set (vol. 1 & 2) and I didn’t really know what kind of cookbook to get her, she just loves cooking in general. I got my host sister a Japanese Italian pasta cookbook, because she also loves cooking and I know she loves pasta. I won’t say what I got Maggie because she may stumble upon this entry, but if you are really curious to know you can just message me. Finally I got my host father a card magic book because the other night he preformed a bunch of tricks for Maggie and I and freaking blew my mind with his mad skills. He made a couple mistakes but he said he has forgotten a lot and wishes he could remember. I asked him how he learned and he said he used to love magic as a child so I figured this would be a good gift. Plus I’m expecting to get more magic shows out of it.
Part Four: What’s Next
In December we are going to Hiroshima and Miyajima (4th-6th). I’m really looking forward to this trip and I know that we are going to have a survivor of the bomb come and tell us her story. It’s going to be very emotional and I feel very fortunate because these people are not going to live much longer.
My host sister Maki and I are planning to go to a musical or maybe the circus sometime in December so that should be lots of fun. We are thinking either Wicked or Cats, and it will be in Japanese.
Christmas break doesn’t start for us until the 22nd or 23rd I think? And then we have off until the 4th. Christmas Eve is a huge date holiday for couples here, so some friends and I are going to go out all together that night and just be crazy and obnoxious foreigners haha. We won’t be too bad though, we just want to have fun and eat Christmas cake! New Years is a bigger deal here and I look forward to the first shrine visit of the year and getting to eat a big dinner with the family.
Part Five: Sending me stuff
If anyone feels the need to send me anything care package, letter, Christmas card, etc. then here is my address:
Melissa Hadley
CIEE Study Center
Sophia University, Yotsuya Campus
Bldg 11, Rm 108-7-1 Kioi-cho,
Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 102-8554
If you are thinking of things I might need I can help give you ideas there:
1) mechanical toothbrush (mine is dead and I’m throwing it out)
2) Japanese Cherry Blossom lotion from bath and body works (I’m going to run out soon)
3) Black converse ripoffs from Payless, because they are my favorite shoes and I finally killed my pair in Kyoto with all that rain and walking. I’m a size 10-10&1/2 (wide if they have it)
4) Kraft Mac & Cheese
These are really the only things I require at the moment.
Hope you all are healthy and well and I WILL update again SOON.
