Life in Japan

Hiroshima and Miyajima

So it has taken me a little longer to get around to this than I thought it would, but here (finally) is my quick recap of our Bing trip to Hiroshima and Miyajima.

On our first day, we spent the day in Hiroshima, mostly around the Peace Memorial Museum. We also stopped by the famous Dome Memorial and some of the other memorials of the August 6, 1945 dropping of the atomic bomb.

The Peace Memorial Museum was a very interesting experience. First, I’m very glad to be going back in just a couple of weeks when my family comes (!!) because it was too big and full of interesting exhibits to get through the whole thing in the amount of time we had. I actually only got through the newer portion of the museum, which focuses on the events leading up to the dropping of the bomb and information about the Manhattan Project and more recent nuclear developments. The main section of the museum has many remnants found after the bomb, and I look forward to getting a better look when we go back.

The next event had the biggest impact on me, and probably on most everyone on our trip — listening to a survivor give her account of the bombing. She lived just outside the part of the city that was completely destroyed, so she and her family were able to survive with relatively minor injuries. But some of the memories they were left with must have been just as difficult to carry as any physical pain. The amount of death that she witnessed all around her is something that no one – especially not a 9-year-old – should have to experience. It was also very interesting to hear her talk about their thoughts when the bomb was initially dropped, as they had nothing to compare it to and really had no way to comprehend the magnitude of destruction that had happened. One of the most touching parts for me was when she mentioned her maiden name – Yamane, the same as my mom’s family name. It was really a great experience, and I am very glad that there are people like Keiko who are willing to give these talks and share their views.

After the talk, we headed to the more light-hearted part of our trip: Miyajima island. Miyajima is most famous for the giant Torii gate that is in the water just off the coast. At low tide, people can walk all the way out to the gate. Unfortunately, a storm in April meant that the torii was under consruction when we were there, so it wasn’t much to look at. There was a sign saying construction is scheduled to finish two days before we go with the family, so fingers-crossed that Japanese construction is as prompt as the trains.

On the island we got to stay at a very nice Ryokan and enjoy a very full meal of the local specialities (mostly seafood) courtesy of the Bings, who sponsor much of the Stanford study-abroad program costs. We all walked around in our yukata (light, less formal kimonos), enjoyed the relaxing ofuro (bath) and sang some karaoke together. It was nice and relaxing and fun to hang out with the group.

On Saturday, we spent the day wandering around the island. Most of us bought some omiyage (travel gifts) and some of us visited the Daisho-in Temple which had lots of cool statues and shrines.

Here is a full album of the pictures I took, which include some things I didn’t mention in the post.

Golden Week In Tokyo

I apologize that this took so long, but after a week, here is my post about my Golden Week trip to Tokyo. I’m not sure how detailed I will be, but the full photo album at least has comments about where we went and some of the things we saw.

Our trip started late Wednesday night, as we (Allen, Kristian, Adam, Chris, and I) met up at Kyoto Station to take a night bus leaving around midnight. The bus was an interesting experience. It is a pretty cheap way to travel (although during Golden Week it was harder to find the cheap tickets) and it essentially saves a night of lodging, assuming you are able to sleep on the bus. The seats were decently comfortable, and they reclined pretty far back, but we also stopped every couple of hours to let people use the restroom and whatnot, so it was tough to get solid sleep. I got lucky and sat in the front row, so at least I didn’t have to worry about my legs getting crushed by a reclined seat in front of me (I wasn’t as lucky on the return trip).

We arrived in Tokyo at Shinjuku Station around 8 in the morning. Unfortunatley it was raining pretty hard, and it didn’t stop for about a day and a half. We didn’t mind finding things to do indoors, but I think the biggest downside to the rain was that it meant not many other people were out, so it really didn’t feel like we were in Tokyo. We spent the morning wandering around the Shinjuku area, mostly in department stores that were way out of our price range. As in desserts that cost more than I spend in a week on food. Or a hanger that costs more than any clothes I would have to hang on it. Or a camera (from a clothing store) that cost more than a new car ($30k+). So we were mostly just looking.

We then headed over to Akihabara, which is known for its electronics shops and (somewhat more recently) its anime culture. It was a very interesting place, even though a lot of the stuff were things I am not all that interested in.

When we got tired we headed over to our hostel where we would be staying for the next couple nights. It was…cheap. We didn’t expect all that much for the price we paid, but I was a little surprised that the beds and walls were made out of 2x4s and plywood. But the people were really nice.

On Friday morning we headed over to Tokyo Station and explored that area a little bit. We got to see the Tokyo International Forum and then made our way over to the Imperial Palace and then Tokyo Tower. It was really nice to be able to walk between most places and just see what was along the way.

That night, four of us went to Roppongi, which is a district known for its foreign presence. It was pretty cool to see all kinds of different ethnic foods lining the streets (American contributions: TGIF and KFC). It is a sight that is pretty familiar in the US, but pretty rare here. We ate at a Turkish restaurant, and we really enjoyed some flavors we haven’t had in the month we’ve been here.

On Saturday we went back to Shinjuku (where we arrived the first day) to see some sites in the better weather. The highlights were the huge clock in the NS Building, the view from the top of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Offices, and walking through a park.

Next we headed over to Harajuku to enjoy the weirdness of the district. It wasn’t quite as strange as I thought it might be, but there are definitely some different styles among the kids there (although it was also full of tourists while we were there) and there were a few in full out costumes.

For dinner we went to Shibuya, where we also got to see some attractions like the huge intersection and the statue of Hachiko, the dog that waited at the train station everyday for over 10 years after his owner passed away. For dinner we went to a somewhat fancy restaurant that had been recommended to us by someone who used to live in the area. The food was really good, but in such small portions that we ended up eating a second dinner later to avoid spending too much money.

On Sunday we returned to the area around Tokyo Station and explored Ginza Street, which has lots of shops and interesting buildings like the Sony Showroom. We also visited Ueno Park, but didn’t go too deep into it to see any of the museums or the zoo. The Ameyoko market under the Ueno tracks was very interesting, especially because they have lots of American products (“Ame” is short for “American”, although that wasn’t always what it was referring to — it used to be candy).

We finished out the trip at Asakusa, where we saw the famous Kaminarimon (“Thunder Gate”). The street between the gate and the temple is usually bustling with little shops, but we got there a little late and only a few were still open.

After that, we headed back to Tokyo Station where we caught our night bus back home. We got back to Kyoto around 8 in the morning and then ate some breakfast and took a little nap in a classroom until class started. Fortunately, I only had one class that day, so after that I headed home and slept some more. As I mentioned earlier, the bus ride back wasn’t quite so comfy, so I didn’t get all that much sleep.

Overall I had a really nice time in Tokyo. I’m glad I did it, especially because I’m not sure if/when I would have another chance to go, and there was no way I was going to be in Japan for 5 months and not even see Tokyo. That being said, I don’t have any strong desire to return right away. Part of that is cost — even travelling pretty lightly it is an expensive place and the costs add up quickly — but I also feel like there is so much left for me to explore in Kyoto and Osaka that I don’t have much of a reason to add Tokyo to that list.

One regret I do have, to an extent, is being a little too careful with my money. I’m glad we were able to fill most of our days without having to pay for entertainment, but it probably would have been cool to go to one museum or something. Another thing is I kind of wish we had gone to the fish market, just for the experience. I brought it up with my group, but no one seemed too thrilled with the idea (it probably would have meant staying out all night, as the auction happens before the trains start running).

Oh well, maybe that gives me motivation to have a “next time”.

Golden Week Begins

Here in Japan, this week is called “Golden Week” — a week of holiday for almost everyone. It is actually 4 seperate holidays — Showa Day (Emperor Hirohito’s Birthday) today (but observed on Monday), Constitutional Memorial Day on Thursday, Greenery Day on Friday, and Children’s Day on Saturday. Unfortunately this year we have class on Tuesday and Wednesday, but there is still plenty of time to get some exploring done.

Kaiyukan

We were able to start a little early, on Friday, as our Engineering TA canceled lab that day (and classes on Tuesday and Wednesday this week! He is nice.). To kick of the week, a few of us headed down to Kaiyukan — the Osaka Aquarium.

I really enjoy aquariums. I think a lot of the sea creatures are more interesting than animals we can see in zoos, and it is really cool to see them in the water. There were lots of cool animals like dolphins, sharks, rays, penguins, seals, and, of course, many random fish. But I was surprised to also see some less aquarium-like animals, like the capybaras. I think my favorite animal we saw were the otters. They just seemed to be having so much fun doing laps around the tank (although I’m sure they would love a larger habitat) and they seemed to move so fluidly through the water. It really made me wish I was a better swimmer (although they were more gliding than swimming).

It was hard to take good pictures, with the glass and a lot of fast-moving creatures, so I took some videos that captured it a little better. The album of photos and videos is up here.

Outside of the aquarium, there was also a huge Ferris Wheel that we rode. We waited longer so we could get in one of the cars with the see-through bottom, which was cool. It was nice to see the whole city from above.

Afterwards, we decided to be asian:

Reggie’s Birthday

Yesterday I went up to Shiga to help celebrate Reggie’s birthday (so many birthdays recently!). They had a place on the beach of Lake Biwa, and we all just hung out there for the day. Even though it was a really nice day the water was still a little too cold for swimming (although that didn’t stop Geoff from diving in fully clothed at the end of the night, when it was much colder outside). We played frisbee, barbequed food, and taught the non-Americans how to play beer pong. Fun day/night with fun people.

The way back was a little bit of an adventure, as I missed the train that would have gotten me to my transfer safely in time. Instead I had to take a train that gave me less than 10 minutes to get to a station a little over 15 minutes away to make my last train. When I got off of the first train I just started running (definitely need to get back into exercise mode, this was way tougher than it should have been). When I got to the station I could hear the train, and as I ran on the doors closed behind me. Little bit of a close call, but I made it!

Looking Forward

Tomorrow I’m going to head up to Shiga again for another BBQ, and then I’ll have my two days of class. But then on Wednesday night — Tokyo! I won’t bring my computer, so a recap of the trip (and pictures) will have to wait until we get back. We’re actually not getting back until a couple hours before class on Monday, so it might take a little bit of time after that depending on how much sleep I need to catch up on after. But I’m excited!

(Quick) Weekend Recap

It has been a busy few days, so I haven’t gotten around to this yet, but I figured I probably won’t have much more time this week, so I might as well get a quick update in now. This won’t be a full post, just some quick highlights.

Thursday

• Dressing up all fancy for the new student reception at the Kyoto Tower.
• Hanging out by the river, a very typical college-kid activity in Kyoto.

Friday

• Celebrating Aaron’s birthday with Mexican food.

Saturday

• Watching a Rakugo performance with our program.
• Meeting Japanese students at an English language workshop dinner, where I mostly spoke in Japanese and they mostly spoke in English.
• Singing Karaoke for the first time in Japan.

Sunday

• Staying at the Karaoke bar through the night and getting home at 8am.
• Playing ultimate frisbee with Geoff and friends.
• Sleeping.

Philosopher’s Walk, Kayaking, and More

I had a very full weekend, so here it all is in one post:

Friday

On Friday after class a group of us headed out to “tetsugaku no michi” — Philosopher’s Walk. The path follows a canal that is surrounded by plent of cherry blossoms, so it is a popular destination at this time of year. It was nice to be able to just walk through and enjoy it all without having to rush off anywhere. We ended at Ginkaku-ji (Temple of the Silver Pavilion) and spent some time appreciating the gardens surrounding it.

By the end of the walk, we got pretty split up with people heading home for dinner or for other plans, so I met up with Geoff and some of his friends to celebrate one of their one year anniversary of being in Japan. We went out to a tabenomihoudai (all you can eat, all you can drink) restaurant and stuffed ourselves. Then I had my first experience at a club at a place called Butterfly, where all the music was American, but about 10 years behind the times.

Saturday

On Saturday afternoon, after skyping with Natasha for the first time since I’ve been here, I headed up to Wani where I met up with Geoff and some friends for a party at the home of a very friendly family. I had a great time just hanging out with everyone and getting to meet more of Geoff’s friends and coworkers from JET (and Suzie). They even surprised me by singing happy birthday to me and Aaron and giving us cake and a gift. They are all such nice people, and I’m really glad I got to meet them.

Sunday

After heading up to Shinasahi to spend the night at Geoff’s place (and see it for the first time in person), we got up in the morning and headed up to Makino, where we were able to go kayaking on Lake Biwa to see even more of the sakura. We were a few days early to see them in full bloom, but it was still a great experience, and lots of fun to be out on the water. I also got my first (but I’m sure not my last) experience of having to run (for about 15 minutes) to catch the train, which only runs once an hour out there. It made me realize I really need to find a consistant way to get some exercise while I’m here (and the flip-flops probably didn’t help either).

When I got home after everything I was pretty exhausted from the full weekend, and then I had to stay up pretty late doing my homework that I had put off, but it was all definitely worth it. I can’t say enough how glad I am to have Geoff here, especially now that he has some roots set. It’s really great to be able to share with him this chapter of his life, and I’m having a lot of fun in the process.

I’m getting a little lazy with captioning and choosing pictures, but if you want to see the full albums from the weekend, here are Philosopher’s Walk and Kayaking.