THE AMAZING JAPAN

I cannot wait to share about my travels in Japan. It was one of my favorite ports by far and it exceeded all of my expectations. Let me start by saying that Sarah, Allison, and I decided to travel independently throughout Japan. This is a common thing to do with lots of SASers but most take the time to plan their travels in advance. However the three of us got overwhelmed with class, travelling in port, and with sickness so we didn’t even start to plan till the night before we docked. Luckily, we had a handy travel book that helped us out. We made a list of what we wanted to see and do and hoped for the best!
We started our adventures in Japan in Kobe where the boat initially docked. The immigration process was pretty intense. We had to have a face to face inspection as well as our temperatures taken and our picture taken. We thought this would take forever but they had a video camera set up in the teachers’ lounge that we just all walked by in a line and it automatically took our temperatures and pictures. After we all had to stand in line for a face to face passport inspection with officials. Since I had an FDP on the boat I decided to stay on the boat until the end since once you got off you had to wait until everyone was cleared to regain entry on to the boat. Once I was granted permission to enter Japan, I basically jumped right back on the boat for an FDP. My FDP was titled Multiculturism in Japan and was for my Biomedical Ethics class. A guest speaker came on the boat and basically talked to us about the effects of a variety of cultures that have influenced Japan due to the variety of foreigners in Japan. He talked to us about how US citizens are seen in Japan so it was a pretty interesting discussion. After the FDP we headed out to the city of Kobe via the rail. We shopped around the city for a little and I fell in love with Japanese fashion. Our first stop was to the Gap and it was amazing, I swear completely different that the US. All the girls in Japan basically wear tights, skirts, and boots. I enjoyed adopting their fashion trends for the week. After shopping for a little we headed back to the boat to get ready for a night out. Some of the bars in town held Semester at Sea specials so we basically meet up with a bunch of SASers and danced the night away before heading back to the boat to get some rest.
The next morning we woke up fairly early to get a start on our travels. On the agenda for the day was to get to Hiroshima for the day and then spend the night in Kyoto. First we had to figure out how to use our Japan Rail Pass which basically granted us permission to travel all around Japan via the public transportation system known as the rail. We went to one station and tried to figure out how to get on the rail to Hiroshima. We stood in front of this subway map with tons of different lines going everywhere trying to find our destination, soon a lady approached us and asked if we needed help. Clearly we did. She was the nicest French lady who told us exactly where to go and before we knew it we were at Hiroshima. Hiroshima was an incredibly humbling experience. I read briefly about the history behind Hiroshima in my travel book but had a very limited knowledge about the event before entering the area. The whole area, that commemorates the horrific event, is known as the Peace Memorial Park. When we first walked up to it there was a sign that recounted everything that happened and a building that was basically destroyed except its steel frame. Everyone in the building at the time of the bomb had been killed. I immediately became extremely uncomfortable in my American skin but the people at the park could not be nicer. When we told them we were from America they could not have been more thrilled that we were there. There were a variety of different memorials all of which had a variety of meanings. There was a peace bell and the paper crane statue. The story goes that a young girl who was injured by the bomb believed that if she made 1000 paper cranes that she would survive, unfortunately she died but a statue stands to remember her and paper cranes have been sent from all around the world to Hiroshima, so around the statue there are all these carts filled with colorful paper cranes. I left my red feather at one of my favorite memorials which was the peace flame which will not be extinguished until all atomic weapons are destroyed. We took time to walk around the museum where we saw a fragmented watch that had survived Hiroshima and saw a map of the city before and after the bomb. Some parts were horrifying to see and tears started to swell in my eyes, still I could not have more praise to give the memorial. It was the most positive way to recount such a horrific event in history. Instead of focusing on the extreme damage and heartache that the bomb caused, the park focused on how we can better what was done and how we can make sure that it does not happen again. The solution is peace and I believe it is a whole lot easier to manage than dropping bombs. After spending a few hours at Hiroshima we headed back to the station to get on a rail to Kyoto. Before we knew it we were at Kyoto Station which was one of the sites to see in Kyoto. It is an extremely modern building that is basically made of glass and is gorgeous. It was so lively when we left the station; there was a large Christmas tree that brightened our spirits for sure. There was a festival going on as well with a bunch of people painting large scale paintings, music playing, and people dressed in weird costumes. We were trying to be adventurous and did not book a hotel for the night yet but this quickly proved to be a problem. We saw Amber randomly outside the station and she told us that it was a busy season in Kyoto because it was tree season. We were going to look for a hostel or ryokan (traditional Japanese inn) but once hearing that it was hard to even find a room we decided to just try the hotels right by the station. We went to about 7 hotels all who were booked and finally while in a cab we stumbled upon a ryokan! I was so excited because I really wanted to stay in one and they ended up having a room open. It was such a cool experience. We had to take our shoes off before going up to our room and wear slippers. There were public baths. We had to be back to our room by 12 because that is when the front desk closed that had our key. Our room was basically a bunch of mats laid on the ground with a table in the middle that had tea on it and cushions to sit on. We enjoyed some tea upon entering our room and were relieved to see that we had our own private bathroom. We had a great view from our window and sliding doors that separated the sitting room from the area with the table. After enjoying some tea and relaxing for a bit we decided to indulge in the Japanese culture for the night. We had sushi and sake at dinner. The sushi bar was like a conveyer belt that you just took the plate off when you wanted that type of sushi. I even ate with chopsticks, somewhat successfully. We went to a top floor of a hotel to get an aerial view of the city and then went to one of the arcades/casinos that are all over Japan. They are loud and full of the most colorful machines. We walked around a little and saw a bunch of karaoke bars that are located in these little alleys and house maybe 6 people in each bar. However we were a bit tired and anxious to get back to our ryokan so we opted for an early night. When we got back we were thrilled to see that all the bedding that was in our closet was taken out and put together on the floor. The “beds” were extremely comfortable and I slept like a baby.
The next morning the three of us set our alarms early so we could site-see in Kyoto for a while before heading to Tokyo for the night where we had booked a hotel. We pulled out our handy dandy Japan book and decided to go to the Gion District. When we walked out of our hotel rain was pouring all over the city, so we decided to pick up some umbrellas to keep us dry all day. The umbrellas, equipped with our new found love of hats, kept us dry for most of the day. Our cab driver to the Gion District was so nice; he looked like a retired Sumo wrestler and told us all the streets and about different events that happen yearly in Kyoto. He would tell me a street and then I would use my map to tell him the name of the next street, I think he was impressed. He pulled out some papers with pictures of leaves around Kyoto and gave them to me as a present. Soon we arrived in front of the Gion District. There was a huge red archway that welcomed us into the district and once inside we felt transformed to a traditional Japanese village. We found the most beautiful park area that had ponds and a little bridge. The fall leaves that were falling in every color added to the perfection of the moment. We bought these little papers that you tied to a tree and made a wish. Then we continued on the windy stone paved paths and found Buddha statues and a huge Pagoda. We did a little shopping at some small local shops. For lunch we had “humbas” which is basically sweet tasting dough stuffed with meat. It sounds disgusting but they are yummy and we were proud we had something traditional for lunch rather than McDonalds. After lunch we finally found the main temple in the area which was bright red and gorgeous. I think we went at the best time of the year because the leaves everywhere were all so amazing. The best part of the area was that there were real life geishas dressed in the traditional kimono outfit, faces painted white, lips painted bright red, and hair pulled back in a tight bun. They would scuttle around in their tall wooden flip flop style shoes. They added to the ambiance of the area. After spending the afternoon roaming around the district, we headed back to our lovely ryokan to pick up our bags and jump on the train to Tokyo. On the train there Allison and I could not find a seat so we spent about an hour chilling in the corridor in between two of the train cars. It was not the most comfortable of seats but we made time pass by having a dance party/photography session and taking naps on our backpacks. We all arrived in Tokyo at about six at night and were eager to get to our hotel for some rest. When we walked in we felt like we were at the wrong hotel or something because there were tons of businessmen walking around. It turned out there was a business conference at the hotel so we felt somewhat out of place. The hotel was amazing though, we had a room on the 25th floor so we had a great view of the city. We took a much needed rest and watched some CNN. It was crazy because at the end of one of the sports segments they showed a clip of KU football. I was freaking out and my friends and I could not get over how weird it was that Kansas was on the television in Tokyo! Small world. Also my friend Allison is from Santa Barbara so her hometown was all over the news because of the wildfires. After a while the three of us got ready and had a lovely sushi dinner in the hotel. Then we met up with some friends who were at the hotel and went out to the bar district of Tokyo called Roponggi. We ran into a lot of SASers which was exciting because we had not seen them for a few days…we all had a very fabulous time that night before heading back to our lovely hotel (Grand Price).
The next day we woke up early again…I was very proud that we managed to wake up early every day even though we had no specific time schedule, we just were all determined to maximize our Japan experience. That day the three of us and our friend Lindsey took the subway to the legendary Harijuka district. It was amazing, the fashion there is insane. Girls were wearing everything from tutus to mickey mouse sweatshirts. There was a street with tons of shops and little knick knack stores. But the best part was watching all the Japanese teenagers walking around. I found the most amazing tennis shoes (bright and colorful and one pair designed after an Andy Warhol painting) and even found a vintage store which made me very happy. After reveling in the glory of Harijuka we left for our next destination….Disneyland Tokyo! Now I must preface this by saying that on this trip I have constantly worked hard to adapt to the cultures I am in rather than just running back to the American basics. We had Disneyland on our list but I did not think we would ever make it; I also wanted to make sure we saw plenty of Japan before heading to an American version of Japan Disneyland. But I was very proud of us girls for all we did so far and was itching for a little taste of America. Before we knew it, after a quick subway ride, we were thrown right into Disneyland. It fulfilled my itch for America and left me completely satisfied. I could not contain my excitement after seeing Cinderella’s castle. We basically ran and skipped all the way to the gate to buy our tickets. Once entering we were thrilled to see it was decorated for Christmas. The Christmas tree was amazing. We went on a few rides; my favorite was Thunder Mountain because I had only been on that once a long time ago. Pirates of the Caribbean was awesome, as always. Everything was pretty similar to the Disneyland in California, except one difference we noticed was that it was very difficult to find bottled water because all the stands sold bottled green tea instead. We skipped around the park like little girls in our Minnie Mouse hats and kept saying how perfect the day was. After our Disneyland adventure we headed back to our hotel. That night we tried going to an Ice Bar but unfortunately it closed early so instead we just went back to Roponggi Street and had a very eventful and amusing night, to say the least.
The next day we woke up for what was sadly our last day in Japan. After packing everything up in our fabulous Disneyland and Hello Kitty shopping bags we headed out for the day (side note: Hello Kitty is everywhere in Japan, it is like their mascot or something. The Buddha was everywhere in Cambodia and Hello Kitty is like the Buddha for Japan. Sarah and I both liked Hello Kitty so we did not mind!). I lead the group to a street that is a market under the train tracks and it was a nice taste of Japan culture. I was on a mission to get a kimono and could not find one anywhere. Oddly there was not a lot of touristy type sopping in Japan, we could not even find a Tokyo t-shirt anywhere, not even a Tokyo Disneyland t-shirt. Anyways, I was struggling to find a kimono, one lady led me to some mall and I was on my way there when at the last second I spotted a shop full of kimonos! I went in and soon realized this was not touristy type shop because there were tons of nice, gorgeous, 100% silk kimonos that included all the traditional accessories that go along with the outfit. Soon however the ladies that worked at the shop were able to help me and they were so sweet. It was such a fun experience to be at a traditional kimono shop where I am sure Japanese woman around the area come to buy their kimonos. The quaint little shopkeepers thought it was so funny that I, a little American girl, wanted a kimono but they helped me try them on a find the color I liked best. It was a perfect way to end my time in Tokyo. After we headed back to the hotel, picked up our bags, and headed to the train station again. After an hour or so we found ourselves in Yokohama and somehow managed to find the boat in the middle of the city. Unfourtantly we did not have a lot of time to spend in Yokohama but it seemed like a cool city, it had a British type of feel but also had huge skyscrapers and a ferris wheel that lit up in multi-colored neon lights. After hauling our bags to the boat we stood in line for an hour or two to clear customs and to get our bags checked by SAS.
We finally returned to our rooms on the boat at about 6:00 that night, with our hearts still yearning for our love known as Japan. All in all I think part of the reason why Japan was so awesome, apart from all the tea, sushi, sake, geishas, chopsticks, and kimonos we encountered, was that the three of us girls did it all by ourselves. The fashion, culture, and people of Japan are one of a kind. I HEART JAPAN!!!

PEACE LOVE & JAPAN,
MAGGIE