A Year in Japan

I wanted to do one last post to sum up the rest of my time in Japan.  I had very little free time during this last month so most of this was written on the plane back to the states.  

During the past two months I lived with a family named the Nagaishi’s.  

My host mom and sisters were going to a concert in Fukuoka.  Nanako is on the left followed by Shigeru, Ririko and my host mom Yukiko.

I had so much fun with this family and out of all of my families, I ended up becoming closest to them. My host dad, Shigeru, works for a bank in a city about 2 hours from Nagasaki and only came home for the weekends.  This was the first time I had ever lived with all girls but it worked out just fine.  During the weekdays, Nanako, Ririko and I were quite busy with school and other clubs so on weekends, going out to do something fun seemed to be a constant.  

Here are some pictures of my time with the them:

The Nagaishi's minus Ririko.

This was taken on top of the building that the Nagaishis live in.

My host dad, Shigeru and I went mountain climbing one day in his home town.  Behind us is a volcano that erupted about 20 years ago.

Starting this August, Nanako is going to be the next exchange student from Nagasaki going to St. Paul. It will be fun to see her during the times I'm home from school.

Fukuoka

This is called a yatai.  In Fukuoka, these little outdoor food shacks can be found all over.  They only seat about 8 or 9 people but the food is really good.

School

High school in Japan was a very interesting experience but it was the hardest part of my exchange. There were a lot of days where all I could do was study Japanese by myself.  The rules are very strict and not many exceptions were made for me.  Eventually I was at the point where I felt that I'd be learning a lot more if I had been able to do something else during the weekdays.  With that said, I'm glad I was able to see first hand what Japanese high school was like and that I had great classmates throughout the year.

This was my class for the first half of the year.  I ended up being a lot closer with them than with my second class.

All of the classrooms look just like this.

Here's the main entry to Minami Ko.  

Tokyo

My last week in Japan was spent living with a previous host family’s (The Hondas) daughter’s family in Tokyo.  While there, I was able to do a lot of things that I didn’t get to do when I was there last month as well as revisit some of the places that I wanted to spend some more time in.

Here are some highlights from the trip:

Tsukiji

This is the biggest fish market in the world. Every Saturday morning there is an auction selling all sorts of fish.  The most popular and high priced are the tuna.  I was told that a few years ago the most expensive tuna to date was sold for the equivalent of 1.3 million dollars.  That's one fish.

This frozen tuna was sitting in the back of a truck

We wanted to see the auction so we all got up and 3:30 A.M. and took a taxi to Tsukiji.  Once there, we found out that the auction was already filled up.  My host said that the auction is a popular place for foreigners to go and it must fill up a lot faster than it used to.  Apparently a lot of people stay out all night at bars and then head to the auction at around 3:00 A.M. to guarantee a spot. 

Luckily, there were lots of things going on outside of the auction so we had plenty to see. People were hauling fish all over the grounds on these little motorized carts that are supposedly unique to Tsukiji.  There were lots of little open air shops selling fresh fish and other sea creatures. Out of all the places that I visited while in Tokyo, it was here that I most felt like I was in a movie.  I took pictures in a 16:9 aspect ratio setting to try and show it in that way. 

Those yellow things facing the camera are the carts that I mentioned earlier.

Octopus

There were a lot of little shops like these surrounding the fish market area. 

We ended up getting sushi at one of the fish market sushi shops.

Shinjuku

I had wanted to go to Shinjuku last month during the exchange student trip but we didn’t have enough time.  Shinjuku is one of the busiest parts of Tokyo and I wanted to see the night scene. Each one of Tokyo’s main hubs is known for a different thing and Shinjuku is typically a place where businessmen go after work or on the weekends to eat and drink.  It's filled with all sorts of restaurants and bars. While there I didn’t do much besides take pictures and go in a few stores.  Here are some pictures of Friday night in Shinjuku:

Shibuya

I had visited Shibuya last month during the exchange student trip but I thought it was worth going back to see the parts I hadn’t been to before.  I ended up going several times throughout the week.

Shibuya Crossing from above

This is Natsuno, one of my previous host family's daughters.  I stayed with her and her husband while in Tokyo.

I was able to meet Mizuki one night who was previously an exchange student in Northfield.

*I just wanted to note here that everyone not sleeping on the plane was just given a turkey sandwich and a cup of ice cream.  Next stop America.

I had a really good time during my last week and it was a nice end to the exchange year.  By the end of the week I felt satisfied with how much I was able to explore Tokyo.  Going to Tokyo was good also in that it served as a bit of a taper on my year in Japan.  When I left Nagasaki, I was only saying goodbye to the people and city rather than Japan all together.  

Leaving Japan after this year is and was a very strange feeling. I’m not even sure exactly how I’m feeling about it now but I definitely haven’t experienced it before.  I’m over excited to be able to be home and see my family and friends.  I look forward to hearing what everyones been doing during this year apart and getting back into the swing of things.  Also, being around people who I can express things to sufficiently at all times will be nice.  That’s not something that was always possible in Japan because of my Japanese. 

On the other hand, leaving Japan and all the people I’ve met and become close to isn’t easy.  In most ways, it’s way harder than leaving the U.S. was because of the fact that I knew I’d be returning, (Unless I were to die of boredom in a Japanese high school which I now know may actually be possible.) and that isn’t the case with leaving Japan.  Unfortunately it’s not that easy to pick up and go there, especially for the poor college student I’m about to become. So, I suppose the hardest part is that in leaving Japan, I’m saying goodbye to something that I don’t know I’ll ever get back.  With that said, I do believe I’ll be able to return one day.  Hopefully more than once.  

The relationships that started while I was abroad were as good as any I could have asked for and some are as strong as the ones I have in The U.S.  This goes especially for my host families.  A host family is something that can make or break an exchange student’s time abroad and I'm glad that I had such great ones.  Leaving these people was the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do but I’m excited to see what these relationships bring in the future.    

Here are some extra photos that I took in my last two months:

I took a short glass blowing class one day in Nagasaki and made a cup with Shigeru.

I was able to meet Chihiro and Miharu once before leaving.

This is Tokyo Tower.

In Tokyo, I tried ramen with some sort of citrus broth.  

I was able to go camping with the mountaineering team once more before I left Nagasaki.

Here is the entire mountaineering team.

This is tsukemen.  It's like ramen only the noodles are dipped into the broth rather than sitting in it.

Back in America

One of the things I was most scared about before leaving for Japan was how coming back home was going to be.  I'm used to sharing experiences with close family and friends.  It's hard going to another country for a year and not having anyone to talk to about it once back at home.  While in Japan I experienced so many new and different things but everyone that I shared these experiences with lives in Japan.  I want to be able to tell people all about the year but it was an experience that is difficult to share with someone who wasn't there with me.  The more time I've spent in the U.S. the more I've realized that this past year in Japan was a personal journey that I embarked on by myself and that it's something that's a lot more important to me than it is to others.  Although it was expected to some extent, it's something that I'll have to get used to.

The fact that I became accustomed to and now feel at home in a place like Japan is still a bit hard for me to grasp.  I’m very glad it happened and I couldn't really have asked for a better exchange year. I was able to do all the things I wanted to do when I originally left for Japan.  It was an incredible time and I feel lucky it happened the way that it did.  I hope to be back soon.

Thanks for reading!

Tokyo | Kyoto Trip

I had been looking forward to the exchange student trip to Kyoto and Tokyo since I was first made aware of it about a month after arriving in Japan.  The itinerary that I was given included all of the main things that I had wanted to do and see.

KYOTO

Our trip began at a hotel in Kyoto where my exchange district and I met with about 10 other exchange students.  These were the same people who came to Nagasaki back in October for a festival, so most of us were already acquainted.

Kyoto is a very old city and was once the capital of Japan.  It's home to many famous shrines and temples and visiting them was the main focus of our time while there.  Here are some pictures of the most famous ones in Kyoto as well as Japan:

This is Kinkaku-ji or The Golden Temple. 

This is Kiyomizu-dera.  It was originally founded in 798 and the current structure was built in 1633.

Also in Kyoto we were able to take a lesson in making traditional Japanese sweets called wagashi. Unfortunately I didn't take any pictures but here's a link to a picture of the same ones that we made:

http://meetuskyoto.com/assets/activity/11/japanese_traditional_sweets-home-9b79b0a9ba56aedbcf24de3af6da9a88.jpg

The outside, called mochi, is sweet and is made from rice.  On the inside is Azuki bean paste which is also sweet.  They are usually served with tea.

On our last night in Kyoto, we watched a traditional Japanese dance called Odori.  The dance is performed by real geishas as well as geisha apprentices called maiko.  The performance itself was unlike any I had seen before.  The scenes were acted out in very precise and exaggerated motions. Their speech was half sung and half spoken.  Traditional Japanese music was played live to accompany the scenes.  Pictures and video were not allowed in the venue so I have nothing to show except for this which I took outside:

They're so mysterious.  This maiko saw me taking a picture and looked away.  

Here are some of the other famous areas that we visited while in Kyoto:

This is Gion which is a very old geisha district and the most famous one in Japan.

Here are some houses along the Kamo River that runs through Kyoto.

After two days in Kyoto, we all took a bullet train to Tokyo where we spent the next 4 days.

TOKYO

Throughout my time in Japan I think one of the coolest things has been being around this constant clash of really old history with the current culture and infrastructure.  Our time in Kyoto satisfied any cravings we had for the former and our time in Tokyo would satisfy the later.

Being in Toyko is hard to describe. The city is so big. For comparison, Tokyo is home to about 13 million people which is about 5 million more than New York City.

There is so much to do and so many things that are unique to only that city.  At the end of our trip I was wondering how much time I'd need to spend there to feel satisfied.  

Sky Tree

This building is mainly used as an observation tower but many television shows are broadcasted from it as well.

Sky Tree is the second tallest structure in the world.

This was taken from a restaurant connected to Tokyo Sky Tree.  

Shibuya

Shibuya is one of the most famous places in Tokyo because of Shibuya crossing.  It is known for it's shopping and night life.  Luckily we were there when it wasn't so busy.

Shibuya crossing.

Harajuku

Harajuku is the next place we visited.  Takeshita street in Harajuku is known as a youth fashion hub and where most of the unusual fashion trends in Japan are born.  Small shops line Takeshita Street offering a wide array of unique clothing.  Past Takeshita Street are high end and designer clothing stores as well as lots of cafes and places to eat.

 

This is Takeshita Street in a part of Tokyo called Harajuku.  It is home to many Japanese fashion trends and strange subcultures.

Here is an example of some of the fashion trends that Takeshita Street supports.

Akihabara

Akihabara is known as the electronics and anime district in Toyko.  This is also the place where maid cafes are most prevalent.

We had some time to walk around and see all the different types of electronics stores they had and then we went to experience a maid cafe for ourselves.  Some of the students had already been to one but, for the majority of us, it was our first time.

Describing a maid cafe is a bit hard so I'll just go through our time there from beginning to end.  At the maid cafe, we were welcomed in and addressed as goshujinsama (my master).  The maids are all dressed in matching maid costumes.  Since our group was so big there was about 1 maid per 3 of us. The maid sat us at a table and took our orders.  Typically, things like burgers, omelets, and cakes are served.  We all ordered drinks since we could only stay about 20 minutes.

Once we received our order, the maid came around and asked what we wanted drawn on our meal. Depending on what is ordered, ketchup, chocolate syrup or something of the sort is used to draw whatever it was that the customer asked for.  The two things that came to my mind were an elephant and my face.  I'm not sure why.  I ended up going with my face.  The maid then kneeled in front of where I was sitting and slowly drew my face on top of my Latte with caramel sauce.  It actually turned out a lot better than I expected.  It may be the best drawing anyone's ever done of me with caramel.

Sometime in between ordering our drinks and finishing them, our maids came around with a small white board with pictures of all the maids working that day.  We then got to choose one maid who we wanted to either take a picture with or play a game with (connect 4 type games).  I chose to take a picture because I wanted something to take home.

During my time there I couldn't believe it was a real thing.

This is the main area in Akihabara.

Here are some maids handing out flyers for their cafe.

Tokyo Disney

  I had been to Disney World once before so it was fun to do and see some of the same things in Japanese.  

Sumo

Sumo is real.  

Studio Ghibli Museum

During one of the days we went the the Ghibli Museum.  This is something that I had wanted to do even before I had plans to come to Japan.  Studio Ghibli is an animation studio in Tokyo and I've always liked their films.  This blog is named after one of them.

The museum was really interesting.  I'm usually not able to pay full attention to everything I pass by in a museum but here I was.  We were able to see some of the techniques used to make the films.  There were a couple rooms set up to show what Hayao Miyazaki's (the creator of the Ghibli films) work space looked like as well.  Everything was very detailed and there was so much to look at.  This was one of my favorite parts of the trip.  

Visitors aren't allowed to take pictures on the inside but here are some of the outside.

Totoro stained glass windows.

This is a statue of Laputa from Castle in the Sky.

Extras

This long row of shops sells lots of different types of souvenirs.

The week went by really fast and we were always doing something.  I wish I could recollect events with the same detail they happened in. I was able to do everything that I wanted to do on the trip and it was one of the best times I've ever had.  Saying goodbye to the other exchangers wasn't fun.  We're all from different parts of the world so for most of us, that was the last time seeing each other.  I made a point of taking a lot of pictures so for the most part, the trip is pretty well documented.  The hard part will be having no one to talk about it with.  On our last day, there was hopeful chatter of someday having a reunion.  Maybe in Europe.

I slept on the plane ride back home.  Nagasaki felt very small after coming back from Tokyo.  I suppose almost everywhere will.