Hello there! As you can probably see, I’m very new to blogging so I have decided to give it a try as I am studying abroad in Japan for the first time! I hope to record my experiences and misadventures while I am abroad and taking classes. Topics of this blog may include, but isn’t limited to:
Thank you for reading!
To begin let me first let me start by saying that there will be some gushing over how pretty and varied the architecture of Japanese shrines are. Also, there will be some talk about how good the food is as well, but unfortunately, I ate the said food before I had the sense to take a picture or two of it.
Anyways this past week was a full of anticipation for this past weekend (the weekend of the 20thof September). A local Jinja (shrine) was holding its fall matsuri (festival) and our university was kind enough to allow us the chance of actually carrying the shrine! This is a huge honor – especially due to the fact that my school group consists entirely of foreigners. Beforehand we were also allowed to participate in the pulling of a float that alerted nearby residents that the festival was beginning.
To give a little more background information, the shrine – Nezu shrine – is a Shinto shrine that is located in the Bunkyo ward in Tokyo, and my goodness is it a gorgeous place! It is a marvel how the shrine seems to fit so seamlessly into the natural surrounding it (and later the city) and the style of architecture is intriguing as well. From my previous knowledge I was somewhat aware that many Japanese shrines are often replaced and rebuilt due to being made of wood, and as such they use no metal nails – which is insane! There are smaller tori (the red gate that is so iconic) on a path that you can walk through and it leads to a smaller shrine that honors the kami ( a kind of nature spirit or deity) Inari, the patron of match makers and nature’s bounty.
Onto the festival and the events that surrounded it. The festival itself actually lasted for about 2 days (and often went into the nights) and within the shrine grounds many street vendors had set up fun games and food that you could purchase and enjoy. Want to win a ps4, a plushy? Or perhaps you want to enjoy freshly made donuts or sample some homemade yakisoba. The festival had it all, complete with music that was constantly performed by entertainers near the shrine gates. I did my best to go to the festival as often as could, and I found it hard to hold myself back from eating all the food – and as a result my wallet suffered.
Upon the day before the festival we were recruited into helping the children pulling the float around town to alert residents that the festival was beginning. The float itself was huge, and a person remained upon it and beat the drum to alert folks. All the other participants took ahold of two large ropes and began to pull. This pulling lasted for over an hour and a half as we went through narrow back streets and even out into traffic. Afterwards our duty for that day was finished and we returned to roam the street vendors.
The next day was a day of toil as we soon found out. The portable shrine itself was huge and took over 30 people to carry it. It was a long haul. We began while it was still light out and by the time we had finished was well into the night and everyone got some much deserved wine and food. To sum up what we did or what our journey was we first be began first near the Nezu shrine and brought the portable shrine to be blessed. Afterwards we began the slow trek around the Bunkyo ward, in which we often doubled back and then moved forward once more.
It was tough work, but the experience of being a part of the festival was worth it!
To end this blog entry, I will say something off topic. I had been surprised that I haven’t seen any cats around our campus (or around the area I was staying in), so I wasn’t sure if I was just unlucky or all the cats were running away at my approach. Anyways I finally saw my first cat! My next goal is to go to an animal café and pet one ( I will defiantly also settle for a dog, otter, other animal, etc. – it is amazing how many different cafes there are in Japan!)
Finally, I can upload this entry. Apparently, I misplaced my journal entry a week ago in my travel pack – anyways here it is, and I apologize for the delay.
This weekend (the weekend of the 7thof September) has been an interesting one. We’ve had our first week of class and there are quite a few of them – 9 classes in fact, but thankfully some of those classes replace each other in the time slots available so we don’t have more than 3 classes a day usually.
I was placed in Japanese one – of which I am alright with – it is better to get the basic language skills down before moving into an advanced class. A majority of the classes happen once a week, and as a result most of the classes were basically introductions of the material and professors. All the professors seem very kind and unique with their own quirks. I am currently looking forward to Cool japan due to the different pop culture aspects of the class.
Separate from class I have been slowly exploring the area around our campus in Japan. We’ve recently been to Ikebukuro as a small group and explored the huge mall called Sunshine city. It was massive and expanded across a couple of blocks. A couple of us, myself included, went to the Pokémon center located inside and found many goodies, and life-sized figures of Pokémon characters.
I am trying to interact with the Japanese people, and due to in partially my own shyness and lack of proficiency in the language, I haven’t made much progress. I’m determined to keep marching on however, no matter how much time it takes, to make some Japanese friends!
More recently we’ve returned from our excursion to Karuizawa, a known vacation spot to people in Tokyo (and an expensive one too!). It was really fun, and it helped me realize that – wow, I’m actually in Japan. It was a stark difference from the city scape to the greenery around Karuizawa (which was located in the mountains). We took three-hour bus trip to our lodgings and had a break at a huge garden. The garden was one of my favorite spots we’ve been to so far because we had a lunch where we were able to grill all of our own foods. Afterwards we were free to explore the grounds and do activities such as paddle boating and archery. My friend and I went around a flower garden and later took a walk around a beautiful lake. Afterwards we got ice cream and some shaved ice and sat down to watch the water. There were many cute ducks that came right up to you, and also huge terrifying carp.
Sadly, we had to leave the place and continue on.
The night passed with a party and fireworks. Later on, a small group split off (myself included) and began a session on learning how to juggle. The next day we began with going to a museum and learning about the ancient nomadic people of japan. We were given the opportunity to emulate their jewelry and so we all ended up carving a necklace! Afterwards we went to lunch at a buffet (which was delicious) and finally we tried an onsen (hot spring).
I was at first nervous about the onsen, for in order to even be let into it, you have to be nude. Eventually I got over it, and about 5 other girls also decided to go into the onsen. It was an outdoor bath surrounded by tall fences so no one could peer in or out. Afterwards we all got cleaned up and changed and went ahead to a waterfall. At that point many people became tired and as a result a more subdued party occurred that evening with everyone being a little quieter than usual.
The next day was the last day that we were at Karuizawa before we returned back to our place in Tokyo. The items that were on the agenda were curling (the sport) and going to old town Karuizawa. The curling was fun, and even through many of the Japanese students looked cold. Unfortunately, the team that I was on lost, but nevertheless the game was fun! As we went into the old town, we were able to dine at a traditional soba place, which was once again delicious!! I didn’t buy many things however, due to the prices. Afterwards we left back to the university.
Our next excursion is Asakusa, known for its huge temple and shops lying around it. It will be a day trip, but I look forward to it all the same!
Stay tuned for the next blog entry!
Here I am, another college student preparing to study abroad. It’s strange how over half of the people who attend the college I go to study abroad. With this many people from my college traveling, it’s surprising to hear that all of these students have different stories to tell. For example, running up and down mall floors to find the craziest shop, or participating in wacky plays abroad.
I personally hope that my experience is exciting, but I do hope to follow some of the study abroad clichés. I hope to enjoy the food of another country, see the sights , and learn the culture. The cliche one by far is to meet the people there and make new friends!
All of this seems flowery and wishful but, alas I am there to study abroad and not vacation for over three months. So, in this blog I will be sharing some of the experiences – along with the classes that I’ll be going through in my time over in Japan.
The material that the classes will be covering begins with the Japanese language, pop culture, literature, politics and much more. I would like to relate what I learn in these classes to the experiences I have while I study at a local university in Japan. I also plan to look into the clubs while I am over there!
So here we are at the beginning, or to say more specifically – here I am. I thought I had no ability to write a blog, but like this trip there is a first time for everything.
Japan Study Abroad