8/1/2022 0 Comments WEek 15: Last few weeksMy academic semester has ended and I've entered vaction mode until I need to head back home. The finals that I had to do was stressful and the project that gave me the biggest headache was a group project for an entrepreneurship class. My friend and I decided to go to Hokkaido for 5 days and went around many cities to explore and enjoy their tourist attractions. We landed in Sapporo and spent the night there. The first thing I noticed was that the weather was much cooler than in Tokyo. The afternoons hovered around 84 degrees while the nights were around 75 degrees. It was great when comparing it to Tokyo for the past month. Afterwards, we went to the nearby port city of Otaru. The place is known for their seafood, and I got myself a crab ikura rice bowl. The rice bowl may have been the tastiest crab dish and I had. I wish I could have eaten more similar foods, but the price was rather high at 2800 yen. Afterwards, we went to the annual Otaru summer festival. The experience was great as there was live performances by the locals, a short concert by a small artist, and we saw a fireworks show that lasted an hour. We tried the food stands and got to eat some classic things like takoyaki, karaage, and some frozen mandarin oranges. The next day, we headed to Asahikawa and spent a short day in the town. Our morning was taken up by the train ride that took about one and a half hours from Sapporo. We headed to the Otokoyamashita brewery museum. The museum was not only a place that explained the brewery's history and the process of creating sake, but it was also a place you can purchase their sake. The had taste testing machines that were free and let people taste six different sake. If you liked the sake, you can buy it then and there. Additionally, the museum lets people try the spring water that flows from the place for free. It seemed that many locals come to the museum to get the water from their as many people came with large water jugs. Afterwards, we took a bunch of pictures of the small garden in front of the museum. The day afterwards, we went to Furano and spent the day at the Tomita Flower Field where it's known for their lavender field. The fields were huge and in full bloom, which made it beautiful. It was a great day to take pictures of the field, the landscape, and portraits. Since the place was a tourist attraction, it let people buy souvenirs. There were lavender flavored food, drinks, perfume, bath salts, air fresheners, and many more other things. Additionally, the place sold cantalope, and people could buy a box of cantolope for the equivalent of $200. After we left the fields, we went to the Shirogane blue pond. Unfortunately, by the time we got there, it was pouring and we couldn't get to enjoy the place. We were only able to stay at the pond for 15 or so minutes because the last bus was about to come. It wasn't the best experience and we got back with soaked muddy shoes. For the last day in Hokkaido, we went back to Sapporo and walked around the city. We walked down Tanukijoji Shopping Street, the longest shopping street in Japan. It took us about 20 minutes to go from one end to the other without stopping. Afterwards, we went to Sapporo Station to continue shopping and looking around. We ended the day by going to Sapporo Station's, T38 Observation Deck. The observation deck gave us a great view of the city at night. It was really interesting being at such a high place and looking down at the city. I was able to see from very far away and noticed things I didn't see on the ground level. For example, there was a ferris wheel, and a building with a garden on the inside. The day afterwards, we went straight to the airport and got back to Tokyo with its humid weather. For the last week in Japan, I plan to make any last minute purchases and find more things I haven't done so I don't have regrets. This inlcudes going to different kind of establishments, eating more food, and saying goodbye to the friends I have made here. I wish I could stay for an additional semester, but there's nothing I can do at this point. My experience in Japan has been great and I do not regret taking my chances at applying for the study abroad program. This is my last post and I hope those that read it enjoyed it and got to learn a bit about Japan and it's interesting facets.
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7/10/2022 0 Comments Week 13: Hiroshima and FinalsAs we hit July, the weather has stayed the same, and I've received warnings from the people around me that I should be careful to not get a heat stroke. Taking their advice, I've done what I can to ensure I keep cool and hydrated when I'm outside. I've done a few more things these last two semesters to enjoy my time out before I have to head back home. The first thing was a day trip to Moomin Park located in Saitama. To enter the park, I needed to head out pretty far and it took an hour and a half to get there. The admission fee to get into the park was pretty steep at 3000 yen (around $25). The park itself was pretty nice and it is a psuedo-amusement park. There were attractions and events that focus on the story of Moomin. There was a house that represented Moomin's family's house. There was a worker on each floor explaining what each room was and tidbits on the characters. All in all, the place was nice for a day trip if you're interested in taking pictures. The next big thing that I did was going to Hiroshima with a friend for a weekend. My friend wanted to meet up with a their old friends in Hiroshima, so we decided to plan a trip around it. A key thing to note about these friends is that they are Japanese nationals and did not speak much English. As a result, I found it difficult to make conversations with them. As a result, I primarily listened to their conversation in Japanese and didn't add much to it. However, listening to their conversation did help with my listening skills and I think I can understand Japanese a bit better due to it. When looking at how to get to Hiroshima, buying plane tickets were not only faster to get there, it was also cheaper compared to purchasing a tickets for the bullet train. Once we were in Hiroshima, there were already a few things that differed from Tokyo that popped out for me. Firstly, public transportation in Hiroshima was dominated by buses and trams compared to trains. The only trains that run for Hiroshima are to far distance towns. On the first day, we went to the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum and the Atomic Bomb Dome. It greatly surprised me that after the atomic bomb drop onto the city, the city was able to rebuild into what it is today. The museum was an interesting experience and it made me think about things I don't often contemplate on. For the next two days, we visited the many tourist spots of Hiroshima. This includes Hiroshima castle, a tradtional park, and Miyajima. Miyajima is an island in Hiroshima Bay that has become a tourist spot. The island houses many temples, the famous Itsukushima Shrine, and large Torii Gate. We had the opportunity to eat their local delicacies of oysters, eels, and momiji manju, a dessert that has a soft bread with a filling of many flavors. On the third day, we went to Saijo to meet a friend. Saijo is much smaller than Hiroshima and the architecture looked somewhat older as well. Saijo is known as a place that makes sake, and is known as the capital of sake, Many of their attractions focused on sake breweries and the history of their establishments. Afterwards, the friend I met today happened to have a car and was willing to drive us around for the day. We went to some places that were pretty far from the city that included a ranch. The ranch offered dairy products for sale like milk, yogurt, dairy filled sweets, and ice cream. Afterwards, we headed to a center where you can get a good look at neighboring dam. Once we finished visits, we headed to the airport to go back to Tokyo. Overall, the trip was fun and I enjoyed going to the places. However, moving onward, it is filled with many deadlines as the semester about to come to a close. The amount of projects and papers I must complete is a bit more than what I am normally used to. I have never written so many papers at the same time. It is a time consuming process that I work on for many consecutive days. I hope that once the semester has ended, I can spend the remaining time in Japan stress-free with the friends I have made here.
6/26/2022 0 Comments Week 11: Hakone and JuneThe biggest thing that I did these last two weeks is go to Hakone for three days. Hakone is a city that is a little far from Tokyo and is a popular tourist spot. I took the Hakone Romancecar to get there. Funny enough, the romancecar was just a limited express train that goes from Tokyo to Hakone. On my first day, I headed to my hotel and checked in. The hotel I booked was extremely cheap because it was a shared room with other guests. While I gave up privacy, the price I paid was too good to give up. Unfortunately, most of the day already passed by the time I got to the hotel, so there wasn't much I could do. However, the hotel has a restaurant that serves dinner and breakfast. I decided to eat there, and luckily some of the staff spoke English. I was able to have a small chat with the bartender and got to learn a bit about him. I find these kinds of conversations really interesting since I get to learn about where a person comes from. It's surprised me that people from many countries come to Japan. On the second day, I spent the entire day outside going around the town and taking photos. The highlights of the day were taking pictures around Lake Ashi. I walked along the lake and was able to get different perspectives of the lake and its surroundings. I was also able to take some pictures of Hakone's well known Torii Gates. I had a great time going around the area and taking pictures of the many things I saw. On the last day, I headed back to the station where the romancecar stops at. I had a few hours before my train would come, so I walked around and bought some souveniers to bring back. I noticed that there was a lot of sweets that were special to Hakone that I did not see anywhere else. The same goes for other souviniers. The town is known for their special design that is engraved into wood. I found it all really interested and nice to learn. There has been one big issue though that will persist throughout the rest of my time in Japan. The weather has taken a turn for the worst as it has become too hot. It's almost over 90 degrees everyday and the humidity is the worst. Whenever I exit a building, I get hit with a blast of hot air and it makes me want to go back inside. This weather will make going out a bit more inconvenient, but it doesn't falter me from making big plans.
6/1/2022 0 Comments Week 9For the last two weeks, I decided to do things on my own and went out solo. There were many places that I went on my own. They included Asakusa, Ikebukuro, Yokohama, and Akihabara. Going by myself was a different experience even if I went to them before. By being by myself, I got to look at things at my own pace and take time to look around more closely. When I went to Asakusa, I got a better look at the temples and appreciated the architecture. I never noticed the amount of detail on the temples and I appreciated it more. A couple days later, I went to Ikebukuro and walked around the area. On the day I went, it just so happened to be a cosplay meetup, so there were a lot of people in cosplay of popular anime and manga. The next week, I went to Yokohama and visited the Chinatown. I was surprised when I went there because it is much different compared to the Chinatown back in Honolulu. While the one in Honolulu primarily focuses on selling fresh produce, the one in Yokohama is a place where people spend time and have fun. The area is filled with restaurants and food stands. Additionally, there were a few Chinese temples, and it was interesting being able to compare them to the Japanese ones. I spent a few more hours walking around the city before heading back home.
A couple days later, I accompanied the club I joined to a restuarant outing. It was a Sichuan restaurant, so many of their dishes were spicy. It was a big change of pace for me because not many restaurants offered spicy food. Afterwards, a group of us decided to spend some more time together. It was an interesting experience since I was the only one there who couldn't speak Japanese. The others wanted to talk to me and some could speak English but not all. This made me want to learn Japanese more and I wish I was more proficient at the language. Looking forward, I would like to spend more time going outside of the city. I have not tried using the bullet train or a plane to reach a different city, so I would like to do that next. 5/17/2022 0 Comments Week 7: Making New friendsAfter Golden Week ended, some of the other UH students that were attending a different Japanese University decided to plan a day to meet up and enjoy a day together. We chose to go to Maxell Aqua Park because one of us works there. When I went to the aquarium to meet up with them, it was my first time speaking to them face-to-face. We started to learn more about one another. I learned that one of the guys delayed his graduation so he could attend the study abroad program and come to Japan. Another person I met happened to be from my high school and we graduated in the same year, but we never met each other. To add on, we were coincidentally on the same plane heading to Japan. At the aquarium we went to, it looked more like an amusement park at first. There was a large boat shaped amusement ride within the aquarium. Afterwards, we walked through some of the exhibitions and enjoyed how the aquarium used lighting and projections to make the room look really interesting. There was also an impressive dolphin and penguin show. The dolphin show reminded me of Sea Life Park back in Hawaii but better. Later on, we had lunch and walked around Harajuku for around an hour. Shortly after, we called it a day and went our own ways back home. On that same week, I joined a club at Keio University a classmate invited me to. The club revolves around traveling and going to places around the country. Some of the groups they have within the club include the onsen, ramen, foreign cuisine, ferry, railway, and plane groups. Each group surrounds around going to certain types of establishments or traveling using a specific mode of transportation. Before the pandemic, they also planned events to go outside of the country as well. I was happy to join the club because I had too much freetime on my hand that I spent in my dorm room. The club has only recently started planning events, so nothing has started yet. I joined there annual meeting so I could meet with some of the club members. My classmate was there, and I got to speak to some of the other members who understood English. I also spoke to two member who did not speak English, but spoke Mandarin. I took Chinese classes during high school and at UH, and I knew enough to get a simple conversation going. I plan to join many of there events and go to many places outside of Tokyo. The last interesting thing that I did was go to an arcade. I went to an arcade closest to my dorm and spent two hours in there. The thing that I spent the most time on was trying to figure out how to get a game card so that I could save my information and progress so it's convenient when I go to an arcade on another day. I stood in front of a machine that said 'Card Maker' thinking it was the right machine. But apparently that machine was to make a different kind of card. The correct machine was right next to it and I did not notice for a while. Once I got my game card, I played a couple rhythm games and other games. On the rhthym games, most people wore earbuds and gloves. The reason is that the arcade can get pretty loud, so wearing earbuds allows you to hear the song you want to play. For the gloves, the rhythm games requires you to use your hands and slide it around the machine. I played the games for a bit and my hands started to hurts. I plan to bring a pair of headphones with me when I go to arcades, but I don't know if I will get a pair of gloves. I will try to head to the arcades during the weekday since its less crowded during those days.
5/4/2022 0 Comments Week 5: Exploring the Big CityAs April ends, the weather starts to get warmer and I don't need to wear two layers some days. But for the rainy days, it gets chilly and my friends and I don't want to go out since it can be a hassle. Additionally, I've started to buy clothes that protect me from the rain as rainy season gets closer which begins in June. So far, I've gotten a rain jacket to protect my upper-body. However, I need to buy water resistant shoes because the ones I have get very dirty whenever it rains. I have gotten accustomed to living in my dorm and have come to understand almost all of the rules and etiquette. I have met a few of the international students that live in the same dorm as me and have talked a few times. From the people that I've met, most of the students come from Europe and Asia. The biggest group of people I see are the French students. From what I can presume, they are a group of friends who all planned together to study at Keio University. One thing I forgot to mention in my previous post is that dorm I am in has a cafeteria on the first floor and breakfast and dinner is served on weekdays. The food being served is cheaper compared to if I bought something going out and the quality is still pretty good. There have been many days where I preferred eating the cafeteria food more than going out because it was cheaper and more convenient. The food has been different everyday. While Japanese food is the main cuisine, there is also western food like spaghetti, omelettes, grilled cheese, and other dishes. For the cafeteria alone, I am happy that I chose the dorm I am in. Going out and speaking to people in Japanese has still been a struggle as I still do not have a grasp of the language. Luckily I have been able to get by as the people I speak to get the gist of what I am saying or asking. Through the conversations that I have had, I noticed that most people do not know English. Whenever I go to a restuarant or a store and require help, I start by asking if they know English and everyone I have spoken to says no. This means that it us up to me to try and figure out a way to get my message to them. It often requires me to do a lot of pointing, body language, and trying to understand what they are saying. It usually ends up with getting the message across, but it is difficult. The same thing happens the other way around. Whenever someone asks me a question, I do not know what they asked me so the person I am speaking with needs to figure out a way to explain it to me. The thing that I am currently looking forward to are going to big amusement parks, looking at places to shop, and Golden Week. Tokyo has Disneyland as well as Universal Studios Japan. My friends and I want to go to these amusement parks and have been trying to plan a day for both places. As previously mentioned, I feel very underdressed compared to the people in Toyko. So I plan to go out and find good places to buy clothing. So far, Muji, UNIQLO, and GU have been great places to buy clothes at a reasonable cost. But I plan to wait until summer time to buy clothes that I could wear when I come back to Hawaii. Lastly, Japan has a whole week where holidays are lined up so almost everyone is free. Golden week is form April 29 to May 5. But Keio University only allows students to have days off on two of the days, so we do not have the whole week off.
4/20/2022 0 Comments Week 3: First two weeksStarting from where I last left off, I've continued to travel around multiple places around Tokyo. I've visited some of the more popular places like Asakusa, Shibuya, and Naka-Meguro. As the rain began to fade away, the weather has become warmer during the day. I occasionally start sweating while walking under the sun. But once the sun sets, it starts to get colder within an hour. Since it's still spring, the cherry blossoms are still in bloom. But as the weather has started to get warmer, the flowers have started to wilt or fall off. If I was able to get into Japan a few weeks earlier, I could have seen them in full bloom. Naka-Meguro is known for their wide street filled with cherry blossom trees, but most of the blossoms were already gone when I visited the area.
As I've been travelling around the city, I've noticed many things. To start things off, the people in Tokyo have a very good sense of fashions. Almost everyone goes out with an outfit that fits the weather. The main thing that I've noticed is that many people have been wearing trench coats. As a result, I feel that I am very underdressed compared to the other people and have been thinking about buying clothes to look more like other people. Another thing is that many people prefer wearing straight or baggy long pants. This is different compared to what people in Hawaii wear. Another big thing I've noticed is that food in Japan is relatively cheap compared to food in Hawaii. Small items like sandwhiches, onigiri, small pastries, and other premade meals fall around the 110-600 Yen mark ($0.89-$4.83 USD). Going to restuarants is also the same. I got a set that consisted of an appetizer, soup, a main dish, and a side dish for 990 Yen ($7.97). If I got something similar in Hawaii, the price would have been more than twice the price. Not to mention, the food quality in Japan is much higher compared to food back home. Everything I've eaten in restaurants have been very good and I have not been upset by a meal. I know for sure that the thing I'm going to miss the most once I return home is the food. A thing to note is that portions in Japan are smaller, but the food quality greatly makes up for it. Turning to my classes, I'm taking seven courses for the semester. With the way the university structures classes, I attend a class once a week. Five of the seven of my classes are online. To add on, I've been very luck to have a schedule where I only have classes for three of the seven days of the week. For the classes themselves, the classes I've taken so far show that reading and writing are a consistent assignments I need to complete. I reviewed the syllabuses of my classes and noticed that almost all of them require essays as the final assignment. This means I'm going to be spending a lot of my time indoors working on essays nearing the end of the semester. 4/6/2022 0 Comments Week 1: Pre and post flightStarting off at the Daniel K. Inouye International Airport, my flight was on April 2, 2022. The procedure of getting onto the plane was the same as before the pandemic. The only difference was the proof of COVID-19 PCR Test. Luckily, my friends and I who were going to Keio University booked the same flight to make it more convenient. After getting into the airport gate for my flight, I noticed there were different types of people in the same flight as me. There was a mixture of Japanese citizens, Hawaiian citizens, and military personell. I found it interesting because the only people that were allowed to enter the country were Japanese citizens, and people entering for business and study abroad reasons. This was very suprising to me because almost all the seats were filled. The most difficult part of the flight was after landing and completing the Covid requirements. I needed to download multiple apps before I got on the plane, and was required to fill out multiple forms. Luckily, completing the requirements before my flight made the process go faster, but it was still a slug. One of the requirements was to take a Covid saliva test. There was a strange thing I noticed while trying to complete the test. As a way to promote salavating for the test, they had a picture of a lemon slice and some ume (sour plums). After finally finishing the Covid requirements and immigration, we were able to exit the airport. My friends and I booked hotel rooms as our dormitory check in-date were two days after our flight. Immediately leaving the airport, I was hit with multiple moments of culture shock. I learned the subway stations are interconnected with the airport. This meant, after you buy your train tickets, you can immidiatley hop into a subway. Our hotel was located 30 minutes away from our dormitory which was in the Kawasaki Nakahara Ward. The hotel itself was located in Ginza. My friends and I had extreme difficulty trying to move our luggage. The subway and its stations were small and did not accomodate for people that brought multiple cases of luggage with them. Once we exited the station, it got harder to move as it was raining and cold. After we were able to make it to the hotel, we decided to head out for dinner. As we were walking around the are, it reminded me of Waikiki. There was a bustling road with lots of people walking around, many building were large and fancy. To add on, the large buildings consisted of shops of many luxury western brands such as Louis Vuitton, Coach, Gucci, and Tory Burch to name a few. On the move-in date for our dormitory, I continued to move my suitcases through the subway and streets and was finally able to check in. One of the resident assistants helped introduce me to the dorm and its facilities. Afterwards, I went out to buy an assortment of essential goods for my room. 100 yen stores such as Daiso greatly helped me out with finding the may things I neeeded. More updates will come soon as I continue to get accustomed with living in Japan and starting classes. My dorm room is the size of a studio but slightly smaller because there is no kitchen.
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August 2022
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