Day 22: Feeling A LOT Like a Tourist!

Location: Miyjami, Japan

The futons last night were so comfy! I slept like a rock. We had a buffet style breakfast; I think they said it was a traditional Japanese breakfast. Personally, I just stuck with something semi-familiar after last night -- fruit, potatoes, toast. That’s right, I was way outside my box and still remembering the eyes staring at me from my plate.

The view from outside our ryoken. And also the path we walked to get to the shrine. 

It felt like we were on a movie set.

 We walked to a really cool shrine on the island.  When the tides in the water are high, and the water comes in around this shrine, it looks like it is "floating".  

The shrine on Miyajima. 

When the tide is higher (and it isn't the winter) the water would 

be under the shrine so it would seem as if it were floating.

This shrine is also on a lot of the postcards that people from SAS picked up but had no idea about it. After touring the shrine we played total tourist. We walked in and out of shops to pick up a few souvenirs for home. Around noon we headed back to the ferry which took us to the bullet train to take us to Kobe.

A pagoda that was near the shrine in Miyajima

Our cute tour guide.

 She kept us informed about Hiroshima, the atomic bomb, and Miyajima. 

She was even willing to tell us an embarrassing story about how she walked into the boys bathhouse (naked).

 Such a pretty view. A picture was a must!

 Deer run wild on Miyajima. They aren't afraid to get really close to you.

Brianna and Jillian

Miyajima, Japan 

When we got back to the port terminal I had a few Yen left in coins. I decided to go find a vending machine in the port terminal to spend the rest of my Yen. I bought a whole bunch of Cokes. We aren't allowed to take bottled or screw tops onto the ship. We are only allowed to take cans on and even then the security people have to be able to read the ingredients. I knew they wouldn't be able to read it but I thought they would let me take my Coke cans on because everyone recognizes “Coca Cola”. I then attempted to get Internet in the terminal before I hopped back on the ship but with everyone else trying to do the same thing the Internet was terribly slow. It basically wasn't worth it.

I took a much needed shower after returning to the ship. Then I went down to Shelley and Lauren's room to have story-time and hear about Shelley's adventures in Japan.  Alexa, Kyle, Sawyer, Shelley, and Lauren had dinner together so that we could hear about what everyone did in Japan and squash any rumors that had developed over the course of our time in Japan.

Around 2000 hours we went to the seventh deck. There was a band that was playing as we left Japan. It was a very sweet gesture. I think they did it since they didn't do the water show when the ship entered Kobe. 

When we were on the seventh deck we ran into Doc Micah's son Zev (he's a fourth grader). Zev was telling us what it means when the Captain sounds the horns of the ship. He said the first one means that we are leaving the dock. And the next set of horns "tells the other ships to get the hell out of the way." We were quite surprised that this little guy was talking about this on the seventh deck. We went inside one of the classrooms and conducted our own little interview with him. Hassan (he joined us listening to Zev tell us about the horns) asked Zev a few random questions about his time in Japan as well as his story about the horns while Sawyer videotaped it. Let’s just say you have to get pretty creative to entertain yourself when there is very little to entertain yourself with on the ship.

Observations about Japan: 
• There are advertisements everywhere in Japan. Our senses were definitely overstimulated after our time in Japan. 
• Trash cans are hard to come by. I later found out that after the 1995 Subway bombing in Japan they got rid of all their trash cans. Even with no trash cans it seems like a very sterile place -- there is none if any trash around the city. 
• Japan youth culture is really into boy bands: J-Pop. 
• The Japanese dress very well and extremely fashionably. 
• At many of the restaurants, and other places where I ordered, the drinks were in much smaller containers. They only had one drink size to choose from (such as a tall size drink from Starbucks). We are definitely a super-sized culture!
• Japan is a very quiet place, especially compared to the United States.

Day 21:...AND, it STARES at Me!

Location: Kobe, Japan

A few years ago, after a devastating earthquake, ships stopped coming to Kobe for a little while because of the devastation. Apparently, the MV Explorer (the Semester at Sea's ship) was the first ship to return to Kobe after the quake. Grateful for the ship's return, the Japanese have a water show and a band performs for the SAS ship. We planned on getting up early to see the performance. When the alarm went off at 6am we could hardly move. We were so tired we decided to scrap the show. Later on we had heard that the water show and band did not occur. {How fortuitous of us!} The weather did not allow the show to occur.

We grabbed a few more donuts from Mister Donuts for breakfast, while Lauren grabbed some strawberries. We heard that the strawberries in Japan this time of the year are superb! 

Our plan was to make another attempt at getting on the gondola-like ride. (It's also referred to as a rope train). This time we made it to the train perfectly. No problems. In hindsight, our problem yesterday was something as simple as being on the wrong side of the train station and not knowing we were so close. 

Lauren & I on the rope train.

Once we got to the base, we took the rope train to the top. The view from the top was spectacular! It would have been even prettier if we had made it up there at night. We snapped a few pictures from the top and decided to head down. 

 The weather was overcast

The view from the top of the rope train.

We walked halfway down and then caught the rope train the remaining distance; we didn't have time to walk the entire way. And lucky us...on the way down we stumbled upon a foot bath. We stuck our legs in for a little bit to relax. After the amount of walking we have done in the past three days we were pooped. {Let's face it, I would love to know how many miles I'm putting on foot!} From the foot bath, we had an amazing view of the city.

 View of the city of Kobe, Japan

Kobe, Japan

Leaving the gondola area, we caught a train to then catch the port liner into the port terminal to find the ship. I ran on board the ship to grab a change of clothes and ran back to the port terminal. I had 15 minutes to spare before I would have to catch the bus to my field program. I used the last few minutes of free Internet I knew I would get. It was nice to FaceTime home to see my mom and Mady. Mady ran around the house showing me my dogs. {Grady-boy looks good, as does Gabby!} With that last remaining minutes, I Skype'd Mickey and caught a glimpse of Desmund Tutu in the port terminal...also on the Internet!!

SCORE! 

Me and Desmond Tutu. 

Grama, can you believe it?

Once I caught up with my field program group we made our way to the bullet train or Shinkansen to Hiroshima. I like to think I am becoming a pro at handling and maneuvering the Japanese public transportation...even though I now have a tour guide!

  

Bullet train (shinkansen)

Inside bullet train (shinkansen). 

Looks and feels just like an airplane.

From Hiroshima, we took a bus to the "T bridge." It's referred to as the T bridge because if you look at an aerial view of the area the bridge makes a T. 

The "t" bridge in the background.

The Peace Memorial Dome in the background.

Our tour guide said that T bridge was the site where the Americans had planned on dropping the Atomic bomb because it was easily recognizable from the air.

The "P" is where the area where the bomb dropped. 

Now it is a parking garage.

We walked along a sidewalk past the last remaining building from the first atomic bomb. The Atomic Bomb Dome, also known as Genbaku Domu, is part of the Hiroshima Peace Memorial and is the last remaining building.It was scheduled to be demolished, just like the other buildings in the area, but for some reason this building survived the bomb really well so they kept it. It was quite controversial at the time. Many locals wanted it torn down because it was a reminder of the terrible devastation. Others wanted it preserved as a memorial of the bombing and a symbol of peace.

Peace Memorial Dome (the last remaining building from the atomic bomb)

We walked to the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum where we enjoyed a self-guided walking audio tour. Honestly, they has some pretty cool displays. They showed what the area looked like pre-atomic bomb drop and post-atomic bomb drop. They had a display that showed the letters that the mayor of Hiroshima sends to countries that are developing nuclear weapons. 

This is a bird's eye view of the Peace Memorial museum. 

This is of Hiroshima before the bomb dropped. 

(Note: T Bridge and Peace Memorial Dome).

This is a bird's eye view of the Peace Memorial museum of Hiroshima after the bomb dropped. 

(Note: T Bridge and Peace Memorial Dome).

This is a bird's eye view of the Peace Memorial museum of Hiroshima after the bomb dropped. 

(Note: T Bridge, Peace Memorial Dome, and red stick indicates where the bomb actually dropped).

In other parts of the museum they had hair, clothing, watches, and other personal effects worn or used by victims that day that were destroyed by the bomb. It was really rough to walk through there and see how destroyed the clothing was or the destroyed lunch in lunch boxes. They had the remaining steps from a building on display. Someone was sitting on the step when the bomb dropped. In place of where the person was sitting was completely black. {It was kind of awkward, ok...more than "kind of" awkward, it was really awkward walking through the museum seeing all of the destruction knowing that my country caused it. The Japanese didn't seem to feel awkward, nor did they seem to mind the Americans}. At the same time, I felt honored to be there. I don't sense that many Americans have the opportunity to see the museum first hand.

 Tricycle & Metal helmet remains from the atomic bomb 

My group was somber after the museum. We took a bus to a ferry that would take us to Miyajima. It was a cute little island about 30 minutes from Hiroshima. 

We planned to stay in a traditional Japanese style hotel on the island, called a ryokan. It's complete with communal bathing pools (heated) and futons on the floor. 

Futon

The common bathing areas were separated by gender. You rinsed off prior to getting in the heated pool, often times from hot springs. Not knowing how my skin would react to the bathing pool, I chose not to get in the pool; plus Dr. Szabo says to avoid hot water.

It's customary to dress in kimonos for dinner. {Yup, that's me! And just in case you wonder...the boys had to dress in kimonos, too.} 

We were served traditional Japanese cuisine with seasonal/regional food for dinner. Blah...Lord only knows what I ate! The fish head staring at me did a nice job on my appetite! I know that blowfish was available but we were informed by SAS not to eat blowfish because it is poisonous. I tried a little bit of everything, but who knows exactly what it was and I'm guessing it's best that I don't know! After dinner was a traditional Japanese drum show especially for our group.

Traditional Japanese dinner at the ryokan (Japanese style hotel)

Day 20: Missssster Donuts!

Location: Kobe, Japan

While exiting the train station last night Kyle spotted Mister Donuts. So, guess what the plan was for breakfast…that’s right, Mister Donuts! While they tasted slightly different than donuts in the states, they were all so good! I had chocolate covered donut and a glaze donut. I think the chocolate was different and something about the glaze tasted different, too. No complaints, however! Who doesn’t love a donut?

Mister Donuts donuts

Next door to Mister Donuts was a market. For an assignment in my Nutrition class we are required to tour a market in each country and create a meal that is nutritious, with the right amount of calories, and appropriate prices for the country we are in, for a family of four. Kyle and Sawyer are in that class too, so it was quite convenient and productive for the 3 of us. It was interesting to see the seafood/meat section made up a large part of their grocery shopping center. {Turned out, we didn't have to create a meal for a family of four in Japan. It was a neat cultural experience though!}

After the market we walked back to the hotel to devise a plan for the day. We identified a gondola-like ride/rope train that went up to the top of a mountain (or hill, really) to see the cityscape. On the way down the mountain people had the option of walking through a herbal garden or getting back on the rope train. We were planning on eating near the train that would take us close to the rope train.

We found a quaint little Japanese restaurant underneath much of the main shopping area in Kobe (pronounced ko-bay). It was so cute! We weren't quite sure what everything was on our plate but my main dish was pork. I think it was one of my favorite main dishes I had in Japan.

Lauren & I at lunch with our tea.

My meal at lunch. Not sure what everything is but the main dish is pork-something.

After lunch we stumbled upon another market. It was similar to a farmer’s market with a European feel. People were selling baked goods, candies, other sweets, and salty foods. Basically we just kept stumbling upon food shop after food shop everywhere. 

On to the rope train now... 

We searched for a solid hour to hour and a half for the best way to find the rope train. Between taxi's (we were told that they are super expensive), public buses, subways, and trains we couldn't figure out which mode of transportation would get us to the rope train. We gave up and started heading back. It was getting late enough and we had been able to see a good share of the area. 

On our way to the hotel we discovered an underground town or shopping center below our hotel. Kyle and Sawyer went back to the hotel to rest. Lauren & I decided to walk around, in and out of the shops finding a 100 Yen Store (similar to a Dollar Store), clothing stores, and of course, bakeries.

We walked through the underground town to Harborland, making our way back to the hotel. Near Harborland was the Kobe tower. It was so pretty at night! We tried going up in the tower but we were ten minutes late. They had just closed.

 Kobe Tower at night.

We found a nice little place to eat dinner with food similar to the dinner on my field lab. We ate pork on top of an omelet, stuffed with rice. Kyle, Lauren, and Sawyer were really nervous about the meal. I told them it was good, just different. It was a little strange because I would have never paired those foods together.

On our way back to the hotel stumbled upon a gaming place. Kyle wanted to play the games while the girls wanted to do another photo booth. It was so cool! I will have to try to scan the pictures so that ya'll can see them.

3D Painted Mural we found on our journey.
Does it look like I climbed the ladder?

Day 19: English anyone?

Location: Tokyo & Kobe, Japan

We got up and met Alexa, Kyle and Sawyer for breakfast and all agreed to meet at the port terminal with our belongings. Lauren and I arrived early to try and use the Internet. We were only able to send off an email or two before everyone showed up. (Hopefully, you can see how I’m getting delayed on my blogging with sporadic internet access!)

We walked from the port terminal to the subway station. Thankfully, Sawyer, Kyle, and Alexa knew a short cut so it was a short walk. We got off the subway and caught a train to Shibuya. We were headed back to Shibuya today because no one (except for me, of course) had been there. 

We arrived at Shibuya much earlier today and it was not nearly as busy as when I was here the day before. The weather however, was quite chilly. 

After wandering around the area, we stopped at a Starbucks to warm up and make another attempt to contact Shelley. This Starbucks was cute! They had about eight drinks to choose from and only one size: tall. I pointed to the menu to tell the barista what I wanted and dodge that language barrier. 

Starbucks at Shibuya Crossing in Japan.

We walked around Shibuya a little more before making our way to the next train station. 

Lauren & I at Shibuya Crossing

We were we were headed to Tokyo tower. It is a lookalike of the Eiffel Tower in Paris. 

Tokyo Tower

On our walk there we happened to stumble across a temple. The temple was a pretty cool gem in our day in Tokyo.  I don’t have the name of the temple but insider were dolls, which we learned represented children that were aborted. The parents felt they were abandoned and this would be a way to remember them. There were multiple other sites on the temple's campus that we explored. 

Dolls that represent the children.

The Tokyo tower was immediately in front of the temple. It was pretty neat to see. We didn't, however, go up to the top. It was very chilly that day, a little pricey  and we were beginning to feel a bit of a time crunch. We were able to see pictures of the tower that were taken in the evening. Definitely much more amazing lit up!

Temple in front, Tokyo tower in rear.

 The temple near Tokyo Tower

Once again, there was a lovely little crepe shop right in front of the tower. Of course, we stopped and grabbed a snack. Crepes are becoming my new thing! 

Sawyer, Me, Lauren & Alexa eating crepes in Tokyo, Japan. 

Near Tokyo Tower.

After our snack we headed back to the train station on our way to Yokohama. We wanted to see the Imperial Palace in Tokyo but had heard it was closed off for some reason.

We were hungry by the time we arrived in Yokohama and headed straight for the lunch at a Sushi place. {Yea, I know. Me and sushi. We don’t really mix, but what’s a girl to do?} Seriously, I have no idea what I ate. I think it was tuna. And I think I shall never have to hear Cole tell me that I haven't eaten "real sushi". Ever. (Yea me!)

Sushi

The sushi was served on a conveyor belt, so when something came by that looked appealing we snatched it off the conveyor belt and ate it. It was a pretty neat concept but definitely falls under the idea of “mystery food”. The chefs prepared more sushi directly in front of where we were seated. 

Sushi conveyor belt restaurant. 

The food on the plates with the plastic covering are going around the restaurant on a conveyor .

Also enjoying lunch at this restaurant was my Diverse Cultures professor. She was eating sushi with a friend from Japan, her husband and two kids. It was lucky for us as her friend from Japan was able to help us navigate the sushi world a little bit and help us over that “mystery food” hump by telling us what we were eating.

After our lunch we headed back to the port terminal so Kyle and Sawyer could grab their clothes for the next few days while Lauren and I used the Internet. Alexa needed to get back on the ship. The ship was leaving tonight and heading to Kobe, Japan. Kyle, Sawyer, Lauren, and I were planning on meeting the ship in Kobe. We could use a little more time off the water.

We took the subway to Yokohama station. Once we arrived at Yokohama station we realized that we now needed to make our way to Shin Yokohama station. Surprisingly, very few of the locals in Yokohama or in Tokyo spoke English. Not at all what I expected. I would have thought that more would have spoken English, or at least had a better understanding. Needless to say, it was a lot of work trying to figure out how to get to Shin Yokohama station. 

Once we made it to Shin Yokohama station we had to try to communicate to the locals about how to get to the bullet train. Apparently in Japan they don't refer to the bullet train as the bullet train. (Level of difficulty exponentially increases when you are calling something by the wrong name! Add to that, there weren't pictures that we could point at to help our cause.} So, for those of you planning an adventure to Tokyo, make a note: they call the bullet train "Shinkansen." It has a very similar feel to flying on an airplane with three seats on one side and two seats on the other side of the aisle. An attendant (in our case, female) walked up and down the aisles to sell snacks to passengers.

Once off the bullet train, we had to take another train to the area in Kobe where Kyle and Sawyer's hotel was located. Lauren and I were flying by the seat of our pants, planning on grabbing a room at the same hotel as Kyle and Sawyer. 

People in Kobe spoke even less English than the people in Tokyo or even in Yokohama. Luckily, the hotel was RIGHT next to the train station when we got off. Maybe a two minute walk, at the most. We were all very excited, relieved, exhausted and ready to head to bed. Unfortunately, we were starving.  It was nearly midnight and we hadn't eaten since 2 pm. Against all our preferences, we ate at a McDonald’s at the train station that hadn't closed yet. We were desperate for food and wanted to get to bed.

Day 18: Trending in Tokyo

Location: Yokohama, Japan

After last night's storm, the ship was comparably calm and so were the seas. We were said to have experienced 30 foot waves and 60 knot winds. The waves or the debris (I'm not sure which) tore the paint off the front of the ship. My professor told us that the Captain said it was the worst storm that he has been through with a ship like the MV Explorer. Glad it's over. Equally pleased that I didn't hear that tidbit before/during the storm. 

Lauren and I got up to look at the sunrise as we approached Japan. Somewhere along the way, we were told that seeing the sunrise as you approach each port is "the thing to do". It was freezing but gorgeous to say the least. As we approached the island, the Japanese government shut off the ship's internet.

Sunrise approaching Japan

We gobbled our breakfast and went back to our rooms to pack for the the next couple days. My class was meeting at 9 am to discuss our first field lab and where we would meet once we all cleared customs and immigrations and were off the ship. We were going to be traveling through Tokyo in some of the busiest places in the world so my professor implemented the "buddy system". My "buddy" was Amanda. Amanda is from the University of Colorado, coincidentally just like me. She's in the Journalism school, coincidentally just like me. With an emphasis in Media Studies, coincidentally just like me. (I think we'll get along nicely.)

Lauren and I met up after the field lab meetings and went to the sixth deck to watch as we arrived in the port. We usually are scheduled to arrive in port at 8 am but because of the terrible weather the past few days we were a little delayed. We arrived closer to 10:30 or 11:00 to a band playing, welcoming us to Japan. It was so cute.

Yokohama Port Terminal.

This is where the band played, welcoming us to Japan.

I'm learning to eat slower when we are at sea, but today we gobbled breakfast and lunch in a hurry so we could make our way to the gangway. The gangway is the place on the ship where we get on and off while in port. Those going on field labs (a field trip that is associated with a class) and those going on field programs (a field trip that is not linked to a class) have the first priority to get off the ship. (Boy, I wish I had known that secret ahead of time! I would have planned to have something the minute we reach each port as the debarking process is long.) 

Once all the field lab/program attendees are off the ship, the other remaining passengers are free to get off. Sometimes they call passengers off based upon their sea, or by faculty, family, or staff.

We had a little bit more time before our field labs would be leaving once we cleared immigration. We grabbed a cup of coffee while we waited in the terminal. Not Starbucks but hopefully we will find one in Tokyo. After my coffee, I found my class and my tour guides for the day.

Arriving in Yokohama

We walked from the port terminal to the subway. We took the subway (with a stop) to Shibuya. Shibuya has the largest intersection or crossing in the world. 3.2 million people cross that intersection everyday. It has a similar feeling to Times Square in New York City. It was incredibly overwhelming stepping off the train with so many people being around us. 

We had an hour to explore this area. We were supposed to emerge ourselves in the youth culture, pop culture, find other trends in Tokyo, and determine how mass media influences. An hour is not long...the time flew by. We found a Starbucks but we didn't grab a drink (hopefully tomorrow we will!). We found a Forever 21, a few department stores, crossed the famous intersection, and then had to return to our meeting place so we could move on to the next stop for the day.

The center of Shibuya facing the famous Shibuya crossing.

Looking out over Shibuya crossing

Standing in Shibuya

Our next stop was the famous Harajuku Street. Harajuku is an area between Shinjuku and Shibuya;renowned as a fashion capital of the world and known for its unique street fashion. It's also a large shopping district with international brands, its own brands and shops selling clothes young people can afford. It was comparably packed with people and comparably to Bourbon Street in New Orleans.

The famous Harajuku Street sign.

We walked up and down Harajuku street for a while, going in and out of the local shops.

This was the wall going up to a mall or department store.

 By now, we were starving. We tried a crepe like thing that was quite tasty. {Oh, how I enjoy my sweets}. In this picture, the crepe is in the rolledl up paper tube. We did A LOT of eating in Japan.

Crepe

This was a great place to see Japanese youth culture. Many of the girls dress up in cosplay outfits or Lolita goth girls. It isn't even worth me trying to explain but I did take a picture to give you an idea. 

Girls dressed in the cosplay outfits in Tokyo, Japan.

After walking up and down the street for a while, we went to Karaoke. Many of the locals go to Karaoke bars to relax after a long days work. That was a lot of fun! {No, I did not sing!} They pile about 10-15 people into a room. A book of songs is passed around until someone picks a song. Then the singer is handed a microphone and sings the song with the words on the TV. It was definitely a must-do experience in Japan.

The view from above Harajuku Street. Look at the crowd!

Amanda and I next to the Harajuku Street sign

Our last stop in Tokyo on the field lab was to Akihabara. {Yeah, you try saying that. It's quite challenging. It's frequently shorted to Akiba.}

Akihabara is also known as Akihabara Electric Town and is the "electronic district" in Tokyo. There were skyscrapers full of video games, like Sega. This is a major shopping area for electronics and computers. The anime/manga subculture is found in this part of the town. We could see that gaming is a big part of the Japanese youth culture.

We walked into one building that was full of games on the first floor. In the basement, there were photo booths. They were the coolest photo booths ever! We crammed five people into a two, maybe three person photo booth. We took pictures like we do back in the States in a normal photo booth. Then you walk outside the photo booth to a different screen. On this screen you could customize the photos and add different icons to the pictures. It was a pretty neat experience.

We walked back to our class's meeting place to have dinner and were served by girls dressed in cosplay maid costumes. My professor said that we were only supposed to get a salad and then an omelet stuffed with rice. The omelet was interesting to say the least. Good but different. We were also served pizza, fish and chips, oysters, and bread. It wasn't quite an authentic Japanese meal but it was pretty good! After dinner we made our way back to the ship. Many of the students on the field lab were planning on staying the night in Tokyo but they had to go back and swipe their cards back at the ship.

Lauren & I were planning on finalizing our plans that night using the Internet in the port terminal so we could make our way to Tokyo in the morning. Once in Tokyo, we would find Shelley, do more sightseeing and then make our way to Kyoto. We were told that there would be a whole bunch of Wi-Fi spots in Tokyo. Many people were planning on using those Wi-Fi spots to connect with their friends that were in other locations in Tokyo. Well after struggling to connect to any Internet we had to come up with a new plan.

We found Sawyer, Kyle, and Alexa who were struggling with the internet and making their plan as well. We decided that we would all meet for breakfast at 7 am and head to Tokyo for the day (and hopefully  run into Shelley). Lauren and I went back up to the ship and into the Piano Lounge to pull together some sort of plan for the next day. 

We didn't make it to bed until close to 2 am after packing and preparing for the next day.