Japan Bucket List

Alright so I have decided to copy my fellow dormmate Kyri and post up my bucket list to share with you all. Periodically, upon completion of certain tasks, I will do special posts about my adventures concerning this list. More may be added on occasion so keep your eyes peeled! Enjoy!

- READ, COMPREHEND, ELUCIDATE UPON ONE JAPANESE MANGA/NOVEL

- MASTER THE TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM

- GO TO SOME FORM OF JAPANESE THEATER [TAKURAZUKA]

- HAVE SAKE

- VISIT HOMESTAY FAMILY

- GO CLUBBING

- PREPARE ONE OF MY FAVORITE JAPANESE DISHES (COOKING SHOW STYLE)

- GO TO SWEETS SHOP [SWEETS PARADISE]

- PUT TOGETHER AND BUY ONE WHOLE OUTFIT

- VLOG AS OFTEN AS POSSIBLE, BLOG WHEN I CAN'T, KEEP A REGULAR/PEOPLE WATCHING JOURNAL

- TAKE PICTURES OF EVERYTHING

- VISIT HOKKAIDO [SAPPORO OR NIBUTANI]

- VISIT AH RA IN KOREA

- LEARN HOW TO PLAY TRADITIONAL INSTRUMENT

- VISIT GION

- VISIT PEACH JOHN IN TOKYO AREA

- VISIT FUSHIMI INARI TORI IN KYOTO

- RIDE THE IZU NO ODORIKO TRAIN

- PLAY PACHINKO

- VISIT BOOK-OFF

- FIND AND EAT MOONMELON

- GET KOKESHI DOLL

- GO TO TOKYO DISNEY

- EAT ゴムヨッキアイス (ICE CREAM) 
- FIND OUT BLOOD TYPE

Independent Travels and Good Food

Before I begin this post I thought it necessary to mention that it occurred to me that since this is a blog about Japan (for the time being), I should try as much as I can to share some of the language/culture with everyone. So, I will be including the translations of specific words and things in kanji/hiragana/katakana to show you all what it looks like (if you do not already know).

Okay, so my new friend Kyri and I made plans to visit Ueno Park
[上野公園] which is about 35 minutes away from where we are staying to view the cherry blossoms before they were no longer in bloom. It appears that this was the best park to do so because these trees bloomed the best. Using the handy-dandy trip planner the program staff gave us we charted our course last night and anticipated a great time. Thankfully it only required transferring to one other train which was rather reassuring. Of course, the weather had to be the only uncooperative factor in this endeavor and instead of the nice 50°+ partly sunny weather we were promised we dealt with a slightly dreary atmosphere. But to put it in perspective, it could have been pouring rain and much colder.

After a nice little walk through the park we then explored the surrounding area. Near the train station Ueno offers much to be had in the way of cute trinkets (so many key chains!!!), expensive merch (like this really cool purple sports jacket I wanted that cost ¥13,000 ≈ $138), and plenty of food. We sort of stumbled our way out into other nearby towns and found ourselves at the Yushima Tenman-gū  Shrine [湯島天満宮], a Shinto shrine, where a wedding happened to be taking place (which made Kyri's day because seeing one is on her Japan bucket list). After a little prayer for safe travel and small purification rite (washing of hands and mouth with purified water - what you are supposed to do before entering some shrines) we started to feel a bit on the hungry side, especially since we both only had convenience store [コンビニ] bread pastries and juice. We happened upon this small corner restaurant in which I ordered the BEST ramen I have ever tasted. It is called miso ramen [みそラーメン] with yummy noodles soaking in a savory soup with bean sprouts and sesame seeds with a little piece of beef on the side. Both of our dishes were so good we basically ate in silence save for our slurping sounds of joy. It's pretty funny because we actually ate so fast we were tired when we finished. Included below is the wondrous location and my meal :]

In a matter of 5 hours we had completed our first independent travel day, me with a few trinkets, both of us with food in our bellies and smiles on our faces. And now . . . 勉強する時間!!! For those who do not speak Japanese that means it is time to study. With our placement test on Monday I am hoping against hope that my stores of information will have a sudden resurgence and refresh my memory so that I do not make a fool of myself. I really need to test well here, not only for my pride (lol) but so that I can truly progress and have evidence of said progression to bring back with me to the States. I know that I am not the best at retaining information and what little I do has served me well thus far but now is the time to really test my mettle. So with that, I ask you all to wish me luck and send some positivity my way!

Day One in the Land of the Rising Sun

Day one in Japan has finally come to a close and it was a relative success. Meeting my e-pal in person was very fun, especially after having gotten to know her through our email exchanges. She is a really nice girl and I am glad to have her as a new friend. My fellow students in the program are an interesting bunch and I am glad that there is such diversity amongst us all. On the whole the airport experience was a breeze, aside from the fact that I could not get my cell phone yet (dang company wouldn’t take my credit card).

All of the students seem to be bonding very well with their e-pals but I am constantly reminded of the importance of accurate and efficient communication. Each of us has a different level of understanding of the Japanese language but it is up to us to expand upon that knowledge so that we can truly immerse ourselves in the culture and adapt. I, for one, definitely need to work on that if only for the sake of my pride (I hate being considered incompetent, lol).

Our rooms are very nice and after taking a much needed shower I am brought back to my first night in Japan all of three years ago (at least this time when we turned on the TV it wasn’t cued up on some porn channel like it was then . . . awkward!). I can already tell that I will be able to enjoy myself just by the simple fact that when eating in a restaurant at the mall I did not feel as if I was in another country but merely eating out with new friends. It’s amazing how well we all get along already, even braving the pericura booths as a group in the arcade. This trip is bound to be a fulfilling experience. Until next time!

じゃあまた！

Airport Shuffle

I am proud to say that I made it safely through the airport with no hiccups (minus a few minutes of being lost). I felt a tad bit anxious making my way through security but then again who isn’t? It goes by fairly quickly if you actually pay attention to the guidelines they give you online – super helpful by the way. So after sliding my shoes back on and strapping up my belt I eventually made my way over to my gate and found myself reliving my first visit to Japan with my high school classmates back in 2010. Being excited then does not even compare to the excitement I feel right about now. But I suppose traveling abroad alone to a country you haven’t seen in three years will do that to you.

I will say that leaving my grandma at the kiss ‘n ride drop-off area was kind of hard. She didn’t exactly show any signs of sadness but she did seem rather happy to see me off. Then again I’d rather see her smile as I walked away than watch tears stream down her face. I’ll admit I was choking up when I was telling her goodbye. I tried saying that I was going to call when I made it there but the words didn’t quite come out so I simply hugged her, smiled, waved and went on my way. It’s amazing how vulnerable you feel when you have a good cry – I do it all too often to be honest but how could I not, especially now? Excuse the profuse amount of emoting, I promise to reduce it to a few blogs a month, lol.

Saying I will miss all my family and friends hardly captures the depth of sadness I feel being apart from everyone I know and love, but I go with a purpose and will surely make the best of my situation. My only hope at the end of these few months is that I come back a better person (and a better speaker of Japanese) and have an even hotter fire urging me on to bigger and better things. All I ask of my readers is for your thoughts and prayers throughout my travels. Oh and wish me luck! 一所懸命頑張りますよ！