Something Old, Something New

But nothing borrowed. There was probably a lot of blue stuff, though…

Anyway, my weekend was way fun. It started out with a trip to Akihabara with a large group of people. I have found that large groups of people travelling together just does not work in Japan. Inevitably, you will be stuck in the train station for an hour past when you wanted to leave, waiting for this or that person, and during the trip, the group will stop for no apparent reason and just chill there for 15 minutes or more. It gets frustrating. But anyway, Akihabara, aka Akiba, is chock full of maid cafes, ridiculously cheap prices on electronics (which I benefitted from), and cosplayers (people dressed up as different characters, whether from a manga or anime, or from everyday life, like at the maid cafes). Rather than go to a maid cafe, we chose to try out a Neko (cat) cafe. With Akiba’s culture in mind, I was picturing a restaurant where women dressed up as cats served you unlimited drinks. Not so. It’s a small room where you serve yourself drinks and pet the 15 or 16 cats that chill there. Japan is strange.

The same day we headed over to Harajuku for some SHOPPING. Harajuku is famous for its cheap yet awesomely gorgeous clothes and the strange and wonderful fashion of the people that parade its streets every day. The most famous street is Takeshita, from which I bought a dress, some leggings and a ton of jewelry for mad cheap. (By the way, Akiba and Harajuku are the “Something New.”)

After a long sleep to recharge, I woke up sore from walking the whole day, to go to Kamakura and… well, walk the whole day. It was worth it though. The day started off with Yabusame, traditional Japanese archery on horseback (watch the video!). This is part of a festival that occurs every year on the third Sunday of April, so it’s way sweet that I got to see it.

Yabusame

After the demonstration finished, we headed over to a different part of Kamakura, to see the Daibutsu, or Great Buddha. It’s the second largest Buddha statue in Japan, and it’s surrounded by lots of beautiful scenery. (You’re so smart. Yes, Kamakura is the “Something Old.”)

Daibutsu (Click to purchase this print!)

Incense in front of the Great Buddha (Click to purchase this print!)

Monday I bought a kimono for the Japanese Classical Dance class I’m taking! I’ll post a photo in the next entry, but I’ll tell you now that it’s dark blue with whitish-pinkish sakura blossoms on, and a pink sparkly obi (sash) also decorated with sakura. It’s a very pretty combo, but I mess up putting it on. It’ll take a while yet. Oh, and it was really cheap, because it was from a stock set aside just for our class, but you can’t tell. It’s wonderful.

And then, as for my classes, I talked long and often with the Japanese language program coordinators, and we came to the conclusion that I should move only one level up. I am satisfied, because I can tell I will learn a lot. Today I planned out exactly how to go about teaching myself the material I’m expected to know already at the start of this level, and it seems like just the right amount of work. I have three Japanese friends that have agreed to tutor me, and I’m taking 2 self-guided tutorial classes, so with the help of my tutors and the tutorial teachers, I think I can come back to the States very proficient in Japanese. The way I’ve got it planned, I’m actually learning the higher level’s material before we go over it in class… :)

So that’s all for now! If you are reading this, stop what you’re doing and buy a ticket to come visit me, or if that won’t fly, at least visit my gallery. Thanks for reading!

~Molly

Smallish Things

Myself and a couple of fellow 留学生 (ryuugakusei), exchange students, watched the kendo club practice the other day. You can always hear them shouting and stomping when you pass by, and we thought it was curious, so we asked to go up and watch. It’s definitely cool to see, especially with the ancient-looking uniforms and the ferocity the athletes have when they scream and stomp and dive at their opponent.

Kendo

I ended up re-visiting Yokohama in the evening with friends and the intention of going on the rides at Cosmo World. Again, as it figures, the whole park was closed, most likely because it was a weekday. I did get this cool shot of Landmark Tower, though, without a tripod I might add.

Landmark Tower (Click to purchase this print!)

There was also a local band playing outside the train station, so we watched and ended up buying their CD. I recorded a bit of them playing “Kanaria,” which was my favorite of their songs. (Watch the video!)

Oh, and then yesterday, there was a welcome party for the exchange students and the Japanese exchange clubs and circles and the faculty and staff. We got to watch the Taiko club perform (watch the video!), and afterward, all of us went out for sake! I tried it for the first time, prepared warm. (In Japan, さけ (sake) just means alcohol in general. To be specific, I tried 日本酒 (Nihonshu), Japanese rice wine.) I guess it’s really strong, but it doesn’t taste like it was.

Other than that, I placed in a lower Japanese class level (based on proficiency in writing, reading, grammar, speaking and kanji) than I would have liked or was expecting to. I asked to be placed in a much higher level (3 levels up) because I think that I can handle 2 levels up easily, so adding an extra level onto the top there will force me to work even harder. I’m allowed to sit in on the class Monday and discuss with the faculty afterward what I think I should do. I’ll letcha know, but no matter how lost I am in that class, I’m probably going to still ask to be placed in it.

Thanks for reading, comment please, and check out my gallery!

Oh, wait, duh, I also got my hair cut. Normally, Japanese hair cuts are $40 at the cheapest, but it was half off (the price, I mean), so the cut and shampoo was about $25. :)

Haircut - Before and After

Yokohama

Took me long enough to post this, I guess…

Anyway, last Saturday, the 4th, myself and Gabe, the other student from Wells, made a trek to Yokohama, a large port city, for　はなみ (hanami), traditional cherry-blossom viewing. Here’s the 12-step process for having the same day we had:

1. Get to the train station at about 12:30 PM and swipe your Suica cards to get into the gate. Suica cards are like the EZ Pass of the Japanese train system, and EVERYONE has one. I’m really proud of us for figuring out how to buy one, with our limited understanding of Japanese…

2. Figure out which trains to take to get to Yokohama, and then ask someone, just to be sure. Be told something completely different: From Fuchinobe station, ride the green line to the last stop, then switch to the blue line and ride just one stop more to Kannai station.

3. Ask a helpful-looking サラリマン (salaryman), business man, for direction on how to get to HSBC bank. He will ponder for about a minute and then apologize because he doesn’t know. He will ask you to please wait a moment, and he will go to the information box to ask. He will then take you to your bank personally, all the while chatting with you about school and America and his company. Make sure you thank him and bow a lot. Get some money out of the ATM, free of fees, and smile because you finally have cash.

Entrance to Chinatown

4. Somehow, luckily, end up at the Minato Mirai line and take this train to its end (2 stops, I think) at Chinatown! This is the second largest Chinatown in Japan. Take pictures. As you wander around looking like a tourist (but that’s okay because everyone here is a tourist), be sure to buy some street food, because they don’t really have that in Non-Chinatown Japan. Especially try anman, which is a ball of fluffy dough with meat inside. I tried the pork and shark-fin one, which was delicious until I remembered that I was contributing to the endangerment of the sharks, who get their fins cut off and are thrown back in the water to die. I’m sorry, sharks. Never again.

5. When you’ve finished in Chinatown, go back toward the entrance and climb onto a rickshaw-thing! It’s only　300円 ($3) per person to get to Yamashita Park.

6. Now that you’re in the park, check out the street performers, juggling fire and knives on a unicycle. There will be a ton of families sitting out on blankets with picnic lunches, assuming you go during the first weekend in April. Why are they sitting there for hours on end? you may ask yourself (or a Japanese person, who will most likely apologize to you for not understanding, unless you ask in Japanese). Well, save yourself the effort, ’cause I’ma tell you. They are doing hanami, which means “flower viewing.” It’s part of Sakura Matsuri, the traditional holiday at the beginning of spring celebrating the blooming of the absolutely beautiful さくら (sakura), cherry blossom trees. (Washington DC has a wannabe Sakura Matsuri at the same time.) The entire weekend, families, friends and bussiness men will spread blankets out in parks or wherever there are bunches of sakura, and lots of socializing, sake-drinking, eating, and cherry-blossom-viewing will commence. We just took pictures.

Sakura (Click to purchase this print!)

A dad and his kid, who agreed to let me take some pictures. The kid, I mean.

More perspectives (Click to purchase this print!)

7. Leave the park and wander toward the huge Ferris wheel, called The Clock, at Yokohama’s Cosmo World. No point in asking anyone for directions on how to get to Cosmo World, because even if they live in Yokohama, they won’t know what you’re talking about. Just ask about the 大きい時計 (ookii tokei), big clock.

The rides we couldn't go on

8. Once there (you don’t pay an admission fee, just for individual ride tickets) go to buy tickets for the 2 roller coasters. The first, called Vanish, will be closed for safety inspection. I’m so sorry. The next… oh, I’m sooo sorry… will be closed due to heavy winds. I’m really sorry. Have a nice day. I’m sorry.

9. Get a bit lost crossing the river to the other side of Cosmo World. Buy tickets for 3 rides. After the first one, realize that the ride attendant didn’t give you both your tickets back. Go back, and through lots of broken Japanese, very slowly have the problem fixed. Somehow, acquire an extra 1100円 ($11) of tickets…

Landmark Tower

10. Leave the park and head toward Japan’s tallest skyscraper, Landmark Tower, a hotel that is part of the Minato Mirai development. Ask directions to the train station from a porter. Pretend to understand, even though you don’t. Head in the direction you thought he was pointing at. Be stopped and redirected properly this time…

11. Consider going up the ridiculously fast elevator to the 69th floor to look out. Reconsider when you think of how dizzy you are from the rides.

12. Lastly, go the unnecessarily long way to get back to the station. With sore legs and back, ride back to Fuchinobe station. Realize there is no bus back to campus on Saturday nights, so walk the mile and a half home.

Lastly, to make this adventure uniquely your own, go to my gallery, maybe particularly my Japan gallery, and buy some prints. :) Thanks for reading! Comment please!

Love,

Molly

First Few Days

I arrived safely! In spite of a 6-hour flight delay, my travels were, happily, uneventful. I caught glimpses of Fuji-san (Mount Fuji) and the Tokyo Disneyland Resort on my way to school! Due to a shortage of available host families, I am living in an apartment. It’s actually a really nice place, with a balcony, washing machine, kitchen appliances, internet and private bathroom. It even came with a TV, desk, desk lamp, and comforter/pillow. Not too shabby, huh? Still, I’d like the homestay experience, so I’m going to see about any possibility of getting into one… Anyway, more to come soon as I take decent pictures! (I’m taking a day trip to Kamakura soon for the Kamakura Festival at the Hachiman-gu Shrine!) Thanks for reading!