I was very excited about our stop in Japan. When I was in high school, I had the opportunity to travel in Japan for three weeks with a program called High School Diplomats. On that program, we toured the country for several weeks and then did a cultural exchange with high school students. I fell in love with the country and all of the traditions in their culture. Since then, I have also been able to stay in contact with several of the Japanese friends I made through that program.
In most of the other countries I had taken tours with Semester at Sea, and traveled with a fairly large group of people. But since this was the last major port, my friends and I decided that we wanted to travel around Japan independently. We had an itinerary from another girl on the ship, and we decided to adapt it to what we wanted to see. There were going to be five of us traveling together, so I was really looking forward to the trip. The night before arriving in port we each packed our backpacks for our four-day adventure. Japan is fairly easy to travel in because it is so westernized. There are many people who speak English and there are tourist sites all over the country. The ship was going to be docked in Kobe, so we decided to visit the cities of Hiroshima, Kyoto, and Nara because they were not too far away. Then we would spend the last day exploring Kobe.
When we arrived in port we had a diplomatic briefing by some of the people from the embassy. They were very welcoming, and several of them gave speeches to the entire ship community. In Japanese culture, giving speeches and giving gifts is customary at every single event. Gifts were presented to the Captain and the chief staff members, and then the ship had to give gifts to all the people welcoming us. After the exchanging of gifts, there was a performance by Japanese drummers. They were impressive and gave us a taste of the music we would find throughout Japan.
Then everyone on the ship had to go out to the back decks for a group picture! This was hilarious! My friends and I tried to get ourselves in the picture! I ended up being on the third deck on the right hand side, but all you can see of me are my arms stretched out! The picture was lots of fun but the photographer was so far away (he was standing on the pier!) nobody knew when the picture was being taken! After the group shot, we had some lunch on the ship and finished any last minute packing.
Finally we got off the ship and then we had to wait in more lines! We all had to exchange money, and get maps for the cities we were going to visit. Then it was off to the trains! We had to take a small train, like a subway, to a station where we could activate our Japanese rail passes. To get anywhere in Japan it is fastest to travel on the bullet trains. These trains will take you anywhere in the country and run continually every day. We each had a pass for the bullet trains for the entire time we were in Japan.
When we reached the station there was mass chaos because about 500 other students were doing the same thing! So we had to push our way through the lines, and get directions from a local as to which train to take to Hiroshima! The train left around 3:30 in the afternoon and didn't take that long to get there. We had a late lunch at McDonalds in the train station… it was a good McFlurry!
Then it came time to find the hostel. We were not able to retrieve the confirmation from the hostel because the internet was down on the ship. We just had the name... JHoppers. We found an information desk in the train station and learned that the hostel was quite a distance from the train station. It was obvious that we needed to take a public bus. So we took a cable bus to the hostel and thankfully found the right place. We checked in, got towels for the night, and headed upstairs to find our room. We had two rooms and a communal bathroom. The rooms were very traditional - tatami mats on the floor and a mattress for us to pull out and sleep on the floor. It was perfect for a night in Hiroshima!
After exploring the area around our hostel, we found a local place that served my favorite Japanese meal called okanomiakyi! This dish is famous in Hiroshima so I wanted to make sure my friends tried it! We all sat down at a counter and ordered, and then the cook prepared the dish right in front of us. The dish has a pancake top and bottom, which is made out of egg, and then the middle is filled with noodles. Then there is soy sauce added on top! It was delicious and I think my friends really enjoyed the meal!
We continued to wander around the side streets and were looking for a public bath. This is another traditional aspect of Japanese culture. Tourists like to experience it because it is something that would not be found at home. It was very difficult for us to find the public bath because we could not read any of the signs! We were looking for it and accidentally went inside an apartment complex! We saw a sign and thought the public bath might be inside the doors. A lady came running up to us shaking her head and laughing at us! She gestured that the pubic bath was around the corner and that this was her apartment! Oops!
We finally found the public bath, only to discover it had already closed. It was disappointing but we knew we would try another night. So we made it back to the hostel and figured out how to make the beds. We ended up having a sleepover in one of the rooms and pretty much crammed all the mattresses on the floor! It was a sight, and nobody could fall asleep because everyone was telling stories and was excited to be in Japan! It was fun!
The next morning we got up and checked out of the hostel. Then we headed for the Peace Memorial Park in Hiroshima. The park is large and there are several memorials spread throughout the area. There is a place where children or groups can bring 1,000 origami paper cranes and hang them around a children’s memorial. The story says that making 1,000 cranes is good fortune and brings long life. Now it is a symbol of peace and has become a tradition in Japanese culture.
We saw hundreds of school children all over Japan. They would be on field trips at all the major tourist sites. My friends kept joking and said that if they lost me, all they had to do was find the closest group of school children and I would probably be there talking with them and taking pictures!
The main site in the park is called the A-Dome. It was one of the most famous buildings in Hiroshima before the bombing occurred. The building now stands in ruins and is a reminder of the awful effects of war. One of the main things we talked about in our Global Studies class was that Japan has not been able to have a military unit since the end of WW II. We discussed how successful the country of Japan is today, and how they have been able to maintain a growing economy while keeping peace in their country. We talked about this as a model that many other countries around the world should follow.
After spending time in the park, we visited the museum dedicated to the bombing. Luckily we were able to check our bags in a locker so we did not have to carry them around the museum. The museum is very well done and extremely impressive. It covers all the aspects of the bombing and the aftermath for the people of Hiroshima. There were many documentaries, photographs, diagrams, and explanations of what happened the morning of the bombing. The temperatures were said to have reached 12,632 degrees Fahrenheit. There were certain parts of the museum that were hard to look at because they were so graphic. After we felt like we had seen the museum we took a public bus to the train station and got a quick lunch before going to Kyoto. We got on a train to Kyoto and found seats to sit down on and relax for a while.
Kyoto was founded in 794 as a ceremonial capital based on the classical Chinese model. It was a city of prosperity, and emphasized the cultural arts. There are over 200 shrines and 600 temples in Kyoto. It is also home to the last two traditional schools for geishas.
When we got to Kyoto we found the information desk and got directions to our hostel. We got some other questions answered and then headed off to find the right bus. Once we got off the bus we were not really sure where we were going. We walked for a while and thought we were headed in the right direction, but we were not sure so somebody pulled out the map to check. We all huddled off to the side of the sidewalk because there were bikers going past us. The funny thing was that when we moved over to the side, we noticed the name of the building we were standing next to, and it was our hostel! I think we did a double-take and laughed at the irony of the situation! We were so lucky to find it! So we headed inside the traditional Japanese hostel and checked in.
The hostel was so neat because there was a small traditional Japanese garden patio right in the middle of the hostel. There was a small living room area, and all the rooms surrounded the garden. We were sharing a room with two other girls and they were both from Australia. They were studying abroad for a few weeks in Japan. The room was set up for us, with tatami mats again and the mattresses on the floor. We received sheets when we checked in. There was also a comforter that covered us. All the walls were made out of rice paper and all the doors were sliding. This meant that the walls were very thin and that noise traveled very fast! We explored the hostel and enjoyed our room before going out to find some dinner.
There were not many restaurants in the area of our hostel, so the first thing we found was a small Mexican restaurant. We all ordered, and when we got our food we realized how small the servings are that Japanese people eat! We were used the limitless chips and salsa, huge plates of burritos, tacos, and enchiladas all served with rice. We were served on small plates and the portions were average size for Japanese. The food was delicious, but disappointing in that it was not very filling. We all ate our food within minutes and felt the need to sit and enjoy the restaurant since we had eaten so fast! Finally we headed back toward our hostel and got directions for a public bath.
We had a map and began to follow it but then we got confused. We started looking around and accidentally opened up the door of a building, which we decided was someone’s house! We continued to walk around and found a small restaurant. We sent someone in to ask while we waited outside. It was not long before the entire restaurant was helping… all we could see was a lot of discussion and pointing gestures. Soon a couple came out and gestured for us to follow ... they walked to the end of the block and pointed which way to go. They gave us a piece of paper with the Japanese characters on it that said “public bath.”
So we started on our way again and looked for the building they pointed to. When we arrived we realized it was closed on the particular day of the week we were there. So we were disappointed, but this time we had no idea where we were. So we stopped a guy on his bike and tried to ask directions. He spoke no English but found someone else who did. We explained to this man we were looking for a bath and the man understood and walked us to another public bathhouse. This walk was the insane… down two streets, turning right and left, around some corners, up this street and back down this alley! At this point we were in the middle of this small town and we had arrived at the public bath! We thanked the man profusely and none of us could stop laughing! It had taken over an hour to find the bathhouse and we had practically involved the whole town to find the right place!
We finally got to use the public bath, but the lady in charge had to help us out because we did not know you were supposed to bring your own soap and shampoo! You have to wash yourself off first and then get into the bath. One of our friends slipped and fell into the tub! It was hard for any one of us to remain composed! The water was so hot I could barely get in! All I can say is that when we left the bathhouse we heard the locals laughing at us and there was constant conversation in Japanese! It was definitely an experience to remember!
After the bathhouse we stopped in a grocery store right next to our hostel. I always enjoy looking around foreign grocery stores. This time I could not identify much of anything- perhaps only a few items like some candy or cookies that were from the U.S. My friends and I bought some “pocky,” which is one of the traditional Japanese snacks. It is like a long cookie that is dipped in chocolate! We got back to the hostel and ate our snacks in the living room area. There were several other people there, and we talked to people from Canada and Malaysia. The funny thing was that the guy from Malaysia had met some other Semester at Sea students in Brazil when we were at that port. It is really a small world! After visiting for a while we headed to bed and enjoyed a good night’s sleep.
The following day we set out to do a lot of sightseeing. My roommate and I had planned an itinerary for the day so we could see as much as we could. First we headed to the Imperial Palace, which was located inside a park not too far from the hostel. Unfortunately, we came in on the wrong side and it took us a long time to find the palace. We stopped and talked to several locals, and I talked to some school children. We ended up not being able to see the inside because they only offered tours. The only other tour given in English was in the afternoon, and we were going to be to touring other places by then. So we looked at the outside and headed to the next place.
We walked to the Nijo Castle and bought a ticket to tour the inside. It was the residence of the rulers called shoguns. It was built in 1603 to demonstrate the military dominance over the city. The overall effect is a quaint villa with gardens surrounding the castle. The castle had huge walls surrounding the building, and a moat surrounding the walls. I was expecting to tour a castle similar to other castles I have visited in foreign countries. I was wrong!
We had to take our shoes off before entering the castle, as is customary in any Japanese home. The castle probably had about 20 different rooms, and each room was for a specific purpose, but there was no furniture in the castle. There were tatami mats on the floor, and special pieces like murals and screens on the walls of the rooms throughout the castle. The most interesting thing was the wooden floors. The floors are called “Nightingale floors,” and squeak with every step to warn of intruders. It was fun to try this out when we were there. We were each trying to squeak louder than the other!
After visiting the castle we figured out which bus to take to get to the Golden Temple. This was one of the things I was really looking forward to seeing. When I was in Kyoto several years before, we did not have a chance to visit the temple, and it is one of the most famous sites in the city. It is a three-story pavilion entirely covered by gold leaf. The original building dates back to 1397 and it was built as a retirement villa. The Golden Pavilion is relatively small and it is intended to look beautiful with its surrounding scenery at the edge of a pond.
We got to the temple and decided to have a quick lunch before going to visit. We found a small café across the street and each ordered a traditional Japanese dish. Some people got soup and sushi, but I had shrimp-fried rice! The food was excellent and it was a nice break in the day. We bought a ticket for the temple and headed inside. It was a beautiful park, with the temple on the edge of a pond. It was gorgeous!
We all started taking pictures and got several group shots. Then we talked with a few school groups who wanted to get their picture with us. Sometimes they would have schoolbooks with them where they would have to interview English speaking people. So we got interviewed a lot! I loved it! They would have to ask our names, where we were from, why we were in Japan, and other simple questions. Then they had to write down our answers in their book. Their teacher would always be standing off to the side, encouraging them to come up and talk to us. We ended up standing in the same place for a long time because school kids kept coming up to us. We also talked to an American who was teaching English in Kyoto.
Finally, we continued to walk around the park and enjoy the scenery. It was the perfect day to go and visit the temple. I really enjoyed it. At the end of the park there was a place to light candles for various things as an offering. Several of us lit a candle for people as we were leaving.
After the temple we took a bus to an area that had a used kimono store. Several of my friends bought a kimono and I bought a children’s kimono to hang in my classroom or in my house someday. The lady’s shop was amazing because it was filled floor to ceiling with kimonos! It was a little overwhelming!
After finding what we wanted we took a bus to an area of town called Gion. It was the part of town where all the Geishas perform in the evenings. I had always heard about the Japanese businessmen going to Geisha shows but I always thought it was exaggerated in the movies. But I was wrong! I had not seen so many businessmen before. The area of town has cobblestone streets and is very quaint. There were businessmen all over the side streets entering the Geisha houses.
My roommate and I ended up going to see a performing arts show in the area. It spotlighted some of the main Japanese theatrical traditions. We watched a traditional tea ceremony, saw the art of flower arranging, or ikebana, watched kabuki and another type of theater call noh. At the end of the show we learned about Geishas and watched them perform a dance. It was very interesting and I enjoyed the entire performance!
After the show we found a sandwich for dinner and walked around the area a little more. This was a very ritzy part of town and it looked like one of the places where nightlife was a big deal. After enjoying the city for a while longer, we got back on another bus and headed back to the hostel. I think we were all very tired from the day and were happy to be back at the hostel!
The next day we got up early and went to one of the bigger temples called Kiyomizu. This temple is famous for its wooden veranda suspended over a deep gorge. The temple dates back to 1603. It was up on the top of a hill next to some of the forests. We climbed up the hill and spent a few hours exploring the temple. It was huge! When we first arrived there were not many people there because it was still early, but soon many school children came. I continued to take pictures of the school kids the whole time we were there!
There were several different parts of the temple, and honestly I was not sure what each part represented. There was a fountain, which you could drink out of, which was supposed to be very holy. Then there was an area of the temple dedicated to love. There were two large stones opposite each other, and if a person could walk from one stone to the other with their eyes closed then they were supposed to find their soul mate. My friends and I watched all the Japanese girls try the task! It was so funny to watch them giggling and yelling to each other which way to go. Most of them were able to do it on the first try! So we spent a long time exploring the different parts of the temple and had a good time people watching as well.
After the temple we had to head back to the hostel to check out and get our bags. Then we went to the train station again and took a bullet train to the city of Nara. The train rides are so interesting because there is complete silence on the train. If I was going to talk I felt like I needed to whisper! In Japan most people will text on their cell phone rather than talk, so that is one of the reasons trains were always so quiet.
It did not take long to get to Nara, and we got some city information from a very nice lady. However, we had to walk to another train station to set down our backpacks. The train station we came into had all the lockers full. So we finally found the other train station and set our bags down. I was happy to get rid of mine! It was a little heavier then I wished!
Nara is known for the deer that walk around the city, and especially around the temple area. They are free to walk around wherever they choose, and you can go up to them and pet them. We strolled through some of the shops first and went into the 100 Yen store, or the $1 Store. This was exciting because Japan is so expensive that many of us purchased some souvenirs in the dollar store! After finding some great buys we headed toward the temple. We had to separate because my roommate had lost her camera and had to go back and find it.
Some of us headed to the temple and stopped when we saw the deer. There are probably hundreds of deer in the city and they are all comfortable around people. We bought some official deer cookies and fed the deer. That was so much fun! As soon as you hold up one cookie, you have five more deer surrounding you! You have to be fast because they will grab the cookies out of your hand! Sometimes you can make them bow their head before eating the cookie ... everyone always says that the deer bow to you before eating! I enjoyed playing with the deer, and we took tons of pictures! We got to see part of the temple before it closed, and took several more pictures with the deer. I am sure that they are all well fed by the end of the day!
Soon it was getting late and we found a place to get some sushi to try for dinner! It was really good (although I am not sure what kind of sushi it was!) Along with the sushi we split, we headed to McDonalds to supplement our dinner. I tried a Teriyaki burger and it was really good! Too bad they do not have that at home! We picked up our bags and had to catch a train back to where our ship was docked in Kobe. We figured out the train station times and got on the right train back to Kobe.
I was really happy with our adventure in Japan. We used a guidebook for advice and my friends were really good at reading maps. I felt like we got to see a lot of sites and really packed a lot into the days we were there. We did not have any major problems and I think everyone had a great time! We made it back to the ship safely, and returned to our beds exhausted, but ready for our last day in port.
I mentioned that I had traveled to Japan before. Through the exchange program several years back I had met several Japanese girls. One of them was my roommate and her name is Hiromi. We are always sending cards back and forth, and keeping in touch through email. I had sent her the link to my blog and she had emailed me about coming to visit while I was in Japan. My parents did some of the communication for me because it was so hard for me to check my email. It worked out that the ship was in Japan during a holiday called the Golden Week. Basically it is just a national vacation for everyone in Japan. So Hiromi was able to come and visit me in Kobe! It was very exciting because I had not seen her in several years, and my friends wanted the chance to meet a girl our age from Japan!
That morning I went exploring in Kobe with one of my friends. We made some phone calls back home in the terminal and then took the train into the city. Kobe is one of the biggest cities in Japan. We walked around the streets, window shopped, and people watched. We found some areas to come back to that afternoon with Hiromi, and eventually headed back to the train station to go back to the ship. I was going to meet Hiromi at the ship, but I was a little nervous because there were several areas where she could be waiting for me. To get close to the ship you have to have ID, so it was going to be difficult to determine where to meet her.
I was just about to get on the train back to the ship when I heard my name! Hiromi recognized me and called out my name! I was really surprised to see her and also relieved that she had found me! I had not seen a picture of her in a while, and she looked so good! We went back to the ship together and I ran inside with my friend and we gathered a few more people who were coming out to meet Hiromi. I was so excited! I enjoyed having the chance to catch up with her and hear about some of the things she has been doing since the last time I saw her! She speaks very good English and my friends were so impressed with her!
We spent most of the day walking around, talking, and catching up. We used Hiromi’s ability to read the language to do some special things that day. First, one of the popular things to do in Japan is to get your picture taken with friends in a photo booth. After you take a series of pictures you go over to a station where you can add graphics, borders, write messages, and basically create fun pictures! Then they print out immediately for you! They are very small, about a fourth of the size of our wallet photos. We had fun making some silly poses, and Hiromi was an expert at making the pictures look really creative!
For lunch we wanted to try and find a place that served oknamoayki again, so Hiromi located a restaurant for us by calling one of her friends. Japanese people are so kind and they always go out of their way to help you. After lunch we wandered through some of the pedestrian streets and enjoyed the city. Hiromi found the 100 Yen store for us in Kobe and we found a few more good bargains. Then we continued to walk around the main part of the city, and later in the afternoon we did some karaoke, another popular pastime in Japan.
When you do karaoke, you rent a space for a specific amount of time. Then you and your friends are given a room (sound proof- thank goodness!) with a TV and book of hundreds of songs! We had a fantastic time singing at the top of our lungs! We each got to pick out a song and then take turns with the microphones! I was impressed because Hiromi knew some of the American songs and we had a blast singing! Karaoke was something that I really wanted to do and I am so glad Hiromi helped us do it.
After karaoke it was time for Hiromi to take a train back home. I took her to the train station and thanked her again for coming to meet me! It is not everyday that we are in the same country, so I was so happy to have the opportunity to see her! She is going to college in California next year, so I am hoping that I can have her come and meet me during her time in the U.S. We said our good-byes and I waved to her again, thanking her for being such an amazing friend!
I met back up with my friends and we had a quick dinner before getting back on the ship. After dinner we all lingered a little before getting back to the train station. I think we were all not ready to get back on the ship because it was our last port in a foreign country. Finally, it was getting late and we got back on the train to the ship. I called home again to tell them I had met up with Hiromi, and my friends had already gotten in the long line to get back on the ship. After my phone call I got in line and got to cut in front of a few people because I did not have a big bag to bring back on the ship. This was a big deal because the line was long and it was getting close to the on-ship time!
When I finally made it through the line my friends were waiting for me by the gangway. It really meant a lot to me to see them waiting for me when I got out of the line! They told me they did not want me to get on the ship by myself in the last foreign port. So we took a picture in front of the ship and gave each other a big hug! Then we had no choice but to get on the ship. We headed up to the top deck to waved good-bye to Japan and the port of Kobe. We reminisced about the trip and talked about all the amazing memories we will have to remember for years to come!
"A journey is best measured in friends, rather than miles." – Tim Cahill
Taking a group picture with my Japanese friend Hiromi to remember Japan!
Our big group picture on the ship!
