Day 1:
The first day, following a long customs line, Lindsay and I took the subway to the train to Kyoto. Public transportation is known to be incredibly efficient, easy to navigate, and the best way to travel. The trains’ cars are attached but not by solid metal and create a sense of buoyancy. Every time I was on one, I felt like I was riding the Asian Polar Express. As we sped through southern Japan, we noticed how there were no gaps in the buildings. We covered a fair amount of land and never saw rural areas. There were both residential and commercial buildings, but never farmland of any sort. After arriving in Kyoto, we wandered around the extensive train station and found a sushi restaurant. The sushi chef and hostess were so incredibly welcoming and friendly and it really set the tone for the rest of the trip. This was our first interaction with Japanese locals, which was so refreshing after our experiences in Vietnam and a few in China. We pointed to a few pictures on the menu that looked familiar enough and ended up with tuna hand rolls and cucumber rolls. They were really good and shockingly fresh. We wandered around, found a map and started walking. We had opted out of taking the bus, mainly because we had no idea which line to take, so we walked in the general direction of where we knew we wanted to go. It wasn’t an extremely busy city and we were far enough away from the touristy sites that I felt like we got a good sense of suburban, residential life. We walked for a while and then saw a little building with a ton of bikes in front of it. We asked, or rather played charades, inquiring if we could rent the bicycles. We learned that the people living in the apartment building next door in fact owned them. He talked to his wife for a little while and she ended up drawing us an extensive map to what we thought was a bike rental store. They didn’t speak one word of English but they took so much time to be friendly and help us out. We followed the map and never found the store, but we really did appreciate their effort. Lindsay and I found the area we were looking for that had a touristy street, temples, and traditional Japanese buildings. We walked around all of the pagodas and were shocked to find that there were no non-Japanese tourists there. All of the people that had come to see the Kyoto sights were other Japanese. One of the buildings, in back of the temple, was symbolic of Buddha’s mother’s womb. We took off our shoes and entered the completely pitch black building, led by a rope into a small room one-by-one that had a dimly lit large stone with carvings all over it. It is said that, while placing your hands on the stone, the wish that you make is the strongest in the world. We made a wish and realized that we also made it on 11/11/2011, which tied our American superstitions to the Japanese traditions. This was a really cool experience and one of my favorites so far. We exited and made our way to the other side of the temple where we wandered around and basically watched people. The temples that we went to in India were religious buildings that Indians went to every day. These temples in Japan were big monuments that Japanese go to as a special event, and not on a daily basis. Again, we really felt the friendly and welcoming presence. One man offered us incense sticks to burn that he had just paid for. Others offered to take pictures of us with our camera, not that they wanted a picture for themselves, but that they wanted us to remember our day. Everyone smiled and tried to communicate on a very basic level. Afterwards, we made our way to the world-renowned love stones. It is said that if you make your way from one to the other with your eyes completely closed, you will find your true love. After this trip, that’s definitely not a priority, but it was pretty cool to do with other Japanese schoolgirls our same age. Afterwards, we walked back towards the train station. We stopped to get ice cream, which was possibly the best I have ever had (Dad- you would eat bowls on bowls), and figure out the bus routes. We went grocery shopping and bought a few drinks before remembering that it’s not socially acceptable to eat and drink in public. We found a glass cubicle in the train station on our layover that was designated for eating and drinking. There was an elderly Japanese man sitting in it drinking two different beers at once, so we figured we were allowed, and joined him. Lindsay and I made it back to the ship, ate dinner onboard, and met up with a group to head out. We wandered for a while, amazed at the bright lights. Everything at night in Japan is BRIGHT- and fluorescent. The signs are so lit up and so close together, that they take the idea of clashing to the next level. It truly is the hardest place in the world to play I Spy. A girl convinced us to come in her restaurant and we took the elevator up to the top floor, right above a casino. We took off our shoes and sat on the floor in our own, separated room to share some more dinner. Every table is in a separate room and waiters knock whenever entering. There are buttons on every table that you press to get service, and they always appear right away. In addition, the way that you order in most Japanese restaurants is completely different than in America. Instead of speaking to a person, there’s an easy-to-read, advanced screen for every table. You navigate and press the button for each option, selecting whatever item you wish to order. Afterwards, we walked through the casino downstairs and wandered some more around the city. We decided to call it an early night because we didn’t find anything too fun for less than a fortune cover charge. Right before reaching the ship, we ran into the Japanese tour company that was organizing events for Semester at Sea kids. They had rented out a bar for the night about fifteen minutes away so we hopped in their car and spent our night there.
Day 2:
Lindsay and I sleepily made our way to Nara- Japan’s old, historical, previous capitol. We immediately realized that the rumors were true- deer were everywhere. They roamed the streets, unconfined and clearly respected. There were stands lining the streets to buy small, round cracker-like snacks to feed the deer with. Children pet the alarmingly calm animals as they wandered around. Lindsay and I really loved this day as well because it was such a normal, relaxing day. There were no expectations and we really felt intermingled with the population, especially the incredibly cute kids. We had a picnic in the park of fish sandwiches and apricot tea, both of which were unlike any I had ever had. The deer would come up every once in awhile and families were tossing baseballs around us. It was a regular Saturday for them, a time to relax and spend time with family, and we were in the midst of it. We then walked to a more touristy area and saw another temple, got ice cream, and headed to the site of the biggest Buddha statue in the world. The area that housed the Buddha reminded me very much of the Taj Mahal- the size, the gates, and the symmetry. We didn’t pay the entry fee to go inside but we were able to see part of it from outside the closest gate. Japanese kids, who were learning English, approached us in order to interview us for a school project. They asked us basic questions about where we were from and why we were in Nara- they could not grasp the concept of Semester at Sea or the ship, but to be honest, I still don’t fully understand it. I’m still not sure if I’ll ever comprehend the vastness of the experience we are having. I never bought food for the deer but one little Japanese boy came up and shared with me. It was clear that these children were taught the value of sharing and kindness from an early age. In Nara, we also really noticed the fashion. Before even arriving in Tokyo, a fashion capital of the world, it was apparent that these girls know how to dress. It was an average day for them but they were extremely put together and looking amazing, in their own way. I was wearing running clothes, a bright green backwards hat, sunglasses, a blue windbreaker and hadn’t showered in 36 hours so I felt a little out of the loop, but they still accepted us. Another thing we really noticed was the accuracy of the peace sign stereotype. They don’t just throw the peace sign up when taking pictures on vacation. They peace sign is EVERYWHERE- used at any opportunity, by everyone- even old women. We discussed whether it is a fad or a permanent, cultural symbol and still don’t know the answer. Another thing that we noticed is the word “Hashamashe” – (I’m butchering the spelling probably as much as I was the pronunciation). This word is used in America when entering sushi restaurants and is used EVERYWHERE in Japan- while walking by every type of shop or restaurant, and more. We took the train back to the ship, had dinner, got ready, and packed for the next few days. Lindsay and I met up with the big group- 9 of us. These are the same people that I have traveled with since Malaysia and we always have the best time. Two of my other friends, Chelsea and Mitch, who didn’t know this group, joined us and it became a huge dream team. While waiting outside at one point, we started talking with two Japanese girls our age that knew a tiny bit of English. We mainly signed but they made it very clear how much they love Johnny Depp and the Pirates of the Caribbean. We took a train to Osaka and found a hostel. Japan is known for being super expensive and we were all traveling on an extreme budget so we went to the sketchiest, cheapest places. Most either didn’t have open rooms, or didn’t want to rent them out to loud Americans- probably the latter option. We finally found one and got a few rooms- Japanese style- meaning there are no beds, just tiny, tiny rooms with a mat on the floor. There is one communal bathroom per floor and no other amenities, but it ended up being perfect. We talked to people later who couldn’t find housing for less than $60/person so we were pretty proud to say that we paid $12/person. Talk about bargain hunters! After dropping our stuff off, we made our way to Club 7-11 (Japan is too expensive for much more). We bought Strong Zeros (Japanese Four Lokos) and individually wrapped sushi triangles. We then ended up at a tiny bar where the owner invited us into his back room. We all squeezed into the room around one table on the floor and had a really fun night. We wandered around and explored a grocery store- it was so colorful and bright and different than any in America.
Day 3:
We woke up and immediately split up. We have learned that day trips are often best in small groups so Lindsay, Wendy, and I took the train to Mount Rokko. Mount Rokko is an island off of Kobe that is connected by a large bridge. We got there and took a cable car and gondola to the top to a city called Arima. Arima is a mountain town that has a few resorts and an indoor skiing facility. We walked for a while to a large public bath and spent most of our day around there. The public bath was extremely nice and well organized. We entered, removing our shoes, and promptly paid to receive our locker key and robe outfit. We went to one locker room, changed, and walked to another room, where we used the second key to leave those clothes. It was a well-thought out process that made a lot of sense but was fairly complicated. We then just went for it, disrobing and entering the area where clothes are not allowed. This was a huge, huge culture shock. Spending such a large amount of time completely naked with two friends and otherwise all Japanese women, going from sauna to bath to hot spring is a pretty unique experience. There were multiple rooms, both outdoors and inside, that offered places to bathe and relax. There was one big room with stools and mirrors side-by-side lining every wall. It was packed with women sitting on the stools and using handheld spouts to cleanse themselves with combs and soap. It was a really cool, and liberating, thing to experience. It was pretty apparent how crucial it was to act like this was a normal thing that we did- staring, shock, or hesitation was a sign of weakness. While on the cable car back down the mountain, a little girl, about seven years old, came up and gave me a few pieces of candy. I responded with my best attempt at a thank you- “arrigato”- and she replied in perfect English “I’m Korean” and walked away. Woops! We made our way back to the bottom of the mountain, ate McDonald’s (the first time on this trip, but we had to break down at some point) and headed back to meet up with everyone. McDonald’s, and other fast food places, all have a lot more room for seating than they would in America. This is because of the cultural view that eating in public, while walking, is not respectful. Even the convenience stores have little booths. We met the guys at our central, designated meeting spot- a lingerie store (I wonder who decided that) and headed to the bus stop. We got on the overnight bus for Tokyo, tired from the day and excited for our next stop. The bus was from 10pm-7am, but I probably got 3 hours of sleep. Aside from our friends, it was full of Japanese locals that clearly wanted us to be silent. I was blessed with a seat in the last row, which reclined all the way, right next to a window. Others were not so lucky so I took advantage of it by getting a few hours of sleep and resting. The bus would make stops at random truck stops every hour-and-a-half so people could use the restroom or purchase items from vending machines. (Vending machines are wildly popular in Japan and offer anything and everything that you could imagine). At one of these stops, half asleep and in a daze, I accidentally boarded the wrong bus. I walked all the way to the back before realizing my mistake. There wasn’t one white person on the bus- they were staring heavily but I thought that it was just because I was white. They chuckled as I threw up my hands, laughed at myself, and stumbled off. Stupid American! We arrived at 7am, tired, but ready to take on Tokyo.
Day 4: We got off the bus feeling tired and in great need of a shower, so we made a stop in the train station restroom. We washed our faces, as much of our bodies as possible, brushed our teeth, and changed clothes. The Japanese population heading to work seemed a bit confused but I’ve gotten used to being the grungy, out-of-place backpacker. We found lockers to rent and started our day in Tokyo. Lindsay, Ken, Tim, and I spent the day doing as much as humanly possible. We first took the train to the kitchen district where we walked around and looked at all the bizarre street food. There were fish tails pinned to a board, dried octopi, and every type of live fish you could imagine. We had sushi, the freshest of the fresh, and got some coffee to go. Throughout Tokyo, I noticed that they have really intricate walking devices. There would be one conjoined escalator that went from an incline to flat to an incline. Everything about this country is just beyond efficient. Everyone is orderly and stand in a line on one side, without fail, so that anyone in a hurry can run past on the other side. My entire time in Japan, I had been searching for a Japanese Vogue magazine. My friend Nicole from home really, really wanted one so I had stopped at every magazine stand or any store that might possibly have one. My dedication had become a joke between the people I had been travelling with at this point but Ken recommended that I try a bookstore that we passed and I FOUND IT! It was a very exciting moment! We then wandered for a while and ended up in a seven-floor electronic store, filled will everything under the sun. We played around in the music section for a while and then made our way to Harujuku district. (Nicole and Kate- this is your happy place). Japanese fashion and pop music are my new favorite things in the world. There was one main, crowded street with tons of stores and restaurants. The clothes in the stores were so, incredibly tempting and if I’m ever given a shopping spree, I want it to be there. Crepe shops split up the retail stores and offer every flavor imaginable. We shopped around for a little while but the boys got antsy quick so we had some curry for lunch, split a crepe, and headed for the temple. The temple was about to close so we hurried down the long entryway, which was covered and surrounded by immense trees and wildlife. It was incredibly beautiful and the flowers were out of this world. At almost every temple, off to the side, there is a place to hang wooden signs that individual temple-goers have written on. It was pretty cool because we cam upon a sign that our friend had written the day before. We then headed back, hung out at a pub for a few hours, and waited to meet up with Ken’s friend, Yuchi. Yuchi has lived in Japan his whole life and worked with Ken when Ken interned in Tokyo last summer. He is 25 and extremely successful. He spoke enough English for us to communicate on a basic level and Ken translated the rest. He took us to a ramen house where we ordered miso ramen- SO GOOD. The food in Japan was amazing, different, and for the most part, very fresh and healthy. Yuchi paid for everything, was so welcoming, and talked to us about everything under the sun. He told us about Japan’s business culture, where you oftentimes work 7am to 7pm, six days a week. This is a common schedule and necessary to become remotely successful. Yuchi invests in foreign currency and has about 8 million US dollars in his control every week. Afterwards, we went to a bar and talked a lot more. Again, there was the screen where you order and the drinks come almost instantaneously. For the entire voyage, my group of friends has been playing a game called Birdman- which is the most childish, yet entertaining, game ever. If someone is looking away, and you put your hands in circles over your eyes, and that person looks at you, he or she has to immediately lie on the floor. However, if that person somehow senses that you are going to Birdman them, or sees it in their peripheral vision, and blocks it by circling only one eye, than you have to lie on the floor. It sounds so incredibly stupid but is funny in certain instances. For example, my personal favorite was when Lindsay and I Birdmanned Colin as he was passing through the silent, orderly Japanese customs line. Anyways, we taught Yuchi and his friend Aoki how to play Birdman and they loved it. It was quite funny to see two proper guys in suits get so into such a bizarre game, especially when it is considered inappropriate to sit on the floor outside. They instantly caught on and were doing very well by the end of the night- a prime example of the Japanese learning curve. We caught the last train back to the ship in Yokohama and slept in our own beds that night, which was very much needed.
Day 5: Ken, Lindsay, and I spent the last day exploring Yokohama. It was basically a quaint port town with shops and restaurants, but nothing huge was going on. We just walked and enjoyed great conversation, ate curry, and shopped a little bit. We ran into a friend of ours who showed us a tattoo that she had gotten on her left butt cheek. It spelled out “Ubuntu” with an anchor next to it. Ubuntu is a word that we learned the first day of Semester at Sea and means, “I am who you are”. It’s supposed to signify a “global citizen” but has really just turned into an overused cliché for everyone on the voyage. I wonder how she’ll feel about that one in a few years. We made it back to the ship an hour ahead of on-ship time and went straight to bed.
All of the countries that we have visited have been amazing in their own way. India was the most emotional, eye-opening country, while South Africa had the most to do and was the most convenient. Malaysia was the best 24-hours of my life while Vietnam was gorgeous and had amazing food. Japan was, in my opinion, the most well rounded port. I loved the people that I travelled with and it was the perfect mix of culture and fun. In my mind, even though we still have three ports to go, the bulk of major ports are over. Hawaii is only for one day, Costa Rica and Guatemala both for two each. Each of these three will be very fun, but I’m not expecting any of them to be as crazy as what we have seen in the past few months. I am so incredibly happy with the way that things have gone and would not trade any experience for the world. The people that I have met here will be in my life for a very long time. That being said, I am getting ready to be home. I miss being home, my family, the Ducks, and DG a lot more than I expected I would. I never thought that I would be homesick because I rarely am while at school. The idea that I could be enjoying this so much yet still yearning for home a little bit is strange, but I think that it’s just because I wish that everyone from home could be here, experiencing it all as well. There is nine days on the ship before Hawaii, and we get to live Nov. 19th twice as we cross the International Dateline. My life will revolve around improving my grades, working out, and spending time with all of the amazing people onboard the MV Explorer.
The first day, following a long customs line, Lindsay and I took the subway to the train to Kyoto. Public transportation is known to be incredibly efficient, easy to navigate, and the best way to travel. The trains’ cars are attached but not by solid metal and create a sense of buoyancy. Every time I was on one, I felt like I was riding the Asian Polar Express. As we sped through southern Japan, we noticed how there were no gaps in the buildings. We covered a fair amount of land and never saw rural areas. There were both residential and commercial buildings, but never farmland of any sort. After arriving in Kyoto, we wandered around the extensive train station and found a sushi restaurant. The sushi chef and hostess were so incredibly welcoming and friendly and it really set the tone for the rest of the trip. This was our first interaction with Japanese locals, which was so refreshing after our experiences in Vietnam and a few in China. We pointed to a few pictures on the menu that looked familiar enough and ended up with tuna hand rolls and cucumber rolls. They were really good and shockingly fresh. We wandered around, found a map and started walking. We had opted out of taking the bus, mainly because we had no idea which line to take, so we walked in the general direction of where we knew we wanted to go. It wasn’t an extremely busy city and we were far enough away from the touristy sites that I felt like we got a good sense of suburban, residential life. We walked for a while and then saw a little building with a ton of bikes in front of it. We asked, or rather played charades, inquiring if we could rent the bicycles. We learned that the people living in the apartment building next door in fact owned them. He talked to his wife for a little while and she ended up drawing us an extensive map to what we thought was a bike rental store. They didn’t speak one word of English but they took so much time to be friendly and help us out. We followed the map and never found the store, but we really did appreciate their effort. Lindsay and I found the area we were looking for that had a touristy street, temples, and traditional Japanese buildings. We walked around all of the pagodas and were shocked to find that there were no non-Japanese tourists there. All of the people that had come to see the Kyoto sights were other Japanese. One of the buildings, in back of the temple, was symbolic of Buddha’s mother’s womb. We took off our shoes and entered the completely pitch black building, led by a rope into a small room one-by-one that had a dimly lit large stone with carvings all over it. It is said that, while placing your hands on the stone, the wish that you make is the strongest in the world. We made a wish and realized that we also made it on 11/11/2011, which tied our American superstitions to the Japanese traditions. This was a really cool experience and one of my favorites so far. We exited and made our way to the other side of the temple where we wandered around and basically watched people. The temples that we went to in India were religious buildings that Indians went to every day. These temples in Japan were big monuments that Japanese go to as a special event, and not on a daily basis. Again, we really felt the friendly and welcoming presence. One man offered us incense sticks to burn that he had just paid for. Others offered to take pictures of us with our camera, not that they wanted a picture for themselves, but that they wanted us to remember our day. Everyone smiled and tried to communicate on a very basic level. Afterwards, we made our way to the world-renowned love stones. It is said that if you make your way from one to the other with your eyes completely closed, you will find your true love. After this trip, that’s definitely not a priority, but it was pretty cool to do with other Japanese schoolgirls our same age. Afterwards, we walked back towards the train station. We stopped to get ice cream, which was possibly the best I have ever had (Dad- you would eat bowls on bowls), and figure out the bus routes. We went grocery shopping and bought a few drinks before remembering that it’s not socially acceptable to eat and drink in public. We found a glass cubicle in the train station on our layover that was designated for eating and drinking. There was an elderly Japanese man sitting in it drinking two different beers at once, so we figured we were allowed, and joined him. Lindsay and I made it back to the ship, ate dinner onboard, and met up with a group to head out. We wandered for a while, amazed at the bright lights. Everything at night in Japan is BRIGHT- and fluorescent. The signs are so lit up and so close together, that they take the idea of clashing to the next level. It truly is the hardest place in the world to play I Spy. A girl convinced us to come in her restaurant and we took the elevator up to the top floor, right above a casino. We took off our shoes and sat on the floor in our own, separated room to share some more dinner. Every table is in a separate room and waiters knock whenever entering. There are buttons on every table that you press to get service, and they always appear right away. In addition, the way that you order in most Japanese restaurants is completely different than in America. Instead of speaking to a person, there’s an easy-to-read, advanced screen for every table. You navigate and press the button for each option, selecting whatever item you wish to order. Afterwards, we walked through the casino downstairs and wandered some more around the city. We decided to call it an early night because we didn’t find anything too fun for less than a fortune cover charge. Right before reaching the ship, we ran into the Japanese tour company that was organizing events for Semester at Sea kids. They had rented out a bar for the night about fifteen minutes away so we hopped in their car and spent our night there.
Day 2:
Lindsay and I sleepily made our way to Nara- Japan’s old, historical, previous capitol. We immediately realized that the rumors were true- deer were everywhere. They roamed the streets, unconfined and clearly respected. There were stands lining the streets to buy small, round cracker-like snacks to feed the deer with. Children pet the alarmingly calm animals as they wandered around. Lindsay and I really loved this day as well because it was such a normal, relaxing day. There were no expectations and we really felt intermingled with the population, especially the incredibly cute kids. We had a picnic in the park of fish sandwiches and apricot tea, both of which were unlike any I had ever had. The deer would come up every once in awhile and families were tossing baseballs around us. It was a regular Saturday for them, a time to relax and spend time with family, and we were in the midst of it. We then walked to a more touristy area and saw another temple, got ice cream, and headed to the site of the biggest Buddha statue in the world. The area that housed the Buddha reminded me very much of the Taj Mahal- the size, the gates, and the symmetry. We didn’t pay the entry fee to go inside but we were able to see part of it from outside the closest gate. Japanese kids, who were learning English, approached us in order to interview us for a school project. They asked us basic questions about where we were from and why we were in Nara- they could not grasp the concept of Semester at Sea or the ship, but to be honest, I still don’t fully understand it. I’m still not sure if I’ll ever comprehend the vastness of the experience we are having. I never bought food for the deer but one little Japanese boy came up and shared with me. It was clear that these children were taught the value of sharing and kindness from an early age. In Nara, we also really noticed the fashion. Before even arriving in Tokyo, a fashion capital of the world, it was apparent that these girls know how to dress. It was an average day for them but they were extremely put together and looking amazing, in their own way. I was wearing running clothes, a bright green backwards hat, sunglasses, a blue windbreaker and hadn’t showered in 36 hours so I felt a little out of the loop, but they still accepted us. Another thing we really noticed was the accuracy of the peace sign stereotype. They don’t just throw the peace sign up when taking pictures on vacation. They peace sign is EVERYWHERE- used at any opportunity, by everyone- even old women. We discussed whether it is a fad or a permanent, cultural symbol and still don’t know the answer. Another thing that we noticed is the word “Hashamashe” – (I’m butchering the spelling probably as much as I was the pronunciation). This word is used in America when entering sushi restaurants and is used EVERYWHERE in Japan- while walking by every type of shop or restaurant, and more. We took the train back to the ship, had dinner, got ready, and packed for the next few days. Lindsay and I met up with the big group- 9 of us. These are the same people that I have traveled with since Malaysia and we always have the best time. Two of my other friends, Chelsea and Mitch, who didn’t know this group, joined us and it became a huge dream team. While waiting outside at one point, we started talking with two Japanese girls our age that knew a tiny bit of English. We mainly signed but they made it very clear how much they love Johnny Depp and the Pirates of the Caribbean. We took a train to Osaka and found a hostel. Japan is known for being super expensive and we were all traveling on an extreme budget so we went to the sketchiest, cheapest places. Most either didn’t have open rooms, or didn’t want to rent them out to loud Americans- probably the latter option. We finally found one and got a few rooms- Japanese style- meaning there are no beds, just tiny, tiny rooms with a mat on the floor. There is one communal bathroom per floor and no other amenities, but it ended up being perfect. We talked to people later who couldn’t find housing for less than $60/person so we were pretty proud to say that we paid $12/person. Talk about bargain hunters! After dropping our stuff off, we made our way to Club 7-11 (Japan is too expensive for much more). We bought Strong Zeros (Japanese Four Lokos) and individually wrapped sushi triangles. We then ended up at a tiny bar where the owner invited us into his back room. We all squeezed into the room around one table on the floor and had a really fun night. We wandered around and explored a grocery store- it was so colorful and bright and different than any in America.
Day 3:
We woke up and immediately split up. We have learned that day trips are often best in small groups so Lindsay, Wendy, and I took the train to Mount Rokko. Mount Rokko is an island off of Kobe that is connected by a large bridge. We got there and took a cable car and gondola to the top to a city called Arima. Arima is a mountain town that has a few resorts and an indoor skiing facility. We walked for a while to a large public bath and spent most of our day around there. The public bath was extremely nice and well organized. We entered, removing our shoes, and promptly paid to receive our locker key and robe outfit. We went to one locker room, changed, and walked to another room, where we used the second key to leave those clothes. It was a well-thought out process that made a lot of sense but was fairly complicated. We then just went for it, disrobing and entering the area where clothes are not allowed. This was a huge, huge culture shock. Spending such a large amount of time completely naked with two friends and otherwise all Japanese women, going from sauna to bath to hot spring is a pretty unique experience. There were multiple rooms, both outdoors and inside, that offered places to bathe and relax. There was one big room with stools and mirrors side-by-side lining every wall. It was packed with women sitting on the stools and using handheld spouts to cleanse themselves with combs and soap. It was a really cool, and liberating, thing to experience. It was pretty apparent how crucial it was to act like this was a normal thing that we did- staring, shock, or hesitation was a sign of weakness. While on the cable car back down the mountain, a little girl, about seven years old, came up and gave me a few pieces of candy. I responded with my best attempt at a thank you- “arrigato”- and she replied in perfect English “I’m Korean” and walked away. Woops! We made our way back to the bottom of the mountain, ate McDonald’s (the first time on this trip, but we had to break down at some point) and headed back to meet up with everyone. McDonald’s, and other fast food places, all have a lot more room for seating than they would in America. This is because of the cultural view that eating in public, while walking, is not respectful. Even the convenience stores have little booths. We met the guys at our central, designated meeting spot- a lingerie store (I wonder who decided that) and headed to the bus stop. We got on the overnight bus for Tokyo, tired from the day and excited for our next stop. The bus was from 10pm-7am, but I probably got 3 hours of sleep. Aside from our friends, it was full of Japanese locals that clearly wanted us to be silent. I was blessed with a seat in the last row, which reclined all the way, right next to a window. Others were not so lucky so I took advantage of it by getting a few hours of sleep and resting. The bus would make stops at random truck stops every hour-and-a-half so people could use the restroom or purchase items from vending machines. (Vending machines are wildly popular in Japan and offer anything and everything that you could imagine). At one of these stops, half asleep and in a daze, I accidentally boarded the wrong bus. I walked all the way to the back before realizing my mistake. There wasn’t one white person on the bus- they were staring heavily but I thought that it was just because I was white. They chuckled as I threw up my hands, laughed at myself, and stumbled off. Stupid American! We arrived at 7am, tired, but ready to take on Tokyo.
Day 4: We got off the bus feeling tired and in great need of a shower, so we made a stop in the train station restroom. We washed our faces, as much of our bodies as possible, brushed our teeth, and changed clothes. The Japanese population heading to work seemed a bit confused but I’ve gotten used to being the grungy, out-of-place backpacker. We found lockers to rent and started our day in Tokyo. Lindsay, Ken, Tim, and I spent the day doing as much as humanly possible. We first took the train to the kitchen district where we walked around and looked at all the bizarre street food. There were fish tails pinned to a board, dried octopi, and every type of live fish you could imagine. We had sushi, the freshest of the fresh, and got some coffee to go. Throughout Tokyo, I noticed that they have really intricate walking devices. There would be one conjoined escalator that went from an incline to flat to an incline. Everything about this country is just beyond efficient. Everyone is orderly and stand in a line on one side, without fail, so that anyone in a hurry can run past on the other side. My entire time in Japan, I had been searching for a Japanese Vogue magazine. My friend Nicole from home really, really wanted one so I had stopped at every magazine stand or any store that might possibly have one. My dedication had become a joke between the people I had been travelling with at this point but Ken recommended that I try a bookstore that we passed and I FOUND IT! It was a very exciting moment! We then wandered for a while and ended up in a seven-floor electronic store, filled will everything under the sun. We played around in the music section for a while and then made our way to Harujuku district. (Nicole and Kate- this is your happy place). Japanese fashion and pop music are my new favorite things in the world. There was one main, crowded street with tons of stores and restaurants. The clothes in the stores were so, incredibly tempting and if I’m ever given a shopping spree, I want it to be there. Crepe shops split up the retail stores and offer every flavor imaginable. We shopped around for a little while but the boys got antsy quick so we had some curry for lunch, split a crepe, and headed for the temple. The temple was about to close so we hurried down the long entryway, which was covered and surrounded by immense trees and wildlife. It was incredibly beautiful and the flowers were out of this world. At almost every temple, off to the side, there is a place to hang wooden signs that individual temple-goers have written on. It was pretty cool because we cam upon a sign that our friend had written the day before. We then headed back, hung out at a pub for a few hours, and waited to meet up with Ken’s friend, Yuchi. Yuchi has lived in Japan his whole life and worked with Ken when Ken interned in Tokyo last summer. He is 25 and extremely successful. He spoke enough English for us to communicate on a basic level and Ken translated the rest. He took us to a ramen house where we ordered miso ramen- SO GOOD. The food in Japan was amazing, different, and for the most part, very fresh and healthy. Yuchi paid for everything, was so welcoming, and talked to us about everything under the sun. He told us about Japan’s business culture, where you oftentimes work 7am to 7pm, six days a week. This is a common schedule and necessary to become remotely successful. Yuchi invests in foreign currency and has about 8 million US dollars in his control every week. Afterwards, we went to a bar and talked a lot more. Again, there was the screen where you order and the drinks come almost instantaneously. For the entire voyage, my group of friends has been playing a game called Birdman- which is the most childish, yet entertaining, game ever. If someone is looking away, and you put your hands in circles over your eyes, and that person looks at you, he or she has to immediately lie on the floor. However, if that person somehow senses that you are going to Birdman them, or sees it in their peripheral vision, and blocks it by circling only one eye, than you have to lie on the floor. It sounds so incredibly stupid but is funny in certain instances. For example, my personal favorite was when Lindsay and I Birdmanned Colin as he was passing through the silent, orderly Japanese customs line. Anyways, we taught Yuchi and his friend Aoki how to play Birdman and they loved it. It was quite funny to see two proper guys in suits get so into such a bizarre game, especially when it is considered inappropriate to sit on the floor outside. They instantly caught on and were doing very well by the end of the night- a prime example of the Japanese learning curve. We caught the last train back to the ship in Yokohama and slept in our own beds that night, which was very much needed.
Day 5: Ken, Lindsay, and I spent the last day exploring Yokohama. It was basically a quaint port town with shops and restaurants, but nothing huge was going on. We just walked and enjoyed great conversation, ate curry, and shopped a little bit. We ran into a friend of ours who showed us a tattoo that she had gotten on her left butt cheek. It spelled out “Ubuntu” with an anchor next to it. Ubuntu is a word that we learned the first day of Semester at Sea and means, “I am who you are”. It’s supposed to signify a “global citizen” but has really just turned into an overused cliché for everyone on the voyage. I wonder how she’ll feel about that one in a few years. We made it back to the ship an hour ahead of on-ship time and went straight to bed.
All of the countries that we have visited have been amazing in their own way. India was the most emotional, eye-opening country, while South Africa had the most to do and was the most convenient. Malaysia was the best 24-hours of my life while Vietnam was gorgeous and had amazing food. Japan was, in my opinion, the most well rounded port. I loved the people that I travelled with and it was the perfect mix of culture and fun. In my mind, even though we still have three ports to go, the bulk of major ports are over. Hawaii is only for one day, Costa Rica and Guatemala both for two each. Each of these three will be very fun, but I’m not expecting any of them to be as crazy as what we have seen in the past few months. I am so incredibly happy with the way that things have gone and would not trade any experience for the world. The people that I have met here will be in my life for a very long time. That being said, I am getting ready to be home. I miss being home, my family, the Ducks, and DG a lot more than I expected I would. I never thought that I would be homesick because I rarely am while at school. The idea that I could be enjoying this so much yet still yearning for home a little bit is strange, but I think that it’s just because I wish that everyone from home could be here, experiencing it all as well. There is nine days on the ship before Hawaii, and we get to live Nov. 19th twice as we cross the International Dateline. My life will revolve around improving my grades, working out, and spending time with all of the amazing people onboard the MV Explorer.
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