The Last Week

Well, once again, a lot has gone on just over the weekend! There were so many pictures, it was hard to pick less than 60...so, once again, I apologize about the massive amount of them.

Ashleigh and I went to Shinjuku and then around Waseda to try to find a bank and open an account. For the record, never try this method. Wait until the banks come to your school and then decide. And also, for the record, Resona appears more student-friendly than Citi, especially considering the lack of Citi ATMs...everywhere.

These couple of pictures are from Sweets Paradise--an all you can eat Sweets Buffet! Delicious, but a little painful to the stomach...

and a little bit painful to English speakers, as well. The heeltaps in America are better. :P

The yummy, yummy sweets :)

Next, a few of us went to a little traditional art gallery/museum/shop that was in the same area (Ikebukuro). These are a few of the things we saw:
Beautiful set up of utensils.

Aww

This style of art originated from Koreans living in Japan centuries ago. It is known for the blue paint on the white background.

Even the adorable little guys were so intricate!

The next day, Marija, Clare, Alex, and I went to Kamakura to look at the shrines and temples.

This one is from a shelter for women who's husbands wouldn't allow them to divorce. It is a Buddhist Temple and graveyard, as well.

Probably a protector for wanderers or the deceased...but, I'm not sure.

The graveyard at the shelter. Some of the graves were gorgeous, and a lot of them had fresh flowers as offerings to ancestors. One of them even had a beer; I guess beer and sake are pretty common "gifts" to the dead.

Next on our journey was the hike to the Daibutsu (big Buddha temple). The way was sort but quite slippery from the rain the night before and a little trecherous!

Footholds. They were only in one part, but I found them very convenient.

A beautiful view from partway down the trail.

These spiky, green fruits were growing in a little field by the trail. I later saw them sold in a shop--no clue what they are!

Me in front of the Daibutsu. Amazing! He was giant--and the artwork was so intricate. We got to go inside him for another 2 bucks or so--displays inside showed how he was built using a layering technique. Very interesting.

Compare this picture to the next. Adorable!

Compare this picture to the last. Adorable!

Our next visit was to a Shinto shrine dedicated to samurai called Tsurugaoka Hachiman-Guu. A cherry-tree lined path lead the way. In front of that gate stood two lions (a special, more legendary type whose name eludes me), each with a different expression. The asymmetry surprised me, but I liked it.

At the shrine itself. Every shrine has a wash station with a hand-washing ritual (described in an earlier post), and some of the bigger ones have several small shrines before the big one. There are shops where you can buy prayers and souvenir-like things. Then, there is the big shrine (the one up the stairs in this case).

Our little group of travelers (Clare, Alex, me, Marija), by the water and huge lily pads (or, at least we think that's what those may be)! Everyone here is happy to take a picture for you if asked; it's very easy and pleasant.

After our journeys in Kamakura, we went with Waseda International Club to a night viewing at a government building (described earlier in my blog) to see the city. It was really beautiful....

The city at night.

The next day, Ashleigh, Marija, Clare, and I went to Ueno Park to go to the zoo.

This prince started the red cross and blood donation society of Japan. Good for him!

There were canadian geese at the zoo.... Funny that they could be a novelty here! There were also gila monsters; it made my day!

There were several shrines at the zoo; this is Ashleigh in front of one of them! There was also a tea house; apparently, the zoo was built around that house. It was where leaders of an older Japan would go for tea ceremonies.

Marija, me, Ashleigh, and Clare in front of the closest thing to a giant panda the zoo had. It did have real red pandas, though! Adorable!

Baby monkey. SO cute.
This is a soft-shelled Chinese turtle. There's one in the turtle pond at school; it always looked so awkward and different, so I was very glad to find out what it was. He was in the giant reptile house, along with lots of lizards, several gators, snakes, and other, more primordial creatures.

This guy was some sort of aquatic lizard with a vestigial leg and foot. Look toward the right hand side and the back to see it!

The rest of the creature with the vestigial leg.

I think this was some sort of toad!

A hippopotamus! Among the other creatures in the zoo were bears, lions, tigers, gorillas, condors, hawks (there were a lot of various birds), bison, rodents, bats, and many more! It was a really cool trip.

The next day, I went on the Tokyo Tour hosted by the two International Groups: Nijinokai and W.I.C. (Waseda International Club). I had to pick one of four places, so I chose Tokyo Tower and Tsukishima. In Tsukishima, we tried a type of food called monja...or at least, everyone else did. It had shellfish bits in it, and I didn't want to let my table down (since it's a group type of eating), so I had to go somewhere else. Still, my pork and rice was delicious!

After eating, we went to a beautiful lookout point over a famous river (the name eludes me).
The river leads to the sea and has a great view of the city! The people with me are some fellow exchange students and some people from the international clubs.

We arrived at Tokyo Tower! Interestingly, some Japanese nationalists were circling the tower in big vans, blasting and old World War II army song and honking loudly at the gaijin (foreingers) they saw. It was a little tacky, and it was probably the first time I've been more than a bystander in a racist display.

Tokyo Tower was meant in some part as a way to one-up France. It's a whole 9.5 meters taller than the Eiffel Tower, but it is nowhere near as magnificent. It actually looked a bit silly to me with its bright colors and satellite-things sticking out of the side. Still, it was fun getting to see it and go inside.

Some of us took the elevator, but the cool kids took the stairs up to the first and second observation levels (I would have gone to the special observatory had time permitted, but our group was on a schedule). We got a little "you did it!" card for taking the stairs all the way to the top. This was my favorite picture of the view of Tokyo from the tower.

After taking the stairs back down, my friends and I found the rather phallic mascot of Tokyo Tower (he's supposed to be shaped like the tower, but it looked a little different to us).

These dogs are the ones who ventured bravely to the South Pole. Not sure why they're next to Tokyo Tower, but I liked the display.

These little clothed statues are for departed children...usually from miscarriages and the like. It was kind of sad to see so many lining the side of this shrine.

These scary dark birds are everywhere. They sound like crows, but they have very strange beaks....

There was a Matsuri (festival) going on in the next prefecture! So lucky to be able to see these types of things. Really, the very old next to the very new is quite the fascinating thing to be able to witness. Starbucks right next to old temple gates, Matsuri in the big city...everything is truly amazing.

Anyway, until next time!

Another post full of pictures--this time, there may be too many! But a lot has happened these last few days....

Ashleigh and I met up with two girls Sunny and Hacchi for breakfast. We hung out at a park waiting for the food places to open. (Left to Right: Ashleigh, Sunny, Me)

There were beautiful turtles and koi in the park!

Another picture of the park (can you tell I really think it's beautiful?)

I thought that the spider was cool, too. Not sure what it is....

Rainbow lizard we found in the park! There were a bunch.

The next day, I took a trip with Courtney, Ashleigh, and maybe others (the days are starting to blur a little) to Yodobashi Camera. It's not just a camera place; believe me when I say it is absolutely ridiculous. There are multiple stores, each of which has several buildings comprising it! They also tend to have at least 5 or 6 levels (some of them have 10!!!). Big, bright, and full of advertisements, these stores are truly fascinating.

Another fascinating set of stores are the all-female and all-male department stores (the big ones are in Shibuya, though there is an all-male department store near where I live in Nishi-Waseda). I don't have any pictures of the male one, but I do know that an all-male department store would NEVER make money in the states. It made me giggle to see how successful it is here!

The busiest pedestrian crossing in the world--right outside of the Hachiko (remember the dog?) exit at Shibuya. For a better idea, check out this youtube video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nQAZjWi615Q
On the left, you can see the all-female department store. :)

At a sunglasses shop in Shibuya. Made me giggle! :D (And I agree :P)

A photo of Ashleigh and Courtney in the Disney Store! It seemed rather magical (and it was daytime out!).
I know. Caitlin pees so often, she even posts a picture of a toilet on her blog. But seriously--look on top of it. It's a faucet. At first, I though, weird, why do we get a choice of sinks (there's one to the left on a counter that you can't see in this picture)? Then, I realized that this faucet refills the toilet after it's been flushed! It was really weird to see the water pouring into the top of the toilet. Whatever works, Japan!

My hero. The best product for bug-bites ever! Doesn't repel, but it makes the itching go away faster than you would think possible. It's called "Muhi" and it is fantastic.

Saiya's funny shirt, and a decent example of Engrish. It says, "The Freeze Quintet. The calm before the storm. Have a rough time!" After having a few drinks, I made him take a picture.

Ashleigh and me! Since she and I have spent pretty much every day together, I decided to throw in a picture of just the two of us (Japanizing our picture--seriously, the peace signs are everywhere!).
Elena and me being silly in a different part of a different Yodobashi Camera.

On the way home from the station one day, Ashleigh and I heard music playing at a shrine. We checked it out--turns out it was a little festival! The whole weekend was apparently a festival, and these next pictures illustrate it a little.

Mmm chocolate-covered bananas. I don't think I'd seen them with sprinkles before!

The beautiful shrine where the festival was occuring.

Someone praying inside. They take these things very seriously; I really want to learn more about it, because it's fascinating and I currently know so little.

Dancers at the festival.

A mini-shrine--I don't actually know what it's called. A little girl sat on the poles on the end of one at one point--it was cute. The men off to the side of the picture are actually pretty wasted. Ashleigh and I walked by, and as we did, one of them turned toward me. As soon as he saw my face, he made a big surprised face and an equally surprised noise. Pretty funny; I don't think he expected me to be gaijin (foreigner).
Ashleigh and I craved ice cream. After about 45 minutes-an hour of looking, we found these. (So I guess there is more than one of us the two of us!)

A big group of people went to the shopping district Harajuku. It's more contained and smaller feeling than Shinjuku or Shibuya, and I therefore liked it better. I felt more at home even though it was just as crowded. Harajuku is a weird shopping district, though; some of the fashion is pretty standard, but a lot of it is geared toward the gothic-lolita style that some Japanese girls seem to adore. Check out the Harajuku girls a few photos below....

More bathroom stuff--these were the symbols on the McDonald's bathroom doors. They made me smile.

Strange Harajuku fashion.

And...the Harajuku girls! They stand on the bride in Harajuku all dressed up and allow everyone to take photos of them. It reminds me a lot of the princesses in Disneyland...just, these folks don't get paid. I think they do it for attention ("to make a statement," right?), personally; kind of a more outspoken form of emo.

The Meiji Shrine (on the other side of the Harajuku bridge). From left to right: Clare, Marija, Alex, and Zoe. Marija is from Canada, and the rest are from Britain. When I asked Zoe if she spelled her name with a "Z" or and "X," she answered, "with a zed!" This sparked one of the fabulous discussions on linguistic differences. I really do love them--it's awesome to learn not only about Japanese culture but culture from other countries, as well! Sophie (not pictured) made it her mission to teach me slang from Britain that day :) Clare, Ashleigh, and I are convinced our accents will all blend by the end of the year!

On another note, when we entered the shrine after the long walkway, we passed a hand-washing station. Clean water from a central pool was poured on first the left hand, then the right hand, then into the mouth (with water from the left hand--it was then spat to cleanse yourself), and then over the stick that held the small wooden water dispenser used for the cleaning. It was a really interesting ritual to take part in!

There was a wedding inside the shrine--so beautiful!

Picture of the shrine.

The wedding procession. We got very lucky to see so much!

At the shrine, there was a large tree surrounded by this wooden structure. People can buy those small wooden plaques (votive plaque; prayer board) and write their prayers or wishes on them. Some of the wishes were a little silly, but a lot of them were very deep and sad. Eventually, I had to stop reading because it tore a little at my heart!

This last picture is from, yes, Karaoke. Nicci, her friend Rob, Ashleigh, and I went out to sushi, nomihodai, and then karaoke. Nomihodai is all you can drink for two hours (usually ordering food is required, and the total cost often comes out to around 1500 yen or $16)! Since the Japanese alcohol tolerance tends to be lower, these places actually make money and survive in Japan! Either way, after nomihodai, karaoke seemed like quite the good idea. It, in fact, was :) I had an excellent time! (Though, I did notice that after a few drinks, I picked up Ashleigh's New Zealand accent and could not get back to mine. Definitely amused everyone there.)

More adventures to come soon! I hope you enjoyed!

Much love!

What to bring to Waseda

This post is more or less a description of the dorms and what I would have liked to have known before coming here. If anyone finds this blog that needs this information, then I'll have done my job.

I'm living in the Waseda University Nishi-Waseda Student House. Apparently, it doesn't exist on Google maps. If you come to the school and you're not doing pickup (or even if you are--if something goes wrong), it's best to know that the easiest way to get there is walking from Takadanobaba Station and not Waseda Station. You do exit from the Waseda exit. You'll be on Waseda Doori, and the map that was supplied to you should suffice from there. If you're living in another dorm, make sure you bring directions to that dorm just in case (even if you are doing pick-up).

Picaso is a store that is just around the corner from the school/the close dorms. It is a small version of Don Quijote, and it has everything anyone might need for cheap (except fresh fruits and veggies--it lacks those). So when I say buy something, if I don't specify where to get it, that's the place to go.

Unless you really enjoy sleeping on a rice pillow (very similar to a bean bag pillow), bring a pillow with you or buy one immediately.

Bring an ethernet cable with you if you're staying in Nishi-Waseda Student House. I'm pretty sure they're universal, and then you can have internet the first night. I'd make it long if you want to sit on your bed and use the internet!

Bring bug spray. If you need to buy it in Japan, the word for it is mushiyoke (虫よけ；虫除け）and it can certainly be found in Picaso.

Bring feminine products from home. They're different in Japan (at least from the US).

Bring enough money with you to last you if your home bank cancels your credit card. Even if you tell your bank where you are, it can happen. Make sure to tell your bank at least twice before you leave that you actually will be in Japan. Enough money is probably somewhere between 30000-50000 yen.

Bring a knife. The Nishi-Waseda kitchen provides decent enough pots, pans, and chopsticks, but it lacks silverware, plates, and cups. Don't try cutting apples with chopsticks if you don't have a knife--a good, cheap one is easy to find at Picaso. Also, for just simple things like forks, spoons, and plates, a 100 yen store is a good bet. They won't be high class, but they'll work and they're cheap.

Don't bring a phone from home. It's too complicated, and most Japanese phone stores won't just sell you a new sim card. Also, what I've heard is that getting a phone with a plan is a lot cheaper than doing prepaid. The safest bet is probably to buy a phone from Softbank (usually it's free with a plan), and get the White Plan with texting. It allows for free calls between Softbank phones, free incoming calls, and unlimited texting to any phone in Japan and any email address. Very convenient and it only costs about 1350 yen per month! There is a Softbank in Shibuya that has English-speaking representatives. Exit the Hachico gate, find the Hachico statue, and the Softbank can be found on the second street from the left while facing that statue from the front.  (EDIT:  Don't get a plan if you're there less than two years.  I was dead wrong.  Do prepaid.)

Do bring some sort of watch or phone you can leave on before you get a cell phone! It's helpful to know the time, especially if you have a train to catch.

Definitely bring your own towels (they do not provide these in the dorms). Bringing your own sheets is a plus, too, if you don't want to use the relatively cheap ones they give you here (I don't have a problem with them, but some people might).

Also, bring a map from your country. My English train map has saved me on numerous occasions!

Groceries tend to be on the expensive side in Japan. Some people find that going out costs about the same amount as making your own food! Going out can be really cheap, but if you want to make food at home, learn your options. There is a fairly large supermarket by the name of Peacock near Takadanobaba Station; that's a really good bet for most things if you want to spend less money. There are several Lawson stores that sell some food, and they are a good bet for fresh fruit and vegetables. There is a Sandoku (small grocery store) almost right across the street from the Nishi-Waseda International Student House; it has cheap bananas (though so do most places), but it tends to be a little more expensive than the other places. It's closer than the others, though, so it can be quite convenient for small trips. Cereal and rice are the most surprisingly expensive things I've seen. Picaso is a pretty good bet for either, and Peacock has decent prices on rice.

I hope that this can help someone prepare for Waseda! I'll post more tidbits like this later :)

Some pictures....

My journey in pictures, so far....


My screen on the airplane had a "flight route" feature that let me see where we were from several views, the time in Dallas, our current location, and Japan, the temperature in Dallas, our current location, and Japan, the estimated arrival time in Japan, and the estimated time left in the flight. This is an example of the route in Japanese. We'd left California at that point.


The view from the train during my ride from Narita International Airport to Shinjuku Station. The houses were beautiful and a lot more spread than in the city.


Another picture of the view from the airplane.


A restaurant in my area of Tokyo, Nishi-Waseda (nishi means west, and Waseda is a region). It amused me. The kana above the "the's" are read "za, za, za" since "za" is pretty much the closest noise they have to "the."


A beautiful (and small) park I found near my dorm.


I went to Shibuya to buy a cell phone. Since I didn't have my alien registration card, it was a no-go, but I did see some interesting things while I was there! This Disney store looked nifty.


This dog is Hachikō (or chūken Hachikō = faithful dog Hachikō), the dog who accompanied his master to Shibuya Station and picked him up at the same place every day. One day, his master suffered a cerebral hemorrhage, and he did not return. The dog came back every day and waited for him for 9 years. I thought this story was a myth, but when I wikied it to make sure of the name, I found out it was true! I guess he became famous, and people would feed him, pet him, and give him treats during his wait. There's a picture of the dog himself on the wiki page along with the full story, if you're interested!


I had this image in my head when I was living in my house last year. Seeing it in Japan made me ridiculously happy cause I know that it works!


On our "field trip" to turn in all our paperwork to the Shinjuku Regional City Office, we had 2 hours free time which we spent by going sight-seeing. This sidewalk reminded me a lot of Inception.


Another view from the top of the tower. Tokyo is HUGE.


View of part of the park that was just below the tower. I guess that water is around ankle-deep, but it really looks like they're walking on it!


For the life of me, I could not get this picture to rotate. But I thought the view of the fountain in the park was beautiful.



In the gift shop/toy store at the top of the tower. Left to right: Ashley from New Zealand, Nicci from England, me.

More to come later!

<3

Getting Accustomed

My first few days in Japan have been ridiculous. I walked around, trying to get accustomed to my new home on Tuesday since there was nothing assigned that day. Shopping was interesting, and it's really easy to do without much exchange of words. I'm getting better at asking for and receiving directions, and I'm finally very thankful for that chapter at the UA.

Although I had been looking forward to it so I could meet friends, orientation (yesterday--Wednesday) was actually pretty boring--we learned a lot about a few international clubs, filled out a lot of paperwork (in Japanese: takusan moushikomiyoushi o kinyuushimashita = I filled out a lot of forms), and learned very little about the program itself. We did get a small campus tour, however; it's gorgeous! There are big trees everywhere, and the buildings are all lovely.

Today (Thursday), we turned in the paperwork we filled out yesterday to start the process of getting alien registration cards (gaikokujintorokusho), bank accounts (ginkou no futsuyoukin), and health insurance (your guess is as good as mine). It was a long process--we started at the dorm at 7:30 and didn't get done until around 2. There was a two hour break in between, so we got some coffee and went sight-seeing to this skyscraper with a tremendous view of Tokyo! We had to pass through security where they checked our purses/bags; some of the people from other countries seemed really surprised. They told me that they'd never had to go through those types of things at home, and it sparked an interesting discussion about...security.

From the top of the tour, the city just seemed to go on and on and on....


I've met quite a few people thus far; many of them are Japanese and many of them are from various other countries. I've spent a lot of time with a guy from Utah named Garrett, and today I spend the majority of the day with Clare, James, Daniel, and Nicci from England, Ashley from New Zealand, and Courtney from Hawaii. I know a few people now from France and Germany, and there's more from all over the world! I'm one of 4 Americans that I've seen so far.

Some random things I've learned:
* My dorm is 2 years old. SO new!
* The shower/sink is on the same piping; I turn a spout to control which one the water comes out!
* Toilets and stores here are very different. Toilets have all sorts of weird functions depending on where they are and what was needed at the time, and stores are very neon-bright and full of loud sounds and music.
* Paperwork for being allowed to live in a different country is RIDICULOUS. I feel for our illegals (but at least I'm doing it!).
* Tokyo is big.
* I'm a little more normal-sized here, but I'm still kinda short.
* Everyone keeps saying it's hot. They don't know anything! It's really just very humid, but that's difficult for them to understand.

And the madness begins

Well, I am officially moved into my dorm at Waseda University. My room is teeeeny tiiiiny, but it's a single and contains a bathroom, so I'm good :) I'm pretty sure the streets around here are gonna confuse me for awhile (Japanese streets don't usually have names--the blocks around them have numbers), and we'll see if I can find my dorm once I've left it for a walk. It's apparently the newest one built, and it is a little intimidating. It's all white with black doors for residents and white doors for everything else. But seriously. All white. And the dryer only takes one kind of change--we'll see how that goes....

The real story for the evening is how I ended up here. I've flown a lot, fortunately, and having the experiences of flying on my own many times and flying with my family to France made the airport madness nonexistent. Easy. Also, finding the Waseda students who were picking me up at the airport was easy! I thought--great! Home free!

And then they surprised me; there were three of them, but all three had to wait to pick up more students. So, they sent me by myself on a train to Shinjuku, and they told me I would find more Waseda students there to see me through the rest of the journey.

Now, if you've never been to Shinjuku (which I certainly hadn't until today), it is HUGE. I got off my train and went to the main floor to look for the people I was supposed to meet. They weren't there, and I couldn't find a way back to the platform. I asked the cop who was working in the Shinjuku police box where they might be, but he had no idea. So I followed the instructions that I had copied from Waseda's website in case of such emergency.

When I got to the next stop, I couldn't find any escalators, and the signs pointing to my train took me to the stairs. As I struggled with my suitcase, a kindly old man came and helped me down the stairs. He asked where I was headed and told me he was going the same way (whether or not that was true, I'll never know). He took me all the way to Waseda, and then found some students who knew where an international dorm was.

One of those students spoke English very well, fortunately, and she helped me find the dorm while her two guy friends carried my heavier bags. When we finally got there, though, it was the wrong dorm. The people at the dorm showed me to my dorm, and finally, I was shown to my room.

Later that evening, the students who were supposed to have picked me up came by my room; I went to dinner with them (though I was so full from crappy airline food, I couldn't eat). It was difficult to keep up with their conversation, and occasionally they would slow down to include me, but I had a nice time just being around people.

Moral of the story: people here are super-friendly and helpful. I felt very lucky to have made it to my dorm.

Official Leaving Date!

Finally, all of the craziness revolving around my plane tickets has been settled. My flight leaves early in the morning from Sky Harbor on September 5. I have a 2-hour layover in Dallas (I know...wrong direction), and then I'm in the sky for Narita International Airport in Tokyo! Fortunately, volunteers from my university will be there to pick me up and help me move into my dorm.

As of now, I'll probably leave for Phoenix either August 31st or September 1st. A couple days in Phoenix for last minute arrangements, and then I'm gone for a year.