guip10

[guip10]

Unexpected Japan

[guip10]

May 29 - Last Day :(

Today was our last day :(. I am pretty sad that it is over, I really enjoyed this trip and will miss everyone so much. I came onto this trip not expecting to make as many friends as I did, but my expectations were gladly not met. This was probably the quickest month of my life, and I am so grateful for choosing to come here. Today was slightly different than the others, as I slept in and got up later than usual. Kat, Alex, and I decided to get bagels for breakfast/lunch (brunch?) and they were pretty good, but I really miss those salmon and cream cheese bagels I had back in the United States. I had a bacon, egg, and cheese bagel, as well as a bacon and pepper bagel, which I wish were warmer. From here, we walked to Don Quijote, which Kat and Alex had been wanting to visit for a long time.

Don Quijote was kind of over stimulating but it was fun. We walked in and there were so many colors, sounds, lights, and bright things spinning ALL at the same time, which caught me off guard. There were a few floors, and for a while I did not think of getting anything, but there were some Smiski which I thought of getting for my family, which I did! I also found a small Shy Guy figurine which I got for my friend who we have an inside joke about. We then had to head back to the hotel for dinner.

The dinner was very good. We had multiple courses, and they were all good but small. I couldn’t help but look around and see everybody’s faces for one last time, at least here in Japan. I’m pretty sad if you couldn’t tell. Akane then gave me the sweetest gift, which is my post’s picture. I’m gonna miss everybody so much, but I hope to see everyone soon. We finally got a group picture on my Polaroid, which was actually the very last film I had. We then decided to go back to the hotel area and rest for one last day.

[guip10]

May 28 - Osaka Day Trip

Today was our last day out on a group excursion :(. We started the day off by getting ready, drinking a mango Monster can (which was AMAZING), and eating some salmon onigiri. There was a wasp in our room, which was really funny for a while but some people were really scared about😭. The wasp only left when the lights were turned off, shoutout to Aiden (I thought about it but was not sure if it would work, so I stayed quiet…). We discussed our reading, as well as our routine for the day, which was a day trip to Osaka! I had already been to Osaka a few times, so I saw a few familiar places I had visited before. After meeting Akane, we headed to the station and embarked on our hour-plus long trip.

After arriving in Osaka, we walked for a decently long amount of time, passing by a huge green bear-looking character in a shallow body of water which had a stream of water coming from its mouth, which I found pretty cool. It reminded me of something but I can’t quite remember what, there are some old Disney collectibles which had a similar silhouette. After a little longer, we reached Umeda Sky Building!

The Umeda Sky Building elevator was pretty small, so we were a little concerned about fitting everyone in WITHOUT activating the fatty alert (named by someone pretty funny back in Tokyo). Turns out, we didn’t activate the fatty alert, but there was no more space, so we had to go up on different trips. I was not expecting the elevator to go that high, it went up so high that my ears started popping on the way up. After all of us had reached the top, we climbed up a set of stairs to the outside view, which was great! Professor Smith pointed out a building which had a road that goes through it, which I had never seen before. I can’t imagine how loud that must be to work or live around, but I’m sure that they have something planned in order to minimize the noise. After admiring the view and taking a few pictures and videos, we headed back down to the inside floor, where I got a hotdog and water from the cafe, which were both good.

After reaching the ground, we headed to Osaka Castle. Professor Smith didn’t seem to be as much of a fan of this castle as he was of Himeji, with good reason, honestly. The other castle looked cooler and we were able to go inside of it, which made that experience better for me when comparing it to this one. After a short time here and a group picture, we headed to Dotonbori.

I had been to Dotonbori before, and after splitting from the group after a while, a group of us that were headed to the Osaka Aquarium went to a skewer restaurant which we had gone to before (so good, I will be thinking about it for a loooong time). After quickly eating, we took the subway to the aquarium.

Honestly, the aquarium exceeded my expectations! I got 11 stamps on my stamp book, and got to see some pretty cool animals, including 2 huge whale sharks! We ate at the cafe, where I had a HUMONGOUS hot dog, it was probably as long as my forearm. After finishing the aquarium, we split up again, with Kat and I returning to Dotonbori for some food and flavored Kit Kats for my family. After doing all of this, we finally returned to the hotel and rested.

Academic Reflection

As mentioned in the first section of this discussion, we spotted an extremely interesting case of a road which went through a building. This is relevant to the Perez et. al “Character of Urban Japan” reading, as it illustrates the challenges and hurdles faced when planning cities, as well as how Japanese architects find creative solutions to these problems. It was also interesting to see how subways seemingly split certain parts of the city, and how they can affect the standard of living for individuals in their vicinity (closer to transportation, but louder noise).

The reading allowed me to truly analyze the city planning in Osaka, and without it I probably would not have made the certain observations and conclusions that I did in the previous paragraph. By taking a look around at our cities, we are able to understand how and why people live certain ways, with city planning being a huge factor in this. I do hope that legal issues due to city planning will one day not affect individuals’ lives, but until then it is interesting to see from above how it does.

[guip10]

May 27 - Nara (Todaiji, Kasuga Taisha)

Today unexpectedly had one of my favorite activities of the trip so far! I started off the day by getting ready with a shower, eating my good old salmon onigiri, and heading to our meeting. In our meeting we discussed the readings, as well as our plans for the day, which consisted of a day trip to Nara. After finishing our discussion, we went downstairs and met with Akane-san!!! before heading to Nara.

This trip was not excessively long, so it was not that bad. Shortly after arriving and walking for a bit, we ran into deer! and more deer! and even MORE DEER! I love animals, as I have said before, so I LOVED this. I was a bit hesitant to pet them at first, given they can transmit diseases and are dirty, but they were too cute, so I caved and started petting them. It was HILARIOUS when people started feeding them, because the deer would swarm anyone who had food. One deer came up right up close to me and started peeing, which I found kinda weird but it’s ok. We found one really chill deer, some theorizing it was pregnant, but it was so chill to the point where it could be plausible that it was a paid actor. A few of us took pictures with this deer, who literally did not move as we posed, petted it, laughed, and moved. We found another pretty chill deer who others took pictures with, leading me to believe some of them just choose to be hyper whereas others can contain themselves (the deer, of course). Poor Aiden, one of the deer randomly bit his white shirt, leaving a pretty nasty stain (it was really funny, though). After this great encounter, we headed to Kasuga Taisha Shrine.

I liked this shrine a lot. There was a cool deer statue in the front, and Professor Smith told us that there were around 3000 stone lamps on the site, which amazed me. Along the path, there were some deer, which made the walk more bearable. Within the shrine, we found a humongous tree, which has been around for centuries. It was really beautiful, I love seeing how nature can win time and time again, with this tree’s longevity being a testament to its strength. We then got tickets and entered this dark room, only lit by a line of lamps, which did not illuminate much, but looked pretty. After walking out of there, I got in line for a stamp, which I always enjoy watching being made. I find Japanese to be one of the most beautiful written languages in the world, and watching it being written in my book is always cool. After this, we split off for lunch.

Aiden, Alex, and I all ate at this one spot which had steak (we all love steak if you couldn’t tell). I had some fried rice, which I expected to have more during this trip, with a great steak. This meal, however, was not fulfilling, leading Aiden and I to grab a meat skewer elsewhere (which still was not fulfilling). At the same spot, Aiden and I got some smoothie-like drinks. Mine was strawberry blueberry, which was pretty good, but not creamy enough. We then met up with the group, and headed to Todaiji.

I was ASTONISHED by Todaiji! It was huge and so beautiful, I do not believe that pictures do it justice. This temple was one of my favorites, as it had huge structures inside of it, as well as deer near the front. We tried getting through the “nostril” on the pillar, with some of us being able to, while others… couldn’t. I'm talking about myself. I couldn’t. Which I guess is a good thing, as I was worried I had lost too much muscle on this trip. After learning that my next life won’t be so great, I got another stamp, a picture of the temple with my Polaroid, and headed back to the hotel.

Academic Reflection

The “Kasuka Gongen Genki Picture Scroll 1309” shows the tree we had seen at Katsura Taisha, which was stunning! Tamura’s reading “Japanese Esoteric Buddhism” describes the practice in the title, which is more pragmatic as opposed to other forms of Buddhism.

The reading and image both deepened my understanding of the cultural relevance of the location we visited today. Seeing the tree look so skinny in the scroll, as opposed to its present-day magnitude was incredible, and learning about esoteric buddhism, a form which I admire more, from the reading also aided in my enjoyment of our trip.

[guip10]

May 26 - Universal!! (academic/media, due later)

     Today was such a good day. I love Universal back home, so I was REALLY excited to see how it was here in Japan. We unfortunately started the day off late, as some of us were not up or ready early. Will and Anh, who had left around 2 hours prior to me asking how the park was, had responded stating that they had not arrived yet (we had not even left the hotel yet). It was around noon when we were all finally up and ready to leave, the problem being that Universal was at least an hour away. We only arrived at Citywalk a little before 1:30 PM, so we only really had a maximum of 7 hours in the park. We messed around in the gift shop at Citywalk for a while, trying on different hats which were really cool, before trying to head inside. Kat and I were not able to buy our tickets online, so we needed SAMMIEEEE to clutch up and buy our tickets, which we sent her the money for. First entering the park was such a relief, but quickly met with a funny but time wasting endeavor, as Kat and Emily volunteered for a survey, so we had to wait before doing anything. After they were done, Kat went to the bathroom, and afterward we walked to the first ride of the day: Hollywood Dream.

     Hollywood Dream’s line was decently long, but what was interesting about this ride was that it shared tracks with another ride named Backdrop, which if you couldn’t tell, was the same ride but backwards. The line was longer for this ride, and although I wanted to ride it more than the forward version, we waited for Hollywood Dream and rode it, which was so fun! It was like Ripride Rockit where you can choose a song, but there were only 4 choices, so I chose Happy by Pharell, which turned out to be a great choice. As soon as the cart started moving and that song started playing, I could not stop smiling. The ride was fast, the music was loud, and the view was amazing. It was a decently long ride, and is definitely worth doing. After this ride we headed to an indoor roller coaster which was SO COOL. I definitely think that this ride inspired the Guardians of the Galaxy ride at Epcot, because it had the same indoor spinning cart fast-paced feel to it, which was great, although it was not as smooth as the ride in Epcot.

     After leaving this unexpectedly great ride, we headed towards Jaws (Sammie’s favorite) for lunch. I had a shrimp sandwich with fries, as well as shark meat nuggets afterwards (very fishy). After eating, we rode the Jaws ride, which literally brought Sammie to tears. From here, we went on to the ride I was most excited and anxious about: The Flying Dinosaur. This ride looked so menacing from afar. It strapped us like Manta would, but had insane loops and moved extremely fast. I’m not gonna lie, I was kinda scared leading up to this ride. And guess what. WHen it was time to get on, Aruba and I rode first row, only behind the pterodactyl. Aruba was talking so much as we rose up the track, meanwhile I could barely get a word out as I watched us get farther and farther away from the ground, but as soon as we dropped it was so much fun! It was so fast and the loops were insane, there was one which literally went underground it was so crazy I loved it! After riding this, which is my favorite ride now, we rode the classic Jurassic Park boat ride, which got me an unfortunate soak spot right on my butt (thanks Emily for that picture). Soon after this, our reserved time for Nintendo had come. 

     I had already visited Nintendo at Epic Universe, but this was still an amazing experience because now I got to see it at night! Everything looked great, and we got to ride Mario Kart, which was super fun. After this, we bought some souvenirs, and the park was about to close, so Kat and I ran back to the Flying Dinosaur to ride it one last time before closing. It was only single riders at this point, but luckily I got a seat behind Kat, so we weren’t too far from each other. The ride seemed faster at night, and keeping my eyes open the entire time was definitely worth it. After this, we left the park after some pictures, and got some food at Citywalk, before heading back very tired, and resting at the hotel.

Media Reflection

     The media representation I have chosen is Hello Kitty! Hello Kitty is a worldwide phenomenon which originated from the company Sanrio in 1974, and has been featured on multiple media forms, such as TV shows, games, and movies, becoming a staple of Japanese culture and media. This character can be seen nearly everywhere, from small shops, to Fender guitars, and even theme parks such as Universal Japan! At the park, there is an area named Universal Wonderland, where characters such as Elmo and Snoopy are featured alongside Hello Kitty. Within this area, there is a ride called Hello Kitty’s Cupcake Dream, a colorful ride featuring colors such as pink, yellow, and green, while music plays as riders spin around within what appear to be giant cupcakes. 

     Hello Kitty represents Japan’s effort in rebranding from a nation which was once viewed for its samurai to one which is modern, kawaii, and appealing to tourists, as well as the nation’s attempt to compete with media giants from other countries, such as the Western world’s Mickey Mouse. Generally, Hello Kitty’s image, as portrayed in shows, is a good representation of Japan’s tourist areas, as workers tend to act very kawaii, locations are very colorful, bright, and have upbeat music playing. While its representation of tourist hotspots is reasonable, it cannot be used to make a general assumption about Japan, therefore there are some slippages from the cute Hello Kitty brand and the country itself. For instance, some gardens, temples, and shrines we visited during our trip were not following the kawaii image that Hello Kitty puts out to the world, but rather displayed the more traditional side of Japan. This media is also an example as to how Japan has been influenced by Western culture, such as Disney’s Mickey Mouse, which has brought large economic success, encouraging companies such as Sanrio to create a character which could have similar economic success and cultural influence.

Overall, Japan’s kitty and its media forms (shows, movies, etc.) accurately represent Universal Wonderland and other major tourist areas, such as the 109, however it does not represent the country as a whole, given there are still traditional parts of Japanese culture such as castles, shrines, and temples which have not been affected by the country’s kawaii rebranding.

[guip10]

May 25 - Kiyomizudera + Kodaiji + Gion

Today we visited a lot of different places. I took a shower, ate, got ready and left my room. We started off with our meeting in the usual spot, which is still a decent walk away from our hotel. We had our usual meeting at our room behind the gyoza restaurant, where we talked about what we were going to do today and our readings. The plans for today involved visiting the Kiyomizu-dera Temple, as well as a tour of Gion. We met with Akane-san, and headed to our first location.

We got in the subway, and to many people’s amusement, we got off at Gojo station! As you may know by now, I love Jujutsu Kaisen, so I also found it pretty funny that we were at a station which shared the same name as one of my favorite characters. We walked a good amount of time uphill before finally reaching the steps to the temple. The temple was very beautiful and there was soooooo much to it. At the very entrance, there were very colorful plants as a result of the flowers riddled throughout them. This temple had a lot of tourists but it was so vast that there was not much crowding, meaning the experience was not bad at all. The heavy use of red on the temple was something I really liked (favorite color), and the architecture was beautiful. The view from a bit further above was nice, a lot of trees so it was very green.

We then ran into the statue which Professor Smith had warned us about. I can see how it can be a little controversial, but I wouldn’t really have made that judgment even without the warning. We continued through the temple, where I got another stamp for my book, before heading down to the 3 fountains. I honestly was fine with any of the three fortunes which I could have received from it, but I am hoping for success the most, as I am very doubtful of my future. Afterwards, we headed out and split off for lunch.

We went down as a group, but split off as Will and I got lunch separately. I had some pretty good pasta and ice cream afterwards, before heading further down the road. We looked around for a bit, including at a Studio Ghibli store, which I always enjoy frequenting. Afterwards, we headed to a pretty interesting experience…

We headed down and into the room with the robotic manifestation of Kannon, which was very interesting. It talked and even blinked, which to many was slightly odd. The room was dark, so I could see some of us almost nodding off, but we were only there shortly, so we got quickly got back up and headed out onto our next activity.

The next and final activity was a geisha performance, which I thought was cool. At this point I was already pretty tired, but I still admired this form and art and performance. It was a relatively short performance compared to my expectations, but afterwards we were done for the day, leading me to head back to the hotel and rest.

Academic Reflection

The Geisha reading explained how influential they were in Japanese culture and society. Geishas were held to relatively high standards, such as knowledge and ability to practice Japanese culture, as well as literacy. The performance we attended today was an example of how Geishas used to entertain individuals in the past. The Shintokumaru reading spoke of a the practice which mixes a musical performance with a form of storytelling in Japanese culture (Buddhism).

The reading really deepened my interested in Geishas and their roles in Japanese society. I had not known that they were held to such high standards, and other than simply admiring them due to their sex appeal, their primary “role” was to keep individuals pleased through their skills and performances. Without the reading, I would have only simply appreciated this performance by its artistic and visual value, but knowing how culturally significant Geishas were, I have gained a greater appreciation for these performances.

[guip10]

May 24 - Himeji-jo + Garden

Today was probably one of the best days of this trip! We started off as usual by showering, getting ready, and eating, before meeting up at our spot. We talked about our readings and our plans, which were to visit Professor Smith’s favorite, the Himeji castle, as well as the garden afterwards. After wrapping up, we headed down and made our ways to Himeji.

It was a rainy day, but it provided for some pretty cool videos and pictures on the ride there. After arriving we spit off for lunch. There seemed to be some sort of miscommunication within our group, as we were separated, leaving just Alex, Aiden, Will, and I eating lunch together. I had some pretty good udon, as did Aiden, so we were both pretty content with our lunch. After we were done we headed out to our meeting spot. We had gotten there a little early, so I was able to get a nice picture of the road with the castle in the distance, which I thought was a pretty interesting image given the juxtaposition the castle creates with the modern day road and cars. After everyone had arrived, we hopped on the bus and traveled to the castle.

I thought the castle was really cool and it kept getting cooler as we approached it. I got a pretty cool Polaroid picture of it before moving forward into the castle. We stopped here and there for pictures, and even in the rain, it still looked great. We then started to go up and into the castle, which was awesome from the inside. There were so many artifacts and bits of history inside that were extremely interesting. I also found it cool that we could see the trapdoors from which stones were dropped, as well as the holes from which projectiles were fired. After enjoying this barefoot walk, we put our shoes back on and headed down into the garden.

I loved this garden. It was very empty as it was about to close, which was pretty lucky for us. We got some very nice pictures nearly everywhere, this garden is genuinely stunning. We found a bridge that had koi directly underneath it, which Sammie loved. I really liked the mix of water and plants, it made a very calming and cool environment. After the garden closed, we had to leave, and so we embarked on our trip back to the hotel and rested.

Academic Reflection

The reading from McClain discusses castle towns, as the one we visited today, as well as the Daimyo authority which we have previously discussed. In the case of these castle towns, the Daimyo were the authority figure the individuals within these towns had to live under. As mentioned in the previous section, I found it interesting to see all of the huge walls, which Professor Smith pointed out were its most important defensive assets, which Turnbull’s “Shields of Stone” reading discusses, along with how these castles functioned as a symbol of samurai identity. The town surrounding the castle is what made it a castle town, of course.

The reading both deepened my knowledge on today’s travel location, as they both gave context as to why Himeji was there and why it looks they way it does. Without these readings, I would not have known nearly as much about Himeji, which was one of my favorite locations to visit. I wish there wasn’t a sad history of feudal rule associated with it, but I still appreciate its beauty and well-thought of architecture.

[guip10]

May 23 - Kinkakuji + Daitokuji

Today we went to Kinkakuji and Daitokuji. We started the day off by getting ready, eating some onigiri, and heading to the meeting spot. I was pretty excited to see the golden temple, it seemed really cool from what I had been hearing. We discussed today’s readings, which were numerous, before heading down and meeting Akane, who led us to Kinkakuji.

It was a decently hot day, many people had umbrellas but we didn’t use any. I kind of wish I wore shorts more often, even if it makes me look like a little boy, as Professor Smith warned us on preview. Kinkakuji was pretty cool in my opinion, I really liked the random mini islands with trees on them that surrounded the main golden temple. Most of us seemed pretty disappointed, but I liked it. We were given some time to look around, which Kat and I used to get some vending machine coffee, which was great for its price. We then met up again and headed out to Daitoku-ji.

Daitokuji was a quieter location, which was pretty nice. I enjoyed the sand and all the details on it. It was also really nice to be barefoot again. Walking through Daitokuji was an extremely peaceful experience, as everyone quietly appreciated the deep rooted history of this location. Professor Smith even mentioned that Sen no Rikyu, who we discussed previously, had frequented this location. Upon further research, I discovered that Rikyu also died at Daitokuji. We sat down in an area with a couple benches, and just listening to the people’s whispers while sitting in the shade almost made me fall asleep, it was really relaxing. Unfortunately, this soon came to an end, as our time to leave had come. We headed onto another part of the temple, which had even more sand, but this time there were two cone-like mounds of sand near the center of this area. A few of us sat in front of this area for a bit, before finally reuniting and being dismissed for the day.

We decided to split up and get food. Some of us went to get udon, others went to get ramen — I chose the latter. The ramen was really good, I ordered it with a gyoza set so I had plenty of food. Later that night, after returning to Kyoto, we ate at the yakiniku spot next to the hotel, which was really good. Afterwards, we headed back to the hotel and rested.

Academic Reflection

Mishima’s reading “The Temple of the Golden Pavilion” discusses Kinkakuji, meanwhile Fukuda’s reading “Japanese Stone Garden” discusses features that were present in Daitokuji. Professor Smith pulled a few of us aside at Daitokuji and explained how the sand represented the flow of water from turbulent waters to calmer waters, which I found extremely interesting and gave me a newfound appreciation for stone gardens.

These readings taught me more about this form of Zen Buddhism, which often reminds us of the tragic nature of life’s lack of permanency, although some may argue that is the very thing which makes it beautiful and gives it purpose. Professor Smith mentioned during lecture that this philosophy claims that people’s attachment to impermanent things are what brings us pain, and that could not be more accurate. I would have enjoyed both of these locations without the readings, but the additional knowledge from them allowed me to enjoy them even more.

[guip10]

May 22 - Osaka Free Day

Today was a pretty chill free day in Osaka. We stayed in Osaka since last night, and had to rush to check out of our hotel, which we literally did at the very last minute. From here, we looked to get breakfast somewhere. Oh, forgot to mention the group: Alex, Kat, Emily, and myself. We decided to split off for breakfast, with Alex and I eating at Subway, meanwhile Emily and Kat ate elsewhere. I had a pretty good taco flavored sandwich and a soda, which is not the typical breakfast. Alex and I always have great talks 1 on 1, and this time we talked a lot about sports, more specifically soccer, which I am very passionate about. I’m gonna miss these talks with Alex once we’re back home, but I am hoping to stay in contact with the friends I have met on this trip. After finishing our meals, they met up with us at Subway, where we planned out our following activities. Number one on the list: finding a labubu. I did not expect that finding a labubu would be this hard, yet it is. The only one I have gotten my hands on was one that Aruba found and bought for me (which I paid for by the way).

We headed to a store that Professor Smith had suggested could possibly have my most desired labubu. After climbing a few flights of stairs and waiting in the line FOR the store, I was disappointed to find that my precious labubu was nowhere to be found. I was crushed. But my hope is never lost. Anyways, we decided to move onto less heartbreaking things, such as the Studio Ghibli store! I got some souvenirs for my friends and family, before reuniting and leaving.

We took the bus to Nipponbashi, which had some interesting stores. I didn’t get anything from them, but they were still cool. We went to a cafe, where I fell victim to false advertising (it was NOT a lemonade, it was a fake Sprite). From here, I unfortunately had to buy Emily some… literature as she had forgotten her passport. After this rather uncomfortable adventure, we decided to head back to Kyoto and rest. Good day overall.

[guip10]

May 21 - Arashiyama Bamboo Forest + Arashiyama Monkey Park

Today was probably the LONGEST and most tiring hike we had. I was pretty excited to see the monkeys at the park, I love animals so I am honestly excited every time we see any. I was not, however, excited about waking up super early. We started the day off by getting ready, eating my salmon onigiri, brushing my teeth, and heading to our meeting spot. We did not meet at our usual spot because the room was not open at 6am :) but that allowed us to just go straight to the bamboo forest!

The bamboo forest was pretty cool. The entrance to it was a long corridor bordered by tall bamboo, which really immersed me in the environment. It was really humid, and my clothing choices did not help (jeans and a heavy baggy shirt, I did NOT know what was to come soon after). After taking pictures of the forest and walking a bit, we split off for a bit. Emily, Kat, Alex, Aiden, and I decided to stay around this river for a bit, which provided for a very nice view (and some funny pictures, especially of Emily). More people met up with us after a while, and we decided to go to a cafe for some food. Next to the cafe, we found a kimono forest, where I got a really cool picture of Kat on my Polaroid. Afterwards, I got a mocha and a cheesecake, which was sort of lemony. I typically love cheesecake, but this was not my favorite… From here, we headed to the base of the Arashiyama Monkey Park.

I can guarantee you, NONE OF US knew the climb we had ahead of us. I think what made it so bad was the humidity rather than the steepness, as we’ve had steeper climbs which were not this bad. The length of the climb was also a factor into the difficulty, as it felt like an endless zig zag ramp. After reaching the top fully drenched, we finally saw the monkeys! They were all really cute, and I even got to feed some, including a baby! The view up there was also very pretty, and we took a group picture with the huge banana. After cooling down for a bit, we decided to head down.

Back where we started, we decided to go on a boat ride, which was pretty nice. We all thought it was really funny, when a boat literally drifted on the water and pulled up on us, with food available for purchase. Some of us got these sweet rice skewers, which I thought were okay, but would not get again. After this trip was over, we headed back to the hotel area, where we had lunch, before finally returning to the hotel and resting.

Academic Reflection

The “Tale of Genji” and “Nonomiya” readings told the story of Genji and Rokujo, who was in love with Genji, a feeling which went unrequited due to Genji’s lack of commitment. There was also a shrine mentioned, one which reminded me of the shrine we passed by today.

These readings gave me more to think about when frequenting the shrine. Cultural stories such as these always add more layers to these locations we have visited, and it is a bit sad that the end of the story is not as happy as people are when they visit shrines such as the one we visited today.

[guip10]

May 20 - Kyoto Imperial Palace + Manga Museum + Kyoto Museum

Today was a pretty long day. I began the day by eating a couple of onigiri and drinking a monster I had bought last night from 7/11, which had me feeling pretty good. We then walked to the meeting spot, where we discussed the reading and our daily agenda. From here, we walked to the subway, where we then traveled to the Kyoto Imperial Palace.

I found it interesting how similar the outside of the palace was to the one in Tokyo, as the ground was also covered in rocks and there were big open spaces. We arrived at a closed area, where other tourists were waiting for a guided tour. The tour guide then arrived and began the tour. I could barely hear him most of the time, and the heat did not help the experience. Alex and I tried to stay in the shade most of the time, using our informational maps as makeshift fans. I liked this palace more than the Tokyo Imperial Palace. I liked its style more and the small bodies of water with bridges were very beautiful. After this tour, we made our way to the manga museum.

The manga museum had manga from over 100 years ago, which I wasn’t expecting (even though it is a museum). I also found it interesting how one of the panels stated that it was prohibited in Japan during World War II, which I had noticed as there was a time skip. We watched a kamishibai performance, which was extremely entertaining. It kind of made me feel like a kid again, it was super engaging and exciting. Afterwards, we continued into the museum, finding the One Piece section which was pretty cool. We went off to lunch, where I had some meat spaghetti, and although it was not the best, it could have been worse.

We then moved onto the Kyoto National Museum, which was really cool! I really liked this one work of art named “Arrival of the Southern Barbarians”. This pair of 6 panel folding screens was made during the Momoyama-Edo period, and it depicts a massive trade ship on the left, meanwhile Spanish and Portuguese traders roam on land on the right. It was made with ink, colors, and gold foil on paper, and is very visually appealing. What caught my eye the most was the size of the ship on the left side of the panel, as well as all the details on it, as it really emphasized the grandeur of the arrivals of these traders. Afterwards, we decided to return to the hotel and rest.

Academic Reflection

The reading “The World of the Shining Prince” by Morris discusses the Tale of Genji and the Imperial Palace. It states that living conditions were not great in the past, something which the weather did not help in fixing.

By visiting the Palace, I could definitely tell why they did not have walls within the structures, as it was very hot. The occasional breeze was nice, further supporting the lack of internal walls. The reading deepened my appreciation for the Palace and Japanese architecture, as it seemed very well thought out and visually appealing, making it both effective in regulating the climate meanwhile preserving its beauty.

[guip10]

May 19 - Fushimi-inari Shrine

Today was our first full day in Kyoto! Adjusting from the usual morning routine in Tokyo to Kyoto was a bit difficult. Having to get breakfast elsewhere forced me to manage my time a little better, but it also gave me more opportunities to try different onigiri flavors! I tried the tuna mayo flavor, which I thought was good, but did not sit too well — I think I’ll stick to my salmon. The walk to the meeting spot also added another little challenge to the routine, as I now have to get ready earlier than before, but it is not that bad of a walk so I can’t complain much. At the meeting, we discussed today’s reading, which spoke of Inari, as well as the shrine we were visiting, this being the Fushimi-inari Shrine!

The shrine was actually very beautiful! I found it interesting to see that almost every passageway had one fox on each side, these being Inari’s messengers. I really liked the colors (red is my favorite color), as I thought they made the shrine seem very vibrant and full of life. We were lucky enough to see a live performance, one which both photography and video were not allowed. Alex and I were wondering whether all the green colored structures always looked that way, or if they were once another color but have oxidized over time, like the Statue of Liberty, something which I still do not know the answer to, although I do believe they were green to begin with.

We then began our way up the path, where we were met by the countless torii gates. I thought they were really cool, but did not know that they were paid for by companies or individuals which desired something in exchange. I do not necessarily believe in doing good acts in exchange for self-benefit, but I do appreciate that this mutualistic relationship has created a beautiful work of art that is the endless line of torii gates. As we were going up, we found another KITTY! I take daily videos of cats that I see, and so far I have not been disappointed (I love cats AND dogs, shoutout to the shibas that we’ve seen ❤).

Eventually, we had made it to the highest point that we would reach. The view was great, and some of us even got ice cream. We spent a decent amount of time here taking pictures for everyone, especially Kat (she refused to settle for a picture with even a single hair strand of ANYONE). After admiring the view for a while, we decided to head down. On the way we found some frog statues which were pretty cool. We then decided to head down, grab some lunch, and head back to the hotel and rest.

Academic Reflection

The reading by Karen Ann Smyers, “The Fox and the Jewel”, discusses many things related to Inari. It mentions how Inari is worshipped by many in hopes of good things in return, as well as how syncretic Inari worship is. It also mentions the kitsune, these being the fox messengers of Inari.

This reading deepened my understanding of Inari worship. When visiting the temples, knowing that the foxes were messengers instead of Inari itself cleared up any prior confusion I had. Also knowing that some torii gates were paid for by companies who wished for success or other things added another layer to them, neither good nor bad, just something new.

[guip10]

May 18 - Bullet Train + Kyoto

I had been really looking forward to today! I began the day by getting ready and meeting with everyone, before finally saying goodbye to our hotel and Tokyo :((((. I had especially been looking forward to riding the train because of a movie that I really like, this being “Bullet Train”. Obviously, I had known that my experience would have been nothing like the movie, but I thought it would have been slightly similar. We arrived at the station early, so we had time to pick up some bento for the trip. I do not know why, but I expected the train to be more “futuristic”, but it was pretty “normal” compared to what I was expecting. I really enjoyed how fast the train was travelling, it kind of gave me a weird feeling in my stomach at first (like a rollercoaster), but passed after a while. The trip was long, but there were some nice views on the way, including Mount Fuji again! It is always fascinating to me, such a huge monument of nature that trumps all around it in its beauty and grandeur. After a couple hours of 170+ miles per hour bullet training, we had finally made it to Kyoto!

     As the train stopped, someone spilled water all over our bags, so getting out of the train was kind of like a water park. Carrying all of my stuff took some effort, which makes me worried since that did not include my large baggage that I will be taking when we leave :(. We then took a subway to a closer spot to our hotel, which was fine. After arriving, we had a decent walk to the hotel which was met by an unfortunate surprise: it turned out that we were too early for our check-in, which was at 3pm, meaning we had around an hour with all of our baggage to do… whatever. We decided to eat lunch at Mos Burger, which was really good! We were gladly joined by Akane-san, who is always great company. She told us a lot about her relationship with her husband, and I still cannot believe she is 23. It was finally time for us to check in. Aiden and I were pretty much the first ones to get in, and we found the elevator camera hilarious. We really liked this room compared to our last, it felt like a nice upgrade. We decided to get dinner after a while, then came back to the hotel and rested after a long trip.

Academic Reflection

     Hood’s reading “The Shinkansen’s Local Impact” explains how the shinkansen has created economic disparity in Japan. Towns with access to the shinkansen saw economic progress, meanwhile those without it saw a decrease, as the shinkansen served as a strong pull factor for individuals and money flow. Attention was centered on the bigger cities that were connected by the shinkansen, meanwhile smaller towns suffered as the focus on them was decreased even further.

     This reading offered a new perspective on the Shinkansen that I had not even thought of previously, which slightly decreased my liking of the train. However, I still really enjoyed the ride, and I would like to ride the Shinkansen again. I wish smaller towns did not suffer from it, but maybe over time we can find ways to make these towns more accessible (example: adding more stops to the Shinkansen).

[guip10]

May 17 - Disney Sea (Academic Reflection)

     Today was so good. We started off this free day pretty much at the same time as our regular days, since we needed to get to DisneySea on time, as Carlos and Lance had warned us of the lines to get in the park. And they were right, but we’re not there yet. We ate a couple onigiri for breakfast and headed to Disney! 

     It was a decently long trip which Kat, Aiden, Sammie, and I embarked on, but we managed to arrive not much later than opening (Emily came later). During this wait, we faced some heavy winds and rain, which would stay with us on our trip until dusk! Not great! But we did not let that kill our spirits, as it actually made us laugh quite a bit when our umbrellas flipped. After a long wait, we were finally inside the park, and I was so excited. I immediately took a picture with the revolving globe, before heading further into the park. I really loved the first area when you enter the ring which is the park, the view from there is stunning. After taking a few videos and pictures, we headed to our first ride, this being Journey to the Center of the Earth!

     The line for this ride was pretty cool and did not take as long as it stated, but it was really cool. It was mostly slow until the end, where it really picked up the pace and made it fun. It was definitely a cool ride and I enjoyed it, but it was not my favorite. From here, we headed to another ride which was more exciting and actually had a loop! I was scared that my bag would fall, as I watched riders move upside during the loop, with no locker in sight. It was also raining pretty heavily at this point, leaving me a bit worried for my new Polaroid camera, as well as my other belongings. When it was finally our turn, Emily and I buckled in and both looked at each other with worry for our belongings. We each held our bags tightly under our legs, and felt the rain on our faces as we slowly rose up the tracks. The loop was pretty quick, so our bags remained where they were, thankfully. From here, we looked for somewhere to eat lunch, which we were waiting to do after the ride with the loop. 

     We actually ate lunch at the Snuggly Duckling! The food was pretty good, I had a fried shrimp sandwich which tasted great, meanwhile everybody else got different things. We were all drenched at this point, so sitting down felt kind of weird, but we were also already slightly tired from all the walking we had done, so we had to just look past it. After a while, we decided to get up and go to a store to shop for some ears/hats. I tried on the lost boy hat, which everyone told me looked good, but it was far too expensive, so I settled for the cheaper option, these being Oswald’s ears, which I proceeded to wear for the rest of the day. We then headed to Rapunzel’s boat ride, which was great! The animatronics looked amazing, and the scene with the lamps looked incredible in person. I liked how the lines were also in Japanese, as it gave us a new experience we would not have had back in the United States. We then headed to a ship nearby, where we took some pictures (Aiden and I recreated the Titanic pose).

     It was finally time for the Indiana Jones ride. This line was probably one of the longest, but it was pretty cool! The ride itself was also great, I loved how quickly it moved, as well as all the things that were happening, including the iconic ball that rolls down the hill after him. I think Kat got the picture which was taken of us on the ride, which was funny as we all had different expressions. We then headed to an “underwater” ride which was actually kind of scary. It was a pretty tight space that mimicked a submarine, and there were creatures in the dimly lit space outside. It was really cool, however, as I had not seen a ride pretend that it was underwater before, so it was very unique. After this ride, we split as Kat and I wanted coffee, meanwhile the others rode Journey to the Center of the Earth again, this time with Emily!

     After they were done with their ride and we were done with our coffees, we headed to our last ride of the day: Tower of Terror. I really like this back home, so I was looking forward to this. The line was also cool, it followed the same theme of a spooky hotel. Seeing the park at night as the windows opened was really cool, an experience that made our decision to visit the park very worth it. The firework show we wanted to see was canceled due to rain :(, so we gathered at the center of the park and took a group picture, and I took one with my Polaroid which turned out terribly but it’s okay because I remember the scenery really well (and I also have other pictures). We then decided to head to the hotel and rest for our bullet train ride!

Academic Reflection

     The article which I have chosen is Michelle J. Smith’s 2022 publication, “Colonialist Histories in Tokyo's DisneySea Theme Park”. This paper discusses Tokyo DisneySea, and the colonial themes scattered across it. Smith discusses how the Jungle Book ride in other Disney parks was changed due to racist depictions of indigenous people and culture, meanwhile some characteristics of DisneySea which have spurred some debate regarding a possible removal due to similar concerns remain. For instance, Smith states that pictures in the Tower of Terror line can display instances of white superiority, such as the one below:

     As seen, Harrison Hightower III is being carried by locals, which is made even worse by Smith’s next point, as she states how this is not the only image associating indigenous people with animals. This is not the only ride which displays colonial themes, however, as even Journey to the Center of the Earth does in its lore. Smith states, “aspects of the volcano that have ‘not yet been mapped’ and which require ‘far more research,’” reinforce the theme of discovery and “European exploration” (Smith, 2022). This, once again, further proves how colonialism, which is generally negatively perceived due to its detrimental effects on local peoples and natural resources, is present amongst these modern day amusement park rides which are meant to bring individuals thrills and happiness.

     The reading made me feel more conscious of my surroundings and realize how even in the present day, racism and colonialism are still evident, even more surprisingly so in a place such as Tokyo’s DisneySea. Although I very much enjoyed my experience at the park, it reminded me that there is still much work to do with regards to shifting society towards a more accepting place. Racism is still prevalent and updating rides such as the Jungle Cruise ride are a step in the right direction, however it is obvious that there is still work to do, an example being some of the pictures and the storyline used in the Tower of Terror. 

References:

Smith, M. J. (2022, August 11). Colonialist histories in Tokyo’s DisneySea Theme park. Children’s Literature Association Quarterly. https://muse.jhu.edu/article/862119  

[guip10]

May 16 - TeamLab + Odaiba + BBQ

Today was one of my favorite days so far! I began the day by getting ready with a shower and going upstairs for our meeting, where we discussed the day’s reading and routine. We then headed off for TeamLab, which was our first activity of the idea. I did not have many expectations in place, but I was excited to see what they had for us. We had to wait a little bit after arriving, but after doing so we were greeted by a short video on a screen which reminded me of a lot of theme parks back home, getting me even more excited.

We were then allowed in, with some very calming but interesting music playing as we walked. There were different sections to this experience, but we began on the water side, which was probably my favorite. We had to take out shoes and socks off, which I honestly enjoyed so much, as it gave me a nice break from my shoes. We began by walking in a dark corridor, which slowly had more and more water as we walked, which was pretty chilly at first, but felt very nice. After this first room, we dried our feet, which led me to believe that it was over, but luckily and to my surprise, we still had so much more left of the water exhibit. We stepped into a room with a very soft floor, shortly before entering what was probably my favorite room of the experience. This next room had many lights and music playing in the background, which reminded me a lot of the movie Interstellar (“don’t let me leave, Murph”💔). These lights changed pretty often, but I was able to capture one of the configurations with my phone, as seen on the post’s image.

From the Interstellar room, we entered what was probably the most interesting room of all, which had shin-high murky water, with reactive projections of fish which would turn into flowers upon contact. After this, we entered a room with large movable balls, which Aiden absolutely smacked Kat with. After this, we moved onto the other exhibits, which were not as interesting to me, but were still cool, like the large metal pear farm. After the experience was over, we gathered up and headed to the barbecue.

The barbecue was soooooo good. We had a fun time preparing things and eating them (obviously). The garlic bread and tomahawk were especially good, and I was able to get a nice picture of our view with my Polaroid camera. After the barbecue and full stomachs, we headed out to Odaiba. We did not spend too long in Odaiba, as we were all decently tired but still wanted to revisit Asakusa for some souvenirs. We shopped for a while at Asakusa, before heading back to the hotel and resting.

Academic Reflection

The text “Sustainable Leisure” by Murayama and Parker speaks about Odaiba’s transformation into a tourist hotspot within Japan. It was interesting to see the large bodies of water located within the region, showcasing that while large developments were made in the transformation of Odaiba into a must-see spot for tourists, the environment was kept in mind.

The text deepened my appreciation for Odaiba and the planning that went into it. Knowing that the environment was taken into consideration made the experience more enjoyable, as I am a generally environmentally conscious individual and believe that we should take care of it. Overall, the reading made me more comfortable as I experienced this tourist location.

[guip10]

May 15 - Mt. Takao

     Today we had a long hike up Mount Takao. I began the day by showering and getting ready, then headed up to the meeting on the sixth floor, where we discussed our daily agenda and the readings. We then headed out for Mount Takao. We took the subway, which took a while, but upon arriving we found a stone statue of a face which really resembled an emoji. From here, we walked out to the main area, where we broke off for lunch. Kat, Alex, and I ate at an Italian place, where I had a great pizza. We then met up again after lunch and began our way up Mount Takao.

     We all decided to take the chair lift up instead of the cable car, which was a great choice. I thought it was going to be far scarier than it actually was, as I have gone skiing before and the chair lift was slightly scary given you could easily slip off, but this lift had a net underneath it the entire time and was not too far from the ground. After getting off the chair lift, we continued on up the mount. Every now and then we would find a nice view, which was slightly rewarding given our efforts to go up. We reached a point where we could either go up very steep stairs or a smooth path up — you can guess which I was forced to go on. At this point, my feet were hurting a lot, but it was okay because we did not have much longer to go. We then reached the top, where we had a very nice view, one from which I took a picture of with my Polaroid. You could see Mount Fuji in person and through a phone camera, but not through the Polaroid, unfortunately. I found it funny how from here we split off and had to find our own way down.

     We decided to go down trail 4, which was a great choice, as it had very nice views. It felt like a very long way down, but it was very worth it and enjoyable. After going down, we entered the monkey park, which was very cheap and I found it enjoyable, even though there was not much to do. I found the monkeys pretty cute. There was one who had a chunk of wood and dipped it in a bucket of water, then started eating it. After staying there briefly, we headed back down the chair lift, which provided Aiden and I with a great view. From here, we started our way back to the hotel, where we then ended our day.

Academic Reflection

     The reading “The Green Archipelago” by Conrad D. Totman discusses how Japan once reached a point of far too much deforestation due to unregulated lumber production. There were restoration efforts in order to heal this land, which resulted in the vegetation seen today. The reading also discusses how logging restrictions were put in place as a result of this deforestation.

     The reading deepened my appreciation for Mount Takao, as it made me realize just how powerful nature is, as even though it was once taken away, no matter how it was accomplished, it was able to return and thrive again. It also was interesting to me, as it did not seem man made, which leads me to give credit for those responsible for the restoration, as they made it seem very natural

[guip10]

May 14 - Imperial Palace + Yasukuni Shrine

     Today we visited the Imperial Palace, as well as the Yasukuni Shrine. I got ready and headed up to the meeting, where we discussed the readings and today’s activities. We began the day by heading to Tokyo Station, which some of us actually had arrived from. We then headed off to the Imperial Palace, which was far different from what I expected. There was so much open space, and the floor was covered in rocks, so the walks were not the most comfortable, especially with the blisters acquired from my shoes which are too small. We then found a bridge which a lot of us wanted pictures of, which I gladly took (I really enjoy taking pictures, especially group pictures, I think they are very wholesome). After getting a group picture myself, we walked all the way out of the palace then turned around and came back through where we were, where we saw a senior group of tourists, trying to discover which language they were speaking. We then stopped at the bathroom, and finally made our way to an imperial garden, which is pictured in this post.

     The garden was one of my favorite places that we have visited so far. It was so beautiful, from all the flowers, to the trees and the fish. It was very calming, and some of us took pictures on these rock steps which looked really nice. After regrouping, we climbed up a flight of stairs to a spot where we could see a mosaic in the distance, which I found really interesting. From here, we headed to the Yasukuni Shrine. This site is slightly controversial, so we did not spend much time here, however it was a very nice looking place, especially the entrance. I really like huge torii gates, and this shrine has one of the biggest we have visited so far. We were all really hungry at this point, so after breaking off, we ate at an Italian restaurant, where I had some amazing pasta. Afterwards, we headed back to Shibuya where we did some shopping and visited another iconic Jujutsu Kaisen location, which was deep within Shibuya Station. After shopping, we met up for dinner, and headed home.

Academic Reflection

     The reading “The Yasukuni Controversy” by Yongwook Ryu discusses the controversial site which is the Yasukuni Shrine. The reading states how some see visiting the shrine as a form of honoring the dead, meanwhile some major Japanese war criminals are buried there, leading some to find it strange to honor all that are there.

     Therefore, while visiting, the knowledge acquired from the reading made me feel slightly uneasy when visiting the shrine. It felt having such a beautiful structure built which some visit to honor the dead, meanwhile some of those individuals committed atrocities. It was a strange feeling, but it is important to not forget history, even though some may attempt to sugarcoat it.