This morning we went to a cafe called Excelsior for breakfast where I got a cappuccino and some kind of grilled cheese sandwich with what tasted like ham in it.  It was pretty good.  Then we went to Shibuya, which I guess is known as a shopping district.  We went to this mall called 109 and just hung out there for awhile, looking around.  I didn't look at the clothing too much, just because I knew it wouldn't fit me.  But I did buy a purse.  I had seen it in Kyoto and didn't buy it, but I hadn't stopped thinking about it, so when I saw it again, I decided I needed to buy it.  I also looked at shoes, but my feet are too big!  In Japan, the shoe sizes are small, medium, and large.  I stopped in a shoe store and a girl came over to help me out.  I didn't have any intention to buy a pair, but I figured it'd be fun to try them on.  After trying on a large, I tried to tell the girl they were too small.  She seemed pretty surprised.  It was kind of funny, though.  I tried on a couple pairs, all of which were really cute!  I felt bad I couldn't afford to buy any, especially after the girl had helped me so much.

After leaving Shibuya, the others decided they wanted to go check out Sunshine City, so I went back with them.  I had plans to meet Prof. B and Ellen to go to kabuki theater, though, so I couldn't stay.  I ended up buying a sesame roll at a bakery there and a piece of strawberry cake at another bakery for my lunch and went back to the hotel.

To see kabuki was really the only think I've wanted to do in Tokyo.  Because Tokyo is a more modern city, I don't have as much interest in it.  I asked the others if they wanted to go and they said no.  When I mentioned it to Ellen, she said that she and Prof. B would go with me if I could find out information on where to go.  So last night I asked the people at the hotel desk and they told me where I could go and about how much it would cost me.  When Prof. B, Ellen and I got to the theater, we were told the cheapest seats were sold out, so we had to buy the next highest, at 5,000 yen.  The show was three different plays and would take a total of four hours.  We decided we'd probably only stay for the first play.  Unfortunately, the play wasn't very good.  The first one was about a farmer who was going to confront the government who was punishing farmers for a bad crop year.  By confronting them, though, he was probably going to be killed.  We had decided not to get the English audio to go with the show to save money.  Figured we'd get the full experience.  That was a mistake.  The entire play was just the actors sitting, talking, and crying.  They barely did anything.  The scenery was beautiful, the costumes were cool, the music and what I think was narration was very good, and the little cultural aspects added in were interesting, but the play was just so boring!  I felt really bad, since Prof B and Ellen had decided to come, and I knew they were bored.  Even the people around us were bored, all of which were Japanese.  The guy in front of Ellen kept dozing off, the guy next to me eventually put in headphones to listen to music and put his head down on his knees, and the guy next to him was snoring loudly.  The three of us decided to leave after the first play.  If it was just me, I would have stayed for the second one, just to see if it got better.  The second play was going to be about a sumo wrestler who was on a journey and along the journey, he had to fight other sumo wrestlers.  At the end, he would have to sumo wrestle the emperor.  It sounded interesting to me, but I couldn't put Prof B and Ellen through another one.  I don't regret going though, and I'm very thankful that they went with me, otherwise I wouldn't have gone.

Kristen singing "Blow" by Ke$ha

The end of the night went pretty well, though.  With the exception of Tim, all of the other students and I decided to go out to a karaoke place a couple blocks away.  We got our own small room to hang out in and two microphones.  Some of the others got drinks.  Luckily, the place had a ton of English songs we could sing.  Megan and I did a duet for "Gimme Everything" by Pitbull and Ne-yo.  I sang Ne-yo's parts and she rapped Pitbull's.  It was fun.  The others sang, too.

I guess it's about time I write down my observations about Japanese culture, since I've missed a lot of stuff in my past entries:

Signs are cute!!!

• While riding the train, bus or the subway, the Japanese don't really talk.  If they do, it's very quietly.  By not talking, they are being considerate for the other people on the train.  On the subway, there on signs saying that you should give up your seat for people who are pregnant, carrying small children, the elderly, those with an injury, and those who seem to have some kind of health problem.  Really you're supposed to do this no matter where you are because it's only polite, but they are especially aware of this in Japan.  One of the times we were on a bus in Kyoto, I was sitting down and an older woman came onto the bus.  There weren't any other seats open, so I got up and motioned for her to take my seat.  She smiled and said thank you.  Youlin praised me for what I did.
  
• In Japan, people drive on the left side of the street and walk on the left side of the sidewalk.  It's a little confusing at first.  Often times I would accidentally walk on the right side out of habit.  And it was weird seeing people driving on the wrong side of the road!  When on escalators, you're supposed to stand on the left side so people can walk past you on the right.  Never see that in America, people just stand smack in the middle of the stair.
  
• The people in Japan are so nice!  They are extremely patient, especially when it came down to the language barrier we had with them.  I feel like in America, if you don't understand someone right away, you stop trying.  In Japan, they actually try.  It often would come down to a game of charades with us, but they were very good-natured about it.  They never got mad at us and would keep trying until we understood each other.  For example, on my way back to the hotel today from Sunshine City, I got lost.  I took a turn too soon.  Luckily, I had a card with the hotel's address on it, so when I saw a woman, I said excuse me in Japanese.  But that's all I knew.  So I said "Can you help me?" in English and handed her the card.  She went inside her house and I could hear her talking to someone.  When she came back out, she only said a little bit and basically just waved me back up the street and to the left.  I got her point, so I thanked her and continued on and found my hotel.  She could have just waved me off, but instead she helped me.  Same with the girl in the shoe store, or any of the people we've met in the restaurants we've been to.
  
• All the cities we've seen are very clean.  For some reason, we can never seem to find a trashcan when we need one, but we never see trash, gum, or cigarette butts on the street (which reminds me, you can't smoke on the street.  You need to find a designated smoking area).  The cities are well kept.
  
• They're signs are cute.  I don't know how else to put it.  Many of them have a picture that is just...cute!
  
• Everyone dresses really nicely.  No sweatpants, no pajama pants.  You rarely even see sweatshirts.  Everyone from children to the elderly dress fashionably.  Some of the outfits are even a little crazy in the way they're put together, but it still works!  Only in Japan.
  
• A lot of people ride bikes.  It seems to be one of the main forms of transportation.  Probably one of the reasons why they're all so skinny over there!  Because they bike everywhere!  Americans need to start doing that.  I bet the obesity problem would go down.
  
  
  

To save money, the eight of us ended up eating at the hotel for breakfast.  It was cheap, though I still don't know if it was worth it.  All I had was a couple pieces of toast.  I've gotten used to eating less, though, so I guess it was enough for me.

We saw the Tokyo Imperial Palace today.  I hate to say it, but I wasn't really impressed.  I think it's because there was less history there than the one in Kyoto and many of the buildings were more modernized.  I love the look of the older buildings at the Kyoto Palace.  And to be fair, when it comes down to history, Kyoto was the capital of Japan for much longer than Tokyo.  Tokyo's only been the capital since 1868.  Also, our tour was in Japanese.  We were given English audio tapes to listen too, but it just didn't do it for me.  I was distracted by listening to the Japanese tour guide.  It was still cool to see the palace, and at least I can say I did see it.  I enjoyed the one in Kyoto much more, though.

Next, we went to Ueno Park and saw a statue dedicated to the "last samurai."  No, not Tom Cruise's "last samurai."  This guy was real.  Saigo Takamori. The statue is positioned on the hill so he is looking over Ueno, like he is still guarding it.  He had committed seppuku after the battle on Ueno Hill.  Right behind him is a monument dedicated to the other samurai who had died there during the battle.  It is also where they are buried.  A sign at the site said, "There was a war called the Ueno War around here in May 15, 1868.  It delimited Edo era and Meiji Restoration.  In this war, a soldier group of Tokugawa persons (old government) named Shogi-tai fought against the army of the new government and was defeated.  Okisato Ogawa and his comrades, who were the survivors of Shogi-tai, obtained the permission of the Meiji government at tlast in 1874 and built the graveyard of killed soldiers.  Afterwards, the graveyard of Shogi-tai was preserved by the Ogawa clan for over 120 years and succeeded by Tokyo Metropolitan government in 2003.  We learn the history of the Ueno War thanks to such an effort now."  I admit, I took a picture of the sign so I could copy the information (English translations aren't always great over here).

We separated for lunch and Franco, Kristen and I went to this little cafe for sandwiches.  It was a nice change from what we've been eating.  Then I got green tea ice cream, which I was very excited about!  It was delicious.  

We all met back up at Ueno Park and while walking through it, we saw cherry blossoms!  Most of the trees weren't in bloom yet (we are about two weeks early for that), but there were two trees that were already getting blossoms on them!  I was so happy we got to see a little bit.  We all stopped to take pictures, and there were these cute little green birds sitting in the tree.  It's a life goal of mine to go to a cherry blossom festival in Japan, so I'll just have to go back, but I'm glad I at least saw some blossoms on this trip!

Next we went to the Tokyo National Museum, which had all kinds of artifacts and artwork in it.  My inner geek was flailing, especially when I got to the anthropology wing!  There were tools, jewelry, pottery and other artifacts from the Jomon period!   That may have been my favorite part.  We also walked by a section with samurai blades, which I enjoyed, as well.  I liked looking at the etchings on some of the blades and since I have a basic idea on how those blades are made, I think it just made me like it even more.  I wish we could have had more time there.  If I lived in Tokyo, I could totally see myself going and spending an entire day there!  Behind the museum was a garden that Becky, Franco and I checked out together.

We then went to Asakusa, where we all split up.  Dr H brought us to the entrance of a shrine and said that from that point on, we could do whatever we wanted in Tokyo, he didn't have anything planned for us.  Which is what always happens on this trip.  Once you hit Tokyo, you have a few stops with Dr. H and then you're on your own.  The other students and I were planning on going to Akiabara, so I had assumed we would at least stay together.  But at this particular shrine, there is a huge marketplace at the entrance and as soon as we started to go through the market, Kristen and I were separated from the others.  Eric found us a couple minutes later, but in doing so, he separated himself from the rest of the group.  So we looked at some shops, I got a Hello Kitty doll wearing a kimono, and we went to the shrine.  On the way back into the market, by some crazy miracle, we bumped into Tim, and then a few minutes later, the rest of the group.  We decided we'd meet at the shrine's entrance in an hour and then continued to go through shops.  I bought a collection of sake cups to give to friends as souvenirs and a kimono!  It's not a real kimono, it's made out of polyester, not silk.  It's still pretty, though. 

So after going through the market, we all met up again and went to Akiabara.  But while we were walking through the city, Becky, Kristen and I somehow got separated by the others.  Akiabara is known for having electronics and also for being the place for anime fans.  The three of us didn't really know much about it though, in knowing where we should check things out.  So we just wandered for a little bit, went into an anime store, and then left.  

When the three of us got back to Ikebukuro, we went to check out a place called Sunshine City, which is basically this huge mall with apartments, an aquarium, and a theme park in it.  We just walked a few floors though because we were tired.  I did get to go into a Hello Kitty store! 

Just really quickly, on the train to Tokyo we saw Mt. Fuji!  It was a very clear view of it, too, which Dr. H said has never happened on any of the class trips before.  It was beautiful, we were so lucky to see it!

We're in Tokyo now!  We're staying in Sakura Hotel Ikebukuro.  It's not fancy, but it's nice enough.  The real benefit to staying here is the people who work at the front desk can speak English, so if we want to find out more information on something we want to do in Tokyo, they can help us.

For dinner, we split up.  Tim, Franco, Eric, Kristen and I went to some Chinese restaurant we found in the train station.  It was pretty good.  I got wonton soup thinking it would be cheap... it wasn't.  It cost me almost 1,000 yen, which was more than I wanted to spend.  Tim was trying to help me and we misread the menu.  It's okay, though, it happens.  The soup was good anyway.

Just hanging out at the hotel now, going to bed soon.

This morning, Becky, Megan, Kristen, Tess, Eric, Franco and I all went to The Little Mermaid Cafe in the train station for breakfast.  We ate there yesterday for lunch and they had amazing pastries, so we figured it would be good for breakfast.  Becky and I then went to a nearby Starbucks and I got an Orange Brulee Frappuccino, which I've only seen in Japan.  It was really good.  I wonder if they'd make it back home if I asked?

Our first stop was just down the street from the hotel, in a feudal town.  The stores were normal, but they were in feudal buildings, which was really cool.  We went into a folk art museum that had samples of furniture, pottery, statues, and jewelry.  I would have loved to buy pottery from the gift shop, but it was expensive.  Next we took a quick walk through Ivy Square, which used to be a textile factory and is now a hotel and restaurant.  We were given free time after that to walk around and check out the stores.  We went into this one store that was pretty much cat themed, with a few dog items in it.  There were cat statues, cat stuffed animals, and real cats.  They even had cat music playing - Christmas carols, actually, meowed by cats.  It was pretty weird.

We're on the train for Tokyo right now.  We should be arriving around four o'clock.

This morning we had breakfast at the hotel and, like last night, breakfast was interesting.  We were given a special cooker where you can put your food in a small pan and under the pan there is a candle that cooks the food.  On that pan there were two small pieces of bacon and we were given an egg.  I think you are supposed to fry the egg, but I only eat mine scrambled.  Unfortunately, my candle burnt out before I could finish cooking mine!  I just put it in my rice and it was okay.  We also got some kind of soup, dried seaweed, tofu that was soaked in something cold, and an orange slice.

We left the hotel at 8:00AM so we could catch the ferry.  Dr. H had the girls take taxis and he and the boys took a bus to get there.  Prof. B, Ellen, Becky and I went in the first taxi.  It was weird driving on the wrong side of the road, but the roads were so narrow, you almost couldn't tell.  It was funny because when we were getting in the taxi, Prof B started to go into the wrong side of the car to sit in the front seat!  As Americans, when we sit in the front passenger seat, we sit on the right side.  Not in Japan!  We all made it to the ferry on time.

After getting off the ferry, we went to the train station.  At the stores, there were signs for White Day.  I had forgotten that was today.  White Day is kind of like Valentine's Day.  In Japan, on Valentine's Day, girls will give a gift to the guy they like.  White Day is the guy's chance to give something back to her.  I think that's a good idea.  I mean, it seems Valentine's Day in America is only for girls.  That's not necessarily true, but it really is the woman that gets the attention most of the time.  Why not have two days, one being for the girl and one being for the guy?  Sounds fair to me!

We ended up going back to Hiroshima so we could tour the Mazda factory.  I admit, it wasn't my favorite part of the trip.  It sounded like Dr. H always gets the group to tour a car factory.  Last time, they went to Toyota.  Anyway, we got a tour of the museum and then we got a peak at the production line.  What we saw was almost the end of the line, so at least we got to see the cars actually looking like cars.  At the end, we got to see some "futuristic" cars that are being developed.  The one I thought was the most interesting is kind of shaped like a raindrop, which is on purpose.  There are grooves on the top of the car, so when it rains, the water goes through the grooves and into a filter.  The filtered water can then go through the car and the people inside can drink it.

Next, we grabbed our luggage from the lockers we had left them in yesterday and went to our hotel in Kurashiki to drop it off again.  We then went to Okayama Castle.  While most of the places we have gone to have had any information in both English and Japanese, everything in this castle was in Japanese.  I was really bummed about this because there were displays with samurai armor, which I was very interested in finding out more about.  We also watched this short video so we could sit down and rest, but that was also in Japanese - no subtitles.  The castle itself was pretty cool, though.  Dr. H said it had belonged to a warlord.  At the time, warlords would have several castles, but then eventually it was decided by the emperor that they would only be allowed one.  I think this one had been abandoned by the warlord, but it was fixed up and is now a famous castle.

Behind Okayama Castle is this huge garden.  It's supposed to be one of the most famous gardens in Japan.  I'm sorry to say, we were there at a bad time of the year.  It wasn't really much to look at.  I could see the beauty potential, but a lot of the plants were still so brown.  You did get a beautiful view of the castle, though.  And there was a pond full of coy fish!  There were two girls feeding the fish and they were all gathered there trying to get the food.  The landscaping of the garden was nice, but again, we were really there at the wrong time of year.

We went back to the hotel and had the rest of the night to ourselves.  Our hotel was kinda sketchy.  When Becky and I got into our room, we noticed there was a bin that was full of menus and had a picture of a big boobed Japanese girl, which we found strange, so we just put a menu over her.  When we went to the other girls' room, they showed us that there was porn on tv!  Didn't expect that!  We all thought it was pretty funny.  When they looked for it again later, though, it was gone.  The girls were joking Dr. H must've found out and did something about it!

The mall we went to

The seven other students and I ended up going to a nearby mall for dinner.  We were looking for something cheap, so we figured the food court was the way to go!  I ended up getting tempora udon for only 350 yen!  It was funny because when I went to that food counter, it only showed pictures of what they had, but it wasn't tempora udon that was being showed.  It showed the udon and then it showed the udon in soup and then you could add the tempora shrimp or anything else after.  So when I tried telling them what I wanted, I said udon, but I didn't know how to say soup!  Luckily, they figured out what I wanted.  We just kinda laughed about it, so they were really nice.  After we all ate, we went to check out some of the stores.  Kristen and I found an accessory store that we loved.  I ended up buying a pink scrunchie (scrunchies seem to be very popular over here) and a hair ornament (a silver flower).  We also went to a Shonen store that was full of anime stuff, so I bought a gift for one of my friends there.

When we got back to the hotel, Tim, Eric, Kristen and I went for a walk down the street to check out Kurashiki.  We didn't go anywhere, but it was nice to at least explore the street a little.

I'm exhausted, but I'm going to Skype with my parents now.

We left Kyoto at 7:30 this morning and took a train to Hiroshima.  We left our luggage in lockers at the train station and then went to go see the A-Bomb Dome.  I not even sure how I should describe the experience.  I mean, I've seen pictures of the building, but to see it in person gives you a completely different feeling.  It really hits you about what happened there because it's no longer a picture, it's a full, in your face reality.  In a way, it leaves you in awe.  I could feel my throat get tight, like I wanted to cry.  It's an incredibly moving experience.  There was a sign that said every few years, they do testing on the site to measure signs of deterioration.  It's the only building the city left from the bombing and it was debated in the 1960s as to whether it should be destroyed or preserved.  They chose to preserve it to remind the world what had happened and as a statement against nuclear weaponry.  We went to the Peace Museum, as well, which talked about the events leading up to the bombing, the development of the atom bomb, the events after the bombing, the effects it had on the people, and the movement to end nuclear weapons.  It was extremely interesting and incredibly sad.  Every time a country conducts a nuclear test, the mayor of Hiroshima sends them a letter of protest.  There were copies of letters he has sent President Obama at the museum.  I really think that my class (or everyone with me on this trip) should send Obama letters, as well.  It's really sick that, not only do we have what happened at Hiroshima in our history, but we have a present reminder of it staring us in the face.  And yet, countries are still developing nuclear weapon programs.  I am terrified for the future of humanity.

After the museum, we took a train to a ferry to go to Miyajima.  The first thing we noticed was all of the deer!  They were everywhere!  And they will come right up to you looking for food.  If you make the mistake of feeding one, they will all come to you and they will follow you!  I got to pet one, though, which was really cool.

First we went to Hokaku Shrine, or Senjokaku - Hall of 1,000 Tatami Mats.  It had oni (ogres, demons) on the roof tiles, and there were many different paintings on the inside of the roof.  Some were of deer, some of men on horses, some of men who looked like warriors.

Then we went over to Itsukushimo Shrine.  This is a famous shrine built by a warlord.  There is a large orange torii that was built in the water, so during high tide, it looks like it is floating.  Unfortunately, we were there at low tide, so we didn't witness the effect first-hand, but since the torii was temporarily on mostly dry land, we were able to walk out to it, which was pretty cool.  I bought Mom a good fortune charm and Mark a headband that is supposed to bring him luck during exams.

Tonight we are staying at a traditional style inn.  We got to experience a public bath, a Japanese banquet, wear yukata, and sleep on futons.  The bath was awkward for me, since I am so self-conscious about my body.  It was basically a large hot tub with faucets and stools outside of it.  What you do is go into the room and rinse yourself off first at one of the faucets.  Then you can go soak in the hot water.  When you actually want to wash yourself, you have to go back to the faucets to do it.  You can go back in afterward.  This way, the water doesn't get dirty or soapy.  The other girls were taking too long to get ready, so Becky and I went without them.  Becky and I were both a little uncomfortable with the whole thing.  There was already an older Japanese woman in there, but she just ignored us.  Once we got in the water, it was actually pretty nice.  Ellen joined us halfway through and the other girls didn't come in until Becky and I were pretty much ready to leave.  If you stay in too long, you start to feel light-headed.

The dinner was cool, but I didn't eat much.  I wasn't really crazy about the food.  I don't know what most of it was, but there was sushi such as squish and tuna, some kind of soup with muscles in it, sea snail, two thin slices of what tasted like some sort of beef, steamed egg, swordfish, and rice.  That's only a few of the delicacies I tried.  I drank plum wine, which was delicious, and for dessert we had a slice of pear and a strawberry.

The other cool part about this hotel is we sleep on futons.  Becky and I had to set them up (we were given instructions on how to do it), and it was pretty easy.  They're pretty comfortable, too.  Becky's gone down with the rest of the girls to take another bath.  I'm really tired, so I'm just gonna turn on the tv and try to sleep.

Remember the shrine I was talking about yesterday with the boar statues?  Dr. H ended up bringing us there this morning!  The reason why there are boars guarding the shrine is a story about a deity there.  The deity enshrined there (Lord Wake no Kiyomaru) had saved the imperial throne from an evil plot, but he was exiled by an evil Dokyo. On his way to exile, he was ambushed by the Dokyo's men and was wounded in the leg. Along the journey, 300 boars came out of nowhere and protected him up to Usa Hachiman Shrine, where is leg was miraculously healed.  We were told this was a good shrine for back and leg healing, so I bought Dad a charm for his back.  The shrine also had a collection of small boar toys and statues, which was cute.


Our next stop was the Kyoto Imperial Palace (there's another one in Tokyo).  It was really incredible.  We even got a tour, which was even better!  Dr. H said we are the first of his classes who have been able to do this.  We weren't allowed to go inside, but we learned a lot just from walking around the grounds.  Now I'm just going to spew facts I remember: 

The tiger waiting room

There are three rooms to wait in when visiting the emperor.  The first is for the lower class and is painted with cherry blossoms, with red "taping" on the floor (I don't know what else to call it).  The second is for the middle class and is painted with cranes, with white "taping" on the floor.  The last room is for the upper class and is painted with tigers, with white "taping."  The red is only for the middle class.  Like most of the shrines and temples we've seen, the palace is natural.  The only paint seen was on the pillars of the gate, which were orange.  This idea was borrowed from China, where things painted red is for luck.  In Japan, orange is supposed to drive away evil spirits.  South is a lucky direction, so the emperor's room always faces south.  Northeast is an unlucky direction and, in fact, the northeastern corners of Japanese maps are usually cut out.  In front of the emperor's room (where ceremonies are held) there are two trees, one on either side.  On the left side (facing the palace) is an orange tree, symbolizing longevity.  On the right side is a cherry blossom tree, symbolizing loyalty.  At another area of the grounds is a large empty lot.  There used to be many buildings there, but they were moved to different areas in case of bombings during WWII and they were never moved back.  There is also a small courtyard where people would gather dressed in kimonos to play futball (or soccer).  It was described to us as an elegant sport in which there were no winners or losers.

After our tour, we went tot the Kyoto Gyoen, National Garden.  All day there was on and off flurries, even though it was warm in the sun, so it was kind of cool seeing it with the snow falling.  It didn't accumulate, though.  We also saw Tofuku-ji Temple and Tofuku-ji's Hojo Garden, which was basically another rock garden.  I liked this one the best.

Next we went to a large shrine dedicated tot the deity of rice.  This is an important shrine to the Japanese because rice is an important crop to them.  The shrine is guarded by fox statues, another unusual guardian choice.  The Japanese see foxes as being very mysterious because they can be mischievous, but they can also be good.  We started to follow a walkway of orange torii that people had donated money toward.  You're surrounded by orange.  We had been walking for awhile and I was wondering where we were going.  Then we had to climb a lot of stairs.  This was kind of a problem for me because I am out of shape and my knee has been bothering me for the past month, but I kept up.  Eventually Youlin asked Dr H how much further we had and he had no idea.  I don't think he had even broken a sweat!  Meanwhile, as I'm climbing stairs gasping for breath, there are girls walking up in high heels like it's their job, old men passing me looking like they're casually taking an afternoon stroll, and students that looked like they were on a sports team running by me!  I even saw young children walking up!  Anyway, we decided we must be at least halfway up, so we should continue on.  When we were relatively close to the top, we did finally get a good view of the city, even though it was cloudy.  I was the sixth person to reach the top, out of ten.  Prof B and Ellen stopped a little past halfway.  I was sore and exhausted when I made it, but I'm glad I did it - my knee, not so much.  Kristen, Becky and I decided to start back down before everyone else and just backtrack.  When we finally got back, everyone else was already there!  They had found a faster way down.


I called my parents via Skype phone tonight.  They were excited tot hear from me and it was nice to talk to them.

After having breakfast at the hotel, we went to Kiyomizu Temple.  There was this huge orange pavilion attached to it, which was really cool.  The temple itself was beautiful and there was an amazing view of Kyoto!  Right next to the temple was the Kyoto Jishu Shrine.  The Japanese see it as a dwelling place for the god of love and matchmaking.  There is a rock there known as the love stone and if you can walk to it with your eyes closed and touch it, you will have luck in love.  I did it, of course.  I could use as much luck as I can get!  While we were there, Dr. H pointed out to us that along the top of the archway of the shrine, called a torii, there is a length of rope.  All the shrines have it.  According to Japanese mythology, the sun goddess's brother had embarrassed her, so she shut herself away in a cave, leaving the earth in darkness.  The other gods eventually coaxed her out by having a party outside of the cave.  The goddess's curiosity got the best of her and when she peaked her head out to see what was going on, they grabbed her and tied the stone that covered the cave back so that she couldn't hide again.

We continued to walk around the grounds, past a lot of small shrines.  We ended up at a shrine where if you drink the water, there are healing properties, so we all had a little.

When we were done, we went back onto a street where there were a lot of little shops, so we were given some time to wander.  I got a bunch of postcards and then most of us got a treat that was basically a cream puff filled with cherry blossom flavored cream.  It was really good!  Megan and Tess both got pork buns, as well, so we all got a taste of that, too.

Our next stop was Nijo Castle, the castle of the Shogun.  That was really cool!  Once again, the gardens were beautiful, and so was the inside of the castle.  The rooms were painted with intricate designs.  The floors were called nightingale floors because they are meant to squeak when you walk on them, to alert the Shogun that someone was there.  On the outside of the buildings was the crest of the imperial family, a chrysanthemum with eighteen petals.  After the end of the Shogun, Nijo Castle became the property of the imperial family.  We also walked through a group of plum trees that were blossoming, which was really pretty.

After that, we had the option of going to the Kyoto International Manga Museum, which was down the street from the hotel.  It was okay, but honestly, I got bored pretty quickly.  I was tired and my feet hurt.  I ended up leaving and going to a convenience store for lunch (riceball, chocolate, and juice) and when I was leaving, I saw Franco, Kristen, and Eric.  I walked with them to 7-11 (which is called something else in Japan) and Eric and I got melon bread.  Kristen and I ate lunch in the boys' room, and a little while after I had returned to my own room, Kristen came by to ask me if I wanted to check out another shrine down the street with her and Eric.  I said sure.

When we got to the shrine, we realized it might cost us money to go inside, so we didn't.  We did notice, though, that there were boar statues guarding the shrine, which is unusual.  You're more likely to see an animal like a lion or a dog.

This evening we went to a lantern festival!  I'm so glad I got to have that kind of experience.  It was at a nearby shrine, and when you walk in, the initial path is lined with street vendors selling food and other items.  I bought chopsticks.  At the festival, two geishas performed a couple dances, which was really incredible.  They were dressed so beautifully and they moved very gracefully.  I'm so glad I got to see it.  When we continued on, we walked along a path lined with lanterns and there were large displays of flower arrangements illuminated by spotlights.  I wish I had a kimono to wear for the occasion! 

After arriving at the Palace Side Hotel in Kyoto last night, I took a shower and completely crashed.  I didn't even remember to turn out the light.

My roommate is Tess.  Now that I know everyone's names, I can say who I'm here with: Tess, Megan, Kristen, Becky, Eric, Tim, Franco, Dr K and his wife Youlin, and Prof. B and his wife Ellen.  We were told to meet at 8:30 this morning and before we did, we had a buffet breakfast in the hotel lobby.  I had scrambled eggs, toast, a piece of sausage that looked and tasted like a short hot dog, fish, yogurt, fruit, and rice with scallions.

After leaving the hotel, we walked down the street to the Sugawarian Temmangu Shrine.  One of the enshrined deities there is known as the patron of learning so, according to Dr. H, many students will go there to pray about exams.  You use the rope to hit the gong, bow twice, clap twice, and then bow one more time.

Next, we took a bus to Ginkakuji Temple.  The temple itself was really cool (each wooden shingle on the roof is made from Japanese cypress and is about 30cm long, with 3cm showing at the bottom end, fixed with a bamboo nail), and there were designs made out of raked sand outside of it.  The temple is made out of wood that is very weathered and looks like it could use some repairs.  The Japanese love things that look natural to them, so the decaying wood is very beautiful to them.  In this case, I can see what they mean.  Anyway, Ginkakuji Temple is also known as the Silver Pavillion.  After passing the temple and sand designs, we walked into this beautiful garden.  The flowers weren't really in bloom yet, but the greenery was stunning.  We walked along a bamboo path, saw a small waterfall, a bamboo forest, and a spectacular view of Kyoto!  Along the path, we also saw a shrine dedicated to the deity of music.

To get to the temple, we walked along the Philosopher's Path.  It's a stone pathway lined with cherry blossom trees and follows a stream for a bit.  It is called the Philosopher's Path because it is said to inspire people.  When we left the temple, we continued along it a bit further.  We passed many beautiful homes along the way - I would love to live in one.  They generally aren't very big, but they were decorated with plants, staying with Japan's love of nature.  We saw a group of stray cats along the way, which the other students got really excited about.

Eventually we got to this huge Buddhist temple and I saw three monks walking by.  In the same area was the Nanzenji temple.  It was pretty.  It had a pond and nice gardens, so I really enjoyed it.

Our next stop was kind of like a small mall.  Dr. H said we could have two hours to walk around.  The eight of us stuck together about half of the time.  We found an arcade full of crane machine games, but none of us were able to win anything.  We also went to this little restaurant for lunch and chose to sit at traditional Japanese tables where we could kneel to eat.  I got tempora udon - thick noodles in a broth with a large piece of tempora shrimp (meaning it's fried).  Tim knows Japanese from learning it in high school, so he shocked the waitress when he spoke to her.  We split up after that.  Tess, Kristen, Becky and I just walked around.  I got some kind of strawberry drink that I thought was going to be strawberry milk, but I'm not sure that it was.  It was yummy.  Kristen and I saw kimonos on sale, which we wanted, but didn't have time to look into.

Next, we went to the Golden Pavilion.  After a long, crowded bus ride, we arrived mid-afternoon.  The pavilion itself was amazing.  It is in the middle of a pond and is covered in gold leaf lacquer.  We saw geisha while we were taking pictures, but when I asked one of them for a picture, she politely declined.  Our walk around the pavilion grounds was kind of disappointing.  It was full of vendors and didn't really have the gardens that I had expected to see, especially in comparison to the Silver Pavilion.

Our last stop was Ryoanji Temple.  The main attraction seemed to be the rock garden.  There were fifteen rocks surrounded by sand with designs raked into it.  It was very relaxing.  After walking by that, there were more gardens and a pond.  At the pond, there was a small shrine.  Dr. H said it was for the deity of the ducks - I think he was kidding.

We went back to the hotel after that and we told we were free to do whatever we wanted.  Meg, Kristen, Franco, Becky, Eric and I decided to go to the McDonalds down the street because it would be so cheap.  We had also heard that it would be different in Japan.  When we got there, there wasn't a menu over the counter like there would be in America, just a couple pictures.  So we stood around for a few minutes trying to figure out what to do.  Eventually, the guy at the counter caught our attention and showed us there was a menu on the counter, just a large laminated sheet of paper.  We all laughed and went to go look at it.  It was in Japanese.  So once again we were confused, trying to figure it all out and the guy at the counter came back over a few minutes later and flipped the menu over to the English side.  We practically died laughing!  I ended up getting Chicken Selects, a small fry, an apple pie and a medium drink.  Everything was different.  In America, the options for sizes for the chicken is three or six.  In Japan, it's one or two.  The french fries seemed the same size, but they tasted a bit different.  Kristen and I couldn't quite figure out what it was, though.  A medium size soda in Japan is the size of a small in America, and the apple pie I got was a tempora apple pie.  Oh, and the chicken tasted kinda funny.  It was dark meat and the breading was different.  I didn't really like it.

It's still early, but I'm absolutely exhausted.  Goodnight!

Arrival

I am now on a train to Kyoto.  Our plane arrived in Narita Airport in Tokyo at 3:00pm, Japan time.  We picked up our luggage and then went to get train passes that will let us ride the JR an unlimited amount while we're here.  We caught a train to Shinagawa, and now we're on one to Kyoto.  I'm very excited, but exhausted.  I dozed off a couple of couples on the plane, but only for a few minutes.  And it was such a long flight!

I am sitting next to a young Japanese woman on the train.  She's very nice!  She doesn't really know English, but she seemed kind of excited when I sat next to her.  She asked if I'm American and if I'm going to Kyoto.  We haven't said much else because of the language barrier.  I really wish I knew more Japanese.  Her name is Yese (I'm probably butchering the spelling).

I haven't seen very much yet.  I've noticed the transportation system is very clean.  The trains have women in cute aprons pushing a food and drink cart down the aisle.  I tried some kind of citrus soda.  It was different from what I'm used to.  It tasted like they forgot to add sugar.  I donno how I feel about it.

I've seen a lot of people wearing surgical masks.  Yese is wearing one.  I need to find out more about it.  I think it has to do with preventing the spreading of germs, but I don't know if they're the ones with colds or if they're trying to prevent catching one.  I guess it could work both ways.  I wish I could ask Yese.

The Journey Begins

Here I go again!  I am starting another chapter of my travel journal!  This time I'm going to Japan, which is number one in my list of countries I want to visit.  As you can imagine, I am absolutely thrilled!

My companions this time are seven other students from my college and four adults.  Dr. H (our professor) is the leader of our group.  I actually graduated last semester, but Dr. H said I could still come on the trip!  And I'm still even luckier because the scholarships that I would have used this semester if I hadn't graduated agreed to let me use them for the trip.  I received enough money that I am not paying anything for this!  My trip to Japan is free!  I feel like the luckiest girl in the world!

Dad drove me up to the school yesterday and my friends/ex-housemates, Emily and Bee, stayed up until 4:00am with me, even though they both have class later.

I met up with my group at four, and we drove to the airport in Albany, NY.  From there, we flew to Newark, NJ and we had a layover for about an hour and forty minutes.  So far, I've been hanging out with Kristen, Eric, and Becky.  They're really nice. Tim's really cool, too, but he went off on his own in the airport, so I don't really know him well yet.

Now I'm on the plane to Narita Airport in Tokyo.  We're 6,432 miles away from our destination, going 562 mph, at tan altitude of 32,000 ft!  According to the map on the airplane screen, it seems we're just starting to fly over Canada.  It looks like we're going tot fly over Canada and Alaska to get to Japan.

I'll update again when I get to Japan!