Kansai

Well, this is overdue. In my crude attempt to make this a regular blog, I first have to catch up. Instead of overwhelming myself in a single post, I decided that I will do what I should of done weeks ago and first begin with telling the story of the Kansai trip.

Taking place in the final weekend of November, TUJ had organized a trip to the Kansai region of Japan. Located in central Japan, the Kansai region is home to the major cities of Osaka, Kyoto, Nara and Kobe. The trip covered expenses to all cities, but we were only actually guided to Osaka, Kyoto and Nara (Kobe was entirely optional, but to my knowledge no one actually went there).

The Kansai Trip started bright and early the day after Thanksgiving with all students going on the trip expected to meet at Shinagawa station by around 7am. A bit early for my taste. In fact, I barely made it to the meeting point, getting there only a few minutes before the departure time to the bullet train platform.

Yes, my dear readers, I got to ride on a bullet train. Riding one of these glorious forms of transportation was on my to-do list in Japan and I was very happy to ride one. In fact, it was (probably) the thing I was most excited to do on the trip as the Japanese bullet train is near legendary. And let me say, the hype was worth it. The bullet train or Shinkansen as it is known in Japan, is a network of high speed trains operated by a number of companies that connect most of Japan together, usually using the larger cities as the locations (of which you can take local lines to get around). Most Shinkansen tracks average speeds close to that of 200mph, though smaller, slower ones exist as well. The most surprising thing as how comfortable, smooth and quiet the rides are. Airplanes may be the safest way to travel, but Shinkansen may be the best way to travel just because of how serene the ride is.

If I recall correctly, the train left at around 8 and we arrived at our first stop, Kyoto, by about 10. Considering that getting to Kyoto from Tokyo takes about 6 hours (and you have to cover about 300 miles), the Shinkansen lives up to its name. Kyoto is one of the old capitals of Japan (along with Nara) and is home to many tourist attractions as a result. Kyoto is known for its many temples and other historical buildings as well as preserving many pieces of art. In this regard, one could call Kyoto a home of the old culture of Japan as many of its faithful preserved and frequently visited by foreigners and Japanese alike.

Kyoto Station. My art teacher calls this ugly.

To say that my guided tour through many of the highlights of Kyoto wasted no time would be a grave understatement. Almost immediately upon landing, we were off and running to places. Firstly, we were escorted to Kyoto Station to drop off any luggage. I did not require a locker myself as I picked very lightly, but many of my fellow students did. I did not blame them, as carrying around a suitcase would be very annoying to say the least. Following the little detour (which consumed more time than desired), we were off riding the subway lines to Nijo Castle.

This looks easy to conquer. Just sayin'.

Nijo Castle is a castle built during the Tokugawa Shogunate, to act as the Kyoto residence of the Tokugawa Shoguns (who used Edo as their primary residence and governing center), but continued to be the home of the Imperial Court. Nijo Castle has many pieces of fine art displayed and the brief tour has many rooms staged to home how Nijo Castle operated in its heyday, however pictures were disallowed inside, so you will have to take my word for it when I say it was very beautiful instead. In fact, I preferred this castle to Matsumoto for that reason. It helped that I wasn't freezing either. The coolest feature of Nijo Castle was the squeaky floors that were placed on purpose to remove stealth from the equation. It was a defensive feature that allowed defenders to be alerted of any attackers during a siege or so. By walking in a certain fashion, one could avoid detection. This was done by distributing your weight in a certain way. A very Japanese innovation. 

Tourist trap #1 of many.

Nijo Castle is also the home of a number of small little stands that sell various merchandise to capitalize on the art, history and novelty of Nijo Castle and Kyoto as a whole. Most of the things on sale were things I have seen throughout Japan (keychains, little figures, etc), however, they were many pieces of unique art that I have not seen before and like many before me, I fell for their charms and purchased some gifts here. I was too weak it seemed. 

Moving away from Nijo Castle, the hectic part of the journey began. You would think getting lunch and meeting somewhere would be a relatively simple endeavor, but of course, it did not work as well as planned. Getting lunch was not a problem for my group personally as we were able to find a nice Japanese restaurant and enjoy a fine (and well priced!) meal and meet the rest of our tour group with relative ease. However, it was this point that I met the two greatest foes we would face in Kyoto: time and crowds. 

The many temples and shrines of Kyoto.

The tour, for whatever reason, was becoming increasingly short on time to visit all the places we were to visit. So the tour guides saw fit to "hit the gas" on walking speed and blitz through many of the beautiful temples and city streets of Kyoto. Enjoyment was not a dish on the menu for this part of the trip.

A modern day crowd filling up a classic street.

It was around this time that I discovered I hate crowds. Navigating through them is no easy feat, even for someone like myself who lives in the New York Area. It seems while people in the New York area can not drive, people in Kyoto (and Japan as a whole) can not walk. People walk at a leisurely pace, tend to stop randomly and the general amount of people clog up streets very easily. This of course counteracted the need to move quickly as we had a busy day of traveling in Kyoto to do in the first place. This bothered me greatly and I could not enjoy this part of the trip at all, especially when my phone/camera was used to gather up some stranglers, removing my ability to take pictures entirely. I was not able to capture many beautiful sites of the Buddhist temples, fall foliage and the great heights of the temple we visited. So you will have to take my word for it when I say, Kyoto is beautiful during the fall and I will be definitely going there again with a working, high quality camera. 

Following that moment of disappointment and frustration, I managed to calm down and enjoy the next bit of our trip, even if the constant walking and wading through crowds was slowly driving me insane. 

This was a very long building.

The building above is called Sanjusangen-do, first built in 1164. Roughly translated to "Hall of the Lotus King," it is a Buddhist temple known for its many statues of the figure Kannon and the Buddha himself, part of a series of the "Thousand Armed Kannons." They are literally one thousand statues crammed into the building, created by a sculptor named Tankei, in the building as well as a fairly large figure of the Buddha and the characters of Fujin and Raijin, major figures in Japanese Shinto. Being a historical site, the Japanese do not like pictures being taken by tourists, so I could not capture any moments in the wooden hall. Which is a shame really, because Google images does not do the building justice at the sight of seeing all the individual figures justice. 

The last tourist spot we managed to make it to was Fushimi Inari-Taisha. Founded in 711, this location is an Inari shrine, dedicated to Shintoism and is best known for its thousands of Torii gates that are constructed along of a path that scales the mountain with numerous smaller shrines scattered about.

The first gates. Many of my pictures are not good due to poor lighting.

Surely more eye catching in the daylight, we arrived in hours of evening in a country where the sun goes down at 5pm, so many of my pictures were of pitiful quality. Regardless, it was something of an adventure, traveling through a maze of gates and seeing some excellently preserved shrines amongst the many gates.

An example of a shrine. Excuse the quality.

As the night was slowly growing older, we began to make our way over to our resting place for the night: the city of Nara. Nara is another of the old capitals, being the capital before Kyoto. Nara is a smaller city, with less to do, but nevertheless, we called it home for a night as we journeyed back. After a quick stop to admire Kyoto Station at night, we took a train and bus to a youth hostel in the city of Nara. Hostels are basically cheap hotel that resembles a college dormitory with bunk beds, lounges and communal bathrooms. All things considered, the hostel was comparable to my dorm room back in Tokyo so I couldn't complain except for my stomachache and general declining health that evening. I fell asleep comfortably enough, waking up groggy the next day, but ready enough for adventure.

We spent only a few days in Nara, mostly because as I alluded to earlier, there isn't as much to do in Nara. Compared to Kyoto, Nara is not the tourist trap and is a relatively small and quiet city. It is a nice change considering how frustrated Kyoto made me feel the previous day. However, Nara has something that Kyoto does not have. A very different kind of attraction. 

D'aw. She looks so innocent. She's not.

DEER. Nara is known for its population of somewhat domestic population of deer, in which people can purchase special cookies to feed the deer in the hopes that you can pet them. What makes these deer special is that they bow to you as a greeting before viciously begging for food. Only in Japan. Surprisingly enough, the bowing is true, but what they don't tell you is that the deer can be vicious in their quest for delicious noms. I have seen people be tackled for the cookies and deer follow people for some time until receiving some a piece of deer cookies. Luckily enough, no one got hurt. 

The largest wooden structure in the world.

And its most famous resident.

Following the gauntlet of deer, we arrived at Nara's largest tourist attraction (literally): The Todai-ji. Built originally in 745, it is among the largest wooden structures in the world and houses the largest bronze Buddha in the world as well. It was been rebuilt twice after fires and the entire structure is only a fraction of its original size. And it is still huge. I was expecting a fairly sizable building, but not this big. Many flocked to bear witness to the Great Buddha and the building was full of religious patrons and tourists alike. Many prayed to the Buddha and sought cleansing; just as many were there for photo ops. A mixed bag to say the least.

Following the journey to the Todai-ji, I limped over to the Nara train station (my health was declining) and we entered a train that would bring us directly to Osaka. Unlike the previous two cities, Osaka is not a former capital of Japan, but it has grown to be one of the largest cities in the country. It's cultural influence is second only to Tokyo, being one of the few cities that has kept its own identity despite the large influence Tokyo has on Japanese culture. Osaka has managed to keep its own dialect of Japanese for example and has developed a unique character of its own way. The city has its own diverse feel as well, with a different aura about the city. It's less crowded and the buildings are not as tall, making Osaka not feel as massive as Tokyo. The people are also nicer and more laid back. 

Their Engrish is also funnier.

Osaka was to be where we spent the majority of our day, beginning with lunch. In a small group, we went to a local restaurant and a traditional Japanese meal with soup, a main dish (I think my had tempura of some sort) and sushi. It was amazing, but strangely not that different from meals I've had in Tokyo. Though I believe the soy sauce was a bit different. Regardless, it was here that we planned the rest of our day. As a group, we decided our main goal was to visit Osaka Castle, since it would complete a trip to all the major castles in Japan for the majority of the group.

Osaka Castle was quite a ways away from where we were, but it is still in the heart of the city. Built in 1597, modelled after Azuchi Castle (possibly the most famous of the Japanese castles) by Toyotomi Hideyoshi, it was designed to surpass Azuchi Castle in everywhere. Lucky for the rest of us, they preserved the castle...for the most part. The exterior moat and outer walls are faithfully maintained and one can see how the castle would be difficult to assault. I was reminded of Mastumoto Castle at first, but the grounds of Osaka Castle are far larger in size, as the castle continued to expand during its initial construction.

Just outside the castle grounds.

The first gate inside.

Inside the castle grounds. Who put this amazing park here?

Upon entering the gates, the castle grounds have been transformed into a public park that is easily accesible to all. It is a grand sight and I was pleased surprised and happy to capture the foliage with my camera. It was redemption for not being able to capture the sight back in Kyoto. The park is quite vast and expansive, so it took some time and a couple more gates before we reached the main castle grounds.

A time capsule?! First time I have seen one of those.

Hard to read, but they are not opening for about another 100 years. Or thousand. I forgot exactly.

The main castle grounds had some interesting sights, including a small fairground and a few stores. A historical building was also there; a remainder of the old base that was built in modern times when Osaka Castle acted as a military base. However my favorite was the time capsule pictured above. It was quite random to see it but I never really seen one, so of course, because of the Japanese I now have irrational standards for them considering how Japan established theirs. A steel casing and a clearly drawn up rules concerning it complete with an opening schedule and time table. Due to the limited picture quality, I cannot discern the date easily. I just hope I am alive for its first opening.

Osaka Castle

We finally made it to Osaka castle after gawking at the time capsule for several moments, paid our entrance fee and were in for a interesting surprise. When seeing a castle as majestic as Osaka Castle up close you create certain expectations in your head. Mine were grand wooden halls with Samurai armor in glass cases, traditional Japanese art scattered about and maybe some cool feudal statues.

Instead, I got a modern day museum.

That's right. A modern day museum. Only in Japan I suppose. For the most part, the Osaka Castle museum was very crowded with each floor swamped with patrons. What was interesting in the museum was that some floors were preserved and others modernized with small movies to convey the feel of medieval Japan. It would of been a more enlightening experience had my comprehension of Japanese been on a higher level.

Quite a different feel from Tokyo.

What was worth it was the amazing view at the top of the castle. Well not as grand as some eye opening views, it was easy to admire the castle grounds and some of the cityscape of Osaka to really establish that Osaka is a vastly different city than Tokyo. It has a calmer, more spread out feel. While I never been to LA or the west coast, to call Osaka the "LA of Japan" would probably not be too much of an extension of the truth.

Following the departure from Osaka Castle, my group slowly realized that time was not our friend on this day and we had to scramble over to the outskirts of Osaka to meet a fair distance away from our hotel room. Despite a limited understanding of Japanese, my group was able to make on to the right train at the right time, meet up with our tour guides and be the first ones at the meeting point. It was a great feeling, being on time, considering how late we were back in Kyoto.

After some delays, we, as a group, crowded onto a bus and arrived at a Ryokan, a traditional Japanese inn. A Ryokan has all the luxuries and classic stereotypes or expectations one would expect in a Japanese style hotel: tatami mats, tea, sliding doors and fancy yutakas that are basically pajama robes. You name a classic Japanese thing, it is probably included in the package.

I can enjoy this.

TUJ did not waste any expenses and we got a very nice package including a 5 course Japanese style meal with lots of seafood, soup, and desserts, karaoke and a onsen. The food was delicious, but there were a few aspects of the meal I could of lived without having. The karaoke had some wonderful all-star performances from my classmates. The onsen was more of a public bath but it was still as relaxing. I slept very comfortably in a futon that was probably more comfortable than my bed back in the dorm room. It was a shame I had to return to that.

The final of the trip was a full free day, in which everyone was free to do anything they wanted permitting they were at Kyoto Station by 8pm to get on the bullet train headed for Tokyo. Squeezing myself into a fairly large group that was dividing their time between Osaka and Kyoto, I was in for a busy but fun day to finish up my time in Kansai.

First stop: The Pokemon Center. Pretty much everyone knows about Pokemon by now as it is the biggest thing in Japan since sliced bread and was spread throughout the world like wildfire. Pokemon Centers in the game give you free healthcare. Pokemon Centers in the real world are stores dedicated to the beloved franchise, featuring a number of Pokemon themed products. The Osaka Pokemon Center is one of the largest of its kind and was filled to the brim with Pokemon themed everything.

Gotta catch them all.

We spent quite a bit of time there, rummaging through everything to find gifts and anything else we wanted to bring along with us. Still traveling light, it was around now my bag was getting full as I purchased a number fo things to get my Pokemon fix as well as pick some gifts. It was a blast though and I felt like a kid again. Oh nostalgia.

The best view I had in all of Japan.

Following that little detour, the group rushed over to another tourist trap in Osaka: the ferris wheel. Now this is not your everyday ferris wheel. Oh no. This is Japan after all. No, this was a ferris wheel perched on top of a building. After scaling the mall the wheel called home, we entered the wheel and bore witness to another majestic view. The good thing about this wheel is that it was in the heart of Osaka, so you got to see everything the city had to offer. Luckily enough, it was on a beautiful clear day as well so the view was even more immersive than normal. It was awesome that my ferris wheel car was full of good company that played good music while we took picture after picture. And danced. We totally danced.

Lunch was next on the menu and we scrambled together to find another local restaurant to eat. Despite money issues, I was able to gather enough funds to eat a decent meal for terribly empty stomach. Osaka is marginally more expensive to eat than Tokyo, but not as bad as some places in Kyoto, which I managed to avoid.

A system of confusing train transfers were our next opponent as we made our way back to Kyoto for the afternoon hours. This is also where the group spilt into smaller ones primarily due to confusion and miscommunication. Instead of journeying far away (since time was not an ally once again), my smaller group decided to take in the local vicinity and find some things to do. It wasn't too hard as Kyoto Station is built in a nice commercial area.

Kyoto Tower

While not as grand or as epic as Tokyo Tower, Kyoto Tower was a nice enough place to begin our little journey around Kyoto, despite the fact it looked like a giant cigarette. The tower is not as high as I would like but the people manning the operations were excessively kind, so it made me feel quite welcome if a bit creeped out.

Sunset in Kyoto.

We decided to go early and wait it out a bit to capture the sunset in the tower, and it was totally worth it. The observatory had a unique shape that made picture taking a bit easier than normal and enough binoculars that you could check out some of the sights from the tower if you looked hard enough.

We descended down from the tower and primarily did some wandering and some shopping in the local districts. Nothing too exciting as exhaustion and hunger were becoming increasingly prevalent. For the most part, we waited around for the group to assemble, collect any bags and then travel to the platform.

Kyoto at night.

   

The ride back was nearly identical to the ride there: quick, quiet and peaceful. Tokyo was in our sights. We all returned home and slept soundly in our beds, as finals were right around the corner.

The trip to Kansai was without a doubt one of the best trips I made during my time in Japan as I got to experience a different side to Japan as the culture simply feels different from everything to the behavior of the people to the food that they eat. And as you could tell, one of the longest as well with many stories to retell, hence why it took me forever to get around to writing about it. And I apologize for that. I have a few more Tokyo stories to share which I will get around to shortly.

Trips Galore

In less than three weeks my time in Japan will end and there is much pressure to make sure I return to America without any regrets. So the past few weeks have been filled with "small" trips to scratch off my Japanese to-do list.

The first of these trips was my pilgrimage to Odaiba. I am not a very religious or spiritual person, but this trip was probably the closest thing to me making any degree of religious ceremony out some event. Odaiba is a large man made island that lies in Tokyo Bay that has been expanded and developed into a large tourist attraction, as well as a commercial and residential zone. It is home to many attractions such as shopping malls, the Fuji Television building and the Rainbow Bridge. 

View out of the train station

Because space ships produce television from the Fuji TV building.

My camera failed to capture the majestic Rainbow Bridge.

Odaiba has a very futuristic feel to it, from the design of the buildings, to the attractions included (such as Sega's indoor amusement park) and atmosphere at both day and night. That coupled with the fact that Odaiba is not overcrowded (like everything else in Tokyo) made me fall in love with the area almost immediately. I chose a good day to go because a festival of some sort was taken place with a diverse mix of Japanese celebrating their culture with performances involving music and dance. 

I wasn't entirely sure what the occasion was, but it was clearly a major event considering the performances took place in several places in Odaiba and seemingly took place the entire time we were there. Or at least until the sun set. 

But these things did not compare to the true purpose of my excursion to Odaiba. One of the paramount reasons I went to Japan. The reason why Odaiba was on my list of places to go since Day 1.

I am not worthy.

The Gundam Statue. Constructed in 2009 to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Gundam franchise, it is a 1:1 model of the classic Gundam RX-78-2 mobile suit from the original series. After bowing down to the statue and praying for forgiveness for not completing my pilgrimage sooner, I took over 9000 pictures of it. And I totally squeed like a schoolgirl when I saw it. 

The next major trip was run by TUJ to Hakone, a town/area in Kanagawa prefecture which is south of Tokyo. It was a day trip in which we visited a number of places in a brief period of time. So while the trip might of been a bit rushed at times, it was one of those times that you got to experience a part of Japan you don't see in Tokyo.

So we meet again, Fuji.

At least you are capable of looking nice.

As you can see Hakone is very close to Mt. Fuji, so it took some time for me to gather my sanity to enjoy the trip fully. Once I did, Hakone was a day packed with places to see and things to do. It began with a two hour bus ride to the region, before scaling up the hills via a cable car (thing) to a place known for "black eggs." Yeah, that stumped me for a while. Eating a "black egg" is supposedly to extend your lifespan. So obviously I ate all the eggs.

Following a brief hike around the hills, we took the bus down the hills to a very fancy hotel founded by a man with the most glorious mustache of all time.

Seriously, look at that thing.

We were served a famous, traditional beef curry for lunch and took a tour around this hotel. While I fail to recall the name offhand, the hotel has been the home to many celebrities (including the Beatles). The tour was brief, but interesting to see a number of statues and items that belonged to some of the icons that stayed at the hotel as well as viewing the traditional, once luxurious western style rooms. 

Following the tour, we took another ride to the Hakone Open Air Museum. 

Just two of my favorite things at the museum

The Open Air Museum, as the name implies, was primarily an outdoor experience with a number of pieces of art on display, including some works by Picasso. Far from an art enthusiast, I set off my own and wandered, taking pictures primarily for cheap Facebook likes. Sadly, that social experiment failed, but I can safely say it was probably my personal favorite museum so far with Tokyo National as a close second.

We caught a train down the mountain we scaled early via the cable car, in what was easily the least comfortable train ride so far. It descended slowly with two switchbacks, so it took almost literally forever. However, it had its benefit as we would eventually (after a fair share of walking) in an Onsen.

For those unfamiliar with an Onsen, it is the Japanese term for a "hot spring," but it has broadened to mean any public bathing facility located within close proximity to a hot spring. Naturally, these have become a major tourist attraction as it is not everyday you can relax and bathe in a hot spring. Having never done it myself, it was definitely worth it being very relaxing. I even got to meditate under a waterfall. 

As if my travels were not done yet, the same weekend (this past weekend actually) I traveled to the Matsumoto region to visit one of the last kind: traditional Japanese wooden castles. Located in Nagano prefecture, west of Tokyo (about a 3 hour train ride), Matsumoto is a relatively small city, when compared to such greats as Tokyo or New York. 

Where did all the city go?

I will probably never get used to the transformation that Japan makes when you leave the urban sprawl of Tokyo, which is of course a great thing. Matsumoto  truthfully, reminds me a bit of my hometown in that is a small city with a nice collection of quiet suburbs surrounding it. Of course, my hometown doesn't hold cool festivals or have a castle in the center of it, but I digress. 

My superpower must be going to places when festivals happen.

The festival in town was a small one which some stands serving food, with some singing and dancing going around the area with what I assume was a Shinto temple. I was unable to get very close and following the Asakusa trip (and knowing I will see them everywhere in Kyoto and Nara this weekend), I had my fill of temples. It was Matsumoto Castle that I wanted to see.

Constructed more than 400 years ago, Matsumoto Castle is recognized as a national treasure by the Japanese government. One of the few left in the country, it is full of history and fully displays the genius of castle construction and offers some insight into siege and siege defense tactics employed in medieval warfare. Upon entering the castle, visitors must remove their shoes, place them in bags and walk on the (cold) wood floors that comprise the castle interior. Visitors are allowed to go through a guided tour, climb the six floors up to the top of the keep, and experience the history of the castle. The defense tactics including wide hallways, narrow staircases, holes to fire ranged weapons and drop hot oil and various towers are all there for display, as well as the weapons and armor of the time. It was a great experience for medieval nerds like myself who are in awe when they get to experience a tour of any castle or medieval structure. To say I was in heaven might be an overstatement. I was in heaven for the Gundam statue anyway.

Cold Soba. Only Once.

After the tour, I got some soba noodles and tempura, a dish that is supposedly famous in the area. While a good meal, I was bit disappointed. I suppose it was because I was expecting some warm/hot soba noodles and broth. A more desirable dish considering how drafting the castle was. After that, I wandered the area with my friends until we had to take another 3 hour train ride back home.

At least we made a friend.

See you next time when I try to summarize the three day Kansai trip in one blog.

Night Life in Japan

This was the inevitable entry in this blog, the one in which I talk about the Japanese enjoy their nights. Basically, the obligatory "party" entry. Being a large city, Tokyo has plenty of places to go to at night to drink, dance, club or wander. That is one of the perks of living here, however most of my experiences in nighttime Tokyo are centralized around two areas: Shibuya and Roppongi. And sadly, it has been the latter more than the former.

There is a large market for social gathering of the party variety in Japan. Walk around Shibuya long enough, you will see a number of clubs and bars with "love hotels" conveniently placed about a block away. Trust the excellent urban planning of Japan to develop that not so subtle suggestion. Also, Shibuya has some awesome names such as "The Red Room" and "The Womb." However, I am a college student on a budget and Shibuya is expensive, so I have been limited to Roppongi.

My fellow students and the staff at TUJ have warned many incoming study abroad students to avoid Roppongi as much as possible. This is primarily because Roppongi is notorious for bad things happening to foreigners, such as stolen property, spiked drinks, and other questionable criminal activities. However, despite all the warnings, Roppongi is still the go to party place to spend a Friday or Saturday night because of the sheer abundance of affordable places to spend your night.

To this day, I have went to Roppongi four times, which is about three times more than I intended. Roppongi is a hot spot with a very lively night life with locals and foreigners congesting the streets with aspirations of drinking and dancing. Sadly, I have no photographic evidence of this but that's because I don't trust Roppongi with my phone or my camera. Or my credit card. Or more than 5000 yen in my wallet. Okay, so I just don't trust Roppongi at all.

To be fair, Roppongi is vastly different than I expected. It's more popular and less "sketchy"with many more Japanese out and about. I was anticipating nothing but foreigners around my age who wanted to get completely drunk in Tokyo just to say they did. Well, apparently the Japanese like to party just as much as we do.

The Japanese tradition of partying is a bit different than the American way. Our parties build up slowly, hit a few peaks, and gradually clam down. The Japanese have a toast or a "kanpai!" an BAM! They party. It's a like a button they turn on and go crazy. And then just as quickly, the party can end when they need to catch the train home. That could be the last train at 12:30(ish) or the first train at 5am.

My first venture to Roppongi was, as briefly alluded to before, supposed to be my last. Going to a club called "Jumanji" for an affordable 2000 yen (a bit more than 20 dollars) for all you drink for four hours, the brief excursion was fun. You drink a few drinks, attempt to dance and chill out. No harm done. I even made a Japanese friend. As far as I am concerned, it was worth it.

And then I was invited to another trip to Roppongi. This time for a "Tokyo Pub/Bar Crawl." Run by one of my dormmates' bosses (he is working as an intern), this is basically a deal to check out about 4 bars/clubs for a flat fee which allows you to get into the place without paying its service/entrance charge and a "free" shot (you are paying the Pub Crawl people so it's more or less included). I was 50/50 on doing the whole bar crawl thing, but I was convinced by the irresistible charm of my friends. The crawl was pretty fun even though we were late, so we only got to go to 3 of the 4 bars/clubs. I only remember the name of two: Propaganda and Wall Street. I just love the Japanese names for things, even though I am pretty convinced both of those two are run by Americans. Oh well. Still cool names.

Oh, I also went to Roppongi for Halloween, dressed in a makeshift Mario costume much to the amusement of every Japanese person in the area. That was priceless, especially since I had a Luigi with me. I must have taken at least 10 pictures for Japanese people because they loved the dumb American in a Mario hat. It made my day worth it.

Nothing much to say here. Stay tuned for my blog on my trip to Odaiba, which will hopefully be written this weekend. Also, my thoughts go to all those who are experiencing problems with the fallout from Hurricane Sandy. I hope all those affected by it will preserve. We can do it New Jersey. We've had worse.

Catching up

I haven't wrote in this a while. In fact, I almost forgot I had a blog. Oops! So I will glaze over things so you all can catch up.

It's been about two weeks if I recall correctly and for the most part I have been stuck in midterm hell. It seems TUJ is more in sync when it comes to classes, so nearly every class slammed me with a midterm at the same time. It is moments like that make me miss my unorganized home university.

Ah the Blue Book of Death! My immortal enemy!

Most of my absence was because of my "Japan in Changing World" class, which if you all recall correctly is my political science course. I had the midterm, pictured above, a group project and an 8 page paper all due within about a week and half. Coupled together with 3 other midterms and I am a very stressed college student. Luckily, the midterm, group project and 8 page paper were all completed without much problem (or lost sleep) and I am confident the grades will reflect the work I put into it (which was a fair amount). So most of my grades are where I'd like them to be with me pulling Bs and low As for the most part. Considering I am in Japan and distracted by the sights and sounds, that isn't too bad. If I keep the work and try my best to stay up on top of things, I will do fine. At least I hope so.

On the lighter side, everything else has been pretty fun. My classes have required a few mandatory field trips to museums including the Tokyo National Museum and Nezu Museum. At first, I hated the idea of having to wake up early on a Saturday to go to a museum, but in hindsight both trips were not too bad. 

The Main Building of the Tokyo National Museum in Ueno.

The Tokyo National Museum stretches across several buildings in Ueno and is home to make designated "national treasures" of Japanese art, culture and history. Parts of it are owned by private collectors but housed in the museum facilities and other parts are owned by the government. This is a random fun fact but also sadly affects what you can photograph and cannot photograph. 

However, I managed to take a few pictures anyway and have uploaded some of my personal favorites above. The Tokyo National Museum organized many parts of their vast collection in different buildings but because of our studies we limited our tour to two buildings. The first building we went to collected many older pieces of art from pre- (recorded) history time periods (the Jomon and Yayoi periods of Japanese history). Also included were various pieces of Buddhist art, primarily statues. It was interesting but considering that class drowned me in Buddhist art, I can't bare to look at another Buddha  statue for a long time. 

The other building was far larger and had more variety thankfully. It had some older pieces of art such as haniwa (from the Kofun period) and some scrolls from the Heian and Nara periods. Additionally, it had some pieces from the more traditional and well known Medieval Era of Japanese history, which I uploaded above. That is what I consider art at least. At least it is more interesting to look at it. I made my way out of there soon after the tour ended and briefly checked out the rest of the exhibits. Many buildings were closed for renovations and remodeling so there was not much to see. Sadly, the building of Western Art was closed and I was curious what their collection had.

The following trip was to the smaller Nezu Museum. The Nezu was originally more private collection but has since become public and a whole new building was designed to house the art and emphasize the museum experience. While I cannot vouch for the effectiveness of the architecture in making the experience more emotional, I can say it was pretty to look at. 

The entrance way is quite amazing.

The Nezu Museum frowns upon picture taking so my library of poorly taken photographs is limited but the Nezu does have a photogenic traditional Japanese garden with tea houses and shrines. 

Forgive me father for I hav- Oh wait, wrong religion.

The walk through the garden was relaxing and definitely my favorite part of the Nezu Museum trip. The collection was very small and a bit disappointing considering the vast size of the Tokyo National Museum, however the Nezu had some great pieces including a long scroll that told some story that I forgot about. I couldn't exactly read it after all.

Following the journey to Nezu, I went down to the city of Yokohama which is about a 40 minute train ride from Tokyo to watch a baseball game. Now normally I am not a fan of baseball. I could watch it from time to time, but I never grew to admire the sport on the same level of hockey or basketball, my personal favorite sports. 

But wow! The Japanese make baseball fun! If I read my ticket right (which I probably didn't), the game took was a finals match or series or something, but it could easily have been just a playoff game or a regular game. I have no idea to be honest. However, what I do know is: my seats were great, the game was enjoyable and I bought a hat for the memories. This was easily the best baseball game I went to as the crowd was lively, the clashing of America's "favorite" pastime and the Japanese flair for reinventing things was on at full force but was truly amazing to see. Pitchers were driven to the plate! I have never seen that before. 

Oh and the cheerleaders were great too.

That is all I got for now. More to come next week. I promise this time. 

Mt. Fuji Chronicles

It's been a while since I wrote much of anything due to a number of things: no free time, a bit of writer's block and the occasional distraction here and there. Add that all together into the procrastination stew and you have a recipe for disaster. Above all, I thought that no one really wanted to read another obnoxious update about my classes.

But never fear! For I have a story to tell. A tale of adventure. A tale of epic proportions. But also a tale of suffering and tragedy. A tale I regret being one of the central characters of.

Hiding behind that smile is regret.

The tale of my adventure climbing Mt. Fucking Fuji.


Mt. Fuji is the most famous mountain in Japan, being the tallest, capable of being seen from Tokyo if the skies are clear and one looks hard enough. It stands at about 3,776 meters or 12,389 feet. This makes it a challenging climb, but one of the few one can do without any formal training, as once you go up another 300 meters it becomes too dangerous for an unprepared climber. The Mt. Fuji hike is a life changing experience but also a very arduous one which would explain why so few Japanese people actually commit to making the climb. It said that the Japanese only make the climb once in their lives, if they even bother at all. 

I was not the first of my fellow TUJ (Temple University Japan Campus) students to actually climb the mountain. Last Saturday another TUJ student (at least I believe it was) organized a large group stretching across several dormitories to climb Mt. Fuji to see the sunrise atop the summit. This meant leaving midday Saturday and coming back Sunday afternoon. I couldn't go because of a scheduled field trip for one of my classes (which will be covered in later blog) and at the time my excitement was...meager at best. However, after hearing about their exciting adventures and discovering that a few of my dorm mates were going to go the following weekend and follow the same game plan, I decided to tag along. 

"It is a once in a lifetime experience," I was told. 

Oh naive I was. Running on literally five and half hours because I decided to spend a bit too much time in Shibuya the night before, I ran out the door at noon this past Saturday with several layers of clothing, plenty of water and rations in my messenger bag and high hopes that climbing Mt. Fuji would be challenging but not physically impossible for someone like me. My party of adventurers was comprised of people from my dorm. I was lead by Hailey, who went out of her way to organize the "commute" to Fuji-san, and joined by her roommate Jenn, a man by name TJ, his roommate Brendan (not my classmate Brendan, but another Brendan) and a now excellent friend Kevin. With last minute preparations done on the way to the train station, we boarded a train to Shibuya and made our way to Shinjuku, home of the largest train station in the world and one of Tokyo's largest business districts. From there, we slowly made our way to the countryside of Japan.

 The countryside is a lot quieter. 

The rural parts of Japan are a lot different than Tokyo is. More houses, less traffic, smaller train stations, and generally nicer people were just a few of the things I saw from my not so comfortable seat on the train. It was refreshing to say the least, as honestly I needed to get out of the busy Tokyo area and get some fresh air in my lungs. This eye opening experience reminded me of a small tidbit a professor said that Japan does a complete 180 if you leave Tokyo. It almost resembles a developing country and hearkens back to the days of old. Okay, maybe I am getting a little dramatic there. 

Fuji-san? Is that you?

Three train rides later, we were only a short bus ride away from Mt. Fuji. We wasted some time in the small little town that formed around the base of Fuji until we caught the last bus that brought us the "Fifth Station Bus Stop" that was the popular gathering point for aspiring climbers. The bus ride added another 30 minutes to an already long journey there. Since the bus was around 5 pm, we arrived at Mt. Fuji around 5:30. Since we were told the climb would take anywhere from 6 to 8 hours, we had plenty of time to kill as Hailey told us the sunrise was not until 5:30 am. We figured we didn't have to start climbing till maybe 10 or 11. Plenty of time to get some food, take a nap and get ready for the climb right?

Where did the mountain go?

Some view of the way down, eh?

Well, not exactly. Unbeknownst to us, everything kind of closes at 6 pm. This includes the restaurants, gift shops and basically everything else at the station stop the bus dropped us off at. This, of course, threw a giant wrench into our plans, since suddenly we had 5 hours to do basically nothing. So we wandered around the station to find somewhere to sit, talk, and waste some time. Luckily, a fantastic site was around to catch our attention for a few moments.

Pretty temple~!

In the vicinity was a classic Shinto style Temple. Sadly, if you can tell...it suddenly began to rain on us while we waited, making the sky pitch black dampening our experience a fair a bit. Catch the lame pun? I hope you did. The fact of the matter was: it rained on us pretty badly and we were forced to almost literally huddled under an observation deck until our hopes would make the rain go away. 

About 2 hours later, we decided to give up on the whole "waiting" plan and begin to scale Mt. Fuji. We were cold, bored and impatient. At the time climbing seemed to be the best waste of time we could think of and worst case scenario, we could take our time climbing Mt. Fuji instead of rushing at one point and getting hurt. We packed our bags and tried to make sure everything that could get damaged was safe and that we were mentally and physically prepared. We officially started our climb at 7:30 pm, walking through a nearly pitch black dirt path towards the primary mountain path. This wasn't too bad, as despite the darkness and the occasional rain drops, we were able to joke around and enjoy a nice easy walk. 

After a little less than 30 minutes of leisurely walking, we reached the main path and my first hiking experience began. Now for those who never hiked up a mountain before allow me to give a basic crash course on how this works, at least from my own experience. You do not walk straight up mountain, since it is almost physically impossible. You walk up "switchbacks" which are basically paths that go up a mountain diagonally at various degrees. Some are gentle, others are not. It is generally random, though the trend is that they get steeper as you get higher. At the base, the switchbacks we first encounter were not too bad, though they were a bit harder than I anticipated. TJ slipped up early as we got lost in the darkness, struggling to find the beginning path. His leg got pretty slashed up because of ash and rocks, but Hailey was prepared with some band aids, so we administered very basic first aid and pressed on. 

A few signs later, we were able to plan out what would be our ideal route. There were to be two routes up Mt. Fuji. A shorter but more difficult route and a longer but easier one. With all the time we had, the easy route seemed to be the more viable option. After all, why exert ourselves? Well, the spirits of Mt. Fuji had different plans for us. It was to be that we were to climb the harder route. Oh well, that wasn't going to be a big deal. Our group was athletic. We would press on, but pace ourselves to make sure we would make it to the top. 

We scaled several switchbacks, occasionally taking breaks to catch our breath, drink some water, have a snack or adjust our layers after a certain number of switchbacks or at checkpoints that are spread out along the trail. While fatigue did not settle in till later, the switching of layers was certainly annoying. Beginning my climb with a heavy coat and sweatshirt on, it didn't take long for me to revert to a simple t-shirt at one point because I was getting too hot. My better judgement (along with some colder air) settled in soon enough and I found myself bundling up in several layers. I get sick way too easily so I came to terms with being uncomfortably hot part of the way, knowing I would be uncomfortably cold soon enough. 

The lack of dinner and nourishment was slowly catching up with us and we wanted to stop to rest up for the next leg of the adventure. However, with no where to hide from the elements, eating some of our rations outdoors was not a desirable option. A few climbers that were scaling down told us we had a while to go before reaching the sixth or seventh station (they were not clearly numbered mind you since the Japanese do not believe in sign maintenance) which did nothing but batter our declining morale. Disheartened, our group did not lost all faith and continued on, hoping that the station was closer than our antagonists made it out to be. Soon enough, we did arrive at a station after climbing several more switchbacks and overcoming some rocky segments that were not easy to climb. 

The station was a fairly small house with large sitting room and a few back rooms hidden from immediate view. It was warm and a pleasure to sit as our bodies slowly defrosted. Our grimaces of pain were replaced with serene smiles as we filled our bellies with food and water. Most of us were careful with our rations knowing we had a tall order of climbing before us. But lingering in the shadows was a bearer of grim tidings. Buried beneath layers of quilted blankets was an elderly man attempting to sleep. We clearly disturbed him as he lied in a sake induced stupor, yelling an incoherent mix of Japanese and English. We ignored him for the most part, making bold assumptions of his vain attempts to communicate with us. Eventually, his message was clear. The station...was closed. And we had to leave. The warmth was nothing more than a tease. A taste of something we would not experience for some time. You see, in our infinite wisdom, we decided to climb Mt. Fuji during the offseason as the climbing season officially ends sometime in August. So in the offseason a minimal number of stations are left open until it is deemed that Mt. Fuji is too dangerous to climb.

Kicked out into the elements again, we had muster courage and strength that becoming even harder to tap in our weakened states. Finishing up our preparations to complete the next leg of journey had to be quick since the frigid air coupled with even the slightest gust made it hard to think. But then we thought it couldn't get any harder...Mt. Fuji found a way. 

Rocks. Lots of rocks.

Now, normally I wouldn't complain climbing rocks. It's hard, sure, and I am not particularly good at it but at least these were big rocks on a relatively gentle slope. That makes it somewhat easier. Until you remember a tiny detail.

What a beautiful view of nothing!

It was pitch black. The picture above should give you a good idea of dark it really was. Mind you that was taken at around 7:30 with flash from my camera. It was around 9:30 or so when we got to the real rock climbing part. Now imagine trying to climb big, sharp, dangerous rocks on an incline in this darkness with your crappy flashlights provide meager amounts of light that can barely illuminate your house in the daytime. These rocks were not easy to climb at all, with the darkness only adding to the problem. The air was gradually getting thinner and it only took a matter of time before I was suffering from altitude sickness. The fact I was stupid enough to bring a messenger bag (instead of a real backpack) was weighing own on my shoulder, slowly making my back hurt. Add that to every set of rocks we climbed, the cold heart of Mt. Fuji made the air all the more merciless and the wind even stronger. Breaks became more frequent and hearts were filled with doubt. Every rest stop was met with glee as we attempted to find hope in these dark times. 

It was not until 2 hours later that we caught our second wind. A brief phone call with Danny, another one of our dorm-mates, and a conversation with a pair of climbers hailing from New Hampshire and Greece distracted us from the pain the mountain inflicted upon us. We realized we were closer to the top than we realized and that we could actually do it. Coupled with our discovery of cuddle puddles that really did warm us (meaning we found a viable weapon against the cold) and the novelty of snow on this accursed mountain (who doesn't love snow?) and suddenly Mt. Fuji didn't seem that bad. 

Oh sorry, I was being painfully naive again. The snow was clearly an omen; an ill sign of things to come. We scaled the mountain for another 90 minutes or so, fighting through some steep switchbacks, minor rock walls and some precarious edges until we reached what we believed was the eighth station. We met up with several groups from all corners of the globe. We bonded over the trials we faced and how close to the top we really were. While the eighth station was indeed open, we were not allowed inside...unless you paid the steep price of 5,500 yen (well over 60 dollars) to rest. While the idea was certainly enticing and a few of us nearly cracked under the pressure, we were able to resist the allure. Instead we warmed our bodies with instant ramen, hot chocolate and more cuddle puddles. For nearly three hours. The shopkeepers did not like our persistence to stay, attempting to kick us out of our small temporary home but kindness eventually entered their shrunken hearts.

Why three hours you ask? Well, the answer would be quite clear if you were there. One reason was that we were a bit ahead of schedule. It was about one in the morning we had arrived and sunrise was not for another four and a half hours. Roughly speaking, we had about another 2 hours of slow climbing ahead of us. Waiting at the top would of been colder and potentially worse in terms of the conditions we faced. However, the more persuasive of the arguments was with the cold rain that coated our bodies with an icy sting that forced to huddle under an awning. Realizing the majority of clothing was far from water resistant, we counted our blessings hoping the rain would at least weaken before we pushed on.

It was this point we had realized how ill prepared we were and how much we truly underestimated Mt. Fuji. But we had a rallying call: We wanted to get the top. And that was our goal. A crowning achievement of our lives was to be reached. We couldn't back down.

Okay, so we weren't that romantic in thought. It was practicality that truly governed us. Going down in pitch blacknesses would be ill-advised and potentially life threatening. Going up had the prospect of going down a significantly easier path, even if the conditions continued to be daunting. We had to get to the top to go back down. Difficult? Yes, but it had to be done.

Brendan made a shocking discovery that filled our hearts with hope, allowing us to catch a third wind, if you will allow us a term: raincoats. The eighth station sold raincoats! Huzzah! For an affordable 1,500 yen (about 20 dollars), we were able to buy a set of rain clothes including a coat, pants, and a hood. With an layer to add to our growing collections, our party of hopeful adventurers were saved. We  got warmer and stayed dry...well as dry as we could considering the monsoon we were trekking through.

Joining up with the others that called the eighth station their home, we set forth on the last leg of the quest, with the summit nearly in sight. But Mt. Fuji had other plans. Nefarious plans. It didn't want us to make it the to the top clearly. Those kids from last week must of put him in a bad mood as the rain turned to sleet/hail and lastly into snow as we journeyed forth. The thin air made it hard to breathe and everyone was feeling the effects. I could only move in brief bursts, like a sprinter. Jenn was feeling nauseous, while Hailey was shivering constantly not adjusting to the cold. Brandon had a terrible headache. Kevin and TJ were just miserable, trying to keep everyone's spirits up to no avail. Luckily, it was nothing but switchbacks at this point, but they were steep and not easy to climb when you were already cold and exhausted.

While the others we left with just forced themselves up to the summit like Olympic athletes, we were left behind with a few stranglers. A young man from Denmark joined us, though he made the strange decision to climb in a business suit, along with an underdressed woman from France who dealt with the cold about as well as anyone else. United with them, we tried our best to deal with everything, working together, feeding off the energy of others. We were so close, yet so far. But hope was there, despite as hard it was to come by.

The top was still hiding behind the thick clouds of snow, making every time I looked up all the more dismal. Snow continued to pelt me in the face and my legs screamed in agony with every step. But nothing was as damaging as the brief conversation we had with a single man who was making his way down.

"The easy path is closed," he says to us.

With that, our mouths dropped. Our eyes stared blankly into space. Our hearts sunk. Our hopes and dreams were crushed into dust. I looked at the others with us to see nothing but disbelief in the eyes of my friends. The French girl with us fell to her knees and cried in disbelief. Not 30 minutes away from the top and our willpower was literally sapped from us. Our main reason...no, the only reason to climb the mountain was gone.

With a sigh of disappointment, we turned back after only a brief debate. The clouds make the sunrise impossible to see regardless. And we saw everything we wanted to see anyway. At least I did. We weighed our options as well, with many of us sharing the united the idea that it was not worth it. Climbing the mountain any further was too dangerous and too exhausting. If anything bad did occur, there was no guarantee that anyone could help anyone in their current conditions.

The way down was not easy, but we scaled down with a renewed sense of purpose. Everyone told themselves, "I just want to get off this damn mountain." The increasing amount of sunlight made it easier to see and kept us warm, but the rain continued all the way down nullifying the gentle rays that peered through the clouds. Switchbacks made our legs sing in pain and the rock paths forced us to become master gymnasts as they tested our agility. The rain became heavier with every step and all of us were soaked from head to toe. My shoes, now waterlogged, were salivating with every step. Every moment was uncomfortable was we retraced our steps. We minimized our rests to as few as possible, anger replacing our anxiety. A few breaks were pleasant and distracted me from the pain of the journey. I even got to take a photo of a hopeful group of adventurers. Despite the rude welcome from the workers at the stations, the Japanese couples that climbed up the mountain were far more inviting greeting us with smiles and "good mornings."

With fatigue weighing down our sense of judgement, we depended on a guidance on a stranger we met near the top of Mt. Fuji. Lead down the path, it seemed for a time that we were going the right way. Until we went through a forest. Wait, a forest? That wasn't familiar. Okay, moving on. Wait, the forest is getting thicker. This doesn't look good. Am I climbing down the whole mountain? I better not be!

Basically our "guide" was leading us down to the wrong fifth station after we mentioned we wanted to go there. At least this is what we first thought until Brendan proposed the genius theory that our guide just wanted to show off his Japanese girlfriend to us. So while, we were so out of the way at the very least she escorted us back to the station we wanted to go to in the first place.

But this added ANOTHER 30 MINUTES of walking. This was the last thing I wanted. My rage broke at this point and I cursed with every step. I was an inch away from tossing innocent bystanders over a cliff, before offering myself to Mt. Fuji. Kevin lost his mind around this time as well, simply laughing at our collective miseries. We reached the bus after hours of agony, removing the soaked layers of clothing as we made our way home. Many of us lost valuables due to water damage, including cell phones and cameras. Luckily the karma gained by suffering resulted in nothing but express trains on our home.

Hey! Look! My camera works!

As a team, we arrived home safe and sound, most of us fell asleep almost immediately. Reflecting on our journey, many of us share mixed feelings of accomplishment and regret. Personally, I am satisfied with myself and proud to say that I made it inches away from the summit. I do regret nearly wasting two days on this journey and all the pain I am feeling now as far my muscles are concerned, but I did do something that few people do.

Fun casualties of the adventure:
-> Kevin's camera
-> Roughly estimating...3 phones
-> Brendan's wallet
-> TJ's leg
-> My patience
-> Hours of sleep
-> Copious amounts of yen
-> Anyone's love for rain, snow and wind
-> Anyone's love for rocks, mountains and hiking
-> Many hopes and dreams