I am currently in Bunkyo Tokyo Japan right now at Bunkyo Gakuin University. This study abroad program will be about 4 months long. This is my first blog ever so we'll see how it goes. I will try to at least do an update once a week for my time here in Japan. I promise no long blogs so bare with me! >.< Oh and there probably might be short videos here and there!
So the third day was given to us to do whatever we wanted. So, some of us made our way to Kyoto Studio Park where old time movies and Samurai were. And the cool part was, that they actually have shootings! Which was awesome to see it live! And then we also wanted to go to Osaka which was near Kyoto, about an hour away by train. Osaka is famous for its kanai food. I'm so glad I went because I got the chance to learn that they speak a little different from the average Tokyo resident.
A set they were shooting. They wouldn't let us take pictures, but, I got one anyway. ^ ^
And we weren't allow to talk.
A woman who let us take picture with her.
His make up is sooo cool! And he has an awesome voice. He could laugh. The evil villain.
There was a small anime place there too. Haha
My drawing on the left. This was a stencil.
Who remembers these? DoReMi? Always watched it on Saturday morning show.
OSAKA!
They have lots of Host clubs -.^. Very dangerous though because they are bad boys according to Miki.
On the second day, we were scheduled to visit 3 temples. First temple was Kiyomizu temple. Second one was Ginkakuju (silver) temple and then third Kinkakuju temple. The last place we went to was Nizaemon no yu, a bath house.
I forgot to take a picture of our room the day before. This is
where we slept. Yao and Pisenny were my roomies.
Kiyomizu Temple:
Ticket
Our tour guide was awesome! He was so cool. He even
brought and MADE small models of the pagodas and explained them to us.
I learned quite a lot about Japan that I did not know of after this trip.
That big tower is where our hotel is at!
Ginkakuji Temple:
Kinkakuji Temple
This is a bonzai pine tree!
Nizaemon no yu (a bath house)
Of course, no pictures. But I would have to say, it was an interesting experience for me because it was my first time. As an American, it was a big shocker for me and I thought I would not be able to enter the hot springs because it does require you to take ALL your clothes off. But because I am in Japan for the experience, why not right? Most, and I mean it, hot springs/bath houses are separated base on gender. So no worries! One major thing I did learn from this is that it is a beautiful part of the Japanese culture. In every day life, the Japanese seem to be very modest, shy and reserve about things they do. That's why I'm glad they have something like onsen (hot spring) where they don't need to worry about how their body looks. And there you'll find very young to elderly people if you ever go. It may feel weird at first, but once you're in there, stripped down, it is a very normal thing and it will feel so natural (well, at least for me).
The typical rules for taking a bath/entering hot spring in Japan. (Info taken from www.atamiseaside.com/en/pages/hotspring.html)
Taking the bath in Japanese style is simple! Bring with you the small towel and bath towel that will be provided in the guest room. Undress in the dressing room and place your clothes in the basket/shelf provided. Then enter the bathing area with the small towel.
You are only to go inside the bath tub after you washed your body first (using the small towel) in the washing/shower area next to the bathing tubs. Since people rinse their bodies in hot spring tubs, washing beforehand using shower and soap helps keep the water in the bath tub clean. The rinsing and washing of your body with hot water also acclimatizes you to the actual temperature of the bath tubs. Also, do not jump into the water like diving into a swimming pool.
Please do not put the small towel into the bath tub water. The towel is mainly for washing your body. Most people place the towel on their head. And remember not to use any soap or shampoo or other skin cleansers in the bath tubs.
So right after our graduation, there was a final trip at the end of the Study Abroad. Thanks to Kate, she set all this up and were even able to save money. So we got money back from the program! Well we left on the 15th of Saturday morning. This trip was bound for Kyoto and Hiroshima, a 4 nights 5 days trip. Between, we got the chance to visit other near by places like Osaka and Nara. Overall it was a wonderful experience although none of the BGU students were there.
DAY 1: 12/15/12
Kyoto -
Going to Kyoto is suppose to take 8 hours by bus. My group took the shinkasen instead which was about 2 hours. For those who don't know, the shinkasen is a bullet train. It's as fast as an airplane. I think an airplane is faster though. We rode on the Nozomi Shinkasen. Below is a clip of it. Phong got in trouble for crossing the yellow line. LOL.
Our hotel (above) was called Kyoto Tower Hotel. I think its the tallest building structure in Kyoto. They weren't really allowed to build extremely tall buildings.
When we got to out hotel, we had a whole free day to do whatever we wanted to. So, Kia, Pisenny, Song, Yao, Maya and I went to NARA! It was about an hour away from Kyoto by train. Nara has a lot of temples as well as deers. Wile ones too! It was such an interesting experience because I was so afraid it might attack. As you watch the video below, you can tell those deers are friendly and it must be a normal thing for them because they are literally, standing in the middle of the sidewalk. They're waiting for someone to feed them. Explains right?
On the train ride to Nara, Maya fell asleep on me. >.<
Kia, Pisenny, Song in the Yellow way over there, Maya
They had a community gathering for an even I don't even know. But we for to try this delicious soup.
Me and Yao
NHK was shooting this event too. Heehe, I suggested that we should throw our trash away and walk behind the girl who was being filmed. We did and so we're on TV!
Haha, I zoomed in to show you guys proof!
So for the rest of Nara, we just visited more temples and fed deers. They were so cute!
I have only a couple of more days left in Japan. It has been such a great journey. I received my Bunkyo Gakuin University Multi-Lateral Exchange Program Diploma just yesterday. It's so sad because part of me does not want to leave Japan, yet I know there's so much more for me to learn outside of Japan. Realizing that if I never come back to Japan, I will not be able to see any of the BGU friends I have made here ever again! That made me cry and I didn't think I would. Someone who has given you so much care, to leave them with a possibility of never being able to see them again is a very sad thing! They have been so kind and really gave my Study Abroad group and I the utmost care and sincerity. I believe all of us will always remember them for their awesomeness.
President Nobuo Kawabe. Such a funny guy.
Special thanks to this guy! Tatsuya Ogiue. He has been there for every one of us in this Student Exchange Program. None of us can disagree with that. (He will be my representative for the BGU guys here >.<)
Special thanks to Kana Shimada too! Love this girl. She has also been one of the biggest helper to all of us. Specifically for me, Kana helped me with going to her dentist and taking care of my wisdom teeth since I got the bottom two taken out. I know, I never mentioned it on my blog. (Kana will be the representative of the gals because they've all have been so great. >.<)
I also want to thank Jeff and Kate (Jeff's wife). Both of them has done a great job planning and taking care of us -.^. I think because of their flexibility with us, we were able to have just as much fun as we did. We even saved money from the trip, lots! They're the core of this trip. ;)
