Monthly Archives: May 2019

Exploring Tokyo

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By: Kayla Folts

It’s currently the second week of our stay in Japan and I can’t believe that our time here has flown by so fast!  After all of our exciting travels around Kyoto and Hiroshima, it’s great to be back at our home base in Tokyo near Meiji University. In addition to guest lectures by the Meiji University Professors, or Sensei, and doing research for all of our respective projects, sightseeing in such a vibrant city with my classmates is definitely a highlight of this trip. With so many different neighborhoods in Tokyo, there’s never a dull moment.

One of my favorite places that I have visited so far in Tokyo was Shibuya. The Meiji students unanimously agreed that this was their favorite area that was a “must see” when visiting Tokyo. Many of the students remarked that Shibuya has everything you could ask for and it is a great place to shop. Not only that but, upon doing some research before visiting, Shibuya is home to Shibuya crossing or “scramble”, which is the busiest intersection in the world and has been equated to be the Japanese “Times Square.”

On the first full day that we were in Tokyo, a group of my classmates and I decided to go visit Shibuya and tackle the daunting task of taking the Japanese metro system there. Because the metro is such a popular form of transportation, getting through the crowds and figuring out which line to get on when I don’t speak Japanese seemed like an impossible task but, luckily, we got to Shibuya without getting lost in Tokyo. Thankfully my classmates’ sense of direction is better than mine.

When we came out of the subway, we popped up right at the Shibuya crossing and I was immediately impressed and overwhelmed by all of the billboards and people concentrated in that one area. As we traveled around to different sections in Shibuya, the place was buzzing with people from all over the world shopping and taking in the culture. One of the shops by the scramble is 7 stories high and only sells Japanese brands. In addition to this, there were a lot of international brands that were familiar.

Shibuya Crossing

Harajuku is a section of Shibuya that is so large and has so many things to do that we decided to spend the entire next day and explore that area. This neighborhood is known for its young energy, street art, and fashion. Everywhere we looked, there were upcycled vintage stores and young Japanese people enjoying the atmosphere and shopping. A common theme in a lot of the stores was to have Lakers shirts and jerseys. Even in Japan, there is a little taste of home.

Harajuku at night

Throughout all of my travels through Tokyo, my research partner Momo and I have been trying all of the matcha tea and sweets we can find. Our project is a socioeconomic analysis of matcha’s globalization, so while going around and interviewing people for our project, we get to enjoy some tasty treats. I can’t wait to continue to explore the city for the next week and a half!

Our Second Day in Kyoto

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By: Madeline Clasen

On our last day in Kyoto, we all woke up to eat breakfast and check out of our hotel. Then we were off to explore the offerings of the city. My research project partner, Athena, and I decided to check out Gion, the geisha district in Kyoto. We were hopeful that we might spot a few maiko, or geisha apprentices while there. Sadly, we didn’t see any geisha or maiko, but we did see a lot of people wearing yukata, a lighter cotton version of kimono worn in the summertime.

Gion is a neighborhood with many narrow twisting streets and traditional wooden houses and buildings. While there we visited various craft and souvenir shops and also stopped for some green tea flavored ice cream. It was also very hot outside so I stopped in one of the shops specializing in Japanese paper fans. With the weather as hot as it’s been these past few days, I think it will definitely come in handy.

One of the popular streets in Gion

We also visited the nearby Yasaka Shrine and took a walk in Marayuma park. We also hiked up to a Buddhist temple, where we took our shoes off outside before going in to take a look at the temple’s statues. In the park, we saw some koi fish swimming in the pond, and some beautiful traditional bridges and architecture.

The main gate to Yasaka Shrine

On the way back towards the station we were delighted by the roadside Buddhist statues and alters. Nearby signs instruct visitors to touch the statues for good luck and merit. We made sure to touch the ones we passed by. Hopefully we accumulated a lot of luck and merit to help us with our project here in Japan.

Instructions for touching roadside statues

One of the roadside statues near Gion

After a long day of walking through Gion and visiting shrines and temples, we hopped on the train and headed back to Kyoto station to catch our Shinkansen, or bullet train, back to Tokyo. The train travels at speeds close to 320 mph, meaning the trip that would take more than 5 hours by car, takes less than three hours by train.

Before getting on, we stopped in a shop in the station to buy an ekiben, a pre-made bento box available on trains and in train stations in Japan. There were lots of options to choose from and often times train stations sell bentos with regional ingredients or foods specific to the area. I decided on a Kansai region bento box, with lots of different types of vegetable side dishes.

Opening the bento to eat on the train

After our train ride back to Tokyo station, we all rode back to Sakura hotel and checked back in for some rest and relaxation before we start back to class at Meiji University on Monday morning. Kyoto was a wonderful experience jam packed with exciting things to do, see, and eat. I definitely hope to return to Kyoto in the future.

Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum

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By: Jessica Idenoshita 

Upon our return from Miyajima Island, we visited the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum. On our way to the museum, we walked through the Heiwa Koen (Peace Memorial Park) where we saw the Atomic Bomb Dome. The Genbaku Dome or Atomic Bomb Dome, which used to be the Hiroshima Prefectural Industrial Promotion Hall, was the only building near the hypocenter of the atomic bomb blast left standing. While walking past the Genbaku Dome, we were greeted by several Japanese high school students who were collecting signatures to prevent the use of nuclear weapons so that there are “No More Hiroshimas.” It was my first time signing a petition in a foreign country and I’m glad that I got to help the local students who are advocating for a more peaceful future so that such a devastating tragedy never happens again.

Genbaku Dome at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park

Another memorial within the park

Once inside the museum, the exhibits graphically illustrated Hiroshima city before and after the bomb, along with personal stories of the victims and families in great detail. Every piece of artifact on display, from pieces of clothing and name tags, belonged to many young innocent civilians whose family members were also heartbreakingly affected by the bomb. Although this was not my first time visiting the Peace Memorial Museum, it was still such a powerful and moving experience seeing all the artwork, photographs, and reading the detailed accounts of the disastrous aftermath. The accounts that illustrated how the victims asked those who came to help for water because of their severe burns, made me feel emotional because they were similar to the story my 80-year-old grandpa told me, who is also a hibakusha (survivor affected by one of the atomic bombs dropped on Japan) since he entered the hypocenter to aid civilians and lives in Hiroshima to this day.

Exhibit of everyday items in the hypocenter when the bomb was dropped

Towards the end of the exhibit hall, there was a display of tiny origami cranes made by Sadako Sasaki, a twelve-year-old who passed away from leukemia due to the effects of the radiation from the bomb. Sadako folded one thousand cranes hoping that her wish for getting better would come true. Seeing such intricate and beautiful cranes that Sadako folded throughout her life despite pain, the paper cranes will forever symbolize courage to me. It was touching to learn that when Sadako was in sixth grade, her classmates founded the Unity Club to visit Sadako in the hospital and started the Thousand Cranes Movement, which eventually helped create the Children’s Peace Monument that we visited during our walk through the Peace Memorial Park. Even after more than 60 years following her death, Sadako’s classmates wanted to keep their kindhearted classmate’s story alive so that people would know of her strength throughout her short life and how such a devastating event can never occur again.

Paper cranes folded by Sadako exhibit

I am very glad we got to visit the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum because it is important and valuable to know of the tragic history and stories of the victims of the atomic bomb that took the lives of more than 100,000 people. I was able to get a much greater and deeper understanding of the impacts of what happened the morning of August 6th, 1945 that textbooks cannot fully convey.

Miyajima Island

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By: Keith Leach

What’s popping y’all? My name is Keith Leach, I’m a rising senior studying Communications and I’m currently in Japan (yay!). But you’re not reading this to learn more about me (although you really should be—I’m extremely interesting), you’re reading this to learn more about the trip and what we’re doing out here! So without further ado, here’s my account of our day at Miyajima Island.

View of Miyajima from the boat.

When traveling to Miyajima, you have to take a ferry from the coast of Hiroshima on the mainland to get to the island. Once we were on the ferry, the rest of the cohort and I were absolutely floored with how beautiful the mountains looked. It was an extremely sunny and clear day, so everything looked amazing.

 

Deer walking across the island.

 

The boat ride lasted about 10 minutes. And as soon as we got off, we saw the islands main attraction—the deer. Miyajima is inhabited with what seemed like thousands of the most adorable and unbothered deer in the world. They roamed freely and pursued anyone who had any type of food. They were nice enough to be touched and petted, but one of them did buck a little bit at my friend Joe when he tried to take a picture. As we continued up the dirt road towards the “real” main attraction of the island, the Shrine, we passed a multitude of shops until we finally got to its gate. The gate was actually in the middle of the water, but conveniently had a little area where we could snap pictures in front of it without getting wet.

View of the shrine.

Finally, we were able to trudge up to the gorgeous (and thankfully shady) shrine, where we were directed to throw a coin and say a little prayer. Beforehand though, we had to perform a cleansing ritual: pour water over your left hand, then your right, pour some more into your left palm to swish it in your mouth, and lastly, hold the ladle upright to wash the rest of the water over the handle. There was a similar ritual we had to perform for the prayer: toss a coin into the trough, bow twice, clap twice, pray, then bow a final time to finish. All of these rituals may sound like a bit too much, but I personally loved them. The Shinto shrines we’ve been visiting in Japan are so rich in history you can almost feel the years coursing through your feet with every step. Entering each shrine and observing the masterful architecture makes you want to be respectful towards every ritual that’s sacred to the people who built it—for them and for the spirits.

View of the streets behind the shrine.

After we finished walking through the shrine, we had lunch at this amazing okonomiyaki (a Japanese pancake) restaurant. The portion was honestly huge, which we all needed after a long and eventful afternoon walking everywhere. Finally, we had a little bit of time to kill before leaving the island, so we walked through the streets around the shrines and picked up some souvenirs and drinks—a satisfying end to an amazing afternoon on Miyajima.

Dreaming in Kyoto

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By: Joseph Narcisse

On the morning of Friday, May 25th, each member of the group grabbed a few slices of toast and a cup of coffee and were on their way to Tokyo Station. It would be our first time riding the Shinkansen (Bullet Train). Once all boarded, we placed our bags above our reserved seats and embarked on a 2-hour train ride, zooming by famous peaks like Mount Fuji on the way.

After a quick ride that consisted of binge-watching TV shows, reading, and sleeping, we finally arrived at Kyoto Station! It was by far one of the most amazing train stations I have ever been to. The station was filled with up-to-date technology, modern architecture and held a dozen train tracks as well as hundreds of shops and restaurants.

Kyoto Station

After dropping our luggage off at Ibis Styles Kyoto Station (the hotel where we would be staying for the next two days), we headed right back across the street to Kyoto Station to grab lunch. The group split in two and aimlessly wandered around to find a restaurant. The group of 6 that I was with found Katsukura, a Japanese restaurant, and I ordered a plate of Tonkatsu.

Next, we went upstairs to the train tracks headed over to Fushimi Inari Taisha, commonly known as the Fushimi Shrine. This shrine sits at the base of a Mount Inari, and consists of a magical, seemingly unending path of over 5000 orange torii gates that wind up the mountain. I bowed before entering under the first torii gate – it is said that walking underneath them brings good luck! We then washed our hands at a chōzubachi, and water-filled basin just past the entrance of the shrine area. Worshippers are supposed to wash their left hand, then right, then mouth, and lastly the handle of the water ladle to purify themselves. Next, we began the hike up Mount Inari!

GEA Japan Scholars posting beneath the torii gates.

It typically takes about 2 hours to make it to the top of the shrine, but just a hair over 3 hours if you take as many Instagram photos as we did. We passed what felt like an infinite amount of torii gates, both large and small, and hundreds of mini-shrines where we would ring bells signifying good luck, pray, and leave written pieces of our goals and wishes on small pieces of wood. At one of these shrines, we followed a ritual where we tossed a 5 yen coin (approximately a US nickel), into a barred area followed by two bows, a prayer or wish, and one final bow. At another, we estimated the weight of a stone before lifting it off of a pedestal, and if the stone was lighter than we predicted, the wish we made before was believed to come true.

We then headed back down to the base of the mountain and stopped by a food marketplace on our way. I tried matcha ice cream for the first time and grabbed a half-vanilla half-matcha desert that was fantastic. Afterward, we caught the bullet train back to Kyoto and got ready for dinner.

Vanilla & Matcha Ice Cream

For dinner, a group of us walked roughly a mile from the hotel to Sujin Shinmachi, a food-marketplace that was brimming with life. Everybody got an entirely different dish; the plates ranged from cooked sausage and rice to kushiage (vegetable skewers). I bought a bowl of sweet chicken with noodles and had a ginger-ale on the side. To finish up the night, we sat and talked for a few hours, then head back to the hotel to get ready for the morning.

My dinner at Sujin Shinmachi: sweet chicken with noodles and a ginger-ale on the side.

Making New Friends at Meiji!

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By: Krystal Gallegos

Today was a really fun day as it was our first time getting to explore more of the area around Tokyo and meet some of our project group members from Meiji University. A portion of us started the morning exploring the area and we went to Kitanomaru Park as a quick wandering session before heading out to Meiji University. The park had really beautiful views and a calming vibe that I’m sure we all appreciated considering all of the traveling and metro hopping. I came prepared with my camera to help document the trip and I will be sharing photos as we moved along the day. Here are some photos from the day!

On our first day, we took a stroll through Kitanomaru Park after breakfast.

Thomas and Kenny enter Kitanomaru Park on our first day exploring Tokyo.

After exploring the Kitanomaru Park, we met Professor Katada at the Sakura Hotel and made our way together to Meiji University. At Meiji University, we had an upfront experience to university life in Japan through meeting the students and exploring the building. Personally, I couldn’t help but notice the architecture of the building and I was very impressed by the multiple floors, elevator, and studious facilities that Meiji has. After attending a brief lecture with Professor Katada, where we gave previews to our personal research groups, we attended a reception with members of Meiji’s Politics and Economics Department and some of our supporter students. Finally being able to meet some of the students was a really fun experience. They were all incredibly approachable and made an active effort to speak with us, and I feel that our group did a great job in establishing connections with them. More photos!

Tamia and a Meiji student pose for a quick photo op, quickly striking up a friendship.

Jessica and Taryn with their Meiji student supporters.

USC Professor Saori Katada with the Meiji University faculty.

USC student Kayla speaks to a Meiji student at our Welcome Reception.

Madeline and Athena speak to a Meiji student supporter at the Welcome Reception.

USC students (left to right) Keith, Thomas, Asha, Jessica, and Kenny pose for a quick photo with Meiji University students at our Welcome Reception.

During the reception, we found some of the members from our groups and exchanged contact information. Some of us added each other on LINE, the main Japanese messaging app, and on other apps like Instagram and Facebook. For example, Shon and I added one of our supporter students on LINE who goes by the name Arachan 🙂 It was very easygoing and comfortable meeting the Meiji students. I think I was a bit afraid of trying my Japanese skills with them but they were all very nice and willing to help me practice. After the reception, we received a warm welcome by some of the staff at Meiji including Professor Nelson and received orientation materials for the rest of our stay. Once orientation finished, we made our way back to our hotel with one of the Meiji students, Tatsuya. Here he is with Jessica as we made a quick stop at McDonald’s!

Jessica (left) and Tatsuki (right), a Meiji student supporter, speak about potential lunch food spots after our first day at Meiji.

And that was the end to our first visit to Meiji and the jump-start to our Maymester in Japan! I am incredibly excited to meet more of the Meiji students and explore Japan more in the next few weeks. Looking forward to all the cool stuff we’ll do such as taking some more photos and making new friends throughout the trip! Here’s a nice photo I took of Jessica as we walked back to our hotel 🙂

Jessica makes her way back to Sakura Hotel as we end our first meeting with the Meiji University students.

Overall, thank you Meiji for a great first day!

 

Arriving at Narita and Checking Into Sakura Hotel

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By: Alexander Maertens

We started off the day on a plane. As we approached Narita airport in Tokyo, it was raining and a thick fog obscured our vision so we did not even realize how close we were to the ground as we made our descent. We all landed safely, passed through immigration and customs, and collected our checked bags. The first thing everyone noticed when we got off the plane was the humidity! Even while still inside the air-conditioned airport we could feel the wave of hot, moist air cling to our skin. Still at Narita airport, we split up into groups for a moment and some people went to go exchange their American currency for Japanese Yen and others went to go retrieve SIM cards and pocket WiFi. After a long 11 hour flight, the GEA group was pretty exhausted but equally excited to finally be in Japan.

Next, we had to make our way from the airport to Sakura Hotel in Jimbocho. We carefully followed Professor Katada’s lead, filed in a single line like ducklings, as we walked to the train station. At this point we took an express train from the airport to Tokyo Station. Once again assuming the duckling formation, we made way through the Tokyo Metro’s labyrinth of underground twists and turns, crowds of people all on their commutes home, and many flights of stairs to get from train to train. In a remarkable collective effort, we all made it in one piece through the metro to finally arrive in Jimbocho.

Lobby of Sakura Hotel in Jimbocho

At the Sakura Hotel, we were able to meet our TA, Kyohei, and check in to our rooms. The Sakura Hotel was, in a word…cozy. The small rooms and narrow hallways were emblematic of Tokyo’s compact nature. The hotel lobby was nicely decorated with flags from all around the world and there were other gaikokujin (foreigners) sitting in the small cafeteria which created a sense of welcoming for our crew.

After receiving our room assignments from Kyohei, we all dropped off our luggage in our rooms and began thinking about the next challenge of the day: What are we going to eat!? When we landed it was around 4:30 p.m. and by now it was close to 9:00 p.m. We had been traveling for an entire day and everyone was tired and hungry. For our first meal in Japan, the choice was obvious to us all, Family Mart! Without even coordinating, we all ended up meeting at the convenience store just a block away from the Sakura Hotel. The selection and quality of food at the Family Mart is so much better than any convenience store in the United States. Some of the things we were able to get included, chicken skewers, bento boxes, onigiri (rice balls), and noodles. Everyone also made sure to stock up on water because even just the five-minute walk from the train station to the Sakura Hotel had us all dehydrated. As we prepare for our first full day in Japan tomorrow, keeping hydrated will certainly be one of our top priorities for staying energized.

One of our rooms in Sakura Hotel

After eating our food in the front cafeteria of the hotel and with jet lag already sinking in, we all retired to our rooms, took showers and went to sleep. Here’s to the start of our Japanese adventure!

The Beginning of a Journey: LAX to NRT

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By: Athena Foo

GEA Japan students waiting to board flight

Waiting to board our flight!

One by one as each of us arrived at our departure gate it was clear that, despite our morning grogginess, feelings of excitement and anticipation was in the air as we approach the first step on our Global East Asia Japan adventure. Even though some of us have been to Japan before, we were still ecstatic at the prospect of returning and enjoying new experiences in the country with a research-driven focus. As we waited to board, many of us began discussing with our group members about our research proposals that we would be presenting at Meiji University. Between naps and an entertainment system full of the latest movie releases, who knows how much we could get done? Good thing we have some time after we reach Tokyo to finish up the proposals before they are due.

Airplane with a BB-8 paint job.

Airplane with a BB-8 paint job.

One of the other Air Nippon Airways (ANA) planes at the gate had a paint job mimicking the Star Wars droid BB-8. While I am I little jealous of the passengers on that flight, I do look forward to seeing Japan’s use of a wide variety of characters and mascots to represent products, prefectures, and stores. Perhaps products featuring such characters would be fun souvenirs to bring back to family and friends? The beginning of our trip went smoothly as all 16 students boarded without a problem (which is not surprising seeing how we have all flown on international flights before) and our plane took off without any delay.

ANA grilled mackerel meal.

ANA grilled mackerel meal.

About an hour into our flight we were served drinks and a meal. This is my first time flying with ANA and I noticed a few subtle differences in the drink selection compared to the North American airlines that I’m used to flying on. For example, iced green tea is available and hot tea is served after every meal. Also, Coke is also often referred to as cola, so I will have to keep that in mind if I ever want to order any once I arrive in Japan. As for the meal, we had a choice between a ‘Japanese style’ meal with grilled mackerel and an ‘international style’ with grilled chicken. I chose the mackerel meal and was delighted to see that it came with various side dishes like zaru soba (cold noodles in dipping sauce), potato salad, edamame, eggs, and more. To top it all off everyone got a small container of Häagen-Dazs ice cream for dessert! This meal was probably one of the best airplane meals I have ever had and now I am really excited to try all sorts of different Japanese foods once we arrive from traditional delicacies to strange and unique candies.

Enroute to Narita Airport

So with my belly full, I began falling into a food coma as my eyelids grew heavy and the cabin lights were switched off. Perhaps it was time to rest up for the exciting journey ahead before we landed in Japan.

Japan, Here I Come!

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By: Tamia Ejekpokpo

I can’t believe I’m going to Japan tomorrow. When I was told back in December that my classmates and I would be going to Japan in May, traveling to Japan felt so far away. Now it is the night before the trip and it all feels surreal.

I’ve been to Japan before (Tokyo and Yokohama specifically), but this time feels just as special as the first time because I will be seeing new areas like Kyoto and Hiroshima. I can not wait to see these places and learn about their culture and landmarks.

Before going to Japan, Professor Katada had us read books and watch documentaries that gave my classmates and me a crash course on Japan’s history, culture, and economics so we understood more about Japan. Joe, my research partner, and I decided we are going to write our research paper on the black experience in Japan. The paper is in its preliminary stages but we considered writing about black foreigners’ experiences in Japan, cultural appropriation in Japan (specifically of Black culture), and mixed-race black and Japanese people living in Japan. We initially planned on talking only about black foreigners in Japan but ultimately decided to expand on that because we were inspired by a documentary Professor Katada showed us in class called Hafu. The documentary details the lives of mixed raced Japanese people living in Japan. It was pretty sad to watch the documentary and see that a majority of the kids and adults featured in the documentary have been harassed or treated differently because they were not fully Japanese. It’s been about six years since the documentary was released and I want to find out during my trip if Japanese people have become more receptive to those who are not fully Japanese.

Finding out these type of questions will require me to speak in Japanese.  I’m nervous and excited about practicing my Japanese with locals.  When I first visited Japan over a year and a half ago, I barely knew any Japanese. The most I could muster was arigatougozaimasu (Thank you) and ikura desuka (How much?). After taking three semesters of Japanese, I am nowhere near fluent, but I am able to make basic conversation.

The book on the left is for learning how to write and read Kanji, the book in the middle is a guide on Japanese vocabulary, and the book on the right is about Japanese grammar.

Packing hasn’t been very fun since I have to narrow down which clothes I want to bring.  I am an overpacker and I want to bring every outfit for any possible occasion I may come across. I thought researching Tokyo, Hiroshima, and Kyoto’s weather in May and June would make it easier for me to pick which outfits would be best appropriate for the weather, but Tokyo and Hiroshima tend to be hot and humid, while Kyoto tends to be on the cooler side. So I tried my best picking outfits that would be good for these weather conditions.

My carry-on bag which includes clothes, a portable steamer, and my must-have skincare products.

I hate long flights (anything over 5 hours) because I get bored sitting in the same place for a long period of time. Since this flight is about 14 hours, I’ve been trying to find things I can do to keep myself occupied. I plan on continuing reading Becoming by Michelle Obama. I read some of it during this past December break, but since school resumed, I haven’t had a chance to pick it back up. When I’m ready to exercise a different part of my brain, I will review Japanese terms and grammar.  And of course, I will be watching some movies on the plane. I really hope the 14 hours go by quickly.