January 25/26: We met at o'hare at 4:30 for a 2 hour flight to Dallas. The first flight was nice, and I did not sleep. Before we knew it, after a couple of hours in Texas, we were on a plane to Japan. We were offered food, and I had beef, egg and soup throughout the flight. I slept for around 6 hours total, and between that and snacking of food, the flight actually went by quickly. I was suprized how busy the riaport was for 5pm... seems like it would be a dead hour, however after the fact I learned it was the Chinese new year, so lots and lots of tourists were flooding in.
Touchdown in Japan; we quickly went through a rather intense customs process, and exchanged our money into yen. After the group had gotten all their cash exchanged, we went downstairs to wait for rail passes, which took about an hour and a half. During the time, I picked up dinner to eat on the train: A hot bento-like box. It had beef, egg, rice and a vegetable croquette... not something you would find at a 7-11 in the states. After the first train ride, it was two quick subway trips to Idabashi station, were our hostel was. I checked in, showered and went right to sleep. Odaiba, Ueno and the Sky Tree to come tomorrow!.
Jan 27:
Woke up this morning to a great breakfast; Eggs with Chives, Potato Croquettes, Pork Sausage, bread and Butter, Corn and broccoli and of course.... rice. From there it was my group leading to Obaiba. 1 Tokyo metro and 1 private line train took us to the TeamLab border-less installation. was essentially a sequence of dark rooms with projection art moving around the walls to music, it really was cool, and must have taken hundreds of hours to put together. Please see photos below. We had pancakes for lunch, and then it was off to Ueno via the same private line we had taken prior, connecting using our JR pass. In Ueno we visited the Toshogu shrine and flower garden, it was very relaxed, and I learned some about Japanese history. For dinner we were open to explore the Ueno commercial district. I ended up with two sushi rolls, which were tasty. As my tiredness grew, we made it to the Skytree, around 350m off the ground. Lastly, two trains back to the Hostel, were I write this. I will post photos tomorrow morning.
Jan 28: Today by fare gave me the most wholesome and complete perspective of Japan and its culture. The day began by waking up to a rainy, fogged up hostel window, however the temp. stayed bearable at 40 degrees throughout the evening. After another great breakfast, we hopped on the Yamanote line for Meiji shrine, one of the oldest and most popular in Japan. The rain, for me only enhanced the secluded setting of the shrine in such a large and busy city like Tokyo. After the shrine, we dried off with a little walking through the Shinjuku markets. I bought some Japanese candy, and walked through some of the shops, considering it was a heavy tourist area, most of the products were catered to a American audience, so I did not find anything particularity unique. The Lubic's extensive knowledge of Tokyo led us to a great conveyor belt sushi lunch, were we all were stuffed with good quality fish for a cheap price. Only a couple of blocks walk to the Samurai museum where a wonderful tour guide educated us on Japanese history. I never really correlated each era to a time period or powerful family, so I found this tour ultra-informative. Due to the rain, we were unable to attend the amusement park to the light show. Instead, Sensei took us to a robot show, which was funny and entertaining, I found the lively and musical culture of the show mirrored my pre-opinion on what Tokyo entertainment would be like, and it was certainly a fun alternative to the theme park. Dinner that night was a split-up in group style, where Me, Drew, Nikki, Riley and Milo opted for Japanese Italian, which was noted by me and Yokota sensei to have far,far less garlic and strong herb-like taste than the American Italian we where used to, It was a welcome surprise. I was exhausted after a long, hard day, so I relaxed that night with a quick dip in the onsen, and then straight to bed, tomorrow, I will take my first shinkansen ride and cannot wait!
Jan 29: I got up just a little early this morning to pack, in preparation for our shinkansen north to Aomori, a ride I was exited to experience for the first time. Hostel breakfast again impressed, however little did I know that was not nearly going to be the most glamorous meal I had on the trip. At that point the subway ride was known like the back of our head, and within 10 minuted of cramped local train cars, we arrived at Ueno.. the shinkansen departure point. For lunch, we all picked out bento boxes at the train station market, a tradition of ETHS trips in the past. I chose the pork and rice, which was good, however would have been better warm. In addition, I chose a few candy bars to tide me over for the 2 hour long shinkansen trip north. After getting settled, the hustle of Tokyo quickly gave way to some views of Fujisama (Mt Fuji), before a left turn northbound. Man, did this thing move fast. 300 miles in just shy of 2 hours in 20 minutes likely beats the time of driving and flying, a phenomenon never found in the states. I got a little homework done, and then napped on the bus ride to the hotel: Oirase Kairu.
OK so I know sensei said this place was kinda upscale but WOAH, I mean this was the one of the nicest hotel I had ever been in, until dinner time.... when this became the nicest hotel I had ever been in. Sashimi, steak, grilled scallop, carpachio, salad, taramisu, apple pie and apple ice cream, and that was just the first round of the buffet. Not only was this dinner awesome, but we experienced that dinner two nights in a row... coupled with a breakfast rivaling. I have never consumed more food in the two days I was there.
Jan 30:
Good morning! It was a quick wake up today, with some breakfast at the now legendary apple cafe. Apple pancakes, sashimi, potatoes and apple juice summed up my breakfast today. What can I say, did it beat last nights dinner... maybe not, it it still one of the breakfasts I have ever had, yeah! Today was a chill day inside the resort, I was able to get some laundry done, and relax to blogging :) for a bit. I had the post-lunch snowshoe group, so I caught a dip in the onsen before lunch: chicken, potato soup and veggies rounded out the second days meal; again.. absolutely delicious. Showshoe time, according to VK, our guide took us on one of the hardest incline/descents of the day, and is sure felt like it! we were literally walking up so steep we had to hang onto trees in order not to fall. Before we new it though, we were back in the hotel (I knew 1 hour was the perfect timing :)). Dinner was again, amazing.. however I feel I am getting a little too used to this luxury food, this time around I hit the hot food station much more rigorously, trying scallop, steak and roast beef. That night we worked on our KJ presentations, and thankfully, our group finished.
Jan 31: Sensory overload day today.. Cold, warm, loud, musical and chill encompassed this hustling Bustling (literially) day. We woke up to our last and final meal at Oirase Keiru, I was stuffed from the day before, so I took it a little lighter this time around, only going for one round at the buffet. After a super-bundle (little did I know no amount of warm clothing could prepare me for the cold we would experience), we hopped on the hour-long bus to Mt Hokaida (I slept the entire way). The mountain seemed like a popular destination for american ski enthusiasts, however it was not unbearably busy. we took the large gondola up to the peak, where the conditions quickly turned to white-out. In sensei's own words "Welcome to hoth", and I could not agree more, I have no idea how skiers made it by without slamming into something, given you could barely see 20 feet in front of you. Anywho, I grabbed some hot chocolate from the heated drink vending machine (I know right!!), and boarded to bus to the onsen. Once arrived, we tried a interesting, but good tasting soba shop (I had tempura shrimp). According to Yokota Sensei it was their secret recipe. Then, it was a quick dip in the sulfer onsen, hich kinda grossed my out at first, however I got more and more used to it after a few minutes.. and.. before we knew it, I was back on the bus to Oirase, where I got a little carsick, but nothing horrible. Bus transfer to take us to our next accommodation; Aomoriya. Dinner at Aomoriya happened almost instantly after arrival, where were presented with a large steam box of food, in addition to some sashimi style fish. This meal contained the most un-natural flavors when compared to what I was used to, nonetheless, I ate it all. My favorite part was dessert: Blackberry yogurt mochi, which had an amazing texture without being to cold or sweet. I went almost directly to bed that night, exhausted from a long day of bus riding.
Jan 31:
Today was our last full day experiencing the Aomori resort, I was sad, however very exited and anxious to meet my host family in Niigata. The day started with a course breakfast in a small shack overlooking the lake soon which the resort is built. Short of miso soup, there was not one thing on the table I had had before. Whole grilled fish, scallop stew, rice with a whole host of ingredients to mix in... bottom line is, I was exited and overwhelmed. I can imagine most tourists shy away from this type of internationally exotic menu, so it was nice to continue to experience something unique. After breakfast, the day called for Hirosaki, a older city in west Aomori known for its castle.. and I was soon to learn apple pie. Unfortunately, either due to a unbalanced diet, or something fishy (no pun intended) I ate, my stomach really disagreed with my on all 3 trains to Hirasaki. I felt bad holding the group up a bit, however I think it was better than feeling sick the entire day.. and sure enough courtesy of some herbal medicine I was on my way feeling better in no time (thank you senster and sensei 2; y’all the best). Anywho, after a quick castle walk it was off to ringo (apple) pie store, where I enjoyed a slightly more conservative (compared to breakfast) meal of spaghetti and two kinds of pie, both of which were exceptional. From there, it was a couple trainride naps away from our hotel, where I settled into bed for a good night sleep. ( post freezing cold like walk of course.. it was still worth it). KJ is 19 hours away!
Feb 1:
Anticipation built in the air as we prepared to meet our host families for the first time in person. As we had the past 4 mornings, we woke to an amazing breakfast Buffett. I ate light, as I was still full from last night. A quick pack and off to the Station where a local train took us to the Shinkansen; I am still surprised how even the rural trains still give announcements in English as well... interesting to think about. The first Shinkansen ride was uneventful, as I was asleep for most of it (amazing how smooth these trains are). Omiya, just outside of Tokyo was out transfer station where I grabbed a convince store lunch of onigiri. Most of us reached out to a ur host students via email one last time, and it was off to Urasa station, where we were met with a warm welcome.
Kazuki is the name of my host student, he is 17 and like all the other hosts, goes to KJ josh school. We talked in Japanese for the first few minutes while we waited for our train to his house in Nagaoka, about an hour and a half end to end. Because this was a special day for the family, they took me to a ceremony where we burned a haiku or sayings in a fire for good luck, the ceremony felt very cultural and I was a little out of place, however I am thrilled I had the experience. Almost immediately after, Kazukis mom dad and little brother (suki) drive to conveyor belt sushi or Kaiten sushi in Japanese. This seemed somewhat familiar to me, as we had a similar experience in Tokyo. We ate our way through a feast, and moreover it was a good chance to meet my host family and break the ice a bit. The dad is a architect and mom a baker. Suki is 12 and goes to middle school. I think bear the end of the meal, my host family saw I was fading a bit and was quick to show my to my room, the bath and let me grab some rest before our daily 5am wake up call. Overall, their house seems more modern and Americanized than what I was initially expecting, tall ceilings, large doors and somewhat modern architecture. I am looking forward to the first day of school tomorrow!
Feb 2:
Early early morning today.. kazuki and I woke up at 4:45 to make it to school in time for him to have some study time ( trade offs of going to such a prestigious school I guess). Nonetheless after shoving down a breakfast of rice and soup, it was kazukis grandpa that gave us a ride to Kita nagaoka station, where we took two trains and 1 hour 20 minutes later, walked into school at 7:30, what a commute! Classes at Kj and all around Japan have roving teachers, not students meaning we are in the same room all morning and then all afternoon. However, before we could get to class we had a ceremony to attend... after walking in to the gym to thunderous applause, I settled in for a great (and cold, no central heat at KJ) 30 minutes featuring speeches from Michael sensei, the KJ superintendent and Aurora (nicely done all). You could really see by the time and effort put in how important this exchange was to the school to have and how grateful they were for our presence. Niigata as a whole saw less snow this year than many years prior, meaning shoes served me well throughout Monday night. In addition, that night was a holiday in Japanese culture, where the demons are fought and good spirits flow into the house. As part of the ritual, that night we had maki sushi (rolled) high was eaten facing north; symbolizing to go inward in life, it was very cool to participate in. Classes at KJ were just what I expected, very teacher led.. few questions.. memorization based study. Kids there work hard for sure! Looking forward to another local train sunrise to start full day 2!
Feb 3:
Full Day two begins! Again, Kazuki and I caught the same train and connection, before making our way into KJ on a snowy day; based on what I am hearing, the amount of snow now is far, far less than what has been experienced in prior years. Today, class consisted of shadowing our student for the morning, and KJ presentations in the afternoon. I was nervous for my groups presentation before going, however vocab wise I was not to concerned. Class today included PE, where I played basketball with the KJ students (height helped), aswell as badminton (for which they were much better). After gym it was straight to KJ presentations, where our group was presenting to 1st year KJ students about American holidays. The presentation want well, and I was relived it was over, and dropped some stress off my chest for the rest of the week. After leaving school, we got imagoyaki, kind of the hand-held version of a stuffed french toast, which was incredible. If I could bring one snack back, it would be that. Lastly, my host family asked me to cook American food for them that night; so, after some shopping, I put together a meal of steak, spaghetti and veggies which seemed to be very well received. I enjoyed being able to share some American food with them!
Feb 4:
Kinda starting to sound repetitive, but we literally have the same commute each morning! 4:45 wake up, ride to north-nagaoka, transfer at Nagaoka and by 7:30 we are walking into KJ. Today was colder, however the morning sun still kept it bearable. Urasa, where KJ is located seems to be a smaller size town, with a few local businesses, a combini (7-11) and few homes, very secluded, however still not a total rural feel. Anywho, the star of today was without a doubt art class, we did abstract drawings, and, more importantly got a chance to see some of the KJ students architecture paintings (their art program is intense), I only wish I could draw like that! That night, we had sukiyaki, a traditional meal kind of like hotpot. Each diner has a bowl of raw egg, yolk Incorporated and then communal beef, cabbage and rice all cooked in sukiyaki sauce cook the egg and make for an excellent meal. My host family even gave me some sukiyaki sauce to bring home, so maybe we can try and cook this at home.... just an idea. Sleep came quick that night, these early mornings hit me right at 9pm or so
Feb 5:
Thursday: for me felt like the beginning of the end in a way. Kazuki and I again took the same train we had for the past 4 days. Today at KJ where the SGH or super global high school presentations. To furu