Owen

第一日: Today we flew in to Tokyo Narita, losing a day as we crossed the international dateline. We went through immigration and there were a ton of other tourists from all different countries all around Asia. We tried out our first Japanese 711 (which was surprisingly delicious) and then finally got on the train to get to the Tokyo Central Youth Hostel. There are so many signs that overload you with information, especially at night when everything is lit up. The hostel is very nice and I can't wait for exploring Tokyo tomorrow.

第二日: Today was so busy. We started off early, leaving the hostel around 8. We went to the Meiji Shrine first. The experience was very interesting and the spitting water tasted much better than expected. We met up with Sensei's former coworker who teaches English at a high school in Tokyo and she was hilarious and very fun to go around with. We went from there to Takeshita Street, which looked like something straight out of a comic book. It was a narrow street, barely one car wide, with shops going from the fourth floors of buildings to the basements. We stopped first at the Japanese 100円 store and I picked up some slippers for wearing around the hostel/homestay. Then we went around to some shops and explored until it was time to go to the next location. From Harajuku we took the train to Shibuya where we saw the statue of Hachiko and the insanely busy Shibuya crossing. We split up and my group went to lunch at a small ramen shop. Afterwards we explored the shops in the area before getting back on the train to Odaiba, our final location. In Odaiba we went to a science and technology museum called the Miraikan. The museum was interesting but after walking for hours many of us just took the opportunity to rest. After a few hours there we walked a short ways to the Daikanransha Ferris wheel. Then Sensei treated us to dinner and we went back to the hostel. It was a crazy day but everything was fun and interesting.

第三日: Second and last day in Tokyo! We started off with a great tour of the Harvard-esque Waseda University led by an ETHS Japan alumnus. We were able to get the inside details on a lot of the interesting aspects of Japanese college life. The tour was fun but the early morning meant that we'd need to brace ourselves for cold. After Waseda we took the train to the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building to visit their 45th floor observatory. From the top we could see buildings from the top of one. We got to learn a bit about the history of the city and its transition from a populous but undeveloped Edo to the modern sprawling city of Tokyo. After we left the government building it was time to eat. We spotted a Denny's on the way to the train and stopped in for some Japanese diner food. After a bite to eat we were on the train to Ueno Park. While there we got to see a smaller shrine with an elaborate peony garden nearby, where each peony had its own straw hut. After Ueno park we went to get an even higher view of the city and went to the Tokyo Sky Tree. The Skytree is the tallest structure in Japan and from it we could see the lights of the city stretching out to the horizon. We were all pretty exhausted at this point and many of us enjoyed the view from the comfort of some benches. We left after there to eat our Japanese burger dinner from Mos Burger and go back to the hostel to get some sleep before the transit tomorrow.

第四日: Travel day! We left the hostel early in the morning to get to the Shinkansen. Three trains later we were on our two hour train ride out of the city and into the mountains. As we got further and further from the bustle of Tokyo the snow got deeper and deeper. We got off at the Yamagata Shinkansen where we waited and explored while waiting for our bus to Zao Onsen. The station had and stores and restaurants like a mall and we got to finally immerse in English free interaction. When the bus came we spent about an hour in transit before getting off at Zao Onsen. We walked a short bit to our ryoukan and took in the sight and smell of the hot spring town. After getting to the ryoukan, we set up the rooms and explored what would be our new home for the next three nights. Having some down time before our lavish dinner, we hit the baths. The ryoukan had five baths that we could go to, two indoors and three out doors. We visited a three tiered bath that included one bath and foot bath indoors and then a bath outdoors as well. Then it was time for dinner. The dinner was course after course of traditional Japanese and Yamagata cuisine. A little more exploring and another bath and then we crashed in our rooms, tired and relaxed.

第五日: We got to wake up late today, a good hour later than in Tokyo which ended up being seven AM. Breakfast was equally lavish as the dinner before. We went to the baths right after breakfast. First we went to the opposite of the bath we went to the night before. We got out and rested for an hour or so and then went outside to try out the outdoor baths. The first outdoor bath was insanely hot and barely bearable at first. We went in and came out quickly, having been cooked in the water like shabu shabu. We explored the second of the outdoor baths after getting out, hoping that it would be slightly cooler than the last. We ended up finding a bat hotter than the last, so hot that we couldn't even get in. We quickly got out and met back at the ryoukan to take the ski lift to see the snow monsters, known in Japan as juhyo! We spent a few hours up the mountain taking pictures and enjoying the view. The snow monsters were incredible and the altitude was refreshing. We came back and went back to the first bath we went to this morning. We ended up losing track of time from relaxing too hard and being five minutes late for dinner! We all loved trying the new foods and eating things we'd never even thought of eating. Afterwards, we went back to our rooms for relaxation and homework. It was a great day of new experiences and exploration.

第六日: Today was an incredible experience. We bathed early in the morning before breakfast and after breakfast quickly sped off to Yamadera. Yamadera means mountain temple and is named after the temple that is built on the side and top of the nearby mountain. We hiked up the side of the mountain following a path covered in historical statues and stonework. Near the bottom there was a collection of shrines where we payed respects to the gods and read historical plaques and took in some of the history. From there we proceeded up the steps to the top, where another collection of shrines and buildings could be found. On the way we saw Buddhist and Shinto traditions intertwined into one spiritual location. At the top I made a PERFECT snowball over the course of an hour and a half and I left it at the base of a shrine as an offering of hard work and patience. After we explored the mountain, we went around the town to shop and eat. This small town at the bottom of the mountain quickly became my favorite place in the world. The quaint shops and quiet buildings were filled with kind people and wonderful food. We met Endo san, a shop and restaurant owner who was selling balls of boiled konyaku, a dish common in Yamagata. Endo san invited us into her store and we ended up eating at her restaurant where we had buns filled with apple that tasted like apple pie. Endo san pointed out her picture on a cartoon map of the town and Emmet and Lucy got her to sign it. Afterwards we walked to an ice cream shop close to the start of the mountain path. We got ice cream and then left back to Zao and our ryoukan. Then dinner and baths and our day was over.

第七日: Today was our last day in Zao Onsen. Our host Jin san wrote us all letters and saw us off as we left. We were in transit for a few hours then got to Urasa station in Minami Uonama, Niigata prefecture. As we walked towards the exit we saw a group of KJ students and I saw my student Kosei holding a sign with "Owen Lindsey" written on it. We had our introductions and went down to the train station to ride the train to Kosei's town of Tokamachi. Kosei's mother picked us up from the Tokamachi station and drove us to their house where I got to meet his sister and grandparents. We hung out, talked and ate dinner and then drank tea and watched TV before heading to our rooms to sleep.

第八日: This morning we woke up and ate a breakfast of donuts and scrambled eggs. We hung out at home for a while, talking and I met Kosei's father who came home late last night. Around ten Kosei took me on a small tour of his neighborhood and we walked to the neighborhood high school (not his since he goes to KJ, two towns over) and his old middle school. We stopped by the Seven Eleven to pick out tomorrow's breakfast and get a drink and then went back to his house. For lunch we went to a hegisoba restaurant a quick drive away. We ate on tatami and drank sobacha and ate soba and tempura. Kosei's mother accidentally ordered an extra set meal of soba and tempura so we split it between us and all felt super full. Afterwards we drove for nearly 40 minutes to the "Don Quixote" (ドンキホーテ) Mega Store to get me some slippers. I had bought some in Tokyo at the Daiso 100￥ store but I left them at the Zao Onsen ryoukan. All of Kosei's family's slippers were too small to fit my massive American feet so we had to get a new pair. Afterwards, Kosei and his sister and I played our favorite music for each other and the two of them took a nap on the long car ride. We got home and Kosei and I went to our rooms to do homework. We met back for dinner and then tea and TV and Kosei and his father tested my Kanji knowledge before we went to our rooms to sleep.

第九日・第十日: Today and yesterday were school days. Kosei and I got up at 6 to eat breakfast and get ready and catch the 7:12 train from Tokamachi Station to Muikamachi Station and from there take the Joetsu Line to Urasa Station. The total transit time was about 45 minutes and from Urasa Station, KJ is only a short bus ride or walk away. We had class all day, KJ students take many different English classes and I got to reverse engineer some of the English lessons into their Japanese translations and my day buddy Yosuke helped me learn a new Japanese grammar structure. I also got to attend Shakai or social studies, where Yosuke and his teacher attempted to translate all the complex kanji and Japanese government vocabulary into English for me. I ended up learning a fair amount about the Japanese legislature. After school we took the same trains home to Tokamachi and ate dinner and did homework.

第十一日: Today we left Niigata for the day and took the Shinkansen to Nagano. We have been corresponding for months over the internet with a school in Ueda, Nagano called Ueda High School, and we got to visit them and meet them in person. We took two Shinkansen from Urasa station to Ueda where the Ueda students met us at the station. We went around the city with them and saw their school and our group (Green Group) went to a mall nearby and explored the shops. Inside we went to a pet store and saw some puppies and shopped around a little before meeting back with the group for famous Ueda soba. This soba was sumetai soba or cold soba, where you are given cooled soba noodles to dip in cold soup. After you finish your noodles, they bring you the water that the soba was boiled in called the soba yu and you poor it into the cold soup and drink it. It's a healthy and delicious traditional meal. We briefly went back to the school to throw together a photo book with the students to commemorate the visit and then we were off on the Shinkansen back to Niigata. Once back home, Kosei's entire family and I went to get conveyor belt Sushi. Then back home for homework and sleep.

第十二日: Today KJ staff took us around the city of Uonuma. We started off with a tour of a historical street in the town where we saw the different ways Edo period Uonuma would handle the snow and cold of the region. The record snowfall was 1 meter in a day and 3 meters by the end of the season. From there they drove us to a historical ryoukan in the area. The ryoukan was a beautiful estate with onsen and traditional Japanese architecture and decorations. We got a tour of the ryoukan and got to check out a house made of snow in the garden. At the end they served us cups of nonalcoholic amezake, which is normally a sweet rice drink with sake but they took the sake out for us. After the ryoukan the bus took us to Muikamachi station, where we got to explore the town and grab lunch. My group found a dive ramen restaurant and had some delicious lunch. Lastly, they took us to a nearby mall and we did a little exploring and shopping for thank you gifts and cards for our host families. Afterwards we went back to Urasa station to wait for our students and go back to our host homes.

第十三日・第十四日: Today was our last day in Japan! We presented to the KJ students about America and our group, which was American folk tales, did a mad libs activity which the Japanese students loved. Another group did a dance routine to a popular song which the students also seemed to quite enjoy. The Japanese students presented to us about their city of Uonuma. During lunch, some of us met our friends that visited us last year and we all ate together. It was great seeing them again and we had a fun time. Last period, there was a closing ceremony where KJ and ETHS students gave speeches and KJ presented us with certificates. Some of us that all lived in Tokamachi got together and our host students coordinated us hanging out at a local arcade for a while where we did photobooths and played airhockey. Kosei and I went home and I ate my last dinner with the family. After dinner the grandma gave me a small gift and I went off to bed. W