BTW-- My blog is having some trouble and I am not able to edit it sometimes. So if I don't post for a day it is because I can't edit at that moment. I will try to update you as soon as it works.

Wednesday, February 1, 2017

I am so excited to go to Japan in ten days! It still hasn't really sunk in that we are leaving so soon. I have been looking forward to this trip for a while. Ever since my brother Noah went to Japan, I have heard many stories and have wanted to visit myself one day. I can't wait to visit Kokusai Joho, the school that we are going to for a few days at the end of our trip. I really want to meet students at the school and talk to them while we are visiting. I have had relationships with the students I have hosted in the past and hope to become friends with the student I stay with. I am also looking forward to seeing the Shirakawa night light up in Gokayama; hopefully there will be some snow. I can't believe we are leaving in less than two weeks!

Day 1: Sunday, February 12, 2017

It is currently 10:45 P.M and I am sitting in my room after a long day of travel. We arrived at O'hare at 9:00 A.M. and took off around 12:30 P.M. The flight was a total of 12 hours and 27 minutes. On the plane I watched three movies: Big Hero 6, Trolls, and Inside Out. I was not able to sleep on the plane and I tried to get some homework done but had some trouble concentrating. I also worked on some sudoku puzzles and played with my rubix cube and eni. The flight was really long but during the 12th hour everyone was getting excited to land and be in Japan. We landed in Tokyo around 4:30 P.M., which was 1:30 A.M. in Chicago. Japan is 15 hours ahead of Chicago time. We traveled through customs, exchanged money, and then bought rail passes. We ate dinner at a 711 in the airport/train station which was quite different than 711's in the U.S. I ate two small onigiri which are triangular balls of rice with different fish, seaweed, or beans in them. After dinner we took three trains to where we are staying for the next couple of nights. The train stations were particularly clean and organized. The first train we rode on had assigned seating and it had features such as charging stations and bathrooms. The next two trains were open seating and were more similar to trains in the U.S. On the first train I did a little bit of homework, but on the second and third train I had trouble keeping my eyes open. We exited the train station and walked around the corner to the Tokyo Central Youth Hostel which we are staying in for two nights. I am staying in a room with Hazel, Katie-Jane, Betsy, and Keziah. Now I have been awake for 25 hours and have experienced my first all-nighter! Tomorrow we have a busy day so I am going to get some rest now! Goodnight!

Day 2: Monday, February 13, 2017

Today was quite an adventurous day! We woke up in the morning and had breakfast in the hostel. There was shredded lettuce salad, potato croquettes, eggs, sausage, and rice with nato which are fermented soybeans. The fermented soybeans were the first challenge of the day. I did not enjoy them, but we have to finish everything on our plate so we all were trying to get eachother to eat our nato for us. After breakfast we went to a small neighborhood setagaya plum garden. The flowers smelled really nice, and we found a spot where we could spot the tip of Mt. Fuji, although I was not able to get a clear picture of the mountain.

Near the garden, we passed a street shop with hot cooked sweet potatoes and bought a few for the group. We headed back to the train station to go to our next destination. In the station, they have cool vending machines that sell cold and warm drinks. Here is a fascinating picture of a map of the complex yet organized train system:

We took a train to Harajuku which is a district in Tokyo. We all split up into groups and explored within a few blocks on our own. First, my group walked to Meiji Jingu which is a shrine with a beautiful path that lies between huge trees. After walking a few minutes we came upon an exhibit of large barrels filled with sake, rice wine, which was thousands of years old.

Next, our group walked down takeshita street which is a famous street filled with small shops. We went to a hyaku en store, which is basically like a dollar store in America. For lunch we stopped at a small crepe store on the street. After a few hours of exploring we headed back to the train station and went to our next stop: Tokyo Dome City. This train station was a little bit newer than others, and had a wall with sliding doors in between the tracks and where you stand to make it safer. Mr. Vankrey was planning on just going on the ferris wheel, but when we saw there was a roller coaster too, we successfully convinced him to let us ride both the ferris wheel and the roller coaster. At the top of the ferris wheel we were able to see all of Tokyo. The roller coaster was so much fun; it may even beat one of my favorite roller coasters: raging bull at Great America. The employees also took our safety more seriously and took many precautions before riding.

From Tokyo Dome City we took the train back to the hostel. We ate dinner at the hostel which consisted of shredded lettuce salad, chicken with sauce, potato salad, squid, oranges, and rice. After dinner we went back out to go to a light show. On a 22 minute train ride on the way there, I could hardly stay awake; the jet lag was kicking in. While standing up and watching the light show, I almost fell asleep and fell over; we were all so tired. A few of us decided to go walk around for a little while to wake ourselves up before going back to the train.

Now it is 12:25 A.M. and we are doing homework in our rooms. I am excited for tomorrow but have to finish a bit more homework and get some sleep. Goodbye!

Day 3: Tuesday, February 14, 2017

Today was exhausting. We woke up and ate breakfast in the hostel and then got on the train to go to Ueno Park, which is a giant public park that has museums and shrines. First, we walked to the Tokyo National Museum. This museum is the oldest and largest museum in Japan. These are pictures of some of the pieces that I really enjoyed.

We walked around one part of the museum for an hour and a half and then headed over to Toshugu Temple and bought our temple books. With this book, at every temple that we visit, we can get our book stamped. At the temple, we also saw an exhibit of winter peonies which were beautiful.

After walking through the winter peonies, there was a hand washing station. You pour the water onto your hands with the ladles and then I think sometimes into your mouth. We walked through the outside of the temple and took more pictures. One tree we walked by was 600 years old!

We split up for lunch and explored the shopping district for an hour or so. For lunch I had a pork rice bowl with clear soup. It was really good. The rice here is stickier and a little more moist than most rice in America.

We took the train to our next shrine: Sensou-ji. First we got fortunes; I got a bad fortune. If you get a bad fortune you have to tie it onto these ropes so your fortune doesn't come true. We headed back to the hostel after this shrine to eat dinner. By this time I was exhausted and fell asleep on the train.

After dinner we went out to the Tokyo Skytree. I went to the very top so we could see the whole skyline of Tokyo. Since we went at night we could see all of the lights throughout the city; it was really cool. Drew and I decided to go down a little earlier than everyone else because we were tired so we headed down a few flights and got a little lost. We finally found where we were going and ended up having to go back up to go all the way down to the ground level. We took the train back to the hostel, and I did homework until 1:30 A.M. while listening to my music. By this point I was not tired anymore, but finally went to bed.

Day 4: Wednesday, February 15, 2017

Today we traveled to a new city! After waking up, eating breakfast at the hostel, and packing, we headed over to the train station to go to Nagano. To get to Nagano we took two short train rides, one longer shinkansen (bullet train) ride, and then an express train. This was the first time we had gone on a shinkansen. It had nice seats with lots of room, and it went really fast - around 150 mph. Since the train ride was over an hour, we bought individual bento boxes at the train station for lunch. After getting off of the train, I open up my water bottle and water squirted out because of the pressure in the train caused by the speed it was traveling. (That has also happened to me before with straw water bottles after a plane ride).

We arrived at the ryokan and they made us take our shoes off before stepping onto the tatami mat. This is a Japanese custom. Once taking off your shoes, you put on slippers and may then enter. We dropped off our luggage and took a mini bus ride to the Jigukudani Monkey Park. THERE WAS A LOT OF SNOW!! We first had to hike quite a bit to get to the monkeys, but after about an hour and a half, there were dozens of monkeys! It was a little weird because I thought that we were maybe invading their natural environment, but I was glad we got to see them so close up.

We returned to the ryokan and bathed in the onsen. We then got dressed into our yukata to eat dinner in. We all met downstairs in a private room for our trip, and had a traditional Japanese meal. The meal had so many different courses. There was soup, sashimi, fish, rice, vegetables, and many other small dishes that they brought out to us. The fish was a little challenging for me because they kept it intact and the eyes looked like they were looking at me. I had to take the head off and cover it and then was able to eat the rest of the body. I wasn't able to get a picture of the fish tonight, but I will make sure to take a picture tomorrow night! There were also some other dishes that I did not know what I was eating so that was interesting.

I am now writing this blog post in our room after we had dinner. I am rooming with Katie Jane, Betsy, and Hazel in this ryokan. Hazel and I are planning to hopefully go on a short run tomorrow morning throughout the town before breakfast.

Day 5: Thursday, February 16, 2017

I woke up this morning to a strange beeping noise in our room. The phone was ringing. The second time the phone rang, I answered it. There was a nice lady that was calling to make sure we were up and ready for breakfast in 15 minutes. She was talking in Japanese and I was really tired so I am pretty sure I answered incorrectly but she knew what I was saying. We got dressed in our yukata and then went downstairs for a traditional breakfast. Each table was set already. We ate soup, tamago (eggs), salmon, a pickled plum, salad, rice, tofu, and some other dishes that I did not know what I was eating exactly. I think we had fish eggs and something else that tasted like licorice. There is also always green tea. I accidentally put the whole pickled plum in my mouth because we had a sweet plum last night at dinner, so I was expecting that. It was the opposite of sweet; it was so sour. I did not want to be rude and spit it out so I forced myself to swallow it. It was so funny.

After breakfast we went up to our room and did work for an hour or so. We then walked outside in our yukatas to go to some of the onsens (natural hot springs). Before walking outside we had to take our slippers off and put on these shoes that are similar to flip flops; they are called geta.

After the baths, we walked down the road to look for a place to eat lunch. On the way we found some soft boiled eggs for sale. They were sitting out at the end of the road and you just put a coin in and take an egg. I didn't have an egg, but Hazel tried one and it was soft so you sort of drink it. We ate lunch at a soba noodle restaurant. We could see in the window in the kitchen as the man made the noodles.

We explored the town a bit more and then I went back to the ryokan to get some work done. Today was sort of a free day to choose what we wanted to do, so after exploring the town and going to the baths I did some homework and then practiced my dances for the dance show I am in at school, as a part of ETHS Dance Company, in a few weeks. After resting for a bit, it was time for dinner. Tonight's dinner was similar to last night's. It was a traditional Japanese dinner and had many small courses. We all had trouble finishing all of the food - there was so much. Once again, I had trouble eating the shrimp because it had eyes. I had to take off the head and then cover it with lettuce in order to eat the body and the other fish. It made me a little squirmish because it was looking at me. One dish that really stood out to me was the salmon. I don't usually enjoy salmon, but this salmon was amazing. We also cooked our own thin slices of meat by dipping it in the boiling water for 10 seconds or so. This process is called shibu shibu I think. It was really fun! And of course, there is always rice and green tea.

After dinner we walked around the town for about 15 minutes and then went back to our rooms. It is currently 10:19 P.M. and I am going to bed. Goodnight!

Day 6: Friday, February 17, 2017

Today was another big travel day. We woke up, put on our yukata, and then went to breakfast for the last day at the ryokan in Shibu. We had an hour to pack and get ready to leave, but I was all ready so I went out in the hallway and practiced all of my dances. While we were leaving, the host gave us some Japanese candy as a goodbye present. One of the candies were monkeys, which made sense because of the snow monkeys.

We took a bus to the train, and then took one smaller train to the Nagano station. From there, we took an express train to the Nagoya station. On this train we ate our lunch that we bought at Nagano station. I had sushi. The train was running a little late so we got up a few minutes early to stand by the door to get off the train quickly to catch our connection to the shinkansen. We kept looking at our watches, and we ended up only having two minutes to run across Nagayo station to get to the next shinkansen. As we were at the top of the escalator, we could see the doors of the train close. We missed our connection by a few seconds. It turned out fine and we ended up getting on the next train and just didn't have reserved seats. Some people had to stand for the 30 minutes on that train, me being one of them. This shinkansen rode from Nagoya to Kyoto. From Kyoto we had a small subway to the station near the hotel we are staying at now. We arrived at the ryokan. This ryokan is similar to the last ryokan, except it is a bit nicer. They served us tea as we waited for our rooms.

Once we were settled in, we walked back to the train station to take a train back to Kyoto Station. The Kyoto Central Station is like a big shopping mall. There are many restaurants, a department store, and many smaller stores. For dinner, my group had ramen. Afterwards, we explored the station. The 11th floor had a walkway where we were able to see the Kyoto Tower. I arm wrestled Hazel and Paul. I beat Hazel, but Paul beat me. It was very close. We are going to have a rematch in a few days after I do a few more pushups ;) While we were exploring, Hazel tried to order a hot chocolate, but the lady misunderstood her and brought her a hot dog instead. It was hilarious.

We arrived back at our ryokan and got ready for bed. For these next few nights at this hotel I am rooming with Tiara and Abby. On our pillows we saw that there was a nice little message and origami horse from the hotel.

On this trip I have been given a weird new nickname: hand hand. People call me Tay Tay as a nickname sometimes, but in Japanese "te" means hand. So that's funny. Okay I'm going to bed now. Goodnight!

Day 7: Saturday, February 18, 2017

This morning we woke up and ate breakfast in the ryokan in our yukatas. The tables were organized by the rooms we are staying in. This breakfast was similar to the breakfasts we have had the past few days in the last ryokan, except we sat on the ground instead of in chairs. I am able to do this since I am young and flexible, but I would think that some people may have trouble sitting on their knees for an entire meal.

After breakfast we walked to the train station and then took a small subway to Kyoto station. We then took a shinkansen to the Nagoya station to catch a bus to our site. During the bus ride we rode through the third longest tunnel in the world. It took about 10 minutes to go through. After about two and a half hours on the bus, we arrived at Shirakawago. This farmhouse village is a famous sightseeing spot in Japan, and it is especially beautiful in the winter. Today there was around 6 feet of snow or even more in some places! It was taller than me!

We took another bus ride to our next location: Gokayama. At Gogayama these three days of the weekend, there is a special night light-up festival. They light candles inside little alcoves in the snow and there is a performance of dancing and singing that goes on all night. We also were served red bean soup to warm ourselves up when we got cold and had to take a break inside.

The transportation back to the hotel took another 4 hours total. We had bento boxes as our dinner on the way back on the bus. We are now back at the ryokan and it is really late. Tomorrow I am excited to explore Kyoto all day! It's Mr. Vankrey's favorite place on earth. Also, my student that I hosted from freshman year, Risako, is going to come by tomorrow morning to see me! We have been emailing back and forth recently and we finally get to see each other again!

Day 8: Sunday, February 19, 2017

This morning after breakfast I met up with my Japanese student who stayed with my freshman year for a week! Risako came to the ryokan after breakfast and we talked for 15 minutes there. She goes to a cooking school in Nara now and still studies English. She asked me about my family and remembered Skipper! We hope to see each other again one day. Maybe she will come visit me in America again sometime soon.

We walked to the station and then had to say our goodbyes. From the train, we walked to the Todaiji Temple. We were able to get out goshuin - the special signings in our temple books.

We took a bus from the shrine to the Kitano Tengmangu Shrine. There were many plum blossoms and it smelled amazing. The shrine itself was beautiful. It has to do with education, so people come to the shrine to wish for good education and success in their studies. It is also good luck to rub the nose of the animal.

Next we took a bus to a konbini (convenient store - 711) to buy some food for lunch. We found a small playground to eat in and then we headed over to the Nijo Jinya - the Ninja Museum. The house was so cool with so many secret hiding spots. They made us take off our shoes before we entered, but the house was open to the outside so the floor was freezing. We spent most of the tour trying to warm our feet. We also could not take pictures. After the tour, we went to Nijo Castle. We could not take pictures of the inside, but the walls were lined with intricate designs of mostly animals.

Next, we went to the Fushimi Inari Shrine. This is my favorite shrine we have gone to so far. I loved the beautiful tori gates and the pathways that they made leading up to the mountain.

We stayed at the Fushimi Inari Shrine for an hour and a half and then took a train back to Kyoto station to get dinner. My group went to get interesting looking pizza. I had curry pizza which turned out to be descent. After, we ordered green tea ice cream which was also good. We explored the station for a few more minutes, met up with the rest of the groups, and then headed back to the ryokan for the last night. We walked into our room and found a nice note from the manager.

Now I am tired and really need to get some sleep. I keep almost falling asleep on the long train and bus rides. Goodnight!

Day 9: Monday, February 20, 2017

Today we got up for our last big breakfast in the ryokan. Since it was our last special breakfast, Mr. Vankrey was more strict about finishing all of our food. I ate mostly everything except did not finish my small fish. When we were excused, we packed and got ready to leave for the train station. We bought our lunches at the Kyoto Central Station and then took a two hour shinkansen to Kanazawa. The ceiling and architecture in the Kanazawa train station is so cool. It is similar to the architecture in The Cube in the Kyoto Central Station.

By the time we arrived at Kanazawa, it was pouring. We walked to our hotel in the rain and then put our luggage down before heading back out to the sights for the day. This is our first western hotel we are staying in. Therefore, it has regular baths and showers, beds, a restaurant, an exercise room, laundry room, library, and other parts similar to a hotel in America.

The first place we went after putting our bags down at the hotel was the Ninja-Dera. This was another ninja house similar to the house in Kyoto. This house was a bit bigger and more complex. It was also not open to the outside the whole time so our feet were not frozen :). We could not take pictures in the house but I can assure you that it is one of the coolest houses I have ever seen. There are so many doors and stairs that you would never have known existed if it weren't for the tour guides. Our next sight was Omicho Market. I did my site report on Omicho Market. This market has been the largest fresh fish market in Kanazawa since the Edo period. We walked around the market for about an hour. There was a lot of fish, but they sold other products such as flowers, candy, and mochi too.

We took a bus back to the hotel, did homework for an hour, and then went downstairs for dinner in the hotel cafe. This was our first American dinner since we landed in Japan a little over a week ago. I had pasta with red sauce. It was a nice break in my palate after having food I am not used to for a whole week. I have loved most of the food so far, but it was good to go back to something familiar for one meal.

I am currently in the nice library they have on the fourth floor with many other students doing homework along with me. Tomorrow morning I am hoping to get up at 5:30 to go to the exercise room and practice my dances if no one is in the room that early. There is a mirror and a small place to move so I think it should work. I am so excited! I miss dance so much. Well, I am going to finish up my Japanese homework and then go to bed. Talk to you tomorrow!

Day 10: Tuesday, February 21, 2017

Today I woke up and went to the exercise room. I was the only one so I was able to dance! I did all of my dances for the show and then some lady came in so I left after a little while. We went to breakfast in the restaurant in the hotel. It was a buffet with mostly Japanese food, but there was some American food as well which was a nice change.

The first sight we went to today was the kenrokuen. Here, we walked around the grounds for an hour and then went inside a villa where there were dolls and doll house accessories. My grandma would have loved this because she used to make doll houses with dolls and all of the accessories inside. Unfortunately, we were not able to take pictures. Inside the villa, it was freezing. We had to take our shoes off so our feet were frozen. We spent most of the time in the villa finding ways to warm up our feet. After the villa, we explored for another hour. I went inside a tea house with a few other students. We had tea and they served us a small treat along with the tea to contrast the bitter and sweet.

After exploring Kenrokuen, we found a noodle place for lunch. I had udon noodles for the first time in Japan. Apparently you are supposed to swallow the noodles without chewing. I tried it but was scared of choking so I ended up eating it while chewing. I can hardly swallow pills in the first place, so I don't know how I could possibly swallow the noodles.

Will be posting the rest of the day later....