Japan

Vacation is over. This is the first day I've been at school in quite a while. I had about 2 weeks vacation, plus my school asked me to teach extra during English camp and not come in a few other days. I loved it, but it's good to be back in routine again. Also I forgot how cold my classroom can get.

It was such a great trip! We spent 5 days in Japan and visited 3 different cities. It was very hectic and not at all relaxing. A lot of time was spent on trains and subways and looking at maps. I don't like to look like a tourist more than I already do - I feel like I'm just asking to be taken advantage of - so I let my friends do most of the map reading. Half the people thought Katherine was Japanese anyways. Japanese people are as polite as everyone says they are. The English on their clothes is much more accurate than in Korea. And the subways are so quiet. There are signs saying no cell phone, and nobody even talks to the people they're sitting with.

I enjoyed Tokyo the most because it's such a big city with so many people. And everyone is an individual, I've practically forgotten what that's like. You can wear whatever you want and it's ok. I wouldn't wear most of the stuff they do, but it's so fun to look at everyone. Lots of the girls look like life-size dolls. Tokyo might be the best place to people-watch. Our first night there we walked around Shibuya and Harajuku and did a little shopping, a little eating. We went into a restaurant for dinner because it was full, and that's always a good sign. We sat down at the counter and everyone just kind of looked at us. Turns out you're supposed to place an order on this machine that looks like an ATM, then give your ticket stub to the chef so they can cook what you ordered. We did not do that. We pointed and played charades and got our food, but not without a few ugly stares from some other customers. Oh well.

The next morning we went to Yoyogi Park. There wasn't a ton to see since it was January, but I felt like I was in "real" Japan for a little bit, hanging out with the kids and families and watching people live their lives. After that we went back to Harajuku. The night before it had been pretty deserted, but it was much more lively and exciting the second time around. In the evening we went to Mori Tower to see the city. We planned to go around sunset so we could get both day and night pictures. Smart. Tokyo is so spread out, and watching the sun set over the mountains and all the city lights come on was beautiful. I think this was the highlight of Japan for me. After that we made our way to the bus station with the help of a nice policeman and took a night bus to Osaka.

The first thing we did in Osaka was the spa. They had lots of different pools, and signs next to those pools with pictures of bamboo and leaves and flowers. We're assuming whatever was in there was good for our skin. After a ton of walking in Tokyo and sleeping on a bus, soaking in warm pools of water was just what we needed. In the evening we wandered around the riverwalk. If you live/have lived in Ulsan, it's like a big classy Seongnam-dong.

The next day we took the train to Kyoto. It used to be the capital of Japan before Tokyo, so there are a lot of historic things to see. None of us really cared to visit temples in Japan, but several people told us to go to a certain one so we did. It was orange, which is different, and there were lots of ladies and families walking around in kimonos. The temple is on top of a hill so you get wonderful views of the city. And it's in a very historic-feeling neighborhood. We spent hours wandering around, eating green tea flavored things and buying souvenirs. Next we went to the golden pavilion. The story is that it used to belong to some Japanese gangster, and when he died he left it to the monks. Ironic. That night we ate sushi. I'm not a fish eater, but I really wanted to like sushi in Japan. My friends picked out the tame ones for me, and it was good! We had a great day in Kyoto. It's a very peaceful, tranquil city.

Our last day in Japan was spent at Osaka castle. It was built in the 1600s, then burned down several times and re-built. I think the version we saw was the 4th or 5th. I hate finding out that what I'm looking at is a copy of something that used to exist, but such is life. The short version of the castle saga is this: the man who built it started out as a peasant and worked for a military man, then ended up taking over his job when that man died. People (today) are very inspired by his story because it's so rags-to-riches. Back then not everybody loved him. Wars were fought. Fires were started. Eventually there was peace.

Japan is a very expensive country. We budgeted, but by day 5 we each had a handful of coins left. We were left with enough to take the subway back to our hotel to get our bags, take the free shuttle to the airport, and eat a cheap meal in the airport. Well, of course, the subway left later than we thought, and we were cutting it very close. We didn't have enough money to pay for a ride to the airport and also eat once we got there. So as soon as those subway doors opened we sprinted for our hotel. I basically threw myself in front of the shuttle to make the driver stop, and Thao and Katherine ran inside to find our suitcases. At the airport we each had a plate of noodles and split a bottle of water that the kind lady let us buy even though we were 2 yen short. Successful trip!