I'm Turning Japanese

(This is going to have to be split into three parts: two Japan, one Korea)
I hatched a plan about the time I went into undergrad that I would go abroad the summer after I graduated. As luck had it, I went abroad for other reasons every summer. I wanted this summer to be for me, though.

I've always been interested in Asia. I've watched Japanese movies and TV shows for as long as I can remember, and started listening to the music thanks to some friends in middle school. I had a knack for getting in trouble with it in high school -- always frustrating.

But we made plans. We were supposed to be there three weeks together, but life happened to me and she left without me. Luckily, I was all kinds of prescient last year: I bought trip insurance on the airline tickets and opted not to walk in graduation. So, I could be with dad in his last days and pushed back my tickets two weeks. I met up her the first week I was there, her last week.

Anyone crossing the international dateline should be warned that the flights are something like ten hours from the east coast and you will be jet-lagged when you reach your destination.

I flew out of Orlando to Narita via Chicago the day after dad's internment. My hour layover in Chicago, as per my luck, turned into a four hour layover. This ended up being a good thing, though, because I was able to talk to the travel agency and find out my options about changing dates and departure cities for my return flights.

The flight took us over the north slope of Alaska. It was interesting to see it from the air. I've never seen so many frozen lakes, and the glacial reworking was just amazing.














My first meal in Japan was a traditional bento. I still have no idea what was in it, but it was good. I ate it on the train on the way into Tokyo proper, then up to Nikko. When Japan hosted the 1998 winter Olympics, Nikko was where a lot of the downhill skiing took place. It is also home to the Fire Shrine (Rinno-ji) and is a world heritage site in Japan. It is also one of the most decorated building in Japan complete with gold leaf. Everywhere.














We headed south toward Fujiyama. We took an inadvertent side-trip to Matsumoto Castle (Matsumoto-jo), which is the second largest castle in Japan behind Himeji-jo. The entire castle is made of fit wood, but no steel holding it together. Everything is beautifully polished, but the ceilings in the lower levels are short. The average height of a samurai was 4'6", so clearance for my 5'6" self was an issue in areas.

Getting to Kawaguchiko (in the shadow of Fujiyama) was a fiasco in itself. We got bad directions from the hostel we were supposed to be staying at and had to figure it out the trains to get there. Neither of us knew enough Japanese to get really good directions, but one of the ticket planners knew enough English to get us there. Luckily, we caught the last train out to Kawaguchiko and made it to the hostel safely.




















Fuji was, as expected, amazing. You can see the mountain itself from all around. Hiking season hadn't opened yet, so we didn't get to step foot on it. That is just another reason for me to go back to Japan! We did, however, get to go into the mountain. There are a series of caves and lava tubes that dot the surrounding areas. The temperature maintained in the caves is well below freezing even on the hottest days. Ashley and I went to three different caves, all of which had icicles hanging from the ceilings and man-made ice walls in the paths, just to cool off. I think we biked over 60 km that day in ~28^oC heat.

After a couple days of exploring the countryside, we headed north again to Tokyo. Tokyo is your typical metropolitan city, but it was my first metropolis as well. We went to all of the communities we could. Luckily everything is pretty well-connected by the trains (which we could ride for "free") or the subways (which cost ~$10 for a day pass that covered all the rails).

We spent a Saturday in Harajuku at the Olympic village listening to the different bands. Harajuku is right next to a row of producers and the major TV channels, so every once in a while someone will get noticed. (It also has the strange property of making people say things like "東方神起 and 嵐 walked here" -- something I was guilty of thinking.)



















The Harajuku Girls were interesting to see. Apparently they were originally the outcasts at school who would dress up to create a different persona. Now they just dress up like anime characters, but it's neat nonetheless.
Tokyo proper had Tokyo Tower, which, in my opinion, is much more interesting than the Eiffel Tower. And it's taller. And red.

My favorite place was the TepCo Green Energy Museum and Shibuya Crossing both in the Shibuya district of Tokyo. The people watching was just amazing.

Even though we stood out because of our skin color (and me more so because of my blonde hair and blue eyes), it was pretty accomodating. We even met a cashier at a McDonalds who was on summer break from the University of Kentucky, I think, working in Shibuya to earn some cash. Which begs the question "Why are you working in the most expensive city in the world to earn some cash?"... but to each her own.

More to come -- the rest will chronicle the 2.5 weeks I spent running around Japan and Korea by myself.




And always remember, in more rural Japan, the biker is king.