Japan!
After having such an amazing time in China, Japan had a lot to live up to, but I knew it would not be hard with the exciting itinerary, or rather the lack of actual plans at all, that I would conquer with some of my best friends. We pre-bought a Japan rail pass in China and that is really the only thing we had planned. It was so nice to travel with just us 4 girls, no itinerary, no tour group, and no restrictions. Before SAS I could have never traveled on my own, but now I know I can handle just about anything and it will all work out. I guess after conquering the food in India, the streets of Vietnam, and the hagglers of Ghana, I can handle just about anything traveling throws my way. What a relief to know that my love for traveling can continue and better yet, I can do it all on my own, independently as I always prefer to do things.
The first part of the week the ship was docked in Kobe and then it moved to Yokohama for the second part of our stay. For this reason, my friends and I decided we would remain off the ship as long as possible and travel on our own to meet the ship in Yokohama…best decision! So the first day I had to complete my final FDP for my art history class, thank goodness FDPs are over (I did not luck out with many interesting ones…this one wasn’t too bad though). My class and I traveled by bus to Kyoto to visit the Daitoku-jo temple and Daisen-in garden. Both locations were very beautiful as they were surrounded by nature and focused on tranquility and Zen. Although it was a tour, I found the gardens very interesting and I realized the significance that relaxation and tranquility must play in everyone’s lives if they want to live healthily. Simply being in these environments for a short period was so relaxing and peaceful. Everyone needs a place that they can escape the craziness of life sometimes, for Buddhists it is these gardens, and it showed me that I need to find my own tranquil place as well.
After my experience in Kyoto on the first day, I was super excited to travel back there the following day with my friends. Before Kyoto though, we decided to travel halfway across Japan to visit Hiroshima. This is why the bullet train is amazing- we traveled halfway across the country in less than 3 hours, and then did so the following days as we went to Kyoto, Tokyo and Yokohama. Once arriving in Hiroshima Liz, Paige, Tess and I made our way through the pouring rain to the Peace Memorial Museum and park. The rain definitely put a damper on the mood, but in a way I was glad to see this city in a dreary state because it made the sad reality of the atomic bomb that much more real. The city as a whole has completely rebuilt and is a hub of hopefulness, I say this because they are a leader against nuclear warfare and there is even a spot at the museum to write petition letters to world leaders against the use and creation of atomic bombs. I’ve never been the type of person to get involved in political debates and I am not trying to point fingers, but if no one owned these means of disaster and warfare wouldn’t it benefit us all? Why is it a competition to own the most nuclear bombs, sure it ensures power and fear from other countries, but the lives of people should not be something we just dangle as a toy to provoke fear. Sure it is good to be at the top, but I can’t say I always agree with how we make it there…maybe this is why I am not involved in politics because I would just say let’s mind our own business, which the U.S. is obviously not good at!
Later that evening we took a train to Kyoto and met up with 3 other girlfriends- Lindsey, Haley and Sohanna. The seven of us, plus a random SAS girl we met on the street (yes we still meet new SASers we have never seen…weird) all stayed at the Tour Club hostel. It was my first hostel experience- hall bathroom, all of us sleeping on mattresses on the ground, no shoes allowed- the whole shebang and it was great! It was so cheap and such a fun place for young people to stay. I will definitely be staying at more of these in the future (for short periods of time only)… hopefully if/when I make it backpacking across Europe J The following day was spent trekking through Kyoto by riding the city buses with our unlimited day pass for only $5. It was such a pain to figure out and so slow, but I guess that’s what you trade for saving money. Kyoto is such a beautiful city and my favorite place I visited in Japan. It is not a big, loud city like Tokyo, nor is it a port city like Kobe or Yokohama. It is a city filled with rich history, geishas, temples, shrines, and best of all cherry blossoms, which just so happened to be at their peak bloom while we were there. Along with Tess, Liz and Paige I explored the Kinkakuji golden Zen temple, the silver temple, and then walked along the Philosopher’s Path, which was truly breathtaking as it was filled with cherry blossoms.
After getting our fill of Kyoto we rushed to the train station, reminding ourselves that we just had to go to the Giants baseball game that night in Tokyo. I am so glad that we did this because going to a baseball game in Tokyo is so wild and so, so much fun! Hate to say it, but it was definitely more exciting than baseball in America and probably just as exciting as a USC football game (Go Gamecocks! Haha) Making it to the game in time required we take our huge hiking backpacks, which would have never been allowed in the U.S., but of course are no problems in foreign countries, except for the laughs we got as people called us “hitch hikers”. Never thought I would enjoy the term, but by the time I had completed my backpacking through Japan I felt as I had truly earned the title because it is definitely not easy to do! When the game was sadly over we headed to find a hotel and after repeated bad luck and a walk through the terrifying Red Light district (ask me in person how I am sure this was it) we finally found a friends hotel who we tossed our stuff in and freshened up before going out with them. In the Roppongi district we passed by many Jamaican men attempting to bribe you into their bars, which was extremely odd…who knew there were Jamaicans in Japan? So we finally found a bar filled with SASers and had lots of fun spending our last night out in a port during SAS with all of our new friends, it was bittersweet, but we have 3 more weeks to say our final goodbyes.
After making our way back to our friends’ hotel we decided to not sleep on their floor after all, we simply changed clothes, packed up our backpacks yet again and headed for the fish market. Originally we thought it opened at 4 am, but soon discovered subways didn’t open until 5…long story short we slept for an hour in a Japanese fast food restaurant. When we finally made it to the fish market it was 6 am. It was a pretty gross experience, but I guess 3 homeless girls didn’t have much else to do so why not? The ship was not set to arrive in Yokohama until 8 am so we dragged our tired, fish smelling butts that direction and were luckily able to board the ship as soon as it arrived. We slept all morning and finally I made myself wake up at 1 to go explore the port city of Yokohama, never waste a day in port- a personal rule during my SAS experience! After grabbing some Starbucks, Liz and I stumbled upon a Tulip Festival which was so beautiful and random at the same time.
The last day in Japan was freezing, windy and raining. It was absolutely one of those days that if I were at home I would have stayed inside all day in my pajamas and probably even skipped class. Not in Japan though, and definitely not at the last chance I would have to get off the ship for the next 2 weeks! Paige and I suited up and after walking in the rain and taking multiple train rides we finally made it to the Harajuku district in Tokyo. This area is known for the wacky dressed girls and high fashion, so it was no surprise that even in pouring rain everyone dressed adorable. High heeled rainboots, stilettos, cherry printed umbrellas, and bows everywhere; it is all just too cute in an over the top kind of annoying way. None the less is was fun to see and put any possible fashion sense I have to shame. For lunch we searched for sushi, which by the way is a delicacy in Japan and is ridiculously difficult to find. Sadly, I never even got to eat sushi there, nor did I drink sake, which goes to prove that our American ideas about other countries are often so misguided and false! In the end we found a burger joint and I thoroughly enjoyed the first hamburger I have had in months. After being overly full, cold, wet and out of yen (Japanese currency) we decided to head back to the ship and end our stay in Japan.
Japan was very cool to visit and surprisingly very different than China. Everything is so expensive, definitely different than China, and the people are even very different. One word I would use to describe Japan is beauty. Every person is beautiful, the way each person dresses themselves is very thought out and beautiful in each individual way, the food is beautiful, the gardens scream of beauty and perfectionism. I could go on, but you get my point- they are all beautiful, clean, perfectionists! I am sad that this was the last port, but also very thankful that I was able to see so much of Japan in only 5 days. I had an amazing time with my girlfriends, made lasting memories, and I can finally say that I have traveled to 11 countries in the last 3 months. WOW…I think it is still setting in and will be for months to come! I have experienced so many different places, emotions and cultures and it was definitely good to end my travels abroad on such a beautiful note as in Japan. I still have roughly 3 weeks on the ship in which I have to write papers, give presentations, take final exams etc. you know the fun stuff I’ve been missing out on while in port! We do get a one day stop in Hilo, Hawaii before arriving in San Diego. Brandon will be meeting me there and then 4 days later I will finally get to see my family and at some point my friends! I have missed everyone and everything about home so much during this time, but as with all things in life- you must give something up, to get something better. This semester was a great trade for my life back at home, but I think I’m ready to trade back. I can give my travels up and be with the ones I love most…for a little while at least J
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