Japan. Where do I begin? I have never traveled so far, so fast, in such a short amount of time, but it was a BLAST!

Day 1:
I began in Yokohama with a Semester at Sea overnight trip to Tokyo. Our first stop in Yokohama was the Sankeien Gardens. It was a beautiful park tucked back in the city. We were able to spend quite a bit of time there exploring and walking around. Then we went to the Harbor overlook where we had our first sighting of school kids in their uniforms. They were the cutest things, the girls dressed in navy skirts and jackets and yellow hats and the boys were sharply dressed in navy suits and they all carried matching navy leather backpacks. Next, we went to the Landmark Tower. It is the tallest building in Japan! The view from the top was gorgeous- the city sprawl stretched until Tokyo and the mountains in the far distance. We were able to see the baseball stadium(baseball is HUGE in Japan) and even our boat in the harbor. The bottom of the tower was like a mall. There were lots of western stores like Coach, Laura Ashley, Starbucks, Coldstone, but there were also anime, Pokémon, and authentic Japanese stores too. Of course I got a Krispy Kreme doughnut from Japan!....Don’t worry it tasted great, but they don’t serve them hot like they do at home! Then we headed to Tokyo! We went to a local Japanese restaurant for dinner and had our first encounter with the language barrier. Luckily they had a picture menu! I went with the safe choice of teriyaki chicken and rice! It was soo good! After dinner we explored the Roppungi district. A few of us took a taxi back to the hotel later in the evening but one thing I wish I had known about Japanese taxi drivers is that they don’t know the city well because people rarely take cabs. So here we were lost in the middle of Tokyo with a Japanese speaking man who had know idea where we were. He finally stopped and asked the police how to get to our hotel. I was so thankful when we finally made it to the hotel safely!

Day 2:
The real adventure started. I was leaving my semester at sea itinerary to meet up with my other friends who I was independently traveling with for the rest of the week. However, I was in one part of Tokyo and they were in another and we all had to meet up. I know this was not very smart, but I had no other choice in getting to them except to travel alone. So me and my backpack set out from the hotel Wednesday morning to the train station. I was in a foreign country by myself, with no cell phone, standing bewildered in front of the most confusing train route maps I had ever seen. So I just started asking. I began with a local and then another and then the train station staff. No help. Once again looking confused and out of place, a very nice Japanese man came up to me and asked if I needed help-yes in English! I know it was an angel from Heaven. He helped me buy my fare and showed me the exact route to take and where to go in the station. I wish I had a video of me in this station. It was rush hour and I was the only American among all Japanese businessmen in identical suits…you might say I stuck out just a little bit. I eventually made it to my other friends and I think we were all amazed and impressed that I had survived the morning!
Our first stop of the day was the Sensoji Temple. It was a Shinto shrine and Buddhist garden. Then we went to the Meiji shrine. The entrances to a shrine is called a “Torii”(what a coincidence!ha) and this shrine had the most big and beautiful one! From there we went to Harajuku, a shopping district for young people. I was really excited about shopping until I walked into a store and found that the biggest size any place carried was a medium. I tried on a medium jacket and the sleeves came just past my elbows. So much for a clothing souvenir from Japan! Then we went to the “Electric City.” The store Yadobishi-Akiba was 9, yes 9 floors of only electronics and these weren’t small floors. They were like the size of a huge department store floor. Finally, we took one last train to Asakusa where we stayed the night in a capsule hotel. The capsules were awesome! They provided “bath clothes”….I think we had more fun taking pictures than anything else!

Day 3:
After a good nights rest of 3 hours at the capsule hotel, Sally, Becca, and I set off to find a Sumo wrestling practice. After a few hours of walking we finally found the office building where the “sumo wrestling farm” was located. We rang the door bell and a guy in a sumo outfit came out and got us and brought us into the practice area. We had to be completely silent and could not take any pictures-which I hate because it was one of my favorite parts of my trip. There were 13 sumo wrestlers and 3 coaches. They would all take turns in the dirt ring wrestling while the others worked out around the ring. It was very intimidating for the girls and me to walk into a room full of sumo wrestlers by ourselves, but I’m so glad we did it. After the sumo practice we headed to Hakone! We went to the Yunessun hot springs in the mountains where we were able to soak in chocolate, coffee, red wine, and green tea! We also stuck our feet in a pool where little fish, who like to eat dry skin, came up and swarmed our feet. It was so weird! We headed back down the mountain and then took the bullet train to Kyoto.

Day 4:
Finally a day not packed so full. We visited several temples and gardens and the shopping district. We also got to see some of rural Japan and the beautiful architecture of local homes. Then we headed to Nara where we spent the night in a 103 year old traditional Japanese guest house. We slept on mats and wore kimonos!

Day 5:
One last day to see as much as possible. We walked to a temple where the first and biggest Buddha was located. It was HUGE! But Nara was very strange. There were deer walking around everywhere. It was gross. People were petting them and if you had food for them they would bow to you. We then headed to Kobe where I had the best meal of the whole week. I had true Kobe beef. It was INCREDIBLE. I don’t know if I will be able to eat normal steak after this experience! Exhausted and with satisfied stomachs we were actually excited to head back to the ship. We left Kobe around 8 and set sail to China.

I have never been so exhausted. I haven’t even had the chance to process all that I experienced over the last 5 days, but I know Japan is a place I wont forget.

Random observations from Japan:
• Men carry bags
• Heated train seats
• Walk and bike, not as many cars on the road
• No refills
• People sleep all the time on buses and trains
• Put money on a tray when you pay
• Obsession with cell phones and cell phone charms; no phone calls-texting
• “japan” smell and taste to everything we ate
• no diet coke
• no napkins
• umbrella technology
• squatters
• hot towels for hands before every meal
• heated toilet seats with music in almost every place
• obsession with shoes and purses


The seas have gotten a little rough again! I guess we are now in the East China Sea because the water is a different color than what we were used to seeing in the Pacific- its now green! We arrive in Shanghai tomorrow! I will spend two days in Shanghai, four in Beijing, and two in Hong Kong!