Coming Back to the States and My Final Thoughts

When I had to leave for the airport to Narita on Tuesday I was lucky enough to have my three best guy friends accompany me: Josh, Allen, and Tobias. The easiest route and least expensive route to the airport was a bus fare from Machida bus terminal directly to the airport. It costs roughly 3600 yen or a litte more than $36. With three guys and three bags in tow we took the 2 hour bus ride to the airport terminal. The last time that I had been at the terminal was when I took a flight from Narita to Seoul, South Korea at the end of October. It was so strange a concept for me to be getting on a plane but not expecting a return flying to Tokyo.

Since I'm such a punctual person, we arrived in the terminal about and hour and half ahead of schedule. We decided to take that time to grab something to eat a Japanese family style restaurant. We spent that time joking, laughing, and just remembering the crazy fun times we had together. Before I left, a lot of people have asked me what I would miss most about Japan. After professing my love for the Japanese convenience stores, I answered that the one thing that I would miss the most is the people. The friends that I have made both the Japanese students who were so kind and helpful to us while were were there trying to figure out this new country, and those people who were in the RJ program like me who came from all parts of the world. That's who I would miss most. They all have unique personalities and temperments that I knew I would never find again in another person. The most difficult thing was that I knew that this may be the last time that I would see most of these people. We would go on and live our lives moving in separate directions and that was the saddest part for me.

I didn't think it would be that hard to leave. Actually, when I left Boston, a part of me was dreading the trip ahead. I was wondering to myself, what the hell was I thinking? How can I survive in a place where I can barely speak the language? Now that I am across the Pacific and had the chance to experience this once in a life time chance it was so so difficult for me to let it all go. I've never been one for crying at departures. I never felt the need to. I guess because I've never met such great people whom I wished to never leave before. So it was no surprise that I didn't even make it past Japanese customs before I began crying. People must've thought I was crazy or something since I was the only one looking like I was having a nervous breakdown, but it was so difficult.

Before I left, my friend Josh gave me a few Japanese parting gifts of sweets and a really touching letter. He talked about how we were one of the few people to meet immediately on the first day that we landed in Tokyo and how he was extremely thankful for it. I think that's what the trip really taught us. Is that there is a bigger world to the one that we already know and that there are so many unique people around the world who share the same goals and aspirations as we do. I wouldn't know how under any other circumstances I would've met Tobias; a European born Sweede who loved to get me mad. Or Lulu who was originally from China but who had spent the last five years studying in a college in Vancouver, Canada who felt like my long lost sister in many ways. Or Josh and Allen who were both from sunny California whom I may have never met if it wasn't for this trip. We live on the same continent and yet we were so far away from each other. It's difficult even for me now to write about them. I've kept in touch with my friends and they are doing well but it's still not the same as seeing them everyday.

This study abroad experience has taught me a lot. Being able to live in a foreign country has helped me better adapt to new enviornments. It's helped me be bolder and braver in many ways. I'm not afraid to do certain things that I would've been reserved about before because in the end it's our ownselves that holds us back from what we can achieve not anyone else. I didn't think my trip to Japan would have been possible, but I worked for it and I was able to take it.

For anyone taking this trip to Tokyo it's one that is worthwhile. My only advice is to leave your expectations behind and keep a very open mind. You are going to be entering a foreign country that is vastly different from ours. I did this and I think that was why I was able to readily adjust without having to experience culture shock while abroad. It's an experience that you will definitely not regret.

For anyone who wants more info please feel free to contact me at xxmarorixx@hotmail.com

I hope one day to make it back to Tokyo, but until then....

Ja mata ne!

One of our last puri-kura pictures together

My Last Weekend and Farewell to Tokyo

For both mine and Natasha's last weekend (another NEU student), our friends decided to accompany us out to a club in Shibuya. Out of the four months total that I had been in Japan, this was only my second time going to the club. The first time was out in Roppongi at a club called Muse. I had a wonderful time then, but refrained from going since then because it is really tiring.


The clubs in Japan are open until 5am and they keep serving drinks until then. A really nice change from Boston's 2 am last call. In addition, the trains only run until 12 am and do not reopen until around 5-6 am. So if you are going to be going out to the clubs, especially in Shibuya, you are most likely going to be out from 10 pm the previous evening until around 8 am the following morning. Taking a cab from Shibuya to Machida would cost you, no lie, an arm and a leg. I was told that a cab ride from Narita airport to Machida (about 2 and half hours) costs the same as a plane ticket to Okinawa. Screw that. That's why I stuck to public transportation.


Before going out to Shibuya, Natasha, some of her friends from NEU, Lulu and I decided that we would try our hand (and fate) on fugu. Fugu is a delicacy in Japan that can kill you. It contains textradoxin which literally paralyzes your muscles so you suffocate to death. Fugu chefs in Japan are regularly tested to make sure that these toxic parts don't land on your plate so death from fugu in restaurants with certified chefs are very rare. Unfortunately, by the time we made it to the fugu restarurant in Machida, which was literally a hole in the wall, it was totally filled and we couldn't get a place to sit without being late to meet everyone to go out to Shibuya. We then settled on this Chinese noodle restaurant instead which was fantastic.


We met everyone at the usual meeting place in Machida, kuru-kuru which is the art sculpture outside of Machida station. We decided to head out to Shibuya to a nomihoda (all you can drink) place first so we would be less inclined to spend more money on drinks at the club. I believe in total, there were over 15 of us trying to cram into two tables. We also invited along Naoki, who was our TA in our Japanese tutorial class, with us. It makes it a lot easier to speak to the hostess if you bring a Japanese friend along. We spent most of the time drinking, laughing, and talking. Lulu actually did her special card readings for us, and we were all amazed at how accurate it really was. Around 1:30 am we decided to head over to club Camelot which was not very far from the Shibuya metro stop. Thanks to the drinks, we were warm enough to head over in our club clothes without feeling like we were going to freeze to death.


Now, I've often roamed the streets of Boston after last call, and it's so funny to see other people also stumbbling out of bars, hailing cabs, or try to walk in a straight line down the street. After being in Tokyo, I've found that it's like that everywhere. Watching people walk down toward the club in Shibuya, Japanese people, was a like a flashback to early saturday and sunday morning walks down boylston in Boston. It was so strange and yet sad at the same time. I think this is when it really started to hit: that I would be gone in less than 3 days.


Club Camelot turned out to be one of the best night clubs I have ever been to. The majority of the people there were Japanese so we didn't have to worry about foreign guys who would be a bother to us girls who made up the majority of the party. The music was top hits in the US and we had a blast.


Once the club let out, we decided to grab some breakfast at a typical japanese fast food restaurant. A fast food restaurant in Japan involves sitting a counter, pointing a picture of what you want to eat, and receiving your food within 10 minutes. But the food that they serve is whole good for you food not burgers only. There's curry, various forms of rice and egg dishes with meat. I settled with the curry.


Once we were finished I made the long trek home with the rest of the group. A long 1 hour and half train ride home and 20 minute bus ride from Machida to our apt. ChampVert. We were exhausted but it's one of the nights that I will remember for a very long time to come. I got spend it with some good friends whom I am going to miss dearly and already do.





Natasha "Tasi" was one of the other Northeastern students to also spend a study abroad semester in Tokyo. While I am from MA originally, she is from Guam; a quick 3 hour flight from Japan. Therefore, she decided to book her flight a day before I was to take my flight home. This turned out to be the last day of classes before the short winter break during the fall semester. We both took the same Japanese culture test so were subjected to 2 and half hours of essay writing in order to take the Japanese culture final. I spent so much time prepping for both my Japanese culture final and the two parts to my Japanese language final that I didn't really have enough time to process the brevity of the time that I had left.


That same sunday that we returned from our night out in Shibuya, we decided to have our last meal with Tasi at shabu shabu. Shabu shabu or "chef chef" as it is translated out to be, is a place where you receive a pot of flavored broth on an electric stove. You receive boxes of different kinds of meat and vegetables and you can also place orders for rice and other foods. The purpose is to cooks these foods in the flavored broth at the table. Just like all of the other great Japanese food restaurants, this one was also tabihodi for two and a half hours or all you can eat.





This was considered to be Tasi's last hurrah so we made sure to take a ton of pictures while we were there. We were lucky enough to have some of our Japanese friends, whom we met early on in our time in Tokyo, to accompany us there as well.





That weekend was the best weekend that I have ever had. I got to spend it with some good friends who literally have been like my foster family for the four months that we have been together. Being able to be together and going through the same experiences as foreigners in a different country helped us to bond as a group and become closer as friends. I'm going to miss all of my friends and our unique relationships; especially my neighbors in the ChampVert Leopalace apartments. I'm going to miss listening to Lulu's random comments and my heated but playful verbal arguments with Tobias (I swear he just wanted to get me mad on purpose) while we walk to class together in the mornings. Below is a picture of us from right to left: Tobias "The Bastard Hime," Lulu "The Royal Cook," and me dubbed as "The Royal Bitch of ChampVert" jokingly by Tobias. They are only a few of the people that I am going to miss the most.

Nekobukuro and Landmark Tower

As promised, I made my way back to Ikebukuro only for the purpose of petting cats. Yes petting cats.


I have a 12 year old bicolored cat named Happi, who I sorely miss back home in the States. So when I was given the chance to go pet cats at Nekobukuro with a few of my friends on Wednesday, I just had to go!


Nekobukuro is located on Sunshine Dori on the top floor of Tokyu Hands; one of the most "creative life" stores in Japan. You can pretty much find anything in Tokyu Hands. It's kind of like a Target or a Walmart but with so much better class which is clearly reflected in the pricing of the merchandise.


We took the escalator and a set of stairs up to Nekobukuro. When we entered, we were greeted by the sound of cats meowing to the tune of Silent Night. It was cute at first, but I realized 10 minutes into my visit that it was extremely annoying.


Besides being a place to pet cats, Nekobukuro is a pet shop. You can buy smaller animals like frogs, turtles, gerbles, a chinchilla even, and lots of different fish. I had a great time just looking at the animals that they had for sale there.


The area where you can pet cats requires a 600 yen entrance fee or about $6. Nekobukuro is like a fantasy land for cats. The more expensive breeds are kept behind class windows, but are made comfortable in their boxes. Each one is themed with such themes as train cars, kitchens, and bathrooms. It's really quite unique because in each themed boxed room for the cats there are accessories that go along with the themed room like a really nice plush sofa chair made for the cat to lay on in the "living room" themed box. The open area was littered with scratching posts, toys, and large cat houses where the cats could play and sleep in. Many of the inexpensive breeds were allowed to roam around the room we were in so we had a chance to take pictures of them and pet them at our leisure. Many of the cats were sleeping. I think it was probably due to the heat in the room and the fact that it was the middle of the day. It seemed like all of the cats were used to humans and attention, so they paid us no mind while we petted them or took pictures of them.


This past weekend I had the chance to visit Yokohama Port one last time before I left for the States. In my Japanese 2a conversation portion of the class, my sensei sent us on a mission to explore a place in Japan with our groups and write a short essay about our feelings on the trip. Since I was leaving early, my group decided to go as soon as possible so that I would have enough time to write and turn in the essay. My group which consisted of me, the one and only American, Chin-san, a Chinese international student, Aun-san, a Korean high school international student, and Kimura-san who was our Japanese class guest and Oberlin student decided on a trip to Landmark Tower at Yokohama Port.


Landmark Tower which sits right near the harbor at Yokohama Port overlooks Yokohama Bay and its surroundings. I was so excited because I heard that the view was spectacular. So at 10 am we meet up at the Sakurachicho stop off the Yokohama Line and headed over to Landmark Tower.


Just like Tokyo Tower, Landmark Tower had its own staff of very nicely dressed young women who guided us to the elevator and took us up to the top floor. The elevator like Tokyo Tower's elevator was very unique. The elevator was dimly light when we entered and as we ascended, the celing of the elevator was illuminated in different colors. It was so pretty!


Just as I had expected, the view was breathtaking at the time. As you walk around the viewing area you have a chance to get a 360 degree look at what is around Yokohama. There were also pictures of the view with the names of the most famous landmarks and buildings pinpointed on the picture map so that you would be able to located them while viewing from the Tower. I took tons of pictures, and yet none of them can really do the view justice enough. You just have to be there yourself to really take it in.


The view from Landmark Tower's Observation Deck


Including the spectacular view, the observation deck also had a souvenir shop, a cafe, and different little decorative exhibits. Since it's so close to Christmas, most of the decorative exhibits were Christmas themed. It was very pretty.


By the time we came full circle in the observation deck, we were pretty darn hungry. Chin-san, the Chinese International Business student suggested a noodle shop in Chinatown that we could go to. So back I went to Yokohama's Chinatown.


After lunch, we decided to take a ferry back to Yokohama station. The ferry which costs about 700 yen or about $7 which takes you from the Park at Yokohama Port and past the ferris wheel up to Yokohama's outlet mall shopping area. The view was terrific and I was so happy to be back on a boat. It definitely reminded me of Boston, reminded me of home and yet a part of me has made Tokyo my home now. I realized then that it is going to be very difficult for me when I finally leave here.


A view of Yokohama's grassy knoll from ferry

Yumeguri Mangekyo Onsen

The most memorable experience that I've had thus far in Japan was my visit to a Japanese Onsen out in Chiba Prefecture.


Chiba Prefecture which is located right next to Tokyo Prefecture is about an hour and half to two hours by subway from our home in Machida. Luckily, many resorts in Japan such as this onsen offers a free shuttle bus near the Urayasu subway stop on the Tozai Line to Yumeguri Mangekyo Onsen.


If you ever get a chance to go to an Onsen, this one is the best place to go. Yumeguri Mangekyo Onsen has both a separate guys and girls section along with a shared guys and girls section where wearing bathing suits is allowed. This was advantageous for us because we were a group of five girls and one guy. In case you don't happen to know, an onsen is a traditional hot spring bath sort of like a hot tub infused with different herbs and such. A traditional onsen requires you to enter completely naked; hence the reason for separation of guys and girls in the onsen area. Typically, when you visit an onsen, you usually stay overnight at one of the rooms that they have their. It's supposed to serve as an all purpose spa and get-a-way vacation. Because of budget concerns (an overnight stay plus onsen admission was about 12500 yen or $125 not including food) we opted for a plain onsen admission without an overnight stay for about 3000 yen or about $30. Yumeguri Mangekyo Onsen was the most convienent onsen that you could go to though it is the only onsen that I planned on visiting while in Japan. It is quite big as well. The establishment has both the onsen area and a little "town" with different shops you can eat at complete with a souvenir shop and an arcade even. The convenience of it all is the bar code wrist bands that they give you when you first enter. You keep the bar code wrist band on your wrist even when you're in the onsen pool. With the bar code you can buy anything by simply scanning the bar code. It's like a tab that you run and pay for when you leave the onsen.


As mentioned before, the onsen has two sections a guys and girls section and a shared section outside. Both the guys and girls sections are set up quite similarly as what I could understand from the map. When you first walk into the girls section there are rows upon rows of lockers where you can store your clothing and belongings. It's here that you fully undress and then take your towel over to the onsen. When you first step into the indoor portion of the onsen your greeted by three rows of showers; a few stand showers but most of them are sit down showers. You have to shower fully; there's shampoo, conditioner, and body wash all there for you free to use. Once you've showered completely you are free to enter the onsen pools which are located in the same room as the showers. There were about 12 indoor onsen pools that differed in the types of minerals or water used, temperature and layout. My favorite pool was an indoor pool that used red wine from red grapes. It was so fragrant and relaxing and the water smelt delicious enough for me to want to drink it. Outdoors on the girls side where three more pools. I opted for the ones outside because the hot temperature of the pools made it too hot for me to tolerated for long periods of time. By the time we arrived at the onsen it was already dark out so being outside naked in a hot onsen under a dark starry sky was absolutely fantastic.


Women's Showers and Indoor Onsen Area (Image taken from the Yumeguri Mangekyo Onsen site at http://www.yumegurimangekyo.com/onsen/detail-16.html)


Since we went to the onsen with my neighbor who was a guy, me and another one of my girl friends decided to change into our bathing suits and meet out back where there were shared pools. The shared pools were even better than those indoors. I think it was because since the shared pools were outside they were a lot bigger. The pools construction outside was beautiful. They did a great job of incorporating nature around the pools. There were so many hidden rooms and crevices that you could explore and even a hand made waterfall that you could stand under and enjoy. My favorite outdoor shared pool was the igloo one. The name of it was written in kanji that I couldn't understand but it's pink igloo shaped doom was distinctive among the shallow inground pools that surrounded it. The water of the pink igloo had to be around over 100 degrees it was so hot I couldn't stand it. Because the water was very hot the inside of the igloo had a stone bench that was slightly submerged in the hot water about 2 cm under the water. It was big enough for the three of us to lay down flat on the stone; it was so relaxing.


After enjoying the onsen, we took another shower and headed off to the powder room. This is another reason why I think Yumeguri Mangekyo Onsen is extremely convenient. The powder room is actually two rows of about 50 individual "stalls." Each "stall" has a bamboo circular seat with no back and a sink. Around the sink were a bottle of face wash, moisturizer, hand wash, cotton balls, Q-tips, a brush, tissues, mousse, and a hair dryer. I was so happy to have a hair dryer! I thought my head would freeze on the way home!


Once we got dried up we dressed in our Yukata's that we rented and headed out of the locker rooms to eat in the little town square. We decided on a restaurant that served seafood. Everyone had seafood except for me of course. I love seafood, but I really wanted the curry. We ended up staying there for a good 5 hours. And, surprisingly, after food and a visit to the souvenir shop, my total cost was about 5000 yen or about $50.


If I had a chance to revisit Japan, I would definitely go back to Yumeguri Mangekyo Onsen. It was a great experience for such a little cost compared to other onsens. I definitely recommend it to anyone who wants that onsen experience and if you can afford it definitely stay overnight. I was so relaxed by the time I left that I couldn't help but fall asleep on the train ride home.


My friends and I post-onsen feeling relaxed and wearing Yukatas


Subway Directions to Yumeguri Mangekyo Onsen from Machida:
1. Take the Odakyu Line from Machida to Shinjuku.
2. From Shinjuku take the Shinjuku Line (which is part of the Tokyo Metro system) to Kudanshita.
3. At Kudanshita switch to the Tozai Line (which is still part of the Tokyo Metro system) and get off at the Urayasu stop.
4. When you exit the station, walk staright until you hit the main street. Take a left at the main street and walk about 30 meters until you see the Yumeguri Mangekyo Onsen bus stop on your right. Times for the buses are listed at the stop.

Suntatory Art Museum and Yokohama Ferris Wheel

This past weekend I had the chance to visit the Suntatory Art Museum in Roppongi's Tokyo Midtown area. There they had a special Picasso exihibit. Even though I had already been to the Picasso museum out in Paris, I was happy to see some of the same pieces in the exhibit though they were also interspaced by other pieces that I had not seen before. The exhibit was well and thoughtfully laid out. Basically through chronological order, the exhibit introduced the major works by the artist during that time period. The only unfortunate thing was that not all of the description plaques had english translations. In fact, the only two languages used during the exhibit was Japanese and French. I did the best I could to read the Japanese but not knowing a lot of the kanji definitely made it very challenging so I was content in just viewing the pieces.


One of the pieces that truly fascinated me was an oil painting of what is called "Massacre of Korea." Though its not stated it's supposed to represent the point right before a village slaughter. Instead of it being all blood shed and gore, it pictured a group of naked Koreans on the left with their invaders on the right. What was really moving was that the Koreans on the left of the pictured comprised of two couples and their children. The children spanned the ages from toddler to teen. Even though the parents on the left clearly displayed feelings of despair, loss, and anguish it was moving to see the expression in the children. The toddler who is seen playing at his parents feet is too young and unaware to know the awful thing that's about to happen. The girl who looks like she just hit puberty is aware that something is very wrong though she doesn't know what it is. The girl who is in her older teens who understands what is about to happen hides her nakedness due to fear. And the most interesting part is the way the invaders are represented: they are painted as knights with armor. Their faces are covered so you don't see who the identities of the invaders are. This is a really interesting concept because as it is told in history Japan was involved in many brutal invasions of Korea starting in and around the Muromachi/Tokugawa period up until and after the Meiji Restoration period which was very recent: in the early 1900s. Needless to say there are still some very sensitive people in Korea, the older generation mostly, who harbor resentment at the Japanese for what happened in the past. At first, the viewer is thought to believe that perhaps Picasso is representing the Japanese, but in fact the invaders are American and not Japanese. This is given away by the armor. The armor almost British in style is painted to represent the West. The Koreans claim that US forces bombed and killed over 300 koreans during the Korean War. This painting represents this claim. Knights that symbolize protection under the guise of protecting a country only to terrorize and kill its citizens. An interesting insight.

Massacre of Korea by Picasso

(image taken from: http://dearkitty.blogsome.com/2007/11/30/picassos-painting-massacre-in-korea/)


One of my friends and I managed to go through the exhibit quicker than the rest of our group. My reason was I had seen most of the materials; my friend's reason: he had a very short attention span.

After visiting the exibit, a friend and I decided to go to Yokohama Port. I had a date with the ferris wheel and I was determined to ride it. The Yokohama ferris wheel is a rather large ferris wheel with spectacular views. I was told that the best time to ride the ferris wheel was a sunset or at night when all of the lights in the city were lit.

The wait time for the ferris wheel wasn't that bad. We breezed through the line in about a half an hour. The ferris wheel has closed cars and even small fleeces since the cars had no heat. Since the ferris wheel was very high, it became very windy once we neared the top. This made my friend very nervous. I tried my hardest not to rock the car while I took pictures of the breath taking scenery. Yokohama Port was just as beautiful at night as it was during the day when I first visited it. Because it is close to Christmas there were a lot of christmas light decorations that adorned the board walk and the lights from the amusement park and the nearby buildings made it even prettier.

Kirin Brewery, Chinatown, and Kamakura

One of the classes that I'm taking while abroad is Experiential Activities. This class focuses on exposing us to japanese culture through participation. Several of the places that we have visited were shrines and the city of Machida (to do some shopping). We've also taken part in the tea ceremony club and learning how to play the koto. With each of these excursions we have to fully research the topic (worksheets are given to us in the class) and we have to answer questions reguarding the activity once we've completed it. One of the places that the class was really looking forward to going to was the Kirin Brewery Factory which is about an hour from Machida. Our sensei, Hakuto, arranged for us to take a group tour. It was the first time that I got a chance to visit a brewery with a teacher. Since it would take us about an hour to reach the Brewery we had to meet up at 9 am. The tour started promptly at 10:30 am. Since it was a Saturday, the factory was closed but the tour included videos that were entirely in Japanese. The tour was interesting and we even got to sample some of the beer during the brewing process. But the real highlight to the tour was the two free beer samples. Not just shot glasses of beer but a whole pint of beer. Needless to say it was the start of a good day. Tipsy Before Noon Since the tour ended around noontime, my friends and I along with our sensei decided to head over to Yokohama where the Chinatown was located since it was in such close proximity. It was also to be my first visit to Yokohama Port. I was thrilled at getting the chance to visit Chinatown in Japan. It is one of the top tourist attractions in Japan. I was also excited to get a chance to eat Chinese food as well. A good friend of mine who lives in the same apartment complex as me is originally from China though she studied in Vancouver for about 5 years. She had many Chinese dish suggestions. When I first entered chinatown I was surprised at how big it was. It was incredibly lively. The streets were lined with vendors selling roasted chestnuts and pastries and beautifully colored laterns. There were many places to eat and shop and I couldn't resist visiting a couple of shops along the way. It was interesting because I couldn't help but compare this Chinatown to Boston's. For one the Chinatown in Tokyo was ten times bigger. It spanned many streets that intersected with the main road. At these intersections there were giant Torri gates similar to the one found at the entrance to the Chinatown in Boston in the direction facing South Station. Many of the shops catered to the tourists and sold Chinese style dresses, tea sets, food, and fans to name a few. Chinatown is right near Yokohama Port. Yokohama Port is a picturesque scene of ships, shops, the sea and most of all the Ferris Wheel. Japan has got a thing for Ferris wheels or karanshas. I loved Yokohama Port because it reminded me so much of boston. There was a beautiful park where you could view the ships. A 45 minute walk leads to a board walk that led to the large outlet mall and the amusement park that was placed right on the water. The ferris wheel had a large clock that could be seen even from as far away as the park. I made a promise that I would definitely ride the ferris wheel. Landmark Tower which was one of the highest buildings in Japan also towered along the harbor line. The whole view was gorgeous. At the end of the boardwalk was a large ship that was in permanently anchored in port. At first it looked like it was placed within a mound of grass because there was a grassy field that led up to the ship. After I got a closer look at the ship I realized that the ship was definitely in the water just on the other side of the grassy mound. By the time we reached the ship the sun was setting fast and we decided to head back. On Sunday, I decided to head out early with a couple of friends to Kita-Kamakura. Kamakura is known for its many shrines and the great buddha or Daibutsu. The train was packed by the time we reached Kita-Kamakura. Apparently, Sundays were a very big tourist days for Kamakura. Our first stop was Eniji Shrine one of the major shrines in Kamakura. All the shrines there save for a few required an entry fee. But it was well worth it. Eniji Shrine itself took us about an hour to fully explore. There were many little temples within the shrine and we were able to take some really great pictures.

While we were in Kamakura we decided to eat a soba shop. The wait nearly killed me about 90 minutes but the soba was delicious and it was definitely worth the wait.

After the soba shop, we decided to visit the Great Buddha in Hase or the Daibutsu. In order to get to Hase, you have to take the Enoshima Line three stops out. What I didn't know about the Enoshima line until I got there was that it was an electric train and there were only about 4 or 5 cars compared to a normal subway which has about 10-13 cars. Because the Daibutsu is a huge tourist attraction, we had to wait with a huge group of people in order to line up for the electric train. The electric train could not hold many passengers so were were forced to wait for two trains until we got a chance to hop on. Once we got to Hase it was already very dark. I began to notice that it got dark very quickly in Japan. On our way up to the great buddha we stopped for some purple yam ice cream at the recommendation of a friend. It was one of the highlights of the kamakura visit. By the time we reached the park that held the great buddha it was five minutes to closing time so we quickly paid our entrance fee and ran inside. Even in the dark the great buddha was still breath taking. Two spotlights were aimed at the Daibutsu so you could see very detail of its enormity. The great buddha is called the great buddha because it is huge. There are even times when you can tour the inside of the great buddha's belly.

Hase and Kamakura were two of the most memorable places that I've visited so far. Unfortunately, because of the time I was not able to get out to the little island of Enoshima. I was told that sunsets at Enoshima were gorgeous. I know I won't have a chance to visit Kamakura again during my stay here in Japan because of time, but if I got a chance to go again i definitely would. One day is not nearly enough time to visit all that there is to see in Hase, Kamakura, and Enoshima.

Ikebukuro

After looking at my planner and realizing that I only had five weekends left in Japan, I decided to go out on a day trip by myself to Ikebukuro. I hadn't actually thought of making it a destination until my neighbor from Sweden mentioned that there was a lot of shopping there. It actually is another big tourist spot. So I decided to research the area first and found out that they had a 9 floor bookstore called Junkudo that sold english titled books there. That sold me and I had to go the first chance that I got.


This particular weekend happened to be the weekend when everyone was either busy with other friends or studying for midterms the following week. I had just taken my midterms the previous week so I was free to do as I chose for the day. My friend gave me her chinese guidebook and even though I couldn't really read it, I made use of the detailed maps and colorful pictures of the must see places. She suggested that I go to a Ramen shop that was featured in her book which turned out to be directly across the street from Junkudo.


So at 10am i jumped on the bus from my apartment to Machida bust station and then headed from Machida to Shinjuku via the Odakyu line. Since I ended up taking the Odakyu around 11 am, the train heading to Shinjuku was packed and I had to stand the whole 45 minutes on the way there. When I got to Shinjuku I switched over to the Yamanote Line and within 7 minutes I was standing in Ikebukuro station.


Second to Shinjuku, Ikebukuro is one of the most busiest stations in Japan because may of the rail lines run through that stop. As mentioned before, Japan has a lot of department stores that are associated with the rail lines. It was very common for department stores to be intermingled in the labryinth of the subway systems underground. It was supposed to afford the ultimate convenience: the stores were right there and you didn't even have to exit the station.


Ikebukuro is flanked on both sides by three of the biggest department stores in Japan: Seibu, Tobu and Parco. I skipped those and headed straight for Junkudo. To my delight they held some of the latest fiction titles just released in the US. It was so great to be able to get reading materials besides japanese magazines. Afterwards I headed over to the Ramen place that my friend had suggested. After an hour and half wait which was passed by reading my new book, I finally got seated in the ramen shop. It was a very tiny ramen shop that took your order while you were waiting outside. So as soon as I sat down my food was ready instantly and it was absolutely delicious. Ramen is the one thing that the Japanese can never get wrong.


I decided to browse around the shops and Sunshine-dori which is the most popular street in Ikebukuro. Along Sunshine-dori were many arcades, stores, and places to eat. Also located on this road was a Tokyu Hands where on the top floor you could pet cats for a nominal fee. I decided to follow Sunshine-dori heading towards Animate and Sunshine City. Sunshine City is a mall full of stores (the one and only mall that I had ever seen in Japan) and Namja Town; a themed city of food. I didn't stay long in Sunshine city since I wasn't in the mood to spend a whole hell of a lot of money, but I decided that I would have to return soon.