Double blog post! My Japan blog didn't make it through for some reason, so I've combined that with my Pacific Ocean crossing post. Excuse the length.
I’ve been to the future, and it’s name is Japan. We were told that our final port of call in Asia would be ultra hip, ultra fast, and ultra modern. They weren’t lying. I mean, they have vending machines for hot food, buttons to indicate which kind of room you want to check into in hotels and hostels, and toilets with seat warmers and aromatherapy scents. And this is throughout the entire country, not in just the urban areas.
So, Japan! Yeah! We were the first voyage to go since the earthquake/nuclear/tsunami disaster, so we weren’t entirely sure to expect. Sure enough, we were docked in Kobe and Yokohama, two cities very far from the problems encountered up north. Over the five days there, I split up my time between traveling with groups, exploring on my own (which is entirely possible in Japan since it is an extremely safe country on the whole), and one single SAS trip on the final day. I wouldn’t have wanted it any other way, especially considering it is our final long port stay. All we have left is one day in Hawaii, two days in Costa Rica, and two days in our new surprise port of Guatemala. Cuba, unfortunately, did not work out, but at least it has been replaced with another exotic location in Latin America. Japan, for me, was all about figuring out how to put everything I have learned and experienced in all the previous countries into practice.
I started out on day one by getting off the ship with Brooke, Dip, Kate, and Alannah and heading to Nara, the former capital of Japan…from the 8th century. Because of its location off the coast of Asia, Japan was able to maintain relative isolation for most of its history and develop an extremely autonomous society. The capital has changed around many times, mostly in response to changing leaders. Anyway, Nara is an extremely old city; it just celebrated its 1,300th anniversary a few years ago. The main reason in going there was to see the wild dear roaming about town. Japanese myth points to dear as being holy creatures deserving of respect, so there’s an entire park in Nara called the Nara Dear Park that allows them to roam free. This particular park, though, takes up a very large part of the east (I think) part of town, so dear wander about town at their leisure. It’s not uncommon to see a whole gaggle of them crossing the street in the middle of the afternoon. And we saw that. A whole gaggle of dear crossing the street in the middle of the afternoon. We even got to pet them! They’re so used to seeing humans and being touched by them that they sometimes walk right up to people and bow, indicating their permission for us to play around with them.
Beyond the dear, we toured around in a few temples and museums. Japan has two official religions: Shinto and Buddhism. Shinto is the religion of the living world, while Buddhism is the religion of the afterlife, or at least that’s what we were told. The temples and shrines are abundant throughout the country, and being that Nara was an imperial capital, it certainly was no exception. One of the sites we went to has been named a UNESCO World Heritage Site because of its beauty and importance to Nara. As we were walking back to the train station to return to Kobe, we stopped at a street vendor to try some food. It was delicious. Every meal I had in Japan was delicious, even the cheap food on the street.
I spent the night in Osaka, a much larger city than both Kobe and Nara. All I really did there was walk around and take in the lights. I did go to a few bars, but drinks, like everything else in Japan, are expensive. There’s a price to pay for extreme economic development and success. When I woke up the next morning, I took the train from Osaka and Kyoto, another imperial capital of Japan that is much larger than neighboring Nara. Unlike my time in Nara, I spent my day in Kyoto on my own, so I got to set my own pace. I’d say this day was on the level of my 1st day in Vietnam as one of the best days of my whole voyage. I hopped off the train, got situated in the area, and took a cab ride up to the eastern side of the city and visited some temples and shrines. The Japanese love their nature; the park space was abundant and green. I had the most delicious noodle lunch at a local restaurant while sitting with some extremely friendly Japanese school girls. All of the people I encountered were so friendly, almost to a fault. They would go out of their way to help you, even if it meant walking around with you for 20 minutes at a time to find a particular restaurant or site. Throughout the day, I encountered a few SAS students, but being on my own left me to own devices and intuition. The day ended with me coming down from the hills and ancient temples to the more modern part of the city and crossing over a beautiful bridge while noticing the lovely fall colors, a reminder that even though that while on the voyage we may have felt like we were in a constant state of summer heat until China and Japan, the seasons, like ourselves, have continued to change. Profound, aren’t I?
That night certainly turned into an adventure. I returned from Kyoto with a note on my door from Lou. It said that they went into Kobe to buy my bus ticket, but they didn’t have enough money and were in a hurry to make it to Hiroshima, so they couldn’t purchase mine. I had to rush back into the city to buy my ticket from a random unknown station. Once I got it, I had to get back to the ship, pack, and meet up with Lou, Dina, Valleria, Causey, Kyle, and Brooke to start on our adventure on an overnight bus to Tokyo. Problem: Brooke’s ticket was for an earlier bus. Alas. As it were, she had to take that bus without us and wait at the station in Tokyo for us in the morning. We filed onto the bus when it was time and started on our journey. Unfortunately, this bus was not like the bus from Malaysia. No plush. No leather. No reclining all the way back. At least it wasn’t Greyhound quality, though.
Weary and a little smelly, we made it to Tokyo at 7:30 A.M. We met Brooke recharged at a Starbucks, sipping on coffee while listening to Holiday tunes. Christmas still feels far away. When we were ready, we stepped outside and walked around while searching for something to do. Tokyo on a Sunday morning is a little on the quiet side, or at least where we were was, because there weren’t many people outside. We hopped on the subway and took that to the Harajuku district. If you’re a Gwen Stefani fan, you may remember hearing her sing about Harajuku Girls. While they were actually four backup dancers for her, the name was inspired by this weird, WEIRD fashion district in Tokyo. Before we stumbled into it, we explored the Meiji Shrine, a Shinto shrine dedicated to Emperor Meiji and his wife, Empress Shoken. Similar to the shrines I explored in Nara and Kyoto, it was beautifully green and outdoorsy. We were taken around by tour guide sponsored by a non-profit group that teaches Japanese people English for free in exchange for them giving tours. Or something like that. I didn’t listen closely enough. Walking by large barrels of sake and wine, we admired the giant trees all around us. I love that the Japanese love nature. While in the actual shrine, we witnessed many prayer rituals, including ritual cleansing and a marriage. I also bought a charm for good travel. And I got a balloon from a stuffed mascot. It was a fantastic morning.
We went back to the entrance of Harajuku. The district is centered on “Takeshita Street,” which I find hilarious. Back in the day, I praised Camden in London for being an awesome shopping and cultural experience. Harajuku may just be better. EVERYBODY THERE IS SO WEIRD. That being said, everybody has such swagger. Seriously, everyone is so fly, even if they’re wearing knee-high feather boots and a neon yellow tutu with a spandex top and ridiculous eye makeup. I’m more than a little jealous of the Japanese; I felt really unstylish while I was in Harajuku. However, unlike Camden, bargaining is hard to come by, and things are not cheap. While exploring, I ran into Marek, Alden, Brian, Ali, Tess, and a handful of other folks. I ended up getting to meet Alden and Ali’s parents; they were visiting because it was Alden’s birthday. I got hugs! I got parent hugs! Those ought to last me until I get back to America. Mom and Dad, I miss parent hugs!
When we finished up exploring Harajuku, we set off to get some sushi from a restaurant in the Shibuya District with a conveyor belt that displayed the food. It took a while to find it; we had to ask for some help. Once we made it, we stuffed our faces full of raw fish. I will say, sushi in Japan is not like sushi in America. It’s more straightforward. And probably healthier. That being said, I still enjoyed it. We then explored around Shibuya for a few hours, admiring all the lights and shops. We ran into Lou, who had split off earlier, and met her friend who is currently studying abroad in Tokyo. He took us out for a fabulous night on the town. I drank a delicious Pimm’s in a British Pub. It made me miss London.
The next day, I had the chance to tour around Tokyo on my own. No need to worry, fearful family and friends. The city is safer than any city in America. I began the day with an adventure to Roppongi Hills, a shopping mall. I didn’t shop, though. I only went there for Tokyo City View, a 52nd story 360 degree observation deck of the whole city. From it, I could see Tokyo Disney, Tokyo Tower, Tokyo Bay, Shibuya, and all of the parks. There was also a second observation deck on the very top, which I decided to explore. The day was a bit hazy, so the view wasn’t as impressive as it could’ve been; they said on a good day you could see Mt. Fuji. With my ticket to the Tokyo City View, I was also admitted entry to the Mori Art Museum. There was an exhibit on the architecture of Japan and Tokyo in the context of post-World War Two. Let me just say that the Japanese are brilliant. Absolutely brilliant. Their ideas are beyond our time period, that’s for sure. Building cities upward instead of side-to-side? I think it’s a great idea.
I wandered around some more, meeting up with Gabriela, Maria, and Whit at one point. I also enjoyed WiFi at a McDonald’s in the anime district. Again, weird. Again, awesome. I made my way back to Yokohama, our port, by taking the train. Once I got there, the city was sort of dead. I walked around with Causey, Julie, Jessie, and Paula in an attempt to ride a ferris wheel, but I instead got dinner with Jake and Linda. Then it started to rain. I stayed out with Shelbi, Liz, and Yancey, though. Soaked by the end of the night. Great success.
The final day in Japan came much too soon. I spent it with SAS on a field program to Mt. Fuji and Hakone National Park. Long story short, it was a beautiful, cloudy day. We could only see the mountain from the Visitor’s Center and the 5th Station. Granted, they were both very high, the latter being at 7,500 feet, but it would’ve been nice to see the all too often scene panorama. At the end of the day, we took a short ride on a lake and up a chairlift. The clouds obstructed my view, but it gave me a chance to think about the past month in Asia. I certainly had a very different experience in the East than in Africa, but both painted a beautiful picture of the world. That picture, though, is not complete. There are three ports left. After that, though, it still won’t be complete. I’ve realized the world is more complex than I previously thought. Just before we left our port, a group of Japanese folks performed a drumming show for us as a goodbye sendoff. Everybody rushed to the port side of the ship to enjoy the performance. What a perfect, perfect end to a beautiful and life-changing month in Asia.
So, a few observations about Japan, in a nutshell:
They love nature, their religions are relatively secular in outlook, manners are extremely important, toilets are awesome, the railway system is better than the one in America, it’s EXPENSIVE, everything is really cute and/or old, the night life is not particularly impressive, there are many…adult entertainment shops, the language is really pleasant (especially when compared to what we just experienced in China), taxi fares are nonnegotiable, Kyoto is my favorite city, traveling independently is wildly easy, and my expectations were met and exceeded. I’m coming back when I actually have money.
Upon leaving Japan, we entered the Pacific Ocean. Though it may not sound not exciting, especially when considering my descriptions of the Atlantic and Indian Oceans, it is worth writing about. Between slaving my life away to the man by writing what seems like a million and one papers (including an 8-10 page monster for my Literature class), I’ve slept a lot and helped plan a few events with Program Board, including the Talent Show, an acoustic Coffeehouse, and a “retro” Karaoke Night. Sleeping has become a regular event on the ship for most people; nobody seems to have a normal Circadian Rhythm anymore, so when someone is sleeping, even if it’s at 2:30 in the afternoon, it isn’t a nap. They are asleep. I slept from 5 P.M. to 9 P.M. the other day and then 5:30 A.M. to Noon. Day and night don’t seem to matter anymore. Constantly changing time zones haven’t helped. We also time traveled and lived the same day twice. No, the MV Explorer didn’t turn into the DeLorean; we just crossed the International Date Line. In the lives of the members of the Fall 2011 Voyage of Semester at Sea, we had two November 19th, 2011’s. When I first realized this would be the case, I thought it would just be a funny chance at living the same day twice in different ways. It actually ended up being fairly confusing; all the posters advertising particular events and meetings said “1st November 19th” and “2nd November 19th,” and we didn’t have class the second November 19th, both of which added to the confusion.
On the 2nd November 19th, the Shipboard Drive sponsored the Auction, an event held each voyage to raise money for ISE Scholarships, including the one I am on as a Work Study student in the Communications Office. A few weeks, auditions were held to pick auctioneers, and I had the chance to try out. Sure enough, I was one of the four picked! Standing up there in front of the entire shipboard community and trying my best to up sell and get rid of each of the items was extremely nerve wracking, but turned out to be ridiculously fun. My fellow auctioneers, Jimmy, Marek, and Duggan, all did a fantastic job, and together we raised over $10,000. One moment that was particularly awkward, though, was when I was selling a week long trip to Honolulu, Hawaii. A girl, who shall remain nameless, bid on it, thinking it would be fun to get in on the excitement of the auction. However, nobody bid on it afterwards, leaving it up to her to buy the trip despite not actually wanting it. She pleaded with me from the audience to not make her pay because she would refuse to anyway, but alas, the rules of the auction applied. Thankfully, the person who bid before her bought the item off her and she only ended up having to pay the difference. Still, as the person selling the item to her, I felt very bad that she didn’t want it. Other than that, the auction was a great time for everyone and a huge success.
This morning, we arrived in Honolulu! Only problem is that we aren’t allowed to get off the ship; we are only here to refuel. Our actual time on land in America will come tomorrow in Hilo on the Big Island on Thanksgiving. It felt strange looking out my window and seeing the American flag waving. It felt strange to speak in perfect English with no uncertainties based on accent or inflection to the immigration officer. It felt strange seeing other people use their phones to call people. It felt even stranger to borrow someone’s phone to do so. It felt strangest sending a text; I feel like I’ve forgotten. I had to think about and remind myself how to move my fingers like that.
I wouldn’t say I feel at home, but I do feel home, if that makes any sense. I shouldn’t say that, though, because there are still two ports left after Hawai’I before the actual return to the States.
That feels weird saying. Where did this semester go?
Happy Thanksgiving, readers.
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