Anyways, on this first entry I will try to sum up my first 5 days in Japan.
March 30th:
In an attempt to soak in America as much as possible before I left, I planned a camping trip to Yosemite with my friends the first weekend of spring break. Resultantly, I was left with only a couple days to see my family, girlfriend, and other friends from home before I left. I guess in that kind of a situation, no amount of time with your loved ones is "enough". You simply have to make the best of the precious time you do have. My heart was overflowing with emotion as I set out for the airport; torn because I had to say goodbye to Maika, yearning with wanderlust, and nervous for what lied ahead.
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| First flight on B757 from LAX to SFO |
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| Second flight on B747 from SFO to NRT |
Aside from the fact that I was on these planes for the majority of March 30th, I'd like to discuss their significance to my journey. I not am in Japan to take classes, rather I am working in a research lab under Kondoh Katsuyoshi Sensei. The emphasis of my research is powder metallurgy, specifically what's called spark plasma sintering. I will explain the details later, but it looks like promising technology in the development of light weight aircraft structures. If you know anything about me, you know how passionate I am about airplanes. These planes are my academic drive, and incidentally a big part of the reason I am in Japan.
March 31st:
I arrived in Tokyo! "One step at a time" I told myself. I did not come across too many challenges at the airport. Whenever I was confused about anything or I couldn't read certain characters, I would ask the locals. They were extremely helpful and before I knew it, I was on the 1-hour Narita Express ride into Tokyo.
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| On the Narita Express, representing the self-obsessive Californians! :P (She totally caught me..) |
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| Holy crap! That's a lot of Japanese people... |
Some notes from the station/trains in Tokyo:
-There are lines marked on the ground exactly where the train door will be. Respect them.
-On the escalators, always stand on the left and let people pass on the right.
-Don't talk loudly on the trains. And put your cell phone on "Manner Mode".
-If you want to blend in, wear a suit and always walk somewhere. Don't stand aimlessly unless you are in line for a train.
I found the武蔵境ホテル Musashisakai Hotel where I was supposed to stay, and got a hold of Sean Hora, a friend of mine from high school. I dumped my bags in the room and set out to meet my friends at 新宿駅Shinjuku. What a wild place! Here are some pics from the night:
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| A tiny restaurant-packed alley in Shinjuku. Tatsuki, Eutah, Sean and I posed for a photo when I had my first encounter with drunken Japanese "Salarymen". They came into the picture and seemed stoked. It was infectious. |
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| Some examples of the lights. These pictures obviously don't do Shinjuku justice. |
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| We hit up an arcade. Here Eutah and Sean are playing a Taiko game -- kind of similar to Guitar Hero. Crazy games to play. Good prizes to win. |
I want to thank Sean, Tatsuki, and Eutah for their Japanese hospitality. I got to see some awesome places in Tokyo the first two nights and they were largely to thank for that.
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| Ended the night by trying on the Yukata they have set up for guests at the hotel. Looks a little undersized... |
April 1st:
After a pretty wild night, the jetlag allowed me to wake up pretty early the next morning feeling refreshed. With that, I went to a Japanese bakery to try out their pastries.
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| Cinnamon pastry, Chocolate Roll, and French roast. Not bad, but I'm sure I will find better cafés. |
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| View down on the entrance. |
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| You can see the salaryman ringing the bell, bowing, and clapping twice. I followed suit and prayed for a successful day. |
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| Across the street at the local high school. Notice the contrast in color from tree to tree. The delicate pink to the right compared to the more saturated pink. |
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| I'm proud of this one. Looks straight out of a "Visit Japan" catalogue. My new phone screensaver. |
All the UC kids headed back to the hotel to regroup, then we headed out to Shibuya to meet up with my hometown friends again. If you didn't know, Shibuya is the place that has that 5-way intersection/crosswalk, where all the lights turn green at once and sea of Japanese people cross the street simultaneously. If you still don't know what I am talking about, here is a video.
Excuse the awkward laughs. I was very excited to be there as you can tell.
We walked down "Basketball Street", which aside from having a couple statues of basketballs swishing through nets was not very basketball themed. What we were looking for what is called "Nomihoudai", or in English, "2 hours all you can drink" (with some food too). Apparently the price can be as little as about 8 USD, but we ended up settling for a more expensive place. Below is a picture of Eutah negotiating with one of the restaurant marketers. I was just doing my best to understand the conversation.
From here on out, the night got a little schwasty. We drank a lot for a long time and ended up in a karaoke bar, where I shot some rather embarrassing footage/pictures that I should probably refrain from post up here. Needless to say it was a great night. Thanks again to Tatsuki, Sean, and Eutah! ありがとうございました！
April 2nd:
Woke up with a slight headache after some interrupted sleep, but still functional. On April 2nd I made my debut in Osaka, but not after a long day of travel. To save some time, here are some pictures:
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| Goodbye Musashisakai Station. About to board the rush hour commuter train to Tokyo Station |
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| It's true, there were men with white gloves at the stations who crammed us into the train because it was so packed. 0_0 |
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| Destination: 新大阪駅 Shin-Osaka |
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| The sleek, aerodynamic front of the 望み新幹線 (Hope Bullet Train). It can reach a speed of 300 km/h (186 mph). What a beautiful train! |
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| Sometimes you capture a moment perfectly. I feel like this picture perfectly captures the spirit of Japanese bullet train. |
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| Let's not forget the pink ladies who wipe down the inside of the train in record times between each run. |
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| Tec(h)nology for People's Future. Gave me a chuckle. |
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| Nighttime cherry blossoms in a park in Osaka. I arrived late. |
Only got through 4 days. I will get the next one started soon.
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