Author Archives: lmc340

Last Note & Quick Reflection

Last Note

This will be my final entry here and as such I wanted to talk about the one thing I had not yet had the chance to mention – the handicap accessibility of Japan. There was quite a big difference from the U.S. that many of the other international students also recognized. Japan seemed like it was equally made for the handicapped and the fully capable. The paper money was different sizes for each different amount. For instance, the 1000 yen bill would be a different length than the 50000 yen bill. This was done so blind people could tell the difference. Also, ever present on the ground throughout the airports and train stations were wide bright yellow strips with raised dots. The lines were a couple feet in front of the train in train stations so blind people would know when they were getting close to the edge of the platform. They were also down the middle of walkways in the airports and train station so blind people would know which side of the walkway they were on. When in an elevator, if listening very carefully, one could hear the elevator not only ‘ding’ when it arrived at a floor, but also softly say ‘yonkai’ (fourth floor) or whatever floor it arrived at. I am not completely familiar with all that we do have available in the U.S., but the obvious and ever present accommodations in Japan for the handicapped did jump out at the group of students I stayed with for the six weeks and really got us talking about the topic. For instance, how do blind people tell our bills apart? We were not quite sure.

Quick Reflection

Like I said earlier, I am very happy that I was able to have such a great experience abroad. From my time abroad, I was able to notice differences in how other societies deal with social and political issues and gain a new perspective on societal normalities. At first, I was hesitant to do a study abroad trip, but now I would recommend it to anyone. It is hard to break out of the one way you have always seen the world, from the one perspective, the one culture you have always known. I think opening yourself up to another culture, another perspective, and to a time when you are the foreigner in someone else’s country can give you more than you would ever believe. You may learn how to see things differently, you may gain new ideas and ways of thinking and you may be able to relate to, not only foreigners in the U.S. much better, but also people in general. Thanks for checking out my entries here along my journey to Japan and back. I hope you have gained something from reading and have your own abroad experience to share!

Location: Orefield, Pennsylvania, United States

Reentry

I have arrived safely at home in Pennsylvania after my six week trip to Japan. I think the hardest thing so far was the time adjustment. There is a thirteen hour time difference between my Pennsylvania hometown and Tokyo, Japan. I left at 11am from Narita airport in Japan and I arrived at the JFK airport at 11am on the same day. The twelve hours I spent on the plane seemingly disappeared. It was an interesting experience. Technically, I had been up since 5am (when I woke up to get ready to go to the airport), had a twelve hour flight at 11am and, on Japan’s time, gotten off the plane at 11pm. Then there was the three hour drive home. When I got home at 2pm, I felt like it really was 1am since I was still on Japan time. Over the next few days, I found myself being hungry at 10pm and 2am (around breakfast and lunch time for me in Japan, but very inconvenient times for America). When dinner time came around (5, 6 or 7 pm), I couldn’t even be hungry if I tried. I woke up at 5am everyday and could not help but to fall asleep at 4:30pm every day. It took me about a full week to get adjusted back to America’s Eastern Time.

Getting home, back to familiar places and familiar places, is nice. However, I find myself missing the familiar view of the Sangubashi skyline when I wake up, and the easy access to far away locations via a widespread train system, and (of course) the great shopping. Coming home made me aware of what I would miss about Japan, but it also made me aware of what I missed about home. I realized I missed the openness of America – where people basically walk around with their hearts on their sleeves (compared to Japan that is). I also missed the chivalry of America. Yes, I am generalizing, but you won’t see a Japanese man offer his seat to a woman on a crowded train, however, you will see an American man offer his seat to a standing woman. Small things like that, that we take for granted, are just not a part of the culture in Japan. Therefore, arriving back home has been bittersweet for me. I’ll miss the friends I made in Japan, but I am happy to see my friends here in Pennsylvania. I’ll miss all I was able to do in Tokyo, but I am happy to be able to sit on the farm, feed the cows, go to the drive-ins here at home. I’ll miss all the tempura, A-grade sushi, and yakiniku; but I am happy to be back to Red Robbin burgers and Sal’s pizza. You can never have it all, but I was glad I at least got to experience it!

Overall, studying in Japan was a great experience for me and I wouldn’t trade that experience for anything – I’ll deal with jetlag any day for another trip to Japan! But now I’m ready for my next vacation before college starts up again! =)

Location: Orefield, Pennsylvania

The Culture of Clean

I’m approaching my last week in Japan. It has certainly been an interesting trip so far and I plan to make the most of this last week. Seeing as I won’t be here much longer, I would like to share with you a couple Japanese culture ‘quarks’ on cleanliness that I noticed and some I seemed to have picked up.

Most of you probably know about the Japanese tradition of taking off ones shoes before going inside. But you probably don’t know the ins and outs of this tradition or the reason why it is so important. In a traditional house, each person takes their shoes off when they step inside the door and then puts on slippers to use around the house. When going to a back patio or backyard, it is common to have another pair of shoes there to slip on for outdoor use. When taking shoes off it is best to step directly out of one pair of shoes and into another without touching your feet again onto any outside ground. The reason is because this creates a clear separation between being inside and outside. You leave the outside ‘out there’ and do not bring it back into the house. It is almost a cleanliness type thing.

The Japanese are very big on cleanliness. One of the more obvious signs of this cleanliness in the Japanese culture is the abundance of hand sanitizer and places to clean hands. When walking into some restaurants, dorm centers, convenience stores, hotels, etc. there are large squirt bottles of hand sanitizer out for people to use. Each time we return to our dorm center, we use the hand sanitizer at the gate. At my host family’s house, there were even two sinks in the kitchen. One was for doing dishes and cleaning food and the other was for washing hands. Every time we came into the house after a day out we immediately washed our hands. In train stations, there are sometime random sinks out to wash your hands. When we went to a museum, there was an ice cream stand and near it was a four faucet sink so everybody could wash their hands before eating. Maybe if you have been to a Japanese restaurant before, you are familiar with the little towel that is handed to each person before the meal. Before every meal, even in restaurants, small, hot, damp towels are given to each person to wipe their hands. Even during airline meals, these towels are provided. The towels should be folded and returned when you are done using them.

Constant hand cleansing is not the only sign of Japanese cleanliness, but also the abundant use of masks. It is very common to see people wearing face masks here to prevent the spread of sickness. Originally, I thought these people were a little germ phobic, but then I realized that it was usually the sick people who were wearing the masks – a considerate thing to do. Now, when there is someone who is coughing, almost all of the students studying abroad here get a little annoyed if that person is not wearing a mask. It will be odd to come back to America where it is not common place to wear a mask if a person is sick!

That’s all for now – hope you learned something new!

Location: Sangubashi, Japan

Tokyo Disney Sea!

Recently, a group of us went to Disney Sea here in Tokyo. What an amazing place! Every ride and every different area (Atlantis, Arabia, etc.) was constructed so well with incredible detail to make the whole experience an unforgettable one. I was more impressed by Disney Sea in Tokyo than I was by Florida’s Disney World. Disney Sea was smaller though and built more recently so the Japanese did have the advantage of the existence of more technology when the park was built.

When we got to off the train, we took the Disney monorail to get to the specific Disney Sea park. The Disney monorail was really decked out in Mickey Mouse. The windows were shaped like Mickey’s head, the dangling straps for people who want to stand were Mickey shaped, and there were little Disney displays at the end of the cars. A nice welcome before we even got to the park.

Now, I have never seen Indiana Jones, but I did go on the Indiana Jones ride. The ride was one of the best I have been on. Definitely worth a try. 20000 Leagues Under the Sea was also amazing. With about six people to a submarine, we were locked in and submerged into the water. We had a great view of all the story book scenes and creatures as we went through the ride. However, the sub dove and turned enough to provide an exciting ride along with all the visuals.

My favorite area of the park was Atlantis (from the Little Mermaid). In Atlantis they had a Little Mermaid show. If you have been to MGM in the U.S., seen the Little Mermaid show there, and are currently relating the two – don’t. This show was completely incredible. It reminded me of a mini Broadway production with all the different technology, choreographing, and costuming that went into it. While I don’t want to give it all away, I will tell you all a bit about it. ‘Ariel’ was on a trapeze, the top of her ‘fin’ intersecting with the bar so she could flip and spin in the ‘water’ a.k.a. the air. The whole show was done above the audience, in the air, so that it appeared like the characters were actually swimming. When Ursula appeared, the one wall parted and her huge animatronic head came out towards the audience with huge animatronic moving hands to accompany her. Her tentacles were ‘floating’ all around the audience giving a feeling as if she were covering the whole room. Each character was done so well and it was great to see what take the Japanese had on the characters and how they would be portrayed in the show. All the dialogue was in Japanese, but all the songs were in English. It was a little strange listening to Japanese and then experiencing a quick change to English in the middle of the show, but I think that just makes it an even more amazing experience. The food in Atlantis was great too. We all took pictures of our clam shaped sandwiches and our sea salt ice cream in a plastic clam (sea salt ice cream is really good by the way).

I guess you can tell Atlantis made a great impression on me. But for those Aladdin enthusiasts out there, there is an Arabia area. There is an Aladdin based show (while it does not include Aladdin, it is done well and is very funny), a double decker merry-go-round, another live show (I did not see this particular one), and more.

Of course, I could never tell you everything that is in the park, just a few highlights. I also could not get to all that was in the park in that one day. However, I do suggest that if you are ever in Tokyo, or Japan for that matter, you make a stop at Disney Sea. There is also a Tokyo Disney, however I have heard that is very similar to Disney World in the U.S. and Disney Sea is Disney with a Japanese twist to it. But, I do not know from experience and that would be yours to decide. I will leave you with a few pictures so you can see some of Disney Sea for yourself!

In Atlantis. Eating sea salt ice cream. In Arabia on the merry-go-round. The clam sandwich in Atlantis. A view of Tokyo Disney. Part of 20000 Leagues Under the Sea In Atlantis.

On the monorail.

View of Atlantis.

That’s it! =)

Location: Tokyo, Japan

Kamakura Trip

On Saturday, we took a day trip to Kamakura. Kamakura is about an hour away from Sangubashi in Tokyo if you take the train. The train is probably the most convenient way to get to Kamakura. Kamakura is famous for a couple things. One thing it is famous for is all of its beautiful temples. It is also famous for the “Great Buddha” (Kamakura Daibutsu). The Daibutsu is a bronze statue of Buddha, which is in the Otokuin Temple. It is 13.35 meters tall, which makes it the second tallest bronze Buddha statue in Japan. You can walk into the Buddha for about �200 (A little over $2). Hanging next to him is also a set of extremely large tatami (traditional, Japanese sandals). They were supposedly made specifically to fit that statues feet – just in case he would ever decide to get up and walk away. Interesting. The temples in Kamakura are very beautiful, but our group discovered that it is more than adequate to go to see one temple (in addition to seeing the Great Buddha). Each temple is beautiful, but they all begin to look the same after a while. It is more sensible to take your time at one temple and really enjoy it, perhaps go to one more, and then head for the Great Buddha. One of the temples we went to was the Engaku-ji temple in North Kamakura, which I would recommend.

Below are some pictures of the Great Buddha and two Kamakua temples, including the Engaku-Ji Temple:

Be careful while you are there to check the prices of restaurants before eating. Almost all the restaurants in Kamakura are a bit expensive. At least about ten dollar lunches for a small amount of food. If you want to save some money, eat before you go. The trains around the temples and the Great Buddha also get pretty crowded (all the time). Try to avoid traveling on the trains in that area during rush hour (about the same time as rush hour in the U.S.), when it is the worst. We, unfortunately, had to travel back during rush hour and we were literally stuffed into the train (being pushed in by the station hands). Not only was it hard to get a good breath of air, elbows were in faces, faces were in people’s chests, and other body parts were angled haphazardly in more strange directions. My feet didn’t touch the ground because we were shoved in and the person next to me did not move their feet over, I fell (my feet left the ground, but I could not fall over because people on either side of me were propping me up simply by being there) and lost my footing, the person next to me took my feet space and my feet were no longer on the ground. However, I was securely squeezed between so many bodies that it did not matter. I was being held upright by everyone else and I was also holding onto the train’s handles which are attached to the ceiling of the rain. Imagine that. Rush hour is an experience in Japan, if you want to try it out, make sure it is a short train ride! Luckily, we got off at the next station!

A picture of a rather common sight to see during rush hour:

That’s all for now!

Location: Kamakura, Japan

Stand to One Side Please – Escalator Etiquette

If you’re ever in Japan and decide to get on an escalator (some advice for you), stay to one side. If you have ever been at an airport with moving floors you will recall that one side was for standing or stationary people and the other side was for the speedy people who were walking on the moving belt. Escalators work the same way in Japan. One side is for people who are standing, patiently waiting to arrive at the top or bottom floor. The other side is kept clear for those who are planning on running up or down the escalator in order to get to their destination as quickly as possible. If you do not want to be plowed over (during rush hour) or be thought of as a frustrating, ignorant foreigner (during slower times), please stand to one side.

Location: Shinjuku, Japan

Use Two Hands Please; And Karaoke

A short note on paying for things in Japan – when you are handing the money to the person behind the counter, hold the bill with both hands, one hand holding onto the edge of each corner. In this way, you are showing respect. Using one hand is slightly disrespectful. This applies to school too. When you are handing a paper in, you hold the paper in the same way and face it towards the recipient (teacher) not towards yourself. If you do not use two hands, it is not likely that anyone will say anything to you, but it is a bad reflection on yourself.

On another note: We were able to go out and try Karaoke tonight. I would suggest that anyone going to Japan go to a Karaoke place at least once. Each person had to pay 2000 yen (a little over 20 dollars) for 2 hours, but everyone agreed it was well worth it! Each party gets their own private room lined with cushioned seats and tables. There is a mini stage in the front of the room lined with lights and in the center is a big flat screen tv that plays the video for each song. You will have a great time. You can order an alcoholic drink while you are there, but they are expensive (drinking age is 20) – and, at least where we were, a free soft drink was included in our 2000 yen payment. There is no need to publicly request a song. There are small computer type devices in the room, which can be passed around. It is on these machines that you type in the song you would like to sing and it lines that song up after the last selection that was made by another person in your party. It’s a great time and no one cares if you are good or not!

Here are some karaoke pictures for you: the top and middle left as well as the top and middle right pictures are all of our private karaoke room. On the very right hand side of the middle right picture is a boy holding the machine that allows you to pick the song you would like to sing – it is a little hard to see, but he is holding a pen-like object in his hand which was used to operate the machine On the last row, left hand side is a picture of the outside of the karaoke building we went to (in the red letters it says ka-ra-o-ke, with a cut off ‘ke’ at the edge of the picture, in katakana).

Location: Tokyo, Japan

Ofuro – Japanese Bath

Yesterday, I took a japanese bath at our hotel in Narita. ‘So what?’ you say. Well, a Japanese bath is not similar to an American bath. It took us (myself and three other girls) a good 15 minutes of instruction reading (yes there were instructions) and cooperative thinking to figure these baths out.

Going to the bath, you wear slippers and a robe. Then you enter a room where you take off the robe and your slippers. Next you walk into the bath area. There is room outside of the tub to sit, wash, and shampoo your hair. There is also I shower head in the same area to rinse off. Then, is when you enter the actual ‘bath’ which is more like a big hot tub. Basically, you sit there and ‘soak’ with everyone else. Yes, with everyone else. There is no privacy. It may seem weird. However, let me say that I was very hesitant to try this ‘ofuro’ at first, but once I was persuaded by a few friends to accompany them, it turned out to be really neat. We were all laughing by the end and we had some great conversations while ‘soaking.’ Once you are done soaking, you dry off in the area where you had previously washed. You must not be dripping wet when going back into the other room to retrieve your robe. A lot to get right and I’m sure we did a few things wrong anyway.

While we are on the subject…. slippers are not only used to walk to the bath, but are also used in the home restroom when one wants to use the toilet. They are specifically for that room. No one should wear the slippers out of the bathroom. Everyone will have a great laugh at your expense if you do (no, I did not do this… yet). In our hotel, we had the ‘high tech’ toilets. These have buttons that will wash your hind end when you are done. I was too chicken to push any buttons other than the ‘flush’ one.

Here are some pictures for you all: On the left is the restroom with the appropriate restroom slippers; in the middle are a few fellow IES students in the hotels ofuro bath robes; and on the right is a zoomed in picture of the buttons on the arm next to the toilet that you see in the picture on the left (for your entertainment). Sorry the pictures are a little dark.

Another little fun fact we learned today – if you want to use a swimming pool in Japan….don’t get a tattoo! People who have tattoos are NOT allowed to use the swimming pool. This is because of the negative connotations connected with tattoos in Japan (many Yakuza members have tattoos). As we were going over the facilities and proper etiquette for them, our instructor said “please do not have tattoos.” A fellow student who had a tattoo asked, “What if we have a tattoo? What do we do?” To that she said, “Please do not use the pool.” Maybe I should wait a bit on that tattoo if I am planning on coming back! =)

Location: Narita, Japan

Packing for Japan

I leave for Japan in three days (including today) and I have not yet packed. However, I have collected all the items I need to bring along (or so I think). There are some things you might not think of…. I had to buy a purse that could go over my shoulder and had a zipper so items could not be stolen easily; I bought new socks since, during the homestay, I will be walking around the house in my socks and having ‘holey’ socks is not overlooked (it is a bad reflection on a person); I bought long lasting batteries for my camera since my battery charger would not work without an adapter in Japan; I also bought a phone with Piccell Wireless. This phone is meant for international use and can be returned to Piccell once I get home. It was the cheapest option for using a phone that I could find – still international calls are extremely expensive so I will be using Google Talk if I want to have a ‘phone’ conversation with anyone (the 13 hour time difference will make real time conversations difficult); and of course I bought new clothes although I am not quite sure what will be considered fashionable or not in Japan (side note: some people still believe people in Japan wear old traditional clothes like Gis and Kimonos everyday, and although they do wear traditional clothes for some events and holidays, they mostly dress similar to Americans). The most important step I took was to print all the information I need – the schedule for my program, my health insurance information, a copy of my passport, the information for my phone and the charges, contact information for the program supervisors, etc.

There is alot more to consider than one would think and electronics (that need converters and adapters) can cause the biggest problem at the ‘planning for the trip’ stage

For any girls out there who are looking to head to Japan – don’t pack a hairdryer, buy one in Japan. It’s a bit of a hassel, but to bring your own hairdryer would take room in your suitcase and would require an adapter (which is about 80$).

Now I have to pack all of this – in a suitcase that can only weigh 44lbs! I have to be sure to stay under the weight limit when I pack because I know I will be bringing back souvenirs! Packing may prove to be the hardest part of the trip!

Location: Orefield, Pennsylvania, United States

Hey All!

If you don’t know me, my name is Lauren and I am from Allentown, Pennsylvania. This June (June 2010), I will be going to Tokyo, Japan. In Japan, I will be taking a language intensive Japanese class. No, I’m not a Japanese major – I am actually an accounting major. However, I would like to obtain a minor in Japanese and International Business. What I am hoping is that this trip to Japan is only the beginning of my travels!

Speaking of this trip, it was a lot of work getting all the paper work done to apply and, not only that but, getting all the paperwork done after I was accepted! As anxious as I am right now, I know it was all worth it. I met with some other students from Penn State who will be going to Tokyo with me which really helped me out. I am actually going to be flying from New York to Tokyo with one of the students I met, Brian. I’m glad I don’t have to fly all that way alone. I have flown tons of times, but the airport was a sort of dazed experience for me – I just let the other people in my party tell me where to go. Advice for you… pay attention next time your in the airport, it might come in handy when you fly solo! Haha. I hope I can figure out where to go and what to do and make it through security! Packing is sure to be interesting….

That’s all for now! A little more than a month before I leave for Japan! To be continued…. ^_^

Location: State College, Pennsylvania

Education Abroad GeoBlog

Penn State bloggers from around the world