Sleep on the train to Tokyo

Well, we have arrived at our first real port in Yokahama!

That’s right, folks, it’s an SAS Asian takeover.

Okay…so it’s less of a takeover and more of a “crap…I’ve got to learn how to navigate a foreign country.”

And I started out on that adventure early. First stop? Tokyo!

What stands in my way?

A train and a language barrier. No big deal.

We (me, Amanda, and Lotta) approached the line of kiosks with the map of the train station colorfully lit above them and made an attempt to decipher which line we should take. Allll on our own. That did not last long. I’m not a huge fan of asking for help, and I realize that is a problem that I must get over. In this situation, I set aside my pride because that sounded better than winding up in an unfamiliar town miles and miles from our end goal.

We got the necessary help and made our way to Tokyo! We didn’t do anything particularly thrilling- we just walked A LOT. We saw a fish market, visited a Shinto shrine, enjoyed tea time, and used the wifi in a convenient store.

It was perfect. We wandered the streets for a while in search of excitement and food, but it was right at lunchtime so most places were packed. We chose a restaurant kind of off of the beaten path- can’t say it thrilled me but it got the job done.

The three of us made a stop for sushi (of course) for dinner at a standing sushi bar. I’ve been craving sushi since watching Jiro Dreams of Sushi- if you haven’t seen it- Netflix it right now. Mind you, never in my life have I eaten raw fish- or even thought I wanted to eat raw fish- but this movie made me want it. Though I must admit- walking into a restaurant where I couldn’t read the menu and there was a large glass case filled with piles of raw fish was a little intimidating. The chef that came and stood in front of us began speaking to us in Japanese- and when he realized that we didn’t understand, he said “what like?” I threw my hands in the air because I had no idea what kind of fish I was willing to eat raw. He knowingly held up one finger- and prepared a few different kinds of sushi for us. The first one that he made was very basic- and had a HUGE chunk of yellow tail on it. And I’m expected to eat this in one bite? (*I’ll post a picture of it at a later time).

It was good- but such a strange texture- and yet he kept making more. Next up was a tuna roll- and it was heaven. Heaven, I tell you. But I must say I was thrilled when I got a piece with avocado and no fish involved.

Lotta learned that she is not a huge fan of seafood- and so we decided to stop at an “American” diner for her. It was pretty convincing for the most part- they had burgers, fries, and pies on the menu. While Lotta ordered her dinner- Amanda and I decided to get pie. I went for a piece advertised as “authentic American apple pie”- and upon it being placed in front of me, I could smell whiskey. They put whiskey in their apple pie. I didn’t know if I should be offended or delighted. (It was good- so no complaints from me)

ANYWAY

That’s enough for food talk.

We couldn’t hang around Tokyo because the three of us needed to get back to Yokahama because we all had labs for class meeting at 8 the following morning- but we took our time returning to our floating home. We moseyed through a night market and picked up some trinkets (getting started early) and made it to the ship by 11pm- perfect timing too, because a slew of students that had to be back by midnight all seemed to return at the exact same time and had to wait in a long line- while we just skipped aboard.

-----sleep-----

I got up to go to my lab- and I’ve got to be honest, I wasn’t too thrilled about the entire thing. I woke up at 6 (an hour before my alarm) and had no hope of going back to sleep. You know when you’re nervous about something (in my case, it was the fear of not waking up for my lab that makes up 20% of my grade) and you can’t sleep? That was me. Perfect way to begin my 8 hour lab where we would be spending the majority of it walking.

Despite feeling tired and not into the concept of my lab- I thoroughly enjoyed myself! It was a really cool experience. You know how I went to a shrine in Tokyo? This was way more awesome because we were guided through the shrines and structures, and our tour guide was incredible through the entire process- always taking every opportunity she could to tell us the significance of things that we passed.

ALSO, some sort of lab-planning fairy made it so that it would take 3 hours to travel from the ship to the location of our lab, Kamakura. You know what those three hours were good for? Napping. I didn’t nap long- but 25 minutes did me some good.

Upon our arrival in Kamakura- we went to the Zeniarai Benzaiten Shinto Shrine, where we were told that we could wash any form of currency to bring us luck. Before we did that, however, we were taught how to “purify” ourselves before entering the shrine. You must first wash your left hand, then your right, then take some water in your mouth, swish and spit, and clean the handle. We were then given the basket for washing the money, a small white candle, and a bundle of incense. We were instructed to go to a small wooden hut that had a few other candles stuck on sharp pieces of thin metal, light our small candles on an already lit larger candle, and place it on one of the pieces of metal and pray. Then from there, we were to light our incense with our candle and place it in a large basin with more incense that was already smoking. Next, we were supposed to throw in coins, clap to wake their gods, and bow to them. I threw in money out of respect to the people, but as a Christian I could not justify bowing to another god. This experience was different than any other that I have had, and I appreciated it, but this shrine is really someone’s place of worship and it was simply not that for me. Don’t worry, folks- I didn’t offend anyone.

Next on our agenda was visiting the Daibutsu Buddha, which was absolutely incredible- it’s just massive.

Like…that was the biggest Buddha I’ve ever seen.

Okay- jokes aside. We circumambulated the structure and headed to our next location (and religion)- the Tsurugaoka Hachimangu Shinto Shrine. Right outside of the shrine, there was a large number of sake barrels and we were told that sake is an important part of purification in many different rituals. I might not be behind Shintoism- but that part I would comply with.

We walked into the actual shrine and there was an opportunity to write a wish on a painted piece of wood and hang it on one of the hooks and hundreds of other ‘wishes’ already hung. This was something I could get behind, so I wrote my wish (and I’d tell you, but then it wouldn’t come true) and hung it as others were doing. Next, there was a booth where you could shake a box with a small opening in it filled with sticks with numbers on each one. From the small opening, one stick would come out and the number on that stick corresponded to a certain fortune (called an omikuji). Most people in my class got one…so I followed suit because it seemed like the fun thing to do. And it was! I was quite pleased with my fortune. Again, I’d tell you- but then I’d have to kill you.

That about sums up my lab experience in Kamakura. 


And here's a video about our lab as well!


We rode back to the ship where some folks ran in to grab their backpacks and travel overland and I was on the ship for transit which was actually SUPER fun! There was no class for those two days- and so everyone that took the ship to Kobe was basically automatically best friends, which made those days REALLY fun! Which is great, because I felt kind of lame for taking the ship. But no regrets!

The first day there were a lot of people out and about playing various games. Cards against humanity is always a favorite of mine- and on the other end of the spectrum….monopoly.. I have successfully avoided it since high school (even playing it with my best friends did not interest me) and I somehow got roped into playing monopoly with someone who just received it in a package. From his parents. Because it’s his favorite game. Sooo you can only imagine how serious this dude is about his monopoly…and how seriously I opposed everything about it.

NEEDLESS TO SAY- I went to bed before that game was anywhere close to being over. And those friends who made me play in high school reading this would not expect anything different.

The following day was pure bliss. My roommate traveled overland- so I had the room to myself the night before and I slept so peacefully. I did, however, wake up at 7:30 out of habit. So I sat in bed and read Promise of a Pencil, took a shower, had some lunch, and watched Bridesmaids. I am 100% aware of how lazy my day sounds, but I regret nothing whatsoever.

…until the following day.

We arrived in Kobe early the next morning, and I went to Kyoto with the same couple of girls that I went to Tokyo with, and had a relatively easy time getting there. After our Tokyo adventure- we were professionals at the Japanese public transit system (at least in our minds). We visited a Shinto shrine or two close to the train station before one of the girls told me that we were going to try to meet up with another group that was staying in a hostel about half an hour from where we were.

I thought, great! I know a couple of them, it’ll be fun.

That idea dissipated as the day went on.

Now, I don’t really want to complain or rant- because how can I really do that. I’m in Japan. It’s awesome.

I just saw nothing that Kyoto is famous for, because all my group wanted to do was drink cheap liquor in their hotel, eat food that is not sushi, and spend hours in that crappy restaurant trying to decide what to do.

Somewhere in that time, however, me and a friend looked up a nearby guitar shop, broke away from the group, and spent about an hour and a half there. I was really on a hunt for a new ukulele- but instead got to play around on some electric guitars. It was a fair trade I think.

Unfortunately, the fun had to end and I had to return to my job.

My role for the evening was babysitter. I’ve never been around people that cannot take care of themselves- and after this I will avoid people like this at all costs.

SO

My takeaway from that is that I will simply have to return to Japan.

…and never travel with those people again.

It’s all a learning experience.

Exciting things are to come tomorrow! I’m going on a mountain top temple retreat, and it’s going to be GREAT. I just feel it.

Things I love about today:

1. My friends back at home and their ability to be really cool and responsible human beings

2. The blessing that is being able to travel around the world

3. Seamail