Kamakura and The Kamakura Matsuri Festival

For the past week, Sunday to Sunday, there has been a cultural festival in Kamakura, a religious area near Yokohama. On the first Sunday, they have special dance performances, and on the last Sunday, they have Taiko drums and horseback archery. Three of us went to Kamakura on the latter Sunday.
After arriving at the Kamakura station, we find a map and have to walk down a main street for about a mile. In the middle of the street was a dirt path with Sakura trees and lanterns lining each side. Here is a picture or two:






There were hundreds of people at the Shinto Shrine, which was gorgeous to say the least. Words would not do it justice, so here are some pictures:







On the path leading up to the shrine, there were various booths selling candies and fruit-on-a-stick. The pineapple looked amazing, so I bought one. The reason I mention this is because the person selling the pineapple played rock-paper-scissors with me right after I bought the fruit. If you win, you get two pieces. If you lose or tie, then you only get one. We tied. Apparently this is a Japanese tradition. Some vending machines even have an electronic rock-paper-scissors game which can give the customer 2x the good.

After walking around the shrine for some time, the Taiko Drum display was about to start. Taiko Drums are the giant wooden drums that are indigenous to Japan. It was a very cultural experience to be able to watch these young men play the Taiko drums. Here are some pictures and a video:






After they played, I walked up to one of the musicians and, in my broken Japanese, I told him that he played great. I then asked for a picture, and low and behold, I got one.



After lunch, we returned to the shrine for the main event: Horseback Archery. In the Feudal Era, one strategy of warfare was for samurai to gallop through battle on horses and kill others with archery. At the festival, there was a competition between 6 archers to shoot at 3 targets while galloping. Each archer wore full ceremonial outfits, and fired longbows, similar to the ones used during the Edo Period. It was really "cool" to see, for lack of a better word. The horses moved very fast and it was extremely crowded, so my pictures are not the best.





The day was not over. After the main event, we left the shrine and headed to see the Daibutsu (Giant buddha). To be honest, it was more of a tourist attraction than anything else, but it is worth seeing, and mentioning that the statue was HUGE.





This day was one of the most interesting and culturally enlightening days I have had yet.

Friday Night Clubbing in Tokyo

This past Friday night, we wanted to go out and see the Yokohama night-life. Earlier, we had planned to go clubbing in Tokyo, but people were tired and etc., so we settled on bar hopping instead at a closer location. Since the trains stop at midnight, we left early (8:30pm or so) so that we could make it back before 12.
After drinking a few drinks, we went to Yokohama. The myriad shops and numerous amount of bright colored signs were spectacular. There were bars and izakaya's (the all-you-can-drink dinner places) everywhere. There was even a three story bowling alley! Since people were cheap, we chose an Irish pub. In the pub, I saw other Americans, so I had to talk to them. Apparently there is an army base close-by, and these meat-heads were on leave for the weekend. It was nice of them to buy me a beer, but then it was my responsibility to keep one of the creepers off of a girl in our group. I handled it with no problem.
At about 11 pm, I'm still wired and pretty drunk, but most people want to go home. One of Japanese buddies, Mariko, said that she wanted to go clubbing in Shibuya, a district in Tokyo. Two other girls and I said that we also wanted to go. So, at 11:30, after 3 hours of consecutive drinking, we're on our way to Tokyo.
here are some pictures from Yokohama (they didnt come out that great):







It takes about 45 minutes to make it to the club we wanted to go to. We chose to go to a smaller club with free entrance because, after midnight, it's very expensive to enter other venues. Before going in, I had to have a drunken snack at the "Freshness Burger" across the street.
The club was pretty awesome. It was small, but provided a large enough dance floor and a full size bar. It is free to enter, but the catch was that you have to have a drink in your hands at all times. Whatever; I'd rather pay for a drink than just to enter the door. The music in the club was interesting; they mostly played ghetto rap (the kind of rap where 3 big black guys yell at the mic). Then, all of the sudden, the DJ decides to play "Celebration," and the club's patrons definitely seemed to enjoy it. Other than during "celebration," the dancing was pretty much the same as in The States.
At about 3:30 am, we get tired, but, THE TRAINS DON'T START AGAIN UNTIL 5 AM! So, we decided to go to a restaurant for a drink and some food to just wait for the trains. Normally, people would sleep in a capsule hotel or at an internet cafe. The 3 girls were not to ecstatic about that idea. I plan on sleeping in a capsule or at an internet cafe at another time, and I'll make sure to write about that experience. At the restaurant, they had a specialty item: raw horse meat!. Of course, I had to order it. It was absolutely delicious and surprisingly tender. Here are some pictures of my horse:




At 5 am, along with hundreds of drunk / hungover people, we walked to the trains. It was light outside. On the train, everyone would sit down and pass out instantly. I didn't get into bed until 7 am.
Overall, I had a great night. However, I would have rather been more prepared and started my night later. Next time...

Akihabara District, Tokyo

Akihabara District is known as "Electric Town," or the famed electronic district in Tokyo. I have heard and read stories about this area of Tokyo, but it succeeded my expectations.



Right after stepping off the train, I entered an electronic jungle. The shortest building in the area is 5 stories tall. Every building, and each story within the building, is a shop. I found shops selling a wide range of stuff: from Video games and anime books to computers and even soldering equipment.





One of the buildings that I wandered into happened to be a specialty shop for old-school video games, specifically Nintendo. I had a field day seeing all the Japanese games that I had only heard about as a child.





I even found life-sized version of some old friends:




After leaving that retro-game shop, the group and I headed into the five-story arcade. Yes, a five story building with just arcade games. It was incredible. On the first floor were "claw" games. The second had interactive games (like dance dance revolution and guitar-hero type games), and the other 3 floors were simple arcade games. However, the machines were not so simple. Since these are the newest and greatest games, they all require an HD screen to give the full and greatest experience; the Japanese love HD. Each arcade machine had a 32" flat-screen HD TV. Once again, incredible. In my picture you can see about 40 Japanese youngsters surrounding a few screens. It just so happens that the day we were visiting, the arcade was holding a video game tournament for a new game called "Gundam Wing." I watched for a few minutes, and saying that these kids are good at video games is a gross understatement.








Another new and exciting day in Japan...

Onsen (Japanese Bath House)

Today, a group of five of us went to an Onsen. An Onsen is a Japanese style bath house that is located around a volcanic hot springs. The bath house gets some of the water from the hot springs for its baths. Here is how it works:

The entrance fee is 500 yen (5 USD), but renting a towel costs an extra 2 dollars. As you walk in, there are tatami mats on the left with a big screen tv, and a full size restaurant on the right with Japanese style seating (on the floor on cushions). The floor and walls are all made out of wood or bamboo. In an adjacent room there are tables for professional massages. Then, after walking down a long hallway, the guys and girls split up.

I enter the locker room and there are men everywhere; no one is wearing any clothes. After a little hesitation, I take off my clothes and store my stuff in a locker. Stark naked, I proceed to the baths. The first room is fairly large and indoors. To the right are 2 stand-up showers (no one is using them) and to the left are Japanese style showers (if you can even call them showers). Basically, you sit on a little stool and in front of u is a shower-head on a rope, a bucket for water, and a mirror. Men are squatting on these buckets, furiously scrubbing themselves with the provided soap. The floor has drains everywhere, but it still a soaked mess of water and suds. Also inside are 4 different baths. These ones have normal water in them. In one, you can lie down and jets massage your back. In another, you stand up in front of jets. And also then there is a cold water bath. Also, inside is a sauna that is set to 80 degrees Celsius (176 F)! Jeebus! Most of the water in the indoor baths wasn't too hot; set at about 39 celsius (102 F).

Outside was a whole different story. There are baths outside, but they don't have normal water. Instead, they have water taken from the hot springs. The water is black and opaque; u can't even see your hands when they are held inches below the water. One of the pools is about 42 celsius (108 F) and another was 45 Celsius (113 F)! I couldn't sit in there for more than a few minutes. Also outside are what looks like giant planters filled with more volcanic water. After soaking for an hour in all the different pools, I took a "shower" while squatting on my stool. I was able to shave and etc as well. After using the hot baths, it is traditional to drink a glass of cold milk. They had vending machines right outside for that very purpose. It was the best glass of milk I have ever had. We then ate a relaxing lunch and headed home.

Right now, 7 hours later, I still feel relaxed and rejuvenated. My skin is softer than ever, and my mind clear.

I wish that I could have taken pictures, but of course that is not allowed. Here are some pictures that I found online that are similar to what I saw:

Harajuku District, Tokyo

On Monday, in Tokyo, we had a mandatory meeting with the other foreign exchange students and all the visiting professors. The meeting was fairly boring, but had a large buffet of some great food. I met another guy that happens to like the same kind of music that I do, so we're going to meet up and see some local Metal bands play in Tokyo (I've always wanted to see a heavy metal concert in Tokyo since it has a huge music culture).

After the orientation, I, once again, lead the group on an adventure. This time, since we were already in Tokyo, we went to the Harajuku district. Harajuku is known as the center for the counter-culture of Japan. Honestly, it has become more of a shopping district now. There were a couple main streets jammed with people and little clothing shops. The clothes were really unique and stylish, but everything was too small for me, even size Large. The girls had a good time.

I expected to see a lot of Japanese people dressed like freaks, but, for the first time since I arrived in Japan, I was disappointed. However, the district is known for its crepes, and they were AMAZING.

Here are some pictures:





The best experience of the day was on the train ride back. It was late, around 11 pm, so everyone is in a rush to make the last few trains before they shut down. You have all heard stories about how the trains get very crowded and etc in Tokyo. You don't know the half of it. I saw the train pull up, and I thought that we would have to wait for the next one because it was already full. But no, you don't wait. Instead, 20 Americans + some drunk business men jam into the train. I have never been so squished in my life. You could not hold onto the hand rails or anything because your arms are pinned to your sides. If the train turned, you would just lean on the person next to you. Everyone swayed together. It was also hot as hell because you are breathing everyone else's air. I would have taken a picture, but there was no way I could have gotten out my camera. That was certainly an interesting experience.

Hanami (Flower Watching)

Hanami is a famous festival and holiday in Japan. The word "Hana" means flower and "mi" is part of the verb "miru" which means to look or to watch. The Hanami takes place in the first week of April, when the Sakura Trees are in full bloom.

To celebrate Hanami, I lead the group to Sankeien park, Yokohama's most famous park. After an hour bus ride without sitting, we finally make it to the park. Saying that it was beautiful is a gross understatement. Here are some pictures







The next day, our Japanese buddies invited the group to celebrate Hanami with a group of MGU students. I expected the environment and attitude to be very naturesque, focusing on adoring the flowers. Boy... was i wrong. The entire point of the festival is to get drunk with friends. There weren't even any cherry blossom trees nearby! So, 20 Americans and 60 Japanese students drank way too much beer in the park on a beautiful day.

Here are some pictures from the event:






They also had some interesting snacks at the picnic. One that particularly caught my interest was vinegar-pickled squid:



I tried it, but it was truly disgusting. I still pretended to like it so that I did not offend my new Japanese friends.