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.

4-3-09 Seeing Campus and All-you-can-drink Dinner

I'm a little behind on my posts, so please excuse my briefness.
Today we saw our campus for the first time. The walk up to campus was beautiful. The street was lined with Sakura Trees, or Cherry Blossoms, that were in full bloom:



On Campus, the students were promoting clubs in the main quad area. Our group of 25 Americans had to walk through this gauntlet of terror. I was truly intimidated because EVERY Japanese student had to stop and stare at us, especially at the white people. The abundance of attention was way too overwhelming.

I met my Japanese "buddies" soon after and I immediately connected with them. Their names are Daisuke and Humi. They showed me around campus while more Japanese students gaped at me.



That night was a lot of fun. 15 or so of us and a few Japanese went to this special restaurant. In the restaurant are a bunch of little rooms with a big table and many seats. In our room, instead of chairs there was a booth-like bench with a zebra pattern. The walls were glittery and a disco ball hung from the center of the ceiling. On the far wall was a TV. None of the Americans had any idea what was going on. The Japanese students then explained to us that the restaurant is all-you-can-drink, family style food, and karaoke for only $30! After 20 minutes and 3 rounds of drinks, people get drunk and the Karaoke comes on. I never thought that out-of-pitch singing in a group setting could be so fun.

Here are a few pictures:






In my drunken stupor, I run into a few Japanese businessmen on my way to the bathroom. They are obviously trashed also. I talk in broken Japanese and he speaks to me in broken English. Apparently, he's an engineer and his company is building a shinkansen (Japanese bullet train) from Los Angeles to San Francisco. I thought that was so cool. I hope it gets built.



What a great day. I really love it here in Japan. I'm having such a great time, meeting great people, and experiencing a totally different and new culture. I feel so lucky that I have this opportunity.

4-2-09 My Dorm

Before coming to Japan, I was frightened that I would be living in a closet-sized room.

I cannot be happier with my living situation.

I share a floor with the 6 other guys, each with our own singles. On the bottom floor is a kitchen, a dining room, and a TV room. The kitchen is amazing; it is practically a restaurant kitchen, and fully stocked with utensils and plates.

The rooms are way bigger than I expected. Each room comes with a multi-tiered desk, a very large closet with plenty of storage, tatami mats, a futon (my bed), AN AIR CONDITIONER, and a balcony.

Here are some pictures of the inside of my room:

4-1-09 First Day; Downtown Narita and Narita Shrine

In the morning, at the hotel, I met up with two other people from my group. We had 5 or 6 hours to kill, so we decided to head into Downtown Narita because, supposedly, there is an impressive Shinto (a Japanese religion) shrine to see.

After wandering around for an hour, we found the shrine, and it was beautiful. Here are some pictures from it:









As you can see, the Shrine and the surrounding park were gorgeous. The coy pond looked like it came straight from a postcard!

On the way back, we were hungry and thirsty. However, there were many authentic looking Japanese restaurants and we didn't know which to choose. So, we did what any traveler would do; we found the busiest restaurant and ate there. The restaurant we chose had a chef in the front with a fish tank to his right and a cutting board in front of him. In the fish tank were live eels. I watched him reach into the tank, take out a live eel, put it on the cutting board, then slice off its head, and then its tail. The chef proceeded to slice the fish down the center, opening it up like a hot-dog bun. He then quickly barbecued it over a coal stove. Talk about fresh!

The restaurant was so authentic that it did not even have chairs. We sat on the cushions on the floor (shoes off of course) and ate at a low table. I'm a little bigger than most Japanese men, and wearing tight jeans, I had a tough time sitting down into the small area. I knocked a few things over and banged into the shoji wall behind me. The entire restaurant (all Japanese locals) were staring at the three white people causing a commotion. I ordered Biiru (beer), mizu (water), and a plate of unagi (eel). For an "appetizer," the waitress brought out a small pitri dish-sized plate with tiny fried fish. I don't know what the fish were called, but its the kind of fish that you would see in a small creek. Not very tasty. The Unagi was out of this world! It literally melted in your mouth. The eel was hands-down better than any eel I have tasted in a sushi restaurant.

Three young Japanese men were sitting at the table next to us. I look at their "appetizer" and it looked like tiny, flattened french fries with little pokers coming off of it. In broken Japanese, I ask them what it is, and before one of them tells me, they offers me one. I eat it without a second thought. It actually tasted pretty good but it was very crispy and poked the inside of my cheeks. He then tells me that it is hardened Shrimp spine. Mmmm Yummy!

After lunch we left Narita and met our group at the Yokohama Station. There are 7 guys (3 white), and 15 girls (equally diverse). I will explain about my dorm in the next post.