留学生の生活　: November 2009

I just finished one of the longest weekends of my life. It began on Saturday morning around 5am and only ended about an hour or two ago this Wednesday night at about 5pm. I took lots and lots of photos so check on facebook ;)

On Saturday morning, Oct 31, I woke up early to attend the International Bus Tour planned by my University's Study Abroad office. The Destination was Yamanaka Lake near Mount Fuji. The area was very beautiful, we could see mount Fuji very well. Upon arriving we gorged ourselves on Yakiniku, or literally Cooked Meat! Delicious. Then from eating, we took a walk to the lake for about an hour and then returned to paint cups. Sounds a little weird, but it was done at an art store and we painted the cups in order for them to be glazed and mailed to us later. While on the tour I spent most of my time with Christine Chiang, Joel, and three amazing new Friends, Manami, Sakami who studied abroad at UCLA, and Akira. We didn't make it back to Shinagawa station until about 6 something, and then back to Totsuka, MISH (the study abroad student dorm) until 7ish.

Mount Fuji!

Dallas Village Yakiniku Resturaunt

Beautiful Fall Leaves

From there, I Showered at MISH, and then ran around like a chicken with it's head cut off trying to put together a Halloween costume (Prince Charming, we all went with the Disney Theme). Then I attended the MISH Halloween Party. Actually it was quite fun, every one's costume came out great, and it was plenty of fun to take pictures together. It was 10 o'clock went the night really started. From there many of us, including some Japanese students, made our way to the club "Ageha." This is the largest club in all of Asia, and it was amazing. I met up with the 3 amazing new friends that I made on the Bus Tour, Sakami, Akira, and Manami, and danced with my friends all night! We didn't leave until about 5:30 am and I didn't make it back to my bed until 7:00am Sunday morning! After sleeping until about 2pm, I grabbed my things and headed off to MISH again to meet up with Myrna, and Victoria to grab Breakfast/Lunch/Dinner (I had a delicious bowl of shrimp noodle soup), and to spend the night so that I could leave early the next morning to Nikko!

Halloween Disney Style

Nikko is a beautiful city in the middle of the forest about 3 hours north of Tokyo. It houses one of Japans most famous shrines, the Nikko Toshogu 日光東照宮. This shrine was dedicated to the first Shogun of the Edo period, Tokugawa Ieyasu. He was given the posthumous name of Tosho Gongen, before his spirit was interned in the Shrine with his same name. The shrine contains beautiful buildings plated with real gold, and many other famous objects of art such as the 3 monkeys, and the sleepy cat carvings.

The Toshogu Shrine's Youmeimon 陽明門, An Iconic Building Known Throughout Japan

The Three Monkeys: Kikazaru, Iwazaru, Mizaru

Our trip to Nikko started out early from Totsuka station. We left at 7am and after some fuss (Victoria almost passed out on the train, it was full to the brim with morning commuters) we made to the Tobu Nikko Station at about 12:30. I will just say this now, it poured non-stop all day! Regardless, the forest and the Toshogu were still beautiful. The colors of the trees changing, with the rain clouds and fog moving through the mountains was breathtaking. Through out the day we made our way through Rinnouji Temple 輪王寺, the Toushogu 東照宮, and finally in and out of Futarasan Shrine 二荒山神社. We then grabbed a bite to eat, where I tried a Tofu dish (I think) called yuba, all the while trying to dry off. From there we made our way to your hostel for the night.

View of the Mountains From Rinouji Temple

Beautiful Fall Leaves, Rinnouji Temple

Me in Front of the Youmeimon of the Toshogu Shrine

When we arrived at the station in the middle of the night in the pouring rain, and there was not even a single light on the train platform, I felt a little scared. When I stepped out of the station and there was no lights and the building across from the station which was supposed to be the hostel was a small house, I felt even a little more scared. Where the hell was the hostel! It turned out that the small house across from the station was the front desk of the hostel and the rooms were various properties near-by. To sum up my experience at that hostel in one word, I would say exceptional. The Room, or I should say house was one Japanese style cottage. Everything was brand new, there was a huge room, a kitchen, the smallest TV Ive ever seen and an i-pod with the trendiest play list. We had Sushi ordered into our room and because my math skills are so bad, the women who delivered it gave us a discount. We ate sushi, then drank tea, and finished the night with the movie Lost In Translation, appropriate. In the morning the weather cleared and after taking a look at the longest avenue in the world, Nikko's Cedar Avenue, we were off to Chuzenji Lake!

Jenny and I in ouｒ Japanese Style Hostel Room

Sushi Dinner!

Hallway of Hostel

After eating a yummy Italian lunch, we boarded a bus bound for the Chuzenji Lake. Chuzenji Lake is one of the highest altitude lakes in Japan, created by the volcanic eruption of Mt. Nantai thousands of years ago. Thus, to get there the bus climbed and climbed through the Irohazaka pass. Along the way I could see the beautiful scenery, the previous nights rain had left the mountains covered in a white blanket of snow, and I also caught a glimpse of some silly red faced Japanese monkeys. When we arrived at the bus station, and after being shocked by the ￥1,100 fare, or 11 dollars, we stepped of the bus into literally freezing weather. We walked along the lake, all the while taking pictures. Then we took a look at Central Futarasan Shrine (an extension into the mountains of the previous days Futarasan Shrine). It was beautiful, with the snow coming down, and the lake, mountains and trees as a backdrop, everything just felt wonderful. We then walked back towards the bus stop and made our way home (for a miserable 4 hours or more on stupid local, not rapid trains). This was not done however until after seeing the magnificent Kegon Water Fall 華厳の滝.

Tori Gate of Central Futarasan Shrine with the Volcanic Mt. Nantai in the Background

Chuzenji Lake and Snow Covered Mountains

Kegon Falls

The next day was a nice and relaxing one. My wonderful home stay parents took me to Odawara to see the Odawara Castle. In addition they took me by Hotoku Ninomiya Shrine, as well as to indulge in a great sushi lunch. I had a lot of fun with them as always, and it was really great to dress up with my Ka-san as a samurai and maiden!

Sushi Lunch!