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The End of a Journey
I’m so glad I had the opportunity to complete a semester at Rikkyo University. Living in Tokyo and attending school has been a life-changing experience. Learning about the social norms first-hand, experiencing a culture much different from my own and adjusting to it, I believe has made me a worldlier person. I’ve evolved to preference being a world citizen rather than just an American.
Joining a club was probably one of my best decisions I could have made while living in Tokyo. Purposefully putting myself in a position to speak Japanese improved my ability to converse, and I got to learn some slang too!
Exploring the land with my pals was a very rewarding experience. We basked in the hot summer sun for days on end exploring caves, mountains, islands, temples, and castles. There were many landscapes that took my breath away. Sights I would never see in California. I met so many interesting people on my travels, Japanese and international. I learned about them, their life experiences, and their attitudes. Good and bad, I wouldn’t trade any of it.
Being enrolled in Japanese at Rikkyo was the most intensive Japanese course I’ve ever done. Although it was difficult, I also learned so many things like building architecture, bento art that mom’s do for their children, Japanese dramas and many other things. I get to interact with so many other international students. I made a friend from Saudi Arabia! There is no other, better way, to meet and befriend so many different people.
Not to mention all the late-night partying with the Japanese students!
And finally, being able to travel and visit with my exchange student friends who came to SDSU. It’s much better to tour a country with friends you’ve made, because they know all the best spots: food, location, hotel, tourist attractions, etc. I highly encourage anyone wanting to study abroad to make a current friend at their university who is from that country. It is a much more hassle-free experience this way.
I am honestly so grateful to have had such a wonderful experience, both good and bad, in Japan. I can’t wait to return, and I hope I’ve persuaded you to chase your country and explore a new world!
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Today is your day! Your mountain is waiting, So… get on your way!
Dr. Seuss
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Bullet Climb of Mt. Fuji
This was it. The “peak” event in my travels of Japan. I trained my whole life for this moment (no I didn’t actually).
We had just finished our semester of school at Rikkyo two days prior. In preparation of the journey I turned to my ideal one-stop shop, Amazon. Headlamps, backpack, batteries, food; Mostly everything needed for the journey.
There were two ways to travel to the base of the mountain: by train and bus, or car and bus. Fortunately, our friend Taka could drive so we purchased a rental car for the day. We left Tokyo in the late morning by car, but didn’t realize the real cost of driving.
Japan makes you pay for driving your car.
In Japan, because the public transportation is so excellent cars are seen as a luxury rather than a necessity. This is unlike America where often times people need to drive from the suburbs or rural areas in order to commute. Due to this difference, Japan’s highways are tolled everywhere you go. We accumulated around 40$ in non-optional tolls getting to the Mt. Fuji area.
Our goal for climbing was to reach the summit before sunrise the next morning, so we would begin our ascent in the evening. The early afternoon we drove to one of the most fascinating and spooky area of Japan.
Aogakigahara, or most commonly known as “The Suicide Forest.”
Located at the base of mountain, it’s known for housing many suicides from people all across the country. The recent controversy with Logan Paul and the movie, “The Forest,” set in Aogakigahara revitalized the mysteries.
We parked in a dirt lot on the side of the road. As I entered the through the tree line all noise ceased to exist. It was dead quite except for our voices. The forest was dense with trees so there was no wind to rustle the leaves. Birds were absent as well. The only natural sound was the crunching of branches under our feet. It was unsettling to say the least.
However, our purpose wasn’t to explore the depths and dark secrets that lied beyond. The forest also holds caves within it. Three to be exact: Wind Cave, Ice Cave, and Lava Cave. They were all created by lava from the last eruption of Mt. Fuji many years ago.
I approached the staircase to descend into the Ice Cave. The day was hot, humid, and sticky in the midst of the summer sun. As I reached halfway down the stairs the temperature had dropped to freezing. It was like the feeling of walking into a grocery store on a scolding hot day, except the doors lead straight to the freezer aisle. The path below was cramped and wet, stage lights around the ice softly illuminated the way ahead. At the end of the path was an interesting sight to behold, wooden storage crates and barrels were stocked inside.
In the early 1900s Japan used the caves for perishable storage because they were so cold.
After the caves we returned to the car to begin our ascent by traveling to the bus station.
The following will be details left out of the video.
- The climb would be approximately 7-8 hours depending on your pace. So leaving at 8pm you’d arrive at the top around 4am.
- It’s highly discouraged to bullet climb (climb without resting at an inn/station), but we were up for the challenge!
- The bus arrives at the 5th station, which is just below tree-line of the mountain. The rest of the ascent is climbed.
- I purchased a walking stick at the 5th station because there are huts along the way that will brand the stick. The stations specifically with the current height of the mountain. It was my most expensive souvenir at the end because brands would cost between 3-5 dollars. My staff was worth about 70 dollars by the end of the journey.
- Japan doesn’t have root beer, which is my favorite drink. My girlfriend visited and brought me two packs of IBC Root Beer and I took my last one to drink at the summit. It was my ultimate goal!
- The descent was nothing but lava rocks and by far the worst part of journey. At about two-thirds the way back down one of my soles in my shoes fell off.
This experience was by far the most difficult physically and mentally task I’ve accomplished in my life.
A truly life-changing experience.
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This was a fascinating, yet terrifying drive to make. Observing the years of burned skid marks on the roads, fresh and faded, gives a concrete look at the drift-racing culture in Gunma. However, I was constantly afraid we’d crash on a turn because as you can see, those roads are much too narrow.
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This plastic is so goddamn convenient
38-year-old housewife Tomoko Aomori , The Rising Wasabi
https://www.therisingwasabi.com/cookie-wrapped-in-plastic-wrapped-in-plastic-placed-in-plastic-bag/
While living in Japan I discovered this site called The Rising Wasabi. It’s basically The Onion but focusing on Japan and appealing to foreigners there. I often relate to way too many of their satirical articles.
One of the most frustrating aspects of Japan is the insane amount of plastic that is wasted. First of all, they burn trash still which is bad for the environment. Second, almost every snack/non-perishable product will come individually wrapped.
A first experience in a convenience store was when I bought box of chocolate chip cookies. I returned to my dorm room and when I opened them I was flabbergasted. All the cookies inside the packaging were individually wrapped in plastic. Every. Single. One.
Japan has a strong culture in appealing to convenience.
There is usually a convenience store on every corner, which holds every necessity you could need. I would pass around 10 vending machines on my half-mile walk to school. The excessive use of plastic for individual wrapping for ease of transportation without mess. Amazon deliveries can be within an hour of ordering. Almost all fast-food chains deliver, including McDonald's. Nobody wants to inconvenience someone whether personally or by a service.
Ordering McDonalds TO-GO
Some of these ways of thinking are acceptable, however there are clearly ones that aren’t. To sum it up, here is an image of how Amazon Japan delivered me 4 AAAA batteries for my Surface Pen.
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Strawberry Hunting and Gunma
The season was late this year, but just in time for us. Ichigo-gari, strawberry hunting, is a seasonal treat that many in rural areas get to enjoy.
My good friend Masahiro is from Gunma prefecture. He was my TA for my second year of Japanese and I got to know him during his time at SDSU. Masa came to visit me for my birthday and enjoyed yakuniku with us.
We returned to my dorm early in the morning around 1 am stuffed and ready for sleep. Masa mentions how he just went strawberry hunting the other day and the season is almost over. I’m half-falling asleep when I comment, “Man I wish I could have come with you.” He responds, “Let’s go today. Does Alanna want to go?”
About five hours later we were walking drowsily in the morning mist to the Ikebukuro train station, bound to meet up with Alanna. Two hours later we arrive in Gunma awake and ready to devour strawberries!
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Gunma means “a group of horses.”
Its stunning landscape is filled with miles of mountains layered with lush trees. It’s also a famously used setting in the mountain-racing anime, Initial D.
I could describe in detail the wonderful charm that Gunma has, but I found a great video that encapsulates the feeling.
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By: DriftHunterAlbo
Something most foreigners don’t get to see is common community events that aren’t known outside of the town. One of these instances being Masa’s high school. Every year the students do a “costume march” and we got to catch a glimpse of it before lunch!
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Speaking of lunch...
Don’t even try to find good Mexican food in Japan
So after living in Japan for a couple months, I began to miss the food of my people. Burritos, tacos, beans and rice. I’ve been having a craving for all of it. I tried a “taco bar” in Shibuya, but I’m not even going to discuss in detail that horror. It was bad, and my cravings endured.
Cut to now in Gunma where I hope Masa’s go-to Mexican food restaurant will suffice. Turns out the food was Tex-Mex. Which for those who know the difference between Cali-Mex, it’s quite different.
Look at this, lettuce in my burrito!
Different rice, meat, presentation, a whole lot. It was fine, but nothing to write home about. Suffice it to say, temper your expectations of finding good quality food from your home country. Even burgers (MossBurger) are hit or miss.
However, I would still suggest being open to trying new interpretations of food.
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Loving life is easy when you are abroad. Where no one knows you and you hold life in your hands all alone, you are more master of yourself than at any other time.
Hannah Arendt
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Today is my birthday! And I turned 22!
My wonderful international family and I went out to Karaoke to celebrate my birthday on April 15th!
Karaoke is a very popular form of group hangout in Japan. There is often a karaoke building every couple blocks in Tokyo, many offering some twist such as costumes. It’s often depicted in Japanese media that friends or coworkers will go do “nomihoudai / 飲み放題” (all you can drink), and then go do drunk karaoke afterwards.
I was also given a wonderful birthday chicken, fried-potato, and chip birthday cake!
Best birthday ever!
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Joining A Club
Rikkyo University is by no means a large university. For perspective, I’d say it is probably a sixth the size of SDSU. However, this size does not impact student body activities. There are just as many clubs, if not more available at Rikkyo.
As I approached the front gate for my first week of school, I was overwhelmed by the crowd before me. Stands lined up, down, left, and right of the main walkway towards the quad area. Each stand was occupied by energetic, cheerful, and loud students distributing flyers in a flurry to every passerby. I entered the area, standing at least a foot above the whole crowd.
Many tabled areas simply stared at me, both of us uncomfortable speaking our foreign language. I continued making my way through until someone tapped me on my back and I heard “You like Water Ski?!” I’m taken aback. Before I could answer I’m greeted by another young guy who pops out from the left. He yells “Hey you like?!,” creating a rowing motion with his arms. I’m fumbling on words try to express in Japanese my surprise but disinterest in either activity. A third man then enters stating, “He likes sailing!”
I have three guys fighting over me for clubs! Awesome!
I take all their flyers claiming I’ll think about it, although I have no interest in doing so. I continue making my way toward the international building with my Australian friend, but again I’m stopped.
Two young women approach us with bright smiles and energetic personality. A flier is handed out to me.
I glance at the paper and I’m instantly overwhelmed with writing I cannot legibly read and understand.
“Are you interested in playing tennis?”
The young woman asks. Surprised by the English, we entered into a conversation with both of them. I learned about Circles which are informal, less strict clubs. Roland Garros is the name of the tennis circle and I was convinced to attend a practice even though I don’t play tennis.
Roland Garros became a great place for me to practice Japanese, as those two new friends who actually spoke English well. Every practice I attended strained my brain to comprehend and respond in conversation. By the end of each practice I would feel more mentally exhausted than physically.
Joining a circle was a great way for me to meet Japanese people and attend non-international student focused events. My purpose of living in Japan was to improve my Japanese, and this opportunity was a great step in doing just that.
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Even the birds act much differently here! An occurrence straight out of a Disney fairy tale.
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Shrine, Hanami, and a Mascot
A consistent breath-taking feature of Japan is the amount of greenery and trees that exist everywhere, even in the cities.
Following Akiba, we were taken by our friend to Meiji Shrine. Traveling to the shrine required following a long path lined with large trees on both sides. I’d thought that for such a high population area that the city would be lined with asphalt and pavement, however I was very wrong.
Tokyo holds a multitude of mini-forest like parks strewn all-throughout the city. This something Ive never seen in any part of America.
As I approached the shrine I noticed many gathering around a medium-sized box. It was bare wood, with slits cut in the top. Kanji characters were written over it but I couldn’t understand them. After pondering for a moment my friend approaches me and explains that the box is for the Emma Wall.
Basically a wall of wishes.
For those who don’t want to pay money they can write their wishes and insert them in the box. Well me being the frugal international student...I chose option B.
The next day I moved into my international dorm room.
It was small and compact; just enough to live in.
“Sasuga Tokyo” I thought to myself.
Sasuga translates loosely to the equivalent English “As expected of ____.” A small living-space to fit my 6′3″ self is something I’ve come to expect from the overcrowded city of Tokyo.
I met my floormates and one had heard that this weekend is the beginning of Hanami season.
Hanami, a flower-viewing festival!
I jumped at the opportunity to see cherry blossoms in full bloom. The following morning we went to Ueno Park. It is basically the Central Park of Tokyo. Many Japanese and foreigners were there on blankets, drinking and being merry while watching the flowers bloom. Stalls are set up with bright banners, heat extruding into the cold air. Their sizzling skewers being grilled and karaage being fried. It was all a wonderfully painted scene...except the flowers were not in bloom, at least most of them weren’t.
It was a truly unfortunate that many of these people were gathered around a handful of trees instead of the whole park. However not all was lost because I was truly fortunate to encounter my first Shiba Inu! A famous breed of Japanese dog that is common here, however abroad there are many restrictions to adopt one.
After taking in the sights of the half-bloomed flowers, the dogs, and the people, we spotted pedal boats on the pond nearby. We just had to try and race with them!
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This is probably one of my only moments of being the stereotype of “stupid foreigner.”
We were being completely noisy, belligerent, and reckless
with these boats. However, it was a hell of a lot of fun and I’d do it all over again! So my advice: live a little bit, it’s not so bad.
To end the Ueno trip we stopped by our first Japanese arcade. Arcades are much bigger and more popular in Japan. New arcade games are released yearly and often don’t reach our Dave n’ Busters for a couple years. The arcades are built vertically, consisting of 4-5 floors differentiating game type. The first two floor are always UFO Catchers (Crane games).
Japanese politeness and consideration also bleeds into crane games. If the employees notice you spending a lot of money trying to win a prize, then they’ll open the machine and place the prize in an easy position for you to win. I’ve never had this happen in America and this was the only reason I would play the crane games in Japan.
So, we won this Wobbuffet (Pokemon) and decided to make it our mascot, ending our day triumphantly!
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Welcome! Time to Explore!
I awoke from my slumber the next morning, dreary and snot-filled. However, I’m here! I made it, and now it’s time to get out there and explore ...
Being the anime/ electronic geeks that we are there was no hesitation that the first stop would the “Electric Town” of Akihabara! It’s such a common place in anime that is depicted in very colorful ways. It’s also the place to go if you ever need to buy any kind of electronic device. Camera, laptop. headphone, or that really obscure cable that you can’t find anywhere. It can be found here.
The JR Yamanote Line is the main train used in Tokyo, because if you look at it on a map it’s a big circle.
Our friend’s place we are staying at is in Shinjuku, so based off the map we have to travel the entire distance of the train to arrive at Akihabara (Akiba for short). I embarked onto a crammed train cart. All the seats were filled, many standing close to each other but not socializing with each other.
A big social difference compared to the San Diego trolley is that no one, not a soul, talks on the train. Everyone has headphones on and phones out; focused on themselves.
In Japan it’s not socially acceptable to disrupt others.
The cart was quiet enough to hear a pin drop and I thought it was wonderful! Compared to the noisy and vulgar people I often encounter on the San Diego trolley, this was a godsend experience in public transportation.
And then I arrived!
Exiting the train station, we hit the ground running! It was just as shown in videos: neon, color billboards filled with anime advertisements, and people dressed up all through the crowded street! We ran in-and-out of stalls like kids in a candy store, eyes gleaming with excitement. It kept going and going, until it didn’t. We turned the corner and to my dismay...it appeared as a normal street.
Not everything is as how it’s depicted.
The “Electric City” was more of the “Electric Street.” It was short and sweet but that was okay.
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Our first breakfast in Japan. We walked a ways down unknown streets, following a semi-working google maps in confusion. The air was much colder in the morning than in San Diego. We finally arrive to a small cafe with very warm decor. The first image contains the best pancakes I ever had in my life. Opposite of the usual wide and flat western style, Japanese pancakes are actually made very fluffy, tall, and light. The bite melted on my tongue; warm and buttery. It was a heavenly experience!
Japan isn’t big on breakfast, so most places a person goes out to will order from a few “sets.” They are simple, small portion items... which didn’t fill me. This is something my stomach had to adapt to by shrinking because their portion sizes are much smaller than America’s.
Oh and the other picture is Colin with french toast. Equally delicious.
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The Arrival
I arrived at Narita International Airport on March 23rd at 1:30ish pm.
Coming in hot!
Uh… Okay that’s not what I meant.
What I meant was, I walked off the plane with a head cold and forehead hot! Thanks Singapore! (No not really their fault. The staff was really nice and gave me chocolate and ice cream. Also, economy class fish that was questionable…)
So yea, big welcoming to Japan. I came off the plane fumbling with as much toilet paper as I could steal the airline could provide from the plane’s bathroom; much of it hanging out of my SDSU hoodie’s center pocket.
After getting through a surprisingly simple customs check, we were officially into Japan. Yes!
Post-Arrival Picture (Smiling when feeling miserable is awesome!)
Shortly after entering the general terminal, Hy, Colin, and I were interviewed by some Japanese television show! They asked a series of questions regarding why we were in Japan that day. My mind was completely in a haze at that point, so I was fumbling over what I was trying to say. I have no idea if it aired. However, this brings up an interesting detail. Japanese media has no issue interacting with foreigners and they actually air some pretty wacky interviews with commentary.
That link is basically what my interview was like.
Post-airport: 2-hour bus ride to Tokyo ( Which I of course KO’d on), a train, and then another bus. All in the down-pouring rain! I finally crashed at the guest room we were staying at in Tokyo. I proceeded to shower and immediately fall unconscious into the bed at around 6pm. But wait! I must have missed something very important in the bathroom!?
That’s right, this:
Almost all toilets I have encountered look like this. They are equipped with a multi-feature bidet and its glorious to use! Another unique difference: the sink is put into the toilet, so you can rinse your hands with the water that is refilling the tank. Like I mentioned in the introduction they have...interesting... innovations. There are also regular sinks as well though.
This ends my arrival as I passed out on cold medicine and slept very hard into recovery.
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Introduction
Hello! Here is a completely unnecessary picture of my family, however this the night/morning before I left for Japan...so it’s relevant! I’m Riker and I traveled to Japan for my five months, March to August 2017. I’ve wanted to go my whole life! Now before you, the reader, begin assuming why that is... I’m going to tell you!
I grew up watching anime (of course I did): Yu-gi-oh, Pokemon, Bleach, Naruto (All of it!). However, that’s not the reason for my interest. I always enjoyed the history and culture of Japan: shoguns, samurai, clan warfare, and a high regard for family, honor, and respect. The collectivist mentality and unique innovation have always piqued my interest as well.
To prepare for this journey, I spent three years in Japanese language courses at San Diego State University. My motivation was to be able to hold a conversation in Japanese, which I more or less can do now. I left with my two engineering friends to attend Rikkyo University, Tokyo. This is my experience being a western foreigner in Japan. From the slowly creeping culture shock to the pleasant surprises found everyday while living there. My perspective will have an emphasis on the photos and videos I’ve taken putting you through my eyes.
These are my stories.
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