Final Reflections

   I'm really glad that I went on the trip. I got to experience a lot of things that I couldn't have gotten anywhere else and the cultural insights are sure to help me when pursuing a career with my international business major. I also had a lot of fun and met a lot of great people. When I left I thought that 21 days was such a long time to spend away from home with people I barely knew but the time ended up being too short.  If I can make it happen I would love to go on another study abroad next summer or maybe even a full semester on to Taiwan, even if I can't I'm planning some sort of adventure. I've always loved traveling but this trip made me love it even more. It was really hard to go back to work when I still have so much of the world to see. Anyone who is debating about going on a trip like that should definitely go at any opportunity.

Japan Reflections

   I liked Japan but less than I thought I would. I think most of the problem lies with high expectations. I've heard so much about Japan over the years, I used to be a huge otaku (in the American sense of the word) and a friend of mine recently came back from a year in Japan and he's obsessed and basically only talks about how amazing it was and how much he wants to go back. I've noticed that my male friends who have visited recount the experience very fondly while the majority of my female friends "had a good time but wouldn't want to live there" aside from one who does live there and hates it (because her husband is Japanese and from a "good" family and her in-laws want her to stay at home and learn a bunch of traditional things despite the fact that she's a foreigner).

   There were some really amazing days in Japan like the days we went to Kamakura and Itsukushima, and it wasn't that the other days were bad but I didn't sleep well and understanding between 1/4 and 1/2 of  random people's conversations  was more distracting and frustrating than helpful.

   I would go back since there were a lot of places I wanted to visit but didn't get to like Hokkaido, Kyoto, Osaka and certain Tokyo landmarks. Even so, I wouldn't really want to live there apart from maybe teaching English for a year (though for that I'd prefer South Korea). I would be happy with business trips there though.

Japan Day 9: JICA and Free Time

   Our last official visit was to JICA which stands for Japan International Cooperation Agency. They are a government agency that sends volunteers, technical advisers, loans and grants  to developing countries. One of their major projects right now has to do with education in Africa and other parts of the world. It was nice to learn a little bit about a government agency even if they act mostly independently. 

  When that was finished we were free to do what we wanted until 7 pm. I got some curry for lunch and ended up running into someone for Alaska who had lived in Japan for 5 years and we got to talking. I took a train to Tokyo station, walked around a bit and found some last minute presents.  I sort of wish I'd gotten more done but it was really nice to just walk around for a bit with no destination in mind. 

Japan Day 8: Yamaha Brass and Farewell Dinner

   I used to own a Yamaha trumpet so seeing how it would have been made was pretty neat.  My favorite thing I learned is that the polish tubas using a machine originally meant for aircrafts. The hand carved saxophones were interesting as was the assembly of woodwind instruments but aside from that it was like a lot of other factories. After going on a break workers do stretching exercises which would be good to introduce into factories in America.

   Then we all went out for dinner together which was great, well I thought so but not everyone loves seafood.

Japan Day 7: Gifu

   We had a rare free morning which was wonderful and gave me a more time to talk to my friends and family given the 13 hour time difference.
    The camera crew came back which wasn't fun, luckily we split into two groups and they went with the other one.
    My groups first visit was to a wagashi (traditional sweet) shop. Since I work part time in a bakery I was really interested in the history and techniques of making such gorgeous things, the shop we visited had been around for about 150 years though not in the same location. We got to try our hand at making three sweets and then ate one of them with tea while learning a bit about the tea ceremony which was really interesting. The sweets we made had a red bean paste filling which I like but some of my classmates weren't used to it.

This was the best one I made

   After that we went to Zenko-ji to learn about Zazen meditation. While I had learned about the history of Buddhism in Japan I hadn't learned anything about how meditation was practiced (just that it was). The first round was really peaceful and nice. It was harder to concentrate the second time with people talking loudly outside.

   The last stop was to Fujii Butsudan, a company that makes Buddhist altars. They can be very complex, take a long time to make and can be incredibly expensive but they are a family heirloom that can be passed down. They come in a variety of different sizes and range from plain to flashy since each sect has their own specifications.

Japan Day 6: Nagoya University

 

   Visiting Nagoya University was an eye opening experience. I knew that Japanese colleges wrote their own undergrad entrance exams but I didn't know that the graduate exams were so difficult. When we visited the library (which was awesome) I was surprised to find a whole section intended for foreign students.
   On the whole student life seems similar in both countries but Japanese students are placed under more pressure and undergraduate students don't work unless it's for the school.
    It took a little time to find a topic of conversation, but once one was found the students started to open up and they were very nice though painfully shy.

   

Japan Day 5: Mazda and Itsukushima Shrine

   I was a little surprised at how interesting I found the Mazda visit to be. I'm not a "car-person" and I've visited car factories in the past and once you've seen one you've basically seen them all. Seeing the old cars was interesting, though I would have preferred if the allotted time had been a bit shorter.

The green color and plaid seat combination is... interesting

    I think I would've enjoyed it more if the students from the other school hadn't been there making whispered culturally insensitive remarks and ignoring the "do not touch" signs.

   After the museum part we had a brief chance to view part of the factory from a platform before going back for a video.

   I think the most interesting thing about Mazda was that they had their own little city complete with a giant bridge and a technical school, unfortunately we weren't allowed to take pictures of that part.
  
 After that we went to Itsukushima Shrine, aka the thing I'd been looking forward to most. We had to take a train and then a ferry to get there.

You could see the gate from pretty far away

    I wasn't disappointed at all. It was lovely and I took so many pictures that they had to have their own folder on my computer. The current gate may be the eighth one and the shrine may have had a lot of work done but that doesn't take away from the sense of history of the place. I would love to see it at high tide.

A small shrine in town

    The deer were fascinating in the way that they would just approach you and I saw a restaurant throw some vegetable scraps out to them. I could have happily spent a whole day on the island. If I ever go back I'll have to visit the aquarium as well since a classmate went and took some beautiful pictures.