Category: Japan

Today, after breakfast I headed to see ICU. I made my way there without really thinking much? So much has changed though, there are so many new buildings, the trains on the Yamanote Line have been upgraded with new monitors that give you detailed information about where you are etc. Anyhow, I made it back to my old university, and it was so nostalgic. I had such a weird feeling of being there, when so much in my life since then has changed, that I didn’t know anyone on the campus, that so many things are new and I didn’t know about it. It was very cool to see, and I can’t wait to tell my other ICU friends about what I saw.
After ICU, I went back to my old apartment complex to find that it’s now pink. It was a shade of gray before, but now it’s a pinkish color. That and the rip-off land lady has built herself quite a nice new castle on the property. I never liked that woman. After that, I went back towards the city and walked around Shinjuku, went shopping looking at electronics and went by Muji to pick up some stationary stuff. I then made my way to Shiodome where I was to meet Kano and her friend for dinner. We decided on a nice Italian place that was on one of the lower floors?we had gone to floor 46 and 47 to look out at the city and potentially eat there, but the lines were too long, and we wanted to eat without having to wait 2hrs +. The food was great and we had a nice time chatting, then Kano and I headed back home.

Waking up when it’s still dark has never been easy, but today I fly to Tokyo! After this hellacious training, it’s going to be nice to relax and see what’s been going on in Japan since I left. Again, I made it up to business class, and enjoyed the flight, arriving in Tokyo at about 3:30pm. Kano’s mom came to the airport to pick me up, and as soon as I exited customs, I looked for her, and sure enough, there she was standing with a sign that said in Japanese ?Ben? ? she thought she might not recognize me! We saw each other, and it was just like being back in Japan again, it was so familiar. I felt 100% comfortable and felt like I really hadn’t left. My Japanese really hasn’t seen too much degradation since I left Japan, despite my lack of opportunities of speaking it in San Francisco. Thankfully, it’s at a level now that I don’t really think about it that much until I try to say something a little more complex.
Mom and I sat for a while and had a snack before we got ready to take our bus back to Ikebukuro station, where Kano would be meeting us. After the bus ride, we met up with Kano and headed to Shiki to find Dad. We all went to a great place with the freshest sushi and had a huge set of sushi..soooo good! After dinner, we went home and I got settled into the room I always stay in. First day back was nice, and looking forward to seeing ICU and Tokyo in the next couple of days.

I was finally able to meet my penpal for the first time in Harajuku, a suburb of Tokyo, Japan.

That year was one of the best years of my life. For so many years, I had spent reading, studying, and learing about Japan that to go to Japan was like an apocolypse for me. It was the Summer of 1994, and I flew off to Chicago to meet up with my friend’s family. We left from Chicago for a nonstop flight to Tokyo. We used Japan Airlines, which is one of the best in the world. I loved every minute of the flight, which meant that I was up for 12 hours after take off. After landing in Tokyo, we headed for a bus that lead up to Omiya, Saitama. After the 2-hour bus ride, we took a train to Honjyo, Saitama, about 2 and a half hours away. That evening we reached our destination–evening as in Japan time which is 14 hours ahead of EST.

I had been awake for nearly 26 hours straight, and I didn’t have a good night of sleep beforehand because of my anxiety of the trip. I was exhausted when we reached the house. We ate a small dinner and collapsed on our futons. The next day, I was awake at 5:00am because of the sun shining in my eyes. Day break is a lot earlier there, but nightfall is early too. We went to McDonalds, but I just couldn’t eat anything.

I had such jet lag, that I was really upset about not eating. I began to get homesick, I was just 15, and I had never experienced jet lag before. That week we went to see Kabuki, the ancient art of drama of Japan. This was so interesting because of the brightly colored costumes they wore. I was able to meet my penpal of 3 years (at that time; now 8 years) at a town called Harajuku, which is a town filled with teenagers. It was so cool to see the person who was behind all the letters I wrote. We spent the entire day together, and I will never forget it. We then went to Tokyo Tower, Ginza, Asakusa, and other landmarks around Tokyo. I saw Mt. Fuji from atop Tokyo Tower. During my stay, I was also able to watch a Japanese Festival in Kumagaya. The Kumagaya Matsuri was a Buddhist festival filled with floats brilliantly decorated, marching to the beats of drums. These cultural events have affected me in many ways, and have shaped my personality.