Japan

Welcome to Japan! The Japanese immigration has been, by far, the toughest to get through. Since our ship was coming from Avian Flu land, AKA China, all 800+ people on the ship were required to get our temperature taken by the immigration officials as well as have a face to face interview with a Japanese official. It wasn’t just any temperature taking though – they pointed a camera in our face and the camera took our temperature. I was pretty much fascinated by that for the next hour… I was finally able to get off the ship around 1300 hours (we arrived at 0700 hours). Once we got off my friends and I took the train to Osaka. Once we got to Osaka we headed out to find my friend's capsule hotel. (I was not staying the night because I had a home stay the next day.) In our search for this hotel we somehow ended up in the red-light district of Osaka. (Funny stories to be told in person…) We finally found their hotel, they dropped their stuff off and we were off to the city. We toured the city for a few hours before heading to dinner at a place called Sabo Sabo. It was another place where we were able to cook our own food… I wasn’t to excited about it but the time with friends was priceless. We also went to get some dessert just a few stores down from that restaurant. After dessert we were at a loss as to what to do but we ran across the favourite pastime of every Japanese person – Karaoke! We spent a total of 1.5 hours there for $60… now, we pulled a typical student thing in not asking the price before we started. And I must say, once you get in those places you just can't stop… Anyhoo, we paid the bill and headed to the train station so I could catch the train back to the ship. My friends dropped me off and I was on my own in the middle of a BUSY train station in Japan where I do not speak a word of Japanese – Perfect! So I found the platform that I was supposed to be on but I didn’t know which track I wanted. So, I picked the one that had a line already forming… I figured I had a 50-50 chance of getting the right one. I did ask a guy in line if this was the right train for the station I was looking for and he started saying all kinds of different numbers and then he pointed to our line which I thought was promising. So the train came, I got on, and I tried my best to figure out the maps on the inside of the car to see if I was headed in the right direction. Luckily a student who spoke English saw the confusion/American-ness on my face and asked if I was ok. So I ask him if this is the right train for the Sanomyia station… drum roll please… YES!! IT WAS!! Cherie once again has a lucky break with a foreign country's public transportation. We ended up talking for the whole 20 minute ride back to Kobe. He said he just got back from London where he was studying English. He asked me to go to a foreigner’s pub with him but my mommy told me never to go with strangers so I told him I had to get back to the ship so I could pack for my home stay the next day… I made it back to the ship no problem and was in bed fairly early in order to get rest for the next day. The next morning I got ready for my home stay. The families were scheduled to pick us up around 11 but for some reason some of the students were running a little late so we were all late in getting off the ship. We finally got off and into the port terminal to be greeted by 75 anxious families. They all had signs with our name on it welcoming us into their home. It took me a little while to find my family but I eventually did and my host mom gave me a huge hug. She spoke English fairly well in comparison with her husband and son who both spoke none. After our introductions we headed out to their car, loaded up my stuff, and were off to lunch. They asked me what I wanted to eat but I had no clue what my options were besides sushi, and to be completely honest at this point in the voyage I was really craving a homemade turkey and avocado sandwich with all the fixings, but I couldn’t exactly ask for that so I suggested a traditional Japanese restaurant. We ended up going to a nice place in their hometown just outside of Kobe. They suggested tempura so that’s what I got… and it was freaking the biggest meal ever. On my tray I had a TUB of noodles (apparently that’s what this place is known for), a bowl of soup, and of course, a huge bowl of rice with 3 tempura vegetables. By the end of the meal I was very worried that I would offend them because there was no way I would be able to finish my whole meal – I was just too full. I made sure that they knew I really enjoyed the meal even if I couldn't finish so I think I was excused. When we were leaving the restaurant however, I blew it! I put my shoes on where I wasn’t supposed to – BIG no no in Japan. She was very nice about it and simply caught me before anyone else saw and showed me where to put them on. After lunch we walked down the street to a grocery store and boy was that an experience. FISH EVERYWHERE – dead, alive, dried, pretty much any way you can imagine. Needless to say I didn’t spend too much time in that section. She brought me to the bread and pastry section and told me to pick out what I wanted for breakfast… my final decision was pretty much amazing! After our grocery store adventure we headed to their house for the afternoon. That evening we were scheduled to go to a Hippo Family Club meeting, a potluck, and finally a spa. The Hippo Family Club is a part of the organization that works with Semester at Sea to plan these home stays. It is a unique organization that helps people learn different languages – they are currently up to 19… everything from Chinese to Swahili. It does not incorporate textbooks into its curriculum rather using techniques of immersion. The family members listen to tapes of different scenarios in different languages and speak together during their club meetings. I think it is a great program and I hope to learn more about the program when I get home. After our club family meeting we went to another ladies house and had a Japanese potluck. A lot of people came and they were all extremely welcoming. After dinner we said our goodbyes to all the guests and headed to the spa… now I am sure most of you are thinking oh Cherie, it’s just a regular spa like those back home in America. Yeah, that is what I was thinking too until I heard someone utter those dreaded words… public bath. That was the point that I pretty much started freaking out. Up until the moment I walked into the room full of unclothed women I was still holding out hope for an actual SPA – you know, the kind where you get facials and massages. But alas, it was not… I was there, and there was no backing out… I won’t bore you will all awkward, uncomfortable, weird, embarrassing, light-years out of my comfort zone details… its pretty much exactly what you are thinking… I think that pretty much ended the night on a VERY different note. The next morning we had breakfast and just hung out for a while before we were scheduled to leave for a shrine. I had mentioned to my host mom the day before that I wanted to go to Kyoto and hopefully try on a kimono of some sort. She knew she couldn’t exactly help with going to Kyoto but she did let me try on her very own kimono. It was beautiful! She and her mother-in-law worked together to tie me up in it. It was very nice of her to let me try it on and it is definitely an experience I will never forget. We soon left for the shrine where we were meeting some of the other Hippo family members. We were also able to attend a traditional tea ceremony. The tea was the freshest, most bitter green tea I have ever tasted – I seriously could barely get it down. My host mom, along with the other families, packed a picnic lunch that we all ate under the cherry trees. It was a great afternoon and I am so glad I had the opportunity to take part in everything. My family was so gracious to let me into their home and I am so grateful to have had this amazing experience that I will never forget. The next day me and some friends were just planning on seeing the sites in Kobe for our last day in Japan. We went around the port area and walked to a park and relaxed there for a while. We headed back to the ship before we got dock time ending our time in Japan with a good ol pizza! Only 20 days until we get into Miami – it is weird to think this will all be over so soon. I hope everything is well back home! Miss you all! love love love Cherie