May 21_I think I'm turning Japanese...

Today, we woke up to another wonderfully Western breakfast with BACON (Bernice ate it all), BREAD (Amanda the bread monster), and lots of fresh fruit. We left the hotel in a taxi and headed to some gardens. On the way there, we spotted some wild boars, something that might be green tea soup?, and bear parts for sale. We arrived at the rock gardens and raced up the hill to beat the school children (aka Jesse's 14 year old female fan club). While observing the stillness of the rocks, Rochelle's eyes freaked out which led to a MASSIVE HEADACHE!!! We capitalized on her pain and took a taxi to the next destination (haha suckers). 

After arriving at the Golden Pavilion 20 minutes before the rest of the group, we rested on benches (unfortunately, they were located right next to the vending machines which taunted Jesse with their ice creamy goodness). Then we had a guided tour by some awesome Japanese college students (they really liked Jesse's hat, go Tigers!). The guided tours were filled with useful information followed by "that is all" and "ok". The Golden Pavilion (Austin Finney's dream home) fit well within its surroundings, the colors of the trees seemed to complement it well. That is all. Ok.

At our lunch full of "octupus beaks" and "noodles", we were confused when the waiter asked, "would you like fries with that?" We then proceeded to the Waka Waka (Women's Association of Kyoto, there seems to be some slight confusion on what they were really called) where we attended lessons on the Tea Ceremony and Ikebana (flower arranging). The Tea Ceremony was comprised of us butchering Japanese phrases, eating sweets, and drinking incredibly, ridiculously bitter green tea (but it was tasty). We had a short break and then began the Ikebana lesson. The Japanese flower arrangements have strict order and directional qualities.  Apparently since we were design students, we were all apt at arranging (though Rochelle's seemed to lack a specific direction and confused the instructors). That is all. Ok.

Left: Jesse; Center: Rochelle; Right: Amanda 

And sorry we couldn't find any good pictures of food. Maybe next time!

Sayonara!

Rochelle, Amanda and Jesse

May 20 _ Scenic Views and Sushi

Today we woke up refreshed after getting much needed sleep at Nine Hours Hotel. We were also thankful that David decided to push our check out time to 9:00 am to give us two extra hours of sleep. After walking to the subway and realizing we were not at the close entrance we decided to take cabs. We enjoyed the views of the city of Kyoto on our ride to The Palace Side Hotel.

            After dropping off our luggage we took trains to our destination. Upon arriving we split up for lunch. Some of us enjoyed fried pork and onions on a stick and green tea ice cream. Afterwards, we made our way to the Tenryuji Temple and had a scenic walk of a beautiful river with the mountains of various shades of green in the distance.

            The Tenryuji Temple was fascinating. The gardens were large and plush with ample trees, bushes, rocks, creeks, and the mountains in the background. The group enjoyed sitting on the tatami mats in the large room that looked out onto the garden. The views were so soothing that the entire group was tempted to remain there to take a load off our feet and enjoy the cool breeze.

            Next we walked through the Bamboo Forrest and were awed by the height and amount of the bamboo. The light filtered in through the leaves and was gorgeous. This area of Kyoto provided lots of impressive traditional ceramic pottery and bamboo shops.

            We then arrived at Nembutsu-ji Temple at Adashino where we were able to appreciate the sea of Buddha gravestones since we were not allowed to photograph them. Afterwards we went our separate ways for dinner, which turned out to be a rather interesting experience.

            Some of us went to the sushi-go-round where we were able to choose our preferred sushi from a conveyor belt or request a special order from a digital screen. If digitally ordered it would arrive directly in front of you via a miniature replica of the JR train. Once we were satisfied with our usual selections Rochelle had the bright idea to play “sushi-go-round of disgust” where everyone (except Piper) willingly participated. The group decided on a gag-alicious roll for each participant to eat. We then traded plates and ironically we all preferred each other’s rolls.

May 19_Sleeping in Capsules

Much to our misbelief, it was time to change hotels again! And that means it’s another morning of dragging luggage in and out of trains and subways.  This time we went from Osaka to one of Japan’s most traditionally rooted cities: Kyoto, and it's quite warm.  After a longer-than-expected walk from the train and dropping off our bags at the 9hour capsule hotel, our first destination of the day was the craft museum.

The theme of the day was craft.  Kyoto is well known for its craftsmen and this museum is dedicated to them and their work.  Videos and displays highlighted the beauty of  the finished product as well as the awe inspiring process that led to it.  Some craftsmen were actually working in the museum! One of the craftsmen was working with gold leafing, and we all thought his gold exacto blade would make a fine prize/ trophy for any design student (maybe when they graduate or something of the sort). 

Our second stop was Kiyomizu temple.  The temple and surrounding neighborhoods were unexpectedly busy and filled with oodles of Japanese tourists and school children from varying schools. It was supposed to be quiet and contemplative, but it was still very exciting. The temple was a beautiful sight to behold and it was good to see one so lively and filled with people. We also were able to drink from the lucky fountain. Our assignmet here was to pick a detail on a shrine and photograph the same detail on varying shrines to see the change.

  Several of us got to help some children practice their English and make a few friends along the way.  Speaking of which, Jesse’s been a bit under the weather recently and this morning he decided to go native with a face mask. The people here seem to wear them quite often if they're sick because everyone is in such close contact with each other.  Said mask seemed to make our sick friend immensely popular because he got a declaration of love (repeated quite a few times mind you) from some of the little ladies, and the rest of us got a good laugh.

After visiting the temple we spent a few hours touring the nearby shops and further enjoying Kyoto’s craft.  Some of us probably spent a little more than we should have. Many of us got souvenirs and appreciated how the stores were laid out in a very zen manner.

Our final event of the day was a walking tour of Gion, a small neighborhood in Kyoto well known for its beauty and its geisha.  We hit the neighborhood right at golden hour (also known as sunset). I can’t begin to recall how many times my breath was stolen by the gate ways to small gardens that can’t be seen until they’re right next you.  The picturesque scenery was completed as we saw an elegant geisha walk down the street and into a tea house.  The moment was almost reverent as we all stood taking in the experience; no word spoken, no photographs taken. Kyoto is a place where the wealthy and the geishas can come and relax. Our group supposedly saw about 5 geishas out of the maybe 60 in Japan. A geisha is a very high class entertainer, and very widely respected for their singing, dancing, good conversation, arts and music. It was very lucky that we saw them.

Getting back to the hotel was quite an experience since it was a capsule hotel. Each bundle of floors is dedicated to either men's or women's where we would sleep in capsules in a wall. It was simply stunning. The capsules were actually quite spacious, private and comfy. I'm pretty sure most everyone had a good night's sleep (because in the morning, everyone slept through their 6 am alarms and woke everyone around them up *cough*cough*). 

May 18_Ando on the cliff by the sea

Breakfast was earlier this morning and we watched a short video on traditional Japanese houses (ah! Now we know what Ma means!). We took a bunch of trains and managed to make our way to Kobe (Is Kobe Bryant named after Kobe?) Upon arrival in Kobe, we realized that the movie Ponyo must have been filmed here. Shortly after, this was interrupted by the consumption of delicious pastries (DELISHUS)! We finally made our way across the longest suspension bridge in Japan. At Awaji Island, we saw Tadao Ando's Water Temple. While taking photographs of the temple, we peeked the interest of an older Japanese man because he was sneaking pictures of the group (all dem white-ees, sorry Rochelle, Bernice and Andrea you guys were unwanted in the photos). When we left the temple for our epic walk back to the gardens (Jesse got a red neck), we stopped by a local mom and pop joint that served okonomiyaki, a Japanese pizza.

Then we went to the gardens (for Jesse, it was dream come true!). Within the massive gardens, several concrete structures peeked out through the nature. The hundred square terraced garden Ando designed really complimented the concrete structures with nature (kind of like vanilla ice cream complimenting the DELISHUS ice cream cone). We then waited on the street corner for the bus. From the train schedule, Bernice and Jesse (plus Amanda) were able to decipher the Japanese language (not really). We got on the next train and learned an important lesson: spray on hair doesn't fool anyone (meanwhile, Piper was being bombarded by a booger bomb). After getting the train, we got only a little lost. Actually we went the wrong direction for about ten minutes and found the Santa Hotel (where its Christmas all year round!).Stumbling through the streets, we were exhausted and in need of FOOOOOOD! Eventually we ended up at a Chinese restaurant where we had a giant 6 course feast (poor Bernice had to fight off the hyenas to get the leftover scraps). And if 6 courses wasn't enough, we all got parfaits and they were DELISHUS!

Sayonara! 

Rochelle, Amanda and Jesse

May 17_ "Exciting!"

As we sit here with stinky, sore feet and begin to recollect our daily activities, everything feels like its coming back all at once. It was a day filled high levels of both restraint and exuberance so its as if we had a taste of all the colors of the rainbow. We were ready for a new adventure as soon as breakfast was over. Hannah successfully lead us to Namba station , which was only our first mode of transportation to what we would soon find out to be a lengthy but well worth trip.

We were transported to Tadao Ando ‘s Church of Light in out first taxi ride of the trip. The driver is head to toe in uniform (white gloves and all) and the seats are covered in white lace. What we as Americans would treat as a menial job, the Japanese treat with the utmost seriousness. Yes, even a cab ride is given the attention we would expect from a limousine rental service.

We are dropped off right next to the Church of Light which is located in what would be best described as a residential neighborhood  here in Osaka. We are told to approach the site as a work of art and indeed it was. The images in books that we’ve studied just don’t do this spectacular space justice. It was both small and grand all at once. Quiet, yet said so much. As we sit and contemplate the journey we are on the serenity felt while sitting in the pew inside the church is surreal .

Our second destination is The Mother Ship! Ok maybe not, it was the Osaka Dome where we definitely went (to quote Rihanna) “from 0 to 60 in 3.5“. It was the Osaka Buffaloes versus the Hanshin Tigers. We entered the dome fearing our goodies would get confiscated; luckily it was totally cool for us to bring dried squid, pastries, strawberries, chocolate koalas and a box of almond pocky into the dome. We sat near left field in the fourth and fifth rows, close enough to get wacked in the head with a home run ball! It was, as our friend who sat behind us would so enthusiastically exclaim, “EXCITING!”

The cheers were easy to follow seeing as to how they were repeated over and over by the awesomely dedicated Tigers fans. Beating our Tigers bats together, attempting to keep up with the locals and their cheers, we all couldn’t help but notice that this was probably the most fun we would ever have at a baseball game ……. EVER! Although the cheering was one of the highlights of the night , I think most everyone’s favorite part was at the beginning of the 7^th and 9^th inning when we blew up balloons, (suggestive anthropomorphic balloons I might add),and let them go  to create a sea of awesomeness inside the dome.

THE HANSHIN TIGERS WIN!  Can we say, BEST GAME EVER?! With our adrenaline running at high levels, we leave the stadium giving high fives all along the way while repeating after an older Tigers fan shouting “UEMOTO!, I LOVE THE TIGERS, and “We Love Japan!” The first couple of times it might have just been repetition, but I think in the end it truly was a great way to sum up that night!

-WE LOVE JAPAN!