Day 7: The Adventure (And Paperwork) Begins!

I will be there first to admit, that compared to my other blogs there just isn't as much actually going on in this one. Today I hod orientation for my dorm in the afternoon so I really couldn't plan any trips, and I was very tired from the past few days so today I decided to relax a little. When I woke up this morning I had a sudden realization though. I was really in Japan in my own space about to start this wonderful adventure of studying at a whole new semester in a whole culture. It was a little surreal, but sadly it didn't last because my dorm wasn't serving breakfast yet and I was pretty hungry. After getting breakfast from a convince store (they are truly superior to the US version in every way) I settled into the study/multipurpose room. There more students were hanging out and I started to make some of my first MGU friends (besides my cake buddies from the night before). They were from the UC program so they were all from California. It was fun talking about the different things we had experienced so far, and what we were looking forward to. We also all had to go buy wifi routers together so it was a fun bonding experience. After that we had our orientation in the cafeteria. It was the basics like how to use certain things, rules, and any extra paper work we had to fill out (The first of many I presume). The most exciting piece of information for me was the trash system, for the many days I had been here it had puzzled me. I was never quite sure where to put my trash, and here at the meeting was given the Bible fo sorting trash of Japan. Hopefully when this Monday comes around I will do it correctly. After the orientation a big group of us decided to get dinner. I suggested a ramen place nearby that had been recommended to me by my Japanese Buddy. On the way there I lost the whole group and thought I was going to eat alone. It was strange for me, a moment before I was confidently leading the group to some good ramen and the next they were all gone and I felt this weird brief sadness come over me. Perhaps it was me realizing that even though I was enjoying all these new people and their company they didn't really know me, or even notice if I would walk off if I did. After a while I just realized that I shouldn't take it personally after all they were all excited in nervous in their own ways, and that feeling that way meant I had the capability to care for these new people in my life. In the end I had a great dinner with some friends who had noticed my absence and wanted to eat with me. The ramen was really delicious and I can't wait to go back again. After dinner we did see shopping the others needed to get done, I personally bought some snacks for my room. I am a firm believer in proper snacks in your room at all times. After the shopping we all agreed to go to bar, and seeing I was now freshly legal in Japan I decided what the heck let's go for it and have my first drink. We settled on a bar close by called Bar Bebop. It may sound like a rinky dink bar but it was actually really fancy bar with slow jazz to set the mood. I had really wanted to try Sake but unfortunately they did not serve so I settled for for a simple glass of red wine. As a chased the wine with water the whole evening I enjoyed fun conversation with people from all over the world. I may latter not remember what we exactly talked about or what stories made us laugh so hard, but I will definitely remember how happy I felt at the end of the evening and even now. As my first official day of an MGU closes I look forward to the next four months with this fun group or people. Tomorrow I had very vague plans so I might not update, so until I see you next time!

Day 6: Moving into Yokohama (And My Birthday!)

After drifting the past few days between AirBnBs and Capsule Hotels I finally got to move into my dorm today! Although I will admit to missing my capsule a little, it was such a fun experience. The dorm I’m moving to however is called Meiji Gakuin International Student House (MISH) and it’s located in a town called Totsuka. It’s a short train ride from Yokohama though this morning it felt much longer since I was carrying so much again. After I regained my strength with a quick breakfast (this yummy bread with cream inside and apple slices) I got to check into the dorm. Throughout the little orientation they gave I couldn’t help but be amazed at everything they provided there. Not only was there the usual laundry and study rooms, there was also the cafeteria and a public bath! (Public baths are like really nice hot tubs in Japan). When I got to my room there was so much more room than I expected I had lots of space, a small kitchen, and my own bathroom. After I got partially settled Jordan and I headed out on a dorm supply run. I didn’t need to get much but there were a couple things every dorm needs that you just can’t bring on a plane... like toilet paper (I haven’t ventured to try the bidet yet). After shopping we went to a conveyor belt sushi restaurant. It’s there instead of having normal servers you order from a tablet and your order comes around on the little conveyor belt. They keep track of your bill by counting the number of plates you have and what color they are. I was so amazed about how smoothly the system worked, and how cheap the sushi was. I finally learned to enjoy sushi today after my terribly experience previously. Jordan was really sweet and while I was finishing up she bought me a little strawberry sherbet to eat. After lunch I went to a bakery near my dorm and bought myself a birthday cake (because why not?. After unpacking completely I went downstairs to find some people to share it with. At first I was very unsuccessful, but then I finish these two men in the lobby. One was a Japanese RA for the building and the other was from China. We all enjoyed the cake together and talked about culture and different things through our limited knowledge of each other’s languages. After a while I saw another new person come down and I offered him some cake as well. He was from Australia and had also been in Japan for a few days. I had such fun talking to them and learning about their cultures. It was a fun little birthday party. I know I will probably disappoint some of you reading when I say I did nothing else today. Even though I’m legal here I just haven’t found the right crowd to drink with yet. We will get there eventually I have four months to try it. Tomorrow not much is planned but we will see what adventures we get into. Until next time!

Day 5: Sakura Blooms And Food Wonderful Food

Today was a very busy day. Not in the usual way where I go see as many sights as possible or when I am busy with work and class. Today was busy because I was meeting both of my assigned Buddy’s that were from MGU (the univeristy in Japan that I’m studying). While I was really excited to meet them both I was also really nervous. I wanted to get along with them so badly, what if didn’t work out  or something went wrong? With all these thoughts running through my head I started to face the day. Now for the past few days I haven’t been able to eat much. On some level I think my body was still messed up due to jet lag and so food wasn’t always my faorite. But this morning I had my first proper breakfast in six days or so. And boy was it glorious to have. I bought it at a cafe that was founded in Kobe Japan in 1930 (Now a chain called Precious Moments). I had scrambled eggs, salad, ham/bacon?/ and toast. It was devine after so little food the past few days. After breakfast I was off to meet my first Buddy. Her name is Fuka she’s 19 and a International Studies Major. We went to a fancy cafe/restraint in a famous shopping section called Queens Plaza. Their specialty was fruit based dishes. I had this beautiful strawberry cake and she had a lovely mango ice cream dessert. Both with amazing and I learned that I have seriously been missing out on how wonderful mango is. The whole time we talked and got to know one another (with Jordan too). She was very nice and although we were only able to hang out for a little bit I’m extremely looking forward to being her Buddy this semester. After our breakfast dessert Fuka had to leave for an important meeting so Jordan and I decided to kill time by going to Yokohama Chinatown (the biggest in Japan). We didn’t do much there though because it was really crowded and we weren’t really that hungry for food. So we expired some more and discovered Yokohama’s Necklace Garden Bear the ocean. It was a beautiful massive garden filled with so many different kinds of plant life. The Sakura teees were the most popular of course but I really enjoyed seeing all the different types of flowers, they even had some Daffodils there! In one part of a garden was this fountain that lead to an amazing piece of garden and archtiure that was blended together. It reminded me a lot of Gaudi’a work in Barcelona. We had a lot fun walking through the different ins and outs of the park. After a while we grew tired and decided to go our aperate ways since I needed to go back to my hotel and we wouldn’t be meeting my buddy for a while. My other Buddy’s name is Mayuka she’s the same age and is also an International Studies Major. When I asked to meet up she decided to take me to see Sakura Blooms along a river in a different part of Yokohama and to take me to my first shrine in Japan. We accidentally went into the side entrance so I wasn’t able to do all the traditions properly, but she was very impressed that I knew as much as did about shrine rituals. We even made an offering to say prayers, and I bought a fortune. The man who sold me it said it says a lot about the person based on the fortune they buy. I’d like to think he said that because I stuck with the original fortune of the shrine. After that it was time to see the Sakura blooms. Although I’d seen many blooms already these were much different. It went on for miles just tree after tee along the river. Some were bright pink, some were white, some were light pink but all were so beautiful to look at. Mayu and I took lots of pictures of them. Along the trees were also these food stalls that you would normally only see during a festival. Each of them sold yummy Japanese food or offered games to play. After a while I decided to try Takoyaki and it was so delicious! I also got a candy strawberry from another stall and accidentally ate it whole. It was a lovely time of enjoying the Sakura and some really good street food. After it had gotten dark Mayu suggested we go try more Japanese food (called Okonomiyaki). She took me to the second floor of this building to a very cozy restaurant where for my crust time in Japan I had to eat sitting on the floor. In the middle of the table was a hot plate and the cooks (a lovely couple who ran the resurant) made the food right in front of you. It was superb and I can’t wait for the next time to go back! Mayu was extremely kind to me the whole time and we talked about so many different things. We basically agreed we are going to travel a lot together. After dinner we went our separate ways and I went back to my hotel where I tried the Sakura Mochi she had given me. It was very sweet with a  very odd texture. And that finally brings me to the end of my day. So much happened today and I’m so half it all happened. I can’t wait to see what adventures hold for me tomorrow. Tonight as I came into to hotel I randomly got shoe locker #19 (17 is my usual but it was taken). Funny how today is my last day being 19 and tomorrow started my adventure into “adulthood”. Here’s to the future then! 

Japan Day 4: The Sights of Yokohama

After yesterday’s smei-restful nature I set out today to get to know the area of Yokohama. Something I feel i should clear up for my friends and family from the United States is that Yokohama is actually not a city, it’s more like a state with many different cities and areas to it. One of the most famous ones is a place called Minatomirai. It’s a business center with many famous places like Yokohama’s Ferris Wheel and the Cup Noodles Musuem (yes those Cup Noodles). Sadly we didn’t go to either today because the crosses were crazy. Schools are currently on break so many people are out with their kids which is great but not when you try and hit some of the big places to visit. So we improvised and explored a local park were the Sakura Blooms were and had a great time enjoying them and taking pictures. We then stubbles into a mall (that we didn’t know was a mall at first) and explored it all over. The food had a garden and mini golf, the fifth floor had an arcade that robbed me blind, and I find some cute clothes on some of the other floors. The clothes here are lot different from back home in some ways. I feel like I’ll never live up to the Japanese style but hey I enjoy my own style a bit too much. After the mall we ventured across town to the Ramen museum which was significantly less busy. They had s great exhibit of the history of ramen and how it came to be, what exactly was in ramen, and so much more. The other floors were a recreation of Post War Japan with ramen stalls from all over the country. It was amazing. They had so much detail to nailing the feel of the time period with small details to offering some amazing ramen. Jordan and I (my travel partner) both had the oldest variant of ramen and it was delicious. I also bought a 100 yen fortune that was apparently very good (I had to ask some very nice Japanese girls to help translate). After the museum we did some more shopping (I was mainly looking for a wallet for my Suica card with no luck) and then went back to our hotels. It was at my hotel that I learned two new things. One that stackable washers in Japan make terrifying noises as they run, and Two that even if you book a non-smoking hotel people can still smoke in them in special “smoking rooms”. The one on my floor didn’t do a very good and I’ve been smelling cigarettes for the better part of the hour. I just find the dichotomy of Jap see values very interesting. As I forgeiner I will be glared at for sneezing into my elbow and for not wearing a face mask if I am sneezing, but people can for the most part smoke where ever they want. We always think as Japanese as very clean and health conscious people so this kind of throws me for a loop. After all that though my fourth day in Japan has come to the end. Tomorrow I meet my Buddy’s from MGU and get to know them. Until next time!

Japan Day 3: Jet Lag and Capsule Hotels

When I woke up at 6:30 this morning I began to understand that I really didn’t have any idea what jet lag was.... until I came to Japan. You’re sore you’re tired you body is just messed up and you just have to deal with and go about your day. So that’s wht I did today. Also learned that carrying your body weight in luggage from Asakusa in Tokayo to Tosuka in Yokohama and then to Yokohama proper is no fun at all. In fact it is quite tortious. I did try and make the most of it and enjoy the new sights I was seeing along the way. Yokohama itself reminded me a lot of San Francisco with rolling hills stacked to the brim with houses, along with towering skyscrapers in the city center. I also meet this very nice woman who was retired and lived near Mt Fuji. Because of limited space she ended standing next to me a majority of the train ride and we talked about what little we could with my limited Japanese and the English she knew. She thought I was cute and that my travel partner Jordan was very tall and wanted to know all about why were staying in Japan and if were having a good time so far. After a few days of not talking to many people besides Jordan it was a wonderful experience. Later after  helping Jordan get settled at his hotel I went to my Capsule Hotel. If you’ve never of them before it’s a new trend in Japan where you get all the amenities of a hotel but you get a tiny space for a bed and the rest is shared spaces. I partially wanted to stay at one because they are much cheaper than real hotels, but also just to experience what it’s like. So far in my first night it’s pretty interesting. The hotel is mainly made up of men with only one wing dedicated to women. Even the public spaces are dominated by men (after reading for a couple hours I retreated to my capsule due to the sheer number of me in the lounge area). We will have to see how the night goes but I’m excited to see where this new adventure takes me. Tomorrow I hope to explore the Yokohama area and find some more adventures. Until next time! (Please enjoy a picture of my capsule and a Sakura Bloom I saw yesterday)

Japan Day 2: Tokyo Drifting Through The Day

I’d like to start this blog by saying I am feeling better from yesterday, which I used today to run all over Tokyo! I started my day with a 45 minute walk to Akihabara where I was to begin my MariCar tour (No affiliation with Ninetendo 😏). I can honestly say it is a highlight of my life to ride go carts through the streets of Tokyo while seeing some of the city’s most iconic sights. In my tour group there were four of us and each of us was from a different country (The others were from  France, Mexico, and Australia). We had a lot of fun together and our tour guide Shogo just topped it off by being a funny relatable guide the whole time. One of the funniest parts of the tour though were just outrageous number and diversity of people who stopped and stared or took pictures of us as we went through the streets. It was a lot of fun to rev the engine at the red lights to give them a little show. After the tour I sought to master the Japanese public transit system. It was very scary at first but with a Suica card and google maps at my side I managed to get around with ease. I even wandered into one of Japan’s famous sights Senso-ji Temple. The area wa crowded with graduating seniors and tourists but it was still very interesting to see all the shops and impressive buildings. I even saw the a Sakura Tree in bloom through a crowd of people of course. I hope to go back to that area sometime to learn and enjoy it more. Hopefully when it’s not that crowded. (Also note if you ever use Google Maps in Japan it will take you on a ton of side streets which is fun and interesting but also exhausting) We went to the famous Takeshita Street which was packed beyond belief. I couldn’t even enjoy it because of the crowds. After wandering around the area a little we finally got to the main event of the evening. The Owl Cafe in Harajuku. Now before I came to Japan I really debated on whether I should do this, it seemed wrong in same way to pay to see captive animals. Afterwards I still have some of those feelings especially after seeing how some of the other customers treated, but also saw how much the staff loved and cared for them and tired to give them as much freedom as possible. I also saw that their living conditions ended up being very nice (the reason I choose this place). They were never scolded for being wild animals and were give as much stimulation and freedom as possible. There was even a time where one of the owls flew out of a customers hand and sat itself in a corner and the staff just let it be. Now I’m no way trying to excuse how this is not an entirely right business, but I can also see and feel the good of it. Either way I enjoyed my time interacting the owls and I’m glad I did it this one time. It was surreal getting to feel how powerful and curious the owls could be. Today was a tiring day, but I enjoyed almost every minute of it and I feel I am learning so much about Japan and it’s culture every minute. Tonight’s my last night in my AirBnB I truly miss it it’s very homey and comfortable, and the hosts were really mice. Tomorrow the adventure continues, see you next time! 

Japan Day 1: Too Tired For A Creative Title

Hello everyone I want to make this brief since I am very tired. I have arrived safely in Japan for the most part. The flight over here defitnely wasn’t a pleasant one. For the first time in my life I experienced homesickness (still even feel it a little as I write this, I blame the drugs). It was if it really hit me that I’m really going to a foreign country and that I’m staying longer than ever before. It’s a pretty scary thought but I’m sure it’ll pass. The most exciting part of the flight though was the end of my flight because in true Wilson fashion as soon as I was safe on the runway I get air sick for the first time in my life(too many firsts on this plane ride). The poor men that were sitting around me got puked on and it was just awful. I felt awful the whole way as I attempted to find the AirBnB I was staying at. It was a little tricky getting around when your tank is on empty but I managed. Now I’m going to rest for the evening and hope I have a good recovery tomorrow. Thank you everyone for your well wishes, let’s hope this bad beginning leads to a better ending!