Recently, I have become more aware of time passing and that I need to make the most of the short time that I have abroad. My last two weekends were packed with activities and new experiences.
I’ve been spoiled for choice with things to do in Tokyo. My dormitory building is located directly next to a metro station. This connects me to what has been called the best, most modernized, and most efficient metro system in the world. It can quickly and cheaply move me around the largest metropolitan area in the world.
Despite this, I still found myself itching to get out of the city and into nature. I look a train with some of my friends to Mt. Takao. This mountain, located a little over an hour away from my dorm by train, had a beautiful view of both Tokyo and Mt. Fuji. As we were moved up the mountain by a chair lift, the Tokyo skyline in the distance became visible. It was truly awe inspiring to see just how far the city stretched on.
After a long walk to the summit after the chair lift dropped us off, we decided to return to the small town at the base of the mountain to get some food. Upon arriving at the chair lift station, we found it closed. Great. What ensued was a long and steep walk in the muggy heat while thinking of nothing but filling our empty stomachs.
Finally, the path leveled out and we saw the town appear in the distance. We arrived at a restaurant just before it closed. I ordered katsudon without hesitation. Katsudon is a dish of fried pork on rice, often served with an egg. Now that we were full and cooled off, one of my friends suggested going to an onsen, which is a naturally heated hot spring. That is how we spent the next hour and a half relaxing at the base of a mountain in a hot spring.
During the following week, we went to Yasukuni Shrine. This shrine is controversial because of its veneration of Japanese war criminals from the Second World War. Most shrines I have been to have a relaxed atmosphere, but I felt only tension at Yasukuni. There were police watching visitors’ every move, and the place was rather quiet.
Afterwards, we went to the nearby Japanese military history museum. I am very interested in 20th century history, and so I have learned a lot about World War II. I found it interesting what they chose to include, and more importantly, what they chose not to include. This helped me to more fully understand the ongoing issues rooted in history among China, South Korea, and Japan. There was not mention of the war crimes committed in China and South Korea. This got me thinking of the United States as well, and how the US does not readily admit its historical faults either.
The following weekend, I went with a friend to what I expected to be a normal fireworks show. After a 40 minute train ride, we pulled up to the station to see an unbelievable number of people all pushing towards the exit. Police were everywhere shouting commands in Japanese through megaphones to the crowds. It struck me that this was all for the fireworks show.
The entire town was flooded with people. It was without a doubt the largest crowd of people I have seen in person in my life. 400,000 people were in the park where the fireworks were being set off. This does not include all of the people in the surrounding areas. The fireworks show was incredible and worthy of the crowds that came out to see it. Exiting the park was more chaotic than entering it. It took us about 20 minutes to move from the park to the nearest street. We decided to walk to a further station rather than taking the one next to the park, as an anticipated a line of 400,000 people waiting to take the train from that station.
That night, our train transferred through Shibuya. We decided to spend some time in Shibuya to experience the unmatched nightlife of the area. Next to Shibuya crossing, we met an energetic Japanese man with a parrot. Within a minute, he put the parrot on my head and lined me up for a photo. The parrot on my head caused me to get more stares than I usually do.
The following day, I visited Odiaba, a high end area on an artificial island. This was my first time seeing the Pacific Ocean, and the view was incredible. We went to Taco Bell (the best place to get authentic Japanese cuisine) and sat down with a great view of of Rainbow Bridge and the Tokyo skyline.
“September” by Earth, Wind & Fire started playing, and we saw two teenage Japanese people singing along to it as we were. We introduced ourselves and we learned that they were fluent in English. We shared our experiences in Japan which opened a conversation about Japanese culture. They talked about how below the surface, there are many issues in Japan that can’t be seen by most tourists. Living here, I have begun to pick up on some of those issues. They did not go into much detail, but they discussed how Japanese culture can sometimes suppress individualism.
My experience in Japan has shown me that the collective is the focus rather than the individual. It can be difficult to notice from the standpoint of a tourist, but over time, small things have shown me that this can often be the case.
Japan 2019 