Nagoya Navigator!

Every year Technos College hosts a two week-long event called International Week where students and staff members from their sister schools come to Technos to share their school with the Technos students while interacting with and learning about the students at Technos. We had representatives come from schools all over the world and the students made sure that they were welcomed. 

During the first part of the week there was a welcome party, tours, presentations, and much more. Students in each of the courses in the Air Travel School gave presentations in English about their course and what they study and, likewise, the visiting students introduced their school to the Air Travel students. 

One of the more exciting events that our guests got to participate in were the guided tours around the city. There were many tours that students and staff could pick from throughout the week that took them to places such as Kichijoji, Shibamata, Koenji, Kokubunji, Tokyo Dyeing Museum, and Mt. Takao. 

I was assigned to help out with the Mt. Takao climb and so about two weeks before the actual tour three other students and I went to Mt. Takao to plan everything out. 

There was a chair lift or cable car that one could take up part of the mountain for a little over 400 yen. We chose to take the chair lift - which was fun for two of us and terrifying for the other two! We walked the rest of the way to the top while stopping occasionally to wander through a temple or buy food from one of the many stands.

We eventually made it to the top and took a commemorative photo and enjoyed the view. On a clear day you can see Mt. Fuji from the top but it was a little cloudy when we went so I can't really tell you which peak in the picture above is Mt. Fuji - or even if it can be seen. 

We ate lunch at the restaurant at the top which is famous for it's handmade soba noodles. After our refreshing break we made our way back down the mountain, this time taking a different route. Mt. Takao has many different routes to choose from - some taking about 50 minutes while others take 2 hours. We took route 6 which was recommended to us by one of the English teachers at Technos. All of the routes have a theme to the trail and the theme for route 6 was Forest and Water. The path was a not-too-difficult one that wound through the forest and alongside the creek. It was nice and shady and created just the right atmosphere for hiking on that warm day. 

The whole trip took us about 3 hours and we headed back to Koganei City exhausted and with a better idea of what we would have to explain to the international students when we went there again in a couple of weeks. When the day came for us to go again the Japanese guides were prepared to explain all about Mt. Takao and I feel that the international students and staff really enjoyed themselves.  

Thanks again for taking the time to read my post and I hope to have the next one up a little quicker next time. I have about two weeks left to enjoy Tokyo before I return back to the US. Next time will be about a local attraction in Koganei City!

Thanks to my university and the Freeman Foundation, I've been given the opportunity to stay a little longer in Japan to do an internship as an assistant English teacher at Technos College Tokyo School of Air Travel and Hotel Management. Illinois Wesleyan University received a grant from the Freeman Foundation allowing a select few students to spend the summer months doing internships in three different locations across Asia. I'm the only student interning in Japan - the other students are spending their summer in China and the Philippines. 

On May 24th, the day I was originally due to fly back to the States, I instead took a 6-hour highway bus from Nagoya Station to Shinjuku West Station. It was a lovely relaxing bus ride that did not actually feel like 6 hours. The bus companies in Japan try really hard to make sure their customers are comfortable during their trip whether they will be spending only one hour on the bus or 10. The bus I took had nice reclining comfortable seats with a baby-stroller-like shade that I could pull down to block the sun. 
 

As we got closer to Tokyo our route that we were on took us right around Mt. Fuji and we were treated with a beautiful but cloudy view of the 3,776 meter high UNESCO World Heritage Site. 

After about 30-45 minutes and many winding roads later, we moved around to another view of the mountain. This time the peak was no longer blocked by the clouds and I was free to stare in awe of its beauty. Unfortunately for me, by the time we reached this point my phone (the only camera on me at the time) was dead and the only thing this grand bus was missing was a place to plug my phone in. I hope I will have another chance in the next month or so to return to Mt. Fuji and get the pictures I missed last time. 

A short while later I arrived at Shinjuku West Station and, burdened down with my heavy bags from this past semester, I made my way underground and towards the JR Chuo Line. About 20 minutes on the train took me to the Musashi-Koganei Station in Koganei City. From there a quick bus ride dropped me off directly in front of Technos College. And that is where this travel story ends and the next journey begins!

As always, thanks for taking the time to read my blog. I apologize for the lack of pictures in this post but I promise to make up for it in the next one where I take you on a trip to one of the best hiking and sight-seeing spots near Koganei City, Mt. Takao!

On our second day in Kyoto after exploring Inari Shrine, we headed just south of there to the Gekkeikan Okura Sake Museum just north of the Uji River. Gekkeikan, founded in 1637, is a manufacturer of nihonshu (sake in Japanese refers to alcohol in general, whereas in English it refers to rice wine) and umeshu (plum wine). Gekkeikan is also one of the oldest companies in the world. 

We ended our second day in Kyoto with a quick look around the Gekkeikan Museum and some tasting of different types of nihonshu. On our way back to the Uji Station we crossed the Uji River and stopped to take a few pictures and chat with an older man who was also admiring the river. 

On our third day, we visited what would become my favourite place in Kyoto - Arashiyama (嵐山). Arashiyama is a nationally-designated Historic Site on the west side of Kyoto. Many famous tourist sites can be found in Arashiyama - The Moon Crossing Bridge (渡月橋), Iwatayama Monkey Park, a bamboo grove, and many temples and shrines.  

As always, thanks for reading to the end and I hope you look forward to the next post!

In Japan, mid-February for Japanese students marks the end of the semester and means it's now time for prospective college students to travel to the universities they wish to apply to and start the grueling process of entrance exams. For international students at Nanzan University (who run on the typical Western semester schedule) mid-February marks a break from classes and exams and means it's time for sightseeing around Japan. This break was our longest break during the spring semester - we had a full 10 days to do whatever we wanted. 

During this break, three other people and I decided to spend five days in the famous traditional city of Kyoto. Transportation in Japan can be very cheap if you know where to look. We bought tickets for a round-trip highway bus and reserved 4 beds at a hostel for 4 nights for just under ￥10,000 (roughly $100) per person. 

The bus ride took about 2 1/2 hours and while you might be able to see more scenery if you take the shinkansen (Bullet Train), we were able to see a good amount of nature on the morning bus. 

Around late morning our bus dropped us off in front of Yasaka Shrine in the Gion District. From there it was about a 5 minute walk to our hostel where we checked-in before heading out to explore for the day. 

On our first day we were lucky enough to meet up with a friend of a friend who lives in Kyoto and he showed us around. We first walked through the Higashiyama Ward towards Kiyomizu Temple (清水寺). Kiyomizu-dera is a Buddhist temple that was founded early in the Heian Period. The name Kiyomizu-dera comes from the words kiyomizu - meaning "clear water" or "pure water" and dera - meaning "temple" - and refers to a waterfall within the grounds. One interesting fact about the temple is that it was built in such a way that not a single nail was used within the building.  

Kyoto is one of the most historic cities in Japan and is home to 1600 Buddhist temples and 400 Shinto shrines. The reason for this is that during WWII Kyoto was spared from the fire bombing making it now the only large city in Japan to contain a large amount of pre-war buildings and religious sites. 

On our second day in Kyoto our first stop was Fushimi Inari Taisha (伏見稲荷大社). Inari Shrine, located in Fushimi Ward, is built at the base of a mountain also named Inari. The shrine is the head shrine of Inari - the Japanese kami, or god, of foxes. Inari Shrine is most famously known for its path of thousands of red torii that line the path up to the top of the mountain. 

We started the day out determined to make it all the way to the top but after walking for about an hour and only making it halfway, we decided to head back down and move on to our next place. The path to the top is approximately 2.5 miles and takes about 2 hours of walking. If I am ever in Kyoto again, I will make sure to set aside a few hours and complete my goal of making it to the top.

Thanks again for reading to the end and following my blog! Be on the lookout for the next post about Uji - a town famous for its high-quality green tea - and one of the most beautiful places in Kyoto - Arashiyama.  

Located within the grounds of the Meitetsu Inuyama Hotel is the Urakuen Garden and the Jo-an Tea Ceremony Room. The Jo-an tea house is a national treasure of Japan and is one of the three best tea houses in the country. The Jo-an tea house was constructed by Oda Nobunaga's younger brother, Oda Nagamasu (also known as Urakusai.) Oda Nobunaga was a powerful warlord and samurai daimyo during the late 16th century. Nobunaga was one of the Three Great Unifiers of Japan and is known for starting the unification towards the end of the Warring States period. His younger brother Nagamasu, in addition to building the Jo-an tea house was a practitioner of the tea ceremony and eventually started his own tea ceremony school. 

The Jo-an tea house was originally built in Kyoto in 1618, then later moved to Tokyo and Kanagawa before finally being settled in Inuyama in 1972. 

While we were staying in Inuyama we were given tickets to the garden and tea house and decided to visit it on our free day. Walking through the garden was a very peaceful experience. I don't have any pictures of the actual tea ceremony since we were not allowed to take pictures inside the tea house but it was a great experience and I urge anyone who has the chance to attend one to do so. 

    

On January 3rd, in the middle of a snow/ice storm, I flew out of Chicago and began my journey towards Nagoya. I had a 12 and a half hour flight to Narita Airport in Tokyo and then a connecting flight to Nagoya. The first flight was long. Very long. And when the CAs turn off the cabin lights and expect you to go to sleep, even though you know sleeping on a plane is next to impossible, it seems even longer. Needless to say, I was more than relieved when we finally arrived at the airport and I was free to say my mental "goodbyes" to the group of people I just spent the last 12 hours enclosed in a flying metal tube with and move on to immigration and customs. After the first flight, the second one - a mere 1 1/2 hours - seemed to be over in a blink of an eye. From there I met with the director of students and one other student and we made our way to the hotel in Nagoya that we would spend the night at. The room, like most other things in Japan, was small compared to western standards but nice and clean. The room also came with a complimentary cup of green tea which I enjoyed the following morning while watching the sun rise from my room on the 10th floor.  

The next day, after a quick tour of the Nagoya Station, we got on a bus and headed for Inuyama where we were to stay at the Meitetsu Inuyama Hotel. This hotel has both Japanese style (和室) and Western style (洋室) rooms. We stayed in a Japanese style room that had tatami (畳) mat floors and futons. 

Everyday we had orientation sessions to help us prepare for the semester and Japanese language classes to help us prepare for the language placement exam. And although we did spend quite a bit of time studying and learning, our staff made sure that we had plenty of time to explore Inuyama and visit many of the famous sights. 

The first sight that we visited as a group was Inuyama Castle (犬山城). Inuyama Castle is one of Japan's National Treasures and is one of only 12 remaining original castles in Japan that was built before the Edo Period. The castle was completed by Oda Nobuyasu in 1537 and has been privately owned by the Naruse family until 2004 when ownership was transferred to a civic foundation in Inuyama.

Afterwards, we went to the house of a nearby local and watched her perform calligraphy. She asked each of us many questions (in Japanese of course) and picked a kanji (Chinese character) that matched our personalities best and wrote it for us. My kanji was 夢 (yume) meaning dream. 

The next day we had quite a bit of free time and after a failed attempt to visit the Japan Monkey Park (it was closed for the day) a couple of friends and I decided to stop by the Narita-san Temple (成田山) down the road. Narita-san's full name is Daihonzannaritasannagoyabetsuin Daishoji and is a branch temple of the Narita-san Temple in Narita, Chiba Prefecture, near the Narita International Airport in Tokyo. Sometimes the unplanned trips are the best ones. I'm definitely glad that we stopped by and were able to see such a beautiful place and enjoy the view from the top. 

After heading back down the stairs and walking back to the hotel, we stopped in the Urakuen Garden and Jo-an Tea Ceremony Room found within the grounds of our hotel. But that will be for the next post!

Once again, thanks for taking the time to read this post! I hope you enjoyed reading it and looking at the pictures. Please look forward to the next post, I promise the pictures will be great!

It's hard to believe that it was really two and a half years ago that I started thinking about studying abroad. I remember being a freshman and excitedly looking at all of my options and trying to decide which university I would want to spend five months studying at, what classes I would take, what requirements it would fulfill, and of course trying to imagine what it would be like to be actually living in Japan. 

I remember thinking that the time was going so slowly - after all it was 2 years away. But here I am now, only 11 days away from flying out of this country and all I can think of is how quickly this time has passed. Sure, a lot has happened in between then and now - numerous emails with my adviser, preparing all of my required documents, frantically calling my company when some documents were rejected near the deadline, waiting not-so-patiently for multiple super-important documents, and rejoicing like crazy when all of the final preparations were done. Not to mention doing all of this on top of a normal class load. Still, two and a half years have passed by so quickly that I'm left wondering how I can possibly drag these next 5 months out so that they don't pass just as quickly. 

The last of my final preparations - obtaining a student visa - I finished last week. I know it might seem like I waited until the last minute to get my visa but as anyone who has ever studied in Japan knows, in order to get a visa you have to first receive a Certificate of Eligibility - something that the Japanese government (or whoever in Japan issues it) usually doesn't send out until 3-4 weeks before the start of the study abroad program. Therefore, after receiving my CoE, this past week consisted of two trips to Chicago - one to turn in my application and passport and another to pick up my visa. 

Since it's been a few years since I've had the opportunity to go to Chicago, my mother and I decided to take advantage of this trip and do some sightseeing. After turning in my visa application, we decided to spend a couple hours exploring all the different shops in Water Tower Place, just a block away from the Japanese Consulate. We bought a couple things, ate lunch, and then leisurely walked down to Millennium Park while snapping a couple pictures along the way. 
 

We stopped for a few minutes to enjoy the view of the Chicago River. 

Being able to see Chicago this way made me appreciate it a little more. Nearly every time I'd been there in the past I was always a part of a group. We were herded like cattle from place to place trying to fit in everything we had planned to do. And while I had fun on those trips, I don't feel like I got the chance to actually stop and truly look at my surroundings and appreciate where I was. This trip was completely different.  

After a decent walk, we arrived at Millennium Park and were greeted by the sight of ice skaters. There were graceful skaters, stumbling walkers (I can't really call what they were doing "skating"), and overexcited kids clinging to the walls. Seeing all of this made me want to lace up and get on the ice! 

Of course, if you go to Millennium Park there is one thing that you must see. The Cloud Gate, aka "The Bean." To be honest, I didn't know that "The Bean" was not its true name - I don't think I've ever heard anyone refer to it as anything other than that!

We ended up walking by the Chase Promenade and through the Lurie Garden. Although most of the plants in the garden looked dead when we were there I'm sure it's absolutely beautiful during the spring. 

I love how the fog caused the buildings to appear as if they were starting to disappear halfway up. My love for clear skies in the city just about balances out my love for foggy days where the next block is slightly hidden from view. Eventually it was time for us to start heading back to Union Station. 

Before reaching Union Station, we stopped and ate at the Panera Bread directly across the street from the Sears/Willis Tower. 

This day trip to Chicago was an exciting way to wrap up the fall semester and with the holidays coming soon it's time for me to pack up and say goodbye to my friends, family, and the US for the next five months.

Thanks for taking the time to read this! More to come soon!