Homestay!!! Day 8

Monday, July 16th:

This morning, we had our last breakfast at the Keio Plaza. Today is the beginning of our homestay! At 9, we got on the bus, and headed for Kofu. This is our last time in Tokyo, we are sad. :( But here's some miscellaneous pictures from Tokyo that I didn't share earlier:

The view from our hotel...We could see the mountains this morning!

Bye bye Keio :'(

The Fanta here, tastes amazing. Not only do they have grape and orange, but they have peach flavored. It tastes like heaven.

Heavenly apple juice.

Leaving Tokyo, sad face :'(

It's in the mountains, and we can see Mt. Fuji! We stopped at a rest area around 10 AM, and chilled for an hour, where I got some yummy ice cream! Then we drove to a restaurant and had lunch. We had Nabo, which is vegetable soup!

Fuji-san! :D

Our lunch room!

Mmmmm

Then we went to the high school. Getting off the bus, there were some students around the parking lot, riding their bikes. Today is a national holiday for Japan, so they didn't have class. We took a group picture, then went inside.

Entering what was like an auditorium/meeting room, we could see that there were already many of the host families there waiting for us. I started to become very nervous. Kayla did an impromptu intro speech, and they introduced all of the teachers. Sensei introduced himself and Katayama Sensei as well.

Then they started calling our names to meet our host family and go off with them. Mine was called, and I went down to meet them. I said "はじめまして" (nice to meet you) to a girl and her mother. After getting our picture taken, we were joined by her father and younger sister. We went outside, and got into a red smart car.

They asked me about my trip so far, and I asked Sakina (16 years old) about some things that she likes. I spoke Japanese, but didn't understand everything they said. Luckily, Sakina is studying English, and her parents had studied some, so we are able to fill that somewhat.

We stopped for ice cream, and I had a mango slushie. They asked if I like Japanese food, and what specifically I like. I said Shabu-Shabu was my favorite meal, and they got really excited, saying they all liked it very much too. Eiko (my host mom) said something I didn't quite understand, then Sakina turned to me and said, "Tonight's dinner is Shabu-Shabu!"

We got to their house, and I got a tour of their home.

I. Love. This. House. It's big and beautiful, and I have a Japanese style bedroom, with a futon.

A panoramic view of my bedoom!

Yes. This is...Hello Kitty toilet papaer. Win.

I have a large window and a sliding door in my room :)

After getting settled, I gave おみやげ(house gifts), which they all liked very much. I gave them a couple Iowa t-shirts, a movie, an couple American magazines, an Iowa picture book, the book Epic Surge, and a picture that I drew.

Then Sakina said I could have free time to unpack in my room. After that, I was invited to play Wii with Sakina, Mio(my younger sister), and Atsushi(my host father). They made a Mii for me! We played tennis, wake boarding, and golf. It was so much fun!

After we played Wii, we left to go to a mall for the Shabu-Shabu restaurant. It was soooo delicious! Next, we shopped around the rest of the mall. It was cool shopping with my host sisters! :)

SHABU-SHABU

SHABU-SHABU

One of the stores my host sisters and I shopped at! So many cute clothes :)

Mio, me, and Sakina! Sisters!♥

We returned home, and after bathing, we had fruit, and I talked with my host parents about Kanji and my studies. I told them that I'm interested in teaching English in Japan, and they said if I do, I should come see them again!

Today was amazing, and I love my host family! Tomorrow, I go to school with Sakina! :)

ｱｷﾊﾞ! Day 7 :D

Sunday, July 15th:

Today, we started off the day by going to a Japanese art museum. They had exhibits from different eras, and different subjects, like fashion. They had a modern art section, which I enjoyed a lot!

Imitating the statues

Modern painting, yay!!

Cool statues!

I think I recognize that era! :)

Then we had lunch at a buffet restaurant, and went to Akihabara. Akihabara is a big shopping area filled with shops and stores, mainly dealing with electronics, computers, and anime. The main building is about 7 floors, completely filled with electronics. There are entire floors dedicated to appliances, cameras, TV's, computers, etc. So naturally, Akihabara is also a popular destination for all nerds/geeks residing in Tokyo. It was a really fun time!

Lunch!

Akihabara! :D

Street view

An おたく that we met! He's dressed as an ANIME character!

Ginger? Asian? I don't care, he was cool.

Then we went to a museum that had a display of information dealing with food in Tohoku(growing crops, different dishes, etc.) and we watched a cool video that showed many artisans and how they make their living.

Stopping back at our hotel, we walked to a restaurant for dinner. Then we had a couple more hours to shop in Shinjuku! I was with Kayla, and we went to a big mall called Lumine. It was really cool, and they had a lot of shops with cute clothes! Kayla bought some accessories for her Yukata! :)

Today is our last day in Tokyo. I'm going to miss it a lot! It was become one of my favorite cities, and I would legitimately consider living here for a period of time.

Tomorrow we are traveling to Kofu for the beginning of our homestay! I'm really excited!!

Temples, and shopping in Shinjuku! Day 6

Saturday, July 14th:

After a lovely breakfast this morning, we left around 9 and went to a Shinto/Buddhist temple tourist spot. The temples really were beautiful. There was a hand washing area, that was supposed to purify you before going into the temple. There was also an incense burner, where you waft incense on you. Putting it on your head is supposed to bring intelligence, and if you have an injury, you put it there, and it's supposed to help it heal.

The handwashing thingy!

One of the temples.

Really cool inside. Not sure what it is, but I took a picture.

The incense burner.

Biiiig temple!

After the temple visit, we had about an hour to walk around and shop in a market area on the temple grounds. I spent a lot on souveniers there!

Then we went to the Edo museum, which was interesting, but also tiring from all the walking. Next, we had lunch at a Sumo-themed restaurant. They had a display of a Sumo ring, where boys can climb on to to take pictures. Girls can't though, because of some ancient tradition that they are too scared to break. Sucks. But the food was delicious! It was cooked over a fryer pan right in front of us again.

Sensei and Marcus, battling it out!

The Sumo Ring!

 Mmmm

Yum!

Then we went to a disaster building. The building is all about learning about different kinds of emergencies and disasters, and what to do in those situations. We did a smoke simulation, and a fire simulator where we shouted, "かじだ!” and actually used a fire extinguisher! We were going to do an earthquake simulator too, but it was broken. :( However, we did watch a very cool video about the GEJE. It had a lot of footage, and a breakdown of the time and areas where many things happened on 3/11/11.

Using the fire extinguishers! (They were filled with water.)

Me, Rebecca, and Alyssa with our guide!

Finishing up there, we returned to the Keio, and went to supper. It was a more traditional restuarant, and it was yummy! The owner of the restaurant had a contest with us, where we played Rock Paper Scissors for prizes!

I miss rice :'(

After dinner, we went back to the hotel, and met Takako and several Narita students to go hang out in the Shinjuku shopping area. Kayla and I went with 4 Narita students, and we talked about J-POP and fashion! We talked a lot, and I got to know them better in those two hours than I did while they were in America.

Konatsu and I! And Tristan, lol!

Takako and I again! :)

Shomi and I! :)

We did Karaoke, which was super fun! We had a 30 minute session, where I attempted to sing a song in Japanese! Then I did a duet to Poker Face. xD

Karaoke!

Yuka singing!

Shomi, me, and Yuka!

Mayuko!

Nao!♥ So cute :)

Konatsu, me, and Yuki! :D

Then we returned to meet the rest of our group, and we made promises and bid farewell to those we shopped with. We still had about 15 minutes, so Kayla and I decided to try and talk to people on the street. This sounds extremely weird, but it's not so much since we're foreigners.

I complimented 2 girls' clothes, and they stopped and we started talking. They were soooo friendly. We spoke only Japanese with them. They asked where we are from, how old we are, etc. I asked what sort of music they like, and they said K-POP and Lady Gaga! I got a picture with them before we left. :)

Me and the girls we talked to! :)

Today was fun, and tomorrow we shall go to Akihabara!

Shibuya, meeting Takako! Day 5

Friday, July 13th:

This morning, we left the Regina no Mori, and said goodbye to the staff, adn the giant bunny. Which, by the way, I found out is actually called a みみる(Mimiru).

All of the staff were sooo friendly. I miss them already! :(

Me and one of the kind waiters! ♥

Big Mimiru, me, and my stuffed Mimiru. :)

And again :)

The manager of the hotel! He was awesome.

Giving a goodbye/thank you speech to the staff.

A little gift that each of us received from the people of Fukushima.

It's supposed to keep away bad spirits.

We took a bus to the station, and took the Bullet Train back to Tokyo station. I bought a Japanese fashion magazine at the Fukushima station! I've become interested in their fashion in the last several months, so it made me happy. :)

While on the train, my friend Adam and a few other people he was sitting by did something really funny. He got out his Ipad, and typed, "If you understand Japanese, raise your hand," in Japanese. Whenever we pulled into a stop, he held it up to the window and tried to get people to see and raise their hand! It was tooooo funny.

Hahahahaha.

Once we were in Tokyo, we attended a debriefing lecture at the Olympic center. First we had lunch, consisting of a rice and shrimp bowl from a college cafeteria. For school food, it was amazing.

The debriefing lecture included a survey about our experience in the Tohoku region, and a group discussion, followed by a simple report from each group. Me and 2 others from CR got up and shared our notes to everyone.

We also went to an auditorium, and heard a couple speeches, then finally heard a song performed by a Japanese singer, who is friends with Sensei. She wrote the song about the disaster!

The auditorium

Singing her tribute!

Then we checked back into the Keio Plaza. On the way, I reminded Sensei about meeting up with Takako, and he made the plans!

After putting our stuff in our rooms, I went to the post office to withdraw more money. Then we went to supper, which was a western style restaurant. There was delicious bread, and a yummy main dish, with the best chicken I've ever tasted.

Yumyumyum chicken!

Everyone at dinner!

After dinner, we decided we'd walk around Tokyo, specifically the Shibuya area.

Honestly, I was looking forward to this part the most. Shibuya is an area referred to by the name of the nearby train station. It is filled with clothes shops, pedestrian streets, and along with Harajuku, is one of the main hot spots for street fashion in Tokyo.

We planned on taking the train from Shinjuku to Shibuya, and Takako would meet us at the Shinjuku station. To be honest, I was really nervous. I hadn't seen Takako for about a year and a half, and I missed her a lot.

Shinjuku train station!

We were standing and waiting for our train, and I was sort of spacing off, when Takako ran up from behind and hugged me! We became pretty close while she was in America, and she loved giving hugs.

She screamed, and I screamed and started crying. That moment is actually kind of a blur, haha. She turned and said, "Why are you crying?" I felt silly and embarrassed, but I was too happy to care. :)

Walking out into Shibuya was pretty breath-taking, because it was a complete picturesque view of our idea of Japan before the trip. Huge lit up signs, billboards, shopping marts, and LOTS of people!

A view of Shibuya. :D

More Shibuya!

A sign for a show we had seen on TV!

We went shopping around with Takako, Lauren, Adam, and Tara. It was so fun and cool. Takako and I talked about K-POP, and caught up. :)

Reunited!♥

I bought a bunch of accessories in Shibuya, and saw some awesomely dressed people! I saw one girl with a super cute outfit, walking with a guy. I got the courage to compliment her (which I had been trying to do the whole trip), and said, "かわいいふくですね～” which is basically saying, cute clothes! She and her friend giggled, and said thanks. Haha, it felt cool complimenting a stranger in Japan.

I also had my first taste of real Japanese ramen while shopping! We went to a little store, and ordered some. It was REALLY good!

RAMEN♥

After that, we were all pooped. We said goodbye to Takako, but she is going to meet with us tomorrow too! :D