arrival;Okay! Finally found some time to sit down and write in this thing xD
The journey to Kanazawa was a rather interesting one, and a great experience. I flew over to Narita with my friend Taylor which was nice because the airplane ride was so long, and the movie choices were pretty god awful. I mostly slept and ate food and played some Pokemon. Pretty sure I was popping Dramamine like it was my job, since I knew the next couple of days were going to be long.
Upon landing, we had to go through customs, and the man at the counter thought I spoke fluent Japanese because I had said こんにちは, so that was interesting xD I told him that I was not very good at all, and was going to Kanazawa to study etc. He was really excited about it for some reason xD Next was picking up our luggage and shipping it to the college so we wouldn't have to carry ten millions pounds of baggage while traveling trough the city and on public transporation.
When we had to ship our bags, that is when the fail Japanese started. The lady did not understand that we did not have the University phone number and that we needed the interent to look up the number. Fortunately Taylor had it written down on a business card and we were able to get on with our fail lives xD Not too soon after, Taylor and I met up with Derek, who was like, our safe haven since his Japanese is way better than both of ours.
Our next move was to somehow get out of Narita airport and to Shinjuku Station to take the overnight bus to Kanazawa. Getting on the train, and traveling VIA the train was a challenge. We luckily found a nice lady to help us. So we bought our tickets and hopped on the train. Initially we wanted to stay up and look at the scenery, but of course we all fell asleep. I'm just glad I woke up to see Shibuya for a quick moment. Let's just say, the 109 looked freakin amazing!
I think the best part of our traveling excursion, was actually getting to Shinjuku station. We really had no idea where to go, and had screen captured the email that one of our friends had sent us, so we could look at the diagrams a website had provided etc. Carrying luggage didn't help either.
After much poking around, we finally found Shinjuku station where we basically plopped down. I think we were ready to collapse. I honestly do not remember much since I was basically falling asleep while walking xD More RIT students showed up, and we proceeded to find dinner before riding the night bus. My first meal in Japan was this yummy bowl of udon with tempura shrimp. I have decided that I need to take photos of every meal that I eat here, since not only is it delicious, but pretty looking as well.
The night bus was not exciting at all, and I had to sit next to this poor unfortunate Japanese soul. Pretty sure I almost whacked him in the middle of the night while I was attempting to sleep.
day 1; After the overnight bus experience, I'm pretty sure everyone was ready to kiss the ground when we arrived in Kanazawa. The bus pulled into the loop at the University, and we went to the main desk to receive our room assignments so we could drop off our luggage. Since the overnight bus got us in really early, we had the entire day to explore the area and buy anything that we needed. The day mostly consisted of walking around and getting our bearings. We found the Family Mart which is just around the corner of our dorm rooms, but also known as Nishikawa Heights. It's really convenient since it has basic food needs like beverages and yummy bread items. I bought some Melon Bread for the first time, and it was delicious! Pretty sure that is my new favorite item EVER. We also headed to a local mini mart type place where we bought necessities that our apartments didn't provide us, such as Hello Kitty toilet paper that is scented like strawberries.
day 2;This was an awesome sauce day, and you really do wake up at the asscrack of dawn here. The sun rises on our side of the building, so waking up early is an easy thing to do here...unfortunately. After apartment orientation we went to this place called Book Off where they sell insanely cheap manga, video games, clothing etc. It is the hub of awesomeness basically. I bought some CDs and some gifts for people. A lot of us want to go back when we have time, since there are so many things we want to buy that we do not actually need.
Not gonna lie, I was tempted to buy Birth by Sleep but I stopped myself...via Derek face palming me in the face.
The next stop was the 100 Yen store, which is basically the Japanese equivalent of the Dollar Store, only their products are actually legit and not shitty, and the store doesn't smell like crap either. I bought some cute notebooks to get ready for classes on Monday.
day 3; Day 3 was the semi crappy day. We had go through the opening ceremony which consisted of us bowing to the President. I was so nervous, I thought I was going to be sick. Then we had a lunch break before out second placement exam which consisted of a written and an oral exam. Both were easier than anticipated, but of course, the oral section sucked and I had a few awkward pauses. But in the end, I ended up in the Level 2 class which is where I wanted to be. I swear that I would have crapped my pants if I had ended up in advanced class by accident.
But overall, it was a pretty stressful day for everyone. The night ended with a welcoming party from the SGE students at the University where we had to introduce ourselves and try to mingle with them in conversation. It was a lot harder than anticipated since we don't know to initiate a conversation, or how to keep a conversation going if we manage to start one. I mostly walked around with Sam, and were convinced that no one was talking to us because we look asian. Not. Even. Surprised. SHOCKER THERE.
day 4; Quite a few of us took the mini shuttle to this shoppin area in Kanazawa. The actually shopping center wasn't that great, but we were able to look at some cool phones, and go in this chic boutique which was nice. The walk back to the bus shuttle was the best part, since we were in a more rural area with rice fields, gardens, and a mix of more modern and traditional housing.
We managed to stumble upon a flea market where we got quite a few steals on tea sets, authentic mahjong sets, and children's kimonos. That may be another stop later on in my travels.
day 5; TODAY! It was kinda derpy since we had this mini field trip type thing where we went to visit the gardens in downtown Kanazawa and visited a temple. Unfortunately the weather was kinda crappy, but I managed to get some nice shots of scenery etc.
But probably the most interesting was the market we went to. Not only is it multiple floors but it consists of a fish market, retail stores, and yummy restaurants. Heh, a lot of the day consisted of us awkwardly standing around and figuring out what to do so by the time we reached this market, we were STARVING. Me and a few people were willing to splurge on food, so we went to this nice restaurant where we got an Unagi bowl with rice and tea. IT WAS DELICOUS. THE END. I have never had eel so fresh in my life, and I want to go back and eat it forever.
For dessert, we finally visited the infamous Mister Doughnut. They were also delicious, and put every other doughnut to shame. No lie.
Now I'm sitting in the dorm lounge where I was initially playing Mahjong with some of the Japanese students and then proceeded to work on Japanese homework that is due tomorrow.
Alrighty, I think that is a big enough update for now. Gonna go chill before getting dinner, and finishing up the rest of my homework!
Strawberry & Blueberry Waffle with Vanilla Ice cream.
