Settling in and Exploring

I feel like I’m taking a bath every time I walk out the door each morning. While the temperature is fairly close to that in Minneapolis, the humidity is much more intense and palpable. It’s hard to believe that people are walking about in jeans and cardigans in this kind of weather. Everyone is glistening with sweat, dabbing their foreheads with handkerchiefs or fanning themselves on the train. I, of course, have made it no secret how incredibly uncomfortable the heat is and, due to my self introduction to the rest of the international students, have come to be identified as the over-heated American. I’m not at all ashamed either! In spite of the heat, the weather here is truly beautiful. It’s so easy to enjoy walking around the neighborhoods and exploring Nagoya a bit.

My good friend, who is currently part of the JET Program (Japanese Exchange and Teaching Program), came to stay with me over the weekend from Shizuoka. We hadn’t seen each other since about July so it was really fun to reunited in Japan! Mostly, we walked around the city, both sightseers in Nagoya. The university isn’t much to look at, but the neighborhoods here are all different and interesting. On Saturday, we met up at Yagoto station and took the train back to my dorm. Mostly we ate konbini food and hung out at the apartment, but we did take the time to go to Motoyama and walk around a bit.

Orange and chocolate doughnut and a cherry & cream cronut (croissant/doughtnut)

Ever since my friend got to Japan, she’s been raving about Mr. Donut, a popular cafe/bakery where doughnuts are obviously the specialty. It was my first time having a cronut and, let me tell you, I was not disappointed! Seriously. Most delicious things ever. It’s like a crispy, pop over, doughnut with delicious cream and fruit inside! Somebody better make a 0 calorie version immediately so I can eat them everyday.

After Mr. Donut, we aimlessly wandered a bit and came across a nice little park with a large pond and later made it somehow to the Higashiyama Zoo, but didn’t end up being able to go. It looked like a pretty cool zoo from the outside complete with ferris wheel and a raised tram that possibly went around the whole zoo. Hopefully we can do back at some point!

Then Sunday, I went with a few friends to the Nagoya Science Museum to see a show at the planetarium, and to walk around downtown for a while. Downtown Nagoya was really a strange experience, or rather different than I expected. It’s not like the images of big cities like Tokyo that you see, but there’s no denying how large Nagoya city actually is. The streets are wide and sidewalks spacious. People mill about in between shops and office buildings. It’s the typical intercity dynamics where business workers, teenagers, and families make their way through the streets. The buildings are a bit different than I anticipated. Not quite as towering, not quite as overwhelming, not covered with television screens or giant advertisements. It’s a bit like downtown Minneapolis but perhaps with out as many glass-faced buildings. Nevertheless, it is a nice enough place and the streets are much cleaner than those in the States. While we were there, we went to the Sakae station where a lot of shops are situated. The stations are a lot like underground strip malls and a lot of people meet or congregate there. From the station we went to a place called Oasis 21.

Shopping center with a watery reflection pool as the roof

There were many shops there and seemed to be some sort of market going on beneath the water roof of the mall. I didn’t have much of a chance to take photos since it was rather crowded but everyone seemed to be having a good time buying all of the fancy stone and wood wears. We also went to the top of Oasis 21 to see the view from above. The water part of the roof isn’t deep–perhaps only four inches or so–but it’s reflection of the sun is really beautiful and adds an interesting element of architectural design to the cityscape. From the top, we could also see what I think was Central Park (like NYC) which was really beautiful also.

Then, we went to the Nagoya Science Museum. We didn’t walk around the museum too much since we had walked around downtown a bit beforehand. It was rather dark inside but the displays were cool. A lot of the museum had to do with typical engineering products from and in Japan like trains and boats and such. Most of it was so familiar to Duluth that I wasn’t really that interested in that portion of the museum, but a lot of the planetary and astrology exhibits were very cool. Of course, it was all in Japanese so I had to guess a lot of it by my prior knowledge and the images shown. The planetarium show was a 50 minute display of a few constellations visible in the Japanese sky and how a lunar eclipse happens. (One is coming October 8th!) While I understood about 1/4 of the show, it was really interesting to see how different the placement of the stars was.

When everyone was tired and the day was done we all went our separate ways and the week had to start.  Not much has happened since then. Mainly just orientation things for the university. I’ll be registering with my school later this afternoon and a few of my classes should be starting tomorrow. I’ll check in later with an update on the beginning of classes!

Arrival and Day One

Well, I’ve made it! Official in Japan! It’s different but not all that different.

Recounting the plane ride, it felt a lot longer when it was happening and now that I’m off it kinda is just a blur. I was fortunate enough to have one empty seat between myself and my row mate which was really nice. It would have been nicer if I had a row to myself like some other passengers did, but that’s okay. Honestly, I just watched a bunch of movies and they fed us a bunch of food (which was actually pretty tasty!). Somebody probably thought I had bladder issues though because I went to the toilet about once every few hours. It was more so to just stand up and move than actually use the facility.

The plane was pretty rad since it had a small second floor that included a bar section. Also, a lot of free alcoholic and non alcoholic drinks were included in my flight plan but I didn’t end up getting anything. What’s worse than flying 12 and a half hours? Flying them with a hangover probably. So I refrained.

When we finally touched down in Japan, we were shuffled into the customs area. They gave us some small information forms to fill out on the plane but I didn’t have a pen and, like a handful of others, had to wait until landing to fill them out. Then the employees began checking passports and sorting us into lines to go through customs. Did I mention that a lot of passengers where also American or non Japanese? Probably a third of us were trying to figure out what row to go in and the staff spoke little English. After a quick photo op, a fingerprint scan of my two index fingers, and about 5 minutes of awkward silence, the customs officer handed over my residence card and I was able to move on to the claiming area. The employee who helped me was super nice and asked if I was an international student. I said もちろん! (of course!) and we had a laugh before he waved me on.

So as I stumbled out of customs with my two suitcase and a tiny amount of annoyance (my phone service hadn’t been turned on so I was in the dark and without a map), somebody yelled my name and ran up to me with a huge hug. Thankfully, my friend whom I’d met last year during her study abroad at my campus was there to meet me! She seemed worried that I was a bit later than I originally was supposed to get there but I was seriously relieved that I did’t have to go wandering around the airport trying to find her.

In the next few hours, we exchanged my money into yen and hopped on probably three different trains. I honestly still don’t really get how they work, but it doesn’t look too confusing and each ride was only about $2.50. She showed me the basics on buying tickets and figuring out which way the trains go, etc. We walked around at a few different stations too. They are basically like little malls on top of the tracks; there are small shops everywhere, a lot of people just hanging out, and at Kanayama station there were at least three different small bands performing around the area (and everyone in Japan is an amazing singer, what gives?). Then we finally made our way to my hotel at Yagoto station and checked in.

While the face of the building looks incredibly out of place, the Sir Winston Hotel is actually pretty fancy on the inside. The staff all wear nice suits and the bellhops have their own uniforms. I felt like I was tossed back in time really. After a short conversation, half in English and half in Japanese directed to my friend and not me, the bellhop showed us to the room. He actually turned on all the lights and briefly explained the room in very polite Japanese then explained to call the front desk if I had any questions. I’m pretty sure he was talking more to my friend and not me but I did reply in Japanese and he left, and shortly after so did my friend.

The next morning I woke up around 3 am, which is about 1 pm US time. I ate some cup ramen out of the mini fridge and waited around for the stores to start opening. The traffic didn’t really start up until about 7, but I was finally able to see Japan in the light of day. Nagoya is kinda of hard to explain as far as I’ve seen. From the air, you can see it go on for quite a long way but being in it–at least in my area–it looks like a mix between metro and suburban. There is a lot of green, which is great because it reminds me of home. The buildings are like dominos stacked up next to each other with small faces but stretching back pretty far.

Around 7:30 I left the hotel in search of breakfast. I was told there is a grocery store across the street so I figured I’d check it out. The store, Aeon, didn’t open until 8 (if I read the sign right) so I wandered around in the station to a コンビニ (konbini = like a gas station type convenience store). They didn’t have much in the section I was in as the store was divided into parts–one where people who’ve paid for train tickets can go and one for the others without–so I just grabbed a coffee and a packaged waffle treat. Both were actually really delicious so my day started pretty nice.

For the rest of the day, I took a walk around the neighborhood but didn’t venture too far for fear of actually getting lost. When the grocery store opened I popped in and grabbed a few quick things to eat for the day and tomorrow morning. Nearly all of the workers in the grocery store kept loudly proclaiming welcome (いらっしゃいませ）every time a customer was within 15 feet of them, which most of the customers ignored. At checkout, I was asked if I needed a bag. Now, my friends who have been to Japan told me that they always use reusable bags or then plastic once are 2 yen a piece. So, I said I didn’t need a bag and then had to awkwardly shove some things in my purse. The cashier asked if I was okay but I just told her “できますよ.” (I can do it!) and she kinda laughed with me before I left.

The rest of the day I holed up in my hotel room, took a bath (Everyone in America needs a Japanese bath tub because they are so deep and awesome!), and ate some lunch before napping around 2:30 pm. I’ve also had my ‘do not disturb’ sign out the whole time I’ve been here because I don’t want to have my messy room cleaned. So tomorrow I’ll be going to the dorm! My friend is picking me up again in the afternoon and we are taking the train over, which should only take like a minute. Thus far, I haven’t seen too much of Japan (it rained the later half of the day), but I look forward to meeting the other exchange students.

Until then!

Minneapolis to Detroit

35,000 feet is pretty damn high. Nearly unimaginably. But in actuality, it doesn’t feel like anything. I can glance over my row mates and out the window but all I’m seeing is “movie vision”. It’s so unfathomable to my little human mind of that I’m flying in a big metal tube high above the ground that I swear my brain is just convincing me that all the windows are television screens. It’s been 10 years since I’ve been on a plane, and perhaps some experience pocketed itself in the depths of my cranium, but I’m convinced my brain is a good liar. I’m just riding in a crowded, long, better furnished bus and that’s that.

Overall, getting through the airport and security much more painless that getting through the goodbyes. It all still doesn’t feel like I’m going away. Just feels like a normal day, except I’m on a plain barreling through the air across the ocean. Regardless, I’m looking forward to things. Mostly that dinner I’m promised on my Nagoya flight, but hey. It’s the little things, right?

Side note, there’s a man to my front left who just started watching Lost… Yea, let’s thing about horrific plane crashes while we are cruising alone in the very same mode of transportation. Some people….

Sinking in?

It’s the one week mark today! I still can’t believe that I’m actually leaving the country soon. But now, with my luggage (mostly) packed, it’s slowly starting to actually sink in. Many of the people I’ve talked to have offered all sorts of congratulations… and some fear. It’s awesome enough that people are excited for me when I tell them, but these inevitable responses aren’t quite what I expected:

“Wow, that’s so far away!”
“Japan’s like a totally different world isn’t it?”
“Are you going to be able to adjust to their food?”
“A year’s a pretty long time! Hope you enjoy it!”
(aka, “Hope you don’t hate it a few months in!)

Honestly, I can’t be anything but grateful for the opportunity and I am pretty darn excited to live one of my dreams, but these responses are a little tricky to handle. I know that Japan isn’t nearly as “different” or crazy as a lot of people are led to believe. Obviously not everyone walks around looking like anime characters or only eating the most delicate and expensive sushi in the world. From what I’ve heard, it’s basically just like any other place with the only big difference being the language and shopping brands. Now, I’m not trying to downgrade the wonder that Japan. Their incredible history has left many amazing sightseeing opportunities after all. Not to mention many modern attractions like anime and Studio Ghibli, etc. I’m excited to experience Japan not as an “exotic” world but as a land for discovering! Like Columbus, but without all the small pox and massacres and land stealing…. Okay, maybe not like Columbus at all, but you get the idea.

For now, I’m staying calm and browsing some tourist sites in Nagoya. It’s a good way to stay my nerves for the long days of travel just a short while ahead of me.

Housing Update

I’ve been assigned to my housing for my year at Nagoya University!

I’ll be staying with most of the international students as Ohmeikan. 

I’m looking forward to being in the larger dorm with more people, and it’s not too far away from the university which should be nice. Debating putting up my address now, but perhaps I will later when I receive my dorm room number and stuff.

Less than a month

ようこそ！

And for those of you who don’t know Japanese, Welcome!

In about 20 days I will be stepping off American soil for the first time in about ten years. It’s hard to believe that this is actually happening! (mostly because I’m lounging on the sofa in my Dad’s basement, in my pajamas…) Needless to say I’m both incredibly excited and terrified. I’m not just leaving home this time and going off to the Cities. My family isn’t a comfortable 3 hours away and constantly available by phone call. Nope. I’m crossing oceans (not to mention a whole bunch of timezones) where communication might be difficult, but the experience will certainly be worth it. 

At least for the next few weeks, I’ll be your average moving-back-in-with-the-folks college student. Free room and board, AND food in the fridge? Sign me up for life, right? But other than being a leech on my dad for a while, I’ll have a lot of time to catch up with my Duluth friends and family. Reconnecting with the city I love with most will be a nice gift before skipping across the pond. 

In the meantime, I will keep you loosely updated on my rediscovery of Duluth as well as my packing process and departure from the United States. 

Stay tuned.