Kyoto & Kobe, Japan

We all arrived in Kobe with excitement to see Japan; but unfortunately, the immigration process is grueling so we were delayed. We were complaining despite knowing the USA uses the same, tedious process. In fact, Japan copied the US process. A student I met at CU, Henry, is studying abroad in Japan and offered to show us around. We took a train to Kyoto and had limited daylight hours due to immigration and the fall season so we got right to our sightseeing. Henry took us to two shrines, which we believe to be Buddhist. It was beautiful to merely walk around and see the colorful red, yellow, and orange leaves on trees. We have all missed fall immensely. For dinner, Henry found a small, practically hidden door in an alleyway (see picture) that led to a restaurant that serves Okonomiyaki, a pancake fried on a griddle containing egg, cabbage, meat and some seasoning. Chris loved it (I tried it)! Wow, Japan is expensive. For two pancakes and a noodle dish, it was $36. We walked around the shopping district, had a cheap beer at a Chinese restaurant, and took the train back to Kobe. We felt like we got a good taste of Kyoto; however, wished we had more than six hours. Henry was able to teach us quite a bit about Japan culture, including the language (three levels of formality or politeness), the paranoia of the Japanese (or so he believes), the strict rules, and the lenience of the Japanese university (as agreed by friends we bumped into that night, from both US and Japan).

In Kobe, we visited the Sorakeun Garden, which is a Japanese garden filled with paths, ponds, tons of Chrysanthemums, trees with fall leaves, a few colonial-style mansions, and two of the earliest gas lamps used in Japan. We had a quaint stroll through the gardens before our adventure to find the 100 Yen store, also known as Daiso, in the Sannomiya shopping center. I wanted to visit this store to pick up prizes for an upcoming bingo sea social. We asked about 10 people how to get there until we found a couple who finally just walked us there. They were Japanese and lived in New Zealand along with the US in the past. The Japanese man mentioned he enjoyed working in the US and New Zealand due to is laid back work attitude. Ha, not what we Americans think! The Japanese work extremely hard. In fact, we were on the train at 10 PM and many passengers were dressed in suits, going home from work.

After walking around Kobe, we had our family homestay organized by Semester at Sea. Every year, a group of adults who attend an English Language school hosts a few of us from the ship. We were joined by a student, Hannah, and only paid $5 + transportation. I mention the cost because it was a bargain considering all the food they prepared and the gifts we received. The Oshima’s - a retired, married couple along with a friend, hosted us. The spread was amazing! The food entailed dried squid, cucumber rolls, pork loin, fried chicken, sausage, rice, crackers & cheese, pears, another unknown fruit, nuts, beer, wine, etc. We talked about family, the holidays, Japan and the US; looked at pictures of their daughters and their weddings; attempted to play a harp-like instrument; and laughed at the dog, Radu, a golden retriever adored by the Oshima’s. It was a unique experience to see first hand how a Japanese family lives and we both now wish we had participated in more homestays. Between the fall season and visiting a home, it made us more anxious to get home and see all our friends, family, and cats. We feel like we learned a great deal about the Japanese culture through our friends, Henry and the Oshima’s.