japan

July 2016
A 12-day adventure by Emily Read more
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  • Day 2

    Tokyo days 1&2

    July 16, 2016 in Japan ⋅ ⛅ 22 °C

    Survived the 11 hour flight and arrived in Tokyo at around 7 pm ish. Got food (kiwi yogurt drink and flan pudding). Took many trains to get to the hotel. I was so tired i could barely move. The hotel room is tiny!!! But it is fine. The japanese toilets are for the most part pretty normal. You dont have to use the spray option. The next day was packed! First we went to Asakusa ( the anime capitol of the world!) our Japanese guide (Akemi) took us around and then we got free time. Me and a couple people went to an arcade and i won some little sushi guys in a claw machine! Next we went to lunch and i had veggie tempura and buckwheat noodles. Then we went to the Tokyo Edo museum. After was my favorite part of the day. We visited a beautiful shinto shrine during a festival for the spirits of those who passed away during war. There were glowing lanterns everywhere it was sooooo pretty!Read more

  • Day 3

    Tokyo day 3

    July 17, 2016 in Japan ⋅ ⛅ 23 °C

    Today we went to the Ghibli museum!!!!! It was so amazing i cannot explain. We got to see a short film that was a continuation of Totoro! It was the cutest thing i have EVER seen. I bought a stuffed guy that was a character in it. As well as a couple gifts for u guys. Then we went to Harajuku for lunch and some free time to shop! Most people had Takoyaki (fried octopus dough balls) but me and two other picky/ vegetarian girls went to this delicious vegan restaurant. We got super refreshing fruit and veggie smoothies, fries, and vegan curry. Then we went to another shrine. It was called the Meiji shrine. There was no festival going on but it was still really cool. We learned all about Shintoism and Buddhism ( the two religions in Japan) all of the shrines are Shinto and the temples are buddhist. There are no statues that you worship at the shrines because Shintoism is all about spirits. Then for dinner we went to a tempura restaurant that was very yummy! The rice was delicious too!Read more

  • Day 4

    Japan day 4

    July 18, 2016 in Japan ⋅ ☀️ 23 °C

    I traveled to Nikko which is a beautiful city about 2 hours away from Tokyo. It has tall green mountains that are always covered in a layer of fog. We visited more shrines today and we visited a buddhist temple for the first time. The temple walk way is lined with buddas apprentices. They all wear little red caps and bibs because they protect the spirits of children who passed away. I had the most delicious Japanese street snack ever! Dango. It is a chewy roasted rice snack coated in a sticky soy sauce. YUM!!!! For lunch i had a super yummy curry udon. For dinner i wasn't that hungry so i just ordered some edamame and rice but little did i know IT WAS THE BEST edamame in the universe!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Read more

  • Day 6

    Japan day 6

    July 20, 2016 in Japan ⋅ ⛅ 20 °C

    It was our first day of service. For breakfast i had really yummy rice with soy sauce and potatoes. We then went to 7/11 to pick up lunch for later. During to morning we worked at a winery pulling weeds. After we finished working for a few hours we had a picnic lunch at the farm. I had onigiri and peach tea. After lunch we went for a drive to see the area that was devastated by the tsunami in 2011. It was very sad but interesting to see the city being rebuilt on a higher ground. For dinner i went back to the same restaurant from last night and i had the curry again! It was just too good i had to get it again. But i ordered the pinapple soft serve icecream this time.Read more

  • Day 8

    Japan day 7

    July 22, 2016 in Japan ⋅ 🌙 17 °C

    Sorry i didnt post this earlier i tried to but it didnt work. First we went to a Japanese high school and we got to sit in on an English class. It was so so cool to see the Japanese kids struggle with my native language. After that we went to a Japanese grocery store to pick up lunch. I bought dango and a whole bunch if candy for later. Then we went to work on a rice farm. The paddy was super fun! The mud was really sticky and it felt so good on my feet. There were a bunch of cute kitties there that were cuddling with us. For dinner i had stir fried veggies. ( the last picture is of my friend Grace and an anime guy that we thought looked exactly like her.)Read more

  • Day 9

    Japan day 8

    July 23, 2016 in Japan ⋅ ⛅ 25 °C

    We traveled to Hakone for most of the day. For lunch i had a vegetarian bento box on the train, and i discovered a new vegetable that i like. Its called lotus root. Its very crunchy and yummy. When we got to Hakone it was the early evening so they just let us have free time until dinner. I went to a seven eleven and bought some snacks. For dinner we went to a gyoza restaurant but they only had pork ones so i got fried rice. After dinner we got icecream and i got these really yummy grape ice ball things!!!Read more

  • Day 9

    Japan day 9

    July 23, 2016 in Japan ⋅ ⛅ 27 °C

    We started our day with a fun ski lift sort of ride up the mountains in Hakone. It was sad because it was way too foggy to see mt. Fugi. But you coukd see a few smaller mountains through the mist. After that we went on a boat ride to the other side of the water. Akemi took us to this really cute little store that makes handmade wooden magic boxes. Each one has a different puzzle that you have to solve in order to open it. Then for lunch a had a tamago don (egg on top of rice). Next we went to an Onsen ( hot spring) water park! It was so amazing!!! There were so many kinds of pools to swim in. I got to swim in: sake, coffee, wine, and green tea!!!! I got crispy fries and coke for a snack there. Then for dinner i had super delicious fried tofu, rice and miso soup. Then we had an optional origami lesson with Akemi( which of course i attended)Read more

  • Day 10

    Japan day 10

    July 24, 2016 in Japan ⋅ ⛅ 30 °C

    Yesterday was pretty much only a travel day. We were traveling from Hakone to Hiroshima. All of our meals were purchased at the train station so it wasnt that good. However i did get some krispy kreme donuts!!! For lunch i had onigiri and for dinner i had a vegetarian bento box with tofu, rice, egg, and veggies.Read more

  • Day 11

    Japan day 11

    July 25, 2016 in Japan ⋅ ☁️ 26 °C

    Yesterday was our main day in Hiroshima. First we took a ten minute ferry to Miajima island. It is so amazing there. The deer on the island just walk up to you and they let u pet them. One of them reached into my bag and ate a train ticket. We went to a super yummy restaurant and i had amazing curry rice. Then my friend abd i went shopping and we went to an icecream place that had a million different flavors if soft serve. I got kiwi and she got peach. Then we went back to the main land and visited the Hiroshima peace museum. It was very sad and a lot of it was disturbing. After that we went to an a-bomb survivor talk with this cute 81 year old Japanese lady. We Were On Japanese national TV!!!!! It was very very interesting but of course horribly upsetting. Then on a happier note for dinner we went to an okonomiyaki restaurant (traditional Japanese pancake). It was absolutely amazing!!!!! After that i went to and arcade and i won a giant fuzzy cat pillow from the claw machine!!!Read more

  • Day 12

    Japan day 12

    July 26, 2016 in Japan ⋅ 🌧 24 °C

    Yesterday we traveled to Kyoto. I got udon noodles for lunch at the train station. When we arrived we visited a buddhist zen garden and the famous golden temple. After that we went to an awesome shopping area where i bought some super cute stickers. For dinner i had a yummy bowl of ramen. Then we got more free shopping time and i went to an arcade and won a cute bunny for my friend out of a claw machine.Read more