Spencer_Kansai

My futon has been rolled up and placed into its designated spot inside the closet while the keys to the front door of my apartment have been taken off their key ring and returned to the caretakers. As expected, the semester ended with a halt and before it had time to process I was moving onward yet again. After spending a week in Seoul, Korea I returned to Tokyo, Japan for what I thought would be my new home for the remainder of the summer. Plans have since changed and by the end of this month I will be returning home to Tennessee. I am looking forward to seeing familiar faces, speaking in English, and most importantly having a double order of hash browns scattered, covered, smothered at the Waffle House. For all of you who ... read more

Living in Japan is living in a world where the simplest most mundane tasks can easily transform into the most confusing, embarrassing, or even impossible situations. One prime example is grocery shopping. Before placing an item into my shopping basket, I must study it carefully. After several minutes of strenuous examination and several educated guesses I am then ready to draw conclusions about what I think it is I will be purchasing. Finally, when I return home it is quite common to learn that I have purchased something completely different than what I thought I was actually buying in the first place. For nearly two months Josh and I couldn’t figure out why Japanese wheat bread tasted so delicious and time after time we didn’t hesitate at tossing a couple loaves into our shopping basket each ... read more

For those of you who were convinced that I would never return to my blog, worry no longer because I am back and I have an exciting lesson to share with you about St. Valentines Day and the way it is celebrated in Japan. Much like the western world, February 14th in Japan is still a time for Cupid to make love blossom between two hearts, lovers to share enchanted and romantic evenings together, and gifts to be exchanged, well sort of. In Japan, on St. Valentines Day women are the only ones doing the giving. It is thier responsibility to give chocolates while the men do not give the women anything. There are two types of chocolate giving that occurs in Japan. The first type is “honmei” or homemade chocolate giving and these chocolates are ... read more

It all started early Thursday morning around 5:30 am when the sky was still dark and the air crisp. My destination was Nagano Prefecture, but I didn’t know when I would get there or if I would even make it at all. I left the doubters asleep in their beds and with my close friend Michele or journey began. Our supplies included a bilingual map, hand made cardboard signs, and pockets full of souvenirs. From my dormitory to Kyoto takes under 30 minutes by train, but it wasn’t public transportation we were seeking, it was a ride from a total stranger that we wanted. It took Michele and I three hours to make it to Kyoto. After walking all morning in the direction of what we thought was correct we met our first trucker who took ... read more