Alicia Stites
Hello! I am a junior at the University of Texas at Austin, but this year I am doing a study abroad in Tokyo, Japan! I am keeping a travel blog to keep people updated on activities, but I will also add in many fun facts, cultural facts, etc. in to let people learn more about Japan!aliciastites17
Travel Blog Posts
May 21st 2012
In early May I was able to go to Osaka for two days for a judo tournament. The team left on Saturday, using the Shinkansen to get there. The Shinkansen cut what could have been a 7 hour bus ride into a three hour train ride. (yay!) The Shinkansen is a nice way to travel by in Japan but it is very expensive. It cost around triple the price of bus ticket. The train took three stops on the way to Osaka. (Shizouka, Nagoya, and Kyoto) We got to Osaka in the afternoon, which gave us plenty of time to play around in Osaka. Osaka is famous for its okonomiyaki and takoyaki. So of course I had to go try it. My friend and I found a small okonomiyaki shop that could seat only ten people ... read more
April 23rd 2012
Not too long ago, my friend, Barbara Tucker and I, took a spur of the moment trip to Kyoto. We used overnight buses from Willer Express and found an amazing hostel, Khaosan Hostel, through Hostels.com. Our hostel was located minutes away from downtown Gion. Both the overnight bus and the hostel were decently priced. We arrived in Kyoto around 7 a.m and spent the next hour or so looking for the hostel. My sense of direction terrible, so I had us going the exact opposite way for about 30 minutes. We arrived at the hostel, since we couldn’t check in till 3 at the earliest; we just dropped of our luggage ventured out. We decided to check out the National Garden, which was about a 20 minute walk from the hostel. Though it was raining a ... read more
January 23rd 2012
During the winter break my friend, Barbara, and I went to Harajuku. Unfortunately, we didn’t see any people dressed up…probably because it was freezing cold that day. But! There were people giving out free hugs, and according to some other people, they are usually always there giving out hugs. We went to Meiji Shrine before heading to the shopping area. The Meiji Shrine is the most important shrine in Tokyo (according to my travel guide book) and it dates back to 1920. Compared to the other shrines I’ve been to the Meiji shrine may be the largest one I’ve seen so far. I was able to witness another wedding ceremony while I was visiting it. Also, while walking up to the shrine (which is quite a long path) there is a large wall of sake barrels. ... read more
January 23rd 2012
Christmas is Japan is very different than Christmas in America. I failed to realize this until Christmas day. I always thought of Christmas being the biggest holiday of the year, but in Japan New Years is. ( I will post about New Years later.) In Japan, Christmas is mainly a couple’s day. Unlike America, where everything is pretty much closed on Christmas, most, if not all, the stores are open in Japan. My friends and I decided to go to Roppongi to see the illumination there. The lights there were amazing and they had a lot of Christmas decorations that reminded me of home. I only walked around a small part of Roppongi, but I was still impressed. I was able to see the Tokyo Tower lit up. It was interesting to see tour groups being ... read more
December 29th 2011
Recently I went to Yokohama with a few of my friends. We checked out the Chinatown in the area and Sakura-gicho. Beware of the cars navigating their way through the streets, I almost got hit on a few occasions. You can find tasty, cheap Chinese food and a whole bunch of panda products. Its basically a panda lovers paradise. We also checked out Yamashita park, which has a few large ships nearby. The area was famous for be a trading port with westerners. Walking around downtown Yokohama is amazing, there is a mixture of western architecture with a little bit of Japanese. At times I felt like I was back in America, walking around the downtown area of a large city. The last part of Yokohama that we went to was Sakura-gicho. Sakura-gicho, has a small ... read more
December 1st 2011
I wanted to share what I saw during a field trip to Kamakura. I was able to witness a wedding at the Hachimangu....YAY! I was really shocked at how quiet and on point everything was. I don't know too much about how traditional Japanese weddings, but a friend of mine told me that the reason that the bride's head is covered is because its used to hide the woman's horns...based off of Japanese folklore....enjoy the pictures.... read more
November 11th 2011
Shichi-Go-San stands for 7-5-3 and its is a rite of passage celebration for young boys and girls. Girls that are at the ages of 3 and 7, and boys that are at the age of 3 and 5 go to a shrine to pray and be blessed. The children are dressed up in traditional Japanese clothes. I was so excited to see the kids celebrating with their families at the shrine. They are so adorable! I was lucky enough to be able to pictures with some kids. If you explain to parents that you are a foreigner and want to take picture with their kid they usually say yes. I haven't had a family say no. :)... read more
November 4th 2011
Enoshima (Ignore the location label) Recently, my friend and I went to Enoshima. (Finally, I was able to go sightseeing!) I was a little hesitant about going because it was my first time hearing of the place. It is about an hour from where I live. Luckily, the weather was amazing! Enoshima is a small island with many shrines placed within it and since the weather was nice I was able to see Mt. Fuji from there. Barely… There are two downsides to Enoshima, hawks and stairs. The hawks hover over you waiting to snatch up food, which they are notorious for. As for the stairs, I’m weak. But seriously, be aware, there are a lot of stairs. What the island of Enoshima has, are plenty of restaurants, gift shops, shrines, stairs (really want to emphasize ... read more
November 3rd 2011
(Sorry, to not update sooner. I’ve been a bit busy with school and haven’t traveled around. I figure why not talk about the thing that is making so busy. :D ) Obirin University (J.F Oberlin University) is a private Christian university. It is located in Machida-Shi, Tokyo, Japan. It is quite a small university, especially when compared to the U.T. The university also has a high school that is located right next to it. Literally less than five minutes from the main part of campus. For the foreign exchange students almost all the classes are held in two buildings, Meimeikan and Gakujikan. The two are across the street from each other. The campus has two cafes; I have only eaten at one. (It’s super cheap, but kind of greasy.) A lot of students either bring their ... read more
October 3rd 2011
Recently I was a part of the Machida O-Matsuri. The festival consisted of carrying an omikoshi around the city. We took about four stops before completing the route. I did not realize how heavy the omikoshi was until I actually helped carry it. It is so painful. My shoulders hurt for about three days. It was an amazing experience to help carry it though. While carrying it people chant phrases and have a certain step that they do while they carry it. Each time before we stopped to set the omikoshi down to take a break, we had to lift the omikoshi up and down, align it to the stands and do a clapping cheer. (Not sure if “cheer” is the right word.) The outfit that I wore was a thin robe, obi (belt), head band, ... read more
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