Japan

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Japan.
The last intercontinental port before we get back to the United States. While super excited to go to Japan, I was almost more excited just to get to Hawaii, and then home. Japan was the first port where I wasn’t able to call my parents.

Friday
The first day in Japan we were in Kobe. We docked at around 8 o’clock then had to go through immigration. We weren’t able to get through till about 11 o’clock. They had to make sure we weren’t sick when we came into the port. After getting out, Ed and I walked around Kobe. We went to find an ATM to take cash out but we weren’t able too. None of the machines took outside companies. After walking around the town Ed and I were back at the ship by 1 when we left for Hiroshima. We got to take the bullet train, one of the fastest trains in the world! It only took us an hour to get to Hiroshima. Once we got to Hiroshima we saw the Genbaku Dome, and then went to the Hiroshima memorial. I learned so much about Hiroshima. We got to walk across the T Bridge, the target for where the bomb was dropped. The atomic bomb killed over 140,000 people. After we walked around the memorial, we were headed back to Kobe. We took the bullet train again. This time I had a talk with my professor about our final. I was super excited to get a one up on everyone in the class. Once back in Kobe, Ed and I went out to dinner. We got Conveyor belt sushi. It was pretty good. After that we finally found an ATM that worked. With dinner we also had Sake. It wasn’t a very good drink. I wasn’t a huge fan. We then went back to the ship. We decided to go out to a karaoke bar. It wasn’t as fun as we thought it would be so we came back to the ship to sleep.

Saturday
I woke up this morning with a call from my friend Amy saying there was an emergency at Timitz Square. So I ran up there, but it was only Amy saying I must say goodbye to Colin before he left. This was one of the few ports that I wasn’t hanging out with Colin. So after that, I went and had some breakfast then went back to bed for a while. Before I knew it, it was 11 o’clock and we were off to go to Kyoto. This was one of the few towns in Japan that was never bombed. When we got there it was surprise, ANOTHER BIG CITY. Not something I am into. Ed and I went up to the top of a tower and could see the whole town. It was crazy! Then after that we went to a temple. At this temple, there was a huge wedding going on. It was so pretty and the bride looked beautiful. After that we just walked around for a few hours then took the train back to Kobe. We were starving by the time we got back and decided to get dinner. All we wanted was American food. Everyone was right, by China and Japan you crave American food. So we found a place to get Pizza. It was probably the best food I had in a long time. We then hopped on the boat getting ready to take off. Amy, Kayla and I went up to play cards then watched the ship leave. We were up on the seventh deck talking to Dean David about students and how much fun they can or cannot be. It made us all laugh. We went down, watch a few episodes of television and then went to bed.

Sunday
Today was an optional transit day or travel in port day. I decided to travel on the ship, save some money and just relax. I didn’t do much beside watch Army Wives and play cards. I did however catch up on sleep and do homework. I learned the card game Oh Hell. Super fun. Plus the food for in transit day was good too, they made us chicken fajitas. Something we have only had 2 other times on the trip. By 11 o’clock I was asleep and in bed before I knew it.

Monday
Today we landed in Yokohama. We were off the boat by 11 o’clock and trying to find a way to get to Tokyo. We had no idea how to work the train station, and there was such a language barrier that is was hard to communicate. But we eventually found out how to get there. It took us two twenty minute trains, basically before we knew it we were there. It was one huge city and we didn’t really know what to do. We walked around for a while then randomly appeared at the Palace. We walked around for a while but couldn’t really go in because it most of it was closed. After that we ran into Semester at Sea students and they told us to go to Harajuku. Harajuku was basically 2 streets full of crazy clothes. For some reason I don’t believe Japan to be fashion capital of the world. After walking around we ran into Kelly and Michael. We went up to their hotel and figured out what to do for Josh’s birthday. We decided sushi dinner then a club. We only however ended up going to sushi then having a few drinks on the street and meeting locals. It was a fun evening.

Tuesday
The last day in Japan. I was really excited. I am over the city. Kristen Kelly Michael Ed and I all went and got breakfast. Everyone from the night before was still sleeping. So we walked around Harajuku again then found a place called Oriental Palace. This is where they sold basically touristy things. I got my shot glass, magnet and postcard here. Kelly, Ed and Kristin all bought Samurai Swords. So then we had to find a post office to mail the swords home because they are not allowed on the ship. However what we didn’t know was today was special holiday in Japan so the post office closest to us was closed. So we took a train to another station to find a post office. Then we found one. It took us over an hour to ship them. Unfortunately they won’t get there for over a month, they have to get shipped, they can’t be flow due to a custom situation. After that we walked around to a few hotels, we wanted to see Tokyo from a sky scraper. This view was twice as beautiful at Kyoto. I was surprised how big the city actually was. I am pretty sure we only saw a quarter of it. After that, we headed back to Yokohama. By the time we got back they were doing immigration again. It took over an hour to get through. When back on the ship, I hopped in the shower and had dinner and was ready to set sail. It was a great last port, but I was ready to leave.

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