In the end...

My time spent in Japan so far has been a wonderful experience.  I have been through plenty of bad and good times in Japan. Before I came here I thought I was going to have an amazing time, drama free. Being here I did have a good time, but I had the drama I wasn’t expecting. It made me think that the Japanese were two faced. Just like the reading we had in Visual Anthropology when a Japanese person asks you if you want to come over, they actually don’t expect you or want you to. They portray themselves as nice but aren’t completely who they seem like. Don’t get me wrong, not all Japanese people are like this, it’s just an experience I had with a few people.

A thing I didn’t like was that I knew I was going to dislike the food.  I thought that the Japanese would have a bigger variety of foods, but it’s all the same to me. When I got here I tried many types of Japanese dishes but they all had that same flavor; soy sauce. I did grow fond of yakisoba, tonkatsu, nabe and tempura. Those dishes are delicious!

 Another thing that I wasn’t expecting was the thousands of advertisements everywhere. I went blind walking into electronic stores. But what I did expect was the beautiful scenery. My perspective on Japan’s society changed because I was expecting a lot of the beautiful landscapes to be covered in buildings, but a lot actually weren’t. An example of this would be Arashiyama and Fushimi Inari. The Japanese really keep their sacred grounds alive. I really appreciated the amount of temples they try to conserve. I know back home in America they wouldn’t think too much about tearing down some type of shrine.

Overall I believe that I had an amazing time at Kansai Gaidai and in Japan. There were crazy things I know I wouldn't see anywhere else in the world, but that's why I consider Japan to be unique. I met people around the world and grew long lasting relationships with them. I’m staying for another semester so I hope that I can meet more new people and get to know their growing thoughts on Japanese life styles.

Arashiyama

People around the world tend to travel to see monuments and famous areas. In Japan it is especially often to travel within the country to go sight-seeing. I traveled to one of the many visited places in Japan, Arashiyama. It’s amazingly beautiful! I couldn’t believe the amount of people that were around the area. It was extremely crowded on the big streets.

There were many stores along the streets that sold things such as bamboo souvenirs. There are so many things to do! There was a music box museum, a place to rent boats, men pulling people in rickshaws, a monkey park, etc. My roommate and I climbed a mountain to get to the monkey park, and it was actually quite amazing (and tiring). One of the main attractions in Arashiyama is the changing of the colors of the leaves in the autumn. There is thousands of tress that go from a green hue to a red. It’s very beautiful. I felt like renting a bike because there is so much walking that one must do. I didn’t though because my Japanese professor had said that he had rented a bike there, but he didn’t recommend it because of the amount of people there are.

On the top of the mountain where the monkeys are, they have a feeding area. You go inside a building where it is wired all around and pay 100 yen for a bag of apples or peanuts. It’s actually kind of scary to feed them because they’re somewhat violent.  Some monkeys will snatch the food out your hand and others will take it carefully.

Another attraction is the bamboo forest. It’s one of the many attractions that are lit up for the winter. There are also gardens that you pay to get in. I didn’t get to see the illumination in the bamboo forest so I’m hoping I can go back before the event ends. It was an wonderful experience.

For more information: http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e3912.html