Osaka and Kobe; First Full Day in Japan

So my first full day in Japan actually started in Osaka with a gorgeous sunrise a little after 5:30 am. The sun was a bright, red circle rising above the misty mountains, looking like the Japanese flag rising to tell us good morning and welcome. The view of Osaka from our window was quite gorgeous as well. We drank complementary green tea as we gazed at the view and watched as a hawk flew by and small, toy-like vehicles went on their way. Later on, I saw a heron or crane briefly fly by and a multitude of adorable, plump finches.

It's still relatively cold in Japan right now, so I wore my jacket practically all day. Thankfully, the weather should be warming up soon and walking in the sun is actually very satisfying. Another fortunate note is that one of the first things we did today as a group was try out the コンビニ (Konbini/Convenience Store) and Vending Machine near the hotel. This may not sound exciting, but in Japan these very normal places are extremely different from their American counterparts. The two Konbini had delicious foods, such as onigiri (rice balls) and umeboshi (sour plum products) while the vending machine had both cold AND hot drinks! I accidentally got a coffee, but one of our fellow Osaka Squad members was kind enough to switch his tea with my coffee. I greatly appreciated that, because coffee makes me sluggish and sleepy. But the warm drink was very nice in the brisk weather.

Afterwards, we relaxed in the lobby and enjoyed the decorations left over from the wedding that had taken place in the hotel. Before I continue and forget, I would like to note that my hotel room number was very lucky: 1111. Also, the hotels here in Japan were fascinating in their differences from American hotels (at least the two I have been to so far). For one, each room has a doorbell. You have to insert your key card into a slot in order to activate the power. Everything is nice and compact, especially the bathroom. The tap water is safe to drink. There are pajamas provided as well as tea, toothbrushes, and hairbrushes, but not individual shampoo, body wash, or conditioner. Those last three hygienic products are provided in large, communal containers rather than the take-home mini versions to which I am accustomed.

Once we checked out, we headed back to the airport to meet with the university team for KGU (Kansai Gakuin University). Much to our delight, between last night and late this morning, a giant pikachu had been erected! Apparently there is a pokemon-themed event going on in the Kansai International Airport for the next two weeks.

We had been so enamored with the giant pikachu and pokemon posters, as well as trying to take a group selfie with my camera and canon app, that we walked right past the KGU team! Thankfully, they found us and turned out to be nice, fun, fellow KGU students. We boarded a bus and took an exciting bus ride in which we saw the diversity of buildings in Osaka, tiny trucks, a gorgeous glimpse of Osaka Castle, a peak at Hogwarts (in Universal Studios), and the Sea of Japan. It took a while to get set up at the second hotel in Kobe, receiving new SIM cards and arrival packets. Everyone is put into groups of three. My current roommates are a Linguistics major from Seattle and a funny woman who seems to love the colors orange and red (in actuality, her favorite color is blue) from Germany. Funnily enough, one of my hopes was to meet a study abroad student in the program from Germany. They both seem very nice and interesting.

Rather than just staying in the room, Osaka Squad decided to walk around and see what Kobe has to offer. Right next to our hotel is a German School, a Canadian School, a mall, a train station, a McDonalds, a dollar store, numerous other shops, and a wonderful pathway full of flowers, a river, and rock-based playgrounds. It was a nice experience and helped us find a place to eat dinner, which turned out to be a traditional Japanese style shop where I had actual udon for the first time. Thick, slightly gummy noodles in a tasty, light broth with, in this case, sliced green onion and fried squid (which was also very delicious). I was able to try pickled Japanese radish thanks to fellow table-mates and was surprised at how good it was. It was a bit bitter and a bit sweet, and tasted of sauerkraut. To top that all off, the meal was quite cheap: between $5-6 per person for perfect proportions and free water.

Everyone except for a fellow Osaka squad member and I returned to the hotel after the filling and exciting dinner. He and I were able to see the pathway at night, the lights shining off the water and a cool calm not present during the day, and we actually enjoyed some deep, philosophical conversation. It was amazing to be able to talk about such concepts as society, duality, energy, surrealism and perception in reality, and more. The sense of comfort and safety walking around at night was astonishing as well.

A dear, old friend of mine also participating in the program arrived around 7:30 pm and I was able to chat with her and mingle with some other students before coming up to work through today's pictures and write this blog post.

As I was talking about with someone, this experience is so real yet surreal that I am not sure what to think of it. I am not sure if I have to try hard to think about it. This has been a dream I have been working towards for years, but now that it is here I am simply living in the moment, enjoying it, savoring it. I haven't felt a huge rush of adrenaline or a sudden, shifting sense that something has changed. Of course, I feel occasional, momentary bursts of happiness and enthusiasm, but no surprise or fear. No trepidation. I'm happy and comfortable and exploratory. I apologize if the last few paragraphs sounded off in any way. I must get some rest now, as tomorrow is the first day of orientation and the day I meet my host family. To be continued...