Atami, the onsen city

Atami, the little city on the eastern coast of Japan.
熱海 (Atami) means "hot sea", and is mostly known for it's hot springs. Tokyo Institute of Technology had organized a short trip for us foreign exchange students. We arrived in Atami, in the evening, after a stop at the Asahi Brewery.
The hotel we stayed at was really nice, called Heartpia. The rooms had tatami floors and most things were included. After settling in and going to the onsen on the top floor once, we were treated to a very nice dinner!
After the dinner and a lecture with discussions we went back to the onsen once more before going to bed.

This view is what we woke up to. Pretty beautiful ain't it?
Guess what we did in the morning, before the breakfast buffet.. That's right, we went to the onsen for a third and last time. It's been a while since I stayed at a hotel, and this whole experience was really nice.

We were given the great opportunity to meet the mayor of Atami, Mr Sakae Saito, a previous student at Tokyo Tech. He told of his student life, him studying abroad and how that gave him a better understanding of the importance of an international outlook. Few of his friends, and in general few engineering students go into politics.
Atami, like many other resort cities, have faced challenges like how to attract more people to visit. Urbanization means people move into bigger cities, which is one reason for fewer residents in smaller cities like Atami. Many families and couples visit, for instance to honeymoon. Personally I think more people would visit this nice little getaway, just one meagre hour away from the busy life of Tokyo, if they only knew what was available.
Though bath houses, spas and similar activities are not too difficult to find inside Tokyo lately which may also affect peoples desire to escape the big city.

After the memorable lecture we were given a guided tour around the hillside city. All the way down to the beach. We were divided into groups and each group were guided by a Japanese student.
The shore is crescent-shaped and has both harbors and a beach. It's sad that there weren't that many people walking around. Though I can just imagine what it's like here in the summers!
The weather this day was a little cloudy with a few drops of rain, but it made for some nice pictures I think.

Summers should attract more people. Though I've heard that beach visits aren't as popular among Japanese people as it is for some Swedish people back home, so I'm not sure.
I will probably go back for a day visit then.
Now we visited in late December - probably not the coldest couple of days during the year, but this is not high-season for a resort like this. I wish Mr Saito good luck and I hope Atami will see more visitors in the coming years.

As always, more pictures can be found on my Tumblr

These last couple of months

Ok, so I haven't written here in a while - a long while. Therefore this post will include a lot of miscellaneous bits and pieces from my recent months here in Japan. I'm sorry for that, but for those who want to be more up to date on my journeys in Japan can follow my tumblr - I'm better at updating that page.

Last year Mount Fuji became a world heritage, and most people here in Japan are proud of that.

I am very glad to have been lucky enough to visit Mount Fuji (Fuji-san). A few weeks ago my dear friends of the Toyama family brought me on an adventure! The original plan was to get up really early to go to a fish market/festival, but due to previous bad weather, the event was cancelled.

I had been with friends and stayed up late the previous day, and figured I wouldn’t be able to get up early enough for the festival anyway, so when I woke up on that day I had no idea what adventure was waiting.Turned out that the Toyama family had plans, great plans! They wanted to take the car to visit Fuji-san. The weather was great and the feeling of being that far above sea level was refreshing.

So now I have been here for about 3 & ½ months, and I have about 8 more months left.

Asakusa

I've done a lot, visited a lot of places and kept myself busy for most of the days. For instance I visited the Edo-Tokyo Museum where I got to hear some traditional japanese music played by some nice ladies. The instrument is called koto (箏).
I've tried to partake in as many activities as I have had time for and one of them was an orienteering organized by SAGE at Tokyo Tech. That was a good way of getting more used to the Tokyo train system and to see a bunch of new places.
Like Asakusa. There really are a lot of people in and around Tokyo. Wherever you go... I personally don't mind, but some days maybe - especially when thinking of the trains - you wish that there would just be a little less people around.

I have also gone with friends to various events and places. Like the Tokyo Motor Show in Big Sight, Odaiba. Which was loads of fun! The next event I am hoping to go to in Big Sight is the Tokyo Internatioal Anime Fair this March.
We got to see soo many cars, bikes and everything that has anything to do with motors. Tokyo Big Sight is really amazingly large. And there were several wings to explore. 

There have been parties organized for us international students, and there have been class trips. We have visited Fujitsu, Asahi brewery, Asahi glass and the city of Atami.

The days during the semester are spent in school. In different classes or in the laboratory. So when the short winter break finally arrived I immediately took the opportunity to get out of Tokyo for a few days. First I went to Takayama, Shirakawago and Hidafurukawa. It was nice to experience some snow, because in Tokyo there's no snow. It's quite unusual I hear.

I made a little christmas collage from that three day trip.

I came home on the 24th of December, spent the whole night videochatting with my relatives back in Sweden to celebrate christmas with them. And the next morning I left for Atami together with the YSEP people.

First stop was the Asahi brewery where we even got to drink fresh beer (!). See the nice christmas tree they had in the factory?

Then we got to spend an evening, a night and a morning at a really nice hotel in Atami, a city about an hour from Tokyo. Most of us enjoyed the onsen - some of us enjoyed it three times. We were given a really nice dinner, and attended a few lectures. The most interesting one was given by the mayor of Atami!

In the next post I will write more about our visit to Atami.

After returning from Atami I went together with some friends to Tokyo Disney Resort! Specifically DisneySea. It was a day of adventure, rides, screams and a whole lot of laughs.
It was my first time visiting a Disney resort, and I had so much fun. I didn't expect it to be as fun for people above the age of 20, but man was I proven wrong.

We went to DisneySea on Dec 27, so after that there were a few days where I didn't have many plans. I went to the Shinjuku Gyoen to enjoy the nice winter weather in Tokyo. I made another winter collage here. It looks a little different from the other winter collage, right?
I also went shopping, went exploring and enjoyed my free time in Tokyo. I'm looking forward to the next break, when I am planning to go outside of Tokyo again - hopefully to Kyoto and Nara.
I also went to the Tokyo Tower! Now I've been up in Yokohama Landmark Tower, Roppongi Hills and the Tokyo Tower!

Ameyoko street in Ueno

New years was celebrated in a traditional japanese way. I spent it together with my japanese family here (Toyama family, that I mentioned earlier), and I also met friends from my laboratory to go to the Meiji Jingu in Yoyogi park.
On the new years night I got to ring the gong, and then we went to a shrine for hatsumode. The following days were spent eating lots of great food and cakes, while meeting a lot of very nice japanese people. I'm super thankful for the opportunity to spend new years with my japanese family here, and for the fact that they actually treat me like family. Most japanese people I've met so far have been really nice to me.

So.. now I've briefly told of the highlights of my stay here these last months - in the country with few trashcans and English speakers, Japan.

Kamakura, Yokohama harbor and Kawagoe

Kamakura is a popular place for tourists to visit. It is the home to a lot of temples, shrines, statues and more. I have actually gotten the opportunity to visit Kamakura twice already. First time I went was with the Toyama family - my fathers old work acquaintance’s wife’s sister’s family. They are a really wonderful family who has taken me to several places. Takashi is the father, Noriko the mother, Mizuki the daughter (left) and on this day Mizuki’s friend Kaori (right) joined us.

The weather was good and it was on the weekend, so a lot of people had decided on visiting Kamakura on this particular day. Therefore it took us a while to get there, but it was worth it!

We visited the big Buddha statue, which we also went into. On this day the sun was scorching, and you could almost not touch the wall facing the sunny side, it was so warm!

After the big Buddha statue we went on to a little area up on a mountainside. Lastly to another populated area with a shrine where we were lucky enough to behold a wedding ceremony.

We took the car back to the Yokohama area and went to Minato-mirai and the Yokohama Landmark Tower. The top floor where you could stand and let yourself be enchanted by the night lights was around 275 meters up in the air. This wonderful day was rounded off with a great meal down on the bottom floor.

The second time I visited Kamakura was with the Kanagawa Systematized Goodwill Guide (KSGG). We first landed at the Kitakamakura station, and met everyone in a very nice valley, at the Engaku-ji. The guides were very good and knowledgeable. After this we headed on over to the same shrine I visited with Toyama family, then to lunch, then to the big Buddha. So it some of it I had already experienced, but I got a day together with friends, pleasant guides and other new people!

A few weeks later there was going to be held a festival in Kawagoe. Kawagoe-matsuri. I went there together with some YSEP friends. Jasmin and Miika from Finland, and Ting-yu from Taiwan. We was there for a whole day, and the whole day it rained. We still managed to have fun! First we walked around until we found a good place to have lunch at, after which we roamed the streets for a couple of hours. We entered shops with ridiculously expensive chop-sticks and other shops with a lot of handmade crafts. 

Ting-yu had planned ahead some, so we followed her plan which took us to a castle-building. Real たたみ (tatami) and a very interesting atmosphere. You got the feeling of going back in time. They have these really beautiful gardens, and it feels surreal and real at the same time. Indescribable feeling.

We headed back to the middle of town to find something to eat. Eventually we decided on おこのみやき(okonomiyaki). At this point there was supposed to be a big final event of the festival, but this was unfortunately cancelled due to bad weather.
It did not break our spirits though. Another day, another adventure.

More of my Kamakura pictures can be found here.

And if you want the Kawagoe-pictures, goe here.

Life in Aobadai

View from our lab in Ookayama

Now I have been in Japan for a little over a month and am really starting to get into the rhythm of things. Every day leaving the dormitory for school, squeezing into the crowded train, and in the evening returning on an even more crowded train - regardless of if you are returning at 17 or at 23. We have around a 10 minute walk to the station, and about 1 hour door-to-door from dorm to campus.

View from dorm balcony

Most of my time is spent on or around campus, or on adventures in Tokyo. Though I have had the chance to go explore our little Aobadai a few times. Aobadai is actually situated in Yokohama which is the second most populated city in Japan after Tokyo. I have taken a few walks, and gone for a few runs.

There are somewhat many people walking about in Aobadai but not nearly as many as if you get closer to Tokyo, or if you go southeast in Yokohama. Which is why it is quite calm and peaceful out here. Supermarkets and restaurants are plentiful. Nearby the Aobadai Station is a department store called Tokyu Square, and there we have electronics shops, clothing stores, and much more. Also in Tokyu Square is the supermarket Fuji Garden which is the foodstore I usually visit. If you take the walk from the station to our dorm, Shofu, then you will find yourself walking past at least four more supermarkets.

The price of food from the store here is close to what it is back in Sweden, though slightly cheaper. But any readymade food is extremely cheap! Just yesterday morning I bought two bento-boxes for 525 JPY in total (35 SEK). So sometimes cooking feels like too much of a hassle. Also, our kitchen only has a gas stove with two spots. I feel very limited without my good ol’ oven back home. But it does not stop me from cooking every now and then.

Shofu

Umegaoka

Though more expensive restaurants can easily be found. We have a nice burger joint called Freshness Burger, and tomorrow some friends and I will try しゃぶしゃぶ (shabu-shabu). Exciting!

The dormitory is very affordable and conditions here are decent. Most time is spent by my desk, at the ping pong table in the common room, or in my bed. For birthdays and other such events us YSEP students usually meet up at the other dormitory, in Umegaoka, which is about a 30 minute walk from our dorm. I hope I will survive this dormitory for 10 more months.

cheers
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http://jonasroth.tumblr.com/search/aobadai

Homestay

So, the weekend Oct 5-6 was my Homestay! I got to meet the Murakami family.

I did not know what to expect from this weekend, because I don’t think that it’s as common in Europe to have this kind of homestay program. But it was a lot of fun, and I got to meet more families than just my own homestay family. So many happy people!

First we all gathered at O-okayama to be introduced. Some had already met their homestay family at the orientation during the previous weekend, but the Murakami family could unfortunately not be there. So this was our first time meeting.

Thereafter we moved on to a Hippo Club house where we shared some food and played some “language games” as they usually do.

When this was over we went on home to our respective families. But first we had to go to a grocery store. They wanted me to teach them how to cook some Swedish meatballs, and they wanted to show me how to cook some japanese おこのみやき (okonomiyaki). Also, some more people joined our dinner - not only my homestay family.

We ate food and shared some stories. I was the only foreigner there, but English worked just fine for the most part. I shared with them some pictures from my travels in Europe, and the daughter in the family, Kaede, shared some pictures from her recent trip to California.

Next morning we headed on over to IKEA in Yokohama, where we had a “traditional Swedish breakfast” with meatballs, fries, rice, pasta, jelly and more. Haha.

Then we proceeded to take a tour through the store. They bought a few items and I pointed to a lot of them, explaining the English/Japanese translation of all the Swedish names of everything. Apparently IKEA is quite new here and has only existed in Japan for a few years. A lot of people though. Buying soft ice-cream, hot dogs, lingonberry jam and also some furniture.
I decided to buy some saffransglögg and some fläderblomssaft as a gift to them.

After the IKEA adventure we went back to their neighborhood in Futako-tamagawa where we visited a shrine. Beautiful shrine with an underground passage that was 100m long. Where 30m was in complete pitch darkness. Along the walls in this passage were a lot of buddha statues. There were also these bowls which you hit lightly with a tiny wooden stick to make them sound. An interesting and unique experience for me.

Then it was time for lunch! Just down the street they found an Udon-place where we decided to fuel up before heading over to karaoke.

Karaoke seems to be very popular among many of the generations, especially the younger ones.

The day was coming to an end, so we went back to play some cards and finally went to the Futako-tamagawa station where we said goodbye to one family. Then my homestay family and I had our final meal for this weekend. Just by the station was this building where they had a few restaurants. I chose an Indian restaurant. A great end to a great weekend.

Thank you so much, Murakami family. I hope to see you again soon!

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http://jonasroth.tumblr.com/search/homestay

Adventure with Fujita lab members

On 2013-09-29 we went to Shinjuku first, where we went to eat ramen. After that we went back to the Harajuku station, and from there we headed into Yoyogi park where they had a large shrine. This day was together with Vesa-san, Funada-san, Sugimoto-san and Miyazawa-san.

Yamauchi-san could unfortunately not join us.

You were supposed to wash your hands before you entered the shrine which was situated in a large forest like park. Also, beneath a tree in the square people hung little wooden bricks on which they had written their wishes.

When we felt that we were done inside the park, we walked back to Harajuku station and from there started walking towards Shibuya. So many people outside. And the first time I really see a lot of tourists. Since we live in Yokohama-shi, just outside of Tokyo, we don’t see a lot of tourists around. But in central Tokyo, and places like Harajuku/Shibuya, they are everywhere.

While regretting that I wore a black shirt on a sunny scorching day, we went up through a fashion store to a Starbuck’s atop a building. It was very beautiful up there with a bunch of greenery. Funada-san told me about how they have to CO2-compensate for the buildings in the large cities and that is partially why so many buildings have trees and greenery on the rooftops.

We kept walking through town towards Shibuya station. Tokyo has so tall buildings. And many people everywhere. I’m looking forward to some day planlessly walk around in these cities without being on a schedule.

At the Shibuya station there’s a famous pedestrian crossing. Right next to the crossing there was this statue of an, apparently, famous dog called Hachikō.

Then we took the train from this station to Harajuku. Another place where there are so many people. Many tourists, but also many japanese people. They have a lot of game machines, electronic stores, anime shops and much, much more.
We went into a large electronic store, called Yodobashi, and while there I decided to buy a new SLR camera. My Canon EOS 400D has been with me a long time and I felt it was time to switch it out. That was a great way to end our adventure.

Vesa-san and I headed home to Shofu Dormitory, and the other guys disembarked on their station. Somehow you still feel kind of like a tourist, but I guess that’s partially because I haven’t been here for too long, and partially because we did such touristy things today. I do not believe that anyone of the japanese people had been to the meiji shrine before.

It was a good day.