At the beginning of the trip, we reflected on some feelings we had about the trip. Most notably, we outlined each of our excitement, expectations, and concerns. I want to return to whatever I wrote and see how I’ve either encountered those feelings or grown past them.
In the beginning, I wrote that I was most excited to learn about the culture and tradition of Japan and experience them firsthand. I have definitely accomplished this. I feel like I have been enriched with all the experiences I have had here, and being able to take part in traditional ceremonies or walk through temples and shrines has enhanced my view of the world. I’ve felt closely related to myself, in a way I can only describe as a religious experience (not a term I use lightly as an ex-Christian), in a couple of times, such as praying at Yasaka Shrine or walking through Sanjusangendo or meditating at Ryoanji temple. I’ve felt most connected to myself in these times, and they allowed for a lot of self-reflection about my beliefs and views of the world. Getting to experience the culture and tradition of Kyoto firsthand has definitely been more exciting than I imagined it would be.
(Pictured are Yasaka Shrine & the rock garden at Ryoanji)
For my expectations, I expressed wanting to be more confident in speaking Japanese and navigating Japan. Although I am pretty burnt out in speaking Japanese, and I don’t think I’ve really expanded my use to have more complex structures and uses, I do think speaking Japanese comes easier to me. I don’t have to think that much about saying basic sentences and having basic interactions, but I still struggle to hold conversations. And honestly, after a month, I’m very tired of having to interact with people in Japanese every day. I do think this trip helped me become more confident in using Japanese, and I’m a bit scared of going back to the states and sort of finding myself at a plateau with expanding my skill of Japanese. However, I think that I have become a bit of a master at navigating around Japan. Granted, I just follow whatever Google Maps tells me to do, but I can confidently find my way to wherever I am told to go. Also, sometimes Google Maps doesn’t help very much, in which case I have been able to find my way around pretty well. I am happy that the trip has had us go around different parts of Japan, because I feel like I’ve had a lot of experience with different types of transportation, and now have the way to navigate them all under my toolbelt. If I am able to return one day, I have full confidence that I’ll be able to show whoever I go with around, wherever we end up going.
My biggest concern was that I was entirely unprepared for the trip and that I would face a situation in which that becomes apparent. Although I can still agree that I was unprepared for this trip in the beginning, I have not faced any such situation, as Japan is fairly easy to figure out. There’s so many people around everywhere all the time that it’s easy to follow whatever the crowd is going, and so there’s no way to commit a large social faux paus. The Internet is also a great resource to use, and if you don’t have data, then most cafes and restaurants and really any establishment have free Wi-Fi and its easy to sit down and figure something out. The group and the guides are also extremely helpful, and so if there’s something that’s just extremely confusing or pressing, asking the group chat usually ends in an answer. So, although I may have been unprepared, I find that Japan is a fairly okay country to be unprepared for, and having a support system also helps a lot.
This last week, we learned about dialects in the Japanese language and how they each have certain feelings or characters associated with them. I thought that this topic was very interesting as I am barely just learning Japanese, and so I really can’t hear a difference between different dialects, much less have the instinct to make a judgment on a person based on it. It’s really interesting to me specifically that Osaka Dialect (OD) is more closely associated with masculinity. From what we learned, it used to sound rough and uneducated to Japanese people, but after being in a lot of radio and television shows, the dialect came to be associated as being manly and friendly. With that, Standard Japanese (SJ), which is spoken in Tokyo, has a standoffish and cold connotation to Japanese speakers.
The difference between OD and SJ was initially a very different concept than I was used to knowing. But after a while, I thought about it and realized that this is no different than accents within the US. Comparing OD to a southern accent and SJ to something like a Californian accent, it begins to make sense and fall into place. A southern accent is usually associated with comfort and masculinity, while a Californian accent is usually associated with being more mature and less warm.
As such, the dialects in Japanese make sense, and it was very interesting to learn about how they are different and how they are used in media and otherwise to display a certain stereotype.
As this is the last week in Japan, I am extremely exhausted and honestly just kind of waiting for the trip to end. I tried to take it as easy as possible, because my exhaustion seemed to catch up with me and my body became unable to do as much and I even got sick haha. But, it was the week of the famous Gion Festival, which our hotel was conveniently right next to, and so I of course had to try and experience that. However, I became very overwhelmed in the crowds and ended up not really having a good experience. But it was very beautiful at night, all the floats lit up and the roads closed down, and the parade was worth watching, especially when they turned the floats at the one intersection. I got to see the chigo, the special boy picked to be a divine messenger throughout the Gion Festival. It was very fun to see him haha.
(Pictured is a view of Shijo street at night during the Gion Festival & a float from the parade)
On Thursday, we went to Ryoanji temple, which holds the famous rock garden, and is a very pretty zen garden. I found it very easy to sit and just exist before the rock garden, which was surprising as I’m never able to just sit for very long. I was able to imagine all the centuries of people who did the same, so many people that have gone to that temple and sat in front of the rock garden and just. Sat there, just breathing.
(Pictured is a water basin in the form of a Chinese coin found at Ryoanji Temple, the inscribed characters mean “learn only for satisfaction”)
On Friday, we had class, which was unique, but then we had a free afternoon (sans the excursion to a sweets shop that was planned in class that morning that was optional and I opted out lol), and I took the opportunity to walk around Gion by myself. I was in search of a strawberry sandwich, as I keep seeing them online and have yet to try one, but they are surprisingly very hard to find. Eventually, I settled for strawberry cake at a cafe and then went to the Cultural Museum of Kyoto, which I think was very fun. It probably would have been more fun to go to in the opening weeks, because it felt the same as all the other museums we had already gone to, but it was still worth the trip in my opinion.
(Pictured is the strawberry cake that would have been better if it was a sandwich & the ticket to the museum)
On Saturday, the last day before we left, I made my way to Chion-in Temple, a Buddhist temple close to the Yasaka Shrine. The temple has a giant gate at the entrance, and then a lot of steep stairs leading to the main temple. It was definitely a workout, especially on such a hot day, but I think the temple was a very enriching experience, and I would have wished to have gone as a part of the program. I especially loved the fact that there were “Seven Wonders” of the temple, and they were very fun to try and find. I didn’t find them all and so one day I must go back and search even harder lol. Then, later that day, we had a farewell dinner at a Korean Barbeque place. I was a little concerned because I’m vegetarian, but they had plenty of options regardless. It was a bittersweet dinner because I just kept thinking about our welcome dinner and how much more comfortable we all were with each other, and how this was the last time I would see or speak to some of the people in the program.
(Pictured is the famous gate of Chion-in Temple and a giant bell there)
The day after, I flew back. I’m very sad about this experience coming to an end, as I felt like I was able to really grow and develop as a person. However, I am a little glad, because I was running out of steam by the end of it. I’m happy that I get to rest (and my wallet does too), but I’m a bit down in the dumps about leaving. Thank you to everyone for making this a great experience!
(The perfect end to my trip was looking at Fuji-san from the plane <3)