Exactly What You'd Expect

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The trip from Seattle to Kobe took two weeks. During that time, some of the resident advisors on the ship publicized an opportunity to go on a trip arranged by the International 3F Club. We were told that, for a sizable fee, we could travel to Tokyo via Shinkansen (Bullet Train) and stay with Japanese families for two days.

Since staying with a family seemed like the best way to learn about the culture, Luke and Chris and I were all very interested in participating. It was difficult for me to commit to going, however, because of the price. I had barely managed to put together enough money for tuition and had very limited funds for travel left over. Nonetheless, it sounded like an opportunity that I would be sorry to miss so I eventually signed up to go.

On the evening of the day that we arrived in Kobe, our sizable group boarded the Shinkansen for Tokyo. The train was comfortable, clean, and modern and our group's seats were scattered among the full load of passengers. Many of the passengers were Japanese school children on a trip to visit some of the other parts of Japan.

Japanese students take trips throughout Japan as part of their studies. The goal for them is to experience all of the different regions of Japan by the time they have finished high school. The students were friendly and talkative and Luke and I chatted quite a bit with several of them during the few hours of the train ride.

When we arrived in Tokyo, we took a small but well-equipped tour bus to the Shinanomachi International House where they broke the news that very few of us would actually get to stay with Japanese families. Chris and I were not on the list of those who would have the honor but Luke was. Only one or two male students had been chosen to stay with families. What we hadn't been told before signing up for the trip was that most Japanese people are afraid of young American men and very few would consent to allowing one to stay with them.

For those of us who were "unlucky", the club had arranged a trip to a cabin near Mt. Fuji which was to be followed by a day of sight-seeing in Tokyo. I was upset that I had spent so much money without knowing that I had very little chance of staying with a family but I still hoped that the Mt. Fuji and Tokyo trips would be interesting and fun.

After receiving the news, those of us headed to Mt. Fuji climbed back on the bus bound for the cabin. It was a long ride. We saw many large brightly-lit signs within the city but the road outside of the city was dark and featureless.

The cabin turned out to be a large house with running water and electricity but otherwise spartan. We slept on tatami mats with thick cotton comforters in traditional fashion. It was cold and uncomfortable and I began to feel ill.

In the morning, we took traditional Japanese baths. A traditional bath involves wetting down, soaping up, rinsing off, and then soaking in the tub. The same water is shared by many different people under the presumption that everyone soaking in the tub has thoroughly washed first. This didn't help me feel better since it was very cold washing up before the soak and the bath was cool when it was my turn.

The trip to Mt. Fuji was a long, boring ride on the bus. The one amusing aspect of the trip was a problem that Chris was having with his camera. Chris had gotten one of those instamatics that use 35mm film that magazines used to give away as promotions. It was his only camera. Aside from its other limitations, this camera had a hair-trigger shutter which was all-too-conspicuously placed. Every so often Chris would accidentally take a picture. He ended up with a lot of pictures of the backs of bus seats.

He later bought a better camera in Hong Kong but continued to have photographic difficulties. Chris was an astronomy fanatic (In fact, he is now an astronomer.) and, everywhere we went, he took pictures of the moon. Unfortunately, whenever he had his pictures developed, they thought that his moon pictures were mistakes since they were completely black with one tiny bright dot in the middle and they refused to develop them. He was very angry about this and began insisting that they develop every picture on his rolls whether they thought they were mistakes or not. So, at the end of the trip, he ended up with a lot of pictures of the backs of bus seats and a lot of black pictures with tiny bright white dots in the middle.

We stopped briefly at Lake Yamanaka. At the lake, there were souvenir shops, paddle boats, and bicycles. Chris and I rented bicycles and rode around for about half an hour. Then it was time to head for our next destination.

As it turned out, our next destination was the fabulous birthplace of the Japanese Paul Bunyon. I couldn't believe it. But sure enough, when we pulled into the parking lot next to all of the other tour busses, there were the gigantic fiberglass sandals with the even more enormous fiberglass ax propped up next to them. As with most such places, the sandals and ax served soley as a draw for a large souvenir shop. The shop bustled with Japanese tourists. At this point, I felt extremely cheated and was very upset. This was not the side of Japanese life that I'd come so far to see. Not wanting to be impolite, however, I didn't complain but resolved to be very careful in the future about what trips I signed up for.

That evening, we stayed at another lodge. It was a clear, slightly chilly evening and I joined the bus driver and a few others outside around a small fire. I had a nice, quiet conversation with the driver about Japanese writing systems. Not long after, everyone turned in for the night anticipating our return to Tokyo the next morning.

It was daylight when we returned to Tokyo and we could see the terrain that we missed on the way to Mt. Fuji. There is quite a lot of farmland on the outskirts of Tokyo and we drove past many rice fields. Farmers make up a large portion of the Japanese population and constitute a force to be reckoned with in Japanese politics.

In contrast, we saw very little vegetation once we entered the city. There were very few plants and no animals, only many, many vehicles and many, many people. The population is very dense in Tokyo and the streets are very narrow by American standards. Most drivers probably do not notice, though, since all of the vehicles are similarly scaled down. I saw only one American car when I was there, a Cadillac, and it looked very out of place. The Japanese also drive on the left side of the road which made the Cadillac look even more out of place.

There were interesting sights on the Tokyo tour but we unfortunately didn't have much time to appreciate them. We were always being herded back to the bus after only a few minutes.

The Meiji shrine was interesting with its dark interior, chanting monks, incense, and ocassional chimes. Also, since we were touring Tokyo on a Sunday, we got to see the local rock bands that crowd together near Ginza every Sunday. The bands play only 20 yards or so apart so that the music tends to blend together in a loud cacophony. Each band has its group of fans, some of which dress according to the appropriate theme and take turns dancing in front of their band. When we were there, a fifties Elvis look seemed to be in. It was quite a scene.

We shopped briefly at Ueno and then briefly visited the Asakusa Kannon Temple. The temple seemed very incongruous with its brightly painted traditional architecture and smiling monks situated just off a busy Tokyo street.

After the tour, we returned to the Shinanomachi International House for a farewell reception. I still felt quite ill and felt disappointed and cheated. I felt like we had spent most of our time on the bus or at souvenir shops, which were the last things that I would have chosen to do, and had paid a lot of money to do it. Our hosts were clearly very pleased with themselves and that made me feel even worse. In retrospect, we visited interesting places within Tokyo and had the experience of traditional Japanese sleeping and bathing arrangements so I was possibly more upset than I should have been. My feelings may have been magnified by my cold and by the fact that it was not at all what I had expected.

We returned to the S.S. Universe in Kobe late that night. I was too sick to travel the next day and spent the day sleeping and relaxing in hopes of recovering some strength and composure. I had planned to take the train to Hiroshima but decided that I would be better off taking the train to Kyoto the next day.

On our last day in Japan, I took the train to Kyoto in the morning by myself. The previous sentence makes it sound very easy but it was in fact very difficult. As I mentioned in First Contact: Arrival in Japan, I had taken a little Japanese on the ship and I knew the symbol for Kyoto, however, I had a far from functional understanding of spoken or written Japanese and people in Japan are extremely unlikely to speak English to you.

Gestures only go so far and I managed to purchase a ticket but very nearly got on a train going the wrong direction. I had to ask several people before anyone would point me in the right direction and, by the time someone showed me where the right track was, the train had already arrived and I had to sprint for it. After boarding the train, I listened carefully for the word Kyoto on the PA system but was very afraid that I might miss it. I also felt very self-conscious since I was the only westerner on the train and was attracting quite a few stares.

Kyoto was wonderful! I had a great day wandering the streets exploring wherever I felt. Kyoto is the ancient capital of Japan and has many old buildings and parks and gardens, including the Imperial Palace. I was free with a map to guide me and my feet to carry me. No one spoke to me except for a couple wanting their picture taken and a couple of giggling school girls. I was happy to be on my own for awhile, making all of my own decisions.

Ordering a meal was a challenge but I chose a restaraunt that served familiar food and pointed out my selection on the menu. They didn't seem too happy to serve me but that was okay. I could have indulged in something more exotic had I been willing to take advantage of one nearly universal feature of Japanese restaraunts. They usually have plastic models of what they serve in the window. If you have a willing server, you can sometimes take them outside to show them what you'd like to order.

By early evening, I felt like I had experienced the entire city. I had seen shrines, temples, gardens, modern high-rises, and modest homes for the inexpensive cost of a train ticket and a small meal. I made my way back to the train station, easily found the right train, and felt very satisfied.

When I got back to the ship, I found out that Luke and Chris had had an adventure of their own that day. They had gone out to a nice restaraunt in Kobe, hoping to have authentic Japanese food. Of course, neither one of them could read the menu so they tried the close your eyes and point approach. Just as you'd expect, they ordered a nice dish of whole, raw octopus. They were both shocked when it arrived but felt obligated to at least give it a try. They each furiously gnawed at a tentacle for awhile but then gave up. We had all had our first tastes of travelling in Asia. We had experienced successes and defeats, had hopefully learned a few things, and were ready for more.

Last modified: Tue Jul 25 16:58:43 CDT 2000