Sightseeing in Nagoya

Time flies when you're having fun. When you're on an exchange program, life is never boring at your host country. There's so much to learn, you'd wish you had more time. As for me, Japan was a country that has diverse cultures and practices ( apart from my own country ). Everywhere you go in the technology-driven country is an eye opener. Despite having one of the most sophisticated technology around, they manage to preserve local culture such as villages, temples and other cultural monuments that dates back nearly over 200 years. As I was situated in business orientated Nagoya, I was given the opportunity to discover and learn from their culture.

Nagoya~

Having an estimated population of 2.2mil, Nagoya ( Aichi prefecture ) is 3rd on the list of largest cities in Japan ( preceded by Tokyo and Osaka ). The name "Nagoya" 名古屋 came about from it's previous name which meant "peaceful". The city comprises of 16 wards which is already hell a lot.

So what are the main attractions in Nagoya?

Well, they have the grand castle located at city center.

Nagoya Castle

Atsuta Jingu Shirne in Atsuta （熱田）
They say the holy sword Kusanagi is kept somewhere within this temple. It is also one of the most important Shinto shrines around.

Tokugawa Garden

Stairs to the garden

Part of the garden

Nagoya TV Tower ( Sakae )

Oasis 21 ( Sakae )

Top view of the oval shaped structure

Closer view

Events are normally held here

Hoshoin Temple ( Osu Kanon )

Situated right next to Osu Shopping street

Higashiyama Sky Tower ( Midland Square )

The amusement park, zoo and tower

Nagoya JR Twin Tower

JR Twin Towers by night

Shikemichi (　四間道）

Known as old streets

Nagoya Port

Bird's eye view

Nagoya Port Aquarium. They have cute penguins!!

Italian Village near the port. Closed after 2008 =(

The list goes on and on. 

School life

Japanese Senior High School~

When I returned to Malaysia, lots of people asked me whether I enrolled in Japanese University or any form of tertiary education. As much as I wanted to, we were not given the privilege to do so. In Japan, the education system is somewhat different. Westernized is one way to describe it.. but still, not entirely. In my country, high school students graduate at the age of 17. Howbeit for Japan, it is 18. I was placed in class 2-A of 2nd year. The experience for me was unlike others. The host family selected was first based on the area of the school, but as my case was a sudden one, traveling to school everyday was rather difficult.

My days starts at 5.30am in the morning. Struggling hard not to express my drowsiness when having breakfast with dear Aa-chan. After a very much satisfactory breakfast, I take my shower got ready for school and off I was to the train station. Unlike the other exchange students who could ride bicycles to their host school, mine was rather far to reach. My everyday routine would be a 15 minute walk to the train station, followed by a 40 minute train ride to the city my school is located at ( Inazawa city ) then a private school bus awaits me at the front of the train station. A 20 minute ride later, and there I was at school with ample time to sleep till the class bell rang.

Japanese high school depicted by manga authors is a place where lots of romance and funny occurrence happen. That would be true for most public schools but not for mine. Founded in 1953, my new school Aichi Keisei Senior High (愛知啓成高校) is a private institution for privileged students who find money not a problem to specialize in specific sectors of their choice. To top that, it's a Buddhist school which means that every student are required to gather in the hall every Wednesday 8am for prayers. The weekly gathering is conducted by the founder of the school himself ( he was 96 when I was in Japan ) for about an hour in the Seiza position. Your legs kinda go numb after 15 minutes.. sometimes, it can even go on for 2 hours. Anyway, classes are conducted in fully air-conditioned rooms. There's a heater when winter comes and air-cond for those burning summer days.

So what about the students in high school? How do they behave? Are they like characters from mangas? How about the attires? Well, if you find yourself hosted in a public Japanese school, then it would be appropriate to say: Yes, they are like characters from mangas. They are allowed to bring cellphones ( keitai ) to school, they can put some make up and style their hair. Girls have to wear skirts that are 27-33cm long, no longer than that. Each school has their own blazer and it ain't cheap.You have to wear slippers as long as you're in school grounds. Girls tend to be much more bold than the boys. Students have curriculum everyday and by the time they reach home, it would be around 8pm.

So yeah, Japanese schools are filled with activities and many funny scenarios each day. That is, if you're in the right school. I was in a Buddhist school, which means students need to wear appropriate uniform. Girls have their skirts covering their knees. relationships are pretty much forbidden. Students prioritize education before anything else especially 3rd year students. What's more, students that disobey any rule or regulation will be severely punished. It may sound pretty bad from the way I put it, but after awhile, it turns into something normal. The students, despite the pressure from homework and stuff, can be pretty friendly ( especially if you're a foreign student ) and helpful. The school is ranked as one of the most prestigious school  in the area. The facilities that they provide is considered one of the best. They have their very own baseball, football stadium, golf practice range, tennis courts, swimming center and so on. I enjoyed most of my days with classmates and occasional school events like sports day, school festival, ball day, concert day and that unforgettable annual school trip to Nagashima Spaland. The students have their own overseas school trip which during that year, it was to Canada for 2 weeks. I was left out since my organisation was against me going out of the country,

Summary~

Japanese high school life is one of the few things you should put on your "to experience" list. Not only is there lots of drama, activities and social networking, there's also the feeling you won't get elsewhere in the world. It's like going through the stage of a youth again even though you might be much older. Not to mention the cute girls and the famous Japanese expressions ( henkao 「変顔」). It is a once in a lifetime experience I will never forget.

Note: for more info on the school I've been to, here's the link. Maybe you may still be able to find that small tiny article I wrote for the school magazine =P 

Photos:

Me and my Traditional Japanese Language teacher. Mr. Takagi

Baking classes

Typical Japanese classroom =3 oh look! a movable whiteboard

Lunch time~

Cleaning the men's toilet. That's Sakura btw :>

Men's changing room for sports

Some boys in our class

Doujo （道場）

Interior sports court

Find my shoes :D

My little lunch box.

Seriously... vending machines in school? o.O

Class 2-B rep. What a weird expression...

First week

Both son-in-laws with their gear

Ah....the younger days

This is what we were collecting

Was awoken by Papa-chan the next who invited me on a fishing trip at 7am.. Still a bit sleepy, I didn't really pay attention to the surroundings on the way to our fishing spot. When we arrived, it didn't look much like a lake or a river. Turns out we were gonna collect muscles. Yes, you heard right.. muscles. We dug for a few hours, shell after shell, and finally at around 12 noon, we couldn't take the heat anymore and left for home with pails full of em. In the end, we collected so much, that it lasted for 3 weeks. 

Communication for the first weeks were somehow troubling. At one point, I knew I would have to do something, so before entering school on the second week, I spent most of my days picking up on Japanese vocab and grammar. It turns out after one week, we could converse without using the dictionary although still we used it when I didn't know the word in Japanese.

Bank book, Signature Stamp, Debit Card

If you're a foreigner who is planning to reside in Japan for quite awhile, no matter who you are, you are required to obtain your Alien Registration ID ( ID Card ) and bank account. Mama-chan took me to the nearest AEON ( Jusco ) to buy my very own signature stamp which was kinda....expensive ( RM 342 to be exact ). So what other things were required before you're fully ready for an adventure in Japan? Simple. MONEY. Be sure to be careful if you're wiring money from your local bank to your Japanese account... they charge a hefty sum. On a note, most banks in Japan do not have interest rates although the more recent ones start to encourage their people to save.

Left > Right. Jean, me, Nimol, Hope

Apart from picking up my Japanese for the first week, we had our first Chapter picnic event. A chapter is like a region whereby exchange students nearby are placed in. It so happens that my chapter comprised of 4 members, a German boy - Jean, a Cambodian - Nimol, and from Denmark - Hope. They were the first few friends that I actually had when I first arrived in Japan. Unfortunately, Jean and Hope had to withdraw from the whole program due to unexpected circumstances.. Nevertheless, they were some of the amazing people I have met throughout my life.


First Picnic~

Welcome! AFSers!

King of the hill

Picnic~ Wohoo!

 It was held in a beautiful park. That's when I started to notice how caring Japanese are for their environment and how strict their culture is. You won't see any garbage scattered anywhere, literally. It's like a place that's rubbish free. The people know how important the environment is to them, thus the responsibility. The landscape for a considerably "small" park was quite awe-striking. Bridges, rows of flowers, tennis courts, exercise machines, it was very much a mix of everything in one recreational park. Thus the name - Oobu recreational center & park.




That was the beginning of an epic chapter in Japan. From then on, it was school on weekdays, some outings with friends, AFS events and time spent with my splendid host family.

~TB Cont.~

There's always a first to everything

         Hello to all Japan fans and everyone else. First time using a blog so I'm kinda stiff when it comes to writing language and stuff.. Alright, as the title suggests, this is a blog for anything Japanese related. Be it food, travel, language, tourist spots, or even locals and their culture. Well, you may be asking why I would want to start this never-ending post about Japan ( which I suppose most people wouldn't need a reason to >. >' ), and the answer is pretty much simple. I LOVE JAPAN!! woohoo :D cheers to those who are the same. 

*ahem* To not bore you further with le introductions, I shall now carry on to the first topic of JAPAN~

~ EXPERIENCE ~

( Intro )

My journey to the Land of the Rising Sun was most memorable. Enrolling into a youth exchange program under American-Field Service ( AFS ), I admit that Japan wasn't my first choice. The young me was reluctant to go overseas at the thought of being alone, struggling to be independent while being away from home and coping with stuff like cross-culture experiences. Out of my batch, my case was the most awkward one. My first choice which was Australia ( chosen because it was near ) never came about as..believe or not, no one wanted to host me = =. Seriously, Australia alone is bigger than the entire Europe combined but no one wants to host me? Somehow that kinda let me down. But no matter, I moved on to my second choice >> The land known for its sheep, New Zealand...  erm.. well, that didn't work out as well so in the end, I was given my third choice, Japan. Feeling somehow disappointed about the initial 2 choices, I didn't hope much for someone to take me in, but amazing enough, just within 2 DAYS, they found me a nice and friendly host family. 

The journey begins ---

Being 1 month behind schedule, I was finally secured a flight on the 8th of April. Every step I took towards that immigration check point felt like eternity. It's one of those moments when time slows down as flashbacks start to roll. A part of you inside turns emotional and those that aren't mentally prepared would cry. Bidding farewell to my family, it would be 1 year later that I will be able to see them again. Walking only forward, I started to shed manly tears as the images of my family was finally covered by the crowd behind. From here on, I would be alone. 

Arriving ---

First sight of land C :

I pretty much slept through the whole flight. Occasionally looking out of the window only to see clouds, I was still trying to get over my the feelings I couldn't leave behind. After 6 hours or so, the first sight of Japanese land came to view. After another 30 mins or so, we finally landed and immediately, you could tell the difference between our countries as I was greeted by the chilly spring winds of April. 

I was greeted by one of the representatives of AFS Japan who was supposed to be my guide. After some simple introductions, he gave me my shinkansen ( bullet train ) ticket and we were off to Nagoya City. Note: I was very shocked with the ticket price... 4000 yen ( RM 143 ) for a one way ticket. 

Some Cherry Blossoms on the way to the office C =

Getting off the shinkansen wasn't easy with a 20kg luggage and several other hand carries. Lucky for me, as soon as I arrived, another representative came to help out. Mr. Oyama ( if my memory serves me right ) was one of the few representatives along the journey that gave me great motivation and help to understand Japanese better. In fact, I had my first lunch with him in a traditional Japanese restaurant. I stayed at the office for another hour or 2 after lunch. That's when I met my liaison person ( adviser / agent ), Harada-san. We had a brief discussion about the Do's & Don'ts, cleared some documents and a small introduction to basic Japanese. At around 6pm, they then escorted me to my soon-to-be new family. 

My first day experience at my host family's~

I'm pretty sure everyone starts off very shy and reserved when getting to know someone new. I wasn't an exception. Pretty lucky though, that my host family is one of the most awesome, energetic, and friendly bunch of people I know to date. As soon as I arrived at their doorstep, I was greeted by my host, preferably called - Aa-chan, with a warm hug, lots of words I didn't understand at first, and 3 little mischievous kids of the family. She gave me a tour around the house. From the kitchen to the living room, the rooms up stairs, my new room, and the garden. Just when you think that's all to it, she then proceeds to the other 2 houses, owned by her daughters ( yes, she is the *ahem* grandma ) and their respective husbands. Their house was special : all 3 were connected by access bridges and the center being a large area for family activities, such as their monthly barbecue sessions or when it's not in use, it's their place to hang the laundry. 

After we've got over the important notes, my liaison person left as it was already 8pm. A moment of silence then came between me and Aa-chan as neither of us knew where to start. Then with a broken English accent, she told me that dinner will be ready in half an hour ( she said it very simply " dinner, tharti minits raidi!! " ) and that's when I felt more comfortable since I knew some English would be able to get me through. Alas, dinner came faster than I thought and I was in another awkward situation >. >'' The first dinner was with Aa-chan. A simple enough dinner, but with the authentic taste of Japanese vegetable, spice and everything nice. We continued our conversation from earlier, using mostly gestures than spoken language. The only words I knew in Japanese at that time was " kawaii ", " sugoi " and " betsu ni ". Had I knew Japan would be my destination, I would have prepped. 

It was rather late when we finished dinner and our chat ( due to difficulty understanding, 1 sentence took much longer to be conveyed than it normally would ). Electronic dictionaries helped out quite a lot as I could key in the words and show her instead of showing off my weird sign languages. As the minute needle passed 10, she gestured me to go ahead and take a bath. Japanese people like jacuzzis. It's a part of their everyday life. Apart from showering, they would always immerse themselves in a tub of hot water for about 20 mins. On a note... the water they use... is recycled = ='' meaning the same tub of water is used until the last person is done. So a family of 4 would mean the 4th person is using the tub previously used by 3 people. Kinda gross, but heck, it's their culture. One strike for culture shock there. 

As I returned to my room, there were some things that I concluded on that very day -

1) one shouldn't worry too much about what has yet to come.

2) entering one's country requires one to learn their language even the most basic one.

3) the world is bigger than one thinks.

With that, I prepared for bed feeling anxious yet excited for the days to come.