Retun Day

So today I went to the school we did a final lesson about alberta and received gifts from students.  Then I went to the airport by train. This was a nightmare as we had 2 big suitcases we had to lug around up stairs and in elevators as we had to change trains for the one to the airport and the train we got on stopped frequently as it was not an express train. If you go to Japan make sure to take the express to the airport as it is faster as the local train takes about an hour or more to get to the airport. Then I got on a plane and went to Vancouver for 8 hours we flew on Jal  then Edmonton via Air Canada  and was home around supper time. In order to get over jet lag upon returning it is best to have supper and go to bed.

Day 9 Sunday

Then I had bible study in Japanese. The bible study was in a home with about 20 people and we read the bible sang and prayed together.  Then I made lunch of hot dogs and Cesar salad as my host wanted me to make a Canadian meal for the bible study group. Then I went shopping at Lala port I could not find anything though because it was too small. Lala port is a mall that is like Kingsway mall as it is small.  I usually wear medium in Canada but here I think I need a large or extra large because the clothes are smaller. Then I watched Jin a Japanese show of a modern doctor ended up in the Edo era. This is show is really great to watch for those interested in Japan and for grade 8 students. Then I went to Odaiba and had supper at the mall. The odaiba mall also is quite small like kingsway most of the stores were European or American but some were Japanese. Also I saw the rainbow bridge and the mini statue of liberty. However it was dark by then so the pictures I took were not so good. It gets dark in Japan in the summer time around 6 or 7 pm. Then I went to Venus port an outlet mall. The venus mall was nice but it was still small.  Then I went on the big fairiswheel that is 16 m of the ground this was fun as you could see the harbour and most of the building in Tokyo but I recommend going in the daytime as you can see it better.

Day 8 Festival and shopping

 Then I had a small bible study with a Japanese student and a missionary who translated a lot so I could understand.  Then I walked to a train station and met my mom and a friend. Then we went shopping in the Hirujuku street and I bought gifts and hair pieces at the 100 yen store.  Harajuku street is a street in shinjuku area of Tokyo that has the most modern young people fashions as it is lined with shops and the street goes for a few blocks and there is a variety of clothing stores there. As some sell anime costumes or style clothing and others traditional Yukatas(summer kimonos) Then my Mom bought a modern Yukata with pants and a top. Then I bought two reversible bags to go with my Yukata. Then I went to bought some traditional sandals. Then I went to my parents hotel we stopped at 7-11 for ice cream and to buy a bento box(a pre made lunch). Then I went to there hotel room the hotel is very clean but there room is small for two people they have a fridge and a double sized bed and a small t.v. Then my Dad took me back to the persons house I am staying at. Then I put on my Yukata and got all dressed up in my new shoes and went to the festival. They had tickets you could buy and we bought some. Then we went and I bought a snow cone that was served in a bowl then I went and danced around in a circle it was like line dancing. Also I saw a drum performance. By the end of the night my feet were sore as the traditional Japanese shoes geta are very uncomfortable.

Day 7 third day at the school

This morning there was a small earthquake at first I did not realize it was an earthquake  as I just thought it was the person I was staying at that was just up making breakfast then when I did  realize it was an earthquake I was too tired to take it seriously.Today I moved my suitcase by taxi to the school this was quite an endeavour as my suitcase was very large. Then I Skped with a friend during class and talked about Spruce Grove and  Stony Plain areas history and historical sites to  visit. Then I went out for lunch and had an interesting Japanese dish called Monjayaki at a restrant where you cooked it on the grill. Then I participated in the Japanese tea ceremony this was interesting as I was able to try making Japanese green tea. Also I saw the Japanese achery they use costumes and longer bows and arrows. After supper we went swimming in the pool at the apartment it is very shallow only 1 meter deep and you have to wear a swimming cap. Also I went in the hot tub. They also have a Sana but I did not go in it as you have to be naked to go in and there is one for males and one for females.

Day 6 second day at the school

Today I went to school and talked to the students about St.Albert and Skyped with a friend from Alberta. The students seemed to talk more and answer questions well compared to yesterday when they were very quiet. Then I went for lunch at the cafeteria as each school has a cafeteria for lunch I had curry my favourite Japanese dish. After lunch I saw Kendo practice and Japanese traditional dance with fans two activities that students do as a form of a club activity in the afternoon. Then after school I saw a Buddhist temple and the gardens of the shogun. The gardens are a nice place to visit as they have a lot of information on the audio guides about what the garden was used for as well as there is a teahouse there that you can visit.

Day 5 first day at school

So today I went to a Japanese school and taught some students about Canada. It was hard to get the students to talk so they starred at me a lot. Then I went to a used book store after school they had 5 floors of books.  The school was very clean as they have janitors that keep it spotless as usually the students and staff clean the school themselves as most Japanese schools do not have janitors. Then I tried on and learned how to put on a Yukata ( a summer Kimono). Then I took pictures and saw part of the tea ceremony. Then I went to a groshery store after school and there vegetables are like ones in Canada but smaller.

Day 4 Disney Land

So today I went to Disneyland in Tokyo. It was fun but not as fun as Wonderland or an amuesment park. They have theamed areas as shown below and here is a list of the rides I went on. The space blast is a fun fast roller coaster. The buzz lighter ride is fun. I bough my lunch before entering the park and stopped for lunch and iced strawberry it is like a snow cone but in a cup and made with real strawberries. The strawberry ice cone I bough came in a souvenir cup which I kept. Then I went to Toon Land and took pictues with some of the disney characters and saw Minnie's house and went on a small roller coaster. Toon town is geared towards smaller children. Then I went to Fantasy Land and went on Winnie the Pooh ride and bough some things from that store. I bought popcorn and recieved a souviner popcorn holder. Then I saw a parade with floats for all the famous disney characters it was entertaining and lasted 15minutes or more.  I went on the Peter Pan ride it was very good. Then I went on the haugnten house ride it was a little scary. Then I went to splash mountian and got wet on a roller coaster ride. Then I explored the west with a wild train rollercoaster it was fun. I went on its a small world ride in fatesy land it was a nice slow ride.  After supper I saw another parade. In westerntown it is like the old west in Canada or the U.SA but the souveriurs like cowboy hats and boots did not look authentic to me. Then I went on a train ride in adventure land and a amazon cruise in the dark it was a little scary. Then I went on the Pirates of the Caribbean ride but part way through they stopped the ride because security was breached so we had to evacuate the ride. On the way out they gave us vouchers for a free ride. Then I went back to where I was staying having experienced a full day of fun at Disneyland.

Day 3 in Japan Siteseeing

Today I went to the Tokyo Edo Museum and had a guided tour it was very nice to learn about the Edo and Meiji periods. Also I met a Japanese student going to study at the U of A next year. This afternoon I went to St.Nicolas Cathedral Orthodox church it was very interesting to see a Russia Orthodox Church and learn more about what they believe. Then I saw a Confucian temple called Yushima Seto it was very small and dirty. Then I saw Kanada Meiji it was an imperial temple built for the emperor it was very colorful compared to the Meiji shrine. It was built during the Edo period it would be a good site to visit when in Tokyo as it is so colourful and full of history.  Also I went to a district that sells electronics and bought some more film for my camera prices are quite comparable with Canada and the U.S.A. Then I went to the 7 eleven store to withdraw money it does not really like Canadian bank cards as I had difficulty withdrawing money with a PC card. Then I had supper of noodles, and an egg fruit dish for dessert. In Japan they have washing machines in their houses but they air dry their laundry as it is so hot and humid things dry quickly.

Day 2 in Japan Sunday

 Then we lugged my suitcase around on a bike it was hard work. As I brought a giant suitcase to Japan because I had to take so much stuff. I don't recommend taking a large bag to Japan as everything is so compact. We went shopping and the shopping centres are like the ones in North America just that there are so many of them with so many stores. I rode a Japanese bike it is easier to ride than one in Canada as it is lighter and easier to use. Then I went with my Japanese friend  for dinner at the Hard Rock Cafe I had steak and mash potatoes for dinner.  This was a good change as I was feeling very hungry as Japanese food is so light and I felt a bit homesick. The Hard Rock Cafe was a nice little piece of home. Tonight I will sleep on a futon it is a mattress type blanket it is very comfortable to sleep on and folds up so it saves space.

Day 1 in Japan Site seeing

In Tokyo they have modern food like in North America as for breakfast they eat food like we eat here such as mini pizzas and cereal. In order to get around Tokyo the cheapest way is to take the subway and get a one day pass. In Japan we visited a school that was an all girls school and they wore uniforms to school. Also the school had many ads for universities in Tokyo. Then I went with my home stay family to Yasukuni Shrine it was a nice shrine it was small and had trees in it. Also there was animals guarding the gates and 3 main enternce tori gates. At the shrine there was a statue of the general who built the temple during the Meiji period. The Yasukuni Shrine is quite small.  Then we went to the Meiji shrine it has a nice long park with huge tall trees. Also there is a garden and a few restaurants there. The shrine had  a place to ceremonially wash before entering the main part of the shrine and  a place to write wishes and hang them up so they come true these are key features of every shrine. The park surrounding the shrine is quit large an beautiful with tall trees and gravel walkways. At the Meji shine they have ice cream and the tofu flavoured ice cream is delicious it is not too sweet but just right.  Then we went to the Shinjuku district it had nice cheep shops and on Harajuku Takeshita street. Everywhere shop keepers were holding up signs and yelling at people passing by in order to have them buy their stuff. Then we had lunch at a nice restaurant in the area. The restaurant had a nice buffet at luch that had interesting and simple Japanese cuisine. Then we went to the Tokyo Central United Church a church were international foreigners can attend they were having a special outreach to people who were less fortunate in giving them a free meal and a concert. Then we went to Shinbuku district  it is more crowded there as packed with people and shops. Then we saw the bridge that was quite small from the Edo period. Also there were monks trying to get people to give them money. I then went to a kimono store and saw many beautiful kimonos.  The kimono designs were very unique but they were very expensive as much as wedding dresses or grad dresses in North America. Then we went to the Ginza district where there  are many American stores such as Forever 21, Starbucks, Gucci, Lactose, and Adidas. Also the Ginza district has many foreign European shops the prices are very comparable to North American prices.  We  had  Japanese curry for supper it is a very sweet and not very spicy curry this is very different from other curries.

July 16th Air Travel

Today we traveled from Edmonton Alberta to Tokyo Japan. The flight from Edmonton to Vancouver went well as  it was only one hour. Then we stayed in Vancouver airport for 4 hours . As there was a four hour layover in Vancouver this allowed us to eat lunch. Vancouver has a very beautiful airport they have an aquarium. It was quiet as we left in the middle of the week. This is the best time to fly as there is less people and the airports are not so busy. Then the JAL flight came it was a big plane with an upper cabin. The airplane had a tv and a game control phone that was not very high tech it was more like those in the 90's. The flight was 9 hours on these flights it is good to try and sleep as much as possible because then you will have less jet lag.  They served us two meals on the flight one was rice with chicken the other meal was a spicy fish samwhich. For the first meal the supper they showed us a picture and we could choose which one we wanted. They do have movies and t.v chanels to whach in English . When we arrived in Tokyo we went out the exits there are two exits from the plain to the terminal if you take the wrong one like I did you may get lost luckily I was able to find my way.

Then we walked to the train shuttle stop and got on an automatic train that took us to the main terminal. There was cool Japanese art with Kanji(Japanese Characters) on the airports walls. To get to customs you have to go up and down  a few floors. At customs they had a finger print scan where they scanned your finger prints  and a picture taking test when we gave them our passports. We  then arrived at the baggage claim to get our 2 checked bags. However Air Canada did not send our second bag my parents suitcase. The way we found out was there was a sign on the luggage carosel telling us that we had to see the baggage surivices we contacted them and told them to diliver the suitcase to their hotel.  This experience of loosing bags flying has happened twice with Air Canada as this time they did not put our bags on in Vancouver on time so our other bag had to go on the next flight. Then we got my dads phone and tickets to the Nippori station. When we got on the train and phoned our friend we were meeting this took several tries. At the time we did not realize till later that talking on the phone in the subway as it is considered impolite. Then we got to the station swiched trains a few times and I bought a ticket and my parents bought passes an easier way than tickets. With Passes a person puts money on a card and can use it to travel around anywhere and their are machines at the subway stations to purchase passes or put money on them.  Then we saw a few sites in the area of the restaurant. When we got to the restaurant and had real Sushi it was quite different as the fish was fresher here. There was a salad that came with the meal and steamed soybeans where you only eat the beans not the outside. Then we met our friends and gave out gifts. This is a Japanese custom to give gifts to those you meet on the first night there.  Then I went to my homestay. The house is like a modern New York apartment except there is a different room for the tolet and a differnt room for the shower and bath. The shower and bath our like here . The tolet is very advanced and automatic no need for a button. Also ther is aircon in the apartment . The apartment is a two bedroom it is quite small but all most the same size as the one here.