Kagehashi Japan (Day 9) Part I

Meiji Shrine | Harajuku | Okonomiyaki

A scenic route to the Meiji Shrine is where Kagehashi begins its 9th day in Japan, specifically Tokyo. In the middle of the busy city, one can find sanctuary from the bright Eastern sun under the lush canopies near the Shrine. Visitors at the main entrance are greeted with caskets of alcohol on both sides of the walk: Japanese sake on the right and fine French wines fit for an emperor on the left.

Pictured here is the main entrance to the shrine. These gateways are meant to look like the word "kai" in Japanese/Chinese which means open. My tour guide told me that people aren't actually supposed to walk through the big gateway as it's meant to be a door for gods, but even most Japanese people aren't aware of that fact.

Kagehashi Japan (Day 8)

Japanese Cultural Dance | Akihabara | Ramen Cart

The first destination of the day was back to the Japan Foundation for a Japanese dance presentation. The professional performing showed us an example of a male, female and girl dance. He was surprisingly very good as a bouncy teenage girl.

The audience then got to learn one of the dances from him. I volunteered for the "flower blooming along the riverside" dance. The other one had something to do with a love letter and a girl confessing.

After going through a couple museums in Roppangi, we went to Akihabara, the electric and anime city! I was so excited to go there after hearing stories of multistory anime stores and maid cafes! In the above picture, you can see a maid peddling for business. I couldn't take an actual picture with her - I would have to pay oodles for that...

Kagehashi Japan (Day 7)

Makuhari Messe | Japanese Garden | Chiba City Council | Hanging Monorail

Bright and early, we toured the Makuhari Messe, Asia's largest convention center. We were given a special presentation by the officials who managed the center. There was also a geology convention going on at the same time and some of the booths were showcasing very high-tech gadgets.

Kagehashi Japan (Day 6)

Chiba University | Parco Department Store

On the sixth day, we visited Chiba University to get a glimpse of student life. Chiba University is the sister school to Rice University, and I noticed some similarities between the two schools. Their campus is also draped in overhanging foliage along the roads. It also has a small charming feel to it. 

A poster calling for students to volunteer in showing Rice University and U. Wisconsin around campus. The students who came were super nice and easy to talk to. We bonded over anime among other thing. 

Kagehashi Japan (Day 3)

Waseda University | Kikkoman Factory | Chiba Downtown

In the morning, we went to a conference at Waseda University that confront the problem of decreased number of Japanese exchange students in the US. Some of the takeaway points were that initiatives need to be made in both countries to promote foreign languages, especially English in Japan. Although Japan is a very advanced country and English is an obligatory language, many of its residents don't know English. I believe if English was more heavily emphasized in Japanese schools, then the interest in western societies will rise as a result. There is also the problem of the two countries having different school schedules. It's summer in America, but Japanese students are still early in their academic year.

After the conference, we rushed to the city of Noda where we toured the Kikkoman soy sauce factory.

When I first found out we would be touring a soy sauce factory, I was a little disappointed because: 1. It's soy sauce, an everyday object for me, 2. I expected the factory to be some rinkydink metal building.

However, I was pleasantly surprised by the accommodations and tour of the Kikkoman factory. It was super modern, clean and they made learning about the soy sauce making process very entertaining.