HELLO USA

The last three weeks in Tokyo were the best. I made lasting memories and new friends. I was sad to leave Tokyo but I took tons of pictures and bought several souvenirs to remember this experience for a lifetime. Tokyo is the BESSTT PLACE EVER. Just landed in Nashville.

Things to Do In Tokyo: Friday

• Visit the Tokyo Tower
• Take the elevator to the top floor of Tokyo Sky Tree 
• Soak your feet and body in Japanese Bath
• Take an all day trip to Tokyo Disneyland.. it doesn't matter if your a kid or not 
• Eat sushi at the Japanese Fish Market
• Go to a Karaoke Bar and SING, DANCE & EAT
• Watch a Summo Wrestling Match
• Walk across rainbow bridge and view the ocean/skyscrapers
• Night life in Shibuya is awesome
• Visit Uneno Zoo and see the Panda Bears 
• Eat as much sushi, raw fish, rice patties, and yakitori 
• TOUR TOKYO THE BEST PLACE EVVVERRR !!!

BYE CHUO UNIVERSITY

May 29: Chuo University has been a second school for me while in Japan. The students were sooo welcoming and inviting. They made me feel like Japan was a home away from home. Today was our last trip to Chuo University and time for us to say our last goodbyes to all the students. We had a farewell party to exchange gifts and take tons of pictures with our new friends. I couldn't believe it was coming to an end but I was confident I would speak to my buddies again. FACEBOOK FRIENDS!!!! After the party I bought Chuo University pari and candy for my friends to try from the bookstore. I watched an awesome Tako Drum performance by the Chuo students. The students perform during special occasions and schools events. They were nice enough to let us practice on their drums and perform a beat for the audience. I had a great time at Chuo University for the last time.

Last blog

Today is our last day in Japan. We had to check out of our room at 11 a.m. Our plane doesn't leave to 6 p.m. My bags have more things in it from when I first came. During this down time I made a few more purchases. I did a lot of walking around within one hour looking for last minute buys. I bought a lot of Japanese candy to take back with me to share with my family and friends. After I finished shopping I grabbed me some lunch from this Italian restaurant that was cheap a good. I have spent a lot of money on this trip. It was well worth it though. I don't know the next time I will be able to spend money in Japan again.

Take Off

Today im waking up and doing some more last minute packing. The surreal moment has set in that three weeks is gone and its time to go home. This is has been a good and eye opening experience from the diverse culture and traditions compared to America. This will also be my last blog as i depart onto the plane and head back home. The Japan trip has been an great experience and one i wont forget.

Last free day

Today is the last full day in Japan and the day started off with me getting some good rest. I didn’t wake up until 11am this morning and half the day was pretty much gone. I still needed to go get some souvenirs for two of my family members so I got up and dressed to head to Sinoji Temple. The temple has many souvenir shops at good reasonable prices. My main objective was to find a shot glass and to find a post card. Both of those were on my list so everything went well in finding the things I needed but I wanted to find something for myself.

I was looking for a key chain with the cat that has his right hand up. The cat is a good luck charm and with the right hand raised means it attracts money. I thought it would pretty good to have that on my key chain so I searched almost every souvenir shop. Each souvenir shop had different prices but some had the same gift with different prices. I had to make sure that I was getting the right price so I had to visit almost every souvenir shop in the temple area. I finally found the one that gave me the best deal and man was I happy. I was just about to give up from all the walking I had to do. After finding my gifts I was ready to head back to the hostel and finish some work before our flight back home. 

May 18, 2014: Sanja Matsuri

Sanja Matsuri

The Sanja Matsuri, a symbolic festival of Tokyo, is one of the largest festivals of mikoshi (portable shrines) held in Asakusa, which is a quarter where you can still find traditional houses and streets. Every year, hundreds of thousands of spectators visit Asakusa during the three festival days. With amazing vigor, men carry several dozens of portable shrines on their shoulders. There are also portable shrines carried by women only, and by children only.

May 30, 2014: Last Night In Japan

Last Night In Japan

I tried to make sure I had enough blog post before I went out. For some reason, I could not get my laptop to connect to the wifi. I tried adding blogs from my phone but was not working. I looked at the time and it was time for me to meet up with Narumi, Hisami and Yuki. I was about 10 minutes late because I was trying to find the Hachiko statue in Shibuya. They took me to Izakaya, a small restaurant. After dinner, we walked around Shibuya, killing time before the club opening. We took pictures in the middle of Shibuya Crossing with our exchanged gifts. I got each of them different Tennessee shirts. They got me a Chuo University shirt. We made it to the club and we danced. I couldn't stay long because the last train back to Asakusa was at midnight. The girls rushed me to the train station. We hugged and said our goodbyes.

May 11, 2014: The Journey Begins

The Journey Begins

I don't think I slept that much before I had to go to the airport. I wasn't nervous. I was still packing. I will probably never work the day before I have to leave again. I was surprised that I made everything I was going to take into that small carry-on. My mother's day gift to my mom is her not having to cook for 3 weeks! We said our quick goodbyes and off I went. Japan here I come...

May 22, 2014: Sony Company Visit

Sony Company Visit

Our group was taken to The Square Stadium. Inside the Square showroom, our guide, Suzuki, showed us Sony’s new 4K t.v. broadcast cameras and 4K 3-D broadcast cameras. 4K is the new video format technology that is 4 times the quality of full high definition video or 1080p. One 4K downloaded movie would take up as much as 30 gigabytes. They took us onto a mock soccer field and let us experience the high quality, super detailed 4K picture and 3-D picture. She also mentioned that 4K streaming and downloading would be available soon.

          

May 21, 2014: Swan Company

Swan Company

During the visit, it was stressed that Swan hired people with disabilities. They did not go into detail if these disabilities were only physical, mental or a combination of the two. Two charts were displayed concerning Swan’s workforce. The first chart showed even though Swan employed people with disabilities as well as people with disabilities, they were still competitive in terms of productivity with other rivals. The second chart showed that when pairing a disabled person with someone who is not, that the result is still a high quality but efficient product. This is because the non-disabled person is teaching the disabled person. The disabled person has learned the necessary skills to produce an error free product while still providing maximum output.

May 28, 2014: Unique Vending Machine Products In Japan

Unique Vending Machine Products In Japan

I knew I had to get and look for unique vending machines as part of an assignment for Marketing class. I knew exactly what I was looking for but I wasn't sure if I could find it. I was hunting for the fabled panty vending machine. My search started in Akihabara but no luck. I helped the guys do the videos and we kept searching for my machine. I came back to the hostel and asked the front desk clerk if he knew what I was talking about. He suggested 2 spots near big stores. I looked but didn't see any. After a few hours, I tried this one shop where I gestured and pointed to the attendant and hoped he would understand. He finally got it and told me to go upstairs. I made my video and confirmed that the machines still exist in Japan.

May 30, 2014: Food On the Go

Food On the Go

I'm showing the convenience and ingenuity of eating on the go in Japan. Watch as I demonstrate unwrapping a corndog.

Chuo Univeristy

Second day in Japan started really early. We had to meet Dr.V our professor outside the hostel at 7:45 am. This was our first trip to Chuo University where we will be studying for the next two weeks. The train system in Japan is very very complex and it was going to be a task with Dr. V leading the way. Our first train was to get in the Giza Line which we found roughly fast. After the Giza line we walked up a lot of stairs to find our next train which took about twenty minutes to do which was the Keio iKoshara Line which will take us to Meidaimae. From there we got on the train to takaharoto which will then take us to Chuo University. When we arrived to the university it was massive with large buildings. The windows where structured with iron X' on them because of earthquakes. They have approximately 20,000 students at the campus. We met at an area in a building called G square and there we had orientation. After orientation we met with our teacher to discuss some future assignments and then we met without Japanese student partners and had lunch. My student partners Dai and Go were really cool and we had a very good conversation. My student partners were cool to meet and after a kind day I was ready to head out to Shibyua. In Shibyua I got to walk the famous Shibyua crossing where almost a million people a day cross.  Shibyua was fun with many places to eat and shop. After visiting Shibyua it was time to head to hostel for a goo nights rest.

Final Day at Chuo University

Today is going to be a sad day because it will be our final trip to Chuo University. This will be the last time I will see my student partner again so I was looking forward to having one good last time. As we arrived in Chuo I just started remembering the first day we arrived and I had so many questions on how it was going to be. Now that it’s the final trip here I see that everything turned out really good. I met some really good people and made some new friends that were pretty cool.

As we made our way to the last elevator ride to the class all the memories of the first day were still going through my head. I was also wondering about the ceremony the school was going to do for us and how it was going to be. We made it to class after being stuffed in the elevator and just discussed all the assignments were due and went back over the syllabus to make sure that we turned in everything. After class we headed down to G square which is where the first part of the ceremony was taking place. As I got there I saw my student partners Dai and Go but Dai couldn't stay because he had class so it was just me and Go. The G square had food and beverages available to us with pictures of our three week experience here in japan, given by the photography class. The food was really good and I tried some new Japanese food that I liked very well. I was thinking to myself I wish I would have found this type of food earlier in the trip. After eating we proceeded to C Square to hear a drum band as our farewell gift. The band was really good and very entertaining. It was sad at the same time because I knew this was going to be our last event at Chuo. After the band performance my student partners and all the other students that I met at Chuo University gathered to chat and exchange gifts. After our last farewells we went our separate ways and headed back to the hostel.

4th day in Japan

Before we headed off campus I purchased a Chuo University t-shirt. When we left campus we went to Shinjuku. Shinjuku is another major area in Tokyo. There was hundreds maybe thousands of shopping stores. We encountered some inappropriate stores as well which is popular stores in Japan. We also ran into some black people who stay in Japan who are fluent speakers, they gave us some places to go visit on another day. Other than that I thought things here in Japan would be much cheaper but they really aren't. I thought about buying some clothes from some nice stores but the prices are a bit too much for me. It was good to hang out with a lot of the girls in my class as well. 

Day 3 in Japan

When they left me and Antonio met a guy name Comò. He knew a little English, he began to follow us around the store to tell us about different items in the store. He seemed kind of shy until we started cracking jokes. Comò told us that he enjoyed playing basketball. He was very excited to exchange Facebook information. Later on in the day we came back to the hostel and received our weekly allowance. After we received it my roommates and I went walking around Auskusa. While walking around we stopped in a few different shops in the city. I found a lot of cool items that I will be purchasing for myself and some of my family and friends. 

Last full day in Japan

I used my JR line pass to get me Uneo Station. Here I walked around looking for some clothes, but I didn't find anything I liked or if I did it was too expensive. I went into a store owned by Africans and they had some nice shirts. The guy said he was giving me a good deal I thought he said eight dollars a shirt until he showed me the price on the calculator it was eighty dollars a shirt. After that I headed to Shibuya. At Shibuya there were people everywhere. I went into 109 Men to look for some more nice shirts. I went to 6 floors looking for things and all the shirts I liked were over 7000 yen. A lot of merchandise in Japan seems overpriced. After Shibuya I went to Shinjuku. This stop was a waste of time they didn't have anything that interested me, but I did go into a few stores. When I left Shinjuku my final stop before heading back to Asakusa was Harajuku. This is my favorite place to go to ever since is been in Tokyo. Here I purchased some Nikes, I hope they fit in my small bag to go back home. 

Science Museum

Today is the last free day before the new busy week begins. Today I set out to go visit the science museum that I heard was a pretty nice museum. My classmate decided to tag along so we set out to the museum. As we traveled to the science museum it lead us on a different island of Japan which was pretty cool. Once arriving to the island we immediately made the decision to see a little more after the zoo or make a trip back.  After finding our way to the science museum the entrance was pretty nice. There was a world globe circling the room on the ceiling of the science museum. There were nine floors to the museum and had a lot of exhibits. We headed up to get the trip going and our first exhibit was demonstrations of robotics and some simulations with human senses. After finishing that we made our way back to the attractive earth that was circulating on the roof of the science and walked up to the next floor with the last exhibit. This exhibit had an actual space pod that astronauts actually lived and showed us there daily schedule while in space. We were also able to see a combustion chamber and a vehicle used in space and in underwater. The exhibit was pretty cool and we wanted to see more but the science museum was about to close, so we headed back to the hostel. 

                                                                  Picture of the Globe

                                                                      Space Pod

Ueno Zoo

Today is another free day and I don’t know actually what to do today. I decided to head to Ueno Zoo since several of my classmates have already been and said that the zoo was a really nice place to go.I set out to the train station to get on Ginza Line to head to Ueno Station. Arriving at Ueno station I headed straight to the zoo and because of the Grutt pass I was able to go for free. As soon as I got in I went straight to the Panda’s. This is the first time I actually saw a Panda and it was really nice to see. What I really wanted to see was the gorillas and polar bears. I quickly saw the lion and the tiger and headed straight to the gorilla. Once I got there the gorilla, it was hiding behind a big piece of wood and would not come out. So my thrill and excitement to see the gorilla quickly diminished. I headed straight to the polar bear but before arriving saw some bats which were actually eating at the time so that was pretty cool. Once I arrived at the polar bear exhibit I was really excited because the polar bear was actually very active. I got some great footage of the polar bear swimming and actually playing with some toys. The size of the polar bear actually astonished me because you really didn’t see how big it was until you saw it in person. After the polar bear I followed the path to the elephant exhibit which was pretty nice. I circled back after the elephants to see if the gorilla came out of hiding and saw that it was still hiding. I left the zoo thinking I saw mostly everything only returning and my class mates told me that I missed an entire exhibit of reptiles which was disappointing but my trip was still pretty exciting.

                                                      Polar Bear Swimming

Last day at Chuo University

After class the university fed us food for our farewell goodbyes. This was my first time I had are all day so I ate a lot. During this people exchanged gifts with their buddies. My buddies were excited for their gifts and they bought me a Japanese t-shirt. They made my trip more memorable. I would like to be apart of something like this back at TSU. Next the university Japanese drummers gave us a performance. They were really great, this was one the highlights of my trip. Also after they were done they let us play on the drums.

Search for vending machines

There are mainly drink machines from beer to coffee. It's soo many of them that it's not unique. It was quite an adventure to find a different machine, but we did it. Antonio found a machine that you choose the food you want and it prints out a receipt and you give it to the chef and they cook your food. Ferrel found a vending machine that sells panties and a duly toys. I found a vending machine that has electronics and other miscellaneous items in it. You put 1000 yen in the machine and press the button and a mystery item comes out.

May 27, 2014: Hiroshima

Hiroshima

I don't know if Dr. V planned it or not but my class was visiting Hiroshima on America's observance of Memorial Day. I began to realize the significance of the day and my heart became heavy. 68 years ago during World War II, the U.S. dropped 2 atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki to force unconditional surrender from Japan. I am not a history buff but I will guess that is was ultimately retaliation for the attack on Pearl Harbor, where 2403 American lives were lost. The death totals are not accurate but an conservatively estimated 250,000 were killed in Hiroshima and Nagasaki when the bomb dropped. This act was complete overkill, to say the least. We just do not realize the level of destruction that was caused that day back in the United States. 

At the Atomic Dome Park, I met a daughter of one the survivors during the attack. Her name was Michiko Yamaoka. She told her mother's story because her mother was now too old. Her mother's story was vivid and heartbreaking. She described the blackened bodies of those who survived the initial blast, children left to die in burning building, and the corpses all around. As she told her story, she displayed a notebook with photographs and drawing of the days after. I did everything I could to hold back my tears.

I did not think to ask but I can only guess she is there every day retelling her mother's story to those that come to the Atomic Dome Park. The park is now a monument of peace. it serves to ensure that we do not forget the lives lost and that peace cannot be achieve by hate.

Hot n Ready Food Machine

Hiroshima Facts: May 27

1. At 8:15 AM, August 6, 1945, an atomic bomb was used as a weapon for the first time in human history.

2.The atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima was approximately three meters long and weighed four tons.

3. The center of the bomb's temperature exceeded a million degrees Celsius, generating an enormous fireball.

4. It took Tokyo about 3 hours before they realized Hiroshima had been bombed.

5. The US dropped approximately 49 practice bombs nicknamed "pumpkin bombs" killing 400 and injuring 1,200 before rreleasing the atomic bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

BEFORE the bomb hit

AFTER the bomb hit: Nothing left 

Hiroshima

Today we are going to head from Kyoto to Hiroshima. I was really ready for this knowing the history of the city and what took place in WW II with U.S. and Japan. We were going to visit a memorial site where there was an actual building that was destroyed by the atomic bomb. The next stop was going to be at a museum where they had a lot of information on the bombing of Hiroshima.Once arriving at Hiroshima we took another transit to the memorial site where the damaged building was. The building was completely destroyed and from the look at it you could tell where the damage was done to it. As we walked from the building we walked past a specific spot where people on Aug. 6 of every year come to remember those that were lost.

                                                      Building that was destroyed

                                                                     Japanese student cloths

                                                             Little child's tricycle and helmet

Kyoto

Today was an early morning because I was going to Kyoto on a speed train. This was the first time I have ever ridden on a speed train and have class in a completely different city. We were going to stay a night in Kyoto and visit the Nijo Castle.As we arrived to Nijo Castle you could see by its size that it was pretty big. The castle had water surrounding it and it had a big gate to walk in. While walking in the group and I took pictures but what I really wanted to do was head inside. This was my first time at a Japanese castle and learning the history and seeing it really interested me. As I looked at the structure some of it was in gold but the actual gold was taking off the building and a replica was put in its place. The next part of the castle was the garden which was huge. The garden was as big as the castle itself and was a very neat environment. I finished walking around the castle when it just begun to rain and it was time to head back to the hostel.  

                                                 This is the one of the entrances going into the castle

                                                   This is part of the garden at the Castle

                                                         Another part of the garden

Vending Machine in Japan

Treasure Vending Machine

http://youtu.be/18AVYYEgU6o

The Historic Kyoto, Japan

May 26: Today was another early day of traveling and sightseeing for the Tncis Clan. Today trip was a visit to Kyoto once the capital of Japan during the Edo period (1600-1800s). I was excited to visit other parts of Tokyo and the best part was we would be staying there the entire day to explore as much as possible. My overnight bag was prepped and ready to go the night prior. I was excited to finally have the opportunity to ride the infamous bullet train known for its lightening speed. The train ride did not disappoint my expectations. Two hours later we finally arrived to Kyoto and headed straight to the hostel to drop off our bags. The hostel was very modern and fully furnished similar to our hostel in Asakusa. We were not fully settled into our rooms before we left to visit Nijo Castle. The castle was breathtaking it was still in good condition since it was first built centuries ago. One thing that stuck out the castle was surrounded by water and large rocks. I had to cross a bridge to look inside the castle. Another interesting thing about the castle was the squeaky floors which alerted the residents if ninjas were in the castle. Unfortunately, the visit was cut short due to the change of weather. The class made a decision to cancel the trip to a temple and head back to the hostel for the night.

Nijo Castle Map 

Hiroshima 0_0

When we finally arrived to Hiroshima we got on a charley to head to the atomic bomb memorial. In history class we learned about the the atomic bomb being dropped on Hiroshima, but to actually be there was an eye opening moment. I learned more about the city and about some of the facts about the bombing. The atomic bomb killed thousands of people and destroyed majority of the buildings. There was one building that is still standing but is destroyed. Being around this part of the city made me feel sad. After viewing the memorial we went to the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum. This museum had many things from the actual bombing that survived. They had a replica of the town before the bombing and after. The craziest thing I saw was the replica of how people skin was melting off of their bones, but they were still alive.

Kyoto

Today we traveled to Kyoto. It was about 2 hours to get there via the bullet train.   I was expecting for it to be bright and sunny when we arrived but it was definitely quite the opposite.  It was raining!  This was quite disappointing because we had to walk quite a bit.  We visited a castle there called Nijo.   It was built as the Kyoto residence of the Tokugawa Shoguns.  We first went on a tour through the Ninomaru Palace.  It was very interesting to see the different rooms that the Lords stayed in.   The floors were also squeaky.  They were called "nightingale floors." This was done as a way to protect the occupants from sneak attacks and assassins.  There were also several beautiful gardens there.  I found this to be the thing that I liked the most.   There was a small waterfall in one of the gardens that I thought was amazing.   When entering the castle there was a moat surrounding it. This was my first time seeing an actual moat.  After we left the castle we headed back to a hostel we were staying in just for the night.   The hostel was very modern, especially the common areas.



                                      

Sunday Time for Reflection

May 25: I am soo grateful for the opportunity to study abroad and learn about Japan's culture, traditions, lifestyle, and business model. Not only participating but living in an enivorment such as Japan made me appreciate the small things such as family time, communicating with others without language barriers, diversity, eating American food (i.e pizza rolls and pasta). Nonetheless, living in Tokyo has taught me that I have the ability to adapt to new circumstances, learn in a new environment, and open to new experiences (i.e eating food with unknown labels). The Japan study abroad trip has open my eyes to a new way of thinking, living, and becoming more socially aware of the things occurring around me. I have always wanted to travel and being apart of the Tncis program has given me the push to add more stamps to my passport and continue to learn about the world I live in.

I Cut the Day Short

May 24: I woke up early and eager to start my day off on a good foot. The day prior I wasn't able to see much because attractions and museums around Tokyo close at 5 pm. Bummer... My roommates and I came up with a plan to map out every place we wanted to visit for the entire day. The list was as follows first Uneno Zoo, then Imperial Palace, last the Aquarium, and after that the rest of the day was unplanned free time to explore and shop for more souvenirs. First leg of the trip was Uneno Zoo. The Zoo is known for the Panda Bear exhibit. The locals were surrounding the Panda Bear cage to see the lovely animals. Overall the zoo was relatively small but then again Japan is known for taking something large and minimizing it. As the day continued, I didn't plan for the weather to be sooo hot and humid. I didn't dress for the weather and I had extra belongings to carry as I walked around. My back,neck, and joints started to slowly hurt as we continued to walk around the Zoo. I couldn't bare the discomfort any longer so I cut my day trip short and headed back to the hostel. Hopefully, I can get some rest and relaxation. 

Kyoto, Japan??

The hostel we are staying in is modern and has a homey feel. We dropped our things off at the hostel and went to the the Nijo Castle. This castle was something you see on a movie scene. There is water surrounding the whole castle with huge brick wall. Then when we walked in the actual castle the wooden floors were built to detect intruders back when the temple was first built. Also they had beautiful gardens and sculptures around the land. I had a feeling that many people where killed at this castle because you can tell how the castle was built, that they it was to protect theirselves from outsiders. After this I went to the Heian Jingu Shirne with the photography class.

May 26, 2014 K's House Virtual Tour

K's House Virtual Tour

 It started to become a rainy afternoon here in Kyoto, so the Marketing class decided to head back to the hostel. I have the room to myself for a little... So why not make a video?! (I had to shrink it so it's a little grainy now.)

Hostel Virtual Tour

May 26, 2014 - Kyoto, Japan

Kyoto, Japan

This morning the group had to leave at 7 A.M. too catch a bullet train to Kyoto.I talked to one of the crew on the train and she said the train was going about 207 kph (kilometers per hour). That is about 129 mph.We all went to see Nijo Castle in Kyoto. Inside the castle, the floors squeaked whenever you took a step. The reason was to alert the inhabitants of intruders during the night. Below is the inner gate of Nijo Castle, the entrance to the courtyard, and Nijo Castle.

May 25, 2014 - Odaiba

Odaiba

I'm going to see the giant Gundam! I met them at Tokyo Station. They were a little late. Yuki must have been job hunting today. This was the first time I met Hisami.. The girls have never seen the or heard about the Gundam series. They also had never been to the Gundam Park. They told me that they watched other anime just not Gundam. I told them that the series has been around since the late 1970's or 1980's. Then, we went to the arcade. I won Hisami a stuffed animal called Mumin!

Sunday Funday

After lunch we went to Odiba to go to the National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation. We had a free pass to go. I'm glad we went here because they had a lot of cool new technology. Also they had life problems that could be solved mathematically to see if it could happen or not. My favorite thing I saw was the globe they had hanging in the from entrance. When you go to this museum, you will learn a lot of information about astronauts, surgeons, underwater nuclear detectors, and the innovation of Japan's technology. When we left this museum we went to see the Gundam Wing statue. This Gundam was huge, it was a real life size transformer. In the same are they had a replica of the Statue of Liberty. I haven't even been to New York yet to see the original one. They had a mall in this area as well so I brought a few more gifts. In the mall they had this Powerade game you can play and win a prize so I did this and received a water bottle and a key lanyard.

 

The Best Spring Rolls EVERRRR

May 23: Friday was my first free day of my second week in Tokyo. I had a late start this morning because I wanted to sleep in for a few hours longer than I normally would on a school night. When I finally woke up I had a list of places I wanted to see for the day. I knew I wanted to go to the aquarium since I never been before back home. The closest aquarium is in Atlanta which is a three hour drive from Nashville. Needless to say I wasn't able to go because of time constraints and getting lost in Tokyo. I didn't want the entire day to be wasted so I decided to get something to eat at a Taiwanese restaurant located in the subway station. The spring rolls are sooo good especially dipped in a special in house sauce. Definitely, recommend this restaurant to anyone that visits Tokyo.After dinner, Olivia and I decided to go to Shibuya to see what all the talk was about Shibuya night life. Shibuya was filled with a lot of parties, lounges, and karaoke spots. I had soo much fun dancing and singing the night away. Young Japanese people love to listen to Beyonce, Taylor Swifts, Justin Timberlake, and several other Pop and Rock artists.  

Spring Rolls with special sweet and sour sauce 

Friday Free Day

It's Friday and it is a free day today so I got the chance to catch up on some rest. I got a chance now to go visit the city I been wanting to go to which is Akihabara. The city is known for its anime so my classmate and I set out to explore the area of the popular anime city. Upon arriving there we both saw our professor Dr.V and his friend Biff walking around. They helped guide us to the most popular strip known for anime and when we got there that's exactly what we saw. I saw some if my old anime cartoons I use to watch like Dragon Ball Z.  I looked at several figures of my old anime show and it was really something to see. I enjoyed being in the city and in the country where all the old anime shows i watched originated from. 

                                                Character (Broly) from Dragon Ball Z Anime

Company Visit to Sony!

Today is going to be an exciting day because we are visiting the Sony Headquarters. I owned a lot of Sony products before but the most famous one I have is the companies PlayStation 3. When arriving at Sony and entering into the lobby we saw many Sony entertainment products on display and were escorted to an exclusive show room. We were divided into separate groups by class and had our guides leading us to the show room. The escort presented to us some of Sony’s new 3D cameras they use for broadcasting games or shows. The visuals were amazing and when you had the 3D glasses on, it looked as though you could step out of the TV. The next display was there entertainment TV. The TV was better than high definition they called it there 4x and it was quite awesome. The TV picture was so clear you could see pretty much everything in full detail. The next display was there Spider-Man movie display which consisted of the actual costumes used for the three Spider-Man movies and the Amazing Spider-Man 2 movie as well. The most exciting exhibit to me next was the new PlayStation 4. It was better than I thought with a pad on the controller that did virtual effects on the screen. This was an exciting experience to see everything I viewed in that show room and one i will never forget. 

Company Visit to Swan

Today I was able to visit the company Swan in Tokyo Japan and learn how they market, operations and its goals. Swan is specializes in bakery items and was established by Yamata holdings. The uniqueness about the company Swan was how they helped the disabled. I learned that the spirit of Swan is that they combine the non-disable and the disable to cooperate together in their work environment. Swan is also driven to help disable people be independent. Compared to Japan itself, Swan helps more disable people than other companies in Japan.  Swan also compared to the index of the stock market is actually on the same path, which shows that having disable workers is just as efficient as having only non-disable workers.

Recently Swan was just bought out by Ben & Jerry ice cream which was a success story from the Swan Company. Swan Company has a cookie that Ben & Jerry use in there ice cream only in Japan. Swan Company was an interesting company and I really enjoyed how they combine the non-disable and the disable to cooperate with one another. I also enjoyed the ice cream they gave us Coffee Blast from Ben & Jerry's that is only in Japan.

                                                              Coffee Blast Ice cream

Sumo!

Today was an early day to wake up because we were on our way to pick up our Sumo tournament tickets. This was going to be my first sumo match I've ever watched live in person and I was pretty excited but still sleepy too.Before the sumo tournament later that afternoon some of my classmates and I headed towards the museum  that showed us the history of Tokyo. The museum was pretty informative, we got to see the early living conditions in early Japan and also some of the older toys they use to play with. After the museum the group and I headed to the Sumo tournament. When arriving we saw several sumo wrestlers and some of them we could take pictures with! Once we got inside I saw my first sumo match and it was great. I saw the rituals they do before they wrestle then was able to watch a serious of matches where the sumo's went at it. The Sumo tournament was an experience that I will never forget and was pretty enjoyable to watch.

                                                     
                                                            Picture from the Museum

                                                                     Sumo Tournament

Trip Around Tokyo with Student Partners

    Today in Japan I was going to be meeting up with my student partners. Dai and Go have planned for us to visit the Sky Tree which is one of the tallest building in Tokyo and the Gundam wing statue since I like anime. The trip started with me fining my way to Asakusabashi station at 11 am and it was difficult to find. I arrived there shortly after 11am and Dai was there waiting on me but Go wasn't there. Dai told me that Go was going to meet us at the Sky Tree so him and I walked towards the train line to head to our destination.
    
    As we arrived at the Sky Tree; inside we passed by many dessert restaurants. Dai decided to stop by one of them and buy me a dessert that is popular in Japan. The dessert was similar to a snow cone but with a scoop of ice cream and was in a bowl not a cone. Dai said that when it's hot outside like it was this is what Japanese eat and even at the beach. I selected strawberry and to my surprise I liked it better than the snow cone because as the ice melted the strawberry syrup was at the bottom so it was like juice.  While we were eating Go happen to arrive and we were on our way to go into the sky tree. We got our tickets for the second highest level you could go and were on our way. Once up in the Sky Tree you could see all of Tokyo. Tokyo was bigger than what I thought and seemed to stretch all the way to the ocean. After the visit at Sky Tree we headed to the popular (for those that watch anime)  Gundam Wing statue. The statue was big and very nice and it actually had smoke coming out of it. It was definitely something worth seeing and I appreciate Dai and Go taking me to see it. It was a good experience seeing something as a kid I grew up watching.  

                                                          Dia (left) and Go (right)

                                                           Dessert at Restaurants

                                                            From inside the Sky Tree

                                                               Gundam Wing Statue

May 23, 2014 - Culture Shock Hits

Culture Shock Hits

The day started off decently. I laid around until about noon then decided to grab lunch. I wanted some more sushi. I walked around Asakusa for at least 45 minutes and a found a place. I really didn't want a lot just enough to tide me over. I was kind of forced to get the lunch special. I about lost my lunch when I got to the fish eggs. Not because of the taste, but it was more the texture. It was just overwhelming! I have had better sushi. This was not it. 

After that, the day went downhill from there. I missed a stop on the subway and was I didn't know where I was in relation to the Ueno Zoo. I grabbed a map. I had to go back a station but I still didn't know where I was for a minute or two. I was trying to meet up with my roommates but that wasn't happening. I couldn't update them because both our SIM cards don't work with our phones. We can only communicate when there's wi-fi. 

I made the best of the zoo. I went back to the hostel, checked my messages and decided to see Akihabara. The anime stores were good. I had questions about some of the figurines I saw. I didn't understand the purpose for some. 

My breaking point came when I was trying to find the Robot Restaurant. I could have sworn it was in Akihabara! I walked around for many blocks, looking for any type of touristy place. There was no free wi-fi anywhere. I caved and headed back to the train station. I sought the information building but they spoke very little English. I told him what I was looking for and he grabbed a map. He circled 3 places. I knew this was not correct. I left even more frustrated.

A glimmer of hope came when I saw a Metro bus pull up. Those buses have free wi-fi. I was going to catch a signal and find the place. The only problem is that the buses kept leaving. I finally saw a bus that pulled up to the station and stayed. I moved right next to the bus. I had a great signal according to my phone. STILL NO CONNECTION. I went back to the hostel defeated, wishing I was back home with internet on my phone.

Before you go out, plan your routes, get the necessary maps and give yourself extra time to reduce your stress!

May 24, 2014 - Kamakura

Kamakura

I couldn't have a lazy day today because I'm meeting Narumi and Yuki in Kamakura. I used my JR pass with no issues. When I finally got to the station, I waited for them but I didn't see Narumi or Yuki. After twenty minutes, I decided to go to the other exit and there they were with smiling faces. As we walked the streets, we talked, laughed, ate, and snapped pictures. We saw a few shrines. At the first shrine, we gave an offering and said a prayer. The second shrine, we saw the Great Buddha statue. The last shrine, we washed money for good luck. We had a great time! I know we will all have a good night's sleep from all that walking!

Free day Saturday

Today was a great day exploring Tokyo by myself. I was supposed to hang out with my buddies from Chuo University, but one of the girls got sick on the way to meet me at the hostel. I was looking forward to hanging with them today. This didn't stop me from going out and doing things though. I went into a random restaurant for lunch. The food was actually good. When I got done eating lunch I sent some post cards back to the states to my family and friends. I did a lot of walking today and it was hot out. Then I headed to Ueno Zoo. There was a lot of energetic kids running wild in the zoo. They had a lot of animals, but it seemed like their cages were small. Everything in Japan is actually smaller. My favorite animal I seen was the crocodile.