Fall Break (P.S. Version)
- Lyss Ku
- Nov 30, 2023
- 12 min read
Welcome back to my republished study abroad blog series! In this post I talk about my Fall Break trip in Japan! This was where I really pushed myself out of my comfort zone, and ended up traveling by myself for the very first time! It was a chance to redeem myself after getting lost taking the train. I will say I didn’t know what I was doing when traveling alone, but it was a risk I was willing to take if I wanted to achieve my goals during my study abroad experience. To give a spoiler-free summary, this short break ended on a happy note, and it was worth it. If you want to learn more in detail, go ahead and read my updated blog post!
Also I do want to give a little disclaimer: Because this post takes place during late October through early November, there is a small mention of Halloween. I understand this post is coming out after Thanksgiving and before the holidays, but please bear with me as I try to get these posts out while working at my job the same time!
Konnichiwa! The week after Oppama Y Festa, it was Fall break and everyone went off to explore on their own. I will talk about my experience during fall break. じゃあ、始めましょ!
Tuesday 10/30- Fall break for KGU did not officially start until the next day, but my Japanese Cultural Studies professor decided to cancel class that day. Therefore, I decide to venture out to Tokyo Skytree, a television broadcasting tower and one of the landmarks of Tokyo located in the center of Skytree Town. I went all the way to top at 450 meters and since the weather was clear that day, I was able to see Mt. Fuji from the observation decks. There was also a large shopping area at the base where I did some omiyage (souvenir) shopping.
More on Tokyo Skytree: on each floor you can collect stamps, but I didn’t end up finding all of them because I couldn’t find the one for the bottom floor. They also had a theme of “Where’s Waldo”, but they called it “Where’s Wally” for some reason.
Wednesday 10/31- I decided to venture off on my own by first going to Kyoto. I went by the Shinkansen bullet train and it took about three hours from Yokohama to Kyoto. That day I visited two shrines/temples; the Nishi Hongwanji and the Fushimi Inari Shrine. I will not go into much detail about the shrines, so I will leave links at the bottom so you can learn more about them. The best part was that these shrines were FREE! At night, I went to the Gion Corner show which was a theater that showcased Kyoto’s performing arts including, koto (Japanese harp), kado (flower arrangement), kyogen (ancient comic play), kyomai (Kyoto style dance) and chado (tea ceremony) where I was one of the two audience members that participated. I stayed at a modern hostel that was only around $26 USD a night, so it was a good deal. And since it was Halloween that day, it was weird to not see many people dressed up in costume especially in Kyoto, except for one foreigner dressed up in a unicorn onesie at a ramen restaurant. On a side note, the place where many people dress up and celebrate Halloween is Tokyo specifically, Harajuku and Shibuya area. That is the last place you would want to be on Halloween in Japan since it can get crazy!
I ended up going by myself to both Kyoto and Hiroshima during the Fall Break. The other students went to Kyoto as well, but didn’t include me in their plans after what happened with the Tokyo Stock Exchange excursion. I mentioned in my last post that I bought the tickets to the bullet train with the assistance of my buddy. Then, my buddy did the most selfless thing by assisting me to the bullet train the morning I went to Kyoto. I never asked him to do this, but I was grateful that I wasn’t going into this trip completely alone. Yes, this was my first time traveling all by myself, and I didn’t know what I was going to get into. However, I was motivated by goals of seeing all these places before my time abroad ended. As for how I found the places I stayed at, I had the International Center staff help me with this by directing me to Booking.com to find affordable lodging. BTW, I also saw a perfect view of Mount Fuji as I was riding the bullet train.
Now when I got to Kyoto, I didn’t have an actual itinerary planned, but a list of places I wanted to see. I tried to do as many things I could in the short amount of time I was in Kyoto. I will say that Kyoto is a very popular place for tourists especially during the fall season, and I did see a lot of them when I was in Kyoto. As for where I ended up staying, I was glad that the hostel looked clean and the staff members were able to speak English. However, the layout of the room was that I stayed in a large room with a lot of people, and I slept on bunk beds. Fortunately, each bunk bed came with a curtain to close when sleeping along with a light. You can also purchase eye mask and ear plugs so you can sleep without disturbance. I forgot the name of this hostel, but it wasn’t too bad considering the low price. The only criticism I have is that I would’ve preferred to sleep on the bottom bunk since I am pretty short, and I had to carry my stuff to the top. I am not sure I was able to choose the bunk when making the reservations.
As for the places I visited, I know I put links so you can read more about them, but I will share brief details from my own perspective.
Nishi Hongwanji: http://www.hongwanji.or.jp/english/ - I don’t have much to say about this temple, but it is designated as a UNESCO world heritage site. If you don’t know what that means, UNESCO stands for United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. It is an agency from the UN that designates many world, cultural, and natural sites that show “outstanding universal value.” Their main goal is to promote the preservation and growth of intellectual and cultural property.
Fushimi Inari: https://www.japan.travel/en/spot/1128/- (Original link is no longer working so I replaced it with a different one). Fushimi Inari is famously known for having a path of torii gates that people can walk through. Some even dare to hike all the way up to the top. However, my Japanese cultural studies professor strongly recommended to not hike it at night. They shared a story of one student who actually did this and got injured. I didn’t go all the way to the top because I don’t like hiking, and I wanted to get out of there before it gets dark. This is also another popular tourist destination in Kyoto.
Thursday 11/01- The next day I went to Yasaka Shrine which was also free and nearby was the Teramachi shopping district. It is where all the junior high school and high school students buy stuff to take home and many are affordable. Therefore, I did a little shopping in that area. After that, I was off to Hiroshima by bullet train which took about two hours. At Hiroshima, I saw the Atomic Bomb Dome, and the Children’s Peace Monument, and Peace Memorial Park. The Atomic Bomb Dome looked so real with all the rubble remaining after the bomb dropped. For the Children’s Peace Monument, I have a very special connection. In my senior year of high school, I held and origami crane drive where I encouraged the students at my high school to make origami cranes and donated them to the Children’s Peace Monument. And here I am three years later at the place where all the cranes ended up! I also saw many elementary school groups come for school field trips where they donated cranes and prayed in front of the monument and sang a song. During the night, I stayed at a Japanese-style guesthouse which was around 39$ USD a night. The gentleman who owned the place was really nice, and even took me to the supermarket to get some food.
Yasaka Shrine: https://www.discoverkyoto.com/places-go/yasaka-jinja/- The main highlight of this shrine is you can write your prayers/wishes on these small wooden boards called ema that you can hang on a rack with all the other ema.
I wished I spent more time in Kyoto but based on the schedule of our fall break, my time was limited and I had to go to Hiroshima. As for where I stayed in Hiroshima for the night, even though the host was nice, I don’t recommend this place. This guesthouse was actually recommended by the English teacher from the university which was why I decided to book a reservation there. However, the location is very far from the station and the other landmarks. Therefore, I recommend to choose your lodging close to the station so you don’t have to worry about traveling far once you arrived. Also, the place was only accessible by bus, and the driver wasn’t nice when I tried to ask him if it was the right bus.
Friday 11/02- My time in Hiroshima continued the next day by going to the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum. I was very touched by the exhibits displaying the day that the atomic bomb dropped. It was also a little bit sad because there were many artifacts and pictures where people were injured very badly, and even burned. Because it was a little traumatic, it was hard for me to take a lot of pictures during my visit here. I even saw a peace “watch” tower that indicates the number of days since the A-bomb was dropped and the number of days since the last nuclear test. The last nuclear test was conducted a year ago in the United States and that made me feel sorry.
I don’t recommend this museum for the faint-of-heart due to many artifacts and displays depicting graphic images that can trigger PTSD. I personally was interested in this because it shows a different side of a tragic event that many people went through. Unfortunately, it is still reflected in recent events, and those who watched Oppenheimer might start to feel sorry after reading this post. If you would like to learn more about the history of this city, I recommend this place but I will place a trigger warning for what you will see.
I am not a huge fan of politics, but I could tell that my country has taken a big step back with what has been happening recently. However, there is still hope that someday all nuclear weapons will be abolished. I even signed a petition at the museum about this act. Overall, it was one of my goals to visit Hiroshima during my time because I am familiar with the atomic bomb drop, the story of Sadako Sasaki and the origami cranes and I am proud to say I achieved that goal. After visiting the museum, I ate Hiroshima-style okonomiyaki (Japanese savory pancake) at a place called okonomi-mura, a “theme park” where there are many okonomiyaki restaurants in the vicinity. Then, I returned to the Children’s Peace Monument to donate two cranes that I made while I was here.
As I was on my way to the station, I stopped by this cool facility called the Hiroshima Orizuru Tower, named after the folded paper crane. From the rooftop observation deck, you can see a view of city including the atomic bomb dome. There are also activities where you can learn about the art origami cranes such as making one and throwing it down the orizuru wall. It is a really cool place with a modern aspect, and I highly recommend while anyone is visiting Hiroshima. After that, I took the shinkansen back to Yokohama. The last two days was the first time I traveled by myself and I didn’t really do a lot of planning, I just went by ear. But, I was able to get around safely without getting lost at all!
Originally, this wasn’t part of my plans when visiting Hiroshima. However, as I was on my way to the station, I was very interested and decided to visit. It turned out to be a fun and peaceful place. Once again, I highly recommend but make sure to visit when your phone doesn’t have 30% battery remaining. Because I was using Google maps a lot and I had a much older phone at the time, my battery seemed to drain very quickly. Luckily, I was able to make it to the station and back home with just enough battery. I was so relieved to return to my host family, and was able to navigate my way through two unknown places without getting lost. That meant I had redeemed myself, and proved others wrong that I could travel independently. One of the best things about traveling by yourself is that you can decide where you want to go, and still end up having a great time experiencing these wonderful places.
Saturday 11/03- My host family along with a family friend went to the annual windsurfing event sponsored by the KGU windsurfing club at Tsukui Beach coast located in Yokosuka-shi. Now, being from Hawaii I have never surfed in my entire life, so I was a little nervous. And as it turns out, I did not do so well the first try as I struggled to balance on the board, and falling off eventually. As soon as I was able to maneuver the vessel, I went out too far past a point where I was screaming “Tasukete!” (help!); luckily I got towed back to shore. I almost lost my glasses when I fell off the board, but they were able to be found. It was a close call, and I should have taken another pair with me just in case. My host mother was not as lucky as I was because she too fell off the board and she completely lost her glasses which never ended up being found. She was also supposed to take me back to the dorms that day, and without them she wouldn’t be able to drive. However, another family that she invited lent her a pair, so everything turned out well. But for the most part, a lot of my time was spent screaming, swimming in the water, and playing in the sand. I wish I had more time trying to windsurfing, and I think I am the first International student that failed at windsurfing.
I was a total idiot for not removing my glasses before going into the water for windsurfing. This is also a good reminder to bring a pair of spare glasses especially if you are traveling abroad. I am not sure how much prescription lenses cost Internationally, and I was lucky that my glasses were found.
After the event, my host family along with my KGU buddy ate dinner at a food court in a shopping complex. Then, my host mother took me back to dorms which meant my homestay had come to the end. I enjoyed spending time with my host family. I will miss being greeted by their dogs when I arrive at the door and playing with them, the breakfast bentos my host mom always makes me every morning, the super comfortable bed in my room which is actually my host sister’s, and most of all the おもてなし (hospitality) and strong relationship between my host family and I. Overall, my homestay experience became one of my happiest memories. The moment before I went back to the dorms, I hugged my host mother tight before we parted ways. After leaving my host family, I had a bit of withdrawal.
Spoiler alert, I did see my family one last time before departing Japan a couple months later. Also, it wasn’t a complete goodbye because my host father was out of town working, so I didn’t get to see him before returning to the dorms. Sadly, I haven’t kept in touch with my host family recently due to the nature of how things turned out for me.
Monday 11/05- The International Center organized a bus tour for international and Japanese students where we went to a variety of places. First, we went to the Yamanashi Shinbun Mochi Factory Tour where we got to see kinako mochi being made. At the gift shop, I tried about four pieces of one of their kinako products. Then we went to Misaka Farm for some grape picking and had lunch. After that, we went to the Lako Loho Lake Experience studio where we made gel candles at Kraft Park. Finally, we went to Oishi Park where we could see Mt. Fuji but unfortunately, the weather was very cloudy so we could not see it. It turned out to be a great time bonding with buddies and other students.
To be honest, our tour bus driver was kind of weird and I couldn’t understand a lot of what they were saying, so I just tuned them out the entire time. Then again, that is how tour bus guides are usually. For example, they made each person on the bus introduce themselves, but I was lucky because I was skipped on purpose. They also put on Harry Potter as we were on our way back from the tour. I was only there to vibe with my buddies and some Japanese students that I can speak to.
I happened to make the most of my fall break because that is one of the only times that I was free and had no studying to do. For future participants, if you have a weeklong break like mine, I strongly encourage you to really take advantage of it by exploring many places and doing many activities. You might not have time near the end of your semester to travel due to final exams and projects. And I will say this again; 90 DAYS IS NOT A LOT OF TIME for a semester abroad program. So don’t be afraid and explore while you have the time (but be safe about it.)
Excelsior! (In honor of late Marvel creator, Stan Lee)- Stan Lee unfortunately passed away around the time I originally wrote this which is why I put his iconic phrase to pay tribute, and express that I accomplished something.
じゃあまた(see you later)
Overall, I think I achieved something I didn’t think I would ever do in my life. I became independent while traveling for a bit. Not only did I prove myself wrong, but I proved others. I didn’t care if my Fall Break was different than others because what mattered is that I got to see the places I wanted to see. I didn’t do too bad, but I do need to work on mapping out an itinerary to be more organized. You can easily say I was, “Fearless” traveling by myself.
Stay tuned for my final two re-published study abroad posts and my upcoming holiday series!
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