Happy New Year everyone! I am starting off 2015 with a winter study-abroad for 2 weeks in Japan. Despite the fact that all my relatives other than my immediate family lives in Japan, I have not been able to visit the country in almost a decade. I am so thrilled about going on this short, but new adventure, and sharing the experience with all of you. Hope you enjoy!
We departed from the States on January 6th, hopping on a flight to Toronto through Air Canada. The plan was to fly from Canada to the Haneda Airport in Tokyo, and then to the Osaka Airport. In other words, we were planning on being in Japan and ready to go by the 7th. However, I am sad to say that after landing in Toronto, a series of unfortunate events took place. Firstly, our flight from the States was delayed by an hour and a half. The flight attendants assured us we would make the flight. But we didn't. Then, we could not get a flight out until 2 DAYS LATER. THEN, Toronto Airport let us know that they could not locate about half of our bags. We spent about 10 hours in the airport trying to find them, and dealing with an extremely rude customer service.
Moral of the Story: NEVER USE AIR CANADA. EVER.
Anyways, we finally get to Japan on the 8th, and drive our way to Kyoto, a hub of Japan's traditional culture. We stayed at the wonderful Kyoto Traveler's Inn, with rooms complete with tatami mats and futons.
Pictured below is my very first meal in Japan: a rice ball and green tea from a local 7-11.
The next morning, we headed straight to the Enryaku-ji Buddhist Temple on the top of Mt. Hiei. We rushed from the hotel to the subway, experiencing the town along the way.
Then, we went on the Japanese subway! We went to the Keihan Railway Sanjo Station, and boarded the train. It was fun to see how some of the trains had adorable, anime designs.
After some time, we got off at Sakamoto station as the beauty of the weather reached its finest. The area was absolutely gorgeous, filled with greenery and traditional Japanese houses.
To get to the top of Mt. Hiei, we went on a cable car, apparently one of the longest cable car rides in Japan. I would not recommend this for those who are afraid of heights, unless they want to conquer that fear.
Finally, we reached the top. Although the snow had melted at the foot of the mountain, the top of the mountain was covered in white. It was almost as if we had entered Narnia! And of course, the height provided an incredible view.
Below is a souvenir from the trip. It is a book depicting Iyouden, the Healing Bodhisattva. For a bit extra, you can get one with calligraphy on the inside, as depicted to the lower left. Photographs were permitted neither in the temple, nor the museum we visited afterwards.
To satiate our hunger after the trek, we dropped by the Soba place. I was excited to see that yet another favorite celebrity of mine, Takeru Sato, had been to that very place!
I've recorded the whole experience, and will put together a vlog as soon as I have the time! Stay tuned for more posts, and for the vlog videos. :)
Happy 2015!
Best,
justajae