Time to say Good-Bye to Nihon:

Flower Expo Memorial Park Tsurumi Ryokuchi 1990, Osaka 

           Time is going so fast; without realizing, it has already been more than three months since I left New York for Japan. The weather is starting to get a little chilly, so no more complaints about the heat. Yet I have realized most of young women here are still wearing shorts, myself included. I love the Japan: The autumn, full with beautiful red and yellow colors; how every temple and shrine is full of tradition and feeling; how Japanese servers always respect their customers so much; that Osaka Obaacan always give out candy when you ask for directions. I love that both modernization and tradition coexist in places like Kyoto, Nara and etc. I love…

Flower Expo Memorial Park Tsurumi Ryokuchi 1990, Osaka 

             One thing I discovered through a semester here is the Japanese don’t talk much about their deep feelings. They are always so nice and nod their head when you tell them your opinions, but most of them don’t like to talk much about themselves. I always feel this and would like to know more about them. I feel they are hiding something, but foreigners can't know and find out what this is and probably will never have the chance to find out.

Flower Expo Memorial Park Tsurumi Ryokuchi 1990, Osaka               My impressions of Japan have not changed much. I was lucky to have a very nice host family-- they always treated me as part of family. With them I had the opportunity to practice my Japanese, since Kaisai Gaidai places all the international students in one building, making it harder to pratice speaking Japanese with Japanese students. Because of my host family, I was able to learn more about Japanese culture compared to those who lived in Seminar House. I really appreciate everything they have done for me. I still remember my first week here: I was really disappointed from all the heat, the language barrier, and not being familiar with Japanese culture. But now I love it! As my Japanese has improved, it has become easier for me to explore Japan. 

高尾山 in Tokyo

            A semester is definitely not enough time to learn everything about Japanese culture, but I am thankful that I had the opportunity to get to know even a small part of Japanese culture. I really had a great time here! 

高尾山 in Tokyo

Flower Expo Memorial Park Tsurumi Ryokuchi 1990, Osaka 

Flower Expo Memorial Park Tsurumi Ryokuchi 1990, Osaka 

Nara: A Must-See in Japan

              I like Nara the best, probably because I grew up in the city, a place unlike Nara. Nara was the very first permanent capital of Japan, it is a place full with natural beauty, temples and shrines.

On my way to Nara, near by Nara

              One of the most famous temples in Nara is Todaiji Temple.  It is famous for having been named one of the largest wooden buildings and largest bronze Buddha statue in the world. On your way walking to Todaiji Temple, there are deer everywhere. They are like mice in New York City train stations. Often times you see visitors feeding the deer cookies or the deer biting visitors. Once you buy a cookie from the shop, you must feed the deer right away, otherwise the deer might jump at and bite you. I learned my lesson from not feeding them right away!

Todaiji Temple

               Walking a few minutes to the east of Todaiji Temple, there is a very famous Shinto shrine called Kasuga Taisha Shrine. It is famous for having a thousand bronze lanterns, as well as two thousand stone lanterns.   

Deers are biting me photo by Xiao Rui Lin

 

              Another temple you should visit is Ryosenji Temple, for it is the biggest and, in my opinion, the best temple I have visited so far. A few things you must see while visiting Ryosenji Temple are the Rose Garden, Three-Floor Pagoda, Main Hall and Herbal bath,etc. I like the Rose Garden the most, because there are 200 species of roses and the whole garden is full of their scent. Inside the Rose Garden there's also a cafe, I strongly recommend to try out the rose ice-cream because it smells and tastes like a real rose and it's made to look like one too. There's also rose tea, rose sugar and rose coffee you could try it out too. Mid May till Mid November is probably is the best time to visit the rose garden.

                                                     

The Rose Garden

                                                             Rose ice-cream

              If you are interested in experiencing countryside living as well as visiting temples and shrines, I strongly recommend you visit Nara. There are a lot more about Nara you could discover.

Who is leading young woman fashion @ Japan

              Upon arriving in Japan, you will be received with myriad fashions and soon enough, you will find out more about the distinctive Japanese fashion style. Anywhere you go in Japan, you will find some amazing street fashion, especially in places such as Shinjuku, Ginza, Shibuya 109, and Hirajuku. 

Shibuya 109

              In Hirajuku, you will often see Gothic Lolita fashion girls, doll-like young women wearing Victorian-style clothes. There are also Sweet Lolita clothing stores in Harajuku. As implied by the name, these stores have very sweet looking dresses with lots of lace and ribbons. Sometimes young women will also carry a cute looking umbrella while walking.

 Hirajuku, with my friends from China-- Chun Yu 

              There are two Shibuya 109 department stores. Shibuya 109 I is an eight-story building filled with young women’s clothes. It is a place where most Japanese women dream to shop. The whole building is full of very sweet-looking fashion, with brands like Liz Lisa, Spiral Girl, Rienda, and Honey Bunch, all of which have a very similar style. The young women who work at these stores always put on heavy black eyeliner and long false eyelashes, as well as blush for pink cheeks and lip color for pink lips. They have yellow curly hair and are all very skinny-looking. They are the ones leading and defining most of the Japanese young women’s fashion. Shibuya 109 II is all for men. I did not check the men’s clothing stores, but I assume they must be very popular among young men as well.

Young girlsworks for Liz Lisa clothing store



      There are some very unique things you could discover about Japanese fashion; I only explored a small part of it. Personally, I really like Japanese brands like Liz Lisa, but it is also very expensive. It is very popular among teenage women and almost every mall I go to, I see a Liz Lisa store.

Some Unique Festival for children at Japan

Shichi-Go-San Matsuri　七五三祭り (“Seven-Five-Three Festival”)

Experience Japanese culture with my host family

This photo is taken by my otoosan, Kawamukai Akira

The Shichi-Go-San Festival is on November 15th, but nowadays some people are celebrating it around November 15, since the Shinto shrine is getting too crowded on that day. It is a unique Japanese festival for boys who have just turned three and five years old, as well as girls turning three and seven years old. The families take their children to a Shinto shrine, the children wear the kimono and carry a long bag of candy called Chitose-ame,（千歳あめ）meaning long life candy. The candy is both red and white, which represents good fortune. They have to enter the gate (tori), symbolizing the way to the god’s house. While they enter the shrine, the monk spreads some water on children’s heads and a Buddhist symbol stamp on top of each. They are quietly sit in front of the Buddha until the ceremony ends. The children often receive gifts from their relatives; most often the grandparents put money in a envelop as a gift. They take lots pictures in the shrine to preserve the memory.

For more information about Shichi-Go-San Matsuri, please check:

http://worldculturenet.com/2006/11/14/shichi-go-san-matsuri-%E2%80%9Cseven-five-three-festival%E2%80%9D/

My Otoosan Granddaughter, Rua（る亜）

Omiya-Mairi(宮参り) 

A young mami bring her baby to the shrine

Another unique festival in Japan is omiya-mairi(宮参り) , a festival for a baby thirty days after birth. The purpose of this festival is the same as Shichi-Go-San Matsuri, to give thanks go God(s) and to pray for children to continue to have good health and prosperity. Most likely the parents take their children to the shrine, but traditionally some people believe that when a woman period come, they are dirty and not allow to enter the tori. Therefore, the grandparents take the baby to the shrine.

During  the ceremony  

A Comparison of Beauty and Pain

Signed "Bette Midler, New York City", 1979 By Annie Leibovitz

http://www.charitybuzz.com/celebrities/12/catalog_items/79843

             The film, “Life Through a Lens, ” directed by Barbara Leibovitz, is a true story about Annie Leibovitz’s life as a stage photographer, and why is she is successful in her career. She expresses that “the camera is another member of her family.” This reveals the foundation of her passions, paths and love for being a photographer. I really like the way she approaches others in order to take a real photo to represent each group. I have learned from Annie that inorder to take a real photo you have to become part of the group and willing to spend time to get to know these people first hand. Also not only capable of capturing others’ character and attitude in each photo, but is also able to pick the best photo out of hundreds. The light, pose and attitude of each photo directly determine the reason why she picks one particular photo out of hundreds.

Bolle photographed by Annie Leibovitz

http://www.flickr.com/photos/79557845%40N00/3075006579/

Rwanda, 1994 - Survivor of Hutu death camp By James Nachtwey 

http://www.jamesnachtwey.com/

            The film, “War Photographer,” is about James Natchwey’s experiences in capturing adversity and suffering. In the beginning of the film, he was taking a photo in front of a firing house. It was such a sensitive and touching moment when I saw him wiping his tears from the smoky air. He ignored the dangers of standing around the house which was falling apart and instead continued to focus on his work. He was accepted by these suffering people as they opened up and showed the world how their life was during the war period. In each black and white photo, he is able to capture the pain of losing one's family, the facial expression shows the painfulness, loneliness and helpless of one feels under such extreme conditions. I have learned these precious and misery moment photos are taken in such a dangerous environment. You need to be very brave running around to take the photos near the grenade or fire and take photo of every moment because you never know what would happened in next second. The photos are able to show us one’s suffering as a result of the war and the difficult life experiences of death and pain that one faces during war. He powerfully renders history and the past through a sense of humanity.

For more information about James Natchwey, please check below link: 

http://www.jamesnachtwey.com/

Chechnya, 1998 - Ruins of central Grozny By James Nachtwey

http://www.jamesnachtwey.com/

Romania, 1990 - An orphanage for "incurables" By James Nachtwey
http://www.jamesnachtwey.com/

My Host Dad (Otoosan)

We often chat during the dinner time.

             My host dad’s name is Kawamukai Akira. He was born in 1952 and grew up in Osaka City. He received his first radio license when he was seventeen. He works extremely hard to achieve his goals. He used to own a bakery when he was thirty-three. He is proud that he was able to make 640 cakes with his other co-workers before Christmas Eve. He bought his first car after Christmas as a present, and that motivated him to work even harder. To give his family a better future, he sacrificed his own freedom; he used to have 5 days off per year. Although he owns a big house in Osaka after 10 years of hard work, his body is no longer as healthy as before. He understand that he isn’t as young as he used to be and so he can’t handle that kind of job any more. 

My otoosan is teaching me how to make a cake.

              Since he could no longer experience the happiness that existed in his bakery, he decided to seek another career with his skill of fixing radios. Now he owns a radio repair company. He enjoys fixing and making radios during his free time. Although, sometimes he has to travel back and forth at midnight between his customers’ locations.

This is the first cake I ever mde before.

              Besides being a hard worker, he is also very fun-loving, outgoing and willing to share his happiness with everyone around him. He always carries his smile everywhere he goes, and brightens everyone’s day. He knows the majority of our neighbors, and they are always friendly to him. I am impressed that he had the courage to change his career.

My otoosan own 6 dogs, he loves them a lot.

Neighborhood Jyoodooku Sekime

Little garden in front of my neighbor's house      

              I live in Jyoodooku Semiki, about one and half hours away from Kaisai Gaidai. My home is very close to Osaka city. The modern Osaka along with its traditional houses can be visible from the top of my home. The majority of my neighbors own a small garden in front of their house. I often see PET bottles connected to the plant, the purpose of PET bottles are to protect the plant from the wild animal. On my way to the school, I often see housewives gather in corner of the street and talk about their daily lives. Sometimes they say “Ohayoo gazaimasu” to me, and I would smile and nod my head to show my respect. Passing by allies, I often see the housewives busy hanging up their daily laundry. I remember my visit to my friend’s home and his okaasan had quickly replied “Of course, I’m Japanese, Japanese woman does laundry every day.” When I seemed shocked that she also did laundry every day, because in America most of people do their laundry once a week. Eventually, I realized that my neighbors are hang up their washing in the morning, and take it down after sunset. 

            There is a park near by my home. Although, kids rarely hang out there, my neighbors love to take their dogs in the park; my otoosan walks around with six dogs in this park twice a day.

             In addition to houses and a park, there are a lot of self-owned businesses, which operate in the area; even my host father has an office on the fourth floor of our home. On my way to the school and back home, I always see trucks, and the workers are busy unloading products. I think I must live in a really wealthy neighborhood.

For more information about Pet bottles, please check:

http://soleswornthin.blogspot.com/2010/05/pet-versus-pet.html