Myōryū-ji Temple ((Ninja Temple))

   This morning, my host sister Saki had a very large English test to take in Kanazawa-shi, Ishikawa-ken. Ishigawa prefecture is the next prefecture over, west of Toyama prefecture. So, we all got in the car early this morning, picked Josh up, and headed for Kanazawa city! (: 
    First, my host mother took us to the Higashi district (金沢のひがし地方), which is the traditional district in Kanazawa. The traditional district still has many Geisha (芸者), Tea houses (おちゃや), and Temples (お寺) located within heart of the city. My host mother knows how much I love Matcha, so she took Josh and I to a traditional tea house. We took a tour of the beautiful tea house, which was made up of wall-to-wall tatami flooring and had special tea rooms for the Geisha. After the tour, we sat down for sweets and our matcha.     After tea, we spent quite some time walking up and down the streets, entering and shopping at many shops. (: Soon after, we headed to a small restaurant where we ate an early lunch of local Ishikawa specialties. Our meal included miso soup, fresh sashimi, rice, three types of tea, and more~!  

       After lunch, we headed over to Myōryū-ji temple (妙立寺) which was the most amazing temple/building I have ever been to in my life!!! Myoryu-ji's nickname is "Ninja temple" because it is made up of secret staircases, pitfalls, secret doors, and wells with tunnels that connect to the closest castle.... :O The tour was incredible-- each corner we turned revealed a new hidden trap designed to protect the lord and samurai from an oncoming attacker. There is always one scene in any Scooby-Doo episode that shows exactly how this temple is set up.... In Scooby-Doo, there is that scene where the Mystery Inc. gang is running through a halls way of door with the bad guy, and each time they go into one door, they come out a different door.... Do you know what scene I am talking about?? (: haha anyway, that is how this temple was amazingly set up(:

  During the Edo Period, the Tokugawa shogunate prohibited the construction of buildings higher than three stories. Myoryu-ji looks like a two story temple from the outside, but really it is made up of seven layers ((4 hidden layers inside, 3 layers as a labyrinth of corridors in the basement)). The staircases on the main floor were made of see through white rice paper. If an enemy was entering the temple and using the staircases, the samurai below could see where their shadow was and could stab the enemies' feet with their spears... Also, literally every floorboard piece could be lifted up to reveal a secret staircase into the basement labyrinth. Myoryu-ji has only 25 rooms but 29 staircases in total!! :) 
    Oh my gosh what else? Everything about this temple was so amazing~! Oh yeah, like I said, the top 2 stories of the temple were prohibited and therefore hidden, so the staircases leading to them were hidden in closets behind latched doors. Also, the well in the middle of the temple did have a tunnel leading to the near by Kanazawa castle. Because the well was located in the middle of the temple, is was at convenient access for a quick escape when needed.
    So, even though this temple was built early in the 1500's, it is still full of many tricks and traps that are really amazing even today-- Ninja temple was definitely the most amazing temple I have ever visited!! (: Like always, if you have any questions or want to post a subject for me to address, please leave that in the comment sections below. Sorry for the long post....but it was worth it for Myoryu-ji (:

~Jane Claire (o^^o)

Firefly Viewing Magic

      Yesterday was Saturday, my first weekend day I could spend with my host sister since she has been home!! ((It was also the first day that Saki was probably fully recovered from her Jet-lag!))

  So my friend Josh's host-family and my host-family are really close friends, so other than us being neighbors, our families spend a lot of time together ((which is nice~)). Yesterday, I went over to Josh's house in the morning while my host-mother ran errands, and Josh's little host-brother took us all to the park to play soccer with some of his friends! (: They were all only nine years old and less afraid of me, so I had an easier time talking with them than I did with the students at my school.... Plus, we all bonded over playing soccer, something we all loved. I had to be careful playing with them because they were only nine and therefore two feet shorter than me, but it was such a nice gesture to invite me to play! (:

     After Soccer, I went with Josh's family to meet up with my family at a karaoke bar in town~! I was so excited to finally do karaoke in Japan, I was able to sing a lot of my favorite songs ((Japanese and English))! However, karaoke in Japan is more serious than in America-- We were at karaoke for 4 hours. hey, we were in Japan, Go big or Go home, am I right?? x)

Saki and Josh at karaoke~!

     Going into the evening, our families took us to the zoo as the sun was going down for an activity I have very much been wanting to try!! (: We were going firefly viewing at the zoo!! :) firefly viewing is a popular summer activity in Japan! 

my extended host family, including Josh and Mark(:

      We were waiting in a long line for a while until it look us into a forest where the fireflies were. This activity definitely lived up to the hype about it. There were no lights on the path in the forest, and the suddenly there were millions of fireflies lighting up the forest as if they were tiny stars. The only thing we could hear were the sounds of millions of frogs and crickets echoing in the forest and the sound of flowing water in the nearby creek; All we could see were millions of fireflies surrounding us, lighting the way. Last night was purely magic; I have never before witnessed something so magnificent in nature. And on top of everything, I was able to experience it with my host family and friends....In Japan. (: The word to describe last night was perfect. If you find yourself in Japan during summer in the near future, this is something you do not want to miss!

Basically what the forest looked like, but it was more dark....
photo credits to whoever put this on tumblr lol

~Jane Claire (o^^o)

Japanese Trees♥

 Before leaving for Japan, my friend Austin made a special request~ He asked me to please take many pictures of Japanese trees, and I willingly agreed. At first, this seemed like a strange request, and i did not really understand what was so special about Japanese trees.....Well, living here in Toyama now, I finally understand. I have never before been to a place in Japan where there was enough room for this many trees ((even though there still aren't a lot of trees here compared to Georgia)), so I finally get to take a close look at them in detail!
   I thought trees were just trees, but I have realized that trees in Japan are Beautiful! These trees look so delicately put together, and each tree is unique. They really do add to the beauty that is Toyama city. (: Thank you Austin for this request~!! I will continue updating you with more Tree pictures! (:

   I also want to take a second to appreciate the rice fields. (: They are so incredibly beautiful and they are Everywhere!! Everywhere! I live in a town, not a city, an actual town, and I am in love with it!!

~Jane Claire                                   ♪☆ＬＩＫＥじゃなくてLOVEよ☆♪

Small Classroom Issues....

So, today may have started as a bad day... ):
    I've been having a few small issues with my class lately, and I guess the issues make me feel a little lonely. My classmates don't really speak to me, sometimes even when I try to speak to them. I'm used to being alone, in fact I usually push myself away from being around many people at once, so I was prepared to the possibility of not talking to many people...but I guess it is kind of wearing me down. Before I leaving for Japan, i knew this would be one of the biggest problems I would be faced with this summer, and I made a promise that I would not let it destroy my happy mood while I am here. I will just continue to talk to my classmates whenever time permits and hopefully having them talk to me will become easier!(: Tonight, my host sister returns from her study abroad experience in Florida, so things should become easier at school when she is there with me!(:
   I guess my main problem has been coming from a few boys in my class.... Like, they say really mean things about me, and i sit right next to them. Yes, when you call me a "gross foreigner" while looking into my eyes, I know you are talking about me. They call me an "idiot," but I cannot be that much of a fool if I can understand their insults. Do they even realize I understand Japanese? Anyway, I constantly hear them saying really harsh, hateful things about me everyday, and it is kind of bothersome when that is the only thing I hear from my classmates all day. It is truly a shame that they are acting this way....Even so, I stated earlier that I don't want anything ruin my happy, optimistic mood, and I truly will not let that happen. The sun first rises every morning over Japan, and tomorrow brings a new day. They may have said harsh things today, but I will try again tomorrow to start fresh with them. I do believe they are good people at heart, and I hope to get on better terms with them.
Wish me Luck~!
   Also, if you are an aspiring exchange-student, please do not be concerned about your situation based on this post. This is just my personal story-- I cannot promise that this will or will not happen to you. Whatever happens, make the most of your exchange experience no matter what! Take everything with a smile and give people the benefit of the doubt!
   Anyway, my day turned around come lunch time when my friend ((another foreign exchange student)) found me and said "look! it's my favorite person!" that was so kind and he definitely helped to cheer me up. (:
 ~Jane Claire


 

Japanese School Lunches

   In Japan, it is most common for students to bring a lunch from home. The lunch is called an Obentou. My Host-mother makes me an Obentou every morning! My Obentou usually comes with a layer of rice and then a layer of fruit meat and vegetables. This is also typical for the obentou my classmates bring to school. 
   At least at my school, the students also have the option of buying lunch at the school and eating in the cafeteria. This lunch is usually a bowl of ramen, soba or udon. Buying lunch at school as opposed to bringing lunch from home seems to be more popular today than it was, say, 10 years ago. The kids that bring an Obentou from home, however, usually eat lunch in their homeroom class. (:
   Normally, I have been bringing a traditional Obentou to school for lunch.....However, today, my host mother gave me this fruit bowl.... (^^) haha it was different but awesome~!

~Jane Claire♥

★The Giving Tree, Rice Fields and Kind Host Mothers★

I bought The Giving Tree this weekend at the mall while I was shopping!! The Giving Tree is the most important book to me, and I have actually been wanting to buy the Japanese version for a very long time. Because it is important, I wanted to share this with someone at home, so i bought this for them when I saw it! ((spoiler alert: this book is indeed just as sad in Japanese as it is in English...I only shed a few tears, so everything is okay~haha))

   Toyama city is completely surrounded and filled with rice fields. (: It is very nice. I might have mentioned this, but Toyama is not too rural, not too suburban. I definitely realized there were rice fields everywhere, but there was something else a little regarding what my town looks like at home in Georgia. I couldn't quite put my finger on if for a while, I couldn't figure out what was different. Sure, my town in Georgia doesn't have rice fields, but Georgia definitely has houses like Toyama. Georgia definitely has roads and cars like Toyama. Today, I finally figured the aspect of Toyama that is different than at home! (: Toyama doesn't have any trees!! Well, that's not true, Toyama has a few trees every now and then.... But where I live in Georgia is very forest-like and there are many trees every few feet. Toyama has houses and rice fields. If you look out onto the horizon, you can see houses and rice fields for miles. (: In Georgia, there are so many trees that you cannot usually clearly see but a few meters ahead of you. In Toyama, the land in flat, the grass ((rice)) is green, and there are no tall buildings obstructing your view of the land or the sky. (: it is absolutely magnificent! (:

Also, today I had a slightly less than stellar day when I was ditched after school by some friends. Anyway, my host-mother noticed I was sad, and when she found out what happened, she took me out for ice cream at a local cafe~ It was wonderful! I got a few ice cream flavors, one of them being my favorite~ 抹茶 flavored ice cream (green tea)!! YUM★ It was so nice of my host mother to do that~ it made my day so much more stellar!

~Jane Claire (｡・ε・｡) 

Traditional Side of Toyama

   Saturday, I spent the day sight-seeing around the older, more traditional parts of Toyama!
   My host-mother and host-father had to go away this weekend to Kyoto on business, so I spent the weekend with my Prefecture's YFU representatives. I went to stay at their house on Saturday, and we also went shopping that day. Sunday, they wanted to take me to see Toyama's 大仏 (Great Buddha) and then to visit Toyama's oldest temple (Zuiryuu-ji Temple). I mentioned in my YFU application that I love studying about the traditional aspects of Japan's culture's, and that I am also really into visiting Temples and Shrines! Most people my age could easily get bored visiting such places, but I find them to be a place of relaxation and a place to indulge in my love for history. (: 

   The places we visited Saturday were definitely very, very magnificently built and beautiful to look at, but one thing i really appreciated about that day was that everywhere we visited appeal to mainly all of the senses. Normal, I spend most of my time focused on my sight and everything I could see, but that day I was also more focused on my what i could hear, smell taste and feel~ it was nice. Entering Zuiryuu-ji Temple, for example, you are immediately captivated by attention to detail of the decorations on the walls and ceilings. but, close your eyes for a moment and you are overpowered by the scent of burning incense in the air and the sounds of a gong being slowly hit nearby. It is hard to find any other place that is so appealing to the eyes, ears and nose(: haha over-all, every aspect of the Temple was very relaxing! 
  After visiting the Temple, we stopped at a Tea Shop for a little snack! I ordered a cup of むぎちゃ(Barley Tea) with a side of 抹茶 ice cream♥ YUM~ At first glance, it just looked like regular tea. But when I look closer, i discovered that the tea smelled like honey and tasted like spring ♥ haha, it was wonderful!!!

 Before setting out for these places, my YFU reps took me out for lunch at a Yakisoba restaurant! Yakisoba and Okonomiyaki are my favorite Japanese foods! (: They are so fun to make and are always really delicious! I had a lot of fun that day!

~Jane Claire (｡・ε・｡) 

Is Lady GaGa a Devil Worshiper?!?

Okay, funny stories from talking to my classmates! c:

     First, I was talking with a girl named Kaneha about music, and I mentioned that I liked listening to Lady Gaga.....oops. When I said this, Kaneha gave me the most horrified look and said "Ehhhh~!?!" After she saw my confusion, she explained, "I thought christian Americans were not allowed to listen to the Lady Gaga. Did you know? She worships the devil!!" This came as such a surprise!! O: i didn't know Lady GaGa was a satanist....But I guess I'm not really christian so what do I know? haha(: It was really interesting to see how people from the other side of the world view a famous American like Lady GaGa...hmm....

Another funny story! (: I turned around to ask my friend Shiko a question, and when I turned around, he sang, "I remember this from America-- ♪Red Robin.....YUM♪"   This was just so unexpected, but it made me laugh really hard. My friends at school are really nice and they are always making me laugh or smile. I have been trying to make them smile equally as much, some times by messing up my Japanese -.- ((which is not on purpose....)). Usually when I mess up my Japanese, they just say "How cute!" which I guess I am okay with(:

~Jane Claire  (｡・ε・｡) 

First Day of School!!

I flew to Toyama-ken from Tokyo last Tuesday, and I started attending school the next day!
   The first difference between American and Japanese schools that I came across was the school uniform. School uniforms usually exist at private schools in America, but they exist in mainly public schools in Japan. So, this is my school uniform ((and a picture with my fellow exchange students)).

      Because students do not belong to school districts, Japan does not have school buses (kind of...). Many students have to travel far distances to get to school; therefore, Japan is a biker-friendly nation ((which I love!!)). Personally, to get to my school, I ride my bike for 15 minutes to make it across town to the bus station, where I then take the bus 30-ish minutes to my school. Toyama city is incredibly beautiful--not too suburban but not urban either...-- and I absolutely love getting to ride my bike every morning before school!! >.<
     On my first day, i slipped right into the routine of Biology, Algebra, Geography, Japanese, English, and other classes. The first day was definitely hard. My Japanese ability could only take me so far in these Japanese classes, but I am definitely still building up my language ability!(: The two classes I completely understood the first day were Algebra and Geography. All of my friends have been asking me, "Japanese math class?? Isn't that the hardest thing ever?! How does that work!?" Haha the answer is: uhh, math ((especially algebra)) is the same concept in every language or country. (: Algebra was all written on the board. I just completed Algebra this past year as a sophomore, so I already knew what to do. haha(: it is not as bad as it sounds, i promise!

  I was a little worried the first day, because no one but the other exchange students would really talk to me.... All of the girls would shy away when I tried to them, and all the guys would say to me was, "Goodbye beautiful blonde! blonde girl, goodbye!!" haha
   HOWEVER! Today ((the following Monday after my arrival)), I have made friends with enough girls in my class to the point that they were all comfortable enough touching my blonde hair!(: I even took some pictures with them! <3 

   That is all for now~! If anyone has any questions about Japanese high school or how it works, please leave it in the comments below and I promise I will answer them!(:
じゃあね
~Jane Claire

Adventuring to Japan~

     On June 17th, we woke up early at Berkeley and began our long Journey to Japan....

     Before we could actually got to the San Francisco airport, we had to wake up at 4am, finish packing up, check out of our dorms at Berkeley, and say goodbye to all of the Alumni that helped us along the way! Granted, no one actually slept the night before leaving for Japan, so there was no waking-up at 4am(:

    When all 71 YFU participants arrived at the San Francisco airport, i thought the airport staff were going to lose it.... But I understand why they would be so worried when i group of 71 sleep-deficient, hyper teenagers walk through their doors....we had to get in and out of check-in as soon as possible, and they even put us through special security that was separate from the rest...hmm

   Only when we boarded the flight from San Francisco to Los Angeles did it hit all of us that we would be in Japan within 15 hours! The first flight consisted mostly of our group, so we were all working together to keep everyone calm. haha
   From Los Angeles, we boarded a beautiful international plane that would take us to Narita airport in Tokyo. International planes are always amazing and are always equipped with many things to entertain you during the duration of your flight. The television screens had games, music, movies, tv shows, and more!(: I sat by my friend Andrew on this flight, and we did everything together during the entire 11-hour plane ride! It was a lot of fun! He was good company, and instead of feeling like the plane ride was too long, i felt as though we did not have enough time on the flight (^^)    One of our activities included taking many airplane selfies for a few hours! haha~

      Upon arriving at Narita, we all had the chance to Exchange currency, discover the Japanese vending machines, and experiencing Japanese toilets.... Japanese restrooms are an experience within themselves! haha(:

        Around 8pm on June 18th, exhausted, we finally retreated to our hotel rooms in Tokyo. Because we had placements all over Japan, We would wake up the morning of June 19th and we were transported to our host-cities! 

~Jane Claire

JPDO at Berkeley~

    Soo, a few days ago, we had our Japan Pre-Departure Orientation (JPDO) at Berkeley in San Francisco!

    There were about 71 students at this orientation. We were all staying with roommates in dorms at berkeley!! It was such an interesting experience...

My Roommate Brittney!!(:

      Anyway, at orientation, the YFU staff group all 71 of us into several くみ (groups). I was able to get to know  everyone in みどりくみ! Everyone I have met through this program has been so kind(:
Okay, so Orientation at Berkeley was not all just fun and games. This orientation was specifically for students who also won a scholarship to Japan that required previous language knowledge. So ((looking back at my orientation schedule I posted before)) we went through really busy 14 hour days of Japan preparation. We had a few "survival Japanese" classes everyday, and we had many cultural exercises that would prepare us for culture shock we might experience upon entering Japan.

    YFU also had a group of Alumni at our orientation what was able to handle any of our questions, comments, or concerns about Japan. This is Evan! He went to Akita Prefecture through YFU a few years ago, and he helped me with everything!(:

    At orientation, I was able to meet a lot of splendid people who have the same interests and dreams as I do. It was really an amazing start to my Japan Summer Adventure!! (:

~Jane Claire

~*~Orientation~*~

       So I want to take a moment to get excited about pre-departure orientation for this Japan trip! It is being held at the university of California Berkeley, and half of the students going to Japan have already gone to California and gone through this orientation! They have been posting pictures all over the YFU facebook group and they have been telling us what orientation will be like! Students of the JAFS scholarship ((me)) go to the later orientation, which will be this Friday until Monday~
So we received the Orientation schedule~

~Jane Claire ♥

Travel Itinerary

Just an update of my travel schedule~~ I depart for orientation at Berkeley in 2 days! :)

June 14th

• Depart Atlanta at 7:05 AM, arrive in Dallas at 8:15 AM
• Depart Dallas at 10:35 AM, arrive in San Francisco at 12:10 PM

June 17th

• Depart San Francisco at 9:25 AM, arrive in Los Angeles at 10:55 AM
• Depart Los Angeles at 12:30 PM, arrive in Tokyo at 3:50 PM ((June 18th))

July 29th

• Depart  Tokyo at 3:55 PM, arrive in Los Angeles at 10:15 AM
• Depart Los Angeles at 11:45 PM, arrive in Dallas at 4:55 PM
• Depart Dallas at 6:00 PM, arrive in Atlanta at 9:15 PM

~Jane Claire ♥

3 Day Scramble

       So I just flew into Atlanta yesterday afternoon after spending 12 days on vacation in New England and Montréal with my family, now it's time to start preparing for going to Japan! haha

((no but seriously, I've been preparing for Japan for a while. We really did go on a random vacation beforehand, though.....))

       So, i'm home now, today is a Tuesday, and I leave for Japan Friday. Ahhhhh, stress-level is over 9000. Preparing to live abroad for 6 weeks requires a lot of time running around, settling things at home, and wrapping your mind around the whole situation. I think the plan for today is to go shopping for nice shirts, to pick up a summer reading book, to see my grandparents, to actually start packing, picking up the final gifts for my host-family, and to finish two of my school assignments! hmm, this definitely looks better written on my blog than done....

   Oh! I also have to pick up some new soccer cleats and athletic wear! (: I got an e-mail from my host sister Saki, and she said that she was told I love soccer, and the coach at her school said it would be alright if I joined the soccer team at my host school! (: Aside from Japanese and Latin, playing soccer has ALWAYS been my passion, it is my favorite sport! I was extremely surprised and excited from this e-mail!! I have never played soccer on a school team before, but wish me luck! ☆〜(ゝ。∂)

~Jane Claire ♥