Week 1
Day 0
I got to meet some of the other people in the program in the terminal while we waited for the plane, and it was great! Loved talking and getting to know them. The flight was about as I expected. 13 hours long, I knew it was going to be rough but I wanted to make the most of it. I tried watching some Godzilla minus one without subtitles for practice, but I got bored halfway through and switched to Caleb Hearon's standup special. I nodded off here and there, but was generally awake the whole time. I think the guy to my right was a skinwalker though; 13 hour flight and he didn't get out of his seat once.
After the plane landed, we explored the Tokyo haneda airport. I got some ramen with a couple others, and it was as good as I was expecting.
Eventually we had to meet up and get on the bus. To be honest I had forgotten about that, but Hikone is pretty far from Tokyo. It took the bus about half an hour to come, then we were off for a 5 ride. On the way, we stopped at a couple rest stops for food or just to stretch our legs. Got to use a Japanese vending machine for the first time (it was everything I had hoped for).
I managed to get some sleep on the bus before arriving at the dorms at 1:30 am. I was disgustingly greasy after being mostly awake for 24 hours, and I figured in for a penny in for a pound and took the shower.
Day 1
We started with breakfast at 8:30, consisting of various onigiri from 7/11, before going to orientation. They went over important information, like when the placement tests are and how to sort garbage in Japan (burnable vs clean plastic vs plastic bottles vs glass and metal bottles). After that, we got our bikes and went to the store. I promise they make us wear the helmet. I know how cool it looks though.
Feeling the power of being able to buy alcohol for the fist time, I got a smattering of sake, beer, and various mixed drinks, on top of groceries. Didn't get carded, even at the self checkout.
That night me and my roommate had people over for sake and other drinks. I pinged the discord server and didn't realize how many people were gonna show up, but it ended up being like 10. I ended up drinking sake, a highball (whiskey cut with a ton of tonic. gross), 22% abv alcohol wine, and a mango drink that tasted EXACTLY like juice, but had 8% abv. Dangerous. I ended up getting a bit drunk, all according to plan. People eventually left, but me, my roommate, and three others went on a walk. I tried smoking a cigarette for the first time, but I didn't feel anything when I hit it the first time so I didn't do it again. I left them early to shower and sleep cause I was exhausted. Very fun night, and I probably hadn't drunk enough to get hungover
Day 2
I slept in cause I was hungover, but once I recovered I went to the mcdonalds in the local mall type building. I was so confident in my ordering ability walking in, cause I had learned how to say "this, and this" (koreto, koreto...) while pointing at menu items, however my fatal mistake was ordering tea, cause then they asked if I wanted any milk or sugar, which they had to switch to english to ask.
There was gonna be a music festival at a shrine from 11 am - 5 pm, so I set off for the train station. I realized that I hadn't brought sunscreen, but was hoping shade from the trees on the paths would help. Google maps didn't show the bike option, so I tried the car option as they are both vehicles. I had to stop, however, when it recommended I get on a highway. I did get to see some great views though.
After following the walking route for a while, I was dying underneath the sun and high humidity 75 degree weather. There weren't any vending machines for a strangely long stretch, but eventually I was saved by a gem I didn't expect to find: a Japanese 7/11. I locked in on it like an onigiri seeking missile, and as it turns out, a couple of the other students had too. I got a snack and water, then went with them to the train station.
We got to the shrine with little difficulty after that, and said hi to Harada (main person in charge of the program) (my goat) then explored. The temple was beautiful, I know it might be a "place, Japan" thing, but I really love all the architecture I've seen.
The first performance was a jazz band, then a bunch of children playing taiko drums, then a singer and guitarist. During that one, most of the crowd had left and I was the only JCMU student watching it. A man I didn't know sat next to me and started making small talk. I was confused for a sec, but turns out he's a friend of Harada, and they were both helping with the festival. As we talked, another staff member/friend of Harada also came and chatted. He told me that making mistakes and embarrassing yourself is a great way to learn a language well (he's definitely right; I had tried to ask for water earlier at one of the food stands and almost ended up getting hard cider. Now I know that water is mizu). The first guy that sat down asked "Coke or beer?" I wasn't sure what he meant, cause it didn't fit in with what we were talking about, but I said beer cause I like it better. Then he gets up and gets me a beer from one of the vendors, and was called to help with the event right after I thanked him. Wasn't planning on day drinking, but it was a "when life gives you 1 billion puppies and ice cream" scenario.
I also got some takoyaki, which I almost ordered in Japanese until they asked which type I wanted. I got their "special flavor". I think it's interesting how there's different flavor types in Japan compared to America, like vinegar was one of the options for takoyaki flavor, and I feel like I see garlic way more.
When everyone started going back, we stopped by a ramen place by the train station. I got the leek ramen, the ramen that comes with a ton of leaks. There were a ton of sauces at the table, 2 of which were vinegar, and on of which was a thick chili sauce that was unbelievably good. The restruant played some songs I recognized, including Renai Circulation and Bubble by Yorushika
I was totally wiped after all the biking and getting sun burnt, so I showered at around 7 pm and didn't do much until 9 (chud behavior I know), when I talked to some people back in Michigan. I was inspired by the words of one of the one stranger from the festival, though, and did my best with the vocab flash cards I downloaded (grinding at a 1.5k word anki deck, super useful language learning software).
Day 3
Went to the store to get some things I needed, like razors and face sunscreen, and some things I didn't, like a bulbasuar evolution line pen set. I've been doing housekeeping stuff: unpacking, taking the online placement test, and blogging. It's been raining all day, but I'm gonna try to go out and get eel if it stops soon. Uno gacha pon and Samurai burger from mcdonalds.
