Japan

After a few minutes looking through old pictures on my laptop I realized I had not spoken about my amazing trip to Japan very much on my blog. I went to Japan when I first arrived in Korea, in September 2012, and back then I didn't have much time to write on my blog with the whole culture shock and new job situation happening. Now that things have settled down I thought I would recap my favorite moments in Japan.

Both myself and another teacher went to Japan over a long weekend and spent 5 days there. We stayed at a friends house in Kobe and took day trips to Osaka and Kyoto. While in Kyoto I had the amazing opportunity to get dressed up like a Geisha! The face paint, kimono, wig, shoes, and even a photo shoot were in a package deal. We went with the mother of our Japanese friend we were visiting, who was one of the most selfless and kind women I have every met. She also proved to be very helpful in being our paparazzi for the day and seemed to have as much fun as we did! We must have taken a million pictures as our faces were painted white, lips stained red, and pink/red and black eye make up was applied. We then had our hair pinned back and a wig, which must have weighed five pounds, was put on top of our heads. Getting dressed up in the kimono was also an exhilarating experience that left me breathless......literally breathless. You see, the layers in a kimono are pretty intense so I was being pulled and strapped from every angle and told to 'suck in' as I evolved into a Japanese Geisha. I truly had no idea how many items of clothing were underneath that gorgeous fabric as it looks so effortless!


Well, beauty is pain, and boy did we look good, so we laughed it off and truly tried to become Geisha, inside and out! My friend and I looked totally transformed as the makeover came to a close and then we headed off to a photo shoot in our outfits. We were told to hold fans and gorgeous Japanese umbrellas and smile with our eyes, NOT OUR TEETH. I couldn't help but laugh at the unnatural manner I was fumbling around this Japanese mans photography set as he kept trying to tell me what to do in his broken English. Nevertheless, I somehow pulled it off and the photos were gorgeous! How many people can say they dressed up as a Geisha while in Japan? A pretty authentic experience I would say.

If you know me at all, you know I am a sushi fanatic! I could live on the stuff, for breakfast, lunch, and dinner! So one of the top things on my to-do list in Japan was to eat some amazing sushi! I was not dissapointed at all! On one of our nights in with our Japanese friends family they decided to have sushi for dinner. I was thrilled as I looked at the table full of raw fish, and felt full of anticipation as I began to wonder if it would taste better in Japan than anywhere else in the world I had eaten it. My excitement level rose off the charts when I was asked if I wanted to learn how to make tempura. I absolutely love tempura and at just about every sushi meal I have had in the States I have wondered how they make it. Could I learn how to do it myself and enjoy this phenomenal treat at home regularly? Well, this sweet Japanese mother sat there and taught me all the ingredients needed and went step by step describing the process in making tempura sushi. I sat there in amazement as I watched her make tempura onions, mushrooms, potatoes, etc. I was like a little kid in the mall at Christmas finally seeing Santa Clause! I had learned something invaluable that I had always wondered about and would take this memory and knowledge with me from there on out. And from who? Once again, the authenticity of learning how to make tempura from a Japanese woman, in Japan, was unreal. As for the sushi, it IS better in Japan, and probably will be the best sushi I have ever tasted until I go back!

The most amazing and breathtaking place I have been thus far (in my life) was in Kyoto, Japan. This city had so much more to offer along with our incredible geisha experience. We visited temples made of gold, learned so much about Japanese rituals and culture, and walked through a forest of Bamboo! Yes, that is correct, a forest made completely of bamboo trees that soared higher than you could imagine. As we walked up to the entrance of the forest I could see the tree's folding together at the top making almost a tunnel of bamboo to enter. It was one of those moments that you walked in and you knew immediately you would remember this forever. I was left speechless and hard pressed to even find a way to describe what I was seeing. These trees were a gorgeous green and brown color, soaring higher than I could see,  and seemingly endless in its distance. As my friend and I followed the path there were no words spoken between us, except the occasional 'wow' or 'oh my gosh', under one of our breaths. It was a mysterious and unimaginable place that you feel like has come out of a dream. This place gave me exactly what I came abroad to find; hope. If you ever go to Japan, you should put this on your list.

There were so many amazing things I was able to experience in Japan. My time there was filled with laughter and love and the general kindness that was shown to me by the Japanese people was worth recognizing. It was a place of beauty and respect which I will never forget. New friendships were made, along with memories that will last a lifetime, and I left feeling so lucky to have had a chance to visit.