It’s been a while since I last posted, a little over a week I think, and that’s mainly because after arriving at Kansai Gaidai last Saturday I’ve been pretty busy with orientation and getting settled. For this post I figured I would update you with what I’ve been up to for the last week. I do also want to make a post showing my room and the dorm/campus as a whole but I think I’ll save that for next time so as not to clutter up this post or make it too long.
Nagoya: Last stop before KG
The last day of my trip before I made it to the campus took me to Nagoya. This was kind of a last minute edition to the itinerary and I only had a little idea of something to do while here. To make things a little more difficult I ended up in Nagoya about two hours later then I expected to so my options were quite limited. To get there from Kawaguchico I had to first take a bus to Mishima then hop on the Shinkansen. However, the bus that I planned to take ended up being full so I had to take the next bus, which was an hour and a half later. So I ended up arriving at my hotel around 5:30 or so. Fortunately Atsuta Shrine is open 24 hours so I was able to go see it, though it was a bit odd being one of very few people there. The highlight of this section of the trip was my dinner however as I found a place that served a Nagoya specialty, Hitsumabushi. While the dish seems quite simple at first, as it’s literally just eel on rice, the way you eat it is quite unique. You split it into fourths, the first quarter you eat as it is, the second quarter you eat with the toppings provided, the third quarter you eat with the toppings as well as a broth that comes with it, and the last quarter you eat whichever way you liked best, i opted for just eating it as is. The dish was quite delicious, with the simplicity really bringing out the flavor of the eel. Eating it each way provided a new mix of flavors to complement the eel and rice, and I enjoyed each way. It was a satisfying way to end the trip and I’m really glad I took the time to look it up.
Saturday & Sunday: Arriving and Osaka
Saturday was the day that I arrived at Kansai Gaidai and it was mostly uneventful. That morning I took the Shinkansen once again from Nagoya to Kyoto and from there took a regular train to Hirakata Station. I will say that hiking the 15 minutes from Hirakata station with about 50 pounds of stuff around noon wasn’t the greatest, and by the time I got to the campus I was pretty beat. Checking in was pretty easy and quick and the suitcase that I had sent from the airport was waiting outside my door so I can’t give enough thanks to the people that helped me getting that set up.
On Sunday a bunch of us decided to take advantage of our day off before orientation began and took a trip to Osaka. The first place we stopped was Dotonbori a section of streets along a river known for restaurants, shops, and bars. There we went and did the first thing that everyone has to do when coming to Osaka, get some Takoyaki. As would be expected it was delicious and I would be surprised if it is the only time I have it over these four months. After lunch a few of us decided to split off and go see Osaka Castle. And while it was quite hot I’m still glad that we did because it really is worth the walk. I’m not sure my pictures can quite show the sheer scale of the walls and main building and would defintely recommend checking it out if you are into history and older buildings. You can buy a ticket to go into it and walk up to the top but I decided against it on this occasion and plane to try and go back a little later when it is a bit cooler and possibly less crowded. The last stop that we made before leaving was to take a quick look at Nipponbashi, a district in Osaka that is similar to Akihabara in Tokyo. We didn’t really do much there except walk around and browse various shops, but I’m sure I’ll be back there more then a few times.
Monday – Wednesday: Orientation
Monday through Wednesday were mainly taken up by orientation activities; meetings, tours, and the Japanese placement test. Because of that there really isn’t much to say about those days. I will give a bit of advice to anyone coming to the program after me though. The main thing will be to pay attention to the schedule and the deadlines for when you have to submit paperwork and register for classes so you aren’t scrambling at the last minute. Also the banking session is going to suck and will give you first hand experience with the fabled Japanese paperwork as there are 9 forms to fill out and they have to be filled out a very specific way. The people that are there to help you are really nice though and seem to understand the ridiculousness of the situation so they make it a bit more bearable.
Thursday & Friday: Kyoto Tour and Opening Ceremony
Thursday was the day of the school sponsored Kyoto Tour, where we were split up into groups and led by local students around Kyoto. It was really more of an excuse for them to help teach people how to use the public transit system, a system I’m intimately familiar with at this point, and for us to get to talk with some local students. It was a fun trip though, we stopped at a soba shop to get lunch and I had some soba with shrimp tempura which was really good and got some matcha ice cream afterwards. We also went to see Kiyomizu-dera which required a decent walk uphill to get to but did provide a nice view once there. I would like to go back when it is a bit less crowded and with a smaller group so that I could spend a bit more time there. After that me a two others broke off to go see Fushimi Inari Shrine, the shrine dedicated to the god of rice that has hundreds of torii gates. It was a really cool shrine and also offers a hike up Mount Inari. We only hiked up about a third of it as it was getting pretty late and we were all quite tired at that point but we did manage to get to a nice overlook that offered a great view of Kyoto as the sun was setting. I would really like to go back and make it to the top, possibly at night as I’ve heard the view then is quite something.
On Friday we had the opening ceremony for the semester. It was a really nice affair with a welcome speech from the president of the university as well as the US Consulate-General of Osaka-Kobe. There was also performances by the Kendo club and the Choral club. To be honest I kind of wish we did opening ceremonies in the West as I think they are a nice way to get the feeling that classes are about to start and get into that mindset. After the ceremony we went to a luncheon where a large buffet was prepared for us with everything from sandwiches to sushi to curry. It was all quite good and definitely one of the better buffets I’ve had.
And that was the end of orientation. I’m technically writing this on Saturday night after coming back from the Osaka Aquarium but I feel that this post has gotten long enough as is so I’ll save that for another time. School starts on Monday so I think I’m just going to take it easy tomorrow and just hang about the dorm, maybe tidy up my room a bit. Anyway, thanks for reading and I’ll see you at the next one.
Gaidai Gaiden 