Spring break

The spring break for Japan is in the first week of May, which at first I thought was strange since it felt like school just started. We were only in the third week of class and afterwards there would be no breaks until the semester was over. But I also heard how hot it would get in the summer so I took the opportunity to travel to Hiroshima and Kagoshima to hike. First, I went to Kagoshima, which is on the southwest part of the main island. A friend and I took a ferry to Mount Sakurajima, hiked there and got some cute souvenirs. The following day we went to an aquarium on the coast and ate black pork, a local delicacy, however, since we only had one week after two days we were off to the next destination, Hiroshima.

Hiroshima is a beautiful city and of course we had to visit the Peace Museum. It was at once haunting due to the horror of the bombings, but also beautiful in that it was an extremely emotional experience that made you think about how precious life is. The next day we went to Miyajima, an island off the coast of Hiroshima, there we climbed another mountain and saw the underwater Shinto Shrine. But for me the climax was taking the ropeway which has been on my bucket list for a very long time and was just as serene as I had hoped. On the way back to Kyoto we stopped for a day at Osaka and spent one day there, meeting up with some friends who went to Tokyo for golden week. The vacation felt like a once in a lifetime experience but it definitely had me drained for a couple days after.

Festivals and goodbyes

The close of my study abroad has been bittersweet, the sadness of going back soon mixed with living in the moment was the mood of my July. Despite the pressure of exams and end of semester projects my friends and I still found time to hangout for the Gion Matsuri. The Gion Matsuri is one of the three biggest festivals in Japan, spanning a week in the middle of July, this year the climax was on the sixteenth. The Yasaka shrine takes the center stage of the festival, it’s the place where the parade floats travel to purify and give thanks. The roots of this festival take place in the 800’s when Kyoto was riddled with disease and heavy storms, they prayed to a Buddhist god of pestilence to cleanse Japan. Over time the god people prayed to was changed to Susanoo, with the carts supposed to each carry a piece of his spirit, and many food vendors line the busy streets.

My friends and I met at Yasaka shrine which had shows going on displaying the history and mythology of the festival. In the shrine me and my friends walked around to see the many performances and try some food. After a while we decided to walk down the main street and travel to where the food stalls were. It was a long walk but all the lights underneath the darkening sky made for the perfect environment to reminisce about the past semester and plans for the summer break. When we arrived at the food cart street the area was packed with people, we each got different food and found a place to stand and eat while talking. After dinner we walked back to our dorms, some were soon traveling and I won’t see them again so we said our goodbyes. There’s been many of those as my days in Japan dwindle and I hang on to the memories we’ve made together to carry me through my departure.

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Learn more about this blogger’s study abroad program: Doshisha University