“Atomic Bomb” Visit to Hiroshima

Today was our final exam, which meant our time in Japan was over. I was disappointed that the visit to Hiroshima got removed from the program so I took the option of taking my final at an earlier time so that I could join the some of my classmates on a 2-hour journey to Hiroshima from JCMU.
I was very excited that I had the opportunity to visit a historical sight in our World History. I learned a lot about the A-bomb attack on Japan when I was in Middle school and I never would have thought I would be standing on the land where it happened. I couldn’t pass up the opportunity on my last day in this great country.
It was a long bullet train ride to Hiroshima but it was all worth it once we got there. The Hiroshima Carps is the baseball team that resides there and I bought a baseball cap as a souvenir to remember my visit. The A-bomb dome is a historical landmark that we got a chance to view. It is the last remaining building that survived the attack and has been preserved over the years as a reminder of what happened. The central sight where the bomb was initially dropped has been turned in to a park and used to symbol peace. We got a chance to walk around the museum and view the story’s leading up to the attack and the devastating results that changed the culture of the Japanese. There were videos of the attack and items that were found on the land after the bomb on display at the museum. Some of the pictures of the people were hard to view and I couldn’t believe that our country was responsible for this devastating attack. We will forever be labeled as the fist to use nuclear weapons and I don’t think that is a good title to have. The museum also explained the process of rebuilding Hiroshima and the effects that the radiation from the nuclear bomb had on the people. These affects killed instantly and some had long term affects that killed down the line of life.
This was a great experience that I will never forget, and I will always cherish the memories I have developed during my time here in Japan.

The trip is beginning to get down to the last finals days and our last scheduled city to visit was Kyoto. This city had a lot to offer, not as busy and big as Tokyo but it gave me the same type of vibe as we traveled around. Our day in Kyoto was a scheduled day for shopping and sightseeing. Kyoto had a great shopping district that had a lot to offer. Many designer stores such as Bape, Gucci, and many different special clothing boutiques. I also had the chance to shop for last minute souvenir gifts for my family. The shopping district in Kyoto reminded me of an outdoor shopping mall. We all were given a bus pass once we arrived to Kyoto and the pass was valid for a day. We spent majority of the day shopping and once we were done it was our mission to get back to JCMU without Dr. Ross. Once we caught the bus back to the station it was smooth sailing from that point on because that was the biggest challenge, catching the bus in Kyoto. We also had the opportunity to visit a historic Japanese Castle located in Kyoto. I was a great sight to see and learn the structure of Japanese buildings in earlier times. Kyoto is a well-designed city and is a great contribution to Japan’s economy.

“ Don’t forget to Study while abroad” !!--preparing for final

Our arrival to JCMU also meant the week we will be taking our final exam for the two courses MKT 310 and SCM 303. So that meant lectures, study, and recap what we learned during our time in Tokyo. I had been having so much fun in Japan; the final exam began to slip my mind. Dr. Ross began to kick us into overdrive so that we can finish off the week strong. Each class was given a 3-hour lecture about the specific topics that will be covered on the exam and how to go about studying these materials. It was like the first day of school again for most of us in the group. We had been tired from the intensity of the program so far and a lecture did not seem so appealing. I didn’t know if I could keep attention on the material but I actually participated and got a better understanding of the supply chain operation. At the end of the lecture period we were given a homework assignment and with it only being Monday and the assignment due on Thursday I thought the group was going to procrastinate but we all linked up later that night and we completed the work as a group. I felt relieved as we completed the assignment because now I just had to focus on reviewing material. After I remembered to study while abroad my week began to become more organized and focus.

“Rain Rain go away”- Our arrival to Japan Center For Michigan Universities (JCMU)

The rain put our tour of Mt. Koya on hold and eventually cancelled the next morning so after waking up at 5am we had a few hours to relax before we headed down the mountain and on to our next destination, JCMU. I knew this day would be another travel adventure day through Japan. I was very excited about going to JCMU because we would be staying in dorm rooms and we all would get bikes for the week!
It was a gloomy day and very raining which doesn’t make it easy or fun to travel from train to train. We did about half the traveling we did to get up Mt. Koya but it was still a long brutal day. As we arrived to JCMU we all got transported from the train station in about six different taxis and my luggage bag did not fit in the trunk so I had to ride with in my lap for a 5-minute ride from the train station to JCMU. Once we got there we met Iga, the hall director and she assigned all of us rooms. She said that one guy and one girl from our group would be rooming with a student who is already stationed at JCMU from another Michigan University. I knew with my luck that I would be the one to receive a unknown roommate and that’s exactly what happened to me. On my key envelope it stated that I would be rooming with someone unknown and to not touch any of his belongings because he would be gone for the week that I was there. I was ok that he was gone because that meant I had the room to myself with my own privacy. I’m ok with being by myself, it will give me a chance to relax and move at my own pace around the room.
JCMU seems great so far and I love the scenery of the city and Lake Biwa.

“Speeding Through Japan” –Travel day to Mt. Koya

Today begin early around 8am and there was a good reason for the early start to the day because our mission was to reach Mt. Koya located many miles away from Tokyo. The night before we were warned that today would be the day we wish we brought less luggage. I didn’t look too much into that statement but I definitely wished I had fewer luggage as our travel day begun.
The traveling began with a simple trip on the train like we had been doing all week. We took the city train to the Tokyo station where our daylong journey would begin on the bullet trains. I have read about how fast and nice these bullet trains were in a magazine a few years back so I was very excited about getting the chance to take a trip across Japan on their bullet line.
To get out of the city of Tokyo it took us around two hours on the bullet train where we transferred train line a few times once we reached the city of Osaka. As we traveled further away from the city, I notice the scenery and the culture of the Japanese began to seem a lot slower and conservative. We were traveling through the mountains and the structure of the homes began to change and the technology of each train station was a lot less than ones closer to the cities in Japan.
Once we arrived to Mt. Koya we had to ride up a cable car to get to the top of the mountain. The cable car was fun, it moved at a slow pace and felt like we were climbing up to a roller coaster. Once we got to the top we took a bus that dropped us off in front of the temple we would be staying the night in. I was very skeptical about staying in a temple when I found out it was included in the activities, but the temple was a highlight of my trip so far.
The design was like a hotel and was made for tourist of the mountain. It was very modern and relaxing after a long day of travel. We all embraced the culture of staying in the temple so we all participated in a traditional way of taking a bath (the Monk way) and wearing the robes that were provided in each room. The washroom had about six showerheads and a big heated tub. You are required to shower first rinsing all the soap then relax in the tub, it was one of the best baths I have ever took and will never forget. I had gotten some of the best sleep in the temple that night and in the morning we got to witness the monks doing their daily chants.
At the end of the day the long 10-hr day of traveling was worth the experience we received staying on Mt. Koya and in the temple.

“Night life” Final Chapter in Tokyo

Tokyo is a big city full of bright lights and most cities with these characteristics have a great nightlife to go along with them. Earlier in the week we had a chance to experience Tokyo at night. The “crew” as I call everyone on the program, decided to go out on a Monday night. The destination was a area called Roppongi located in Tokyo. This district was full of bars and various clubs. That night wasn’t such a good idea to go out for me because we had been awake since 4am doing company tours and shopping in Harajuku. So once we stepped out I instantly crashed and decided to head back to the room after we visited one bar along with three of my “crew” members. Once we left I knew I had to return to Roppongi before we left Tokyo on Saturday (5/22). The area was just exciting and I knew it would be great on a Friday night.
So the date was set and our last Friday in Tokyo we all wanted to hang out in Roppongi but somehow that changed and we ended up in another area called Shibuya. I didn’t want to be the “bad guy” and leave everyone for Roppongi so I followed along with the decision and figured we all would have a good time. I didn’t visit this area earlier in the week so I figured the experience there would be cool according to my other classmates. Our last night in Tokyo was not a successful fun night like I imagined, the clubs didn’t look fun, people didn’t start coming until 2am and we had to be up early in the morning to travel up Mt. Koya so 2am was way too long to wait to start partying and I didn’t want to take a cab back too late. I didn’t let the bad night change my attitude or put me in a bad mood because I wasn’t going to let anything stop me from enjoying every moment in Japan. I still had another great week left in this country so I just look forward to some new experiences in other parts of Japan. Tokyo is a beautiful city and I developed many other good memories throughout the week to fall back on.

Soy Sauce “Monopoly”

We had the opportunity to visit Kikkoman the number one “soy sauce” manufacturer/producer. The plant tour was very entertaining and informative of their company and product. They have an organized path that they take visitors on that lets you get a good view of the making of soy sauce. Kikkoman has visitors coming to their plant all the time to view the unique operation so they have a museum set up. Kikkoman also has two plants located in the US, Wisconsin and California. The reasoning for these locations are because they are located close to the raw materials needed to produce soy sauce such as soybeans and wheat.
Soy sauce is one of my favorite seasonings to use when I’m eating Chinese meals because it adds a lot of flavor to the foods. Before this tour I did not realize how often it is used in our culture to add flavor to many other foods than fried rice. During the tour they explained the different taste that soy has to offer, bitter, savory, and salty. This allows the product to be used in many different ways all over the world. I noticed that a few women in my life use it when cooking sweets and other meals. I could never understand why and I thought it was disgusting even though you can’t taste the addition of the sauce. But now I now why, it enhances the flavor of most foods such as chicken, fish, rice, and even ice cream. At the end of the your we got the chance to eat a free ice cream cone with soy sauce which was actually very tasty to my surprise.
Kikkoman has a product that has a very long process to make, 6 months to be exact, and they do a very good job with managing the process and supplying the world with one of the greatest all-purpose seasonings.