Pretty to Punky- Excursion to Japan(a.k.a. I found Hello Kitty)

CIEE trip:

Japan was incredible. CIEE took the group on a four day trip to Japan- Kyoto, and Osaka. The feeling of being in Japan is exhilirating. I guess it's the concept of being on the land where Toyota, Sony, anime, etc. orginated is like a dream come true. Our first stop was Kyoto where we stayed at a traditional hotel, which meant that we spent the night on mats. I prefer mats to beds. For some inexplicable reason, my back prefers the hard floor to the soft comforts of the downy bed. We wore Japanese robes to dinner. It was super super cool! There was a public bath, which many of us took advantage of. The concept of public bathing is very interesting...hmmm...for those who are interesting- look it up : ). I have yet to try it, but I've heard that the bath is rejuvenating. Beware- you must be naked...absolutely naked.

Our first night was spent on chasing geisha's around town. There was this part of twon in Kyoto where geisha was still the tradition. The town was very touristy yet very traditional as well. We happened to come upon a geisha movie in making- unfortunately all we were able to see where the backs of the actresses. The geishas ran very fast. It was disturbing for me to chase after them- but I really wanted a picture of them. You must understand- they were very very beautiful. They seemed like story figures taken out of the stories. If you have seen "Memoirs of a Geisha", the geishas in real life is 10x more beautiful and decked out. After the discouraging bouts of chasing after geishas, we explored allies of the geisha town. There were lots of restaurants and clubs. We happened to come upon an ally that contained stripper clubs that consisted of mainly men in suits that hung around it. We left very quickly!

The remaining days in Japan was spent on visiting museums, castles, shrines, Korean town, and shopping districts. The schedule was packed but I loved it- we saw many things.

Korea is very different from Japan. Korean fashion style for women is heels, skirts, and baggy shirts that can be dresses. Korean style for men consists of more prepy clothes. Japan fashion style for women is boots, bongo-like pants, and more tighted shirts. Korean hair styles are nicely in placed whereas Japan hair style is all spiky, dyed (bleached), and funkyly arranged. I LOVE THE JAPANESE BOY HAIR SYTLE! Their hair style is so anime-ish. It's like seeing an anime character come a live. Korea atmosphere definately feels safer and more calm lively. In Korea, you see mainly up to two (friends or couples) hanging out. In contrast, Japanese tend to hang out in large groups, especially the boys. The boys hang out in "gang" groups. All they do is walk around and look very cute : ). Japan definately has a more edgy feel to it. Its night life definately tops the chart.

I found Hello Kitty! There was a Senrio store in the shopping district that we visited. Wow- I stood in awe at the entrance.

Til next time! Midterms is next week- so I might not be able to update next week! I'll try : )