Ineffable

Ineffable
Adjective.
1. incapable of being expressed or described in words; inexpressible.

These past few days have been a little bit of a blur. So much has happened so fast and classes have just started.

I love it here, though. Almost everywhere you go there is a huge city of bright lights leaving you in a sense of awe that is entirely ineffable.

Day 1: July 4, 2011
Today marked the first official day of the IARU Global Summer Program. We began the day with a brief orientation of the program followed by a student exchange program during which we went sightseeing around Tokyo with some of the Todai students and some other students from the IARU Global Summer Program that were enrolled in a 2 week program before us.

Our first stop was the Tsukiji fish market, the biggest fish market in Japan. We got there towards the end so there wasn't much to see, but it was still pretty interesting. The fish that they were preparing there were by far the biggest fish I have ever seen. Apparently, this place is one of the least tourist-friendly places in Tokyo. People are driving these little carts everywhere, transporting ice, fish, boxes, etc. and they expect you to get out of their way.

After Tsukiji, we went to lunch at Tsukishima. Tsukishima is known for its food called "Monja," a type of Japanese pan fried batter. The food was good, but I had no idea what I was eating. It was also one of those places where each table has it's own griddle in the middle and you get to cook your own food.

Monja in Tsukishima

Entrance to Asakusa

After that, we toured Asakusa where we got to see the Sensoji temple, the oldest temple in Tokyo. The entrance to Asakusa is marked by the Grand Kaminarimon Gate with a huge red lantern hanging from the rooftop. Once you pass the entrance, the street is lined with numerous little shops selling all kinds of things from food to toys to trinkets.

People pick up fortunes and tie them to these strings to burn so that they will improve.

People purify their hands and mouths by washing them with this sacred water

After Asakusa, we visited the Tokyo Sky Tree, which is currently still under construction. The Tokyo Sky Tree is the highest self-supporting tower with a height that is 6345 meters. On the way to our viewing spot, we also walked past some elementary school students all dressed up in their uniforms.

The activities for Day 1 eventually came to a closure with a Welcome and Farewell party on the Hongo campus, where all of the faculty for the program were introduced along with some of the Todai students. Then an official farewell was said to the IARU Global Summer Program students that had just completed their 2 weeks of studies at the university and an official welcome was said to my group. To end the night, all 18 of the IARU GSP students went to the roof of our hotel and talked about the adventures that the previous program's students had enjoyed and the adventures that our program's students would soon get to experience.

Day 2: July 5, 2011
Today we hopped on a bus and headed off for a planned "study visit" to the old historic town of Kamakura with all 18 of the GSP students. In order to get to the historic town of Kamakura, we had to drive through winding roads over the hills as Kamakura is surrounded by hills as a kind of protection for the old historic town. During this study visit, we visited the Tsurugaoka Hachimangu Shrine, the Kenchoji Temple, the Kamegayatsuzaka Pass/Kewaizaka Pass, the Zeniari Benten, the Koutokuin and the Kamakura Daibutsu (otherwise known as the "Big Buddha"), and the Hasedera Temple.


After a while, the shrines and temples all begin to look the same and it's difficult to tell the two apart. At both places, there are always people practicing a certain ritual where they thrown money into a box, bow down twice, pray, and then bow down again. Because there is a Japanese festival going on this week, the whole town is more decorated than usual with colorful papers hanging from tree branches.

My favorite part about this "study visit" was probably seeing the "Big Buddha." It was just a very cool site to see and also a very famous landmark in Tokyo. I also enjoyed visiting the Hasedera Temple, where we could climb up some stairs on a slope above the temple and see a beautiful view of the beach at Kamakura. It was seriously breathtaking.

Tsurugaoka Hachimangu Shrine. The trees are covered in colorful papers.

Lunch. The entire table was covered in small bowls.

The whole group walking through the passes.

"Big Buddha"

The view from above the Hasedera Temple.

Practicing proper Japanese etiquette.

After returning to our hotel, a few of the people in my GSP group headed to Harajuku in search of some delicious crepes that we had heard about from the other GSP group. It didn't take too long for us to realize that we were going out at prime time rush hour. The trains going in all directions were packed, but it was an experience. Once we arrived in Harajuku, we immediately found those crepes, many filled with gelato, cake, fruit, and whipped cream. Definitely the best crepes I have ever had. After that, we continued on to explore the little shops of Harajuku and later walking along the main strip of Harajuku with multi-story department stores. It started raining hard for a little bit, but the rain felt really good after being out in the hot, humid air all day. We finished the night by getting dinner at a restaurant called "Yoshinoya," which was basically Japanese fast food--very cheap, but still very tasty--and then headed home.

Delicious crepes!

One of Harajuku's multi-story department stores.