The Busan Aquarium is located at Hyuandai Beach, so when I’d spent a sufficient amount of time wandering along, I decided to  go and check out the aquarium. When I was finished there, I hopped on the train and met up with Alex at Gwangalli Beach. We were able to spend a few minutes walking along the water before it started to downpour, so we took shelter in a restaurant where we shared our last dinner together before my departure. Then we had a nice nighttime stroll along the beach before calling it a night.

At Hyuandai Beach: 

At the Busan Aquarium:

At Gwangalli Beach:

Alex is beautiful, wonderful, funny, smart and has great taste in best friends from home. I love her so much and it was amazing to be able to visit her due to this remarkable coincidence that wound up with us in such a close proximity to one another whilst making our journeys through this side of the hemisphere. I was overjoyed to reunite with her, and we chatted several hours away, catching up until I became in desperate need of sleep due to the airport scenario I had recently experienced.

After that, we went to a cat café. Now, Japan has cat cafés but I had yet to check one out until now.

Instead of paying for the time spent at a cat café, customers pay for a drink. Then they have however long they so desire to hang out with the cats.

It is wise to keep an eye on your drink.

A wall of cats, ripe for the picking.

There’s a chance that I’m jealous of the fact that people make money from hanging out with their friends and a bunch of cats all day, taking pictures and making drinks. What a good life.

Illustrated instructions on how (not to) behave at the cat café.
Playing with the cats is encouraged as long as you are not mean to them or bothering them!

Good, quality fun.

Taking pictures of the cats is also encouraged.

Which is fantastic. Because I took many, many pictures.

Cat portraits… cat naps… sometimes both in the same picture! Enjoy!

There are many street vendors at Gukje Market

I made my way through BIFF Square, where the Busan International Film Festival is held

Site of the Busan International Film Festival

Jagalchi Fish Market

After Alex and I met up, we raced to Taejondae Park before dark.

Photo shout out to New Jersey and its shores and boardwalks. I cannot wait for our reunion.

View from the Taejongdae Park entrance of sun setting over water

Tea Kettle island is a small island that can be viewed from Taejongdae Park

View from Taejongdae Park

The Lotte Department Store has a scenic viewpoint of the city. This is the view facing towards the city, and looking towards Busan Tower, a watchtower that I made my trek to later in the day.

There are fences at these overviews where couples leave locks to symbolize their love. Often the locks have names, dates and hearts scrawled on them.

Bike lock heart – so cute!

View from the top of the Lotte Department Store, facing the sea.

There was also a “zoo” at the top of this department store. There were some pigs and bunnies.

It seemed wrong not to fill you in on that.

After this scouting, I headed towards Busan Tower.

Busan citizens’ bell pavilion

Flower clock

(L) statue of General Lee Sunsin (R) Cheongdongyongtap, a statue of a bronze dragon.

Busan Tower is pictured above. The ornate building also pictured houses a museum of musical instruments.

View from Busan Tower overlooking the citizens’ bell pavilion, flower clock, and statue of General Lee Sunsin

View from Busan Tower looking towards the harbor

Men playing a game outside of Busan Tower. There were lots of old men playing this game in Yongdusan Park, where the tower is located.

There were also more love locks attached to fences and benches surrounding Busan Tower.

The picture above is a photo shout out to my sister and brother – 2/26 is our birthday. I love and miss them and was thinking of them when I took this.

After seeing the sights in Yongdusan Park, I took a trip farther north. I hopped in a cab, pointed at a spot on my map that read “Jung-ang Park,” and found myself on a scenic journey up some mountains. I hadn’t been in a car since my arrival to Japan in January, which was an odd realization for me to have.

Jung-ang (or Daecheong) Park turned out to be the location of the Monument to the Loyal Dead, a memorial to those that fought and died in the Korean War.

View from the top of Mount Daecheong

Just a few minutes away from this site is Minju Park Busan, also called Democracy Park.

There are many sculptures and monuments located at Democracy Park.

Our room had a beautiful view of the mountains in the distance.

At the hotel, we had an incredible Japanese dinner.

Students got the chance to sing karaoke during dinner as well!

There were traditional rituals performed in the lobby of the hotel that night as well as a taiko drum performance.

Of course, there was also a drumming arcade game in the lobby that featured dancing dogs and macaroni. Of course.

The next day, we departed the hotel as a group for a tour of the town of Kusatsu, which is famous for its onsens.

The water at Kusatsu Onsen steams with heat and smells of sulfur.  During our tour, we learned that it is often said that the waters at Kusatsu Onsen have healing powers for any pain… except a broken heart. The waters in onsens vary in color depending on the contents of the water. In Kusatsu, the water has a high sulfur content, which contributes to its green coloration.

Exploring the mountains is a cold task. For warmth, we stuck our hands in a hand onsen. Initially it was a bit painful because of just how hot the water is but once our bodies adjusted we regained our warmth – just what we needed to keep going!

After a long day of exploring the town, we rested and warmed up by dipping our feet in very hot water in an outdoor foot onsen. Feet turn red from spending a bit of time in such hot water, and at first it is a bit painful but again you get used to it.

There was a beautiful outdoor onsen that we were able to visit as well when we were in Kusatsu. It was a nice place to be able to wander, souvenir shop and onsen hop. (There are many free onsens in Kusatsu that one can visit, they are of different sizes and you have to bring your own towel!)

Our instructor performed some Japanese music for us. She played the “koto,” which is a traditional Japanese instrument. Among the songs she played was one famous song, which I recognized, “Sakura, Sakura.” 

I had never seen music written like this before, but this is the music she was reading!

When she finished her performance, our instructor introduced us to calligraphy. It is a bit difficult and we spent a bit of time practicing to get the hang of it.

We told her one character that we wanted to write, and then she wrote it out for us with each stroke numbered so that we could follow it as our guide. I asked to write “courage.”

When we’d completed our calligraphy masterpieces, we were given the chance to wear kimonos… dressing in a kimono is a long process and in our case there were two women assigned to the surprisingly demanding task of dressing us.

After we were looking sharper than ever, we relaxed with some snacks and tea. We learned the proper mannerisms for receiving and drinking tea in a ceremony.

Then we were shown the rest of the building. There is gorgeous calligraphy that adorns one of the rooms upstairs, and that was pretty wonderful to marvel in.

During the workshop, we were told what an ideal time it was for “hanami” – which is a word in Japanese that describes going out to spend time appreciating flowers. At this time, the sakura (cherry blossoms) were in full bloom. So we went to Yoyogi Park to take some time to simply enjoy the beauty of it. There were many people out doing the same thing.

There were many groups of people outside, eating and drinking on tarps underneath the branches of cherry blossoms.

There were also performance artists out dancing and making music near the fountains.

These monkeys are famous because they bathe in onsens for warmth – pretty unique.

If I could turn back time, I would, just to attend this event.

From the very beginning of this blogging job, I wanted to write a post on how to pack for studying in Japan. I thought that by writing it last I would be able to share some wisdom on what I learned this semester… aka what I didn’t pack and wish I had, or what I packed and really didn’t use. Please take note that this is from my own personal experience, and I am not an expert.

1.) Pack outfits. I didn’t pack outfits when I studied in NYC and all my clothes didn’t match, it was very unfortunate. I had packed all patterned pieces.
2.) Pack your favorites, or what you feel most confident wearing. You will feel like a total alien compared to the small, cute Japanese persons around you, so bring clothes that you feel confident wearing. No need to feel like the duckling, heck we are swans here.
3.) Pack a sweater or sweatshirt. Yes, it is relatively warmer in Tokyo compared to Philadelphia, even more so compared to my university in Holland, Michigan. However, Japanese do not rely on central heating like we do in the states. Especially if you are living with a host family, bring something warm for in the house. This is unless you plan on buying a little night fleece set from uniqlo.
4.) Try to pack only a suitcase, and pack a bag or buy a cheap one for the return. You are able to take 2 pieces of luggage on your flight 50lbs each in addition to a carry on. I packed one very large suitcase exactly 50lbs. and put a overnight bag inside and had my backpack and purse. I am very glad I did this, because I am not worried about bringing gifts back home and the various other things I have acquired. I have a whole new bag to stuff that I didn’t use when I arrived.
5.) Bring shoes that you can easily slip on and off, just in case you are entering into a home or a location that is more traditional. You don’t want to be the one everyone is waiting on for your shoes.
6.) Bring small gifts from home for meeting new people, and for when you leave. Stuff with TEMPLE on it, your home town’s name, USA, American candy, or home made goods are my recommendations. It is really socially correct to give gifts upon entering someone’s house, or just someone who you have worked for during your time in Japan.
7.) Go to hyakuyen shops (100yen) for gifts. Everything is 105 (the 5 is the tax) and there are lots of fun little trinkets you can find for souvenirs for family and friends.
8.) Bring a journal. I am terrible at journaling regularly, but it is really helpful to document your thoughts when abroad. You are learning a lot and experiencing a lot of new things. Don’t let yourself forget the experience, also it is therapeutic.
9.) People in Japan dress nicely. Just be aware of this. You can choose to try to dress Japanese-like, but as a foreigner it is okay to be different. Allow yourself your identity.
10.) Remember chargers and cords, along with a converter for plugs that are 3 pronged to become 2 pronged. Not all Japanese plugs are only 2 pronged, but mostly.
11.) Bring reminders of home for yourself or to show to others, like pictures. People love to see where you are from and who is important.
12.) Bring a favorite little snack from home, sometimes when adjusting those first few days or weeks it is really comforting to have a taste of home.
13.) and don’t forget your toothbrush, they are different here.

I know I am forgetting things, but I am going to leave it at that. I hope that anyone who is thinking about traveling abroad, especially Japan, goes for it! It is a great experience, and you grow a lot during your time abroad.

Some of the various things you can find at a 100 yen shop!

I am going to miss these girls <3

One of the classes that I helped teach English this semester.

The island that we were able to visit was Shikinejima. The ride was pretty long and tiring, but the weather was perfect for the events that were planned for the day. Upon arriving, we quickly got suited up in wetsuits for a few hours of snorkeling, which was no easy feat as the suits were not only difficult to get on but extremely warm before we entered the water. However, it was worth the struggle. The water was beautiful; there were lots of fish, coral, and nasty sea slugs to look at. I also managed to get sunburn in the shape of my goggles. After snorkeling we ate bento, a type of packed lunch, and were given time to rent bikes and explore the island.

The area where we went snorkeling.

I was surprised by just how small of a community lived on the island. Everyone seemed to know everyone. At one point when my friends and I got lost and had to ask someone for directions, the man we asked offered to drive to where we wanted to go so that we could follow him. Furthermore, after dinner the town even re-opened the convenience store so that we could all buy some dessert and snacks. The island, like the rest of Japan, was very mountainous and riding the bikes at times proved to be difficult, but every time we reached the top of a hill we were rewarded with an amazing view of the ocean, nearby islands, and the jagged cliffs that lined Shikinejima. The views were breathtaking.

The next day we were forced to cut our trip short due to storms that were expected to hit the island. Had we stayed, we would have been stranded on the island for a week or two. The family who owned the building we stayed in saw us off the next day by performing some kind of tradition with ribbons that I can’t say I really understood, but it was adorable all the same.

Though I was disappointed that I wasn’t able to visit any of the other islands, Shikinejima surpassed my expectations and is one of the most memorable experiences I’ve had thus far during my study abroad experience.

As soon as I got off the train at Ueno Station I was given a taste of just how loud and busy Ueno was during this time of year: I could hardly move through the station near the park exit. When I managed to get out of the station, I followed the crowd to the center of the park where I was not only surrounded by hundreds of people, but hundreds of sakura. The street was filled with people enjoying the warm weather and walking underneath the trees. People snapped pictures everywhere at literally every chance they got. It was definitely very loud, and very busy.

The park exit at Ueno station.

The amount of people in the park was unexpected and impressive. Not only were the streets crowded, but the ground around the trees was also covered with people sitting on tarps and blankets in groups, eating lunch and drinking alcohol. I ended up happening to run into some friends and we also picnicked under the trees. The park was very prepared for the event and the amount of people who were visiting. Some ground where people sat was marked off from the streets to avoid people sitting in traffic, and every intersection had numerous bins for trash and recycling. There were also a lot of food and drink vendors.

Before visiting Ueno I understood that the cherry blossom festival was very important in Japan, but I underestimated the extent to which people make an attempt to appreciate the time that the trees are in bloom. A lot of people attempted to take pictures of their children in front of the trees, though it often proved to be difficult. The most interesting attempt at a picture I witnessed was a man holding his dog up in front of the trees to try to capture a picture of her with his cell phone.

She’s dressed appropriately for the occasion.

For the rest of the time the sakura were in bloom I was lucky enough to see them daily on my walk to the train station. The neighborhood I live in is pretty quiet compared to the denser areas of Tokyo, and my walk to the station is lined with sakura.

My daily walk to the train station.