“JAPAN: Island of Elegance and Extravagance”

I grew up reading a book called, Sianora Mrs. Suckleman. I don’t remember what it was about except that there was a little boy and girl in Japan and I loved dreaming about that foreign place. I always imagined my brother and I running around Japan - him dressed up with his hair in little ties like when he was three and we dressed him up. Japan wasn’t exactly like the picture book of my childhood, but it was just as magical.

I found magic in the ancient Buddhist and Shinto shrines whose angular, curved lines and vivid colors are juxtaposed next to the skyscrapers that stand near them. I found magic in the beautiful Japanese maple trees whose leaves have turned stunning crimson and gold hues. I found magic in the view from the observation deck looking over all of Tokyo and onwards to Mount Fugi at sunset. And the hundreds of little girls dressed up in geisha komonos with their hair all done up on Sunday was magical and adorable.

I saw five cities: Kobe, Kyoto, Nara, Tokyo, and Yokohoma – all of which had special character. The time of year was perfect for walking around under the shadows of the fall trees along little streets, which seemed to connect to more endless little alleys. There is something so serene about Japan – all the people are soft spoken and do not get loud; except maybe when you walk into a store and they greet you in cute high-pitched voices. Even in the heavily populated Tokyo I didn’t hear the honking or feel the hustle of places like India or New York.

Although Kobe is the home of the famous beef, I refrained from the $150 meal. Expense is a trend in Japan. Every meal was about $20 and you could not even sleep in a little capsule bed for less than $50. Not exactly a student budget. I only saw Kyoto for an evening, but it was a very cool place with lots of activity and it glowed at night. All the smaller towns around Tokyo are popular for tourists and Japanese alike on weekends so every single hotel or hostel in Kyoto was booked. After a 3-hour search, my friend and I narrowed down our options to sleeping on a hostel couch, staying up all night (with our big backpacks), sneaking into a hidden computer room I stumbled upon earlier, sleeping on a park bench, or going back to the ship to sleep. We settled for the latter, although I will admit it wasn’t the real backpacker route.

Determined not to fail again the next day, we set out for Nara, home of the Giant Buddha. Nara was incredible because we saw so much in just one big park. I couldn’t help but think of my mom and her love for any and everything Japanese. I can appreciate her taste because the Japanese are very exquisite people in their style, their architecture, and their manners. The Big Buddha was incredible and other smaller, but equally magnificent golden statues surrounded it. A special characteristic of Nara was its abundance of deer. Upon sighting the first one I was so excited and took tons of pictures only to soon realize that there was no lack of them and that they were very eager to come right up to you. The most hilarious moment was when I looked over to see a Japanese man in a suit with about 10 deer surrounding him while he fed them.

The Harijuku district of Tokyo has some killer shopping, as it is one of the fashion capitals of the world. I loved seeing the Lolita style – the “doll-like,” done-up fashion of some Japanese women. I even went into a store (which was playing techno Disney music) to play dress up before I was told no pictures were allowed. The Shibuya area was aglow with Christmas decorations and I couldn’t help stopping by Starbucks for some seasonal hot chocolate. Nearby, at the Shibuya crossing, the biggest crossing in the world, I saw hundreds of people walk across the street that millions cross each day. This isn’t hard to imagine since Tokyo is the biggest city in the world. Even a midnight train is packed like rush hour with everyone from businessmen to kids crammed in. Public transportation is incredible though and the trains are so timely that I even watched one leave a group of Americans standing right in front of it.

One of my highlights of Japan was seeing the fish market in Tokyo. Listed as the number one thing to do in Japan, I decided it was worth the 3am wakeup to get there. Because public transportation doesn’t run from 12-5am our only option was to take the $50 taxi ride. Once there, however, the excitement of the fish coming in was well worth it. The place was huge and the narrow aisles of fish chopping, throwing, tossing, slicing, and preparing went on forever. We spent a few hours walking up and down in awe, smiling at the men hard at work and saying “arigato,” aka “thanks for letting us stare at you while you work.” I saw every kind of fish there is from eels to enormous tuna laid out to be bid on at the daily auction. The auction didn’t start till 6am but we had to get there early because the amount of people allowed into the fish market is capped at 145 people. I left the market exhausted, but looking forward to some authentic fresh Japanese sushi.

This was the last international port…I’m pretty bummed. I think I could travel the world for the rest of my life. Maybe I will do just that…stay tuned!

“It is good to have an end to journey towards, but it’s the journey that matters, not the end” –Ursula K. LaGuin