My Month in Japan
Day 1-2: Flying into Japan, Meiji-Jingu Shrine, Harajuku
Article contributed by Pariasr Blackburn
This summer, I was privileged to study in Japan as part of AYUSA’s Study Abroad Program. It was truly an incredible and eye-opening experience. I waited to make this post for a while; I suppose, I just wanted to digest all that had happened. Now, as the summer light fades and the green leaves wilt to fall, I think it’s time I give it a final farewell. So, here’s the first installment of my ode to the bygone journey — and my welcome to those the future may hold.
Well, suffice it to say my wonder at being in Japan began even before I settled down in my dorm room. It started with the long, 14-hour flight halfway around the world from Washington DC’s Dulles Airport to Tokyo’s Haneda. But, obviously, that wasn’t the awe-inspiring part: it was what I saw flying in. I was lucky enough to get the window seat, I watched in astonishment as what began as a beautiful blue shoreline and sparse green land turned into miles and miles of pure city.
It was as if it went on endlessly: a city with no walls, vast and sprawling, stretching far out into the yonder, far beyond what the eye could see or mind could imagine. That sounds dramatic, I know, but that truly was how it felt, looking out through that window upon an endless sea of buildings. I’d been to New York, and I’d lived in D.C., yet I had never before seen a city that stretched on so far as Tokyo did. We flew over it for an hour, and all I could see in any direction was perpetually more city. I felt my excitement bubble up and simmer: this was it. The biggest city in the world. The place I’d only dreamt of coming to for years. And, here I was, about to touch down in it.
Immediately as I stepped off the plane to navigate myself through the airport, I got my first wave of foreign-country-frazzlement. Getting through customs was a process; while all the signs did have English, I hadn’t traveled to another country in quite some time and so had completely forgotten about the standard-procedure baggage declaration process. Yet, through all my plane-induced exhaustion and bleary-eyedness, there was also that buzz of excitement within me: after so many years of dreaming, I was finally here. Fighting my way through a long customs line, I finally made it to the lobby where I was met by AYUSA representatives to finally settle into my dorm room in the National Olympics Memorial Youth Center.
With that, our first day of study came. While initially apprehensive about 3 hours of class, I found that it flowed by quite quickly: I liked my classmates and my teacher, and the class was engaging and fun, featuring lots of the speaking practice (I so desperately needed!) and a gorgeous Tokyo view out the 5th-story window. After the conclusion of class and a hasty コンビニ (Conbini, or convenience store) lunch, we had our first excursion: a trip to the Meiji-Jingu Shrine（明治神宮）and the nearby Harajuku（原宿） shopping district.
In retrospect, I think this was the perfect introductory excursion for us. It encapsulated the spirit of modern-day Japan, and what first drew me to study the language in the first place: the incredible ways in which it perfectly integrates its rich traditional culture with a high-tech, post-modern cityscape. It is thus fitting that this shrine is named after Emporer Meiji（明治天皇）, the man who ushered in the Meiji Restoration that rapidly modernized Japan. Passing under the giant torii（鳥居）gate guarding the entrance, we walked through a thicket of conifer and oak trees. With each step deeper onto the grounds, we were swallowed up by the forest; the buzz of the city grew increasingly distant, and eventually ceased, replaced by a tranquil silence interrupted by only the birds and breeze. Even we Americans, jet-lagged as we were, managed to stay quiet and just admire the beauty around us.
After about fifteen minutes of walking, we finally reached the shrine’s entrance and washed our hands in the Choyuza Basin （手水舎）. Once this was done, we took our first steps into the shrine and were immediately greeted by what I can describe as nothing short of grandeur: tall walls, framing all sides of the shrine, wooden tamagaki （玉垣）, noritoden（祝詞伝） (Shinto prayer recital hall), the naihaide, and the gehaiden （内拝殿、花拝殿）(inner and outer shrine halls respectively) standing tall over a yellow-grey stone platform. As we walked through the pavilion, our AYUSA guides explained to us the process for giving a coin donation at the Shinto shrine: first, you step up to the offering box and toss a coin in; next, you bow twice, clap your hands twice and ring the bell (if there is one available); then, you fold your hands, make your wish, bow one more time, and make your way out. Once we had all gotten a turn at this, we were allowed to freely roam the area.
What piqued my interest most were the hundreds of wooden plaques, each clanking against one another in the wind. These were ema （絵馬, lit. “picture house”）: messages and prayers left for the Gods to receive. While I avoided reading the ema specifically, it was clear that they were broadly written in numerous different languages — from Japanese to Chinese, German to English, Russian to Ukrainian — and addressed to many different gods of many religions. No matter what religion or corner of the globe we came from, every one of us had representatives etched by pen into those humble wooden planks clanking along in the wind.
With our time in the Meiji Jingu shrine spent, we headed out back the way we came. The sounds of the city formed a crescendo; the crunch of branches and leaves below our feet waned and dimmed as the Tokyo street lights flooded our eyes once again.
After a brief ten-minute walk, we finally arrived at Takeshita Street — also known as Harajuku. Crowded, narrow, and filled with exotic fashion and the buzz of the city, Harajuku was for sure a tonal 180 from the Meiji Jingu Shrine — but a welcome and exciting one nonetheless.
My friends and I kicked off our adventure through it with a bit of gashapon （ガシャポン）: Japanese stores containing a host of toy vending machines that spit out a random capsule-contained prize from a certain displayed set (I got quite lucky, winning the character I wanted on my very first try!). Afterward, we had our first taste of Japanese McDonald's…and…it was…well, pretty normal. Mcdonald's is McDonald's after all.
Meandering our way through the alleys, we wandered in and out of random stores, from cosplay shops to boba vendors and everything in between. Though it was a rainy day, that ultimately added to the atmosphere: it was quite pretty to watch everyone walk the crowded streets with their umbrellas held up at different heights—some barely above head level and some towering two meters into the sky. I wish I had gotten a picture, but alas, I hadn’t. I’ll have to save that for next time!
With that, my first and second days in Japan drew to a close. From the serene beauty of Meiji Jingu Shrine to the hectic hubbub of Takeshita Street, my trip was already shaping up to be more than I imagined — and some of the best was still yet to come. But that will have to be a story for next time. For now, thank you for reading, and I hope to see you again soon. ;)
Until Next Time!
Pari Blackburn