Japan: Last Tidbits

My 10 day trip to Japan still seems like a fantasy. I was able to visit a beautiful country, learn about the profession I am passionate about, make new friends, and try new foods.

I feel truly privileged to be able to go on this trip, not only for leisure but for learning as well. I was able to see...

Community pharmacy:
-Pharmacist-run only
-Each pharmacist only filling 40 scripts per day
-Some patients go to their doctor and are excited to get prescriptions

Hospital pharmacy:
-electronic labels on for their medications, some have priority over others with a light background or a dark background.
-The hospital also have a giant machine that could deliver whole carts of medications to each floor in the hospital.

Food
The food was nothing short of spectacular.
We were able to try the innovative "Conveyor Belt Sushi" at Kaiten Sushi.

I was able to discover my favorite roll of sushi! Although, I do not know how I am going to be able to eat sushi in America anymore... Blarg.

My absolute favorite, something that I would consider comfort food: Taiyaki!

Skinless Peach Tart from Heaven. I think I paid $8 for this and enjoyed every bite of it. OH MY GOSH!

Culture:
I also wanted to share one more experience I had about Japanese culture during my trip. I was browsing through the goods of a shop in the Uontana Fish Market in Akashi and decided I wanted to purchase some wall art. One of the shop workers was an old lady that came out to try to help me with my selection. Once I picked one, I expected to just pay her and go on my merry way. Instead, she invited me into the shop and offered me a seat and some tea while she assembled the piece of wall art I wanted to buy. The tea was served on Edo Kiriko, which is really beautiful Japanese glassware. I really did not expect this kind of service when going to Japan. I knew their service was excellent, but I now know how excellent it truly is.

Tea served on Edo Kiriko

Wall art I purchased.

This was truly a great experience for me. I was able to gain a new perspective in life and see a new culture very different from the one I am used to. Until next time!

-Hoang

Culture shock? Or culture awareness?

I've always been fascinated by culture differences, and Japan has been my first direct experience. Although, honestly, the culture shock wasn't as severe as I thought it would be. It seemed natural for me to travel and understand their culture, at least a lot more than I originally thought. Regardless, I still noticed some differences that not everyone talks about:

*Disclaimer, no pictures. You picture loving people should look at Carol's post of Japanese food. If you're brave enough to read forward, I give you a virtual hand five.*

Privacy 

-  Bathrooms are designed so differently in Japan. The walls of the stalls are taller (even though the average height is shorter). The door and walls of the stall either touch the ground or come within an inch of touching the ground. The gaps between the door and the walls... there are none! In America, we have large gaps in the sides of the door, whereas in Japan, I saw none. My guess is that Japan likes to be a lot more private when it comes to using the bathroom. Their toilets are more advanced than my TV (if I had one), in that they play beautiful bird chirping and waterfall noises when you sit on the heated toilet. I can imagine I would be spoiled if I came from Japan to America, where we have cold, quiet toilets.

- I think Japan has a phobia of germs, especially in terms of bathrooms. Squatters don't require touching the "toilet", and with non-squatters, like Western toilets, they suggest you wipe the toilet seat with alcohol wipes. However, America might also have a phobia of germs, because all, ALL of our bathrooms have soap. Japanese bathrooms? You have about a 75% chance of finding soap in the bathroom. And towels? Ha. They're so green that they expect you to have your own towel. I like that!

- By the way, while we're talking about bathrooms, squatters aren't that bad. It's a workout, and honestly, it's fun to aim for once, being a girl. Too much?

Women's Rights

- Speaking of being a girl, I liked noticing the similarities of female rights over in Japan. For example, women are really starting to enter the workforce. I'm sure, much like America, it's not necessarily equal yet, (especially in technical, science fields) but the idea of women starting their own careers is wonderful.

- However, it seems that right might be interfering with birth rates. My theory (again, I'll admit that I'm judging this solely on my own ideas) is that since women (and men) are pressured into providing success and money, it makes raising children not as valuable. Also! They value older family members so much more than American families (as in, they don't support nursing homes as much, they live with family longer into adulthood, etc). The middle generation will have to support their parents AND their children. That's a lot!!! Having children is a serious business in Japan. I doubt they have many nurseries, child day care, baby sitters, etc. How is a working mom going to be, you know, a mom? Would a woman rather make money and survive on her own, or spend money and raise children? Women are getting to choose now (well, starting to), rather than follow a dictated path from society. Of course, like America, some women might have the option to work, but are pressured to follow other paths. I know I saw a lot more working women than pregnant women or women with small children, so I saw the low birth rate at first hand.

- Beauty standards. It all seems pretty much the same, except that Japan might be expecting a universal form of beauty, rather than America starting to accept many forms of beauty. While in the subways and in the city, I saw many ads supporting some product. The males all looked rugged, etc and pretty unique. Female models, however, seemed to have the same features.There is a universal form of beauty, it seems. V line, double eyelids, wider eyes, dark brown hair (not black), same eyebrows, similar noses, etc. Everything seems similar, I noticed. Yet, in real life, Japanese women are as diverse as American women.

Respect

- Respect is so key in Japan, especially compared to America. They bow, at varying degrees, pass objects on with two hands (more effort shows more respect) and most especially, I didn't feel like a foreigner. There were a few times I came up with the wrong money accidentally, and they still smiled and thanked me. As soon as we arrived in Hawaii after the trip, all of us encountered tired, irritated immigration officers. Coming from Japan, it was a huge difference! I've heard that Japan culture focuses more on "greater good" or "greater for the people, rather than the individual". Clearly, that's different than America's philosophy on society morale.


Artistic Expression

- Tattoos are discouraged. The only tattoos I saw in Japan were on non-Asian males, who were likely visiting. I've heard it has to deal with the tie between tattooed people and mafias, which is a hush hush topic in itself. I find it interesting that tattoos are discouraged, especially when artistic expressions are encouraged in other forms, like... clothes!

- Their fashion, wow, it's all over the place, in a good way! Many different forms and styles, and almost anything you wear is game (except maybe too much skin, especially around the chest area). But seriously, they wear socks with sandals! And socks can be cats! Or have stylish holes in them! And they have areas where you can dress up as your favorite manga character! Which, leads me to my theory that they gained their love for fashionable artistic expression because that's what the artists could draw in manga!

- Makeup is simple, limited and yet, totally encouraged and stylish. They're more focused on keeping healthy skin, using sunscreen, just using a light foundation, and very limited eye makeup. If anything, lip color is the main form of "color" make up. In America, I would say that falls mostly with eye shadow, but in Japan and some other countries, they would probably rock lipstick before rocking eye shadow.

- Manga and animes seem to mirror the artistic expression pretty well. Little to no tattoos, lots of different fashions, simple makeup and universal beauty. Wearing different clothes seems to be the best way to express yourself differently. I find it interesting that America tends to prefer fashion stays universal, while celebrating different tattoos and makeup.


Work and Education

- Ranking is really important in their culture. I'm sure everyone knows everyone's ranking within the class, whether they want to know or not. It provides self esteem, I'm assuming, and they're interested in our ranking as well. I had one Japanese person ask me who was the highest/smartest in our visiting group. It took me by surprise, because no one asks that in America. It's taboo, especially for an acquaintance to ask. Most importantly, I didn't know! I had my guesses, but the question threw me off more than my own answer.

As I'm sure you've noticed, there are so many other topics about culture that I didn't discuss. Hopefully, this post has been thought provoking and it reminds us all that culture is how we identify with ourselves and people. Of course, individuals can have different cultures than their people, and different/similar cultures with other countries. Either way, it's important for us to observe and reflect on why we do what we do, why others do what they do and how we can continue to be open minded and keep learning. Thanks for reading!

"Who lives sees, but who travels sees more" - Arab proverb

It’s more difficult for me to now say what my overall expectations of the country and its people were. In retrospect, I should have written down my imaginings about Japan and what it would be like before leaving the States. I suppose I had general expectations about the themes/motifs that would be popular in souvenirs and such: shrines, Buddha, cranes, koi, frogs, etc. I knew from others’ accounts that the cities would be very crowded, and that the weather (since we were visiting during the peak of summer) was going to be rough. I knew to expect every possible type of public transportation, although in hindsight I realize that my experience with the subway system in Europe in no way could have prepared me for the subways, trains, portliners, taxis, buses, etc. that can be found in Japan, or for the sometimes 30+ minute transits – standing room only - one might experience when traveling between cities or suburbs. Really, the public transportation system in Japan is one of the most complex and extensive I could ever imagine, and definitely takes practice and sharp observational skills to master (I cannot say that I mastered it before we left). Beyond these very broad, pre-conceived notions of Japan, which were told to me mostly by others who’d been there before, the only real expectations I had were probably derived from the Japanese American culture I experienced growing up in my family.

The following is a table depicting some of the habits/traditions my family has taught me over the years, which I have come to associate with our heritage, and how they were similar or different in our home country:

Tradition in my family	Tradition in Japan
Saying ‘itadakimasu’ and ‘gotsasama’ (crude spelling of how we pronounce it) before and after meals, respectively	Although ‘itadakimasu’ was correct, the actual pronunciation and spelling of the after-meal phrase is ‘gochisou-sama deshita.’ Either I had misheard the second phrase my entire life, or my family has adopted an abbreviated/slang version of it over the years
Using hashi (chopsticks) for a few meals	Using hashi with every meal (forks are generally only available upon request)
Offering incense at shrines and temples in remembrance of our ancestors, accompanied by a specific bowing technique, and the adding of a small pinch of incense to burning embers in a box	Incense is supplied at temples/shrines as a cleansing ritual – visitors literally waft/wave the smoke over themselves before entering holy places. There is a similar cleansing ritual involving water fountains and the rinsing of hands and mouths at all of the temples/shrines as well. I have never seen the water ritual before. Incense sticks could be lit and placed in a large urn at some places
Drinking hot (or iced) green tea on special occasions	Hot and iced green tea, as well as an immense variety of green tea flavored sweets, baked goods, etc. were available everywhere
Eating ‘cha-cha-ma-ma,’ a dish of rice with hot green tea or cold water	None of the KGU students that I spoke to had ever heard of such a thing
Sunny side up or otherwise fried egg served over rice	Also found in Japan – one of Mai’s favorite dishes too!
‘Udon’ and ‘Yakisoba’ are singular dishes with no variation	‘Udon’ and ‘soba’ actually refer to the different types of noodles – prefixes are added to the beginning of each noodle name in order to indicate the particular type/preparation of noodle being eaten – I had no idea there were so many variations with the same types of noodles. The yakisoba in Japan was generally sweeter with more spice than the preparations we make at home
Yukatas are worn on special occasions (full kimonos are rare)	Yukatas are also worn on special occasions, but also casually in public
Everyone pretty much sticks to their natural, black/dark brown hair and brown eye color	A large number of people had orange, bleached, or otherwise totally dyed hair, coupled with colored contacts
Hosting and gift giving are key	Same – if anything, our hosts from Kobe and Osaka were like my family on overdrive! Their generosity is unlike anything I’ve ever experienced before in my life
Shoes should be taken off when indoors (indoor slippers are optional)	Many people at restaurants and places of residence (like the hotel) took their shoes off indoors. Slippers were provided on occasion. One of the temples we visited required the removal of shoes to enter.

I think that’s most of them – I will add more if any others occur to me!

As far as my actual experience and enjoyment of our visit goes, to say that I’m grateful for this trip would be a gross understatement. I cannot imagine a better group of travel companions, more gracious and welcoming hosts, or a more meaningful trip abroad.

Every day brought new ideas, beautiful scenery, rich history, local cuisine, and all around splendor to my life. Every shrine and temple we visited had its own unique history, atmosphere, and beauty, and the unique balance between nature and humanity found in each area was nowhere better reflected than at these places of worship and reverence. Every city brought new sights, smells, foods, architectural giants, and shopping opportunities (my favorites for souvenirs were Asakusa in Tokyo, and near one of the shrines in Kyoto). Every day brought me closer to my travel companions and the KGU students, forever imprinting them in my mind and on my heart. Every step took me back through time and space to my ancestors and the family I might still have somewhere in the country. Every hour created unforgettable moments and lifelong memories that I will carry with me always. In short, it was everything I could have asked for in my first trip to a country that I have long wanted to visit, and I would not change a single second of it.  

A few final tips

Lastly, I’d like to leave you with a few more, brief travel trips for anyone who might make their own exploration of Japan:

• Umbrellas are a must – even though I brought my own, traditionally American style one, I often ended up borrowing one from the hotel instead. The more common Japanese style involves a transparent umbrella with a curved handle (extremely useful for hanging it out of the way on a backpack strap when not in use). The transparency of the umbrella ensures visibility even when fully encased in it. The domes of Japanese umbrellas tend to be deeper as well, presumably to offer more complete body coverage, and also be more resistant to back bending/reversal due to strong winds.
• Be sure to research the most up to date currency exchange rates prior to your departure – we found different rates at each American bank, each airport, and the local ATM’s. Although the ATM’s at 7-Eleven’s in Japan tend to work with most American bank issued Visa cards, mine did not (I bank with Chase). The only ATM’s I could get to work were those located in post offices sponsored by Japan Post Bank. According to Dr. Katz, this particular branch of ATM’s tends to be the most reliable for all foreign issued cards.
• If you plan to make lots of purchases while exploring any given city, I think a reusable shoulder tote bag is a must. As mentioned in another post, excessive gift wrapping of any purchased items is pretty common in most areas, but can be reduced by showing a reusable bag. Moreover, the tote bags tend to be more comfortable to carry during a long day of walking or public transportation through a city.
• Wifi is not as common in Japan as in the States. The Kansai International Airport in Kobe (KIX) and our hotel were the only two places that consistently had free Wifi available for use. Thus, if Wifi is a must for you, be sure to research local establishments in the areas you’ll be visiting to see which places might have Wifi available. Or, if the added cost is not an issue, portable Wifi devices are available for rent at a daily rate of about $15 (Dr. Katz rented one for the duration of our trip).
• If you happen to come across a 2000-yen bill during your travels, take a picture, or better yet, keep it! These bills, analogous to the $2 bill in the States, have been discontinued and mostly removed from circulation. Finding one is a rare treat – I ended up with a few, and many of the students were pleasantly surprised when they saw them in my wallet! As a great lover of mementos, I kept them all!
• While you are still in your local country, look into purchasing a JR Pass before you travel to Japan. These passes are only available for purchase outside of the country, and offer a 7, 14, or 21-day pass to cover all JR transportation lines, including most of the shinkansen (bullet train) and all of the JR subway routes. Depending on how much you’ll be traveling via the JR systems, this pass can be a time and cost-efficient means of getting around the country.
• Finally, again for those of you big shoppers out there, you should know that many shops and businesses do not open until 10 am or later on any given day. When I went to Sannomiya for some last minute shopping on our last day in the country, I was dismayed to find that the only thing open at 9:30 am was the local McDonald’s. Most of the other shops did not open until 11 am! Also, many of the tourist and souvenir shops located near temples and shrines tend to close at the same time as the attractions do – if you want to shop after touring a monument, be sure to leave a little time before they close to catch all of the local shops! 

JR Pass Sites:

Website 1

Website 2

Website 3

RX Japan vs. RX America

We enjoyed several lectures regarding pharmacy practice and the overall healthcare system in this wonderful country. Perhaps the most unique (and to me, the most unusual) aspect of pharmacy in Japan is the continued existence and practice of Kampo pharmacy, a type of herbal/natural medicine derived from ancient Chinese practices. Pretty much any natural material (plant, animal, mineral, etc.) that can be dried, crushed, chopped, and/or powdered is fair game for this unique type of medicinal practice. Our first day on the KGU campus, we saw several displays of jars containing different Kampo ingredients, ranging from leaves, branches and roots of many plants to pieces of geodes, mollusk shells to whole, dried seahorses! With no previous exposure to any form of herbal or homeopathic treatments under my belt, the whole concept of Kampo medicine was an entirely new world for me. As we brewed our own kakkonto for colds, I couldn’t help but wonder how effective such concoctions could really be. Of course, the origins of many of today’s pharmaceutical products lie in compounds derived from plants and other natural products, so the idea of isolating structures from the roots or leaves of different plants isn’t that exotic. What I wonder about is the purity and potency of the desired ingredients in any given dose of any given concoction. It seems to me that the extraction methods are relatively inefficient, leading to undesirably low yields of the desired compounds, with unwanted extracts (other compounds present in any given natural product) to boot. Moreover, I feel that the overall palatability of some of the mixtures is pretty limited. We were offered an energy boost on our first day at KGU, which I think contained ginseng extract in it – for me, it was completely inedible, and to be honest, the kakkonto we made as a group for colds wasn’t much better. The diagnostic approach to determining the appropriate formula to prescribe is fairly unique as well. Essentially, it involves following a flowchart of several binary divisions based on different aspects of the body and its response to illness or stress, which can ultimately result in only 8 possible conclusions. To me, it seems like an oversimplification of potentially complex disease states. Nonetheless, it’s a fascinating area, and certainly seems like it will have a stronghold in Japan for many, many years to come.

With regards to more Westernized or ‘modern’ pharmacy practice, several key distinctions can be drawn when compared to American pharmacy. Firstly, loose powders are still a common dosage form in the country, which can be extremely difficult for kids to swallow in particular. Many (if not all) pharmacies therefore have automated machines capable of dividing a measured amount of powder into uniform doses packaged into individual bags. For better ease of administration, thin sheets of a sugar polymer paper can be used to suspend a bolus of powdered drug in a goopy, gelatinous bulb, the result of a reaction between the paper and water. In general, the use of powdered drugs seems like a messy, potentially ineffective (i.e. due to spilled powder or poor dose measuring) means of administering drugs orally. What’s more, many other common dosage forms, such as oral capsules/tablets, topical ointments, etc., are sold solely in unit dose packaging. There are no large stock bottles of anything but powdered drugs or Kampo ingredients. Thus, if a pharmacy is combining multiple medications into a single dosing packet (common practice for patients who take several medications at the same time each day, which is in direct contrast to the American method of dispensing each different medication in its own labeled prescription bottle), the pharmacists must first punch out each tablet or capsule needed to fill a month’s supply for a patient, individually by hand. As such, all of the effort and material put into unit dose packaging by the drug manufacturers is essentially undone, leading to a seemingly time heavy and waste producing means of distributing drugs (in my opinion). Overall, a very different approach to drug packaging and distribution compared to the States.

Finally, the actual role of and work environment for the average pharmacist in Japan is varied in several ways. Firstly, there are no pharmacy technicians in the country – this position does not exist. All employees of a pharmacy are strictly pharmacists. Secondly, at least in the community setting (not sure about hospital), pharmacists are reimbursed based on a fairly complex formula that assigns point values to various aspects of the filling and dispensing process (1 point is worth approximately 10 yen). Thirdly, community pharmacists are limited to filling a mere 40 prescriptions per day, by law (we did not discuss hospital pharmacists in this context)! If a pharmacy is expected to consistently fill more than 40 prescriptions per day, then another pharmacist must be hired to handle the overflow. When you compare that to the 150+ prescriptions that a single pharmacist and technician can fill in an average community pharmacy on a single day, in the words of my mother, ‘it’s a wonder no one gets bored.’ This government-enforced limitation on daily dispensing, coupled with the complex and often low reimbursements derived from the reimbursement formula, result in the average pharmacist in Japan making half (or less) the average annual salary of a pharmacist in the United States. It’s rather unbelievable to me, actually. I never thought I’d prefer the often hectic, 400-per-day filling mentality found at many American community pharmacies. Although the hours and lifestyle are presumably longer and more stressful in the States, it seems the rewards are significantly greater.

Overall, I tremendously enjoyed learning the in’s and out’s of pharmacy practice in Japan, drawing parallels and distinctions between their country and ours. It was an enlightening experience, to say the least.

Final Reflections

The other students have already written excellent summaries of the trip, so I will just discuss one aspect that stood out -  the kindness of our hosts.

Kamiya Sensei presented a lecture titled “Japanese traditional medicine: Kampo medicine” during one of our first days at Kobe Gakuin University. The lecture focused primarily on kakkon-to, a popular herbal medicine comprised of ephedra, ginger, jujube, licorice, pueraria, cinnamon and peony. Among other things, the preparation is used to treat cold or stiff shoulders and neck.

Kamiya Sensei went on to tell us about rakugo, a humorous dialogue performed using fans and hand towels. He even performed his own rakugo. The story went as follows:

The first patient of the day goes to the doctor and says, “I have a pain in my head.” The doctor replies, “You have a headache. Take this kakkon-to three times a day for seven days.”

Next, the second patient of the day comes in and says, “I have a pain in my back.” Similarly, the doctor replies, “You have a backache. Take this kakkon-to three times a day for seven days.”

A third patient visits the doctor and says, “I have a pain in my neck.” Again, the doctor replies, “You have a neck ache. Take this kakkon-to three times a day for seven days.”

Finally, the last patient comes to see the doctor. The doctor asks, “What is bothering you?” The patient says, “I am the brother of the patient with the back ache.” The doctor asks, “Oh, you also have a back ache?” The patient replies, “No.” The confused doctor asked, “What is your problem, then?” The patient said, “I don’t have a problem.” To this, the doctor said, “Ah, you are bored! Here, take this kakkon-to three times a day for seven days.”

Sensei told this story to illustrate the notion that the same kampo medicine can be used to treat different ailments, and to humorously depict the desire that many Japanese patients have to receive prescriptions. As clearly as this story depicts those things, however, it also depicts the very giving nature of the Japanese people (or at least of one, perhaps overzealous, doctor).

It was this generosity that impressed me the most during our trip to Japan. The students and staff of Kobe Gakuin University continually gave their time and resources to ensure that we were welcomed and had a wonderful trip. They took the time to get to know us individually, answered our many questions about the Japanese culture, taught us a little about the language, were our personal tour guides and never judged me when I failed to use hashi (chopsticks) properly (which was 99% of the time). When I look back on this trip to Japan, I will do so with gratitude to each and every person I met along the way.

Japan Trip: Totoro, Pokemon, and more!

Pictures to come later! (I still need to get the majority of mine from Caitlin :) )

Day 1

After being delayed by a car accident; worrying about hurricanes and typhoons interfering with our flights; being cooped up in airplanes and airports for over 14 hours;and waiting in seemingly endlessly long lines for passport checks, trains, or buses, I can't believe that we finally made it to Japan! As we were riding the various subways and buses to our hotel, I attempted to take in every detail I could (between the numerous naps and the sleepy eyes I had of course). Japan is so...green! And because of the incoming typhoon, much cooler than Arizona. As we were walking the streets to our hotel after our luggage was retrieved, I couldn't help but notice how empty the streets were as well. Not a single person was walking the streets other than ourselves. It was oddly eerie. Other than that, I really was just in awe of the towering buildings and the obvious differences between that of Japan and Arizona. When we finally reached our hotel room and settled in, there were even more differences for us to discover! For one thing, the toilets are super high tech! They're warmed which was different but wonderful. We could also drink the tap water. Finally, the hotel room's shower was a completely different room from the toilet and sink. The shower room consisted of a bathtub and a separate area outside of the bathtub where one would actually shower. There was also a stool and a bucket to sit down and pour water over yourself with. With all of these differences to pay attention to, the call for food from my rumbling stomach eventually overpowered my amazement and we all eventually gathered in the hotel lobby again to go to the 7-11 down the road. The 7-11 was...quaint to say the least. The first thing I picked up was an ice cream...it was so small! And that's when I remembered that one of my pen pals, Ryo, asked me if it was true that everything in America was bigger. I kind of chuckled at yet another difference from America. Regardless, I eventually tucked away a decent bento box for dinner and was able to fall asleep. Tomorrow will be another big day!

Day 2

Another eventful day. Today was the first time we got to meet some of the KGU students! We did some simulations with "Sam" the human analog. He had eyelids, a pulse, and breathed. After the simulations we tried some tea and looked at some glass displays with different plants and herbs. I only knew a few of them like ginseng, digox, and cinnamon.

After that I was finally able to meet to meet my pen pals, Ryo and Anna, at the KGU lunch. It was fantastic to finally meet them! Unfortunately they couldn't speak much English and it was hard to converse with them beyond "how are you?" but it was still wonderful to finally meet them after a few months of conversing through email. After the lunch the students took us around Sannomiya and we shopped, took photos in booths that "beautified" everyone, and ended with a small snack of shaved ice and rice cakes.

Later, Sensei Sho gave us a tour of a supermarket near our hotel called Gourmet City. It was an odd place to be given a tour of but nonetheless, I appreciated the enthusiasm for hosting us. We eventually made it back to the hotel and turned in rather early since the typhoon that was going to hit us was said to come tonight.

Day 3 (Happy birthday, Jen!)

This morning I woke up and drew the curtains aside and woah! Looks like the typhoon is here. Literally the most rain I've ever seen was coming down in SHEETS! I had heard the expression before but I really never thought that I would see it in person! Sheets upon sheets of rain was hitting the buildings all around us. I even glanced down at the few that braved this storm. Their flimsy umbrellas were being folded and broken under the stress of the unrelenting wind. I was glad that I wasn't out there. Also, it looks like the days plans of going to the hot springs were cancelled. Instead the group just observed the typhoon and played the iPhone game (sorry I don't know what it's called) that Kim was super good at. Luckily, the typhoon only lasted until midday and we were able to convene in the lobby at 1PM to commence with our plans.

Dr. Katz, Hoang, Caitlin, and I stayed behind to get ramen as the rest of the group went to get $30 Kobe beef. This was the first time for me getting ramen so I couldn't pass up the chance, even for kobe beef. I'm grateful that I did too because the ramen was very quite good! After lunch we also got taikyaki, a sort of...waffle shaped fish with red bean paste in the middle. It was awesome! I love red bean. Unless it's red bean boba. Anyway, We eventually made our way over to the Sannomiya shrine which was a pretty peaceful place! We threw some coins into a well, rang a bell, and bowed twice and clapped twice. Dr. Katz explained that ringing the bell "Awakened the gods" to hear our prayers.

We eventually found everyone again after doing a little more souvenir shopping (I got some sweet magnets and cat socks). We also saw huge blocks of ice where people would rub it with their hands and melt the ice to get to these little toys suspended in the ice. It was pretty cool because I've never seen anything like it! Eventually we found ourselves in an arcade playing Japan's version of guitar hero but with drums. Dr. Katz and a few more students broke off to take more photos in the booths. (Hilarity to ensue later from viewing their pictures). After the arcades, we went to Japan's version of China town! It was pretty different from San Francisco's and New York's China Town, but I'm glad that I am now able to say that I've been to a China Town in another country!

After China Town the KGU students, Mai and Yui, took us to an 8 course dinner! Wow! It was pretty good. I can't really remember all the courses but some of them were octopus, fried chicken, beef, fries, and a sorbet. Since it was Jen's birthday, she also got a cake! Yay Jen :). Unfortunately, I was way too tired to join the rest of the gang for Karaoke but they all said that you get a room and just start singing which is pretty different from how America does it! Sounded fun though.

Day 4

I tried nato today! Under the suggestion of Hoang. It actually wasn't that bad but then again, I'm pretty sure I have a pretty bland palette. After breakfast though, we had a great lecture about kampo pharmacy. I really enjoyed this lecture because it reminded me of the origins of pharmacy where herbs and other medicinal plants were experimented with to aid in the treatment of the sick or the weary. How times have changed! It was really interesting though hearing the theories about how to fix colds. The professor that taught us this lecture explained to us that if you sweat easily, you were considered having "weak constitution" and could expel viruses from your body easily after being given kampo tea but if it was hard for you to sweat, you had "strong constitution" and would need to be given slightly different ingredients in your kampo tea. We also learned the 7 ingredients that made up the basic constituents of kampo tea. We also made some for ourselves! It was pretty cool.

After the lecture, we made our way to Osaka to visit the Kampo Pharmacy. But before that....at last! I finally tried Japanese sushi. It was conveyor belt style but luckily, the one in Tempe, AZ, Teharu, familiarized me with how conveyor belt sushi worked. It was pretty similar in Japan. The sushi was pretty good! Many times fresher than what we get in Arizona. After sushi though, we were able to go to Kampo pharmacy and see all their herbs that they used in the back. It was like looking at a giant version of my mom's cabinet since she's pretty big on natural remedies from China. We even have a Jujube tree in our backyard. However, it was pretty interesting to see how all of this applied to the real world. Even with all our research and science of today, people are still using all of these plants to help them!

After Kampo pharmacy, we traveled to Osaka castle and I was...very impressed. Osaka castle was not only beautiful...but HUGE! The climb to the top (using stairs might I add) was no small feat and we were all breathing slightly more heavily and were slightly more sweaty when we reached the top. But the view at the top was worth it! Osaka was an enormous city! It spanned out in every direction and I couldn't believe how breathtaking it was. It sure was a sight to see!

When we were done at Osaka castle, we got dinner together at the largest restaurant I've seen in Japan thus far. (All the other restaurants are only made for parties of 3-5). I had an ebi don which came in a large stone bowl. Caitlin got a beer and tried to drink it faster than Dr. Katz drank his but ultimately came up short. It was still fun to watch though.

Once dinner commenced, WE WENT TO THE POKEMON CENTER!!! My inner child bubbled up and I instantly forgot how much my feet hurt as all I could think about was the nostalgia and joy that this show brought to me as a little kid! I scurried around with Kim looking at all the Pokemon merchandise (which I eventually bought) and taking pictures of everything. I'm not going to lie, I left a piece of my heart in that store.

We also went to a huge technology store afterwards but it was less impressive. It was rather large though. Eventually though, we made our way back to our hotel to rest our weary bodies and prepare for yet another day.

Day 5

Today we had another lecture! It involved learning about hypertension and hypercholesterolemia, 2 subjects that I was finally familiar with! Overall, the lecture was pretty complete. After our lecture, we had a tour of what a Japanese hospital looks like! It was incredible seeing all the Japanese technology integrated into the system. Some were very similar to what UAMC does but took it a step further like the boxes that carry the medicine to different units of the hospital. We were able to see the ER, the neonatel unit, the operation theater, chemo, and infectious diseases unit. We were also given a great opportunity to ask the hospital's current residents what a Japanese residency was like. When we finished with the hospital though, we made our way to a community pharmacy. It was such a different experience from what a community pharmacy looks like in America! First off, there were massage chairs in the room! As we toured the pharmacy though, our kind host explained to us that they package their medicine for their patients with a nifty machines. It was also explained that because health insurance was a lot simpler compared to that of America with it's universal health insurance, it seemed like a much smoother process to dispense their medications.We also learned that Japanese people actually want to take prescription medications which is a huge contrast to the mindset of Americans who are looking for nothing but natural substances.After the community pharmacy visit though, we had a takoyaki party with the KGU students! It was great fun. Caitlin also got a kimono from her pen pal! Very cool. We also had a small talent show after Rick showed us what an amazing beat boxer he is. The show eventually turned into a dance party that Ron was so kind to head. After the takoyaki party, we went to the park and did fireworks! In Japan, fireworks are a huge thing to do and we even saw other kids at the park playing with fireworks! It was pretty fun :). By the time we got back to the hotel, I was way too tired to do anything else!

Day 6

Today for our lecture we learned more about the insurance system of Japan. It was slightly more complicated than I thought but there's some sort of point system that determines how much money their Medicare covers. I unfortunately got kind of lost trying to figure everything out though but the professor did keep emphasizing how efficient it was. We also found out that instead of drug companies setting the price of their drugs, the government decides how much they should charge. That idea does seem pretty good to me since I feel like drug companies here tend to overcharge for their medications to compensate for how much they've lost putting it into research and developing the drug. Japan's health insurance system is complicated nonetheless with its many ways to prevent abuse of the system, points, and types of insurance, but I think with some more time, I may be able to understand it a little better. This was only 1 lecture, after all.

After this lecture, we went to the fish market! It was incredible to see all the fresh fish just lying at our feet. Food vendors were eager to have you try their food. It was pretty cool being at that place. Afterwards though, we went to another castle, Himeji castle! This castle, much like Osaka, was huge too but we were only allowed to go around the outside. I eventually got lost trying to make my way back to the meeting group but luckily I was able to figure out where everyone was just in time. We did more shopping that day though and had a glorious meal of McDonalds at the Kobe mall.

As the evening began to settle in, we made one last stop at Kobe Tower to view the amazing night view! It was gorgeous! But before we did that, I FINALLY was able to go to a TOTORO STORE!!!! Jen and I were like kids in a candy shop! It was amazing to finally go to one and look at all of the Totoro merchandise. I may or may not have bought too many things from there. But YOJO!

Day 7

Today we went to Tokyo!!!!! But boy did we have to wake up early for this. Even on the bullet train (traveling at 185 mph) it took 3 hours to get there. It was definitely worth it though since I was finally able to see my dear friend Mamoru Ito!!!! I had met him in 8th grade and he moved to Japan after I went off to high school. Mamoru and I shared a PE class together and he was one of the most brilliant guys I knew! It felt so good to catch up with him!!!!



He is currently a medical student and is wanting to become a cardiac surgeon. I know Moomoo will go very far and will be able to do anything he wants! I'm so so glad to have had this opportunity to catch up with him again! But he joined us to look at the Imperial palace, look at more shrines (We saw some HUGE lanterns), and he took us around Electric city! A city centered around anime and electronics. While he was with us, it rained super heavily again but it was worth the trip just to see him. Also, a pigeon landed on my head today. Too bad I didn't get any pictures before it flew off. Silly birds.

Day 8

Almost every day that we've been here we just go go go! There's no stopping! But it does seem necessary if we want to get the most out of Japan as we can in these short few days. We met with students from Osaka who graciously treated us to literally everything today. I couldn't believe how nice they were to us. It was really incredible seeing the generosity and kindness of Japanese culture. Anyway, they treated us to okonomiyaki which is sort of a cabbage pancake with meat. It was pretty tasty! (It tastes better than how I describe it). We also went to Nara, land of the roaming deer and I was able to feed them! Unfortunately, one bit me on the stomach (deer don't carry rabies do they?) so I shied away from them after that but they really did bow for food and it was still pretty cool being THAT close to deer!

In Nara, we visited another temple but this one was special because it contained the largest Buddha in the world! And...it was very very big. I was also given a chance to crawl through a hole the size of the Buddha's nostrils. Unfortunately, I was a bit too large to fit through (hash tag huge muscle problems). Caroline and Sarah Hodges though were able to fit through! It's said that if you're able to crawl through it...you gain enlightenment. Guess I'm not enlightened. Darn.

So we went back to Namba and went to the Beer Garden for an AMAZING buffet. I can't believe our Osaka hosts treated us to that as well. When they come to America, we HAVE to spoil them! Anyway, it was an amazing time and when we got back to the hotel...Moomoo was there again! Yay! So we were able to laugh the rest of the night away with him, especially when we started talking about hostess cafes and how he wanted us all to go to one. (In case people were wondering what hostess cafes are...I refer you to this youtube video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L2vU_N3mNwM )

Day 9

Our second to last day here. Woah. Time has flown by! Everything is melting together and I can't tell what we did one day apart from the next. But it has been an amazing adventure so far. Moomoo joined us again today on our trip to Kyoto, a place with tons of shrines/temples and a treasure trove of shops! I actually did most of my shopping here. An interesting thing we did in Kyoto was doing the love stones. Every year, people come to the love stones to see if they will find their true love that year! What you do is you touch one stone with your eyes closed and try to walk to the other stone. If you make it there safely then you will find your true love! Moomoo tried and gave up and since I followed suit I was completely disorientated but people were kind enough to guide me to the second stone. As we walked around the temple more, Moomoo explained to me that the base of the temple is famous since there are no nails in it at all! It's a celebration of how advanced the architecture of the Japanese was from back then.

We also saw another temple (no pictures allowed unfortunately) that displayed tons of different gods and their army. It was incredible to see. Every face of the army was different and the gods had crystals for eyes.

Once we were done looking at temples, we went to another conveyor belt sushi! Moomoo had an incredible 27 plates. I only had 20! I had no idea I'd meet someone, let alone know, someone that could eat more sushi than me! But Moomoo explained that average males in Japan at 30 plates. The only reason why he stopped was because he thought everyone was waiting for him. What a nice guy. After sushi, we waddled over to the Gold Temple! It was another amazing site. Most of the temple was covered in gold!

Eventually, we finally rode the bus back to Kobe and since we got back relatively early, some of the group wanted to do some extra shopping at Sannomiya. Moomoo needed to go back to his hotel to get ready though but he came back and asked me to go to Sannomiya with him to get some shoes and more sushi for dinner. We eventually left Sannomiya with socks and since I was still full from sushi early, we just went to the grocery market. Moomoo explained to me though that the conveyor belt sushi we went to was cheaper end sushi and we needed the REAL stuff! Too bad I was too full for that. I can't believe the metabolism on this kid. We later spent the rest of our night with Kim, Rick, Ashli, and Yui.

Day 10 The last day! (sort of)

In the morning, I said goodbye to Moomoo since he had a date to catch (the guys a stud in Japan) and got ready to go to Hiroshima...where I will get to see my other friend, Sean! I met Sean through one of my high school friends who dated him for a little bit. I'm so glad I got to stay friends with him through all these years. Sean is a teaching English in Japan and will be doing so for the next year. We went to Miyajima via boat and tried their oysters (delicious), and had more okonomiyaki. Surprisngly, Miyajima had more deer and we just spent our time there shopping and walking around the temple/beach of the island. Some excitement happened during this: a baby girl fell off a rather tall ledge and the mother cried out in fear that her daughter was injured. By the time I whirled around to see what had happened, I saw that the mother and Sean were in the ditch that the child fell into. Sean explained in Japanese what he was doing and he gently helped lift the child up and out of the ditch into another family member's arms since the mom was too short to do that. What a good guy Sean is.

After the ferry ride back to the mainland, we went to the Hiroshima Peace Memorial and saw the only building left standing after the A-bomb went off in Hiroshima. It was an incredible site to behold. We also toured a museum which explained the events leading up to the A-bomb and the aftermath. Hiroshima was chosen to be A-bombed because it lacked any POW camps. What a humbling experience. The Peace Memorial had the same, somber feel to it as when I went to visit the Pearl Harbor Memorial. I guess now I can say that I've been to the place that started it and the place that ended it for the A-bomb.

When we were done at the museum, we made our way to the train station and I sadly said goodbye to Sean. Not sure where or when I'll see him next...but I look forward to saying hello again to him!  The bullet train ride back was spent mostly standing but since it was our last day in Japan, what's a little more standing?

We finished our last day off in Japan with Mai and Yui as we ate kebobs. It was a relaxing way to end the day minus all the packing I did when I got back to the hotel.

Day 11

This was the day of our departure! Really though, since our flight didn't leave until like 9PM, we had most of the day to say goodbye to our amazing hosts and now, at the end of this trip, I can also say our amazing friends. They threw us a goodbye lunch and we were given the honor to listen to someone play music for us, see a tea ceremony, and participate in a watermelon splitting party. All in all, a fantastic way to end our trip in Japan.

Last thoughts:

This Japan trip really was the most amazing experience of my life thus far. If I went back in time and told myself that I was going to go to Japan, I never for the life of me would have believed it. The entire time I was in Japan, I could not stop thinking that I was on the other side of the world from where I grew up. This was the farthest away I've ever been from home. I couldn't have asked for a better first international experience. I learned loads about a different culture, saw and experienced a different culture, and most importantly...made new friends. I'm glad I was able to go to this trip and it really was an eye opening experience.

Edit 8/23:

I realize that I forgot to add a quick blurb about chocolate. Moomoo kept buying me and others around him chocolate. After the 2nd time he gave me chocolate, I asked if it was a big thing to do in Japan...to buy guests chocolate. I didn't really notice anyone else doing it, even the KGU students. However, Moomoo said chocolate was a pretty big thing to do in Japan. Nevertheless, here's the box of fancy chocolates he got me! (He also got me some coffee chocolates that he said in his opinion were the best chocolates in Japan)