First Full Day

Five words to describe my day: peaceful, stressful, painful, exciting, and cozy. All in one day. 

This morning started with rain. 

Beautiful, peaceful rain giving the world a quite shroud. 

I got up at 5am, did some work, and then stood outside for a little bit, just watching the city wake up. 

Breakfast was... interesting. 

I'll say it. I prefered the Miso soup for breakfast thanscrabled eggs and a hot dog (I think?). 

With about two hours before the group was set to meet for our first outing, my roommate and I decided to explore the area and look for a tote bag for her, anda roller suitcase for me (you were right, mom). 

Then, as a group, we headed to Meiji Shrine, and it was beautiful. The whole place felt calm and almost separated from the city around it. One of our readings talked about how "sublime" the forest feels to visitors from a scientific point of view, though admittedly a little confused to how the word "sublime" was defined to participants, you know? 

[I'll pick some of my favorite shots from the shine in the morning]

I also did the appreciation ritual: 

Offer coins

Bow twice

Clap twice

Bow again

A few of the other girls and I paid 500 Yen to walk through the Imperial Garden/ Honestly, there weren't many flowers blooming because of the rain, but I still liked it. Mostly the pond. Watching the rain ripple across the water was very soothing. 

Unfortunately, this is also the point in which I realized the PT I did before the trip wasn't quite enough preparation. My hip started hurting after walking on uneven ground for a while, and since there weren't many places to sit (unless I wanted to sit in water), it slowly got worse throughout the morning and afternoon. 

The biggest emotional moment of the afternoon was definitely when I lost my bracelet. 

Not just any bracelet. The beaded one I spent around ten hours making.

I was quietly devastated because the chances of finding something tiny in a crowded area felt basically impossible. Mike (our teacher’s assistant) actually walked back through the path with me trying to help me search for it, and eventually suggested I ask one of the little shops I had stopped in earlier.

I walked up to the counter and awkwardly asked, “English?”

The woman crossed her arms in an X and shook her head, so I pulled out Google Translate and typed that I had lost my bracelet.

She looked at the translation, then asked in slightly broken English:

“Color what?”

I showed her a picture.

She immediately went, “Ah!” and pulled it out from behind the counter.

I think I thanked her about three separate times while bowing repeatedly.

After that, we had a few free hours in Harajuku, which was much less peaceful and much more overwhelming in the best way possible. I finally got to visit the Harry Potter Shop Harajuku, which was incredibly fun.

The trip back to the hotel was… rough.

Once I finally got a seat on the train, I mostly spent the ride trying to subtly stretch my hip without looking too strange. When I got back to the hotel, I immediately took a nap.

Then, later that evening, our group went to a sushi buffet for dinner.

At some point, my professor told everyone to eat more, which two people at my table apparently interpreted as a competitive sport.

By the time I left, one had eaten 10 plates and the other had eaten 11.

Meanwhile, I had:

3 plates,

noodles,

dessert,

and absolutely no intention of entering the competition.

To finish off the night, I wandered into a tiny game shop across the street from the hotel and bought a cute little game called Copy Cat Meow that the owner made himself. Definitely going back at least once before we leave Tokyo. 

Honestly, it feels like five different days somehow got compressed into one.