Liz in Japan

I can’t believe it’s already over, this trip went by so fast!

Going into this trip I had no idea what to expect. I was very intimidated by how different I thought everything would be. I’m not really sure what I expected exactly I did expect the language barrier to be much worse than it really was. Being in a place where nothing is in English and you can’t communicate with your native language is a huge challenge but luckily people in Japan were so much easier to communicate with than i expected. The other thing I was super worried about was the cultural customs like dressing nice and being quiet in public. I was very worried I was going to do something offensive but everyone we interacted with was so understanding and kind.

I think the biggest difference between America and Japan was the attitude of the people. Everyone in public was generally more polite to the point it wasn’t very noticeable because that’s how it was everywhere. Even on trains besides the rules against talking in the phone people were more quiet and very respectful of space. The biggest similarity between America and Japan was honestly that you can’t make assumptions about people. Right away in the airport I saw people I thought were American speaking Japanese and people I thought were Japanese speaking English so very quickly I realized that- like most big cities- Tokyo is incredibly diverse. Other than that I noticed a lot of the same etiquette of big cities in America specifically DC. We have a lot of the same rules about how you should act while getting where you need to go- like being on the left side of the escalator if you’re not walking.

Honestly some of the biggest challenges I faced on this trip were just keeping up with what I needed to do. The first few days of our trip were so packed full and it was amazing but so exhausting. I’m someone who really needs time away from people to recover but obviously I wasn’t really going to get that in Japan so while we were there I really tried to take advantage of our free time to rest and recover- while still being around people. The other challenge was honestly the portion sizes, which are obviously much smaller in Japan. I’m obviously used to American portions but I also need a lot of food because I’m very active so I learned very quickly to never pass up on an opportunity for snacks or drinks just so I could keep my energy up.

There are many differences between us and Japan but one that I still don’t really understand is the money. Most places we went to in Japan primarily used cash and coins which is very cheap to different from America. The other difference I noticed specifically with money is that they use coins to pay for things- their coins actually have value. The 500 yen coin is worth about four dollars, even a one yen coin is about 50 cents and with how much cheaper everything is generally there I ended up using coins so much more which was really cool.

I’m sure there is some deep socioeconomic reason for us not using cash primarily and our coins being so low value but I’m fine with it being a mystery for now

Two things I would say should definitely stay in the itinerary for any future trips in other words my two favorite things were the moss garden and karaoke.
The moss garden was incredible, after rushing around so much I really appreciated anytime we had just to sit in a garden and take everything in and the moss was that but compounded intangibly. The garden itself was a masterpiece, going into the garden and filling out the sutra just as preparation to go was really nice to slow down and appreciate where I was at. Going through the garden was indescribable, I felt completely at peace and relaxed in the environment

Karaoke was kind of the opposite. Not only was it just a really fun way to end the trip but it was really nice to be with everyone for the last night of the trip. I would actually have liked to be there longer but you live and you learn. I think even if not everyone sang everyone had a really good time.

The only thing that stands out of something we can leave out would be Skytree. We discussed this on the trip but it wasn’t really worth it especially at the end of the day. Yes the view was really cool but it was so crowded and it took so long to get it that I would say that you could easily leave it out.

I personally am not a fan of markets and we did go to a lot of them but I know that most people are so I think that depends on who is going on the trip and I was definitely fine just tagging along. The other thing you could leave out was the hot spring eggs. maybe I’ll live 7 years longer so it’s worth it but it was just an egg and our day was already very packed. I will say the ride up the mountain and the view of Fuji was 100% worth it so…not sure what to do with that.

I don’t want to end this blog on a negative note so I’ll say now that this was genuinely the trip of a lifetime. I’m so incredibly grateful of this opportunity and couldn’t have asked for better people to go with. Thank you so much to everyone who made it possible to get there- I know that I’m remember this forever, and obviously this trip wouldn’t have been possible if someone hadn’t taken a huge chance on taking high schoolers to the other side of the world and planned a whole trip for us so thank you Paul, trip dad. I really do miss spending the day with everyone and I’m really grateful for everyone making this trip so amazing. ❤️

I woke up a bit late today and basically got ready to leave right away for the moss garden!

The moss garden was amazing. Getting in was a bit difficult, and we had to write a sutra before we went it. The whole place was beautiful, it was such a nice time to slow down and reflect on everything. I went through the moss garden twice and everything was so peaceful it just silenced my brain.

After the moss garden, we split the group and a few of us went to the soba restaurant nearby which was… a bit of an experience. I really liked it — the soba noddles and the broth, but the egg wasn’t poached like I was expecting — the whites were frothy which was interesting, and I’m still not sure how to feel about it.

While we were at soba I tried to figure out transport for the group to get everywhere we needed to – so thanks to Juana for helping me figure out the bus routes cause that was a bit stressful. We ended up just going with an uber to get to the bookstore. The bookstore was cool it had a huge rage of things from Sanrio philosophy to frog and toad and Studio Ghibli.

After we were all done in the bookstore, we split again and I went to the Pokémon center! I’ve been really wanting to go back since we went in Tokyo so I was really excited to hear there was one in Kyoto. I ran around there for I’m not sure how long I might’ve blacked out a bit- but regardless that was for sure the highlight of my day even though the moss garden was so gorgeous.

After the Pokémon center, I crashed a bit. We met up with the other group who had gone to this crazy chaotic store, then while walking around to get back home we found a Gachapon store where I kind of awoke from my haze and decided to spend some coins so I wouldn’t waste them. Then we got ramen, which was a pretty great way to end our last night in Kyoto.

Today was mostly for recovery.

We started off the day by cleaning up then heading to the flea market outside and Paul set us loose. Shopping isn’t really my thing, but it was fun.

After that, we went back for some chill time at the Airbnb before a quick meeting and heading back out for lunch. I had gotten a snack at seven eleven because markets intimidate me because I never know what to get so I grabbed a very large candied apple for lunch.

After another quick break, we all went to the beautiful 1,000 year old tea house. They served roasted marshmallows and green tea — neither of which I really liked. The marshmallows were a bit off and green tea is a bit bitter for my taste, but the vibes were still immaculate. After our snack, we took a few pictures on the bridge…

After a quick walk home, a few of us went to dinner at this really delicious restaurant that I don’t remember the name of. We ordered a ton of delicious meat skewers, and I got some fried garlic, but for some reason it took a very long time. Afterwards, Paul took us down to the river, and we got some sweet treats.

We ended the night watching Jurassic Park, which was fun, and then I wrote this blog post and fell asleep before I published it. Sorry!

Today was a rollercoaster of stress.

We said goodbye to Hakone and our wonderful host Kana, with a send off of absolutely delicious pastries and a near mishap of buses.

With a lot of stress, we made it to our bullet train with 20 minutes to spare (read as “Paul stressed me out for no reason” >:| ) but we were in a train the played “I see the light” from tangled as it’s little jingle which was lovely.

We had a ton of time to spare before we were able to get into our Airbnb in Kyoto so we wandered around a beautiful plum garden and saw the city a bit.

Our last formal activity of the night was dinner with one of Paul’s friends at a very cozy cafe. I had tea named after Awren from lotr and a delicious fruit tart. We all got the same soup and bread, which was very good.

The last thing we did (after a long time dealing with the evil tv) was watch bullet train together – which was great as always.

Today may not have been very packed, but I was exhausted by the end of it.

We started off the day with a breakfast made by a Buddhist monk. It was mostly stuff I’d never had before, but I ended up liking most of it – besides the pickled plum…that was nasty.

Next we made our way by bus to the Hakone open air museum.

It was gorgeous – a huge outdoor area filled with sculptures, some were interactive and that was really cool. There was a giant netted play area for kids but it was 12 and under. Very disappointing.

Then we traveled up to some hot springs by gondola! Which was really cool. Once we got there, we ate some very special black eggs boiled in the hot springs that are supposed to add years onto our life but…I’m not a huge fan of hard boiled eggs. But the view of Fuji was phenomenal from there…

The ride back was really long, but it was all worth it because we got to ride in a pirate ship! It was pretty cold but again – worth it. It was really fun, we took pictures and just watched the scenery.

The very last thing we did was go to dinner and a very delicious Nepalese restaurant, but I was so exhausted I decided to return home early.

Today was our first travel day during the trip. We had our 7Eleven breakfast and then headed out for the train station at ten after checking out.

That’s the maple “syrup” and margarine pancakes for the non believers. You eat it as a sandwich.

Moving on – we rode a few trains to get to the station about and hour before our train departed. Between figuring out where it was and ordering we didn’t have enough time for bento boxes and rushed to get some snacks before we left. As stressful as the journey there was, the train was nice a peaceful.

After arriving in Hakone ( a much much smaller city than Tokyo) we had a very relaxed afternoon and early dinner. We got to our hostel and after unpacking went to a zen garden

From the Zen garden, we walked to Naraya Cafe and had dinner while soaking our feet. A very relaxing break from all the rushing around.

A quick shout out to our amazing host Kana who has been so wonderful and really went above and beyond getting us rooms and extra spots for breakfast tomorrow.

This was definitely the most chill day so far, but also the longest.

We started off our day with some solo exploring of Tsukiji fish market for breakfast. Ava and I tried some strawberry tanghulu and matcha lattes, and Dylan and I got some steamed pork buns!

After that we split the group and half of us started on our journey to Hokusai Museum. Getting there was a pain but it was really educational and lovely.

For lunch we met back up at a sushi train restaurant. You order the food and it comes to you on a conveyer belt from the kitchen. Oliver and I tried nato (fermented soybeans) for the first time and I… was not a fan. (But I did get my shrimp tempura :])

After lunch we went to Gachapon and the Pokémon center. Gachapon is a store full of “Gacha” machines — the kind you might find by the exit of a grocery store. The Pokémon center is the Pokémon’s merch store and I was VERY excited for this.

The last stop of the night was the Studio Ghibli museum which was incredible! We aren’t allowed to take pictures inside but it was really cool to learn about the process and see the art from the movies!

For dinner Ava and Oliver made us fruit salad, green beans and pan fried beef from Costco, which I’m very grateful for.

Woah – this day was jam packed!

We started the day with a food run to Lawson, then a relaxed breakfast on the roof of our Airbnb. We had a ton of different drinks to share, and I had a few egg sandwiches and some lemon chicken – delicious.

Our first stop of the day was the zen garden, definitely a highlight of the day. The garden was beautiful and such a nice way to start our day after the stress of yesterday.

Next we took some trains to a mall, which was pretty fun on its own. After a bit of a wait, we got in to a cafe for some perfect fruit parfaits! These were amazing, so huge thanks to Arlene back in Henderson for them. 🙂

After that our group had a pivot and a few of us went to Uneo Zoo. This was one of the most exciting moments for me because it has been my life’s mission to see pandas since I was two years old. Needless to say, I was ecstatic. The wait was pretty long, and we didn’t get to see him for that long, but I was still very happy.

After that we ran around the zoo for 30 more minutes, but almost no other animals were out! But we were on a tight schedule so our group split again into two Ubers to get to our next destination, Tokyo Skytree.

Skytree was pretty cool- 350m in the air over Tokyo to watch the sunset, but unfortunately we hadn’t had a proper lunch, and we were all too exhausted and hungry to really enjoy it.

We ended our day with another convenience store meal. I was really determined to have some soba, which fortunately they had there. Really looking forward to tomorrow!

(a sign for tourists at the zen garden)

This day was way more exhausting than expected!

Our journey through MSP was smooth besides a one hour delay that I combatted with a lot of Japanese practice. Then we boarded our 13 hour flight.

The flight was mostly uneventful. I had some delicious pasta, talked a lot with Dylan, watched bits and pieces of the Wicked movie and then made Dylan watch one of my favorite movies with me – Knives Out.

For me (and I think most everyone else) the most stressful part of the day was customs. We had filled out our forms beforehand, but when we arrived we had another form to fill out. They also just had everyone without a Japanese passport in one area that was slowly filtered into a single file line so our group got separated pretty fast. 🙁 Luckily I was able to stay with Eddie once I got cut off from the group.

After our stressful, but successful, entry into Japan, we got a super quick snack and went to teamlab borderless (an art installation.) The whole experience there was incredible!

These are just a few of my favorite rooms there – it was really cool. Special mention to the room where you got to draw an ocean animal and it got projected on the screen. That really woke me up.

We ended our day with a small outing to 7Eleven, and I got some pancakes with maple jelly(?) and a potato croquette.

Very tired and very excited for tomorrow!

Konnichiwa, watashi wa namae wa rizu desu. Hello, my name is Liz. I’m a Junior in high school at MNCS, and I’m one of the students going to Japan in spring 2025. I’m so excited for the opportunity, and I’m so grateful for this community helping us get there. I absolutely love traveling, and I’ve been able to travel to three other countries before this including France, Ecuador/Galápagos, and Quebec, Canada. I love traveling to new places, and it’s my favorite way to learn about the world. I’ve also always wanted to learn another language and while Japanese is not the easiest language to learn, I’m happy this trip is forcing me to lock in (Tojikimeru).

I’ve been interested in going to Japan since I was 8, I’m really interested in the culture, history, food and art. I am a huge fan of studio Ghibli movies, my favorite being Castle in the sky, I’m not the biggest fan of anime but my favorite would be Cells at Work.

Some fun facts about me: I have two dogs and two cats, I’ve been in Dance since I was three, i want to be an actress and I hate Andrew Lloyd Webber.