Juan Sepulveda III

Juan Sepulveda III
Juan Sepulveda III

Field Study, Tokyo, Japan

2017 Japan Field Study Diary

June 26-27, 2017

Today was a long and eventful day. We took three flights to get to Osaka, and a bus ride to get to Nara. I have been up for about two days straight, considering we crossed the International Date Line. Our first flight was through United Airlines, and we had a 5-hour layover in Houston. While in Houston, I grabbed some coffee at the airport Starbucks and book by Neil Gaiman entitled American Gods. During the layover, I tried to close my eyes for a bit and watch some Netflix using the free Wi-Fi. During the 13-hour flight to Narita Airport in Tokyo, I spent a great deal of time reading about half of the book I purchased in Houston. My classmate and I were uncertain about the video on demand service, and thought the inflight videos cost money due to the credit card reader on the side of the remote, so we decided not to even bother with extra cost. We watched a TV show on his laptop for a couple of hours on the flight, and I managed to watch a movie via a passenger in the row in front of me that had subtitles. It was a long flight, though I was enthralled with excitement when we reached the airport in Tokyo. Of course, we had to go through Japan customs to get a temporary visa to stay in the country for our trip, which is now the first entry in my U.S. Passport. Our layover in Narita Airport was less than an hour, so our group was in a bit of a hurry to get on to our flight to Osaka. This flight was less than an hour, so I spent most of the time watching a video on the flight about tourist attractions in Japan. After we obtained our luggage, our group quickly moved onto a limousine (charter) bus, during which I began to feel the effects of sleep deprivation, although I managed to stay up and soak in the city of Osaka as best as I could. A fellow classmate pointed out Osaka Castle, which was a unique structure in the area bring to light that we were far from Texas. The large hills and mountainous terrain were also a unique sight compared to our relatively flat Texas. Once we arrived at the hotel, we were greeted by a small welcoming committee, whom gave us our name tag and lanyard, a gift bag, a bento box to eat, and the key to our hotel room. Once I got up to my hotel room, I was greeted by my roommate, Nicolai, and we had a brief conversation while eating our bento boxes, mostly about video games. He then decided to take a shower, and I turned on the TV to watch some Japanese programing, and settled on watching baseball. Then, I took a shower, and now we are both going to get some rest.

June 28, 2017

During the previous night, I may have suffered some jetlag because I awoke three times feeling as though I was fully awake, but then managed to get back to sleep. Nicolai and I woke up, got dressed, and went to have a Japanese-American breakfast, and sat with two of our fellow classmates, Princeton and Jonathon. We all hit it off very well, and decided we would go to Round One to play some Japanese arcade games later that evening. After a brief period of time, we got on a limousine bus and began our local tour of Horyu-Ji and Kasuga-taisha. We first stopped at a Buddhist Temple/shrine, where construction was being done to renovate the main tower. I was able to get some great pictures of the event, however we had two or three more places to go. Before we went to the next shrine, we had lunch at a local café/gift shop near the bus, and had another bento box. The main political official from Nara joined our small group that had breakfast that morning, and she told us of her adventures in the U.S. while we ate and drank tea and water. Then, we head off to a shrine that was full of lanterns that had been donated for several centuries to the facility. However, I had not exchanged my currency to yen, and luckily, we found a machine in front of the temple in a vending machine area. I exchanged half of my money, knowing that I would need plenty on the last leg of our trip in Tokyo. On the way to meet the group already near the shrine, a few members of our group took pictures with the friendly deer population outside the temple. I even got a phot of me petting a deer! Something I thought would not happen in my lifetime. The shrine was full of lanterns, possibly 50-75, sadly we did not get to see them lit since we were visiting in the daytime. On the last leg of this tour, we visited the well know Todai-ji Buddhist Temple, where we were given sometime to take pictures at the large temple, during which time a deer tried to eat my nametag after ripping it clean of my lanyard. Thankfully, he let the piece of plastic fall out of his mouth. I don’t know how I would feel if I knew I may cause the accidental death of a small deer on my visit to Nara. Then, the opening ceremony of the summit began, and we listened to various Japanese and American representatives welcoming us and relaying some history behind the summit for about an hour and a half. Then, our tour group was set to head back to the hotel, thereafter to attend the opening ceremony reception. We had some free time, so our small breakfast group of four decided to scout out Round One, which was relatively close to the hotel. Then, we hurried back to attend the opening ceremony reception. At the reception, there were some brief speeches made, and a presentation about civil rights was made by the student of Macon Bibb County of Georgia, thereafter we were then permitted to eat a large buffet. During this time, we convinced the other students to go to Round One, since we had free time. Most of the University of Texas at Dallas (UTD) students went to Round One for about 45 minute, then we decided to make the small trek to McDonald’s, which Nicolai said was superior to the U.S. McDonald’s. While at McDonald’s, I decided to try a Teriyaki burger combo to go, since the facility is open 24/7, however today was there once a year extensive cleaning. When we arrived at our hotel room, Nicolai and I ate our McDonald’s, and he decided that he would try the spa, however he was skeptical since he had a large tattoo of a dragon on the left side of his body. I took a shower, and before I knew it Nicolai was back in the room. He was not allowed to get the spa treatment, seemingly because tattoos are largely frowned upon in Japan as they are usually indicative of gangsters/mobsters. We both laughed it off, rather than feel angry or upset, and know I am off to bed.

June 29, 2017

We began our local sessions today, and I was with Monique Wedderburn on the Kashihara local session. We had to quickly eat breakfast this morning, since most of the sessions started before 8 or at 8:30 in the morning. Foremost, we went to Nara Park (Deer Park) to begin our day. There we learned that pregnant female deer and their fawn, we separated during this time because they tend to be aggressive towards the human population. As such, we got to feed the deer and fawn for about 100 yen. While at the park, I managed to snap a few pictures, notably I saw an advertisement including the American actor Tommy Lee Jones, which I had heard rumors of foreign actors presenting themselves in another country’s advertisements. Thereafter, our local session group headed to Unebi High School, since most of the local session group consisted of all the students, facility, and chaperones from Macon Bibb County. Seemingly, this was a moment of significant cultural exchange between American and Japanese high school students. Upon arrival, the students took all of bags and placed them in a room, and shortly thereafter we were to begin a tour of the school. I did run into a small predicament because I needed to take off my shoes when entering the school, however none of the sandals fit my feet, so I began to walk around in my socks. Foremost, we had a small meeting before the formal tour with the principal, assistant principle, about 18-20 Japanese students, and the school coordinator. Before embarking, the school coordinator gave me his sandals, which I was extremely thankful for. Our entire group session received a grand tour of the high school, which was still in session because Japanese students go to school year-round with small breaks instead of a summer break. During the tour, got to see several classes in session about two stories worth, the aikido room, and the gym. Notably, the principle noticed my Texas Rangers Yu Darvish jersey. Our group was then lead back to the room where we had begun to eat lunch with the high school students from both countries. However, I was seated with the elders of Macon Bibb County and Monique Wedderburn. So, after getting another bento box, I watched as the students began their cultural exchange, which was very exciting. After eating, the students from both countries attended two classes together, as I sat in the room with all the adults, feeling like a chaperone myself. Afterward, the students of Macon Bibb County gave their presentation on civil rights to selected students from Unebi High School. To be honest, most of the latter presentation was very Georgia centered, including Georgians Eleanor Roosevelt and Ex-President Jimmy Carter. I was a little bummed that they did not include Ex-President Lyndon B. Johnson (and Texan), whom signed the landmark legislation, The Civil Rights Act of 1964. However, the presentation was a positive cultural exchange, since Japan did not have a civil rights movement, accordingly a foreign subject. As I looked from the sideline, the students were sectioned off into small groups to discuss several subjects pertaining to civil rights. After about thirty minutes, each group sent a representative to describe what their group discussed. After the presentation, Monique Wedderburn and I presented two small gifts to the principle, which included a Texas Rangers gift from me as the principle knew of Darvish. The students had time to mingle amongst themselves, and I decided to look out of the window as the baseball team practiced, while wearing my Texas Rangers jersey. Shortly thereafter, we all gathered to meet our host families, however I did not know who my host family was, since I did not receive the email supposedly sent to me. Monique Wedderburn and I inquired the leader of the Kashihara local session, and I was directed to a nice elderly lady named Junko in the meeting room. Notably, at the local family meeting, the leader of the local session asked me if I could speak Japanese to which I replied “Very little,” she in turn translated again for Junko saying she did not speak very good English, either. There was a brief speech made, and I soon set off with Junko to retrieve my luggage and enter the family car, where I met her husband in a Nissan Skyline. Before leaving, however, I thanked the school coordinator for allowing me to wear his sandals. Formally, my local family session had begun, and we soon stopped at a local sushi restaurant. This was sort of an awkward meal due to the language barrier, although I am fairly certain Junko’s husband made a comment about my weight, since I am a big guy. My local family and I had a platter of sushi each, which I am still unfamiliar as to some of the seafood I may have eaten. They tried to give me more food, but I was full. After Junko made a brief call, we could convey and understand what each of us were trying to say. It was during this time, I noticed that although I had downloaded Google Translate, I did not download the Japanese language package. So, I could not help break the language barrier between us. Soon after arriving to their house, Junko showed me the upstairs bedroom where I would be sleeping, and laid out a small mattress, sheet, and pillow. After waiting maybe an hour, Junko gave me a small towel and a large towel, and we head of the community center. Upon arriving, I took of my shoes and placed them in a small locker, then Junko’s husband and I went to the male onsen (essentially a community bath), and I took of my clothes before we entered the large bathing room. Thankfully, I read in the travel packet how to properly bath myself in such a scenario. First, I wet myself using a ladle, then I got into the large bath, which felt like a jacuzzi. After a few minutes, I sat on the stool and began to use the small showerhead and towel to properly wash my hair and body. Thereafter, after rinsing myself completely, I got back into the large bath, and left the onsen. I waited for a brief period watching a Japanese game show on the television, then my host family and I waited in the lobby, where a friend of theirs joined us who could speak a little more English than Junko’s family. We had small talk, mostly where I was from, where I went to university, and what my occupation was. Then, we left the facility, got into the car and headed to the family house. The whole onsen process took about an hour (not including the car ride). Once, we were back at the family house, I sat with the family of two, seemingly they were grandparents from the photos in the living room, watching some Japanese TV. Junko pulled out a Korean board game known as Go, which became popular in Japan centuries ago, and I played my first game ever, concluding in a tie since we both had the same amount of black and white pieces at the end of the game. I was happy, but tired. So, I motioned to them that I was going up stairs to fall asleep. I’m heading to bed now to get some sleep on a small mattress. Thankfully, I am an Eagle Scout and I have slept on smaller bed material, so I should be fine the rest of my family homestay.

June 30, 2017

I woke up around 7:30 this morning, and we ate a delicious breakfast of egg sandwich and fruit, before heading off around 8:30 to meet with the other members of my local session. I saw Monique (as she asked us to call her earlier), and said good morning and we exchanged experiences. Notably, I told her that I had done onsen the day before, which she was happy about as well as her overall host family experience thus far. Our group was then lead to a more historic part of Kashihara, where we first stopped at an old prison that was used centuries ago. Then, we headed to a traditional tea ceremony, whereupon after allowing the students to sit around the main ceremony, a handful of adults and I sat on the outside of the circle. We were told of the significance of a tea ceremony as a precious moment since all of us gathered at that very moment was precious and unlikely to happen again. Soon, we were given small sweet treats in the shape of small flower, as the main person in charge of the ceremony began to prepare the tea using a small wooden whisk to mix the tea and hot water. We were then instructed to eat a piece of the treat, then take a sip of tea. Although, the tea managed to get around the students, those of us in the back had to wait. However, this was a wait well worth it because Monique and I were able whisk our own tea each. A moment I will truly cherish because I got to participate in the tea ceremony in a more active way than many other members of our local session. We then had lunch at a small café nearby, which had been renovated from an old house. The food was fantastic consisting of four different entrees and one dessert. During this time, I asked to go to the Insect Museum with the rest of the Kashihara group, however Monique and I were to attend a paper making session (which we were going to do the following week in Kochi) with the Asuka local session. I was politely declined by the group leader, since my host family was instructed to meet us at the Asuka local session. Our bus took Monique and I to the Asuka local session before heading off to the Insect Museum. When Monique and I arrived, I notice a fellow UTD student, Pratik, was there and we greeted him. Then, the members of the Asuka session showed us the scarecrows they had made that morning, which were to be entered into a local contest later in the year. Then, the leader of the Kashihara local session began to instruct us on how to make our own paper. She explained to us that Japanese paper was not made from trees, but instead the fibers of a plant, seemingly a eco-friendlier method. In addition, the paper could use recycled paper and flowers to create a unique color. We were then asked to split up into pairs, whereupon Monique and I decided to become a paper making duo. Foremost, in the paper making process, is to gather the extra materials we would like to use to make our own unique paper. Then, we had to blend the materials, including old construction paper and flower, with water in a blender. Afterward, the ingredients are mixed with the fibrous white material and the secret ingredient of okra water, which helps as a binding agent, in a small bucket. I decided to make a yellow paper mixed with some purple flowers, and Monique had decided on a blue color with red flower accents. Monique and I patiently waited, although we had to split up because someone else took our spot at the blending phase. Both of use made our paper using a wooden frame with another wooden frame with steel mesh, thus allowing the paper to collect. After allowing most of the water to drain, the paper was pressed against a wooden white board. We had to do this step twice for two different size papers. Then, we waited for the materials to dry while drinking some beverages and eating some snacks. Afterward, the paper was placed on an iron board and ironed to speed and finalize the drying process by three wonderful ladies that worked at the facility, which appeared to be a small art school in a high mountainous region. Notably, my paper appeared to look like an omelet due to the ingredients I choice, which gave me a good laugh. After that step, we could place flower arrangements on the front of the smaller paper using a hot glue gun. Afterward, our instructor demonstrated as we followed along as to transfer the larger piece of paper into an origami envelope. Overall, our group had successful made our own paper cards and envelopes from scratch. While we were waiting for our host families, someone at the facility pulled out some small bows and arrows. Whereupon, we had a small archery contest amongst ourselves trying to hit a nearby road sign. Before I knew it, Junko and her husband had arrived and I was off back to their house. Although, before we went to their house we stopped at a local art museum, since I had placed on my application that my interest was in “music and art.” Gratefully, Junko paid for me to have a tour of the museum, which was a top an archaeological excavation site where the first coins produced in Japan were found. Luckily, my tour guide could speak enough English to give a proper tour. First, we started in the art gallery, which was full of amazing paintings and even the rough drafts from the artist, typically made by paper and pencil. Then, we moved onto a section of the museum which demonstrated life during the time of coin making via serval small displays including model figures. Lastly, there was an exhibit about the history of coinage in Japan, including artifacts found during the excavation and some reproductions of tools used of the time. Junko was waiting for me at the entrance, and I motioned that I wanted to go to the gift shop, however I was told that the museum was closing and that we would come back tomorrow. Junko’s family and I set off to their house, and shortly thereafter Junko began to prepare dinner. After about thirty minutes of watching television with her husband, it was time to eat. We had a small fish and meat as the main course with rice and some vegetables. It was delicious, and I made sure to say “Thank you,” in Japanese. Afterward, it was time to go the community center and bath ourselves in onsen. When we arrived, at waiting area, one of Junko’s friends was there and we began a small meet and greet. She knew how to speak English well, and the three of us had brief conversation about Texas and UTD. I continued to speak with her because Junko’s family said that I bathe too quickly, so I gave myself a few minutes for them to get a head start. Then, I took a bath/shower onsen style, and was out within ten minutes. I sat around for a while watching Japanese TV waiting for my host family. Then, we headed to the seated area near the front again and talked with their friend from yesterday. After arriving at their house, I changed in my pajamas and watch some more Japanese TV, as Junko’s husband began to fall asleep. I motioned that I was going to bed, and I am now about to fall asleep. I’m excited to see what my host family has planned for tomorrow, since I will be with them the whole day.

July 1, 2017

I got to sleep in a little bit this morning, and woke up around 9 in the morning, when Junko awoke me. I came downstairs, and there was a rolled omelet and fruit waiting for me along with the family. I was grateful for another delicious meal, and made sure keep good manners and express my gratitude in Japanese. Then, I got dressed in a casual outfit for the day’s events. Shortly thereafter, another family consisting of another elderly couple came to the door. I politely greeted them, as I fully understood them to be family friends, and we sat in the living room for a couple of hours. Then, Junko motioned to me about doing my laundry, and I gathered my dirty laundry, then we all set of to the laundromat. Junko, her friends, and I put my clothes in what seemed to be the washer. Afterward, we went to have lunch at a nearby restaurant, which also appeared to be an old house. We had an amazing meal consisting of five courses, and a decadent dessert made up of shaved ice with some type of cream poured on top, which was remarkably similar in taste of vanilla ice cream. Sadly, part of my dessert fell on the table, seemingly I should have eaten top down, rather than make a small dent leading to disaster. Thereafter, we went back to the laundromat, where I thought that I needed to place my laundry in the dryer, however I was astounded when I opened the door, and began to feel my dry clothes with only a few damp socks and a pair of shorts. As such, this machine was both a washer and dryer, something I had never seen before. We went back to her house, and put my partially wet clothes out to dry, and I packed most of my clothes back into my luggage. Before, I knew it we were heading off again, although I had no clue where to. As we began to get closer, I noticed we were heading back to the art museum, and I gratefully got out of the car, along with Junko and her friends, although her husband stayed in the car again as he appeared to have some sort of medical condition that may have had to do with his knees. Once inside, I went to the gift shop to look for some gifts to give to my family that helped make this trip possible for me as well as some more luxurious gifts to give my host family, since I had only brought small Texas Rangers gifts to give as our packing list said to bring “10 small gifts.” I bought four medium sized photographs of two paintings I enjoyed for my family, a nice coin purse for Junko, a nice neck tie for her husband, and some small decorated bandannas to use as gift wrap, typically used in Japan from what I gathered at the museum. I was planning on giving them the gifts tomorrow before I left. Then, we headed back to Junko’s home, where I placed the gifts in the upstairs room I was staying in. I wrapped the coin purse in a bandanna, and I left the neck tie in the presentable box. When I came downstairs, Junko and her friend had started a tea ceremony, which I was now familiar with participating in because of yesterday’s tea ceremony. During the end of the tea ceremony, Junko’s friend brought an artistic book follow of pictures portraying the story of a well-known Japanese historical character, which looked like a comedic form of the westernized “devil.” We went through the entire book while the other males watched television. After taking a photo of my favorite part of the book, the other males and I watched television while Junko and her friend prepared dinner. On television, was a remarkable story of a construction worker who fell of a building and became a paraphilic, and while recuperating in the hospital began to fall for a nurse working there. He was too shy to ask for her number directly, and another nurse gave him the women of his dreams phone number. He began to message her, which lead to a date, and a serious relationship. During the commercial break, I noticed that somewhere along our travels, while trying to find and connect to any open Wi-Fi signals along the way, Google translate had download the Japanese language package. I was excited and demonstrated to Junko’s friend’s husband as I made a comment about the television show translated from English to Japanese, and I now had a proper means to communicate to the people surrounding me. Although, there was a problem with the voice translator of the application, so our conversation was not translated from Junko’s Japanese to English, perceivably since there was no Wi-Fi in the house, leaving the conversation rather one sided. I even tried to change to keyboard to Japanese, which proved slightly problematic, since my Japanese was limited and I needed to convey some thoughts in a reliable and reasonable fashion. During the ending segment, as the man from the show mentioned he wanted announce his intent to marry his new fiancé to her family, we were notified that dinner was ready. To my surprise, we were having tempura (a method of frying food in a light batter), to which I said “Tempura,” and I nodded my head as the families both give a small smile and a laugh. It was amazing! Soon thereafter, Junko’s family friends left, and we got ready to go to onsen (possibly my last time on this trip). Once we reached the waiting area, another elderly member of the nearby community greeted me, and he could speak English splendidly. So, I sat and talked with him for several minutes to learn more about the area and culture, also to give my host family some extra time to take a bath. He mentioned that the younger generation was being thought English, but people around his age and older were rarely given English lessons, unless they went out of their way to learn on their own or with an English teacher. Before I left for onsen, he mentioned a place that I should see before I left, and to ask my host family. I said, “I will try, if we have the time tomorrow.” Then, I thanked him for the talk and words of wisdom, and head off to onsen. I finished bathing at the same time as Junko’s husband, who pointed to the scale in the locker room, to which I politely got on. I was around 95 kg, and he made another comment to another patron, to which I replied, “Future Sumo!” We all had a small laugh about it, sadly at my expense as I relatively health conscious, although I have not been exercising, regularly. Shortly thereafter, we sat again in the front lobby area, and talked with the same family friend from the previous two days. Seemingly, this was a means to save money on the watering bill and to social for the elderly couple, and I was completely okay with it. As such, hopefully, I might even find a regular way to continue socializing with my friends, when I get older. After we got back to Junko’s house, I changed in my evening wear and we sat watching the television for a while, then Junko brought out the Go board, and I was going to play her husband this round. To be honest, he made me look like a complete amateur, even blocking me from making a move one turn, and decisively he had won the game. I then motioned, that was going to head off to sleep, and now I am getting ready to get some hearty rest.

July 2, 2017

This morning, I woke up at a reasonable time on my own, and when Junko knocked in the upstairs bedroom, I politely said her name at the bottom of the stairs next to the restroom and waved. She simply smiled, and motioned for me to get ready for the day after walking downstairs. So, I put on my clothes and packed the remainder of my luggage as well as my backpack, except for the gifts. Before I finished, the same couple from yesterday greeted me at the door, since my luggage bag was in a small room next to the door (not upstairs). Then, we all go into the car, and we were off to get some breakfast. However, the café we first went to was full, so we went next door to a less crowded café. After receiving a cup of coffee and some water, the families ordered their food as well as mine, thankfully, since the menu was entirely in Japanese. They order the rolled omelet entrée, and we all had a pleasant time. On the way back to Junko’s house, we stopped at a closed grocery store with a small food stand on the left side. Junko got out of the car and appeared to have ordered some sort of food before she got back in the car and we headed back to their house. When we arrived, we had a small tea ceremony together, and Junko gave me some sort of food that looked like a meatball as well as some treats during the ceremony, however I was full and placed the food at the top of my backpack before heading to our meeting spot heading toward the closing ceremony. Before departing, I politely gave both families a Texas Rangers gift as well as the coin purse and neck tie to my host family. Her husband said “Thank you” in Japanese. Soon thereafter, I gathered my things and we head off to the meeting spot with a bus ready to take us to Nara City. Before getting on the bus, I typed a nice farewell message thanking them for their hospitality into Google Translate. Then, Junko turned around and said “Thank you” in Japanese to me and pulled out her new coin purse. When we arrived, I showed Junko’s husband first, whom I thought would not get out of the car due his medical condition, and he said “Yes” in Japanese. Then, Junko’s husband got out of the car, and I managed to get a photo taken with both families before I ventured to the side of the bus. Then, I showed Junko the same message I had shown her husband. I saw Monique and greeted here, thinking that this was the last time I would see my host family as I got on the bus, but then Junko and her friend (the wife of the couple) got on the bus and sat close by. We made one other stop to pick up another group, then we were off to Nara City for the closing ceremony. I greeted some of my fellow UTD students, and politely went to use the restroom. When I got out, I looked for Junko and her friend, and found them in the auditorium in the center. I sat by them, as we watched the closing ceremony together. Foremost, one by one, the leaders of the local sessions and the principle of Unbei High School gave speeches while a presentation of photos was presented beside them. Then, there was a formal speech made by the Japan American Grassroots Summit leader, showcasing the next location for the following year’s festival, Seattle, Washington. After an hour and a half, we had a reception outside the auditorium building. Thereafter, Junko, her friend, and I went outside to enjoy the meal and festivities. First, we ran into the Kashihara local session leader, who translated Junko and said “I was very polite and shy.” To which I replied, “Yes” in Japanese and said “Thank you” in Japanese. Then, I said “I am going to get some food,” and I ran into more of my fellow UTD students in line, whom had positioned themselves at a table nearby. I stood with them as we swapped stories, in addition I was looking for Junko and her friend in the large crowd of people as they passed by. During this time, traditional Taiko drums were being played by a group of people. Then, while going to get more food, I ran into Junko and her friend as they were at a table on the opposite side of where I was. They were enjoying themselves, and after a few minutes I went to back to the UTD table. Then, Princeton, Jonathon, and I went to the Taiko drums because they had allowed people to play, openly. So, the three of us started playing when presented the opportunity, and played a nice funky beat together. Shortly thereafter, it was time for us to head to a different hotel, Hotel Nikko Nara, and I gave Junko and her friend a hug and a bow before getting on our designated bus. When we arrived, our group was given another envelope with our key cards and meal ticket. By now, word had got around that we were going to Round One to play some more arcade games. Before we left, Princeton, Jonathon, Nicolai, and I had a few shots of whiskey, and our group of UTD students went to the arcade. Most of time, I played Jonathon for a few rounds on a fighting game called Tekken 7, which ended in a tie. Then, we headed back to the hotel, and Jonathon and I stopped by a convenience store to grab a few items. After arriving at the hotel, we said “Goodnight,” to one another, and I joined Nicolai in our room. Now, I am heading off to bed, after taking a shower.

July 3, 2017

Nicolai and I got up at reasonable time, got ready, packed up our things, and took all our luggage to breakfast down stairs. Again, the breakfast was full of Japanese and American breakfast items, afterward we waited in the lobby as we would soon be traveling from bus to train. I said “Goodbye” to Jonathan and Princeton, whom were no longer going to join us for the remainder of the trip. In the lobby, we meet Yusuke from Kochi University, who would guide us to Kochi via various lines of transportation. Foremost, we got on a train to Kyoto, then at Kyoto we got on another to Okayama, then another train to Kochi. During the last train ride, Monique sat next to me and we had a long conversation about various topics, while taking in the stunning view of green hilltops and the Pacific Ocean for a duration of the train. When we arrived in Kochi, we took a city bus, which was a hassle to get our luggage on because of the limited space. However, we soon arrived at Orient Hotel Kochi, and we were given an envelope and one key for the room. Nicolai and three other students went to Kochi University with Yusuke to use the gym. So, I stayed in the hotel room watching Netflix on my computer, then Shahed and I went to get some food at a 7-Eleven. I bought some noodles, which later turned out to be spaghetti. On the way back, we noticed there was another 7-Eleven within feet of our hotel, and I had a good laugh. Then, I had a couple of shots of whiskey and started to practice a bit of karaoke via Amazon Prime Music’s “X-ray Lyrics,” after finishing what I was watching on Netflix. However, I was singing a little too loud for the others that arrived back at the hotel. Before three fellow students had entered the room, I had just taken another shot as I was timing my drinks, when they told me to quiet down, I quickly apologized and stopped after three songs. They politely refused my hospitality, and said they were going to another room, and I asked to join and they said “Sure.” However, when I got into the room things began to unsettle rather quickly, and each of them, especially Nicolai, were really upset at me. I understand that I may have had some drinks, but I did not want to represent the university in any sort negative light to begin with, and tried to explain that to them, I sat there as thankfully Masataka (Masa), Charles (Charlie), and Nicolai slowly began to understand. Particularly, I said that I did not plan to leave the hotel, or even the room for that matter, except to get food before I started drinking. I agreed to control myself better, and that I would stop drinking today, then Monique knocked on the door and she asked me to walk with her. Somebody had notified her, so I began to walk and talk with her eventually to The Exciting Bookstore in Kochi. Monique was understanding as I had lost a parent not too long ago, and she said “That they didn’t know what had been through, recently.” When we arrived back at the hotel, Monique, Nicolai, and I sat down and set some positive and respectful boundaries to avoid any more mishaps during our stay in Japan. Overall, I was extremely embarrassed, and I am not too proud as to write this in my journal, but it happened. I am going to bed now, and I am going to take a shower in the morning, with high hopes for a better tomorrow.

July 4, 2017

Happy Independence Day from Japan! This morning I got up early, took a shower, and made it to breakfast, which had Japanese and American offering once again. Monique was the only person from UTD, so I sat with her at the table, and little by little more of my fellow students joined as they awoke and were ready. In Kochi, we need to travel virtually everywhere using the tram, essentially a trolley in America, although significantly larger in geographic scale. About an hour or so after breakfast, we meet up in the lobby to take the tram to Kochi University. Accordingly, I made sure to pack an umbrella as a tropical storm became a typhoon before reaching Japan. Orientation to Kochi began at 10:30 this morning, and it went well as we learned about Kochi University (KU), received some gifts, and new nametag lanyards for our stay this week. Also, we had the privilege of meeting students from The University of Rhode Island (URI) and California State University, Fresno (CSUF), whom are taking a longer study abroad session at KU. In addition, we were assured that the typhoon would likely just bring a significant amount of rain, and not high speed winds associated with huge cyclones. Afterward, we had an hour to get lunch on the KU campus, whereupon I had soy ramen for lunch in the cafeteria with my fellow UTD students. It was very busy, and the cafeteria was full of people. In addition, we made sure to grab some notebooks and writing utensils for our Japanese language course at 1:10 pm. Andrew, Masa, Charlie, and I walked briefly around part of the campus before we headed to the building for our Beginner Japanese course. Accordingly, we had a course separate from the Intermediate and Advanced Japanese speaking level students from the three universities. Ironically, Masa is a Japanese citizen and a fluent speaker, who thought the beginner course would be more fun. On the way to our classroom, the KU English Professor, whom introduced himself as Mike in the Orientation, asked us to take a seat in his office. Andrew was quick to point out that he was not only from the U.K., but Welsh as well. He had just enough of seats for the four of us, and we had a little chat. From that conversation, I learned that Mike initially was going to stay in Kochi for six months, and seventeen years later he is still a professor at KU. During the past decade and half, he started a family with local and has a couple of children as well. We had to cut the conversation a little short as we pressed on time to get our classroom a few doors down the hall on time. In the classroom, we sat across the room from the KU students, however this was short lived as Yusuke had numbered us off to be partnered with a KU student(s). I was lucky to have two students assist me with learning basic Japanese. Their names were Sushid and Moe (a common girls name in Japan). From the beginning, Sushid told me he was from Nepal, whom had learned Japanese over the past two years, and was skeptical about teaching the language, however Moe was native Japanese speaker. Foremost, Sushid wanted to teach me how to properly introduce myself in Japanese, which often requires a longer greeting, including my name, where I was from, that I was university student, and some of my interests. Then, we went over some of the basics Yusuke had placed on the whiteboard, including shopping, finding a restroom, basic numbers, and simple phrases to help find specific locations. However, we did not get to the last part about traveling to a location because Yusuke asked us to come up with a short skit to present in front of the class. Sushid and I came up with a skit about buying a golden toilet, an homage to Elvis if I recall correctly, in Japanese. After listening to our fellow classmates, I was second to last to go in front of the class. Thankfully, our skit got a few laughs, however Andrew and his partners’ skit were funny as well, since their skit was about people watching people in a park. Then, as a group we decided to wait for our fellow classmates for an hour and a half. During this time, Mike entered the room and we began a small conversation between us. Since he was an English teacher from the U.K., I joked with him about my distain of soccer not being called football, hence my argument being it is a ball that is kicked with your feet and about as literal as it gets. He jokingly called American football “More of throw-ball,” and we each had a good laugh. Then, he mentioned that KU had an American football team, and he asked one of the students when the next practice was, and how the team had some coaching problems, namely the lack of a coach actively being present. However, he held the team in high praise for doing well, regardless of coaching, and putting fourth their own initiative as a team. Then, he mentioned that another problematic word for him was “Eggplant,” since “There is no egg in an eggplant,” and back at home in the U.K. they use the French word instead. That sentence gave me a good laugh, then he politely excused himself to get back to working on his curriculum. We both waved to each other as I was still chuckling. We waited patiently inside and outside the classroom, as the air condition was only inside the classroom. Monique showed up during this time, and was greeted by the UTD students. Unexpectedly, she pulled me aside away from the group, and asked me to promise her not to bring any alcohol back to the hotel for the remainder of the trip. I told her, “I promise,” and I sure meant it, sincerely. To be honest, I was hoping to put the past behind me today, however now I was even more motivated and determined not to disrespect Monique or my word. Soon thereafter, our fellow classmates from all three American universities meet up alongside Yusuke and several KU students in front of the building where we had our Basic Japanese class. Yusuke decided to take us to a place to get food in Kochi, and we took the tram and after a small walk we entered a place unlike anything I had ever been to. The entire building was the size of a small market full of restaurants, and after we joined several tables with numbers on them, together we had enough room for everyone to have a seat. Accordingly, I followed Masa, Shahed, and a KU student to figure out where and what to eat. As such, we went around the rather large food court, and I decided to follow my gut by asking Masa to order the same thing he was having. Then, we waited patiently at our table as the food was delivered by one of the employees of the small restaurant venue. I was pleasantly surprised to have a chicken bowl with vegetables on a bed of rice, and I made sure to thank Masa for his wise decisive skills. During our meal, a URI student sat across from me, and earlier I had overheard him introduce himself as “Gunter.” So, I introduced myself to Gunter, and we began to talk about comic books after noticing he was wearing a “Venom,” a character from Spider-Man, shirt. We had a very long nerdy conversation about Marvel comics, DC comics, and of course Star Wars. After our various meals, majority of group decided to go to Round One to play some arcade games. So, we took the tram following the KU student directions, whom joined us, and we ventured off to Round One. All of us had a good time, I watched our collective group play various games, and I lost twice to KU students in Mario Kart. After an hour and half (possibly two hours), around 9:30pm or so, I asked Masa “Should we go ahead a head back to hotel?” He agreed, and we began to find our fellow groupmates to head back to the hotel or university. We collectively gathered everyone, and the Ku students directed us back to our hotel, although instead of taking the tram as instructed, we decided to walk back to the hotel following the tram line. Soon thereafter, a handful of students took off running to the hotel, and Nicolai and Pratik we walking at a faster pace leaving Charlie and me in the dust. Charlie and I followed the tram lines, crossed a large bridge, and before we knew it we were lost in Kochi. By the time we looked at the tram rail station in the middle of the road, we had somehow gone the southernmost station. The end of the line. So, we walked back northward, thinking we need to turn right when the line splits. There was a silver lining, I got to know Charlie better along the way. Charlie was from Kansas City, and said he was “Glad to be on this trip, rather than back in Kansas City working as a waiter during the summer.” Coincidentally, we were both Business Administration majors at the Jindal School of Management. Charlie also expressed his new attraction of a specific type of arcade game, where you place a coin in a machine moving a large amount of coins, and hope to get a payoff from the excessive amount of coins added by a fresh coin. Charlie said he managed to make a few extra yen, which surprised me. Although, I did not want to bring up yesterday, we got around to talking about it after a several miles. Charlie said, essentially, that no one talked negative about me after I had left, which put my mind at ease. Then, we asked a small shop employee how to get to the Orient Hotel, although Charlie did not have his notebook and I did not learn how to ask for directions in Japanese. So, Charlie and I asked her politely, “Hotel Orient” and pointed down the road, she spoke some Japanese and gave us some hand motions straight, right, and left. Afterward, Charlie and I were still confused and convinced we needed to continue north and make a right a major intersection. As we continued walking, Charlie brought up a situation that happened to him earlier that he was distraught about pertaining to a conversation he had at dinner with two female students, one from KU and another from URI, whom shook their heads after he told a bad joke. I had to talk down the situation as I perceived it as just a bad joke, not distasteful or hurtful, and that he just “Brush it off, and sleep on it.” When we got to the major intersection, we found a cab driver talking to fellow cab driver, and we were lucky to get his attention, and pointed in both directions, stating “Hotel Orient?” The cab driver pointed left, and we were both extremely thankful saying “Thank you” in Japanese. Charlie and I almost went the wrong way, and the tram stops running at 11pm, so we would have been forced to walk even more to make up for our mistake. As we began to walk in the right direction, the scenery looked familiar, and we stopped at the 7-Eleven I had visited the day before. I was dying of thirst, and I asked Charlie “Could stop at this 7-Eleven?” I grabbed and paid for a 2-liter bottle of water as Charlie used the restroom, and I drank at least a liter of water before he showed up at the counter. Charlie asked the cashier for a pack of Lucky Strike Cigarettes, and for the first time in Japan, I saw someone get asked for the identification to purchase an age-related product. The age to purchase alcohol or tobacco products is 20 in Japan, and Charlie said “I’m 21” and showed his driver’s license to the cashier. Reluctant at first, the cashier nodded his head, and approved the purchase. I asked Charlie for a cigarette outside the convenience store, and we both continued walking onward to the hotel. Charlie and I both talked about how we do not smoke often anymore, instead we choose to use vaporizers, but we had both decided before the trip to leave them at home to avoid any customs or airline regulation problems regarding large amounts of flammable liquid. Finally, we reached the hotel, and we used the elevator and said “Goodnight” to one another. I knocked on the door to get into my hotel room, seemingly I had woken Nicolai, and he quickly opened the door. All the lights were off, and he quickly went back to bed. It was about 11pm. I told him “Charlie and I got lost,” sparing him the details. Nicolai said, “I had no problems following the tram line.” Then, I said “So, did we, but not the right one.” I told him “Goodnight, dude,” and now I am off to bed too. Boy, do my feet ache, though.

July 5, 2017

Sadly, this morning I was still sore, and our group had to meet earlier this morning, when compared to yesterday. So, I quickly got up, took a shower, got ready, brought my backpack and I to eat a quick breakfast, then head down to the lobby. Our group got on the tram, and headed the opposite direction of the university, if my bearings were correct (I have my doubts from yesterday) to the paper making museum. On the way, Yusuke got on the tram from the station close to his house, and we got off at the closest station, although some of my fellow students did not get up on time, so our group split with Masa leading us to the museum. After a brief period of time, all the UTD students, faculty, and Yusuke were at the museum together. Foremost, we began with making paper at a relatively large paper making operation, and I joined the first group as we made eight, if I recall correctly, small card size papers. We all watched each other make paper, except for Yusuke, who took some great photos and shared them with us on the Line messaging application. Then, we began our tour of the museum, as the paper dried, which took us through the large-scale paper making process used in Japan centuries ago. By the time we finished our tour, our paper was ready and fully dry. There were several stamps, pens, and brushes to decorate our newly made paper. I wanted to keep my paper looking nice and neat, until Charlie said, “Juan, get in on the stamp action.” I could not help but see how much fun my fellow students were having, so I stamped three of my card sized papers. Afterward, we went to a small restaurant next to a grocery store, and we had lunch together. I ordered the curry udon noodle dish. Our group did not take long to eat, and there was not much conversation. After about 25-30 minutes, we had all paid and we were on our way to a “Zen Meditation” session. When we arrived, students from the other universities joined us, and after sitting on a pillow in the proper stance, which requires a bit of flexibility from the right leg, the session began at 1:30pm. For thirty minutes, there was complete silence, and at times I had to wake myself up from falling completely asleep. Then, the leader of the group, a monk (I believe) started to recite a chant passed down for generations and at times hit a small drum next to him. The whole process took about eight minute or so, as our group listened and remained silent. Thereafter, there was a tea ceremony, and we were all given sweet treats and passed the oolong tea cup and took a sip. Then, we took a large group photo shared by Yusuke on the Line messaging application in a digital phot album. Our group now had free time, and we began to split up in smaller groups to head to various locations. I decided to join the group heading for the hotel. I arrived not too long ago, and I am still exhausted from yesterday. I am going to take a nap, and get some rest.

July 6, 2017

So, I took a nap yesterday, and I woke up sometime in the evening to let Nicolai in the hotel room. Nicolai asked, “Was I asleep?” I said, “Yes.” Then he asked, “Have you eaten?” I replied, “No.” Then, I fell asleep again within a minute or two, and I woke up early this morning after about sixteen hours of sleep. I took a shower, got ready, eat some breakfast, and I waited in the hotel room before heading down to the lobby around 9:30am. Our UTD group needed to be at KU by 10:30am to start our next lesson of Japanese. When we arrived in the classroom, there was new set of student eagerly awaiting to teach us Japanese. Before we started our lesson, we briefly introduced ourselves, including our name, where we were from, and our major. To my surprise, there were two students from Vietnam and one from Nepal among the various Japanese native students, in addition only two students were from Kochi. Yusuke had mentioned in the Orientation, that there was only about 25% of the student population from Kochi, and this small portion of the student body represented that diverse demographic. Then, Yusuke numbered us off again and we were paired a KU student. My student teacher for today was Chiseri, and she added about three and a half pages of Japanese words and phrases (double spaced). I am so thankful she thought me how to ask for directions, considering I got lost this past Tuesday. After a short period of time, Yusuke asked us to prepare a proper Japanese introduction greeting, which Sushid and Moe helped me create this past Tuesday. So, instead Chiseri showed me some more basic phrases and words, while my fellow pupils prepared. Then, the UTD students went around the room introducing themselves in proper Japanese fashion, and I was the second person to introduce, or reintroduce, myself. Surprisingly, all my three student teachers this week made positive comments about my pronunciation of Japanese vernacular. After our Japanese lesson, we headed off to the cafeteria, and I ordered the same soy ramen from earlier this week. The ramen was not only filling, it delicious and also fairly inexpensive. Afterward, all the American university students alongside a number of Kochi University students took the tram to visit Kochi Castle. The walk to Kochi Castle was not far from the tram, but the walk up the stairs to Kochi Castle was quite a journey. Not to mention, the stairs were not level and uniform, sometimes requiring long strides or small steps. I pumped my arms in the air when we reached the top like Rocky Balboa from the movie Rocky. Once we entered the front of the castle structure, we had to take our shoes off, and we began to walk around and tour the castle. In the castle were various historical recreations of Kochi in the past, including a fascinating look at the old whaling industry, which required dozens of people to capture on long boats. In addition, there was formal wear worn by the shogun in the past, and a large sculpture of a samurai farmer. I managed to get a photo from the top of the castle, showcasing the entire city and beyond. Soon thereafter, our group gathered as Yusuke took a nice group photo in front of the main entrance of the castle, once again shared online through the Line messaging application. Then, was the fun part of any inclined adventure going down the stairs, whereupon we all met in about three minutes (I may be exaggerating) at the bottom of the castle steps. Then, we walked across the street to the Kochi History Museum, and we took a tour of the various relics, artifacts, and reproductions of Kochi’s past. The tour took maybe 15-20 minutes for our group to finish. As such, some of our groupmates decided to venture elsewhere, and parted ways with our main group. Next, we visited Obiyamachi, a large shopping center, and the first Starbucks within walking distance. Nicolai had mentioned to me at the beginning of the trip about a Mochi Frappuccino with a brownie on top, which was an item available in Japan, and not in the United States. Although, the Starbucks was not offering the Mocha Mochi Frappuccino, possibly due to lack of ingredients, the regular Mochi Frappuccino was available to order, and I jumped at the opportunity. Although, I no longer regularly order very sugary foods and drinks to help avoid possibly developing Type II diabetes, this was a delicious and unique experience to say the least. Afterward, we visited two stores offering Japanese related intellectual property toys and gifts. After reaching the end of the shopping center, a few of our group decided not to join in the planned karaoke event, but I was amongst the people who wanted to sing karaoke in the birthplace of karaoke. At the Big Echo karaoke facility, there were two KU students, all four URI students, and four UTD students, consisting of Tanner, Charlie, Masa, and I. I believe it was happy hour at the venue, as we could stay for an hour and forty-five minutes with unlimited drink privileges, including soda, slushes, and other various non-alcoholic beverages for 1,000 yen each. The facility was five stories consisting of various size rooms with a single karaoke machine with two microphones, one large and two small televisions, and we were given two remotes to pick our song selections. After fifteen minutes, Tanner and a KU student went to visit another KU student at her workplace. Nevertheless, the eight of us that remained had a spectacular time, and I got to sing five songs in total, although they were all duets. I do not mind, as this was a great memory for me to cherish, particularly because two of my friends love karaoke, and I have ventured out around Garland and Richardson, Texas to sing karaoke with them on several occasions. Afterward, we headed back to the hotel, and a group of UTD students decided to go to the large restaurant venue we had go this past Tuesday. When we arrived, we walked a few feet and were greeted by a small group of Indian individuals, whom owned a small restaurant with seating inside, unlikely majority of the other restaurants. Pratik is a citizen of India citizen, and highly recommend we go to their Indian restaurant. Our group of six, except for Masa, decided to head on in and enjoy some authentic Indian food. Pratik recommended the chicken curry, and most of us ordered the dish, however I was the only one who asked for the spiciest curry level of very hot. Masa joined us with food from another small restaurant, as we eagerly awaited our curry dishes. One of our groupmates told Nicolai where we were dinning, although by the time he got there, with a new friend from KU, we had started eating. Surprisingly, this was one of the best meals I have had on the trip, and certainly the best curry I have had in Japan because it was spicy. It made my nose run a bit, but I didn’t shed a single tear. The perfect amount of spice. The curry dish also came with a side of some type of coleslaw and crispy and soft naan bread. I thanked Pratik first, then our restaurant host so much as I paid for one of the more expensive meals on my trip, but well worth it. After all of us finished, we decided to head to a nearby dive bar, where a small number of UTD students went to yesterday, about halfway from our hotel and our current location. However, Charlie wanted to visit the mall to get a pair of New Balance shoes and a much-needed backpack, and our new friend from KU allowed Charlie to borrow his bike and reminded him to lock it up before venturing off before the mall’s closing time. When we arrived, I surprised as the dive bar was actually more of a English style pub, severing Guinness and a few American craft beers like Stone IPA. Five of the seven of us ordered a beer, and a waiter served us edamame, which was an extra cost Masa talked the waiter from charging because none of us ordered edamame. During our first round, Masa (who doesn’t like to drink) and Shahed (under the Japanese legal drinking age until the following week) decided to head back to the hotel. We drank at a brisk pace, careful to enjoy the moment, and I speechless when my fellow classmates showed me the entrance to the restrooms, which was hidden behind a sliding bookcase. Probably, the most amazing and intriguing restroom experience in my lifetime as I slowly moved the bookcase door giving everyone that sly stare as I slowly disappeared from their sight. I smiled about the situation, while I was washing my hands. Before we ordered another round, Charlie arrived as we were excited to see the shoes he was so excited about. We ordered a round for the six of us, and Charlie showed us his new blue suede New Balance shoes. They were neat pair of sneakers, and he finally got a new Coleman backpack almost two weeks into the trip. We nursed our beers, and finished with round two. Although, as we paid, I was surprised that the domestic beers we ordered cost 1,000 yen a piece, that is approximately $10 in America. Apparently, those that went yesterday, mentioned it might have been happy hour, although they ordered Guinness and paid about the same price. Well, that is probably the first and last time I will be patron at that pub, regardless. When we reached the hotel, Nicolai, Pratik, Charlie, and I went to the third-floor balcony to smoke a couple of cigarettes, then we went up to our floor and parted ways, bidding each other a “Goodnight” in some form or fashion. When we got into the hotel room, Nicolai took a shower, although I am going to wait until the morning. I going to get some rest, and I might sleep in a little bit because we do not start until 11:00am tomorrow.

July 7, 2017

I managed to sleep until about 8:00am this morning, and I took my time taking a shower and getting ready for the day. Thereafter, I had breakfast, then spent some downtime in the hotel room before meeting a little after 10:00am in the lobby. Today, we took the Kochi University bus, which picked us up at the hotel, and had the university students from the other universities on board. On the way to the Tosayama School, Yusuke mentioned that the school was different than most Japanese schools since the school was an elementary and junior high school combined. In addition, Yusuke told us not to take pictures or discuss in heavy detail about our visit. So, my diary entry will not include some specific details of our visit to respect Yusuke’s wishes. The Tosayama School is at relatively high altitude, and surrounded by lush forestry. When we arrived, we were direct to the gymnasium, where some children put on a small play and a sing and dance routine. Then, we were direct to a large room, where we could leave our larger belongings, such as backpacks. Soon thereafter, we had lunch in a classroom with a small handful of university students in each room. Surprisingly, the school children serve lunch to their class, and even clean up the school before leaving. After lunch, we soon joined all the grade school students in small semicircles of various grades, and the university student dispersed amongst them. We learned each other’s names, and played a small game before the school’s students ventured back to their respective classrooms. Afterward, the university students went back to the larger room, where we left our belongings, and we were soon directed to various classrooms. Thereupon, each of university students were paired with a school student to visit and tour the school. My guide was very nice and eager to show me around. Afterward, we went back to the larger room, where we had placed our belongings and briefly talked amongst ourselves. Thereafter, I recall attending a mock café the school had setup, which was a pleasant experience. Then, the university students were directed to the music room to attend a presentation given by the principal. Then, our group was split in half between two classrooms to attend a small English lesson, where the students presented papers on a specific topic to each of us. Before we left, we were given a small gift that was made by our tour guides written on piece of paper, which is something I will cherish without divulging too many details. Upon returning to Kochi University, we waited for a meal and ceremony for the UTD students. During the waiting time, Tanner showed a red rose to give to a KU student he had a crush on, and hid in his jacket, smoothly. Accordingly, the meal began about an hour after we arrived, where students from all the universities gathered in a section of the cafeteria. After the meal, the president of Kochi University gave a small speech, and presented the UTD students with a certificate. In addition, the KU students surprised us with Japanese flag bandannas with personalized messages for each of us. Afterward, a group of UTD and KU students, including me, went to a restaurant to have some food and drinks, while the other UTD students went back to the hotel. Before we left the university, some of us made some cheering noises for Tanner and his new-found love interest with a rose in her hands sitting on the bench outside the cafeteria. At the restaurant, I had two beers and split a bottle of warm sake, recommend by a Ku student, with Charlie. Honestly, I did not expect warm sake to be good, but after a small shot I was persuaded. Eventually, Tanner showed up with his arm around what I perceived to be his new girlfriend, although I have yet to ask him about the situation, nor do I feel as though it is any of my business. After an hour and twenty minutes we split the tab amongst ourselves, which was about 1,000 yen a piece, although some UTD students gave some extra yen to help cover the full tab. Soon thereafter, we said our goodbyes, and parted ways from the restaurant heading back to the university or the hotel. After entering the hotel, we all went to our respective rooms and said our respective “Goodnight” to each other. I am going to get some rest in a moment.

July 8, 2017

This morning was not pleasant for me to say the least, I have a medical condition that flared up this morning. I sent Monique a message via Line, and told her I was not feeling well and would miss some or all of today’s activities, and took some medicine to alleviate my symptoms. Monique and I talked about my medical condition before leaving for this trip, and she said if necessary I may excuse myself to attend to my well-being. She replied to my message with a simple “Okay.” I went back to sleep, and woke up around 9:30am just to grab some breakfast. I spent the next couple of hours lying in bed watching Netflix. Then, I gather my dirty laundry and went the laundry room to wash my clothes, staying in my room and watching to clock, while watching Netflix. Once the washing cycle was complete, I started to dry my clothes in the machine. Charlie made a comment earlier this week about the dryer requiring two cycles to dry his clothes, and after checking on the first cycle my clothes were still wet, so I placed some more yen in the machine for a second dry cycle. Soon thereafter, I gathered my clothes and began to pack my luggage, however my blue jeans and shorts were still damp. Afterward, I took a nap for about three hours, and woke up hungry. So, I walked a few feet to the 7-Eleven next door, and bought two corn dogs for 200 yen, as I was running low on the yen I allocated before Tokyo, which I assume is going to be the most expense part of the trip. After I ate, I packed up the rest of my belongings into my backpack except for my phone charger. Then, I took a shower because we needed to meet early in the morning, which would not permit the extra time to take one at 6am and eat breakfast without rushing. A few moments ago, I stepped out on the balcony to see the city one last time, and remarkably what caught my eye were the low hanging clouds on the hilltops. A rare sight for me, considering Texas is relatively flat. I am going to bed early, although I need to let Nicolai into our hotel room sometime soon.

July 9, 2017

I woke up this morning, after Nicolai got up to his alarm and said “Whoa,” then, “It’s fine.” Seemingly, he had accidently dropped my phone from the desk, although I had yet to put on my glasses. I got up and put on the clothes I had laid out the night before. I was feeling a bit better this morning. I packed up my phone charger, then went downstairs to eat breakfast. I did not take the key to our room, considering I would either meet Nicolai in the breakfast room or he would still be in the hotel room. After eating breakfast, I went back to the hotel room and put on my backpack and took my luggage downstairs to meet in the lobby. Nicolai and I made sure to turn in our room key, and soon thereafter we were heading to the airport to catch our flight to Tokyo. Yusuke and some of the Ku students went with us, and bid us farewell. In addition, Yusuke gave each of us a personalized message from a KU, student. My letter was a heartfelt message from Moe, my Japanese student teacher. Hopefully, I will find a way to contact her again, so we can keep in touch. I briefly ventured the small airport during the brief amount of time before our flight departed, but I could not find any currency exchange in the small airport, just ATM machines. Masa, who visits his grandparent in Tokyo once a year, assured me that the larger Haneda International Airport in Tokyo would have a currency exchange, since I had brought mostly U.S. dollars to allocate and control my limited budget for this trip. After passing the security check point, we waited to board our flight to Tokyo for about fifteen minutes. After boarding, our flight was relatively short, about an hour on an All Nippon Airways (ANA) airplane. After obtaining our luggage and meeting in the baggage claim area, we were soon greeted by two representatives from the Japan America Grassroots Summit. We had about an hour and a half of downtime at the airport, and one of the representatives attended to our baggage to make sure noting was stolen. We were directed to get a Passamo card for the railway and subway, and asked to put about 3,000 yen on the card. I was low on yen, so I went to the currency exchange on the second floor to exchange my dollars to yen, however a twenty-dollar bill (fully intact) was rejected because there was a minor tear at the top. Afterward I went down the entrance of the station, and I saw Andrew, who briefly instructed me as to how to use the machine to get a new card and put some yen into the card funds. Then, Andrew and I met with Pratik, Masa, and Tanner at an American Café Express, or something close to that name, next to the larger more expensive version of the café. The five of us all ordered hot dogs, and I had a ginger ale, which had more a ginger kick than Canada Dry. Afterward, we explored the airport on every level until we reached the upper level where we could watch the planes take off and land. Ten minutes before I ventured off to head toward the 7-Eleven downstairs, notifying my fellow UTD students before I left. However, after taking the escalators down three stories, I realized that I would not have enough time to make it to 7-Eleven, so I went to our meeting spot where our luggage was placed earlier. For some odd reason, Masa and the others I was with were running a bit late, and when they arrived a few minutes later there was a minor miscommunication between us. They thought I was going back to the top floor to meet them before we left, but I had said “I’ll meet you guys later.” Overall, no harm done, though, as we all made it to bus, and headed toward the Shinagawa Prince Hotel. Once we arrived, I was astounded by the massive cityscape surrounding the largest hotel I had ever been to, there 37 floors, two large restaurants, and it was connected to a medium sized shopping mall next to several other stores and nearby restaurants. Upon entering, we were all given an envelope with our names on them, including a room card key and a seven meal tickets for breakfast this week. Eagerly, we went up to our floor, and I was disappointed by the room size, considering our hotel in Kochi had more square feet for each room. However, I was happy to be in Tokyo for a decent amount of time, which I am now able to cross off my bucket list. After quickly settling into our room, Nicolai had gather a few of us together to head to the fashion district of Harajyuku, Tokyo. Thankfully, our hotel was across the street from Shinagawa station of the Japan Railway-East (JRE) line, and when we got on the train Nicolai, who visited Tokyo the year before, explained to us that the green line is circular and easy to navigate. Soon thereafter, we got off at the Harajuku Station, and after a short walk I saw a crowded city street full of stores and restaurants, notably a Wolfgang Puck Express at the entryway. On a side note, I have always wanted to eat at an Iron Chef’s restaurant, a title granted from the TV show Iron Chef or Iron Chef America, and Wolfgang Puck Express was my first opportunity, but I did not want to separate from our group and get lost. Additionally, per a Yelp review, my favorite Iron Chef Masaharu Morimoto’s Tokyo restaurant has a minimum price of 10,000 yen for a five-course meal and desert, which was out of my price range for this trip. As we continued down the crowded street, majority of our group sought to visit a shoe store to acquire some new shoes. Some of us waited a good twenty minutes for our companions to purchase a new pair of shoes, including Charlie, whom had bought a brand-new pair in Kochi, desired another pair of New Balance shoes, which were new to the market. During this time, for a couple of minutes, Tanner, Shahed, and I went to another store in the second level of the adjacent building to look at some interesting shirts. However, I had not budgeted for extra spending on new apparel. Quite simply, I was on this excursion to sight see. After we reached the end of the street, I pointed out the three story New Balance store across the street, which made me smile. Of course, our group could not help but go inside and look at the New Balance apparel. Once we reached the top floor, I was shocked by the Liverpool FC signed jersey and soccer ball, or rather football. According, I took a picture to send to my cousin, Erik, who is a Liverpool FC fanatic. Shortly thereafter, he replied with outstanding “Wow! Awesome!!!” Then, he asked where I was, and I told him where, and he was astounded because my dad’s side of the family knew I was going to Japan, but no one had told him. I replied, “We need to talk more, since the last time was two years ago,” and he quickly replied “Of course, show us some pictures from Japan!” During this time, Nicolai and Tanner went to the Starbucks across from the New Balance store to get a couple of drinks, while the rest of our small group stayed outside the crowed coffee shop. As we waited outside for our two friends, I texted my cousin that I would post some pictures of my travels when I got back to the U.S. Shortly thereafter, we began to venture further into Harajuku, and we stopped at a high-end toy shop, which was simply amazing as flip out at the 30,000 yen toys, or action figures. Albeit, I do not plan to spend $300 anywhere in the world for an action figure, they are still a neat thing to gander upon. Accordingly, we continued to walk for what seemed like an hour following Nicolai, briefly stopping to eat at a McDonald’s. At this location, I learned from Nicolai the trick to getting the approximant equivalent to a dollar burger (100 yen). Nicolai said, “Go up to the counter and say 1 hamburger or 1 chicken burger,” motioning the number with his hands. Quite simply, I was dumbfounded as I had spent about 600 yen on a Big Mac meal, but now I knew how to eat cheap this week, since there was a McDonalds within walking distance from the hotel. Eventually, we reached our destination, Shibuya, which I believe is the Tokyo equivalent to New York City’s Time Square. As such, I took a couple of pictures, since I did not know if I was going to visit this location during the remainder of our trip. On our way to the station, there was a group of protestors demonstrating near the entry way. Since I did not know what they were demonstrating for, I choose not to take a picture. Soon thereafter, we entered the station and hoped on the green line toward Shinagawa Station. After reaching our stop, crossing the street past the McDonalds, I noticed a restaurant sign on the way back for a five-course meal with all you can drink beverages, including some alcoholic beverages for 3,500 yen, however this deal was only on holidays and the weekend. Since, we are back in the hotel room, I am honestly considering limiting my budget even more to enjoy our upcoming Saturday as our schedule simply says “Free in Tokyo” for this day, and I think the 3,500 yen price is reasonable all things considered. I’m going to watch some Netflix, then head off to bed for the evening.

July 10, 2017

I woke up this morning to Nicolai’s alarm, and I got up to take a shower. As I brushed my teeth, I was surprised to see the hotel offers two complementary combs for patrons. Anyhow, after I got dressed, I went down to the first floor to enter the main restaurant for breakfast, after giving my meal ticket I was given a card to place on the table to notify my occupation of said table, which included a floor plan of the entire restaurant. Honestly, I have never been to such a large buffet style breakfast, or restaurant, seemingly our family home could easily fit inside the restaurant with room for a small garden too. I scouted the offerings for about five minutes, and decided to get the vegetable omelet with some fries, since one of my favorite dishes to make for breakfast is papas con huevos (potato with eggs), additionally I grabbed two croissants and a couple of sweet pastries. However, I scanned to room to find a suitable drink, and thankfully I found peach tea, which was unsweet to my liking, near the yogurt drink station. Afterward, I went back to the hotel room to relax for an hour or so before we were to meet at 10:20am in the lobby. When the time arose, I went down to the lobby about five minutes early as our group began to cohort. Our UTD group meet with Hikoro, whom meet us at the airport yesterday, and a former staff member of the Japan-America Society of Dallas/Fort Worth named Yoshi (I hope spelled her name correctly). These two wonderful ladies would be our guides in Tokyo this week. Our first business on our Tokyo leg of the trip was NEC, which was in walking distance of the hotel. When we arrived at NEC, I was astonished by all the high-tech equipment displayed, including a virtual real time globe and a satellite display, however the real eye opener for me was the Formula 1 (F1) racing car to the left of the entryway. At 11:00am, we began a small ten minute meeting in the Seminar Room, and then we were given a “Showroom Tour,” which I will discuss in further detail since I was not notified of disclosure agreement. Foremost, we entered a room with a wall sized display showcasing a short video of some of NEC’s product offerings. Then, we entered the larger showroom, and we were first shown a device that could be placed at the top of a large bolt or screw to help identify the appropriate number, seemingly indicative of the properties, which could maximize efficiency in large scale building operations. To demonstrate, NEC manufactured several hundred, about 500 if I recall correctly, of the same screw with different identifiable tops with a corresponding number on the side. As such, I was asked to demonstrate to product, grabbed the first screw I could get my hands on, and placed the top into the identifying component of the hand-held machine, and a number was given. However, the first screw I got a hold of, among the hundreds, did not have a number tag as the person demonstrating the product and I soon realized. So, I grabbed another screw from the pile, and the demonstration went off without a hitch, accurately displaying the number on the machine corresponding to the number tag. Next, we sat down on a set of chairs with several cameras pointed in our direction, and to my shock and awe, three of my fellow classmates were accurately identified by name on the screen in front of us. In addition to facial recognition, we were told the system monitors eye movement using red lines to show where a person is looking at in the room. As such, our tour guide, told us this system would help prevent theft because criminals tend to look at and for cameras in stores. Lastly, we were shown a product that identifies demographics of people looking at a set of products, the duration in front of the products, and what product the person picked up. Our group was given a demonstration, and the system accurately placed one of my fellow UTD students into a set demographic properly, the time in front of the camera, and what item the person picked up. Before we left the room, several of us tried the machine, and the system had a few demographic errors, including gender and age. Although, when I tried the product, I was immediately identified in the proper demographic. When we entered the lobby again, we were shown the real-time globe could be moved via touchscreen capabilities to anywhere around the world. Then, we were directed to the F1 car, and we were allowed to sit in the former race car, sadly I knew I was a little too big to fit inside the small confined seat. Afterward, we were directed to the satellite display, and given a bit of history about NEC’s space endeavors. Before leaving NEC, we took a nice group photo for the memories, that was later shared on the Line messaging application. Accordingly, we had no other plans scheduled for today, and we were free to do whatever we wanted for the rest of the day, reasonably speaking. As we left the building, I asked Pratik about the name and face recognition, and he told me there was a place during the trip in Kochi (I believe), where the three of them had registered on some computer operated device owned by NEC. Afterward, the whole situation earlier began to make a lot of sense. On the way back to the hotel, I picked up a 2-liter bottle of water a 7-Eleven, which was a few feet away from the hotel. With no other plans, I decided to catch up on Dragon Ball Super as I was a few weeks behind in order to catch up with my fellow classmate, Tramayne, because we had a conversation in Kochi about the show while waiting for the tram, and were both on the newest season in Japan (the newest episodes in the U.S. are three seasons behind), which has been subtitled by fans of the show on a weekly basis. Right before dinner, I decided to try the Bar del Sole between McDonalds and the Italian restaurant offering the 3,500 five course meal. I sat down and ordered a shaken vodka Martini, since I am a James Bond fan, and I know from reading Ian Fleming’s Casino Royale that the character is a vodka, not gin, drinker. Another intriguing fact, not in the modern Bond film series, is the fact that the C.I.A. agent named Felix in Casio Royale is from Texas. Moving on, I received my Martini, and after one sip I could taste the gin, so soon thereafter I asked for the check, paid, and went to McDonalds. After a short wait in line, I went up to the counter, and said “3 hamburgers,” and I politely paid 300 yen in total. After I received my dinner, I went up to the hotel, thinking to myself one hamburger is about the price as a cup of ramen at 7-Eleven, and taste so much better. As I went up to the hotel room, I wondered where Nicolai had gone to, and after taking a few bites of my first 100 yen hamburger, my phone vibrated, and Nicolai said in our Line group chat that they (no clue as to who was with him) were considering going to Golden Gai in Shinjuku. Suddenly, I remembered Nicolai mentioning a place in Tokyo by the same name yesterday, where the bars typically refuse tourist and stick to seating regulars. Hopefully, the group has a good time tonight and doesn’t get thrown out of any bars. I am going to take a shower and get some sleep, since tomorrow appears to be rather busy with visits to two different businesses.

July 11, 2017

I got up this morning eager to dress up in a full suit, as Monique mentioned to our group that a member of the original founding family of Kikkoman was going to give a presentation today. Initially, I put on a neck tie, but I did not seem to fit the summer style of most businessmen I had seen in Tokyo thus far. As such, I unbuttoned the top button, and walked to the elevator to get down to get breakfast. After giving the employee my meal ticket, I was given the same table card from yesterday, and promptly seated once again. Again, I grabbed the same items from the breakfast offering down the unsweet peach tea, except there were chocolate croissants today, instead of a different type of pastry, and I grabbed one extra. In a moment of recollection, while eating the chocolate croissants reminded me of my first job in high school and freshman year in college at Panera Bread in Addison, Texas, and the good memories of friends I have not seen or talked to in years. Before meeting at 9:00am in the lobby, I went to my hotel room to grab my backpack, and I made sure to fill my 500 mL Nalgene bottle with some water. I ran into Monique on the way to the lobby, and she said I looked “Sharp today.” I told her, “I am just happy to wear a suit, and look like a real Tokyo businessman.” We both laughed, and I quickly commented on her attire, and said, “You look great as well.” Likewise, as our group gathered in lobby we looked sharp, sleek, and professional. At 9:10am we ventured to the train station, and we took the Yamanote (Green) Line to Shinbashi, and walked a reasonable distance to the Kikkoman building. Once we arrived we were directed to a conference room, where a projector was set up with the beginning of a PowerPoint deck along with two men. After we were seated, the two introduced themselves as we began. Foremost, the man on my left introduced himself as Yuzaburo Mogi, the CEO and Chairman of the Kikkoman Board of Directors, and his college to the right introduced himself as Koichi Yamazaki, Kikkoman’s Senior Managing Executive Officer. Mr. Mogi, said he was having some back trouble and needed to sit down for today’s presentation, I feel as though we were our group was understanding, although I was a little star struck from the simple fact that our group of about fifteen, mostly consisting of UTD students, was personally given a presentation by the CEO. Mr. Mogi’s PowerPoint presentation was great, beginning with the humble beginnings of the company, an explanation of the main product, soy sauce, which is comprised of four main ingredients: wheat, soy, salt, and water. In addition, Mr. Mogi mentioned the fact that Kikkoman soy sauce has 300 different aromas, and is great on both savory and sweet dishes. Continuing forward, Mr. Mogi explained a brief history of the American factory in Wisconsin, then showed us a short version of a documentary made by Lucy Walker, and Academy Award Nominated director, entitled Make Haste Slowly: The Kikkoman Creed. The documentary tells the prolific history of Kikkoman, beginning with a more descriptive history of Kikkoman soy sauce before the company was formed, continuing to the formation of the company, moving onto the story of the Wisconsin plant with several interviews of retired employees and their families, including the company’s struggle to establish the first Japanese plant in America after World War II, the cultural exchange between Japanese and American families as Kikkoman asked their Japanese employees not to move into the same neighborhood, but rather live in separate neighborhoods, ending with retired employees that were so humble and grateful to have worked a Kikkoman. Notably, I recall one former employee, who was so dedicated, he drove a tractor during a blizzard because he knew the factory would need his help. Then, Mr. Mogi talked about the popular Teriyaki sauce Kikkoman introduced successfully to the American market decades ago. Thereafter, Mr. Mogi talked about the distribution channels, and a more in depth financial analysis of the company. After the PowerPoint presentation, Mr. Mogi and Mr. Yamazaki took questions from our group. One interesting question (paraphrased) was asked about their increase in sales, and what markets Kikkoman would like to expand to worldwide? Mr. Mogi briefly stated that soy sauce from China was typically bought in China, instead of Kikkoman, and at one time in the past Kikkoman tried to introduce their sauce to the Indian market, except the test market for Indian food was considered “Good,” with or without soy sauce because the dishes consist of a lot of spices. We gave Mr. Mogi and Mr. Yamazaki a round of applause, and we presented Mr. Mogi with a gift from the group. Then, we all gather together and took pictures in front of the Kikkoman logo, which I have saved because of our group chat on the Line messaging application. On the way out the door, we were given a rather weighted down gift bag from Kikkoman, and after I opened the bag to see what was inside, there were two free bottles of soy sauce, one green colored (reduced sodium) and the other cream colored. On the train ride to Akihagara on the Yamanote (Green) Line, I was astonished by the presentation, particularly how much the Kikkoman cares for their employees regardless of stature or status. After our group exited the railway station, we were given time to eat lunch, but before I left with Masa, Tanner, Andrew, and Shahed, I got a nice picture of the Square Enix Café. Before the merger about a decade ago Squaresoft was the original developers of the Final Fantasy game series, and Square Enix currently holds the rights and continues to make games for the franchise, the most recent release in the series is Final Fantast XV. Honestly, I am not the biggest fan of the series having dedicatedly spend too many hours playing Final Fantasy VII and Final Fantasy X in my youth. Accordingly, I respect the brand. I caught up with the rest of the lunch group, as I did not want to go to McDonalds group, or the Saquare Enix Café group. Along the way, I learned that Masa was leading us to a café scene unique to the area, we traveled about three or four blocks, during which time I noticed some female promotors dressed in skimpy maid outfits promoting a place called Maidreamin. I took a flyer as a souvenir, and soon thereafter we reached a building and went up a flight of stairs, then I learned our group was following Masa to his favorite Maid café in Tokyo, however they were closed today. So, our small lunch group went to the nearby and open Maid café, Maidreamin. Honestly, I could not make this story up in my wildest, craziest, most abstract of dreams, and I was prepared of a one of kind experience as we took the elevator to the top of the building and made our first steps into Maidreamin. Foremost, the place was playing pure J-pop (Japanese pop music), and we were greeted by one of the three maids tending to the reasonably sized rooms. Then, we were seated at a table, I placed my backpack down, and went to use the restroom. When I came back to the table, each of my fellow lunch groupmates had a set of either cat, bear, or bunny ears atop their head. Before I could look at the menu, I was given a seat of cat ears atop my head. Mindful, all of us were wearing formal business attire with goofy fake animal ears atop our heads, and I couldn’t help but laugh and simile the entire time. Scanning the room, I noticed the no photography sign, until I read the menu consisting of only three food dishes curry, pasta, and a rolled omelet, and I as I continued to read for 1,500 yen you could take a picture with a maid dressed waitress to commemorate the occasion. Furthermore, there was even a 3,400 yen combo including a meal, dessert, drink, gift, and a picture with a waitress. Also, there was an option to pay for the opportunity to dress up as a maid, and an opportunity to pay a couple thousand yen on a sing and dance routine from the maid waitresses. After a couple of minutes, a waitress came by to take our orders, I chose to get the curry dish, Andrew ordered the curry dish, Masa ordered the omelet, Shahed order the omelet, then Tanner ordered the 3,400 yen “Kawaii Happiness Combo” with the pasta, I believe. At this point, I still couldn’t keep myself from laughing occasionally, and a sitting my chair a big grin as we still looked goofy. Everyone except Tanner had water to drink, he had tea if I am not mistaken, and after he was given his drink he took a nice selfie with a Maidreamin waitress. After about 12 minutes or so, a waitress came by to deliver our food, and after we all got received our entrees, then she commenced to draw a small cartoon bear made of ketchup on the curry and omelet entrees. In shock, I shook my head before splitting my chopsticks to begin eating my curry dish in utter disbelief. After a brief period of time, as we were finishing our entrees, one of the waitress told Masa in Japanese that we would could pay an extra 1,500 yen, If I recall correctly, for a sing and dance routine, and after a short discussion we decided to split the cost amongst the five of us. Shortly thereafter, Tanner received an amazing looking dessert sundae, and we were given a list of songs available to choose for a performance. As a group, following Masa’s lead once again, we decided to allow the waitresses to perform their favorite song, and notified a waitress. As a matter of fact, we learned from Masa’s conversation with the waitress, that the routine was cheaper because Tanner has ordered the “Kawaii Happiness Combo.” As we began to get pressed for time, allocating enough walking time to get back to the front of the Square Enix Café, Masa informed the waitress. After two minutes, the lights dimmed as a waitress began to take center stage to the right of our table, she began to sing a J-pop song with audience engaging lyrics, and about halfway through the song I looked left and saw the other two waitress dancing, one of which with glow sticks. Overall, the performance ended after about three and half minutes, and we paid for our checks, which were around 2,000 yen with Tanner as the exception, who paying about 4,000 yen. As we returned to our meeting spot, I was ecstatic about my earlier decision to eat McDonald’s later this evening. Charlie and Nicolai asked us where we had gone, and someone else from our lunch group said a Maid café, and we did not talk about the experience after that moment today. On a more serious note, our group began to head to YKK around 1:10pm to meet our scheduled presentation time of 1:30pm. Foremost, I remember the presenter asking us if we had heard of YKK, and was among four others, whom may have taken the time to examine a zipper on piece of clothing in the past. Thereafter, we were given a brief history of YKK, which began before in the early 1930s as zippers were manufactured by hand. During the Reconstruction era of Japan after World War II, the company registered their trademark, and according to the YKK presentation an early representative of YKK met an American salesman trying to sell the handmade zippers, however the American salesman was not convinced of the quality as an automated zipper making chain machine had been developed, which made a seeming superior product and consistent. At first opportunity, YKK purchased a zipper making chain machine the 1950s from the U.S., and YKK began to make improvements of zipper design Conceal brand, which hide the teeth of the zipper within a decade. Afterward, YKK continued to improve the zipper design even, including heavy duty zippers for fishing nets, the YZip an extra durable jean zipper in the 1960s, and even zipper for space suits to name a few. YKK has also expanded their product offerings throughout the decades including buttons, snaps, and other plastic fasteners. All the while sticking to main YKK philosophy, entitled the “Cycle of Goodness,” which is better explained the accompanying quote “No one prospers without rendering the benefit to others.” One of the last things mentioned was YKK’s initiative to teach the Japanese youth about the history of zippers and YKK’s history through a manga (Japanese comic) given mostly to grade school kids, and others whom may benefit from the knowledge as the manga was included our group’s gift bags. After the presentation, our group was moved in groups via the elevator to begin utilize some basic artistic skills to create a zipper a glow in the dark lanyard at the cost of 1,000 yen. From what I recall, the first step was aligning the zipper teeth, then zipping the pieces together. The next step required clamping the plastic fasteners together at around two and a half teeth for each side, which buckles together when completed. Lastly, with a dab of super glue placed in hole of the plastic lanyard bottom required, the closed zipper bottom (the zipper mechanisms at the top with the buckle) placed inside the hole of the lanyard bottom with the premade loop not necessary to compile. After listening and following the directions from the YKK personal the whole process takes less the five minutes, which does not include the super glue drying time. During the drying time, we went to the second story to visit a YKK showcase room, including a large zipper demonstrating the process on a larger scale. Thereafter, our tour guide showed all of the zipper models, included the noteworthy zippers mentioned in the presentation, and we were fully permitted to try all the zipper models. I was most excited to try to space zipper, although the name is something completely different as the proper name alludes me at the moment. Then, we were given an opportunity to make a personalized card and sticker on a set of four computers with little cartoon characters fashioned in either zipper or buttoned clothing, I made one preferred card, an accidental card, and the same design of the preferred card placed on a sticker. Then, we moved up to the third story which including leather jackets, fashionable women’s wear, and several books showing the diverse number of designs for zipper, including a variety of shapes, colors, and patterns. After about ten minutes or so, we gathered and headed back downstairs as the session was over. Once again, our large group split into smaller groups, most headed to the hotel, but I decided to join Tanner, Masa, and Shahed to venture into what is unofficially considered the “Anime district.” At our first stop, we headed into a manga and anime shop that was five stories tall, and I was a bit winded afterward, luckily there was an elevator to take us down. Two buildings to the left was a nearly identical shop, with an adult only section in the basement, where I saw some pornographic manga and anime. After that, I decided to wait outside for Masa, Shahed, and Tanner. After a couple of minutes outside, Tanner showed up and we had a brief discussion, whereupon Masa and Shahed showed up soon thereafter. Shahed purchased a manga copy of a new popular anime movie entitle Your name. Then, we decided to head to the JRE line to head back to the hotel, and on the way to the station, I got take a photo of the Gundam Café with the two antennas indicative of the giant robot manga and anime, which began as a early anime called Mobile Suit Gundam, airing from 1979-1980 in Japan. It took two decades before the original show to air in the U.S. with English voice actors portraying the iconic characters, and I was 11 years old when I saw a few of the episodes, as the time slot was during the 3:00pm timeslot, if I recall correctly, which made it difficult for me to watch in time in elementary school and later during junior high school. Currently, the Gundam franchise is producing new anime and manga, in addition during my stay in Japan I have been playing the newest arcade game based on the franchise, released last year, which allows for cross-series battles of a two person pairs to battle giant mechanized robots against two other players with the help of Wi-Fi, something I had never seen in arcade machine before until this trip. Our group of four managed to reach the Shinagawa station, and on the way back to the hotel I decided to part ways, and stop by 7-eleven to grab a beer, which I drank on a small stone wall in front of the convenience store, since drinking alcoholic beverages in public is not illegal in Japan. Not to mention, I have even seen a number of alcoholic beverage vending machines during this trip. To each the own I suppose, but I made a promise, wholeheartedly. Then, I went to the McDonald’s nearby and ordered three cheeseburgers, which I took up to the hotel room to eat. I sat in front of my laptop watching the few remaining episodes of Dragon Ball Super, which I plan to discuss with Tramayne tomorrow, about my potential theories and moments I was excited and astonished about this season. During this time, Nicolai came a left the hotel room, occasionally. However, I am scrambling to find a means to charge my three week old phone, as my USB-C cable appears to be broken, which may have been Nicolai’s accidental fault when he dropped my phone on Sunday as it has not been working properly since. I don’t have time to point any fingers, I need a solution besides putting my phone in the super battery saving mode. Reluctantly, I may have a solution, although I need to ensure this charging method will be delivered to our hotel properly, essentially Samsung has a wireless charging pad. If I one day ship the device, I should have it by Thursday. So, I went to asked a wonderful lady as the Information Desk of the hotel if I could receive packages, and she said “Yes,” after asking her manager. So, I politely asked her if she could help me ensure delivery by assisting me in filling the proper address to the hotel, and thankfully she helped my fill out the address form on my laptop to the best our ability because Amazon has the address form setup for the U.S. (Japan has prefectures not states). I completed the order, and fingers crossed it should be here sometime on Thursday. I placed my laptop in the hotel room, and before finishing the entry, I decided to smoke a couple of cigarettes in the designated smoking areas of the hotel. I am going to head off to bed soon, tomorrow we meet around noon to visit ANA, so I am going to sleep in a bit.

July 12, 2017

I woke up around 8:30am this morning and took my time taking a shower and getting dressed, so I could have more of a brunch rather than a breakfast, so I don’t have to spend some extra yen to eat lunch before our trip to ANA. I ate breakfast in the usual restaurant, I am starting to find breakfast buffets to be comforting yet starting to get a bit old after two and half weeks. Only a few days left, I am still excited and exhausted to be in Tokyo as I feel in such a big city, one is easily lost in a crowd, nay in a sea of people. I smoked a Luck Strike before heading back up to hotel room after brunch. When I got back to the room, I used Line on my laptop and iPad to communicate via Line, which also permits Wi-Fi messaging via the application/program, with my father back in Texas about my current situation. During this trip, I have been sending him photos and brief updates when an open Wi-Fi spot is present. Thankfully, he reassured me about my situation, and essentially told me to enjoy myself. Throughout my stay in Japan he kept telling me to take pictures, and luckily my phone’s camera works in super battery saving mode, so I reassured him as well. Although, I did not tell him I could access the photo gallery application, so I hope the first or second photo is good as I am taking duplicates. I listened to some music from my laptop before heading down fifteen or ten minutes early to smoke another Lucky Strike. Our group met on time at 12:10pm in the lobby, and I managed to talk to Tramayne about Dragon Ball Super, which lifted my spirits, as we set forth to Shinagawa station ten minutes later. Today, we are taking the JRE from Shinagawa to Kamata, then transferring from Kamata to Anamori Inari. After departing form the rail station, we had a fifteen minute walk to the ANA Training Center. Upon entering the facility, we were soon directed to a conference room, whereupon some of facility directors introduced themselves, briefly gave us a more in-depth detail of today’s events, namely evacuation training, a tour of some other facility’s safety demonstrations, a look at first class, and a chance to see the flight simulator without going into the flight simulator room. Notably, when asked for two volunteers to try on working life preserver jackets, my hand shoot up, but the instructor picked Charlie and Nicolai. Also, we were directed not to take any unsanctioned photographs in the facility. Then, we traveled to a training airplane segment to practice crashing poses, life preserver etiquette with a real-life demonstration, and a mention of evacuation via the doors without getting to slide down an inflatable slide. Afterward, we headed to a mock first class with some business class seats in the back in a room with flight attendant cabinets in the front, seemingly this appeared to be a flight attendant training room, however I was busy checking out all the first-class commodities, while Andrew to the right of me in another first-class pod were making funny jokes when the tour guide was not speaking. Soon thereafter, we were split into two separate groups, and the group I was with went to a room with an airplane door. There we learned how to properly open the latches of an airplane door, however we did not learn how to properly close said door as our tour guide was unfamiliar with the mechanisms. Seemingly, closing an airplane door is not really a lifesaving skill necessary to survive in an airplane as cabin pressure is lost at high altitude creating a vacuum when the door is opened, and a crash in the water or land would not require closing the door to tidy up the crashed airplane. Moving on, we headed to the flight simulator room, or rather the window looking into the flight simulator room as we watched a mock cockpit move like a stationary simulated roller coaster ride, which was neat, and we also saw some pilots in training leave the second cockpit simulator. Then, our entire group was directed back into the conference room, and I briefly used the restroom before starting our proper Japanese business etiquette course. As we began, our instructor introduced herself, mentioned her time as flight attendant for ANA of almost two decades, and now an instructor at the ANA facility. I was excited as our sensai (teacher) was unabashedly firm in her instruction, we learned how to properly bow, I was used as an involuntary volunteer and quickly learned that I needed my shoulders further back. Then, we demonstrated bows at three different time intervals and when to use said time interval. Then we practiced bowing together, I was paired with Monique, while giving a piece of paper to another individual, which needs to be given presentably with the ledger facing toward the person, so they could properly read after receiving. Next, we learned how to bow together while giving a business card to each other, which needs to be presented, so they may receive business card to read. Then, we learned how to bow together and present a business card, if a person has a business card holder, which needs to be present again so they may read the card, however it is proper to place the business care atop a closed business card holder. Luckily, Monique had a business card holder, so we got practice the last bowing technique in today’s lesson. Lastly, we practiced how to properly split a pair of chopstick, which I have been doing improperly for years, the proper method is a horizontal, not vertical, break. After the two hour session, we said in unison “Arigatou Gozaumsu,” which is “Thank you” in Japanese, and bowed for about two, maybe three seconds if you need the extra time to correct your form or have back problem, towards our wonderful sensai (teacher). Before leaving the facility, we did the same to the other ANA representatives and instructors. Then, we took another fifteen minute walk to the station headed to the hotel via the transferred lines mention earlier in reverse order. On the way to the hotel, I decided to give the Bar del Sole another try at a shaken vodka Martini as I noticed there was a different bartender. I sat down and order “Vodka Martini,” and motioned the shaking method, however I saw the bartender grab a bottle of Bombay Sapphire Dry Gin and pour in into the shaker. At this point I was just happy to enjoy the moment, reluctantly I ordered another one as I ate the olive, and after about ten minutes, I asked for the check and politely paid. Then, I headed to McDonald’s and ordered another trio of hamburgers, and headed back to the hotel room. After eating in the hotel, with no clue where Nicolai was, and it didn’t bother me at all. I began to count my yen, and I was well on track to have enough for the Shinagawa beer garden this Saturday with extra spending money for the airport just in case. I read some articles and interesting posts on the front page of Reddit for today, then I went to the designated smoking, where I smoked a couple of cigarettes. I came back to the room, and listen to some music on my laptop with headphones on. Then, before taking a shower I went down to the smoking area for another cigarette. I am off to bed for the evening.

July 13, 2017

I awoke to Nicolai’s alarm this morning, and took a few extra minutes to get up, and get ready, but before I went to the breakfast buffet, I checked the tracking of Amazon package on my laptop. Thankfully, the package was at Narita International Airport in Tokyo, we a schedule delivery time before 8:00pm this evening. Happily, I went down to breakfast, however there was a lengthy line outside the door this morning. After waiting in line for about five minutes, I was directed to a table, and I gathered the same breakfast meal I had this entire week, thus far. After eating, I went back to the room to grab my backpack, and headed to the lobby to greet my fellow groupmates at 9:00am. Our group gathered, as we headed off to the Shinagawa railway station. We took the Yamanote Line to Osaki, then transferred heading to Tokyo Teleport. Next, we took a brief walk to Mega Web and the main Toyota facility. When we arrived in Toyota, I was awestruck by all the cars in the facility as we were directed to a conference room. A presentation was made by two employees of Toyota, whom intriguing did not show us a history less about Toyota, but rather a presentation demonstrating the future endeavors for the company. Namely, there was a significant portion demonstrating their improvements on hybrid technology, the status of the company both from a management and finical perspective, although the show stopper for me was the new hydrogen powered Mirai, we would get ride along on a test drive. Eagerly, I awaited my turn to set and experience what may be the future of automobiles, and I even took a nice picture of the innerworkings of the Mirai on the way to the waiting line, which was powered by two large hydrogen tanks. I was in the third group with Katie, Jacqueline (Jax), and Tramayne. Upon our tour, I rode in the right side of the backside, and the Mirai was fluid and fully functional during the test drive. After the last group experienced the Mirai, we were shown the water emission from the vehicle, which I got on video. Then, we headed to test drive the Winglet a two wheeled powered personal vehicle, with a remarkable resemblance to a Segway, although smaller in scale. I was one of the last to try the Winglet, as I was still astounded by the Mirai. Andrew and I were a pair test driving the separate Winglets on a small matted course, where we learning the basic, and the control seemed fluid and natural to the bodies movements. Afterward, we were told there was a café in the Mega Web complex, where I ordered a hot dog and a Coca-Coke Zero to drink. I ate lunch at a table with Charlie and Andrew, where we discussed the possible safety hazards the Mirai presents, since hydrogen is extremely combustible, in addition the was the lack of a feasible fuel source at hydrogen fuel station. However, in response I mentioned that increase in autonomous vehicle was rapidly increasing, which would like limit the amount of future accidents, where the Mirai may catch fire. Only the future will tell, I suppose. Afterward the three of us decided to try the Gran Turismo 5 powered racing simulator, and I was not particularly good as I came in last. Then, I mentioned to Charlie and Andrew, that there a Gran Turismo 6 powered racing simulator next the Winglet demo area. So, we headed to the other side of Mega Web, as I was taking quite a few photographs along the way. There were only to racing stations, so we each took turns racing the computer, and I came in last again during my run. Thereafter we were gravitated to the Two Oculus Rift Virtual Reality (VR) simulators, powered by Alienware Area-51 desktops, which are reliable and well-oiled computers, so to speak, known for outstanding gaming qualities. Charlie and Andrew were the first to try the simulator, and I saw Andrews demonstration on a TV placed in between the two VR simulators. Essentially, the demo places you in the passenger’s seat with a Crash Test Dummy driver, and was a demonstration of Toyota safety features. After Andrew finished, I was eager to have my first true high quality VR experience, however I was instructed that I could not wear my glasses with the VR glasses on. So, the whole experience was a bit nauseating for me, as I had to trouble seeing due to my astigmatism, despite having 20/20 vison last time I visited the eye doctor. Soon thereafter, we had to meet up with the rest of our group, but not before taking a few photographs along the way. Then, we traveled to Aomi Station to travel to Yurikamome, where we switched railway lines to head toward Akabanebashi via the Oedo Line. After exiting the station, we took a short walk to visit Weber Shandwick, and were directed to a conference room with a nice large wall sized screen. Accordingly, I learned that Weber Shandwick was a large public relations firm with cliental across the globe, there was a PowerPoint presentation with a brief video demonstrating an initiative to help lower the swimming related drinking deaths in Sweden, give a nice slogan “Don’t drink and dive.” During the video the 2014 world synchronized swimming champions, Stockholm Konstsim Herr, and the effect on the routine after having several alcoholic beverages. Although the routine had a decent start, the effects of alcoholic became clearer as the routine fell apart. Thankfully, no one was in injured. After the video, my fellow UTD students began to ask some intriguing question, including a question: How Weber Shandwick would help Donald Trump with his tweets? Do which, I shook my head as that was seemingly random, although the duo gave us a professional response about using social media reasonably, as an individual or as a business. Overall, I think Weber Shandwick is a remarkable public relation firm, and often a positive force behind serval world changing movements, even if it is one country at a time, considering the success in Sweden by bring awareness through a life-saving movement as alcohol related deaths declined after “Don’t drink and dive.” Thereafter, we all headed back to the hotel as a group, and Nicolai, Charlie, Patrik, Andrew, and I decided to head across the street to a sizable restaurant venue, where we decided on an Indian restaurant, which they had been to early this week that accepts Visa. After eating curry and naan bread on our credit or debit cards, we decided to head back to the hotel. Charlie, Pratik, I talked about drinking some whiskey, so we went to the 7-Eleven where Pratik and Charlie bought a bottle whisky each, and purchased a 2-liter of Coca-Cola. Then we headed up elevator to Pratik and Masa’s room, shortly Pratik ventured off, and Charlie grabbed to two glasses and poured a double shot for the both of us, I said “Thank you,” as I still managed to keep my promise to Monique. Seemingly, Masa was engaged a video game he was playing on his laptop atop a small iron board, which I though was ingenious. As I opened the bottle and poured some Coca-Cola to help dilute the alcohol, shortly thereafter, I believe, Charlie was pouring his glass into another plastic bottle, and left the room. Masa, an amazing person of outstanding moral character, and I had an engaging conversation first about girlfriends, and somehow I brought my ex-girlfriend and the trials and tribulations were endured together, but she did not appear interested in maintaining a long term relationship. Additionally, I was more concerned about helping my mom during her long battle with cancer. Then, as I briskly drank my beverage, we began to talk about working out routines, I mentioned to Masa about my rigorous workout routine in the past, consisting of large amounts of cardio every day, and my past ambitions to try a biathlon or triathlon. Masa was more concerned about weight lifting and building muscle mass, and I asked him “Are you using whey protein?” He replied, “Yes.” Then, I told him of better protein supplement available at GNC called MUSCLEMEDS CARNIVOR, which is about 20 times more potent that steak, and better at muscle recovery for the following day. I mentioned that a former Mr. Olympia (a yearly bodybuilding contest) winner had boosted about using when he won a few years back. I finished my drink, I went to my hotel room to check on the status of my Amazon package on my laptop, which had been delivered earlier, and Nicolai mentioned that front desk had called. I quickly, went to the Font Desk of the hotel and inquired about my package and gave them my name a room number, and I was handed a box with Amazon tape. I said, “Thank you” in Japanese, and quickly headed up to my room to open the package and piece together the wireless charging pad, and after I assembled it within two minutes, I tried the charging mechanism, and it worked! Then, I changed my phone back to regular battery usage, and I ventured off to the nearby 7-Eleven to celebrate with a beer on the small wall in front of the store. Before I had finished about half of the beer, several men approached with a case of beer and we began to chat. Apparently, four of the men were visiting from Australia and one was Japanese native. I told them where I was from Texas and the offered me a beer, during this time noticed one of them was smoking a cigar with a label and logo I had not seen my last trip the Mexico. I asked, “Is that a Cohiba Cigar?” He replied yes, and another member of their group mentioned how difficult it was to get Cuban Cigars in Tokyo. I told them, “I have not had one of those in about ten years.” Afterward, another member of the group handed me a world-renowned Cohiba Cigar to my amazement as my jaw dropped. I asked them, if they had a cigar cutter, and I was politely handed a freshly cut Cohiba Cigar in exchange for the one I was just gifted. Before I lit the Cohiba Cigar, the only cigar brand I would ever smoke in my lifetime, I asked them “What brings you to Tokyo?” A one of them replied, “We are working with Mitsubishi.” I told them, “No way! I am on a study abroad trip, and we are visiting Mitsubishi tomorrow.” Then, after I lit the cigar after disposing of my beer in a proper receptacle, and opened another cold one we all began to have an engaging conversation about the current geo-political at first. Then, I asked them “What sort of business do you have?” One of them replied, “We work with precision laser cutters.” Then, I told them of the company I had started up recently, “It’s called Mirage Mirror: Imaging and Design, and currently I am working with 3D imaging both on the computer and soon with a 3D scanner as I have reasonably and well-constructed 3D printer at home.” Soon thereafter, I was handed a business card by one of the Australian men, who told me to send him an email. After talking so much, my Cohiba Cigar went out about the same time that we parted ways, about halfway done. They asked me, “Would you like another beer?” I politely declined, as two of the Australian men were staying at the same hotel, and walked into the entryway as the rest of the group were searching for a cab. I was also given a half way finished Cohiba Cigar, which I politely accepted, although I did not want finish it off. I placed my finished beer in the recycling receptacle of the 7-Eleven with two halfway finished Cuban cigars in my left hand, separated by my finger, knowing mine was on the right side. Astounded, I went up to the floor were staying on, and I knocked on Masa and Pratik’s hotel room door, and I told them briefly about my encounter. I asked Charlie and Pratik if they “Would like half of a Cuban Cohiba Cigar to try?” However, considering the U.S. has had an embargo on Cuban products for decades, they both politely declined. Then, I told them “Have a goodnight, dudes!” I opened the door to the hotel room, and sparingly Nicolai was up, and I briefly told him the story. I did not bother to ask him if he wanted a halfway smoked Cuban Cohiba Cigar, as he had mentioned his disdain for smoking tobacco product, making a comment to me the next day about his dislike of cigarettes, after he smoked a couple in Kochi. So, I threw the other Cohiba cigar in the trash, and I kept the one I had started on the desk to finish of Saturday, the day before we left, in the smoking room on the third floor. What an eventful evening! I am placing my phone on the charger, and I am going to get some rest.

July 14, 2017

I awoke to Nicolai’s alarm this morning, and I got up to take a shower, then I got dressed for toady’s eventful day. Once again, I sat alone at the restaurant for breakfast, and had essentially the same breakfast I have had throughout this week, although the sweet pastries have varied. I noticed two of the Australian men I meet yesterday at a table, but I did not want to bother them with dull small talk, since they probably have a busy day as well. Before meeting the group, I went back up to the hotel room to grab my backpack. I headed down the elevator, and walked to the lobby around 9:00am greeting my fellow groupmates. Ten minutes later at the proper meeting time, when had all gathered and began to head to Shinagawa Station heading toward Yurakucho, whereupon we entered the subway a first on my Tokyo adventure onto the Yurakucho Line. Our group took the Yurakucho Line to Nagata-cho Station. After a short walk with the Diet building in sight, we arrived about ten minutes later. As we entered the building, I was eager to tour such a significant political building, similar to the visiting the U.S. Congressional building. At the entrance, we were asked by the security guards to leave our bags at, or on, a nearby shelving unit, as we passed the security checkpoint, which had a no photography sign, we entered a large room full of Diet specific items, including a gavel, a nice formal chair, and an example of a seat in the one of the two houses with button a green and red button to signify the voting process. Soon thereafter, one of the security guards became our tour guide, and the first place we got to see was the lavish Japanese Emperor’s room for his visits to the Diet. Thereafter, we headed to the gallery of the lower house, which I believe is similar to the United States House of Representatives, which was empty as the Diet was not in session. Our tour guide mentioned that each of the four galleries had a specific set of the Japanese audience permitted at each gallery, i.e. one for the public, another for news reports, and so on. Notably, there were two chairs for the Japanese Emperor to have a seat, one at the forefront of the parabolic chamber, and another set consisting in the middle of the four galleries above, consisting of two chairs for the Japanese Emperor and Empress. However, the rest of the tour on the second story was less eventful, although I saw a large courtyard with a koi pond consisting of large fish, luckily, we were headed downstairs and saw the koi pond up close, where our tour guide turned a blind eye as some of us took pictures of the koi fish. Soon thereafter, we made it to the front of the Diet building, where a picture of our group was taken by out tour guide. However, there appeared to be a protest in front of the Diet, although I did not understand the reason as Japanese was spoken. Then, we were directed the security checkpoint to pickup of bags, and we headed off to the Diet member’s house. Upon arriving, we went through another security checkpoint, and we were each given a visitor’s lanyard. Our sole purpose for this visit was to have lunch in the cafeteria, although I was not very hungry and did not order anything. However, at the table I partook of the warm green tea and some water at no expense. Around 12:10pm we began to depart from the facility, and we walked to the Kokkai Gijido Mae Station, and headed to Nijubashi via the Chiyoda Line. Mitsubishi cooperation entrance was underground, and connected to the station. I managed to take a single photograph of one of the four artistic displays in showcased in on the sides of the entryway. Our group was directed into a conference room where four Mitsubishi employees greeted us. Foremost, our group was asked a series of three questions, first was “Who thinks Mitsubishi is a car company?” and two or three students raised their hands. Next, “Who thinks Mitsubishi is an electric company” and I along with two other students raised our hands. Lastly, “Who thinks Mitsubishi is corporate company” and a handful of the students raised their hands. Accordingly, the correct answer was “Mitsubishi consisted of a motor company, an electric company, and a group of companies under consisting the Mitsubishi cooperation.” After learning the appropriate answer, we were told that after World War II the company was split into three separate businesses. Soon thereafter, we were told about the dwindling Japanese population, and the government initiative to incite more women to join the workforce as most women leave the workforce after having a child, or children. A PowerPoint presentation was present by one of the female employees with this initiative as the focal point of the presentation. Overall, the presentation was very family focused, mentioning a number of initiatives Mitsubishi was helping to educate female students, give them an opportunity to maintain their stature in the workplace after having a child, and how the cooperation was helping the employees’ families prosper. After the presentation, during the Q&A, I asked my first and only question this trip: “Had Mitsubishi ever tried to rejoin the three separate corporations back into one uniform company, potentially to help create a uniform brand image?” I was given a brief answer by an employee, “No, there have been plans to rejoin the corporations in the past, and any future plans to do so were unlikely.” Afterward, we headed to the Mitsubishi Corporation (MC) forest, where I noticed a similar real time globe that our group saw at NEC, then Charlie and I began to place wooden balls into a Rube Goldberg machine, then our tour guide mentioned that for each cycle of the machine a tree would be plated in the South American rainforest. Then, several of us reached the second story of the building where would could use iPads to scan bar codes and learn about various ecological projects, animals, and various rainforests. Before I left, I made sure to place one of the two wooden balls back into the Rube Goldberg machine to add another tree to the rainforest. Afterward, our large group split into three smaller groups, and I left for the group rushing to get back to the hotel, although I had to stop to use the restroom. When I reached the part of the station boarding platform, my fellow groupmates where not there. I waited for Monique’s group for about five minutes, but they did not show up, so I exited the station. I searched in front of the MC Forest, where the group had been taking pictures, but to no avail. Seemingly, I had got lost again in Japan, although this time I was on my own. Thankfully, I had a map of the JRE railway and the subway system. However, I was running low on funds placed on my Passamo card, so I decided to do a bit of sight seeking, while making a small attempt to some yen. I found a map of a significant portion of Tokyo, and I began to head towards the correct direction, using the sun as my compass. I diagonally crossed a park to save some time, and managed to take a nice picture of a samurai statue at the center of the park. Then, I was a sign on the street next to me pointing left toward Shibuya, which would lead me to the JRE railway line a few stops from Shinagawa. I followed the road, until it began to turn into an overpass as my good fortune began to dwindle. However, I follow under the overpass, all the while looking for a business that offered free Wi-Fi, so I could properly use Google Maps. Notably, I did see a Wolfgang Puck Pizza restaurant across several traffic lanes, however I had nowhere near enough yen to eat at a fine dining establishment, nor enough to take a taxi if presented an opportunity. As my feet began to give way, I found a subway station named Azabu-juban entrance, where the end of the subway line connected to the JRE line. As I just checked, I had traveled about 3.5 – 4 miles in casual business attire (not something highly recommended). Luckily, after transferring two times at Shirokane-takanawa at the platform, since this was an early end of the line point, I finally got on the train heading to Meguro station. I took the first available seat, and after arriving I used my Passamo card to exit the Tokyo Subway, and used it once again to get into the JRE station. Luckily, I found a seat with about three stops on the way to Shinagawa station. Thankfully, I had taken a Nalgene bottle full of water, which was empty by the time I arrived, and I was not suffering from any severe or minimal dehydration symptoms. I left the station with about 180 yen on the card, so I suppose my money saving plan worked. After crossing the street from the main station, I grabbed a 2-liter bottle of water and drank half of it in front of the 7-Eleven. Then, I decided to grab some mild pain relief at the Bar del Sole, and I sat in the patio smoking a couple of cigarettes and had two Martinis. As I sat drinking my first beverage, I deducted that the waitresses that had served me during the week simply asked the bartender for a “Martini,” not the “Vodka Martini,” which I has asked for on several occasions. After paying my tab, I went to McDonald’s and grabbed four burgers as I had worked up quite an appetite. Before, I entered the hotel, I ate a burger on the way back to 7-Eleven, and I purchased a beer for good measure, which I drank in front of the store. After I ate my last three burgers in the hotel room, only the soles of my feet ached, but I smelled like a funky wild monkey. With no Nicolai present, I decided to take a shower, and I am going to head off to bed early tonight. It is about 7:30pm, and I had gotten back to the area only about an hour and half before. Also, I going to sleep in tomorrow on our first free day on this entire trip.

July 15, 2017

I woke up late the morning, around 9:00am as Nicolai had already gotten up earlier, and left to some place in Tokyo. I got to the breakfast buffet around 9:30am, and had the usual breakfast this week. While finishing my meal, Monique stopped by my table, and we had a brief conversation, until the waiting staff notified us they would be closing soon. To be honest, I was glad to have not eaten breakfast alone this entire week, although I was darn close. I only had one significant plan today, which was to attend the five-course and all you can drink 90-minute session at the Beer garden restaurant close to the hotel, however that would not be until the evening. During the day, I began to prepare my own personal entertainment package on my various devices for the 13 hour plane ride tomorrow. Also, I spent time reading the Berserk manga I had put off reading for almost a year now, and took the occasional moment to smoke a cigarette downstairs. Surprisingly, Nicolai showed up in the early afternoon, and asked “Are you reading Berserk?” I said, “Yes.” Nicolai replied “I read it awhile back.” I said, “It is a good read.” Then, he said “I’m going to go meet a girl.” I said, “Have fun!” before he left. Seemingly, I suppose Nicolai had meet a girl at some international party he went to earlier this week, which Pratik and Charlie had mentioned and attended as well. Around 5:00pm, I headed off to the restaurant, and wait for a moment to be seated. Before I was seated, I inquired about the 3,500 yen special as I pointed at the sign next to me. To my dismay, I was notified that the special was for two people at 3,500 yen a piece. What a misleading false advertisement! However, the host talked to the manager and notified me that I could have the drink special and two courses. So, I sat in the front patio area, and after being give a menu, the host told me I could get French fries and a prosciutto tasting dish. I said “Okay,” as I was even more disappointed that I could even choose my two entree dishes of the five available, and I ordered a beer. I listened to music from my phone on my earbuds, and people watched in from the patio area. Three beers and an hour later, I saw Charlie and asked him if he wanted to join me, and offered to buy him a drink. However, he politely declined, and I saw him walk back toward the hotel room with a McDonald’s bag. I had one more beer, and asked for the tab before my 90 minutes had ended. Then, I grabbed three 100 yen McDonald’s burgers, still disappointed about an experience that was too good to be true. After eating my burgers in the hotel room, I counted my yen, which totaled to about 2,500 yen, not including the five and one yen coins. Then, I packed my luggage, and set out the clothes I was going to wear the next day. Moving on, I decided it would be a good time to smoke the last half of my Cohiba Cigar in the smoking room. It took me some time, and I decided to wait patiently while listening to some music through my earbuds from my phone. Then, I took a shower, and began to pack my remaining items into my backpack, excluding my charging devices. I’m heading off to bed, with my alarm set for 6:15am as we are set to meet at 7:15am tomorrow to head off to the airport.

July 16, 2017

I woke up this morning, got dressed, and packed my remaining items without turning on the lights. I decided it would be a good idea not to bring my bags down the restaurant as the room was often crowded with confined space to move about between tables. Then, I went to the breakfast buffet, and the line was out the door as I arrived at 6:48am. So, I patiently waited as it took ten minutes before I was seated. Virtually, I had no time to eat, so I grabbed some croissants and pastries, then I grabbed a glass of orange juice. I finished within five minutes, and headed back up to the hotel room to grab my belongings without making too much noise as Nicolai was not going to travel with us, and I wanted to give him some extra time to rest, peacefully. Sadly, I forgot to grab my keycard for checkout, and woke him up by ringing on the doorbell. Nicolai abruptly opened the door as I searched for my keycard, although I could not find it in the room. I told Nicolai, “Sorry for waking you up.” As he went back to bed, I told him to “Take care, dude.” Surprisingly, I found the card the right of the door as it had slipped from my hands before I noticed it was missing at the elevator earlier. Swiftly, I picked it up, placed my card in the express checkout box, and greeted my group right on time. Before we left, everyone who was leaving together was present, except for Charlie. Tramayne told us that he tried to wake him up, and he did for a moment acknowledged him. After being given our bus tickets, we waited a few minutes before the limousine bus, and began to get on the bus. However, Monique had to stay, and ensure that Charlie made it to the airport as not to leave a student behind. I had no clue how they were going to get to Narita International airport in time, except maybe a taxi cab. Our group gathered our bags, then received our boarding passes and gave our luggage to the ANA attendants. Patiently, we waited for one another, and head off to the terminal. After we arrived at the terminal, I joined with Tanner, Masa, Shahed, whom were venturing to get some food. We ventured to a sushi restaurant, which was well out of my price range. So, after a cup of tea, I politely excused myself to head over to McDonald’s, which I had seen a sign for along the way. I waited for about five minutes in line, and ordered off the breakfast menu. Since the dining area was completely full, I decided to walk over to a nearby terminal and enjoy McDonald’s for the last time in Japan on this trip. Then, I headed back to the terminal, where Charlie jokingly greeted me saying “Oh, you made it.” I shook my head and smiled at the sheer irony of the situation. I sat nearby, and inquired about Monique and Charlies means to travel. Charlie said, “We took the JRE line, which set me back some money.” First class passengers were soon called to board, and I made a comment, stating “Why do airline companies seat the passenger in the front of the plane first, since it would be more efficient to have the economy passengers board first instead to the back of the plane?” To which Monique replied, “As a reminder to the rest of the passengers.” I couldn’t help but chuckle. After we boarded, I checked the numbers on the rows, until I reached the very back row of seats. Thankfully, I was on the right-side aisle seat, and there were two bathrooms at the back of the plane on each side. Before we took off, I asked Pratik to the right of me, “Do the movies cost any money to watch?” Pratik replied, “Is this your first time flying international?” I said, “Second time, since we flew international to get here.” Pratik said, “No, the movies are free.” I was ecstatic. After takeoff, I plugged in my headphones, and began to scroll the movie selection. I started with The Lego Batman Movie, then I watched The Great Wall. Afterward, I decided to read volumes of Berserk on my iPad, until I hit a volume that appeared corrupted, so I decided to finish reading on a later date. While reading, I did take a short break to eat our first inflight meal. Then, I watched the new CHiPs movie, afterward taking some time to listen to some music, until the right time to watch my final movie selection, Bleed for This, to coincide with our approximate arrival time. After arriving at Houston International Airport, we went through U.S. customs with minimal items for me to claim from Japan. Then, I passed the baggage claim area, and went through the TSA security checkpoint. Then, I learned after asking the group if we need to grab our luggage in baggage claim. Mistakenly, I thought I had heard the ANA flight attend say our luggage would be transferred to our United Airlines flight. First, I asked an employee who directed me to Terminal B, however I did not follow her instructions because my luggage was downstairs, and that was our destination terminal for our United Airlines flight. Luckily, Monique showed up and I asked for her help. We talked to a TSA agent who guided me back downstairs, and told me to talk to a representative at United Airlines to accompany me to gain authorized permission to head to the baggage claim area. I talked to a nice representative, who was glad to help assist me. She informed me that international flights require more extensive customs checks, thus requiring passengers to pick up their luggage when transferring to a domestic flight as we walked to ascertain my luggage. Thankfully, I grabbed my luggage, and upon returning to the United Airlines counter helped insure my bag would make it on the plane. I made sure the give her a great big “Thank you!” Then, I had to go through the TSA checkpoint again, however the line was four times longer than my first go. While waiting, I was careful to look at my phone clock, and I noticed I was starting to get pressed for time. After passing through the TSA checkpoint, I had about twenty minutes to make it to the terminal and departure gate. On the monorail ride to B Terminal, Monique called me as I pulled up to the B platform. Accordingly, I reassured her as I would meet the group momentarily. I arrived as the First class passengers began to board the flight. Economy class was called after a few minutes, and we boarded our flight and sat down. For the first time on the trip, I had a window seat, although the view was not as neat as passing over the western U.S. on our ANA flight to Japan. Our group arrived about forty minutes later, gathered our belongings, and we headed off to the baggage claim area. It was around 1:00pm (local time), and I was greeted by my dad who I give a one-handed hug. While waiting for our luggage, I introduced my dad to Monique, and I met two members of Monique’s family, her husband and her son, whom she spoke highly of on our train ride to Kochi. I thanked her for everything. Soon thereafter, I grabbed my luggage, and we set off to the parking lot. I placed my luggage in the car, and told him “I have plenty of pictures!” During the beginning of our trip, I told him “I got caught drinking and singing again.” To which he told me “I knew better,” since I had disturbed him on several occasions the past two years, even we signing in our garage. Then, I told him a little bit about the event in Kochi, and the promise I made to Monique, which I kept true to my word. Then, I told him about meeting the Australian men and Japanese man in front of 7-Eleven, and how odd and fortunate the event was. Afterward, he told me we were heading to Intrinsic, a small brewery and smokehouse in downtown Garland, Texas. We listened to the radio during the rest of the car ride, and arrived at Intrinsic in no time. Foremost, we went to the back to have some authentic Texas BBQ, which I had not had since the day I left for Japan. Then, we ordered a round of authentic local craft beer. Said, our brief prayers and a “Cheers!” We both only ate so much, and I had another beer before we left. My dad told me, “I stopped by earlier this week to fill both our growlers with Newman’s Bock.” Newman’s Bock is the best bock style beer I have had since my very first Shiner. As I was finishing my second round, I talked to him about going to see the new Spider-Man (my favorite Marvel superhero) movie, which had premiered in the U.S. the week earlier. We looked up the movie times, and discussed going to the 8:00pm showing, but that I needed to take a nap first. After we arrived home, I finished my last entry for this Japan Field Study experience. I am so grateful to have participated in such a prolific and unique adventure. Formally, to address the remaining rubric qualifications, I learned sever lesson on this trip: 1) Be as friendly as possible to anyone you meet on an international travel, as you never know what may happen; 2) Always stick with a group, or find a way to access Google Maps, in case you get lost; 3) Always carry water on extended day trips (500 mL at least); 4) Don’t be afraid to try new foods and experiences, responsibly; 5) The corporations we visited in Tokyo were great and informative hosts; 6) Don’t be afraid to improperly mispronounce a new language; 6) Japanese people have a lot in common with western countries, in particular people in Tokyo; 7) Enjoy and be yourself, no matter what occasion, at least you hold true to yourself; 8) At my ripe old age of 27, I have matured enough to keep promises without breaking them (even one slip), wholeheartedly; 9) Bring an umbrella to Japan in the summer as this is their rainy season; 10) Always grab your luggage after an international flight in the baggage claim area. In addition, my short-term plans consist of finishing the requirements for this course, internship, and the means for me to graduate this summer semester. Also, I have some projects from a couple of clients that need to be completed in the upcoming weeks at my company now that I am back in Dallas. Hopefully, I will have saved enough money to rent a proper facility someday. In addition, my long-term plans consist of finding a primary job, which adequately utilizes my education, although I am willing to work even a basic data entry job again to help pay off any debt I owe to better ascertain a great credit score. Also, I plan to save up to buy a house without any loan money, in order to lower the overall cost. In addition, lose some weight, and find myself a reputable church going gal to date at first, then hopefully marry someday. Although, I am not in any hurry to tie to the knot with the first single girl I come across. I am going to take a nap, although (knowing myself) I may not get up and sleep through the night, since we talked about possibly seeing the movie tomorrow morning anyhow. If so, goodnight world!

More from BS Global Business Internships

Nadia Ahmed

Nadia Ahmed

Intern, Wellness Telecom, Seville, Spain

This summer I was fortunate enough to have the opportunity participate in GlobalEd's internship program and intern at Wellness Telecom in Seville, Spain. Wellness Telecom is a telecommunications company that works with new technologies in order to build a better, more efficient, and better connected world with innovative technological solutions. The company works in four lines of business: Telecommunication and IT Systems, Cloud Computing, Smart Cities and R & D. I interned under the international development division, which allowed me to build upon my marketing skills. The GlobalEd program not only placed me at my internship, but placed me in intensive Spanish course that provided me with a beginner level in Spanish. Read full story.

Nivi Nataraj

Nivi Nataraj

Intern, Talking Tables, London, England

My international internship in London this year has been the most enjoyable and educational summer yet. On its own, two months in London itself is amazing. But I had the opportunity to work with some of the best people I possibly could. They helped me realize my potential as an individual in the workplace and out. For me, this was my first experience in a workplace that trusted me enough to let me learn by doing. Every time I was assigned a task, whoever was responsible for the task would patiently explain what they wanted done, how to do it, and why they do it that way. This way, I was able to learn various software experience and hone my skills in working in an international company. Read full story.

Manasi Shinde

Manasi Shinde

Intern, The Design House, Dublin, Ireland

I am a marketing and global business double major hence being a marketing intern in a foreign country was something I had planned to do in my freshman year at UT Dallas. Getting accepted into the international internship program to Dublin, Ireland and being a marketing intern at a fashion house, The Design House Dublin was a dream come true. My entire experience at The Design House and Dublin was knowledgeable and fun. Read full story.

Farrah Younes

Farrah Younes

Intern, Best Way Travel, Cairo, Egypt

Best Way Travel, located in the heart of Cairo, Egypt, is one of the leading travel agencies in the country since 2004. This travel and tourism agency is specialized in handling inbound tours from a wide range of countries around the world, i.e. Egypt, Jordan, Israel, Turkey, and Tanzania. Best Way Travel aims to provide their clients with a combination of comfort, convenience, as well as security without emptying their bank accounts. In addition to providing excellent service at an affordable price, this agency also customized personalized holiday packages for both individuals and groups of people. Read full story.

Bachelor’s, Master’s or PhD in Organizations, Strategy and International Management?

Bachelor’s Degree Program

Build your understanding of business fundamentals and learn skills in innovation, management and international business.

BS in Business Administration BS in Global Business BS in Healthcare Management BS in Human Resource Management

Master’s Degree Programs

Find the Organizations, Strategy, and International Management graduate degree that matches your interests.

MS in Healthcare Leadership and Management MS in Innovation and Entrepreneurship MS in International Management Studies

PhD International Management Studies

Develop strong research skills that are especially relevant for students interested in an academic career. Each year the OSIM area sponsors a seminar series to bring researchers from other universities to UT Dallas.

PhD in International Management Studies