Too busty to go to the shrine

Hey all, so this is my first update from abroad, and right now we are in Kyoto, which is a major city in central Japan on Honshu island (It was also the capital before Tokyo).　When we first got to Tokyo, we spent our time at Sakura hostel, where we visited places like common Shinto/Buddhist shrines, the Edo-Tokyo museum, a modern art gallery by Chinese artist Ai Wei Wei, the Tokyo emperial palace, and many more. One day we spent with a family and we were dressed in kimono, learned calligraphy, made sushi, and tons of other family oriented stuff. It was great to feel as if we were part of a family and not tourists. At one point we were going to a Buddhist shrine in our kimonos, and the ladies stopped me and had to redo the tieing of my kimono because I was busting out too much for the shrine. Bahaha.

After 3 nights in Tokyo, we took a night train and then the bullet train to get to Hiroshima. The night train was so neat, and we each had our own little rooms to sleep in! When we got to Hiroshima, we first spent time at the A-bomb dome, which is a building that was very close to the hypocenter of the atom bomb, and therefore the shock of the bomb didnt knock the building completely down like most of the other buildings in Hiroshima. It was kind of a tough thing to see what war, fear, and desperation can cause. We even got to hear about it from the youngest survivor of the A-bomb, who has 4 months along in his mothers stomach on August 6th, 1945, when the bomb was dropped. He did have a pretty slanted view of the war and Americans in general, just like I would expect a survivor of Pearl Harbor would have towards the Japanese, or a Nanking survivor as well. Then we went into the Abomb museum and learned about Hiroshima before, during, and after the war. To be honest I couldnt really decide if the Abomb was a good or bad idea, but all I know is that the repercussions of that decision are so immense that I cant imagine being the person who decided to drop the bombs. One of the great things was the overwhelming message of peace that was felt in the museum. Afterward, we took a lightrail and then a ferry to an island filled with tourist attractions and shinto shrines. The deer on the island were so tame, and after one stole a piece of my kiwi skin, it followed me for ten or　so minutes before realizing that I was not its meal ticket.

That night in Hiroshima, our hotel had this amazing bath/spa, complete with numerous hot tubs, saunas, pools, and we relaxed and relished in the luxury before taking numerous trains to koyasan the next day.

Koyasan is a mountain and a world heritage site, where a certain sect of Buddhism is actively studied. We had the amazing opportunity to stay in a Buddhist monastary, and participated in a meditation session along with a chanting ritual early in the morning. We also got traditional monastic meals, and so although I tried every food, Im pretty sure that I could not live of the vegan diet of a monk. The mountain had beautiful redwoods and graveyards of all the shoguns and important feudal lords that were buried in this sacred place. And I even had a chance to buy a yukata, which is like a cotton summer kimono, but for woman that are married.

Then we had a day of traveling various trains, bullet trains, subway systems, and taxis until we arrived in Kyoto. Our hotel is wonderful, and after a night of rest, we had class the next morning with a speaker, Henry Adams who is actually a former St. Olaf student. He studied asian studies at St. Olaf and has now converted to Buddhism and is a Buddhist priest in Kyoto. We learned all about Buddhism and his path towards the religion, which I found very interesting. Then we had a free afternoon, where I bought a baguette and some cheese and sat in a park next to a school watching some students practicing traditional dance. Then I wondered around the market place for a couple hours trying to keep myself from buying these beautiful silk kimonos that I tried on. Thankfully I stood fast and didnt buy something that was really expensive and I would never wear.

This evening, after I finish my blog, were going out to a Japanese Karaoke bar to drink and make fools of ourselves. Wonderful! Hope everyone is having a great first semester, or is excited about moving in! Ill try to post some pictures soon.

Love Always,

Laura