Japan 2023

Our last assigned day consisted of a couple of things in Kyoto. I got to experience my first-ever tea ceremony, which I have to admit is something I’m not used to at all. We had to told the tea cup a certain way, excuse ourselves for drinking before the person on our left, and had to place our things in certain places. Though it was definitely something I’m not used to, it was so interesting experiencing something that has been practiced for centuries. The woman hosting our tea ceremony was asked when she started learning tea ceremonies, and she said 23 years old. It’s so cool to hear that such old traditions are still highly valued and respected and practiced for a huge chunk of someone’s life. After the tea ceremony, we found a conveyer belt place, and I loooved it! I've never been to a place like this before, but one of my classmates was telling me about one not far from campus that I will definitely pay a visit to.  After that, we went to the rock museum. This was a museum unli...

This day was my favorite day in Kyoto. We started by visiting a museum. The grounds of this museum had a pretty garden on it. We then went to Kiyomizudera and it was amazing! There was a little bit of an incline and some steps as we walked, but nothing we weren’t used to. I was so in love with the view, I didn’t even mind the huge crowd that was there. Eventually some classmates and I saw snow cones and decided to get some. They were bigger than we thought and were a good price. After this, we went to to Gion to shop around-there were so many shops so I definitely will be coming back here! It was hard to see because of all the people, but the buildings are the ones I always see in pictures when I Google Kyoto. They are traditional type buildings, which is so cool. I also noticed a lot of Japanese women wearing kimonos, as well as some men. We went to Yasaka Shrine, and our last stop was Shijo Kawaramachi. Originally, a couple of us girls were going to rent kimonos to wear. By the time...

Today we traveled to Kyoto. It was unfortunately a rainy day and we were scheduled to visit the Toji shrine. Though we were getting rained on and it was. little chilly, it was still a beautiful place to be. I love that a lot of the shrines we visit have gardens on the grounds. This museum also had some really cool art artifacts. I unfortunately didn’t come prepared as I didn’t have an umbrella, so I got rained on which made me cold and wanting to leave. However, I still really enjoyed the place. We also got to walk through another temple, and the rain added a little bit of an effect to the place. The temple was pretty, and with the rain adding a mood to it, it made it very calming. After this visit, we decided to check into the hotel and decided to go to the Fushimi Imari Shrine. We had the option to either go to the top, halfway, or go the next day. A couple of classmates and I decided to go up as far as we felt. By the time we had gotten here and started walking up, the rain had calm...

Today we woke up early to attend a Buddhist fire ritual. I grew up in a Christian household and have never experienced any other religion before, so I was intrigued for this. The ceremony was performed by two monks, one by the main table and another by the gong instrument. They both recited prayers while the monk by the main area kept adding wood to the fire. The fire got larger as they both started chanting louder and faster, which was a cool touch to the ceremony. I felt it wouldn’t be polite to take pictures or videos, so I don’t have any pictures of the ceremony. After the ceremony, we went to Reihokan Museum. I loved the location of this museum. Several of the museums we’ve visited so far usually are surrounded by whatever city we are in, which is what made this one a little different. It was nice to walk around and be able to enjoy what I was seeing more. I also liked this museum because it had so many cool artifacts. It was interesting to see how the art style and materials used...