6.23.16
It is the morning of our first excursion, and the LSAers are teeming with excitement. I woke up early and ran a quick errand at KUIS – I delivered everyone’s photo IDs to Hoshi-san, one of the lovely administrators. Afterwards, I hustled back to Kaihin Makuhari station, and waited for Dorsey-sensei and the gang to arrive. It was raining, but that did not put a damper on anyone’s mood: the gang arrived at the station with huge smiles on their faces. We were joined by Hori-sensei, which was a nice treat! Dorsey-sensei ran inside of the station to buy Suica (train passes, much like New York’s Metrocards) for the gang, and we huddled around a nearby map of Chiba-shi (Chiba city). Dorsey-sensei then met with us and distributed the Suica cards, and even gave us a great introduction and explanation of certain sites in Chiba-shi. We then hopped on the Keiyo Line towards Tokyo, transferred to the Hibiya Line at Hatchobori, and then transferred to the Asakusa Line. After about an hour long commute, we arrived in Asakusa!
The group waiting for the next Tokyo-bound train
We gathered around Kaminari-mon, the main gate of Sensoji Temple. We were joined by our dai-senpai Kiki (Class of 2014), senpai Nicole (Class of 2017), and future exchange students from Waseda and Keio. We entered the temple, and spent our time perusing the pop-up shops. Once we got to the temple, some of us made offerings in yen and performed the respectful, ritualistic bow. We then received some fortune readings (omikuji) – it turns out that a LOT of us have good luck! Several of the LSAers (including yours truly!) received the “most excellent fortune” reading.
Strolling through Sensoji Temple
My omikuji: "The Highest, Excellent Fortune"
Group photo in front of Sensoji Temple
After exploring the temple, we ate red bean past sweets, and took a group photo. We then hopped onto a train to Ueno. At Ueno, Professor Dorsey gave us a brief explanation of the historical and cultural significance of Ueno as a gateway to the big city for many country folks. We then split for lunch – my group visited a restaurant that specialized in mostly seafood. Afterwards, my group visited a nearby Sega, where I won a marshmallow cat plushie.
The group crowds around Professor Dorsey as he explains the history of Ueno
We regrouped at Ueno Station, and walked to the Shitamachi Museum. Inside of the museum, we were intrigued by the historical replicas of old Meiji-era households, though we were more intrigued by the Meiji-era games scattered within the museum. We spent a good hour and a half playing with the games!
After the museum, we visited the statue of Saigo Takamori, the inspiration for the hit film The Last Samurai (yes…the one with Tom Cruise). We hydrated at a nearby vending machine, and hopped on a train back to Chiba.
The LSA gang in front of the statue of Saigo Takamori
We had a small break before dinner, so of course we all decided to head to the nearby Sega for more UFO Catcher goodness. We may or may not have an addiction to UFO Catchers. We took a group purikura photo. Purikura is a style of photobooth technology that is notorious for its editing of users’ features – the machine will automatically enlargen your eyes and lighten your skin. This is begging to be a topic for an academic paper.
We tried our hand at more UFO Catchers, and then a miracle happened – I caught two plushies in one go! One Sega employee walked up to my machine, and called two other employees for backup. All three of the employees spoke to each other nervously on their walkie-talkies. I could not tell if they were debating if I should receive both plushies. Luckily, they decided to give me both!
After the Sega adventure, we headed to a nearby izakaya for dinner. We did a group kanpai (the LSAers had their non-alcoholic drinks, mind you!), and gave a briefing for the next day’s activities. After dinner, some of us went back to Sega. Notice the constant theme here?
After Sega, I returned back to Apa, took a much needed break in the daiyokujyō (public bath), and headed to bed.
Tomorrow’s excursion: Harajuku and Akihabara!