Disney Sea Tokyo 10-23-10

This weekend, we drove to Tokyo to see Disney Sea Tokyo!! We drove and it took about 3 hours to get there...after seeing how much traffic Tokyo has, I would never drive into Tokyo again...no thank you! The traffic was horrible during the last hour, but finally making it to the parking lot at Disney was exciting and it felt like being a kid all over agin!! :)

Once we arrived and stood in line for tickets, we were finally able to enter the park and see the amazing Halloween decorations and walk around the park. The lines were unfortunately very very very long for each ride, so I ended up only going on 2 rides the whole day. But, it was really fun to discover all of the different lands and see Disney characters like Minnie Mouse and Jasmine from Aladdin. I tried on ridiculously cute Mickey shaped ear muffs and bought some great gifts for family back home.

I went on two rides during the whole day: Storm Trooper and Journey to the Center of the Earth. Both rides were really fun and the second one was especially fun and a bit shocking. At first, the ride started out slow, but eventually it picked up a lot of speed and we started going down a steep drop and for a brief moment, out into the night sky from the top of the volcano. From the top of the volcano, you can see the whole park and it was beautifully lit at night with the Mermaid castle and the triton as well as Aladdin's beautiful domes and market.

So...if you can't go on rides because of the LONG lines, Disney also has other things...like EAT!! Yes, their snacks were super delicious and I was actually surprised that lunch only cost me $9. I had a cheeseburger and some Mickey shaped chicken nuggets. Later for a snack, I had a delicious churro and some caramel popcorn...it helped me get through the long lines! You need energy people! haha

Disney Sea is really unique and offers many different "lands" to discover such as the underwater kingdom, USA cape code, italian riviera, and many more fun places to discover. The park is smaller than Disney, but the amount of people made it feel like we were in the park with the rest of Tokyo. The experience was fabulous, but I would never return again on a weekend...

Haruna Matsuri Festival 10-16-10

Last weekend, I participated in the Haruna Matsuri Festival. This experience was truly authentic because I actually had the chance to "be" in the festival and wear a traditional "happi" outfit. During the festival, the participants wear white gloves (to protect their hands) while they strongly pull a thick rope attached to a beautiful and moveable shrine on wheels. On the shrine, there are three to four taiko drummers keeping the beat as we work hard to get the shrine up the hill. Working as a group, we finally make it to the top where the festival begins and games and food are everywhere.

Once we made it to the top, the taiko drummers battle it out to see who has the best beat all night long. We were given a complimentary dinner and many thanks for our participation. All of Haruna came to see the "foreigners" who were in the festival. The night was really fun and the lights on the shrines shine beautifully at night.

Dinner was delicious. We each got a bento box full of rice, sushi, and noodles. Everyone was very friendly and I even saw one of the math teachers that work at my school. The great thing about Japanese festivals is the food--everywhere you look, there are amazing stalls of food that smell and taste delicious. For dessert, I treated myself to an ice cone, mixing the cola and strawberry flavors together...yum!

By the end of the day, my arms were very sore, but the pain was worth the efforts. As I was pulling the rope alongside an older Japanese woman and man, I came to realize that these memories will be my most lasting for me this year. I am grateful that I was able to experience the Haruna Matsuri Festival. It was an amazing experience.

The locals were so nice and excited for us to be in their festival. At night, we were treated to an "enkai" (welcome and/or thank you party) with food, drinks, and many smiles.

Trip to the Sea of Japan!

Last weekend, a group of us drove to Niigata to see the beautiful Sea of Japan. I was itching to go because here in Gunma, we are rather land-locked by beautiful mountains. I love the majestic beauty of these mountains, especially when I go running and they are dark purple color, surrounding the valley that Takasaki sits in. But, to see the ocean and smell the fresh salty air was what I really wanted to do.

The drive took about 3 hours each way, but we had enough fun on the way with car games, music, and good conversation. At the beach, I collected some obscurely shaped, but beautiful shells and took many pictures. The Sea of Japan shares the water with Korea, which is not too far away from the coast...but we were unable to see it ;)

For lunch, I ate hot ramen, a traditional Japanese soup dish. The ramen dish was very hot to eat and contained miso broth, meat, and vegetables. It's a must in Japanese cuisine! On the way home, we passed by a giant monk statue, more beautiful coastline, and several tunnels that connect the Gunma prefecture with the coastline prefectures.

Seeing the ocean brought me some relief and calmness. My time in Japan has been really exciting and culturally different, but to see the ocean, reminded me of home. It was nice to see the ocean and know that I will be home with my family in two months :)

At the end of the day, the five of us sat on some rocks and watched the beautiful sunset before driving back to Gunma. I really do love exploring Japan on the weekends...it is really nice to see the other prefectures and what they have to offer.

JET Soccer Tournament

This past weekend, many JETs drove to Nagano, the next prefecture over from Gunma. We spent 1.5 days up in the beautiful mountains of Nagano, playing soccer and cheering on our Gunma men's and women's team.

This was one of the rare opportunities where we got to meet other ALTs (Assistant Language Teachers) who teach all over Japan...not just in our prefecture and not only JETs.

The soccer tournament is held on professional soccer fields high in the mountains of Nagano, the same area where they held the 1998 winter olympics. I am so looking forward to seeing those mountains covered in beautiful snow for skiing season!

After the first day of the tournament, we went to the hotel (which was Japanese style)- 6 to a room, with futons on the floor and not beds. It was certainly very cozy and a great relaxing environment to hang out. The hotel also had an onsen bath to relax our muscles and get clean. Onsens are part of the ritualistic Japanese experience and you HAVE to try it when you are here...(you also have to get over the fact that everyone is naked in them too...!!!)

After dinner, we got to dance the night away at the JET dance party...that was certainly a very fun and interesting experience...there will be stories to tell for many months ;)

Next week: day trip to the ocean and to see Niigata!!!