I can't believe one week has already passed since I've come to Japan. Time really flies when you're having fun. This first week in Japan I've spent sightseeing and looking at all the sakura trees that are beginning to blossom all around Tokyo.
Before starting at Sophia University though there were a couple necessary purchases I had to make which included some walking shoes and a water bottle. The walking shoes also came in very handy during my trips to Naka-Meguro and Nihonbashi this week.
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Settling into Japan
The first 3 days I spent in Japan were focused on reseting my circadian rhythm and un-packing my suitcase. I am fortunate enough that my grandparents live in Japan so while I'm studying abroad I'll actually be staying with them and commuting to Sophia University each day. This is why I also spent the first couple of days looking around the neighborhood where I also saw many pretty flowers blooming. My first meal in Japan after landing at Narita was also at one of the Japanese restaurants in the mall near my grandparent's house.
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Naka-meguro
Sakura Festival & Donut's
The first trip I took out to Tokyo was for Naka-meguro where there is currently a 桜まつり (Sakura Festival) being held. One of my close friends in Japan actually invited me out to Naka-meguro that day because she knew I had never been to a Sakura Festival before. The sakura trees were beautiful and though they weren't in full bloom, almost 1/2 of the tree's were blooming at least a few flowers.
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There were also so many little shops along the Naka-meguro river where the Sakura Festival is held. Many food stalls were also out that day serving up yakitori, alcohol, and strawberry flavored drinks as strawberries are currently in season. I had such a fun time trying donuts from this delicious donut shop called I'm donut? where they actually had little pieces of kabocha (Japanese pumpkin) kneaded into the dough. My friend and I got the plain, pistachio cream, chocolate, and glazed donut. They were all so delicious but my favorite is definitely the plain. I highly recommend trying it if you are willing to wait about an hour in line.
I also tried a strawberry & sakura cream filled crepe while waiting in line for the donuts. It was also very delicious and the crepe skin was made from a dark chocolate batter which offset the strawberry and sakura taste nicely. I also tried サワーソフト(sowa-sofuto) cheesecake from this little shop called Cheese cake Johann which was very creamy and delicious, I liked how it didn't taste very sweet.
The last shop I went to on my adventure out in Naka-meguro was a Fukusaya カステラ （Castella) shop becuase it's my grandparent's favorite and I couldn't help but get them a little snack.
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Sophia University, Chidori-ga-fuchi, & Nihonbashi
Finding my Way and Sushi
The next adventure I went on was again out to Tokyo. This time I went out with my grandparents. You see, if you know me, you know I am terrible with directions. I often get lost on O'ahu.... an ISLAND. This is why in order to prepare for my time at Sophia University I knew I needed to practice commuting. So I brought my grandparent's along and we all went to Sophia University together, practicing the route I'll be taking for the next couple months. It was actually relatively easy and I'm very surprised I didn't get lost in the train station.
After Sophia University, my grandparents took me to Chidori-ga-fuchi which is a moat around the Japanese Imperial Place where the sakura blossoms are know to be spectacular. Unfortunately on the day we went though, not all of the tree's were in full bloom yet. But it was still a very beautiful sight.
Afterwards we went to Nihonbashi and went to Yoshino which is a little sushi restaurant near Takashimaya (a mega mall) which has a very long history. The shop itself was very small and we had to wait about 15 minutes in order to get a table. But it was well worth it, all three of us ordered the ちらし寿司 (Chirashi sushi) which was about $23 dollars each. But it was packed with fresh seafood ranging from tuna, shrimp, scallop, and hirame. I found out later that is one of my grandma's favorite sushi places in Nihonbashi and she frequently went when she was younger.
The sakura tree's around Nihonbashi were also in full bloom when we went. So far they are the prettiest I've seen.
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That's all that's happened so far during my time in Japan.
Until Next Week....😊
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