Last week in Okinawa

These past few weeks have flown by. Outside of co-op I've been busy with graduate school applications and at co-op I have finally started to get a visual output from the model I've been working on. But alas, even though I wish I had a few more months here my flight to Tokyo is on Friday (bittersweet).

This being my last weekend in Okinawa, I have been trying to fit in all of my favorite Okinawan things. Today we made it to a new waterfall, it was triple scoop day at Blue Seal (Okinawan Icecream), followed (yes followed) by a dinner of Okinawan Soba, a stop at Family Mart, and a beach bonfire planned for tonight :)

Hiking to Tadake falls

Tadake falls!

Self explanatory

Soba Soba

Tokyo III and Kyoto

As I mentioned in my past two posts had the opportunity to spend 10 days traveling around mainland over the past two weeks. Without my computer I didn't have much of a chance to write and look at pictures but I just started going through everything and am realizing we really made tracks while we were there (made possible by Japan's awesome transportation).

So I'm not exactly the biggest "city" person. Some part of me thinks that a city is a city... its a place with a lot of people who share the same needs as people in all other cities and thus all cities some have some amount of "sameness". Tokyo is a huge city...but Tokyo won me over. First of all the shear number of people. If your in an area that is not very crowded it is still as crowded as NYC or parts of Boston but turn a corner and you are suddenly in a crosswalk with a sea of people moving in every direction.  We stayed in the neighborhood of Shibuya--home of Shibuya crossing (rumored to be the busiest crosswalk in the world). That title has probably brought even more people to the congestion (estimated by the number of selfie sticks being held above the crowd), and it was insane, it felt like you were trying to make your way through to the front of a concert at every cross signal.

Shibuya crossing

Our first morning in Tokyo we got up early and made our way to the Tokyo fish market. We didn't make it up in time (needed eta 4am) to view the famed tuna auction but we did have the chance to wander the isles of fresh catch...the shear volume of seafood in the one lot was jaw dropping.

  

We spent the next few days exploring the different neighborhoods of Tokyo and eating delicious sushi and ramen. 

Our next stop was Hakone. Nestled in the mountains along the train route between Tokyo and Kyoto this small town has an awesome view of Mt. Fuji. While I have loved being in Okinawa, the New Englander in me has been craving a little bit of Autumn, and I definitely got it here. The maples were still changing colors and driving through the hills to get a view of snow capped Fuji was definitely a needed change of pace.

A short bullet train later we arrived in Kyoto. Kyoto is definitely another city that took me by surprise. You could be walking down a relatively busy street, turn a corner and end up in a 1000+ year old temple. With 17 Unesco world heritage sites and over 2000 (YES let me spell that out...two thousand!) temples and shrines, I am glad we had a number of days to spend in this awesome city. 

We spent the first few days hitting the major sites. We crisscrossed the city to see Kinkaku-ji (the Golden temple), walk through the bamboo forest, and hike Mount Inari whose trails are lined with thousands of torii gates.  

Kinkaku-ji 

Candles at Kinkaku-ji

We got up early and hiked Mt. Inari before the crowds hit. The shear number of gates was astounding and we found a couple of stops with awesome views of the city from above.

Morning hike Mt. Inari

Mt. Inari Trail 

We saw a ton of temples! But Kennin-ji was one of my favorites. Holding the title of oldest zen temple in Kyoto (founded in 1202), walking on the tatami mats just after opening in the morning sunlight was ...we are going to go with...peaceful.

Looking through the temple onto the "garden of the sound of tide" --the three central rocks represent the Buddha and two Zen monks

The "Circle, Triangle, Square" garden

The Daio-en -- a zen stone garden

 After a couple days of touring temples we wanted to try to get to some of nearby cities. Again, thanks to the trains which run all the time at relatively low cost, we were able to spontaneously city hop to Nara and Osaka. 

Nara --Known for the dear which wander its streets and Todaiji temple was our first stop. Getting off the train, we walked five minutes and were immediately surrounded by "wild" dear. The dear have become a tourist attraction in themselves and will come right up to you wanting a hand out.

Off limits to the dear, we wandered over to Todaji temple. The temple boasts the title of being the largest wooden structure in the world was originally constructed in 752 and hosts a giant (15m) buddha! I would also like to note, that I successfully made it through one of the building's pillars which has a hole (supposedly the size of the Daibutsu's nostril) that is said those who can crawl through will be granted enlightenment in their next life, so I guess I'm doing okay. 

 After spending the morning in Nara we hopped on another train over to Osaka where we toured Osaka castle and made our way through the busy streets of Dontonbori. 

Osaka castle

 Finally, we couldn't leave without saying hello to the snow monkeys of Kyoto. I will leave you with this...

Tokyo II

I am finishing up my week of traveling by returning again to Tokyo. After two bullet trains and innumerable bus and subway rides, I would say Japan has lived up to its reputation of stellar public transportation - sorry Boston but it's going to be a little  painful waiting for the greenline after being able to spontaneously jump on a train that runs (on time) every 30 minutes - to a city three hours away.

Over the past week we have meandered through the temples of Kyoto, fed the deer that wander the parks of Nara, and  at delicious food in Osaka. Though I am missing being with family for thanksgiving I am so grateful to have had the chance to see some of this awesome country with great friends. Can't believe I have less than 3 weeks left in Okinawa.

Write more soon.

Tokyo

Okinawa and Tokyo could not be more dissimilar. I have been loving the smell of autumn, crisp air, and bright city lights. No really, the streets are lined with TV screens and there is music for everything from getting on the train to ordering Ramen.

I met up with my friends Alex and Mackenzie (also NU peeps) on Thursday and have since been making small tracks across this enormous city. From where we are staying in the busy neighborhood of Shibuya, to the older city and temple filled park of Ueno -we have ascended Tokyo tower, wandered through Tsukiji fish market, and got lost and wound up in Akihabara - a neighborhood filled with arcades and anime.

Headed to Mt. Fuji and then kyoto tomorrow!

(Longer post to come with pics)

Busy week

I only have a month left here :|

There are still so many things I want to do in Okinawa and a lot I want to get done in the lab before I leave. Highlights of the week: Delicious ramen, and I finally made some progress on the model I have been working on at co-op.

I'm leaving Thursday for 10 days on mainland Japan!-- Lots of updates to come.

Diving

The highlight of this week was definitely today’s dive trip. I ended up not going to South Korea with some of the other interns, but diving was my (really awesome) consolation prize.

Okinawa is known for its reefs and water visibility. I’ve been trying to get out snorkeling as much as possible but the good days have become fewer as the winter winds have picked up a bit more. It was gusting 40mph for most of the week so I wasn’t sure about going but I couldn’t have been luckier with the day –calm, sunny—really everything you would want.

I went with Reef Encounters, one of the dive shops around here that supports an English speaking staff, and hoped on a boat for a 1.5 hour trip north. In total we did three boat dives, mostly in the area between Okinawa Honto (the main island of Okinawa, where OIST is) and the Island of Iejima –which is awesome in itself because I would have never made it here snorkeling.

At the first two sites, the corals themselves were amazing.  We swam through the canyons between massive coral walls, watching fish schooling above and around us. I had forgotten how much I love diving, you can float inches above a coral, inspecting the individual polyps (sorry I started at NU as a marine bio major), or you can look out at the whole community, observing how far you actually are under the rippling surface above…50 minutes of awe.

Though we were warned of sea snakes we didn’t see any, but the third site was sandier and certain areas were full of garden eels! Also some overly friendly parrot fish.

Sorry I don’t have pictures, no underwater camera L but here is here's a video of a group of garden eels... because they’re pretty cool.

A note on Okinawan history

Before I go off to explore mainland Japan in a few weeks, I thought I would try to visit some of the main sites on Okinawa.

Okinawa Prefecture is technically comprised of hundreds of islands known as the Ryukus. However, it was 1879 before the Japan annexed the island chain and dissolved the Ryukyu kingdom which had reigned for hundreds of years prior. The palace of the kingdom is (was) in Naha, the capital of present day Okinawa. Over the past weekend I got to check it out. 

Most of the Shuri castle was destroyed in the Battle of Okinawa (1945) but there has been quite a bit of reconstruction, as well as preservation of what remains. The estimate is that the castle was built around 1320 and acted as the center of the Ryuku kindom for ~500 years.

The castle is just outside of the city in Naha and reminds me of many of the other sites I've been meaning to visit here. There are always signs pointing off of the highway to significant local sites...most of them I  obviously won't be able to go to. But still I am going to make an effort while I am here.

That being said, I've been told mainland Japan is very different from the "island life" on Okinawa. More exploration soon!

On another note, I've been really busy with work and grad school applications. It seems like the weeks are flying by and I am running out of time to get everything done (and to see everything here :P) Can't complain too much though, reading papers on the beach isn't a bad deal.

Visitors

I'm really excited to have my Mom and step-Dad visiting this weekend! Its interesting how you start to think of a place differently when you're in charge of showing someone around. Seeing Okinawa a bit through their eyes has reminded me of some of the things I was surprised by when I first arrived but have since gotten used to. For example, the village announcements. The town of Onna  plays music and announcements( atleast I think they're announcements, but they're in Japanese so I'm not 100% sure on that) every morning and evening. I forgot how startled I was by this at first. You'll be talking to someone outside and suddenly music will come blasting from the nearest telephone pole...

But otherwise, its been really awesome to explore with them and to see some of the sites I have not made it to yet myself. (Tomorrow's Itinerary = castle exploration)

We also went out to breakfast this morning at a hawiian pancake house. So good. I am mostly putting this in for any future OISTers out there, you have to go. Especially when your kindof craving some, lets say non-japanese, and not dry cereal bfast. Paanilani pancakes is the place to be.

I will leave you with this pancake picture.

Enjoy

Exploring Taipei

Being honest, Taiwan was not very high on my places to visit during my time in Japan before I came here.  It was really the interns who where at OIST before me who got the idea in my head. The flights  from Okinawa to Taipei is actually shorter than those to Tokyo (and less expensive), and US citizens don't need a visa...sign me up! Unfortunately there was a typhoon sitting offshore most of the weekend and there was pretty constant rain, but we still managed to fit a lot in.

I think I can break down the weekend into two categories:

1. Food
2. Tourist sites

The food scene in Taipei is going strong. I liked the way one person described the city to me--where as in other cities young people will go out for a night of drinking, in Taipei they will go out for a night of eating. The city is famous for many of its night markets, they open around 6pm but don't really pick up until 9 or 10 and are open until 2! Depending on which market you go to there will be different things, some have food as the main focus where as others will include more shopping stalls. Either way they promise a lively environment with lots of street vendors (even on a rainy night!) 

We made it to two of the larger markets while we were here (Shilin and Raohe) and tried things from, what seemed to be an amped up crepe sandwich (see picture) to a variety of fried sea food, and topping off each night with bubble tea. 

Grilled redbean, crepe, sandwhich? (whatever it was, it was tasty)

Mochi balls--there was a very long line for these--not sure it was worth it, but definitely interesting and seemed to be a local favorite

Of course, the food scene isn't entirely about the night markets. We also ventured out in search of the best dumplings, seafood, and hotpot. 

I didn't even know where to start...

If you're looking for food in Taipei, you will inevitable come across Din Tai Fung. While heavily visited by tourists, I would say it actually does live up to its reputation. After all who wouldn't like Michelin star soup dumplings. 

Last food picture I promise. But hotpot was also a good choice.

Okay, now that I got that out of the way, we did spend some time exploring the rest of Taipei and some of the surrounding areas. With four days total in Taiwan we spent Saturday and Tuesday in the city and took day trips to some of the surrounding areas on Sunday and Monday.  Even so, with so little time for an entire country, we definitely ended up sticking to a lot of the typical tourist stops

Even though I know virtually no Chinese, with picking up on a few things it was very easy to get around. The transportation system is really good and very easy to figure out (sorry Boston, it still has the red, green, orange, and blue lines--but it is way better than the "T") and we easily caught buses out of the city to some of the top places we wanted to go.

Starting in Taipei-- Probably one of Taipei's most prominent landmarks is Taipei101.  Despite my best attempts, the photo cannot really do it justice (+ clouds) but it is indeed a very tall building.

Taipei 101

Some of the highlights of the city were liberty square plaza which is home to the National Chiang Kai-shek memorial hall, National concert hall, and National theater, as well as numerous surrounding gardens. 

Garden in liberty square

Chaing Kai-shek memorial hall

I am also very glad we made it to the National Palace Museum. The museum has a collection which ranges over 10,000 YEARS of Chinese history. Between ancient scrolls and paintings and 11th century B.C.E pottery, getting a real glimpse at some Chinese history was really amazing. Maybe part of it is because I grew up in Boston, and most of our museum's focus is on the past 400 years, let alone the past 10,000...

Guardian lion at National Palace Museum

On our two days outside of Taipei we visited Juifen, a town north of Taipei, which supposedly the Miyazaki film Spirited Away was based on. An old mining town, it is built into the mountainside near the coast. While it has definitely embraced the tourism boom since the movie's release it was still awesome to wander the steep, narrow (crouded) streets. The rain was relentless while we were here, but still a good day.

Embrace the Poncho!

And to top of the weekend we explored Yangmingshan National Park

Stairs

More stairs

No but seriously it was pretty awesome :D my pictures didn't really turn out though. 

Overall I am very glad I made it to Taiwan! It also inspired me to plan some more trips, so more on that soon. 

Taiwan!

Hello from Taiwan!! I am here for the long weekend and have been enjoying getting lost in a new local. From the night markets to visiting Jiufen (the town Spirited Away was based on, for any Miyazaki film lovers) it's been an awesome two days here! A longer post to come when I am back in Japan next week and can share some pictures. --until then--Tori

First month

This week marks one month of being in Okinawa. It does feel like I have been here a while in that I feel completely settled into my routine here, but at the same time I can hear the clock ticking.  I realized this when I studied abroad in Australia as well, the point when I no longer feel like I'm "traveling" but rather that I live here. BUT I am still trying to remind myself that there is still so much I have planned on doing here and time will go by too quickly.

I spent some time during the past few days planning upcoming trips. As I mentioned before I am flying to Taiwan next weekend and have a trip to mainland Japan in November coming up as well. Larger trips aside though, I got my International Drivers Permit last week, and I am ready to explore Okinawa more. (Note to any future co-ops/interns at OIST, I thought I would be able to get around Okinawa on the public bus and by bike but if you can, having your IDP is the way to go. OIST has cars you can sign out for FREE and driving on the left side of the road is not as terrifying as I had thought it would be).

This weeks explorations included:

A return trip to Chatan (American village) where we stopped by an arcade. Considering my "arcade" experience consists of  chucky cheese as a five year old I completely floundered compared with the local pros.

We also went snorkeling a few more times (I wish I had an underwater camera) but highlights were an eel, a puffer fish, and a venomous sea snake :O

We're supposed to get hit with a typhoon on Tuesday so I'm going to enjoy the sun while its here :)

Silver week!

This week was silver week in Japan! Silver week differs only slightly from golden week, which  falls around the end of April Beginning of May every week. While golden week has three national holidays in one working week, silver week has two. Last week we had both Monday (Respect for the Aged day) and Thursday (Autumnal Equinox) off.  Many people took time to travel to mainland Japan but I have some trips planned for later in my co-op so I got to explore Okinawa a little bit more.

A couple highlights from the week:

Snorkeling! Both post-work and on our day off I went with some of the other interns here to a place called Maeda point. Just off shore there were tons of reef fish and lots of coral. As long as you have a mask, snorkel, and water shoes  (which can be purchased at any convenience store) you are good to go. There are tons of places within biking or a short drive from campus, so I will definitely be doing this more.

Snorkeling at Maeda

On Saturday we took to a local climbing gym and made a pit stop in the town of Chatan (knicknamed "American Village") where I had the first ...good... cup of coffee since I've been here. Chatan is completely different from surrounding areas, the center shopping area has more of an american themed outdoor mall complete with "I WANT YOU for the US Army!" posters for tourists (or the american military) to take picture with...overall an interesting experience.

Coffee in Chatan

We also made it back to Aha falls! My third time here but I don't think it will get old.

Swimming at Aha falls

Nor will I get too used to the sunsets....

At the beach next to OIST

I am excited to have booked a trip to Taiwan in two weeks. More to come on that!

A taste of Okinawa

I thought I would be craving some of the things that are largely missing from my diet here a lot more than I have been (mainly peanut butter, cheese, bread, and dark chocolate).  Okinawa has one of the oldest populations in the world—for every 100,000 people 35 are over the age of 100— and some speculate that the Okinawan diet is one of the main reasons. So maybe my somewhat mandatory health kick will have some benefits :P

Things that I have enjoyed eating here:

-Okinawan purple yams! Prepared in pretty much every way imaginable, my favorite being fresh yam donuts and beni-imo (a type of yam) Icecream

-Pineapple (flashback to pineapple park)

-Grapefruit

-Goya…while I was skeptical of Goya at first, cooked and eaten with other things, it is actually pretty…tolerable…I would even go to say good, in some cases. By itself it is very bitter, but goya is also claimed as a cure-all health food in Okinawa. 

-Ramen: growing up the only exposure I had to ramen was instant packets so I was skeptical at first that ramen could be good, but it is indeed Oishi (delicious)

-Other popular cuisines include Thai and Vietnamese!

Why not sushi? Its definitely around but I’ve only had 2 pieces since I got here, I know, I am disappointed in myself too. I

Beni-imo icecream (naturally purple)

Pappapappapineapple

Typhoon season here is July-November-ish and last week there was was a storm off shore. It didn't hit but it rained pretty much all week, and not really wanting to walk too far...I stayed mostly on the OIST campus...

So what have I been doing at OIST? When I first arrived I knew what my unit generally studied but it wasn't until I actually got here that I realized how diverse the work within the lab is. While the overarching theme is the study of both physical and biological processes that influence biodiversity there is research with in the unit ranging from listening to and studying bird calls, to the evolutionary analysis of ant populations from around the world. After a few days of learning about the various projects in the lab I began to focus on a project which will use mapping tools to study sediment and pollution flow, through waterways on the island onto the nearby reefs. I have a ton to learn! But I am really excited to be digging into things a bit more here.

To make up for the week indoors I have been trying to make the most of my weekend. It is a little difficult to get around without a car or bike from Onna-village where OIST is located, but OIST has electric bikes and cars that interns can sign-out! I am definitely going to try to get my international drivers permit while I am here, but in the meantime I have met some of the interns who have been here for most of the summer and spent Saturday with them touring around the northern part of the island. 

First stop: Pineapple Park

I don't think any of us really understood what the Pineapple Park experience would be when we first set out, but it was definitely one of the more ridiculous tourist attractions I have been too. Imagine an amusement park car shaped as a pineapple, driving through what seemed to be a parking garage sort of building, converted into  botanical garden with the pineapple park theme song playing on loop. The tour was then followed by the option to purchase literally anything pineapple related from pineapple wine to plastic half pig/half pineapple toys...my wallet made it out unscathed...

(Didn't get a lot of good pictures here, so I present to you my obligatory pineapple selfie)

Driving further we explored the more forested northern region of the Island and ended up at Aha falls and spent the rest of the afternoon swimming here! It was a pretty amazing spot :) 

And to top of the day, we stopped for some traditional Japanese food--Taco rice! Yes, here Taco rice is considered to be an Okinawa dish (There is a fair amount of American influence on Okinawa because of the US military presence here). Not exactly what I thought would be popular here, but pretty tasty :) 

Til next week! 

Hello from Okinawa!

I have been laughing at myself a lot this week. Most recently because of my chopstick frustrations (I thought I was reasonably proficient until I realized I occasionally, unintentionally, launch food at my neighbor). But it's also been fun just adjusting to my new life here.  I arrived in Naha, the capital of Okinawa, Monday morning where OIST picked me, and two other students, up to bring to campus (about an hour drive) and from there it was a day full of apartment orientation and grocery shopping, which of course, it my jetlagged state of mind, led me to exclusively purchasing coffee and instant ramen…I hope to expand my diet soon…

On Tuesday, after a much needed night of sleep, and a few more orientation items, I met the unit (lab) I will be working with here. Most of the week I have been working to figure out what my role will be in the lab, there are a number of different projects going on within the unit, some more interconnected than others. In a broad sense the unit studies biodiversity and biocomplexity, but more to come soon on what I will be doing! The research buildings themselves are pretty amazing though (see picture below). I feel like I could be working in a space station that has conveniently landed itself on a hill overlooking the nearby coral reefs….It's a pretty awesome place to be.

Most of the first few days I stayed on campus, but today (Saturday) I had time to explore! Just walking down the main street I got to see the small markets, restaurants, and shops I would like to try while I am here. I walked through some areas that where more tourist oriented, with tons of dive and suveniour shops, and then others that where boardered on both sides by farms growing sugarcane. I eventually (4mi later) made it to Cape Maeda, a local snorkel and dive area and took my first swim in the East China Sea! There was coral and reef fish to see right off of the shore (though better if you swim away from the area where people are getting in and out) but I will be here a lot :)

Divers at Cape Maeda

Looking out from Maeda point

On my walk back I found a local market with lots of food stands and tried the "Okinawa Soba" also pretty tasty (but the chopstick challenges continued). There are so many more things to try! I'll check back in soon.

Konbanwa --Tori 

Flight 1 of 3

I am finally sitting here in Logan Airport and it feels like I am headed off to my first semester of college (that said, I started by doing NUin Australia). But there is the feeling of being alone, suddenly torn from the comforts I have built around myself here in Boston. The past few days have been full of laundry and packing after returning from canoeing in Canada with just enough time to turn things around and head back out. I am incredibly excited to be finally on my way!! Five months after accepting the co-op I just have 24 hours of flying;) I’ll check in next from Okinawa.

Procrastination

Checking in from Canada! I am heading to Japan in under 2 weeks but in the mean time I will be spending the next 10 days canoeing in Ontario. I will be without phone and Internet until later next week, but I fortunately managed to square away my visa, flights, and living arrangements for co-op. All that is left is pack-up and head back to Logan.

Happy paddling ;)

An Introduction

Konnichiwa! In three weeks I will be flying to Okinawa, Japan, and I have already forgotten most of my (very limited, JPNS 1101 level) Japanese. “It will come back to you,” people say, “when you are forced to use it”. Yes, I agree, I think it will. But that is what is both difficult and incredibly rewarding about traveling abroad. You are always being pushed a little bit outside of your comfort zone. You are relearning life’s basics under a new set of rules. Ordering food, buying a bus ticket, and using a bathroom are all activities that can end up being far more adventurous than initially anticipated.

This will be my third co-op at Northeastern and I will be living and working in Onna Village, Okinawa, Japan from September to December at the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology (OIST). Closer to Taiwan than Japan’s main Islands, Okinawa has been described to me as having a culture that is distinct from the busy cities of Tokyo and Osaka. Instead of hustle and bustle of city life, things run on “island time”. The islands of Okinawa are a popular vacation destination for “mainland” tourists, and offer a more tropical climate.

At OIST I will be working in the Economo Biodiversity and Biocomplexity research unit. I am currently in my senior year at Northeastern, studying environmental science and biology, and am very interested in studying how human development impacts surrounding ecosystems. I hope to explore this interest in a new context in the Economo lab, where a major research focus is on ants! Side note-- when I accepted this co-op I knew the lab was nicknamed the “Ari-lab” but it wasn’t until I was learning the equivalent of my Japanese ABCs that I discovered Ari (蟻) means Ant….A-for-Ant…okay I got it, probably something I should know.

More updates to come!!

Hajimemashite--nice to meet you.

Tori