January 24,2009
Hi! I'm Kayla. In this blog, I will tell you all about my upcoming trip to, the one and only, Japan! I'll look forward to writing to you and tell you all about the trip. I am going on the flight with my friends, and I will share a room in the hotel with my friends Nicole and Christina. You will hear lots about them! I will try to write every day!
Kayla
Saturday, January 24, 2009
Friday, January 23, 2009
We're in our temporary home!
January 25, 2009
We just got into the hotel. The Kayabacho Pearl Hotel Tokyo is located at the heart of the city and so it is one of the best places that you can stay!
We just got into the hotel. The Kayabacho Pearl Hotel Tokyo is located at the heart of the city and so it is one of the best places that you can stay!
I am on the same floor as all my friends, but I'm in the same room as Nicole and Christina. The rest of my friends are in the rooms beside us. The lobby is spectacular! All the staff there treat us like royalty.
This is where I sleep. Christina and Nicole are in a different area of the room.
Here is where we eat dinner. They make it look so fancy!
I'll tell you about what I learn tomorrow!
Kayla
Kayla
Thursday, January 22, 2009
The first tour!
January 26, 2009
I also found out about Japan's forests. Shirakami Sanchi means "mountains of white god." It is located in the northernmost part of the Honshu Island, the biggest island in Japan. It covers 320,000 acres of hills and mountains. That is alot of land! The northern part of the Honshu Island used to be covered with vast forests of Beech Trees. The island is mountain-shaped, located 37 miles to the south from the southernmost cape of Kyushu Island with a population of 14,000. The entire popultion of Japan is approxomatly 127,288,416.
The Mountains are spectacular! Here are the most popular ones. Mount Fuji, annually visited by hundreds of thousands, 3776 m in height, Mount Kita-dake, which is 3193 m tall, Mount Hodaka-dake, which measures 3190 m, Mount Warusawa, which has a height of 3141 m, and Mount Akaishi-dake which has a height of 3120 m. I got to see Mount Fuji today, it is the most beautiful mountain I have ever seen in my life! There was a little bit of fog at the top, which made it look like it was touching the sky. It looks very beautiful, even from the bottom!
The oceans I learned about are Japan Sea - A marginal sea of the western Pacific Ocean bounded on the east by the Japanese islands, and the west and southwest by Korea, Okhotsk Sea - A marginal sea on the northern rim of the Pacific Ocean centered near 55 N and 150 E, and the Pacific Ocean (which I already know about)- covers more than 166 million square kilometers (more than 64 million square miles) - about one-third of the earth's surface. I learned so much today, I could barely keep up with writing my notes! Anyway, I'll tell you more later.
Kayla
Hello! I went on a tour, and I learned about some of Japan's Geography. Japan is made up of four main islands. There names are Hokkaido, Honshu (the largest), Shikoku, and Kyushu. Here is a map that I found of Japan.
I also found out about Japan's forests. Shirakami Sanchi means "mountains of white god." It is located in the northernmost part of the Honshu Island, the biggest island in Japan. It covers 320,000 acres of hills and mountains. That is alot of land! The northern part of the Honshu Island used to be covered with vast forests of Beech Trees. The island is mountain-shaped, located 37 miles to the south from the southernmost cape of Kyushu Island with a population of 14,000. The entire popultion of Japan is approxomatly 127,288,416.The Mountains are spectacular! Here are the most popular ones. Mount Fuji, annually visited by hundreds of thousands, 3776 m in height, Mount Kita-dake, which is 3193 m tall, Mount Hodaka-dake, which measures 3190 m, Mount Warusawa, which has a height of 3141 m, and Mount Akaishi-dake which has a height of 3120 m. I got to see Mount Fuji today, it is the most beautiful mountain I have ever seen in my life! There was a little bit of fog at the top, which made it look like it was touching the sky. It looks very beautiful, even from the bottom!
The oceans I learned about are Japan Sea - A marginal sea of the western Pacific Ocean bounded on the east by the Japanese islands, and the west and southwest by Korea, Okhotsk Sea - A marginal sea on the northern rim of the Pacific Ocean centered near 55 N and 150 E, and the Pacific Ocean (which I already know about)- covers more than 166 million square kilometers (more than 64 million square miles) - about one-third of the earth's surface. I learned so much today, I could barely keep up with writing my notes! Anyway, I'll tell you more later.
Kayla
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
First group lesson!
January 27, 2009
Hi again. Today, I went to a coarse with some other people from my school! Nicole came with me today, and we were in the same group. I know some of the other people, but not many. Here is the building we went to.
Hi again. Today, I went to a coarse with some other people from my school! Nicole came with me today, and we were in the same group. I know some of the other people, but not many. Here is the building we went to.
I learned about the Ring of Fire. The ring of fire is an area of frequent earthquakes and volcanic eruptions of the Pacific Ocean. It is in a 40,000 km horseshoe shape, and is associated with series of oceanic trenches, volcanic arcs, volcanic belts, and plate movements. The tour also told me all about Japan's location in the world. It is in the Northern Hemisphere, and it is in the region of Asia. Tokyo (Japan's Capital City) is 36° North, and 138° East. It's neighbouring countries are North Korea, South Korea, China, and is a little close to Russia and Taiwan. Japan seems like a big part of the world's history! I will talk you more tomorrow about the amazing trip.
Kayla
Kayla
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Geology
I learned more about Japan's Geology like earthquakes, volcano's, and tsunamis. The earthquakes mostly happened around 75 years ago (September 1, 1923). One of the worst earthquakes hit Kanto and destroyed Tokyo, Yokohama and it's surrounding areas. That would be scary! Around 140,000 people fell victim to the earthquakes and the fires caused by it. I would be terrified if an earthquake started while I was visiting!
The majority of Japan's mountains are formed from volcanoes. Japan's highest mountain is Mount Fuji. It has the total of 3,776 metres! Here is a picture of me in-front of it! I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw it. It's way bigger than it is in the pictures on google! It can be found bordering the Yamanashi and Shizuika Prefectures. It is easy to forget that the huge mountain is actually a volcano! It's like a volcano that's covered in snow!
The Tsunami's are huge! I had the biggest surprise when we walked out from the hotel this morning! There was a big wave on the beach nearby. It hadn't gone far though, only about about twenty metres. We went right to the hotel manager, and asked what was going on. He said that that was a small Tsunami, and that in the morning of Saturday, September 1, 1923 it was very warm with some gusts of wind that came behind a bit of rain. Soon it was close to the afternoon and in the area around Sagami Bay the ground began to shake! A section of the fault under the bay was measured to have been displaced nearly 240m, and although no surface faults appeared, new ridges 180 to 300 ft tall appeared on the sea floor area in line with a pre-existing volcanic chain. The ground was uplifted and hundreds of landslides were set off. This Kanto Earthquake generated a tsunami approximately 30-40ft high which crashed onto shore about 5 minutes later. Many people were killed, houses were destroyed, and nearly 45% of the population was left unemployed. It took all of us a while to piece together the puzzle of a story (and especially because he didn't know much English, we used the Japanese English dictionary, which we needed almost all day). It was an exciting day, but I got a picture from the hotel earthquake/tsunami watchers!
Monday, January 19, 2009
Weather
January 29, 2009
Today we discovered that Japan has a rainy season. We learned that in the coarse that we took, and the hard way, we got wet! Japan has lots of storms! Japan has a wide range of latitude and climates. This country stretches from the south where it is tropic like in Okinawa to the north in Hokkaido where it has cold winters similar to Canada.
It just poured down from the second we woke up, to the second we fell asleep, and we decided that instead of all of us waiting for a taxi and getting soaked, we would take turns! But they nominated me to go first... what good friends I have!
Kayla
Today we discovered that Japan has a rainy season. We learned that in the coarse that we took, and the hard way, we got wet! Japan has lots of storms! Japan has a wide range of latitude and climates. This country stretches from the south where it is tropic like in Okinawa to the north in Hokkaido where it has cold winters similar to Canada.
It just poured down from the second we woke up, to the second we fell asleep, and we decided that instead of all of us waiting for a taxi and getting soaked, we would take turns! But they nominated me to go first... what good friends I have!Kayla
Sunday, January 18, 2009
Culture and Customs
January 30, 2009Today was the traditional Toh-shiya (Archery Contest) at Sanjusangen-do Temple, it is traditional for January, there are many other traditions for different months.
It is also called "New Year archery" the archers compete against each other in the 120-meter long Sanjusangen-do Temple, which is the world's longest wooden structure! It was so exciting, especially because all the hotel guests had to try! I didn't want to, why? Because we had to shoot them from sixty metres away! We all didn't even make it half-way, so they let us go from the half point... boy, that was embarrassing! At least we didn't know anybody! All of the Japanese people in the hotel said that we had to wear cultural outfits, but they were pretty cool! Mine was green with some blue in it.
Another cultural item in Japan is Sushi. It's really good, it just has a funny name! We had tonnes of sushi, and it's a little expensive, but worth it eating it right from where it's made! Look at how this chef made these sushi rolls. There just like little animals! My favourite is the Panda Bear.Kayla
Saturday, January 17, 2009
Government
January 31, 2009
Today, in the coarse we learned about the Japanese government.
The Japanese parliament is called the Diet. The rest of this I didn't understand much, but here it is anyway. I asked Alysha and she explained that whole thing again and then it made sense! It consists of the House of Representatives (480 members) and the House of Councillors (242 members). The members of the Diet are elected by the Japanese people. The cabinet is headed by the Prime Minister. The cabinet further consists of the ministers which are appointed by the prime minister and are usually members of the Diet. The prime minister is elected by the Diet. The highest court is the Supreme Court. Other courts are district courts, high courts, family courts, and summary courts. Judges are appointed by the cabinet. The minimum voting age is 20 years. Women received the right to vote in the new constitution. Elections for the House of Representatives are carried out every four years, and half of the House of Councillors is elected every three years.
We also learned a little about Japan's culture and customs. I choose to learn about the Geisha (person of the arts). They are traditional Japanese artist-entertainers. The word Geiko is also used to describe such persons. Geisha were very common in the 18th and 19th centuries, and are still in existence today, although their numbers are dwindling. Juni-hitoe is a ceremonial robe that was the proper attire for court ladies and daughters of the warrior-class families in the Heian Period (794-1185) and after. In addition, when wearing the juni-hitoe, the hairstyle is gathered at the neck to hang down the back(suberakashi) and a fan made of Japanese cypress is held in the hands. I wore one yesterday, it was pretty embarrassing, but fun. Here is a funny picture that I found on the Internet.
Kayla
Today, in the coarse we learned about the Japanese government.
The Japanese parliament is called the Diet. The rest of this I didn't understand much, but here it is anyway. I asked Alysha and she explained that whole thing again and then it made sense! It consists of the House of Representatives (480 members) and the House of Councillors (242 members). The members of the Diet are elected by the Japanese people. The cabinet is headed by the Prime Minister. The cabinet further consists of the ministers which are appointed by the prime minister and are usually members of the Diet. The prime minister is elected by the Diet. The highest court is the Supreme Court. Other courts are district courts, high courts, family courts, and summary courts. Judges are appointed by the cabinet. The minimum voting age is 20 years. Women received the right to vote in the new constitution. Elections for the House of Representatives are carried out every four years, and half of the House of Councillors is elected every three years.
We also learned a little about Japan's culture and customs. I choose to learn about the Geisha (person of the arts). They are traditional Japanese artist-entertainers. The word Geiko is also used to describe such persons. Geisha were very common in the 18th and 19th centuries, and are still in existence today, although their numbers are dwindling. Juni-hitoe is a ceremonial robe that was the proper attire for court ladies and daughters of the warrior-class families in the Heian Period (794-1185) and after. In addition, when wearing the juni-hitoe, the hairstyle is gathered at the neck to hang down the back(suberakashi) and a fan made of Japanese cypress is held in the hands. I wore one yesterday, it was pretty embarrassing, but fun. Here is a funny picture that I found on the Internet.
Kayla
Thursday, January 15, 2009
The first week in Japan
February 1, 2009
Hello again. I've been in Japan for a week now. I'm now used to taking a taxi every day and going to the same hotel. We are leaving in two days, but today is my last coarse, and I learned about Japan's important landmarks. I learned about Mount. Fuji twice this week, but here is some of the other stuff that I learned about it. Mount. is with 3,776 meters Japan's highest mountain. It is not surprising that the nearly perfectly shaped volcano has been a sacred mountain and experienced big popularity among artists and common people. It is a dormant volcano, which most recently erupted in 1708 (wich was not very recent). It stands on the border between Yamanashi and Shizuoka, Prefectures can be seen from Tokyo and Yokohama on clear days. The easiest way to view Mount Fuji is on a train trip along the Tokaido Line, that is between Tokyo and Osaka. If you take the Shinkansen train from Tokyo in direction of Nagoya, Kyoto and Osaka, the best view of Mount Fuji can be enjoyed from around Shin-Fuji Station on the right hand side of the train, about 40 to 45 minutes after leaving Tokyo. Note however, that clouds and poor visibility often block the view of Mount Fuji, and you have to consider yourself lucky if you get a clear view of the mountain. Visibility seems to be better during the colder seasons of the year than in summer, and in the early morning and late evening hours. If you want to enjoy Mount Fuji at a more leisurely pace and from a nice natural surrounding, you should head to the Fuji Five Lake region at the northern area of the mountain, or to Hakone, a nearby hot spring resort. Mount Fuji is open for climbing during July and August via several routes. I'm not planning to climb it, especially in February! I'm glad that I got a picture infront of it.
I also learned about the Shrines and Buddha Statues. Here is what I learned about the Shrines. They are an important part of the Japanese culture. The Japanese people visit these shrines for a number of reasons ranging from paying respect to the Kami gods or to pray for a prosperous future. People also flock to these shrines during special occasions like New Year, setsubun, shichigosan, etc. New born babies are usually taken to these shrines and marriages also take place in these shrines. Here I am infront of one. On the tour, they let us each take an endividual picture of one.
The Buddha statues are bigger than the pictures, but this was the best that I could get!
This Buddha statue was name Amida. Amida is one of the loftiest figures in Japanese Buddhism, and Amida faith is concerned primarily with the life to come, the life in the beyond. Amida is also one of the Five Tathagata of Wisdom. The world-famous Big Buddha (Daibutsu) statue in Kamakura, around 15 meters in height. To followers of Japan's Pure Land sects, Amida has eclipsed the Historical Buddha as the most popular divinity in Japan's Mahayana traditions. sometimes I wonder how people put up with making those! It probably takes lots of patience! And to make it that big!
Another Buddha Statue that I saw today was this one.
Kayla
Hello again. I've been in Japan for a week now. I'm now used to taking a taxi every day and going to the same hotel. We are leaving in two days, but today is my last coarse, and I learned about Japan's important landmarks. I learned about Mount. Fuji twice this week, but here is some of the other stuff that I learned about it. Mount. is with 3,776 meters Japan's highest mountain. It is not surprising that the nearly perfectly shaped volcano has been a sacred mountain and experienced big popularity among artists and common people. It is a dormant volcano, which most recently erupted in 1708 (wich was not very recent). It stands on the border between Yamanashi and Shizuoka, Prefectures can be seen from Tokyo and Yokohama on clear days. The easiest way to view Mount Fuji is on a train trip along the Tokaido Line, that is between Tokyo and Osaka. If you take the Shinkansen train from Tokyo in direction of Nagoya, Kyoto and Osaka, the best view of Mount Fuji can be enjoyed from around Shin-Fuji Station on the right hand side of the train, about 40 to 45 minutes after leaving Tokyo. Note however, that clouds and poor visibility often block the view of Mount Fuji, and you have to consider yourself lucky if you get a clear view of the mountain. Visibility seems to be better during the colder seasons of the year than in summer, and in the early morning and late evening hours. If you want to enjoy Mount Fuji at a more leisurely pace and from a nice natural surrounding, you should head to the Fuji Five Lake region at the northern area of the mountain, or to Hakone, a nearby hot spring resort. Mount Fuji is open for climbing during July and August via several routes. I'm not planning to climb it, especially in February! I'm glad that I got a picture infront of it.
I also learned about the Shrines and Buddha Statues. Here is what I learned about the Shrines. They are an important part of the Japanese culture. The Japanese people visit these shrines for a number of reasons ranging from paying respect to the Kami gods or to pray for a prosperous future. People also flock to these shrines during special occasions like New Year, setsubun, shichigosan, etc. New born babies are usually taken to these shrines and marriages also take place in these shrines. Here I am infront of one. On the tour, they let us each take an endividual picture of one.
The Buddha statues are bigger than the pictures, but this was the best that I could get!
This Buddha statue was name Amida. Amida is one of the loftiest figures in Japanese Buddhism, and Amida faith is concerned primarily with the life to come, the life in the beyond. Amida is also one of the Five Tathagata of Wisdom. The world-famous Big Buddha (Daibutsu) statue in Kamakura, around 15 meters in height. To followers of Japan's Pure Land sects, Amida has eclipsed the Historical Buddha as the most popular divinity in Japan's Mahayana traditions. sometimes I wonder how people put up with making those! It probably takes lots of patience! And to make it that big!
Another Buddha Statue that I saw today was this one.
Kayla
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Last Day! I get to go shopping!
February 2, 2009 
I can't believe that today's our last day in Japan! I'm going to miss it, but I'm sure that one day I'll come back for a vacation, and maybe even with my friends! Anyway, today, we wanted to fit in as much fun as we could! So we started out with going out for breakfast, Which was our favourite dish, Sushi! well, Alysha just got Miso soup instead (she hates seafood). After, we walked back to our hotel, which was only a block down, to pack the rest of our bags. when that was done, we all went out souvenir shopping! I got something for everyone in my family. My mom went to Japan for two years to teach English there, so I brought her something back for her to remember Japan. I got myself a little Buddha Statues and some Japanese lamps, do now I can re-decorate my room so it can remind me of Japan.
This Buddha Statue was $ 17. 99! And these paper lamps were $8.00.
These little hard-candies are so cute! I got to choose to buy, or else if I got the big box instead of the regular box, I wouldn't be able to fit it in my suitcase, but I brought an empty one for the souvenirs!
Kayla
I can't believe that today's our last day in Japan! I'm going to miss it, but I'm sure that one day I'll come back for a vacation, and maybe even with my friends! Anyway, today, we wanted to fit in as much fun as we could! So we started out with going out for breakfast, Which was our favourite dish, Sushi! well, Alysha just got Miso soup instead (she hates seafood). After, we walked back to our hotel, which was only a block down, to pack the rest of our bags. when that was done, we all went out souvenir shopping! I got something for everyone in my family. My mom went to Japan for two years to teach English there, so I brought her something back for her to remember Japan. I got myself a little Buddha Statues and some Japanese lamps, do now I can re-decorate my room so it can remind me of Japan.
This Buddha Statue was $ 17. 99! And these paper lamps were $8.00.
I also got an umbrella. I love the blue colour of it!
The rest of the stuff that I got was candy. Their candy tastes way different that the candy here in Canada!
I ate one piece of the KitKat on the way to the hotel to grab our bags and head out, I just couldn't resist! But I'm saving the rest of it for the plane.
We each paid a little bit for these cupcakes, then we each had one, but I bought another batch of them to bring home to my family.
These little hard-candies are so cute! I got to choose to buy, or else if I got the big box instead of the regular box, I wouldn't be able to fit it in my suitcase, but I brought an empty one for the souvenirs!
Kayla
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
February 3, 2009
I'm glad that our flight was in the afternoon! Then when I get home, I can throw my bags on the floor, and go to sleep! This is before we took off. It we huge when we saw it, and it seemed even bigger inside! I will miss Japan, but I learned alot about it!
That was the trip of a lifetime! I wonder what trip I will go on next...
Kayla Kong
I'm glad that our flight was in the afternoon! Then when I get home, I can throw my bags on the floor, and go to sleep! This is before we took off. It we huge when we saw it, and it seemed even bigger inside! I will miss Japan, but I learned alot about it!
That was the trip of a lifetime! I wonder what trip I will go on next...
Kayla Kong
Monday, January 12, 2009
Bibliography
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pacific_Ring_of_Fire
http://www.japan-guide.com/a/earthquake/
http://www.asianinfo.org/asianinfo/japan/geography.htm#SVOLCANOES%20AND%20EARTHQUAKE
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2136.html
http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&rls=com.microsoft:en-us:IE-SearchBox&rlz=1I7SUNA_en&q=japan%2Bstorms%2Bpictures&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=X&oi=image_result_group&resnum=1&ct=title
http://www.japan-guide.com/a/earthquake/
http://www.japaneselifestyle.com.au/travel/map_of_japan_islands.html
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2136.html
http://www.asiarooms.com/travel-guide/japan/tourist-attractions-in-japan/shrines-in-japan/index.html
http://www.onmarkproductions.com/html/big-buddha-japan.shtml
http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&rls=com.microsoft:en-us:IE-SearchBox&rlz=1I7SUNA_en&q=japan%2Bstorms%2Bpictures&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=X&oi=image_result_group&resnum=1&ct=title
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