My dream trip to Japan
- Sonali Kulkarni
- Sep 30
- 8 min read
Traveling without my parents to a foreign country is the best experience I have ever had.
Hear me out, unlimited shopping sprees on the most random nonsense like stationery and plushies just because the First Amendment exists, you can eat what you actually want, and have the liberty to sing karaoke until one A.M. because jetlag exists. However, there are also downsides to traveling alone without your parents, such as getting lost every 5 minutes because you can’t follow basic instructions, and as a result, you need to put your trust in Google Maps. (That's the only downside. I cannot think of any other downsides. The point is, I went to Japan without my parents, and it was an exhilarating experience and, honestly, the best week of my life.)
You may be wondering why we have an unsupervised teen (me) traveling across the world with no parental supervision whatsoever, and that is a valid question to have. Mason Middle School was hosting a bunch of trips all over the world. We have Costa Rica, Europe, Japan, and so much more. The goal was, if you went on one of these trips, you would document it and then make a video on your findings, and then submit it for high school credit. It was run by a company called EF Tours. On the trip, I had two teachers and fifteen kids from my school, and we also merged with another school from California. Technically, I was supervised, but let’s be so for real, when you have to look after fifteen kids, how much attention does each kid get? None. And, that’s a plus for me!
To start off, on day one, we got onto three flights. Cincinnati to Dallas, Dallas to Tokyo, and then Tokyo to Osaka. It was quite fun except when you get the feeling that you have been sitting for so long, so now it feels like your blood supply is gonna get cut off in your right leg, and you can't even get up because it's too cramped, so as a result, you look like a shriveled up potato sack fighting for its life. Oh, and the best part, there was Bluey! (Yes, I did watch children's shows the entire flight.) I also tried to watch a couple of Marvel movies, but I kept getting bored. I guess when you live with a hyperactive two-year-old, your brain gets accustomed to Sophia the First, Bluey, and everything and anything in between. The food was terrible, but what can you expect? It's airplane food in basic economy. When we first arrived at the Tokyo airport, I could not help but smile the biggest smile ever, and my mouth hurt for the next hour. Literally. For context, I have been learning Japanese for two years now, so going to Japan was my dream. It’s funny how if you want something just enough, the universe speaks for itself! In America, we are so accustomed to seeing tons of diversity. However, in Japan, everyone looks like they just copied and pasted themselves three hundred times. Then, we got onto the plane to go to the Osaka airport. (It was a really short flight, thank God.) After the flight, we took a bus to the hotel, and then, the day ended there. Since there was a time difference, this took up two calendar days.
On the third day, we went to the Osaka castle, visited a Japanese game/arcade center, went to Daiso, did an activity at the cupnoodles museum, and went to Dotonburi canal street, where we went to McDonald's and got a Happy Meal in the name of trying authentic street food because I was too scared to try the beef. Osaka Castle is so pretty! It is really tall, and it is a museum on the inside with a gift shop where I got two keychains: a sakura petal and a mini Osaka castle! I got to see the views from the top, and they were immaculate. The greenery surrounds the area with the gold details of the castle in closer sight, contrasting with the ground below. Then we went to a Japanese game/arcade center, where I spent 500 yen, and then called it a day because I did not want to go broke on the first day. We got to see a vibrating hedgehog in a box and a bunch of anime and random Japanese stuff. Overall, it was really fun seeing my friends fail miserably. Next to the arcade was Daiso! Now remember what I said about not wanting to go broke on the first day? Yeah, let's just chuck that out of the window. In Daiso, I spent a lot of money on cute stationery because I like to exercise my First Amendment rights. Then, we went to the cupnoodles museum where we made our own cupnoodles and ate them. Honestly, I did not like the taste, but at the end of the day, it's cupnoodles, so whatever.
To end the day, we went to the Dotonburi canal street. It was also very pretty! We were told to eat street food, but I got scared, and my friends too, so we just ate something at McDonald's, and I got a dress-up doll toy in my Happy Meal, so I was really happy about that!
The fourth day consisted of taking a guided tour of Nara, visiting the Todaiji temple, and taking a Taiko drumming class. First, we went to Nara, where we took some pit stops at some places, but the main star of the show was the Nara deer park! I am terrified of animals, but my friends went and bought deer food, which resulted in them getting headbutted by the deer, and it was a funny sight. I also got a deer to bow down to me! (Yes, I bribed it with food that a random stranger gave to me after I tried a hundred times and failed.) Then we went to the Todaiji Temple. It’s massive and houses the largest bronze statue in the world, and I feel extra short compared to it. There were also a bunch of other gods and whatnot, too! From the gift shop, I got an academic success charm, so let's pray I don’t fail biology this year.
Lastly, we took a Taiko drumming class. Taiko drums are a traditional Japanese drum that they use for a variety of things, like ceremonies, and also just to play to keep the traditions alive. Our instructor was a young man with an impeccable figure and pink hair. He played some easy sequences that we had to follow on the drums, and then he performed a piece. It had so much depth to it, I could tell it took decades to perfect.
The fifth day consisted of taking a guided tour of Kyoto, going to the Arashiyama bamboo forest, the Golden Pavilion, and the Fushimi-Inari shrine. When I think of Kyoto, I think of Matcha. Oh my god, the matcha in Kyoto is really yummy! It is earthy and delicious. In Kyoto, we just walked around in the blazing sun until we got to the bamboo forest. It was ethereal.
Large bamboo sticks gave shade, but it was also a really pretty sight! Then, we went to the Golden Pavilion, where we saw a big golden temple sitting on a lake, and that was the main gist of it. Then we went to the Fushimi-Inari shrine, where we walked inside the Tori gates, and it Arayashima bamboo forest was magical. I refrained from taking any pictures as that would be disrespectful to the gods; however, the architecture is amazing.
The sixth day consisted of taking a bullet train to Tokyo, taking a tour of Tokyo, going to the Harajuku shopping district, Meiji Shinto Shrine, Shibuya crossing, and the Pokémon Center. On the bullet train, out of the window, I got to see the authentic Japanese countryside. It was so pretty. Greenery everywhere with the anime look. It was so pretty I can't even describe it with words! Then, we went to the Harajuku shopping district, where I went to a bunch of stores, including the Sanrio store, where I bought my Keroppi wallet for fifty bucks. Genuinely the best thing I have ever bought. I also went to a crepe store where I ate a sugar-filled crepe with more sugar around a banana. Overall, it was amazing! Then, I got kidnapped by some random old lady who wanted to style me, so she did, and her taste is amazing, but I had to go, so I quickly made a run for it. (Her aesthetic was grunge.) Then, we went to the Meiji Shinto shrine. It was peaceful amidst all the chaos from Tokyo. This felt like a place to relax. It was built for the great emperor Meiji, and it had two walls, one full of sake barrels and one full of wine. Not only did he like both, but he was the emperor who made Japan more “western”. Then, we went to the Shipbuya crossing, and it was crowded! Honestly, it was nothing too spectacular because it's a crosswalk, but the Pokémon Center was fire. Everything was expensive, but I got a Pikachu for my sister. The center was mainly a shop, but whatever. More of an excuse to shop for me!
The seventh day consisted of the Tokyo Tower and the Akihabara Electric Town. The Tokyo tower was so pretty! The views from the top were amazing. We could see all the Tokyo Tower View from Tokyo Tower buildings and the fog from above, and it was truly like something out of a Sci-Fi movie. I also felt really tall at that moment. A couple of floors down, there was a place where we could play a bunch of games! It was a lot of VR and the type of games you would play on a Nintendo. I had so much fun and laughter there, I truly won't forget it! In the Akihabara Electric Town, I found my Fruits Basket Manga! Sadly, no figurines, but I did find a mutated-looking Hello Kitty x Doremon thing! The shops were mainly selling anime, manga, music, and toys. Mainly Manga, though I enjoyed looking through all of them, I didn't buy anything.
The eighth day consisted of going to the Hamarikyu Japanese gardens, Asakusa Kannon Temple, Miraikan Science Museum in Odaiba, and Karaoke till 1 am. The gardens were peaceful. I could see the big trees, seawater ponds, and the peacefulness was lovely. Then we went to the Asakusa Kannon temple. It was red and it had a bunch of places to shop. Overall, It was more of a shopping thing than an actual Temple. Then, we went to Odaiba, where I found the fake statue of Liberty and a big Transformers dude. After walking for a bit, we went to the Miraikan Science Museum, where there were a bunch of cool science things. There was an earth smack-down in the center that was floating. It started rapping about Pangea and whatnot.
Then, there were a bunch of simulations and theories, but the visualizations that got me. One was in the form of an interactive VR experience, marble runs, and so much more. Lastly, we did Karaoke in a place made for Karaoke and had dinner. Then, in the hotel room, my friends and I did it until 1 am.
The ninth day was when we went home. Saddest day ever. Something I learned from
this trip was that Japan is a technologically advanced country. It has new innovations and what not popping up all the time. However, they don’t forget their roots and where they came from. If anything, they use the technology to help preserve their past that they cherish proudly. I really wish I could go to Japan again because it was the best trip ever, and I want to show my parents someday!
Comments