Japanese Vending Machines

Japan is known in America for having a lot of crazy vending machines. Emphasis on ALOT!

Vending machines are everywhere in my community. You can't walk a mile without passing at least 15 vending machines. In Tokyo, there is one vending machine for every 3 people, and there are approximately 40,000,000 people in Tokyo, which means that there are about 13,000,000 vending machines in Tokyo alone!

Most vending machines that I've come by serve drinks, but there are also vending machines for ciggarettes, alcohol, magazines, DVDs, hot and cold foods, electronic devices, and even clothes!

I've come across 10 or so vending machines that are within a 3 minute walk of my house. I've managed to take pictures of a few.

Vending machine with Japanese Coke products.

2 more vending machines that have Asahi products

So much variety!

Drinks usually cost between 100 - 150 yen.

Calpis soda is very popular in Japan. I have no idea what flavor it's supposed to be, but it's good!

In Japan, you never drink and walk at the same time, so I come to this small park to relax and enjoy whatever drink I decide to buy.

Aquarius is also very good! But again, I have no idea what flavor it's supposed to be. Kinda tastes like gatorade though.

Japanese High School

For the past couple of weeks, I've been attending my host sister's high school as a short-term exchange student. So far, my Japanese high school experience has been great!

I am in a 1st year class, and my classmates have been very good to me. Most of the students speak good English, so communication usually is very easy. However, most of the teachers speak only Japanese during their lectures (except the English teacher of course), so I haven't really been able to follow what the students are learning in class. But it's just fine, because I'm here for the overall experience.

Curriculum at my high school consists of:

Math
English
P.E. (either gym or swimming, depending on what day of the week)
Health Education
Classic Japanese
Modern Japanese
Geology
Chemistry
etc.

Each school day consists of 8 periods which last 55 minutes each, plus a Homeroom session which lasts about 10 minutes. My school day starts at 8:30 am, and the school is only a 3 minute walk from my host family's house, so I get to sleep in most of the time.

Now on to pictures!

Outside the school.

Lockers are located around the outside of the school. This is because you have to wear slippers when inside the school and you can keep those slippers in your locker and put them on before you enter the actual school.

My classroom.

As I said before, you have to wear slippers when inside the school.

In class.

The hallway just outside my classroom.

Different grades are in different buildings. This is the 2nd year building which is across from my 1st year building.

My classmates!

A Walk Through Osaka

Yesterday, June 18, was an absolutely gorgeous day, so my host mother and I decided to go for a long walk to a famous shrine in the district.

It took us about 40 minutes to get to the shrine on foot, but we did make some stops at smaller shrines along the way. We did get lost, but it's very easy to get lost in the suburbs around Osaka. The streets and alleyways are set up in a "spider-web" layout instead of the grid-pattern that is usually used in the United States. Thankfully, a fellow pedestrian was kind enough to give us directions to the shrine.

You can see the dog statues that guard this serene shrine.

Inside the shrine.

Before entering the shrine, you have to wash your hands and mouth using these cups.

Visiting Kyoto

Staying in Tokyo was great, and it gave me my first impressions of Japan. After 2 nights at a hotel in the Shinjuku district of Tokyo, I took a short flight to Osaka, which is where my host family is located.

Osaka is the third largest city in Japan (behind Tokyo) and is considered to be the "food capital of the world."

For more information about Osaka, here's the Wikipedia article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Osaka

My host family is incredibly nice. I now have a new host mother, father, grandfather, brother, and sister. They have taken very good care of me and they have already taken to a bunch of amazing places around Osaka.

Yesterday, I went with my host father and brother to the neighboring city of Kyoto. Kyoto is rich in history, or so I've been told, so we visited a famous shrine and a castle that once belonged to a shogun of Japan hundreds of years ago.

The Golden Shrine/Pavilion (Kinkaku)

Me with my host brother.

Looks like a postcard!

Taking a rest while enjoying tea and cakes.



Inside the tea house.



Sugoi! It's very good!

After the shrine, we visited a restored castle called "Nijo Castle." The castle was originally built in 1603 as the residence of the first Tokugawa Shogun, Ieyasu.

The gardens look incredible!

Touchdown in Japan

Konnichiwa!

Following my 3-day pre-departure orientation in San Francisco CA, my fellow YFU exchange students and I took a 12-hour flight from LA to Tokyo. We left LA early in the morning on June 13 and arrived in Tokyo in the afternoon on the 14. Jet  lag is hitting me pretty hard right now.

I didn't think airline food included sushi, but apparently it does!

En route to Tokyo, Japan!

When we arrived at Narita International Airport, just outside of Tokyo, some YFU students that were staying in the area went with their host families. The rest of us stayed for 2 nights in a very nice hotel in the Shinjuku district of Tokyo.

I didn't do much sightseeing in /tokyo, but I did get to visit the YFU Japan office in Tokyo and the U.S. Embassy.

Going to the hotel after arrival.

You can see the new Tokyo Sky Tree on the far right.

Shinjuku district in Tokyo.

Pre-Departure Orientation at Berkeley College

About a week ago on Sunday, June 10, I began my incredible, life-changing YFU exchange experience. Now that I have some freetime, I think it would be great to catch you all up to speed.

On June 10, I flew from Colorado Springs, CO to San Francisco, CA. In San Francisco, I attended a 3-day pre-departure orientation that was hosted by YFU USA at the Berkeley College campus.

At the orientation, I attended a whole bunch of classes and excercizes that educated me and my fellow YFU exchange students about Japanese language and culture.

Riding on the bus on our way to Berkeley.

Walking to the campus cafeteria. It was very sunny in SanFran, no fog to be seen!

Attending a class on Japanese culture

Our dorms.

The campus.

Celebrating my Birthday! (June 12)

YFU USA Summer-term Japan exchange students (Blue Group)

The orientation was very informative, and I'd like to thank all the YFU USA staff for providing us with such a great pre-departure orientation.