I’m back again! Sorry it’s been a hot minute since I last updated y’all- we’ve had a crazy schedule the past week and a half.
We left off after the Toyota city trip. That day we went to a Hanshin Tigers baseball game! Japanese baseball is quite the experience- the best way for me to compare the enthusiasm was to American football games. They chanted every time a player was up to bat and even though they were all in Japanese- home run translates to any language!
We left off after the Toyota city trip. That day we went to a Hanshin Tigers baseball game! Japanese baseball is quite the experience- the best way for me to compare the enthusiasm was to American football games. They chanted every time a player was up to bat and even though they were all in Japanese- home run translates to any language!
Had to make sure everyone knew we were the only Americans there
The next day we started the last big trip of our program. Sapporo is in the northern most region of Japan and it sure felt like it. We got there and the forecast was cold and rainy. We didn’t let a little bad weather slow us down though- we came to watch the Yosakoi Soran dance festival and went to Susukino and watched it in the pouring rain. These dancers were completely unfazed by the rain and the groups were so fun to watch! After freezing our butts off for about an hour, we walked over to Ramen St. for a nice warm dinner. I had never appreciated a hot meal as much as I did in this moment. The next day was spent watching many more yosakoi dances and visiting the famous Ishiya chocolate factory! Their cookies are to die for and I highly recommend paying them a visit if you’re ever in Sapporo. Day 3 in Sapporo was spent at Otaru- a seaside town known for their dozens of glass shops. It was this day that I realized I could spend hours on hours window shopping with no purpose. Stapp took us to his favorite ramen restaurant this evening and it was well worth the hype.
Monday was the day that we flew to Tokyo. Tuesday was another big business visit- this time to Walmart Japan! I knew what the atmosphere was like at the home office but it was fun to see that it is nearly identical in their international outfits. Walmart culture is universal apparently! The next day was one of the biggest days we had. We met with a member from the U.S. embassy as well as parliament members from the Japanese diet (not the food one, the government one, this took me a minute to grasp to be completely honest). It was an interesting day of discussing the TPP, economics, and Japan’s view on world issues. After that we headed to see a famous Japanese drum group called Kodo- yet another unique cultural experience! We got back from the concert very late and had a very early call time the next morning for our visit to Daiwa Steel Tubing company. I had never really wondered much about the steel industry but it was interesting to see how it is cut and welded. All of our business visits were educational in a different way but I think the best part was seeing how the Japanese do business which is pretty universal. Respect is huge in any company but the Japanese take it to a whole new level. Tradition is important and taking over the family business is more or less expected from one generation to the next. All of the companies went above and beyond to make us feel special. Daiwa took us to a very upscale, traditional Japanese lunch and sent some of their new hires with us to see the largest waterfall, Kegon waterfall. It was a really special time because it represented our last business visit and essentially the end of our official program.
The next day we started the last big trip of our program. Sapporo is in the northern most region of Japan and it sure felt like it. We got there and the forecast was cold and rainy. We didn’t let a little bad weather slow us down though- we came to watch the Yosakoi Soran dance festival and went to Susukino and watched it in the pouring rain. These dancers were completely unfazed by the rain and the groups were so fun to watch! After freezing our butts off for about an hour, we walked over to Ramen St. for a nice warm dinner. I had never appreciated a hot meal as much as I did in this moment. The next day was spent watching many more yosakoi dances and visiting the famous Ishiya chocolate factory! Their cookies are to die for and I highly recommend paying them a visit if you’re ever in Sapporo. Day 3 in Sapporo was spent at Otaru- a seaside town known for their dozens of glass shops. It was this day that I realized I could spend hours on hours window shopping with no purpose. Stapp took us to his favorite ramen restaurant this evening and it was well worth the hype.
Monday was the day that we flew to Tokyo. Tuesday was another big business visit- this time to Walmart Japan! I knew what the atmosphere was like at the home office but it was fun to see that it is nearly identical in their international outfits. Walmart culture is universal apparently! The next day was one of the biggest days we had. We met with a member from the U.S. embassy as well as parliament members from the Japanese diet (not the food one, the government one, this took me a minute to grasp to be completely honest). It was an interesting day of discussing the TPP, economics, and Japan’s view on world issues. After that we headed to see a famous Japanese drum group called Kodo- yet another unique cultural experience! We got back from the concert very late and had a very early call time the next morning for our visit to Daiwa Steel Tubing company. I had never really wondered much about the steel industry but it was interesting to see how it is cut and welded. All of our business visits were educational in a different way but I think the best part was seeing how the Japanese do business which is pretty universal. Respect is huge in any company but the Japanese take it to a whole new level. Tradition is important and taking over the family business is more or less expected from one generation to the next. All of the companies went above and beyond to make us feel special. Daiwa took us to a very upscale, traditional Japanese lunch and sent some of their new hires with us to see the largest waterfall, Kegon waterfall. It was a really special time because it represented our last business visit and essentially the end of our official program.
Japanese National Diet building- seen this anywhere?? 
Emperor’s seat in the assembly hall- which has never actually been used
Kegon falls, one of the most stunning places we visited this entire time
The next day was our first free day in Tokyo! As a group we decided to visit some of the highlights that the city has to offer such as Tokyo tower, the Ginza shopping district, Harujuku, Shibuya crossing, and Shinjuku. It was a full day of walking, people watching, and sight-seeing. Harujuku was probably my favorite part of the day- it's an eccentric district with lots of vintage shops and interesting cafés. I think it is a really great picture of what most people think of modern Japanese culture. Shibuya is known for being the world’s largest crossing- over 2,000 pedestrians walking at once! Shinjuku is one of the entertainment districts which I only saw briefly. The only thing that could’ve made this day better was some dry weather- we showed up to Tokyo tower soaking wet and were very close to giving up our tour, but the evening cleared up for us nicely.
This pretty much marked the end of the trip. The next two days were spent tying up loose ends and packing for our journey back home. I was super excited for this because I had a few days in Hawaii coming up! All was good and dandy until the SECOND LARGEST EARTHQUAKE OF THE 21ST CENTURY IN JAPAN hit around 8 AM Monday morning. Whenever there have been earthquakes at home I don’t even realize what is happening until its over. They are minor and don’t impact your daily life. This one was strong enough to wake everyone up, shake entire buildings and cause some structural damage at the epicenter. The trains halted completely which meant we had no reliable transportation to the airport. By the grace of God we managed to find a bus to take us there but we seriously thought we would be staying in Japan for a hot minute…
SOoo I’ve made it to Hawaii and am waiting to board a flight to Maui for a few days and then I will be home! This may be my last post for this trip.. We’ll see if I manage to make a Hawaii post or a Japan travel tips guide. If for whatever reason I can’t make that happen, I want to say thanks again for following this adventure with me! It was truly the trip of a lifetime and visiting Japan is something that everyone should do at least once in their life. If you need me to justify that more to you, I’d be happy to.
SORRY AGAIN FOR RAMBLING
XOXO,
Kass
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International Business major Kassandra Salazar is spending the summer 2018 in Japan with our U of A Faculty-Led: International Business Seminar in Japan.
Read more from Kassandra at https://kassandrasalazar.wordpress.com/blog/
Don't miss your opportunity to study or intern abroad! Start your search at http://studyabroad.uark.edu/search/
