Hey gang, it took me a while but here is footage from my last excursion. This time my school went to Miyajima Island and Hiroshima. Due to the amount of footage I took, I am going to split these two places into two videos. Look forward to Hiroshima coming soon.

Miyajima Island is best known for the iconic gateway that rests off its shores. During high tide, the gateway looks like it is floating on the surface of the water (or at least rises above it). When the tide is low, people can walk up to the gateway and touch its old wooden frame(I fell into this category). It is massive and truly a site to behold. Up close, one will find coins placed up against the bottom of the structure. I assume people place them here for good luck, hoping that the tide will carry away their wishes. Honestly I don't know.

Also at Miyajima Island is an ancient shrine that is open to the public. It is located on the shore so it also looks like it is on the water when the tide has risen. I should note though, the water is pretty shallow in these regions. The most impressive view of these monuments is when the tide has risen to its full capacity. I sadly have no footage of that.

It was a blast being on Miyajima Island. I enjoyed the Japanese architecture as well as the nature that surrounded me. It made for a relaxing break from the hustle and bustle of city life. I definitely want to experience more nature before I leave.

Oyasumi (good night),

Tristan

Haircut in Japan: 1800yen

Most people say that haircuts in Japan are expensive, and they are right! If one goes shopping for haircuts, several places will ask for 4000yen ($44) for a generic haircut. When I first heard this, I was shocked. How can common businesses like barbershops get away with charging so much? I asked this to a Japanese friend of mine and he said that it is normal for him. Apparently, Japanese are willing to spend more on haircuts then most other countries in the world. That said, I was able to find some cheaper solutions for myself.

Japan has certain barbers that offer 1000yen ($12) haircuts; though they can sometimes be hard to find. These places offer some of the cheapest haircuts in Japan if one is looking to save money. However, I read that these places will sometimes not offer the traditional Japanese haircut experience. By that, I mean that one might not receive as much attention to detail or the traditional shampoo afterward. Basically, these are the cheap places that most guys go to in Japan. Well, the poor guys anyway.

Which brings us to me. I did not want to pay $44 for a haircut that will only last me for three weeks. I also didn't want to risk a bad haircut by going to a cheap barber. I finally settled on a reasonably priced place near my apartment. The barber was friendly and the haircut only cost me 1800yen ($21).


Not a bad looking guy, wouldn't you say?

Sayonara for now,

Tristan

From Nagoya, Japan, happy Halloween everybody! In this episode, I talk about my Japanese Halloween costume as well as create a time lapse. (I have been looking for something to time lapse so I am happy I finally found it) My friend Roxanne was the one doing the make-up and she did a great job. Some friends and I dressed up for Halloween and went downtown to party. It was really fun and definitely a memorable time. Now I have to start studying again for midterms. :( Oh, well. It was fun while it lasted.



Happy Halloween!!!

-Tristan

Hello everyone, I took a break from the constant studying and went to Osu with some friends. Osu is a very popular shopping district and it lives up to its fame. There are oodles of shops ranging from the generic clothing store to the just bizzare. It is a great location if your looking to lighten your wallet.

Halloween is approaching soon and this week I am on the search for my costume. I have something in mind but I will keep it a suprise for next week.

Missin everyone back home!!!

Peace,

Tristan

Hello everyone, this episode I travel to Shirakawa-go. It is a small village in the mountains of Japan. The air was really clean and the scenery was beautiful. It is definetly the place I would want to live if I joined the JET program. (The JET program is a teaching program in Japan. It forces you to live in the country side but does give you some preferences.) Not to say I want to join the JET program as of yet. I really enjoyed the whole experience.

Sayonara,

Tristan

On the weekend of October 9th, I stayed two days with a home-stay family. The family lived in Nagakute city which is close to where my apartment is. I was amazed by the kindness and warmth the family showed towards me. Like the name implies, I was treated like a family member durring my stay. We were complete strangers in reality but none of that seemed to matter. There was a mutual interest in each others' culture that bridged the gap between our nerviousness.
The first day we sat around and talked about our lives. They were very interested to find out about life in Texas and what I thought about Japan. I observed something while I was being questioned though. Specifically I remember the question: What does your dad do(for work)? Yet, there was no question about what my mother does. I do not know enough about Japanese culture to make a fair observation but it seems like women are not given the same respect as men when it comes to work(run-on sentence?). Regardless, it was a pleasant conversation. Later that day we went to the Toyota museum downtown and watched a movie (Angels and Demons) at their house. I let the family choose the movie. It was fun watching a movie but we watched it in a room with no furniture. The father had designed the movie room to be a traditional Japanese room with a big screen projector and surround sound. Watching the movie on the hard tatame mat floor was... interesting. Honestly, it was a little uncomfortable but fun to experience.
On the second day we went to the anual Nagakute festival. It is a war reenactment festival that includes hundreds of volunteers. They even had martial arts demonstrations at one point. The festival was a great experience and some clips can be seen above.
All in all, the homestay experience was a blast. To anyone studying abroad, I highly recomend staying with a homestay family. Hopefully, I will get an oppurtunity to visit my home-stay family again before I leave.

Thanks for reading,
Tristan

This week I went to a mixed martial arts tournement called DREAM 16. It was at Nihon Gaishihoru, a sports stadium in Nagoya. The place was packed and the fighters did not dissapoint. There were astounding KO's, submissions, and 3 round fights. I had a really good time.
This was actually the first time I have been to a profetional MMA tournament. Even though I was in the cheap seats, 5,000 yen ($60), I could see everything that was going on. Next time I will probably go for the same cheap seats but maybe invest in some binaculars. :-)
Another thing I liked was the food. I bought a sausage on a stick with french fries and it was delicious. Those two things are hard to come by in Japan; it's mostly asian food. I will do a blog on food some other time.
Long story short, it was a fun four hours. Note: DREAM has tournaments throughout the year and at different locations in Japan. If you can make one, I recomend it.

Sayonara,
Tristan