LSAS Visits Japan: Part One
By: Saanvi H.
As we approach the midpoint of the school year, let’s go back briefly and look at the LSAS Japan 2024 Trip! Over the summer, LSAS teachers/students/parents/family (around 30 people) took a trip to Japan and visited Kyoto, Tokyo, Hiroshima, and many other sights. This trip was part of a yearly tradition at LSAS, the International Trip, which is usually a couple of days longer than a week and takes place at the beginning of Summer.
Day 1: We started by waking up bright and early at 4:00 am to catch our 7:00 am flight. Unfortunately, not all of us were early birds and struggled to wake up so early… We flew from IAD to SFO and landed in Osaka, Japan mid-afternoon. We drove from Osaka to Kyoto by bus and saw some beautiful scenery! (This is a picture on my digicam I took on the drive there, about 30 minutes into the drive)
Once we arrived in Kyoto, we all got settled in our hotel rooms and headed out for a quick group dinner before we went back to our hotels to catch up on some sleep! Here is a picture of the whole LSAS group on the first night in Japan.
Day 2: The next day, we took a guided tour around Kyoto and visited the Fushimi Inari shrine, had a traditional Japanese lunch, walked through the Arayishima bamboo forest, visited the beautiful Buddhist Kinkakuji temple as well as Nijo Castle. The day was filled with nature, history, and delicious food, here are a few photos! The image on the left is our group walking through the forest, the one on the right is one I took of the Kinkakuji temple (which looked beautiful from any angle), and the one on the bottom is an image of all of us in front of the Fushimi Inari shrine.
After all of the sights, the group returned back to our hotel in Kyoto and split up for dinner. Some went to McDonald's (since McDonald’s is always better internationally…) and others went to a Japanese barbecue!
Day 3: was a flexible day for the group. We all started by heading to the Ninenzaka which is a pedestrian road and tourist attraction known for all of its shops which lead to the Kiyomizudera, a Buddhist temple. Here are a few photos which include the view from the top (where the Kiyomiduzera is) and one of tanghulu which is candied fruits!
Day 4: This day was a busy one as we had to wake up and leave the hotel early so that we could travel to Hiroshima. We left Kyoto station to take the bullet train (shinkansen) to Hiroshima station and meet our guide. Once we arrived in Hiroshima, our first stop was the Atomic Bomb Dome which is the only structure left standing in the area where the bomb was dropped. Here are a few pictures:
From there, we walked to the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum and Park. At the museum and the park, we learned about the effects and extent of the bomb on Japanese civilians. We also stopped by the Children’s Peace Monument, a statue that commemorates Sadako Sasaki and the thousands of child victims of the atomic bomb. Sadako was a 12-year-old Japanese girl who died in 1955 of leukemia. While she was in the hospital, Sadako folded hundreds of origami cranes which have been packed into glass cases that surround the statue.
After visiting the Hiroshima Memorial, we went to lunch to eat Okonomiyaki! Okonomiyaki is a Japanese savory pancake made from a wheat flour batter with other ingredients like cabbage, some kind of protein, and other toppings with Japanese mayonnaise to top it off. Below is a picture of the group at lunch:
After lunch, we took a ferry to Miyajima Island to see the Miyajima Itsukushima Shrine and explore the market there (Miyajima Omotesandō Shopping Street). The Itsukushima Shrine is a Shinto shrine, known for its torii (traditional Japanese gate) which appears to be floating and the name Itsukushima means “island of worship”. After visiting the shrine, we all split up to explore the shopping street which had everything from tanghulu to sword shops to incense stores! Once we had explored the island, we took the ferry back to Miyajima station and took the train from Hiroshima back to Kyoto. At that point, everyone was super tired from the long and exciting day in Hiroshima and we headed back to our hotel! Below are photos of us at the Miyajima ferry station, on the ferry, and at the Miyajima shrine:
If you enjoyed reading this blog detailing the Japan Trip, stay tuned for Part Two of the LSAS Japan Trip, which is coming soon!