Rainy day at Chiba University

           Usually in Wisconsin when it rains it gets cold. Here in Japan, when it rains it only gets more humid. We took our umbrellas and headed to Chiba University. The campus tour had to be shortened because of the rain. We saw a few of their buildings but mostly tried to stay inside. One cool thing that they had was an English area. It was part of a building that had an upstairs and a downstairs. The downstairs had nice places to sit and someone selling tea. Students could come to this place to practice their English. Upstairs they had a bunch of English books and a TV to watch English shows. They also had little rooms for when they had guest speakers come. One of the English professors spent some of her time upstairs tutoring students. Students could come at any time to this place. This is something I want to take back to my University. Perhaps we could start a Spanish room.

English Room

            During the next portion of the day there was a mini club fair. Students showed off their clubs. We saw Iaido sword art club, an acapella group, traditional Japanese music club, and juggling. They were all very excited to show off their hobbies.

Juggling club

Acapella Club

            Next we had dinner at the cafeteria and then went to two lectures. The first lecture was about University life. We sat with Japanese students and discussed what our schools were like. We talked about what was similar and what was different. Then we had a lecture on the Globalization of Hello Kitty. The lecture showed how one small icon could become so popular throughout the globe. The day seemed to go by quickly. Chiba University was very hospitable to us.

            After returning to the hotel we had “Western style” dinner. Some people in the other group had dietary restrictions. One girl is allergic to fish. Because of this we are not having much traditional Japanese food because a lot of it has fish in it. This means we are forced to have western food. This means that Japanese people are cooking what they think American food is like. To be honest, it hasn’t been very good. Jess and I picked at our dinners and then decided we were going to go out to get some decent food. The mood was not good. We walked around for a long time, without finding a place. Jess got some stuff at a bakery and then walked home.

Wet from the rain and at the restaurant

            Liz and I didn’t want to go home so early. We stopped in a little place that looked lively. There were only about 5 tables in the whole place, and four of them had people at them. A very old lady about 4 inches shorter than me guided us to a table and brought us silverware. Then a younger guy asked us what we’d like. He knew no English and we didn’t know any Japanese. We both had a drink. Then a girl came and brought us a menu. It was all in Japanese. I flustered and tried to explain what I wanted. I told her dumplings and she showed me a plate with a little rolled up ball. It looked small so I asked for 5 but then she ruffled her face so I asked for four instead. What I got was surprising. It was four great big onigiri. Onigiri are balls of rice in a triangle shape. In the middle there is a surprise. Mine had salmon in them. They are wrapped in seaweed. They were so good. Liz helped me eat some because four was way too much and we didn’t want to leave any food uneaten.

            It was a really fun time. The place was small and homey. They had real seafood. I saw an octopus tentacle by where a man cooked. When we were all done eating the waitress and waiter walked us to the door and said goodbye. I was really worried that they would be upset with our inability to communicate but it didn’t matter. They were so inviting.

            After all this walking I was tired. It is our last day in Chiba and our hotel has an Onsen, which is a traditional Japanese bath. It is usually a hot spring but this one was in our hotel so it was more like a bathing facility. My roommate had been going to the Onsen everyday with a group of girls on the trip. I did not go with them because you have to bathe naked in the bath. Since it was the last day here I decided that I had to go.

            Here’s how it works. You go in the locker room and take your clothes off then you enter the shower room. There are a bunch of little stalls with stools that you sit on. In your stall is a little showerhead, a bowl for pouring water on yourself, shampoo, conditioner, and body wash. First you wash yourself off and then you enter the bath. It’s dark and there is water running into a big tub very similar to a hot tub. It’s quiet and when you sit in the tub you can listen to the water rush in. The water is so hot. Afterwards you get out of the tub and shower again.

            Although the experience was awkward at first, in the end it was very empowering. All different women with all different bodies bathe together. No one is shy. They just come, do their bathing, and then leave. You don’t feel any body shame because everyone is so unique.

            Tomorrow we head back to Tokyo for the last couple days here.