Post Japan

I left Japan feeling a sense of ease and contentment. From getting inspired by traditional and modern artwork to snowboarding the best powder in the world,  I got just what i needed out of the trip. I had spent the fall semester stressing about graduating this spring and after i came back from Japan, i felt ready to take on my last few months in school. I never thought that i would fall in love with Japan like i did, and i am sure i will go back.

The sense of community is something that i admire most about Japan. I realized that i need to be more sharing and put others first. Our culture is more individualized than Japans, and i hope to work on becoming more giving this year as a reflection of Japan's attitude.

As far as art, I was very impressed with the work ethic and the focus on individual skillets. I hope to further my true passion of illustrating- whether it be analog or digital: i.e. painting, drawing, graphics, or web design- by practicing one of these mediums everyday. I also plan exploring ink more. In Japan i bought the calligraphy brushes, pen sets, quills, and ink.

Very blessed to have such an amazing experience,
Great things are coming...

Final Stretch

After everyone went back, me and Payton decided to stay another week. I almost was seriously considering staying in Japan for the semester, but didn't realize I would be spending so much money there haha.

It felt nice to be on our own without the scheduling of the class. Me and Payton met up with his friends for a couple of days and then we split off into our own adventures. I met up with my friend who lives in Kamakura, and Payton stayed the week in a nearby hostel where he ended up meeting amazing people from all around the world.

My friend, Katsu, took me to the best local restaurants and back to Nowasa ski resort, in Nagano, where we snowboarded for a couple a days with his friends. It was cool to meet actual Japanese people that rode powder. Katsu was the only one of his friends that spoke english but somehow we all managed to communicate with each other. His friends were outgoing and funny, and seemed like the friends I have here. At the Nowasa resort, we stayed at his friends house which was an awesome experience to see how locals lifestyle is. The couple who owned the apartment were so accommodating and when it came time to sleep they separated the futons into a guys and girls room, kind of like sleepovers when you were a kid. Back in Kamakura with Katsu, I felt like i was in SoCal before there were many people living there. It was a beautiful beach town. Also Katsu had a scooter which we took everywhere in Kamakura, so it made traveling around his town that much more awesome.

When he made me try 'sea urchin soup'- was actually really good!

My First Meal with Katsu

Scooter Rides!!

 Snowboarding with friends at Nozawa

Kamakura

Katsu owns a snowboard company 'Gilaffe' and i got offered me a job as a graphic designer, before i left. He even gave me a free snowboard!

Utsunomiya

Our last destination was Utsunomiya, where we visited the art college and saw an amazing temple near-by.

 

The work coming out of the college was amazing. It was cool how their curriculum so focused on the students art field and they didn't have to take additional core classes in science, literature, etc. The dragon work was my favorite. I thought it was awesome how the student was just using traditional-style brushes and ink on such a large surface. ..defiantly gave me some ideas for my own work :)

The temple/ palace court yard that we visited after the school was incredible. It was defiantly the biggest i have ever seen. It too had a painting of a dragon in one of the building's ceilings, called 'the Roaring Dragon.'  If you were standing under the dragons mouth in the room, and made noise with 2-wooden planks, the room echoed and the dragon would roar. It was also unique to me that a rectangular built room echoed, instead of a circular-built one.

 

Zao

Zao was pretty amazing. We spent 2 days riding through the 'snow monsters'.

Snow Monkeys

Before we left for Zao, we got to visit these precious little things

Yudanaka/ Shiga Kogen

So for the next 3 days we stayed in at the Yudo Yudanaka Hotel. The accommodations were amazing and traditional Japanese style- which meant sleeping on futons and feeling like your in a dollhouse. 

 This part of the trip was probably my favorite because we got to snowboard the best powder that Ive ever ridden at a different resort each day. There was also the additional plus that our snow guides were awesome 'kiwis' too.

Here is a pic of Eric after finding his go pro that he thought he had lost in the snow.

 This is a pic of the town from the view of our hotel window.

The town held really cool aspects to it. There were some cool temples, including one which held the world's biggest bronze statue. 

Day 2

The next day we visited some more museums and historical sites, including Tokyo's Metropolitan Museum of Art. 

Traditional buildings, like the one above, often burnt down, yet the Japanese would always rebuild them back up exactly the same.
  
Since i was kind of jettlagged and exhausted of looking at museums, however cool they were, I chose to dip out and explore the area until we had to meet back up with the group.

Below are some pictures of a temple that i ran across. When i entered the area, a Japanese man who spoke english taught me how to properly wash my hands and mouth before entering the space. I was glad i had decided to walk around. After the temple, I of course took advantage of the opportunity to shop in Tokyo until our meet-up time :)