December 4th, 2009
After showering and packing my luggage, I went straight to the ground floor. The luggage were going to be sent to the next hotel in Kyoto. Before entering the square room, our body temperature were checked using the same device like yesterday, taped to the ear. It was Maru-chan, who checked my temperature. Actually his name is Mark, a Japanese volunteer that has German nationality.
When he wanted to put it in my ear, he was troubled, because I used Hijab. I told him I will use it myself. Wow, I got hypothermia, 34,5°C! Very cold … The others are around 35-37°C. In the square room, we were provided with buffet food for breakfast, so we could choose what we like. :9
This time we would go to Tokyo because there would be orientation about Japan and how to get along in Japan using magic words. Well, magic words are common words used in Japanese everyday life. Oh yeah, today all the students already arrived, like students from New Zealand who came last night.
After the orientation, we would be mixed to students from other countries in the bus. Before, each country was in the same bus. However, this time the students would be mixed. So, in each bus, there were children from every country who blended in. I got a CM (country mix) bus 10. There were three other Indonesian students in the same bus with me. It seemed all the students were distributed the same. The total country mix buses were 14 buses. Well, because of the huge number of Australian participants (a total of 240), only 60 of them were distributed to the country mix. The rest of them were in the so-called ‘experienced Japan’ buses, so they didn’t mix with students from other countries. Besides, the route they passed was different, they didn’t go to Kyoto and go directly to Hiroshima. There were even some tourist places they wouldn’t visit, hotels also would be different. ’Experienced Japan’ program were for Australian students who had been able to speak Japanese or have had experience in Japan.
On my bus CM 10, there were two Japanese volunteers, named Oshima-san and Asagi-san. In addition, our tour guides were Harumi-san and Momo-san. Wow, these people were so funny and cheerful. Harumi-san was a tour guide who happily explained about Japan and the road we were passing. Along the way, she was willing to stand up and explain.
Before going to Tokyo Station, our bus stopped at a supermarket that made me really surprised! Why? The name of the supermarket is “Pasar” (Indonesian word for Market)! Could it be the Indonesian people who own it? Hehe.
After that, we would go to Tokyo Station. We went to the station because we would use Shinkansen to Kyoto! Shinkansen is one of the fastest train in the world with speeds reaching 300km/hour! Recently, I read newspapers in Indonesia, it said they wanted to make 500km/hour in 2020. I could not imagine how fast it will be. In the international world, this train is usually called “bullet train”, because on the tip of the train, the shape is like a bullet and maybe because of its speed too. The distance from Tokyo to Kyoto is around 600 km, or approximately the same as the distance between Jakarta and Yogyakarta. And only taken within 2 hours..Sugoi! On the way to the station, Harumi-san said we would pass Disney Land and Tokyo Tower. I wanted to see!!
In front of the Tokyo station
It seemed this morning was really a rush hour, because on the streets I found a lot people.
After entering the station, finally the Shinkansen came … from a distance … wuuuushhhhh … really fast!!! When it started to move, my ears hurt. It felt like a landing plane, but after a while, I used to it.
Finally, we arrived at Kyoto Station. By bus, we headed to Prince Hotel Otsu. Wow! This hotel was more luxurious than before, very elegant. In the previous hotel, there were two people per room, now 4 people. Since it was already late at night, time to rest!
Next day, we would go around Kyoto. I was looking forward to it. ^^
Next : Kyoto and Momiji
Previous : Arrival in Japan
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