Skip to main content

June 4th: Kobe Trip

Today was the field trip to Kobe. Once we arrived we went to Riken. We were able to briefly look at many different displays they had before going up and listening to a presentation about the supercomputer Fugaku. The lecture was very interesting and in depth and we got to look at Fugaku which was in the room next to the one we listened to the presentation in.

After Fugaku at Riken, we went to the nearby zoo called Dobutsu Okoku. We ate lunch at the cafeteria area inside of the zoo and then walked around to look at all the animals in the zoo.

One of the exhibits at the zoo was a shoebill stork that was named Big Bill. We were able to see him walking around the area he was in.
There was also a section in the zoo with lemurs roaming around a center island. You could go onto the island and get close to them.
There was also an area with a bunch of monkeys and other animals you could also get pretty close to.
After the zoo we went to Takenaka Museum. The museum had a lot of interesting displays of carpentry tools and how they are supposed to be used. There were also many things you could touch in the museum like wood shavings cut off using the carpentry tools and pieces of wood held tightly together you could try to disassemble and reassemble. There was also a section with a small house you could walk into and look around in.
After the museum we went to the Herb Garden. We took a ropeway up to the top of the mountain the Herb Garden was on. After we got to the top we could walk around and see all the stuff at the top.
On the way back down we decided to walk instead of taking the ropeway back down. There were a lot of nice views on the way back down from the garden.
After we were done for the planned activities of the day we went to go get dinner. We decided on getting burgers since we were in the mood for it and after seeing that the first two places we had picked out were closed we finally got to one called BISCO smash burger.
The burger place was really small on the inside and all of the food was made by one guy on the grill who made them right in front of you. He didn't know a lot of English, though he said that he has been to America before and enjoyed the time he spent there. The burgers were very good and he did a good job replicating an American feeling at the place.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

June 2nd: The Fourth Floor Doctor

It was a cool Sunday night in summer. Rain was gently sprinkling on my hotel window while I lay in bed, stricken with illness. It was quarter past seven when I heard a knock at my door. Nicholas, my roommate, leaped up and answered immediately. It was Dr. T, the head professor for our study abroad in Japan program. He had come to take me to the doctor.  I had felt quite ill in the days leading up to this point. I was sneezing left and right, and my throat was drier than a desert. However, my symptoms were initially relatively tame, so I attributed them to allergies. Sunday was different, though. I had a fever, I couldn't stop coughing, and I felt extremely weak. I was getting worse, and I had to do something. "The last check-in is at 7:30," Dr. T told Nicholas. I was running out of time. I had to hurry. I jumped out of bed, threw some baggy clothes on, tossed my passport, wallet, and pocket wifi into a backpack, and dashed out the door. I met Dr. T in the elevator, and we...
Post a Comment
Read more

June 8th: CupNoodles Museum and Hana Biyori Botanical Garden

After gathering at the hotel lobby, the ERAU group made our way to the one and only CupNoodles Museum in Yokohama. When we got there, we had some time to look around, but at 11:30 we lined up with our groups (my group was Naomi, Joseph, V, Cat, Abi, and me) to join a ramen making class. This class was more of a hands-on experience as we were able to mix the ingredients with a partner and then feed our dough through a strainer. Then our instructor guided us to separate our noodles into even 100-gram portions, which we got to see get deep fried. Once it was done boiling, we were able to package our ramen and take more home.  After this first class, there was another session where you were able to make your own flavor; however, I didn’t attend it. I instead went to a farmers’ market that I saw while leaving the hotel that morning, but everything there was more on the expensive side so I didn’t buy anything. At this time, it was really hot so I ended up eating at this cute café I fou...
Post a Comment
Read more

May 13th: First day at OMU

  May 13 th , with the first day down at Osaka Metropolitan University lets recap what we did from my perspective. The day started at 8:50 am leaving our lodging (the Fraser Residence Inn Nankai) and traveled on the Namba metro system officially for the first time (as a group.) I found navigating the metro stations interesting as you only need to scan a card or insert a ticket and get to your platform while dodging the sea of people heading in the opposite direction; in America people don’t really use the same type of train systems as they do in Japan besides big cities like New York.   As we reached OMU and entered our new reality, the group got ushered into a classroom and started our introduction with the professors and students. After the OMU faculty got to know us, we left to another classroom to begin our first lecture SS314. This first lecture we were introduced to our month long project the Kikocho. After the class we got to eat lunch at the university. Later in the d...
Post a Comment
Read more