Journey to Japan: Bringing the Joy of Jesus to the Lost and Hurting: 2011

Well, to start, I figured I should tell you a little bit about my last trip. I am going to simply paste in here the story I wrote for the local newspaper when I returned last March. In a separate blog I will probably add in more of the spiritual work that went on during the trip (being a public newspaper, the story doesn't tell much of the work for Jesus that went on there).

As part of the Honors Biology class that I am taking this semester, I had the privilege of spending what was supposed to be nine days in Japan, four of which were spent in Misaki at the Misaki Marine Biology Station (MMBS) studying marine biology. Misaki sits right on the coast of Sagami Bay, roughly a two hour train and bus ride south of Tokyo. During our work there my nine classmates and I would work with eight Japanese students from the University of Tokyo and four other universities in Japan who were looking to study marine biology while improving their English skills. Little did we know, we were in for much more than expected.
            We left from the Minneapolis-St. Paul airport on March 3, and after a 12 ½ hour non-stop plane flight complete with a decent so rough many people made use of the motion sickness bags, we touched down in Tokyo. Once we got through customs and immigration, we boarded a bus to Yokohama (about an hour and a half drive) and from there jumped on the train for Misaki. Before leaving for Japan, our professor Dr. Winslow informed us of some cultural norms and basics that we would need to know when we arrived. One of them was that buses and trains were generally expected to be quiet. When we boarded the bus we remained quiet, afraid of offending the Japanese passengers. An announcement played on the speakers in both Japanese and English that thanked us for riding and then informed the passengers, “Please do not talk on cell phones because it annoys other passengers.” I liked Japan already!
            Once we got on our train in Yokohama I got my first confirmation that Japan really is the 3^rd safest country in the world. It was rush hour there and the trains were packed, but there was a little boy standing alone in our train car that was probably 6 years old who was on his way home from school. To put it in perspective, Yokohama has a population equal to Los Angeles. I don’t know anyone who would let their 6 year old travel home from school alone in LA, much less during rush hour, but in Japan it is perfectly safe.
            We arrived at MMBS that night and got settled into our dorm rooms, which were tiny. Even being only a bit over 6 feet tall, I had to duck a couple inches when walking through the doorway. I found this to be quite common throughout my stay in Japan. Thanks to our jet lag, all ten of us and the professor were wide awake by 5:30 A.M. the next morning and went down to the beach to look at the marine life as well as take in Sagami Bay. The beach was extremely peaceful, and as you looked across the bay, Mount Fuji rose from the haze.
            The Japanese students arrived that day, and we began to get to know each other. For the next four days we spent around ten hours per day in the lab conducting our group’s study. My group’s main study was looking at feather star arm regeneration. Feather stars are in the same family as starfish, and this family does a neat thing for defense. If you pinch a feather star’s arm, it detaches the arm from the body at that pressure point, leaving you holding the end of that arm. Over the next couple of months they then grow that arm back. Our group, led by a Tokyo University professor named Kondo-sensei (-sensei means teacher or professor), took one of the arm tips and put it through a series of soaking in various chemicals, a process that took over 6 hours. Once it was put through the proper chemicals we put it in three different stages of paraffin wax in order to preserve it in a block. Once the wax was hard, we put it on a machine that cut the specimen and wax into a 10 micrometer slice (1/100 of a millimeter) and put them on a microscope slide to look at. Being a math education major, this entire process and even what we were looking at under a microscope was a bit confusing, but I went with the flow and learned a lot nevertheless.
            On the third day of the lab we had finished our main lab and then spent a day working on crinoids’ immune cells with Dr. Winslow. Crinoids are the family that contains sea urchins, starfish, and sea feathers. Basically, we would go in with a syringe to get fluid from the animal and then watch the different types of clotting and immune cells go to work. This was much more interesting for me because in this lab we spent most of the time playing around with the animals and stabbing them with needles (no worries, they can’t feel pain).
            That night the Japanese students took us to a nearby onsen. Onsen is an outdoor hot springs bath consisting of natural hot spring water and many minerals that are good for your skin. It cost 500 yen ($5) and an extra 100 yen for a small washcloth that you put on your head. Like anything else in Japan, though, there was a process to the onsen. First, you took your shoes off and put on the provided slippers (which never fit me wherever we went), and then went into your respective changing rooms where you got undressed and took a shower. During this shower you sat on a small stool and washed every inch of your body. When you were done there was a large bowl that you filled with water and dumped over your head. You could then go into the onsen (there is one for each gender with a wall in between). This onsen overlooked Sagami bay and was extremely relaxing. Basically, visualize a giant hot tub overlooking the sea.
            After the four day lab concluded, we said goodbye to our Japanese friends and went to Kamakura, about an hour train ride from Misaki. Kamakura is home to the “Great Buddha”, a bronze Buddha that is 45 feet tall. As with all Buddhist and Shinto shrines, this one was extremely peaceful and relaxing, since the religion encourages getting rid of distractions in your life. After a few hours of shopping, including some time in the 100 yen store (Japanese dollar store), we went back to the MMBS for one final night before heading out to Tokyo.
            The next morning I got up early and went down to the beach to soak up the beauty and peacefulness of Sagami Bay and Mt. Fuji one last time. Fortunately, the view that morning was the clearest it had been all week, and Fuji was absolutely stunning. We left for Tokyo that morning and got to see the countryside of Japan, something we didn’t get the chance to see when we came down since it was dark out. We arrived in Ueno, a town in the northern part of Tokyo, and walked about ten minutes to our hotel.
            For the remainder of the day, we split up into two groups. One group, led by Dr. Winslow, went to Ueno Park, home of the famous Sakura (cherry blossom) Festival, and the Japanese National Museum. I chose to go to Shibuya to see the Meji Shrine and Harajuku, an area known for its interesting fashion trends. Takuya and Sae, two of the Tokyo University students we studied with at MMBS, joined us as our leaders and translators. We had a great time, and I checked off one of my “goals in Japan” by trying a McDonalds teriyaki burger.
            As we were heading back to Ueno on the train, we saw on the monitor that one of the train lines was delayed due to an accident. We asked Takuya what type of an accident it was, and he informed us of a sad truth in Japan. “Accident” was actually a less graphic way of saying that someone had committed suicide by jumping in front of a train. Japan is a society that lives and dies by working hard, often 7 days a week, and honoring your family. Takuya told us that losing your job is a very big deal there, and many people can’t handle the thought that they brought shame to their family. We asked him how often an “accident” happens, to which he solemnly replied “At least once a day somewhere in Tokyo.”
            Both groups met back up at the hotel and we then went out to supper at a traditional Japanese restaurant. In this type of restaurant, you take off your shoes before sitting down at the table. There are no chairs, only cushions on the floor, and the table is about a foot off the floor. Being a rather large guy, especially by Japan standards, it was quite the spectacle to see me try to get my legs under the table. Fortunately after a few minutes of struggling and muscle cramping I got under the table and our meals were delivered: eel, sashimi (raw fish), tempura (battered shrimp), soup, white rice, and pickled radishes. I had already had everything except the eel before this meal, so I knew what to expect. The eel, however, was definitely an experience, one that I will never repeat.
            The following day, Friday, we met up with Takuya and a Tokyo University professor that we had studied under at MMBS for a day of sightseeing around Tokyo. Akasaka-sensei was the head professor at MMBS and was one of the top three marine biologists in the world. This man was a genius, but he was the nicest guy and took a day off just to lead us around that day. Little did we know we were in for an adventure!
            He first took us around the Tokyo University campus. When we stopped at the campus store to buy sweatshirts or whatever we wanted, we learned from Takuya that if you go to the Tokyo University, you do not wear clothes with the name on it. The reason is because Tokyo University is very prestigious, even more than Harvard, so it is seen as extremely snobbish to wear clothes saying that you go there.
            We then traveled to the part of Tokyo where the government offices were. We visited the Imperial Palace, which is where the Emperor of Japan lives. Since it was built hundreds of years ago, it is complete with two moats and several huge wooden gateways. Visitors can only go around the outer grounds, though. The only exception is on December 23, the Emperor’s birthday, the gates are opened and everyone is welcome to the inner grounds to see what it is like.
After the Imperial Palace we hopped on a subway and traveled to the bay area. We boarded a monorail and traveled the entire route just seeing the sights of Tokyo. The bay area of Tokyo was very beautiful and with the sun shining down, it made the day even better. We got off the monorail and headed to Akasaka-sensei’s favorite sushi restaurant. We got our sushi, and I began trying many different eating combinations and styles to get the food down. Just like the eel, it was one of those things I did because it’s Japan and you have to experience it.
About halfway through the meal, around 2:46 P.M., the windows began to rattle. My first thought was that it was simply a train going by. After a few seconds I realized that it could not be a train and looked to Akasaka-sensei. He replied to our puzzled looks, “Earthquake.” Neither he nor the other Japanese people in the restaurant were worried at first, though, so we followed their lead. After about thirty seconds the shaking picked up in intensity and heavier things began to shake. At this point all of the Japanese’s faces became increasingly worried and Akasaka-sense scooted his chair away from the table, obviously contemplating when he should call it too risky to stay in the building. The intensity picked up once again and at that moment everyone in unison made the decision that it had reached that point. Akasaka-sensei bolted for the door, and we were right behind him. Although I didn’t notice at the time, many of the other patrons dove under their tables. Looking back, that was the safer option.
Once outside we huddled in a group and prayed together. Although all of us had a look of fear on our faces, and were certainly scared on the inside, we stayed calm for Dr. Winslow’s two girls, who are 10 and 8. As we were standing there, I realized that being inside was probably safer, as we were standing between two buildings and had power lines directly above us that were swinging violently back and forth. I just held on and prayed it would not get any worse. Although there weren’t people losing their balance, you did have to focus on standing so you didn’t fall over. The best description I can give is how it feels when you are standing in a boat on the Mississippi and waves come along and rock the boat.
After the earthquake stopped, we went back inside and finished our meal. We were told that there would be aftershocks, but they will all be weaker than the quake. We felt two small aftershocks during the remainder of our meal and then one larger one as we were leaving the restaurant. Since we had originally planned to go to one last place that day and the trains were shut down, we decided to continue our sightseeing journey.
We walked a few blocks to Mikimoto, an extremely well known pearl store. Akasaka-sensei had connections with the owners because the MMBS actually assisted in producing the type of pearls that made Mikimoto famous. We were originally going to get an exclusive tour, but due to the earthquake knocking out the security cameras, we ended up only being able to see the first floor. Even with only being on the cheapest floor, most earrings were around $3,000 and necklaces were even higher. After about an hour and a half of waiting there to see if the trains would get start running again, it became apparent that it would not happen anytime soon. We began to weigh the options; we were on the other side of Tokyo, the trains weren’t running, there were no busses in use, we might be able to catch a taxi, or we might have to walk.
Akasaka-sensei helped us get headed in the right direction and then had to leave to try to find a way to get back to see his family. Luckily, we still had Takuya with us. According to the Tokyo Government’s website, over 28 million people per day use public transportation in Tokyo. With most of that 28 million without public transportation, the sidewalks were packed and the streets were gridlocked with cars and taxis that sprang into service. The lines at the bus stop and the taxi stop were incredibly long, but we decided to try for a taxi and if all else failed, we would just start walking. After waiting for 30 minutes and realizing that it would be faster to just start walking, we were on our way with the millions of other people.
It took us some time to get going in the right direction as even Takuya really didn’t know where we were. After asking a few officials, we were on our way to Ueno. We made the best of the long walk by cracking jokes and having a good time. I was amazed, though, at how ordered and considerate the Japanese people were. No one was pushy, no one was rude, and if the “Do Not Walk” light was on, nobody crossed the street even though the traffic was at a standstill. The worst damage we saw was three building that had broken windows. As we were walking we met a guy from Los Angeles who was in Tokyo doing some photo shoots. He informed us that he had read on Facebook that the earthquake was an 8.9, but we took his information with skepticism, thinking that Facebook was not the best place to get your information. We remained uninformed of the actual devastation until we arrived at our hotel over four hours later, where Takuya translated the Japanese news for us.
We continued to feel aftershocks throughout the night, including a 4.0 at 4 A.M. to which I woke up and found myself rocking back and forth in my bed. Over the remainder of our stay we got so used to aftershocks that you would hardly notice them unless something next to you started shaking.
The next day was supposed to be our flight home, but due to Narita Airport being closed for inspection, we decided to take advantage of the extra day of sightseeing. We went to another shrine in Tokyo and enjoyed the day of having all the time in the world. With all of the convenience and grocery stores wiped clean of any food, we went out to eat and enjoyed more Japanese cuisine.
We were hoping that our flight would leave on Sunday, but until Delta informed Dr. Winslow of the flight status changing, we kept ourselves occupied in Tokyo. By Sunday the main train lines were open and on time, so we decided to take a chance that another earthquake wouldn’t hit and travel 30 minutes to church. Experiencing a Japanese church was amazing. Hearing popular Christian songs sung in Japanese was fun, and they even changed their songs to include some of the verses in English for us. In addition, the sermon was in both English and Japanese.
After church we visited a store that instantly reminded me of Horsfall’s in Lansing, except this store was 5 floors high! Luckily we didn’t have any problems getting back, and after finding out that our flight was not going to be out that day we made ourselves comfortable. Later that night, we were informed that the earliest we were going to be able to fly out was Tuesday. Sunday night was also the first time we were able to see an American news station. We were shocked at how much CNN was blowing things out of proportion. Things were bad by Sendai, but CNN made it seem like all of Japan was doomed. We now understood why our parents were extremely worried despite our emails assuring them we were perfectly fine.
Sunday night and Monday was very active with aftershocks, some of which were more on the strong side. In addition, the need to conserve power started to take effect due to the nuclear plant situation. With both of these factors, we stayed at the hotel the entire day Monday, knowing that the chances of railways shutting down randomly were very high. As the day went on, the transportation system got more and more inconsistent. This caused Dr. Winslow to rethink the train tickets we had purchased for the following day that would take us to Narita. At about 6:00 Monday night she told us to get our stuff packed and be ready to go because we were going to take taxis and spend the night in the airport. This turned out to be a brilliant decision because when we woke up Tuesday morning, the airport made an announcement that all trains were shut down for the day. If we hadn’t come in taxis, we would have missed our flight and been further delayed.
On Tuesday we left Narita on a plane bound for Seattle. While I was glad to be coming home, I was also sad to be leaving. Japan was very peaceful, even after the earthquake. The people there were extremely friendly, and if you ever were lost you could ask anyone and they would stop and help you. After an 8 ½ hour flight, we landed on American soil in Seattle, and at 5:30 P.M. Tuesday, four days later than expected, we touched down in Minneapolis, to which all 14 of us raised our hands and cheered. Once off the plane, we were met by parents, friends, Northwestern staff, and a news camera. It was good to be home, but a part of me was left in Japan.
We learned that we were exposed to trace amounts of radiation from the nuclear plant, but the amount was many times less than what you are exposed to in a dental x-ray. Despite all that happened there, I can’t wait to go back and have even made a list of some things I want to do next time I’m there. It was one of the best and most interesting experiences of my life, one that I will tell for the rest of my life!

Journey to Japan: Bringing the Joy of Jesus to the Lost and Hurting

Friday, December 23, 2011

Trip Basics

The Start of It All...

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