Back to Kansai: The Osaka Adventure!

On Friday, our internship program had all of the interns return to the Kansai area, specifically travel to Osaka, for an "Exit" Program. The point of the exit program was to bring us all back together (those who had stayed in Japan to do internships), provide the center with feedback for next year's program, and make presentations about our internships to companies who were thinking of partnering with the Center and taking future interns for the summer. Anyway, I was mainly excited because I was going to see everyone and hear about all the other internships people were doing. And I didn't have to pay for my ticket there and back!

The shinkansen was at 9:20 in the morning (way to early in my opinion...) and considering I went to bed at around 4:30 a.m., waking up three hours later wasn't exactly the most refreshing thing ever. However, Chelsea and I made our way to Tokyo station (though our subway train encountered a "traffic jam" -- i've never experienced on of these before, and of course it had to happen on a day when it was imperative NOT to miss our train haha!), found our shinkansen platform, and boarded the train with ten minutes to spare. My love for shinkansen/train rides was revitalized, though I tried to nap the majority of the way. By the time we arrived in Osaka, our train had picked up the majority of the rest of the people in the Kanto area, so we as a group journeyed on together towards the building where the exit program was to take place.

Two subway transfers and a bunch of walking later, we FINALLY arrived at the building. I don't have any idea where it was as I wasn't leading the group, but we walked by lots of architecturally cool looking buildings. I hadn't really been to Osaka prior to this trip so I was just absorbed in what I was seeing rather than trying to figure out where we were going. I didn't realize how many rivers run through Osaka, and how close to the ocean it was! I was pretty thrilled by that and wished I could stay longer and explore the city more, especially go on the ferris wheel and see the Osaka Aquarium. But I digress. It took us a while to make it to the exit program building, but we found it and were directed to go to the 29th floor.

At around 2:15pm, everyone had finally arrived so we began the session. Basically, we went around in a circle and talked about our internships. I'd say that the majority of the students were really pleased with their work placements and work environments. Some gushed way longer than others. Others had already created power point presentations and speeches for the presentation section of the day. At the end of the two hours, our program supervisor picked a group of people to present, giving priority to those who had already prepared, and then choosing a few that had lots to say. I really enjoyed hearing about everyone else though in such great detail. Had this not happened, I may not have learned about what others had done for the summer.

The next two hours strolled by with a few speeches and then the presentations. I think the best presentation was given by my friend Austen, who spent her summer working at the Archaelogical Institute of Nara. She had a BEAUTIFUL slide show (mostly cause her pictures are AMAZING), and her speech was well rehearsed. Nonetheless, this guy Sean gave the funniest speech probably. He decided to speak both in English and Japanese (only two of the remaining students are third years and the closest to fluent so presentations could be made in English). The play between the two languages as well as what he said in one versus the other was pretty hilarious. However, everyone did a brilliant job overall and hopefully impressed the prospective companies to the point of wanting to take on interns from our program next summer.

After the presentation section was the reception, DEFINITELY my favorite part as it involved casual conversation and more importantly, food. It was on the 31st floor and had a magnificent view of the city. During the course of the evening, I ended up talking with some Americans that had just recently arrived in Osaka to work at the American consulate. I wasn't able to talk with either of them for very long as they were pulled away into other conversations, but I had an enjoyable time otherwise. It almost felt like we were back in the quarter...minus half of the other students. Inevitably, nostalgia set in and we briefly reminisced about the previous months. Eventually, the party came to an end and we taxied back to the hotel (provided by the Center).

Upon arriving at the hotel, we decided it would be fun to go out karaoking once more all together. First we all checked in, dropped off our stuff, and then got dessert. Following that, we subwayed to another station, walked down a busy arcade, and found one of the popular karaoke chains. With all 14 of us in a room for an hour, we knew we were going to have a fun filled time. I eventually took the karaoke controller and lined up a whole bunch of 90s songs that everyone could sing to, and everyone seemed to join in. On last hurrah together; it was definitely fun and memorable.

The next morning, Austen, Chelsea and I met for breakfast at 10 at the coffee shop next door to the hotel as check out was 10 am. We sat together for a bit, chatting about random things and remarking on the success of the exit program. At the end though, Chelsea headed out to Kyoto to see her brother before she went back to the States, and Austen and I decided to go see a temple out in the boondocks of Osaka, famous for being the location of the bridge referred to in the Tale of Genji. After two subway rides, we arrived in Sumiyoshi, with no idea of where it was. We ambled about for probably thirty minutes, asking passerbys for directions, and we eventually found it!

Sumiyoshi Taisha is one of the oldest Shinto shrines, built in 211 AD. It's known for the style of architecture of the shrine buildings and housing famous kami, like Inari and other Japanese historical figures that were later worshipped as kami. When we first stumbled upon it, we thought the shrine complex was rather small and limited to the one shrine dedicated to Inari. However, after a bit of exploration, we saw that it was rather larger, encompassing many shrines and other buildings used for Shinto ceremonies etc. I think the most magnificent part though was definitely the bridge. It was the staple of the shrine (in my opinion). Austen however was very preoccupied by the cute turtles that inhabited the ponds in the shrine. Overall, It was definitely worth the trip out to see.

After we came back from the shrine, Austen and I decided to walk around the shopping areas of Namba Eki, a huge transportation hub in Osaka, maybe akin to Shinjuku in Tokyo (though I think Shinjuku is larger than Namba). Anyway, we'd been here once before so we kinda knew where we were going. Our first priority though was finding lunch, which ended up being at this small ramen restaurant. Instead of having the usual tonkatsu ramen, I decided to try miso ramen, and was FAR from disappointed. It was DELICIOUS. It even had a bit of spice too it. So far I've realized I like tonkatsu ramen, I love miso ramen, I dislike soy sauce ramen, and chinese ramen is okay. I think that the northern Japan has its own style, so hopefully I can try that once before I leave...

Anyway, not to be distracted by food (or rather ramen), but after lunch we walked up and down the arcade, weaving in and out of the crowds. Neither of us was in a complete shopping mood, so we only stopped at a few stores. Austen bought omiyage for her co workers and I bought a few presents at the Sanrio store for some friends at home (not telling who!). After though, I was getting tired and decided to head back early and get on the earliest shinkansen back to Tokyo (as it is a 2.5 hour train ride). Once I ascertained what subway line to take to the Shin-Osaka station (the shinkansen runs out of this station instead of the central Osaka station), Austen and I said our good byes and headed in separate directions.

Getting a seat on a shinkansen was simple and I ended up sitting next to a French dude on the way back to Tokyo. We talked for a bit and then I went back to reading my book, taking a few interval naps. I had hoped to get the window seat, but as luck would have it, I instead got the aisle, which I definitely would rather have instead of a middle seat. But still. Part of what I love about train rides is watching the countryside go by. Granted, it was nighttime, but I've fallen in love with how urban landscapes look at night; all light up with neon and other bright colors. I find it calming as well, the faint humming of the train, the minor vibration of the engine, the lights of the outside whizzing by...yeah, I've fallen in love with trains and train rides.

I made it back to my apartment around 9:20, starving (I hadn't had dinner before the train ride), and to make life easier, I just ordered pizza, settled in, watched some Battlestar Galactica, and then went to bed. Happiness at its finest.