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Geography of Japan
To those of you who have ever asked me anything about geography, you know I'm not the best person to be giving a geography lesson, but we'll give it a shot.
While Japan is an archipelago consists of over 6,000 islands, the main area of Japan consists of four: Honshu (本州), Hokkaido (北海道), Shikoku (四国) and Kyushu (九州). Where I have been, and will be for the vast majority (if not the entirety) of my stay in Japan is Honshu, which is the big, central island of Japan (it's the shape you think Japan is). Most of the places in Japan that you've heard of are on Honshu: Tokyo, Kyoto, Hiroshima, Osaka, etc.
Don't get me wrong, there are notable places on the other islands as well, but Honshu is where the significant majority of cities and people can be found.
Means of Transport
Christmas Day the three of us packed up and headed up to Sendai, which is some ways north of Tokyo. My host dad actually works up in Sendai during the week, so we were just heading for his apartment. Our departure also meant the first time that I would get to ride a shinkansen (新幹線), or "bullet train". I've got to be honest, it's actually pretty awesome.
One of the many great things about trains in Japan is you can almost always buy your ticket the day of travelling, whether it's just going throughout the city of going across the country. That morning we just rolled our bags to the station, picked up some tickets and were on our way. Also, you just take your bags with you on the train, regardless of however many you have or how heavy they are. Let's see here, with a shinkansen you get:
- Unlimited luggage that will never get lost
- Same day ticket purchasing
- Almost no delays, absolutely no cancellations
I could take trains and avoid airlines for the rest of my life I'd be set. Granted, I think the train is only a little less expensive than flying, but it's infinitely more convenient in my opinion. It was also the single smoothest and most comfortable train I have ever seen. Granted, I got used to the noise of Chicago trains this summer, so my standards are pretty low, but the entire ride you could barely hear any noise from the train, and it was incredibly fast.
My host dad had to go straight to work (they only get the day of Christmas Eve off here apparently), so my host brother and I went to the apartment and just putzed around all day. If it were left completely up to him, I'm pretty sure we would have spent the entire weekend in that apartment watching TV and playing video games (although I'm sure I had a similar opinion when I was 12). However, much to my enjoyment we did actually go places!
Travel
The first trip we took was to the area of what once was a city, but had been destroyed by the tsunami on March 11, 2011. I think the best description of the experience and the place is sad. It wasn't life-altering, it wasn't emotionally unhinging, it wasn't terrifying. It was sad. These days, it is basically an open field, lines by a small handful of dirt paths, dotted with cement rectangles that once formed the foundation for buildings, and absolutely uninhabited. The only other people we saw the entire day were construction works who would occasionally drive by. No buildings is one thing, but no people is a completely different kind of empty.
The only other place that we traveled to during out time up north was a city called Matsushima (松島). It isn't particularly large or anything, but it is a coastal town, known in particular for having over 260 islands in the nearby waters. That day it was just my host brother and I, and we really just played it by ear. We ended up walking through a park that went be the sea shore, going to a history museum about a significant historical figure from the Sendai area, and then riding a boat that went by some of the islands. Although English signs were provided in most cases, I thought I'd be ambitious and try reading all of the Japanese signs in the history museum. That lasted until I hit the second sentence on the sign I was reading, and realized I didn't know a single character in it. My reading has definitely gotten a lot better....but museum terminology is an entirely different story.
Overall, the break was a good combination of travel and rest. I had way more downtime than I am used to (and am definitely glad to be back in the big city), but it was time to catch up on some well-needed sleep, a good chance to get to know my host brother and father a bit better, and an interesting excursion to a different area of Japan.
To those of you who have ever asked me anything about geography, you know I'm not the best person to be giving a geography lesson, but we'll give it a shot.
While Japan is an archipelago consists of over 6,000 islands, the main area of Japan consists of four: Honshu (本州), Hokkaido (北海道), Shikoku (四国) and Kyushu (九州). Where I have been, and will be for the vast majority (if not the entirety) of my stay in Japan is Honshu, which is the big, central island of Japan (it's the shape you think Japan is). Most of the places in Japan that you've heard of are on Honshu: Tokyo, Kyoto, Hiroshima, Osaka, etc.
Don't get me wrong, there are notable places on the other islands as well, but Honshu is where the significant majority of cities and people can be found.
 |
| Map of Japan (Lonely Planet, Accessed Dec 31, 2012, http://www.lonelyplanet.com/maps/asia/japan/) |
Means of Transport
Christmas Day the three of us packed up and headed up to Sendai, which is some ways north of Tokyo. My host dad actually works up in Sendai during the week, so we were just heading for his apartment. Our departure also meant the first time that I would get to ride a shinkansen (新幹線), or "bullet train". I've got to be honest, it's actually pretty awesome.
One of the many great things about trains in Japan is you can almost always buy your ticket the day of travelling, whether it's just going throughout the city of going across the country. That morning we just rolled our bags to the station, picked up some tickets and were on our way. Also, you just take your bags with you on the train, regardless of however many you have or how heavy they are. Let's see here, with a shinkansen you get:
- Unlimited luggage that will never get lost
- Same day ticket purchasing
- Almost no delays, absolutely no cancellations
I could take trains and avoid airlines for the rest of my life I'd be set. Granted, I think the train is only a little less expensive than flying, but it's infinitely more convenient in my opinion. It was also the single smoothest and most comfortable train I have ever seen. Granted, I got used to the noise of Chicago trains this summer, so my standards are pretty low, but the entire ride you could barely hear any noise from the train, and it was incredibly fast.
My host dad had to go straight to work (they only get the day of Christmas Eve off here apparently), so my host brother and I went to the apartment and just putzed around all day. If it were left completely up to him, I'm pretty sure we would have spent the entire weekend in that apartment watching TV and playing video games (although I'm sure I had a similar opinion when I was 12). However, much to my enjoyment we did actually go places!
Travel
The first trip we took was to the area of what once was a city, but had been destroyed by the tsunami on March 11, 2011. I think the best description of the experience and the place is sad. It wasn't life-altering, it wasn't emotionally unhinging, it wasn't terrifying. It was sad. These days, it is basically an open field, lines by a small handful of dirt paths, dotted with cement rectangles that once formed the foundation for buildings, and absolutely uninhabited. The only other people we saw the entire day were construction works who would occasionally drive by. No buildings is one thing, but no people is a completely different kind of empty.
 |
| One of the few structures still standing in the tsunami-stricken area. |
The only other place that we traveled to during out time up north was a city called Matsushima (松島). It isn't particularly large or anything, but it is a coastal town, known in particular for having over 260 islands in the nearby waters. That day it was just my host brother and I, and we really just played it by ear. We ended up walking through a park that went be the sea shore, going to a history museum about a significant historical figure from the Sendai area, and then riding a boat that went by some of the islands. Although English signs were provided in most cases, I thought I'd be ambitious and try reading all of the Japanese signs in the history museum. That lasted until I hit the second sentence on the sign I was reading, and realized I didn't know a single character in it. My reading has definitely gotten a lot better....but museum terminology is an entirely different story.
 |
| A panoramic of the ocean from the park in Matsushima |
 |
| The sign welcoming us into town. |
Overall, the break was a good combination of travel and rest. I had way more downtime than I am used to (and am definitely glad to be back in the big city), but it was time to catch up on some well-needed sleep, a good chance to get to know my host brother and father a bit better, and an interesting excursion to a different area of Japan.
