Reverse Culture Shock New Year

In the JET Program, many people will talk about the effects of leaving your Japanese home and re-adapting yourself to your former home. This has the term "reverse culture shock." I happened to feel this without even leaving Japanese borders. Now, in Iwate, Morioka is the mecca, the cosmopolitan of the prefecture. But that's pretty much just saying Topeka, Kansas; it's not nearly the glitz and glamour of Los Angeles or New York. Now after being here for five months, most of the city girl within me has left, except for the shopping pangs which I'm sure will never really leave.

I am now a Morioka country girl.

So now, to treat ourselves to the new year, we ventured to the world of Tokyo. Now, when we first arrived, we thought that the culture of Tokyo was the culture of Japan... our American minds were quickly changed. Being in Tokyo Station, waiting for the massive amounts of trains, reading the neon flashing signs, and trying to keep up the pace of the Tokyo power-walker, I started to feel a little... overstimulated. Luckily, just as I adapted to Morioka, I soon adapted to Tokyo, especially with the yummy food of my friend Kunino's mom. We were fortunate enough to spend the new years holiday with our college friend's family and they showed us the ropes of a real Japanese New Years. Throughout the week, we did some amazing things.

First... DISNEY SEA!



It's amazing the amount of detail that Japan puts in their amusement parks. Everything about the park was amazing and the little clothing souveniers of Mickey Mouse ears, beanies, and little clip hats, were so irritatingly cute that even I had to buy one.

Second... NAMJA TOWN.




Think of a theme park filled with food, there you will find Namja Town. Inside a shopping mall you will find Gyoza Stadium, Dessert Land, Ice Cream City, among tons of other attractions. We ate about $40 worth of gyoza and easily killed 4 hours there. It was the most magical place ever.

Third... EVERYTHING ELSE. For the remainder of our time, we enjoyed New Years OSECHI (a preserved meal with yummy symbolic food), Ueno Zoo, Beer Museum, the Science Museum and just the wonder that is Tokyo. Once we finally got home, we enjoyed our vacation with another vacation...SLEEP!



Let's ring in a wonderful New Year!