St. Olaf Band Tours Japan

The St. Olaf Band toured Japan in January-February 2010 as a part of the course "The Arts and Culture of Japan." We spent most of our time in and around Tokyo, Hiroshima, and Kyoto.

Okonomiyaki, a Hiroshima specialty. This is basically an "everything" okonomiyaki.

They served us "American" food.

"American" food? Sure.

But Japanese sake. They practically shoved it down our throats.

We had a celebrity farewell after our first concert!

Mystery meat on a stick. Octopus? Bought at a truck stop.

Gakugeikan danced in their show.

The A-Bomb Building in Hiroshima.

The mound in the Hiroshima Peace Park was made from ashes of those burnt in the blast.

Visitors come bearing 1,000 cranes and/or art for peace made out of cranes, which are displayed at the Children's Memorial.

The Children's Memorial.

It is said that this flame is not eternal, but will go out when there are no more atomic bombs left in the world.

Look through the Peace Arch to the Flame to the A-Bomb Building.

The outfit a boy was wearing through the explosion.

A Kyoto suburbial neighborhood.

Saitama Sakae demonstrated Japanese sports for us, including archery,

and sumo wrestling.

For lunch one day, we stopped at a mall that reminded me a great deal of Universal's CityWalk, except it had a pagoda.

There was a dance concert going on, which was really cool. It was also fun how, usually, Japanese people do not show enjoyment during performances, but the drummer in the front in this picture was really having a good time.

Our room in the ryokan, the traditional Japanese hotel.

The group room, where we had meals, class, and No Talent Night.

My new pink yukata that I got for 500 Yen (~$5).

I also got this more expensive one. I wish we could wear yukatas every day!

We had a 7-course traditional Japanese dinner. It was amazing!

Which included grapefruit for dessert.

Japanese dogs wear clothes. This dog was super cute, cuddling in its Sesame Street hoodie in its blankie on the floor.

Shopping area in Asakusa, Tokyo.

Only in Akihabara, can one find a ridiculous collection of cute SD cards. I kind of wanted one.

Did you know that Tokyo also has an Empire State Building? Well, now you do.

Since in Japanese, L and R are the same letter, they often get confused in English, even written English.

Eirik from Norway, grilling us some yummy okonomiyaki.

My tiny room at the hostel/hotel, in Tokyo.

This bear is pointing to the subway doors, saying, "Don't get your finger caught!"

I learned some kanji on my trip. This menu included some important ones: 大 means big, and 辛 means spicy.

Japanese toilets are famous and complicated. They have a) heated seats, b) built-in bidets, 
c) music or other sounds, automatic everything. They can't be sufficiently described - you just have 
to go check them out!

Some trains on the subways are for women only late at night.

These textured yellow strips in and around subway and train stations guide blind people where to go.

Nature in Japan

On my trip, I got to see mountains, ocean, and other parts of nature that I really miss in Minnesota.

On the ferry to the island of Miyajima, there were many wonderful views of the water, mountains, and trees.

On Miyajima, and also at other shrines, the deer are very friendly.

My first view of Mt. Fuji was from the Shinkansen, or bullet train.

In the Owakudani Valley, there are sulfur hot springs, some of which are up to 80°C, hot enough to boil eggs in. Sulfer black hard boiled eggs, as well as other foods cooked in these hot springs are very popular.

       Egg Transport

          Fresh sulfur boiled egg.

There are many nice gardens in Japan. This one is at the ryokan (traditional Japanese hotel) where the band stayed in the Owakundani Valley

In the Owakundani Valley, the Komagatake Ropeway takes people up a mountain. It was very foggy the day we went, and the top of the mountain was completely surrounded by fog, but on the way up, we got some amazing views of the valley.

           On the very top of the mountain is a shrine.

           The mountaintop gondola station.