The Art and Style of Storytelling in Japan - Day 6

A Story of Factories and Towers

Today we left the dorm around 8:30 am and made our way to the Noh Costume Factory. This factory was very small but extremely complex and it is the only factory of this kind in Japan and probably the world. We then had lunch at Kyoto Station where I had some exquisite and tender Wagyu beef with Sil and Dante. We then took the train to Osaka to visit the "Tower of the Sun" and actually went inside of it where they had a museum. Finally, we headed back to downtown Kyoto where we had some awesome Teppanyaki dinner in a small local place and visited some stores. -JP

Early morning, after a wonderful sleep, I came down to the dining room to have my cup noodle which I made yesterday. Overall, I would say it was pretty good! After everybody finished their meal, we headed straight to the Noh Costume Studio. The weather was not cold as much as the other days but it was a little rainy today. After a little walk, we finally arrived at the studio. One of the men in the studio told us that their studio was the only one in the world that creates costumes for noh performances. I was totally surprised after I heard that and even more when we went to the factory where they were creating stuff. I could see that it takes them a long time to set up all the machines before they start working. After the visit to the costume studio, we divided into different groups to have lunch and hang out in Kyoto. I would say Japanese food is awesome! We went to a restaurant which makes mostly omelets with other food then we went to a stationary store to buy some gifts for our friends. After that, we met back up with the group to go to the Tower Of The Sun. It was 41 meters high with lots of cool sculptures inside of it such as dinosaurs, a scorpion, and a gorilla. We spent an hour inside. After that, me, Eva and Marcus had dinner at a buffet restaurant which had all kinds of food. We went there before for dinner and we decided to go there one more time because the food was so good. -Tony

A master costume maker at the Noh Factory.

A worker at the factory preps the loom.

A master weaver at the Noh Costume Factory.

A close up look at one of the weavers working the loom.

Outside the incredible Noh Costume Factory!

Ordering lunch at Kyoto Station!

About to start our tour of the Tower of the Sun.

Outside the Tower of the Sun.

The amazing interior of the Tower of the Sun tells the story of evolution.

A great visit to the Tower of the Sun!

Eva had a blast on our trip to the Tower of the Sun.

The Art and Style of Storytelling in Japan - Day 5

A Story of Temples and Ramen

Today we had a lot of things happening. First, we went to the Cup Noodles Museum. There were were able to make our own Cup Noodles. I enjoyed decorating my cup, however, now I don't want to eat the noodles so I can save the cup for a long time! Later we went to some temples. I was able to take a lot of photos with my friend and we really enjoyed making memories together. My favorite thing about visiting the temples was the fact that I was able to see a lot of people in traditional Japanese clothing. The girls were all wearing different kinds of kimonos while posing at the historical buildings. The view created a special atmosphere which made me very inspired and happy. -Alex

Today we went to the Cup Noodles museum in Osaka where we had the opportunity to learn about Ramen history and also design our own cups of Cup Noodles. After the museum, we got some delicious ramen for lunch and then we went to the amazing Kenniji Temple. My favorite part of today was visiting the temples and learning more about Japanese culture and history and traditions. I also got to try some classic street food nearby one of the temples that was really good! -Lia

Exploring the gallery hall in the Cup Noodles Museum in Osaka.

Choosing your ingredients for custom Cup Noodles!

The ingredient station at the make-your-own-Cup-Noodles factory!

Outside the Cup Noodles Museum in Osaka by the statue of the founder of Cup Noodles, Momofuku Ando.

Enjoying some incredible ramen in Osaka!

Exploring the temples at Kenninji.

The zen garden at one of the temples.

Many visitors wore traditional attire to visit the temples.

A view of one of the shrines in the temple.

The incredible ceiling mural inside one of the temples.

The Art and Style of Storytelling in Japan - Day 4

A Story of Tokyo and Totoro

The group was off early this morning for a day trip to Tokyo to check out the Studio Ghibli Museum. It was a whirlwind day on the bullet train, zipping across the beautiful countryside into Tokyo! Here are a few thoughts from the students about their experiences at the museum.

"It was really cool to see how the frames were colorized in the animation process. I loved how playful the museum was and all of the tiny doors and details that were so much fun!" -Eva

"The museum was full of whimsical surprises like a door that you open that just has a mirror behind it! I also loved the quote hanging in the museum that said translates to 'let's be a child who doesn't know where to go.'" -Tina

"It was nice to see all of the characters that I loved so much from the movies when I was a kid. I liked seeing how they came to life." -Fred

"Going to Tokyo felt like being one of the characters in another world filled with all of the familiar characters from the movies that I love!" -Marcus

View of Mt. Fuji from the train to Tokyo!

The courtyard outside of the Studio Ghibli Museum.

Scenes from the streets of Tokyo!

The visitors map of the Studio Ghibli Museum.

The Studio Ghibli inspired bus schedule!

The Giant Robot outside of the Studio Ghibli Museum!

The group outside of the Studio Ghibli Museum in Tokyo!

The Art and Style of Storytelling in Japan - Day 3

A Story of Butoh and Manga

Today was a very eventful day. I cooked bacon and eggs for breakfast and they turned out better than anything I have ever cooked. It seemed weird, but I seasoned the bacon with soy sauce which I have never done before. After breakfast we got a tour of Kyoto Seika University where we are staying this week. There were interesting animal sculptures, paintings, and the library and architecture were all uniquely amazing. We then took public transportation to the Manga Museum where we participated in a workshop and got a tour. I bought some manga called Devil's Line and Tokyo Ghoul. Afterwards we walked around the area a little bit and I got some Starbucks and some delicious pork buns for dinner. After dinner we saw a really interesting  performance called butoh dance that involved an old woman dressed and painted all in black and white. The music was really good and the performance was really unique.
-Dante

I guess I have jetlag because I woke up today at 5:00am! We all went out in the morning to Kyoto city center to visit the Manga Musuem. This place was amazing! It was literally filled with all kinds of manga and everything related to manga. I am a big fan of Naruto manga and they had every series in all different types of languages. They had around 300,000 manga books and magazines at the museum and many of them were Shonen Jump which has been published every since the 1960's for young boys and girls. Each book contains about 15 different manga artists and each artist has to make at least 20 pages per week. We did a workshop and I was able to try drawing manga and saw how hard it would be to draw 20 pages every week. The museum is open for the public so that many people can learn about manga and visit the manga library. The museum has helped to inform people about manga and change the stereotypes that manga isn't just bad entertainment by worthwhile reading for children. At night we got to visit the Shinkyogoku Market. It was gorgeous and very crowded and we had many fun and new experiences.
-Sil

This has been a great experience so far! My favorite activity has been the butoh dance performance that we watched today. It was just amazing! Very few tourists get the chance to watch such a unique show like this. I loved the dance so much that I researched it more afterwards to learn about it. I saw the beauty of the human body and the amazing effects of light and music and the balance of tension that help bring a performance to life. All of these experiences will be useful for me as I create stories and art and animations in the future. I really appreciated this incredible experience!
-Tina

Visiting the Kyoto International Manga Museum.

Learning about the history of manga during our workshop at the museum.

JP is having a great time working on his manga comic during our workshop at the museum.

Working on our own Manga comics during our workshop at the museum.

Eva works on her manga comic during our workshop at the museum.

Checking out the plaster casts of famous manga artists.

The program from the butoh theater performance.

Posing for a picture with the amazing butoh performer.

The Art and Style of Storytelling in Japan - Day 2

A Story of Flights and Food

After a long flight from Boston to Hong Kong for nearly 15 hours, and a 5 hour layover in Hong Kong, we took one more 4 hour flight and finally reached Japan around noon on Wednesday. We took the subway to Kyoto Seika University a little outside of the city where we are staying for the week. This part of the city is very quiet and is mostly houses and apartments. After we got settled in at the dorm we all went out for dinner together to a traditional sushi restaurant. All of the sushi came out on a conveyor track and the quality of the sushi was amazing! After dinner we went to the local grocery store to buy food for breakfast tomorrow. The grocery store was much different than I expected, but the food all looks very good. We got back to the dorm around 9:30 and after a long day everyone was really tired so we all went right to sleep!

-Sil

We finally got back to the airport and onto the plane again. The flight was so long I watched an entire Anime series and a movie and then still had time to sleep for almost 6 hours until I woke up to the smell of some pretty good airplane food. We landed in Hong Kong and got some more really good food at the airport before getting back on the plane to fly to Japan. I watched another movie on the 4 hour flight to Osaka. When we finally landed we had to go through customs, but that was actually pretty quick. When we got out of the airport we took the train and then had a bus waiting to drive us to the dorm where we are staying. When we got to the dorm I quickly unpacked and we all went out to a sushi restaurant where I ate a bunch of great sushi. When we got home I fell right to sleep and slept like a baby all night!

-Marcus

Goodbye Boston! After one day delay, we are headed to Japan!

Exploring Hong Kong airport during our 4 hour layover.

Finally landed in Japan! On the subway to Kyoto Seika University!

Enjoying some amazing sushi on our first night in Kyoto!

The Art and Style of Storytelling in Japan - Day 1

A Story of a Carp on a Cutting Board

Project Week got off to a challenging start for the Japan crew! After an early departure from campus, a long wait in the airport, and several hours sitting on the plane at the gate, we learned that our flight would not be departing. As they say in Japan, we were stuck like a carp on a cutting board - helpless to our fate! But through the quick action of Mr. Schwab, Mr. Smith, and Ms. Pereira, the group was shuttled off to nearby accommodations as they awaited their rescheduled flight. After a restful day around the hotel, the group is back at the airport, brushing up on their Japanese, and ready for the redux! Everyone has remained in great spirits and is excited to get to Kyoto!

Practicing some Japanese words and phrases in the airport.

Huddled up at the bus stop on our way to the hotel to wait out the storm.

Snowed in, but not discouraged!

Heading back to the airport for round 2!

The Art and Style of Storytelling in Japan

The Japan squad is excited to head off to The Land of the Rising Sun!

Countdown to Monday!