Sights – Page 5 – RITs International Game Industry Course for 2023

From Sumida To Kyoto!!

On the last day of our Hostel stay, Belle and I had a biiigggg day planned. That plan being the Pokémon Cafe!!

Belle and I moved out of our hostel and dropped our luggage at the luggage holding area. From there we headed for the train station in Asakusa. We once again ran into the festival from my last post but we tried to avoid the traffic as much as possible. We went to like really small shop on Orange St that had all these old DS games for like ¥300! It was so cool. However the weather was hot, so we headed for the station to go to Nihombashi. We boarded the train without issue and got off at our stop. We arrived a bit early so we walked around Nihombashi.

Nihombashi seems to be a very business centered town so we really just saw buildings. Once 10am came around, we went to the the Pokémon Center! I spent a lot of money but it was so worth it. I got some goodies like pins, a nice shoulder bag, and a sticker! We also met up with Fabian and Pavel!

After waiting for a while in the line to check out, we went to the Pokémon Cafe! And let me tell you it was quite the experience. We ordered order food from the iPad and got it pretty fast. I ordered a soufflé pancake and a chocolate milk au lait for my first order and hot chocolate and the chocolate parfait for dessert.

We also got a dance from Pikachu!!! At the end we got some merch and headed back for Asakusa to pick up our luggage. After getting our luggage back in Sumida, we met up with Jess, Fabian, and Pavel to travel to Shinagawa for our first class meetup! Everything went pretty smoothly other than the train being busy. We arrived in Shinagawa and checked into our rooms.

After putting my stuff away it was already time to meet for class. Jas and I headed downstairs to meet everyone. As a class, we headed to the station to exchange our JR rail passes. It took a while and everyone was starving so at around 7pm we went to dinner at the hotel’s food court.

I have a side tangent though. This hotel was so extra. There were 11 IMAX theaters, 2 FLOORS of bowling, an aquarium, 7/11, multiple restaurants, many parlors, and golf simulations. It was insane. Side tangent over.

For dinner I got just a slab of pork and that was good for me. After dinner I went to 7/11 and got some ice cream and dango once more. I also saw that they had avocado Doritos and melon KitKats. I didn’t know those existed but they sure did!

After 7/11 , I went back up to my room, took a shower, and went the bed.

Next morning I got up at around 5am and decided to do laundry. The laundry was fine but the dryer was not the best. I had to use a hairdryer today my jean shorts.

After 11am checkout, Belle, Cam, Jess, Skylar, Liam, Chloe, and I went to the aquarium! It was really cool and they had capybaras! I love capybaras! They also had really cute otters that out on a little show for us. We were there for a little while then headed back to the hotel for class to meet.

We went to the rail station and went on the Sinkansen line. We waited then got on the train to Kyoto. Goodbye Tokyo! see you in a week!

The train ride was fine, it was cool to see other little towns outside of Tokyo. The ride was long but we had Zelda! After getting off the train we were greeted by KCG staff directing us to our bus for our luggage. We all packed our luggage into the bus and headed to dinner!

Dinner was at this fancy traditional Japanese restaurant where we had a 10 COURSE MEAL. It was so cool and such an experience. Pictures will be added below. I’m a very picky eater but I tried as much as I can to have a bite of everything. My favorite dish It was an amazing experience but I was so exhausted after the long day of travel and Aquarium and now so much food in my tummy so we headed to our new home for a week.

The new hotel is nice. The room is like a studio but with 2 beds. Jas and I watched some tv then went to sleep.

Okay! See you tomorrow blog!

Here are photos of Pokémon Cafe, Aquarium, Our hotel is Shinagawa, breakfast before the Shinkansen, our ride to Kyoto, the big dinner, and our new hotel.

Penguin Day!!! (+ travel to Kyoto)

For the first time, I was able to sleep in until 8! Previously, I had been waking up at 5 or earlier. We made our way to a bakery where I ate french toast and other bake goods. I also had a delicious smoothie and tried yuzu juice.

After, we checked out of our hotel and split up into groups. I was a part of a large group that went to the aquarium that was attached to the mall connected to our hotel. We were immediately welcomed by a swing boat type ride which we of course had to try.

While many of the earlier exhibits were more sparse and appeared to create a flashy vibe opposed to showcasing the animals, there were some interesting animals there.

This fish looks like he is eating sand.

Some of the later exhibits featured larger animals.

However, the most impressive exhibit by far was the penguin one (no biases here). I’ve never seen a penguin exhibit featuring different species of penguins in one exhibit space. They had King, Gentoo, African, and the rare Northern Rockhopper penguin native to only a few remote islands in the middle of the Atlantic. Truly a treat to see!

There was also an otter show where the otter did various tricks such as sorting garbage, speaking, and eating a shrimp larger than its head. However, we had to leave before seeing the penguin show in order to get to Kyoto…

I had to buy a bag from my favorite anime of all time, Pingu. A true masterpiece.

After riding the Shinkansen and playing more Hearthstone, we were greeted by KCG staff in Kyoto. They kindly guided us to a restaurant where we were treated to a traditional 10 course meal (+desert). This was a very new experience for many and not all of the food was everyone’s favorites, however, this was an amazing experience to experience the foods of a different culture. Personally, this compared to the Chinese banquet dinners that my extended family puts together for Chinese New Years so I was willing to try most foods. Familiar foods of Tempura, Sashimi and Sushi were also served following ice cream for desert. We also had the opportunity of making sushi under the direction of the head chef where I went first and had a great amount of difficulty putting on my glove (and ripped it). All things considered, I think I did a decent job.

We made our way to our hotel afterwards and am about to retire for the night as of the writing of this. Stay tuned, the Kyoto action has only just begun!

To be continued…

Arriving in Japan

I arrived in Japan midday on Thursday the 18th. I didn’t even have to leave the airport before noticing how different it was. Besides the bidet, I didn’t know the toilets would run water to cover up any sounds and would spray perfume when they sensed you. The toilet almost had its own remote control. I also didn’t know that this would be the last water fountain I would ever see in Japan.

After getting briefly stuck in the airport due to a currency exchange issue, I had to figure out how to navigate the subway system since I hardly use them. To my surprise, all of the subway signs were in Japanese as well as in English. I was also taken back by the heat and humidity there, which was 90° with 75% humidity. I got to the hotel eventually and tried to sleep off my jet lag before sightseeing the next day.

The next day, I wanted to get acquainted with the city a bit more so I decided to go to Tokyo tower to get an almost birds eye view of the city. In order to get an achievement card from the tower, I made my way up 600 steps to the top. The next day I visited the park next to my hotel, which seemed to have some sort of festival going on. In the park there were also some shrines and a pond that I walked around before getting dinner at a food truck and heading back to the room.

Half-a-Day in Shinagawa

I woke up around 9:00, hopped in the shower, and got ready for my first lunch in Japan. After using the hotel’s very convenient express check-out, I checked in my bags and went to the food court to look at the many options of Japanese cuisine. I ordered a pork and leek udon and a salty pork ramen, both dishes costing a lot less than they would in the US.

After grabbing some lunch, I decided to make my way towards the Aqua Park, where there was a diverse range of animals, from basic fish, to jellyfish, reptiles, and, even, capybaras. I also watched the mini-otter performance, which was extremely adorable.

By this time it was around 12:45, so I decided to make one last stop at a 7/11 to prepare some snacks for the road, and grab a popsicle to deal with the humid weather.Our time in Shinagawa was short, but very enjoyable. Can’t wait for Kyoto!

Travel Origins and the Beginning

My journey started in San Francisco where my flight to Haneda airport started at 12 pm. The flight was overall pretty smooth with the exception of having the middle seat… At least I bought the wifi which was definitely worth the $18 for the whole flight. The flight was filled with me starting Honkai: Star Rail and competitive games of Hearthstone.

Upon arriving, I successfully navigated the train system to get to the hotel I booked (since I got to Tokyo early). However, I took the wrong exit out of the station and ended up in the backstreets of Roppongi where I wandered through a park. It would have been a much more welcome experience had it not been raining…

The next day, I went to Asakusa where apparently the Sanja Matsuri (festival) was happening. Supposedly, this is one of the largest festivals in Tokyo! I met with Belle and Megan who happened to be visiting on the same day. Jessica joined us later. I also got a drew a fortune in which I got a regular one. The festival was busy at first, however, by 2 pm the crowd became unbearable and we decided to split up.

Later that day I met with my dad who was on a layover and we went to the Rainbow Bridge (which there were no rainbows to be found. What a scam!). However, walking across the bay to Daiba was really pretty at night. However, the bridge was very windy and there was a lot of walking involved so by the time I got back we were exhausted. Next time I would like to take one of those ferries on the water.

From here, you can see both Tokyo Tower and the Tokyo Skytree if you look closely.

The next morning my dad and I went to the Tsukiji fish market and had sushi for breakfast. However, the restaurant was really crowded and busy in the morning so I didn’t get any good pictures. For a Sunday, where the fish market was supposed to be closed, there were still many shops open and people moving about. I did also find a sushi vending machine… Not sure how good it would be though…

My dad and I said our goodbyes and I went to drop off my bags at the hotel.
Later that day we went to a hololive event in Akihabara.

Lastly, the day ends with us exchanging our train ticket vouchers and having a meal at the food court at the hotel where I got one of my favorite foods, Kitsune Udon (udon with sweet fried tofu). I can’t wait for what’s to come!

The Glory of Asakusa

Ever stumbled into one of the largest festivals in the city you’re visiting by pure chance? It’s pretty incredible.

We started Day 3 with another visit to the Tokyo Skytree, both to visit a small coffee shop that we wanted to eat breakfast at and to clean up any loose ends we might have missed in the massive mall. After we had our fill of expensive boutiques and character stores, we decided to explore the other side of Japan: the traditional shrines.

Visiting the shrine was actually an afterthought to the ramen shop that we wanted to visit for dinner, a place that looked like a small local store that turned out to be full of tourists like us. But the food was good! As someone who’s never had real ramen before (and ordered a dipping ramen instead of the more traditional pre-mixed bowl out of a need for control) it was definitely an intimidating experience, but it really was delicious. As we were eating, we heard a group of men chanting outside as they slowly passed the shop… but we didn’t think anything of it.

To end the night, we decided to visit the Senso-Ji temple, a Buddhist temple that was sprawling and breathtaking. It wasn’t super busy because it was so late at night, but there was a drum performance happening which we stopped to watch amongst all of our picture taking. We did notice that there was a banner displaying the dates from May 19th to May 21st, and were surprised by the idea that we had managed to visit the shrine during a festival! We decided to go back tomorrow to see the shrine during the day, and look at what festivities they might have during this celebration.

We could never have been prepared for the gravity of what we had so luckily stumbled into, which turned out to be Asakusa Sanja Matsuri: one of the biggest and greatest festivals that Tokyo had to offer.

To say that there were a lot of people there was an understatement. Towards the beginning of the day (up until 11:30, maybe noon?) we were able to get up close to a lot of the main attraction, which was a parade of shrines being carried throughout various parts of the temple grounds with lots of chanting, deaf-inducing whistle blowing, and good atmosphere. But once we had left the main area and began to wander through the side streets, which were packed with stores and restaurants, the crowd became an ocean. The festival is said to attract over 1.8 million visitors in its 3 day runtime, and I truly believe it now that I’ve been in the middle of it.

Getting to see something so integral to the culture and religion of Japan was truly fascinating, and we are incredibly lucky to have accidentally walked into it on a whim. It was also fun to walk through an area that we had previously seen closed up and ghostly the night before, now alive with people and chock full of goodies to buy (which I obviously partook in). But eventually my social battery had reached its limit of being shoulder to shoulder with strangers, and we hurried back to our respective hotels to recharge as we had on days prior.

For dinner, we decided to head to an American-themed diner for a look at Japan’s perspective of our culture (and also, admittedly, for a bit of familiarity amongst a lot of exhaustion for new foreign food on my part). It felt like being tossed 30 years into the past, and the atmosphere was cozy and fun despite not being something I think I’d ever find in the U.S. today. I had a cheeseburger and fries which was a very enjoyable meal, and we exchanged a conversation with one of the waiters who was curious about why we were in Japan (and probably why we were choosing to eat American food in Japan when we certainly have enough of it back home).

We ended the night by walking along the Sumida River and taking a peek at a couple of smaller shrines, though we could only access one of them as the others were gated off due to the time. It’s nice to experience such a saturated area of culture and then contrast it with the ability to quietly experience the edges of it solo, without the fear of being judged for being unfamiliar with the details.

Tomorrow begins my daily blog posts, which I am praying I will be able to keep up with. I am visiting the Pokemon Cafe tomorrow, which is my most anticipated event, so I’m sure there will be lots of pictures! I’ll end with some more miscellaneous pictures from the festival (I could create a photo album of pictures just from today, seriously.)

Before the big trip (aka official rit time)

This is gonna be a big one so buckle up!

Okay! Ready? Let’s go!

Day 1: We were gonna go to Ueno but Belle and I ended up waking up at 4am.. the time difference really hit. We were up for a while seeing if there was anything to do but nothing was open until like 930-10am. We met up with Jessica and walked around a bit. We ended up going to a Starbucks connected to the Sky Tree and getting some coffee.

After an hour, the SkyTree opened up! We ventured in and spent our WHOLE DAY there. There were so many stores and shops, as well as desserts and foods. Literally any thing you wanted to buy or eat was there.

For example there was the Kirby Cafe, Pokemon Center, Snoopy Store, Marvel Store, Hello Kitty Store, Kirby Cafe store, book stores, clothing stores from Uniqlo to lolita to Diesel, food that ranged from ramen to a cheesecake drink. It was a fun but overwhelming experience. It was like a dream but also a nightmare as I stumbled through my coin purse trying to count.

After shopping around for hours we were exhausted but we still wanted to see the view from the sky tree itself. We planned our adventure to the sky for 630pm so that we all had time to go home and take a little nap.

After we had awoken, it was time to go up! It was really cool and the elevators up to the viewing deck had different themes of the seasons. The views were really cool but sadly it was cloudy. We did see the transition from day to night time though! After this excursion, we all went home and passed out again. Also fun fact, we ended up going around the Sky Tree’s 11 anniversary! Also the top deck was Disney themed.

Ritchie really enjoying the Sky Tree and it’s views!

That was all day 1! Already so much but we continue.

day 2: We wake up once again at 4am, it’s rough but we play Zelda and try to sleep. This day we actually had a plan for breakfast! We all ( being Belle, Cam, Jessica, Liam, and myself) planned to go to Hoshino Coffee in the sky tree. We met up ( after some difficulties) and went for breakfast. We really wanted the big soufflé pancakes but those were only on holidays so we mostly just got some French toast. It was ok, I felt bad for the staff because there definitely weren’t enough seats for us.

After breakfast, we walked around the Sky Tree again! This time finding more stores and showing Cam and Liam the crazy food market and dessert options. I ended up buying some dango! It was really good and seems ritchie liked it too. It had the consistency of mochi but was sweet in flavor almost like brown sugar.

As one could guess, we did some more shopping. This time I got some baby books to practice Japanese! It was Pokémon themed how could I not?! It was funny because we also found Minecraft books and diary of a wimpy kid in Japanese. It was cool to see! After that we got some food and headed back home for our siestas for the day.

After a nap, Belle, Jess, and I went to Asakusa for ramen! It was a cute shop with mostly foreigners but it was yummy! We looked around the area and stumbled upon the Senso-ji Shrine. It was night time so the lights were all on and it was pretty empty but it was super pretty.

We saw some signs that a festival was happening and decided to check it out the next day. It was an accident that we stumbled on to one of Tokyo’s largest festivals that happens every year on this weekend.

Before we get there however, I NEED to talk about the Asakusa Don Quixote. It was CRAZY. Literally anything you could need or want was in the 4 story building. From bicycles, to chargers, to clothes, to beauty products, to food, to alcohol it was all there. It was also very cramped but cool to go through.

After Don Quixote we dispersed and went to bed.

Day 3: If you think it’s crazy now, just wait.
Belle and I woke up at a normal time today!!! Seems our bodies are finally adjusting. After being in bed for a bit we headed out back to Asakusa for the festival. At this point we thought it was gonna be a little crowded but manageable but oh boy we’re we wrong. It was around 10am when we arrived at the temple and it was already packed. We also saw a lot of girls in Kimonos and a lot of traditional clothing. We met up with Skylar and explored the area.

Ritchie having a fun time seeing and participating in the festival!

Apparently we ran into the one of the biggest festivals in Tokyo ( as I said before) but I was not expecting what I saw. There were tons of people and apparently the event draws around 1.8 millions viewers. There were little shops everywhere with food and fortunes to get. We all got our fortunes and all got normal fortunes. At least it’s not a bad one!

After that we saw and heard drums and chanting. The festival is about 3 temples and their shrines. Therefore, there were mini shrines that went around with chanting and clapping to celebrate. Accompanied with that were these carts with taiko drums from different families.

One for the many many shrines moving about the day

The crowds would shuffle around to see all the different mini shrines and drums. It was amazing and I felt so lucky to have seen it. Jessica ended up join with us at about noon for the rest of the day.

After getting a bit tired from the crowds we walked around the festival area to see all the stores. There were a lot of different stores with food, souvenirs, kimono rentals, and more. As a snack I got this 500 yen pancake with mozzarella cheese in it. It was very yummy.

We walked around a lot, bought some gifts, and once again needed a little break from the action. It had been a long day at that point of walking around and seeing so many cool things. We all went to our hotels and rested for a little while.

After a little break, Belle, Jess, and I went to this cute little American themed diner. The staff seemed so happy to see foreigners and even tried to speak English to us! It was funny to see how American culture is perceived and our food. I got Mac n cheese and it was ok. Definitely not my good ol’ box of Kraft! After dinner we did some walking to local shrines in our area and a walk down by the Sumida river. It was a nice temperature outside for a walk. We saw one temple that still have ladles and water out so we practiced cleaning our hands properly. We walked around, planned for tomorrow ( Pokemon Cafe!) and went to bed.

Wow. That was only 3 days and so much has happened. I would love to go into every detail but then this would be more like a dissertation than a blog. I’ll leave you with some more photos I took as we went around. See ya next time!

My First 36 Hours in Japan

My first two days of Japan mode have been quite the adventure! From spending 15 hours in a plane to walking four and a half miles today, it’s certainly been a lot of exploration and new experiences.

I first flew from Atlanta to Chicago, waking up at around 3:45 AM to give myself enough time at the airport for security (I sat in the airport for two hours because I got through security in fifteen minutes. Oh how I wish I had the extra hour of sleep!) Then, I met up with Jasmine and Cameron at the Chicago airport to take our 13 hour flight to Narita. While the flight was comfortable, sitting in one place for that period of time has never been good for anyone’s body, and it certainly did a number on mine. Once we were through immigration and customs in Japan, we met up with Megan and Esther to make our way to our hostel.

I’ve never stayed in a hostel before, but this is definitely a great introductory experience to them! Me and Megan are staying in a room with two twin beds (not a dormitory setting, my social battery definitely couldn’t handle it) and they are very comfortable for the price! We have a sink in our room for brushing our teeth and washing our hands, but toilets and showers are shared down the hall. The showers are very nice, but the heated toilet seats are a bit off-putting for me. Maybe with time I’d come to enjoy them…

I thoroughly enjoyed the Nintendo photo op in the visitors center at the Narita airport!

After going to bed at 8:30 PM with my brain stuck in 7:30 AM mode, I woke up at 5 AM today ready to take on the world. Megan, Jessica and I set out around 7:30 AM, excited to explore before it got too hot. While almost nothing was open, I was able to get a very delicious strawberry frappuccino from Starbucks and take in the sights while we waited for the Tokyo Skytree to open.

We spent the day shopping for cute merchandise and gifts for friends and family at the Skytree, visiting the Pokemon Store, the Kirby Cafe Store, and many other iconic character shops. Personally, I picked up a handful of stickers, a couple of blind bag figurines, and some assorted Pokemon-themed gifts. We ate lunch in the Food Marche (essentially just the most overwhelming food court I’ve ever experienced, that was also a grocery store?) where I got some chicken nuggets and a chicken skewer that had whole cloves of garlic on it, which I wasn’t aware of before buying it. As a picky eater, the food scene in Japan is somewhat terrifying, so I feel like I am justified in easing myself into it. For dessert (because how could we not get dessert with so many options) I got a strawberry skewer that was coated in sugar and some small butter castella balls. The strawberries here are delicious, and I would love to go back and get some more that aren’t lathered in sugar as it was a little overwhelming.

After a quick power nap at the hostel, we finished the day by heading back to the Skytree and going up the tower to “watch the sunset”. Unfortunately it was very overcast by the time that sunset arrived so we weren’t able to see anything, but it is a super pretty view at night! It was very crowded though.

Overall, my first 36 hours in Japan have been quite the ride! I’m constantly left in awe by how different the culture is, which I’ll likely cover in another post as I could write paragraphs about that alone and this is already a bit long. I’m exhausted by 8:30 PM once again, but so excited to wake up tomorrow and do it all over again!

Some more assorted photos from my first two days.

Day 0

Tues, May 16th I left Albany NY for Japan! I flew from Albany International Airport to Washington DC. where I had a short layover and then boarded the plane for Tokyo. Flight consisted of a mix of napping, listening to music, and playing Tears of the Kingdom. On the flight, I sat next to a young woman traveling to Vietnam and we chatted a bit about our travel plans which was super cool. Finally, on May 17th 3:30 pm Japan time I landed in Haneda Airport!

Once in the airport I made my way through customs without much trouble and got my luggage. My hotel is located above the JR-East Shibuya station, so I got a Suica card and headed to the Keikyu line. I took the subway to Shinagawa station where I stopped for dinner! Shinagawa station had lots of places to eat and shop, and it was super cool to see all the food stalls. The ramen stall caught my eye and I paid using an electronic machine. I was given a ticket for my order and sat at the counter where they served me. (I was too hungry and forgot to take a picture of the food :/ ) Ramen was delicious, I believe it was tonkatsu broth.

Once I finished eating, I transferred to the JR line from Shinagawa station to Shibuya. At Shibuya station I met up with Esther and we made it to our hotel (I got a little lost but made my way there eventually).

Hotel has a pretty cool view of the city, though the picture does not do it justice. Once settling in at hotel, Esther and I went to 7/11 to grab som snacks and use the atm. I got a yummy green tea drink and a pancake snack for breakfast tomorrow. Tired from all the traveling, we showered and went to bed. Very excited to explore Shibuya in the days ahead!

Day 0.5!

Leaving for Japan today! I woke up around 6am, had breakfast with my parents then headed off to Newark airport! I might have gotten a little lost finding security but we made it. I also found out that Esther was on my flight! It made the wait for boarding so much easier. We boarded the plane and took off. Here’s my breakdown of the meals ( I’ve never had meals on an airplane before):

Meal 1: ~2pm Halal butter chicken with cilantro rice and some sides like bread and veggies plus brownie brittle!

The butter chicken was good but the cilantro rice was a bit strong on cilantro ( I guess that’s the point)

I actually really liked the butter chicken though! The packaging reminded me of curry like the one my roommate makes at home

Meal 2: around 4 or5 it was turkey and Swiss on a baguette pretty mid ; came with m&ms. I got sleepy around this point but stayed up with the will to play Zelda

Meal 3 ( breakfast!): around midnight with 1:30 left in the flight they’ve given us a lot of snacks and water and the lights are starting to turn on

I’m feeling really sleepy at this point and took a 10 minute Power Nap but I had a bag of goldfish and scrambled eggs ( mid) with sausage to keep me up.

Overall pretty good except no stroopwaffel

Finally! We land! After some deplaning and customs shenanigans the gang was all together. Esther, Belle, Cam, Jas, and myself were all heading to the train station ! We got a pretty suica card and got on our respective trains. The ride was a 1hr 15 to get to our stop. The hostel we booked needed up being on the water down the street from the sky tree! It was so pretty !

We then checked into the hostel, saw our rooms and felt the exhaustion hit. Belle, Jas, Cam, and I took a quick trip to FamilyMart down the street ( it’s was so cool) and got some food and went to bed. What a crazy day.