Lo, Aquiles II T.

10931929 Hokkaido My experience in Hokkaido was a memorable one for this is one of the first times that I truly travelled. I have been to other places but I have never really experienced a place, as it should be. I did not enjoy travelling because of the long hours on the plane, having to wake up at 6 am, riding on the bus for hours on end just to see rock formations, the never-ending packing and unpacking of bags as we go from city to city and the overall foreignness of the place we where in, it was not in my comfort zone. All of this changed when I entered philosophy for I met Ms. Velasco and she taught us Zen Buddhism, this is the time I started to appreciate everything a lot more especially nature, simple events and other people. The change did not happen overnight, it was a long process because most of the time I still think of the hassles of travel but then in one of our classes wherein she told us that she loved Japan, she described how beautiful the places was and how she would like to stay there if she had the chance. This triggered a recollection of my own travel to Japan and I realized that Ms. Velasco was right; Japan is indeed a beautiful place. At that moment I felt nostalgia and it showed me how beautiful the world is plus they had the best ramen Ive ever tasted! Their culture is totally different from hours and I could see their sincerity in doing their work. They would not even accept tips and would sometimes be insulted if they were given money because they think that the service they give is priceless. This made me want to go to Japan again and try to visit Hokkaido for our tourist guide

in our Japan trip just kept talking and talking about how beautiful the place was. He described as some kind of paradise. Well, we werent able to go because of the nuclear crisis in Japan. Because of this travel was out of my mind again until I took this subject called Philosophy of the Unconscious wherein our teacher would hypnotize us, have some consultation sessions and some dream interpretation. At the end of the term, the message of my unconscious was that I would be having a crisis so I should find something that I am passionate about to weather the storm. Because of this, I would often have consultations with my teacher, we would usually meet once or twice a week and he would teach me different skills that I wanted to learn, he even gave me a book about drawing just for me to try it out. This made me want to experiment with a lot of things. At some point I got into meditation and this made me enjoy the now. At the same time I talked to my aunt and she told me that they were going to Japan and would be visiting to Hokkaido. A few days later I decided to tell my cousin that I wanted to go with them and she told me that my aunt already asked her to look for a spot for me. They told me that it was not a sure thing for there are limited spots. I actually got depressed before the trip because I was not doing anything in my life and this made me want to really experience life. A few weeks later I get a call that they were able to talk to the travel agency and got me into the tour. I was really excited for this trip for its the first time I am not with my parents and siblings in going to a different country. The trip started well as there was no traffic at all. We were actually early, as the check-in counters have not yet opened. I did not feel the stress of the

plane for I was meditating, sleeping and/or reading the whole ride. We arrived in a city a little bit outside of Hokkaido and it was a really chill night, the official tour would actually start the next day. The next day, we ate in this shabu-shabu like restaurant and the food was okay. After eating we rode this wormlike bicycle trip, it was fun. The next place we went to was this mountain place and we went there through the train. The scenery was fascinating and I am really amused by nature at this point. While going to our bus, I passed by this fruit store and they were selling mouth watering strawberries, I bought around three packs and ate most of them. I could taste them as I am typing right now. Once the group was complete, we went to see the place where the hot water there is coming from. The place had nice roads where people could walk through and one would see other tourists taking pictures of this unique sight. After a few minutes of smelling the foul smell of the sulfur while walking, we were shown this somewhat of a well where the water passes through and sort of explodes from time to time. We headed back to the bus and I was kind of disappointed for it did not match the idea that our former tourist guide gave us. Around 4 pm, we were informed that we would already be going to our hotel and we would be staying there for the night. I was shocked for tours usually last until nighttime to maximize the time that we have there. While in the bus, the tourist guide, Mr. Mario (I called him that for he looked like Mario the video game character) taught us how to use the public bath and do it the right way. This was not the first time I would be encountering the public bath, it was mentioned to us in our first trip but I never tried it because I was really shy. Anyway, Mario told us that we should remove all

our clothes first and take a shower, after taking a shower, we would then go into the hot pool and place a towel on our heads as it would help balance the body. Mario said that after 30 minutes, we should go out of the pool to give our body some rest, take a shower and then go back again. We should repeat the cycle until we are satisfied. I was really excited as this was my time to try this and it would be a new and unique experience for me. When I got into the hotel, I immediately changed my clothes, called my uncle and we went to the public bath. There was a certain kind of anxiety for this is not party of the culture I grew up in but when I entered the dressing room, everybody was just taking their clothes off and walking naked, this made the anxiety go away so I just took my clothes off and follow Marios instructions. During the bath, I got to talk to my uncle and got to know him a lot better. I also got to talk to the other guys in the group. After the bath, we cleaned up and went to the dinner buffet. This was one of the best buffets I have ever had for I was really relaxed and the food was fresh. The feeling came from the vibe of the place and not just the taste of the food. After dinner, we met up at the lobby with the other tourists and just walked around town. I checked out the shops nearby and I saw this wood carving of a bear and I immediately bought it. At the next store I checked I saw this owl statue and I also bought that one. I was feeling so relaxed and happy that I wanted to buy things that would remind me of the feeling. After a few minutes, my cousin, uncle and I went to the liquor store and bought some Sapporo beer, its one of the best beers Ive had plus I had a good conversation with my relatives. On the third day, I woke up having the best sleep Ive ever ha d. The day was another

relax day as we just went into this small fake looking Samurai village and to the amusement park, the places we went to were not really special but this allowed me to get to know my relatives more. The next day we went to this market and I got to talk to this girl in the tour, she was really cool and I liked her. My niece is very fond of her for some unknown reason. After the market, we went to a bear zoo. We invited the girl to feed some bears and hung out with her. I got to know her more and I found out she was into philosophy but her course is creative writing. We went to see a number of mountains and sceneries there. The tour ended around 4 pm and we went to a different hotel. This new hotel was huge and had one of the best public baths in Hokkaido. They had a very comfortable lobby that had a big glass that has a view of a lake. I could remember how astonished and happy I was as I sat in that lobby. Mario informed us that the hotel also had other facilities like the arcade and some ping-pong tables. My niece and me decided to play ping-pong and then suddenly, our new friend, Steph, appeared. I invited her to play with us and we had fun. After playing, Steph asked me where I planned to go and I told her I was going to walk alongside the lake. I asked her if she wanted to come and she said yes but she would be checking the temperature first because she did not bring any jacket and it might be too cold for her. As we went out, she felt cold and I offered my jacket but se said that I might be the one to get sick. This made feel very happy for some reason and literally, there were fireworks. She left and as I walked alone I saw my cousin and bonded with him. As we were about to go back to our room, I saw Steph walking towards the lake so I told my cousin that he should go ahead.

I talked to her and I felt that she was an extraordinary woman. We talked for hours about random stuff like future plans, philosophy, places weve been and a little bit of our hatred towards the Filipino-Chinese culture. The next day I got to talk to my cousin about it and its actually one of the times that I got to know him a little bit deeper as he talked about his personal life. After a while, the other aunts started to tease me and I also got to talk to them and I think its the first time I had a real conversation with them. This made me realize that I should start talking to my family more and that my ideas of them are different from what is the case. I spent the next few days just talking to them and this got the loneliness out. Overall the trip is one of the best that Ive ever had, not just because of the place but also because of the shift in perspective. This shift is very crucial for me as it changed the whole experience of the trip from that feeling of hassle to a light and fun trip.