Now you know, Advice for students coming to Nara.

Now, before I do my post about my Tokyo and Nagoya trip I wanted to offer some brief important tips and points for students coming to Nara. I may add more later on but I wanted to at least give you some pointers to start off with.

Pre-rice harvest in Nara city.

Get OUT

Get out on foot, by bike, and by bus and just explore. I learned so much by just hoofing it. If I was lazy I would just take a bus, the yellow buses are the city loop line so they are really easy to learn. You just walk up to the bus at a stop (they come every 10 minutes) put 200 yen in the receptacle and go sit down- not in the special seats for elderly though. 

Shinjuku near Times Square, Tokyo.

I found so many great opportunities just by getting out and exploring, and when you feel familiar with a place you can adjust more easily.

This was actually the number one thing that helped me to find unique opportunities in Nara, just getting out of the dorms and school to explore on my own or with a friend.

Near Nara park, Nara city.

Socks

Now that I am back in Michigan I remember just how much I had to walk each day in Nara, and Japan in general. It wasn't a big deal and my legs are actually much stronger now as a result, but with walking you pay a price. Bring good socks.

You also may want to bring black socks or socks that can look nice since you have to take your shoes off in so many places and occasions so its smart to invest in nice looking and good quality socks. 

Kasuga Mountain area, Nara.

About a month and a half after the other international students arrived many of them were throwing out their threadbare socks left and right.

Volunteer time at Yamazoe middle school.

Get to know the other students AND NON students!

It's great when you finally know the other international or Japanese students since it really makes a difference in your experience, but I think its even better when you can step out of your comfort zone and meet new non-students.

Go walking, stop into random shops and I assure you the locals will welcome you back, give you free stuff and in general be super warm (in the Kansai region especially).

When I left I knew so many great locals and I miss them now but it is a really great feeling when you've had a grumpy day and you walk home, and as you pass by the plant shop on the way to the dorms and the lady welcomes you home. That's a day changer.

Workers welding new ditch covers near International Student House dorm road, Nara city.

Get Familliar

Seriously I can't tell you how useful it is to be familiar with Celsius, Centimeters, Liters, Kilometers, Kilograms, military time,  and the like.

Locals shop at the mini farmer stand outside Nara City's Information Center.

Not just for Japanese people, but virtually any other non-Americans you talk with it is going to come up in conversation. And it feels good to be able to continue the conversation and have some reference idea.

I took a Celsius to Fahrenheit chart that I colored so I could tell at a glance what was considered hot, cold, and insanely hot weather.  When I looked at the newspaper forecast I could easily tell after a while if it was going to be a nice day or not without my chart.

Maintenance or construction workers outside of NUE's library.

Sure you could do what some of the Americans did and refer to your smarty pants phones every time, but personally I would rather have that knowledge so I can easily focus on what the other people are talking about rather than waste the flow of convo while I look up something the rest of the world sans Americans knows.

Classis car near local Nara City post office/bank.

Know Yourself

Know ahead of time what things you can rely on for comfort and use for coping. For me it was different things at different times, but art (painting, viewing...), films, nature, my goldfish, plants, books in English, time with friends, visiting a cafe, and cooking new things.

Ditch used to divert water from the mountain area near NUE.

There are days that make you appreciate the good days, and when you have those junky days and you need a pick-me-up, you can look in your back pocket for a way to deal. These coping things really make a difference.

View from Kyoto station.

Takesumi

For me coming from places that usually have well water that tastes amazing and non-chlorinated, it was a real pain for me to drink the water at the dorms. 

To be honest the chlorine was so strong I would come out of a bath or shower smelling like I had been in a pool. It was bad and I love water, and I refuse to buy the bottled stuff for a few reasons.

A view from inside the trenches that run along the road Takabatake Cho Nara city.

One big reason is if you remember you have to walk a lot, so you are going to be carrying that heavy water all the way home, or biking it home, or busing it home, either way thats a pain in my but.

And another is its expensive (it adds up), its tedious, wasteful etc... So my solution? Takesumi.

Near Higashi Muki and Sarusawa Ike pond Nara city.

Take means bamboo and sumi is to clean or purify and its basically a bamboo carbon filter that the Japanese have been using for a long time.

You can buy these bamboo charcoal like sticks, put them in your glass, or pitcher of water and in about a minute depending on how much water you can have delicious water that doesn't smell like a jug of bleach.

Nara park filled with deer nearing night.

Slippers

If you go anywhere or do any home stays chances are you will come in contact with Japanese slipper culture. Many people know it is customary to remove your shoes at the entrance of many homes, schools, and businesses in Japan, but what then?

Nara city locals gather to watch and dance at the yearly Bon odori festival at Ni Gatsu Dou  Temple.

Most often you are given these dark green looking slippers and told to wear them. Personally I had a hard time understanding why I couldn't just go in socks but I dealt with it and changed into various slippers so many times I have lost count.

View from the top of Ni Gatsu Dou Hall Temple area at sunset.

There are slippers for the house, for the rock garden area, for the toilet.....the point is get used to slippers. Now that I'm home I just want slippers to keep my feet warm in winter.     

So I think these pointers will at least give you a heads up, but just get out there learn, and have fun exploring, it's a great place to do it!