It’s Friday, and we’re about halfway through the trip. This experience has been amazing so far, for we have been to Tokyo and seen sights such as Harajuku and Shibuya. Seeing these popular shopping centers was so awesome, and the contrast in fashion in these areas was so interesting to compare to the formal lifestyle in the conservative sections of Tokyo. Being in Harajuku was so colorful and diverse compared to the countryside of Japan, to which I was exposed to within the last two days. After Shibuya, and shopping, I filled my bags with sweets and gifts that will preserve these days for a lifetime. I have experienced new tastes with every meal and each one was nothing short of fantastic. The food is great and the city itself is so quiet and wonderful. Following Tokyo, the group and I visited Kamakura and Shirakawago, which both exposed me to shrines and temples that I have never seen in my entire life. I prayed at a shrine after climbing to the top, and the experience was so beautiful and serene I seemed to have lost myself for ages. I have never experienced such tranquility in my life. Following this, we spent a day and a half in Gokayama, a very rural section of Japan. Along the way I saw mountains like you wouldn’t believe. Mountains and flowers and fields as far as the eye can see. It was unbelievable. I experienced onsen and traditional Japanese inn rituals.