【轉個彎旅行】那些過程教會我的事

On the sixth and also my last day of Japan trip, I felt a little sad. Time flied so fast. It’s going to be the time to say goodbye to my Japanese friends. I woke up at 7 o’clock and arranged my luggage. There were many souvenirs, food and clothes. My trunk was almost full and I was a little afraid that it would be overweighed. After eating breakfast with Eiji’s family, Eiji and I took a train to the Osaka JR station.
I met with Shoji and Miki at JR station. They were very hospitable and insisted to see me off even if they had to get up early. My bus to the Kansai airport departed at ten a.m. It meant we only have half an hour to talk. Sincerely, I was very appreciated of their help and kind entertainment. Now we are only students, we have more time and free schedule to travel. Sooner or later, we will have jobs and become full-time staffs. Then, it’s not as easy to meet each other as now. Therefore, I invited them to visit Taiwan again. I think they will feel our energy and diversity again.
It’s time to say goodbye. I carried my luggage and got on the bus. I sat near the window, waving my hands. They responded me a sweet and friendly smile. At that moment, I almost cried. I pressed the shutter continually and hoped to catch this moment forever. Until now, I still remember this scene. Their smile is always existed in my brain. I believe that we will meet again one day. Where? It may be on the corner of the earth.
Finally, who is my fifteenth friend met in Japan? He is a Taiwanese, Ethan and we met in the Kansai airport. To know more about him, I think I should wait for next coincidence. Anyway, the world is too small. Let’s rock the world!!!

At night, we came back to Osaka JR station. The fourteenth person I met is Miki. She is a student in Osaka University, too. I met her in Taiwan three years ago, because she joined an international conference here. She is a very cute girl with quick speaking speed. But I try to speak Japanese with her this time. It seems that she slowed down her speed so that I can understand her meanings. We went to a department store first. I wanted to buy a Doraemon toys for my little cousins. Of course she would be the best “tour guide.”
After hanging around the near district, we went to eat dinner together. They showed me the modern Japanese way of treating guests. It’s so-called Yakiniku, which is similar to Bar-B-Q. You can order many kind of food following on your favorites. Shoji and Miki asked me to order any food, but I don’t know how to order them. There was so much different food. Here came my saying again, “Traditional food is better than other.” Two hours later, there were only many plates on the table. I can’t forget such a delicious food. It’s my last and the most “Oisii” food.
We talked a lot of good memories together. Three years ago, we were only students, but now we are going to graduate from school. We all grew and improved a lot. Although we are in different countries, we still have a common dream. They told me that earning money is not the most important thing for them. If they have time, they would like to help other people and give service to those who need. I support this idea very much. As a global village resident, you shouldn’t care yourself merely. I believe that world peace is not only a dream but also a practical way. If we concern other people and put into practice, they will return us a warm hug. The problem among the world is mainly caused by misunderstanding. Try to know other people and culture, then you will find the beauty of humanity.

After saying goodbye with Hun-Ting, I went to Osaka JR station directly. My friend, Shoji, has waited me for a short time. He is one of my best friends in Japan. I think he might be my first Japanese friend. We met each other in Korea conference four years ago. He is a very funny guy. We always feel happy because of his creative and funny ideas. I almost forget his “achievement” in the conference, but I still remember his looking from some photos. 
He is a student in Osaka University. He went to India for several months, so he will postpone his school life. I also did my traineeship in Turkey last summer vacation. I think it was my great memory. I like the environment and friends there. We shared many stories regarding our traineeship together and exchanged our opinions. For us, we have been an AIESECer for four years. To experience the different culture and make foreign friends is our target and willing to work abroad. The special experience improved me a lot, so did he. 
Shoji’s house is located on the Kobe city. Therefore, we went to Kobe city in the afternoon. Kobe is very close to Osaka. It only takes half an hour by train. We visited so many places, such as TenMan temple, Kobe Port, Chinese street, and some exotic-style buildings. Kobe port is the first port opened for the world in Japan. I saw a sentence on a statute. It showed “From Kobe to the world”. I like this sentence so much, because I also live in a harbor city in Taiwan. I can understand the meaning totally.

I traveled around Osaka and Kobe at my fifth day. There were totally different places. Osaka is the second biggest city in Japan, which is famous for the modern buildings and economy. Kobe is a harbor city where you can find much exotic culture. I like the two cities because they give me a different impression of Japan. Compared to Kyoto, I think they are closer to our real life. I never see such a complicated transportation system in my life. That‘s another special experience for me.
The eleventh person I met is Eiji. I met him in Taiwan, too. We chatted with each other a lot when traveled in Taiwan. That’s why I want to meet him again. I also appreciate his help and accommodation so that I don’t need to live alone outside. He’s going to graduate from Kyoto University this year and has already found a good job in a chemistry company. Although he had to do the experiment in school, he still showed me the beautiful scenery of Osaka, especially the Osaka Castle. I really enjoyed the time went out with him.
When we were going to leave the Osaka Castle, I met a familiar person. What a coincidence! She is Heng-Ting from China. We first met each other in Kiyomizu temple two days ago. She traveled with her Chinese friends from different universities. The reason why we started to talk is because we spoke the same language at that time. I told them the meaning of “Love road”, so I had a little impression. When we met again in Osaka, we all felt very happy and surprised. I think it’s a very low probability for two foreigners to meet each other two times in different places. Therefore, we exchanged our contacting ways. I believe that we will have this coincidence one day.

以下兩段影片是來自立命館亞洲太平洋大學的表演，他們於3/8中午來台大表演，特別挑選兩段精彩影片，與大家分享。

 

My friends were busy with their work at my forth day of Japan trip, so I traveled around Kyoto by myself. I went to the premier’s temple (ShouKokuJi) and met an English girl. Her name is Anna and she also went backpacking alone in Japan. That day was her second day in Kyoto. She planed to visit Silver Temple (Gingakuji) later. We had a short talk there. I almost forget what we talked, but I like the moment we met together. She is the first European friend in my Japan trip.
She wanted to visit the places where I have ever been before, so we said Goodbye to each other in the premier’s temple. After a while, I went to Emperor’s Palace. It reserved the original face of Kyoto streets and old buildings. You can find many small stones on the ground. When you walked on it, the sound heard like music. I enjoyed the view and feeling. It’s really relaxing and slow.
In the afternoon, I entered the palace. For the sake of safety, every tourist should apply for the enter permit by signing up an application form. There are many tourists from different countries, including Europeans and Asian people. I met my tenth friend inside. He is Milos from the Netherlands. I admired him very much because he travels to more than one hundred countries so far, even Antarctic. He is a very talkative person. I remember that we met in a small introduction room. When I smiled to him, he gave me a bright smile, too. After talking to each other for a while, we decided to travel together.
We had a great time in Kyoto and shared our personal experiences. He told me that this is also his long-term trip and he has traveled for five months. The total duration is eight or nine months. How amazing it is! I think it might be a very big decision for Taiwanese. Many people have the dreams to travel around the world, but I don’t meet anyone who can fulfill the dream. To me, he is the first person who put the dream into practice. However, he never visits Taiwan before. I invited him to visit Taiwan and enjoy the unique culture and friendly people here. It will be a totally different experience.

I met two friends, Hiro and Mio, in Kyoto University. We met each other in the AIESEC study tour in Taiwan two and half a years ago. I was very happy to meet them again. Especially, when I heard that they will graduate from school soon, I felt we become older and mature. Although we still talked about many good memories, we knew that the new responsibility is coming. I believe that we will meet each other again in the future and next time our topic will become totally different.
After eating lunch together, they left us and went to the library. Yukiko and NoSo showed me other buildings inside campus. There were many classrooms and offices inside the building. I also visited their club discussion room and took some photos. I liked the atmosphere in Kyoto University. Because it’s very historical, I found that there were many old-style architectures surrounded us. To be honest, it’s a little similar to my school, National Taiwan University. Maybe they were all built by the same Japanese architects.
The seventh person is Aki who is also a Kyoto LC member. He is a very cute guy, although his English is not very good. He studies his sophomore year now. I encouraged him to practice simple English with me. I thought he will do a good job in the future. We had a great time in the Kiyomizu Temple. It’s a world culture heritage now and attracts many tourists every day. It’s located at the top of small hill. I really like the place and the view of Kyoto City from Kiyomizu Temple.
Yutaka came with us at night, and we went to a traditional stand to eat Ran-Men together. The current LCP, Kenji, showed up after a few minutes. He is the eighth person I met in Japan. He told me that he joined a conference in Taiwan one year ago, so he had some special experiences. I forgot what he said at that time, but I’m sure that he had good impressions on Taiwanese girl. After finishing Ran-Men, we went to a sushi store. The food is very delicious and popular now. You can taste it even in other countries.

The third person is Nozomi, but we often call her nickname, No-So. She studies her sophomore year in Kyoto University now. Actually, this is also my first time to meet her. She told me that she had been to Taiwan before and met some MCLC members. That’s the reason why she wanted to meet me in Kyoto. We discussed a lot of beautiful spots in Taiwan, such as Taipei101, National Palace Museum. It seemed that she just came back from Taipei yesterday.
Yutaka, Yukiko and she became my tour guide during my trip in Kyoto. Yukiko is another second-grade student. She had visited MCLC in Taiwan last year. That’s so-called study tour program, which is a connection between Kyoto University and Ming-Chuang University. They have the traditional exchange program to visit each other every year, so Yukiko went to Taiwan. I’m very happy to meet her in Kyoto again. The feeling is very special and familiar.
We went to Kyoto University together. There were still many students on the campus. No-So told me that now is their final exam week. Kyoto University is a very old school in Japan. When I entered the gate, there was a building in front of me. It looked like Taiwan President Palace. One high clock tower was located in the middle of the building. After their explanation, I knew that that is a centennial hall for Kyoto University. I liked their souvenir shop inside the building. There were a variety of products, such as cups, clothes, among others, but the most impressive one is Kyoto University Chocolate. I didn’t see such kind of chocolates before. It’s very creative for me.

                                                                                         吳孟霖撰文
        千年的京都，在現代日本的對應下，有著一股令人難以抗拒的魅力，傳統的神社，靜謐的街道，清新的空氣，還有路上慢步的行人，如此的生活情調，正是京都帶給人們最大的享受。乘著自行車，穿梭在大街小巷間，肚子餓了，找一家傳統小店，嚐著「お好み焼き」，和五十好幾的大嬸聊天，接著再到附近的古廟，打禪、欣賞這田園美景，這樣悠閒的生活，就是京都。 

        「旅行，開始了，就停不下來」這是我偶然在某本旅遊書上看到的一段話，2006年的夏天，我來到了土耳其，自助旅行的點點滴滴，依然令人回味，於是又開始計劃下一次的旅行。有了先前的經驗後，規劃起來較為上手，但這次最大的不同是，我選擇了一個人，一個人帶著行李，來到位於日本的京都，六天五夜，沒有中文的世界，只有一個人的怡然自得。 

        談到日本，相信對大多數的台灣人來說，絕對不會陌生，在一片哈日風中，很多人對於藝文、歷史、文化上已相當熟悉，甚至還有很多人會說一口流利的日文，每年寒暑假，前往日本的旅行團也讓各大著名觀光景點少不了台灣觀光客的存在。然而，我們大多只看到表面的東西，看了很多電視節目介紹，但卻不知道這背後的故事，享受日本美食的同時，卻不知道這其中的禮儀，於是，我決定當六天的日本人，從生活中的細節來看日本真正的文化。