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Day 2 (June 4, 2026)- Tokyo immersion

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We have one full day in Tokyo- will we even sleep? On the first full day of our stay in Japan, we explored three drastically beautiful, different places, each with their own culture and unique angles on life in Tokyo. Our first destination was the boundless TeamLabs Borderless, an “immersive, interactive thing” (according to Jess). It is essentially an art exhibit that moves from one room, down the halls, to other rooms, plus special exhibits... Here, we succumbed to each room, filled with their own authentic experience. Kelland’s favorite room was the fog room, a very dark, steamy room with mist intertwined with rays of artificial light, creating a unique atmosphere that mesmerized Kelland, Alexandra, and Mackenzie through its many cool pictures and silhouettes. Jess’s favorite room was the crystal light room, which had a lot of crytal wiring hanging from 40' above, and light sticks, that took the form in light of images and color. There were mirrors everywhere, symbolizing t...
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Day(s) 1-2 (June 1-2, 2026)

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After our first meal- Sushi After 257 days of planning, preparing and dreaming, we left LAX early Monday, June 1... and arrived at Haneda International Airport in Tokyo during the mid-afternoon on Tuesday, June 2. We hopped onto to a Tokyo train, toured parts of the metropolis, discovered the courteous train culture here, dropped our gear at the Team Poly hotel, and went for dinner. What a fabulous opening meal- udon, sushi, eel (for some,) and some very popular apple juice. After dinner and some mildly sweet desserts, we discussed evident cultures differences here, and walked part of the Ginza district before heading to our rooms for a early turn in after the long day of travels.  Sushi at Kura's More sushi- best delivery system  Our first night out in Tokyo- a City of Lights Learning Tokyo's impressive (and complex) transportation network PolyGlobal visits Tokyo and Taipei We are ready to board this flight for Japan School's out, but learning is continuing
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Day Twelve: A Final Day of Gardens, Shopping, and Baseball

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Uriel:  Awakened by the light glimmering through my hotel’s window, I, Uriel,  woke up rejuvenated and excited for the day ahead; my view through the window isn’t the best, but it’ll do for my final days in Japan. Miles, my hotel roommate, and I had great conversations and laughs about the past nuisances of our trip; ultimately, we reflected on the societal norms we’ve encountered in Japan and how life is so much more different here than compared to our cultural and societal lives Los Angeles. I didn’t have breakfast today, mainly because I felt full from yesterday’s dinner, but I did have a few snacks that helped me last throughout the time leading up to lunch. I got dressed and headed out the door to the first floor where we all decided to meet; one by one we all arrived at the lobby and quickly debriefed our plan for the day.  Heading out the doors of the hotel, we all set foot on an adventure towards Shinjuku National Park, which contained multiple beautiful views, vi...
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Day Eleven: Matsumoto and Tokyo

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  Hello. This is Nick and Lucas. Today, we started with a slightly later wake up time than normal, with a scheduled departure of 9:30. After finishing some laundry and eating breakfast, we all walked down to the Matsumoto Castle. Our Walk Japan Guide, Yo, taught us about the historical importance of the castle. He also informed us about various changes and additions over time to the building. We then walked back to the hotel to retrieve our luggage. After walking to the train station 20 minutes later, we decided to get lunch from a nearby grocery store. We then decided to eat on the 2.5 hour long train ride, eventually arriving in Tokyo after a while. Our long train ride landed us in the heart of Tokyo. We took a quick trip to the ticket counter where we purchased our special Tokyo subway tickets that offered us unlimited rides for 72 hours. We used them for our quick trip to our hotel, where we quickly went to our rooms and decompressed for an hour. Meeting up at 5:00 PM, we set o...
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Day Ten: The Final Day of the Nakasendo Way (And More Rain)

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  Hi everyone, it’s Harper and Miles. We woke up with a slow morning, still tired from staying up late the last night, drawing and talking. Our breakfast was a delicious assortment of traditional Japanese foods including egg and ham, miso soup, and salmon. After getting ready and thanking the inn keeper, we set off in the wet mist of the morning. Once we got to the train station, we heard the news that our train was more than 25 minutes late and was of risk of being canceled due to the weather. Yo, our well prepared tour guide, ordered the group a taxi and a van to take us to our trail head. As we started walking the rain began to pick up and the dirt we walked on turned to goopy mud. We walked a grueling and steep uphill trail through the mountain until we peaked at the small shrine at Torii Pass. At the shrine, Harper sang a short yet beautiful rendition of  Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head . We our descent into the valley being careful to not slip as rain came down like a ...
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Day Nine: Nakasendo Way Day Three (The Rain)

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  “What is a blog? A blog is like this bowl of muesli: all mixed up with nuts...” Adam Feldmeth 2024 Hello! This is Zara and August! We started the third day of our Walk-Japan adventure waking up at different times. While most of the girls—who were all rooming together—woke up at around 6:15, most of the guys were awake by 7:00. By 7:20, everyone was sitting in the dining room, enjoying a traditional Japanese meal that consisted of yogurt, a banana, an egg, a piece of cooked salmon, a small side-salad, and self-served rice. While we ate, our tour guide Yo briefed us on the plan for our day, and, afterwards, we returned to our rooms to finish up any packing that we had left to do. At 8:15 we reunited in the lobby, dropped off our luggage, and set out for the day. 💪 Light rain that had set in through the previous night continued into the morning, so, by the time we ventured out, our umbrellas were opened and already in use ☔️. We walked along a damp paved road that eventually ...
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Day Eight: Nakasendo Way Day Two

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  Hello everyone, this is Isabel and Mira (officially sophomores now 😉). We are so excited to tell you about our second day of Walk Japan! Today we started our morning earlier than usual in preparation for a very busy day. We woke up at around 6:30 am, packed up all of our things and quickly headed to enjoy a traditional Japanese breakfast at our ryokan. The breakfast started at 7:15 am consisted of miso soup, cooked egg, a small side salad, salmon, and of course, a side of tea. After our satisfying meal, we dropped off our luggage in the lobby by 8 am and got ready to head out for a long day of walking.  Everyone made sure to fill their water bottles. Once that was done we headed to the train station to catch a quick ride from Ena to Nakatsugawa city. We briefly walked through the city onto a more secluded path up a hill to the Nakasendo Way, which is paved with white and yellow pebbles to mark the historic route. Our tour guide, Yo, warned us about the 3 uphills. He conside...
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