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Tokyo/Beijing MUN Trip

March 5-15

By Maggie Morris

March 18^th, 2015

Days 1-2: travel & first taste of Tokyo

Surprisingly, our entire group arrived on time to our 11:30 a.m. flight out of LAX. I still have no idea how we managed to spend half a day on a plane and accomplish absolutely nothing. The greater miracle was the fact that 10 rambunctious MUN students were able to sit still together (mostly). After a refreshingly claustrophobic 12-hour plane ride, it was nice to breathe outside for about 10 minutes prior to boarding our tour bus for the two-hour bus ride into the city. The group split up for several hours to explore Downton Tokyo (including the Japanese Arcade) and eat dinner before retiring to bed at the Keio Plaza Hotel.

“My first dinner in Japan was unexpected to say the least,” said senior Jake Lawicki. “I had heard people rave about Japanese udon before, so I knew exactly what I wanted to eat. Luckily, udon was on the menu! I was taken aback when I received the bowl: in the center of the bed of noodles lay a raw egg yoke and dried sardines. I didn’t know what it would taste like but I dug my chopsticks in anyway. Did I enjoy it? Let’s just say I had that dish every night thereafter in Japan.”

The group walks past various shops in Downtown Tokyo.

The neon signs tower high above tourists' heads, illuminating the entire city.

The group poses in front of a traditional Japanese restaurant prior to having dinner.

People stand in awe of the surrounding neon lights.

Brittany Genthert, River Crawford and Josiah Chung eagerly await their first Japanese meal.

The slippery udon noodles paired with raw egg yolk were truly divine.

Several of us "dropped some mo'" at the bright and beautiful Japanese arcade.

The fab 10 pose in the middle of the street seconds before we almost got hit by a car.

Brittany Genthert, River Crawford and Maggie Morris beam with excitement.

Day 3: Fish market & tokyo sightseeing

Following breakfast, our bus took us across Tokyo to the Seaside Top Observatory deck where we enjoyed panoramic views of the entire city. After taking some photos, we stopped at Tsukiji Fish Market to walk around, grab coffee and purchase souvenirs. When the group reunited, we lunched at an excellent sushi restaurant where we were each served a personal tray containing 16 pieces of sushi. Full of sushi ranging from eel to squid, we then toured Imperial Palace Plaza, home of the emperor, and the adjacent museum. Later, we toured the Asakusa Kannon Temple, at which most of us got our fortunes relayed. Those that received bad fortunes were instructed to tie them on the rods provided in order to ensure that they didn’t come true. We also did some shopping (and took some selfies) at the Nakamise shopping arcade. To finish up the day we cruised up the Sumida River. The group split up for dinner in Downtown Tokyo.

The two best friends, Will Mortimer and Josiah Chung, take a break while overlooking Tokyo.

Hundreds of different varieties of fresh fish packed the stands along the street.

Numerous unidentifiable foods and wares packed crates at one particular vendor.

Assorted sushi lunch including eel, salmon and squid.

The group poses at the Imperial Palace Plaza, the residence of the Emperor.

The narrow alleys of the Tsukiji Fish Market provided for interesting sights and smells.

Carlos Alvarez, Maggie Morris and River Crawford huddle for warmth in the frigid Tokyo weather.

Crowds rush through the Nakamise shopping arcade at dusk.

River Crawford ties her bad fortune onto the bad fortune rods as per tradition at the Asakusa Kannon Temple.

Day 4: Mt. fuji/lake ashi/Mt. Komagatake

After a leisurely morning at the hotel, our bus took us across Tokyo and halfway up Mt. Fuji. At the halfway point, we learned about Mt. Fuji’s history before heading to a whimsical French-Japanese Amusement Park and Mt. Fuji Art Museum. We roamed around the park for several hours before we were transferred to Lake Ashi where we ate a delicious lunch. Following lunch, we enjoyed a boat cruise across the lake to the point where we boarded the Mt. Komagatake Ropeway, an apparatus similar to an oversized ski lift, which brought us to the top of Mt. Komagatake. Once we spotted the white fluff (SNOW!) on the ground, we all eagerly rushed outside for a mountaintop snowball fight with some young Japanese children. Later, we took the bullet train (which travels 320 kilometers per hour) back down to Tokyo.

“Experiencing snow for the first time ever on Mount Fuji was something I never thought possible and the awesome people there with me made it even better,” said senior Jason Ford. “Snowball fights in Japan are unbeatable.”

The fab 10 chill out (literally) in front of Lake Ashi.

The boys pose in front of a mural of kissing rabbits.

The combination of the strange carousel music with the near deserted state of the park made it rather creepy.

An elderly Japanese man enjoys a coffee at the park.

Carlos Alvarez, Will Mortimer, River Crawford and Brittany Genthert push a giant stuffed panda up the hill.

Jake Lawicki, Josiah Chung, Jason Ford and Blake Cobb pose before getting on the boat.

Josiah Chung contemplates life from the top of the Ropeway as he looks down on Lake Ashi below.

The view as we waited for the bullet train back to Tokyo.

BFFs Katie Roschak, Maggie Morris and Brittany Genthert laugh to keep warm in the snow.

Day 5: goodbye tokyo, hello beijing

After a hearty breakfast, our tour bus took us away from Tokyo and back to the Narita Int’l Airport for our flight to Beijing. While we waited for our flight we discovered that the Narita airport was lacking in food options and decent coffee, both of which are very important. We also found out that true family members carry each other’s bags (thanks Josiah!). After a quick three-hour flight to Beijing, we dropped our luggage at the Crowne Plaza Hotel before our first family-style Chinese dinner at the Noodle Loft and a Kung Fu show, which was simultaneously incredibly fascinating and hard to follow.

On our first night in Beijing, many of us, including senior Carlos Alvarez, were missing American food. “So, where is the chicken?” Alvarez said.

Cloudy weather prevailed as we awaited our flight from Narita to Beijing.

We were impressed with the Kung Fu show even before we entered the venue.

Our first view of Beijing, China from the airplane.

Day 6: Lama temple, forbidden city & tianamen square

In the morning, we visited Lama Temple, a Buddhist worship site which holds the Guinness World Record for the largest statue of Maitreya Buddha, carved out of a single white sandalwood tree 25 meters high. At the temple, we participated in the ceremonial burning of incense, during which Buddhists offer their prayers up to Buddha. Afterwards, we walked through the Forbidden City, a 250-acre palace which contains more than 9,000 rooms, beautifully decorated in the Chinese Tradition. Finally, we had the privilege of touring Tianamen Square, the largest public square in the world. The group split up for dinner, at which we deliberated far too long about how much fried rice to order.

Carlos Alvarez hangs loose with his fresh box of incense.

The whole group (minus me) demonstrates the "River (toothless) smile".

A Buddhist woman participates in the ceremonial burning of incense.

Beautifully ornate Chinese plaques adorn the temple.

The girls spread peace in Tianamen Square.

Red flags make the government building in Tianamen Square festive.

The Forbidden City draws massive crowds from all over the world.

The fab 10 pose in front of a particularly interesting part of the temple.

Josiah Chung, River Crawford, Maggie Morris and Blake Cobb hug in the middle of the Forbidden City.

Day 7: the great wall of china & summer palace

Before leaving our hotel, we bundled up and braced ourselves for the frigid 30 degree weather we were about to face. On our to the Great Wall of China, we saw the Bird’s Nest and Water Cube from the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Views from the Great Wall were surreal. The Great Wall, which was built 2,300 years ago and extends 3,750 miles, can be seen from space! Naturally, we walked the entire length of the wall with no difficultly. To be honest, it was actually quite a struggle as the wall is nearly vertical in some parts and it was difficult adjusting to the high elevation. In the afternoon, we explored the Summer Palace, the retreat of China’s royal families for over 2,000 years. The summer palace boasts the Long Corridor, which is 2, 388 feet long! In the evening we enjoyed an acrobat show and traditional Peking Duck dinner.

A large portion of the group poses with Adviser John Remmell on the descent.

Groups gather at the base of the Wall, where many Chinese people posed to take pictures with us.

The Great Wall distinguishes these rugged mountains from the mountains of California.

The group enjoyed stunning views of the Marble Boat, a lakeside pavillion.

The intricate designs of the buildings and arches awed us all.

Katie Roschak, Carlos Alvarez and Maggie Morris pose after climbing partially up the Great Wall.

days 8-11: beimun & departure

The conference began with an eye-opening speech from a Japanese survivor of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki WWII bombings. She spoke of her struggle to forgive the bombers and our duty as MUNers to preserve that forgiveness and strive towards achieving a world of peace and collaboration. The first day of MUN consisted of nearly seven hours of lobbying — sharing resolutions with other delegates and merging them in order to develop even stronger resolutions. After the conference, all 10 of us changed and took a bus to a karaoke club. For three straight hours, we sang classics including Hollaback Girl, Sk8er Boi, The Climb, Blank Space, California Gurls, Hey Ya!, Uptown Funk, Hips Don’t Lie and Single Ladies. The second day of the conference included endless speeches and semi-productive points of information before the highly anticipated delegate dance. After attending the dance for a short time, the four girls decided to grab some pizza, pretzels and nutella and crash in one of the hotel rooms. The last day of the conference was bittersweet as committees moved into Plenary Debate and eagerly exchanged Instagrams, Facebooks, Snapchats and WeChats. Following closing ceremonies, Ty, our tour guide, took us to a hot pot restaurant for our final meal together. On Sunday, we all reluctantly awoke at 4 a.m., dragged ourselves out of bed and packed our suitcases.

“The BEIMUN trip was one of the most amazing experiences of my life,” said senior Katie Roschak. “It was awesome to be immersed in the culture and to be able to see so many new things. Most of all, it was cool to see how similar people are — even across oceans.”

Delegates from around the globe gather and await the start of the conference.

All 10 of us were ready to represent America at the conference.

Delegates attentively listen to a speech on LGBT rights in Russia in Human Rights Council 2.

The award winners pose at the conclusion of the conference.

The Last Supper: The group enjoys Hot Pot as their final meal together.

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Footnotes

All photos by Maggie Morris unless Morris is in the photo.

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FootNotes

All photos by Maggie Morris unless Morris is in the photo.

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