May 28, 2018
The Vanderbilt soccer team, coaching staff and key staffers are on an 11-day adventure to Japan that will include competitions, educational opportunities and visits to historic sites and attractions in the country. Over the next five days, VUCommodores.com will provide daily content, including student-athlete blogs, videos, photo galleries and social media highlights.
May 27 – Day 5 | May 26 – Day 4 | May 25 – Day 3 | May 24 – Day 2 | May 23 – Day 1
May 28 – Day 6 in Tokyo
By Paola ‘Blue’ Ellis
Rising sophomore, Collierville, Tenn.
After traveling all day from Tokyo to Kyoto, we got up this morning and visited a temple (Rokuon-ji Temple). It was beautiful and there were lots of different rituals and souvenirs for good luck. It was also really cool because we saw a traditional tea ceremony that only happens twice a year. There were people dressed in really nice kimonos and they were in the temple and around the pond for the ceremony.
After the temple visit, we had training. It helped being able to get a sweat in that wasn’t from traveling through the mountains all day. The first Japanese team we played was really fast and the soccer was much different than what we’re used to, so it was good to be able to get some touches in for our game tomorrow.
After training we went to Gion, where we saw a few other temples, went to the shopping district, and had a great view of Kyoto. Then, we walked down to the Geisha District in Gion, which was definitely my favorite part of the day.
Geishas are selected around age 15 and they go through a whole process of training that takes years to see if they’re worthy enough to be geishas. They become professional entertainers, everyone loves them, and they’re protected by police and society. So, seeing a geisha in person today (which is uncommon) was mind-blowing – easily the coolest thing ever. After learning about their lives and seeing one in person- now I kind of want to be one!
