The Kakehashi Program

Richard Nakamura
Kakehashi Project, Japan

Going to Japan, as part of the Kakehashi Program, was a truly amazing experience that I will remember for the rest of my life. I made lifelong friends that come from all over the US. My group was constantly on the move so it’s hard to choose my favorite memories from the trip.

One thing that did stand out for me was the food. The food was some of the best I have ever eaten in my life! The sushi and sashimi was by far the best. The sashimi melted in my mouth and tasted so good that it is hard for me to describe. It is one of those things where you just have to experience and eat it for yourself. Another food that really was incredible was the takoyaki. Takoyaki has a flour batter around octopus.

Another aspect of the food that stood out for me was how the food was presented. All of the food (and I really do mean all of the food) was presented in such a beautiful way. Because the food was presented so beautifully, I wouldn’t want to eat it and mess up the arrangement.

The other activity that is very vivid for me is putting on kabuki makeup. My homestay family essentially hazed my roommate and me because we had the makeup applied at 10 am. We walked around with our faces looking like this all day...receiving a lot of confused looks and laughs until around 4 pm when they finally gave us some wipes to clean off our faces haha. I have never put makeup on before so this was a completely new experience.