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I am a big sweatshirt guy and I would like a sweatshirt similar to this.

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I put stickers of places I’ve been to and I want a Tokyo sticker to put on my hydro flask.

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This is a professional Japanese drawing kit, and I would like to give this to either my mom's friend, or one of my friends, because I know they love to draw.

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These are cat slippers, and I would like to get them either for my grandma because she likes cats, or for my mom's friend, because she wanted me to get these while I'm in Japan. I don't blame her, these are pretty cute.

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I would like to get one of the waving cats for my grandma because she loves cats.

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I would like to get tea bags for my dad because he loves to drink tea.

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I would also like to get something from a cool vending machine, because they have so many filled with cool toys, foods, and etc.

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I would like to get a pair of personalized engraved chopsticks for my family and I, because I think that's a great souvenir from Japan.

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Paige Brackeen - Japanese matcha and tea set

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Paige Brackeen - Japanese matcha and tea set

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One of my favorite things ever is tea, I love to make and drink it. I feel like trying their tea and taking it with me would be a sweet reminder of the amazing experiences this trip will have. I also feel like having the tea set would be nice because then I have something from japan to make this tea and other teas in! It would be something that, unlike the matcha, wouldn't run out. I would also be able to use it on the daily, which would be amazing!

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Paige Brackeen - Personalized Chopsticks with Chopstick holders

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Paige Brackeen - Personalized Chopsticks with Chopstick holders

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I would like to have a couple of sets of japanese chopsticks to use when I return home. I think it would be really cool to be able to keep a part of their culture with me and be reminded of this amazing trip whenever I use them to eat. It would be very practical and I feel I would be able to get a lot of use out of them.

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I would love to get some type of Japanese pottery for my mom because she loves different types of bowls. I also would love to get one for myself because I am very fond of different Japanese foods so I would love to eat it in the proper vessel.

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I would like to get a few pairs of chopsticks and chopstick holders for myself and my friends and family. I feel like this is a very useful and practical gift to bring back from Japan. I am also starting to really enjoy using them so I would love to get them.

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I would also like to get a hand fan because I’ve never had one, and I think they are so pretty, and I would also love to get one for my aunt because she always has a fan with her and I would love to give her one from Japan.

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I would like to get a pair of earrings because I wear earrings every day, and I would love to wear some that remind me of my trip to Japan

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I also want to get something from wherever my host family takes me to remember them by.

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I want to get any form of pottery but especially a matcha bowl because i enjoy making and drinking matcha so it would be cool to have a more traditional way of making it . Or a kintsugi type of mug or bowl

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Kokeshi Dolls have been around in Japan for about 150 years and were made as a toy for children, they are wood and have no arms or legs. The body is usually painted with unique designs. I would get this for my best friend Kite because her room is decorated with all sorts of cute little toys and trinkets, and it just seems like something she would like.

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Kintsugi is really coll and unique because it’s pottery except it’s when they repair broken pottery and fills in the cracks with gold. I would give this to my mom because on her side of the family her ancestor Bill made lots of pottery and we have a lot of it with us, and she loves pottery. My mom is also from New Mexico and in New Mexico pottery is a huge party of the culture

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Since I was younger, I have had a habit of collecting hand fans from various places I have visited. It would be an amazing addition to my collection to have a hand fan from Japan.

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I would love to give a kitsune mask to one of my friends because she loves foxes, and I would love for her to have one.

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I would like to buy and bring home a Daruma Doll. They are very cool to look at and I think my friend would appreciate if I bought her one.

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I would like to bring home a traditional Japanese cup for my grandma. 

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I'd also like to get a green tea flavored kitkat because I think it would be interesting to try and let my friends and family try.

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I would like to get a piece of Japanese pottery for my grandfather because he collects pottery pieces from around the world and he doesn't have a piece from Japan yet.

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I think it would be really cool to have a pair of authentic reusable chopsticks to keep at my house.

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My grandma told me that she would love to try a banana Kit Kat so I though it would be nice to bring her one.

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I watched a video about the Japanese archery (kyudo). My thoughts about the video was everything was very organized and respectful. The archers were concentrated and nobody was speaking when it was someone else’s turn. Also, everyone was wearing the same uniform.

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I watched one of the Japanese Dances. The dance I watched had very distinct hand motions that were different from any American type dance I’ve seen. They moved there feet fast and had sharp motions, the way they put the hand motions together with there feet movement were different and showed what type of dance it was. I’m general the hand motions they used made the dance very different from nowaday American type dances.

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I watched the gion festival and they use a different type of fireworks. They are more traditional and are a spark type firework, And also seemed like a very dangerous job. The best difference though was that Japanese festivals stick to old traditions instead of revolutionizing everything like here in US.

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I watched the Japanese dances. What I noticed was the most different was that most of the dances were more up beat and fast moving. There was a lot of sharp and dynamic movements. Another thing was the music of the dances. The music was a lot more up beat which we could tell by the dance movements. Watching these dances showed me how different cultures can be. We need to appreciate and respect all forms are art no matter where it is from or the culture.

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I watched the recent music videos and what stood out to me was the percussion. In American music, the rhythms are very electric, but in the music I listened to there was a constant symbol sound. I’m not sure if it actually was a symbol and I’m not sure if it was just the videos I listened to, but in the pop music I listen to the rhythms are made of electric noises, clapping, and strings. Both American and Japanese had similar vocal styles despite differentiating backtracks.

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I listened to the song Lemon by Kenshi Yonezu and I noticed that despite the linguistic difference, it wasn’t that different from pop music in the US. The song was catchy, upbeat, and the exact type of song you would hear on the radio here. This showed me that though there are many cultural differences between us and the people in Japan, some things are similar or even the same despite the thousands of miles that separate us.

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I watched some of the 80’s-00 J-pop videos and found a lot of similarities to the 80’s-00 music in America. A lot of the sounds in both Japan and America during that era were deeply either guitar or synth rooted with vocal ballads. However I think the difference between the two is that America explored some other genres that maybe weren’t so mainstream in Japan at the time but we’re popular or gaining popularity in America such as rap and metal.

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I Watched a couple of the dances and I noticed along with the very vibrant colors of the costumes everything is also very traditional. They used a variety of different props including colorful umbrellas and sword type things. Japan seems very rooted in culture and tradition in everything they do, which can be very different from America.

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I watched part of a Japanese Kabuki, which is traditional Japanese theatre. I thought this was very different because the cast is comprised all of men, while theatre in the US has both roles played by men and women. There were lots of different traditional dances in the Kabuki, and it told the story of a princess who turned out to be a demon that had to be defeated. I thought this was really cool because just like theater in the US, its purpose was to covey a story and it was really cool to watch. Another difference was that the actors hardly spoke during this performance.
- Tinsley Drake

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Throughout a lot of the videos, I came to the realization that the culture between Japan and the US are quite different.
Japanese traditional dance has more precise, synchronized (while performing in a group) movements, along with stylized costumes. On the other hand, American dance (contemporary) seems to be more fluid and more interpretation-driven.
Japanese music seems to be more traditional, using more complex rhythms, while American pop seems to be a mix of everything.
Overall, the cultures of Japan and the US are extremely different, each very rich and artistic. During the trip to Japan, I hope to learn more!

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Some of the things that I saw were
Lots of very vibrant music, some of the dances looks like martial arts, lots of shouting, along with the music, there were umbrellas, where they passed them in the dance. They told a story through their dancing, there were lots of changing movements in positions, there was a lot of sharp movements, and very well executed. There was a lot of color in their costumes and dance, there is all styles of dance, some of them were peaceful, and some of them were very jam packed and exciting. There was lots of different props, used, and all sorts of costumes. -Isabel Meyers

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So I watched a Japanese 80's music video called Glay Winter again, and I noticed some things that were different from Western music during that time. For starters, I was unfamiliar with the chord progressions that they used throughout the song. I have never heard a Western 80's song with a similar melody to the one I watched. Next, I noticed that some of the instruments they were using were different to ones that I was used to. They were unique, and they sounded very Eastern in my opinion. However, some of the instruments were the same as the ones used in Western 80's songs. Most notably of which, being the electric guitar. This makes sense, as both America and Japan played a large role in each other's music scenes, because there was quite a bit of cultural transfers that went on between these two countries during this time.

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One unique thing I observed in the first few dances in the collection was the theme of water. The dancers were often dressed in blue garments and seemed to be depicting the energetic movement of the waves. Japanese Dance, unlike some American dances, seemed very firm with its movements. The dancers often gestured directly on the beat with their hands, creating a choppy, staccato-like movement. Japanese dancers also chant along with their dance.
In other dances, or periods of time during the dance, the dancers' movements became very flowing and smooth, like running water. Overall, the sea seemed to be a huge theme during the dances. At times, the dancers' movements seemed to represent crashing waves during a storm, while other times, their movements were calm and flowing, like rippling water.
Most of the time, however, the dancers showed a high level of energy during their dances.
I also noticed that the dancers often performed in groups.
In American dance, this prolonged and constant level of energy is not often seen. In American dance, the dancers do not often chant with the music, nor do they involve different clothing articles or instruments into the dance as much as Japanese dancers do.