Last spring, Brian Heng (17’) and recent alum, Alejandro Salazar (16’), embarked on a journey that took an anthropological look at Hayao Miyazaki’s popularized film Spirited Away. The trip, funded through an Asian Studies Department Gaylord Prize Grant, Keller Family Venture Grant, and President’s Special Fund for Student Support (now listed under Academic Opportunities Grant) saw the pair travel through Jiufen, Taipei, and Tokyo over a two week period to witness, first hand, Miyazaki’s inspirations for the film, emphasizing architectural, culinary, and cultural aspects that contributed to the authenticity of Spirited Away.
- Can you describe the project you created with the aid of the Asian Studies Gaylord Prize Grant and why did you choose to travel to the countries you did?
The idea was to study the anthropology, especially the food and setting of the movie Spirited Away. We went to Taiwan because a great portion of the movie draws inspiration from shrines and scenery in Jiufen, Taiwan. We visited Tokyo, Japan for obvious reasons, to study architecture and the foods that were featured in the movie.
- What was the highlight of your project?
The highlight of the trip was meeting a guy named Frank Lu during a hike that leads to a peak of a mountain with a great view of the ocean. He was a local who spoke English and we were lucky to meet him considering it was his first time climbing the mountains in 15 years. He took us out to lunch and showed us around the city. It was nice to meet someone who spoke English and was willing to share his knowledge to us.
- What kind of challenges did you face during your travels?
The biggest challenge of the trip was not knowing the language well which is expected when visiting a foreign country and the transportation system was confusing to figure out initially. I have to say though, that English speakers will have no problem getting by because most Japanese do speak English and are generally very friendly. I also don’t do well with plane rides (was approximately 16 hours to Taiwan) and it was definitely a challenge for me to get there and back.
- Did you experience any surprises or culture shock during your project?
I was going there with an open mind so there wasn’t a significant surprise for me. Again, I was just uncomfortable not knowing the language throughout the trip.
- What kind of cuisine did you try? What was your favorite?
I have tried many of the dishes I had there back in the States. The new food I tried was takoyaki (たこ焼き), a ball-shaped Japanese snack made of a wheat flour-based batter, in Japan and din tai fung (鼎泰豐), or dumpling soup, in Taiwan which I really enjoyed. The best part was that they were cheap.
- What was the most valuable lesson you learned in relation to your study topic or about your experience in general?
The most valuable lesson I’ve learned was to never be afraid of visiting places even though you may not know the language and don’t hesitate to ask for help. We were able to get by somehow wherever we went. It was hard to get by in Taiwan. Alejandro, the friend I went with, knew simplified Chinese characters but Taiwan uses traditional Chinese characters so it didn’t help much. There were a lot of tourists in Taiwan so we did run into a lot of people who spoke English. In Japan it was easier getting around because there were more people who spoke English.
- Was there anything you wish you had known before your arrival?
I wish I’d known that we had to walk around so much in Taiwan, especially because we were by the mountains and there were so many hills and stairs. It was so physically taxing that I started to have some serious back pain.
- If you had the opportunity, would you consider going back? If so, what would you do differently?
I would like to go back but the plane ride was really bad for me. On the way back, I was feeling really ill and barely made it back. If I were to go back again, I would prepare myself better mentally and bring some airplane sickness meds before the plane ride.
