Some days just blend into the next, such as April 18 to April 19 since I didn’t get any sleep that night. That’s okay, I caught up on some emails, edited one of my old papers, and realized I have a long way to go in order to become a good writer (if you’ve read…
TUJ is a relatively small yet highly diverse campus, featuring students from different countries, backgrounds, and ways of thinking. In a day and age where college campuses across the country are pushing for even greater diversity, TUJ manages to pull it off, including diversity of thought. Throughout my experience at TUJ, I ended up with…
NOTE: While this piece was written in Japan, this was published after returning to L.A. I spent my second (and last) day in Fukuoka (April 18) doing only two things: visiting Momochi Seaside Park and eating ramen at Kurume Taiho Ramen in the Tenjin district. I woke up late today, getting out of bed at…
Japan is rapidly coming to an end. Due to a lucky break in my schedule, I had six days between my last class and my first final, so I decided to go on an impromptu trip to the cities of Fukuoka, Hiroshima, and Osaka from April 17-21, 2018. I will be referring to this trip…
Monday, March 19 marked my last day in Osaka (for now). I checked out of my hotel (Hotel MyStays Shin-Osaka) at about 10 AM and went on some adventures during my six hours of free time. I first headed to Shin-Osaka Station, just a short walk away, and grabbed some more Avocado Toast from Dean…
March 18 marks my third day in Osaka, which was a rather quiet day compared to the previous two. Yesterday, Mitsuteru and I explored Kyoto for 10 hours and the day prior we explored Osaka’s Namba (sometimes spelled “Nanda”) district. Today was one of extra sleep, catch-up work, and more Namba. I woke up at…
Saturday, March 17, 2018 was Saint Patrick’s Day back in the U.S. In Japan, however, it was just another ordinary Saturday. Except this Saturday was still special. On this fine, fair-weathered day, Mitsuteru and I explored Japan’s cultural and historical capital: Kyoto. Kyoto is world famous for its many temples, shrines, and of course the…
March 16-21 was yet another Undergraduate Holiday at TUJ, or as I like to call it, “Spring Break.” Just like the other study abroad students, I decided to spend a couple days in Osaka, along with a day trip to Kyoto, the cultural center of Japan. I could’ve gone anywhere in Japan but I chose…
Sunday, March 11 marks the seventh anniversary of the Tohoku Earthquake and Tsunami, a magnitude 9.1 earthquake that struck off the coast of Japan’s Tohoku region, creating a tsunami (harbor wave) that damaged the Fukushima-Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant, resulting in the worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl. Gee, that’s a great way to start off a…
This piece was originally written, and submitted, as a reflection assignment for my Practical Japanese class. No alterations were made this time. On Sunday, March 4, 2018, my Japanese class and I visited Asakusa to experience Nihon Buyo, Senso-Ji, and eat Okonomiyaki. The two most interesting things I experienced this trip were dancing and dressing…