It’s been around a month and a half since I arrived in Japan and I feel like I’ve settled in. With that I thought this would be a good checkpoint for a blog post. I’m not exactly sure what the best way to structure this is so I’ll just hit on a few topics that come to mind as I go over my thoughts.
First impressions of Japan, more specifically Tokyo)
It’s very crowded, a lot more than where I’m from at least. In day to day life it’s not a big deal but when coming here that was the first thing I noticed due to having to drag around luggage on the trains. It’s also true that Japan is very clean, I’ve only ever seen trash on the street in the middle of the night in super crowded touristy areas. The trash can thing is true as well, there are no public trash cans anywhere and aside from the weather this is probably the most troublesome thing I encounter daily. Speaking of which the weather is (or at least was) much much worse than I was expecting. Heat isn’t so much of an issue but the humidity is insane. I was constantly sweating all the time but it’s gotten slightly better recently.
Ai House (dorm) and Toyo University)
The dorm and the university are great. It’s everything I expected and more. The people in the dorm come from a surprising variety of countries and there are only a handful of Americans like myself. It’s been really interesting making friends with people from around the world and learning about their home countries and cultures, as well as how they contrast with Japan. I’d say most students are from European countries, especially France, but there are students from other Asian countries like Korea and South American countries like Brazil too. There are also of course Japanese students in the dorm. I believe the way it’s structured is so that around two thirds of the dorm is international students and a third are Japanese students. The dorm has lots of facilities students can use and even the simple things like the layouts of each floor help foster interaction.
The university is really nice as well, again lots of facilities available for use and I haven’t encountered any problems aside from finding my way around being kind of difficult sometimes. It’s about a 30 minute train ride from the dorm so not super close but it gives a little extra time to study so I don’t mind at all. It also serves as a good transition period rather than just jumping straight into classes.
Classes and academics)
So far classes haven’t been too bad but they’re really starting to ramp up. I’m learning a lot though and the teachers have been great. The classroom environment is mostly similar to Americas just a bit more strict id say, especially regarding being late and absences.
Things I’ve done)
There’s too much to write out but I’ve tried to visit every major neighborhood like shibuya, shinjuku, etc. It’s been a lot of fun, I’ll go through some of my favorite places.
Tokyo Skytree –
Initially I wasn’t too excited for it until a friend told me that at one point it was the tallest building in the world. The area surrounding it has many interesting shops and restaurants but the observation deck at the top of the building is obviously the highlight. It was probably my favorite thing that I’ve done here so far. You can see just how endless Tokyo is from up there and at night it’s even better.
Shibuya –
Nothing specific here but anytime I’m in Shibuya it’s great. Even just the way it looks is cool and every time I go I discover a new area. Shibuya crossing definitely lived up to my expectations and seeing locations from shows and movies that I’ve watched in the past was surreal.
Kamakura –
It’s a small town by the sea about an hour out of the center of Tokyo. I did some hiking there and the scenery was really nice. It was nice a quiet when I went to so it was very relaxing but I’ve heard it can get quite crowded on weekends. Was definitely worth the train ride.
Challenges)
Honestly there haven’t been too many serious challenges I’ve run into, and the things I was expecting to face ended up being not nearly as bad as I thought. For example the language barrier isn’t too much of a problem because so many Japanese people speak at least a basic level of English, combined with my basic level of Japanese I haven’t had much trouble getting around or talking to locals. Locals here are also a lot more understanding than people make them out to be. I thought that everything in Japan would be super strict but it isn’t. People don’t even walk in one consistent direction like how people in America walk on the right side. They also eat and drink while walking (definitely less common than America though) and I’ve seen plenty of Japanese people talk on the trains.
Final thoughts)
Overall so far Japan has been amazing, and I can’t express how grateful I am for the opportunity to come here. Even though it’s only been a month and a half and there’s still so much more to go I feel like I’ve learned so much about the world and myself. Sorry if the structure of this post seems loose or all over the place but I think it’s more authentic to just directly dump all the thoughts in my head. Special thank you to Pyramids Systems and Ms. Massey, the sweater is really comfortable I hope I get more chances to wear it soon once it cools off!
Until next time じゃあまた!
Muhanad