We finally finished finals and reached the end of the semester! Since these past couple of weeks I was swamped with essays and presentations, I'm glad to say that I have finished my semester abroad at Keio University. One of my professors completed grad school in Hawaii so she talked to my friends and I often and on the last day of class, she gave us leis to congratulate our last year of being in university. She was a very kind professor and I enjoyed being in her marketing class. I also went to the Mitama Matsuri at the Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo. We were worried about it raining but since it was the last day of the matsuri, we just chose to go and it ended up drizzling a bit but we were fine with umbrellas. There were hundreds of lanterns that had names on them as well as company names and you could donate money to get your name displayed on the lanterns. They were very pretty and I was in awe seeing all of those lanterns in person. I was surprised to see someone from the dorm even though we were somewhere far away and it reminded me a bit of Hawaii, where you would see someone you know anywhere you go. I also was able to finally go to DisneySea! I've been wanting to go the whole time I was in Japan but just did not find the right timing to so I'm glad I was able to go with my friends before we left. We went on a weekend so I was worried about it being crowded but surprisingly, it wasn't really crowded and the lines weren't very long either so we were able to go on all of the rides we wanted to. It was also very hot in Japan at the time so I was worried about the heat but luckily, it was a bit cloudy that day and was much cooler than it had been the past week. Overall, this was such a fun experience and it really made me want to recommend studying abroad in Japan to everyone I know.
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Since my birthday was on the 8th, my friend took me to a nice restaurant where they served us a delicious course meal and a cake at the very end of it. After the dinner, we stayed in the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Shinjuku and our room was pretty high up so it had a very nice view. Since I don't get the opportunity to spend my birthday overseas very often, I was really surprised and thankful to my friend who got this all ready for me. I also went to this open air cafe in Shibuya called Jinnan House. I was surprised that a cafe like this existed in such a busy city like Shibuya. They specialized in tea and they were even holding tea ceremonies outside. I got the black tea affogato and the yuzu cider and I just talked to my friend and had a relaxing time. Sometimes it's nice to get away from assignments and busy city life.
I was invited to my first concert during this trip in Japan! My friend from Hawaii was visiting and asked me if I wanted to go to this concert and since I liked the band, I decided to go. It was for the band DISH// and the main vocalist is also a very famous Japanese actor named Takumi Kitamura. We ended up getting fairly good tickets and sat near the front. The concert was extremely high energy and although we aren't allowed to yell or cheer due to COVID regulations, I still had a ton of fun. Game centers or arcades are very popular in Japan and there are so many in Tokyo. My friend and I would often go to the one near Shibuya station just to see what kinds of prizes they have and also play the different rhythm games they had downstairs. We saw one game where there were a bunch of snacks on a spinning table and you would have to push a button at the perfect timing to tip the table over to get the snacks. My friend ended up getting over 14 boxes in one try and we had to get huge bags to take it all home and it was one of the highlights of my week. I gave away a lot of the snacks to my other friends because there was no way we were going to finish all of the snacks before we went back home.
Since I was in Japan, I wanted to try something new and I dyed my hair red. At the salon I went to, it was 9000 yen for a haircut and color and it was very convenient since it was located right next to my dorm. I got many compliments on it and I was glad that I dyed my hair! For Keio University, there's an option to take certain classes in the first half, second half, or for the whole semester. The second session classes started which meant my Otaku Culture class would start. Since this was in person, I went to class on the first day and was very surprised to see my professor cosplaying as a Genshin Impact. He explained that he wears a different cosplay every class and you will not see him in the same cosplay during a semester. The class was very interesting and it is honestly one of my favorite classes because we talk a lot about things I am interested in, such as video games, anime, and how that culture has affected not only Japan but the entire world. I also can't forget about the super tasty food I was able to eat everyday. My friends and I have been eating out at restaurants almost everyday just because of how cheap it is especially compared to Hawaii. For example, this curry and naan set was around 990 yen, which is equivalent to ~$7.22 USD. The samgyeopsal set we got was around 3000 yen for 2 people, which is around $21.89 USD which is less than $11 per person. Since the food is so good and cheap, I feel like I'm always eating! This is for sure one of the biggest things I'll miss when I go back home.
Since my friends and I have a few days off of school because of our schedule and online classes, we decided to go on a trip to Osaka. It was about 9000 yen one way which is around $68 after the 30% off student discount we used. We also stayed in an Airbnb near Nipponbashi station. The first thing we ate was takoyaki since Osaka is known for their takoyaki and it was scalding but it tasted amazing. We also went to the Osaka Aquarium Kaiyukan which is one of the biggest aquariums in Japan. We also went to Universal Studios Japan and spent a whole day there. Even though it was a Monday, it was extremely crowded and it took us around an hour just to get inside. This was my first time here and we got to go to Harry Potter world and go on the ride. I also tried the butterbeer I've always been wanting to try and it was a bit sweet but very tasty. My favorite ride was The Flying Dinosaur where you lay flat in your seat and you go very fast and even upside down at some points. It was very thrilling and I would like to try go on it again if I ever return to USJ! Finally, we also spent a day in Kyoto since it is only about an hour away from Osaka by train. We went to Kinkaku-ji, the Zen Buddhist temple. It was one of the hottest days of the summer especially for Kyoto so we had to have a sun umbrella out the entire time. We then went to Fushimi Inari Shrine and walked through the thousand torii gates. Since it takes around 2 hours to walk through all of the gates, we only walked for around 30 minutes before turning back to the station. Overall, this was a really fun trip and I was lucky to be able to come with my friends to experience Japan in a different way, away from the busy-ness of the city of Tokyo.
In Tokyo, they have a very large Starbucks Reserve Roastery located in Meguro and I decided to go there with my friend to check it out! It had 4 floors and each floor sold different kinds of drinks. The first floor had coffee and coffee beans, the second floor had tea and food, the third floor had cocktails, coffee, and food, and the fourth floor was a lounge. My friend and I got tea drinks from the second floor and they were delicious. They also had really unique interior designs throughout the store, like this wall covered in cups. It was so spacious and pretty and it was a really cool experience. I was also able to go to collaboration cafes they happened to be hosting! The first one is a Nijisanji collaboration at Sweets Paradise, where they have all you can eat desserts and ice cream. The second one is an Ado x Sanrio collaboration pop up cafe and the theme was science and labs so the drink was served in a beaker. I was very lucky that these cafes were being held during my time here and I was very happy to have been able to go because they don't do collaboration cafes like this back home in Hawaii. We also went to Shin-Okubo which is one of the most popular places in Tokyo for high school and college students because of all of the Korean restaurants and stores they have there. We ate Korean fried chicken and it reminded me a bit of home because my friends and I would eat Korean fried chicken often back in Hawaii. Something interesting I saw was this can of whipped cream that was being sold in vending machines for around $6 USD. After seeing this go viral on TikTok, I had to try it when I saw it in person. It was very tasty but also very heavy and sweet and there was also some kind of sponge cake inside with the whipped cream. Although it was good, I don't think I would've been able to finish this alone since it was so much cream so I'm glad I had a friend with me to help me finish it.
In Japan, there is a nationwide holiday called Golden Week and it is a bunch of holidays together in one week. This year's Golden Week was from April 29th to May 5th and I decided to go back to my hometown Nagoya and spend time with my family and I was fortunate to be able to stay for a bit longer because of my class schedule. For the most part, all I did was go grocery shopping with her, plant flowers, look at nature, and just have a nice time winding down from the busy city life in Tokyo. I was also able to meet my other grandmother who lives in Yokosuka and she made my friends and I paella and held a traditional Japanese tea ceremony for us since she teaches how to make tea for Japanese tea ceremonies. When Golden Week was over and I came back to Tokyo, my friends and I decided to visit Asakusa. Although it was raining that day, it was a really nice experience and I feel like we got to experience a bit more of Japanese culture. I also had Chinese hot pot for the first time at Hai Di Lao and although it was a bit pricey, it was very delicious.
During these weeks of April, we enjoyed the cool weather that we can't experience in Hawaii while also going around to sightsee and look at the cherry blossoms before they went out of bloom. This is a photo of my friends and I at the picnic we had at a park near our dorm. Since I only have classes in person twice a week, I am able to spend a lot of free time exploring Japan, eating food, and shopping. These are just a few of the meals and places we went to so far. Since our dorm is in Kanagawa, it is just one train away from Tokyo and is also where Yokohama, a major city is located. In Yokohama, there is a Chinatown and that is where we were able to find many tasty Chinese restaurants and it reminded me a bit of the Chinatown back home.
Classes officially started on April 7th but for the 1st week, it was something like a "trial period" and people were freely able to register for and drop classes based on availability. I ended up changing 3 classes until I was satisfied with my schedule. The campus I attend is the Mita campus located in Tokyo right next to the Tokyo Tower. Since this is the first semester Japan has started accepting exchange students since COVID, most classes taught in English are held online. Thankfully, I was able to register for 2 in-person classes but the rest of my 5 classes are all online or asynchronous. Here is how one of the lecture halls look for one of my in-person classes: There is a decent amount of group work in one of my classes so hopefully, I can interact with more students from Japan as well as other countries through those projects.
Since I was able to come a bit earlier, I decided to come with my mom in mid March to see family and spend time with them. We also got to see cherry blossoms in full bloom! After I spent time with family, I went to Tokyo to check in the dorms. My dorm is the Motosumiyoshi International Dormitory and it is around a 7 minute walk from the Motosumiyoshi station. The dorm manager and RAs were very friendly and it seems like a nice place to live in for the next 4 months. These photos are the shopping district right outside the station and you can find basically everything you need in these stores and restaurants. Here are a few pictures of the inside of my dorm. What I really like is that it's a single room I have all to myself and I also have a private bathroom and shower in my room. At the moment it looks very bare but hopefully by the middle of the semester, it'll look more like something I can call home!
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About MeMy name is Kokoro Matsumoto and I am a student at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. Follow me on my journey in Japan! Archives
May 2022
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