The First Week of Classes

It's already Friday, the end of the week! We've had three days of class now and later I will go attend the fourth the of classes. I have some spare time, so I'd better write about what I've been up to. We have two classes every day, from around 1 PM to 4:15 PM every day. Topics so far have included an introduction to human security, Japan's Overseas Development Assistance, a comparison East Asian business systems, and the Confucian Restoration in China. Many of these topics are new to me, and I find them fascinating. It's a small class (only ten people), so discussions where everyone gets to participate are manageable. The other students are a friendly bunch of people from around the world: Beijing, Copenhagen, Zurich, Australia, Singapore, New Zealand, and USA too... It's great being with people from all over the world! I've had interesting, thoughtful conversations with many of them. Not all of them can speak or read Japanese at all, and I find it admirable to come to a country where you cannot understand or read the language of that country. It must be quite a shock.

Though I have not done much site-seeing in Tokyo, I have explored the local neighborhood around the hotel a bit. Shibuya is very trendy! Even around 10 at night, the streets are quite crowded. It's fun walking around with my classmates. On Tuesday, we went out for soba. And on Wednesday, we ate at an Okinawan restaurant. I have never tried Okinawa cuisine before, and I enjoyed it very much! It's been much cooler lately, due to an approaching typhoon, so going out is much more bearable. In fact, the weather is quite cool. It reminds me of Berkeley!

As I mentioned before, the streets here are very strange. Away from the main roads, the streets are narrow and winding. I almost always get lost somehow. Getting lost is not always bad. Sometimes I make a wrong turn and realize my mistake right away. This happens most often when I am trying to get back to the hotel from the train station. It can be must worse, though. Last night, my classmate Jessie and I were walking back from the shops in Shibuya around 9 PM but we could not seem to find out way back to the hotel. We had decided to cut through the smaller shops instead of taking the main road. I mistakenly thought it would be a faster back to the hotel. We ended up in a quiet residential neighborhood, near the Jordan and New Zealand Embassies, which is almost a mile from the hotel. Somehow, we made it back to a main road where I finally saw building I recognized. From there, we were able to get back to the hotel. But now I know, from now on it is not a good idea to take a "shortcut" through these crazy, narrow, winding streets in Tokyo. However, the smaller streets are pleasant if you want a less crowded stroll through the city.

Another problem I am having is that the local mosquito population seems to love me. I even went out and bought some bug repellant but regardless, the mosquitoes find me absolutely irresistible. In particular, they seem to be favoring my right leg and foot. My leg is so itchy, it makes wearing certain shoes and clothes uncomfortable. -___- So today, I plan on being more diligent with my bug spray.

And now... Here are some photos!

The delicious Okinawan restaurant we went to. It is somewhere in Shibuya... I unfortunately don't recall a name.

Takeshita Dori in Harajuku. I came here a lot last time I was in Japan. It's a center of youth fashion! Insanely crowded on the weekends, of course. I visited with my classmate, Jessie.

The view of Harajuku Station from a bridge. Harajuku is to the right, Meiji Jingu is to the left.

We also visited Meiji Jingu, a shrine for the late Emperor Meiji!

It was cool and shady here. Very gorgeous!

Typical train crossing in Tokyo.

Everything in Japan is cute!

The narrow streets of Tokyo. This is was not so hard to navigate, because it was a straight street.

This is Shimokitazawa, off the Inokashira Train Line. I came to look at street art. See how that bridge is painted? Yeah!

More street art in Shimokitazawa.