Learning a little Japanese It really helps to be able to read and understand a little bit of Japanese because it will make it a lot easier to get around Japan. Not all places have English as an option, so it will make your life a lot easier when getting around Japan and communicating with people. Purchase a commuter pass Once you receive your student ID from your exchange university, purchasing a commuter pass that goes from the station your dormitory/apartment is to your uni

With finals coming up I ended up spending a lot of time in the library or at my dorm studying even though I really wanted to go and hang out with my friends. Especially knowing that my time in Japan was also coming to an end. One of the last things my friends and I did was stay at an Airbnb in Enoshima for one night! We got to stay and hang out around the beach for the day as well as go the enoshima aquarium. There were a lot of local fish that I have never seen before as wel

This week we went to Osaka and Kyoto! My friends and I wanted to go to Universal Studios in Osaka and dotonbori. We got to try takoyaki from the stands around the area and appreciate the night view. Night view of Dotonbori. The following day we went to Universal Studios and went to Super Mario World! I have been to Universal Studios in the United States, but I never got to go to Super Mario World, so it was very impressive with how well the amusement park was made, really pro

This week I went to watch the movie Michael with my friends at Toho Cinemas in Shinjuku. I was very curious about how different the movie theater would be compared to the cinemas in Hawaii. Certain things were different like how a plastic divider is placed inside your popcorn bucket if you order two popcorn flavors at once, and a clever food tray taht locks right into your seat's cup holder. My friends and I also went to a Costco in Japan because we were curious with how diff

One my Japanese friends I made recommended that we should try 滝行 or also known as Japanese waterfall meditation. We went to a rural town about 2 hours outside of metropolitan Tokyo where we had to take a bus and hike halfway up a mountain. From there we had to hike for about 15 minutes until we reached a waterfall. Then everyone would go in groups of 2 or 3 and chant the phrase: namudaishigenjikongo repeatedly while standing under the waterfall. It was quite an uncomfortable

At Sophia University, many student clubs (or circles) organize an overnight trip known as a gasshuku (合宿). I was fortunate enough to join a surfing trip out in Chiba with my club. Over 50 of us stayed together at a large Airbnb and joined a surfing school, where an instructor taught us the basics on the beach. Unfortunately, I am a total beginner despite living in Hawaii all my life, so I struggled a bit with the freezing weather and rough waves. But the best part was spendin

Now that I’m finally settling into my study abroad life in Japan and getting used to attending Sophia University, I decided to explore the different circles offered on campus. One of the groups that immediately caught my attention was the surfing circle. Seeing a Hawaiian sport represented at a Japanese university honestly surprised me. A few friends and I ended up joining, which felt pretty ironic since I’ve lived my whole life in Hawaii and had never surfed before, and yet

Golden week is a major Japanese holiday period from late April to early May. It consists of four national holidays such as Showa day, Constitution Day, Greenery Day, and Children's Day. So, with a few days off from class, my friends and I took the opportunity to go outside of Tokyo to Kobe. Kobe is located in the Kansai region, about 3 hours away from Tokyo by the shinkansen. In the few days that we were in Kobe, we visited the Himeji castle, went to see the Nunobiki Herb Gar

Around my third week in Tokyo, classes haven't actually started yet, so I took the opportunity to go a little far from my dorm and meet some of my friends around Yokohama, specifically to an amusement park called Cosmo World in Minato Mirai. This area is known for having a nice Ferris wheel and amusement park rides. I really enjoy riding roller coasters and since Hawaii doesn't have an amusement park, I was really excited to finally get the opportunity to ride roller coasters

When I first set foot on the Yotsuya campus at Sophia University, I was very amazed at how nice the campus was. In terms of size, the campus was relatively smaller compared to UH Manoa. However, the buildings were much taller, requiring you to take escalators or elevators to get to my classes. I never really had to use an elevator or an escalator at UH Manoa, so it was a lot different for me. Picture of the Sophia University logo at the North Gate Entrance to Sophia Universit

Studying abroad was the first time that I had to travel by myself, especially to a different country. From having to plan my plane tickets to commuting to my hotel really required me to be more independent. I had no friends traveling with me to help, so it required me to ask questions to strangers, which does take some courage when I don't have that much confidence in my Japanese. It really made me push myself to solve the small problems that I would face. For example, I had