The following post is by Eli Goberdon ’16. Goberdon used part of his AMS grant to fund a trip to Tokyo, Japan.
This past winter, I used my AMS funds to attend Genki Japanese and Culture School (GekniJACS) in Tokyo, Japan. I am a Japanese minor and I had previously been to Japan for my study abroad in fall 2014. It was a wonderful opportunity to return to Japan to continue my study of the Japanese language and to learn more about Japanese culture.
GenkiJACS is located in Shinjuku, a lively part of Tokyo that’s home to excellent food, shopping, and parks. My favorite Shinjuku location was Shinjuku Gyoen, a beautiful park nestled in the heart of the city. Shinjuku Gyoen is a blend of three different garden styles: French Formal, English Landscape, and Japanese traditional, all bordered by tall city buildings.
GenkiJACS was a very fun place to learn Japanese. The school has students from all over the world, so I was able to learn Japanese alongside students from places like Russia, Kuwait, and Switzerland. The classes helped me make huge improvements in both my spoken and written Japanese.
Outside of the classroom the school offered field trips to various cultural locations. One of the trips I attended was to Meguro Gajoen. Meguro Gajoen is a building that partially survived the fire bombing of Tokyo in WWII. The parts that survived the bombing show rare, pre-war styles of architecture and the parts that were destroyed have been repaired with modern architectural design. The final product is a building composed of both new and old styles. Meguro Gajoen serves as a cultural space and it often hosts weddings. When we visited we were able to see old Japanese style rooms, eat in a Japanese banquet hall, watch a modern calligraphy performance, and attend a kimono show.
GenkiJACS also had weekly dinner trips to various restaurants. I attended a trip to a Sukiyaki restaurant. Sukiyaki consists of thinly sliced beef and vegetables cooked at the table in a shallow iron pot. After it’s cooked you dip the meat and vegetables in a bowl of beaten raw eggs. It was a unique experience and one of the best meals I’ve ever had.
Outside of the classroom, I spent a lot of time exploring Tokyo. I visited as many museums as possible and my favorite was the Mori Art Museum. I had visited it in my previous trip to Tokyo and I was looking forward to revisiting it. I was not disappointed as their current artist exhibit belonged to Takashi Murakami: a prolific modern Japanese artist. The exhibit consisted of some of Murakami’s older works alongside his massive, new piece The 500 Arhats.
I was in Tokyo during the New Year so I got to see the city during that special season. I visited Meiji Jingu, a Shinto shrine that is the most popular place to visit during the New Year. At midnight a massive drum is hit to ring in the New Year and people form huge lines to toss coins to Shinto gods for good fortune in the upcoming year.
It was incredible to revisit Japan through AMS and I was able to make everyday a unique adventure around the sprawling, magnificent city of Tokyo.