This summer, we had a total of 45 students attended the Culture Exchange Summer Camp. Out of the 45, 15 students were from Musashi University. Musashi University is approximately 40 minutes from TUJ, and is has a friendship agreement with TUJ. During the camp, we had a photo scavenger hunt, made Japanese curry, sat around the camp fire, made smores, did fireworks, and a few of the participants also helped put together a test-of-courage ghost walk — which was a lot of fun! Everyone got along well, and made many new friends. Thank you all for participating, I hope you enjoy the video footage one of our students put together (see below). It includes footage from this summer as well as last year’s camp.
Please look forward to future semester activities, as we work on having more opportunities to interact and get to know fellow TUJ and Musashi University students!
Photo scavenger hunt: “I can’t believe you all fit!”
Boys will be boys
Pink ladies
Hanging out in the sun
Something smells good!
Making curry rice for dinner
Curry rice (soup?) . . . Tastes better than it looks!
After enthusiastically listening to the farmer’s lecture
Our planting finally began! YAY!
Knee-deep in mud and water
Entering the field barefoot, we enjoyed the tender feel of the mud
TUJ students did half the field!! Very proud of it!
Clear skies
Our masterpiece
On a beautiful sunny Sunday, June 6th, 2010, TUJ students visited a local farm in Saitama Pref. and did rice planting at a farm producing organic foods. Instead of chemical fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides, or any other additives, they used ducks and planktons to grow wholesome rice. It was the most common style in Japan until about 50 years ago.
We had a short trip to get to the farm by train. It took us about 2 hours from Tamachi to Fukiage sta. with one transit stop at Ueno sta. Fukiage was a very beautiful place with a lot of nature. The planting just started when we got to the farm. We soon changed clothes and got ready to get muddy.
After the work, we had delicious curry for lunch with other participants. All of the ingredients in the curry were grown at the farm, of course! Umm….it was very tasty!! The other participants were all Japanese parents with their children. Not only was the rice planting great, but mingling
with those local people in the suburban area made the trip such a great experience for TUJ students, especially those who had never been out of Tokyo.
Well, it was such a perfect day & we can’t wait to visit the farm again during harvest!!
On this coming Sunday, June 6th, we will be broadcasting our graduation ceremony live online at http://www.tuj.ac.jp/graduation2010/video.html. The ceremony and the broadcast will start from 14:30 (JPT).
The recorded video will be archived for later viewing at the same site.
Also check out our Twitter @tujweb (http://twitter.com/tujweb) for live updates about the broadcast. We will be tweeting with the hashtag #tujgrad2010.
Post from the TUJ Communications and Marketing Support Department.
On March 30th, TUJ students headed off to Yokohama to watch baseball’s Yokohama Bay Stars take on the Tokyo Giants. Through an OSS sponsored event, fans of both teams headed off to the stadium with their team caps and gear close at hand. Baseball was first introduced to Japan in the late 1800s, and the Japanese baseball culture has evolved quite differently from America’s For many students it was their first time watching a professional Japanese baseball game, and needless to say, everybody enjoyed themselves. Students joined in on the cheers and joined the other fans in the stadium, experiencing first hand Japan’s most “traditional” sports.
At the Zazen Experience at Kenchoji Temple in Kamakura, the temple prepared shojin ryori (精進料理) for us to eat after the meditation. Shojin ryori is a type of vegetarian cooking which was brought to Japan together with Buddhism. The students especially loved the kenchinjiru (けんちん汁), a vegetable soup that originated from Kenchoji Temple. Here is the recipe for those of you who are interested: (more…)
On Wednesday, March 3, the Office of Student Services (OSS) held a group sightseeing event to Kamakura, Kanagawa! Kamakura was once the 4th largest city in the world in 1250 AD and was designated as a city in 1939. Although Kamakura today is a rather small city, its historical significance has made it a popular tourist attraction.
Being different from previous years, the day started by going to the famous Kenchoji Temple for Zazen Experience (Meditation) and Shyojin Ryori (Vegetarian Buddhist meal). The Master explained and demonstrated the proper way of performing meditation session by session. Starting off by only 10 minutes per session, the time interval gradually increased depending on participants’ condition. During the session, if one’s concentration is faltered, the master would use his stick to hit his/her upper back, not as a punishment, but to help them stay focused. After completing 5 sessions of meditation, students had the chances to taste the authentic vegetarian meal served for monks in the temple. During the meal, the master showed students the procedures and manners to eat in the temple.
The second stop of the day was the Tsurugaoka Hachimangu Shrine. It is considered as Kamakura’s most important shrine founded by Minamoto Yoriyoshi in 1063. The shrine is reached via a long, wide approach that lead from Kamakura’s waterfront through the entire city centre (japan-guide.com). Students had two hours of free time to take pictures and purchase souvenirs. As the last stop of the day, the group visited the Great Buddha of Kamakura, which is Japan’s second tallest Buddha that was built in 1252 and exhibited a magnificent height of 13.35 meters.
In order to get a true taste of what traditional Japanese culture has to offer, paying a visit to Kamakura would certainly be a means towards this end.
Hey TUJ students! Check out our webpage to find out how to get involved in TUJ Activities, Events and Workshops.
On Wednesday, February 17, the Office of Student Services (OSS) held a group discussion. After the students arrived, they were broken into diverse groups. The night started out with each person introducing themselves to the group and telling one secret about themselves. Each group then proceeded to discuss a variety of subjects.
The first subject of the night was meant for the foreigners; they asked what things surprised them about Japan. After each group discussed this question then they proceeded to tell everyone what things surprised them the most. The second subject for the night was a decision between four different questions. Each question was based on something important to Japanese people. Each person in the group could then give their input about the subject and discuss how it’s different in their culture. Everyone had a good time and learned a lot about different cultures.
The last of the night was free time for everyone to talk with one another and make new friends. They were having so much fun that they didn’t want to leave at the end of the night.
We are pleased to shine the spotlight Clifford Cohn, a Study Abroad student at TUJ. Clifford is with us for the Spring 2010 semester and has already been involved in a lot of the activities and events organized by the Office of Student Services. Clifford, recipient of the Diversity Abroad Scholarship, is also chronicling his time in Tokyo on their official website.
My name is Clifford Cohn, and I grew up just outside of Chigago, Illinois. I am currently a junior at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee and expect to graduate in May 2011. I am majoring in Economics with minors in Finance and Japanese Language and Culture. I am spending the 2010 spring semester studying abroad in Tokyo, Japan.
I am fortunately one of the recipients of the Diversity Abroad Scholarship. Diversity Abroad is a forum for students interested, currently, or have just returned from studying abroad. The application was primarily merit based and included an essay. The prompt was, “What does it mean to be a global citizen?” In order to receive the scholarship I am required blog about my experiences while I am abroad.
Thanks for your contribution to the TUJ family, Clifford! We hope the remainder of your time with us at TUJ is meaningful and fulfilling.
Hey TUJ students! Check out our webpage to find out how to get involved in TUJ Activities, Events and Workshops.
On February 17, OSS held a Samurai Workshop where about 20 students joined and experienced Japanese traditional sword action taught by a professional group of teachers. The teachers were a group of sword performers called “Kamui,” who also choreographed and acted in the movie Kill Bill. The workshop was held at a community center near Tamachi Station where the students were very enthusiastic about learning the Japanese sword action. The students learned several basic moves as well as a choreographed routine in which they each performed at the end.
