The Starting Line

The past week has raced by. From my departure from JFK in New York up until this very moment, I have been non-stop moving, doing, and seeing. From Narita airport I took an express train to Musashi Kosugi station and walked from there to find the Crevia Will Musashi Kosugi dorms. It was a bit of a walk, especially with my heavy luggage in tow, but upon arrival I was greeted with kind faces and luxury that made it all worth it.

The dorms here at Musashi Kosugi are brand new and I feel so lucky to be able to live here for the next 10 weeks! The lobby has a nice lounge area for students to gather and chat or do work. Beyond that area is the cafeteria where they serve breakfast and lunch for a reasonable price! And the food is actually really good, nothing like American college dining hall food.

The dorm manager gave me a folder with my room card and some information about the building. He kindly showed me to my floor and helped me find my room. One thing I’ve noticed in Japan is that the people here are very kind and generous. They are willing to go the extra step for you without expecting tips or anything else in return. This is such a (good) shock coming from New York where everyone is expecting some form of tip because they helped you carry your bag to your room.

My dorm room is small but extremely modern. I have my own room so I don’t have to worry about any roommates, and I have my very own bathroom with my own shower! No more communal showers for me here! The room also has a desk, a closet, and a shelf for storage.

I moved in a bit early so I unpacked my things are tried to settle in a bit. Shortly after, more students began to arrive at the dorms as I could hear more luggage rolling down the hallway. That night a few students and myself went to a nearby 7-Eleven to do some initial shopping. It was so easy to make new friends here as everyone is excited to go out and see Japan.

The next morning we all woke up bright and early, (with no problem because we were all jet lagged) and met some TUJ guides to help show us the way from the dorms to Azabu hall. From the dorms we have to walk to Musashi Kosugi station which is about a 10 minute walk. From there we board a train for Shirokane Takanawa station and walk another 8 or so minutes to Azabu hall. I was so glad for the guides because it was a long commute to try and do for the first time. Long commutes are common here in Japan, so we all boarded a train and stood literally shoulder to shoulder, packed like sardines, joining the locals for the morning commute. I wonder how bizarre a big group of (clearly) foreign students looked on the morning commute.

Orientation was a total of two days where various faculty and staff introduced themselves and explained aspects of living in Japan to help us better understand our new environment. There were presentations on all the services offered at the school like different computer labs, tutoring and counseling. They also went over commuting, banks, health insurance, legal actions and night life. At the end of the first day of orientation they gave us all a free lunch of tuna katsu bento!

Orientation spanned across Wednesday and Thursday. Friday we had our mornings free and had the Welcome Party in the evening to go to. The welcome party included all kinds of TUJ students. It had students like me, who were there for summer study abroad, and it also had general admission students who were there for their undergraduate degree. This was a good time to meet the other students who lived in the dorms who weren’t just here for the summer, as well as a lot of Japanese students who were attending the school. TUJ is full of a wide variety of people and it was so exciting and honestly heart warming for me to see. The reality of actually being in Japan, attending a university with other Japanese students and taking courses related to my major, really started to hit me at this point. I met so many people from all over the United States and Japan who had such interesting backgrounds. One guy I met was a professional chef before he decided to apply to Temple University Japan and now he’s studying international business and Japanese here.

After the welcome party, a group of friends and I decided to spend our Friday night exploring Tokyo a bit more. We ventured out to Shibuya and were dazzled by all the lights of neon signs and store fronts. Shibuya crossing was huge and full of so many people hustling and bustling in all directions. Hundreds of shops, cafes and restaurants lined the neighborhood’s streets. There was so much to take in!

Even after a late night exploring the city, it didn’t stop my friends and I from waking up at 7:30am the next day to go to Jogashima- an island not too far away from Tokyo. It took two trains and a bus ride but we eventually made it to a beautiful little island. The travel there wasn’t even that bad even though it took a bit because the scenery was amazing. The further from the city we got, the more cozy the houses looked and the more trees and nature took over where sky scrapers would be. A recent TUJ graduate helped us get there and showed us a bit of the island before we broke off into separate groups to enjoy a whole day by the ocean side. This island has an amazing – and I mean breath taking – view of Mt. Fuji. One of the first things we all did was go diving into the ocean with Mt. Fuji as our backdrop. How amazing is that?

We walked the coast line of the island finding caves and beautiful rock formations across the ocean, which was very active and put on a show of its strength and grace for all of us. The island also had a nice hiking trail that overlooked the ocean and Mt. Fuji. After jumping, swimming and hiking, we all went to an Onsen close by and got to enjoy the hot baths and a nice shower to clean off.

The best part of the day – the whole week rather – was being able to watch the sun set over Mt. Fuji while sitting on some rocks by the edge of the water with newly made friends. This whole week was filled with so many new things. I already have so many precious memories I will never forget and it’s only the first few days! Classes will start up soon, along with an internship I have and I cannot wait to see what else is out there for me in Japan.