Today we had the opportunity to meet with Yan Fan, the CTO of Code Chrysalis and a Dartmouth '12! She came to KUIS all the way from Shinjuku to speak with us about entrepreneurship in Japan. Yan shared with us her experiences after Dartmouth, from finance to coding, and how she ended up starting Code Chrysalis, a coding bootcamp in Japan. Code Chrysalis was established only a year ago, but the company was already featured in The Japan Times and Reuters. Yan emphasized the importance of resourcefulness and leadership in entrepreneurship. Nate Neumann, a Dartmouth '20, is currently interning there.
We also had Q+A, where Yan gave recommendations of what to do in Tokyo, answered questions about her experience in Japan, and more. Afterwards we all took a picture! Some of us even added her on Facebook or gave her a business card.
Dartmouth students and Dorsey-sensei with Yan Fan
We look forward to seeing her in the future and at least one more time at an alumni reunion in Japan before the LSA+ ends.
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On a slightly different note, Nihonmatsu is tomorrow, and the weather predicts rain. However, my host mother gave me a teru teru bozu, so that means it will be sunny this weekend! ....right?
A teru teru bozu my host mom made me - I drew the face
Today, on the fourth of July, the Dartmouth students took their first big test! Coincidently, July 4th is also the date CALYX invited us to go to eat okonomiyaki and monjayaki. After the test and Dorsey-sensei's class, all the Dartmouth students (and I) met up with three students from CALYX - Chiho, Yurina, and Yuuki. We walked together to Makuhari, and they led us to a place called Okonomiyaki Kaede (お好み焼き 楓).
It was a hot walk, but the food was worth it! We had okonomiyaki, monjayaki, and yakisoba. (Dartmouthのおごり！)
Everybody at Kaede, ft. the shop owner (bottom right)Waiting for that okonomiyaki to cook
The people who ran and worked at the shop were also very nice. They gave us the ingredients, and then explained to us how to make the food. When we were stuck at times, they helped us cook. Also, they made sure we always had water! - important, since it was very hot.
The shop owner helping us cook monjayaki
One of the girls in CALYX, Yurina, was amazing at making okonomiyaki. We were all really surprised at how good she was. It turned out she used to work at an okonomiyaki restaurant! As Kenny Nguyen '21 said, "she was a BOSS".
Eating okonomiyaki, from left to right: Revant, Kenny, Yurina, YuukiOkonomiyaki made by Yurina
Afterwards, most of us had dessert. (Thank you, Dartmouth!) We ended up running the store out of chocolate parfaits. It was a fun and delicious time, and we were really grateful that the students in CALYX introduced us to this place and ate with us. We can't wait to hang out with them more!
Hello! My name is Jen Wu '19 and I am this year's DA (Director's Asssistant) for this year's Japan LSA+ in Chiba, Japan. For more information about the program, please visit the LSA's about page or navigate around this website. This will be a rather long, catch-up post on what has happened so far.
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People trickled into Japan from 06/20 to 06/21, but everybody arrived safely and made their way to the APA hotel in Makuhari! We stayed there for three nights and tried out the big public baths in the hotel. We wore the yukata supplied by the hotel, and some of us used the sauna as well! On the first night (06/20), those who arrived already went to take pictures for student IDs for Kanda University of International Studies (神田外語大学, KUIS). Here is a picture of us in front of a photo booth, posing "candid."
Justin, Daisy, Kyland, Susie, Kenny, and Victor in a "candid" photo, with the photo booth on the left
That evening, we ate at a French buffet for dinner, and Yukari-san, Dorsey-sensei's wife, introduced herself and helped us practice our introductions! She is also the one who helps organize events and set up this website.
Yukari-san explaining how to order sushi
The next day (06/21), we went to see Japan's famous Asakusa. There were many people, but we tried our best to take a photo in front of Kaminari gate. We then went through Nakamise-dori to see Sensoji. There, everybody tried their luck with omikuji. Afterwards, we went to look at the smaller Asakusa shrine.
At Kaminari-mon in AsakusaWatching Dorsey-sensei finish purifying himself at a 手水舎 before Asakusa shrine.
That day, we also went to Ueno and explored Ameyoko. I went to pick up Sydney from Narita after going to Ueno, making our group whole. The rest of the students and Dorsey-sensei went to Akihabara. Some of the students even went to a maid cafe!
At a maid-cafe in Akihabara!
On 06/22, we went to Meiji Jingu in the morning, followed by Harajuku. Some of us bought omamori at Meiji Jingu. After Harajuku, we went to Shibuya. There we saw the famous Hachiko statue, as well as walked the scramble crossing. We also shopped around Shibuya's many stores, such as Shibuya 109, Uni-qlo, and a Book-off.
Sydney, Kyland, Kenny, Susie, Daisy, Asanni walking through Meiji JinguSydney and Dorsey-sensei front of Takeshita Street
If you have gotten this far, and are curious what I look like, here is a picture of me and Dorsey-sensei with some plushies in a store on Omotesando!
Me and Dorsey-sensei, in Omotesando, holding plushies
It was a long day with lots of walking, and many people went to the public baths again. On 06/23, we went to a reception to meet our homestay families. The event made the KUIS website! Susie got even higher placement than Dorsey-sensei on the post! Afterwards, everyone went back with their homestay families, and spent the weekend with them. My homestay family took me to Boso no Mura (房総のむら) and it was a lot of fun! Chiba-kun happened to be there on the same day, so we took many photos with him.
Me and Chiba-kun in Boso no Mura
The Dartmouth students started class on 06/25. Since then, we have met people from CALYX (who also gave us a wonderful tour of the school the first day) and from our joint class with Sekiya-sensei on Thursday. KUIS8, the newly built building that houses SALC (self-access learning center), is a popular hang-out place for many students, including Dartmouth students. We often go there to hang out with friends we already made or to meet new people! A couple of us go to KUIS's gym as well, and although there is no AC, there are many fans. Unlike Dartmouth's gym, we have to take off our shoes (or change into clean shoes) before going into the gym. On Friday 06/29, we went to karaoke with three KUIS students, and then got dinner with four KUIS students. It was a lot of fun!
Playing Monopoly in KUIS8Hanging out in KUIS8 with students from Sekiya-sensei's class, ft. Scrabble
The Dartmouth students are taking Friday off from class, as we are going to Nihonmatsu 07/06-08. Look out for an update afterwards!
