6.24.16 

It’s Day 2 of our Tokyo excursion! We woke up bright and early, and hopped onto the Keiyo Line at Kaihin Makuhari Station. We transferred to the Yamanote Line (a train line that basically circles around the major parts of Tokyo), and disembarked in Harajuku.

Our Harajuku excursion began at Meiji Jingu, a shrine located right near Harajuku’s Takeshita-dori and Omotesando. We found ourselves walking through Meiji Jingu’s large torī gate (a large gate that usually stands at the entrance of shrines), and wandering inside of the manmade forest that surrounds the shrine. The shade of the trees definitely provided some relief from the hot summer sun. Within the forest, some students stopped to take pictures of the large ceremonial sake barrels that were lined up on the right side of the path to the shrine.

After walking for about 10 minutes, we found ourselves at the entrance of the shrine. Although the shrine was under construction, quite a few tourists had gathered to admire the shrine. We purified ourselves at the fountain near the entrance (a process that involves pouring water on your left hand, followed by your right hand) before entering the shrine. Upon entering, we were lucky enough to stumble upon a photoshoot for a traditional Japanese wedding. After spending several minutes admiring the bride’s beautiful kimono, we paid our respects at the shrine and headed towards Takeshita-dori.

Spotted at Meiji Jingu: someone prayed for Marlin and Nemo to find Dory 

As usual, Takeshita-dori was dotted with young women wearing school uniforms and lolita fashion (a style characterized by frills and bright pastel colors). Of course, there were some rather interesting sights: for example, at the entrance of Takeshita-dori we noticed a dapperly-dressed man walking his pet rock (decorated with a mini top hat).

Professor Dorsey and I set the gang loose to explore and shop. Most of the gang scrambled into the Daiso, a 100-yen shop, located within Takeshita-dori. I spent some time window shopping – I must confess that Harajuku is my favorite part of Tokyo, and I very much adore Harajuku fashion (both as a researcher and a self-proclaimed fashionista). We eventually regrouped at a crepe shop. We munched on our crepes, chattered for a bit, and continued to explore Takeshita-dori.

Crepe purchased in Takeshita-dori 

After the gang made some purchases (I bought myself a skirt decorated with kitchen utensils, because…kitchen utensils), we regrouped at Harajuki Station and hopped onto the Yamanote Line towards Akihabara. As soon as we entered Electric Town, several of the LSAers gasped in delight. One LSA member referred to Akihabara as “sensory overload.” He wasn’t wrong.

Akihabara's Electric Town

The group scattered in excitement, and perused the various arcades and anime stores located through Electric Town. Professor Dorsey and I thought that it would be fun to make a group reservation at a Maid Café, so we searched for a nearby café employee. In Akihabara, Maid Café employees tend to stand on street corners fully dressed in their maid uniforms as a way to advertise their respective cafes. Professor Dorsey and I approached an employee from Maidreamin, a maid café chain, and made a reservation for the LSA gang. Afterwards, I mentioned that I was interested in purchasing a camera since mine had broken. Professor Dorsey led me to a nearby camera store and helped me in purchasing a pretty good used camera. After the purchase, we visited a nearby Excelsior Café for tea and coffee.

We regrouped with the gang in front of Akihabara Station, and headed to the Maid Café for our afternoon reservation. Upon entering the café, we were greeted by an energetic maid, who led us to our table and gave us our own animal ears to wear. Even Professor Dorsey wore a pair of animal ears…a rare sight enjoyed by all of the LSAers. We called a maid to our table by saying nyan (the Japanese equivalent of “meow”), and ordered a variety of drinks ranging from melon soda to coffee. Those who ordered coffee (Professor Dorsey and Patrick) were instructed by the maids to add love to their coffee through “Nyan power.” Basically, both Professor Dorsey and Patrick had to say nyan while curling their hands like cats’ paws. It was a marvelous sight to behold. Before leaving the café, we took a group picture with one of the maids, which was eventually uploaded onto the café’s Facebook page.

The LSA taking a group photo with one of the café's maids

We all made our way back to Chiba, and had dinner at a French-styled buffet in Hotel Green Tower. We then headed back to Apa, and some of us took a dip in the daiyokujyō. We headed to bed early in preparation for Saturday, the big day!

6.23.16

It is the morning of our first excursion, and the LSAers are teeming with excitement. I woke up early and ran a quick errand at KUIS – I delivered everyone’s photo IDs to Hoshi-san, one of the lovely administrators. Afterwards, I hustled back to Kaihin Makuhari station, and waited for Dorsey-sensei and the gang to arrive. It was raining, but that did not put a damper on anyone’s mood: the gang arrived at the station with huge smiles on their faces. We were joined by Hori-sensei, which was a nice treat! Dorsey-sensei ran inside of the station to buy Suica (train passes, much like New York’s Metrocards) for the gang, and we huddled around a nearby map of Chiba-shi (Chiba city). Dorsey-sensei then met with us and distributed the Suica cards, and even gave us a great introduction and explanation of certain sites in Chiba-shi. We then hopped on the Keiyo Line towards Tokyo, transferred to the Hibiya Line at Hatchobori, and then transferred to the Asakusa Line. After about an hour long commute, we arrived in Asakusa!

The group waiting for the next Tokyo-bound train

We gathered around Kaminari-mon, the main gate of Sensoji Temple. We were joined by our dai-senpai Kiki (Class of 2014), senpai Nicole (Class of 2017), and future exchange students from Waseda and Keio. We entered the temple, and spent our time perusing the pop-up shops. Once we got to the temple, some of us made offerings in yen and performed the respectful, ritualistic bow. We then received some fortune readings (omikuji) – it turns out that a LOT of us have good luck! Several of the LSAers (including yours truly!) received the “most excellent fortune” reading.

        Strolling through Sensoji Temple 

My omikuji: "The Highest, Excellent Fortune"

Group photo in front of Sensoji Temple

After exploring the temple, we ate red bean past sweets, and took a group photo. We then hopped onto a train to Ueno. At Ueno, Professor Dorsey gave us a brief explanation of the historical and cultural significance of Ueno as a gateway to the big city for many country folks. We then split for lunch – my group visited a restaurant that specialized in mostly seafood. Afterwards, my group visited a nearby Sega, where I won a marshmallow cat plushie.

The group crowds around Professor Dorsey as he explains the history of Ueno

We regrouped at Ueno Station, and walked to the Shitamachi Museum. Inside of the museum, we were intrigued by the historical replicas of old Meiji-era households, though we were more intrigued by the Meiji-era games scattered within the museum. We spent a good hour and a half playing with the games!

After the museum, we visited the statue of Saigo Takamori, the inspiration for the hit film The Last Samurai (yes…the one with Tom Cruise). We hydrated at a nearby vending machine, and hopped on a train back to Chiba.

The LSA gang in front of the statue of Saigo Takamori

We had a small break before dinner, so of course we all decided to head to the nearby Sega for more UFO Catcher goodness. We may or may not have an addiction to UFO Catchers. We took a group purikura photo. Purikura is a style of photobooth technology that is notorious for its editing of users’ features – the machine will automatically enlargen your eyes and lighten your skin. This is begging to be a topic for an academic paper.

We tried our hand at more UFO Catchers, and then a miracle happened – I caught two plushies in one go! One Sega employee walked up to my machine, and called two other employees for backup. All three of the employees spoke to each other nervously on their walkie-talkies. I could not tell if they were debating if I should receive both plushies. Luckily, they decided to give me both!

After the Sega adventure, we headed to a nearby izakaya for dinner. We did a group kanpai (the LSAers had their non-alcoholic drinks, mind you!), and gave a briefing for the next day’s activities. After dinner, some of us went back to Sega. Notice the constant theme here?

After Sega, I returned back to Apa, took a much needed break in the daiyokujyō (public bath), and headed to bed.

Tomorrow’s excursion: Harajuku and Akihabara!

6.22.16

It’s June 22^nd, and we are incredibly excited for the arrival of the LSA gang! Dorsey-sensei and I met quite early in anticipation for the first arrival at 11 AM. We met with Hori-sensei, one of the amazing professors within Dartmouth’s Japanese department, in the lobby of the APA Hotel for breakfast. As we entered the buffet, one waiter asked Dorsey-sensei: “How old is your daughter?” Hori-sensei and I began to cackle, as we realized that the waiter was referring to me. I must confess that as a five-foot-tall, petite woman, I was not at all surprised by the waiter’s comment.

After eating breakfast, Dorsey-sensei and I hopped onto the Keisei bus to Narita Airport. We picked up the first student, Patrick, at around 11:30 in Terminal 1. We hopped on over to Terminal 2 to pick up the rest of the gang, and stopped for a quick lunch. Dorsey-sensei, Patrick, and I waited in the arrival lobby for the other LSAers. As we were waiting, we noticed that a popular Japanese television show was scouting for foreigners to interview. We tried to catch their attention by standing nearby, but unfortunately were unsuccessful in catching a moment of fame.

As the other LSAers began to arrive, I helped them exchange money at the nearby exchange booth. Dorsey-sensei and I began to send some of the LSAers back to the hotel via the Keisei bus. I eventually made my way back to the hotel with some of the LSAers, and Dorsey-sensei stayed behind at Narita to pick up the remaining students.

Even though many of the LSAers had traveled a long way, they were so energetic, excited, and lively! Many of them were still processing the fact that they were in Japan, and they gazed outside of the bus window with eager eyes.

Once we got to the hotel, I gathered the LSAers and took them to the Kaihin Makuhari Messe Mall to take photo ID pictures for their KUIS student cards. We found a photobooth right next to a Baskin Robbins, and spent at least half an hour taking our photos. As we waited, Patrick tried his luck with a Neko Atsume-themed capsule machine. He got a keychain that he did not particularly like, and tested his luck again with the hope of winning the rare keychain. Unfortunately, he ended up getting the same keychain again. After everyone took their photo ID, we went to a nearby Sega (an arcade) and tried our luck at the UFO catchers (crane machines). We made it back to Apa just in time for our dinner at the hotel’s Chinese buffet. We were joined by several senpai (Jeremy and Alyssa) who are studying at KUIS.

An example of the student ID photo

We all introduced ourselves, and got a briefing for our Thursday excursion in Asakusa/Ueno. We filled our bellies with dumplings, chahan (fried rice), and other Chinese food before parting ways. Some of the LSAers went to bed, and others went back to the Sega.

All in all, first day of the LSA was a success!

Hey there! My name is Kimberly Hassel, and I am this year’s DA (Director’s Assistant) for Dartmouth’s Japanese LSA+ in Chiba, Japan. For those of you who may not know, this is an advanced language study abroad program in which Dartmouth students take classes at Kanda University of International Studies (KUIS), live with homestay families located throughout Chiba, and participate in excursions all around Japan. The program lasts about 10 weeks (the length of a classic term at Dartmouth), which gives students time to immerse themselves in their new environments. It’s an amazing program, and many alumni of the program look back fondly upon their LSA experience. Some even participate in the program three years later as a Director’s Assistant (hint: me)!

The LSA+ Director (Professor James Dorsey, right) and Director's Assistant (Kimberly Hassel, left)

The current director of the LSA+ is Professor James Dorsey, an associate professor of Asian and Middle Eastern Languages and Literatures (Japanese) at Dartmouth. On the LSA+, Professor Dorsey teaches Japanese 11: "Hear the Songs of Love: Love, Gender, and Marriage in Japanese Popular Culture." It's an incredibly fun class that utilizes Japanese music (specifically folk) as a form of language study and critical analysis of themes in Japanese society. Professor Dorsey is an expert in many things, including Japanese folk music, Japanese literature, and translation. He also dabbles in aikido during his free time. The LSA+ is very lucky to have a Director like Professor Dorsey! 感謝しています！

A few fun facts about myself: I am a recent graduate of Dartmouth (Class of 2016), where I majored in Japanese modified with Anthropology. I’ll be pursuing a PhD in East Asian Studies at Princeton in the fall, though I was fortunate enough to be selected to serve as the DA for the Japanese LSA+ the summer before beginning my graduate studies. I traveled to Japan several times throughout my Dartmouth career. During my freshman year I embarked on the LSA+, which solidified my interest in studying Japanese at Dartmouth. During my junior fall, I participated in a teaching internship at Ibaraki Christian University in Hitachi, Ibaraki Prefecture. Finally, during my junior summer, I returned to Japan and traveled throughout the country to perform fieldwork for my senior honors thesis, which investigated the Japanese school uniform (seifuku) as an embodiment of supernatural, commodity, and sexual fetishisms. I am so glad to be back in Japan as the DA; this summer is bound to bring back so many pleasant memories of my own LSA+ experience!

This blog will serve as a way to document our adventures in Japan and demystify the program for current and prospective students. I’ll do my absolute best to be as witty as possible.

I hope that you enjoy reading about our adventures! よろしくお願いします！

 

Japan LSA+ in Chiba

 

 

夏の勉強を始めましょう！：　First Week of Classes!

ホストファミリーの出会い：　Meet the Homestays!

原宿・秋葉原観光：　Lolitas & Maids: Exploring Harajuku and Akihabara

浅草・上野観光：　Welcome to Tokyo: Adventures in Asakusa and Ueno

日本上陸！：　Arriving in Chiba

ご挨拶：　Greetings from Chiba