ERAU Study Abroad Japan 2024

After gathering at the hotel lobby, the ERAU group made our way to the one and only CupNoodles Museum in Yokohama. When we got there, we had some time to look around, but at 11:30 we lined up with our groups (my group was Naomi, Joseph, V, Cat, Abi, and me) to join a ramen making class. This class was more of a hands-on experience as we were able to mix the ingredients with a partner and then feed our dough through a strainer. Then our instructor guided us to separate our noodles into even 100-gram portions, which we got to see get deep fried. Once it was done boiling, we were able to package our ramen and take more home.  After this first class, there was another session where you were able to make your own flavor; however, I didn’t attend it. I instead went to a farmers’ market that I saw while leaving the hotel that morning, but everything there was more on the expensive side so I didn’t buy anything. At this time, it was really hot so I ended up eating at this cute café I found i

What does Seoul, São Paulo and Tokyo have in common? All are cities with more than 20 million people and an economy that represents 20% or more of their respective country's economy. Being born and raised in São Paulo, I can say that Tokyo is a sister city. The weekends with closed roads, heavy traffic, crowded roads and 20 story buildings glued to each other are all present in both cities. I had a day to explore Tokyo's greatest hits that I missed with my family, and this whole day I spent with goosebumps and a deija-vu of being in São Paulo and remembering my childhood. If it wasn't the people talking Japanese and the safety I could not distinguish both cities. Being alone in my own room, I was able to do my own schedule. The day started early with preparations for the day, leaving the hotel after a cup noodle breakfast at 10am. First stop: Odaiba, a futuristic island reclaimed from Tokyo Bay. Two train journeys later, the iconic Tokyo skyline unfolded before me, a sight

Today was the field trip to Kobe. Once we arrived we went to Riken. We were able to briefly look at many different displays they had before going up and listening to a presentation about the supercomputer Fugaku. The lecture was very interesting and in depth and we got to look at Fugaku which was in the room next to the one we listened to the presentation in. After Fugaku at Riken, we went to the nearby zoo called Dobutsu Okoku. We ate lunch at the cafeteria area inside of the zoo and then walked around to look at all the animals in the zoo. One of the exhibits at the zoo was a shoebill stork that was named Big Bill. We were able to see him walking around the area he was in. There was also a section in the zoo with lemurs roaming around a center island. You could go onto the island and get close to them. There was also an area with a bunch of monkeys and other animals you could also get pretty close to. After the zoo we went to Takenaka Museum. The museum had a lot of interesting displ

      On our free day of June 3rd, we went to go complete our independent field trips of Himeji Castle in Himeji and the Korakuen garden in Okayama. We woke up at 6am to try to have the rest of the day to explore the cities. This was a little challenging for us, but we did end up leaving at around 7am and arriving at our first destination of Himeji at around 8:30am. We got breakfast at a cool little coffee shop that we found, it was also really the only one open at that time but it fortunately worked out. I ended up getting a banana espresso, which was pretty wild but actually quite good.   After that we headed to Himeji Castle. Walking around the walls and defenses was impressive but the inside was probably the best part. I loved looking at all of the ceilings and supports. There was a diorama of all of the entire framing of the castle at the end that was super interesting to look at. The interior was very empty which was surprising to me. It wasn't really clear where people actua

It was a cool Sunday night in summer. Rain was gently sprinkling on my hotel window while I lay in bed, stricken with illness. It was quarter past seven when I heard a knock at my door. Nicholas, my roommate, leaped up and answered immediately. It was Dr. T, the head professor for our study abroad in Japan program. He had come to take me to the doctor.  I had felt quite ill in the days leading up to this point. I was sneezing left and right, and my throat was drier than a desert. However, my symptoms were initially relatively tame, so I attributed them to allergies. Sunday was different, though. I had a fever, I couldn't stop coughing, and I felt extremely weak. I was getting worse, and I had to do something. "The last check-in is at 7:30," Dr. T told Nicholas. I was running out of time. I had to hurry. I jumped out of bed, threw some baggy clothes on, tossed my passport, wallet, and pocket wifi into a backpack, and dashed out the door. I met Dr. T in the elevator, and we

The day started like any other on this trip. The sun with its deadly heat raising upon the land nicknamed after the solar star, land of the raising sun, had given me a sight as I awoke from my bed. From my room I look to the ground and see many faces as they rush to work in a timely yet chaotic manner. This was to be the day I adventure to the White Harmon Castle and the gardens of Korakuen. The Shinkansen reside was enjoyable as I was able to zig zag my way through the country side of southern Japan. As I was heading to my destination, I had time to take in the beauty of Japans landscape and reflected about my stay here. Japan is not like the United Sates, the landscape here shows much more greenery in comparison to a place like Arizona. Getting a different vibe from places that are new or outside of the normal day to day can really help in calming the mind. Soon however, I was broken from this trance as my station was announced and started to pack up my personal belongings. I first t

Our study abroad is at its second half, and for our second field trip, we embarked on a journey to Nara, a city famed for its old temples in mountainsides and deers. But the adventure began a little earlier, with our COM 221 class kicking off at 9:00 am at Osaka Metropolitan University's Sugimoto campus. Earliers, however, at 6:30 am, I squeezed a gym session before getting prepped for the day. By 8:00 am, I was ready to got to OMU with Ihan. We met up with the rest of the group at the station, and got on the Midsuji subway towards Tennoj. Reaching Sugimoto Station, went direclty to our COM 221 class. Thankfully, the schedule accommodated our Nara adventure with a shorter session. We squeezed in 20 minutes to tackle Assignment 3 (How to Guide) before diving into lectures. The COM 221 lecture we learned Alt text, accessibility best practices, and presentation techniques. We even got our creative time with some free-writing activities. Fueled and ready to explore, our group meet at S

Today was really unique. I started off with going to the Sugimoto campus and I may or may not have gotten lost. Once I got there though, COM 221 began and we talked about user testing and report structure. After class we had lunch and I had been craving curry, so I got it and it was delicious. Once I finished my food I met up with some friends and we were enjoying the OMU college life. Then SS 314 began and we started working on our kikochos. I printed some photos of Japanese architecture that I thought were intriguing to add to my kikocho. After we finished that, we met Prof. Simon to learn from him the art of Aikido. At first, he taught us how to properly bow to our sensei and then he introduced how Aikido works. Aikido is a form of martial arts and focuses on energy, harmony, and self-defense. Naomi was my partner throughout this activity and we had fun practicing throwing each other around. We switched to learn Kyudo with the Japanese archery club. Kyudo is different than American

Today was our rest day after a thrilling adventure in Hiroshima the previous days . After a long-needed sleep I started the day off at around 10:00 in the morning with my roommate still asleep next to me. We ended up staying in bed until noon and then decided to really get our day started.   We decided to explore around the city of Namba, some times considered the heart of Osaka. We decided to stop by Mcdonalds right across the street from our hotel to get lunch. Mcdonalds in Japan has something to it that is slightly different that American Mcdonalds but in a good way . After munching down on our food, we continued our journey around the city admiring t he bustling streets and crowded atmosphere.   After some time passed, we turned back to the hotel which is very close to the epicenter of Namba. There we yet again laid in our beds while watching some YouTube on the hotel TVs. Eventually we would all fall into a deep sleep , as if not even knowi ng what was going on , as if we were

     May 26th was our first day in Hiroshima. We started our day in Osaka by meeting in the lobby and walking to Namba station together. Then we took the Midosuji line to Shin-Osaka station in order to catch the Shinkansen. This was my first time ever on the Shinkansen, which was really exciting. The inside looked like an airplane, and it took us about two hours to get too Hiroshima station.           Once we got to Hiroshima, we spent about an hour inside the station grabbing food. Myself and a couple friends headed downstairs to get some Korean food. I got beef ribs and a seafood pancake, which were really good for train station food, and it only ended up being $8.79 for the meal, which included rice and miso soup.     After lunch, we left the station via tram in order to go to the Hiroshima peace memorial museum and park. There, we got had a presentation by a survivor of the atomic bomb. She was 8 years old when the bomb was dropped, and it was both fascinating and very saddening to

 May 25th was the day of the Yukosai Festival at OMU Nakamozu. A lot of us met up at the main gate with a few of the OMU Buddies, and then split up into smaller groups and began to walk around. It was very interesting to see how much was going on at the festival. Right past the entrance was a little flea market where many of the local residents had set up tents selling their old clothes and other belongings. Past that area was a lot of student run activities and stalls. The first thing past the flea market was a stage where many performances were held at. One of which was a koto performance by the Japanese Music Club that we got to meet previously on May 16th. A lot of us watched that performance and it was very good. The main walkway had many student run food stalls. There was a wide selection of food including many things like shaved ice, karaage, takoyaki, and many other options. There were many other activities and performances you could find around. Inside one of the buildings wer