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