#abroadintokyo

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DAY 1: Rehomed and Reholed [Tokyo Study Abroad]

*Forgive me for writing this around 2 weeks after I actually experienced my days abroad, it was just I barely had time to come to it and now that I’m freer I figured it was a good time to start this before my memory goes bad. so yay, here’s my first day!

こにちは！私のブォグにようこそ！

I’ve never been awake to appreciate dawn very often, but this day was different. I had packed my bags the night before - one big and one small luggage filled with an array of clothes and toiletries - and headed to the airport in a fusion of melancholy, restlessness, and uncertainty. The tune of excitement and wonder was present but at a less pervasive scale. I was nervous to be placed outside of my comfort zone after months of living passively in my family home doing things that are familiar and safe. But alas, an opportunity to add flavor in my life was right in front of me, so I knew that it was about time for me to set out and mentally prepare myself for living abroad, alone, for four dreadfully-long months.

The airport was where I last felt of being in control. Immigration asked me questions such as what program I was applying and so-and-so, which was perhaps a break from his dominant inspection of tourist visas, I’d like to believe. Upon entrance, I stayed at a lounge and enjoyed a small serving of salad and ham as my early-morning breakfast. It was my last meal home for four months - the longest time I’ll be gone not just from my family but from my country as well. Reality loomed its prickly fingers upon me, 10 minutes turn to 5, then an announcement rang out from the overhead radio above.

“Guests bound for Narita, please go to gate number ...”

At that point I did not feel scared, nor did I feel overly excited, I just sat through the motions and sat down in the plane. I did not read the book that I brought along with me for the four hours in the plane. Eating the in-flight meal was more annoying than anything. I just thought and thought and thought. Normally this was more than enough time to be in my own head - but I felt that upon touchdown in the immense city of Tokyo made me wish to be in an eternal state of continued reflection. I wanted to remain in the lasting “what-ifs” that played out in my head instead of facing reality headstrong, but the plane doors had opened, passengers were queueing out of the door, and it was inevitable that I too must head out.

 Immigration was chaotic due to the influx of tourists heading inside to view the cherry blossoms. A small percentage of exchange students were brought to a corner of the room where we waited for further instructions. There we were tasked to bring out or CoE and our visa to show to immigration. I was already ready to make a conversation right there, just to sort of ease myself into moving in Japan, but I never really did. Plus it seemed like all of the students are Chinese so it was hard for me to communicate as a minority. I applied for an アルバイト at immigration and they also gave me my Zairyu card. Upon exiting the immigration I heard some shouting of my flight origin, and it was there I saw my luggage brought along by two female Japanese staff due to the lateness of my arrival at the baggage claiming booth. I thanked them and headed outside the gate to meet my Sophia University Supporter, みのり . 

She brought me and my smaller luggage to my dormitory, DK House Shinkoiwa. I asked her on the train ride to my dorm about random things, from boba hot spots to Sophia life. I asked for her Line as well but she just pictured my email address (F in the chat). Upon arrival, I was greeted by the American house manager Jason EBK. He spoke decent Japanese and showed me around, I did some contracts, and I met my first fellow residents from France and America. When I checked my room out I did not know the WiFi, so I plopped down on the sofa once where I sat with old residents to pass the time. Afterward, I saw one of the staff and asked her to introduce me to my room more formally. Mainly used her to get to know the Wifi lol. Once that was settled, I unpacked my luggage and fixed my bed. Afterward, I used my laptop and just chilled in my room until 9 pm. At this time, I went out to get konbini food, a katsu dish worth Y350, as well as Banana milk worth a meager Y98. I used the dorm kitchen to microwave the food and I wasn’t ready to socialize yet so I didn’t bother talking to much people except a group of Taiwanese students wherein I made myself look dumb with some odd one-sided conversation. I stayed in my room the whole time after that, and I wasn’t sure what to do the next day, so I slept with a crappy bean pillow and hastily set-up bed sheets. Not the best of days since I was mostly holed up in my room, but just as my favorite Youtuber would like to say: “Life goes on.”

#abroadinjapan #abroadintokyo #tokyo #exchangestudent #ryuugakusei #lifeabroad #japan #abroad #exchangeprogram #studyabroad

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Day 63 - Study and Sweets

After class I was supposed to meet with Yuji. I hit the gym and then got some pizza from a food truck for a decent price and headed to Bldg 2 cafeteria, where he arrived when I already tempted myself to 2 slices of my pizza. After that, we just headed to the library and did some studying. I also printed my Conflicts paper as I was done with it already. Although for me it was mostly watching Slay the Spire and looking for where to bring my parents during their stay here. At around 3-4 PM Yuji left and I was still continuing to study. I got bored at 5 PM and at the thought that I finished studying, I headed to look for food at Nakano. I didn’t have any restaurant in mind but I wanted to finish my exploration there. I ate cheap katsudon outside Nakano Broadway but it was very salty, especially the miso soup. After that, I wandered some alleys a bit and then I entered Nakano broadway.

Inside, I went downstairs to eat Hokkaido melon ice cream which was pretty dense and yummy. Then I explored the four floors before the closing time. There I saw anime figures, camera shops, headphone shops, posters and stickers that I was so close on buying, and even a torii gate leading to a Mandarake. I also saw some interesting personalities inside, aka weebs with an eccentric fashion sense. After that, I looked at some vintage coca-cola shop, an arcade, and then eventually headed out as the place was closing at 8pm. Then I got two pieces of bread at a bakery that had something sweet and meaty.Then i went to a Lotteria where i got matcha milk tea, which I realized was too much sweets for me and I couldn’t finish it. My purpose for buying that was to study inside the cafe but my body was too uncomfortable doing so so I just went home and tried to study there instead, but I really didn’t. That will be tomorrow Joshua’s problem.

Aside from that, I also had orals so Mariana and I planned to meet up early in the morning to practice. June 4 will be one heck of a day.

#ryuugakusei #exchangestudent #studyabroad #exchangestudentlife #japanexchangestudent #abroadinjapan #japan #studyabroadjapan #japanlife #abroadintokyo #studyabroadtokyo #tokyo #sophiauniversity

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Day 56 - 1 km from Donald Trump

Today was my last day of simultaneous plans, which was a day trip around Ryogoku with Rhea. The weather was approaching scorching hot (32°C) as we went to the Edo Museum, paying for the base entry. There were two massive floors we checked out, which portrayed Edo tokyo, the livelihood of the everyday people, and also replicas of rooms and inventions used during particular time periods. We borrowed a Y1000 audio guide which was really slow talking in English sadly.

During 11:30 we saw a Shamisen performance, and the singer started to do a gutteral voice change so I suggested we check the rest of the place out. It took me until 2 PM to get as much things done - from Edo to modern Tokyo. It was interesting and definitely informative, but now we were hungry for some food so we checked where to eat. On our way out we saw a bunch of sumo wrestlers entering the stadium nearby. Rhea recommended a sumo wrestler's specialty restaurant, but it was really expensive (Y2200 per) so we were totally cool with a ramen and rice bowl the floor below for less than Y800. There I also brought out the rice drink we bought in Niigata to share, which was nice. The food arrived and it was pretty filling. We headed out afterwards and looked for a sake vending machine place near the station.

When we arrived there, the prices of a cup plus the individual sake turned us off so we headed out. We tried to see things to do and I saw a Hokusai museum nearby and decided that was a good place to go to, so we went there. Before that we ate at Bobson's ice cream and I got a thicc NY Cheesecake flavor which was good. We had a good talk too so that was nice.

Uppn entering the Hokusai museum, the lady staff remarked that I was wearing a Hokusai shirt which made me blush... but it worked cause it led me to choose the most expensive exhibition. It was really worth it though. I saw many of Hokusai's print pieces and even skimmed through 15 sketchbook representation of Hokusai's art which was absolutely marvelous. It was a nice place and made me feel inspired. I bought some posters as souvenirs and we went towards Ryogoku Sta after.

Before entering it we decided to buy some bread at a bakery and stroll the Yokocho across the station. There we entered a cafe that was closed and an anime karaoke club that was already pretty wild at 5 PM. We went home and separated afterwards.

I ate at the pork rice bowl at Premier alley with my last remaining cash. After that, I went home and just chilled pretty much. I also found out that Donald Trump was watching the grand finals of sumo at that time. In Ryogoku. That explained the multiple cameramen and busy areas of Ryogoku that didnt seem too natural.

#exchangestudent #exchangestudentlife #studyabroad #ryuugakusei #japanexchangestudent #studyabroadjapan #studyabroadtokyo #tokyo #abroadinjapan #japan #abroadintokyo #sophiauniversity #lifeabroad #japanlife #study #abroad

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Day 49 - Sanja Matsuri

At 11 AM I met up with Lorinc, Kenshi, and Odaiba Boys sans Brian to go to Asakusa to celebrate the Shinto Sanja festival. It was one of the biggest festivals of Tokyo. At Asakusabashi we also met with Andi who was a Hungarian girl from Sophia University. Once we arrived, we saw the roads were out of usage for cars to make way for the festival. In the road we were also approached by Fuji TV staff to say Sanja Festival Saiko on TV. After that, we checked some flea markets and a big Buddhist temple where we saw some priests offering prayers to the dead by singing hymns harmoniously. We eventually stumbled upon a Nepalese restaurant where I ate awesome Naan bread and keema dip, alongside Mango Lassi for Y850. After that, we checked Family mart and walked to the Sensoji temple. It was very crowded and there were many food stalls nearby. There was also a geisha performance which was pretty interesting. I bought matcha shaved ice and got the last one because I was unsatisfied with my Yuzu shaved ice yesterday, but i didn’t really enjoy the one I bought. After that, we walked towards the station where I separated from the group to explore the area more.

I stayed at the Tourist Info Center’s 8F to look at the view from up top. I saw Nakamise, Sensoji, Tokyo Tower all up close. I went down and passed by Nakamise and bought some snacks before closing time. I got lemon cake and other tiny snacks worth less than Y200. After that I checked some department stores and also saw a cool facade of Asakusa station. I walked around and just embraced what I was seeing: locals enjoying izakayas outside being the highlight of my short stroll when the sun set. I got in a four-floor Don Quixote and checked every floor. There was also a moray eel being featured up front, but it looked pretty sad. After that, I walked towards Asakusabashi station 40 minutes away. Before that though i bought a croquette near the area so that my dinner wouldn’t be very sad. I finally arrived, and ate curry rice, croquette, lemon cake, and strawberry milk as my dinner. It was a meal fit for a king, for sure.

#ryuugakusei #exchangestudent #studyabroad #exchangestudentlife #japanexchangestudent #abroadintokyo #abroadinjapan #studyabroadjapan #sophiauniversity

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Day 32 - Yasukuni Izakaya

Arrived at Ikebukuro terminal and skeddadled home, where I took a long quick nap until late morning. I had plans with Yuji and Javier to go to a Museum so I grabbed quick conbini meal and headed out at around 1:30.

The museum captured my focus intently with all the details regarding the war in a Japanese perspective. There were many letters there as well from the soldiers which tugged my strings quite a bit. I hadn't cried before going to a museum, but now I did and needless to say it was quite an experience for me. It made me hate war and hate that millions of lives were not documented like this. We passed by kamikaze jets, war helmets and containers, and other depictions of the war before heading out to the controversial Yasukuni shrine that celebrated prisoners who raped, tortured, and plundered innocent civilians.

We exited and saw the Yasukuni shrine somewhat close. It was a controversial shrine since it celebrated war criminals who raped, tortured, plundered and killed innocent victims of war. After that, we decided to look for food before Javier went to the station. Me and Yuji got McDo and had a decent talk, and we just walked around afterwards until we headed to the station where we returned home.

Izakaya came afterwards with James, Minh, Lorinc and a new bald dude Ben. They were interesting personalities and I had a good share of beer and kaarage at the place. We also walked around Shinkoiwa until 2am looking at a nearby shrine and park with a stream flowing inside it. After that, we returned to our rooms where I thought about the next day, which will be a day trip to Kawagoe.

#exchangestudent #ryuugakusei #exchangestudentlife #studyabroad #studyabroadjapan #studyabroadtokyo #japanexchangestudent #tokyo #japan #abroadintokyo #abroadinjapan #study

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Day 27 - Kamakura

After a long night, I napped and awoke at around 9:50 to prepare for a Kamakura trip with Brian and Minh. Minh withdrew some cash and took a shit, delaying us a train but it's all good, then we arrived at the Kamakura station at around 1 PM. We took another local train to hit the edge of the station. There i bought a good fried potato meal got Y200 and saw a clock tower. It was also a few steps away where we scouted a street chock full of cafe stuff and even Ghibli merchandise. It was raining afterwards quite heavily but despite that we walked passed moderate puddles and arrived at a temple atop a staircase. At the bottom of the staircase there was a ceremonial celebration with music and everything. It was playing traditional music while I was walking up the temple, which doubled the immersion for me lmao. After that, we walked back to the direction of the station while stopping by Tully's Coffee (where I got many free samples). Once we arrived at the station, we went to the station with the Big Buddha.

On the way there, we ate dried fish takoyaki which was bomb af 👌 We arrived at the Big Buddha which was kind of small actually but still worth the visit. After that, we tried to go yo another temple nearby but it was expensive so we failed to enter. We decided to head to the next and final station at Enoshima.

When we arrived there, the mood just picked up and we were all excited to see the sunset and island connected by a bridge waiting for us. I took so many nice pictures and also had a swell time looking at all the bazaars, fat cats, temples, and hiking up the island to a magnificent view of Mt Fuji and the sea. It was also very fun hanging with those two, but I had to watch Avengers that midnight so they teased me by warning me with spoiler threats for it. Also, we found a racoon tanuki creature randomly in a garden, which was funny.

We returned to the main Kamakura station, then Shinjuku station where we scouted for food to eat as we hadn't ate much that day. I was so cold walking around for lacking any food and water but we managed to find a cheap restaurant worth the value. After eating, we all went to Shinjuku station to separate. I had to go to Okubo where the Pinoys are. The train to Roppongi wasn't arriving so Okubo was the meeting place.

When i went there, I felt that the place was really sketchy with dimly lit alleys and few people. Police cars were also patrolling the main road. I searched for some merch but they messaged me saying that the KBBQ session ended and they were going to the cinema at Roppongi without me... I decided to follow. After a couple transfers, I arrived. Walking around the area, it felt pretty high-end and nice. I even saw a huge spider figure and the facade of Mori Museum. I arrived first at Toho Cinema and then waited until midnight for the Filipinos to arrive.

Next day blog is midnight afterwards.

#exchangestudent #ryuugakusei #studyabroad #exchangestudentlife #tokyo #japan #studyabroadtokyo #abroadintokyo #studyabroadjapan #abroadinjapan #japanexchangestudent

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Day 70: Koiwa and Harajuks Bro

It was a rainy day and I went to meet with Yuji again to eat. This time we didn’t really have a restaurant in mind, but he needed to go to Harajuku to buy souvenir for his girlfriend so I decided to accompany him. When we went there we decided to eat at a burger shop not far from the station and we got a black-bun burger. It was Y950 and not as filling as Shake-Shack. After that, we checked the neighboring dense ice cream shop where Aimee and Chlarise went to the day before and we decided to walk around more. We passed by Takeshita street to go to Line Friends where he bought specific souvenirs. After that, we headed back and I was bored so I decided to explore by myself in Koiwa especially since there’s a cool lily garden that Google Map recommended was nearby.

When I arrived in Koiwa, it was raining very heavily. I had to walk 22 minutes to the gardens under the strong breeze and raging rain which was very uncomfortable. There was not a minute that went by that made me regret going there as my shoes were soaked to the ground. I managed to go to the garden and saw a bus that had many old Japanese people sprawling around the gardens and hurriedly returning. I was the lone person there with another old dude and a bunch of workers. I took some pictures to remember this experience and walked to the nearest station. The next stop was apparently Koiwa station but when I exited it was a farther station further north called Keisei-Koiwa. Walking back to Koiwa station was 17 minutes which was pain - I basically paid for nothing and the rain was still storming. I walked a straight path down, bought some food in a grocery, and finally arrived at Koiwa Sta. Then I arrived at Shinkoiwa, bought some food at Seiyu as my reward, and gone home. I stayed home and had to meet with Minh to finalize some Hokkaido stuff then settled everything. After that, I just watched Terrace House and had a much needed rest for this exhausting day.

#ryuugakusei #studyAbroad #exchangestudent #japanexchangestudent #ExchangeProgram #ExchangeStudentLife #exchangetstudentlife #Tokyo #studyabroadtokyo #abroadintokyo #studyabroadjapan #japan #SophiaUniversity

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Day 69 - Sick on Sunday

I woke up not feeling really good, which was the same feeling as the night before. I felt pretty sick to the extent that I probably wouldn’t be able to go out at all that day - only for lunch. I went out to get ramen at a recommended ramen place behind a Shinkoiwa Bus stop at 11 AM and got a cheap variant of ramen. It was a vegetable ramen but it was very salty and too big for me to finish. I went out afterwards and went to Summit to buy a salad to make me feel better. I mostly stayed in that afternoon trying to regain my health. I watched Netflix and did some readings as well. Minh stopped by a couple of times to talk about Hokkaido stuff and tickets. For dinner I ate my salad but 2 hours later I bought another bento at the nearby 7/11 as well as some ice cream because a salad for dinner is the saddest thing I’ve eaten in months probably. I ate that and just rested for the rest of the night. Pretty uneventful day, I even walked only 4000 steps which was less than half of my previous record of least steps I walked in a day. 

#ryuugakusei #study #studyAbroad #exchangestudent #ExchangeProgram #japanexchangestudent #ExchangeStudentLife #SophiaUniversity #JapanLife #Japan #studyabroadjapan #abroadinjapan #Tokyo #abroadintokyo

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Day 68 - Impulsive Yokohoma

Woke up by a tap on my feet. It was 9 o’clock and Aimee and Chlarise had a thing to do at teamLAB so we had to leave soon. Me and Yuji walked to Shinjuku and it was there where I decided whether I should go somewhere or not, since I was already at the station.

I decided to say screw it and just go to Yokohoma, although my slight hesitancy left me waste 30 or so minutes in Shibuya waiting again for another Yokohoma train to pass by. When I arrived there, I ate Y400 ramen at the station which was a good first meal of the day, albeit gave me a bit of the poops a bit after. I explored the station a bit, which was huge in its own right being one of the busiest stations in the world, and also bought a Y55 croissant. Despite my heavy af backpack, I walked 30 minutes to my next stop which was the Cup Ramen Museum. This was right across the big ferris wheel that’s iconic to Yokohama. It was Y500 to enter and there I ate a Kazakhstan noodly-dish for Y300 and also curry ice cream in cup noodles for Y300 as well. I saw a history movie on how the noodles came to be and also a collection of cup noodles from 1953 to present days. I also saw a mostly-Japanese history of Cup noodles in text as well as a visual illusion which was cool. I left afterwards and walked towards a nearby park.

Yamashita Park was pretty festive inside and even a dragon boat competition by the bay. It was cool watching the energetic culture around me. There was also a fountain with flowers surrounding it which was very nice to view. I walked to a Doll Museum and entered it, although I didn’t really enjoy it because i don’t enjoy Dolls at all. At least I saw one from the Philippines though with a girl wearing a baro’t saya. After that, I walked towards the bustling and water-spewing Chinatown where I got a really good dumpling that had a xiao long bao feel to it, it was so good i wanted to get a second. I also got pricy milk tea which was way too sweet. I got a spring roll as well for Y200 which capped off my food adventure. Lastly, I visited Masobyo Temple to pay my final respects and headed to the staiton. At the train, I actually was able to take a dump in the traditional Japanese style toilet seats and slept for a bit and woke up right when I heard Shinkoiwa. I think I cooked fried rice this time and bought chicken from 7/11 and also sardines that i still had. After that, me and Minh were planning for Hokkaido trip for a couple of hours and I realized I was slightly sick. Oh well, probably cause of the food I ate. Now I could rest though.

#ryuugakusei #exchangestudent #studyabroad #exchangestudentlife #japanexchangestudent #abroadinjapan #studyabroadjapan #japanlife #abroadintokyo #studyabroadtokyo #tokyo #sophiauniversity

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Day 66: Interview Night

It was a training day, both physically and for my interview later tonight. After an easy set of midterms for Japanese class, I headed to the gym to work out. I then ate a good chicken roast set at the Halal cafe at Hoffman hall for my source of protein, then I headed to the library to prepare for my dance number. Yuji asked me to eat with him too, so I did again an hour ago with Tatsuya and we talked a bit about Fuji Q and my interview, while also seeing Minh and James eating at the area. After that, I stayed for a bit in the library with Yuji and searched for things to do during my interview, and there I saw the ESC interview was supposed to be conducted in my native language. I was slightly worried because I am not that good at Tagalog, but I persisted and made a script on how to dance the steps. I also thought I’d have a language tutorial class at Period 4, but when I went to the Global commons I realized it was supposed to be on Wednesdays, so I just cancelled it because I got too embarrassed and uncertain whether I could make it to the next ones. After that, I stayed for a bit in the library to wait for Yuji to return my headphones, and when he did at the 7/11, I went straight to the station towards Oji where I can find a place to look around and practice my unpracticed dance.

I ate at a nearby bakery once I exited the station and it had good bread that was pretty filling. I also walked past a clothing thrift store and eventually a quiet park where I practiced my spiel in Tagalog and did some dances. There were quite a bunch of mosquitos and also some pretty flowers. I stayed at a secluded area and did different steps before finally choosing to perform a specific step. It was so unprepared though. Once I did that, I ran to the restroom and looked for a place to eat and just look around. There I ate curry rice near the station and saw a nearby temple called Oji Inari Shrine. It was dark at night though so I didn’t get to see much so I walked towards the building where I had my interview.

I was early by an hour and waited at the interview spot. I fit my shirt and read the ruleset the lady gave me. I saw Daniel’s ID and there were some Mexicans and French people around. Some other nationalities arrived like Malaysian and American and I had to wait like an hour or so for my turn. When it was my turn, the interviewers did some small talk about my name and also asked me to perform. I was so unprepared since I asked them to hold my phone and they ended up looking at the music video instead of me dancing in front of them, which was quite unfortunate. I finished though and walked back to the station and went home afterward.

#ryuugakusei #sophiauniversity #exchangestudent #studyabroad #exchangestudentlife #japanexchangestudent #abroadinjapan #japan #studyabroadjapan #abroadintokyo #studyabroadtokyo

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Day 65: Settlin’ at Omotesando

Early in the morning I woke up again, this time I grabbed a sandwich and coffee at Subway and chat up with Rika the German girl in my class. On our way back she talked about how she’s active in the music band in school which was nice as she got to interact with Japanese people. I also talked to Daniel and Mariana on the way to class, as if I didn’t have a care in the world that we had a test that day.

To be fair, it was very easy. I finished and after a quick chat outside with some of my classmates, and seeing Alex who I still continuously send gifts to in Pokemon GO, I headed downstairs and saw Filipino girls sans Aya and Aaron. There we talked about random things including our adventure with Aaron last night. He showed them the video of our misadventure. I excused myself to go to the gym, and they followed me to check the place out. After they left I did my workout and decided to get lunch at Omotesando.

I passed by Tutuk the Turkish girl from my class playing Pokemon Go and made my way to the station. Once I arrived at Omotesando I looked at the surrounding area to see high-end shops scattered around the area and cool facades. I stopped by a Zara and some Japanese clothing brands. I also sneakily entered Aoyama Gakuin University and saw an iconic tree in the middle. I headed out and walked towards some of the places I highlighted in Google Maps. For some of them though, like Louis Vuitton 3F or a high end mall I couldn’t find myself gaining anything from entering so i just ignored those places. I went to Oriental Baazar but didn’t buy anything there because it was mostly touristy stuff. I did go to Gyre too which had a cool design exhibition featuring Museum of Modern Art winners. There were clocks, sound equipment, and cool merchandise there. I also saw CDG shirt designs being sold outside with queues and a David Lynch exhibition at the same floor. I went out afterwards and headed to Cat Street in Harajuku. I stumbled upon the Gyozalou place people were raving about in Google Maps and I had a meal for Y500, which was honestly not even that amazing. After that, I grabbed some pie cookie at a Flipper’s for Y500 which was just alright., not as fluffy of a pancake as I was expecting.

I walked around more and heard two families of Filipinos, one Tagalog and one Bisaya. I browsed some vintage and secondhand shops but it seemed like we were going the same general direction as I keep on hearing them as I browsed the area. I then found myself in a part of Shibuya I haven’t been in where I looked at more areas since I don’t normally go this far. I bought milk tea at a place called “Nineteen tea″ which was just average and then I went back home. I practiced for my spiel at the ESC English camp and then heard angry shouting from Minh to Daniel because he was hungry for some conveyer belt sushi.

I waited for dinner time at 7 PM and went to a conveyer belt place in the Premier alley with Brian, Daniel and Minh. We ate good sushi, I ate 6 plates and spent around Y1100. We went back home and that was that. I got put in Brian’s story and we made Minh make an IG account but he just reused his old one. I practiced slightly more and rested for the remainder of the day.

#ryuugakusei #japan #abroadinjapan #japanexchangestudent #studyabroadjapan #japanlife #abroadintokyo #tokyo #studyabroadtokyo #sophiauniversity #exchangestudent #studyabroad #exchangestudentlife

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Day 64 - June 4, 2019: Horror Midterms

The day of the first dread, midterms day. I had 3 requirements to do today.

It took me a while to wake up but I did, eventually getting out of my bed right before 7 AM to get breakfast at campus. I arrived early and since Mariana didn’t message me with her whereabouts yet, I decided to eat breakfast. I saw Aya there and also Ludovic was with me. I got a Curry rice meal with miso soup and sat across Aya and beside Majo, a Mexican girl from Shinkoiwa. I went afterwards to meet Mariana on the 3rd floor of the same building and practiced our oral script, which we polished as we walked to the classroom.

We were 5th to recite our oral exam, and I did it near perfectly. I was satisfied with my performance and that was the end of it. I then headed to Conflicts class and we sat through a lecture for some reason then passed the Final paper to the prof, ending this quarter class. I ate a riceball lunch with the two at Atre and studied IB using Anki and notepad. I took the test and it felt pretty simple to me, and when I passed it I walked with Chris downstairs and saw Minh as well. Then I saw Matthew, Aya, then Derek and we talked about our test. Then I saw Eva and Anil also near the library. Afterwards, I just stayed at the library alone to study a bit of IR (not really) despite Ludovic asking where I was. Then I went to class sitting beside Nick and I ... think I slept. There was a quiz right after too, which was unfortunately at the last 5 minutes before class ended.

Then pop culture I sat beside Taylor and just chilled because I had nothing much to care about anymore. I ate dinner with Ludovic and Daniel, then Sebastian also joined in and we talked about his stay in the Philippines which was cool coming from a Westerners perspective volunteering in outreach areas. After we went to 7/11, we separated and I then saw Aaron and we decided to explore the campus, doing stupid stuff like walking to the theology department’s abandoned basement which was true-to-fact really similar to horror game settings. We walked around campus and went back to class, then I saw Brian and Peyton there as well. I sat beside Taylor for the remainder of the class, went home with Daniel while studying for Kanji, and just chilled for the rest of the night.

#tokyo #abroadinjapan #abroadintokyo #lifeabroad #studyabroad #japan #japanexchangestudent #studyabroadjapan #exchangestudent #exchangestudentlife #sophiauniversity

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Day 60 - Lunch in the Philippines

After class I went to gym again at Sophia for my triceps and back. I also went to reserve seats in the Halal cafe but I bought a beef bento in a food truck. I stayed for a bit and then got approached by Aimee and Chlarise then later the rest of the Filipinos started showing up, it was my first time meeting Jeanne and Francis (formally). We ended up eating at the outside where it was a bit sunny. There they talked in Tagalog and we had fun. We then went to the library afterwards where I separated from them to study IB.

After that, I was bored so I went to Kinshicho to look for food. There I walked around looking for new places but I knew in my heart I wanted to try the soba noodle place that I saw in my previous visit there in the mall at the south of Kinshicho. There I enjoyed a Y960 meal which was very filling I couldn’t even finish it. After that I went to a Dotour Coffee shop to do more reading for IB. Here after, I left to go back home and just chilled for the day after.  

#ryuugakusei #sophiauniversity #abroadinjapan #japanexchangestudent #studyabroadjapan #japanlife #abroadintokyo #tokyo #studyabroadtokyo #exchangestudent #exchangestudentlife #exchangetstudentlife

[jamabroad]

Day 57 - Shake Shack Idol Smack

After eating the pan I bought yesterday, I rushed to school. I did my Japanese homework at the fourth floor and invited people to eat with me and Yuji but in the end it was just the two of us. I got a Double Shack Burger and Black Sesame Shake for Y1600 which I couldnt finish cause it was too big. After that I went to Yotsuya to meet my groupmates at 5 pm. One of them was Julie who I met at the orientstion, and they all talked smack about idol and idol culture. I went out the quickest time I could and ate dinner at the cafeteria. I returned home and made a script for my part and just chilled around afterwards. It was an actual day like I was a college student.

#exchangestudent #exchangestudentlife #studyabroad #ryuugakusei #studyabroadjapan #japanexchangestudent #japan #abroadinjapan #tokyo #studyabroadtokyo #abroadintokyo #sophiauniversity #japanlife #abroad #study #lifeabroad

[jamabroad]

Day 55 - Knock knock, it’s Mexico

Woke up at 8:40 and prepared breakfast since I haven’t done that in a while. I made gyoza and fried rice from my leftover rice with the help of DK House resident oba-chan and also Minh. It was a pretty filling meal. I had some time to kill before the Mexican party started too so I used that time to clean my room which I hadn’t done for weeks. I scrubbed the floor and sprayed the room until I the dense humidity left the air of my room. I also took a shower and saw Brian at the restroom for a bit. After I took a shower I went out wearing short pants since it reached 32 degrees outside. I was bound for Harajuku. In the train I also did my assignment for Japanese Pop Culture so I didn’t have to worry about that anymore. Finished right as I had to switch stations and when I entered Harajuku, I realized I didn’t eat lunch yet. I ate at a nearby Yoshinoya and headed to Yoyogi Park.

I seated beside the cowboy Finnish guy at first but I saw Daniel so I sat in his group. Everyone was playing Lotteria but since I arrived pretty late I just watched. I was also in the same group as Chlarise which was nice, aside from the earthquake which I felt very clearly. Eventually everyone finished and got a Mexican coin as a price, including me despite not playing the game. After that, we played a fun balloon stomping game which our group won! Me, Becka, Rich, Camu and two Japanese girls. We won by sticking together, but my balloon broke down because of my own negligence. We got to choose a pinata as a prize and we got Sophia’s gorgeous red bird mascot.

Me, Aimee, Chlarise, and Becka sat together and Naoki joined in as well. We just talked and had guacamole and salsa snacks with chips. After that we had to do a Mexican dance competition which I lost really quickly. After that, we had chili eating contest which was pretty scary and amusing. Lastly, there was a pinata breaking contest which was fun as I got to smash the brains out of Sophia the bird.

After watching Josue and a Latina girl dance really good salsa, me and DLSU girls went to the Laos Festival around the area. I ate Y300 bento which was Thai themed but hella cheap, while listening to music in the stage. I also bought Y500 milk tea which was super sweet but pretty good. Going towards Shibuya we saw the Jamaican festival and Reggae music CD shops nearby. There was also a live DJ performance which was very surreal and I enjoyed. After that, me and DLSU girls talked about our abroad lives and walked to Shibuya. We stopped by a CD shop and the Starbucks and overlooked the Shibuya crossing. After that, we decided to go to Shinjuku for some drinks.

Passing by Golden Gai and not finding anything that interested us was quite unfortunate, but going to Omoide Yokocho and being seated beside Bisaya speaking Filipinos made me feel pretty chill. I drank a heavy sake which made it hard for me to stand up afterwards. I also ordered one chicken skin, two bacon asparagus, and ate udamame which costed me Y1500. I went to the station afterwards and went home, resting for the day and realizing I still have to meet at Ryogoku tomorrow for the Edo Museum.

#ryuugakusei #exchangestudent #studyabroad #exchangestudentlife #japanexchangestudent #abroadintokyo #studyabroadtokyo #tokyo #sophiauniversity #abroadinjapan #studyabroadjapan #japan

[jamabroad]

Day 54 - Detective Pikachu

Wearing my bright orange shirt from Koenji, I prepared myself for the day. For lunch I had to separate with Yuji and Aya since I had a gym orientation that starts like 10 minutes after the lunch bell. I ate good kaarage and rushed to Hoffman Hall’s 1st floor where the orientation was being held. The gym instructor was talking in full Japanese and a majority of the students there were Japanese. It was actually interesting to me because I’ve never been lectured in Japanese before, and as such, I didn’t understand much at all. I did receive an English guide though, and I also got the gym card in the end which was useful. The gym in Sophia has more equipment than back at DK House so I am sure I’ll end up spending some time in that area.

IB class we discussed our plans to travel over anything else with relevant people. IR class had a quiz and I felt slightly more prepared than last time, but still not as good. I was beside Ludovic (Ludobitch) and Hiroshi. When it was over Kohei asked me why i didn’t join SRSG and I just skedaddled outta there since I didn’t have an actual response lmao. I saw Yuji there too and he returned my headphones that he borrowed earlier that day. I went down with Hiroshi and talked about his arubaito in Shinjuku that I may or may not visit. I also had to give money back to Tatsuya from last Monday in Building 6, which I did quickly enough.

After that, it was time to meet Larasati. I met with her at North gate and we took the train to Shinjuku. She took my picture with my Pokemon GO Buddy at the station and we did a raid as well, which we won together with 8 others. We walked around, played a 10-sec button masher outside an arcade, and just talked a bit while approaching Shinjuku Wald 9. We ate at Yoshinoya, I heard some Bisaya speakers too, and later snuck in some drinks/snacks we got from the 7/11. We arrived on time and checked some trailers, then the movie started.

The movie started promisingly. Loved looking at all the Pokemon in CG form, weirdly enough. The story was a bit bumpy at first, and I didn’t like the forced romance happening in the movie. The climax and reveal gave me goosebumps though, so props to the team for that. I’d give it a 7/10.

After that, we waited in the elevator to go down. Once we did, we separated as Larasati went to Shinjuku-sanchome station. I walked going back to the station of Shinjuku and went back home. I checked Summit the grocery for some food but didn’t get anything. I went back home and just chilled before I slept. It was a good day. 

#ryuugakusei #exchangestudent #studyabroad #exchangestudentlife #japanexchangestudent #abroadinjapan #japan #studyabroadjapan #japanlife #abroadintokyo #studyabroadtokyo #tokyo #sophiauniversity