We didn’t simply come overseas to sightsee but instead take a relatively easy class at our sister university “Chuo”. Sister in the sense that we have a long relationship with this university in Japan. This university is the college many students in the States try to apply for when it comes to studying abroad. Anyways, we had a single class at the top of this university’s building on the good side of its campus. The campus is so big that it was split into 2 different locations. We also had a good minute of a walk to get there, but it was a wonderful walk!
It’s 7:00AM and we are all aiming to be in class by 8:00AM. This isn’t a big deal as we are so close to the campus. Everyone is eating and deciding whether they want to walk or take the Chikatetsu (subway). I think the biggest reason for the decision was to un-guilt oneself for taking the easy route. There was so much value to walking to the school! Let me preface, rainy days/your feet/health/homework/sleeping late/eating late are all huge factors in this 7:30 decision. If it was possible though, walking was the best bang for that buck we spent to get over to this part of the world. Don’t get me wrong, there is PLENTY of time to ride that damn train including its fast brother.
We all stand outside of the hostel and go in pairs/group/individually. Our teacher was a BRISK walker, let me tell you. A few back streets, corners, and lights and we were in the area. Pretty fantastic actually. On the way there we passed so many things of interest! Karaoke, bars, food shops, stores, amusement parks, and more! This was thrilling for sure.
We talk amongst ourselves and eventually reach the end of the line. Just before this completed journey, some of us would hit a konbini (store) and grab some grub/drink. Very nice experience.
We reach the gate and simply admire the size and busyness of the campus. Initially, we got lost in navigation and to be honest, I don’t think we completely knew where everything was by the end. On the contrary, we were tickled to bits to be on a Japanese campus in Japan. We got a nice tour from the person in charge of study abroad trips which lead us to our classroom. This came with a KILLING view of Tokyo and was really quiet and spacious. We were alone on this level of the building for a really long time. I’m not sure if there were any scheduled classes during the time we were there on that floor. I’ll mention the other factors of this campus in a new post but let me end with my impression of walking to a university of this stature.
In a place where walking to school is possible and also have a very low risk of being in danger is common, this feeling is astonishing. There is no way it can be replicated in the United States. I’ll mention this feeling more as time goes on because it’s an important feeling. So much so that I wrote a paper in college about it. Being safe is a valuable proposition when looking for a place to live. For the most part, Japan has this code cracked.
