Week 4: Museums, Theme Parks, and more Museums

 Having returned to Tokyo after our excursion to Kyoto last week, it started to set in that our trip was coming to an end. This week, I mostly focused on trying to visit more locations I hadn’t been to before, and getting back to my classwork and assignments before the program ended.

The week started off with a major highlight of the trip, when a few classmates and I spent the day at the Disney Sea theme park. Having only been to Disneyland in California, this park was full of surprises, and was a totally amazing experience. We stayed from the park’s opening all the way until it closed, and so we were able to go on almost every ride. Some standouts included a brand new Frozen-themed ride that just opened, as well as a thrilling rollercoaster through a volcano based on “Journey to the Center of the Earth.” It was a great day, and our whole group enjoyed it so much that we convinced our professor to take his family there later that week!

Back in class, we spent a lot of time practicing drawing the traditional architectural structures we saw in Kyoto, and continued our design skills with a group project where we worked together to design concepts for tea ceremony rooms. I’m really enjoying the drawing exercises we’ve been doing. I used to draw quite a bit when I was younger, so it’s been really fun getting back into an old hobby, and working out a different part of my brain for a change! 

Later in the week, we visited the Studio Ghibli Museum, which was another excursion we’d been looking forward to the entire trip. Unfortunately, we weren’t able to take photos inside the museum, but that didn’t stop it from being an unforgettable experience. We got to see many original storyboards and pieces of concept art from various Studio Ghibli films, and even got to watch an original short film that’s only available to see in the museum! Tickets for the museum are scarce, so I’m very glad we took the time to get them before leaving for the global seminar. 

Over the weekend, I took the time to visit several museums I’d been interested in seeing before leaving. It’s hard to believe that a week from now, we’ll be on a plane back home!