Week 5: Last few days in Tokyo!

During our final week in Japan, we went on our last few field trips, and focused on wrapping up any final souvenir shopping and sightseeing we wanted to do before our flight home! To kick off the week, we did some shopping in Shibuya and Ginza, where my friends and I found some fun souvenirs to bring home to our family and friends. We also started working on our final projects this week, which included a sequential art piece, and a group project where we designed an international student center. The group project was very fun, as we got to carry out a full architectural concept, starting with an actual site near our classroom, developed a concept and floorplan, and presented our work! I’ve enjoyed learning more about architecture during this trip, and I will definitely bring back a newfound appreciation for built environments.

We also went on our last site visit, which was to the Edo Open Air Museum. This museum hosts a whole arrangement of recreations of buildings and small towns from the Edo period of Japan. It was a really amazing experience seeing Edo period architecture, as most of what we’d seen on our trip was either modern, or ancient. My favorite part was checking out the bathhouse, which served as an inspiration for Hayao Miyazaki’s film Spirited Away, which I love! 

In our final few days, I also made an effort to try some foods that I hadn’t yet. I went to an Italian restaurant near the hotel, and was very impressed by their spin on a classic Carbonara! It was a great meal, and reminded me of home, which I definitely needed after 5 weeks away.

After our final class where we presented our final projects, we had one last group dinner together, before we parted ways. Several of my friends and I navigated back to the airport, where we boarded our flights without any major complications. After a long 11 hours back to LAX, I was home!

My experience in Japan was one I’ll certainly never forget. I’m very grateful to the study abroad office and IES for making the trip possible, and for the support of the Kathleen Denno Scholarship!