Day Three

Tokyo- Day Three

Today was a busy day with a packed schedule along with which we had two classes to attend. One was a special interactive class by Prof. Yoshiko on ‘Women in Sports’ and the other was a class on Sociolinguistics by Prof. Iino. Since Prof. Yoshiko’s lecture was a special session, she tried to make it more interesting by having a lively discussion on the chosen topic. Her students gave insightful presentations after which we were divided into groups and asked to discuss strategies to encourage more women to participate in sports and athletics. The Japanese students along with the Chowgules students gave interesting arguments and impressed Prof. Yoshiko. After the brainstorming session, some of the Japanese students accompanied us to their University canteen and had lunch with us.

Then we hurried back to Prof. Iino’s class which was the second class of the day for us. Prof. Iino started the lecture by showing the Japanese students a hundred Rupee note and highlighted the different languages that were printed on it, to show India’s multi-lingual and diverse culture. After introducing ourselves to the other students, we answered their queries regarding India and its diversity. Then there was a short presentation by a group of students relating to linguistic purity after which a thorough discussion was held.

The main distinction between Indian classrooms and Japanese classrooms is not only the time schedule and duration, which stretches for more than 1 and half hour in the form of afternoon and evening sessions, but also the way the Professors teach. Here, discussions and individual points of views are encouraged and called upon whereas in India there is more of rote learning and agreeing with the majority rather than thinking outside the box.

After such an informative lecture, we took a break of approximately 45 minutes and then went to visit the Waseda University Writing Centre. There we met Prof. Sadoshima, who is in charge of the writing centre and were guided by one of the tutors, Mr Hussain who explained how their writing centre functions. After we toured the writing centre, we were served Japanese tea by Prof. Sadoshima along with ‘Poki’ which is a sort of a sweet, thin, chocolate covered bread stick. After relishing all the snacks, we decided to go out to dinner with one of the Chowgule student’s-Tanvi’s- relatives. We got to see the whole of Tokyo through the Tokyo Metropolitan Government building’s sky deck and went window shopping in the popular electronic goods stores, located in Shinjuku. Dinner was at a Mexican restaurant, which we felt was delicious. On our way back home to the hostel, we were mesmerised by the decorations on trees and surrounding buildings and took lots of pictures without hesitation.

The importance and the ease of use of the subway in Japan seems to be astonishing. Although at first it can be confusing to navigate through the different subway lines, once one gets familiar with it, it becomes quite easy. Accessible, relatively cheap and fast modes of transport such as this are essential for any modern country with a growing population and its demands.

-Shubhankar Shah

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Mexican Restaurant

Poki

Reflection

Skyscrapper in Shinjuku

Subway ticketing system

Tokyo Metropolitan Building

Street view in Tokyo

View from Metropolitan Building

Waseda University Writing Centre