Summer in Tokyo: festivals, friends, and furigana

My experience at KCP was amazing. Because I was in a dorm so close to Tokyo, I was able to attend many festivals throughout the summer, such as the Umi no Hi lantern festival at Odaiba and the Adachi Hanabi (Fireworks) festival. Some friends and I even bought yukatas (lights summer kimonos) and learned how to wear them properly through a free class at KCP. Then we were able to wear them to a few different festivals, which was fun.

I was also able to meet a lot of new people through the program. Because I was in a dorm with a lot of other American students, I had to purposely get to know some of the international students from other countries (China, Korea, Taiwan, etc.), but I'm so glad I did. Not only are they really cool people I'll keep in touch with, but because we didn't speak each other's languages, we had to practice our Japanese skills in class and over dinner.

I really appreciated the cultural aspects encouraged at KCP. Through the summer short-term program, we took a day trip to Yamanashi prefecture, which was a highlight of my trip. We saw Mt. Fuji (Fuji-san), went to a replica traditional Japanese village, ate at an all-you-can-eat peach farm, and learned some zazen meditation at a Buddhist temple. I also joined the newspaper club at KCP and was able to write and publish an article about a festival in Japanese by the time I left. Some friends and I took a free Japanese brush calligraphy class during our time there. It was so cool to be able to write some of the kanji we had learned in the traditional style.

There's plenty to do in Tokyo, and you'll definitely be close to a lot of it. Because KCP is located in Shinjuku, most of what you want to do will probably be within half an hour's train ride of the school. I would suggest making a list of things you want to do during your time there as you could fall into a school routine and miss out on some of the amazing aspects of living in or near Tokyo.