I have never felt like I have walked around so much in my life before. In Japan, getting around usually takes about 20-minute—even when I take the subway station. On top of that, with friends, I’ve spent hours looking for places to eat, shop, or visiting temples and shrines. This week alone, we visited the Philosopher’s Path, Fushimi Inari Taisha, and wandered around Sanjo, which is near Nishiki Market.
We went to Philosopher’s Path hoping to see some cherry blossoms, but there were none in bloom yet. Instead of heading straight back to our dorms, we decided to search for a place to eat. This was something we realized was quite difficult since most restaurants close at specific times, like around 1:30 p.m. and would not reopen until 5 or 6 p.m. Luckily, we found a spot with a good variety of food without having to wait for them to reopen.
Later in the week, we visited Fushimi Inari Taisha to see the famous red torii gates. We arrived around 3 p.m., hoping it wouldn’t be too crowded, but it was still pretty packed. Navigating through the crowd was a bit tricky, but it was amazing to see the gates in person after ever only seeing them online. The weather was perfect for the hike, which took nearly three hours. We didn’t finish the full trail, but we plan to return someday in order to finish it.
One of the more relaxing moments this week was exploring the shops around Sanjo. While walking around we these two tress that had cherry blossoms. We decided to buy some food from a convince store nearby and sat by this river that was near the trees. The breeze, the sound of the water, and the calm atmosphere were a great break from this week.
Although classes haven’t started yet, I had my speech interview for my placement test. I was really nervous—I felt like at some point my mind blanked on what happened, especially when the questions I had prepared were not asked. Still, I did better than expected, and once the results came in, I felt like I could finally relax a little bit.
I also had to attend this “course guidance” to learn how to register for classes. I need to register for about seven classes, and since it’s not first come-first served, and instead a type of lottery system, I decided to look at some other classes as well just in case. That way, even if I don’t get my top choices, I can still meet the requirement and drop any extra classes later.
Lastly, I had to complete some paperwork to stay in Japan and study at Doshisha. I was worried I’d mess something up, so I attended a support service where teachers and students from Doshisha helped us fill out the documents. They even accompanied us when giving the documents to the ward office, which varies depending on where you live. It’s a three-step process that was expected to take around three hours, but the first step alone took almost four—and the office had already closed by the time we finished. Because of that I had to go back the next day to complete the remaining steps, which thankfully took less than 30 minutes.
Even though the process was a bit frustrating, it gave me the chance to talk with other students. I spent those four hours chatting with two people specifically, and we ended up making plans to meet again the next day to help each other out on the last two steps if needed.
This week was definitely busy, and with class registration just around the corner, it feels like everything’s starting to pick up. However, I feel like I am ready for classes to start and hope to make more friends along the way.
DU Abroad 