Putting soy sauce on rice would be the equivalent of putting ketchup on your mac and cheese
Today was our first full day in Tokyo. I was very well rested after going to sleep almost immediately after our arrival to the Sakura hotel yesterday evening, which was good because today was very eventful. This afternoon we went to Meiji University for orientation and a welcome reception with the Meiji students. The orientation was led by Professor Bosso as well as a Meiji professor and the dean of the college. This orientation was different from other orientations that I have experienced abroad. During orientation, we were really integrated with the Meiji students. At the welcome reception, we were encouraged to mingle with the Meiji students while enjoying an amazing buffet of Japanese foods. I was able to introduce myself to several students and I met two of the members of my research group.
After the reception, we gathered in a class room with the Meiji students to play some ice breakers to foster further conversations. We were instructed to find 10 things that we all had in common, which ended up being very comical, as most of the groups listed broad facts such as “we all eat food”, or “we’ve all been to Tokyo”. The orientation was also unique in that we got a tour of the University by a few of the Meiji students. Post orientation we were free to explore the city.
As this was my first time in Tokyo, a few aspects of the city stood out to me. I noticed almost immediately how clean the city sidewalks were compared to Boston. There was virtually no trash on the streets which was interesting because there was also very little public trash cans out. I also was struck by the height of the buildings and the number of people in the streets. I knew Tokyo was a large city but I did not realize just how massive it actually is. I also knew Japan had a homogenous population, but it was a whole new experience to see the large demographic difference between Boston and Tokyo. Tokyo is unlike any city I have been before. We visited Akihabara and Shibuya which were both very different, but similar in their bright lights and crowded sidewalks. Akihabara is the center for anime, electronics, and arcades, while Shibuya is a hot spot for restaurants, shopping, and nightlife. It was exciting to see Shibuya crossing, which is considered by many as the busiest intersection in the world. In Akihabara, I saw many aspects of Japanese culture that I had learned about in my Japanese Pop-Culture Class freshman year, such as anime and manga characters, Sega arcades, and the famous café for the J-pop Idol group AKB48. We spent some time in one of the six story Sega arcades, playing Mario Kart and Dance Dance Revolution.
I have also noticed that much of the restaurants in Japan require little to no interaction with the wait staff or other patrons when ordering and dining. For example, at Ichiran ramen one can eat ramen completely enclosed in a private booth, using a paper and pen to order a bowl. Similarly, at Genki sushi in Shibuya you can order various sushi dishes with the push of a button, having them delivered on wheels via a conveyer belt before your seat. From eating the Japanese food in Tokyo, I have realized that the Japanese food at home is very Americanized. The fish here is much more fresh, and there are a lot of different types of sushi that I have never heard of before, such as corn and mayonnaise, or hamburger. I also noticed that the “spicy mayonnaise” at sushi restaurants in the U.S. does not exist here and it is not common to put soy sauce on your rice. One of the Meiji students told me that putting soy sauce on rice would be the equivalent of putting ketchup on your mac and cheese in the U.S. This weekend we will go to Lake Yamanaka and stay in a traditional Japanese guest house with the Meiji students. I am looking forward to this trip and I expect that this weekend will provide me with more insight into Japanese culture and traditions.
