Who Needs a Bucket List?

November 28, 2016

Unfortunately, I haven’t traveled around in Japan as often as my classmates have. I made the mistake of not making a bucket list of places to visit before my departure from the United States, and I definitely regret not taking the time to write down all the places I wanted to see before I return to the U.S.

However, I have managed to visit a couple of famous areas in Japan, such as Shibuya, Shinjuku, and even Mount Fuji. But my favorite place has to be a place called Dog Heart. Basically, it’s a café/apartment where a dozen or so dogs just walk around and let you pet them. Japan is renowned for having several animal-themed cafes, the most popular type being the cat café. Personally, I like dogs a lot more. Unfortunately, there is only one dog café in Tokyo, and it’s about a one-hour train ride from my homestay, so I don’t go there very often. I usually go to Dog Heart after a particularly stressful week when I want to do a little bit of shopping in Shibuya, then relax while petting the dogs. It’s kind of expensive, but I think it’s worth it.

In addition to the occasional solo trips and exploring of unknown cities, I also went on a couple of class field trips to museums, shrines, and other landmarks. My favorite trip so far was the weekend excursion to Lake Yamanaka by Mount Fuji, an event hosted by Oberlin’s Office of International Programs. During this overnight trip, I met several new people and bonded with my classmates. We played games, took dozens of selfies together, and shared funny stories over heaping piles of chocolate and cookies. It was, by far, one of the most enjoyable experiences I’ve had since I arrived in Japan, and I look forward to having more of those kinds of experiences.

Written By

Yvette Ortiz

Hello! My name is Yvette, and I am a fifth-year student here at Northeastern. For my final semester as an undergrad, I decided to study abroad in Tokyo, Japan. One of the main reasons I chose to go abroad was my desire to push myself out of my comfort zone, and I figured traveling alone to a foreign country where my native language is rarely used would be a pretty effective way of doing that. Aside from improving my Japanese, my main study-abroad goal is to not be afraid of making mistakes. Since I will be immersed in a completely different culture, I will receive ample opportunities to initiate conversations with native Japanese speakers. I’ll probably make tons of mistakes, but that's okay, because that's what normally happens when you're learning a foreign language while living in a foreign country.