Class time–group work.

A one-on-one session really jump-starts this student’s ability to speak Japanese.  The luxury of a real back-and-forth with a native speaker!

A gift from KCP students to the staff.  Everyone there works very hard!

In the hotel during a KCP overnight trip. Even during a fun excursion like this, students study hard. When we’re all together in a new place, though, it has a festive feeling–and we’re often learning things we’ll use right away.

No question: kanji is difficult.  One of the payoffs is calligraphy class.

Every second works for you!  On the bus during this KCP trip, teachers lead students in activities and games that use Japanese.

Omikuji, Japanese fortune telling paper. Students are usually interested in good luck in love and learning.

Get out and do something every single day, especially those studying only for the summer short term. My best weeks were those in which I spent the afternoons having fun with my friends and my evenings studying.
–Ryan Easterling

Be prepared for a rigorous program.  KCP has high achievement standards; I highly recommend it only to those who want to study hard and learn as much as they can.
I spent no time with Americans at first because I took an all-or-nothing approach to speaking Japanese. I met only Asian friends, but after 2 months my stress level was very high.  I learned it is better to spend time with Americans too. It won’t hurt Japanese studies to speak English every once and a while . . . less stress helped me do better in my Japanese classes.
–Brian Metz

If you want to shop, go to Harajuku and Shibuya in Sunshine City (Ikebukuro) for sure. And Shin Okubo is great if you like Korean food.
–Adela Chang

You have to be the right type of student to succeed at KCP and really improve your Japanese. I let the pressure get to me sometimes, since I went for the gamble in Level 2 without having taken Level 1. Unless your speaking and listening are really good, take Level 1 first.
–Casimir Ninichuck

Don’t assume this is a free pass. Studying will engulf a large amount of time for those who are serious.
–Lynn Asselin

Don’t be afraid to do things on your own. Since I had a limited time here, had I only done things when other people were available to go with me I would not have been able to do and see nearly the amount I did.
–Sarah Miles

Know your hiragana and katakana before even thinking about applying to the program.
–Laura Gonzalez

Take advantage of the help that the teachers gave because it really moves you along in the class.
–Trisna Gozali

Be flexible with your schedule, because sometimes the best things to do are suggested right after class.
–Brie Anne Dombrowski

Before you come to Japan, practice speaking Japanese every chance you get. Conversation is the least stressed skill in American classrooms.
–Rebecca Smith

Be prepared to try harder than you ever have in your Japanese classes at home. The expectations are high here, but they are also reasonable. Don’t be afraid to approach staff—they are remarkably helpful, knowledgeable, and friendly, and everyone at KCP makes sure you are heading toward your goals.
–Stephen Moncrief

Anyone using these gadgets, however, would find even more problems.  So chindogu are sometimes called un-useless.

Since the coining of the word in 1997 by Kenji Kawakami (a Japanese inventor and publisher of the magazine Mail Order Life), it’s taken off like a . . . . well, like a funny, pseudo-useful, frivolous thing.

A few finer points of Chindogu–
People can’t actually use them.  If they do, the gadgets are not chindogu.

They can’t be sold or patented.

They are not meant just to be funny, though they usually are.  The humor is incidental.

They are something of an antidote to practical consumerism and an ode to the spirit of anarchy.

Chindogu do not convey a commentary on society, nor are they of a sexual nature.  They are innocent, anti-functional, and grass-roots.

These are some of my favorite chindogu.  What are your faves?

More info–

Are you Chindogu? By Harley L Sachs

wikipedia chindogu

KCP students have provided wise tips for making the best of it–using the time to memorize kanji, going into the women-only cars and studying more comfortably, “working” their hiragana/katakana flash cards, and so on.  Though talking on cell phones is discouraged, texting is ubiquitous. In such a long commute, the crowds are amazingly kind (though pushy when trying to make that train).

And here are some interesting thoughts on the commute itself: the ultimate hive-mind.

Matthew Messmer on VEWD

Messmer‘s striking photo essay on vewd.org (a fascinating online  documentary magazine) examines the commuting experience.

Tokyo Subway Dynamics

The writer of this piece on links.net, though unidentified, had creative, interesting things to say about benefits of the Tokyo subway plus fun photos.

Subway Sleepers

Fun snooze shots in this photo-essay from someone who calls himself “Born to be Wild.”

Real-World Views

A collection of great tips from VirtualTourist–how to navigate the subway, tips for switching stations, ease of use.  Sorry about all the ads.

Tribute

A fine tribute to the Tokyo Underground on the Harvard Crimson, by Kerry Goodenow.

Inventions

From the “Are You Chindogu” movement (more about that later), here are a couple of inventions to help in the commute:

A hat for holding her head as she sleeps.

The chin rest, for sleeping standing up.

Tokyo Metro

The official Tokyo Metro site comes in English if needed and is a great resource.

Metro Manners

And we leave the final word to the montlhy “Metro Manners” posters.  Countless folks have enjoyed making up their own captions to the posters and pitching them into the internet.

To those of you new to the culture and language of Japan before, you are in for a treat!

I had already been studying the language for some time Even though I was partially ready for my travels, it was still quite an eye-opener. There were always new places to visit, new things to do, and most important, new people to meet. My first few days in Japan were anxious, but once I got used to Tokyo’s heat and its complicated train system, things eventually worked out—take it from someone who got lost for 3 hours on the first day!

Class was a little strange at first. When I started, it seemed that everyone already knew each other, and the other students seemed to be very experienced in Japanese.

However, I used this to my advantage! Once I met some classmates, they were more than willing to help me with my studies, and they introduced me to more people. This is a good way to find activities to do during the weekend, because, believe me, staying in your dorm or at home is the worst thing you could do.

Since most of my classmates were Korean and I wanted to make friends with them, I spent almost all of my time speaking Japanese (our common language).

By the way, student 2 student, once you know Shinjuku, I recommend a place called Yoshinoya for lunch. You would not believe how much money I saved there by eating cheap. =)

I cannot emphasize enough the benefits of staying with a host family. I stayed with an absolutely wonderful family, and even now, a year later, I keep contact with them via letters and presents to the children. This opportunity may be one of the best reasons to go through KCP and also the best way to experience Japan. The more effort you put into this trip, the more fun you will have.

Currently I am a senior studying Japanese Literature. Graduating will mean a lot to me: I will be able to return to Japan. I plan to continue in-depth instruction in the Japanese language, and also begin my translation work on books and video games.

http://www.kcpinternational.com/life/living.html

about halfway down the page.  Lots of fun stories!  Here are some of them–

from Asahi

EDITORIAL: The Hayabusa mission

The space probe Hayabusa lived up to people’s expectations by completing its mission earlier this week.

The initial plan was for the craft to travel 300 million kilometers and touch down on the asteroid Itokawa before returning to Earth. Hayabusa, which means falcon, re-entered the atmosphere Sunday and burned up.

Read more

from Japan Times

So, What the Heck is That?  Vader ladies
By ALICE GORDENKER

Dear Alice,
What the heck is with all the Darth Vader impersonators in Japan? You know who I mean: the middle-aged ladies who bike around with menacing-looking windshields attached to their heads. I steer clear because the shields completely obscure their faces and I can’t tell if they see me. Plus, that blank visage is downright creepy. Don’t these women know how weird they look?
Alan H., Tokyo

Read more

Ugly seafood just doesn’t get better
By HILLEL WRIGHT

Among the highlights of any visit to Ibaraki Prefecture could well be Kita-Ibaraki in its far northeast — specifically the towns of Otsu-ko and Hirakata-ko, which offer perhaps the best opportunity in the nation to sample the great winter seafood delicacy of anko (anglerfish)

Otsu-ko is around 2 hours from Ueno Station in Tokyo.

One saying from my junior high school Latin class has stuck with me: De gustibus non est disputandum — which roughly translates as, “There’s no accounting for taste.”

Read more

White T-shirts are anything but boring
By JAE LEE

To some, the white T-shirt is perhaps the least inspiring of wardrobe basics. But according to Ritchie Chan, director of the events planners Triple-Major Co., Ltd., it is quite the opposite.

“I like making things and white T-shirts naturally came to mind — they are the simplest cotton item I can think of,” said the former fashion journalist, who sees the white T-shirt as a blank canvas ready for all manner of creative possibilities.

Read more

How did you hear about KCP and why did you choose us?

• Referred by a friend; a good length of study for the price.
• Internet (google search for Japanese language courses); an intensive and quick way to learn the Japanese language.
• Through my college Study Abroad program.   It was the most rigorous and intensive of the three programs offered.
• Through the Univ. of Southern Maine’s International Affairs dept.; for the university credit.
• In the CCIS catalog. My university doesn’t offer Japanese, and I was extremely interested in learning it.
• studyabroad.com. After getting into an English as a Second language field, I decided that now was the time to pick it up again, as Japan is a prime job market for ESL.

• Anraku-sensei, Miyake-sensei, and Kawamura-sensei helped me improve my Japanese greatly.
• Kawamura-sensei, Saito-senseii, and Kamisaka-sensei, all fantastic intructors, made me want to impress them.
• Kamisaka-sensei, Iwai-sensei, and Saito-senseii are all excellent.
• Saitou Yoshihiro-sensei is KCP’s most valuable staff member–a highly-skilled presenter and positive persinality.
• Uematsu-sensei, Kono-sensei, and Saito-sensei went above and beyond to help me.
• Anraku-sensei makes her classes interesting.
• Morinaga-sensei is extremely helpful; her encouragement is more than enough to keep me motivated and studying.
• Konno-sensei (because she is KCP’s most beautiful sensei)
• Suzuki-sensei is the best! She explains everything clearly and gives off fun energy for learning. Takastu-sensei is always funny and very concerned with my progress. Imae-sensei acts everything out hilariously and creates a game show atmosphere.
• Konno-sensei is lively, pleasant, involves us, and often deviates from the textbook with real-life scenarios.
• I highly recommend all three of my teachers: Yamada-sensei, Konno-sensei, and Kawamura-sensei.
• Takatsu-sensei and Suzuki-sensei were both excellent.
• Kawamura-sensei and Anraku-sensei always come prepared and keep us motivated.
• Morunaga-sensei is absolutely wonderful.

Previous comments from students

We received a few suggestions from readers and fans, for books we hadn’t included.  Here they are.

Living Abroad in Japan (Moon Living; Ruth Kanagy)

From an Amazon review–

I lived in Japan in my youth, speak the language, and often visit my Japanese friends, I found much new information that was helpful for planning to live in Japan again. Ruth Kanagy illustrates her guidebook with beautiful original photographs and gives accurate descriptions and background explanations, social customs, and the Japanese lifestyle.

This book is a useful guide for planning a quality short trip, including important money saving details that a travel agency won’t tell you. It’s also great for longer stays, an extended work project, or even relocation to Japan.

Eyewitness Travel Guide to Japan (Dorling Kindersley publishing)

This one was recommended by KCP alum Matt Henry.  He heavily praised the photography and layout in it.

From an Amazon review–

This book is chock full of useful info and wonderful photographs. I particularly like their suggested “walks,” tours (such as Kiso Valley or Saga Pottery area), and maps.

Other highlights are detailed diagrams (such as the Gassho-zukuri houses and Toshu-gu Shrine in Nikko) and lots of photos and descriptions. Japan is a fabulous place to engage with the culture; this book can help you make the leap from reading/observing to engaging, since it takes away the reams and reams of text found in other books.  It’s not at its best as a standalone reference, though.

It’s a fun, very educational workbook getting you up to speed with these basic characters in one week. This bilingual workbook includes romaji for basic pronunciation, but it mostly uses visuals to help you remember the phonetics when you see these characters.

The course teaches pronunciation and writing of Hiragana by showing their appearance and using simple sentences. Each of the 8 units consists of a lecturer on screen teaching the Hiragana individually, explaining stroke order, common errors, pronunciation and more.  The workbook has clear, short explanations, written practice, and simple fun tasks. Visual associations aid in memorizing each character. You’ll also pick up basic vocabulary through the quizzes.

It’s not widely available in the U.S. . . . Prices top out at around $52, but the Kinokuniya Bookweb has it for under $30.  When you click the link below, choose Bookweb USA and type Virtual Hiragana into the search box.  Much of the info is in kanji, but click a shopping cart symbol at the right of the page to see the order form.  Click “In English” just above the form.  The site figures your nearest Kinokuniya branch store, or you can have it mailed (and pay the shipping cost).

To buy the virtual class–Kinokuniya

(Company info–Kinokuniya Company Ltd., founded in 1927, is the largest bookstore chain in Japan, a leading importer of information products like books, journals, and electronic databases, and the operator of a Yahoo award–winning online bookstore.)

If you want to get closer to the Japanese language–and to Tokyo–this is a fine start that’s not too spendy.

Here you can see many large kites measuring 3.5 meters by 3.5 meters (roughly 11 ft. x 11 ft.). Then to the sound of the trumpet, the fighting starts. Making the 5-mm thick hemp strings intertwine, the kite-fliers try to cut their opponents’ strings by friction, which is very exciting to watch.

The strings burn, giving off a scorched smell. You can try flying a kite yourself in the grounds adjoining the shuttle bus terminal.

This festival dates back to the 16th Century when large kites were flown in celebration of the birth of a baby son to the Lord of Hamamatsu Castle. Even today, kites are flown at Hamamatsu when a baby boy is born.

A festive day to pray for boys’ good health and a bright future, it is the custom in Japan to fly decorations called koinobori, which are carp-shaped streamers.

Carp are known to swim up waterfalls and this powerful image of the carp overlaps with the image of advancing in one’s career.