Changing Impressions

my university: Kansai Gaidai

I would say most of my first impressions are still true but that right now I’m reflecting more on the whole semester. 

I’ve been studying in Japan since August and it’s hard to come to terms with the semester ending. One of the best things about studying at Kansai Gaidai is that it’s so international and you get to make friends from all over the world. So even though I’ll be here next semester a lot of my friends are leaving at the end of next week. I’m also in the apartment style dorm so I live with 7 other unit mates but half of them are moving somewhere else next semester or going home so I’m nervous about living with other people next semester. I’ve become so close with the other girls I live with so its become our Kansai Gaidai family almost. 

Thanksgiving dinner with my Kansai Gaidai Family

Of course this whole semester I’ve been exploring Hirakata and the Kansai area with these international friends. I got to see so much and share those experiences with my friends. Kansai Gaidai is also a great place to meet the Japanese students who are interested in other cultures. It’s probably most interesting to talk to the Japanese students about their own culture and how they perceive it. Unfortunately, I hear Japanese students say they don’t like Japan (mostly because of rules and things of that nature). I think after these students go abroad though they will appreciate their own country more.  I've learned and seen a lot in Kansai during this time. 

Below are some pictures of random places I've been with my friends. 

Kobe

cat cafe in Kyoto

Kaiyukan in Osaka 

At Osaka Port

I went down to Cosmosquare in Osaka earlier this week to go to the Immigration Bureau. If you plan to leave the country during your stay under a student visa you have to get a re-entry permit. Getting the re-entry permit was pretty easy and didn’t take much time. Since my friend and I were already at the Cosmosquare stop we decided to go to the Osaka Maritime Museum down the street. The museum only costs 600 yen for admission. The museum building has a unique design-its a dome that is sitting in the water with windows that reflect the sunlight like the surface of the water. The entrance was really fun; you take an elevator down and walk through an underwater tunnel to the museum escalator. When you’re riding the escalator up the replica of a Japanese trading ship is right overhead. 

the exterior of the museum

in the underwater tunnel

fish chilling in one of the skylights in the tunnel

entering the museum and seeing the giant trading ship above us

The trading ship is in the middle of the museum and the three floors surround it so you can see it from all different levels. There are a lot of exhibits about international seafaring and traditional Japanese ships and ports. This museum would be a lot of fun for kids since there are a lot of hands on things to do. In one room you can use sextant to find the latitude of the museum and there were photo spots where you could pretend to be steering an old Japanese boat from the Edo era. Unfortunately the yacht simulator we wanted to try was off limits for some reason. There were a lot of dioramas of what Osaka port used to look like before modernization and the museum seemed like it had a lot of information in the exhibits but it was all in Japanese. 

looking down at the trading ship

the yacht simulator we didn't get to try

You can also go on the trading ship and walk around. You have to wear a plastic helmet with a light on it though so you can see what’s down below. My friend and I had a lot of fun at the museum but since we can’t read Japanese fluently we missed out on a lot of information-especially in the Osaka port history exhibit. It was a fun short trip to see a different part of Osaka though. 

in our helmets after exploring down below

The museum’s website in English: 

http://www.jikukan-ogbc.jp/english/index.html