Had the honor of giving a lecture at the largest university in Japan - Nihon University.
And you could squeeze them like this while making a "puni puni" sound.
Zooming back in time to the morning at about 10:40. Is making our way by car to the economics building at Nihon University which is also known as Nichidai [日大].
After parking, we are lead through the canteen area to meet some of the students. Students really do take good care of their appearance over here. I had bad taste in clothing during my uni years. Come to think about it - I still have bad taste ^^;
Cant for the life of me remember what the canteen was like at SOAS.
At the teachers office where their lockers and mail boxes are situated. Here they do paper work and take a break.
Off to have early lunch before my talk at one of the canteens in the building. The 550 yen plate is called "Quality Lunch" while the 480 yen plate is the "Economy Lunch." The 0 yen plate is called "go and eat your own poo."
Professor Barry Natusch and I going over a few details before my talk begins.
I first met Barry at Tokyo CGM Night episode 2 and we talked soon after about the possibility of me giving a talk to his students.
My Mayo Don for lunch.
Moving to another building to give my talk.
While looking up details for this article, I came across info in English about the Monbukagakusho Scholarship which gave me the idea of interviewing some of the students to find out more.
This then lead to another idea of maybe bringing a group of readers to Nihon University to mingle with the Japanese and foreign students. Would you be interested in something like that?
The stage where teachers do their moon walks.
Setting up my bits n pieces.
Brought along the MacBook Pro in the event that the Dell Mini 9 running Leopard failed...
...and indeed, the Dell wasn't able to manage the output to the projector. Worked fine at home on HD displays but when I attach it to my TV or various projectors, the display just conks out.
Pin mic set.
Was asked to talk about my career and how I discovered my first goal in life. I didn't know exactly what I wanted to do in terms of work but I knew I wanted to live and work in Japan.
Was very nervous ^^;
Introducing my daughters.
My talk is done and time to take a look around the campus. A quick look at Barrys personal gadgets.
Many of the classrooms looked no different to many Japanese offices. Classrooms in SOAS certainly didn't look like this.
At the entrance of one of the buildings with a security guard giving me the evil eye.
With Professor Barry Natusch.
The students at Nihon University are so lucky! They get to eat Singapore Hainan Chicken Lice every day!
Lovely decor of this ramen place.
At one of the libraries.
Some diligent students studying hard. Visiting Nihon University gave me a flashback of my times at London University SOAS where I studied Japanese and Korean language.
SOAS was great - the teachers that I had really cared about whether students were learning or not and done everything they could to support us.
The location was great too near Tottenham Court Road station - I could take a No38 bus straight home to Graham Road Hackney.
Are you pleased with the university that you went to or are attending? If you are not at uni yet, will you choose one in your region or move elsewhere to attend one? Which one will you be attending?
My wife moved to Japan to attend university. After graduating she then moved to the UK to learn English and we met when we were both working part time at a Japanese restaurant.
Is moving overseas to attend university an option for you?
A load of interesting reads for those having trouble sleeping at night.
Diligent student spotted.
This student is from Taiwan who attended my talk earlier. Here we see him studying English. Unlike this chap however, there are a load who don't study much.
It is a common fact that many (not all) students in Japan have an easy time and don't do an incredible amount of study when they get into university - was able to confirm this with many students and professors too.
One of the reasons is that they have been studying hard all their life to make it into a good university and are drained after getting in - thus many of them take it easy.
While its tough to get into universities over here and easy to graduate once they are in, I found that London University was the opposite. I jumped into the second year of a 4 year degree through a Japanese language entrance examination - all my studying up until then was self study through manga, anime, games and music.
Once I was in however, the actual course with constant tests was difficult enough to eliminate most of the class by the end of the 4 years. Only 3 or 4-ish out of 30-ish students made it through to the end.
What are your courses like? Is it playtime or work your nuts or eyes off?
Terminals to look up health material in the library.
Still running IE6...
Students out n about.
A chart of the different types of certificates that students can issue from the vending machine below.
They range from 100 yen to 600 yen for certificates of graduation, current grades and proof that they attend the school.
And here is the vending machine which looks no different than the ones you may see in a curry shop.
Administration for students.
The university visit also brought back many memories for my wife too.
The 3D food menu.
If you are moving to Japan then you will eventually get used to the small tables.
Nice canteen interior.
Forgot to go to the top floor where all the Bukatsu rooms are - just like the music room in K-ON where one will find a load of students getting up to sporting, music and other activities.
Nihon University has their own Mos Burger!
They get to eat Mos Burger *and* Hainan Chicken Lice every day! Whats the food like in your university canteen?
Barry with some of his students.
In the parking lot to discover a Mikoshi used during Japanese Festivals.
And this is what Barry uses to get to work. Could do with a few stickers.
Back in the car heading off to another meeting on the other side of Tokyo.
A snap of the ceremonies that take place when new students join Nihon University. Didn't have anything like this back in the UK!
And this is what one of the graduation ceremonies was like for Nihon University students. Do let us know what your entrance/graduation ceremonies are like.More Japanese schooling related photo posts below.
