Language Course

About the Experience

For this course, students had to research a cultural topic in Japan and how this cultural aspect influences or does not influence Japan’s soft power. My group decided to research Japanese fashion, specifically the kimono and yukata. The Japanese kimono and yukata used to be worn on a daily basis, however in recent years due to the rise of more women working, these clothes are now mainly worn on special occasions. These can include graduations, birthdays, weddings, festivals, etc. As far as the differences between the kimono and yukata, kimonos are more elaborate and tend to include thicker fabrics, embroidery, and more belts. The yukata is worn more in summer, as it is cooler, and tends to be cheaper. In Japan, kimono rental services are becoming quite popular, making it a “bucket list” experience in Japan. The kimono rental places emphasis on creating an experience rather than making a quality product, which allows for it to be popular amongst tourists and locals alike. These kimono rental services serve to increase Japan’s soft power greatly in few ways. Firstly, kimono rental services generate short term interest by having their “service” walk around popular tourist destinations. For example, as mentioned we went to Kyoto for our kimono rental, and it was packed with people wearing kimonos. Other tourists see this and want to participate, thus generating short term interest. The long-term interest, and probably the most impactful, is generated through social media. Often, kimono wearers will take pictures of themselves to post online, which generates people’s long-term interest in going to Japan. Kimono rental services know this because at the shops, they will often have photo packages or include a free photo op before leaving the shop, encouraging customers to post and share these photos. Although people may not go to Japan solely to rent a kimono, it becomes this “you can’t go to Japan and not do this” activity.

For the second part of the program, we went to Kansai University in Osaka to take an intensive language course in Japanese. We stayed at the international dormitory where our class took place. Every day our class lasted for about three hours, with extra activities after; the class was broken down into a grammar section and a speaking partner section. During the grammar section, we learned multiple grammar points and how to use them situationally. This part of the course was a little challenging because learning and retaining new vocabulary and grammar everyday was challenging, but also, we had a different professor every day, so the teaching style was varied day to day. During the speaker partner portion of the class, they had local Kansai Students meet with us to discuss various topics. We discussed cultural differences, read folklore, learned how to give advice, etc. I enjoyed being able to take the grammar we had learned and apply it to an actual conversation. Sometimes, the language barrier was difficult to overcome, as some days I did not know a certain Japanese word and the speaking partners did not know the English equivalent. However, this barrier also gave all of us a chance to learn new, interesting things about both languages and cultures. This class showed me where my strengths and weaknesses lied and allowed me to strengthen both, but it took a while to get to this point. When I first came to Japan, I immediately felt the language barrier. I was nervous to order anywhere or even pay at the convenience store. Real world experience using Japanese is hard to simulate in the states, so coming here really tested my ability to comprehend on the spot and use the language to get through daily life. Even cultural barriers were difficult to overcome. For example, the first day we arrived, we had to take the train to get to the hotel. I had my ticket and inserted it into the machine, but I did not know in Japan the ticket needs to be inserted on the way out as well. I did not know this, so my professors had to talk to the ticket office to sort it out. I had many small experiences like this one where a tiny difference can lead to a mistake or misunderstanding. Learning to adjust to the culture was like adjusting to water levels, there is always a step deeper than the one you are accustomed to.

Other than the language class, Kansai University planned various cultural activities for us. The first one we did was a field trip to neighboring Kobe, where we visited an earthquake memorial museum and the Kobe China town. The earthquake museum was interesting but difficult to get through because one of my biggest fears is natural disasters. That was actually one major obstacle for me to overcome to travel to Japan. Another activity we did was a traditional tea ceremony in a Japanese style tearoom. This ceremony was different than I expected with a lot more rules than I knew about. The tea tasted great, which was surprising since I typically do not drink tea. We also got to wear, and keep, a Yukata and performed a traditional Japanese dance. I love learning dance and choreography, so this experience was very enjoyable. I also happened to be named the best dancer! The last cultural experience we did was a field trip back to Kyoto where this time I got to see Arashiyama and Nijojo and eat a traditional Japanese lunch.

Outside of class, I had a good amount of free time to explore the area. Being on our own to travel helped me become more confident with the train systems, which at the beginning confused me greatly. With my friends, I went to Denden town for anime goods, Dontonburi to try the famous Osaka Takoyaki, Umeda for shopping and theater, and even Universal Japan for a day. Out of everywhere we went, I think Umeda was my favorite city area to visit because of the variety of things to do, but less tourists, and visiting Universal Japan was one of my favorite days in Osaka. I was sad when the language course ended because I became really good friends with my course mates, and since I was graduating soon, I would not be in class with them again. However, I was so grateful to get to know them, and we all still keep in touch!

The Language Project

During this course, we needed to choose a topic about Japan, interview the speaking partners about it, and present our results. My partner and I chose to talk and learn more about kaitenzushi, conveyor belt sushi, restaurants. When we thought of questions, we had to consider our language abilities. We asked questions such as, “Where is the best kaitenzushi restaurant,” “What is your recommendation for food,” etc. The interview itself went well, but we did run into struggles fully understanding some responses to the more complex questions. Overall, we learned that while kaitenzushi is popular, and is well known abroad, many Japanese people do not eat there too often. As well, I was surprised to find many people enjoyed salmon and tuna sushi the most, which I thought was just an American stereotype of sushi. Also, regarding Kura sushi, a popular chain, many people in Japan were not drawn to their marketing strategy of “every five plates allow you to roll for a gatchapon, which mainly features popular anime and media. Regarding Sushiro, another popular chain, we asked people how they felt towards the recent scandal. Recently, a couple of young boys contaminated other people’s sushi by touching the plates, licking the soy sauce, etc. This has become famous on the internet and has hurt Sushiro’s profits. Overall, people agree that Sushiro is not to blame, and the measures taken thus far, which include halting the conveyer belts. Additionally, we found out about some interesting experiences people have had at kaitenzushi, the most interesting being one group having a “sushi battle” where whichever group eats the most plates of sushi wins and the other group pays. I think this interview process allowed for us to overcome some language barriers to understand more about the culture and see the similarities and differences between that and American culture.