For my CIP, I joined the Animation and Voice Actor Club at Doshisha. Since I was only here for a semester, I didn’t get to participate in any of their big events, but I was allowed to hang out in the club room. It was a cozy place where I was free to come and go as I pleased and interact with the other members. Some of the things I did were play video games with the members, talk to them about all kinds of things, and read manga.

By participating in this club, I was able to experience the dynamics of a Japanese club. This club was one of the more laid back clubs, with senpai–kouhai relationships not as pronounced. It was a good place to pick up on Kansai ben because a lot of the club members spoke in that dialect. Doshisha’s Anime Club was very different from the Anime Club back at Boston University. The club room at Doshisha was smaller than I had anticipated. There are also no planned activities at Doshisha’s Anime Club as opposed to BU’s Anime Club. Because the club room is open every day and I could only go once a week, I didn’t always see the same people. This made it harder to maintain relationships with them, but it was a good experience nonetheless.

My advice to anyone who wants to join this club is to try to go as often as possible. The more times you show up to club, the better your chances are of making friends. Everyone’s really nice and welcoming so don’t be afraid to talk to them! It’s also fun and useful to read manga with them because they can help you learn new words in Japanese! For anyone spending a year at Doshisha, I would suggest that they attend the special events put on by the club. The more people you meet and the more involved you get with the club, the better your experience will be.