「Activity」カテゴリーアーカイブ

Torres Shi: Volleyball Circles

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For myCIP project, I participated in volleyball circles for both the Fall and Spring semesters, In the Fall, I participated in two circles, called SANDLOT and L Volleyball, both of which are circles of the Doshisha University. In the Spring, I joined a new circle from Kyoto University of Molten Volleyball.

All three circles I was a part of had distinctive dynamics, and the level of skills also varied greatly. The two pictures below are from a tournament I participated in during the Fall semester and a regular practice session with the Molten Volleyball circle.

One advice from me would be to start conversations with new people actively. Japanese students are very friendly towards international students. However, they can be a little shy to start a conversation, so reach out to them and you will find that they are very easy and enjoyable to talk to.

Alexis Jones: Yoga

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My CIP activity was doing yoga every Friday or Thursday at Yoga Tamisa studio near Karasuma Oike station. I was instructed by Asako sensei and, usually, in the room in the attached picture (all in Japanese).

I really enjoyed the course because I always felt included and the more I went, the kinder I felt the staff became. It was very relaxing after a long week and I enjoyed having conversations with Asako sensei and other participants after sessions. 

If you are someone that wants a CIP that’ll bring you tranquility, I strongly suggest participating in yoga because you won’t feel different from anyone else, participants range all skill levels, and everyone is extremely kind.

Ben Wolstein: Judo

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For my CIP, I joined the Kyoto University Judo Club and Enshin Dojo. At both of these clubs, I had a great experience and made a lot of new friends. As I already had been doing Judo in the U.S. for a couple of years, it was a great way to build on skills that I was already developing, while experiencing it in the place where it was invented. The two dojos were fairly different from each other: the university club held practices almost every day for two and a half hours and focused on newaza (ground techniques) more than tachiwaza (standing techniques). Meanwhile, Enshin dojo held practices twice a week and had people of all ages participating. Even for me as someone who is really passionate about judo, the Kyoto University team was a lot, and if I had continued attending the practices at the same pace throughout the semester that I was at the beginning, my whole experience in Japan would have consisted of judo. I really do feel that I got to make some meaningful relationships through the sport/martial art, and I’m certain that my Japanese improved greatly as a result. I’m really glad I had the chance to practice judo in Japan, and if you would like to as well, I would definitely recommend Enshin Dojo!

Caeden Polster : Klexon English Speaking Circle 2nd Semester

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In my CIP, I participated in the Klexon English Speaking Circle, a college student and adult circle of Japanese people who want to practice and learn more English, and foreigners who would like to help, or make new friends.

As I will be working as an English teacher in Japan after the program ends, I thought it would be a great opportunity to practice teaching English, and speaking in a way that is more conducive to learning and understanding. In my time at Klexon, I gradually noticed myself varying my speech complexity and speed for different participants based on their levels that I had gotten used to, and I also was happy to see great improvement over the year in their own English capabilities!

My advice for incoming KCJS participants would be to pick something that is related to what you are passionate about for your CIP, and keep an open mind. If you just leave your CIP after the required hours, or don’t participate in the extra social activities that may happen with members outside normal meetings, you could end up missing the opportunity to meet people who are as passionate as you, and make friendships that will last long after the program ends.

Everett Zelson: Volunteering at Happiness Children's Cafeteria

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I volunteered at Happiness Children’s Cafeteria this semester. Every Wednesday I would help serve free meals to local children. The nonprofit also runs a cafe and does study sessions for the students on Mondays.

Volunteers would set up, serve food, eat and play with the kids, and clean up. There was essentially no English spoken, so I was able to practice my Japanese, too.

Advice: Try to help as much as possible. I found that they didn’t usually tell me what to do, so I had to be proactive in offering.

Ryan Cunningham: Cooking at La Carriere

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My CIP this semester has been at Taiwa’s La Carriere culinary school in Kyoto. La Carriere offers a variety of lessons (including dessert and baking tutorials), although I largely participated in group introductory cooking lessons conducted in Japanese.

La Carriere was a blast – it was calming and fun cooking and learning to make different kinds of dishes (and eating the product of our hard work felt so redeeming). It was a bit tricky to keep up with the Japanese lessons at times, but the teachers were understanding and helped us keep pace.

I would advise new students to not be afraid to try activities that look intimidating. I would also say it’s important to keep your expectations realistic when choosing your CIP activity. I expected the CIP of a cooking lesson to be an incredibly social place where I could meet new friends, but as it turns out the fast-paced environment of an instructor-led lesson isn’t the best place for that. Nonetheless, I had a great experience and a blast at La Carriere.

Anisa Khatana: Weaving Lessons

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Thanks to Professor Rinne and Nakata-sensei’s research and support, I had the opportunity to takelessons from Kawasaki-sensei, a weaving teacher, obi weaver, and contemporary artist based near Kitaoji station. Once a week, I took the train to Kawasaki-sensei’s classroom and spent around 5-6 hours (including a break for tea, coffee, and sweets!) learning two styles of hand-weaving called hiraori and tsudzureori (tapestry weaving), typically alongside one to three other private students.

My time in Kawasaki-sensei’s classroom has been an experience that I’ll treasure forever. When I met him, I had never touched a loom—and in the weeks that followed, I prepared and hand-wove hiraori scarves and samples as well as a tapestry-weave genkan mat that I designed with a little sketch. I’m incredibly grateful for the time I got to spend with the loom, but I’m equally if not more grateful for the personal connections that I made over the weeks. Assimilating and becoming comfortable in the classroom was a slow process—we communicated exclusively in Japanese, I was the only foreigner, and everyone was at least ten years older than me—but deeply rewarding even in the most subtle ways.

Kawasaki-sensei, his wife, and his other students are all lovely people who have repeatedly amazed me with their dedication, knowledge, and kindness. To future students—if you’re someone who feels drawn to fiber arts, this is your sign to pursue that interest in Kyoto. If that’s not you—don’t let fear of discomfort and uncertainty keep you from what could be an incredible experience! Keep an open mind, be genuine and thoughtful, and do your best—the rest will come with time.

Megan Chen: Karate (Spring)

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I attended the same dojo, Goshonouchi Dojo, as I did in the past fall semester, to practice Japan Karate Association-style Shotokan karate.

This semester, I became a lot closer to the members of the dojo and even started meeting with them outside of the dojo on occasion. I also managed to pass two belt level tests while here, which will transfer back home to the US.

If possible, I really recommend doing an academic year because I felt that I got a lot closer to people in my second semester. Also, do not be afraid to just go up to people and talk to them if you are having a hard time making friends.

Karma Dorjee: Kyudo

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This semester for my CIP, I took Kyudo lessons at the Kyoto Budo Center, located in the Sakyo ward, approximately 15 mins away from campus by public transit. Throughout the course of 10 weeks, I learned everything from acts of paying/showing respect upon entering and exiting the dojo, to shooting from a distance of 28 meters. 

Overall, my Kyudo sensei and senpais were all very supportive of me taking up the bow despite only being there for a short period of 10 weeks. Rather than hitting the target, Kyudo places a lot of emphasis on one’s actions and form; thus a majority of the lessons focused on how to show respect (through bowing and other small gestures), and practicing how to hold a bow and draw and release without an arrow. It was only until the last 3-4 weeks that we started using an arrow. Lastly, the lessons don’t offer a lot of opportunity to interact with other members of the dojo as everyone is there to practice Kyudo instead of socially interacting with one another; thus to practice Japanese, you find yourself practicing listening for most of the time.

One piece of advice that I would leave is that practicing one’s form and gestures of respect outside of class is important and will prove to be very helpful as having lessons just once a week is not enough to retain everything and have it perfected the next week. 



William Huang: Volunteering at Bazaar Cafe

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The CIP activity I chose to do this semester was volunteering at Bazaar Cafe. At the cafe, you will likely be washing dishes and spending your free time afterwards talking to to the other staff/volunteers.

During the first half of my time at Bazaar Cafe, I stayed in the backyard shed with the other staff/volunteers to eat snacks and have fun chats. The second half was mainly centered on washing dishes.

Although volunteering at Bazaar Cafe was a bit unsatisfying at times, I still enjoyed it overall. The memories I made in the shed are what I will remember when I think back to this CIP and it definitely lessened my dissatisfaction with the second half of my time there. If you’re looking for a more low commitment CIP and you’re interested in developing more day-to-day speaking skills, I would recommend Bazaar Cafe. However, my biggest piece of advice would be to volunteer in the last 1-2 hours before it closes on the day you choose to go. This is when the cafe is least busy and is when you can spend more time talking to the other staff/volunteers instead of doing dishes the entire time. If I had done that more often, I would have likely enjoyed this CIP throughout the semester rather than just the first half.