On one of the first few days that I was in Japan, my program visited Azabu University to meet and learn with students and staff there. One of the activities we did at Azabu University was touring their Life Museum. This museum had a large collection of real animal skeletons, and the purpose of the museum was to teach about life in its various forms. The tour was led by a couple of students from Azabu University which made it a lot of fun because we were able to interact with people similar to us. This experience was very interesting, and I found that the messages they presented were insightful, so I want to share some of them with you in this blog post.

The first area of the museum that we walked by was the comparison between wolves and dogs. The tour guides showed us the skeleton of the domestic dog next to a wolf. The purpose of this area was to show how domestication of wolves by humans created the domestic dog. The tour guides explained multiple differences in their skeletal makeup such as teeth size, skull construction, and bone mass. These differences can all be attributed to the lifestyle of wolves changing as they became domesticated. The changes in teeth size and skull construction are due to their diet changing from real prey to soft food given by their owners. The difference I found most intriguing was how the limbs of the domestic dog had become slimmer over time because they are not required to move in the same way wolves are. While both species are very active, the less demanding lifestyle of the domestic dog has caused it to change greatly from what it once was.

The next portion of the museum was focused on comparing the size of many different mammals. The two mammals that stuck out to me the most were the Asiatic elephant and hamster which are the largest and smallest mammals, respectively. The students guiding the tour spoke to us about the effects of body size and why it matters for mammals. Some of the key points they brought up was that it is much harder for large animals to support themselves, however the fact that they are larger makes them less vulnerable prey. Conversely, smaller animals do not have to worry about supporting themselves and their size makes them a suitable target for predators. The last remark made about the size of the animals was that while smaller animals are more adaptive and have better movement capabilities, their small size hinders their lifespan as well as increases their metabolic rate. These points made it clear to us that the size of the skeleton is very important when considering different animals and their needs.

The last part of the museum that the students took us through was by far my favorite. After spending about thirty minutes looking at the skeletons of the animals, we had the chance to actually touch and hold some in another room. This was especially fun because they had a wide variety of bones to pick from. We were able to use the information we had just learned and feel it for ourselves. I especially enjoyed examining the teeth because it made me understand the sharpness and power that I could not fully grasp through the glass containers. While I found the main tour very informative, I think being able to look at the bones in our own hands made the learning experience much better.

Our time at Azabu University was filled with many interesting lectures and demonstrations. All of these experiences were something that I will not forget because they were fun and exciting. I loved that we were able to learn a lot of information regarding animal skeletons and then physically see why animals function the way that they do. I am very grateful that I had this opportunity to learn something new and make connections with university students across the globe.

When I signed up for my trip to Japan, I was so excited to have the chance to experience another place and culture. However, as the trip came closer, I started to get nervous about a few things due to Japan being so foreign to me. My worries stemmed from things like trying new food, understanding the public transportation system, and making friends. I was worried about these things because I knew if I would not be able to overcome them my trip would be seriously impacted. I am using this blog post as a way to tell how I dealt with these worries and what I took away from them.

It did not take very long before I was forced to get food that I had never eaten before. On the first night, my group and I went to the Sangubashi station to look for food in the surrounding area. Every restaurant we passed had menus filled with unfamiliar food and I knew right away that I was going to have to step out of my comfort zone. Once we sat down at a restaurant, my nerves really kicked in because the staff gave us complimentary bowls of small, dried fish called Niboshi. Luckily, I was not the only person hesitant to try the Niboshi, so we all encouraged each other to taste them. Once I psyched myself up enough to try one, I was really surprised by the flavor. The Niboshi had a simple fish taste, and the texture reminded me of a chip. My group and I were discussing the best way to describe what it was like to eat the Niboshi and we all concluded that it is like a fish flavored pringle. I know that sounds really funny, but I think it is a very accurate description. After trying the initial one, I found myself snacking on them some more and I was happy that I tried something new so early on in my trip. While it was a really small thing, the fact that I tried Niboshi and actually enjoyed it really eased my worries about trying new food for the rest of my trip.

During our trip orientation, we learned about how complex the public transportation system was. Since Tokyo is the largest and most populated city in the world, the train system has to be big enough to support it. I was not sure how I would figure it out, but I was sure that understanding the system was going to be a hefty task. Mymornings in Tokyo often began at the Sangubashi Station, which was a small local station. It was nice having this station as the closest one because I was able to start somewhere simple rather than at a complex station like Shinjuku Station. While there was no avoiding these larger stations, I could use my short time at the local station to read through my train route on Google Maps. I found that looking ahead was very useful because I was able to create a mental image of where I needed to go next. This mental image acted as my plan of action and helped me a lot when arriving at the next station along my route. While forming a mental image was very useful, its ability to help was very limited so I had to find other ways to help me get around easily. One of the other strategies I found useful was always traveling with a group of people. This group of people would act as extra sets of eyes which made maneuvering around the complex stations much easier. As I used the trains more, I became more comfortable and became more independent. While I no longer needed to travel in groups of people or create a mental image of my route, I still found them very useful as an extra precaution. In the end, having those two strategies helped me immensely at the start of the trip and they are the only reason I was able to understand the transportation systems.

Lastly, my biggest worry when preparing for my trip was that I was not sure if I would be able to make friends. I had already met everyone on my trip at the pre-departure orientations, but I didn’t connect with them that much. I felt that since I didn’t connect with them right away, we weren’t going to connect even after spending a lot of time together. My assumptions were completely wrong, and it only took a day before I had made great friendships. While I did not connect with everyone on the trip, I still made friends with the majority of people. On top of making friends with other OSU students, I also had the chance to become friends with students at the University of Tokyo and Azabu University. I became very close with my friends at these universities, and they made my trip extra special. Looking back, the memories I shared with these students are some of my favorite parts of the trip. While I am now on the complete opposite side of the world, I believe the friendships I made on the trip will continue to last regardless of the distance. I am forever grateful to both the OSU students and the students at the universities in Japan for being amazing friends and creating lifelong memories with me. I will never forget the times I had with them and look forward to seeing how our friendships will develop in the future.

Deciding to participate in this study abroad trip was one of the best decisions I have ever made. I am happy that I pushed myself out of my comfort zone because I was able to experience a completely new world. My overall takeaway from this trip is that no matter what the risks or worries are, pushing yourself to do something new will be worthwhile in the end. The time I spent abroad was a life changing experience that changed my perspective on the world. I hope this post is able to help someone that might have the same worries I once had so that they can experience everything the world has to offer without any stress.

One of my biggest fears leading up to my trip to Japan was that I would not be able to find food to eat because I am a picky eater. I get really grossed out from a lot of food textures and this made me very nervous about going to Japan. Japan has a completely different food palette than what I am used to in the United States, so I did not know what I was going to find. Even though I was worried, I still wanted to have an open mind and experience as much of Japan’s food culture as I could. Shortly into the trip I learned about a few dishes that are very popular in Japan that I have never heard of. Being exposed to new foods that I have never tried before was both scary and fun. Trying foods became a staple for my trip and I am using this post as a way to share some of those experiences.

When my program visited Azabu University, one of the professors gave my group a lecture on the dangers of eating certain foods. Two of the foods that came up in his lecture were fugu and horse sashimi. Fugu, or more commonly known as puffer fish in the US, is a high-end meal in Japan. Fugu is one of the most dangerous foods in the world because it contains a highly poisonous substance called tetrodotoxin. In fact, restaurants and chefs are required to obtain a special certification which can take multiple years to complete in order to serve fugu. Since there are rigorous requirements to be able to serve fugu it is often very expensive. While this information alone piqued my interest, the thing I found most surprising about fugu is that even though the dangers of eating it are widely known, hundreds of people without proper training attempt to make fugu because they love the taste so much. Once I heard that people willingly risk their lives in order to eat Fugu, I knew I needed to try it.

The night I went to try fugu, I was unsure about what restaurant to go to, so I asked a student from Azabu University if he wanted to join me for dinner and he was very happy to go. This was very fun because not only was I trying a cultural Japanese food, but I was also trying it with a Japanese student I had just met. When the fugu was served, I was very nervous to try it but when I finally ate it, I felt so foolish for being worried. The taste reminded me of chicken but juicier and more flavorful. The fugu was very good and at the time it was my favorite food I had eaten on the trip.

The next food that was discussed in this lecture was horse sashimi, which is the name for a raw horse dish. The thought of eating raw meatscares me and when it was brought up in conversation, I was very confused about whether it was safe to eat. However, the lecturer reassured my group by telling us that while it is almost always dangerous to eat raw meat, horse meat is an exception when it is fresh. After hearing this, I spoke with my professors and a Japanese student from Kumamoto, which is the region where horse sashimi is very popular, and they all agreed that horse sashimi is very good and worth trying. They had me sold on trying horse sashimi and I finally got my opportunity when we visited Kumamoto castle.

When my group visited Kumamoto castle, we found out there was a branch of a popular horse sashimi restaurant, called Sugamoya, right before the entrance to the castle. I knew this would be my only chance to try raw horse, so I asked one of my professors to help me order it. Since this was a smaller restaurant, they only served the raw horse as sushi but nonetheless it still had the same meat and taste that is present in regular horse sashimi. The taste of the horse meat was really flavorful, and it practically melted in my mouth. I expected it to be really rough and chewy but in fact, it was the complete opposite. I was once again blown away by how delicious the food was and would not hesitate to eat raw horse meat again.

Trying these two strange foods was a very fun experience. I am so happy that I took advantage of my opportunity to do so. The biggest takeaway I have from this trip is to push yourself out of your comfort zone because you’ll never know what you’re missing out on until you try it. I believe this experience alone emphasizes how amazing it can be to try new things and I look forward to applying a simple lesson like this to my future.