#nataliedo

This week was a very relaxed week. I was kind of tired from all the traveling and waking up early for the program’s events in Tokyo, so I took it easy. On Sunday, I went out by myself looking for gifts and such. I ended up stopping by this one store called Object (I’m pretty sure it’s Korean) that was recommended to me by one of the girls in the other program SILP. SILP is another 6-week program for international students at Nagoya, but instead of the automotive related classes, they do research in a lab at the university. Their program was a lot cheaper, but they didn’t get taken on any excursions or tours. They only have Japanese class and their research lab. Anyways, you get to decorate your own little pouch and stuff so I made a little makeup bag. I also got an old point and shoot camera and I love it. Also ran into some of the other NUSIP students in Sakae, so we got Sushiro + did some more roaming/shopping

A lot of people in the program really wanted to go to a maid cafe, me included, so we planned a trip to Maidreamin in Osu. One of our tutors, who had never been to a maid cafe, also tagged along. The food items were so cute. Overall experience was fun! Quite expensive, but that was expected. (photos taken with the camera i bought hehe)

We also went to the Toyota Museum and Plant this week which was super cool. They had a ton of cars on display in the museum that they let you sit in which was super sick. The plant was super interesting as well. They gave us bento boxes for lunch as well as pencil cases made out of seatbelts. They were making all sorts of cars in one line which surprised me. For some reason, I always thought factories manufactured cars separately like they would do one model a day or something, not mixed in with each other. Another thing that surprised me about the Toyota plant was the number of female workers. Compared to the other factories we went in, Toyota had much more female workers on the line.

Afterwards, I headed to Nagoya Station to do some shopping around the area and look around. I ended up running into some of the people in the program on my way back to the dorm and they invited me to meet up with some of the students from NagoyaU's Automobile Club. They were super chill and it was a fun time. All of their cars were super cool. We had a long weekend this week, so a lot of people from the program went to Osaka and Tokyo, but I stayed in Nagoya. I really enjoy Nagoya, I think it’s my favorite city. It’s a big city without being overwhelming and crowded. There’s a lot less tourists which makes it a lot easier to get around, and I think it immerses you more.

We got back a little late, but the next day we went out for Hitsumabushi which is a famous eel dish in Japan. It was quite expensive, but it was sooooo good. I love unagi-don, so I had no worries going in, but it was really the best. I don’t know if I can eat any other eel again.

It was definitely more of a chill week this week. Kind of winding down, getting gifts, and getting ready to go back to the States ;-;

Thank you for reading!

Natalie Do

Computer Engineering

We only had class for 3 days this week, but we got this special calligraphy lesson where we were taught how to do calligraphy. Honestly, I was expecting them to teach us stroke order and such, but it really was just copying the Kanji/Chinese characters. It was fun though we made cool little post cards.

Then we headed out for Tokyo on Thursday. On our way there, we stopped by the Suzuki Museum and Yamaha Museum/Plant. I loved this part so much. Honestly, I don’t know that much about cars, but I love motorcycles. A lot of the other students were geeking out as well. Both museums just had so many bikes and the Suzuki museum had a few older cars. Once we arrived we got some free time, but I just got some food and rested in the hotel.

Then for day 2, we first went to this National Safety Lab which was actually really interesting. They had this crazy Disney-rollercoaster-looking driving simulator. We aren’t allowed to post any pictures of it though. Then after that tour we had free time for the rest of the day so me and a few others started out in Yoyogi Park. Last time I was in Tokyo, we had stayed near Yoyogi Park, so this really brought back some memories for me. It was a little cloudy this day, but I was thankful cause it was less hot. After the park, we went to this really nice bar which was hidden behind a gachapon machine. Apparently some youtuber guy owns it, but I don’t know who it is. After that we got some dinner. We got Monjayaki which was on my Japan bucket list. It’s a Tokyo staple and I really liked it when I had it 2 years ago, so I really wanted to get it again. I’m glad I was able to get it.

Day 3 we headed back to Nagoya. On our way, we stopped by the Fuji Motorsports Museum. Once again, I don’t know much about cars, but this place was sick. We were lucky enough to catch some cars doing laps because they were preparing for a race. It was so cool. This was the museum that most of the other people were super excited for. I think it was also really awesome and lucky that we were able to catch the cars actually driving. After that, we went on this boat ride for lunch. It was so random, but we went on this older looking boat called the Ocean Princess and had a buffet. The food was fire and we saw dolphins.

I have really enjoyed this program. It has taken us on so many trips to places I would never / could never have gone to. I was a little apprehensive on whether or not I would enjoy the tours they took us on, but I had a really great time. I'm also very thankful for all of this. I was not expecting them to take care of us this well. I'm thankful for all the people I've been able to meet through this program as well. Not meaning to get sentimental on week 4, but the free time during Tokyo was a nice bonding time.

Anyways! Thanks for reading.

Natalie Do

Computer Engineering

I’m so sorry about the delay! I’ve been quite busy as we have had a pretty packed schedule these past weeks. This blog is going to be about some of the lab tours we went on and our trip to Osaka.

TOURS (NO PICS ALLOWED)

We toured a Honda manufacturing plant which was really cool. We got to see the very end of the production process where they are assembling the car and driving them off onto the lot. They were manufacturing their N-series cars which are the little box cars that are popular in Japan. I personally have never been inside a factory, so it was very fascinating seeing their assembly line process and heavy machinery. I don’t think that job is for me.. I would definitely forget something or mess something up. They took our phones, so no pictures, but it was really cool and interesting.

We then had two Nagoya University lab tours. The first tour was through some of the vehicle safety labs where they conduct tests with crash dummies and driving simulators. They also were developing autonomous cars/devices. They had a really cool 6-legged autonomous robot which looked super sick. I was looking at all of their research and stuff to try and get inspiration for my EECS473 project this semester LOL.

The second one was at a lab focused on drive trains and power electronics. The second one was definitely my favorite, it was right up my alley. They were talking about DC/AC inverters in cars and the lab actually tore down real inverters in EVs to analyze them. It was really cool and all of them were so smart. There were a lot of international students in that lab which was cool to see. Kind of made me want to pursue a master's in Japan...

OSAKA

After a lovely weekend full of learning, a few girls and I decided to go to Osaka.

We did some sight seeing. Last time I went to Japan, we never actually went inside the Osaka Castle, so I was glad I was able to go in this time. The view from the top was crazy. I’m glad the weather has been nice for almost the entirety of the program. We also had this crazy good onigiri. The wait for it was insane, but the onigiri were huge and super good.

This year is actually the year of the World Expo, which they held in Osaka this year. For those who don’t know, this event only happens every 5 years and it’s in a different city every time, kinda like the Olympics. There is a theme each year, and this year was about the future and stuff. Each country has their own pavilion where they can share what their plans are for the future and some fun tech.

We were quite lucky to have it happen while we were studying abroad in Japan. I had no idea what to expect, but it was actually jaw-dropping. The sheer scale of the event was crazy. The atmosphere was so zen despite being packed full of people. There was this giant wooden ring around all of the pavilions that was so nice to walk on. We went on it at night and it was so beautiful. I’ve never experienced something like it. You can go inside the pavilions and the countries set up their own mini museum/experience to walk through. Unfortunately, I was only able to go into the Philippines because the other ones I wanted to go in had long lines and it was getting late, but we were able to see a lot of different mini booths. I was also able to get some cute Osaka World Expo exclusive merch.

The one from Croatia was so cool. The pipes hanging down from the ceiling are filled with water that is the current temperature of Croatia.

Very tiring and hot experience.. I think the step count at the end of the day was 40k, but it was totally worth it.

A little bit of a shorter blog, but I hope you enjoyed. Thanks for reading!

Natalie Do

Computer Engineering

Hello! I’ve just finished up my second week in Nagoya, so I am going to update on some of the things I’ve done.

CLASSES

I wanted to talk a bit about the class structure now that I’ve gone through a week of them. I’m in Elementary Japanese and it’s actually a lot of fun. The class is about 90 minutes long, but it really goes by quickly. The teachers are very nice and fun. Even though the class is a little early sometimes (8:45AM), I am still excited and alert for the entire time. It also helps that I can get a Redbull from the Lawson on the walk there (the purple flavor is so good..). For now, a lot of the class is just us learning basic phrases to say (all shown in romanji/english alphabet). I kinda wish there was more to do with the hirigana/katakana/kanji, but it definitely would be a lot to cover in 6 weeks and the workload would probably be a lot more. I’m assuming it will be introduced later on once we get passed the “basic survival” portion. The class is very chill and there has only been like one easy assignment per week that we do in class together.

As for the Automotive class, it works kind of like an anthology where different lecturers come in each day and explain a different aspect of the automotive industry. They are about 3 hours long, but there is a 15 minute break halfway through. All of the lectures have been pretty engaging so far, but they only really go into surface level concepts. As for homework, there is a simple one-page report we have to write for each lecture. It’s basically just a check that you were paying attention in class.

We have had one lab tour so far. We toured a professor’s lab on campus where he had car simulators and custom cars with a ton of sensors on them. He used these to test and collect data on elder drivers. It was very cool

MORE ON NAGOYA UNIVERSITY FOR FUTURE NUSIP STUDENTS

There is a scholarship that the program offers called JASSO. It offers 80,000 yen per month, so 160,000 yen overall. It seems like many of the people in the program received this stipend, and it was quite the easy, straightforward application process. I’m not sure how this will change in the future, but it is really helpful and if it is offered, definitely get that form filled out. They give you the money in cash once you arrive. It’s something to keep in mind if financial issues are why you are apprehensive about applying or committing to the program.

The dorms that the program puts you in are off campus and about a 15-20 minute walk away from the classes. There’s a Lawson and 7/11 nearby as well as a few grocery stores. The girls in my dorm haven’t been cooking a lot, but I know some of the boy dorms have been making family meals and eating together which is fun.

There is a cafeteria on campus which has multiple options. There are basic rice dishes, noodle dishes, and a halal section. The prices are pretty good. Depending on what you get, its around 500-700 yen for a nice meal. The cafeteria does get a little crowded around lunch time though. There’s also a few restaurants/cafes between the dorms and the campus, but I haven’t been to any of them.

EXPLORING NAGOYA

During the week, I didn’t really do much. I think most of it was just walking around, resting, and doing assignments. On Tuesday, it was one of my rooomate’s birthday though, so we went out to karaoke and a club. It was kind of dead, seeing as it was a Tuesday, but we met some fun Japanese girls and we just yelled kawaii at each other the whole time which was funny. I was able to use some of my very basic Japanese to introduce myself.

My exploring of Nagoya has mainly been through shopping.. There is the main district called Sakae which has a ton of department stores. There’s also this covered market style street called Osu which has a lot of vintage/retro/second hand shops. I haven’t been able to try any of the food stalls yet, but they all look really good and I do plan on trying them out.

On Friday, there was a night market, so me and a few others headed to Sakae to do some shopping before going to that. We went to the Parco there and found this pet store with crazy exotic animals. Like they had a whole capybara on sale in a mall.

We then went to the night market which was really cool. It was on this canal thing, so it was pretty, but very packed. I got deer and wild boar meat sausages which were actually so good. The guy hunted them himself which I thought was cool. I wasn’t sure about the gun/hunting regulations in Japan, so I didn’t know you could do that. There were lots of other stalls selling ethnic foods like Thai, Viet, Chinese, British, etc.

On Saturday, me and a few others went thrifting in Sakae/Osu. Honestly we didn’t end up going to many clothing stores and instead found ourselves drawn to card shops. But we went to this fire Mexican place that had really good food. I had been craving a burrito since the semester ended, so I got a chicken burrito and it hit the spot. It was really good. It’s called ‘Sayulita Tacos & Craft Beer’. There’s a little bit of a wait because there are probably about 14 total seats on the inside, but definitely worth. I will be going back.

The girls in the program also went out to the Peanuts Cafe with the tutors and it was really cute. I got strawberry shaved ice and it was very interesting. It had like a marshmallow fluff on top and some type of jelly at the bottom.

This night we also had Domino’s because there is one right by the dorm. There were some fun flavors but honestly a little mid… I know some of the others really enjoyed it though.

Sunday included more thrifting, but this time I actually went to clothes stores. I got a couple of good items. I also went to this Japanese Italian chain called ‘Saizeriya’ and it’s sooo cheap with big serving sizes. I think it was about $9 for pasta, unlimited fountain drinks, garlic bread, and tiramisu. The food was quite good too. I had the Tarako (Pollock Roe) pasta and it was really good. I will probably get it again before I leave.

Overall a pretty good week, lots of good food. I think I’m going to chill out this week because a few others and I are planning to go to Osaka this weekend and I want to make sure I’m feeling good for that. A lot of people in the program have been getting sick, so I’m hoping I can avoid that. Anyways, thank you for reading, I hope some of this was helpful and engaging.

Natalie Do

Computer Engineering

Hello! We got back from our 2-day trip to Kyoto, Nara, and Iga, so I wanted to share some stuff about it as well as what I’ve been up to.

KYOTO

On Thursday, we took a bus to Kyoto where we went to Kankakuji, Arashiyama, and Kiyomizu-dera. It was so hot and sunny everyone was using umbrellas and fans, but that wasn’t enough to stop the sweating.

Here’s a picture of me and some of the other NUSIP students in front of Kankaku-ji, a golden temple. (Me, Sanjana, Amelie, Selena, Logan)

We then went to Arashiyama for a buffet lunch. Afterwards we were allowed to explore around a little bit. We took a little too long eating, so we didn’t have too much time to walk around, but some other students and I quickly went down by the river and checked out the Miffy store.

Next stop was a textile center where we saw a worker making a piece in real time. The loom was so fascinating, everyone stood around it most of the time trying to find out how it worked.. Truly a group full of engineers.. When we went to Kiyomizu-dera, they had pouches/bags made from the fabric made at that textile center which was pretty cool.

At Kiyomizu-dera, some others and I drank water from the fountains that they have there. There are three streams: Study, Romance, and Life. I think everyone (including me) drank from the study stream LOL. We also walked down the street of shops which was incredible packed. I got another Mokeke [モケケ] which is one of my favorite little characters. I got one in Kyoto last time I went to Japan, so it only felt right to get another one for this trip. This one (tan w/ peppermint arms) is and says Yastuhashi on it which is a little dessert from Kyoto. It’s like mochi shaped into a triangle with anko in the middle.

Afterwards, we checked into a hotel and a group of us decided to go with some of the tutors to the Fushimi Inari shrine which is the shrine with 10,000 torii gates. We did not go all the way up because it was dark by the time we got there and everyone was tired from the hot and packed day we had. But it was pretty nonetheless.

NARA and IGA

We then set out for Nara the next day where we went to Todai-ji (picture above) which is the largest wooden structure in the world housing an enormous Buddha statue. The structure today is 33% smaller than the original that burnt down, but it was still massive. I couldn’t imagine it being bigger. It was truly a marvel to see. Outside of Todai-ji, there are the famous bowing deer. I didn’t feed them, but some people from NUSIP did and some of them got harassed. There was a pretty tight schedule this day, so there was no opportunity for exploring or shopping.

Honestly pictures don’t do it justice, it is HUGE. They had a hole that you could crawl through which was the size of the statue’s nostril and many people were able to get through. I didn’t try cause there was a big crowd, but some of the others did.

We then went to Iga which is home to a ninja museum. There was a short demonstration of a ninja house, small walkthrough of some ninja gear, and then a performance. There was no photography/videography allowed during the performance, but it was super fun. Some of the NUSIP students were called down to do demonstrations of the weapons. They also let people throw Uchiya which are like throwing arrows. We then went to a little castle/museum they had nearby which was cute.

BACK TO NAGOYA

I spent my Saturday at a mall near Nagoya Station. I was in desperate need of sneakers because I didn’t bring a pair and the shoes I had brought (hightops and boots) killed my feet. After walking 20k steps per day during the trip, I physically could not walk in them anymore. I got a pair of adidas shoes with a colorway only available in Japan at a shoe store called Atmos. It happens to be my favorite color, so I was really hyped to find them. I also bought some gifts.

On Sunday, I went to a hair appointment that I had scheduled with 「wit circle」 before I got to Japan. I really wanted to get a straight perm because I have curly/wavy hair that gets sooo frizzy in the humidity. I think they did it really well.. They said “別人 (betsu jin)” which means different person, and yea I agree LOL. The perm is so good and perfect because the humidity and rain started up the next day. It was right next to the Pokemon Center, so afterwards I went there and got some merch and cards.

First time I've had bangs since I was like 5. I hated them last time because I thought I looked like Dora, but my hairstylist Kanae did me right 🙏 @kanae_wit on Instagram.

It’s currently Monday, and I’m writing this during the break between our Japanese class and Automotive class. Japanese class was quite fun we learned basic introductions and got our names in katakana. My name’s been shortened to Nari [ナリ]. Mishigan Daigaku.. thank you for reading :D.

Natalie Do

Computer Engineering

Hi my name is Natalie! I'm a rising senior in Computer Engineering originally from Northern Michigan. I will be blogging my study abroad at Nagoya University in Nagoya, Japan (NUSIP Automotive Program).

I am most excited to meet new people and make friends. This program has Japanese NU students that are called 'tutors' and they help you out with adjusting to Japan, so I am excited to get close to them.

I landed in Japan yesterday but it was so hectic that I wasn't able to get to this, but I am doing it now! I took a plane from Detroit into Tokyo (Haneda) and then took a connecting domestic flight into Nagoya's airport. The process was pretty easy. I did get a little lost in Haneda and I don't really speak Japanese, but fortunately many of the workers spoke enough English to guide me to where I needed to go.

I've been to Japan before, so taking the train/subway to get to the hotel was pretty easy. Honestly, Google Maps does a pretty good job at navigating the train system, so just follow what it says if you plan on visiting Japan. Also get an IC card (either digital or physical) ASAP because it's so convenient. I think I chose the hardest route though because there were zero stairs/escalators, so I had to haul my luggage up a ton of stairs, which was not a fun task after the long flights.

Ended up making it though! Above is what the hotel room looked like. The program booked it for all of us. The bed and pillow were really hard but I kinda liked it… It was cute and small. The view was pretty cute too. I like cityscapes like this.

Got up bright and early at 6:30AM which was a little overkill but.. A bus came and picked us up at 9AM to take us to our dorms. The dorms are actually really nice. I don't have a good picture, but it's a suite-style dorm with individual rooms, each with AC. Specifically mentioning the AC because it is 90+ degrees for most of the day and so sunny. I am not prepared for when it gets humid, I think I will die. I am already sweating profusely and it's really making me looked chopped... But back to the dorms, everything is pretty much separated/labeled by your room number (dishes, kitchen cabinets, fridge space, bathroom cubbies, etc) which is really nice.

Below is the Toyoda Auditorium which I think looks pretty cool, but the picture is kinda bad. We had our welcome party here and I got to talk to some of our tutors and they are all so nice and enthusiastic. After the welcome party, me and some other people in the program went to Don Quijote and Daiso to get some necessities which was a fun little bonding experience.

I think that is going to be it for Japan Day 1 and my pre-trip reflection. I will take more pictures in the coming weeks 🤞. I am currently packing for our 2 day trip to Kyoto/Nara, so there will definitely be better things to come.

Thanks for reading.

Natalie Do

Computer Engineering