Testimonials

I enjoyed the Kamakura and Kawagoe trips immensely, but enjoyed the other cultural excursions that we took together too. The guidance we received both before and during the trips was as practical and informative as it was fascinating.

—Garrett

I appreciated the excursion portion of the culture classes the most. The ones that involved participation in an activity, such as the tea ceremony and Life Safety Learning Center, were the most valuable in my opinion. The participation aspect is something that can’t be experienced outside of Japan so having that opportunity made for a great learning experience.

—Selena

I particularly enjoyed a trip we took to the waste management facility here in Tokyo. It was a bit smelly, but a wonderful experience to see just how much has to go into keeping a city of so many people clean and functioning.

—Nelson

In the Winter term the class and myself all went to Yokohama, I was able to make friends with people in my class and get a better understanding of my peers and teachers.

—Venus

I felt that the bus trip was the most satisfying activity. It gave students the chance to go to places that they may not have previously been aware of or may have had a difficult time finding. I think it may have also helped students to form friendships at the beginning stages of the program. I made friends on the trip that I now talk to every day.

—Jemeene Marson

I think one of my favorite experiences was going on the Kamakura trip. If we hadn’t gone, I never would’ve gotten the chance to experience sleeping on tatami mats or eating a Japanese-style breakfast. Also, it was wonderful to see all of the temples and the Japanese traditional wedding that happened to take place during one of our outings.

—Mary Davison

I found the Kamakura trip the most satisfying due to the fact that I got to experience a more rural Japan rather than bustling Tokyo. I enjoyed seeing the new culture and interacting with the people there. Also, being able to stay at a traditional royokan on tatami mats is a nice change to the bed I sleep on every day!

—Jason Chang

The culture class for the U.S. program was wonderful. It gave me an opportunity to visit many interesting sites that I may not have otherwise visited on my own. My favorite was the overnight trip to Kamakura; it provided a much-needed getaway from the hustle and bustle of the city.

—Erin Longstreet

The overnight trip was extremely fascinating, informational, and a good way to unwind from classes for a weekend. I was able to experience a small bit of more traditional Japanese culture and see the large difference of Japan’s geography from America’s (the narrow and winding roads, mountains, types of trees, etc.).

—Jennifer Campbell

Yamanashi Overnight Trip! This trip provided an excellent opportunity to experience a more rural Japanese environment and bond with classmates.

—Kelby Lawson

The overnight field trip was a fantastic opportunity to see and experience things that I otherwise wouldn’t have had the chance to. The 運動会 [sport day] was another really fun event. I feel both not only allowed us the chance to take part in different kinds of Japanese culture, but it also strengthened the bonds between classmates.

—Sarah Zakrzewski

I found the overnight trip at Yamanashi Prefecture to be the most satisfying. We stayed the night at a traditional ryokan, went to an ancient village with a spectacular view of Mt. Fuji where we were able to dress up as a samurai or in yukata, see several beautiful, clear springs that come from Mt. Fuji, make our own noodle hot pot, explore a gorgeous temple, and experience Zen meditation there. The trip was extremely fun, and I learned a lot from it.

—Shayla Jarman

I enjoyed the overnight trip with all the U.S. program students. KCP did an amazing job with the planning and execution of the entire trip. I felt safe, saw things I never thought I would, and interacted with staff in a relaxed environment.

—Kelly Dinh

The bus trip was incredibly enjoyable. KCP did a great job of scheduling great places that show off Japan’s culture what we wouldn’t normally get to experience in the hustle and bustle of Shinjuku/Tokyo. Everything was well-organized and planned, and we all had a lot of fun!

—Rachel Burch

The bus trip to Yamanashi Prefecture was definitely the most exciting and informative! Otherwise, I would never have had the chance to leave Tokyo. I got to see some really exciting cultural sights, even Mt. Fuji! Also, I got to bond with my classmates and the activities on the bus ride were a little silly but charming. An excellent experience overall, although a bit more time at each site would have been nice. Also, the speech contest was definitely amusing!

—Sabrina Greene

The Kamakura field trip was an event that I will remember for the rest of my life. It was a wonderful experience!

—Brittni Hedstrom

The trip to Kamakura was amazing and stands out to me as one of my favorites. It was very immersive and I believe if the goal is to put students in a Japanese situation I believe this event accomplishes that well.

—Alberto Ossori

I really enjoyed the bus trip to Yamanashi Prefecture, not only for the fun of the excursion but also for the great experience of trying out unique things in Japan that you normally wouldn’t be able to, like zazen and peach farm visits.

—Tyler Sadoff

The Yamanashi trip was the most memorable for me. A lot of the traditional Japanese culture and scenery was packed into that trip, and it was an excellent time to socialize with the other short-term students and spend time mutually appreciating our surroundings.

—Stefan Divic

The Yamanashi excursion was very fun and insightful. To escape the bustling life of Tokyo for once to visit a rural and quiet place really resonated with me.

—Anthony Nguyen

I loved the excursions we took as a group, as well as schoolwide activities. I made some lifelong friends because of this.

—Brittany Crouch

The trips were most satisfying: Kamakura and Enoshima. You get to experience Japan, the culture, history. We stayed at a Japanese style hotel and we were able to wear Japanese clothing and experience the shared bath. It offered insight into Japanese culture and habits.

—Isabela Ronquini de Sousa

I really liked our trip to Yamanashi and the speech contest. It was so nice seeing a new side of Japan I’ve never seen before and I’m so glad I challenged my linguistic skills during the contest.

—Haley Albin

I really enjoyed the field trip during the group session to Yamanashi and the tea ceremony. Both of these events exposed me to Japanese culture, and allowed me to learn new vocabulary through experiencing it.

—Shannon Welch

Class field trips to cultural sites and Yamanashi Prefecture were satisfying because they give us a critical perspective on Japanese culture outside the classroom and outside Tokyo. The speech contest was a demanding but fun experience that stretched my Japanese language capacities in new ways.

—Joseph Seeley

The Yamanashi bus trip was really amazing and gave me the opportunity to visit other parts of Japan outside of Tokyo. Visiting Asahi Shimbun was also interesting because it was something that I most likely wouldn’t do on my own.

—Kay Hood

The class trip to Yamanashi at the beginning of the program was very enjoyable. It provided an opportunity for the students to bond and appreciate the beauty that Japan has to offer.

—May Leung

I really enjoyed the overnight trip. I never had a chance to travel outside of the city before. It was the best mini-trip of my life. Being able to see Mt. Fuji was a magical experience!

—Shanti Francoeur

The U.S. short program trip to Yamanashi Prefecture was probably the most satisfying part of the trip, as it allowed me to experience an area farther away from Tokyo that I was likely not to visit due to time constraints. It brought me into special areas (such as the recreated traditional village, and the peach farm) that I might not have found on my own, and I shared an experience with friends that are more memorable than if I had tried to go about the journey either alone or with a select few.

—Ashley Pascual

The trips to Yamanashi and the jinja during the first two weeks of review were most satisfying. I would not have explored those places on my own and missed out on great experiences.

—Dhairya Jarsania

I really liked the Odaiba trip because my class was great! I loved spending more time practicing talking to them outside of the curriculum, it was a really helpful way to practice conversational Japanese, and just hanging out with them was great!

—Makaila Puhrmann

I enjoyed the Yamanashi bus trip because it provided opportunities to practice regular conversation with the teachers and staff who accompanied us, something which is harder to do during a regular school day. Things such as the peach eating and zazen practice also aren’t things one would usually do on a personal sightseeing trip.

—Kevin Woolsey

I found the Yamanashi Trip to be extremely enjoyable and informative. The opportunity to spend a night at a traditional Japanese inn was an invaluable one, and the many stops on the trip gave an excellent impression of Japanese culture and history. Tanaka-san was an informative and amiable guide during our travels.

—Gabriel Wilkinson

The Kamakura trip was fascinating, I really enjoyed seeing all the shrines and temples, and getting to stay at a ryokan. I loved the Edo Tokyo Museum, and would have like to go back (and will, if I get a chance to return to Japan).

—Shana Border

I enjoyed the trip to Sea World. The shows were very entertaining and cute. I was able to spend quality time outside of class with my teachers and classmates and got to know them better.

—Shayla Jarman

My favorite activity was the trip to Kamakura and Enoshima. It was very beautiful and informative, and staying at the traditional Japanese inn was a wonderful experience. My only regret is that, to keep up with my studies, I had to bow out of the other activities. I understand that the workload is intensive for the purpose of covering as much material as possible in a short time, so I feel that it was worth it.

—Yacine Baali

The Kamakura trip was one of those ‘once in a lifetime’ experiences. It was amazing.

—Grant Willey

Class trips were always good team-building experiences. In my class, with so many students whose native language I don’t understand, class trips were fun opportunities to chat with fellow students in Japanese and get to know them better. I feel this made class time more productive because we felt comfortable with each other and were better able to offer support when needed.

—Steven Brogan

I believe that the trip to Yamanashi was the most satisfying because it gave all of the Summer (short) term students a chance to talk to each other outside of class. And we all got to do really fun activities together as well. It was also the most interesting because we went to a place outside of the city and learn about the different places we visited.

—Lissette Aldrete

The culture trip to Kanazawa and Gifu Prefecture was the best trip, I thought. It was great to be able to visit a place that most Japanese people living in the large metropolitan cities don’t go to visit very often or at all. The scenery was gorgeous.

—Ryan Kao

I found the bus trip to be the most satisfying. I spent the whole day talking in Japanese with classmates which is important to me.

—Darian Lawrence

The Kamakura trip was great because we got to experience a Japanese ryokan and learn more in depth about both Enoshima and the history of Kamakura.

—Sophia Warren

The trips to Kamakura and Kabuki were excellent. There was a solid amount of information provided prior to the event. This helped with understanding the experience. The events themselves were well planned and seamlessly conducted.

—John Sheckler

I really enjoyed the Kamakura trip. I got to know the other U.S. program students a little better which was really nice! It was also fun to stay a night at a ryokan with everyone. I liked the speech contest as well because it was fun to work with my classmates to come up with and practice our skit. Seeing the other classes’ skits was really cool!

—Sarah Kunz