Tokyo Summer

The Asakusa Shopping District in Tokyo Japan

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Overview

Quick Facts

City:

Tokyo [1]

Country:

Japan [2]

Program credits:

6 credits

Language(s) of Instruction:

Japanese

Language prerequisites:

None

As one of the world’s largest metropolitan areas, Tokyo and its environs will challenge you to look at the world differently. Mastering public transportation, trying exotic foods, encountering the maximum urban environment that surrounds carefully nurtured gardens and parks, experiencing a lifestyle that combines fast-paced modernity with age-old traditions – all of these will expand your view of the world and offer insights into your own reality.

This program is excellent for serious students at all levels who seek to study Japanese language in an intensive 6-credit course and delve into an exciting exploration of Japanese culture.

Program Dates

These dates are preliminary and are subject to change. Students should not book flights according to these dates.

Academics

Enroll in one 6-credit Japanese language course. Courses are offered based on student need and usually include five language levels: 100, 150, 200, 300, and 400.

Courses

This is a list of planned course offerings. After you are accepted, you will see a list of final course offerings in your MyIESabroad account.

Field Study

IES Abroad Tokyo organizes field study trips that complement what you’re learning in the classroom, and contribute to your general knowledge of Japanese culture and society.

Students have the opportunity to choose two field study trips. Past trips have included:

Field Study 1: Ryogoku: Edo Tokyo Museum
http://www.edo-tokyo-museum.or.jp/english/ [3]

Field Study 2: Ghibli Museum (Mitaka, Tokyo)
http://www.ghibli-museum.jp/en/welcome/ [4]

Field Study 3: Kamakura: Great Budda and Hachiman Shrine
http://www.jnto.go.jp/eng/location/regional/kanagawa/centralkamakura.html [5]

Field Study 4: Kabuki (Nagatacho, Tokyo)
http://www2.ntj.jac.go.jp/unesco/kabuki/en/ [6]

Housing

Our job is to make sure that your greatest challenge is deciding what landmarks to see first or discovering the best café—not finding a place to live where you feel comfortable. We do our best to locate housing that is reflective of how the local students are living. Our goal is that when you leave Tokyo, it will feel like home.

You live at the National Olympics Memorial Youth Center, a residence hall-style accommodation that provides individual rooms. Breakfast is included. The facility includes a cafeteria, a coffee shop, some restaurants, and a convenience store.

Student Life

Part of making you feel at home in Tokyo is doing our best to help you feel safe and cared for. Whether it’s the orientation program that prepares you for what’s ahead, your housing that is well located and comfortable, or the field trips that take you to places off the beaten path—we’re all about our student services. This is just one of the things we’re known for.

Center Newsletters

May 2013 Newsletter [7]

Orientation

Upon arrival, participate in an orientation that introduces you to Japanese culture, the IES Abroad program, and the city of Tokyo.

Spend a portion of orientation in nearby Narita before heading to Tokyo.

Extracurricular Activities & Cultural Events

Participate in optional cultural outings to such sites as:

The Imperial Palace
Tsukiji Fish Market
Kabuki theatre
The festivals and open markets of Yoyogi Park
Meiji Shrine

Field Trips

Homestay – Travel to a rural town or city to experience life with a Japanese family. During this short homestay experience (4-5 days), you participate in cultural activities and get to know people in a small Japanese town.
Nikko – Visit Toshogu Grand Shrine, which enshrines the first Tokugawa shogun, Ieyasu, and enjoy the spectacular natural beauty of picturesque Nikko National Park.

Center

IES Abroad Tokyo [8]

The Fall and Spring Tokyo programs are based at the IES Abroad Tokyo Center and supported by IES Abroad staff. Our Center is located within walking distance of public transportation, Kanda University of International Studies, a seaside park, a Japanese garden, and many public amenities.

Features of the IES Abroad Tokyo Center include:

High-speed Internet and printer access
Library and reading resources
Student lounge
Staff offices
Small classroom with projector and screen

The Summer program is based at the National Olympic Youth Center, near Yoyogi Park in downtown Tokyo. For more information on this facility, please see http://nyc.niye.go.jp/e/index.html [9].

Center staff:

Karl Friday
IES Abroad Director
Karl Friday has been a student, and on-and-off resident, of Japan for more than 35 years, since braving his first Japanese language courses as a sophomore at the University of Kansas. He holds an MA and PhD in History from Stanford University and a BGS and MA in East Asian Languages and Cultures from the University of Kansas, and has also studied at Tsukuba University in Japan, and at Ewha University and Yonsei University in Korea. A specialist in premodern history, particularly the late classical and early medieval eras, he has authored four books and several dozen articles on samurai history and culture; and has been a professor, visiting professor or visiting researcher at the University of San Diego, the University of Hawaii, the University of Tokyo Historiographical Institutute, Tsukuba University, and the University of Georgia. Outside the office, he is an avid jazz drummer, scuba diver (and some-time scuba instructor), skier, and student of classical Japanese martial art.

Daiji Shin
Associate Director

IES Abroad Staff
Mariko Ishikawa
Field Placement Program Coordinator and Customized Programs Coordinator

Hyung-Hye Lee
Student Affairs Coordinator

Natsuko Takahashi
Center Administrative Assistant

Academic Year Faculty
John Clammer
Social Anthropology
Doctor of Philosophy and Master of Studies, Oxford University

Meiko Okamoto
Architecture
Master of Architecture, Yale University

Nana Okura Gagne
Anthropology
Doctor of Philosophy, Yale University

Yuzo Sugimoto
Economics
Doctor of Philosophy in Economics, Yokohama National University
Master of Business Administration in Finance, Pepperdine University

Noriko Tada
Anthropology
Master of Arts in International and Intercultural Management, School of International Training

Colin Tyner
History
Doctor of Philosophy Candidate, University of California, Santa Cruz

Cost