At one of the LGBTQIA+ events recommended to me by one of my favorite professors (AIMO), they mentioned Tokyo Pride, and I knew immediately that I wanted to go. They have pride events in Nagoya too, but they are after I leave, so I knew for sure I wanted to go to this one. Being able to go meant so much to me, and I had so much fun!
In addition to being able to go to Tokyo Pride, I also spent that Friday night and the Saturday before at Shinshiro for a summit! It was such an amazing and relaxing time there. I got to go hiking and see some beautiful nature, as well as meeting a lot of new friends. Plus, I got to use an Onsen for the first (and second) time. I was incredibly scared at first, but honestly literally nobody looks at you or cares. Once I got over that initial fear, it was very relaxing. Luckily, I had a lot of support from my friends. I honestly thought it would be more awkward with people I know being there, but it kind of made it easier and more fun.
Then, on Sunday morning, I headed out around 6am and caught the train and then the Shinkansen for Tokyo! I got there around 11am, which is right about when the event started. Tokyo is so much busier than Nagoya, so it was a little intimidating at first, especially because I was alone.
Side note: if you’re planning on going, I would recommend going with friends! It was definitely still very fun, but I think it would have been like 10 times more fun if I had been able to go with someone else/a group of people!
But anyways, once I got over that initial intimidation, it was very cool. There were so many people, and also significantly more foreigners than in Nagoya. There was a festival with a bunch of cool products and photo opportunities. Then, after a few hours, there was also a parade. It was really nice to be able to see so many people in support of this kind of stuff, especially Japanese people themselves! Honestly I almost cried so many times. There was a place where people were giving out hugs, and I knew I just couldn’t do it because I would have been in tears. Plus, the parade itself just made me so happy. Seeing everyone so happy and being able to be themselves was so cool. I will say though, I do kind of wish I had registered to walk in the parade itself rather than just watching it. It was still amazing just watching it, but if I get to come another time I definitely will register to walk in it! After spending a fair amount of time at Pride, I headed over to Shibuya Crossing, and afterwards went to Tokyo Tower! Both were very pretty! Although it was just a day trip, I had so much fun! It was definitely worth it. Hopefully one of these days, I will be able to go again and be able to spend more time there though :)
![Author, Macks, standing in front of a poster from Tokyo Pride with mini pride flags.](/sites/default/files/styles/blog_gallery/public/2023-04/Nagoya_Tokyo%20Pride_Standing%20in%20Front%20of%20Tokyo%20Pride%20Poster_Macks%20Koontz-min.jpg?h=71976bb4&itok=n9J5RgB7)
![Author, Macks, smiling in front of Tokyo Pride Parade with the asexual pride flag.](/sites/default/files/styles/blog_gallery/public/2023-04/Nagoya_Tokyo%20Pride_At%20Tokyo%20Pride%20Parade_Macks%20Koontz-min.jpg?h=3787d306&itok=z6ZUNWbp)
![Author, Macks, posing with Hachiko at Shibuya Crossing in Tokyo.](/sites/default/files/styles/blog_gallery/public/2023-04/Nagoya_Tokyo_At%20Shibuya%20Crossing_Macks%20Koontz-min.jpg?h=d318f057&itok=eEJf70O-)
![Author, Macks, standing in front of the view from the top of Tokyo Tower.](/sites/default/files/styles/blog_gallery/public/2023-04/Nagoya_Tokyo_At%20Tokyo%20Tower_Macks%20Koontz-min.jpg?h=d318f057&itok=cxwkXhdC)
![Author, Macks, standing in front of a view from hiking in the mountains.](/sites/default/files/styles/blog_gallery/public/2023-04/Nagoya_Shinshiro_Scenery%20in%20Shinshiro_Macks%20Koontz-min.jpg?h=d318f057&itok=jPE_833q)
![Author, Macks, posing with friends in a stream in they saw while hiking.](/sites/default/files/styles/blog_gallery/public/2023-04/Nagoya_Shinshiro_Posing%20with%20Friends%20While%20in%20River_Macks%20Koontz-min.jpg?h=71976bb4&itok=ey63nGOr)
![Author, Macks, posing with a friend and one of his favorite professors.](/sites/default/files/styles/blog_gallery/public/2023-04/Nagoya_Shinshiro_Hiking%20with%20Friends%20and%20One%20of%20My%20Favorite%20Professors_Macks%20Koontz-min.jpg?h=eac98ac1&itok=DT52_pW0)
![Author, Macks, posing with a group of people and conch shell players.](/sites/default/files/styles/blog_gallery/public/2023-04/Nagoya_Shinshiro_Posing%20with%20Conch%20Shell%20Players_Macks%20Koontz-min.jpg?h=71976bb4&itok=PvrVn4mI)
![Macks Koontz headshot](/sites/default/files/styles/blogger_profile/public/2022-12/Macks%20Koontz%20467.jpg?h=22ba4659&itok=muEK6iB3)
Macks Koontz
Hello! My name is Macks and I'm a sophomore at the University of Tennessee majoring in Child and Family Studies with a minor in Japanese. I love learning, hiking, reading, and playing the guitar/ukulele. Studying abroad is super important to me and I am so very excited to be able to share my journey with other people :)