Possible Projects

1.) Backpackers in Tokyo

I was thinking I could either follow one person or just research backpacking in general. I could either find out in depth how one traveler is spending their time here, why they came here, what they plan to do next etc., or I could just in general interview some travelers here, maybe talk to the people in charge of the hostel about their experiences with visitors, etc.

2.) Stereotypes

I was thinking it would be interesting to hear what some foreigner's stereotypes of Japan they had before coming here, and how those ideas changed after living here. Or what things they still see as stereotypical. Also, I think it might be fun to ask Japanese people their ideas about America or other places in the world and what stereotypes they see. I could talk to Japanese people who have not traveled very much and are just average, and then I could talk to maybe a student at TUJ or some other Japanese person who used to be average but then experienced being "international" in some way (living in anothe country, or maybe just going to TUJ), and now understand more about the world.

3.) A reflection on my time in Japan

It could either be a day in my life, or just something that represents my time here as a whole. I might include things and people that are important to me here. I think there are a lot of different ways I could go with this, so I need to narrow it down, but I'm sure I could do something good with it.

3 Day Observation

For my three day observation, I chose to go to a Hostel for foreign travelers which is in the area I live (Asakusa). I brought my journal over the three days and wrote some general things about what I saw.

From Friday, I went at around 9:30pm. This Hostel has a huge common room where most of the people seem to be when they are not out doing something or sleeping. As I sat there and the night went on, it seemed to get more and more crowded in the room. There were lots of different kinds of people there, most in small groups talking or playing card games or something. About half of the people in the room seemed to be on the computer. There is also a big TV in the back of the room that people were playing Tekken (a fighting game) on. Also, many people were drinking.

From what I could pick up on, lots of the conversations people were having seemed to be about Japan, languages, or other cultures. It seemed like many people were exchanging their stories and listening to others, I think most of them were strangers before coming to the hostel.

On Saturday I went at around 9:45. I observed mostly the same things as on Friday, only there seemed to be more people and it was slightly louder when it got a little later. I took a video of the common room to show the general atmosphere that it usually has.

On both Friday and Saturday people would sometimes talk to me briefly asking what I was doing, but I never really got a chance to really talk to anyone. So on Sunday I went around the same time. When I got there I looked for some familiar faces from the previous two days and started chatting with them. I told them about the class and why I was there, and why I liked hanging around there. They told me a bit about where they were from and what they were doing in Japan, most of them just visiting. They invited me to go out drinking with them, so I joined them at a nearby bar and ended up having a really great time! They were all really friendly, and none of them (except for two) knew each other before coming there.

Everyone here is from English speaking countries. There was one more person but he was taking the picture. There's a Canadian, 2 guys from London, and the other two were from Virginia. Everyone was really friendly!

First Post

Well, here I am in Tokyo Stories. I'll be blogging here weekly about my ideas and progress in the class and whatnot, so anyone with interest feel free to check back every now and then.

We have an assignment for the weekend. This assignment is a 3-day observation type deal. Basically, we're supposed to pick a public place and spend 3 consecutive days observing the area. The first day, we just sit around and watch and write in our journals about what we see. Second day, we're supposed to record some stuffs. Third day, we have to interact somehow with the environment and/or people.

So as for me, I'm going to be observing a hostel in Asakusa for foreign travelers. It's near my house, and I've been there a few times. I originally found it because I had a friend that was staying there a week or so back. Going there I've met many people from around the world, and I think it's a really interesting environment. They're all travelers, not staying long term, and most of them have never been to Japan. Hopefully I will find interestingness.