Română/日本語

I finally took the train! And I finally bought my own Suica card! But I didn’t do all these by myself, but with the help of the nice and friendly students in WIC. WIC (Waseda International Club) is one of the many student clubs in Waseda, based on international exchange. Along with Niji no Kai (another such club), they focus on helping international students adapt to life in Tokyo and easily make new friends! In my first weekend in Tokyo, I participated at their event, Tokyo tour, where the main spot was the famous Tokyo Tower.

We gathered early in the morning, divided into groups, and started exploring the huge Tokyo. As I was quite overwhelmed by the complicated train map, I hadn’t taken the train until then. But as we had Japanese students in our group, they helped us, the first timers in Tokyo, with both buying Suica cards and changing trains in order to reach Hamamatsucho, a station close to Tokyo Tower, from where we walked to it.

We visited Zojoji Buddhist temple first. The image of the hundreds of years old temple along with the modern Tokyo Tower behind it is a perfect representation of the old vs new architectural contrasts so often seen in Tokyo. I was seeking such views in Tokyo throughout my entire time there.

Then we went to the Tower, where we had two options for reaching the main observatory, either taking the elevator or climb the 600 steps stair. My group chose the latter option, a healthier and adventurous one, I can say. At the end of the 600 steps, we also got a certificate!

There was a problem when I had to return home because the groups got separated and I couldn’t remember the way home. I was lucky though to go back together with a group of new friends from China! Xie Xie!