By: Tamia Ejekpokpo

I can’t believe I’m going to Japan tomorrow. When I was told back in December that my classmates and I would be going to Japan in May, traveling to Japan felt so far away. Now it is the night before the trip and it all feels surreal.

I’ve been to Japan before (Tokyo and Yokohama specifically), but this time feels just as special as the first time because I will be seeing new areas like Kyoto and Hiroshima. I can not wait to see these places and learn about their culture and landmarks.

Before going to Japan, Professor Katada had us read books and watch documentaries that gave my classmates and me a crash course on Japan’s history, culture, and economics so we understood more about Japan. Joe, my research partner, and I decided we are going to write our research paper on the black experience in Japan. The paper is in its preliminary stages but we considered writing about black foreigners’ experiences in Japan, cultural appropriation in Japan (specifically of Black culture), and mixed-race black and Japanese people living in Japan. We initially planned on talking only about black foreigners in Japan but ultimately decided to expand on that because we were inspired by a documentary Professor Katada showed us in class called Hafu. The documentary details the lives of mixed raced Japanese people living in Japan. It was pretty sad to watch the documentary and see that a majority of the kids and adults featured in the documentary have been harassed or treated differently because they were not fully Japanese. It’s been about six years since the documentary was released and I want to find out during my trip if Japanese people have become more receptive to those who are not fully Japanese.

Finding out these type of questions will require me to speak in Japanese.  I’m nervous and excited about practicing my Japanese with locals.  When I first visited Japan over a year and a half ago, I barely knew any Japanese. The most I could muster was arigatougozaimasu (Thank you) and ikura desuka (How much?). After taking three semesters of Japanese, I am nowhere near fluent, but I am able to make basic conversation.

The book on the left is for learning how to write and read Kanji, the book in the middle is a guide on Japanese vocabulary, and the book on the right is about Japanese grammar.

Packing hasn’t been very fun since I have to narrow down which clothes I want to bring.  I am an overpacker and I want to bring every outfit for any possible occasion I may come across. I thought researching Tokyo, Hiroshima, and Kyoto’s weather in May and June would make it easier for me to pick which outfits would be best appropriate for the weather, but Tokyo and Hiroshima tend to be hot and humid, while Kyoto tends to be on the cooler side. So I tried my best picking outfits that would be good for these weather conditions.

My carry-on bag which includes clothes, a portable steamer, and my must-have skincare products.

I hate long flights (anything over 5 hours) because I get bored sitting in the same place for a long period of time. Since this flight is about 14 hours, I’ve been trying to find things I can do to keep myself occupied. I plan on continuing reading Becoming by Michelle Obama. I read some of it during this past December break, but since school resumed, I haven’t had a chance to pick it back up. When I’m ready to exercise a different part of my brain, I will review Japanese terms and grammar.  And of course, I will be watching some movies on the plane. I really hope the 14 hours go by quickly.