On April 11th, 4 students of the advanced II class went on a field trip in Takadanobaba area. Students and teachers has shared their thoughts about this experience. Let’s take a moment to look back on that day!
The Higo Hosokawa Garden opens at 9:00 AM. We arrived around 9:40 and strolled around the garden. The garden is surrounded by two ponds, “Naka Ike” and “Ō Ike.” Although Takadanobaba is nearby, the area is very quiet, rich in nature, and doesn’t feel like a big city.
After that, we headed to Shōseikaku, a traditional two floors Japanese-style building. Before entering, you need to take off your shoes.
On the first floor, there are various meeting rooms, and on the second floor, there is a tatami room where you can enjoy a beautiful panoramic view of the garden.
By the way, lying on the floor is not allowed!
Then, we headed to the Waseda University Theatre Museum. It is based on the Western-style building called Fortune–za. Photography is prohibited inside the museum, so we couldn’t take any pictures, which was a bit disappointing.
On Waseda campus, we also went to the Murakami Haruki library. The dim light brightens the room, and when you enter, instead of a door, there’s a curtain. The room feels very cozy, and it lifts your mood with its brightness.
There are many books by Haruki Murakami, and about 100 books are translated into various languages. One of them was in Mongolian, which made us think he’s famous all around the world.
We didn’t know that Waseda University is so large and has libraries and museums!
Within the Murakami Haruki library, there is a a simple café with not much decoration named “Orange Cat café”. The café’s name, Orange Cat, is inspired by a cat named Peter, which belonged to Haruki Murakami and his wife during their student days. The first thing we noticed when entering the café was, of course, the delicious-looking coffee, donuts, and sandwiches
Our impressions :
Sensei
“About the Waseda University Theatre Museum, I would recommend this place not only to people interested in theatre but also to those interested in Japanese culture. It was established to promote theatre from all around the world.”
“Aside from Murakami Haruki Library, what stood out to me was the smell of coffee floating through the café, listening to jazz, sipping coffee, and having light conversations with my friend. This was memorable because my daily life at school is often so busy, and I don’t often get mornings where I can truly relax.”
Tam
“You don’t have to travel far from Takadanobaba to encounter beautiful nature, history, and architecture. I’m looking forward to more adventures in the near future!”
Chen
“Honestly, I’m not that interested in nature or history. But this time, going with my classmates was fun. Especially since in my busy daily life, it felt really nice to relax, see beautiful scenery, and drink coffee.”
Dodo
“I didn’t know there were such interesting places around my school. It made me want to explore more locally, even if I can’t go far from where I live.”
Ryan
“I’m glad I could visit with my classmates. I’m thankful for the opportunity to get to know my classmates better. Also, by seeing more tourist spots around Takadanobaba, I feel like I can understand Japanese culture even more.”
