Marianne Cadio
For this self designed experience I was able to travel to Japan during the winter and experience not only part of their work culture, which I've been interested in, but also their winter traditions including christmas activities, and the many activities surrounding the New Year. Below are photos I took during the trip alongside descriptions of some of the activities I took part in!
First, I visisted Tokyo where I toured 2 firms: Tezuka Architects and Maki & Associates. While I wasn't allowed to take photos from both firms, meeting them was very informational as it not only allowed me to gain connections for potential coops in Japan, but it also allowed me to see how the Japanese work culture applied to architecture firms, even those with large international presence. I followed up these tours by visiting a bunch of famous buildings around Tokyo.
After Tokyo, I went to Nikko and the surrounding mountains to spend Christmas at a hot springs hotel, a traditional activity for many people (couples in particular) in Japan. There I was able to try some traditional winter dishes specific to the region and even try bathing as it snowed around me.
The last section of my trip (and the most eventful portion) was the time I spent in the countryside of Fukushima where I was taught and experienced the many aspects of Japanese New Years activities such as eating soba(buckwheat noodles), kazarimochi(decoration mochi), osechi(New Years day lunch), hatsumoude(shrine visit), and the Kouhaku Uta-Gasen(New Years song competition), among other activities. One particular topic that I found was very interesting was the varying superstitions/meanings behind the foods people eat during New Years. For example, soba and shrimp are said to bring longetivity and shiitake mushrooms are said to bring good health.
