For the second half of my stay in Fukushima I was getting more comfortable and exploring the town and places around the town a little bit more. I tried more restaurants with a lot of different Japanese food. I found that Fukushima is especially good at Ramen and Gyoza.
Unfortunately, I was preparing a lot for my bachelor thesis, so I didn't get too much time to do a lot of other things. So, a lot of my spare time was just studying, writing on my paper and practicing Kyudo. I also tried to go to the local Onsen as often as possible. I really enjoyed having some relaxation time alone.
Due to some of my iCLA courses, I had the opportunity to go to Osaka to attend to a symposium. It was very informative and a great experience spending a weekend in Osaka and exploring a big city for a while. I made some friends with the iCLA course and put my learned Japanese skills to use by helping foreigners translate between English and Japanese.
Other then my Osaka trip, I had to spend a lot of time in my dormitory due to my paper, so I also made some good friends in there as well. In the evenings we spend a lot of time playing mahjong together and bonding.
Also, I got to know some people from the Kyudo club. Joining a club was a great way to get to know some Japanese people to bond and practice Japanese at the same time. We even met and spend an evening under a Kotatsu and eating self-made soups. When my stay in Japan was reaching its end, the entire Club gave me a great farewell. It was a great experience and I want to continue doing Kyudo in the future.
Luckily, I found the time to go to a few trips at least. On of the more memorable trips was our way to Ginzan Onsen. As a group of four people, we drove around two hours to reach the beautiful town of Ginzan and explore it for a while. It was very charming, though unfortunately we couldn't go into an Onsen, because those are reserved for people staying overnight. The other noteworthy trip I had during that time, was a trip organized by the International Center. We went to Toshogu Shrine and a flower park. That was also a great day to see a lot of interesting and beautiful things. Especially the temple was a great place to visit.
The rest of the time was spent working on my thesis, preparing for a few exams and already packing for my flight back to Germany, because I was only allowed to stay for half a year. So unfortunately, I really couldn't experience too much. I am glad that I got help from people and teachers and that everybody was so understanding.
I had a wonderful time in Fukushima. The people are incredibly friendly, I made some good friends and I improved on my Japanese a bit. I hope everybody, who gets a chance to come to Fukushima, does so and experiences the good food, the good people and has a great time.
福島大学への留学案内・年間スケジュール
