On Thursday, September 18^th, I participated in the entrance ceremony for the Nihongo Bekka students (only for those not part of an exchange program that is.) The ceremony was slightly strange. We had a band playing in the back, most likely the affiliated high school's band or the university's. They played a mixture of Doraemon theme songs, Aladdin, other songs I could recognize as well as some I couldn't. The band was playing as we entered the room; I was first to enter, lucky me. We sat down in regular class chairs, where we waited for about 20 minutes for the officials to enter the room.

Soon, the "master of ceremony" stepped up to the mike, and to no surprise, began to speak in Japanese, lucky me. haha The whole presentation was in Japanese, therefore I barely understood anything. Soon, the music, which had stopped to let the man talk, began again, and the curtains of the stage in front of us began to rise. Another microphone as well as 8 other officials were revealed, including Yasuhiro Yamashita, the most famous person in judo after Jigoro Kano, of course. One of them stepped up to the mike and began to speak.

Something I didn't mention was that this ceremony was taking place at 2:00 PM. If any of you know me, you know that for me, that time of the day is a terrible time to ask me to sit down and listen or study. As usual, I began to doze off. Not being able to understand didn't help either. I felt my head drop down a few times, and even almost fell asleep for a split second. But to my great surprise, so were the other officials. Many were closing their eyes, bowing their heads, and so I didn't feel too bad. A second official stepped up to the mike, taking as much time as the last one, and was just as interesting to listen to... haha. We were then asked to rise from our seats, for the 5^th time during that ceremony, and the band started playing. But this time, the officials and everyone around us began to sing. Apparently this was the Tokai Anthem? Afterwards, another man came to the mike, yet he spoke in much simpler language than the previous speakers. He told us that he noticed we didn't sing along with them and asked us to memorize this song so that we could sing it at the ceremony of our departure. Easier said than done, but I guess I'll give it a shot.

Walking back to my dorm I had a few thoughts. I was now part of the University. I was now officially a student at Tokai University, and that is no small feat. I was part of the 26, 000 students here, living the life of an international student, in a Japanese lifestyle, a Japanese regime, on my own. Pride and fear were what I felt at that moment.

"Ganbatte." they said. And so I will.

Last weekend, on September 13^th and 14^th, there was an all Japan tournament in Saitama, a city about 2 hours north of Tokai University.

Being a member of the judo team, I am pretty much obliged to go, even though I'm not officially part of the team. On top of that, I wanted to go. I hadn't yet had the chance to go see a tournament in Japan, therefore I opted to go.

I asked a few of the club members how I could get there, and soon, I was offered to have someone take me there. Now in Japan, everyone uses the train system to get there, but alone, without being able to speak or read much Japanese, one can easily get himself lost, and end up 5 hours away from the destination.

So on Saturday morning, I woke up early, got to the train station minutes before my teammate did, and we were off to the tournament. We only ended up taking two different trains, yet we had to transfer into a completely different company line, and then walk for about 30 minutes to get to the tournament site. All I had to do was tag along, and not lose sight of my teammate, which alone can be very difficult with the overwhelming amount of people there are in Japan.

Once at the tournament, I sat with the Tokai University team and began to watch the fight. First things first, as soon as I had seen my teammate at the train station, I noticed he was wearing dress pants, dress shoes, and a university polo shirt, while I was wearing a casual shirt, sweats, and high tops. At that point, I already knew I was going to stand out that day. And so I did, but that was the least of my concerns that day. The fights were quite interesting, considering these were the best of all Japan fighting. I really enjoyed the integration between the universities and the tournament. During the tournament, I spotted Akinori Hongo, a former judoka, one of Japan's best during his time, who had come to Canada for a few years to help coach our national team, during which time I had the pleasure to meet him many times. I wanted to go talk to him, but I was told by my teammate it would be very difficult to do so.

You see, in Japan, judo is run through the school system. By the time you reach high school, if you are serious about it, you are practicing full time at the related high school of the University at which you want to practice. Therefore, there is a big attachment to the team, and so everyone attends the tournament to help cheer on the teammates. Only the best U21 of each university were chosen to participate in this tournament, and Tokai is considered to be one of the strongest universities. (By the way, Yasuhiro Yamashita trained at Tokai during his time. He is now Vice-president of the university and I have met him many times already.)


We bought our lunch from a convenience store nearby. I hadn't eaten breakfast that morning and so I devoured a huge plate of some kind of spaghetti as well as 2 litres of apple juice, and melon bread. MERON PAN and APPLE JUICE are my favourite snacks and I will probably write a post just about them haha.

During the tournament, my teammate who brought me there informed me that he was going to stay the night in Saitama with the rest of the team. Yet I had to return to Tokyo because I had a date with a few friends, which meant I had to either find someone else to help me, or return alone. Fortunately, a few members of the Denmark team, who are currently training at the university for a few days, were at the tournament that day, and so I asked them if I could tag along with them to get back home. They said of course, and I left the tournament with them, having no idea what was going to happen.

As soon as we got to the train station, I knew this was not going to go well. They had come to Saitama by a sky train. I asked them why they did, and their answer was: that's the only way here. Yet I knew that wasn't the case; I hadn't come by sky train. Yet, having no choice, I followed as they boarded the train. They seemed to have a good idea of where they were going. We chatted and joked around for a while, and soon we had to change trains. This is when it got complicated.

It might be very difficult to understand what it is to try to find your way in a Japanese train station when you can't read Japanese. Trust me, it's near impossible. Fortunately, the father of one of the Denmark teammate had brought along a list of which trains to take. Yet even with that, it's still difficult. We ended up taking the wrong train, having to come back a few stations, asking questions, taking another train, switching lines again, asking more questions, changing completely to a different station, asking more questions, all while I made sure we were on the right track by trying to read Japanese kanji.


By the time we got on the last train home, it was already 7:45 at night. I was supposed to meet with my friends for supper around 7:30. Had I taken the same trains I had come to the tournament site by to go back, I would have made it back by 7:00.

The last train took me till 9:10 to get back to the train station near Tokai. The whole time, I knew that panic would arise among many people. First, my friends waiting for me. Natsumi was the one I had been in contact with and I knew that she would be very worried. She is a very close friend of my sister and must have felt responsible for my well-being. I knew she would have contacted my sister to inform her of me missing, as well as a few other teammates. Now one thing you might not understand is that I didn't have a phone on me. I had no way of reaching them. The last time I had spoken to them was 6 hours before through my teammate's phone.

I felt terrible for making them worried and frustration then started to build inside me. I hated the fact that my Japanese wasn't good enough. I hated that I couldn't yet read most kanjis. I hated that I didn't have a phone or a visa, I hated that no one spoke English, but mostly, I hated myself for not preparing myself enough for this.

I walked out of the train and I knew that Natsumi would be waiting for me at the entrance. As soon as I got to the gate, I saw her, as she smiled in relief. I apologized for making her wait as I tried to explain what had happen. She told me it was alright, of course it wasn't, and simply asked me to follow her to the restaurant where three other ladies where waiting there anxiously for me. Embarrassment filled me as I was told that the whole men's judo team had be notified I was missing as they tried to locate me. Not only had they posted on twitter, they had sent private messages to sooo many people. I felt very fortunate to have such attention from people I hadn't even met yet.

We ate supper together and laughed a lot as they explained what had happened, as I explained my side, and had just casual awkward English/Japanese conversations. I was glad to have them there that night even though I felt bad for making them wait.


They gave me some directions as to how to get to the tournament the next day, but more than that, they found someone I could follow in order to get there the next day. Our farewells were exchanged and I was off back to my dorm.

Sunday morning, I woke up early, did some packing, yet I ran into some problems while taking a shower. I realized that I was going to be late. I rushed to the station on my bike, where I parked it, and as I was running down the stairs to the dock of the station, I could see the train leaving already, taking my "guide" with it.

I then had two choices:
   1. Go back to the dorm.
   2. Get on the next train.

This is Mamoru Vincent Blais-Shiokawa we are talking about. So I got on the next train, with NO idea what THAT day had in store for me. Fortunately I had a picture on my tablet of which train to take. But as I mentioned previously, it is very hard, even with a map and schedule, to find the right trains to take.

I got to the 2^nd station, where I had to change trains and lines, found the right train, or so I thought, and was about to get on when I had a thought: I didn't know how to get from the train station to the tournament site nor did I know the name of the tournament site. Slight panic overtook me. Fortunately, I had brought my tablet with me. I reached for it in my bag and searched for available Wi-Fi signals. I tried many, until I found one I could actually use for free. First thing I did, call Natsumi. No answer, she must have been at work. Called my sister, I had no idea was time it was in Canada, but I didn't have many options. Fortunately my sister answered. I explained the situation and my father and sister both helped me. Using LINE, Google maps, Facebook, Notes, screen shots and more, they managed to give me a precise idea on how to get there. It was bye for now since we had no idea if I was going to be able to find another Wi-Fi signal if ever I got lost again.

I was about to board the train, when I decided to ask one of the "train people". Thank goodness I did, because he told me I was on the wrong docking station. This is one of the hardest things about the train system. Both signs for the docks have the EXACT same information, yet somehow they know which one goes where...

After getting on the train, switching trains again a few stations later, I finally arrived at the right one and was on my way out when the gate stopped me for having insufficient fund in my PASMO card. I was rushed by so many people waiting behind me. I ran to the nearest booth, filled my card up, and out  the gates I was. But did I really make it out of there in one piece...?

I took a taxi to the tournament site by asking: "Saitama Budokan ni ittekudasai." Which means: "Please go to the Saitama Budokan." I paid him 1000 yen, around 13$ for a... 8 minute ride... But it got me there so I'm not complaining.

As I made my way to the Tokai's University's sitting area I tried to remember the name of the teammate I was supposed to meet that morning. I sat down, my teammates slightly surprised to see me. Quickly found out who was my guide and apologized for not making it there on time.

As the fights started, the intensity of the cheering was still there. One of the managers of the team, Gou-san, came to talk to me as well as Haruka Tachimoto's brother, Shoo-san (Haruka is very famous in Tokai since she is highly ranked in Japan in the -70kg category. My sister had the chance to train with her and they became friends. She was also at the supper with me the night before.). It felt nice to have some people talk to me, even though our discussions were limited, mostly me asking questions and them trying to find a simple answer for me. After a while, I looked around the different universities and noticed Kyle Reyes, one of the fighters from Canada, who trains at Nihon Daikagu, The University of Japan. I then went to go say hi even though I doubted he remembered me. After a brief talk, I was back to my seat when I was offered to go get lunch once again. No meron pan this time, but I downed another 2 litres of apple juice. As I sat back down in my seat, I thought it would be nice to take a picture with Kyle, so I reach for my tablet in my back pack... and found out that it was missing. Panic once again overtook me. My teammates tried to help me find it, asking me when was the last time I saw it. I then realized that it must have been when I loaded extra money into my card, since I knew I had it on the train, and I wouldn't have just left it lying around in the train.

This is where Japan shines. My friends called the station and, to my relief, they confirmed they had it. Now had this been in Canada, my tablet would have been stolen. But Japan is probably one of the safest place to lose something, if that even makes sense. But yes, they had it, and would hold on to it until I returned.

As the tournament reached its ending, I decided to attempt to talk to Hongo sensei. I asked some of the staff and they immediately escorted me to the Joseki area, where I must have seriously stood out in my bright blue shirt. It was slightly intimidating. But I soon caught Hongo sensei's attention and I was glad that he recognized me. We discussed my stay in Japan as well as his new position in the Japanese judo community. We left on the promise to keep in touch and that we would most likely have dinner together some time.

Once the tournament was over, Yazawa-san and Shou-san walked with me on the way back and asked me to join them for dinner. We ate ramen in a small, authentic shop, discussed as much as we could about various things. The food was good and even though most of the time I didn't understand their discussion, it was still a pleasant time. We then made our way back to the station, and asked for my tablet. I had to fill out some papers but I didn't know the address of Tokai nor its telephone number so my friend looked it up online and wrote it down for me. We were then on our way back home.


It had been a long day and so, on the train ride back, we were all falling asleep. Talking was minimal as we switched trains. Finally, we made it to Tokaidaigaku-mae, the train station near Tokai, said our farewells, and went on our separate ways. I unlocked my bike and rode my way back up the hill to my dorm.

What did I learn from this? Well, the one thing I learned is that, even though I tell everyone that I made it to the tournament site alone that day, in reality, I didn't. Natsumi, Haruka, my father, my sister, the people I asked, they all helped me make it to the tournament that day and without them, the chances that I would still be out there are not slim. Without the help of my teammates, I wouldn't have found my tablet. The one thing I don't really like is having to rely on people, but I think I learned my lesson today that I'm going to have to do just that for a while. Of course I can prepare ahead and do some research, as my sister suggested I do, but no matter what, I'm going to always be missing something. Fortunately, I am not alone.

I have now been in my dorm for a few days and I have to say I like it. They have renovated the building since my last visit three years ago, and I'm glad they did; the old one was slightly... unkempt.

I'm just going to post a bunch of pictures so you can all see for yourself. If each picture is worth a million words... that would be way too much reading you, and writing for me.

Yesterday I finally entered my dormitory. But that also meant that I had to say goodbye to my host family, and I believe they deserve a little bit of merit.

So ever since I got to Japan, I've been living and spending my time with the Iwasa's.
 - Mother: Reiko
 - Father: Shigenori
 - 2nd son: Kenzo
 - 3rd son: Yoshiki


Now, upon arriving in Japan, I had, and still have, a lot of paper work to fill out. Even though some, and by some I mean very few, of these papers had English indications, it would have taken weeks to complete these. Without any help that is. Reiko and Shigenori both took many days off work, drove me around the city to get me to the desired places, helped me fill the paper work which made it almost effortless for me.

Reiko spent a day with me, taking me through the train system in Japan, in which one could easily get lost. She did all the work as I simply smiled and followed, pretending I knew what was going on. We shared many good discussions and she listened attentively, always smiling, and always giving me her entire attention, even though we were in a very busy situation. Not only that, but when we got home after 12 hours of non-stop activities, she immediately started making dinner even though I could tell she was as tired as I was. Did I mention that her cooking is always... SUPREME as my dad would say? Thanks to her, I didn't miss my mom's food, and I ate more at every meal than I should have.


Shigenori helped me all yesterday to get some of the things I will be needing throughout the year. This included going to many different stores to get a bike, a futon mattress and blanket, a router for the internet (his great idea) and many more things. He helped me set up my meal plan at Tokai. All of this would be considered easy could I speak the language, yet it is almost impossible to do this in English. Shigenori and Reiko's English is very good, therefore they could always understand my thoughts. I found out the hard way that it is not that common in Japan. Most people can barely speak English, never mind understand complex scenarios. This demonstrates once more how fortunate I was to have them helping me. After we had finished everything we needed to do, Iwasa and I spent over an hour and a half looking for a pizza restaurant, during which time we couldn't help but laugh. I couldn't have asked for a better ending to my "previous life" here in Japan.


Kenzo and I had some fun little encounters at home. He really liked my music that I showed him and he always smiled whenever I bothered him. Kenzo has been studying for the past year in order to be able to enter the university of his choice, ICU. And by the past year, I mean the past year, everyday, even on Sundays, from 9 in the morning to 9:30 at night. I respect him a lot for being so persistent and I wish him the best of luck. Even though he must have been exhausted when he got home, he never showed it. He would always ask me questions and gave me much of his time.






During my stay at their house, Yoshiki had to sleep in Kenzo's room so that I could have a room to myself. Yoshiki was very busy helping organizing some of the activities at his school's festival, and so I didn't have much chance to connect with him. My Japanese isn't very good, and added to the limited time we had together, it didn't allow either of us to express ourselves. This just gives me more reason to want to learn Japanese.

All in all, this family gave me something that is priceless: they made me feel at home in this country so different from my own. Their patience to explain and answer all of my questions, to try and decipher my English and Japanese, while providing me with the best of services is something for which I cannot begin to express my gratitude. Did I mention that they paid for ALL my expenses while I was there? Including my bike and everything else. And on top of all that, they gave me many other objects such as bowls, spoons, forks, towels, etc.

Thank you Reiko, Shigenori, Kenzo, and Yoshiki.

As my dad would say: "Tu ne connais pas ta chance."