A blog written by Ashton Will, the art teacher and graphic designer of The Consulting Arts. This blog will detail several aspects of his semester abroad studying in Japan weekly, including art he has created and seen, observations about Japanese society in the community, and his own interactions with Japanese culture. This is an ongoing project for Ashton as a Gilman Scholar and a Gray Fund for International Study scholarship recipient, functioning as a give-back service project.
I made Udon (from scratch). Miso, soy sauce, mirin, seaweed, green onion. Nothing fancy, just quick.
________________
Cooking date: 12/5/2022
I've never been to Universal Studios in the US, so going to the one in Japan is amazing. "My first observation is that I feel like a child, in terms of how happy I am," was how I explained it to my parents.
Kyoto is one of Japan's major cultural hubs, housing a variety of buildings and experiences centered around providing a look into traditional Japan. In addition, several of the countries most famous Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples are located there, including Kiyomizu-dera (Pure Water Temple) and Kinkaku-ji (Golden Pavilion Temple). However, on my first day exploring the city, I instead opted to go shopping.
Kansai Gaidai University's fall break gave me time to see my cousins in Okinawa. Since Okinawa is a separate island then the larger island where I am living (Honshu), I needed to take my first flight since arriving in Osaka.
Randolph-Macon University featured Ashton in its news this week:
For this article, I'll let the photos do the talking. It's a whale of a tale!
424 Ishikawa, Motobu, Kunigami District, Okinawa 905-0206, Japan; website: https://churaumi.okinawa/sp/
Once I arrived at the university, I was shown to my own dorm room, 
which is somewhat of a luxury compared to the standard two-person dorm rooms at Randolph-Macon. The lighting and air conditioning were actually connected to my room key, under a system where they'll only turn on when my room key is set in a slot on the wall.
The Umeda Sky Building is a skyscraper in the Umeda district of Kita-ku ward in Osaka. It's one of the tallest buildings in Osaka- each of the two towers have 40 floors, and stand at a height of 170 meters. It has a striking appearance, with an escalator leading up to an observatory that connects the two buildings at the top.
In Hirakata city, there is a Shinto shrine a short walk away from the Kansai Gaidai campus. When talking about traditional Japanese places, there are two types that come to mind - jinja, or the Shinto shrine, and tera, the Buddhist temple.
I'm sure most people have heard of Pokémon- it's the highest grossing and arguably most well-known media franchise of all time. I've been a fan of the series for nearly 15 years, and its popularity is only exacerbated in Japan.
I arrived to Narita International Airport after a breezy twelve hour long flight. 
NRT ended up being the most complicated airport during my trip to arrive at Kansai Gaidai, since it's where I had to verify my visa, confirm that I was Covid free, and transition from international flights to a domestic flight.
Page 1 of 2
