| Schedule |
| Date | Time | Activity | Reading / Assignment |
| T 5/4 | | Orientation | Handout |
| W 5/20 | | Arrive in Tokyo in the afternoon Narita Airport (Dr Bonk) | Haneda Airport (Dr. Ng) | |
| | | History of Modern Japan | |
| Th 5/21 | 08:00 | Meiji Shrine (meet Moriyasu-san at 09:50 am at the torri gate near Harajuku station) | Read shrine etiquette guide before arriving at the shrine https://www.meijijingu.or.jp/en/feelshinto/2.php |
| 12:00 | Lunch | |
| 14:00 | Takeshita street in Harajuku | |
| 15:30 | Meet at place of dispersal | |
| 17:00 | Meet in hostel lobby to walk to Summit Supermarket サミットストア湯島天神南店 https://maps.app.goo.gl/r6oEpA4TsjSsJ98k7 | Read: Can religion be based on ritual practice without belief? | Aeon Essays Work on journals in the evening. Blog #1 |
| F 5/22 | 08:00 | Edo-Tokyo Museum https://maps.app.goo.gl/FgDvYAddekH2GoQz9 https://maps.app.goo.gl/9ki6dC7nXFJHm2E4A | |
| 12:00-14:30 | Lunch in Yokoamicho Park横網町公園 https://maps.app.goo.gl/6USvXzkE8FKcUHEh7 | Work on journals after lunch. Blog #2 |
| 19:00 -21:00 | Class and reflection in Ueno hostel classroom | Read before meeting: How to redraw a city – Works in Progress Magazine |
| S 5/23 | 9:00 | Meet at hostel to take the train to Yokohama | |
| | | The Cultural Life of Commodities | |
| Su 5/24 | 08:00 | Morning and afternoon – explore the city and find a creative use of sugar for your journals. | Work on journals during the day. Blog #3 Read: Holtzman, Jon. “To love sugar one does not have to eat it.” Gastronomica 16, no. 3 (2016): 44-55. |
| 16:00 | Meet with Wooster alumni Nachi Goto and John Gill at Tokyo Ueno Youth Hostel, followed by dinner | |
| M 5/25 | 10:00 | Meet at hostel to walk to Maruwa Textile. Along the way, we will visit UNIQLO Okachimachi and other stores related to textiles (such as stores at 2k540, and NISHIGUCHI KUTSUSHITA STORE TOKYO – a store with made in Japan socks) | Read before departure: Assmann, Stephanie. “Consumption of Fast Fashion in Japan: Local Brands and Global Environment.” In Consuming Life in Post-Bubble Japan. Amsterdam University Press, 2018. https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctv56fgjm.7. |
| 14:00 | Maruwa Textile 1-8-6 Kamezawa, Sumida-ku, Tokyo 130-0014, Japan https://maps.app.goo.gl/ZQm1uSMEHpaV5MNf9 | |
| Evening | Free | Work on journals. Blog #4 |
| T 5/26 | 08:00 | Akihabara Electric Town 秋葉原電気街 | The life-changing magic of Japanese clutter | Aeon Essays |
| 11:30 | Meet for lunch | |
| 14:00 | Ad Museum (14:30 tour) https://maps.app.goo.gl/dw975nGZWbT6YzeJA 予約番号 59011 確認コード g2g3215wjhcw | |
| Evening | Free | Work on journals. Blog #5 |
| W 5/27 | 9:00 | Classroom from 9-11 am at Hostel | Presentations #1: 3 students |
| Afternoon | Meet with College of Wooster alumni, Dr. Meg Itoh and Goto Nachi, to discuss work in Japan. | |
| Evening | Group meal, Location TBD | Work on journals. Blog #6 |
| Th 5/28 | 9:00 | Meet at the hostel to walk to the station. Travel from Tokyo to Kyoto on the Shinkansen. | On the train, read: Why Japan has such good railways – Works in Progress Magazine Work on journals. Blog #7 |
| 15:00 | Check-in and orientation to the house and neighborhood with Sarira; visit a grocery store | |
| F 5/29 | 9:00 | Meeting at the student residence. Simple Japanese (with Sarira) some background on Kyoto | |
| | 11:30 | Group lunch | |
| | Afternoon | Walking tour of Kyoto Focus your observations on textiles, sugar, and tea – marketing, production, display, or other uses. | Work on journals. Blog #8 |
| S 5/ 30 | 9:00 | Meeting at the student residence. Simple Japanese (with Sarira) and discussion of walking tour of Kyoto. | Presentations #2: 3 students |
| 11:30 | Buy lunch at the grocery store and bring back to the hostel – buy something that you haven’t tried before | |
| Afternoon | Bamboo museum and park (Southwest) https://maps.app.goo.gl/yjszLcQqPjoBmN9q8 | |
| Evening | Free | Work on journals. Blog #9 |
| Su 5/ 31 | 9:00 | Meet at student residence for a discussion of Japanese medicine and tea. Japanese lesson. | Watch: Surak video on tea ceremony. |
| 11:00 | Day off to explore the city (Sarira will be available) | Work on journals. Blog #10 |
| M 6/ 1 | 08:00 10:00 | Meet at student residence to travel to Takeda Pharmaceutical Garden (Sarira will assist with translation) Visit starts at 10:00 | |
| 12:30 | Lunch at Kansai Seminar House Tea ceremony after lunch | |
| Afternoon | Manshuin Temple Bentendo Shrine, Manshuin Temple https://manshuinmonzeki.jp/temple-map.html#map-22 | |
| Evening | Free | Work on journals. Blog #11 |
| T 6/ 2 | 08:00 | Meet at student residence at 8:00 to go to Kyoto Station. From there, shuttle to Obubu tea plantation [shuttle bus leaves at 8:40 AM from Kyoto Station] | * |
| 2:00 | Leave Obubu tea plantation – travel back to Kyoto | |
| Evening | Free Option: Noh Theater at Heian Shrine | Work on journals. Blog #12 |
| W 6/3 | 8:00 | Meet at student residence at 8:00 to leave for Osaka. | |
| Morning | Explore Osaka and have lunch | |
| 13:00 | Maishima Incineration Plant (Sarira will provide translation) 舞洲工場 (見学) 2026年6月3日, １３時～ (1.5 hours) 予約番号: 2026010483 | |
| Evening | Return to Kyoto | Work on journals. Blog #13 |
| Th 6/4 | 09:00 | Meet at student residence to travel to Roketsu dying workshop, which begins at 10 (Sarira will help with translation) ROKETSU Dyeing Studio https://www.roketsu.com/en/home-en/ | |
| 13:00 | Group lunch in the student house | |
| 14:00 | Class in the student residence (focused on textiles). Japanese lesson. | |
| Evening | Free | Work on journals. Blog #14 |
| F 6/ 5 | 9:00 | Meet in student house for language session and class focused on Japan’s empire and its legacies from the perspective of commodities. | *Language session |
| | Lunch in the student residence. | Work on journals. Blog #15 |
| Late evening | Agata Shrine – “festival in the dark” (in Uji) | |
| S 6/ 6 | 9:00 | Meet at student house to travel from Kyoto to Uji | * |
| 12:00 | ウトロ平和祈念館 (Zainichi) [12 PM] Uji Lunch, Museum, and Town Tour | * |
| 16:00 | Meet at student house for discussion and presentations | Presentations #3: 3 students |
| Evening | Free time | Work on journals. Blog #16 |
| Su 6/ 7 | | Day off. Students can explore Kyoto, Osaka, Nara, or Kobe. | * |
| M 6/ 8 | 9:00 | Meet at student house to travel from Kyoto to Tokyo (shinkansen) | |
| 3:00 | Check in to Tokyo Ueno Hostel | Work on journals. Blog #17 |
| T 6/ 9 | | Conclusion 9:00-11:00 Concluding reflections classroom | Work on journals. Blog #18 |
| W 6/ 10 | | Departure | |