WEEK 2 OF TOKYOOOO | FIRST CLASS COMPLETED!

Wow, I actually cannot believe that we are already 2 weeks in. I feel like I just got adjusted to the jetlag and now we only have 3 weeks left. Shocking. But today, we finished our first class here!

Today we completed our design challenge where we were split up into teams (my team was Team Onigiri which consisted of myself, Caroline, and Ko) and we had to interview people and their 3rd places (places that they go to often besides their home and workplace) and prototype something to help convey the feeling of the third place. Working on this team was amazing! After interviews, we brainstormed a plethora of ideas that we could prototype and we created those prototypes. Everyone was super involved and it was a joyful process conceptualizing to final delivery of the experience of a “vibrating charm bracelet.” We say that the interviews went pretty well, there were good questions and it felt more like a conversation than an interview. But we did have difficulty in choosing which interviewee to proceed with. Kelsie had a physical 3rd place that would be easier to work with, but after debating, we decided to continue with Kaoru as the internet was her 3rd place which made it more intriguing to us.

Through the class and the final design challenge we faced, I learned more of the importance of learning from others, synthesizing information, and experimenting rapidly. As engineers, we are more focused on being assigned a project and we just keep prototyping a solution over and over until we find something that works and perfecting it. Here, I learned about how to listen to people and learn about their experiences and then taking those to make inferences on them. What are they feeling, why, what aspects induce these feelings? Then create a quick prototype to conceptualize our ideas. We focused on the person, the learning, and digging below surface level to truly understand and not just perfecting a prototype.

And during class while exploring 3rd places, I approached it considering they could only be physical places, but after talking with Kaoru, I learned hers was the Internet, a non-physical place. This was intriguing to me how she spent so much time and found so much comfort there. She was able to create deep relationships that started online, and that is totally normal here, whereas in America, that would be slightly odd. This introduced a whole new perspective to me and that’s why we decided to dig deeper into if for our final team project.

From this entire course, I really enjoyed digging below the surface and really getting to know someone or interact with others. One part I think I really thrived was when our professor told us to make a random spinner that had prompts like, “high-five” or “take a .5 with us,” and go into the middle of the busiest crosswalk in the world, Shibuya Scramble, and go interact with strangers to play our game. I was for-sure anxious, but once I got out there and realized that people probably weren’t judging as much as I thought and were actually very willing to play our little game, I really had a lot of fun. Talking to new people (even with a language barrier) and just spreading small moments of fun really was amazing.

However, with the course only being 2 weeks long, I found myself rushing with a lot of things. I am someone who loves being thorough with their work and not rush through it. So things like the rabbit hole or the Noticing Hunt, it was very nice always having something to do and being on the move, but I felt rushed at times. So allocating time to ensure everything gets done and not going too deep into it and going overtime was a struggle for me, but I did find a good balance.

Overall, Tokyo is such an amazing place! I love going to all the sites, but I love aimlessly roaming the streets even more. Just going to an area and walking around. That’s how you find the small hidden gems that you would’ve never thought of going to or eating at without just roaming. Its also just an amazing way to go beyond the super touristy areas of Tokyo and diving deeper. Jane and I after eating Shabu Shabu for dinner decided to walk the hour from Shibuya to Shinjuku and it was so peaceful – we walked along Yoyogi Park and through a cute neighborhood. That is one of my most cherished moments.

Coming here was a little stressful, but after trial and error, I have some tips for anyone in the future who decides to join the program! First, coordinate flights to Japan with others. It was so helpful landing and knowing I wouldn’t have to navigate transportation myself. Second, have some cash that you can convert to the yen. You need cash to initially purchase a Pasmo Card and in case places you eat at do not accept card, it is super helpful to have cash in case. And third, I suggest on your first few days to have chill days. Maybe go to one site, roam around a little, grab some food, but get some rest and recover from jet lag. You have time after class to explore more with friends, so do not cram your first few days or else you’ll just be exhausted…

Looking back at the first 2 weeks and my first course in Japan, I realized I had learn more than I thought. BUSI 220  was a very interactive class where we barely sat down in the classroom – we were constantly doing interactive activities. In the moment, I thought what we were doing was good, but looking back, I really did learn. In engineering, you are presented a problem and then you create a solution and keep working on it until it is “perfect.” But with this class, I learned to look at the experience, the environment, and the emotion of the people – look deeper in the differences and habits to create inferences on why – then create very quick prototypes. I had to learn beyond just creating the solution, but also consider the context beyond surface level. And I learned that a prototype isn’t just a physical object, but it is also the experience as that is what creates true meaning and value to an object.

This first class has been an amazing one, it doesn’t even feel like a class as we were always up, running around Tokyo, observing and creating inferences. Digging deeper, being okay with having a very rough prototype, and focusing on the experience as that is why people gather. I would’ve never learned of these had I not taken this class in Tokyo, which is a very different environment compared to Houston and my hometown of Montgomery, Alabama.

Truly, the best way to open your perspective is to travel!