The fall season and “back to school” go hand-in-hand in many parts of the states. In Tokyo the fall colors a delayed by not weeks, but months. Today’s photos were taken in December. The foliage on the Waseda University campus, although mostly gone now, was quite beautiful in late November and early December.

Once the leaves began to fall, the campus looked quite different in early morning, before the cleaning crews arrived. The place was blanketed in leaves.

Unfortunately, the Japanese are far too efficient at raking leaves. They do so on a daily basis so seeing the leaves on the ground is something of a rarity.

In the above photo you can see three grounds keepers removing the fallen leaves, pretty much as they fall. There were probably 10 people on campus doing nothing but making sure leaves were not under foot. I would have preferred to walk through a few inches of the stuff myself.

Posted on December 17th, 2009 under Japan. Tags: people, Tokyo, waseda university, 紅葉. Comments: 1

We found a few books in our apartment when we arrived in Tokyo. Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami was one of them. I really enjoyed the first half. The second half wasn’t nearly as interesting to me, but it was still good–especially in parts. If you are well read, you will notice some borrowings and inspiration from other authors. Murakami doesn’t hide that fact. Instead, he alludes to his lifted items by referencing those other authors, like Soseki Natsume, within the work itself. It all works out to a very clever book.

Even if you aren’t familiar with the things going on in the subplots, you should find this novel to be enjoyable. I’m currently reading one of Murakami’s other works now, 神の子どもたちはみな踊る (All God’s Children Can Dance), in Japanese. For some reason it is funner to read the work of a Waseda University grad right on the Waseda University campus.

Here is a quote from Kafka on the Shore:

“‘Are the Japanese God and the foreign God relatives, or maybe enemies?’

‘How Should I know?’

‘Listen — God only exists in people’s minds. Especially in Japan, God’s always been a flexible concept. Look at what happened after the war. Douglas MacArthur ordered the divine emperor to quit being God, and he did, making a speech saying that he was just an ordinary person. So after 1946 he wasn’t God anymore. That’s what Japanese gods are like—they can be tweaked and adjusted. Some American chomping on a cheap pipe gives the order and presto change-o—God’s no longer God. A very postmodern kind of thing. If you think God’s there, He is. If you don’t, He isn’t. And if that’s what God’s like, I wouldn’t worry about it.” (p. 375)

Posted on December 2nd, 2009 under Japan. Tags: book quotes, book review, haruki murakami, waseda university. Comments Off on Kafka on the Shore

Continuing the series on Waseda University, I went for a Sunday morning walk on campus earlier this week. The trees were changing colors so I decided to head to high ground in Building 11 for an interesting angle on the fall colors that I will show you in a future blog entry.

I was surprised to see Mt. Fuji out the west-facing windows as well. This was my first sighting of Mt. Fuji before dusk from Tokyo.

If you make this image larger (by clicking on it), you can see a McDonald’s to the left–the same one as shown here.

Above is Building 11, where I teach two classes a week. Building 11 is home to the School of Commerce, Graduate School of Commerce, Graduate School of Accountancy, Institute of Research in Business Administration, and School of International Liberal Studies (SILS).

The weekend before I took a shot from the top of Building 11 looking down on the Waseda Festival (Wasedasai or 早稲田祭). Unfortunately, I didn’t notice my camera settings were messed up, and the photo did not come out well. Students were doing a performance in front of the Okuma Auditorium. Thousands were in attendance. It was crazy walking through the crowds down below.

Posted on November 20th, 2009 under Japan. Tags: mt. fuji, night photography, waseda university. Comments Off on Waseda University – Part 3

My last post on Waseda University was so popular, and one person who responded wanted more, that today I will offer a part two.

This first photo, above, is the view from my Friday night class in Building 11. Waseda University is in Shinjuku-Ku but is far enough away from downtown Shinjuku that you can see the high-rise buildings rather nicely.

The second picture is the view out my office window in Building 6. Even though this part of the building is covered in ivy, Waseda University is not part of the Ivy League. 😉

Finally, for today anyway, here is a shot of the university on the approach from Waseda Station on the Tozai Subway Metro Line. The Okuma Bell Tower can be seen in the background. Some sort of festival is going on pretty much non-stop. On Friday, November 6, the Athletic Festival will be held. Later this month, it appears there is going to be a Photo Journalism Festival.

Posted on November 4th, 2009 under Japan. Tags: night photography, nishi-waseda, shinjuku, signs, Tokyo, waseda university. Comments: 5

The typical picture of the Waseda University campus looks something like the above. In the background is the Okuma Memorial Hall (which has the Okuma Auditorium inside). Actually, it’s just the bell tower you can see here. In the foreground is the statue of Shigenobu Okuma.

From this angle, with the help of the trees, it almost looks like the trees form, or frame, a heart around these icons of the campus. I suppose I could make t-shirts that say “I heart Waseda University” with this photo serving as the heart.

This next photo is not of Waseda University but is the view from the building on the Waseda University campus where I teach. The Shinjuku skyscrapers are a bit left of center. On a clear day I’m hoping I can see Mt. Fuji from here. I’ll let you know if that ever happens.

Finally, here is a not-so-typical angle on the Okuma statue. I took this one from Building 11, 14 stories above the statue itself.

Posted on October 13th, 2009 under Japan. Tags: shinjuku, Tokyo, waseda university. Comments: 9