Study abroad programs for college and gap students
Photo Essay: CET Japan
Photos by Caroline Rock, (University of Texas at Austin) Student Correspondent CET Japan, Summer 2018
Last weekend, CET students and our roommates took a day trip to Abeno to the Life Safety Center (where we got to experience earthquake simulators and extinguish some fake fires!). Afterwards, we went for lunch at Janjan Yokocho, a famous shopping and eating district known for their fried food! Here’s a view off a side street from Janjan Yokocho.
The main strip of Janjan Yokocho is so picturesquely Japanese!
Posing in front of the Abeno Tower with my Japanese roommate! (Photo credit to Meghan Williamson)
Exploring the shopping district. (Photo credit to Meghan Williamson)
After our first full day of Japanese class the previous day, everyone was ready to get out and explore Osaka! We had a rare day of no rain, making it the perfect afternoon to explore and eat together.
After eating all the fried foods (including fried ice cream!), we went to a Buddhist temple called Shitennoji, which is one of Japan’s oldest temples. It was built in 593!
Everyone washed their hands before entering.
This building had the most interesting architecture!
The temple was much larger than I expected. It was more of a campus, complete with a vending machine area! A lot of it was under construction too, as many temples and shrines are.
Lamps that were inscribed with the names of donors lined many of the walkways.
Afterwards, my roommates and some friends and I went to Umeda, a short train ride away. Umeda is known as one of the most popular shopping districts, including the 5-story Uniqlo that we went to, and the largest MUJI I’ve ever seen! My roommate and I ate dinner at the MUJI café.
Before taking the train home, we went to the top of the Umeda JR station to see the sunset.
Getting a view of the sun setting over the city was the perfect way to end my first day trip in Osaka!
