Paul reports the life in Tokyo for the first-half of his stay.
I am Kani Bahoya Paul, a congolese by Nationality. I am a 3rd year Student pursuing Peace and Conflict Studies at Protestant Institute of Arts and Social Sciences (PIASS/Rwanda). Currently, I am an exchange student at Tokyo University of Foreign Studies. I am a painter and filmmaker.
My impression about Japan
It has been 6 month since I left Rwanda to Tokyo; my stay was not entirely enjoyable during the first few months due to challenges such as weather, adjusting to a new community with different cultural patterns than mine, and worse the language. Getting lost was quite common in the first month; getting stuck in train stations or missing my way back home. However, after the first month, the adventure began, and my stay in Japan is seemingly exceeding my expectations.
Favorite Japanese Spots
In my spare time on weekends, I like to visit Tokyo. So far, my favorite places are Shibuya and Asakusa. Shibuya, in my opinion, is "a place within Japan with a mentality outside of Japan." Shibuya has a higher proportion of young people compared to the rest of Tokyo, making it more welcoming to foreign visitors.
During the summer break, I went in Hamamatsu and visit a memorial museum as well as the Music instrument museum. Interestingly, I went to a concert in Kiyosato one week later and experienced a musical performance of those instrument along with Koudan (a traditional Japanese storytelling performance)
Personal growth
I was able to actively participate in the "Feel Africa" exhibition at Tufs and express the African continent's peace and conflict situation through my arts. In Shibuya, I also run the same exhibition in a coffee shop and later in a bar. I joined Tufs-Create, a university filmmaking group; given that many