The International Exchange Team of Tokyo Tech's Peer Life Coaches, a group of student staff affiliated with the Student Success Support Section of the Student Support Center, organized and led the Tokyo Waterfront Area Walking Tour, an international exchange event held on May 18.
Peer Life Coach-led walking tours first began in academic year 2023 when the coaches took participants to Todoroki Valley in May, to Kamakura in June, and to the neighborhoods of Yanaka, Nezu, and Sendagi, as well as the landscape garden Rikugien, in December.
The May 2024 walking tour, the first of its kind in academic year 2024, introduced to participants the Tokyo Waterfront Area, a popular entertainment area among young adults. The tour aimed to promote international exchange and a deeper understanding of contemporary Japanese culture while also informing participants about the history of land reclamation in Tokyo. The walk kicked off at 2:40 p.m. so that participants could not only stroll the canals and examine various art hotspots, but could also enjoy the night view of Tennoz Isle.
Participants representing seven countries — China, Indonesia, Germany, Italy, Switzerland, France, and Hungary — joined the tour. They split into small groups depending on the language they preferred for their trip. Six groups used English, while two groups used Chinese. Each group had their own Peer Life Coach as their guide.
Walking tour participants with Tokyo's Rainbow Bridge in background
The itinerary was as follows:
- Meet at Tokyo Teleport Station at 2:40 p.m.
- Visit Gundam Base and Odaiba's Statue of Liberty
- Group activities at Odaiba Kaihin Koen, Fuji Television Headquarters
- Visit Tokyo Seaside Public Relations Exhibition Room TOKYO Minatorie
- Go to Tokyo Teleport Station and then to Tennoz Isle to enjoy art and night view
- Walk to JR Shinagawa Station
- End tour around 7:30 p.m.
Participants at Tokyo Seaside Public Relations Exhibition Room TOKYO Minatorie
Participants at Odaiba's Statue of Liberty
In total, the tour lasted approximately five hours, which included breaks sitting by the beach or stopping for a coffee. Both the coaches and participants enjoyed talking about common topics as Tokyo Tech students, introducing their own culture, and appreciating the art, twilight skies, and cool breeze at Tennoz Isle. Overall, it was a relaxing early summer afternoon and evening for everyone involved.
Group viewing building wall art
All participants reuniting near Tennoz Fureai Bridge
Comments from participants
- Very nice and well organized!
- I enjoyed the small group sizes and the free time.
- It was a bit of a shame that, at the museum, almost all the explanations were exclusively written in Japanese. Maybe including some of this information in the pre-study PowerPoint would have been helpful.
The Institute's Peer Life Coaches look forward to creating more entertaining outings and events in the future.
