Sustainable Energy in Japan
Pre-departure for this trip was maybe different from others. Before leaving for Japan, we had a one-week crash course in some combustion physics topics and some energy production topics. These were all 4 hour a day classes that would normally be split into two weeks, but due to some scheduling conflicts, we could only have one week of class. Even with the shortened class, we were still able to get a crash course in Japanese language and culture on the side as well as go on a field trip to a power plant.
Exploring trip itself really came down to two different sections. The first big section of the trip was almost all lecture and lab work. The Japanese counterparts to our professors split us up into groups of two. Each pair got to take part in a unique lab that was being run by the master’s students at Ehime University. For this went on for about a week and a half.
The other big part of the trip was the stuff we got to do outside of school. There was a decent amount of exploring the city, but mostly we just spent time hanging out with some of the master’s students. There was karaoke, solid ramen from a guy who literally only made one type of ramen, and a wild but fun festival.
Overall the trip was solid. There was both a strong academic aspect, as well as a chill culture aspect. Japan has a lot to offer like orange beer and grape tea, so there’s plenty of new things to try. I’m not the most adventurous person, so for me this was mostly about the educational aspect of it, but I found myself enjoying the overall experience more than I thought I would. Also, if you are like me and are very picky, there is a seven-eleven that has stuff like grilled chicken, macaroni and cheese, fried chicken, fries, and donuts. Japan is stacked in the food department, so I would definitely recommend exploring if you get a chance.
Neil Skilton, Early Fall 2019
