Last Friday, Avery had an alley pumpkin carving challenge at Tom Mannion's house. There were two pumpkins per alley, and plenty of snacks to go around - pie, corn dogs, bagel bites, donuts, and even warm apple cider (yummm!). My alley, Alley 1, carved a Charlie Brown pumpkin and Joker…

(Hello world!) Sorry. Had to get that one out of the way. Anyway, I'm Anne, and I'm an Averite in Caltech's class of 2019. I'm originally from Houston, TX, I'm on the fencing team, and I also sing in Caltech's only all-female a cappella group, the Pipettes (along with my…

Imay haveshrieked excitedly at my computer when I first sawthisKotaku articlesome time in July. Seeing as this was a limited-time promotional event and that Ilove the original Pokemon, I absolutely had to visit the Pikachu Cafe before I left Japan. After telling a bunch of my friends about it, I…

Continuing our trip around Kansai, Grace and I travelled to Osaka after a few days in Kyoto. I was really,really excited for Osaka because it's the best place to get takoyaki and okonomiyaki, both foods I really love. And because we were hungry and in Osaka, of course we had…

In Japan, there's a holiday called Obon that originated from a Buddhist tradition of honoring one's ancestors. Nowadays it's an occasion for people to visit their families and hometowns, as well as travel a lot, since it's a major holiday season and many companies give their employees a few vacation…

Often when I'm traveling to the Tokyo area, I end up taking a train to Tokyo Station and then transferring to get to my final destination. Tokyo Station is one of the busiest train stations in Japan, with over 30 tracks serving local, shinkansen (bullet train), and subway lines. It's…

Yokohama is home to the biggest Chinatown in Asia. (I'm not entirely sure how significant that is, considering that China is also in Asia. But still, impressive.) I decided to check it out with another Techer who's doing research at Tokyo Tech this summer. We met up at Ishikawacho Station,…

This weekend, I hiked up Mount Fuji. Would-be hikers are advised to prepare for the ascent with rain gear, sturdy hiking shoes, and appropriate clothing for "5-8 degrees Celsius" at the summit. So I was feeling pretty nervous when we started making plans for this trip; I bought hiking shoes…

Japan's rainy season starts in early June and lasts through late July. So when we (Caltech JIP interns) were preparing to come to Japan, we were all emphaticallytold to bring rain gear. Unfortunately for me, I've spent most of my life in southern California, an area that experiences little more…

The day I moved into my apartment, I went to a supermarket nearby to pick up some household supplies. I found myself confused about several products and stopped an employee to ask about the difference between them. What followed was basically strings of incomprehensible Japanese. I could pick out enough…

If anybody's read my little blog description blurb, you'll know it says: I'm going to Japan for a summer internship. Join me on my adventure in Nihon, featuring food, broken Japanese, and just a dash of culture shock. It's gonna be /great/. And if you didn't know, well, consider yourself…

Yokoso Japan! ("Welcome to Japan!") is the slogan for the Japanese National Tourism Organization's campaign to bring more foreign visitors to the country. I thought it would be an appropriate title given that I completely expect to be spending my weekends/vacation days doing some pretty tourist-y things. My name is…