Explore Japan — Season 1, Episode 2: Japan-discovery, Self-discovery: Exchange Students in Tokyo

Episode synopsis

Japanese anime and manga have countless fans overseas. Many of them are teenagers. Some of them have been inspired to become high school exchange students. On this program, we meet three such exchange students who are attending Meiji Gakuin Senior High School in Tokyo. They enrolled in the school year starting April 2016. The students came with many expectations. One they didn’t anticipate was the rigor of school life. After a commute, they start classes from 8:30 a.m. and finish around 3:00 p.m. After school, they all participate in school clubs. And while back home they might look forward to the weekend, here at this private school, Saturdays are spent on campus. This documentary captures the three students living in a foreign culture at the height of adolescence. We see Japanese high school life through their perspective. We also see that these students are getting much more than an education during their year abroad.

About Explore Japan

Japan continues to thrive as it incorporates cultural elements of music, fashion, cuisine, sports, arts and science from around the world. People’s encounters trigger the fusion of Japan’s and the world’s diverse culture, unceasingly producing a myriad of new phenomena and events. This series will feature how various culture in modern Japan and overseas blend together and influence each other.

More episodes from Season 1

• E1Koshu: The Miraculous Wine
• E3My Life with Aikido
• E4Delivering to Space
• E5Peru & Japan Fusion of Cuisine
• E6The Somin Naked Festival
• E7The World of Miniatures
• E8The Manufacturing Spirit and Sustainability
• E9Japanese Gardens, Aesthetic Encounters
• E10Going Beyond Tradition: The Challenge of Craftspeople in Kyoto
• E11Innovative Japanese Bread
• E12Capturing Masters’ Workmanship
• E13MUSIC TRUNK: Journey to Discover the Roots of Japanese Sound