Past Program Highlights

The 2026 TMU Winter Program

The 2026 TMU Winter Program brought together 10 students from 5 countries for a three-week immersive experience at the Minami-Osawa Campus in Tokyo. Under the theme “Tokyo Through Time,” participants dove into Japanese language and culture.

Japanese Language Class

Students were placed into two different classes based on their proficiency, with a focus on practical Japanese for travel and daily life. They learned how to describe themselves and their surroundings, gaining essential communication skills.

Japan Studies

As a core part of the program’s theme, students attended lectures like “Satoyama landscape in Tokyo” and “Architecture Explored Through the Meaning of Space.” Our faculty members discussed the relationship between the natural environment and human interaction in satoyama landscape and compared the distinct spatial concepts of Japanese and Western architecture.

Field Studies

Students visited Nishikawa Koryuza in Takao to see a performance of Hachioji Kuruma Ningyo, a traditional puppet theater designated as an Important Intangible Folk Cultural Property of Japan.

We visited Japan Open Air Folk House Museum in Kawasaki, where we had the opportunity to experience traditional indigo dyeing. We also toured the historic houses preserved in the museum and observed the satoyama landscape that we had studied in our Japan Studies class.

Workshops

Beyond their studies, students participated in a variety of hands-on cultural workshops.

Japanese Martial Arts (Judō)

Japanese Calligraphy (Shodō)

Japanese Tea Ceremony (Chadō)

Final Presentation

To wrap up the program, each student selected a topic based on their language classes, cultural lectures, or personal experiences. They then created and delivered a presentation on what they had discovered and learned throughout their three weeks in Tokyo.