This May Term, the Elizabethtown College Department of Modern Languages will be hosting a trip to Japan for students interested in experiencing Japanese culture firsthand. Dr. Mahua Bhattacharya, associate professor of Japanese and Asian studies, will lead the trip, which will allow nine students of various majors the opportunity to visit several Japanese cities and landmarks.

The College has offered short-term trips to Japan for the past 10 years. The success of the first year’s trip has allowed the Modern Languages department to continue offering this Signature Learning Experience. Despite changes in the time of year in which it is offered and the number of attendees, the trip has consistently been popular among students of all departments with an interest in Japanese language and culture.

Bhattacharya is especially pleased to be offering the 2015 trip because of the “wonderful timing in May” that makes traveling on a budget easier to do. The students will be spending their three weeks stationed in Tokyo, one of the most expensive cities in the world, and take field trips outside of the city on the weekends for a cost of $3,500, which Bhattacharya considers to be “one of the most economical student trips to Japan.” The program fee will include airfare, accommodations and access to any locations students attend on field trips. Food is the only expense not included in the total.

Students will have the opportunity to venture outside of Tokyo on bullet trains during weekend trips to several temples and shrines in the area, as well as to the cities of Kyoto, Kamakura and Nikko. They will also visit the Hiroshima Peace Park, which is Bhattacharya’s favorite part of the trip because it allows students to see the effects of the atomic bomb on society. “This really changes their lives and allows them to see why our college emphasizes peace and non-violence in our mission,” she said, recognizing that “a lot of [Japanese] popular culture is also tinged with that antipathy towards war.” She believes that this part of the trip will help increase students’ awareness of the problem of violence in culture, furthering educating them of the Brethren values upon which Etown was built.

Bhattacharya said that the highlight of the trip for most students is the opportunity to spend time exploring a new country. “The students love everything about Japan,” she said. Those who have attended the trip in the past have especially enjoyed taking the advanced public transportation system and spending time with students from Nihon University. At the Edo theme park, students get to see a ninja show.

Junior Japanese major Haley Benson expressed her excitement for the opportunity to go abroad with her professor and fellow students. “I am very excited to see all my Japanese friends again and to visit new places I haven’t been to yet!,” she said of returning to Japan.

The trip is designed to be supplementary to the education students receive from the Modern Languages department. Though there are no associated credits, “having a faculty-led study abroad trip helps students to have a guided introduction to Japan and gives them a desire to explore Japan more deeply,” Bhattacharya said.

For more information on the trip or to learn how to get involved with the Japanese program, contact bhattacharm@etown.edu.