Japanese at Wellesley and Beyond

On April 14th, a Friday, Japanese corridor students had the opportunity to make udon noodles from scratch. The recipe requires only two simple ingredients: flour and water. First, students mixed the flour and water thoroughly, then spread the dough and cut it into thin strips. After boiling the noodles for 10 minutes, they were placed in cold water and strained. The noodles could be eaten with hot or cold soup made with seaweed and bonito flakes, and topped with chopped green onions. Students were impressed by how such simple ingredients could yield such amazingly tasty noodles.

Japanese corridor students had a blast participating in a scavenger hunt with Chinese and Korean corridor students. Language assistants from each corridor prepared and hid notes with simple challenges in the dorm and common room. Students searched for the notes and completed the challenges, which included tongue twisters in the target languages they were learning. If students scored the most points, they received prizes. The students had a great time and learned about games from the target cultures at the same time!

On Friday, March 17th, students from the Japanese, Korean, and Chinese corridors had a blast singing together at a karaoke party. Every student who attended showed off their amazing talents, singing a range of Asian songs from artists like Fujii Kaze, BTS, and Yonezu Gensui, and more.

On March 10th, Japan Corridor hosted a Temaki-sushi (hand-rolled sushi) cooking event, which was attended by around 15 students. We prepared a variety of ingredients, including cucumbers, sprouts, tamagoyaki (egg rolls), salmon, eel, tuna, fish roe, and fish cakes, and the students made sushi rolls using these ingredients. They enjoyed trying out different combinations and had a great time. Personally, I prefer Temaki-sushi to Nigiri-sushi for parties because it’s fun to make together.

On February 24th, the Japan Corridor hosted an Art Night where attendees got the chance to experience chigiri-e, Japanese paper collage. The students who participated created stunning works of art depicting sushi and flowers. The level of detail and creativity put into each piece was truly impressive!

The Takoyaki cooking night, an event hosted by the Japan Corridor in the last fall semester, was featured on the Wellesley college home page. We hope that more people become interested in our corridor and events. Check out the article below.

Creating Community While Cooking Takoyaki | Spotlight | Wellesley College

On February 17th, the Japan Corridor hosted a drama night where students enjoyed watching a Japanese drama called “Midnight Diner” (深夜食堂). The drama showed everyday foods in Japan, evoking precious memories for those who have lived there. While it can be challenging to find Japanese restaurants in the US beyond sushi and ramen places, as a Japanese TA, I personally miss the simple, everyday Japanese dishes that are full of memories. It was a joy to share these dishes with the students through the drama.

On February 10th, Japan corridor hosted a cooking night and we made delicious Japanese-style curry and rice. Preparing this dish is quite straightforward. We started by chopping up carrots, potatoes, and onions into small pieces. Then, we added water to the pan and let it come to a boil. Next, we added the curry cubes to the pan and waited for them to melt. Finally, we boiled everything one last time and voila! The finished dish was a hit with the students, many of whom went back for seconds or even thirds. Personally, I have a fondness for curry and rice that goes back to my childhood. As a TA, it was a joy to see the students participate in the cooking and savor the flavors of my childhood.

Japan corridor held Tea-time Night on November 30th, and students enjoyed making matcha green tea with a traditional teacup and tea whisk. Some students who like sweet tea added oat milk or milk and honey and make matcha latte. The atmosphere was filled with laughter. Students of all levels of Japanese proficiency shared their knowledge and preferences in Japanese as much as possible about Japanese pop culture while sipping on their homemade matcha green tea.

Japan Corridor hosted a cooking event on November 9th, making takoyaki(Japanese octopus balls), okonomiyaki(Osaka-style Japanese pancakes), and onigiri(rice balls) at Freeman.

In total, almost 20 students came to the event, not only Japan corridor students but also who are taking Japanese language classes. Students especially enjoyed making takoyaki, flipping the dough to make it round shape, because it was their first time.

We had a very good time chit chatting in Japanese as much as we could while cooking and eating the foods. We had some Japanese snacks like dorayaki (red-bean panckes) and mochi as desserts afterwards.