On a Saturday morining, lords of high school students and their parents flocked to Waseda University, one of the best in the country, for its open campus weekend.  

Since I haven’t got a chance to experience Japanese education system, I figure it’s a great opportunity to do so. Thus I concealed my true age and tried (very) hard to blend in….  

The first stop is Waseda’s signature building: Okuma Auditorium. Five undergraduate students had a panel discussion here about thier college life.

Later I joined one of the sample lecture in the business school.  

Next I had a taste of Health Economics, taught by Prof. Noguchi from the School of Political Science and Economics.  

This one is a bit surprising. A female Australian using Japanese language to teach gender studies at the Law School.  

The School of Liberal Studies is characterised by 100% English instruction. If I were 18, maybe I would have studied here.  

A quick lunch at the student cafeteria. The 500 yen Okuma Lunch is said to be the students’ favorite. It may not look so in the picture, though.  

Finally the cheerleaders. There is something special about cheerleading in Japan, because male students seem to play an equally or even more important role than females. The male cheerleaders dressed in black student suits and cheer by shouting and waving their hands in a unique fashion. I guess there is some tradition involved in it, and this should be my next reserch topic.  

After the half-day mini experience, I gotta say I still have the same doubt. Like the exquisite Japanese products and fancy ideas I came across, the education system seems as perfect as it could be. Then what are the true problems lying behind the surface? As a newly-arrived foreigner, I guess both I and Japan have a long way to go.