Let’s Go To Toudai!
Chuck had wanted to see Toudai (aka Tokyo University), and I was curious as well. But we didn’t really know where it was or how to get there. So as we got off the Yurikamome, Chuck asked the station clerk for directions. Well, he didn’t really know either, so he made a quick phone call, and then he told us we could take the trains to the station at Nezu. What he didn’t tell us (and I guess he didn’t know) is that there’s a station right next to Toudai, appropriately named Toudaimae (meaning, “in front of Toudai”), as we later found out. But we took the trains to Nezu and had to make quite a walk to finally reach Toudai.
I’m not sure exactly what I expected it to look like, but it certainly looked different from it (I guess Love Hina and the likes gave me the wrong impression). Don’t get me wrong - it’s a very nice place. I suppose I just expected it to be more modern-looking, for some reason. But I guess that’s also a result of having gone to school in California.
One of my favorite parts of Toudai (at least the part that I saw) was Sanshiro Pond. It’s in the middle of the campus, but it’s surrounded by densely packed trees so you can’t really see it until you go down one of the paths leading to it. It seems like a nice place for a stressed out college student to just sit and relax.
Unfortunately, I don’t have any pictures from Toudai! I really don’t know why I didn’t take any. I should’ve at least taken one of the Red Gate, or the pond, or Yasuda Auditorium… Bah. I have to get better at being a tourist, I guess.
Anyway, we walked pretty much the length of the campus to the south end, then again back to the north end to Toudaimae station. On the way, we stopped at the Communication Center and Chuck bought a T-shirt. I think he would’ve preferred a sweater, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen a Toudai sweater - do they exist?