From Tourist to Observer: My Day at Tokyo Daigaku (Todai)

As soon as I arrived in Japan, I went straight to the University of Tokyo (Tokyo Daigaku or Todai). It is interesting to visit because it’s often seen as Japan most prestigious general university and because of the red-brick Yasuda Auditorium.

This university is spread across three locations, Hongo (main campus) at Bunkyo City, Komaba at Meguro City, Tokyo, and Kashiwa (research-focused) at Kashiwa City, Chiba Prefecture. I visited the Hongo Campus in Bunkyo, not far from Ueno Park. To get there, I walked from Ueno Station, cutting through Ueno Park.

My main goal was to take photos in front of Yasuda Auditorium. It’s a red-brick hall with a clock tower facing a wide open plaza. It’s used for major ceremonies and special events including graduations. The name “Yasuda” comes from Zenjiro Yasuda, the donor behind its construction.

Yasuda Auditorium

Under the plaza in front of Yasuda is the Second Co-op Store, basically a campus convenient shop that also sells UTokyo souvenirs such as hats, T-shirts and jackets with Todai marks. I bought a hat and a T-shirt. The hat had “Ichiko”, a dog mascot wearing an academic-style square cap – the official mascot of University of Tokyo Athletic Association.

Other Activities Near Hongo Campus

On the way from Ueno Station to Hongo, I passed the famous Gyukatsu, Gyukatsu Motomura. The gyukatsu was tender and soft. My husband and my son love it. Fortunately, I got lucky cause the queque is not too long.

Gyukatsu Motomura

Ueno Park