Japanese Universities

POSTED BY DANNY CHOO On Sat 2010/06/05 18:25 JST in Japan
So we've taken a look at what a Japanese High School is like in Fujisawa High Part 1 and Part 2 but what is it like in a Japanese University?
Well last year we did take a look at Nippon University what how about a university located right in the middle of Akihabara?
Today we are at Digital Hollywood - a university which focuses on teaching courses to folks who want to learn about multimedia together with anime, game and movie production.
Folks who are interested in this field and are thinking of studying in Japan may want to have a lookie at the Summer Camp courses that Digital Hollywood do.
From the photos coming up in this post, you will notice quite a few foreigners studying at DHW too. Spoke to a few of them including some from France, Nepal and China - all spoke enough Japanese to help them get by in class and society. I cant continue to stress the importance of learning Japanese if you want to live and work over here. If you want some tips on where to start to learn Japanese, you can start off with the Learn Japanese post although its in serious need of updating.
We are actually shooting for Culture Japan - Saber wanted to come along and be on the show too.
DHW (Digital HollyWood) has many buildings in Akihabara and other locations around Tokyo, Fukuoka and Osaka.
This is Sugiyama sensei - the founder of Digital Hollywood and one of the most prominent entrepreneurs in Japan. He spent time in MIT before coming back to Japan to set up DHW. He has a most coolsome office which you can see in some of the photos too.
A few words from Suguyama sensei below taken from his welcome message.
Japan was once famous as a country that produced superior industrial goods.
Now, however, Japan is loved by people around the world for the pop culture produced by its youth.
Japanese pop culture, such as anime, manga, characters, J-Pop, video games and fashion, has gone beyond borders and cultures, has won popularity, and is thought of as “cool” all over the world.
Even among the constant development of scientific technology, digital communication stands out for its continued and far greater progress.
Not only primary media such as newspapers, books, music, films, TV, radio, video games and cell phones, but every form of expression throughout the world is now being digitized and distributed via the internet and electrical signals. It would not be an overstatement to say that the digital occupies every aspect of our lives.
We now live in a world where no business in any industry can exist without the digital. Within this increasingly digital environment, Japanese pop culture too is becoming digital content and expanding across the globe faster than ever before.
Learning about how to produce this content and how to make it into a business goes hand in hand with spreading trendsetting Japanese culture throughout the world.
With that in mind, we opened this school in 2005 in Akihabara, the so-called Mecca of Japanese pop culture. Our university, more than any other, contributes to the growth of Japanese creative industry.
The study of digital content that you will undertake at this university is a discipline that lies not at the outskirts of academia, but at the heart of our future world. It is our hope that Digital Hollywood University will help you tap into your potential for this future and flourish.
Expect to see more of Sugiyama sensei here at DC ^^
At one of the DHW buildings - this is a break area where students study playing games.
Slapping on the makeup before filming.
A couple of diligent students playing a tough game of TCG.
Is it because of the manga and anime that Japanese folks watch since a kid that enables most of them to draw? Saw this doodle on a whiteboard in class.
Filming the intro to the clip at Denkigai - Electric Town entrance at Akihabara outside Gamers.
Caption time?
In one of the classrooms doing a quick rehearsal.
Gorgeous view.
Saber looking sweet as usual.
VTR is short for Video Tape Recording and is used in Japanese to refer to the recorded clips that you see on TV.
So....
Kyou wa VTR wo takusan tottekimashita = Today we took a load of video clips.
Saber would get tired during the shoot and occasionally sit some scenes out.
The makeup artist usually sticks around on set or would follow us around on the shoot. If she spots some worm climbing out my nostril then she will zap it with a hammer.
This reminds me - should probably make a show or something for all the candid shots that went wrong jackie-chan style ^^;
Alrighty, still got a load of stuff to write today so will leave you to wander around the campus and Akihabara. Come to think of it, Digital Hollywood is the perfect place to study - diligent work in classes during the day with a moe break and then finishing off with shopping at Kotobukiya store, Gamer or Volks!
How many of you are interested in studying in Japan anyway?