Chapter 4.2.1

In addition to my laboratory life, I also participated in many extracurricular activities to enrich my life in Japan, and in this chapter, I will focus on club activities and part-time jobs.

Contents

Basketball Club
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Basketball Club

Type of organization

First, let's look at the types of clubs on campus. In Japanese educational institutions, students often participate in three types of extracurricular activities: clubs, societies, and hobbies. The differences between them are as follows:

Bukatsu (ぶかつ、bukatsu)：Chinese translation is "school team".
- Period of Occurrence: It exists from middle school, high school to college level.
- goal: Usually refers to an official school club that focuses on sports or a specific skill, such as music, art, or martial arts.
- level of commitment: A high level of commitment and dedication is required; practices or meetings are usually held daily or several times a week.
- Structure: Usually has a formal structure with a teacher or coach directing the activities and often involves serious training or internship.
- Membership: It consists primarily of students who wish to pursue activities more seriously, sometimes with the goal of competing in tournaments.
Circle: can be translated into Chinese as "社團"(社團).
- Period of OccurrenceThe first is to provide a social club for the students: it only appears in the university level, and even in the society, some public organizations or companies also provide social clubs.
- goal: There are school-sanctioned and non-school-sanctioned tours, but both are more informal groups that revolve around a common interest (e.g., hiking, movies, or games) and can include a variety of hobby-related activities.
- level of commitment: Usually less demanding; meetings are relatively infrequent, allowing for more casual participation.
- Structure: Compared with ministry activities, the organizational structure is looser and is usually run by the students themselves with less involvement of teachers.
- Membership: Attracts students looking for social interaction and recreation rather than rigorous practice.
  - Features: Unlike in Taiwan, students can join university clubs at different universities from their own, so not all club members will be from the same university. This kind of club is called "Inkare Sakur" in Japanese.
Doukoukai (どうこうかい、Doukoukai)：Chinese translation is "同樂會".
- Period of Occurrence: It appears only in college. When you go out into the world, you can also find people who share your interests on the Internet and other places.
- goal: These are interest groups, similar to societies, formed by individuals who share a common hobby.
- level of commitment: Usually more informal than clubs, emphasizing enjoyment and shared interests, with no strict schedule.
- Structure: Organizations are less formal and often lack official recognition or support from the school.
- Membership: Particularly appealing to those who wish to be very flexible in their participation, often revolving around personal or niche interests.

In summary, while all three types of groups allow students to explore interests outside of the academic program, clubs are the most formal and demanding, focusing on skill development and competition. Clubs offer a more balanced approach, emphasizing the social aspect and relaxed participation, while fraternities offer the most flexibility and have the simplest structure, centered around shared interests and enjoyment. If you're still not sure about the differences between the three, here are some actions that may help put your student's mind at ease:

Social Club Expo: Recruitment activities for clubs are often held on campus during the Admission Ceremony and after the Admission Ceremony. Members of each club will distribute flyers, so it is best to ask them directly when you pick up your flyer. In addition, most clubs have their own websites and social accounts, so searching for information on the Internet is a good way to get to know the club beforehand.
Attend the New Student Welcome Reception: Events and receptions are often held for new students before and after the induction ceremony, so be sure to check back for information on these events.
Experiencing Club Activities: Join the Observatory directly and experience the atmosphere for a few days before deciding whether or not to join.

Campus Clubs

There are also many clubs at EUT, so if you are interested, you can find out more about them atOfficial WebsiteFind a club you are interested in joining. You can also view their official profiles in the video below.

Part 1

Tokyo Tech (Science Tokyo) Circle Introduction- Part 1

Part 2

Tokyo Tech (Science Tokyo) Circle Introduction- Part 2

Join Basketball Club

As mentioned in the previous chapter, not long after I entered TUT, a Taiwanese senior who came to TUT at the same time as I did recommended that I play basketball with him, and it just so happened that there was a basketball tournament for the architecture department, so I started to join the basketball club and practiced on Tuesday evenings at the Miyamae Elementary School, which is about a 20-minute walk from Jiyugaoka Station, and on Sundays, I played at the Yakumo Elementary School, which is near Miyamae Elementary School. It was a good place to socialize with Japanese people while playing sports.