A World City

Guest Post by: Junior Finance Major and Chinese Minor Robert Barrett. He is a Global Business Center Study Abroad Scholarship Recipient who participated in a Foster Exchange at Hong Kong University in Fall Quarter 2018.

One of the best things about Hong Kong being a world city is that it’s cheap and easy to get to the rest of Asia. My favorite trip was a long-weekend hop over to Tokyo to visit my friend who is studying abroad at Waseda University.

Hopping off a red-eye flight, I hit the ground running, exploring all the cultural events in Ueno Park, the various modern art museums (Mori has the best views, but 21_21 was my favorite), watching a local band play at Mash Records near my hostel, and getting to see the Imperial Palace on my run through Chiyoda Park.

What stuck with me most was food. Japan is known for its sushi, and getting to see Tsukiji Fish market gave me an up-close view of the craft of sushi, one of my favorite foods. The desserts are incredible, from expertly shaved ice to a fish shaped pastry with red bean paste, the my sweet tooth was, for once, satisfied. But my favorite experience was this little coffee shop in Ginza, which served an egg-coffee (coffee with egg yolk on top), expertly made and incredibly rich. It was so good that I want to make my own back in Seattle!

Being able to experience Tokyo was one of the highlights of my study abroad, and I’m so glad I got to experience it while I was in Asia.