For many University of Tokyo students, summer break provides a much-needed respite from exams and academic pressures. For Programs in English at Komaba (PEAK) students, however, the break can also highlight the challenge of living between different places and communities. The Todai Shimbun spoke with Zhiyu Chen (Japan in East Asia, second-year student) and Anya Miasa (Japan in East Asia, second-year student) about their summer plans and experiences. (Interview by Kamil Zeribi)
Zhiyu Chen
Zhiyu grew up in Nanjing, China, where she attended Nanjing Foreign Language School, studying primarily in Chinese with a strong emphasis on foreign-language education. Although she originally planned to study in the United States like many of her high school friends, she chose UTokyo due to its proximity and prestige.
During her first year in Japan, Zhiyu found that she missed both her friends and family. Although she studied Japanese the summer before arriving, Zhiyu found that language barriers compounded these feelings of loneliness. Since she had not attended an international school, she also had to get used to speaking English every day. However, she quickly became close with fellow PEAK students at the Mejirodai International Village (MIV).
Unlike many students whose summer breaks align with each other, Zhiyu’s vacation schedule does not always match up with those of her friends abroad. Her friends, who finished their academic years in the US and UK earlier, came to visit Tokyo in June. Showing them her favourite spots in Shibuya and Shimokitazawa, Zhiyu enjoyed the opportunity to see and catch up with them. Since it is difficult to stay in touch during the school year due to busy schedules and time differences, she said that having “a whole afternoon” together and “sharing our experiences” was especially meaningful.
When her exams were finished, Zhiyu decided to return to China for the whole two-month summer break. She said that seeing her family and friends was “the best part” of going home and especially enjoyed her grandfather’s signature chicken soup and classic egg and tomato. She also reconnected with friends through some of her favourite activities, including walking around Xuanwu Lake, where she enjoyed watching people “playing, running, laughing”. She appreciated the park’s “open and big” atmosphere, which she felt can be difficult to find in Tokyo.
Nanjing also changes every time Zhiyu returns home. She attended high school near Nanjing’s 1912 District, a historic neighbourhood named after the year the Republic of China was founded in Nanjing. The area was not only a tourist hub but also a favourite hangout spot for Zhiyu and her friends, where they spent hours studying at Starbucks and exploring small shops.
When she returned last summer, however, she found the Starbucks and many of the stores gone, replaced by renovations for a more formal “centre for tourism”. Zhiyu expressed regret at seeing the area transformed, saying that the hometown tied to so many of their memories had changed and that their memories were “all gone”.
While the break allowed Zhiyu to reconnect with her high school friends and reminisce, ironically, it also made it harder to stay in touch with her friends in Japan. In China, she has to navigate VPNs to access social media apps such as Instagram, causing her to “lose track” of her friends’ lives and miss them.
Missing her friends in Japan also made Zhiyu realise how much her life there had grown. After returning for the new school year, she joined Our Vision for Asian Leadership (OVAL), a business-focused circle, where she found that her improved Japanese gave her the “strength and courage” to step outside her comfort zone and try new things.
This summer, Zhiyu plans to approach her break differently. Last year, she felt she simply “needed to relax” and spent the entire vacation in China. This year, however, she no longer feels the same need to be home for the whole summer, instead hoping to split her time between China and Japan as she begins to “plan for the future”.
In Japan, she plans to move out of MIV and into her own apartment, while also considering participation in OVAL’s International Business Contest. Back in China, she hopes to do an internship and continue a tradition with her high school friends on Teacher’s Day. Each September, the group reunites to visit their former high school and catch up, one tradition Zhiyu hopes will remain unchanged even as her own life continues to evolve.
Anya Miasa
Anya was born in Japan but moved to Indonesia when she was two years old. She chose to attend UTokyo because she had always wanted to return to Japan.
To prepare for university life in Japan, Anya spent the summer before arriving studying Japanese intensively. She completed the Genki I textbook and watched anime such as Haikyuu!! and Jujutsu Kaisen to improve her language skills.
Despite being thousands of kilometres away from home, Anya did not experience homesickness during her first year. Instead, she felt a strong sense of freedom and excitement “since the start”, as it was her first time living away from her family for such a long period. She also spoke highly of her friends in PEAK, describing the social environment as “amazing”.
However, when summer arrived, many of her international friends returned to their home countries. Since Anya remained in Japan, she found the break slightly lonely. She responded by diving further into Japanese life, practising with “BOILED”, an intercollegiate dance circle. The group became an important place for her to meet Japanese students not only from UTokyo but also from other universities, giving her more motivation to go to practice. She embraced the group’s intense culture of late-night rehearsals, which often ran from midnight to 6 a.m., and became one of its most frequent participants.
She also attended a summer training camp with BOILED, travelling five hours by bus to Saitama for three days. While the main purpose of the trip was to practise dance routines, the camp also allowed members to bond through barbecues and fireworks.
Through these experiences, Anya felt that her Japanese improved significantly and that she became closer to “Japanese people and Japanese culture”.
Looking ahead to the upcoming summer, Anya plans to further commit to BOILED by using her free time to learn a new dance style called “house.” After trying it once, she said that because it is “new for me and it’s difficult,” she wants to “do it for the rest of the summer.”
She also hopes to spend more time with her Japanese friends. Although she often interacted with them during practices last summer, she lacked the “confidence” to communicate with them in Japanese. “Right now, I feel like I’m really comfortable with them,” she said.
At the end of September, Anya plans to return to Indonesia for three weeks, her first visit home in two years. She looks forward to returning to Indonesia, most looking forward to the spicy food and reconnecting with her family, including her brother, whom she will see for the first time in four years.
Although she still does not consider herself homesick, Anya is excited to continue immersing herself in Japan and reconnect with her family and friends in Indonesia after such a long time apart.
Overall, Anya hopes to appreciate the small moments that bring her “happiness” this summer.
The post Between Two Homes: How PEAK Students Spend Their Summers first appeared on 東大新聞オンライン.
Between Two Homes: How PEAK Students Spend Their Summers 2026
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