Transitioning from bittersweet farewells to university life, Nguyen Pham, a second-year student in Programs in English at Komaba (PEAK) studying Japan in East Asia, set off on his journey to independent living in an unfamiliar country in autumn 2025. The Todai Shimbun interviewed Nguyen about his experiences as a Vietnamese student in Japan and his passions for art and writing at the University of Tokyo. (Interview by Marika Saito)
Initially, Nguyen made the decision to join PEAK due to its affordable tuition, scholarship opportunities, and favorable location. Since arriving, he has come to appreciate the program’s multiculturalism and receptivity to diverse perspectives, allowing him to openly share his Vietnamese culture. For instance, during a discussion on tradition and national identity in his cultural studies class, Nguyen was inspired by the diverse experiences each classmate brought to the conversation. Sharing his own views on Vietnamese society in the group discussion, he also learned about his peers’ cultures, ranging from South Korean to French. Reflecting on the impact his peers had on his new academic life, he said, “Although the program itself is centered around Japan and East Asia, I feel like I learn about many more cultures through the people around me.”
Nguyen’s transition into UTokyo was not entirely devoid of difficulties. As an international student, he recalls the most challenging aspects of moving to Japan to be managing complex paperwork and navigating daily life with beginner Japanese. Nguyen recalls having to travel far to the immigration bureau on multiple occasions to complete the arduous process and struggling to communicate with workers there. However, he noted that he viewed such experiences as opportunities to learn about cultural differences and challenge himself with newfound independence.
At Komaba Campus, Nguyen has made a home for himself in the cafe-like KOMCEE West basement, where he particularly enjoys grabbing coffee with friends, chatting about classes, and doing schoolwork. Beyond campus life, Nguyen expressed his passion for writing and drawing. Since high school, he has been managing his own art blog, where he frequently posts his drawings accompanied by reflective writing. These pieces carry themes of his identity, reflections of significant personal experiences, and expressions of his culture. One blog entry that he shared was his painting of a lotus flower accompanied by a reflective essay for Asian Heritage Month in 2023. He writes that the lotus flower represents his Vietnamese ethnicity and that “everyone from [his] culture has a blooming flower in them, their emotions like the flower and its adaptive characteristics.” He particularly notes how people of Vietnamese culture tend to hesitate when outwardly expressing emotions. Through this blog entry, he hopes to convey that Asian Heritage Month is not just about celebrating heritage, but also about calling out and dealing with the problems within those communities. As he connects Confucian culture to the maintenance of social harmony and praise for “calmer” emotional traits, he writes, “I really want the generations before me in my family to understand how beautiful their emotions are and to stop trying to suppress them.” Beyond his blog, he also blended his passions with community service in Vietnam, organizing projects with friends to hold tactile art workshops in schools for the blind.
Although he is far from home, Nguyen continues to seize opportunities to find new and creative ways to engage with art and writing. Since the start of his first year, Nguyen has joined the Todai Shimbun to hone his writing skills. Furthermore, he is working around his academic life to find spaces, whether that is clubs or people, where he can expand on the forms of art he engages with, such as music. He recently joined Place of Music People (POMP), a band-focused music club, where he now performs as a vocalist monthly.
As a second-year international student, Nguyen recommends that incoming PEAK students visit the campus fairs and be active in reaching out to communities that align with their passions. “Chill out and be less stressed,” he said when asked what advice he would give new students. He admits feeling immense pressure during his first semester to match his high school productivity levels and engagement with his passions.
Nguyen notes that while the university community is incredibly kind and supportive, the language barrier between English and Japanese speakers remains a prominent obstacle. When he joined POMP, he found that most flyers, announcements, and group chats were in Japanese, meaning he often had to translate important information. However, as he continues to study Japanese in school, he has encountered some endearing moments with the language difference as well. After his first live performance in POMP, a girl excitedly came over to compliment him, speaking in Japanese. As Nguyen replied with the Japanese he knew, the girl attempted to meet him halfway with her English, leaving him with a wholesome memory. He believes that challenges and heartfelt moments like this will ultimately enrich his identity, fueling new inspiration for his passions of art, writing, and now music. Nguyen hopes to continue challenging himself in both navigating this new environment and pushing the limits of his creativity, experimenting with new clubs and surrounding himself with diverse people. He notes that he has recently been attending practices at the school’s fencing club, a sport he decided to pick up again after months of setting it aside.
Be it fencing, singing, drawing, or writing, Nguyen encourages all new students to put themselves out there and try as many things as they desire, assuring them that there is a place for every passion and interest at UTokyo.
The post Nguyen Pham (PEAK): A Place For Every Passion, From Blog to Band first appeared on 東大新聞オンライン.
Nguyen Pham (PEAK): A Place For Every Passion, From Blog to Band 2026
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