2. C ntent
! About us
! If you join us
! Main events
! Other stuff
! JS ES WS
! Voices
! The great 9 of Niji
! Contact info
! The editors
3. Niji
no
kai
welcome to our home!!
“Niji no kai” is a club that does all kinds of
different activities throughout the year. Most of
the time, many international students from all
over the world are involved in our activities. The
events include discussing Japanese culture,
playing many sports, going on trips, and
drinking, etc. We look forward to seeing you
guys!
The “Lounge” is where Niji no Kai hangs out and lots of international exchange students
come too. Especially at lunch time, there are lots of people here. Everyone spends their
time doing whatever they want; chatting, eating, doing homework, naps etc. You should
try coming here! It’s on the first floor of Building No1.
4. If You Join Us
You Are Guaranteed
To...
1. Enjoy life at school as a REAL
Waseda Student!
By spending lots of time with our members, you
can see for yourself how students at Waseda hang
out in and out of school. We also participate in
school events such as Waseda’s festival and
Waseda baseball games where you’re sure to feel
like a real student at our school.
2. Make Lots of
Japanese Friends
There are more than 100 members
in our club. Everyone has different
hobbies and interests so you will
definitely find someone you can get
along with.
5. 3. Get the Chance to
Initiate Events of
NIJI no Kai
Every event of our club is initiated by
several
members of organizers called Kanji. You
can
be one of these organizers to take part in
planning and producing these events.
4. Drink and Do
“CALLS”
W e have at least one big Nomikai per
month. This is a drinking Party where
we all sit in a big room at an Izakaya
(Japanese style restaurant-type place
where you drink) and enjoy drinking
and eating.
Of course many of us regularly go to
pubs or clubs, or just hang around
at home and you can join us.
“Calls” are what we do at
Nomikais. It’s a kind of chant and
the person doing the call has to
keep drinking when he/ she is
being shouted at.
Drinking alcohol is not mandatory
at Niji no Kai and you can enjoy
Nomikais without getting drunk.
6. Voices!!
Nick Mastrogany
Before coming to Japan last September, I
had taken some Japanese classes. Upon
arriving in Tokyo though, I felt like much of
what I had previously learned had vanished
and I struggled with even basic communication.
Since joining Niji no Kai though, the members
have been understanding of the language gap.
If anything, they’ve been quite helpful with helping me improve my Japanese
conversation skills. In addition to that, they’ve also provided an oasis to
relieve the stresses of being a student in a completely different country.
Living with a host family located far away, downtime between classes at
Waseda can become quite long. However, I knew that Niji had a lounge on
campus, so I decided to take a visit there. I was more than welcome by
everyone there, despite only knowing the members who had been a part of the
Oregon pick-up group. The members can be a little bit shy about talking to
you at first. Despite this, if you go up to any of them and introduce yourself to
them, they’ll prove to be quite friendly and talkative. Now whenever I want a
place to go to during the lunch hour or have a gap between classes, I’ve found
the Niji lounge to be a refreshing place to drop by.
As for the events that Niji no Kai hosts, I’ve found them to have an equal mix
of both cultural activities and social events. Cultural activities can range from
learning traditional dances from Okinawa to making mochi with giant,
7. wooden hammers. With Niji, a hefty portion of the social events include
drinking, occurring at places such as a barbeque by the river and drinking
parties at Daruma. Although these social events have a revolving theme
around drinking, there’s absolutely no pressure to drink, even at the drinking
parties. If you aren’t too big on drinking, it’s no issue, as these social events
are great places to meet new friends. Because Niji no Kai is an international
club, you’ll have the opportunity to not only meet Japanese students but other
foreign exchange students.
Whether you’re looking for a place to help get your footings in place as a
foreign exchange student or a place to make new friends, Niji no Kai is a
fantastic place to achieve such goals.
Rhiannon
Charles
Niji no Kai is an amazing club with amazing people. The members of Niji no
Kai are a rare bunch of people; they are friendly, hard working, they know
how to have fun and are interested in the people in the club and not just the
idea of the club itself. The club atmosphere, whether it be hanging out in the
lounge, going on trips for their events or just going over procedures and
information at club meetings, is very relaxed and very welcoming. I find that
as a student studying in a new country, Niji no Kai’s friendliness and
outgoing atmosphere allows one to have confidence in meeting new people and
trying new things. Niji no Kai is awesome!
8. Alexander
Edlefsen
In the United States I was never really a
part of a big club like Niji no Kai. I went
to Santa Monica College, a junior college,
right out of high school and later
transferred to Cal State Long Beach. At a
Junior College, clubs are a little more toned down in general. There are a few
big clubs, but I never joined any of them. And at Cal State Long Beach I joined
Japan Club, a club with much fewer members, less formality, less diversity
and much less power. When you join a Waseda Club like Niji no Kai you enter
into a highly stratified, dynamic, formal-yet-informal commune, where you
can’t help but feel a part of something big. You can tell I like using big words. I
guess what that last complicated sentence means is that my being a member
of Niji no Kai makes me feel, well, cool!
I remember when I attended my first Niji no Kai Japan Study this past
December. There were so many people in that classroom, so many people who
I knew, and to say the least, I felt pretty cool. I had met most of these friends
individually earlier in the semester, each time having its own interesting story.
I was like, “Hey that’s ‘so-and-so’ who helped me translate my presentation
yesterday.” And, “Hey that’s the dude I met at the gym.” And, “Hey I met her
at the Christmas Party. I’m gonna see her dance performance next week.” And
I must’ve thought something like that about half the people in the room, since
that was how many people I had met. And as for the people I hadn’t met, it
was no big deal just shaking hands with them and meeting them. Some of the
people I hadn’t seen in a long time, so it was a cool reunion type of thing. I saw
other CSU people there and felt another shot of pride. People right and left
were saying “hi” or “hisashiburi” or what have you. And then all of us together
enjoyed the entertaining presentation, and after wards went to go hang out at
Toyama Campus. Honestly one of the funnest nights I’ve had here in Japan.
Now, my story might not seem like anything special. I mean, of course the
club event was fun. That’s just what you do when you’re in a club: you make
9. friends and have fun. That’s what a club’s for. And after all we have clubs like
that in the United States too. But for me, not having ever been a part of such
a big club, I felt proud to be at that event. And over the course of the next few
months I started going to more and more events. And eventually, I was asked
to present for one of the events: English Study. This slow but sure increase in
involvement in the club further increased my pride and sense of belonging.
And now I’m coming up with event ideas of my own, and I feel more motivated
to get involved. So, for me, that first Japan Study was the first of a string of
memorable experiences with the club. All of which helped me to express
myself and realize my own goals. Perhaps sharing my experience will affect
someone’s decision to join the club or not. Either way, I would highly
recommend joining Niji no Kai.
To the International Students out there, please consider joining. When all of
us CSU students first got to Japan, there were Niji no Kai members there to
welcome us. Niji had a welcome party, various outings and other cool
activities already planned out for us. It became very easy for most of us to feel
part of this club because from the very beginning we were already
participating in Niji events. At school, Niji members always make themselves
available to help with homework, show you where your classroom is or to just
hang out and talk.
And of course for the Japanese students, Niji no Kai is a good choice too. You
can meet so many cool people both Japanese and not. You can organize and
put on your own events with your friends. You can join this club and another
club at Waseda. If you’re not a Waseda student, you can insert yourself into
the Waseda network. Or, you can learn a new language from any of the many
international members. Niji no Kai is an international club. This is cool in the
sense that you can meet people from around the world. But, it’s also cool in
that it doesn’t really exclude anybody from becoming a member. A tennis club
after all is only for people who like tennis or who are good at tennis. A singing
club or other performance club might reject you if you’re not good enough at it.
But an international club is not so exclusive. There are lots of different kinds
of people with a variety of interests, ideas and cultures.
Niji no Kai’s events range from kick-ass formal events and obnoxious
nomikais to presentations on pop culture and visits to the local kindergarten;
from language learning and practicing calligraphy to playing basketball and
making mochi. Come check out the next event and see what you think!
10. Niji no kai holds a lot of events throughout the year!!
April
OHANAMI (SAKURA VIEWING
PARTY)
Ohanami is one of the events that Japanese love! We
go on a picnic to view Sakura (cherry blossoms). In
April, we also hold lots of welcome parties for
freshman.
May
100KM H IKE
This is the most unique event of Waseda! We take
a 100km walk for 2 days wearing funny costumes.
If you want to challenge your physical and mental
strength, come and join this event with your
funniest costumes! Those who completed walking
100km will gain “Waseda Spirit”!!
June
W ORLD COOKIN G COM PETITION
Niji’s cooking competition! Let’s make
and have some delicious traditional meals
from different countries! We separate into
some groups where we learn how to cook
them. It’s a good chance to learn new
11. dishes and how to make them. Those who are good at cooking can become a hero!
Aug
SUMMER CAMP
This camp is one of the biggest events of
Niji no kai! We go to the campsite
surrounded by nature. And we play in the
near river, have a BBQ, have a test of
your courage, and so on. In the last night
of this camp, we have entertainment
performance times and hold a drinking
party outside!!
October
SOUKEISEN
This is a baseball rivalry game between
Waseda and Keio University. We go to
the ballpark to cheer the Waseda
baseball team. The performance of the
cheer leading girls and the brass bands
will make the atmosphere even more
incredible! Show our love for Waseda!
November
WASEDA FESTIVAL
Waseda Festival is the biggest open campus
festival in Japan. So many people visit
Waseda that the campus gets packed! There
are lots of food stalls and exciting events and
performances! Niji no kai runs a different
country’s food stall every year!
12. December
X’MAS PARTY
This party is one of our biggest parties of
the year! No matter what religion you
believe, whether you are single or not, you
enjoy your night having drinks and
chatting with other mates with your
coolest or sexiest dresses!
January
COUNTDOWN PARTY
Say goodbye to the old year, and greet the
New Year with Niji’s people! We go to the
shrine and take part in the countdown
event. After that we drink all night long to
celebrate the new year, and then early in
the morning we go to do HATSUMOUDE
(first shrine visit of the new year)!
February
SKIING&SNOWBOARDING
We go to the mountains covered with
nice lovely white snow and go skiing
and snowboarding for about 3 days! For
some of you it might be the first time in
your life to see the snow, and it is a
fantastic view! Romance on a beautiful
winter day wouldn’t be a bad idea!
13. Baseball, soccer, basketball,
dancing, cooking, watching movies,
birthday parties, drinking outside
and so much more…
We have lots of events and you can host any event that you want!!!
All of the events are good chance to make a lot of friends, improve your Japanese
skills and enjoy life as a REAL Waseda Student.
Join us and see what it’s like, we hope to see you soon!!!
There are events where you can learn about culture while surrounding yourself with
the Japanese students of Niji no kai.
JAPAN STUDY
In Japan Study, we talk about all sorts of
different things about Japanese culture and
you can communicate with many Japanese
students. It’s a good chance for you to improve
your Japanese skills!
14. ENGLISH STUDY
English Study is held by students from the
countries where English is spoken. We learn
their culture, music, slang and so on with
Japanese students and international students.
If you want, you can present your favorite
things to us!
WORLD STUDY
World Study is held by international students
and focuses on learning about different
cultures from all over the world. At World
Study, you can introduce your own country,
culture and so on. These are great
opportunities for you to learn about not only
the culture of Japan but the cultures of the
world.
15. HIROTAKA HASEGAWA (Hase)
Don’t be fooled by Hase because the first few times you
meet the leader of Niji no kai he may be shy, almost timid,
but the more time you spend with him the more you
understand how much heart and soul he has. The love and
dedication he has for Niji no kai shines just as brightly as the
characters he plays during his manzai. If you take a moment
to watch him you’ll probably see him doing the many
impersonations of the members of Niji. If you’re lucky
enough, he’ll even make fun of you! If it is not his biting
comedic remarks it is the high-pitched laughter you’ll hear
amongst a crowd that lets you know that he is entertaining
and bringing a smile to everyone’s face. Take the
opportunity and time to get to know him and you’ll walk
away with some of the best memories guaranteed!
MASASHIRO MUTO (Mutwo)
Mutwo is the VP, second in command to Hase. Upon his return
back to Niji, he has been highly involved in various events. He has
been kanji (organizer) for things such as Soukeisen and
NatsuKyan (summer camp) and he works very hard to keep Niji
no kai going strong. He loves meeting people from around the
world, making friends, and learning about other countries culture.
Get to know him, talk with him, befriend him and see how cool of
a guy he is. He was on a lacrosse team so challenge him to a
game and he may take you on. Also if you can persuade him to go
to karaoke and sing with everyone, you'll have a blast!
16. AIKO MORIYAMA (Ai - chan)
See that girl with a camera in her hand and a smile on her face?
That’s Aiko! You can say anything to make her happy and her
lively personality brightens up anyone’s day. When you get the
chance to talk to her be prepared to have some great
conversations because she is always ready and willing to chat.
She’s a really good friend to have especially, when you are in a
jam because she is always there to help you out and pick you up
when you are feeling down! Her caring ways makes her perfect
for being the main support of all the leaders in Niji no kai. She’s
a girl who knows how to have fun and you’ll have a great time
when you are around her!!
EMI OKADA (Emi - chan)
Don’t let her quietness fool you, not even for a second! This girl
has a warm heart and a kind personality to boot! Her smile just
melts your heart into a thousand pieces which she can quickly
pick up and reassemble at the speed of light! She is the
treasurer after all and keeps track of all the money going in and
out of this club. She is one responsible girl who will get you
smiling in no time! So go on, don’t be shy! Say hi to her!
YASUSHI YAMAGUCHI (Yassan)
He is the mature and super IKEMEN of Niji no kai. Is there any
better person to be the PR representative? I think not. He has
the stylish clothes, the effortless laugh and perfect hair that
everyone wishes for. Cool, calm and collected is the best way to
describe him because he is always on point. But don’t be
intimidated by his god-like perfection. His dimples are a clear
indication of how sweet and kind he is! Take a smoke break,
have a seat next to him and ask him about his many travels.
You’ll enjoy any conversation with him!
17. YUSUKE SHIMIZU (Ossan)
As the leader of events in Niji no kai you’ll see
how his natural ability to talk and
communicate with others lends perfectly to
this role. Despite his somewhat bad boy
persona he is the epitome of a gentle giant.
Although he towers above most and can
probably take on any guy, he is a lover not a
fighter. You’ll never see him angry or upset,
he is a constant source of positive energy for
Niji no kai. Befriending him is one of the best
choices you will ever make!! He is indeed Big
Brother Ossan!!
YOSHIO TANIOKA (Yokkun)
Notoriously known for his classic black frames, he is the
secretary of Niji no kai. He’s just as suave with his camera
as he is with his words so ladies beware; he is probably
flirting with you. But don’t get the wrong idea; he is also
the sensitive type who you will totally divulge all of your
best kept secrets to. Whether you like it or not, you’ll
probably fall in love with him or wish you had as much
game. Despite his pretty face get to know him, he loves
rock music and Apple computers and will spend the whole
Nomikai talking to you about various hobbies and
interests.
18. KANAKO ARASHIMA (Kanako)
She is smart, friendly, and will help you out when you’re in
trouble whether you need Pocari Sweat to help you cure a
hangover or just need someone to stay by your side and keep
you company. She absolutely loves Canada so if you’re
Canadian you’re in luck! Don’t get me wrong though, she’s
friendly with all the international students. By the way, her
English is pretty good so if you don’t have the confidence to
speak in Japanese yet, feel free to talk to her. Oh, and just so
you know, the more alcohol she drinks, the more English she
speaks! Win-win situation right? Right!
SAORI AOI (Sao)
This cute, spunky girl is in charge of all the
international students and through it, her personality
shows. She’s super energetic and is ready endure
anything whether it’s climbing Mount Fuji or preparing
for the 120 Km hike. She genuinely wants to get to
know each and every one of you. It’s because of all of
the friends she’s made in Niji no kai that she feels her
personality has come to life so she’ll always try her
best to strengthen your friendship with her. She’s also
awesome at basketball so watch out or she’ll school
you! For your information, she knows how to
snowboard and is a very patient teacher so if you’re
learning how to snowboard for the first time, convince
her to go to Niji no kai’s ski/snowboarding trips!
19. If you e-mail us here:
nijinokai.s7@gmail.com
We’ll send you information on our events throughout the year.
And this is our club’s homepage:
http://www.niji-waseda.com
Take a look at our pictures and blog to see what our activities are like.
Sousuke Kawano Aya Watanabe
Thank you for reading this pamphlet about Niji no kai.
We are looking forward to seeing you in our events!!
