Exams, Medication & Meiji-mura: My Honest End-of-Term Vlog

Exams, Medication & Meiji-mura: My Honest End-of-Term Vlog

[Music] Hi everyone and welcome to my channel. And if you’re returning, it’s great to see you back. If you’re new here, I’m Penny, a Kiwi living in Japan, sharing my experiences of studying Japanese, exploring everyday life, and sometimes just trying to keep it together in a country that never slows down. In my last video, I mentioned that I just passed my end of term test, which was a big relief, but honestly, it wasn’t an easy road to get there. And in today’s video, we’re going to talk a bit about that, the stress, the anxiety, and the medication, and how that made me rethink about what I’m doing here. But don’t worry, there’s also a lot of beauty and peace in this one. I spent a day at Maji Mura Museum and I caught up with a lovely family who are traveling through Japan at the moment. If you haven’t subscribed and you enjoy the videos, please don’t forget to subscribe and like the video cuz it really does help my channel. While I was out the other day, we came across this really sweet pop-up shop called Happy Toy Box. It instantly caught my eye because the table was full of color, little paintings, delicate earrings, and all sorts of handmade accessories that really felt personal. The owner makes everything by hand. And what’s amazing is that no two pieces are the same. You can tell there’s real care and time behind each one. What I love most about this is that it’s not a big commercial shop. It’s one person and creating something beautiful and sharing it with whoever stops to take a look. One of the nicest things that’s happened recently was meeting some of my subscribers. A lovely family who reached out and asked if we could meet up for dinner while they were in Nagoya. Usually I’m a little bit shy about meeting people from YouTube in real life, but their message was so kind and I thought why not? So, we met up in the evening and had such a great time. Good food, good conversation, and that easy feeling you get when you talk to people who are genuine and down to earth. It meant a lot to me and they gave me a lovely knitted koala with a pink jumper. I love it. Sometimes it feels like you’re just moving through your days on your own study test routine. But that dinner reminded me that there are real people watching, supporting, and cheering me on from around the world. So, thank you so much. I left that night feeling really grateful. Grateful for kindness of strangers who became friends and for the way that this channel has connected me to people who I’d never meet otherwise. It made me realize that I’m not alone here, as I sometimes feel, and that those little human moments really do make the difference. Today I’m off on a trip to Majimura Museum. It’s about an 80inute journey by bus from Ncoya station and the entrance fee is 2500 for adults or 1,500 for high school students. The trip was organized by the school. So we all traveled together by bus. We met at Nagoya station around 9:30 in the morning. So, it’s a full day trip. I’m looking forward to it. Actually, I haven’t been to Maji Murder Museum. Going by bus is the main way to get there unless you’ve got a car, but it’s nice by bus because you can sit back and relax and take in the scenery. So, the whole site is divided into zones. You can walk, you can take a shuttle bus or do what I did. I explored each area by collecting stamps in a little booklet that you get at the entrance. The museum was opened in 1965. It’s an open air architectural museum that preserves buildings from Japan’s Maji era, roughly the late 1800s to 1900s when Japan was opening up the world and modernizing fast. There’s over 60 historical buildings here. Everything from old government offices to churches to schools, post offices, and even a prison. So, let’s explore together. Come on. [Music] [Music] [Music] I am happy. [Music] Don’t take [Music] [Music] Thank you. [Music] I actually just [Music] Try to cut it down. What? [Music] [Music] During the visit, we came across the museum shop. And of course, we had to go in and have a little look around. I just love looking at these things. But I did want to get myself a magnet as I’ve decided to collect magnets from the places I visit so I’m not left with lots of bulky items and also they’re always on show been on my fridge. Do you have something that you collect from each place whether it’s a magnet, a stamp or what type of collectibles do you have? Let me know in the comments below. I do like to collect stamps from the shrines and temples I go to, but sometimes I forget to bring my stamp book. So, I end up buying a pre-made stamp already. That’s okay, cuz I just paste it into my book. [Music] [Music] She’s going to have shirts right now. [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] The museum was really, really good and I do recommend going to see it. So you can get a bus from the Nagoya station or if you go to Inuyama you can get a bus from there as well. So let’s talk about the end of term test. So if you’ve been following along you know that tests are something I really struggle with. Not because I don’t study but it’s because of test anxiety. It’s not just nerves. It’s the physical heart racing shaking and losing focus. This time it got bad enough, so I had to go to the doctor and start medication. Now, that’s not something I ever thought that I’d need help with. Vocabulary was okay, and I recognized a lot, but grammar speaking, it’s like my brain shut down. I walked out feeling crushed, wondering, why am I even doing this to myself? There’s this constant pressure. If you fail, you might lose your visa or your spot at school. And when you’re really struggling with anxiety, that pressure becomes a threat hanging over you. People sometimes say you’re living the dream, but they don’t actually see what it actually takes. The loneliness, the stress, and the self-doubt. Still, I still passed, and that’s something, but I won’t pretend. It felt good. It just felt heavy. because it made me realize that I’m not okay with how the system threats people who learn differently. So, I’ve been thinking maybe it’s time to slow down. Maybe it’s time not to push so hard. I know that sometimes not everything goes to plan and that’s okay. But when I first came to Japan, I thought if I worked hard enough, things would fall into place. But life doesn’t always reward effort in the way that you expect. Sometimes it just asks you to pause, to breathe, to find joy in small things again. So that’s what I’ve tried to do after the test. I decided to get out of the city, go somewhere peaceful, and to remind myself why I came to Japan in the first place. Next week, I’m visiting my daughter, and that’s what we’re going to do. I’m also catching up with my online tutor as well, and I’m really looking forward to it. On a different note, when I go for a walk around my area in Sunshine Sakaya, they usually have live entertainment and it always brings a smile to my face. It’s usually boy bands or it could be girl bands and they’re dressed up and they have their little dance routine. Let’s have a listen. Yeah. Heat. Thank you so much for watching. If you enjoyed the video, please press that like button and if you haven’t subscribed yet, hit that subscribe button, too. And until next time, see you.

This video is a bit more personal.

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It’s the end of term here in Nagoya, and I wanted to talk honestly about what’s been going on — the tests, the anxiety, and the medication that’s made me rethink how I’m handling everything.

I also spent a peaceful day at Meiji-mura Museum, exploring the beautiful buildings from Japan’s Meiji era, collecting stamps, and reminding myself why I came here in the first place.

Later, I met up with one of my subscribers for dinner — such a kind family who made me feel less alone here in Japan.

And along the way, I came across a lovely local pop-up called Happy Toy Box, full of handmade art and accessories that brought a little colour back into my week.

📍 Location: Meiji-mura Museum (Inuyama, Aichi Prefecture, Japan)
🛍️ Pop-Up: Happy Toy Box
🍽️ Dinner in Nagoya – thank you to the lovely family who reached out 💕

#LifeInJapan #JapaneseLanguageSchool #MeijiMura #MentalHealthJourney #PennieInNagoya #StudyAbroadJapan #JapanVlog #HappyToyBox