Spring Break in Japan

During this one-week program, students will experience:

• Arrival orientation & neighborhood walking tour
• Sensoji Temple & Asakusa district tour
• Japanese tea ceremony at Jidaiya
• Tokyo Edo Museum visit
• Hands-on sushi & Washoku cooking class
• Meiji Jingu Shrine, Harajuku & Shibuya Crossing
• Future Care Lab (SOMPO Care) visit
• Miraikan Museum (“Park of Aging” exhibit)
• Zazen meditation with a monk at Tokyo Zen Center
• Lunch at the “Café of Mistaken Orders” (staffed by individuals living with dementia)
• Sugamo Jizo-dori Shopping Street (“Grandmother’s Harajuku”)
• Rajio Taiso (Radio Calisthenics) with local seniors at Ueno Park
• University of Tokyo Museum of Health and Medicine
• Day trip to Kairakuen Garden (Mito Plum Blossom Festival) via bullet train
• Guest lecture on dementia care in Japan
• Dementia Care-Fit visit at a local elderly care facility
• Imperial Palace East Gardens tour

*These activities are subject to change based on availability when booking.

To apply: Please click on the “Apply Now” button in the overview section and fill out all of the information requested.

Application deadline: ​​​​​​​October 15th
Decision date: October 16th
Deposit: $575 (non-refundable) due by November 1st to hold your place in the program.
Final payment deadline: $4,025 by spring tuition and fees deadline

PSY 281 –Special Topics: Brain Health & Alzheimer’s Disease

3 Credit Hours

Course Description

This course aims to explore the impact that lifestyle factors (diet, exercise, stress, sleep) have on our brain and on us as a whole (in both diseased and non-diseased persons). This semester will also involve studying Alzheimer’s disease and dementia through a cultural lens, comparing and contrasting how the United States deals with those with dementia compared to a country like Japan, that has a much lower rate of dementia (and arguably, quite a healthier way of living). We will begin the semester by exploring Alzheimer’s disease (AD) (what it is, the effects of AD in humans, mouse models, and treatments), introduce topics of diet, exercise, stress, and sleep and how these impact brain health and how culture can shape these factors, and finally, we will compare and contrast dementia-care in the United States and Japan. Spring break will involve travel to Japan where we will use this information participating in activities and events that allow us to note how brain health can affect mental health and dementia among the young and old alike. Once we return from Japan, we will continue applying what we experienced through continued article readings and discussions and participate in reflections on current and future habits/behaviors that can affect our own lives.

What is included in the program fee: 

• Airfare
• Meals
• Lodging
• Transportation in country
• Entry fees and required activities
• Study Abroad application fee
• International Insurance

What is not included in the program fee:

• Tuition*
• Souvenirs
• Transportation to and from the ATL airport

*Tuition is dependent upon your current enrollment and your colleges tuition fees for the semester of your program. If you are enrolled as a traditional undergrad on the Macon campus, the 3 credits for this program will go towards your overall 12-18 credits for the semester and will not create an increase in tuition cost as long as your overall amount of credits (including this 3 credit course) does not go over 18 credits.

Scholarship opportunities:

• Gilman Scholarship*
• ​​​​​​​Fund for Education Abroad

*Please contact Bryan Johnson, the Assistant Director of Global Education, before applying to the asterisked scholarship opportunities at johnson_mb@mercer.edu.