Travels: Japan 2013, The Trip of a Lifetime

I was thinking of the perfect second introductory post for this blog, and my mind immediately flashed to the amazing Japan trip I had the opportunity to embark on earlier this year.
You see, I applied for this Global Enrichment Programme in my university UTP late last year. They said they wanted to recruit new committees for it's first oversea programme and exchange student programme with Tokyo University (which is ranked 7th in the world!) I went for the interview, had fun with it and thought nothing of it. To my surprise I was one of the 20 students they recruited, out of the 150 who attended the interview. :D

Of course I was ecstatic since this was my first time to Japan. But the work load was so tiring! We had to contact so many people for sponsors, including my dad haha. We did a Blossom of Japan Roadshow to introduce Japanese culture to our local students and I was in charge of every single photo shoot, poster, video and teasers ever made to attract students so that they'd come to our roadshow and contribute in our finances. We had to constantly show how much we wanted to go on this trip so that UTP would agree to sponsor us. And it was all worth it though when we landed in Haneda Airport on the 27th Feb 2013 :) 

At Asakusa

At Shibuya

 We visited so many places there from Asakusa, Ryogoku, Shibuya, Akihabara, Shinjuku, Yokohama and Kamakura. We did industrial tours and university campus tours, we got a feel of the Japanese culture and lifestyle that we always see on TV and the internet. We experienced lots of Japanese food and sweets, though it was a bit hard to find Halal food there. But the most priceless experience for me was probably the opportunity to take example from Japanese themselves and how they treated their guests and friends. The way they handled their work and their principles and ethics. It was a life changing experience and made me wonder, why can't us Malaysians be more like them? 

Ueno Park

Overall it was a great experience and it made me realise how little knowledge i have in myself compared to the wonderful Japanese students who guided us while we were in Tokyo. When i visited the labs and plants, it made me wonder...what else can i contribute to society if so many more opportunities lay in front of me just waiting for me to grasp them?

Yoyogi Jami (Mosque)

tasting oishii sushi in Tokyo!

Sakura tree blooming for spring

Hayato, Lester and Amin :)

The special video I made for GEPians of our trip there :)