I know it's been two years after the program, but since I'm a hardcore procrastinator and I wanted to share the story before I write another (or some other) blogpost about Japan, here it is.
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This post is dedicated to the 40th years celebration of East Asia Student Encounter (EASE) program, held annually by Satya Wacana Christian University (Salatiga, Indonesia) and Kwansei Gakuin University (Nishinomiya, Japan). I am very grateful to be able to join this program both in Indonesia and Japan. But before I jump to my story about what I did in Japan, I would like to give a brief explanation about what this program exactly is. So, as mentioned on the program name, EASE is a program that unite students from Indonesia and Japan. Members will stay together for two whole weeks and join some activities related to the establishment of good relationship between two countries, Japan and Indonesia. EASE will be held alternately every year, Indonesia for every odd years like in 2015 and 2017 and Japan for even years like 2016. To achieve the brotherhood and union of two countries, participants will be doing a culture sharing program, food sharing program, trip to some tourism destinations, paper presentation, homestay and many other activities so they could have a better understanding about culture of two countries. Participants are arranged to stay in one room contains two people from different country which will be changed every day, so they can also learn how to interact and be open minded to people with different background. I never really interested a lot into Japanese pop culture, neither to the traditional culture. My only interest is about the city landscape and the beautiful traditional architecture in Kyoto, other than that is just merely a knowledge. Inspite all, I took the opportunity to join the program, just because I always love to go travelling to many places and experience new things and this program is a way closer to fulfill my interest. Nearly after we finished the program, I fell in love with the culture and society which were bizarrely interesting and slightly different even though it is also an Asian country.
On my second opportunity joining EASE program, I visited Japan, as it always held in turns between Japan and Indonesia every year, with 11 other members and a lecturer. The trip started from August 21st to September 3rd, which felt too short for me. Well, it was a pretty exciting trip because it was my first time going to Japan and I've dreamt of going for years. And by the time it finally happened, I was just all excited and thrilled! So there we were, arrived in KIX early in the morning and directly went to KGU Uegahara Campus in Nishinomiya (approx. an hour from the airport). It was a really nice summer breeze which was not too hot and not too humid, slightly different from what I expected. The city was nice, it has the homey atmosphere, not too crowded and not too quite. What I love the most is how tidy and clean the city was, totally different from Salatiga. The campus itself shows the mixtures of modern and classical architecture, dominantly painted in brown. It gave me such a good first impression.
Oh, by the way, this blog post will not consist of my travel itinerary, transportation fee, accommodation price and food price because it was included in the program fee. So, I will only give a short brief about the trip plus my personal opinion about the country. Long story short, I didn't just stay in Nishinomiya but also visit some other cities like Hiroshima, Kobe, Kyoto and Osaka. Each of them has a special characteristic which were really astonishing. Among those cities, my most favorite city goes to Kyoto. It represents the beauty of Japanese traditional culture, implemented to the city landscape. Every little details in the building was amazing. I feel like thrown back to the emperors era by just visiting the village. Since the city becomes one of main tourism destination in Japan, visitors can easily find kimono rental and walk around the village plus take pictures in front of the famous Kiyomizu-dera. Another thing that I love from Kyoto is of course, matcha or green tea! We can find matcha everything and it taste originally like matcha, a bit different with matcha that I ever taste in Indonesia. I also loving the fact that everything is super walkable and just perfect for sightseeing.
Second favorite city goes to Hiroshima. I'm not really sure whether it was really my favorite city or it's just because my trip begun in that city, but a strange (yet beautiful, I don't know how to describe it) comes when I strolled around the city, especially when I visited Hiroshima Memorial Park and Museum, I can feel the atmosphere of massive destruction during World War II. It saddened me more when I saw the terrible pictures of atomic bomb victims. Regardless of what happened over six decades ago, Japanese government has successfully rebuild the infrastructures and brought the economy back to normal. All I can see now is the spirit of peace which being delivered to all people especially to foreigners who come to the city, so everyone can maintain those spirits to prevent another war happening in the future. I guess if you ever visit Hiroshima, it would make sense that the huge impact of how history was made through wars and defeats force us to learn and fathom that it shouldn't happen again now or in the future.
Also, my favorite thing in Hiroshima is the okonomiyaki (or Japanese-style savory pancake)! I found out recently that you can find two different style of okonomiyaki which are Osaka style or Hiroshima style. Since Hiroshima style okonomiyaki became the first thing I tried, I was quickly into that and it was just awesome.
The other two cities I visited, Kobe and Osaka were just like normal big cities I saw in other countries. Crowded and all you can see is shops and restaurants everywhere. The feeling you get is more like a westernized part of Japan which slightly dominates the Japanezy feeling. Or I can say that Osaka and Kobe best describe Japanese pop culture and stuffs like that. Not really my favorite, but I did enjoy it too. I spent some more time in Kobe because I had an opportunity to stay with a host family who live in Kobe. It makes me kind of more connected to Kobe rather than Osaka. On top of that, Kobe has this one part of the city called Kitano which is Westerners residence. It was so pretty especially with the gothic English-style buildings all around the area. Also, the port area was also a great place to hangout with some shopping malls as well so it's a on stop hang out place. As a bonus, I went to Himeji Castle with my host family. It's located just beside the city of Kobe so it was such a nice bonus trip.
Osaka, as I mentioned before, is a best description of Japanese pop culture which is more lively and young. It can be seen especially from the areas around Dotonbori where you can find anything quirky yet interesting.
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After all, the trip wasn't just merely a trip. For me personally, the trip became a really effective bonding time with my new friends whom now I call family. Spending the whole two weeks together with various heads was a real deal. It was also such a week full of drama, that I also wasn't able to endure even though I was the student leader that time. Nevertheless, memories were still being made beautifully and I still cherish every now and then. Talk to the people, both my Indonesian and Japanese fellas, hang out together and just tell each other our most favorite moment of the program is just feels amazing. EASE program made us understand how to communicate with people from different socio-cultural background. It teaches me more about how to be more considerate, respecting every ideas given by others, and tolerance despite all differences we have with other people. If life is an unstoppable learning process, that occasion might be one small step in a long-cycle of self-being.
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This post is dedicated to the 40th years celebration of East Asia Student Encounter (EASE) program, held annually by Satya Wacana Christian University (Salatiga, Indonesia) and Kwansei Gakuin University (Nishinomiya, Japan). I am very grateful to be able to join this program both in Indonesia and Japan. But before I jump to my story about what I did in Japan, I would like to give a brief explanation about what this program exactly is. So, as mentioned on the program name, EASE is a program that unite students from Indonesia and Japan. Members will stay together for two whole weeks and join some activities related to the establishment of good relationship between two countries, Japan and Indonesia. EASE will be held alternately every year, Indonesia for every odd years like in 2015 and 2017 and Japan for even years like 2016. To achieve the brotherhood and union of two countries, participants will be doing a culture sharing program, food sharing program, trip to some tourism destinations, paper presentation, homestay and many other activities so they could have a better understanding about culture of two countries. Participants are arranged to stay in one room contains two people from different country which will be changed every day, so they can also learn how to interact and be open minded to people with different background. I never really interested a lot into Japanese pop culture, neither to the traditional culture. My only interest is about the city landscape and the beautiful traditional architecture in Kyoto, other than that is just merely a knowledge. Inspite all, I took the opportunity to join the program, just because I always love to go travelling to many places and experience new things and this program is a way closer to fulfill my interest. Nearly after we finished the program, I fell in love with the culture and society which were bizarrely interesting and slightly different even though it is also an Asian country.
On my second opportunity joining EASE program, I visited Japan, as it always held in turns between Japan and Indonesia every year, with 11 other members and a lecturer. The trip started from August 21st to September 3rd, which felt too short for me. Well, it was a pretty exciting trip because it was my first time going to Japan and I've dreamt of going for years. And by the time it finally happened, I was just all excited and thrilled! So there we were, arrived in KIX early in the morning and directly went to KGU Uegahara Campus in Nishinomiya (approx. an hour from the airport). It was a really nice summer breeze which was not too hot and not too humid, slightly different from what I expected. The city was nice, it has the homey atmosphere, not too crowded and not too quite. What I love the most is how tidy and clean the city was, totally different from Salatiga. The campus itself shows the mixtures of modern and classical architecture, dominantly painted in brown. It gave me such a good first impression.
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| Kwansei Gakuin University, Uegahara Campus |
Oh, by the way, this blog post will not consist of my travel itinerary, transportation fee, accommodation price and food price because it was included in the program fee. So, I will only give a short brief about the trip plus my personal opinion about the country. Long story short, I didn't just stay in Nishinomiya but also visit some other cities like Hiroshima, Kobe, Kyoto and Osaka. Each of them has a special characteristic which were really astonishing. Among those cities, my most favorite city goes to Kyoto. It represents the beauty of Japanese traditional culture, implemented to the city landscape. Every little details in the building was amazing. I feel like thrown back to the emperors era by just visiting the village. Since the city becomes one of main tourism destination in Japan, visitors can easily find kimono rental and walk around the village plus take pictures in front of the famous Kiyomizu-dera. Another thing that I love from Kyoto is of course, matcha or green tea! We can find matcha everything and it taste originally like matcha, a bit different with matcha that I ever taste in Indonesia. I also loving the fact that everything is super walkable and just perfect for sightseeing.
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| Yasaka Shrine |
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| Higashiyama District |
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| Kiyomizu-dera |
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| Was able to try on yukata or the traditional Japanese clothes and walk around in that. So hard, though! |
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| Cold soba. Not really a fan but worth to try. |
Second favorite city goes to Hiroshima. I'm not really sure whether it was really my favorite city or it's just because my trip begun in that city, but a strange (yet beautiful, I don't know how to describe it) comes when I strolled around the city, especially when I visited Hiroshima Memorial Park and Museum, I can feel the atmosphere of massive destruction during World War II. It saddened me more when I saw the terrible pictures of atomic bomb victims. Regardless of what happened over six decades ago, Japanese government has successfully rebuild the infrastructures and brought the economy back to normal. All I can see now is the spirit of peace which being delivered to all people especially to foreigners who come to the city, so everyone can maintain those spirits to prevent another war happening in the future. I guess if you ever visit Hiroshima, it would make sense that the huge impact of how history was made through wars and defeats force us to learn and fathom that it shouldn't happen again now or in the future.
Also, my favorite thing in Hiroshima is the okonomiyaki (or Japanese-style savory pancake)! I found out recently that you can find two different style of okonomiyaki which are Osaka style or Hiroshima style. Since Hiroshima style okonomiyaki became the first thing I tried, I was quickly into that and it was just awesome.
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| Hiroshima Peace Monument. Was built to commemorate the tragedy and the victims. |
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| A-bomb Dome. The only original building left after the bombing. |
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| Crossed the sea to visit Miyajima Island which is very famous for its Itsukushima Shrine. |
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| Hiroshima-style Okonomiyaki |
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| Okonomiyaki in the making |
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| Tried out washoku as well! It is a full-set Japanese style lunch. |
The other two cities I visited, Kobe and Osaka were just like normal big cities I saw in other countries. Crowded and all you can see is shops and restaurants everywhere. The feeling you get is more like a westernized part of Japan which slightly dominates the Japanezy feeling. Or I can say that Osaka and Kobe best describe Japanese pop culture and stuffs like that. Not really my favorite, but I did enjoy it too. I spent some more time in Kobe because I had an opportunity to stay with a host family who live in Kobe. It makes me kind of more connected to Kobe rather than Osaka. On top of that, Kobe has this one part of the city called Kitano which is Westerners residence. It was so pretty especially with the gothic English-style buildings all around the area. Also, the port area was also a great place to hangout with some shopping malls as well so it's a on stop hang out place. As a bonus, I went to Himeji Castle with my host family. It's located just beside the city of Kobe so it was such a nice bonus trip.
Osaka, as I mentioned before, is a best description of Japanese pop culture which is more lively and young. It can be seen especially from the areas around Dotonbori where you can find anything quirky yet interesting.
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| Dotonbori |
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| Shinsaibashi. One of the longest shopping arcade in Japan. It's all tourist everywhere and a great place for shopping. |
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| Oyakodon |
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| Made our own chopsticks! Super cool! |
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| Ijinkan Museum in Kitano Area |
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| Ramen Taro. One of the best ramen I tried in Japan, and still become my favorite. The best part is that they give you unlimited kimchi for free and the marinated pork meat in the ramen. 一番好き！ |
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| Kobe Harbourland at night |
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| Himeji Castle |
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| Me featuring the whole member of my host family |
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| Tried out another washoku with grilled eel. |
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| Japanese style home dinner |
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After all, the trip wasn't just merely a trip. For me personally, the trip became a really effective bonding time with my new friends whom now I call family. Spending the whole two weeks together with various heads was a real deal. It was also such a week full of drama, that I also wasn't able to endure even though I was the student leader that time. Nevertheless, memories were still being made beautifully and I still cherish every now and then. Talk to the people, both my Indonesian and Japanese fellas, hang out together and just tell each other our most favorite moment of the program is just feels amazing. EASE program made us understand how to communicate with people from different socio-cultural background. It teaches me more about how to be more considerate, respecting every ideas given by others, and tolerance despite all differences we have with other people. If life is an unstoppable learning process, that occasion might be one small step in a long-cycle of self-being.
Here I'll put more pictures other things we did beside the trip as a proof that we weren't just go there to have fun but seriously do works too!
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| We cooked nasi tumpeng from scratch to introduce our Japanese friends what Indonesian (specifically Javanese) eat to celebrate important events, in this case celebrating the success and unending friendship of EASE. |
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| Culture sharing party. |
