Five of our students (Germaine Foo, 404; Ng Xin Yi, 404; Guan Keer, 401; Desiree Tan, 404; and Guo Shuhan, 404) were selected to participate in the Sakura Immersion Programme organised by the Japan Science and Technology Agency in Japan from 31 July to 4 Aug.

Here, they share with us a few key highlights and interesting aspects of the programme.

What were memorable aspects of this programme?

The workshop by Professor Jin Akiyama was really fun and interactive. One of the most interesting things that was demonstrated was how soap bubbles could present the shortest way to connect different points on the same plane. It was a truly amazing feat – Even computers have a hard time calculating a way, yet something as simple as soap bubbles could easily solve it.

Germaine

On the first day of the trip, we went to Meiji Jingu Shinto Shrine, a shrine dedicated to Emperor Meiji and his wife. Before visiting the shrine, our guides taught us about the customs practised at the shrine by the Japanese who believe in Shintoism and their beliefs. In Shintoism, there are many spirits and gods in charge of different things, like the wind and trees. Shrines are extremely common all over Japan. Many Japanese students come to wish for good grades or to get into a certain university before an important exam and that most Japanese go to Shinto Shrines at least once a year to make new wishes and exchange a special kind of lucky charm for a new one. To make a wish, believers toss a coin, preferably a five yen coin (which is considered lucky because of the hole in the middle) into an offering box in the shrine, clap their hands twice to signal spirits to come, bow twice and make their wish. As this was my first time visiting a shrine, it was an eye-opening experience to see the different rituals and how they are practised. I was fascinated by the purification ritual of using a wooden ladle to scoop water onto your hand to wash different parts of the body before entering the shrine.

Claire

The Tsukuba Botanic Gardens was also an intriguing place where I got to view many plant species that I had never seen before and read up on interesting information about their living conditions.

At first, I thought that this place would be similar to our very own Singapore Botanic Gardens. Yet, as I strolled around the area, netting different sections of the Botanic Gardens, I realized that it was quite a far cry from Singapore Botanic Gardens with a wide variety of plant species from all over the word with different climates. Hence, not only did I manage to view the native plant species, I also discovered many other world species in areas like the Temperate Coniferous Forest, Mountain Grassland Area and Aquatic Plants Area.

A key highlight of this trip would be the visit to the Japan National Institute of Material Science (NIMS). As part of our science-based immersion trip, the visit gave us a preview of groundbreaking and frontier research being carried out in Japan. We were given a tour of the labs and interacted with the researchers to get a better sense of what they do daily. This was a truly insightful visit and inspired me to pursue a science-related career. On the last day of our trip, we visited the Miraikan Museum, which translates to “Future Museum”. What intrigued me was their fresh way of presenting the exhibits, with a plethora of different scientific disciplines. The exhibit that particularly fascinated me was about the future of medicine and biological engineering. Despite some exhibits being solely in Japanese, the interactive informative displays allowed me to better understand their purpose and function. Since this was our last day in Japan, it was particularly bittersweet as I had just started getting closer to the students from other schools and countries. The memories created and friendships forged will be something I remember, and for that I’m immensely grateful.

Xinyi

What were the highlights of this programme?

The tea appreciation ceremony at the Shibaura Institute of Technology Kashiwa Senior High School was an eye-opening experience to the gravitas the Japanese place on respect and ceremonial practice. We were first welcomed by students dressed in kimonos. They proceeded to host a tea appreciation ceremony for us where they served a traditional Japanese sweet known as wagashi and freshly brewed matcha green tea. A student taught me that I should turn the tea cup so that the designs would not be on the drinking side – that was one of the enlightening aspects I learnt about tea ceremony etiquette in Japan.

Who did you interact with? What did you learn from them?

I learnt from Ms Sachiko that names ending with ko (meaning ‘girl’) are likely a reference to older Japanese women 👵 as they are considered the more traditional Japanese names while current ones have more western sounding names.

A girl named Beya from the Philippines shared with me about how everyone from that delegation was from different provinces and spoke in different dialects but they were still  able to communicate with a shared national language. It struck me how language is a crucial element to forming connections and overcoming other cultural or geographical barriers.

Germaine

Were there any challenging situations you encountered? How did you overcome them?

It took a while to break the ice due to our language barriers. However, we were able to make the most of our conversations by finding different innovative ways to communicate and interact with one another!

How would you best describe your experience to others?

I would say that my experience was truly a unique and enriching one. Although this programme is hosted in Tokyo, Japan, we got to interact with many other ASEAN countries’ students. Thus, while being exposed to the Japanese culture, we also had the opportunity to learn about many other countries’ cultures. Even though this was only a one-week programme, we greatly benefited from all the interactions, activities and exchange of ideas. Such an experience is surely one that I would remember and appreciate forever.

Xin Yi

How have you grown from this experience?

This learning journey educated us on the importance of cross-cultural sensibilities when interacting with people from different cultural backgrounds. We also forged numerous friendships and unforgettable memories.