Hello, I’m Alifah Ilyana. I’m a 3rd year student in the Industrial Chemistry Technology program. I’m one of the JENESYS participants from 27 Feb until 5 March 2024.

On my first day in Japan, after landing and getting off the aeroplane, everyone was shocked at how cold it was as it was the first experience for most of us. The temperature was around 6˚Celcius which is really different compared to Malaysia. After that, we had a Japanese language class. In the evening, we went sightseeing at Asakusa Temple. Did you know that most Japanese believe in Shintoism and Buddhism at the same time? This explains why the Buddhist temple and Shinto shrine could be in the same place together.

On the 2nd day, we went to Mirakan- the National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation. I feel like the 1 hour given to fully experience the attraction inside was not enough. After that, we participated in school exchange programs with the Tokyo Institute of Technology. We got to know students from there and played some games. We got a very cool design sling bag as a gift from them.

We travel to Fukuoka by plane on the 3rd day. The weather was not on our side as it was raining all day, however, we kept going with the plan. We walked to the Dazaifu Tenmangu Shrine and visited the Kyushu National Museum. During our time at the shrine, we got to witness the wedding ceremony held at the shrine.

On the 4th day, we went to Kitakyushu Eco-town center. We get to learn more about recycling projects, and how they make new products from recycled items. We got a pen that was made of recycled ocean plastic debris. In the evening, we all participated in a tea ceremony in Ashiyagamanosato. During the ceremony, they prepared green tea in a beautiful cup alongside a sweet dessert. After returning to the hotel, we all divided into small groups to meet our host family.

Me and my other 2 friends were grouped together, and our host family is Takahara family. Takahara-san were really nice to us. We get to eat really delicious home cooked meals. After dinner time, we get to try on kimono dress owned by Takahara-san. In the following day, Takahara-san bring us to goes sightseeing around the area. We also walked across the island through under sea tunnel which is known as Kanmon Tunnel. In the night, Takahara-san’s child and grandchild were back home to celebrate Hinamatsuri together. 

The next day was the farewell party with all the host family. At the party, we got to taste halal chicken that was prepared by the program. We performed “Rasa Sayang” song in front our host family and some of the boys sang “Blue bird” by Naruto. It was a joyous party. After that, we spent another night at Kyushu before traveling back to Tokyo for our reporting session. Our trip may have been short, but it was filled with unforgettable memories, and I hope that I will have another opportunity to visit Japan again someday.