From the concrete jungles and shimmering lights of Tokyo, to staying in a traditional household in a rural prefecture and even trekking along Unesco mountainsides—the Jenesys 2.0 Project invited youth from all over Southeast Asia to experience the culture, society and tradition of Japan.
The trip was organized by the Japanese Overseas Cooperative Association (Joca), and our delegation was comprised mostly of tourism students from colleges and universities all over the Philippines, selected in coordination with the Department of Tourism.
Jenesys brings participants to several destinations, according to theme: pop culture, company visits, advanced technology, school exchange, homestay, environment and cultural experience.
We landed in Tokyo on Nov. 5, in the middle of autumn, much colder than what we were accustomed to, but nevertheless, everyone had appropriate clothes for the season.
Our first stop in the city was the Hotel Sunroute Ariake in the Koto District, where the delegates were accommodated and treated to a buffet dinner.
We were given the first night off to wander around the city, which we spent on trips to various supermarkets and convenience stores on a hunt for the fabled Green Tea Kit Kats and chasing after a gigantic brightly lit Ferris wheel that would later be known to us as the Daikanransha.
We were taken to Tokyo’s Japanese Travel Bureau or JTB Corp. Housed in the Multicultural Communication Business Tower, it is a large travel agency enterprise, responsible for arranging the itinerary of the Jenesys program and its participants.
Engrossed
The office is a busy corporate setting: cubicles all lined up and parallel to each other, employees dressed in long-sleeve
shirts and ties, glued to their telephones, computers, paperwork, or talking to clients. They were all too engrossed in their tasks to even glance at us. The discipline and concentration displayed by the Japanese office workers were both astonishing and admirable.
The famed technological prowess of Japan was in focus when we were brought to the Panasonic Center, conveniently situated beside our hotel in Tokyo. It showcases the latest and most advanced products the company has to offer, presented in an almost museum-like setting, with a guided tour to educate us on the various hightech iterations of the appliances.
However, the highlight of this destination was the RiSuPia, an interactive math-and-science museum within the Panasonic Center. Sandwiched between our trips to Nagano, the first of two pop-culturetheme destinations of the program was in Tokyo’s Odaiba. Nestled along the waterfront, it is a popular shopping destination, complete with stores and restaurants, with a scenic view of the Tokyo Bay, city lights, the iconic Rainbow Bridge and a scaled-down replica of the Statue of Liberty.
Akihabara was the second pop-culture destination, famed for its anime, manga and electronic stores. From the outside, the district appears like a collection of neon buildings; inside it is a labyrinth of shops selling mangas, animes, electronic gadgets and video games.
Upon our arrival in the Nagano prefecture on Nov. 7, we were greeted by students of the University of Nagano, where we were tasked to present a “cultural performance” in front of the local students—or in layman’s terms, we sang and danced to the tune “Piliin Mo Ang Pilipinas.” It was well-received, for a performance choreographed and rehearsed in only one night!
Our second day at the prefecture was spent in Ueda High School, in a setting very much reminiscent of an anime scene, from the demeanor of the students and their uniforms to the classrooms, the cafeteria setting, the sound of the bell signaling the end of class and just the overall atmosphere.
We were welcomed by students clad in happi, a robe traditionally used in festivals, who performed for us a heartwarming rendition of “Pusong Bato,” much to our delight, and gave us a tour of the neighboring Ueda Castle, the main base of operation of the Sanada clan during its war against the powerful Tokugawa army in the 1600s.
Hiking spot
A day before our return to Tokyo, we found ourselves in the Shiga Highlands, a popular skiing resort and hiking spot, the site of several events of the 1998 Winter Olympics. Donning ski suits to combat the treacherous climate and potential hazards, we trekked along the designated Unesco eco-park trails, a path that presented us with picturesque scenes of lakesides, lush trees and marshy grasslands.
As part of the environmental theme, we also found ourselves hiking toward a troop of snow monkeys dwelling along the rocky slopes of the mountain, playing along the gushing stream or going for a dip in the springs, if not fighting among themselves.
I could go on about the other activities, such as soba-making or trying mochi, but perhaps the best experience of Japanese culture and society in the most intimate sense was a homestay with the host families.
Immediately following our orientation at the University of Nagano on Nov. 7, we proceeded to a neighborhood center to meet our host families.
Divided into groups of four, we were assigned to our respective families, who took us to their homes. I cannot speak for the other delegates,but there was a clear language barrier early on.
Thankfully, this did not deter us from the experience, and was remedied with a little help from translator apps on
our mobile phones and a Japanese-English dictionary used by our hosts.
Our families doubled as tour guides of sorts, taking us all over town. Best of all, nothing says local cuisine better than the home-cooked Japanese meals they prepared.
The homestay also served as a platform for familiarizing us with Japanese customs. Even little things are observed, such as proper dining-room etiquette, like beginning meals with the phrase “itadakimasu,” an expression of gratitude, or taking off the shoes before entering a house and using the provided slippers.
It is one thing setting foot in a hotel bathroom and using the high-tech toilets, but it is another seeing the same thing in the humble abodes of our host families.
It truly was surprising to see in their homes and provided a nice contrast, blending technology and tradition.
Nothing could prepare us for the biggest culture shock of all: the public bath. Under the pretense that we were headed to a spa, we quickly realized that we were not there for a massage but to bathe among other people, with literally no layers covering us.
For us Filipino delegates, it was a petrifying start, especially the thought of disrobing together. However, once we rinsed and dipped into the hot spring, we no longer had a care in the world, as being submerged in a pool of hot water was an amazingly relaxing experience.
The Jenesys 2.0 Project is not just fun and games. At the end of the program was a reporting session, where we were asked to present our “Cool Japan,” a concept that the Japanese could potentially use to promote tourism in the country.
Though there were many participants pitching various aspects of Japanese culture and society, the majority agreed that the homestay experience offered the most potential to be promoted as the Cool Japan concept, owing to the multitude of other experiences it could give tourists.
The Jenesys 2.0 Project, a youth exchange program launched by the government of Japan, aims to revitalize the Japanese economy through the introduction of Japan’s attractions to foreign tourists and consumers by promoting international understanding. For more information, visit www.joca.or.jp/english/activities/jenesys20/
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