Eliana Pisons
2023-2024 Tanaka & Green Scholar

After studying in Japan for a full year I have gained so much knowledge and love for Japan and Japanese culture. When I first arrived in Japan, I was extremely culture shocked but, in the best way possible. There are so many things I could talk about in this page it is hard to decide what to start with.

I started school very soon after arriving last September and I walked to class everyday while police officers waited by the path and greeted all the students. From morning to the end of the day, I would hear good morning and goodbye from them. This is one small aspect of Japan that I really value, yet I’m not sure how to categorize it so, I will categorize it as hospitality and service.

The biggest shock to me in Japan versus America was the impeccable quality of services. Whether I go to a fast-food restaurant, a fancy place, or the bicycle shop, I am helped with the utmost quality of service. This quality is something I highly respect and appreciate of the Japanese culture, and from this I learned that most things in Japan are done with serious attention to detail and respect. I felt like this was such a fine example of how people are respected within Japan and motivated me to give the same effort in activities I do.

In my school, Ritsumeikan University, I learned a lot more about Japan by taking the courses: Japanese Culture, and Kyoto and the Arts. It was fascinating to be in Kyoto with all the traditional and ceremonial aspects of Japan. I absolutely loved going to festivals and tried to go to as many as possible. In the beginning of the year, I went to the Kurama fire festival, and where I was living there were multiple festivals including a Yokai festival. At the end of the year, I also went to Gion Matsuri, which I the largest festival in Kyoto. It was so amazing to see all people, young and old, participate in the celebration of Japanese culture and tradition.

One thing I will absolutely never get tired of seeing are the shrines and temples that cover Kyoto. I love strolling through the peaceful gardens and ringing the bell to pray. The beauty if all the different architecture is fascinating and the mixture of modern-day city and older components is amazing in Kyoto. I can walk past a McDonalds and in front of it will be a famous shrine.

Of course, I love sharing all of these adventures with people and in my short time of being there, I have been able to make life-long connections with people from all over the world who had come to Japan with my same interests. It was amazing to share such wonderful experiences with people that I love. I want to continue to explore every inch of Japan I can with my next year of living there. As I am writing I am thinking of more and more things I want to share about my experience, which goes to show that it has been nothing but amazing.

The best part of traveling in Japan is the absolute convenience of the public transportation and far reach travel. It has been so easy for me to use the buses and train lines to go on short day trips from Kyoto to Osaka, Nara, Kobe, and Nagoya. I have also used the shinkansen so much and love how easy it makes traveling across the whole country. I have frequently used it to go to Tokyo with my friends and family and used it for my internship in Tokyo!

Through Japan I have also been able to make amazing trips to other parts of Asia. I took a trip to the Philippines and Indonesia during my spring break, and it was something I will never forget. It was so cool for me to travel with my friends to experience different cultures and to also connect with my Filipino roots. Traveling and experiences other cultures is so incredibly important to me and my values and being in Japan has made it easier than ever.

Besides having an amazing time traveling and playing around, I also utilized my time in Japan to connect with an internship that focuses on US-Japan relations. As of now, I am 3 months in on my internship with the TOMODACHI Initiative of the US-Japan Council. I have had an amazing time so far working with outstanding people who share my passion about US-Japan relations and cross-cultural communication. I have met so many Japanese and non-Japanese people and just recently completed one of my first big projects. Soon they will hold a summit in Tokyo where I will be helping for a few days, and I couldn’t be more excited. Before I came to Japan I was worried about getting English speaking internships while being abroad but there turns out to be so many opportunities for English speaking people.

I hope to continue my professional progress in Japan even after my current internship is over. Living in Japan for the past year has inspired me and certainly concreted my ideas and feelings of living here. I love traveling to Tokyo and being overwhelmed with the many events and people around me. I hope to live there later for a few years.

Overall, I really hope to target and focus on a career that will do business with Japan and values the US-Japan bilateral relationship. This past month I came back to my home in Virginia to visit my family and it is incredible to say, but I felt home sick for my home in Japan. I missed the fun activities, beautiful views and people, and most importantly I missed the food. In my mind this has just confirmed how much I love Japanese food. It also made me realize how I had created a home for myself in Japan and it will always be something I hold near and dear to my heart. I am incredibly grateful to the Japan-America Society of Washington DC for supporting me financially so that I would not be burdened by thoughts of money. Corny-ness aside, it has really been a dream for me and I couldn’t be happier anywhere else.

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