Step into Japan, where neon lights flicker like digital fireflies, ancient shrines peek through futuristic skylines, and vending machines can surprise you with anything from hot ramen to mystery toys—welcome to a city that never naps but always dazzles 

 

Global Friends, a student volunteer community affiliated with the International Affairs Cooperation Office (IACO), held an amazing event with a dynamic country on April 26th, 2025. 

 

We were met with 3 speakers who have been on a student exchange program at Sophia University, In Tokyo. They were IISMA Awardees who were enthusiastic to share their exciting experiences studying in Japan. Each speaker had  a unique story during their stays. From daily activities, learning about complex train systems, the ups and downs during their academic program, until experiencing local Japanese people and culture. Through this event the audience was expected not only  to be inspired to participate in an exchange program, but also to deepen our understanding of cooperation and broader relationships. 

 

Putri Nafisah Intani was our first speaker who lived in Yogyakarta for 23 years. She was an undergraduate student of the Faculty of Economics at Gadjah Mada University. She was fond of making content on Instagram or Tiktok and also  liked watching popular anime titled “One Piece”.

 

Intan invited us to imagine ourselves first. She showed a short picture of a manga. The manga tells a casual life in Japan, like waking up in the morning, opening your curtain, getting ready, walking on the street, going to the train station surrounded by businessmen or women and students. She mentioned how effective trains were in Japan as daily transportations. Train stations could be crowded with people during 7-9 am and the last train operation was at 11-12pm.

 

She had 2-3 classes every day and the class ran for around 25 minutes. The university provided some advantages for international students like art club or sports circle and volunteering. She actively joined social activities after class.

 

Intan showed us how public transportation like trains could be very busy. Japan's public transportation had become one of the most efficient, punctual and busiest in the world. Japanese people were seen walking fast and only focused on their own business. That place was very spacious, no wonder even local people could get lost. Japanese train companies provided comfortable features and rules. Fun fact, they had to keep a peaceful environment and not bother another passenger with loud voices. 

 

Japan had a modern payment system using contactless smartcards that can be recharged. The card contained e-money that can be used to pay for trains rides, convenience stores, or other payments.

Intan also gave some finance tips based on her experience. She decided to make her own meal instead of buying ready food at a restaurant or something. It could be another smart way to save your money, because a single main course costed about 50¥ up until 100¥. 

 

Asya Aulia Wulandari was also an IISMA Awardee at Sophia University. She majored in the Faculty of Liberal Arts at Riau University. During the program, she learned 4 main subjects which were nature and culture, introduction to Japanese art, development of Japanese civilization, and contemporary Japanese literature. Each subject has 2 meetings every week. 

 

Asya was very excited to tell us about the Japanese learning style. Before class, the lecturer wanted the students to read the material ahead of time. 

 

Japanese people had different learning cultures than Indonesians. They have 2 types of classes, Japanese majority class and international majority class. The Japanese majority class was more focused while lecture explaining material but the other one prefers discussion learning. 

 

Asya explained the study environment within 3 types. The first being lecture-based classes, in which the lecturer was more active to give explanations about the materials. Coming in the second type, classes with discussions-based environments. In which students separate into small groups, they have to discuss the topics from the lecture. Lastly, student presentation-based classes. The system was similar to what we were accustomed in Indonesia, however this kind of class was less common. 

 

Asya said the students frequently got writing and analysis assignments, in which they were required to write an essay. She mostly brainstormed for comparing two arts, analysing articles, and reviewing books. She really enjoyed the review books tasks even though it is really hard to get grade A .  They also had field trip assignments. She visited the Tokyo National Museum and encountered magnificent local works of art. After the trip, they had to compile a report assignment. 

 

Sophia University provided facilities that support student comfort. They had many canteens, sports, convenience stores, vending machine counters, a merch store, and a library. 

 

Our last speaker of the day was Pingkan Patricia. She was a student at the Faculty of Psychology at Soegijapranata Catholic University. She was very excited to tell about her experiences and life at Sophia University. She loved everything about Japan, especially J-pop.  She really liked writing a blog. She often documented and made vlogs in Youtube during her stay in Japan because she really adores solo travel. 

 

Sophia University supported a social life their student called “Bukatsudo” 部活動, it was similar to talent development in Indonesia. Even exchange students in Sophia University had their own club. Patricia followed some Global Network Activities to support her social life like Nihongo Cafe, which was a club where both local and exchange students could connect with each other. 

 

Patricia went through a bunch of friendship culture shocks. Japanese people have a habit of being organized, like their studies, work, and other things. Therefore, they would reject your invitation at the last minute. Patricia had to invite them to go out at least a month before. Unlike Indonesian people, most of us were easy to hangout with. 

 

Patricia also explained the challenges she and the other Awardees had to endure to pass the selection process. They had to fill an administrative form, got interviewed, and several other requirements. They got the long-awaited announcement some time after a few more selection stages. It’s not a short time for them. They have to go through periods of up and down. But in the end, a lot of lessons were learned and it was worth every last drop of blood, sweat, and tears.

 

She missed the feeling so much when she feels confused about choosing a place to go after the class ends or they are trying to understand complicated train systems. They also have mixed feelings when experiencing academic pressure from many great friends around the world, other students are very talented and ambitious academically.  They miss out on so many things in their hometown, like birthday party, and important events. The last thing that made them sad was that they had to say goodbye back to Indonesia when the program was over. 

 

Finally, this event closed with a Q&A session from the viewers who were still very curious about Japan and studying abroad. 

 

For those of you readers who haven't had the chance to engage with Intan, Asya, and Patty in the second chapter of Global Engagement, do not worry as Global Friends will have a bunch of interesting upcoming events in the near future. Stay tuned and follow us on our official Instagram page @globalfriendscu for more events like this one! Sayonara~ 🎏 🍡