My visit to Japan was everything I had hoped for and more. From the moment I boarded the ANA flight headed towards Narita airport, I experienced a stark change in my surroundings. The people were highly courteous; my surroundings were well-kempt, and best of all, every need of mine was taken care of. Needless to say, as soon as I landed, it felt like I had been transported to a different world altogether!

I was apprehensive about the culture shock and the language barrier I thought I would experience. However, to my delight, I found the people in Japan extremely accommodating and friendly - starting with my hotel staff, who went out of their way to help me complete my PCR test by translating the instructions to English, to the “conbini” staff, who helped my buy my first “onigiri” and “bento” box, and even the daily passengers on the Tokyo metro, who helped me out when I inevitably got lost in the Shinjuku station! Yes, I have picked up quite a few Japanese words, phrases and mannerisms, and I love to use them every now and then.

My internship introduced me to cutting-edge research currently being conducted in the field of Computational Social Choice. My advisor, Prof. Ayumi Igarashi, was one of the kindest and most brilliant people I have ever met. She went out of her way to help me get familiarised with the lab and the institute and introduced me to the different places around my workplace that I could visit in my leisure time. I am also highly grateful to Tomohiko Yokoyama-san from UTokyo, with whom I closely collaborated while working on the research problem! We also went out for lunch and dinner every now and then. My problem statement was fascinating, and we were able to make decent progress during my ten weeks in Tokyo.

In my free time, I used to go out to different meetups to meet new people. I made many friends, not only from Japan but from other parts of the world like Germany, Portugal, France, Chile and China! I fell in love with Shibuya and went to many music events in and around the place every other weekend. Akihabara had its own charm for me, being the Mecca of manga and anime culture, and me being an enthusiast.

I took the last few days to travel as much as possible around Japan. I visited Nagoya, Osaka, Kyoto, and Hiroshima and even took a ferry to Miyajima island. Travelling alone was an eye-opening experience for me. I got to meet people from diverse backgrounds, immerse myself more fully in Japanese culture, and ride the fantastic “shinkansen” (JR Pass to the rescue)! 

All-in-all, this was a once-in-a-lifetime experience for me, and I sincerely thank the Honda Foundation for making this dream of mine a reality. 

Arigato gozaimashita!