2013.09.13 A Lifelong Dream Come True: JENESYS 2.0 (First two days in Japan)
People who are closed to me would really know that I'm head over heels for JAPAN particularly to their soft power called "Japan Popular Culture". The soonest I came to know about JENESYS 2.0 through a friend who shared it on facebook, I immediately contacted one of my professors asking permission from her to join. She then recommended me to get in touch with our department chairperson and luckily, my college department allowed me to apply for the said program!
Along with all the requirements including the recommendation letter my department chairperson wrote for me (Thank you so much, Ms. Gigi!), I personally passed them at NCCA's office last August 30th. Right after two days, I got a call telling me I was up for an interview!
During the interview, I opened all about my love for Japan and for their culture. I expressed that Japan has lying cores and values that make them very unique. I PASSED THE INTERVIEW!
We had an orientation three days before our departure at NCCA. They explained the do/s and don't/s.
So now, I'll talk about my first two days in Japan!
All the delegates met at NAIA near WOW restaurant at 11:30pm.
We departed the plane bound for Narita International Airport at 2:20 PM. The flight took about five hours! We were shrieking when we landed! While walking towards the immigration, SMAP x SMAP was screening on the TVs in Narita's airport lounges! Oh the joy I felt while seeing it! The process in the immigration office was so fast compared here in the Philippines. Yes. Also on how we got our luggages was really fast! Talk about right on time in Japan! After getting our luggages, we lined up at the foreign exchange so we could exchange our dollars with yen. After exchanging our money, we immediately boarded the bus to take us to Hotel Nikko Narita.
Before checking in at Hotel Nikko Narita, Chiba, we were oriented at the bus about what to expect on our next days in Japan. We were given our JENESYS 2.0 IDs!
We rested for a while right after we checked-in. We took a stroll around the hotel and just checked the area after we took a rest. There was a ramen shop very near to the hotel but we didn't get to eat there unfortunately. We also visited the 7/11 just near the area. I bought myself candies since they're featuring some of my favourite artists in Japan.
Acchan and Kanjani8 for Japanese candies
Next day came and it was raining when my roommate and I woke up!
Our view from our hotel room window
We had an orientation about what lies ahead of us in Japan on our 2nd day. We got to meet delegates from other countries and also got to meet our coordinators.
I saw MatsuJun at Lawson's hihi
I also saw Perfume while watching TV! I literally had goosebumps! huhu <3
The orientation proper
After the orientation proper, each group had a meeting. We introduced ourselves and we got to know each delegate bit by bit. I also volunteered to take all our temperatures every morning to check if each delegate is amenable to work for the day. My first friend was Mizael, a delegate from Singapore! Surprisingly, we have a common friend named Koji-san who's also a Perfume fan which was amazing! We had dinner afterwards.
During our free time, I accidentally went to AEON shopping center. Accidentally since I thought my roommate left me for the mall! Haha I couldn't find her at our hotel.
So at the mall, I shopped for some JPOP goods! OH YESSS MY HEART WAS VERY JUMPY WHILE GOING AROUND HMV. I WAS SO SO SOOO HAPPYYYY! IT WAS A VERY RIGHT TIMING SINCE IT WAS ALSO THE RELEASE OF PERFUME'S NEWEST ALBUM, LEVEL 3! I found out that CD/DVD releases in Japan comes a day early before the official release! Same goes with magazines. Magazines are a month earlier than the official release! Way too early, Japan!
Johnny's section at HMV
I'll post the other entries in the coming days.