Our flight left Manila at around 12:30 in the early morning and we were provided with one hot meal prior to our arrival to Japan. We arrived at Narita airport at around 5 in the morning. We then waited for our van to pick us up and we proceeded with our 2-hour drive to the town of Oarai in Ibaraki-ken. The first day was a flurry of events that I may have forgotten a lot of already. But let me try to reconstruct as much of what I can remember. We arrived in Oarai at roughly around 10 in the morning. The first stop was at the school's office to pick up some provisions that we will be given. We were provided with futons, dishes, basic household items, etc. After which we were shown to our respective apartments. We were dropped off and told to be ready in an hour, we will be picked up at around 1 pm. So we hurriedly unloaded our stuff and picked rooms. At around 1 indeed our teacher picked us up from the apartment for lunch. This was the first encounter I had with a Japanese s...

Around October or November of 2014, I was mindlessly scrolling around Facebook when I came across a page offering a study and work program in Japan. And, like so many times before, I just gave it a mindless try, thinking that it was going to end up like most of my failed endeavors of going to the Land of the Rising Sun. As far back as I can remember, Japanese animation has been part of the Philippine airwaves. With Voltes V and Daimos at the helm, not counting Bioman, Shaider, Ultraman and a few other shows I have forgotten, the Japanese influence can really be felt. But, it was with the early 90's animania that really left a mark in my young brain that I subconsciously pursued up until now. A little bit of history regarding my childhood: I became hooked with Japanese anime with the dawn of Sailormoon. Growing up, I was actually not allowed to watch TV except Friday nights and throughout the weekend. Screen time ends on Sundays, 8 pm. So fortunately for me, Sailormoon a...