Chuah Kwai Pin / 0348376
Intercultural Design / Bachelor of Design (Hons) in Creative Media / Taylor's University
Study Trip Reflection
REFLECTION
The study trip to Tokyo, Japan might be my most memorable moment of the year. Throwing back to the few days before we left to Japan, I was quite nervous and underprepared because this was my first time travelling without my family members. There were a lot of things to think about, like how much should I pack? Are my clothes warm enough? How much cash should I bring? Do I have everything I need? It was nerve-wrecking to do all the thinking and packing a few days before, but now that I think back to it, it makes me miss that moment even more.
As we were gathered in the airport, the baggage check-in went by smoothly and in no time we were already waiting to board the flight. Honestly, I was worried at first because I used to not handle airplanes very well and I would get headaches at the smell of food. Fortunately, my condition was well and throughout the 6 hours long flight, I was able to catch my wink of sleep. As soon as we arrived in Japan, we were separated and brought to our respective accommodations. At the sight of the exterior of W-Inn, I like that it had very bright lights that differentiates its place from other shops. The owners were also very kind and welcoming, and they even gave towels and toothbrush for each and every one of us. What shocked me was that they even have a halal food guide for Muslims, which was very considerate and inclusive of them. When we got our room cards and headed to our room, our first reaction when we opened the door was "Oh, wow". Surprised, not at how cozy it looked, but more of how narrow the walkway was. Not to mention there were 12 of us sharing that room and our huge luggage just could not make it into the storage area. That first night I felt so sorry for the strangers who shared the room with us because it was so late and we were making so much noise (unintentionally from all the unpacking).
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| Fig. 1.1 Places we have visited |
For the rest of the days, we went according to our planned itinerary like visiting Sensoji Temple, going to TeamLab Planets Tokyo, visiting Mori Art Museum and more. It was very enjoyable, and I genuinely immersed myself in the museums and art exhibitions that they had. Maybe because I personally do not visit art galleries that much in Malaysia, but for the first time in Japan, I felt moved and inspired by the artworks that the artists have carefully crafted with their own two hands. I remember thinking to myself that I should probably visit art galleries and exhibitions more when I return to Malaysia.
Besides our planned itinerary, we also had a lot of time on our own to do our data collection for our group project. Since my group is doing Japanese Calligraphy, it was relatively more convenient to gather data like pictures and videos because you can see it everywhere on the streets, shops, temples and subway stations. It was quite interesting to me how widely used Japanese Calligraphy still is today, because I was expecting to only find it in smaller areas rather than big city streets. By the first few days of the trip, we already had a lot of data collected. We also visited a Japanese Calligraphy Museum so that we could really do more in-depth observation and study on the free-flow calligraphy and also read into some of the history behind it.
Throughout the whole 6 days and 5 nights, I have made countless memories and met a few new friends whom I have never talked to before the trip. We have also heard many wonderful stories from our friends that kept us laughing from the start to the end of the trip. On freezing days, we shivered and huddled together to battle against the icy wind that was never felt before back in Malaysia. I like that we got to explore as much as we wanted, and although being in a foreign country without knowing how to speak their language has its disadvantages, I am glad that we were able to navigate and safely bring ourselves back to our accommodations every night. All in all, it was an unforgettable trip and I would definitely want to go back again if I had the chance to.
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