Hope Springs Eternal

By: Joshua Miguel C. Danac

(This travelogue was published in the Features Section of the Central Scholar,
the official student publication of Philippine Science High School Central Luzon
Campus. It won Third Place in the 2015 National Schools Press Conference (NSPC) in
Taguig City.)

Japan, for most of us, invokes the image of greener pastures, afuture we could only hope for in the present- the land of
the rising sun of our hopes and dreams, so close yet tantalizingly out of reach. To see it with my own eyes and step on its
ground with my own two feet there was the mystical Japan of the East, of the famed anime characters my friends so
loved, of sushi and sashimi and all those Japanese flavors renowned throughout the world, of technological
advancements I could only dream of – and there I was.

There were eleven of us in this foreign land, a teacher and ten students, to spend a week of cultural immersion and an
exchange of knowledge and perhaps a little sightseeing last August 3-8. The Japan-Asia Youth Exchange Program in
Science, or simply the Sakura Exchange Program, was a week-long affair for high school students from nearby Asian
countries – the Philippines, Mongolia, Korea, Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia, Cambodia, and Thailand- to experience
Japan up close.

What struck me first was just how orderly everything was. Coming from a country where the concept of “Filipino time”
ran unabashedly rampant, the mere orderliness of it all was a welcome change. I witnessed that there were no excuses
for tardiness or mediocrity, no stepping out of line even down to the littlest rules. It seems strict, and it is but it is how
Japan works. The Japanese are very conscientious, always mindful of themselves and more so of their guests: always
ready to help, with a smile and a bow, from our facilitators and guides down to random people on the street whom we
asked for directions. They took great pains to make sure we were well cared for, and their meticulousness still brings a
smile of gratitude to my lips whenever I recall it.

The Japanese are even more commendable for their stunning progress. Broken and torn from World War 11, thus
resilient race, hand in hand, slowly rose to become the major world power the country is today. We were treated to
their amazing developments.

Japanese have revolutionized life across all fields of knowledge – submarines to probe the depths of the seas, novel
healthful cosmetics, sensors to detect earthquakes from miles away, energy from microalgae, powerful supercomputers
simulating the Earth – these are testaments to their skill, proof of the enduring Japanese spirit of innovation.

Another focal point of our trip was visiting Japan’s universities in and around Tokyo. They are sacred halls of learning,
where modern technology meets age-old knowledge. Seeing Filipino exchange
students biking throughout the lush campuses, students using advanced laboratory equipment and enjoying the
Japanese life outside school, I recall our own universities and schools back home- it brings more than one wistful
thought to mind.

One more highlight was the chance to hear talks from leading minds in the scientific community. Dr. Akiko Arima and Dr.
Toshihide Maskawa, both renowned physicist- the latter even received the 2008 Physics Nobel- shared with us students
their discoveries, and their reflections on science and education and life. It was an experience
that was truly once- in-a-lifetime.

By day, we toured museums and universities, but by night, we saw Tokyo for ourselves. The bustling city is a modern
Manila: with vending machines on every corner, city lights bright in the night sky, people going about their business with
Japanese diligence. It was hard to see how such a large city could be so neat, but so it was, running with Japanese
clockwork. The chance to eat at an authentic ramen bar, to see the local malls and shops, to visit the city’s mystical
temples- it was an immersion of culture that could only happen in such a place bursting to the seams with history and
diversity. However, seeing how in Japan, ancient culture does not give way nor resist but instead beautifully melds with
modern progress, I am filled with hope that someday, our own sun will rise in a brilliant dawn.