A journey of peace, friendship, and growth: my Japan immersion experience

A few days after Graduation Day, from May 28 to June 4, 2025, I had the opportunity to travel to Japan with my fellow students and teachers for Ateneo’s Japan Cultural Immersion Program. Although it wasn’t my first time visiting Japan, it was my first time traveling without my parents, and it turned out to be an unforgettable adventure.

One of the things I truly admire about Japan is its culture. The people are incredibly polite, honest, and disciplined. They show respect by bowing, take cleanliness seriously in both schools and public places, and are known for their honesty and orderliness.

A highlight of our trip was our 3-day visit to Hiroshima from Osaka. We rode the bullet train- my first time- and I was thrilled! In Hiroshima, I was very excited to visit the museums. We visited the Mazda Museum, and it was so cool to see Mazda cars from past and present, as well as a replica of the future car of Mazda. We also visited the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum, which was very touching. There, we learned about the sufferings of the people because of the bomb explosion or the radiation from the bomb. We saw replicas of the bomb, belongings of the victims, last messages, pictures, and paintings created by survivors. It was a powerful reminder of the importance of peace.

We also visited the Hiroshima Peace Park, where I had the honor of leading the singing of Anima Christi and placing our paper cranes at the memorial. During this trip, we also got to learn Japanese calligraphy, an art form in Japan. We wrote the word Peace or Heiwa in hiragana. Another memorable stop was at Itsukushima Shrine, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, in Miyajima, where we saw three to four deer roaming freely. We also visited Miyajima Public Aquarium. The sea lion show was fun, and we even dipped our fingers in a fish tank where fish cleaned our hands by nibbling away the dead skin. After visiting Miyajima, I had a once-in-a-lifetime experience serving as an altar server at the Assumption of Mary Cathedral, a Catholic Church in Japan. 

One of the most memorable parts of the trip happened after Hiroshima. It was our visit to Notre Dame Seishin, a Japanese school. There, I made new friends and played traditional Japanese games with the students. My schoolmates and I performed one of the Philippines’ traditional dances, called “itik itik,” and we sang Anima Christi again. We also joined an English class, had lunch together, and even played dodgeball. We learned that Japanese students are responsible for cleaning their classrooms before dismissal so we helped them. We were also required to wear indoor shoes called uwagutsu. After, we had a prayer session in their Chapel to end the day.

After all of that, we had the chance to visit a very rare event in Japan, the Osaka Expo, which only happens every 20 years. I had a lot of fun exploring the different pavilions, like the Australia Expo and the Philippine Expo. Even though it was raining, I was still happy because we got to see the giant Gundam statue, which was so cool. After visiting most of the sites, we ended the day by eating my favorite food, ramen.

This immersion taught me many things. I learned to be more responsible for myself, from preparing my daily needs and managing my time to packing my own luggage. I even mastered the skill of sleeping anytime I could, since our days were packed with activities.

I want to express my heartfelt thanks to Mrs. Virgie Esteves and her team for organizing this amazing trip. Thank you also to all the teachers who guided and cared for us throughout the experience. They kept us safe and happy every step of the way. And thank you to my fellow schoolmates who made this Japan journey truly memorable. The friendships built and experiences shared formed a core memory that mark the end of my AGS journey, as I now soar into AJHS.