Waseda Visit Day 2 + send off
Day 2 started off with our JAC members greeting the Waseda students at their Mandarin Orchard hotel lobby. As most of the people in day 2 were new faces, everyone took some time to do some self-introduction to one another before heading off for our first itinerary of the day. Our first stop was at the world-renowned Gardens by the Bay.
With Gardens by the Bay and Marina Bay Sands being especially well-known amongst the Japanese, our guests were very excited to finally experience the exhibits. Despite the unusually hot weather, our JAC members and Waseda friends slowly made their way to the Supertree Groves while chatting up, getting to know one another, and of course, taking tons of selfies!
A short walk and some group photos later, the group reached the Supertrees! It was in fact a first time for not just the Waseda students, but for many JAC students as well, including yours truly. The height seemed reasonable from the ground level, but once we got onto the suspension bridge, we could really feel how high the structure was, especially with the bridge shaking to the windy breezes. The view was truly magnificent as we were blessed with beautiful weather, allowing us to see across the horizon and the entirety of the Garden.
After a long moment of enjoying the scenery and more photo-taking, we proceeded to make our way to Suntec City, passing by the Helix Bridge and Esplanade along the way. Many of the Waseda students were fascinated by the durian shape of the theatre, but little did they know that they would be faced with actual durians later in the day!
We soon arrived at Suntec City’s Kopitiam, where we were split into groups and introduced our own osusume to our Waseda friends. I personally recommended the handmade knife-cut noodles and xiao long bao to the students, while the rest stuck to Singapore favorites like Chicken Rice. After eating to our hearts’ and stomachs’ content, we went to the Fountain of Wealth, the biggest fountain in the world and one of the many world records of Singapore. We followed the instructions as stated which was said to bring more fortune and good luck to everyone, and it was a short but fun and cooling moment for everyone!
The group was then split into two different groups – a cultural group and a shopping group, and I was tasked with the former group. The cultural group first headed to Chinatown, where the students absorbed the sights and smell of traditional Chinese heritage and food, including durian pancake, which they surprisingly enjoyed despite the initial reaction to the smell, and of course, bak kwa! We visited several heritage areas such as the Jamae Mosque and the Sri Mariamman Temple, which were both one of the oldest Tamil mosques and Hindi temples respectively, and ended off the heritage trail by visiting the Buddha Tooth Relic Temple.
With some spare time left before dinner, we decided to introduce our guests from Japan to the real taste of durians! We found a durian shop in Chinatown and had the students try the D24 durians. All of them, Kabe-sensei aside, could not withstand the strong smell of durian, and after much convincing, they all braved the smell to try the durian fruit… and all but Naoki-san enjoyed the creamy flesh of durians! Sadly, they could not be converted and when asked later that night, they said they were done with durians for a while… :(
People were getting hungry again so we headed down to Marina Square for a Chinese dinner at Dian Xiao Er, where we were also joined by several ex-kaichous – Serene, Zack, Michelle, and Ryuu! Everyone enjoyed a sumptuous 8-course meal and had a hearty dinner with everyone sharing stories for the day and about each others’ lives in Singapore and Japan.
Once our stomachs were full, we went for a bit of a change this year! Incidentally, the Singapore Night Festival was being held on the very same weekend, thus we proceeded down to the Art Museum to experience the festival. But before we could forget, we presented to the Waseda guests our own omiyages and JAC T-shirts, which they were very grateful for, and some of the guys even immediately wore the shirts! Following the short gift presentation, we arrived at Bras Basah MRT and were greeted with a huge crowd, signs of a great festival ahead. It was here that the Waseda guests truly experienced a more modern side of Singapore – night markets and street performances filled with crowds rubbing shoulders while making their way around, vintage handicrafts and homemade snacks and many more. There were even light shows and song & dance performances for the whole stretch from the Art Museum to the Singapore Philatelic Museum, which very much lit up the entire night and let us soak in the modern Singapore experience. Several hours later of hanging out with each other, we bid goodbye to the Waseda friends on their last night in Singapore.
The next day was their last day on our sunny island, and of course, it is a yearly JAC tradition to send them off back to Japan. We greeted the two senseis and friends at the airport, and after many speeches and gift exchanges from both sides, we took many last minute selfies, photos and contact exchanges before waving goodbye to our dear Waseda friends at the departure hall, waving until they walked off at the corner.
Although it was a short time spent together, just like every year, it was another unforgettable moment to add to our long lineage and friendship, and it only made us look forward to meeting our friends once again in the near future. We would like to thank Kabe-sensei, Ooyama-sensei and all Waseda student friends for coming down to Singapore and continuing to forge a strong friendship between NTU JAC and Waseda. Finally, we hope to see them soon!
Post by Hosung Ryang
Edited by Leroy Lim, Kai Yeat
Photo Credits to Hosung Ryang, Kai Yeat