GEC2024: An Experience Worth The Wait!

By Rohan Sharma—GEW Coach in 2021

Hi there! My name is Rohan Sharma—I joined GEW as a Coach in 2021, a Leader (online) in 2022, and a Leader for last year’s in-person 2023 program! Here’s a bit about what each week was like for me last summer, kind of like a travel log. I know it would have been something I would have found helpful before coming to Japan, so hopefully it can help you too.

My Experience Before Week 1:

Pre-program, I traveled with three of my friends for 10 days total. Last year (when the program was virtual), we had all worked together on the same team. Three of us were Co-Leaders, while one was a Coach in our homeroom. All four of us were Leaders this year, and we split into two Co-Leader pairs for the program. So, we wanted to travel as a group before the program started! 

We went to Osaka (4 days) and Kyoto (5 days), with a day trip to Nara and one night in Tokyo). It was a great experience and helped us get adjusted to Japan (and the jetlag). Osaka was amazing, especially for food, but Kyoto stole my heart and very quickly became my favorite city of all time. Vivid memories including climbing Fushimi Inari, exploring both famous and hidden gem temples, and trying incredible food experiences like a riverside omakase and nagashi soumen—and doing so with my friends— will stay with me forever. We ended our trip in Tokyo so we could arrive in time for training.

Two weeks before we met our first students, all Leaders got together in Kichijoji (one of the best suburbs in Tokyo, in my opinion!) for a week of Leader Training. This week of training was followed by a week of Coach Training in the main Shinjuku Toshin Building, where Leaders, Staff, and Admin all worked with Toshin staff to help Coaches prepare for the program. We also joined the Coaches on a trip to Odaiba to the Disaster Training Centre (which was incredible—an unbelievably real physical recreation of several scenes out of natural disaster events like earthquakes to train us on how to respond!).

Week 1: Starting in Shinjuku

Where I was: Tokyo – Shinjuku.

Who I was with: My whole team, plus several other teams, split over two floors.

How the school experience was: Pretty big, but a well-oiled machine. Having the chance to meet with Staff members, Admin, and other key Toshin-side folks (like Bill, who you might have met via interview!) was really nice and helped the whole program feel cohesive and friendly. I missed hanging out with some of our friends who went to other locations, though! All of the Leaders seemed to feel the same—we had so much fun together we wished we had more time to hang out during the program!

How the city was: I love Tokyo. Overall, I actually spent a little over a month in Tokyo over the summer, including pre- and post-program travel, and I still feel like I haven’t even scratched the surface. I’m excited to spend some more time this summer in Tokyo!

Any notable events: We lived in a share house in Kiyose, where we met and quickly became friends with Japanese nursing students who were also living there. Our house had an informal house party (suggested by the nursing students) where we all brought snacks, talked about our favorite songs, played some card games, and generally had a great time (even if communication really tested my fledgling Japanese skills).

How I felt about the week overall: It was our first week, but our whole team worked together very well. We had set some clear expectations and within a few days, everyone had adjusted to find their way of working with the students. I felt very lucky to be part of such a great team and it was so sweet seeing students bond with each Coach (and even us Leaders)

What I did outside of the program: So much! Whether it was visiting a very crowded summer festival in the middle of one of Tokyo’s most popular wards, trying out different kinds of sake in Shibuya at a hidden spot with one of the former Toshin staff who we meet online, going out for sushi by Kabukicho, or hitting up an izakaya near Omoide Yokocho, I got to see and experience all kinds of things around the city with all sorts of friends.

Week 2: Idyllic Nara

Where I was: Nara, near Osaka, in a hotel at the heart of the town! Nara is famous for its deer in Nara Park, its sweets, and some historic structures/shrines.

Who I was with: Three of our team’s Coaches, in a small venue outside Nara.

How the school experience was: This school felt like a dream—it was literally the stereotypical Japanese high school, with all the nostalgic charm you would expect. When I was at university, I would often watch anime with my friends that was set in a Japanese high school, and this was exactly the setting you’d find in a slice-of-life show. The staff at the school were all very kind, and the Toshin staff would drive us home almost every day. 

How the city was: Nara was a sleeper hit for me. During the week, we ended up settling into a comfortable routine—we’d get coffee from a conbini and then meet at the bus stop (or some of us would sprint to the bus stop if we were running low on time), we’d quietly chat or share headphones to listen to music together on the bus ride, we’d eat our breakfast as students trickled in, work with the students until lunchtime and then walk to the nearest conbini to pick up food and some snacks to share with the students, drive with our Toshin staff member home, and then go out together to a new dinner place every day. And each day, we’d have something fun to do: we went to an arcade one day, to one of Nara’s famous sweet shops the next, stayed in and hung out in one of our rooms after—we even got a segment made about us by NHK reporters that aired on national television! In this way, we got to experience Nara in a completely different way than a typical tourist would—my visit to Nara pre-program was completely different from my experience working and living in Nara this week. 

Any notable events: We were interviewed by NHK reporters for a section on the Global English Workshop program that aired on the news! That was mildly stressful as a Leader but the staff helped and it was more focused on the students (who were all so comfortable on camera! So cool…). It was very funny to watch over it with our team, though—the start of many a meme.

How I felt about the week overall: Despite some stressful moments, this was my favorite week in Japan by far. I made one of my closest friends (who I stay in touch with over FaceTime every few weeks and even visit in person when possible!) during this week. As a more spontaneous person who used to hate scheduled events, I was surprised to learn that a quiet, stable routine could be so incredibly enjoyable.

What I did outside of the program: On our day off, I visited Uji with one of my friends on the team, before meeting up with my Co-Leader, going to Kyoto for a tea ceremony (where I actually ended up spending some time with my now-partner!) and then meeting up with a few Leader friends in Kyoto for dinner before taking the train back home to Nara.

Week 3: Fast-Paced Fukuoka

Where I was: Fukuoka, in a share house right by the beach.

Who I was with: The same team as in Nara, plus three Coaches and a Leader from another team that were at our venue. The rest of my team was also in Fukuoka but teaching at a different venue.

How the city was: Fukuoka was beautiful- it had an amazing underground shopping mall, and the first day we got there, we all went to the beach. However, with everything that happened that week (typhoon-related rescheduling and a long commute), we didn’t get to see it much. I did enjoy having a whole-team activity where we went out to an arcade, dinner, and karaoke. Hope to go back someday!

How the school experience was: We were at the Fukuoka Acros Venue, which was in the middle of the city, but we had a very long commute into and out of the city that meant we needed to leave the city by 10 PM to catch the last bus. The venue wasn’t a school, but more like a room at a conference center. It was initially a little challenging to adjust to such a small and constricted space, but the students and staff were so helpful and eager to adjust that everything went very smoothly.

Notable events: A typhoon! It forced us to reschedule a couple days of the week to get around the train closures and set up alternative schedules, but we managed to make it through just fine and the typhoon did not hit us very hard. We did have to get to Tokyo a day earlier, though, so we didn’t see much of the city.

How I felt about the week overall: This was definitely one of the less exploration-based weeks and Fukuoka sometimes felt like a sleepy city, but I still enjoyed the week overall and I don’t think I would have gotten to experience the city without the program.

Week 4: Ending Right Where We Began

Where I was: Back in Tokyo, with our Week 1 share house friends!

Who I was with: The whole team, as well as a few other teams in Shinjuku.

How the city was: At this point, I’d definitely gotten the hang of getting around in Japan and made sure to pack the week with fun moments as much as possible before everyone left. I attended a concert by Omoinotake—one of my favorite bands of all time and one that happened to be playing at DiverCity Tokyo! We also did whole-team karaoke, another houseparty, several memorable dinners (including a birthday dinner!), the Tokyo Skytree, and much more.

How the school experience was: It can be challenging to be in a venue with so many people, but we made it work and ultimately, the students seemed to have a really fun and meaningful experience. 

Notable events: After this week, we had a full-program retreat in Chiba at a wonderful place (with tickets to an onsen, which was amazing). It was great to see everyone from the program again, and the farewell was bittersweet.

How I felt about the week overall: It was honestly a little sad to realize everything was coming to an end, and I put as much as I could into that week (and into planning my post-program travel, which unfortunately got derailed by me falling quite ill for the whole week). I really felt like I grew with the program (I also met several of my closest friends, as well as my partner, through this program) and it was genuinely worth every second. I finally got to spend time in the country I had been dreaming of visiting for years, and it was even more magical than I could have anticipated!

Closing Thoughts:

All in all, Come on Out Japan is the reason why I was able to have such a memorable and formative experience in Japan, and I’m glad to be able to return this year as a Leader as well. It’s a genuinely rewarding program with great people at every level. I’ve made countless friends and learned so much in my time with the program. Above all, working with such amazing (and adorable!) high school students brings so much meaning to my life. Hopefully, if you’re reading this, you can join the program for a summer (or two or three…) and see what it’s like for yourself! :)