Journalism internship in the heart of Tokyo

I had thought about life in Japan for a couple of years before I finally decided to go there while on summer break form Uni. I remember I was a little bit too excited when I submitted my application.

I chose AIP mostly because other internship providers in Japan required you to be there for a specific start and end date which didn’t fit in with the allotted time given from my University.

My biggest regret was not taking the initiative to learn some of the Japanese language because I feel like I would have gotten a bit more of an immersive experience if I did. I was there for a grand total of six weeks before I even learned hello or thank you which I am pretty embarrassed about but realistically no one expected me to speak it.

When I stepped off the plane in Tokyo airport I was super nervous, I stayed in a hostel called Hop Step Inn for a few days while I looked for accommodation - a lovely hostel in a great location btw! I think this was one of my better ideas because I met some really nice backpackers from Germany!

I gotta admit that on my first day I was pretty nervous but I wasn't there a week before I felt completely relaxed. During my time there I created content for their blog and social media outlets and as one of the only native English speakers in the company I did a lot of proofreading and editing of the other staff’s work. I loved my work there and the staff are great people, I wasn’t expecting the responsibility of making my own promotional blog series so I was delighted with that. The other interns in the company who started a few weeks before me were some really lovely and helpful people!

Japan itself is an amazing place, the food was particularity amazing - my new obsession is jiggly cheese cake. The overall experience was well worth the trip!