Opening doors to my future in Japan

I heard about The Intern Group (TIG) from a friend at university who did an internship in Shanghai the previous year. He got me interested in the opportunity to take a summer internship abroad, so I looked further into TIG to find that I had to option to take up an internship in Tokyo.

As an English-Japanese bilingual living in the UK, I had the thought of working abroad in Japan lurking in the back of my mind. Hence, I took up the opportunity to undertake an internship in Tokyo, so that I could get a taster for what work and life are like there. TIG was very helpful in helping me secure an internship, organising interviews and such with various companies, and I eventually settled on a small start-up company called TRINUS. As TIG knew I was fluent in Japanese, they matched me up with TRINUS and it was just as well because my interview was in Japanese. Luckily enough for me, I was just the right person for the job and I was accepted as an intern.

The job at TRINUS
TRINUS is a small start-up company founded in 2014, and it operates as a fabrication-less manufacturer. The company works to bring together under-utilised manufacturing technologies, designers and end-users to produce a variety of unique products which make the most of Japanese technology.
TRINUS is a small company with only 10 employees, none of whom speak English. As a result, it was my job to help expand the global reach of the company as an English-Japanese bilingual. My role was quite varied with me doing things such as:
• Welcoming visitors for meetings
• Answering the phone in Japanese and English
• Writing and replying to customer emails in English and Japanese
• Visiting clients to present sales pitches
• Visiting expos at Tokyo big site
• Taking care of the company's Instagram and writing bilingual posts every day.

The job is a bit of a departure from my usual line of work as a mechanical engineering student however, it's just what I was looking for to get a taste of Japanese work. The job has helped me out with my translation skills and mannerisms when dealing with Japanese clients immensely, preparing me for my future in Japan. The people at the office are great too and we've spent time outside of work doing things like seaside BBQs, playing football, visiting onsens etc. All in all, the job was great, just like the people there.

Housing
I stayed in a share residence on the outskirts of Kanagawa prefecture, about an hour away from central Tokyo. It was a very fun place to be as there was a healthy mix of people, foreign and Japanese. I was a bit of a bridge between the two demographics as a bilingual, and it was great fun because it meant I got to know everyone pretty well. The house itself is very clean and spacious and is generally a fun place to be.

Events
TIG organised a variety of events from going up the Tokyo Tower to Fuji, izakaya trips and sushi-making and more. My favourite events were the more outdoorsy ones such as going river swimming as it makes a nice change from the city.
I also made quite a few Japanese friends outside of TIG and the things I got up to with them were great too. I got up to things such as going to beaches, going snorkelling and going to Comiket.

The internship has been great as it has opened up a door to a future in Japan for me. It has helped me make connections with a variety of companies in Japan, along with connections with people who I'm likely to stay friends with for a long time to come.