NABIL'S JAPAN HOMESTAY REPORT I BY MUHAMMAD NABIL LANANG ALIMAN Hiroshima International Club http://www.hiroshimainternational.com/ https://www.facebook.com/Hiroshima-International-161098590624982/

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REPORT FOR
JAPAN HOMESTAY
MUHAMMAD NABIL LANANG BIN ALIMAN
MRSM Pontian
Batch 27 / January 2012
Tokyo, Japan

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
In the name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
First of all, I wish to express my gratitude to Allah SWT for His
guidance and also for granting me the strength and good health
throughout the homestay program (9 January – 19 January 2012).
Alhamdulillah.
I would like to thank my parents for financially
supporting and providing me with the opportunity to be
where I am. Without them, none of this would be
possible. They have raised me up to be a proactive, caring
member of society, and to treat others with kindness and respect.
Also not forgotten to my host family, Tsutsumi-san, for giving me such a good hospitality and
treating me as part of the family. My host family are wonderful. They made me feel very
welcome in their home, and planned a week full of wonderful activities for me.
My deepest thanks and gratitude go to the coordinator of Japan Batch
Homestay 27, Muhammad Khairul bin Mahidin for guiding us
throughout the program.
Any attempt at any level cannot be satisfactorily completed without
the support and guidance of my friends who helped me a lot in
gathering different information, collecting data and guiding me from time
to time in making this report.
Last but not least, I am very thankful to everyone who all supported me, for I have
completed my report effectively and moreover on time.

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INTRODUCTION
Hiroshima International Club (www.hiroshimainternational.com)
The Club was registered on 28th November 2008 with the Registrar of Society (ROS) and has
sustained development until today. The club was appointed by the Ministry of Education
Malaysia to conduct official International and Local Homestay Program due to their technical
know-how and vast experience in managing student, teachers and government servant. Up to
date, the club has managed to successfully conduct more than 20 batches of Homestay program
in Japan, Australia and UK. In the near future, the club is planning to expand the program to
New Zealand and Germany.
In the homestay program, young people from outside Japan can stay in Japanese homes
for a few days. They will be able to meet Japanese people in an informal environment while

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spending time with them as a member of the family. It also means that the host family gains an
access to a new culture through their young guest.
All host families are carefully selected, and most have some English ability. Families host
because they are interested in sharing their lives with a new family member. The Japanese hosts
are members of the Hippo Family Club; an organization they have joined in order to learn
languages and meet people from around the world.
Before meeting up with my host family, I had already received a very nice mail from the
club as well as a picture of my host family, but still I was pretty nervous as to whether I would
like them or vice versa. Fortunately all worries were quickly washed away as the whole family
turned out to be very, very nice. My host family always took good care of me, cooked great food,
introduced me to their families and friends and took me out for interesting trips. I loved to play
games with my baby brothers. They made my stay in Tokyo enjoyable and helped me learn not
only more about Japanese language but also the Japanese culture and their family life.
My Details:
 Muhammad Nabil Lanang bin Aliman
 MRSM Pontian
 Diploma in Nautical Studies, Akademi Laut Malaysia (ALAM)
 nabil_mkjb@yahoo.com
Program Coordinator:
 Muhammad Khairul Bin Mahidin
 Has years of experience in coordinating this program
 Participants called him sensei (teacher)
Participants:
 7 boys and 11 girls
 17 years old
 All participants had just finished their studies in secondary school

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KAZOKU – MY FAMILY
1) Foster Father (Otosan)
 Tsutsumi Kentaro
 Public employee
 Love gardening
2) Foster Mother (Okasan)
 Tsutsumi Mamiko
 Housewife
 Enjoy having Japanese teatime
3) Foster Brothers (Ototo)
 Tsutsumi Kensei (6 years old)
 Tsutsumi Kazuma (2 years old)
4) Email : jolierina@mail.goo.ne.jp

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ORIENTATION
To be in another country, we should keep ourselves well prepared with some knowledge
of what to expect and ideas about the country we are heading to. During the orientation, we were
briefed about the Japanese culture, their daily live activities, some basic words and greetings,
religious matter, dos and don’ts and et cetera.
The activities were as follow:
 Parents briefing
 Ice breaking
 Games
 Report task
 Travel plan briefing
 Nihongo (Japanese language) crash
course

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FIRST DAY
My watch showed 6.40 am when the plane touched the Narita Airport. (Japan is an hour
ahead of Malaysia). Farhana, whose foster family stayed near the airport, went first to be with
her family. The rest kept on moving after saying goodbye to her. We went to Chiba by bus.
Before we proceeded to the undersea tunnel, we stopped by at an island. The artificial island is
known as Umihotaru and the highway project goes by the name of Tokyo Aqua-Line, combining
central Tokyo with southern Chiba prefecture. Umihotaru is a parking and rest area which was
designed as a tourist attraction jutting out from the waters of Tokyo Bay. The tunnel from the
Tokyo side is the longest undersea tunnel in the world at 9.6km. Connecting Chiba prefecture
with Umihotaru is a bridge of about 4.4km. The whole thing took 31 years to finish. The view
was magnificent. As the place is at the seaside, the cold wind was blowing the mass of clouds off
toward Tokyo Bay, too cold for us to bear.
Then, we went to a building at Shibuya, Tokyo. There, we met Hippo Family members.
We had ice breaking and were given lunch there. They served us with so much food that we
could not finish them all. How generous were they! Then, we learned some origami and played

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games with them. I used my paper money (money bill origami) and transform them into hearts,
flowers, and more. Folding money is a quick and easy way to make a gift.
Then, we shopped at a mall nearby the building. At 4.30 pm, our host families came to
fetch us. Okasan and ototo came, while otosan came later as he was still at work.

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SECOND DAY
Early in the morning after we had our asagohan (breakfast), I followed okasan took
Kensei to kindergarten, just a walking distance from our home. Okasan, Kazuma and I then
visited a museum in the West of Tokyo: the Tokorozawa Aviation Museum. Tokorozawa played
an important role in the development of Japanese aviation technologies. It was in 1911 when the
first airfield was built in Tokorozawa and flight practices were held. The old airfield is now the
Aviation Park and the museum, which was opened to the public in 1993, is a part of it. Some of
the planes are outside the museum. Various types of helicopters and planes are presented in the
exhibition hall. I entered some of them to
take a look into the cockpit. Kazuma was
very excited and he led us all the way.
Kawai! (cute). A Japanese garden is in
the center of the park, with a pond and a
teahouse. We fed the ducks and had
lunch besides the pond. On the way back
home, I bought an adapter plug at Kojima

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Electronics Store.
At 3 o’clock, Babasan (grandmother) came to our home. We had some snacks and learnt
syuji (Japanese calligraphy). Like most artifacts of Japanese culture, writing entered Japan from
China about 1,500 years ago, and the art of calligraphy was one that was practiced by members
of the imperial Court, by monks, and, later, by warriors. It was closely associated with the
writing of poetry. Shuji is the skillful writing of certain characters in a way that gives them
balance and expression. It is not just writing a character on a piece of paper though. It is much
more than that. Each stroke has a proper way to begin and end and there is a correct order and
path to follow. It takes lots of time and practice to master, and it is essential to focus. The
slightest lapse in concentration will show in one’s work. It was rather difficult task for me but
fun; I learnt something new today.
Moreover, Babasan is
also an English teacher and her
English is impeccable! She is
also a good cook. She let me
tasted her homemade apple pie
and sweet potato. The pie was
so delicious, soft and sweet. She
did not stay for a long time.
After dinner at 1830, she said
goodbye to us. Otosan did not
join us for dinner as he had his
with his friends outside. At
night, my foster parents and I
had some discussion about my
program at the school tomorrow
morning.