Voice From Alumni

I am Jaisurya from India, I joined the MPP/IP program after taking a 2-year study leave from my organization the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation, India. I am a postgraduate in Civil Engineering from IIT Delhi, India. I was born and brought up in New Delhi, India.

I had never traveled outside India and I am happy that my first exposure outside my country was living in the beautiful city of Tokyo. I find the warmth and kindness of the people of Japan the best thing about Tokyo. Whenever I was lost or wanted guidance in the busy streets of Tokyo, I was always helped and guided by friendly citizens of Tokyo. I also love the Tokyo University campus which is very beautiful and a wonderful place to study.

Before coming first time to Japan, I expected that most of the people would be wearing the traditional dresses like kimonos but I found it comparatively rare here and western attire is more common in Tokyo. In my country wearing traditional dresses is common. I find Tokyo a very modern and cosmopolitan place, which accommodates people from diverse backgrounds.

Among South east Asian countries, Japan is the most technologically advanced and its growth story is a model for other neighboring developing countries to emulate. Japan through its ODA and through JICA/JBIC has partnered in several infrastructure and development projects in India including the Delhi Metro Project. Thus, it was natural that I wanted to experience studying and staying in a developed country like Japan.
Being the oldest and the most reputed university in Japan, I have always felt that the University of Tokyo has contributed a lot to the growth and development of Japan by grooming and providing its illustrious alumni in the service of this great nation. Thus, I choose U Tokyo as my 1st choice as a place to study.

Japanese Culture was very new to me and I am still experiencing and learning new things every day. As soon as we arrived the University had arranged an International Students trip to Kamakura, Odawara, Atami, and Hakone in Kanagawa and Shizuoka prefecture. We stayed in a Japanese Style Inn and enjoyed Japanese dinner. I was very excited to learn about Japanese Culture and traditions. I also got opportunities to visit Buddhist Temples in Japan, I personally feel both Japan and India are great nations with very strong ancient cultural backgrounds and studying in Japan helps in learning and appreciating the rich cultural traditions of Japan. It also took some time for me to adjust to the time zone, since Japan is the land of the rising sun, the sun rises early and sets early compared to India.

I feel Japan is the best choice for students from India as in Tokyo one can experience both the rich ancient culture of Japan and also experience living in a modern city. The growth story of Japan is something which all of us should emulate and learn from, living in Tokyo would give you an opportunity to study and learn in one of the most reputed universities in the world and you would be able to network and make friends with people from many countries. Students and researchers will find the university of Tokyo a haven for carrying out the research under the guidance of senior experienced and helpful faculty, and would benefit greatly from the most modern equipment and infrastructure available in the campus. Compared to other cities in the world, Tokyo is also a very safe city for living and studying especially for young international students.