When I applied to Obubu, I had two main passions brewing inside me: tea and Japanese culture. I also wanted to deep-steam myself in the Japanese countryside, far away from the gaijin trail.
I pictured myself Zen-handpicking leaves on misty mountains… next thing I knew, I was in the trunk of a keitora, riding 90 degrees up a hill through the forest, then operating a harvesting machine in blazing heat.
The internship taught me multitasking: one hand cutting bamboo with a kama, the other hand swatting suzumebachi, the third hand… wait, where did that come from?
By sweating through the full journey from leaf to cup, I learned tea is way more hardcore than it looks.
I’m forever grateful to the Obubu staff, AMs, and senpais for welcoming me in as a clueless sprout and helping me grow. And of course to my fellow kouhais with whom we withered together in the fields, rolled out on countless missions, oxidated under the same roof, dried our clothes and tears side by side, and brewed bonds that will never fade.
Future interns, don’t be chai, apply! This place will oolong stay in your heart.