An Internship Abroad: A New Perspective on Software Engineering

How I got Started + Onboarding

I first found HENNGE on LinkedIn after deciding to change the location filter to Japan while browsing internships. Over my college career, I had grown more and more interested in experiencing what it would be like to work overseas and immersing myself in a different culture. Having visited Japan once before, the idea of visiting not just as a tourist, but also experiencing what the work-life is like in a different country, excited me. HENNGE’s GIP job posting and the company itself looked really interesting to me, and so I decided to apply.

The application process was very unique. First, I had to complete a coding challenge and submit my solution as a HTTP request. From there, I had to then submit my resume as well as a cover letter before moving on to the interview process. I was put on the waitlist for the batch I applied for, but was luckily able to get off it after about a month!

Coming from the US, flights to Tokyo can be expensive. Fortunately, HENNGE helped reimburse my flight tickets. In terms of accommodation, I stayed at a sharehouse (Sakura House), as recommended by the HR team. Overall, the process from applications to pre-onboarding was a very smooth process.

First Night in Tokyo

Work as a GIP Intern

My GIP batch was a 5-week program, in which that work was split up into two different assignments: full-stack training and DevOps training.

Assignment 1 consisted of building out a Twitter clone. In my case, I was assigned to use Typescript as part of the app’s tech stack. Other technologies included AWS products such as S3, DynamoDB, and EC2. Over the weeks building the Twitter clone, I was able to learn a lot about web development, as well as how to use AWS tools in conjunction with both the applications frontend and backend.

Assignment 2 consisted of deploying the Twitter clone using Terraform. Previously, I had never had experience with Infrastructure as Code to this extent, so I was able to learn a lot about cloud architecture in general. Specifically, I gained hands-on experience using additional AWS services involved with deployment, such as Application Load Balancers, VPCs, AWS ECS, etc.

Office View

Life as a GIP Intern

While coding took up the majority of my time as an intern, there were plenty of new experiences, activities, and events to be had and take part in throughout the weeks in the office.

For one, I decided to take full advantage of Tokyo’s amazing public transport and walkable infrastructure, as someone who went to school in a car-centric area. This entailed either taking the bus to Shibuya Station and then walking to the office or walking directly there from my sharehouse, as the distance was little more than 3 kilometers, which translated to a 40 minute walk. The extra money saved would then be spent on mid-afternoon snacks at the 7–11 located on the first floor of the office building.

One of my favorite events as an intern was the GIP Lunch, in which interns would go out on a company-funded lunch with HENNGE full-time employees. Although simple in concept, the lunches were always something to look forward to. As an international company, I was able to meet and talk with HENNGE employees from a variety of different countries and backgrounds, learning about how they ended up in Japan and their experiences at HENNGE. Conversation topics ranged from anything, such as travel recommendations, to high-quality headphones that I should look into at Akihabara. Employees from any division can sign up for these lunches, which meant I was able to meet and learn what work is like from the non-engineering sides of the business at HENNGE as well.

Another special aspect of HENNGE was the activity groups that employees and interns could join. Called #fun-<insert-some-activity>-bu (short for bukatsu) on Slack, these joinable channels allowed HENNGE members to come together and hold events based around a specific hobby or activity. There were over 100 channels in total, ranging from activities such as eating spicy food to Gundam. In my case, I frequented the board game bukatsu, participating in weekly board game nights that came with a company-sponsored meal, and the ski/snowboard bukatsu, where I joined some of the full-time employees on a ski trip to Nagano.

Curry for GIP Lunch

Life as a GIP Intern (Outside Work)

Outside of work, I tried to take advantage of my time in Japan as much as possible by exploring Tokyo, sightseeing, and just trying new things. For example, after the workday, the other interns in my batch and I would try to get dinner at different restaurants around Shibuya. We were able to enjoy some delicious styles of Japanese food such as yakiniku, gyukatsu, and gyudon. Tokyo is also home to a variety of ethnic cuisines as well, and so I was able to try Thai and Indonesian dishes from the other interns’ backgrounds. We would also take advantage of the convenience stores as much as possible to stock up on snacks post-dinner too (the final rankings are 1st: Lawsons, 2nd: Family Mart, 3rd: 7–11).

On weekends, we would try to sightsee or take day trips to different locations around Tokyo. The first weekend, we kept it simple and went to see Tokyo Tower and visit the nearby parks. The next Sunday, we chose to visit Kamakura to explore its temples and the seaside. The weekend after, we went on arguably the most adventurous trip of our time here, waking up at 5:30 to catch a bus to try and see Lake Kawaguchiko and Mount Fuji. Unfortunately, due to a bit of poor planning, the one day of the week the weather called for snow, which meant it was really cold, and we didn’t see Mt. Fuji at all. On the bright side, trekking through the snow was a fun time and some of the other interns got to see snow for the first time.

Lastly, I was also able to go on an overnight trip to Nagano for a ski trip as part of the ski/snowboard bukatsu! One of the members of the trip had to drop out and I was able to take his spot. I hadn’t planned on going skiing during my time in Japan, but fortunately, the all-inclusive resort had all the equipment I needed for rent, as well as provided breakfast and dinner too. It snowed a lot during the weekend there, which meant a lot of powder and nice runs.

Day Trips

Conclusion

Overall, I had an amazing experience during my time with HENNGE and its Global Internship Program, from both a technical perspective as well as a non-technical one. On the technical side, I was able to learn and use new technologies and tools that will definitely be applicable as I continue my journey as a software engineer. On the other hand, the new experiences, along with the people that I met, made my time in Japan truly enjoyable and special. I can confidently say that I have never experienced an internship quite like what I did at HENNGE and encourage anyone thinking to apply to the GIP. My time at HENNGE has been memorable, and I am grateful for the time I had there.

Jeff, studying at Case Western Reserve University in the US, interned with the HENNGE Global Internship Program from January 16 to February 14, 2025.