Color Your Shibuya Spring: Intern Stories at HENNGE
I’m not a stranger to Tokyo at all. It sounds like I am an old bird resident of this ever-bustling metropolis for decades. That’s just not the case. In fact, I barely started working in Tokyo as an intern this spring, and only for one month. However, I’m still confident enough to speak out, as I have experienced so much here this spring.
Spring is Coming, so am I
Why am I here? To answer that question, I have to roll back to last winter. I was looking for a software engineering internship in Japan, and HENNGE’s Global Internship Program(GIP) came into my sight. The program is done in English and there are subsidies. I did some research about the company, and as I went deeper, I was quite impressed with HENNGE’s company values, work style, and recent growth. No more hesitations, I decided to apply for this position. After the interesting coding challenge(no spoilers, but it’s not traditional), screening session, and interviews, I was lucky enough to be accepted as a GIP intern.
The rest is just to wait. The entire on-boarding process was very smooth, and I was able to plan my stay in Japan in an organized manner with the help of the GIP team. In mid-March, as spring is coming to Shibuya, so am I. And the journey begins.
Home, Sweet Home
I felt excited about joining the Shibuya scramble as a semi-salaryman in the morning. But I wanted to enjoy the quiet night as well. Thus, I chose to live in a SAKURA HOUSE share house in a nice local community located in Tamagawa. Life is convenient around here, with groceries, convenience stores, drug stores, some chain and local restaurants, etc. I spent around 40 minutes commuting to the office, but in return, I got to experience the peaceful local life quite often.
Office, the Main Stage
HENNGE, as the leader in the Japanese cloud security industry, is located in the very center of Shibuya, the beating heart of Japan’s technology and economic.
HENNGE occupied three entire floors of the building, and more might be expected as the company has been growing strong in recent years.
My favorite working spot is located in an area called Forest at 4F, which is a huge workspace with more than a hundred workstations. The space incorporates ergonomic designs, open layout, and utility coverage. More importantly, you can feel that HENNGE is really different from other Japanese firms by just working in the office. The workspace layout already demonstrates that HENNGE values an open, inclusive, and collaborative work culture, exactly as it is stated in the company values.
Oh, and don’t forget about the free perks we get. As an intern, we can get unlimited free Dr.Pepper from the unique and only Dr.Pepper vending machine on earth.
Assignments, the Main Quests
Our 4-week program is divided into two parts.
In the first 3 weeks, we were asked to build a Twitter clone using either Python or TypeScript. Never underestimate this assignment 1 if you just built a few web applications before. The requirements might seem simple, but given the additional instructions and the time frame, it can be challenging to manage your project progress. It really was a hands-on opportunity to apply our dev skills in a real industry dev environment. Luckily, I have received many help from my mentors. They were really responsive and helpful, and I learned a lot of pro tips and best practices from real insiders.
In the last week, we took a deep dive into AWS deployment and CICD. We explored various concepts of DevOps by planning our own app’s deployment on AWS. It was an intensive but rewarding learning crash course into AWS cloud resource management and orchestration. In the end, we used GitHub Actions to construct a basic CICD workflow. Same as before, assignment 2 mentors were all very helpful. Besides helping us tackle any difficulties, they also shared bits of what HENNGE DevOps engineers’ lives are like as well.
In general, both assignments were meaningful and rewarding. It is not only a training program for us GIP interns to accumulate experience in web app development and DevOps but also a chance for us to know what HENNGE engineers are working on day-to-day and how they develop cloud products that help HENNGE lead the industry.
Life, the Side Quests
Like side quests, life at HENNGE consists of loads of optional but interesting events. In just 4 weeks, there were more than dozens of events that we could join.
As spring was finally here, Sakura started to bloom everywhere. I joined two of the Hanami events. One in Yoyogi Park and another in Daikanyama.
Besides the seasonal events, we have dozens of periodically happening club events. We can choose any event we are interested in and drop in. I personally joined one boarding game night, where we had fun board games and got to know lots of interesting stories of people outside of work.
The wonderful free GIP lunches not only helped me save my money but also granted me opportunities to explore different places in Shibuya, which have delicious food and amazing people.
At HENNGE, it’s not just about work. There are plenty of chances and freedom to know people and interact with them. If you have time, definitely don’t miss these events.
People, the Infinite Wealth
Let’s talk more about the people I’ve met at HENNGE.
The cloud product development engineers are the most familiar to me, as I spent most of my time with them for the assignments. They share very diverse backgrounds but the same open, inclusive, and collaborative working environment. Whenever I passed by or came to ask them questions, they all looked very chill and enjoyed their work. At HENNGE, I felt like people care more about who you are and what you are capable of now and in the future than about your various backgrounds. I was treated not as an intern but more like a newcomer engineer who needed help. I always receive fast and helpful responses whenever I ask questions, whether it’s within the assignment scope. It’s not just my mentors, but all of them!
The engineering talent acquisition teams are the people who ensured my comfortable internship experience. From the onboarding phase to the GIP Honor Day(end of internship), they remained highly responsive and helpful throughout the entire program. They basically took care of every aspect of my life here in Japan, both inside and outside HENNGE. Outside HENNGE, they periodically checked on us to ensure we were having no difficulties in life. Inside HENNGE, from organizing division introduction to club events, their work lets us see the bigger picture of HENNGE and how we might fit in.
From engineers, officers, and managers, to even CEO, people are very cool and friendly. This sets HENNGE apart from most Japanese companies. It is so common to see people in different positions with different titles to have conversations, hang out, and make jokes just like friends here at HENNGE.
There are managers and stakeholders to ensure things are in order, but they are more like senpais(seniors), as they are all easy to approach.
I’ve met so many nice people here at HENNGE, They have different backgrounds, responsibilities, and personalities. But we are still bound together, by the same culture and values we share beliefs.
Closing thoughts
Even after the GIP Honor Day, when I was writing this blog, I could still feel a bit sad when realizing that my GIP was officially over. It’s not a long journey, but definitely an unforgettable one for me. At HENNGE, I experienced just so much, from personal growth to interactions with many wonderful people. I don’t think I will ever forget about this past month.
Lastly, I want to thank everyone I met at HENNGE. Thank you for the amazing GIP experience. It really colored my spring.
Youhai Li, from China, studying at the University of Toronto, Canada, interned with the HENNGE Global Internship Program from March 18 to April 12, 2024.
