[je suis prest]

I'm sure I'm not the only one who've been looking for this topic in this section of the forum and ended up with nothing?

I've noticed that people in the 'study abroad' topic, the majority of the people wanted to go to either Korea or Japan.
And after seeing the 'studying abroad in korea' topic made by little mixed girl,
i thought people who've studied abroad in Japan might be willing to share their experiences and some information about the school and people and such for those, including me, who are thinking about or planning on studying abroad in Japan.



much will be appreciated!
arigatou gozaimasu (in advance) ^^

[Seno]

I'm currently studying in the HUSTEP program at Hokkaido Daigaku in Sapporo, Japan. I've been here a little over 2 months, and I've got 9 to go.

What do ya wanna know? XD

[little mixed girl]

i haven't done study abroad in japan, but i live there now.

as with any study abroad program, people should remember that things vary from school to school.
so, what you can do at your school, another person can't. that's why you should talk with the study abroad counselor to get all the info on what schools are avaliable, how much financial aid you can get, credits, etc.

[PinkCee]

hey there i am currently studying abroad in Osaka, Japan.
i received a well-earned scholarship from YFU, only here for a semester.
but if there are questions about osaka area, feel free to ask =)

[Aristocrat]

I'm planning on applying to a college in Japan but not studying abroad in the sense that I will only being doing a semester or two.

[chickyl3aby]

i just talked to my parents today about studying abroad and i THINK they are giving their permission....

i want to do a year in Tokyo... i'm looking at tokyo, waseda, or keio university right now....

i just don't know where to get all that money to study abroad.... what kinds of scholarships did u guys apply for to support u???

[je suis prest]

wow, i thought i'd never get replies. i was getting kinda depressed lol.

for those in japan right now, a general question i wanna ask is..how is it there in your area? the people, environment, etc. since most of you are all in different cities. i heard some japanese sometimes have an issue with foreigners and will call you 'gaijin' and stuff? and foreigners are usually bothered with this term. i'm thinking that people in different cities will have different reactions with foreigners though because one city might have more than others

for the specifics:
little mixed girl- wow, you live in japan! how lucky. something i plan on doing waaay in the future, haha. if you don't mind, what is it that you do in japan? can you speak japanese?

pinkcee- what school do you go to in japan?

chickyl3aby- i talked to my mom about it too and she approved but i'm also worrying about the tuition fee. pinkcee mentioned getting her scholarship from YFU (Youth For Understanding) so maybe you should research/check out their site for info and such (: i dont know too much about scholarships either


sorry, but the last question i had in mind was:
if you guys have been here before, which cities will you recommend between tokyo and nagoya?

[saros21]

Hey,

I just found this forum today, and ironically stumbled upon this post. Anyways, I am currently studying at Waseda University （早稲田大学） in Tokyo. If you have any specific questions about the program please let me know. But, basically I am here for 1 year under Waseda's Japanese Intensive Language program. Which is really one of the main reasons why I picked it.

Anyways, I guess I will answer a few of your questions.

First, tuition doesn't seem to be much of a problem. In fact, I'm here under Student Exchange so I still pay my normal University tuition.

Also, I have never been to Nagoya, but, I can tell you Tokyo is an extremely fun place to be at. It is nice to be able to go to so many different areas in such a short distance (IE: Shibuya, Harajuku, Shinjuku, Ikebukuro, Akihabara, Ginza, Roppongi, etc).

The people have been nice, the Japanese people are especially nice (I'm American, Caucasian, btw). Granted I have been called a gaijin a few times, but nothing really meant to be rude, just sometimes some people (ie ignorant) are so shocked to see foreigners. Although, that's not really a problem in Tokyo, but probably gets worse as you get into more rural areas.

Let me know if you have any other questions.

[little mixed girl]

i'm working as a CIR on the JET program. (http://www.jetprogramme.org/)
i came here last august and i'm just starting my second year.

at my workplace i use japanese 95% of the time. as for my job...it's a whole bunch of random stuff.
i go around to schools in the city and give a presentation on america to the kids. i go to a lot of elementary schools, but sometimes i also go to middle and high schools.

i answer the phone and try to get it right, but i mess up a lot. i do a "native check" for the english newsletter that my workplace puts out.
sometimes some translation, sometimes some interpretation.

basically anything that my coworkers ask me to do, i do.

i've probably been called "gaijin" or "gaikokujin", but right now, i really can't remember.
japanese kids, especially, seem to be pretty ignorant of anything that's not japanese.
when i go to the schools, sometimes kids will be like "in foreign countries are there dogs?". what they mean is "are there dogs in america?", but everything that's not japan is "gaikoku".

if you are asian-american, then you won't stand out as much as someone that's non-asian. but japanese people can still tell that you are foreign by the way you dress act, etc.

but regardless of whether you're in a small town or tokyo, people will stare at you. there might be less people starting at you in a large city compared to a small one, but there's still going to be stares.

[angelfightrJ]

:0 pinkcee! you're on the YFU program?! lucky....my parents won't let me do the year or semester one because it's too long. =_=. apparently, they think i will have my heart broken from being separated from them and will sob on the phone every day.
no, seriously, i've gone to japan for a different program (People to People Student Ambassadors) and although it was just two weeks, i didn't miss my family at all. i was glad to have some peace and quiet. at the end, they had to call me instead me calling them. -__-.
i love learning about different cultures and i want to travel to so many places and learn so many languages.
well, i asked my parents about a summer program for YFU, and they still said no. :/ they think it's too much, but i already thought of ways to raise money...it's just, they need to consent to that before i do it so that i can prove to them that i can do it! ): also the summer programs are 6 weeks long, 3 times longer than my stay in japan, but i think i can handle it and that's a good amount of time for me. kflewjkljafkwjefa
i really want to go to either japan or korea, but since i've been to japan already, and being a korean-american but not having the opportunity to EVER go to korea in my entire life, i think i want to go to korea :/ i don't want to go there as a vacation which is why i think YFU is a good program for me since i will be placed with a host family and be able to see daily life in korea. i want to learn more about my heritage and possibly become better in korean and with this knowledge, maybe i'll appreciate/understand why my parents act a certain way and this will make me mature a bit. now, i know it's silly to think that a lot of people would welcome me with open arms (not sure how korean-americans are viewed by native koreans but i heard things that are not good ;_;), but i'm willing to face challenges.



oh gosh i just realized that this strayed from japan to korea -_______-. but little mixed girl, thanks for the information! maybe when i'm in college, i'll go back to japan and visit again (: i certainly love it there...from rural areas to urban areas<3

[chickyl3aby]

i've heard of YFU... i always thought it was just a high school program... i know a bunch of my friend's got to go to japan over a summer for free because of YFU... i applied too late back then tho... and my parents thought i was too young (they still do sometimes!) but i'll double check for scholarships....!!!

[Seno]

I've been in Sapporo for a little over 2 months now, and I can say that I have never been called a gaijin to my face. I'm sure plenty of people see me and think gaijin, and I have caught many a small child staring, pointing and whispering to their friend "Amerika jin!" (how they can tell, I'll never know. Next time I'm gonna tell them I'm Canadian)

Personally I'm not really bothered by being called a gaijin. I've actually called myself a gaijin in front of many of Japanese people, so I dunno. I think it depends more on where you're living. Up here in Sapporo, there aren't very many foreigners in comparison to say Tokyo or Nagoya, but on the Hokudai campus alone there are over 800 foreign students.



The thing that I'm never going to get used to is the staring. I am unfortunately, tall, chubby and blonde, which roughly translated to you can pick me out in a crowded room. Easily. So, no matter where I go, I always get really paranoid that people are watching me... because they are. You have to be really careful as a foreigner here, because even though you think no one is looking, everyone is, and when you mess up, everyone is going to know about it, though they'll never tell you they know. Because Japan is sneaky.

[je suis prest]

i just looked through yfu's site and i dont know.. is it just me, or are those scholarships only for highschool students?? maybe i'm looking on the wrong page, but that's all i see.. i guess i'll go look again a bit later.


little mixed girl, sounds like you're a busy bee haha. but if it's something you enjoy, then it's totally worth it, right? if you're living there, you must live in an apt. or something right? knowing that japan's one of the most expensive countries, how's that holding up for you? i'm afraid if i go there, money's gonna be draining outta my pocket in a flash lol

saros21 - the school i was planning on transferring to has Waseda as one of its options in studying abroad in Japan and i, also, want to go into the japanese intensive language program. can you explain how the program works? like, how many hours a day, how many days a week, etc. how hard is the language program? i'm imagining that it's totally different from how professors teach it in universities.

anyone dorming? or living with a host family? i was interested in living with a host family but i always thought how pressured i'd feel if i end up doing that. it's like having another set of parents, rules, etc. and i don't really want that..it's true that i'll probably expand my japanese a lot more and have a first-hand experience of the japanese culture by living with an actual japanese family, so i guess there's pros and cons to it.


yeah i just read something today on a japanese university site [the english translated page of course] that japanese people say 'gaijin' or 'gaikokujin' with no ill intentions. it's like us saying the word 'fob' in a sense? it's just a title we give someone who's born from a diff. country and came to the states

[PinkCee]

Note: I am in this topic because I am currently studying abroad in Osaka, Japan. I will be entering college next year. I am here to answer as much questions as possible to people who would like information about Osaka.

je suis prest - I am currently attending Matsubara High School. Yes, for YFU the scholarships are for high school students. But there are company (mitsubishi, etc.) for high school or college students whose parents are a full-time employee. I was just stating that I am in Osaka because of YFU..
Btw, money drains out fast, you have to be smart with your money.
For the pros and cons of host family...

Pros - FREE FOOD, FREE HOUSE. (CANT BEAT THAT) Understand and learn the right way of the japanese house lifestyle (garbage, showering, laundry, cleaning, cooking).
They will take you on trips and if you are nice to the people they know (relatives, friends), they will take you out to eat or to a nice place like Osaka Castle. Living with a full family (with kids), you will understand how the kids are raised in Japan.
You will make friends.. or at least know a lot of JAPANESE people FAST. Everybody knows each other in the neighborhood, so they will announce you, and word will spread. But when you live all alone, its hard and you dont get to know anybody.
In host family, you really have to force yourself to live like a Japanese. Do Japanese things, do Japanese culture, do the Japanese way, do the Japanese way of thinking...
oh, and you are forced to speak japanese, major plus =)


Cons - At first, I really hated it how they tried for me to become a Japanese (note I am asian american). Finally they realized I am for who I am, and that I was only here for a semester. At first, because you guys dont know each other, it will be hard to understand, but they will get used to it and you will get used to it. Everything in the house can be heard basically.. especially if you have tatami rooms. So if they like to watch tv a lot, you better find a place and time to study.
But, that is about it.


Since I already experimented with a host family in Osaka, hopefully when I can study abroad again in Kyoto University or Osaka University, I want to have a place of my own with a kitchen. But, if I am tight on money, host family is the way to go!




angelfightrJ - if your parents wont let you do the YFU program, have them compare it with the AFS program. YFU program is the most cheapest and convenient program there is. Whether if you are going for a full year, semester, or summer program, you have to pay a $600 contribution to YFU and that is it. (THAT IS NOT A LOT OF MONEY, TRUST ME). YFU will cover your airline flight back and forth and your domestic trip in japan (to go to your host family) which could be total of $2000. And that is just airline alone. Also, they cover your school uniform, that could go up to $300. For AFS, you have to pay like everything, it sucks. studying abroad is an experience of a lifetime. do it while you have the chance.

littlemixedgirl - by any chance are you in osaka? because...そんあのかんけいない！　オッパッピー！！！！　ヒヒ！

[chickyl3aby]

PinkCee... this is a bit random but have you been to a Host Club there? Lol... I just recently watched a documentary called "The Great Happiness Space" which is about the life of a Host Boy and it takes place in Osaka. I just want to go to one to see what it's like there... Lol.

I'm pretty sure the are plenty in Tokyo as well though....

[15;;1/2]

Hey,

I just found this forum today, and ironically stumbled upon this post. Anyways, I am currently studying at Waseda University （早稲田大学） in Tokyo. If you have any specific questions about the program please let me know. But, basically I am here for 1 year under Waseda's Japanese Intensive Language program. Which is really one of the main reasons why I picked it.

Anyways, I guess I will answer a few of your questions.

First, tuition doesn't seem to be much of a problem. In fact, I'm here under Student Exchange so I still pay my normal University tuition.

Also, I have never been to Nagoya, but, I can tell you Tokyo is an extremely fun place to be at. It is nice to be able to go to so many different areas in such a short distance (IE: Shibuya, Harajuku, Shinjuku, Ikebukuro, Akihabara, Ginza, Roppongi, etc).

The people have been nice, the Japanese people are especially nice (I'm American, Caucasian, btw). Granted I have been called a gaijin a few times, but nothing really meant to be rude, just sometimes some people (ie ignorant) are so shocked to see foreigners. Although, that's not really a problem in Tokyo, but probably gets worse as you get into more rural areas.

Let me know if you have any other questions.

I'm thinking of spending a year in Waseda, or if not, go there for graduate school. What are the other short term programs available? Basically, how's the student life in there (classes..people..housing..)?

[little mixed girl]

little mixed girl, sounds like you're a busy bee haha. but if it's something you enjoy, then it's totally worth it, right? if you're living there, you must live in an apt. or something right? knowing that japan's one of the most expensive countries, how's that holding up for you? i'm afraid if i go there, money's gonna be draining outta my pocket in a flash lol

with the JET program, there's a lot of ESID (every situation is different).
in my case, the CIRs in my city have prearranged apartments. the city makes a contract with the landlord and that way us JETs can move in and out every year without paying key money, etc etc. our rent is also subsidized. i pay 13,600 yen a month...which is like...$120 or so.
my predecessor(sp) lives next door, and she pays the full rent (about $600 or 700).

money is a strange thing in japan.
100 yen (about $1) and 500 yen (about $5) are coins. so when you spend them...it doesn't really feel like anything...because they are COINS!
you could get by on $500 a month if you have no bills to pay.

somethings can be kind of cheap, and some things can be kind of expensive. i dunno how to explain...
like, if you eat stuff like onigiri, buy foods at fresta or something like that...you can eat cheaply.
if you don't go out partying every night, then you won't waste money.

you can find clothing and bags on sale for cheap at places like uniqlo or other stores like that.

you gotta be smart about shopping and what you spend money on.
i end up spending a lot of money on food... and food rots quickly in japan, so it's really annoying...

littlemixedgirl - by any chance are you in osaka? because...そんあのかんけいない！　オッパッピー！！！！　ヒヒ！

lol, i'm in err...chugoku haha. kind of close to osaka.
one of my coworkers loves him... demo, sonna no kankei ne~

[hellotiffy]

i WISH i could study abroad. i'm not sure if my gpa is high enough or that i could afford to go.

[Kaori25]

gahh XD
everyone is so lucky to be living in japan XD
i'm actually planning on transferring there after 2 years at a community college. does anyone know of any other university in japan that accepts transfer students besides Temple University (o.o)???
i looked at waseda and tokyo and all those really nice schools and it doesnt look like they accept any transfers T,T

[lady_muimui]

yay!!! study abroad in japan!! I only studied there for a month in the summer through the University of Delaware's Kobe Program for summer session. We basically stay at Shoin Jousei Daigaku's kaikan. We lived there and had classes there, so it wasn't like STUDY ABROAD study abroad. lol. However, I did apply for a scholarship to study in Soka University. I'm waiting to hear from them soon about interviews, so I'll be back!