12 reviews
3.74 / 5 based on 12 reviews
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patrick o
Expenses
Main source of funding:
Government assistance
Other sources of funding:
Personal savings
Work opportunities:
I worked during my study abroad experience
Personal spending habits
Because Japan is an expensive country, and the Australian exchange rate is not so healthy at the moment. If you are paid in yen (as I am, being an exchange student) it's not bad at all, as long as you resist the temptation to calculate everything back into your own currency.
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Overall, Housing, Nightlife, Telephone, Food, Travel:
was more expensive than at home.
Accessibility of student needs
Second-hand household items
Personal comments
Make sure you take out national health insurance when you arrive - you can use your international private insurance if you wish, but you pay medical fees up-front, and then get reimbursed later. A phone line is prohibitive, so invest in a mobile phone. There are only a couple of ATMs in Kyoto which support the Cirrus network (Citibank is good), but Visa card holders are usually OK. Japan is a junk-hunter's paradise, if you are prepared to put in the time prowling the streets like a Womble in search of what the Japanese discard.
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patrick o
Housing
Type of housing: Apartment/House
Arranged by: Independently - My choice
If returning, I would choose: Apartment/House
Why?
OK - the two dorms here for exchange students aren't as nice as the ones for fee-paying students. I had a little cash and someone to assist me in navigating the Japanese rental system, so i chose to go independant, although I was initially placed in one of these dorm apartment blocks.
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Personal comments
Well, accomodation is the big bugbear in Japan, but it's not a problem for students here. All students are placed in a dorm building or apartment block. Exchange students pay either a nominal or no fee. Fee-paying students get a slightly nicer place, and pay 15,000 to 25,000 yen per month, which is still extremely cheap for Japan.
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patrick o
Student life
Describe host city:
Students equally interact with the local and student community
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Activities: Takes place mostly within the university/student environment
Nightlife, Travel: Takes place mostly outside the university/student environment
Personal social experience
Personal comments
Well, it depends if you want to see rock garden serenity japan or neon nanotech japan. Kyoto is a small city, just over 1.5 million, and the party spots, while existing, are commensurately small. There is a healthy arts scene, but the real treasure is the wealth of historical/cultural/architectural sites both in the city or a day trip away. Go to Ryoan-ji, Byodo-in, Nara, Higashi Hongan-ji, and Inari Taisha, but go on a weekday or very early to beat the crowds of Japanese and gaijin sightseers. For nightlife, take the train to Osaka (about 1 hour) and crawl back on the first train in the morning.
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patrick o
Overall
I wish I had known...
Things are pretty much made very easy here - don't always accept what you are told (as the Japanese often do), and don't always feel that that you have to act like a Japanese. Sometimes it is better to be a rude gaijin to make life a little easier. The Japanese are very approachable on a surface level (asking directions, help, etc), but are very hard to get to know on a deeper level. They are generally curious about foreign culture, and on campus it is not unusual to be aproached by strangers curious about your country or wishing conversation practice in another language.
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In my opinion:
Most people loved it.
Important factors in my choice
(1) Unimportant – (4) Very important
Personal recommendation
Ryukoku is a great place to come if you are unfamiliar with Japan - the International Center here helps you with everything, and the JCLP programme is great for beginners/intermediates. Also, as it is a Buddhist university, the Buddhist studies and Japanese literature studies are excellent. You get to speak a lot of Japanese during your time here, and the atmosphere is generally friendly and relaxed.
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During my experience abroad, I ...
(1) Never – (4) A lot
Became familiar with another culture
Met people from other countries
Experienced a change in life
Advanced my studies & career
Final comments
The entrance procedure is not difficult, but it does contain an great amount of paperwork. Make sure you are in constant communication with the International Center (Kokusai-Ka) before you come, to ensure that your application is complete, and then to arrange your accomodation and financial details, etc (the earlier the better). The initial JCLP placement test (administered upon your arrival) is quite challenging, and often not an accurate measure of your level. Just ask to be placed in a higher class - they don't mind at all if you feel you are certain.
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patrick o
Academic
Course recommendations
The Japanese Culture and Language program is excellent for beginning and intermediate students of the language - although taught in Japanese, the classes are graded, and absolute beginners are catered for, and the pace is excellent. I would recommend learning the hiragana and katakana syllabaries before you come (it's not so hard to learn on your own, and well worth the effort once you get here). If you don't speak Japanese and you come here on exchange, this is the course you will be doing.
If you already speak Japanese, mainstream courses here are a little more academically lax than most Western countries, or so I hear. The common wisdom in Japan seems to be that most real learning takes place in the workforce.
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My academic experiences
Interaction with teachers
Interaction with international students
Interaction with local students
Personal comments
Not really - the pace is good and there were no classic japanese sensei figures making me do push-ups on my knuckles etc when i failed anything.
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My opinion of the university assessment
Exams throughout the course
Essays and/or projects at the end of course
Essays and/or projects throughout the course
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patrick o
Languages
Language of instruction: Japanese
Was learning Japanese a key decision factor?
Yes, I wanted to improve my Japanese
How much did you improve your Japanese?
My level before: Basic phrases
My level after: At ease in most situations
Language difficulties
Administrative / Institutional
Personal comments
International communication is a national obsession here, and basic conversational Japanese is not so hard to pick up. Reading is a different matter, but the International Center here has English and Chinese speakers to assist the foreign students with any academic or adminstrative problem. English is widespread amongst the instructors here (to varying levels), although in class only Japanese is spoken. Socially, amongst the European and Anglo students at least, English and Japanese are commonly spoken. English speakers certainly won't feel isolated. There are many Chinese, Korean and Thai students as well.
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