Studying Abroad to Japan

[jeppy325]

Hello to all who are studying abroad to Japan or thinking to do so,

As I am doing a personal research on "Why people come to Japan" and "How we can make it easier for people to study abroad to Japan", I'd like to gather some information about:

1) Why did (do) you chose Japan?
2) How did (do) you get connected with schools you attend?
3) What kind of information did (do) you want before coming to Japan? You can pretty much make some suggestions to Japanese universites to make an English guidebooks, and what kinda information they should have in there.
4) If any, what's the difficulties of coming to or being in Japan
5) What would you suggest to Japanese government to make its land a comfortable place for foreign students?

Sorry for the long thread.
Thanks!

[zheng_ys]

Hi...
I will be leaving to pursue my postgraduate study in Japan by next year April. Honesty, I never ever thinking want to choose Japan as my next study destination. Before that, I was just want to find the scholarship to support my study. I found Japan Gov has provide a big amount of scholarship to support their student. So that, I apply it and I got it. (I am very lucky because just 1 shot)..

By the way, Japan has a very famous landscape design and I am studying urban planning and I am thinking I would like to pursue my study in landscape architecture. Japan is the best choice for me among the Asia country because I can adapt the design element and concept into my country's landscape design. Futhermore, I am impressed with the art of the Japanese since I was young. According to what I understand, the sage, the poet, and the philosopher, have been in Japan the chief patrons and practitioners of the accomplished arts. The art of painting, the tea cult, the floral art, and also the art of landscape gardening, are alike enveloped in an atmoshere of quaint philosophy. It is customary to invest with the mystery and sanctity of philosophical import, rules and theories of design which might be easily explained by considerations of artistic taste. An appeal to superstitious reverence seems to have been thought necessary in order to preserve the arts in their purity, and prevent them from degenerating into license. Japanese landscape gardening may therefore be described as a representation of the natural scenery of the country as it appears to and impresses the Japanese themselves, in a manner consistent with the limitations of their arts.

In Japan, a country of great design and an excellent international reputation for both garden design and architecture, it seems surprising that the profession of landscape architecture has not yet, caught up in status. It has not been paying attention commonly in Malaysia too. For long time, landscape related projects were developed by architects and engineers, and that particular approach is only too apparent. Even though the profession of landscape architecture has become familiar, there is still a movement for more acknowledgements of quality open spaces. These days, reutilization of spaces is the common ground in Japanese building practice. Projects in landscape architecture are highly connected to urban redevelopments with an increasing amount of mixed-use development concentrated in the metropolitan regions of Tokyo and Osaka. There is no doubt that appreciation of landscape architecture in Japan. The pressure on open spaces is immense. Changes in the traditional work life provide more free time, much of which is spent outdoors. Land prices in Japan are still high but, as “green sells”, this may well lead to an increasing esteem of land value in the future. Sustainability and Japan’s aging society add new topics to discussions on land utilization and can become a great potential for landscape architecture. But to take this opportunity requires suitable education. Until now, education in landscape architecture in Japan has been limited to agriculture schools. Consequently, a further step to foster the discipline would be to acknowledge the potential of landscape architecture as a profession, which sets a linkage between environmental, urban planning, engineering and artistic interests. In order to meet this new discipline in Japan, one of the most prominent topics in current discussions draws Japanese landscape architects towards developing a distinct design language for their profession.

These are the reasons why I choose Japan :cool::cool::cool:

[jeppy325]

Hello Zheng,
Thank you so much for your interesting reply.:-)

I'm sometimes amazed how we as Japanese are so ignorant of our own cultural heritage. As you mention, Japanese philosophy that develops our unique way of thinking triggers distinctive arts. Anime is definitely the recent example. I think many people come visit Japan to witness that uniqueness.

What you mentioned about the landscape architecure sounds just terrific!
You have clairvoyance!

I hope you will have a smooth transition to and great stay in Japan!
All the best to you!

[zheng_ys]

Hi, Thanks for your wishes...

So, you are Japanese, right? why do you so interested to know about the studying abroad issues in Japan? I am just curious....:-)

[jeppy325]

Why I'm interested in Studying Abroad issues?

Umm...as I was studying abroad to US for a while,
I looked at Japan from outside for the first time.
When I was out of my own nation, I realized how interesting my country is.

For my Master's thesis, I studied why Japanese popular media, for example Anime and film, are gaining the global popularity. Through that process, I again happen to study Japan and its culture as subject and wondered why people, including myself, are intrigued by it.

So, for me to know why people are actually coming to Japan to study is still on the process of researching on the attractions of Japan.

Of course there must be other political and economical reasons for people to come to this nation, but still, it's fascinating to hear other people's opinion.=)

...sorry,,,this sounds vague, but did I answer your question?

[Charles Barkley]

According to what I understand, the sage, the poet, and the philosopher, have been in Japan the chief patrons and practitioners of the accomplished arts. The art of painting, the tea cult, the floral art, and also the art of landscape gardening, are alike enveloped in an atmoshere of quaint philosophy. It is customary to invest with the mystery and sanctity of philosophical import, rules and theories of design which might be easily explained by considerations of artistic taste. An appeal to superstitious reverence seems to have been thought necessary in order to preserve the arts in their purity, and prevent them from degenerating into license


This is some very strange english...

[jeppy325]

Thanks Charles,

Though I'm not Zheng, I wanted to say thanks for your time to post comments...I'm not a native, so I don't know how you felt her writing was a little different. But you understand what she wanted to say, no??

Why are you surfing through this online forum?
Are you in Japan or interested in Japan?

If you have time, could you share with me your reason why Japan is on your mind??

Thanks again!

[Charles Barkley]

Thanks Charles,
Though I'm not Zheng, I wanted to say thanks for your time to post comments...I'm not a native, so I don't know how you felt her writing was a little different. But you understand what she wanted to say, no??
Why are you surfing through this online forum?
Are you in Japan or interested in Japan?
If you have time, could you share with me your reason why Japan is on your mind??
Thanks again!

Actually, the writing was quite good for the most part, just in that one section...the words did not fit together. It sounded a bit like someone with a thesaurus who had just finished reading Milton had gotten a bit out of control. ..


I am in Japan on a MEXT scholarship at Waseda University's Graduate School of Asia Pacific studies. I previously spent two years in rural miyagi prefecture as an ALT with that JET program.

I originally became interested in the Japanese language through watching Kurosawa films. I had never studied a foreign language before, thought this was my last chance, and since I had no other plans after finishing university in the states, I applied to be an English teacher in Japan. A bit of a 何となく好きになった situation, no particular, strong trigger for my becoming interested in Japan.

I became connected to the school I am attending because, when I was accepted for the MEXT scholarship, I had to search for schools offering programs in international relations. I wanted to study east asia, be in Tokyo, and have a program that offered classes in both English and Japanese, and only a few programs offered all these. Waseda had a decent reputation, so I choose to come here.

In general I have found it difficult to meet and become friendly with young japanese people. Meeting people and then having the relationship move beyond the casual acquaintance stage--for some reason I have had trouble with this. Made friends from all over the world who are living here though, for what it's worth.

One thing I wish there was more "normal" outreach by the Japanese community to international students. What I mean by that is often outreach takes the form of language exchange, showing Japanese culture, etc. Which is great for tourists. But if you are like myself, and presumably a lot of other foreign students, A) you have come here to study Japanese and B) your frame of mind in regards to Japan is not that it is some mysterious culture--rather, its your temporary home. I guess what I am getting at is I wish there were more ways to get interntional students involved in the things that normal japanese students do and be like more normal students in Japan. For example, at my school, the international club has reached out to international students, but the normal サークル...we haven't heard anything from them. It's hard to build friendships and really improve my Japanese at outreach events predominated by people who want to practice their English and study abroad in America, where I haven't lived for over 2 years...

[jeppy325]

Thanks Charles,

Wow...I feel what you said.
When I was in US for my study, I felt the same.
I wished some people talk to me not just because I am a foreigner.

For now, many Japanese are littel shy and scared to step into what they have never experienced: Like talking in different language and learning from a person who has a different cultural background. I wish you will find a good Japanese friend soon! I'm sure among those shy students, there are people who really want to have a friend like you!

Thank you again so much for sharing your thoughts with me.
All the best to your study at Waseda!

p.s. I was studying film in US. Great to hear that you love Kurosawa.

[zheng_ys]

Yeah..Charles..Thanks for your question mark for my poor english.:cool:.

[menrui]

I never really ventured out of the monbusho thread, but im bored.

Nice post Zheng. I can see why you were selected.

1) My interest in Japan started when I started watching anime in middle school. yeah, dragonball Z made Japan look so awesome hehe. I think anime is a common link, but its often frowned upon. Anyways, my interest in Japan increased as watched more anime that included some Japanese culture. I was especially interested in the school life. In college, I decided to take Japanese classes. Loved it, took it for 3 years. I recently graduated with nowhere to go because I fell short of medical school. So with graduate school in mind, I thought about studying in Japan, then I found out about the monbusho scholarship. Much like Zheng, I went for it, passed applications/interview, and am in the process of receiving the final verdict. I chose Japan mainly because I had a big interest in the culture. The field that I am entering is well developed and growing in Japan, still slightly behind US, so it would be a good place for me to study. I think thats all.

2) Hmm, I just looked into some of the top universities, and then see if they have a professor that is in the same field as I would like to enter. Then I sent the professors an email to see if they would accept me.

3) Before coming to Japan, I think I would like to know information such as: How do I rent out an apartment; How do I sign up for internet; How do I sign up for a cell phone; How do I use the train/bus. Baisc living things.

4) Language Barrier~~

5) Hmm, I really like what charles said. Providing some kind of out reach to foreign students by Japanese student would sound great. It would be easier be make friends and then experience Japanese culture this way too.

[jeppy325]

Thank you, Menrui-san!

Yeah, I agree with you. Zheng seems to be a student that Japan really want as an excellent student. =) And so are you and Charles!

May I ask what's your study field? And why you think it's more advanced in Japan than US?

Jeppy

[menrui]

my field is chemistry, specifically synthetic organic chemistry. Hmm its probably not more advance in Japan I admit. But the amount of publications that Japan produces should rank 1rst over US but now according to an article I read. So, Japan isnt a bad choice.

One of my desired professor also asked me 'why am i choosing japan over the US.' I replied that, its not just about education and money, i also want to enjoy my school life. the japanese culture is very different and i think the "change" will be very interesting and challenging. Anyways, thats just me, enjoy~

[jeppy325]

Definitely, you will enjoy the change with challenges!
Best wishes to you!!

[Chidoriashi]

Hello to all who are studying abroad to Japan or thinking to do so,
As I am doing a personal research on "Why people come to Japan" and "How we can make it easier for people to study abroad to Japan", I'd like to gather some information about:
1) Why did (do) you chose Japan?
2) How did (do) you get connected with schools you attend?
3) What kind of information did (do) you want before coming to Japan? You can pretty much make some suggestions to Japanese universites to make an English guidebooks, and what kinda information they should have in there.
4) If any, what's the difficulties of coming to or being in Japan
5) What would you suggest to Japanese government to make its land a comfortable place for foreign students?
Sorry for the long thread.
Thanks!

1. Language

2. Sister city/university relationship

3. How to get all the stuff i need to do taken care of, bank account, gaijin card etc. I also would have liked knowledge about, nearest supermarkets, gyms, conbini, where to buy a bicycle, internet cafe,.. basically a map with details about the area surrounding where i lived and the area around school campus. An explanation about public transportation, bus, trains etc.

4. Things went smooth thanks to tutors and sempais

5. Hmm... maybe a way to work part-time legally on a student visa, to help with expenses. or a work program giving foreign students a chance to work in Japanese businesses and really learn to use Japanese and learn about workplace customs. Even just working at Macdonalds or conbini etc.

[jeppy325]

Thanks, Chidoriashi-san!

Yes, I hope there will be many more opporutnities for oversea visitors to work in Japanese buisiness field. It will help some Japanese people who are locked in this island to have the eye-opening wall-breaking experiences.

So you feel the living cost in Japan is high?

[silas101]

i want to study in japan but toally lost at the moment
not sure who to cantact what to do etc
HELLLP
i made a topic above this thread.
support required please

[Charles Barkley]

Your school isn't giving you permission to work part time? Waseda isn't lining up jobs for anyone, but anyone who wants permission to work 24 hours a week gets it, no questions asked. For native english speakers, english teaching jobs are everywhere (advertised all over at my dorm).

[Chidoriashi]

Well I am talking about Shizuoka University 5 years ago. I work full time at a prefectural education center now. And as far as i was told you cannot work with a student visa.

[jeppy325]

You can work with your student VISA as long as you get the official permission from the gov't.
But I am not sure if Japanese buisiness institutions are really open to hire oversea workers...how do you all feel about that??


So Charles, do you part-time work as English teacher?
Are you talking about on-campus jobs?

I think Waseda has one of the best system to support International students. Its English website is well established compared to other universites.

[Chidoriashi]

I guess we were just denied permission then. I was told from the start by my home university that officially I was not allowed to work. I was on scholarship though so im not sure if that made a difference or not.

Well im sure the businesses would be a little scared about that, but i think it would be good for both the students and the employees of the business.. even if it is just working at a conbini or something. Having a program that supports foreigners interacting with Japanese in a work setting (other than teaching english) would be good I think.

[clockworkorange]

Lots of familiar names here. :P

Hi, jeppy...i think you have some interesting questions there. Its funny but none of my friends actually asked me why i wanted to study in japan.

1) I never actually considered japan as a place of study until very recently. I was curious about japan because i watched a lot of anime. But i'm aware anime isn't really a good representation of real Japan. Then i read this book about samurais and started to get really REALLY interested. obviously, books about samurai are not good representations of Japan either but it sparked a huge interest in Japan. So i started to think of studying there and did the research on scholarships, universities.. things like that.

2) I don't really attend any school in Japan. I'm waiting for the results of the monbukagakusho scholarship. But what i did was email the universities i wanted to go to.

3) Its the same answer as everyone else's. Living information---how easy it is for foreign students to rent a place in Japan, availability of hostels, living costs, things like that. Its embarassing but i also wanted to know about whether most toilets in hostels or dorms are sitting or squatting. its probably the most trivial of all issues but i want to know and just thought i'd ask. :P This is because there's a thread here somewhere about public toilets in japan. i read it and it got me wondering. I dun really think universities in japan need to put that in their guidebook though.

4) the language. and also i think japanese ppl think differently and have ways of doing things that are different from ppl from other countries. I'm Malaysian but i think i'm more familiar with western culture. One of the things i'm most afraid of when communicating with japanese people is that i might offend them by using inappropriate terms. for example, i was chatting with my japanese language teacher the other day and it wasn't until i went home that i realised i didn;t use the polite terms....i didn;t attach any "desu" to the end of sentences, for example ...my teacher was very friendly and made no comment about it but all the same i think its a serious blunder. So one of the things i might find difficult if i go to Japan, aside from the culture shock, would be communicating with Japanese people. I guess i need more practice.

5) well, i think Charles probably said it. I can't know exactly how it is in Japan but i read that 90% of University of Tokyo's foreign students don;t really have Japanese friends that are more than casual acquaintances. I remember feeling sad about it because i mean, if you study in a foreign country, i think you'd obviously want to experience how the locals live and make good friends among them.

Anyway, jeppy, those are my answers....:p

What do you make of so many foreigners being fascinated with your home country? :)

[jeppy325]

Thank you, clockworkorange-san!

Yes...that "squatty party" seems to cause troubles for people who are not used to it!! Please feel at ease, most of the public restrooms now have Western type toilets. :-)

What is so fascinating about Samurai culture to you, if I may ask??
Don't get me wrong, I like the Samurai spirit too. I just wanna hear your opinion.

And, what do I make of seeing so many people being fascinated by my own nation?

Um...it makes me happy and wondering.
Japanese culture, like Wabi-Sabi, Traditional performing arts, literature, films, etc., are something that I am really proud of. But I almost despise my own nation when it comes to its "Kokumin-sei" (national character) or sociality.
Of course not everyone, but many people are very close-minded and ambiguous about what they believe. People claim to be harmonious, and it only discourages someone distinguished to become normal. Normality is only great when people can look at someone different from them as normal because they are just different. That's the real concept of harmony, I believe.

So, I can understand why people are fascinated by our culture,
but it makes me wonder how they would really feel about living in this society.

...did I answer your question?? I'm not discouraging you to come here though!! Definitely, you'll gain different experiences here and it will contribute to your knowledge that determines the fruitfulness of your life.

Wish you the best!

[Charles Barkley]

No, I don't currently work, and have no immediate plans to. If I start working, it will be to build skills/experience, so I would only really try to work if offered a decent internship/position in a japanese company where I could see myself learning a lot about the corporate system in Japan. Needless to say, finding these kind of positions requires a bit more proactive approach than my current one, but I don't need the money and am on scholarship, so I am happy just to study now.

However, many of the other MEXT scholars in my dorm who are going to waseda with me are working part time in some capacity. Those from native english speaking countries (and some white europeans with decent english) are teaching English for decent money. A couple chinese girls I know are working part time as cashiers/waitresses. No one as far as I know has position on campus.

[dblbstrd]

No one as far as I know has position on campus.
I scored a couple of TA duties for undergrad classes within my department this term. I could probably pretty easily make more money teaching English downtown or something, but this is more fun/interesting to me, and on campus is much more convenient.
On-campus English TA is also feasible.

[clockworkorange]

Hey jeppy-san (sorry i did not add -san the first time ard),

Thank you for reassuring me. I was actually quite surprise about the thread on squatting toilets. I just thought i was weird that these things bother me. :P

Neway, thanks!!!

Hmm...what is so fascinating about samurai culture? Well, i suppose i have a very romantic view of samurais. what i have in my mind is very far from the reality of the samurais, i know, but at least i know this and try to learn about it. I read a lot of books and I've read Eiji Yoshikawa's Musashi, the Heike Monogatari and my favourite - Taiko. grin. Again, i dunno how historically accurate these works are, i dun read for research really...i read those for pleasure and the plot was so intricate, the deeds so daring, the violence so gruesome that i couldn't help but be caught up in it. So i started reading non-fiction books about samurai. I think to me, these people are just fascinating......frankly, i wouldn't want to know them in real life....i admit they would terrify me but you can't deny the fact that they're a breed all on their own - they live, breathe death everyday...how do people do that exactly?

i dunno how my rambling has answered your question....:p though i hope it has..

well, i'd love for my country to be as interesting to foreigners as japan generally is to non-japanese. i dunno about other countries but in malaysia, most people i know want to go to Japan at least once.

I don't really understand what u mean by Kokumin-sei.....from your post i understand it as people not easily accepting others because they're different or of a different nationality?

If my understanding is correct, i dun think this is a problem only Japan has. It happens in other places too. I know it happens a lot in my country. I believe we're nice ppl, we just need to get used to different mentalities and cultures.

At any rate, i apologize if i did not understand you properly, jeppy-san.

[Glenski]

I don't really understand what u mean by Kokumin-sei.....from your post i understand it as people not easily accepting others because they're different or of a different nationality?
If my understanding is correct, i dun think this is a problem only Japan has.
Perhaps true, but since this is a Japan forum...

[clockworkorange]

Perhaps true, but since this is a Japan forum...

Hi Glenski,

Well, what i meant was jeppy-san shouldn't be hard on her fellow countrymen. Most ppl take time to accept other ppl who are different regardless of country. That its not a particular thing only the Japanese have.

However, maybe i don't know enough about japan or the japanese to say that. I've never been to Japan and the only Japanese person i know is my Japanese language teacher, who seems pretty friendly.

I was also trying to understand what she meant by Kokumin-sei.

[jeppy325]

Hello,

Charles, thank you for you reply! It is really helpful to know how the foreign students are living in Japan.

Glenski, haha...soudesune.

Clockworkorange-san, sorry for my late response.
What I meant by Kokumin-sei is...I cannot explain it well after all!!
After living in Japan for 18 yrs, I left here to go to an American university in hope of finding and actually-doing what I wanna do. (Just to note: Japanese education system is often criticized as the system to discourage students to become creative and original.) I was in US for 7 yrs and came back recently. I have a lot of respect to my country/culture now after seeing it from outside, but still...when I am around Japanese people, there is this unsatisfaction in me.
People are generally nice and have many ideas, but they don't know how to utilize what they have. Hmmm....the more I write it, the more my explanation becomes ambiguous...sorry.
If I can explaine what this unsatisfaction is, maybe my point becomes clear. But at this point, I don't have right words and enough wisdom.=(

Thanks for letting me know that I don't have to be too hard on Japanese characteristics in general. Since I am also a Japanese, that relieves me. :-)

I hope you will find a wonderful person who can represent to you the Samurai spirit (in a gentle way)!