Frank (Sem 1, 2023)

My Exchange at The University of Tokyo

I found out about the 360 exchange programme through friends who had gone on exchanges the year previous. Upon first arriving in Japan and Tokyo, I loved how the city looked and worked. Prior to this, I had never visited a city as big as Tokyo, let alone lived in one. I actually arrived 2 weeks earlier, and spent a week skiing up north in Hokkaido (which I would definitely recommend).

My exchange accommodation was originally a privately-run dormitory service called ‘Dormy,’ which I was living in for about the first two months. The accommodation was very nice, but it was a bit far out from the university and the university’s accommodation, and most people at the private dormitory were studying full-time, so didn’t have time to do many exchange-type events like travelling etc. So I ended up moving into a private apartment with a couple of other exchange students I met and had been travelling with, which I was very glad for doing.

The courses which the majority of exchange students take at UTokyo (Japanese culture/history etc) are relatively relaxed and work well on an exchange, however, most classes had pretty strict attendance rates – which didn’t really get in the way of travelling, but meant more thought had to be put into it.

Tokyo itself was an amazing city to live in (for me), and there was never a moment on the entire exchange where I felt uncomfortable in Tokyo. A few friends who came to visit me commented that they don’t think they’d be able to live there, so I think Tokyo works very well for certain people like myself, and not so well for others. I loved its organised but still very friendly nature, and love how I can leave the house at an exact minute and arrive at my destination on the other side of Tokyo at the exact minute Google Maps tells me. On top of this, living in Tokyo is extremely cheap – for example, a decently sized dinner of standard quality would cost about $10 NZD, and so nicer food is still extremely cheap (not to mention the absolute range of food available Japan is known for).

I didn’t join any clubs at the University of Tokyo, as most clubs at this unviersity at least are very full-on, and require a lot of your time throughout the semester, and a lot include Friday and Saturday nights. Clubs would be worth joining if your main focus of the trip is to improve Japanese, and even though this was one of my main goals, clubs meant there would be very little time left for travelling and sightseeing – which ranked higher for me.

Travelling in Japan is very easy to do as it’s a relatively small country, and also that there’s the shinkansen. I managed to visit most areas of Japan, but the shinkansen can be very expensive, especially for long-range trips – quite often, taking a plane is much cheaper, although less convenient.

Lastly, in regards to advice, I would say that it would be wise to decide early on if your absolute top priority is language learning, and if so, do things that help that (like staying in mixed accommodation, joining clubs, etc). However, if you’re like me, and learning Japanese is up there but not as important as travelling, I’d strongly suggest living in university accommodation with other exchange students, as not many local students you meet will be able to travel nearly as much as you probably want to.

Q&A

What were some of the highlights of the academic experience at your host university?

Many of my classes were based on discussions with other exchange (and local) students, so it was interesting to compare our experiences and history with each other.

Would you recommend any particular activity/activities unique to your host country or university?

Besides the usual of travelling to Japan to see different shrines and temples, I would very much recommend that people keep an eye out for the large number of festivals which happen almost every day, as many of them are great weekday entertainment.

What are your top 3 tips for future students attending your host university or going on exchange to your host country?

The first would be to decide early on if your absolute top priority is language learning, and if so, do think that helps (like staying in mixed accommodation, joining clubs, etc.). However, if you’re like me, and learning Japanese is up there but not as important as travelling, I’d strongly suggest living in university accommodation with other exchange students, as not many local students you meet will be able to travel nearly as much as you probably want to.

Second would be to interact with as many people as you can on the orientation night, as that turns out to be one of the key times for making friends and connections.

Lastly, would be to not take too many courses, or too difficult ones – I had a relatively relaxed semester and there was still so much I wanted to do but couldn’t fit in.

How much did you budget for your exchange? Was this enough? Were there any lessons learned that would help future students budget for their own exchange?

I had been saving for quite a while for something like this exchange to come along, so I didn’t really budget. Most things in Japan are extremely cheap, like food, drink, etc, however if you plan to travel around a lot, be aware that the shinkansen isn’t as cheap as you’d expect, so much travel will quickly eat away at the funds 🙁

What are your most significant takeaways from your experience abroad?

My most significant takeaway was that learning a language in a foreign country really does require all your effort and a lot of time focused directly and only on language learning, so to me, unless you’re hellbent on properly developing language skills, maybe spend more time enjoying the country and seeing the sights 🙂