My Exchange at The University of Tokyo
The 360 international exchange programme provided an opportunity that I will value for life. Before leaving for Tokyo I was often told by other people of the ‘culture shock’ that I would experience and felt relatively prepared for that. However, upon arrival in Tokyo it was clear that I had underestimated how strong the culture shock would be. Although there were many people that spoke English and a lot of English resources, there was still a major language barrier as I spoke only very basic Japanese. As I had also never been to Japan before there were a lot of norms and cultural differences that I was not aware of… Generally quite simple things such as what side of the escalator to stand on, not speaking on the phone on public transport, and not eating while walking around.
I stayed in a share house which was really nice and had everything needed (i.e., communal lounge, kitchen, gym, and movie room), however, the social aspect of it was not as good as the university dorms. Orientation at UTokyo consisted of two days, one at the main campus and one at the campus you would be based at. It was a good way to meet other exchange students and establish initial friendships. The courses at the university were very arts based, there was only one science paper that I was able to take and the rest were more to do with the social aspects of environmental issues. The country itself was amazing, granted it did take at least a month to settle in and get my head around how everything operated.
I would definitely recommend having at least a basic understanding of the Japanese language (particularly asking how to get places, daily phrases, and ordering food/drinks). My rent was similar to Auckland prices but the cost of food is much less, especially as the exchange rate was in our favour for the majority of the time. You can eat sufficient meals for $5 (eg ramen and beef bowls) but you can also opt for more luxury meals that are similar to New Zealand prices (eg yakiniku). Transport is extremely efficient and you can use the trains and metro services to get anywhere, it’s relatively cheap but you can also get a student commuter pass to cover the travel to and from university. The highlights of the exchange for me was travelling to Osaka and Kyoto as well as the general day to day life, being able to walk everywhere, delicious food, always something going on…
The biggest challenge was the language barrier which made daily interactions a little bit hard, for instance I got covid in the third week and finding medicine and covid tests was quite challenging. My advice would be to have a good base understanding of Japanese, perhaps even more than the very basic phrases as it was quite isolating not being able to interact with other people. I would also recommend staying in the university dorms as, from what I heard, this is where you meet other students and are surrounded by people similar to yourself. One final thing is the weather, when I arrived in March it was freezing and by the time I left in August it was 35 degrees most days. So be prepared for a range of temperatures.
Q&A
What were some of the highlights of the academic experience at your host university?
I found that the academic experience at UTokyo really challenged me as the courses were primarily graded by participation, presentations, and assignments. It was a very different experience to UoA and allowed me to develop presentation skills that I hadn’t really needed before. There is such a diverse group of people that you interact with in classes and so you learn a lot about other peoples backgrounds and perspectives. For instance, my courses had people from Sweden, Switzerland, Hungary, South Korea, Malaysia, America, Canada, Singapore, and Japanese local students (sadly, there were no other Kiwis). UTokyo have a whole department dedicated to English courses so all of the courses I took were completely in English. There is also a lot of discussion in the courses and you learn a lot from talking with other students.
Would you recommend any particular activity/activities unique to your host country or university?
I would recommend doing some research before going over and trying to do as much as you can within the time that you are there. There is so much to do even within Tokyo as each ward is like it’s own little city. Some of the things I loved were Disneyland, taking the bullet train to Osaka and Kyoto, Nara deer park, and of course lots of shopping. It’s also great to just take a train somewhere and walk around the whole day and explore things that way (reminder to have good walking shoes as walking 20,000 steps per day is pretty normal in Tokyo).
What are your top 3 tips for future students attending your host university or going on exchange to your host country?
- Live in the university dorms if you want to meet other students and experience the student life
- Have at least a basic understanding of the Japanese language, being able to hold a conversation would be ideal
- Although two courses at Japanese universities are equivalent to one course at UoA, I found that they are still pretty challenging with most requiring participation (no recorded lectures) and a lot of active engagement. So be prepared to have a busy timetable and make sure to create a system that allows you to stay on top of the different assignments.
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 saved as much as I could over the summer leading up to the trip and then also had the maximum student loan while I was there. I would say that having $5000 saved on top of the student loan is ideal, if you are really wanting to do lots of activities and shopping and eat good food. With that being said, it can definitely be done cheaper so it’s really up to how much you want to shop, see, and eat.
What are your most significant takeaways from your experience abroad?
The most significant takeaway I took from the exchange was how diverse Japan is, in terms of the people and the environment. You can take a 30 minute train from the centre of Shibuya where you are surrounded by thousands of people and end up at a serene park that has barely anyone around. The people are also very diverse as generally Japanese people are quite reserved compared to New Zealanders. Of course this is a generalisation but that was one of the big observations I made and I found that assimilating into this culture was easier than I expected. At the same time, if you walk around Shinjuku at night time you will see a whole different side of Tokyo with people wearing crazy outfits and shouting in Izakayas.