Hello Everyone!
I am planning a 2-month trip to Japan this summer, and would be very grateful if you could give me some advice. Below is some specific information, preliminary planning, and questions I have for the trip. Thank you in advance for your help!
*Background and goals for this trip:*
These Christmas holidays I have visited Japan (Osaka, Kyoto, and Tokyo) the first time, over a two-week trip. Feeling deeply fascinated by the culture, yet eager to explore more, since my return I began studying Japanese intensively while planning a future trip.
This summer presents me with the perfect opportunity. Working remotely and in a time flexible way during my summer break from college, I will have the chance to move alone to Japan for a full 2 months.
While I plan to focus primarily on remote work for the majority of my day, I want to find ways to interact with the culture, practice my language skills, and meet new people.
*Accommodation:*
I was planning to base myself in Tokyo, as it seemed to me the city with most opportunities (Osaka / Kyoto are still quickly reachable via bullet train), renting an apartment preferably through Airbnb or equivalent services. I am inclined towards a quiet area either close to the city center, or at least to a subway station, in order to be within reasonable time (\~15-20 mins) from the center.
*My preliminary research and impressions:*
Ideally, I’m aiming to find activities centered around University campuses. Being a college student myself, I feel these would provide me with the opportunity to meet people my age and coming from abroad, thus with a slightly easier setting to strike some friendships.
Searching for summer classes / programs offered by the main Universities in Tokyo (I expect other Japanese Universities to be similar), they seem to offer mainly credit-bearing, full-time enrollment programs for international exchange students from partner universities. Yet, I am hoping to find less time-demanding activities (\~1-2 hr / day), intended for students in my situation who are working for summer during most of the day.
Alternatively, another option I am considering are activities (e.g. Japanese language classes, cooking courses, other sports, etc.), not necessarily within Universities, and not necessarily for people of my age, although this would drastically widen the scope of my research.
I am hoping that some of you with similar experiences and could give me some recommendations on what to expect from this trip, and what to look for in order to make the most of my time there.
Thank you again for your advice!
by Rob130301