Hello everyone, this is my first time posting on reddit so if I make any mistakes or should post somewhere else feel free to tell me!
I’m moving to Kyoto to study the language in September and am currently trying to find somewhere to live and I have some questions.
– I have the opportunity to get an appartment with Kowa Kyoto (https://kowa.kyoto/en/) but I can’t really find much about them. Some of their apartments are listed on GaijinPot Apartments and their website as well as the emails they sent me so far seem legit but I couldn’t find any review about them and considering I am abroad and can’t meet or see the apartment beforehand I can’t be sure if it’s safe. Has anyone here had any experience with them or could give me any advice regarding this whole matter?
– Although I could possibly get and apartment I am also considering doing a homestay for my first few months in Kyoto. Again I am wondering if anyone has had any experience of this type? If so, would you recommend it? Did you have the opportunity to discover Japanese culture (more than you could living on your own)? And was there a certain lack of freedom from living this way? Considering my Japanese is still very basic will it be hard to communicate and adapt to the host family?
I will be in Japan for about a year so I really want to discover the country’s culture as much as possible but I value my privacy a lot and have been living on my own for a few years now (+I’m quite shy) so I’m worried I’ll have a hard time adapting to my host family.
So as you can expect I am facing a certain dilemma and would love to get some of your advices considering it’s a whole new experience for me!
Thanks in advance!
Ps: Sorry if I made any mistake, English is not my main language.
4 comments
Sorry for not speaking out of personal experience, but I’d say that staying at a home stay would be a great idea, especially if it also gives you the opportunity to meet other foreigners. My brother stayed there for almost a year and he thought it was great. The sweet lady that took him in helped him a lot. She helped him find his current job and brought him to festivals and other fun places. Of course it might just be that he got lucky but I think you should try it out. Of course he also eventually started wanting his own place but and did just that but I’d say its a great opportunity.
Since you said you have been living on your own I would consider your age in mind too. Unless you are one of those rare people who been living alone under the age of 18 then this doesn’t apply. Usually, homestays are more popular with people that are younger as far as I know. I haven’t done it myself but with what others have mentioned, it seems to be a great experience.
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You will be studying abroad so you can definitely make friends at your school or in other avenues. I would personally suggest getting your own place if you are older than 18/19, if you are in highschool, I would suggest the homestay.
Sharehouse is best to make friends. If you want to improve your Japanese find one with Japanese roommates. Would be careful with homestays. People usually do them for the money not because they love hosting foreigners so much. Have never heard of a really amazing homestay experience
Thanks everyone for your advice! I’ll definitely take those replies into account when I make my choice!