Hi guys, I’m studying abroad in Japan this fall through my school, attending Akita International University. I see that it’s not ranked very highly, but I always take rankings with a grain of salt. Can anyone tell me what it’s like? Any personal experiences to share? I know it’s very rural but I’ve lived in NYC all my life and thought a change of pace would be cool, and I relish the chance to attend a small university since mine has like 20,000 students. But I’m going most of all to continue my learning of the language. I’m not fluent, but I can definitely get by on the street. Will the Akita dialect affect this? Any information on the school will be helpful, since there’s no better way to gather info than through a real person rather than their website. Thanks!!!
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I went in 2013 and had a great time. Visited again in 2019 and the campus is still as cozy as I remember lol. It’s true that the location is quite rural, so you can’t exactly compare it to going to university in Tokyo or Osaka, but the countryside has its charms. There are lots of events both on and off campus, and I felt like because of that plus the rural location you got to know a lot of the other students better than you might in a big city.
When you say it’s not ranked highly, do you mean academically, or something else? I would say the courses are not difficult; they’re a liberal arts college with a slight skew towards international communication and business. Lots of group project work and presentations or discussion, from what I remember. Can’t comment on the quality of the Japanese language courses as I did not take any.
Some of the dorms have you living in very close quarters, like, two beds in one room with a curtain for privacy. I think they may have opened a new dorm this March that looks nicer, Tsubaki Village I think? Haven’t seen it myself, though. The cafeteria is always pretty lively, the library is open 24/7 and is super chill, and in general the campus is really pretty. There are bike and hiking trails nearby if you’re into that. To get into Akita city proper you will have to take a bus and train, so budget time and money for that. I visited the city maybe 2-3 times a month.
The Akita dialect can make it a challenge to understand some of the older folk in Akita, but I also did just fine with an intermediate level of conversational Japanese.
Not sure how covid has affected this, but there are several festivals throughout the fall. I think the school organizes a group trip for some of them, like the Kakunodate Matsuri and probably some Namahage festival in the winter. There are smaller events in Akita city as well like an Oktoberfest in the town square and a fox festival in the Hodonotorimachi area.
I can’t tell you about the University but I do live in Akita Prefecture. I don’t live in Akita City itself but visit semi-regularly.
The prefecture is rural but the city has every convenience you could want. Supermarket, cinema, shopping malls etc. It’s not exciting like Tokyo, and yes your options are limited but it’s enough.
No one really speaks the Akita Dialect. Mostly elderly people but most people you encounter will speak standard Japanese.
From what I understand, Akita international university is one of the top ranking universities in all of Japan. They have basically a 99% graduation rate, plentiful academic resources, and basically highly-skilled students due to their strict acceptance rate.
Now, if comparing to other western institutions, it’s not even close as most will get a much more effective education outside of Japanese unis. The difficulty of Japanese universities for international/foreign students is almost laughable.
I studied at the University of Tokyo, but visited a few times. It has the most beautiful library, one of the most stunning places, architecturally and everything
Edit: it’s called the book colosseum
Went to conference there years ago. They have a beautiful library.
I can’t tell you about the campus or school itself but as someone with a father who taught there (in its early years) and grew up near the school, I can tell you this; It is very rural and there isn’t a night life around the campus (there is a mini mart and when I visited last year, a Nepalese restaurant across from the campus). However, like others have pointed out, you aren’t far from civilization and there are buses that will take you to Aeon mall and train stations (I think) and accessing downtown Akita city shouldn’t be too hard.
As for the Akita dialect (Akita ben), as someone else pointed, it’s mostly old people that speak it (although construction workers/trade work guys do speak it). However, you’ll still here young people toss in certain akita words into conversation and end setences with べ. But other than that, you should have no problem understanding most locals.
Hey! I’m also going to be studying abroad at AIU in the fall. I’m currently enrolled in their intensive summer language program, which is virtual this year. The quality of class instruction blew me out of the water! Considering that I’ve encountered plenty of terribly-taught language courses, I’m having a wonderful time with the program. However, I’m one of two students in my intermediate beginner class. I hear that Japanese classes during the semester can have up to 100 students; it’s possible this is more applicable to the beginner courses though.
Something else that stuck out to me was how quickly AIU has responded via email. I wouldn’t know about communications with faculty but the staff communicates very promptly.
I’ll likely see you in a couple months!
I would check the driving license requirements to get a scooter and wouldn’t really recommend it. Instead, I would suggest buying a second-hand bicycle at a so-called “recycle” shop or ask where you can buy one – you should be able to buy one $30 or so. My daughter is going to AIU this fall. We lived in Japan for 10 years, but have never been to Akita. Public transportation is very easy to use and convenient in Japan and you can get student passes, if that is worthwhile (depends how often you use it). I’m sure the school can advise you. It will be a big change from NYC, but I think you will enjoy it.