Hey everyone, I’m from Melbourne doing an exchange at Doshisha University in Kyoto and staying at a student accomodation close to the university. I’m obviously very excited however just have a few questions if anyone, especially other westerners, have any answers.
What is the workload like?
Are Japanese students usually friends with internationals? (At my university, there is a split between internationals and locals)
What are the biggest culture shocks?
Is the cost of living expensive?
P.S I don’t speak any Japanese, hoping to do an intensive course however not sure how I’ll go considering I’m only there for 6 months and doing other subjects. Will that be a problem?
2 comments
This is a copy of your post for archive/search purposes.
—
**Kyoto Exchange**
Hey everyone, I’m from Melbourne doing an exchange at Doshisha University in Kyoto and staying at a student accomodation close to the university. I’m obviously very excited however just have a few questions if anyone, especially other westerners, have any answers.
What is the workload like?
Are Japanese students usually friends with internationals? (At my university, there is a split between internationals and locals)
What are the biggest culture shocks?
Is the cost of living expensive?
P.S I don’t speak any Japanese, hoping to do an intensive course however not sure how I’ll go considering I’m only there for 6 months and doing other subjects. Will that be a problem?
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/movingtojapan) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Did the same thing you did back in 2012/13. Workload is typically lighter than your home university. There will be some Japanese students who will be interested in interacting with international students, but most will mind their own business and stay in their own groups (as it is pretty much everywhere) There’s a very noticeable difference between Japanese people who have gone abroad and Japanese people who have never left Japan. As for other international students, I found that in general the western students tend to be more outgoing and actually make Japanese friends, while the Chinese exchange students tend to really clump together and only hang out with themselves. Embrace hanging out with your fellow international students, the camaraderie is a big help and depending on who you hang with you might end up actually meeting more Japanese people that way. There’s no real cultural shocks, just new places and experiences. Don’t know the cost of living in Melbourne, but Kyoto is considerably cheaper compared to someplace like Tokyo. You’ll be fine surviving/getting around without knowing any Japanese, but you’ll do even better if you learn.