Hi!
This is my first time posting here, but I hope that some of you will be able to help me out. For context, I’m a soon-to-be final year medical student who will be going on an exchange program next year. I have chosen that the country I would like to do my exchange in is in Japan. However, I am having trouble deciding which part of Japan I should do my exchange in.
Currently, I am mainly looking at Gifu and Tokyo. I have been to Japan a few times and have mainly stayed within the Tokyo region, thus I was considering Gifu for my exchange as it would provide me with a good opportunity to explore around the Osaka, Kyoto and Nagoya region during my off-time. However, my main concern is that from what I have read Gifu City is a rather small city and I was worried what the public transport system would be like. For Tokyo, it is extremely well developed, so there is no concern there. But would anyone happen to know if I would have trouble getting around Gifu due to public transport concerns?
Additionally, if anyone has any additional thoughts comparing Tokyo and Gifu and would like to share, please do share!
​
Thank you!
4 comments
This is a copy of your post for archive/search purposes.
—
**I want to know more about Gifu.**
Hi!
This is my first time posting here, but I hope that some of you will be able to help me out. For context, I’m a soon-to-be final year medical student who will be going on an exchange program next year. I have chosen that the country I would like to do my exchange in is in Japan. However, I am having trouble deciding which part of Japan I should do my exchange in.
Currently, I am mainly looking at Gifu and Tokyo. I have been to Japan a few times and have mainly stayed within the Tokyo region, thus I was considering Gifu for my exchange as it would provide me with a good opportunity to explore around the Osaka, Kyoto and Nagoya region during my off-time. However, my main concern is that from what I have read Gifu City is a rather small city and I was worried what the public transport system would be like. For Tokyo, it is extremely well developed, so there is no concern there. But would anyone happen to know if I would have trouble getting around Gifu due to public transport concerns?
Additionally, if anyone has any additional thoughts comparing Tokyo and Gifu and would like to share, please do share!
​
Thank you!
*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.*
>…final year medical student who will be going on an exchange program.. I was considering Gifu for my exchange as it would provide me with a good opportunity to explore around the Osaka, Kyoto and Nagoya region during my off-time.
*Easy answer:*
Gifu, Tokyo, or Timbuktu, a **final year medical student ≠Off-time**.
There are wards within Tokyo which are bigger than Gifu City. Gifu has access to JR & Meitetsu, which is nice. Within the city public transport is bus only, which is very meh. Gifu university is also a bit in the middle of nowhere if I remember correctly. Gifu is not a huge city but will still have everything you need. (Edit: Still has a population of 400k)
Big plus is access to nature and there is a lot to explore in Gifu prefecture and surroundings. Also easy access to Kyoto & Osaka. If you miss the big city, Nagoya Station is only like 20 something minutes from Gifu.
I love Gifu prefecture(my wife is from there), but tbh for a first time stay in Japan, nothing beats Tokyo.
You can bike most places if there is no bus.