Study Abroad in Japan

I’ve been interested in Japan for a long time and was in 7^th grade when I told my mom I was going to go to the JET program. Graduating college and then JET seemed like forever away then, but I was determined. With that determination, though, came many fears. The worst fear was that I would finally make it to Japan only to find out I didn’t really want to be there. That’s why when I had the opportunity to go to Japan for a summer during college, I jumped at the chance. Through the Hofstra in Japan (HIJ) program, not only did I have an amazing experience in Japan, but I also gained the confidence that moving to Japan for a year (or more) was definitely what I wanted to do.

Going to Japan with my university was the perfect balance of supervision and self-reliance to be sure I would excel when I was truly on my own in Japan. During HIJ I stayed in a dorm separate from our instructor and was responsible for getting to and from class. It was an easy train ride from my dorm in 金町 (Kanamachi) to 北千住 (Kitasenju), where I transferred to another train to get to the school 東京未来大学 (Tokyo Future University). My first day I rode the train with three other girls from my exchange program and another girl who attended Tokyo Future University, but spoke no English. I was the only one in our group who had taken Japanese language classes prior to being in Japan, so I became the translator. It was empowering to know that even though my language skills aren’t perfect I could still communicate and get around. Even when I was just hanging around Tokyo I was able to get directions, order food, and just talk to people.

Another thing that put me at ease was traveling. HIJ started in 東京 (Tokyo), but after studying a few weeks at the university we traveled around to places like 京都 (Kyoto), 広島 (Hiroshima), and 高山 (Takayama). It was great to see a bunch of different things that Japan had to offer. It was also great to know that even while moving around I still enjoyed my time, no matter where I was. That was a main fear of mine with JET. What if I didn’t get placed in a city like Tokyo and was somewhere completely new that I’d never heard of before? How would I react? Sure, being in Tokyo was amazing, but traveling around with HIJ proved to me that no matter where I was placed I would still feel at home. That is exactly what happened, I am in a city but nowhere near Tokyo or anywhere I’ve been to. I’m still incredibly excited and know I’ll have a great time because HIJ prepared me to move around.

Probably the most important thing about HIJ was going to 大阪 (Osaka). The place wasn’t really the important factor, but that I went there on my own made it stand out. Osaka was not part of our original trip (although I believe it is going to be incorporated in the future), but I really wanted to go. Thankfully, our professor was extremely supportive and helped me plan a weekend trip. Leaving from Tokyo, I got tickets for an overnight bus round-trip to Osaka. I planned out the places I wanted to go and where we were going to stay while away from the group. I did have help from our professor, but ultimately it was my trip. I even had three other students come with me after hearing that I had put the trip together. The idea that I could plan a trip within Japan (mostly) on my own and even have other students show interest in it gave me a huge confidence boost about being in Japan on my own.

Studying abroad definitely made me feel more comfortable with agreeing to live and work in Japan. I was especially lucky to have a great program to go with. For anyone thinking of living abroad anywhere I would strongly suggest visiting first if you haven’t already. I was correct in my assumption that I would love Japan, but it didn’t hurt to double-check.