How hard is it to study in Japan?

Foreign students ask a lot about studying abroad, especially in Japan. Basically this article is about how hard is to study there.

First things first, here is piece of advice about Japanese Language School. You need to study there for 1 semester-2 years to enter university. Many of language Schools out there off course, there are differences as well. Some of you might take advantage of naive students and charge an extra amount. In order to prevent that, do a lot of research about language school you got, if possible, talk with its students.

Second- My personal advice is to stay far from big cities. You'll end up finding 'Foreigners Apartment' block and end up speaking english or your native language with other foreigners. If you want to study Japanese, head out for small provinces such as Yokohama, Yamato. Some rural town offices offer free Japanese lessons a couple of times a week. Other hand, the best way to learna language is to be surrounded by native speakers. Your learning curve will be huge and your fluency will improve so much more quickly.

Third- About the language barrier. If you studied a little japanese before came, it might be a little easier. Let me share my experience. From the first moment i came and started to learn japanese, my accent was bit mixed with european. Whenever i tried to speak in japanese, they gave me disapproval face and that was quite scary. So, its best to learn japanese before coming.

Fourth- You have to make friends somehow. Its hard to live there all by yourself. Especially if you are from Europe, things won't be easy here. People in japan almost doesn't learn other languages and not only language barrier but there is also barrier between humans(than most of other countries).

Fifth- Daily life. When you first get there, Japan can seem like paradise. Everyone’s so friendly and so polite that it will knock your socks off. You may be able to get help setting up a bank account or registering at city hall but what happens when you have to wing it on your own? Going to the supermarket for the first time was terrifying because almost all the labels were in kanji. Going to hospital was more difficult to be honest. I had to answer questions that are written in kanji. My first 1 month was like that. Thankfully, i survived and now can go shopping with more confidence.

Studying in Japan can be an incredible experience but also extremely frustrating if you don’t know the language. Accept the challenge, learn the essentials, be polite to everyone you meet, and try to be patient. You’ll soon realize that if you can handle studying and living in a country where you don’t know the language, you’ll become stronger and able to survive almost anything else life throws your way.

For those who want a bit more independence, you can stay in university dorms for up to one year. Not only are they affordable but they’re way more social, with lots of other international students to chat with. However, if you plan on studying in Japan for more than a year, homestays and university dorms aren’t going to cut it. Popular with international students who choose to study abroad in big cities like Tokyo and Osaka, share houses are awesome because you don’t have to pay pesky things like key money.

On the other hand, maybe you’d like to get your own apartment. When Irina planned to move into her own place, she had to find a real estate company to help her. While searching, she found many restrictions like “no women” or “no foreigners.” In the end, she had to ask a Japanese friend to act as a go-between between her, the real estate company, and the landlords.