Going to Japan - But how? Foreign exchange, or going solo? Please help!

Hello everyone!
Well, I guess I'll jump right into this one.
I want to go to Japan, again, badly.
Since I was a boy, like many other young American nerds, I had dreamed of one day going to the mythical land of "amazement". However, it wasn't until I found one of my friends today in which I made this trip a reality. I got my first job working at Wendy's, where I saved up every cent of my low-paying job to afford a 9 day stay in Tokyo, Japan.

This year, we did it again. We went to Tokyo once again, but for 2 1/2 weeks this time. With slightly better jobs.

And here I am again. Missing Japan oh-so-very much, and am wishing I had a window of opportunity to go to Japan for a third consecutive time.

I have issues this time, my friend who participated with me twice, is going with his ex girlfriend next time - or at least, plan too.
While I was there, I did imagine going alone one year - I thought it may give me the more adventurous feel. But It's kind of hard to imagine it. It was nice being able to have two opinions on things, not to mention my friend took 5 years of the language and was a huge help navigating.

So it comes down to two things:
Go alone next year.
Or apply for a foreign exchange proram, (Only for summer, so roughly a month long. I'm 18, and graduating next year, It will be a stretch if I am go part take in this route)

Have any of you gone alone?
Have any of you participated in a summer exchange program?

Advise?

Thank you!

Going alone has its advantages and disadvantages. The only disadvantage is not having someone to talk to whenever you want. The advantage is that you can do what you want when you feel like it. I usually go solo, but, fortunately, I know people there to meet up with.

If you really feel like going, even solo, then go!

Firstly, if you do have a deep fascination with the culture I would begin studying the language ahead of any prolonged stays. This will really increase the quality of your time there if you're able to move around more autonomously and communicate with others independent of your friend or a guide. Also, any immersion will really help your Japanese if you do an exchange program but this will be exponentially better if you've already got some foundations to build on.

If I had to choose between a short vacation on my own, and an exchange program where I'm actively participating in various things and I'm able to stay longer and meet more people, I'd go with the latter.

Talk to your school about exchange programs. They are usually arranged through a middleman service like Rotary Club.

If you plan to be here in August, there will really be no exchange involved. Schools will be closed for the most part. All you will have is a homestay experience.

What do you want out of your next trip here?

Glenski said:

Talk to your school about exchange programs. They are usually arranged through a middleman service like Rotary Club.
If you plan to be here in August, there will really be no exchange involved. Schools will be closed for the most part. All you will have is a homestay experience.
What do you want out of your next trip here?

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I don't want to go to Japan and do school to be honest. I'm almost graduating from high school - and it's about time.
I just want to go back to Japan honestly.
Staying with a Japanese family seems all that better.
And with the summer program, I can take one class.
And that's just Japanese - learning the language.

A quick search yielded this, maybe start here:

Learning and Teaching Japanese

If I were in your shoes, and had come here at least more than twice already, I'd do it alone. It can be done, though may have some downside. The above advice seems very good, so perhaps it's just your choice now.

Also, I have moved this here because it is much more of a practical matter than one on Japan or Japanese things. I hope you'll understand. MM

I've participated with a summer exchange program in July and August for a month in Tokyo. The homestay experience is absolutely great. I was lucky that my program only had homestay families with quite alot of children. Mine had 4 children aged 8,11,14 and 17. You get to know so much about Japanese lifestyle in this way which may also be written on websites and books, but it's untill you actually experience it that you get to know how they really live. It was also a great way to improve my Japanese. Knowing only my host mother could speak and understand a little bit English. Some very usefull expressions as 'Ittekimasu', 'Itterashai', 'Tadaima' and 'Okaeri' became a normal habit cause I used them every day. And ofcourse I was always eaves-dropping at the family having conversations in Japanese, trying to figure out what they were actually talking about.

Besides the homestay experience, there's also the Nihongo program you had to participate with. Together with 20 other students from mainly the USA and Canada, I had to go to 'school' (there were just 2 classes, located at the Mitsui building in Shinjuku) every weekday from 10.30 AM till about 3.30 PM. One day of the week was a culture activity, like we went to Asakusa and you could do tea ceremony or go to Anime museum. The weekend was free and the host family was supposed to arrange trips with you together. I went to Kamakura with them, and I got to climb Fuji-san together with the father and some work collegues of him. A great experience I will never forget. Playing shiritori game with one of my host fathers collegues for almost 2 hours the night before the climb . I also got the opportunity to go to a school of one of my host brothers, something you can't do if your not in a homestay family. They also took me to a local Karate school in which I could join a practise lesson. And I visited the sister of my host-mother.
I also had to participate with these so called parties organised by the organisation to stimulate English conversation skills of Japanese children. Together with a Canadian girl I had to organise games and tell some stories in English to a bunch of small Japanese children.

The organisation I went with is:

LanguBridge Education Centre – Connect the world by language

I know they have a crappy looking website and it doesn't seem to be updated, but I can assure you they are absolutely well trusted and everything was organised perfectly. I suggest you send them a mail for the upcomming summer program.

I'm going back to Japan in March and April for a few weeks...myself. I can join up with some people though in Tokyo, but the travelling I will do to Kyoto will be all by myself. I do have some Japanese conversation skills but in fact that's really not neccesary. You would be surprised at the amount of signs which are also written in - sometimes crappy but still understandable - English. And if you really stay in populair tourist places, there will always be someone who can help you out if you use basic English.

Why do I go myself ? I really don't want a friend of mine from Belgium to go with me because I would talk to him all the time in my native language, and I wouldn't have the feeling of being in Japan that much. It's also a great personal experience you can treasure all by yourself, which may sound a bit selfish but that's just how it is !

If you wanna go by yourself, go by yourself. There will be no trouble getting by, just get yourself a phrasebook, a dictionary and that's about it. I wouldn't imagine an English-speaker having a problem in big cities like Tokyo. Really, it is so easy to get by in these cities. Hell, even restaurants have plastic food so you don't even have to go through the 'hassle' of ordering food. No problem at all. I love it here and I am glad some people like it too.

Mauricio

Make sure you have good maps of Tokyo and the subway system. You can get both free though JNTO.