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MEXT Scholarship (Graduate Students) 2017

Frida said:
Yes, that is the to go plan if I fail to find something better, it's just that I have lived alone for many many years now, and I cannot see me sharing bathroom with someone XD I'm a little bit picky
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I feel the same way! I have found a place I'm willing to compromise on with the bathroom though, since it'll only be shared between three other people max and it's in my ideal location. I would love my own space though D8

Some guest house places offer apartments too! I've been gathering as many sites that offer housing as I can find. A friend of mine (studying from April, but not through MEXT) also just told me that he's got a place with Leo Palace which has all been organised from outside of Japan.

The biggest issue I'm having is location. Why did I choose to study in the inaka...


You can always send your luggage ahead from the airport! I didn't do that last time, but I am considering it this turn around because I'm lazy. I only intend to bring one medium-ish suitcase though. There's plenty of places to get things in Japan and I do love to shop!
 

I didn't apply for any accommodation, so I was surprised when I got notified from my university that I was placed in a dorm. Initially I was a bit put off but actually we have our own bathrooms and hot plates in our rooms so I'm feeling super super lucky.

I can't wait to shop for kitchen supplies and the like! (and dare I say new clothes XD)
 

Haha, I'm definitely ready to fight tooth and nail for the best stuff left in the dorms by leaving exchange students. Someone got a rice cooker last time I was there!
 
Kiraboshii said:
Haha, I'm definitely ready to fight tooth and nail for the best stuff left in the dorms by leaving exchange students. Someone got a rice cooker last time I was there!
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I left a rice cooker last time I left! Hopefully we'll get lucky and save some money with free stuff
 
Hi guys!

For those bound for Kansai area, you may opt to take the MK Shuttle instead of the Haruka train service from the KIX Airport to Kobe, Osaka, Kyoto. It's relatively cheaper and they will take you right in front of your dormitory/apartment.

MK Shuttle website: Chauffeur-guided tours, airport transfers and taxi service

I am also looking forward to rummaging through the hand me downs and stuff of those who will be leaving the dormitory.

On other matters, for those who are bound for Tokyo, Shimokitazawa is known for bargains and cool stuff. The place is along the Keio-Inokashira line, 5th station from Shibuya station. (guide: Shimokitazawa Area Guide | Tokyo Cheapo)
 
Lot's of new posts!

@Frida , concerning the vaccines, when I went to China I had to take a couple of vaccines, like yellow fever and such. Not sure if Japan demands things like these, but I'll be checking it in order to avoid last minute surprises.

As to the amount of luggage, since Nagoya seems to be a warm place (minimum on winters is around 0 C°), I'll probably be taking just a few clothes. Either way, I should start looking for one of those hiker backpacks, as I intend to travel a lot through Asia during vacations.

The idea on cell phones and internet was great, I had totally forgot about that.

As for housing, I intend to stay in a dorm first, and during the first semester find potential roommates to share a whole house with. I intend on receiving my parents and girlfriend eventually, and dorms expressively prohibit this. For the first six months, however, they're the best deal.

I'm still not sure about the best time to change my dollars and reais for yens, but I don't think it's going to get much better than this (checked now, 115 yen for a dollar), so might as well do now.
 
Kiraboshii said:
Haha, I'm definitely ready to fight tooth and nail for the best stuff left in the dorms by leaving exchange students. Someone got a rice cooker last time I was there!
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Is this your second time as an exchange student or studying in Japan?
 
Since i'm leaving alone right now, I'm busy trying to organize my things for disposal and sending back to my parent's home for storage coz I won't be able to bring all my stuff to Japan. Will also need to arrange for terminating my current accounts -- cable, wifi, bank, etc. and update billing addresses

Am thinking of bringing 2 medium sized rolling luggage and a backpack so basically whatever fits in those -- that would be all the stuff I'd bring..would probably just buy other stuff later on while there. Was also considering having my luggage sent from the airport if the dorm can receive it.

Still waiting for the dorm results though...hoping I'm assigned to the private room type which has its own shower and mini kitchen. My friend who is a former MEXT scholar did advise me that a dorm would be ideal in the beginning since most apartments are also unfurnished. I'll consider moving to my own apartment by the 2nd year if it's affordable --- I do prefer to have my own place since I've been used to living on my own for quite some time.

My friend also said I can use my current phone, and just buy a new sim so am thinking I'll have data --- but having a pocket wifi for the 1st week is something I'll also consider, while I have yet to have my new cell line.

I think I'll be on full-blown prep mode by March (which is cutting it close...hehe) since I can only leave my current job by end of Feb.
 
trish^_^ said:
Is this your second time as an exchange student or studying in Japan?
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Yes! I was an exchange student during my undergrad.

Keio opened applications for the dorms today! I was absolutely devastated to find that the places at the best dorm were all already snatched up by short term exchange students. How dare they. I'm fairly confident I'll get a spot in my second choice, though it is more expensive than I was anticipating. I want to hurry up and get there so I can go hunting for my own space!
 
AruanM said:
Personally, I'm closing bank, cell phone and general accounts;
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I am not going to close my UK bank accounts for the moment because of my fixed savings accounts. Of course this is up to you, but if you were thinking of transferring your savings to yen be aware that Japanese accounts pay virtually zero interest.

Frida said:
A friend also told me that, if you like big bathtowels, you should take one, that the japanese stores usually only sell small sized ones.
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I don't know how huge a bathtowel you're using but I got a pretty big one from Muji. Bathtowels are going to take up a lot of space in your luggage!

Really the only things I've struggled to find here are painkillers (make sure you check whether you're allowed to bring particular medicines into Japan though). Also if you have large feet it might be hard to find shoes. I am average size in Europe but L or XL in Japan.

Frida said:
You must consider you will be having to carry all you take through the trains, walk streets, maybe take buses.
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You can also use the Ta-q-bin service at the airport if your luggage is too much for you to carry easily. There is a counter in most Japanese airports. Cheaper than shipping across the world.
Services, Size and Rates for TA-Q-BIN (For Personal Customers) | YAMATO TRANSPORT CO., LTD.

Re: phone, I am using this temporary sim card at the moment, it's the best value I've found. You can buy it in BIC Camera and other places. I've heard it may be necessary for you to have a phone number in order to open a bank account. The sim is data-only but it has an associated phone number.
JAPAN TRAVEL SIM powered by IIJmio
 
Kamiyan said:
Same here, didn't get a confirmation regarding the stipend ( I hope they give a little more than what it is said in the MEXT site because tokyo is really expensive :S).
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Hi Kamiyan!
Did you also get an email from Waseda regarding the orientation date and dormitories? It is very hard for me to make a decision on dorms.
How are you doing?
 
Hello Dauntless:

I have not received anything yet unfortunately , if I don't get an email by tomorrow I will try to talk to my supervisor.
 
Kamiyan said:
Hello Dauntless:

I have not received anything yet unfortunately , if I don't get an email by tomorrow I will try to talk to my supervisor.
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I think they will contact you soon, because the deadline they gave me for replying was February 9.
Today I hope to talk to one of Waseda's former student regarding the dormitories. Maybe he can help me figure out a way.
 
dauntless said:
I think they will contact you soon, because the deadline they gave me for replying was February 9.
Today I hope to talk to one of Waseda's former student regarding the dormitories. Maybe he can help me figure out a way.
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Received the email today, if you can share the info the waseda's former student will give to you I would really appreciate it, .
 
We were talking about this on the facebook group, but I figure not everyone has joined so in case you don't know, Japan is pretty strict about bringing any form of medication and personal use items such as an inhaler into the country. If you need to bring anything like this, you should fill in and send a Yakkan Shoumei, which is a form basically detailing what sort of medication you're bringing, before you leave your country.

Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare: Information for those who are bringing medicines for personal use into Japan

The information about it is all here, including the form you need to fill out, including an example form to show you how to do it. It's up to you if you do it or not, but like I said, Japan is pretty strict about this stuff, so I recommend doing it.

You can email the Tokyo Pharmaceutical Inspectors Office here: yakkan@mhlw.go.jp if you have any specific questions.

Sorry if this is repeated information
 
Hey, just to say I'm too lazy to create a Facebook account, so I subscribed using my girlfriend's. If anyone can accept her, I'd be grateful. Her name is Bruna. Thanks!
 
Kamiyan said:
Received the email today, if you can share the info the waseda's former student will give to you I would really appreciate it, .
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He advised me to choose a dorm nearest to the Uni. So I will probably take the WID Hanakoganei 1. The rent is 64.900 a month.
What about you Kamiyan?

Is there anyone here who can help with the dorm selection?

The best dormitory they recommend is 99.900 a month. Do you guys have any idea if I opt for this one, will the rest of the stipend cover my expenses? I really liked this (Higashifushimi) dorm because it has everything you need inside.
 


Hey dauntless, I'm not sure about Tokyo, but an acquaintance of mine in Nagoya mentioned that with a 20k dormitory he spends a total of around 90k/month (with meals, cell phone, internet, train tickets, groceries and basic living expenses, generally speaking). Considering that Tokyo is way more expensive than Nagoya, I'd recommend you planning your expenses very well, if you wish to go to a 100k dorm. I found this website to be somewhat accurate for calculating this kind of thing.
 
Hey AruanM!
Thank you very much for this. I will look into it right away )))
 
I was thinking of choosing the 99,000 per month dormitory, it includes breakfast, dinner, it is a little bigger than other options and it has a private bathroom.
 
Kamiyan said:
I was thinking of choosing the 99,000 per month dormitory, it includes breakfast, dinner, it is a little bigger than other options and it has a private bathroom.
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Yeah that's right, but we only get 144k. Do you think that will be enough? Or you have your own savings?
 
I'm not looking at Waseda dorms but I'm in a similar situation. There's a place I like that comes furnished and with utilities (and it looks OK from the Internet - of course I will have to see it in person!), but it's 78,000 a month. I really like it but at the same time it's pricey.

I did live pretty comfortable on 80,000-ish a month for full expenses before (with rent of 64,000 and making my own meals) so I know I can stretch a dollar (or a yen!) if needed. But it would be nice to have some more security with non-rent money. And a chance to travel!

If you live close to the dorms you can save on transit costs, otherwise in Tokyo you can get student passes (which also give you 'free' travel if you alight anywhere between your home/school stations). If having a phone number isn't an issue there are ways to get a data-only sim - last time I was in Tokyo I had one that was 990 yen a month for I think 2gb of data? It didn't cut off or charge extra once you went past that, it just slowed the connection way down. Otherwise I guess don't go to too many tabe/nomihoudais? Haha.
 
Hey everyone! New member and just confirmed MEXT graduate student starting this year in Kobe!
I've been reading about the housing prices and frankly, this all has me pretty worried. The uni will be setting me up with a dorm for the first six months, but then I'll need to find my own place, and I'm just not sure I can afford one. The stipend is only 144000 and between rent, utilities and some responsibilities back home, I'm just not sure I can even afford this at all. My friend living in Osaka told me it's absolutely realistic to get an apt for 20-25k in Kobe, but a more in-depth search shows that even the cheapest guest house will run up to 43k. Between that, pension, health insurance, phone, utlities, transportation and saving for an end of the year trip home (which I would need to do even if I didn't want it) I might be forced to dip into my savings account every month just to survive. Luckily, as an older applicant with sorta-kinda a career behind my belt, I do have a hefty savings account, but that's still suboptimal.
Frankly, I'm thinking of giving it a try the first six months and if I can't afford it all, backing out of the program around the time the exams roll around.
Gah, someone please reassure me
 

You can live in Japan cheaply!!! Like Kiraboshii, I was living in Tokyo on 80k a month and managed to have a good time, even going to concerts and things during my study abroad year. I saved a lot of money by not eating meat, cooking in bulk & eating lots of hot pot. You can buy a portable nabe plate and a rice cooker (super cheap second hand) and basically live off these two things. I think it'll be such an amazing experience, and Kobe is really one of the most beautiful cities in Japan. Those six months in the dorm should hopefully be enough time for you to determine if you want to stay and find a good place to live within your budget
 
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